“Which way is your way?” Jonghyun asked, eyeing Jinki doubtfully.

Jinki merely chuckled and put a hand to one of the doors before beckoning him closer with the other. Jonghyun approached slowly, still giving him a distrustful look.

“Have a little faith in me Jonghyun,” Jinki laughed when he stopped at his side. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“Oh, I know,” Jonghyun mumbled, frowning. “But I also know you like to make fun of me, too.”

Jinki grinned with a boyish innocence – which Jonghyun trusted even less.

“Hold on to me,” was the only instruction he got as Jinki took a step closer to the door.

Jonghyun glanced between him and the door, unsure, but grabbed Jinki's arm and looked at him expectantly. Jinki raised his eyebrows at him, clearly amused. Then he suddenly put the arm Jonghyun was holding around his middle instead, yanking him flush against his side, not budging even a millimetre from the collision. Jonghyun was about to protest when Jinki leaned in and pressed his forehead against his temple.

“Hold on to me,” he murmured in his ear and Jonghyun felt how it grew warm, along with his cheeks.

He gave a miniscule nod and put his arms around Jinki's waist. Jinki chuckled and kissed his temple softly. Jonghyun could feel the smile on his lips, but before he could even think about blushing a darker shade of red, Jinki pushed the door open – with an ease that should be impossible, what with the massiveness of the door – and stepped outside, pulling Jonghyun with him. Jonghyun automatically held his breath since they stepped right out into the fricking ocean, but frowned when he noticed the bubble shaped barrier immediately forming around them, shielding them from the mass of water around them and scaring away the few fish that had been leisurely swimming around outside the door. Jonghyun glanced over his shoulder to see the door close without letting any water in and looked up at Jinki with wide eyes. Jinki smiled at him and the barrier began to glow.

“This will be a little of an uneven travel, as I never quite perfected my precision skills unlike my brothers,” he apologised. “However, it works well either way and a little misstep here and there never hurt before.”

Jonghyun was about to inform him that he was not a god nor a divine being and could probably easily be hurt by ‘a little misstep’, but didn’t get the chance because the air suddenly left him as the bubble shot upwards at an impossible speed. Jinki tightened his arms around him and Jonghyun did the same, burying his face in his shoulder. The outside of the barrier was too dizzyingly blurry and he couldn’t look at it without feeling nauseous.

Soon they were descending again and he dared a peek, spotting a small white dot in the middle of a sea, which glittered orange in the sunset. He couldn’t help but let out a small squeak at the speed they were falling and Jinki laughed softly. Then he let out a troubled sound.

“Do not be alarmed,” he murmured in his ear. “However, I do think we will alight in the water.”

Jonghyun's heart skipped a beat.

“What?!”

“I assure you, you are perfectly safe as long as you hold on to me,” Jinki tried to soothe him but Jonghyun's stomach still rolled nervously.

The water was coming closer by the second. Crashing into it at this speed would be like crashing into a cement wall.

“Hold your breath,” Jinki warned and they dived right into the waves without much of an impact.

The barrier disappeared and Jonghyun just about managed to take a small breath before water rushed at him. Just as he thought his lungs would explode something solid met his feet and pushed him upwards. Jonghyun looked down in surprise and saw a pillar of water raising him up into the air and above the boat before turning into a slide, allowing him and Jinki to slip down it and onto the sundeck. The water soundlessly moved back to the ocean again when its work was done.

Jonghyun coughed up the water he had accidentally swallowed when the bubble disappeared and took deep gulps of air to get some oxygen into his system again.

“What the hell Jinki!” he spluttered when he found his voice, pushing away from Jinki's embrace. A shiver went through him as the chilly evening air bit into him when the warmth of Jinki's body disappeared. Jinki laughed, which earned him a glare from Jonghyun. “It’s not funny!”

“I do apologise,” he chortled, brushing Jonghyun's wet bangs out of his eyes tenderly. Jonghyun completely forgot why he was supposed to be angry. “I told you my aim was inaccurate.”

Jonghyun stared at him dumbly, his mind drawing a blank. Jinki smiled at him affectionately and his face warmed.

“Jonghyun! Jinki!”

At the sound of Kibum's voice, Jonghyun spun around so fast he stumbled backwards, crashing into Jinki's chest with his back, and Jinkig grabbed his arms to steady him. He froze as glittering waves and the hum of a voice flickered past his senses before jerking back, as if he been shocked by an elctric current. He turned around and looked at Jinki in alarm. Jinki looked away from Minho and Kibum, who were quickly approaching, to give him a puzzled look. Then his smile fell and he let go of Jonghyun's arms, took two small, quick steps back and cleared his throat.

