>_____<;;

Another day went by quietly before Changmin finally left the studio room with what he needed. It wasn’t his jurisdiction to be doing this, but catching offensive criminals was one thing he did. If ever the Chief came after him, he’d clear himself out with his own excuses.

He discovered the owner of the blue Camry inside a pub drinking his fourth cup of beer that early morning. His surrounding mates dispersed as Changmin approached. Too immersed in the baseball game on TV he hadn’t noticed Changmin’s presence.

There was thick smoke swimming through the air and Changmin almost let himself get suffocated by it. He thought most bars had banned indoor smoking by now. He’d been wrong, he guessed.

A loud roar of screams filtered through the air as someone just won a game of pool. Changmin could hear a gang of men and women high-fiving each other before deciding to have another go at the game.

While he neared the man he came for he felt for the handcuffs hanging off his waist and pulled out his I.D.

“You own that blue Camry outside?” Changmin asked leaning against the bar counter kicking back the stool in his way.

“Who are you?” the bearded man asked with a tint of annoyance in his voice.

“I’m Criminal Investigator, Shim Changmin,” he held out his badge for proof, “you’re coming with me.”

>_____<;;

Chorong awoke from the chair she’d been sleeping in inside Namjoo’s room when she heard Victoria noisily get up from where she was.

“W…where are you going?” Chorong questioned when Victoria slipped her sweater on and grabbed her purse.

“Police station,” Victoria half-muttered in reply.

“Why?” Chorong stood up.

“Changmin’s got him,” Victoria half-muttered again zipping up her sweater before pulling the door open.

Chorong felt her lips fall apart before she quickly followed after Victoria, “I’m coming too.”

Victoria nearly sped all the way to the police station and Chorong scarily felt the gravity push her back into her seat. She’d wanted to tell Victoria to slow down; that they’d get to the police station in due time, but she was afraid. There was a spark in Victoria’s eye and she knew her older sister had been waiting for this day since Namjoo had been brought to the hospital.

She couldn’t almost understand why Victoria was so raged that she couldn’t calm down.

Her older sister hastily parked in the lot and quickly walked to the building so fast Chorong almost had a hard time catching up.

“Where is he?” Victoria demanded when she saw Changmin standing by the front door for them.

“The authorities will be coming to pick him up in half an hour and I need to have him prepared by then,” Changmin explained. “He’s drunk and it’s dangerous to be around him. I’m only giving you 5 minutes, ok?”

Victoria didn’t respond, but stomped by and Chorong hesitantly followed. Changmin led them down a long corridor before he opened up a small room for them and Chorong winced at the stench of alcohol penetrating the air. On the other hand, Victoria didn’t even care about it.

“You bastard!” she watched Victoria lunge at the man and grab him by the collar of his shirt.

“Victoria!” Changmin and Chorong shouted out in unison, but it was Changmin who hurried forward to get Victoria to release him.

This was messed up, just messed up. Chorong felt her weak heart crippling inside her chest and found herself unable to act on her instincts as she listened to Victoria’s angry shouts. She listened to Changmin and Victoria struggle against each other before she turned to look at the bearded man who had driven into her younger sister.

Yes, she was angry and very upset. She knew how Victoria felt, but all this rage was tiring Chorong out faster than she’d expected. It’d only been three days since Namjoo had been admitted to the hospital, so where was all this stress coming from? Why did it suddenly feel like she and Victoria were fighting against a force they couldn’t see?

She let out a groan before screaming frustrated, “Stop! Just STOP!”

The lights above them flickered before they died out with a quiet zapping noise. A quick silence engulfed the room before Chorong realized what she’d just done. She could hear the breathing as the after effect of Changmin and Victoria’s fight, but no one moved for a minute.

“Lets go home,” Chorong heard herself say before she turned around to walk out.

It was barely 6 a.m. and the sun was just beginning to rise. Yet it didn’t seem like there was a sun in Chorong’s world at the moment.

She sat quietly in the passenger’s seat as Victoria drove them home. Her mind was a mess and there was no clear thought clouding her mind. Chorong had completely zoned out of the world and only returned back to see the sunny pink glow in the sky when Victoria stopped the car in front of a familiar church. When Chorong looked up she spotted a towering church bell rising over them.

