He almost felt like putting on his mother's dress again, for old time's sake. It had been a while since he had last worn it. He had loathed Minho's cruel punishment at the time, but now something about the dress was inviting. It was his mother's after all. And in some weird, twisted, round-about way it had saved his father's life.

At least it would have, if he were really in danger to begin with.

Taemin thought back to his family again. He only missed them all the more after making his deal. He didn't know when he would see them again, if ever. He hoped his father was keeping his senses. He hoped Jongin wasn't too upset having lost him. And he hoped Naeun was still the strong young woman he knew her to be.

He hoped they had found a way to get along without him.

Before he could give himself time to change his mind, Taemin pulled the maroon dress over his head. It fit his body perfectly ever since Kibum's alterations. It was like it was made for him. And oddly, he felt a little less alone beneath its soft fabric. Like his mother was still there with him, watching over him, letting him know that everything would be alright.

A knock on his bedroom door pulled him from his thoughts. For a moment, he panicked. If any of the men saw him willfully back in his mother's dress, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Are you in there, Taemin?" Minho called from the other side.

"Uh...yeah."

Considering that an invitation, Minho opened the door and walked in. Taemin glared at him as he stopped in his tracks, surprised to see the infamous dress making a reappearance.

"I didn't say you could come in," Taemin snapped, a little annoyed by the amused smile on the master's face.

"Sorry, I didn't know you would be..." He trailed off before finishing his sentence.

With the embarrassment out in the open, Taemin decided to push past it. "What do you want?" he asked.

"To talk."

"About what?"

Minho began to answer, but stopped himself. He instead held out his hand, asking Taemin to take it and accompany him. "There's somewhere I want to take you."

"Alright. Just let me change first."

"No, keep that on," Minho said as he grabbed his shoulders, stopping him from going to find some better clothing.

Taemin stared at him flatly.

"It'll be better this way."

"What will?" Taemin wondered, suddenly weary about what he was up to.

"Come on," was all he answered with. He tugged on Taemin's arms and led him from his bedroom, up the stairs and all the way to the roof.

Taemin had never been up there much, mostly because there wasn't anything up there, aside from a few rusted benches. He wondered what Minho had brought him there for.

It was a pleasant evening - as good a day to be out in the open as any. The sun was setting in the distance.

"It'll be night soon," Taemin pointed out, as he led him to the center of the wide open floor.

"You know, I was up here when I first spotted your father running away from those robbers."

"Really?" Taemin looked in the direction of the open road. There was quite a view from where they stood. He could see the road, over the trees and far into the distance. If it was dark, he might have been able to see the lights from his village, glowing from miles away. Even that simple thought brought back his homesickness.

"I never would have imagined that saving his life would impact mine so much."

"I never would have thought that his last trip to the fair would put me two months in a magic mansion with a beast and...my mother's dress."

Minho laughed softly. "I guess we never know what our lives will bring us, and I guess that's why they're worth living. Even locked in an unchanging mansion."

Minho's words were leaving him with a strange feeling. He knew he had brought him up there so say something important, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Minho sighed heavily, before forcing himself to stare Taemin in the eye.

“You’re not going to confess your love to me, are you?” he asked.

And Minho chuckled. At least he was able to break the serious look off his face. “Taemin, I want you to leave."

He didn't expect that.

"What? Why?" he asked, confused. Minho had gone through so much trouble to bring him back, and now he wanted him gone? After they made their deal for him to stay?

"No, I don't mean that. I don't want you to leave, but...you need to. You need to leave before it's too late."

Taemin's mind quickly understood what he was talking about. "The curse," he said, "It's going to trap me too, isn't it? Like it did to Kibum?"

Krystal had said it would affect him, that it would change him.

"It's only a matter of time, Taemin," Minho said, "I can't let that happen to you. I care about you too much to let you be trapped in this hell with me."

"But...we made a deal."

Was he seriously arguing to stay? After wanting nothing more than to return home? After fighting so hard to be let out before?

"And I'm grateful to you for it. I'm grateful for all the time you've wasted on me. For giving me a chance and showing me how to be a better person. You've given me a little freedom, and hope."

Taemin looked away awkwardly. "I don't know what to say."