“I-I think I shall retreat,” he rushed out and Jonghyun felt his heart sink at the panic in his voice. Something was not right.

Jinki seemed frozen to his spot because he made no move to leave, and he stared at Jonghyun, eyes alarmed. Minho and Kibum arrived at their side and Minho immediately stepped between the two of them, blocking their view of each other.

“Brother,” he said and grabbed his shoulder to push him in the direction of the compartments without wasting any time or giving an explanation. “I need to speak with you.”

Jinki didn’t as much as let out even a small breath of protest. He only stared down at the deck guiltily as Minho took him away. Jonghyun wanted to stop them, to demand Minho be gentler with Jinki since he was clearly hurting and to find out what was going on. But all he could do was watch them leave without another glance at either him or Kibum.

“What in the world is happening?” Kibum asked when the doors to the sundeck had swung shut.

Jonghyun shrugged, but worry coiled tight in his stomach.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“I just know that yesterday morning Jinki and Minho fought. Then Minho told me you had gone to talk to Jinki when I woke up from whatever they did to me and when we went to check up on you two Jinki was frantic, kept going on and on about you being kidnapped and whatnot and yelling at Minho for not looking after you better.” Kibum frowned. “Then he disappeared too and Minho was furious, almost sinking the entire ship, and now you both are here again but something's clearly up with Jinki. It’s all really very confusing.”

“I was gone for more than one day?” Jonghyun asked. How long had he been passed out?

Kibum nodded, his mouth turning down and his eyebrows drawing together.

“What happened to you? I was worried!”

Jonghyun filled his cheeks with air and blew it out slowly, pulling a hand through his hair.

“Well,” he scratched his neck. “I was kinda pushed over the railing by those masked things, Imprints they're apparently called, and one of Jinki's sons had asked his sister to rescue me. I ended up in Jinki's underwater castle in the realm of gods.”

Kibum's eyes grew as wide as saucers, sparkling with exitement, all traces of anger and worry gone.

“You did?! Oh my god, take me with you next time!” he nearly yelled.

Jonghyun gave him a sceptical look.

“Don’t you know we’re not supposed to be in that realm? At least that’s what Jinki told me.”

“Yeah, but a few minutes wouldn't hurt!” Kibum pouted. “I would have loved to see it.”

Jonghyun just shook his head and a loud sneeze burst out of him. Kibum startled, worried frown on his forehead, and ushered him inside.

“Let’s get you dry. You’ll end up with some kind of lung disease like this,” he muttered. “Why the hell did Jinki think it was a good idea to dive right into the ocean?!”

Jonghyun fell silent at the mention of Jinki's name and looked down at the mark on his right wrist as he let himself be pulled to their compartment by Kibum. He couldn't make sense of what had happened earlier, in the gallery in Jinki's castle, nor of the illusion that had flashed before his eyes just a few minutes ago. Not that he could make sense of much of anything ever since he had met Jinki.

The first two days Jonghyun had know him, he had seemed okay, no pain and no uncertainty or panic. He had been smiley and mischievous, not bothered by anything in particular other than finding his brother.

Then something had seemed to change. It had been most noticeable the first time they went to Naeun’s garden. It was almost as if someone had flipped a switch. Jinki had suddenly started to look hesitant and afraid, as if he wasn’t sure of what exactly he was doing anymore and had lost sight of what he was supposed to do. Jonghyun knew Jinki was still very much set on finding his brother, but there was something about they way he behaved that seemed like it didn’t matter to him as much anymore, that he was just doing it in order to not make Minho mad and send him back home. It worried Jonghyun because the more time seemed to pass; the more Jinki seemed to encounter situations that made him lose himself just that little bit more, pushing him closer to the breaking point. He didn’t know if it was because Jinki was in the human realm and couldn’t escape the memories of his lost soulmate – maybe he didn’t even want to escape those memories – or because he was feeling guilty for starting something with Jonghyun.

Or maybe he had given up on looking for his brother to look for his soulmate again. It wasn't unlikely she still existed somewhere, if what Minho had said about her reincarnation was true.

It kind of hurt to think about, Jonghyun wouldn’t lie.