She turned when Victoria turned the engine off and stepped outside. Chorong slowly followed.

She ran her eyes over the thick green lawn and saw the two standing angels opposite from each other before walking by. This place was familiar.

The lights inside offered a golden glow when Victoria pushed the front door open and Chorong paused on the steps. She could see Victoria slowly walking down the aisle between the pews, but that wasn’t what she was focused on. Chorong’s eyes landed on the tall crucifix hanging on the wall and suddenly remembered. This place had been meant to be a place of peace for them after her mom died.

Chorong had completely forgotten about its existence and felt a painful wave crash over her as she stepped in. Her shoes padded against the soft carpet feeling every ounce of every memory returning to her. As a little girl she found a sort of calm and peace here, but that had only been because grandma had been with them.

She felt honestly apologetic for having forgotten this sacred place where they had last been united as a family. Even if she, Victoria, and Namjoo lived well together she didn’t know exactly what a family meant anymore.

“Namjoo was last here,” Victoria spoke sitting down at the front. “I wonder what she was thinking about when she sat here alone.”

Chorong quietly sat beside her and stared at the podium in front of them. She was feeling lost all of a sudden; like a puppy who had wandered away from home and didn’t know how to get back. She was alone and lost; that was what it was.

“When mom died, I felt like a part of me had been cut off,” Victoria shared. “It felt like she’d purposely abandoned us because of me. I was imperfect and unwanted, and only grandma cared.” Victoria pitifully smiled before raising her head, “I’m not ready to watch another person in our family die.

“Was I bad to Namjoo? Will she be disappointed because I couldn’t be a better older sister? Did I make her feel lonely? I’m really scared that Namjoo won’t wake up, Chorong. What if she really doesn’t want to wake up to see us again? What are we going to do? I’m so scared.”

The tears dropped from Victoria’s face and Chorong felt sadness envelope her.

“I forgot, we haven’t been together that long,” Chorong hung her head down. “Maybe we were too caught up in trying to understand each other that along the way, we forgot to consider other factors. Things, like how we really feel, the things we secretly want, and the things we really wanted to say.”

Chorong raised a hand up to rub her forehead and felt tears fall. She hurt too and she was stressed.

“While trying to make amends, we forgot how to be a family,” Chorong continued. “Instead of arguing about what was right, we should have sat our little sister down and asked her about her feelings. But we fought instead. And she didn’t say anything when she heard us.”

Closing her eyes she ran a hand over the tears hanging on edge and sniffed back her runny nose.

“Oh…Chorong…” Victoria reached an arm to link it around her shoulders.

“Victoria,” Chorong cried, “what if we’re all meant to be alone?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Suho…said he likes me, but what if I like him and something takes him away,” Chorong felt the tears fall again. “Someone always gets taken away. I’m scared, Victoria.”

“Chorong…” Victoria’s expression softened and she pulled her sister in for a hug. “That won’t happen. It won’t. I won’t let it happen, we won’t.”

They sat there hugging each other until dawn broke and finally returned home. Exhausted from continuously crying they slept for hours on end until they heard a loud banging on the front door. Chorong awoke slightly dazed and groaned before forcing herself up. Starting down the stairs with her hair slightly tangled up she yawned before yanking the door open.

“Where’s my memory card!?”

“Huh?” Chorong raised a brow confused.

>_____<;;

Victoria sat up in bed with a surprise before looking around her room. Confused she picked up her alarm clock and saw that it was nearly 1:00 in the afternoon before jumping out of bed. She was late for the hospital – no – she was late for class!

Grabbing her back forgetting about washing up she almost slid halfway down the stairs before stopping at bottom on her when she saw someone unfamiliar sitting in their sitting room. His legs were crossed and he had a hand up to wave at her before crookedly smiling.

Dumbfounded, Victoria almost didn’t know what to say.

“Well greetings to you too,” the man slowly nodded his head and held out his hand.

Victoria let out a shout of surprise when she saw a thin ice dragon fly out at her.

