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chapter one ► things, things full of wonder and amazement

» Junghye's POV

"Junghye ah. Don't leave me. I love you."

"Luhan!" I woke up, soaked in my own sweat. Once again.

I fell back in my warm bed and rolled around, facing my baby blue wall. Letting out a big sigh I finally stood up and took a glance at my alarm clock.

8am again? Because of these dreams I became an early bird and it crept the hell out of me because I always slept until 12am or anything around this time.

My feet took me into my bathroom and I looked at my birthday picture with my ex-boyfriend. Luhan. I sighed once again, louder, pulling my bed hair out of my damaged visage.

I loved him. I'd always love him. Why did Luhan make party with Sehun and...and...stressed around with his parents?! I lost him!

I wanted him back badly. And I know Sudae wanted Sehun back as badly as I did. They were just as happy as we were but nobody should blame them. We should blame their parents...I know them, they really are too strict towards Luhan and Sehun.

The broke up was two weeks ago and I have serious problems with my dreams since then. I always dreamt how Luhan wanted me back. How much he missed me and so on. Maybe he did, maybe not. He was harsh while he broke up, but on the other side he said, his parents were the reason for it.

Unconsciously I rubbed my cheeks, stunning my hands onto the marble sink to look into my mirror. Big bags have formed under my eyes and I groaned annoyed before splashing cold water into my face. I felt like doing something with my beloved Ri Sudae today. She'd always cheer me up, make my day become a more bearable day.
 

- - -
 

After I finished my daily hour in the bathroom, I jumped into casual clothes quickly before walking off to Sudae's house. When I rang on the doorbell I enjoyed the jingle. It was lovely, yet awakening and cute.

Soon, my friend opened the door and hugged me, looking just as miserable as I did when I woke up.

“Are you feeling well, Sudae?” I asked with a worried voice and she shook her head, surprisingly. “No…I didn’t sleep. I thought about Sehun.”

“As if I’m not spending time thinking about Luhan…Sudae ah, we should do a girls' night, or rather a girls' day, again. Going into a beauty parlor and yeah. Let’s do that today, okay?” I looked into her trembling face and Sudae nodded. I clasped my hands and shoved her into her bed room.

“Now, let’s take out some pretty clothes and let's get it started!”

“How can you be so bubbly, unnie? It’s usually me who’s louder…” She pouted and I rolled my eyes. “Luhan and Sehun wouldn’t love to see us this sad. We-“

“But we aren’t dating them anymore.” Sudae cut me and I inhaled deeply, ordering myself. “Sudae ah…I was just saying that…”

I paused when I saw her face again.

“Let's get it started.”
 

- - -

“I promise you, today will be an awesome day!” I beamed, trying to make Sudae happier but she just pulled all her hair to the right side and stared into the empty air. “Will this day be wicked?”

I stopped, right in front of her face and held my hand up highly. “This day’s gonna be so wicked, dude. I promise one more time.”

“Then we should hurry, unnie! If I miss my series today, you’re dead!” Sudae smiled playfully and in my inner side was a Junghye, dancing a victory dance, seeing my bestest friend smile oh so brightly.
 

- - -
 

My nose scented the wonderful smell of make-up, creams and nail polish and took it in completely.

Okay, it isn’t that awesome. But I meant the familiar, sometimes fetid, smell.

“Where to first?” Sudae eyes swept over the entire parlor and I tapped my chin. “How about hmm. First a little peeling and then make-up plus manicure?”

She nodded with a confident grin, saluting with two fingers. “Tha will definitely do!”
 

- - -
 

“Is this better than sulking in an apartment?” I looked down to my pearly-white nails and Sudae did the same with hers as we were just about to stand up from our chairs. “It really is better, yes.”

“See.” I giggled and stretched myself, “What do you think of going through the streets.”

The women looked at us.

“After we paid.” She added quickly and I nodded, walking up to one of the many counters.

We paid hurriedly and exited the shop.

“Come and see! Many, many things to see!” An old woman’s voice roared and we looked her way, “Things, things full of wonder and amazement!”

I smiled. “Sounds like…jewelry, necklaces and so on. Let’s check that out, Sudae ah!” I dragged her along and her eyes already started to sparkle at the word “jewelry”. “What the heck are we waiting for then?!” Sudae and I quickly glanced over to the many tables with bracelets, colorful stones and all those kind of things before greeting the old woman.

“I’ll look here!” Sudae called out and I nodded, pointing to my right.” I’m right there, checking this stuff out!”

“Owh~ Sehun would like this~” Sudae sighed and held up a stone while also picking up a necklace with a single orange-reddish stone. “Don’t you think Luhan would like this? Isn’t he sometimes wearing stuff like that?” I sighed, too, but smiled because she was damn right.

“What pretty and young ladies are visiting me today.” The “granny”-like woman stated and we bowed. “Uh, thank you. Do you have more types of such things?” I pointed at some crystals which you could add to a thin black leather necklace and she nodded eagerly, leading us to the back of the little “shop”.

Well, it wasn’t a shop actually; just some tables in a small alley, built up like a stand or something like that, the back of the stall was just a house corner.

Just as we looked around the wall and saw a big ring shining in light blue, the woman pushed us towards it.

“Uh…eh, Ahjumma…I don’t want to seem rude but I think we don’t really want to see-“

“May the fate be with you.” She cut me and I spun around, facing her. “What?!” But it was too late. The old woman had pushed us into it and we screamed for our dear lives.