But still, he couldn’t figure out exactly what Jinki was so scared of. He knew it must have, once again, something to do with his soulmate, which wasn't Jonghyun, and–

An ache bloomed in his chest and he couldn't help a pained sound escaping him. Kibum glanced his way worriedly but remained quiet and Jonghyun decided he shouldn’t think anymore. It didn’t stop his mind from coming up with different ways of trying to help Jinki find his soulmate again, though, which resulted in him wincing every now and then from the pain in his chest that accompanied the thought of Jinki leaving for someone else.

They arrived at their compartment in silence and Kibum opened the door. Jonghyun was still trying to stop thinking about the whole soulmate business and barely noticed where they were. Kibum immediately went over to the bathroom to fetch a bathrobe and towel for him. Jonghyun stood watching the doorframe of the bathroom, vision turning fuzzy as his eyes unfocused.

He saw the outline of Kibum return and stop in the doorway, sighing.

“What is it? You look like you're light years away,” he asked softly.

“I saw a painting of her,” Jonghyun mumbled and blinked to focus on him. He hoped that if he told Kibum he could help the growing unease and ache insidde him. After all, Kibum always had an answer, didn’t he?

Kibum raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“Saw a painting of whom?” he asked and motioned for Jonghyun to strip.

“Jinki's soulmate,” Jonghyun said softly after having pulled his soaked shirt over his head, staring down at the floor where he had dropped it. “She was on a painting in the room I woke up in a-and it got me thinking… what if she has come back? Jinki would be happy then, right? If we found her?”

Kibum was quiet for so long that Jonghyun wondered if he had even heard him speak. However, when he looked up, the expression on Kibum's face was dark and sombre. He met Jonghyun's eyes after intensely staring at the robe in his hands and sighed. He put the robe around Jonghyun’s shoulders before grabbing them to stare at him more seriously than he had ever done as long as Jonghyun had known him.

“You love him,” he stated softly and Jonghyun's breath caught in his throat.

“I-I–," he stammered, his face warming up.

“There’s no point denying it, Jonghyun,” Kibum interrupted sharply before softening. “You care about his happiness because you love him. The painting of his soulmate bothers you because you love him. It doesn’t matter that you met about a week ago nor does it matter that you have never been in love with a man before, what matters is your heart.”

Jonghyun bit his lip as tears welled up in his eyes and wrinkled his nose in an attempt to keep them from falling.

“O-okay, yes,” he breathed shakily. “I do realise I might actually love him. That doesn’t change the fact that he still needs his soulmate more than me. I’m sure that if he had a choice, he’d rather be with her in this life or some afterlife than even consider staying here, even if I told him I love him straight out.”

Kibum smiled sadly and dried the tear that had escaped with his thumb.

“Just because he has a soulmate does not mean he can’t love you back,” he murmured. “He’s had other lovers before, right?”

“Distractions,” Jonghyun growled to mask a sob as another tear managed to find its way down his cheek. “That’s what his son said. To make him forget the pain in his heart.”

Kibum looked thoughtful for a moment. Then his smile widened a little.

“I see the way he looks at you and treats you,” he said. “And let me tell you, you are not just a distraction to him. Maybe the others were, maybe they weren’t, we don’t know. But you are definitely someone he feels very strongly for; that I know.” Jonghyun smiled weakly at him through his tears, rubbing at his eyes. Kibum gave his cheek a gentle pat. “I have a feeling things will work out for you.”

Jonghyun let out a tear choked laugh and shook his head.

“When did you become all knowing?”

Kibum grinned.

“I have my ways.”

There was a knock on the door and they both jumped, looking at each other with wide eyes.

“It’s open!” Kibum called.

The door opened and Minho stepped inside, much to their surprise. He watched them for a moment from his position in the doorway before closing the door behind him and striding over to the small table where he sat down with a heavy sigh, an elbow on the table top. He rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“Is… everything all right?” Kibum wondered hesitantly. “How’s Jinki?”

“My brother,” Minho growled, “is one of the most selfish bastards I have ever encountered.”

Jonghyun and Kibum shared a confused look and Minho looked up at them.

“However, his situation is quite dire,” he muttered and narrowed his eyes at Jonghyun, looking him up and down. “And I cherish him too much to cause him extreme pain. Which is why I am here to ask you, Jonghyun, to go talk to him.”

Jonghyun's mouth fell open.

“What? But just this morning– wait, yesterday morning? Anyway, you said he was too vulnerable!”

“I am very well aware of what I have said. That does not, however, mean I will always act on it.” Minho sighed again. “So, against my better judgment, I am asking you to go talk to my brother. He needs it, as do you.”

“I do?” Jonghyun mumbled.