Minho's smile said that he didn't have to say anything.

"I don't feel anything," he said, referring to the magic, "How can we be certain the magic will even affect me?"

"Do you want to take that chance? Do you want to spend your life trapped in here, isolated and loveless like I've been?"

Taemin sighed and shook his head, "You're not loveless, Minho."

"You know what I mean. You don’t know what it’s like to have not met a woman in twenty years. To have not felt her kiss, or smelled her scent, or touched anyone so delicate in all that time. To have never married and never had children. To not have the chance to right my many wrongs, to tell my parents I loved them despite their flaws. To not age like I should...to not grow old...to not die.

"I can't even forgive myself for allowing that to happen to the others. I don't want that for you, Taemin."

What a torture Minho's life must have been. How he wished he really could love him. That he could be what he wanted. That he could have the power to free him from that nightmare.

"I want you to go home. I want you to live the life I can’t. I want you to find love and be happy."

Again, he didn't know what to say. He didn't couldn't believe that he was free. Or more strangely, that he didn't want to be free.

Maybe the curse was affecting him. Maybe that was how it started.

It would have been the easiest thing for Minho to keep him there, just a little bit longer, till neither of them had a choice anymore. But he decided to do the right thing.

"You have changed," Taemin said.

"You've changed me."

"No, Minho. I only told you what you were doing wrong. You made the choice to be better. And I know someday, you'll find someone to love you for it."

It was Minho's turn to look away awkwardly. He laughed softly and shook his head. "If only you really were a woman."

Taemin could only shrug, unapologetic.

"I would have kissed you by now."

"And I would have punched you, regardless."

It took a moment for him to finally believe it: he was free. He could go home. He could be with his family before the day was over with if he really wanted to.

"I'll leave tomorrow then," Taemin decided.

"You could leave tonight, if you want," Minho said, though Taemin had a feeling that he knew he wouldn't.

"It'll be safer in the morning. I'll take tonight to gather my things."

Minho only agreed with a nod. Their conversation and their joking was over with. Taemin took that as his cue to leave and go do just that.

"I'll see you in the garden," he said as he turned to head back inside. He could feel Minho's smile lingering long after he left.

Every night, he thought the large mug of beer would make him feel better. Every night, he was proven wrong. But that didn't stop him. He returned to the tavern anyway, and among the loud clamor of all the hard-working townsfolk, Daevy drowned his sorrow. At least he tried.

It wasn't working, but he was just so desperate for something to make him feel better. Taemin was gone again, and all his apologies and promises to be a better father went with him.

"It doesn't look like that drink is doing you much good."

The voice startled him. Daevy looked from his beer to the woman who now stood beside his table. He half expected it to be Naeun come to get him, but that young woman definitely wasn't his daughter.

She was like no other woman he had seen before. How strange that she had picked him out of the rowdy crowd.

"No, it's not helping me much," Daevy said honestly.

The woman slid into the seat across from him, joining him uninvited. Daevy didn't mind, but he had a feeling she was there for more than just idle conversation.

"Care to tell a lonely girl about your troubles? I find that talking to someone is sometimes the easiest way to get through the pain."

"I don't think talking is gonna help me."

She smiled softly and there seemed to be something genuinely caring in her expression, underneath her amusement. "Well drinking isn't helping you, but you're doing that anyway."

Her logic evoked a smile from him.

"Have you lost someone?" she guessed.

"You could say that."

"Would you like to get him back?"

Her assertion surprised him, but he only took another drink from his mug. "Of course I would, but I don't think you could help me do that."

"I might surprise you."

He met her gaze for the first time since she sat down. Something about her expression was troubling, yet at the same time, very promising. He wanted to listen to her, but he knew he had no real reason to. She was just a woman, how could she counteract beasts and magic?

"You don't know what's involved."

"On the contrary, I know everything about the beast that holds him captive."

Daevy nearly spat out his drink.

Had this woman witnessed the beast's attack in their village? Had she seen Minho rip his son away? Or did she know something else, long before any of that happened?

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously.

"My name is Krystal."

A/N: Dum dum dum! :O

Heh heh heh, commenting, subcribing, and voting is all very much appreciated. :3