For a few seconds she uttered indistinguishable noises before finally calling out, “Ch…Chorong! Chorong!”

Victoria screamed and threw her hands up to cover her face before shutting her eyes.

>_____<;;

Chorong twisted around at Victoria’s scream and turned back to the man on the front doorstep.

“Come back some other time,” Chorong told before slamming the door in his face.

It didn’t take two steps for Chorong to see Victoria sitting on the ground defending herself with her arms.

“What’s going on?” Chorong asked walking toward her before moving back surprised. “Whoa…”

In front of her was a man and a tiny dragon coming out of the palm of his hand, but what was strange was that neither of them seemed to be moving. The man’s eyes were wide open and he wasn’t blinking nor did the dragon seem to be slithering out any further at them.

“Whoa…” Chorong moaned cautious of the situation before stepping back. “What happened?”

Victoria opened an eye before looking confused and immediately grabbed onto Chorong’s wrist before standing up.

“Why aren’t they moving?”

“I should be asking you!” Chorong belted out. “What did you do!?”

“Me!?” Victoria pointed to herself. “I did nothing! No…thing…oh my…”

“God?” Chorong finished for her.

“No, oh my…oh my…” Victoria shook her head and took a step back. “Did I do that?”

“You…” Chorong glanced from her sister to the strange man and the dragon before looking back to Victoria. “Froze them!?”

The pounding at the door forced her to turn and Victoria turned along with her, “Who’s here?”

“Someone,” Chorong answered before shaking her head, “the spy.”

“Spy!?”

“I played a trick on him yesterday,” Chorong shrugged.

“Well yea! He sounds pissed off!” Victoria half-shrieked.

Chorong made a face and rolled her eyes, “If it weren’t for you attacking Chanyeol like that, he probably wouldn’t have caught it on camera!”

“You blame me for that?” Victoria asked astonished.

“Because you’re the one who attacked him! Do I need to remind you!?” Chorong shouted back.

Victoria bit her lip before groaning and turned back to the dragon, “Do something about it!”

“What!? What do you expect me to do!?” Chorong questioned horrified, her mind a streak of blankness.

“I don’t know…uh…um…melt it!” Victoria clapped her hands together while turning to Chorong.

“M…melt it!?” Chorong stammered as if it was an absurd suggestion.

“Yea, use your weather power or something. Bring out the sun, because I will not be taking responsibility if that dragon kicks us in the ,” Victoria widened her eyes to stare at Chorong.

Grumbling underneath her breath Chorong concentrated on the dragon before Victoria started fanning herself from beside her. Neither spoke until the dragon slowly started dissipating and Chorong let out a loud pant a few minutes later.

“I think I’m ready for a winter vacation,” Chorong muttered. “Unfreeze him or something.”

Victoria looked at her uncertain before throwing out her hand and surprisingly the man sitting on the couch started blinking his eyes. His eyes traveled over to his hand where his dragon had disappeared and blinked confused before looking over at them.

“Yea, hi,” Chorong waved at him.

“Who are you?” Victoria questioned and watched a magazine roll itself up before flying into the air.

“Ow!” he let out a shout when it hit him across the head and turned to look for it.

“Answer!” Victoria demanded and watched the magazine hit him across the opposite side of his head. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“Why is it only you two? Where’s the other one?”

Victoria slammed him across the head with the magazine again, “I asked you a question, goddammit!”

“Don’t mess with her,” Chorong gritted her teeth and contorted her face to gesture toward Victoria.

“You don’t recognize me?” then he tapped his ugly boots and waited for them to say something, but they didn’t. “Oh well, doesn’t that make this awkward.”

He stood to his feet and tapped his shoes against the ground and held his hands to his back.

“My master has requested for you.”

“Master?” Chorong repeated.

“Lee Shin Il.”

“Is this a joke?” Victoria asked.

The minion tossed his hands out and shrugged, “I’ll wait for you where you last saw him. Until then.”

He held his hand to his chest and bowed before suddenly disappearing.

“What the heck was that?” Chorong blurted. “It’s probably a trap.”

“Could be, but we gotta take all the chances we can.”

***Woot woot! Vic got her power, but I have another surprise along the way!