In the blink of an eye, the flashy light was gone and we faced an amazing view.

Fresh nature everywhere, thousands of forests next to each other shining in beautiful green colors and in front of us nothing but a deep, deep hollow, followed by a breath-taking valley.

“I-is this what you call a spacy day, unnie?” Sudae blurted out silently and I looked at her for a second before glancing at that abnormal world in front of our noses. “Ehm, no…?”

“What the…? Where are we?!” She panicked and I just shook my head. "I don't have a single idea...sorry."

"My pants are gonna be wet if I won't just wake up now because...because...because of this here!" She fidgetted with her arms wildly and I exhaled heavily. "O-Okay. Sudae, keep calm. This just has to be a dream! This really can't be!" I started slapping myself, also wanting to wake up but nothing happened.

"I-I really d-don't know what's going on here b-but we should-"

"Come here! And hurry up guys!" a girl's voice shouted and suddenly the blue light appeared behind us again.

We jumped back in shock.

"Don't move, unnie." Sudae warned whispering and a loud crow of a bird made us run into the bright, blue light.

"What the heck?! I said, don't move, Junghye!" Sudae slapped my arm and I rolled my eyes. "Oh sorry, but you were pushing me!"

"We wouldn't be here if you wouldn't have suggested to look at that stand!"

"It's not my problem if you're like a crow, wanting all shiny things to be yours!"

"This isn't right! You just-"

"Oh my god, seriously, shut up, you two!" A girl with gray-purple hair screamed desperately and we looked at her, stopping our senseless discussion.

"Thanks." She smiled, suddenly offering both of her hands for us to shake it at the same time, "Hi, my name is Gong Minji. Call me Minzy! Halmeoni told me so much about you, Junghye and Sudae! So welcome welcome to Pang and if you don't mind I'd like to show you two the way to our house!" Her bubbly self scared me and Sudae, too, how it looked like. That face is priceless!

"Uh, okay. Since we're here some ehm, kind of." I nodded unsurely and she hooked her arms into ours as she stepped between us. "Okay! This way!"

"First you scream at us and now you're so kind. You're the eighth world wonder, Minzy sshi." Sudae blurted out bluntly and Minzy shrugged. "That's my nature."

I nodded quietly but tapped my chin with my free hand. "I have two little questions...Why are we here and where the hell are we?!"

"Didn't I say that? In Pang City; you mostly write it P.C. but you'd say Pang City, so the two words. I don't even know why we say so and shortened these simply words...maybe our-"

"Minzy, why are we here?!" Sudae and I asked with a loud voice and she shut her ears. "Sorry, sorry! So, uh...Halmeoni already told me you wouldn't believe me but she said...make them believe you...Do you believe in this world?"

"No, not really?"

"I still think I'm in a deep sleep in the beauty parlor." I answered right after Sudae and Minzy sighed. "I'm being super-duper-overly-honest! It's real!" She pinched both of us hard and we rubbed our arms in pain, glaring at her.

"See? No dream!"

I jumped up and down. "This is no fun! You could've shown it to us in a different way, Minzy sshi!"

Her shoulders went up and down and all of a sudden she pointed to a little wooden hut near us. "There's the cabin! Come on!"

She ran towards it and we just followed her fast little feet.

"Halmeoni! Halmeoni! They're here! Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!" Minzy shouted excitedly and looked at me before hugging me from the side. She gave me a cute smile with shining eyes and I heard the stairs creak a slight bit.

"They are? Now I have two other energized little children here!"

The voice and laughter of the woman made the hairs in the back of my neck stand up straightly. Her voice was very soft, yet strong and way too familiar to me.

Sudae also seemed to notice the voice and we waited for that "halmeoni" to appear.

As she stood on the last step I stared at her.

No. Freaking. Way. I didn't breathe for quite a minute.  When I wanted to take one, it came out as a sob. "Halmeoni."

"Junghye ah." She spoke silently and I walked towards her. "T-that can't be. You're...you're dead. Halabeoji s-said he found you...sleeping and...dead in your bed room. This can't be." I looked away from my own grandmother, back to Minzy and Sudae. "Now I'm sure this is a dream."

My halmeoni wiped my tears away as I faced her again. "Tell me it's a dream. Halmeoni, tell me that, please." She shook her head and I hugged her. "Halmeoni! Why are you here?! Why are Sudae and I here? Please explain it to me!"

"Let me explain that when we move into our new house." She said and I sniffed. "New house?"

"Yeah. We bought it some time ago. It's closer to the actual town: Pang City." Minzy added and I straightened up because halmeoni was a bit smaller than me.  My glance fell to Sudae. "Since we're here. Why not accepting it for a moment?" She shrugged with a nod, while I turned to my grandma. "So, do you...have to pack something?"

"Everything's already there. We just have to get there!" halmeoni smiled warmly and I exhaled with just the same grin.

"Is oppa already there? He wanted to drive the car!" Minzy asked and halmeoni nodded. "He's there, decorating the rooms. You know how good he's in that; that child and his skills."

"This child is going to get some wushu up his if my room's ugly."

"Minzy, your language." halmeoni spoke low and Minzy sighed, putting her hands up. "Just stating the truth."

Slowly halmeoni took her purse and went towards the door. "We should get going before the police is coming."

"Police?" Sudae blinked and Minzy nodded. "Let us explain in the car."