Minho raised an incredulous eyebrow at him and he blushed, somehow feeling caught.

“Did you not happen to encounter the painting in the castle of my brother?” he asked. “I should think you two need to discuss what has happened.”

Jonghyun frowned in confusion and looked to Kibum who seemed equally puzzled. He wasn’t sure what Minho was suggesting since his tone and face seemed to say it was far more serious than Jonghyun's hurt feelings over seeing Jinki's soulmate. He nodded anyway.

“Good,” Minho said. Then he frowned as he took in Jonghyun's appearance again, before waving his hand.

A warm puff of air hit him, drying his hair and jeans almost instantly as well as the shirt on the floor, making it flutter where it lay.

“Uh, thank you,” Jonghyun mumbled and picked it up to put it on.

Minho made a noncommittal sound and then silence fell. Jonghyun stood where he was, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He wasn’t really up for going to Jinki's compartment just yet, he needed some time to calm his emotions down. He didn't want Jinki to feel obliged to him just because he was crying. Kibum glanced between him and Minho and Minho frowned at him as he continued to just stand where he was, rolling on the soles on his feet.

“Well?” Minho finally urged.

“Right,” Jonghyun cleared his throat. Apparently he had no choice.

He made his way over to the door with a heavy heart and paused a moment to gether himself together. Kibum gave him an encouraging smile and thumbs up as he glanced back and he smiled back at him faintly. Then he took a deep breath, opened the door and stepped outside, letting it swing shut behind him. He leaned back against it, glancing at the door to his right, and swallowed nervously, his stomach filling with butterflies.

He didn’t give himself much time to second-guess what he was doing and stalked over to the door, raising a trembling fist to knock on it. He just had to do it without hesitation – like ripping a Band-Aid off.

“Enter,” Jinki's muffled voice said and Jonghyun took a deep breath, trying to put on a confident face before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Fake it til you make it, right?

Jinki was sitting hunched over the room’s dining table with his head in his hands. His hair looked as if it had been pulled in all possible angles and his breath was uneven. He looked up when Jonghyun entered and his eyes widened. He quickly sat up straighter and forced a small smile. Jonghyun immediately decided he hated it.

“Jonghyun,” Jinki said with fake cheer. “I thought you would have gone to bed.”

Jonghyun raised his eyebrows at him and Jinki's smile faltered.

“Were you expecting Minho?” he asked.

Jinki sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“I was,” he murmured, thankfully losing his façade. “Why are you here?”

“He told me to talk to you,” Jonghyun mumbled and Jinki looked surprised.

They stared at each other in silence and Jonghyun noticed once again how incomplete Jinki's entire being seemed, the underlying pain showing in every feature on his face, his eyes haunted and his lips pressed together. He approached him slowly, taking one careful step at a time, eyes never leaving Jinki's, until he was at his side. Then he reached out and traced the faint lines of pain on Jinki's forehead with gentle fingertips, willing them away. He heard Jinki's breath stop and moved his hand down to cup his face.

“I wish you wouldn’t hurt so much,” he whispered.

Jinki swallowed harshly before smiling shakily, his face relaxing ever so little.

“If I was not hurting, would you still be by my side and take care of me?” he whispered back hoarsely.

Jonghyun frowned at him.

“Of course.”

Jinki chuckled softly and pulled him down onto his lap, hugging him as close to his chest as possible. Jonghyun put his arms around his shoulders to hug Jinki back, humming softly as he felt the tension and apprehensiveness slowly drain out of him.

“You always were very considerate of me and my feelings,” Jinki murmured and pulled back to look at him with a bittersweet smile that had Jonghyun's heart aching. “Even to this day.”

Then he kissed Jonghyun. It started out gentle but soon it grew desperate. Jinki raised a hand to Jonghyun's jaw, caressing his cheek with his thumb gently, and the arm still around Jonghyun's middle pulled him impossibly closer. Jonghyun kissed him back with as much passion. He let out a soft gasp when the shirt by his left hip rose and Jinki's warm fingertips brushed his skin, sending tingles through every nerve in his body. The fingers moved up under his shirt, drawing small patterns along the way, and a shiver moved down Jonghyun's spine.

Then Jonghyun was lying on his stomach on the grassy bank of a stream in a forest. His shirt was gone and cold water dripped from his light brown hair onto his nose. He felt himself smile as a soft humming from beside him flowed into his ear and a finger drew different shapes on his back. He was filled with peace, warming him up along with the sun.

He gasped and pulled away, the compartment and Jinki's worried face returning. He stared at Jinki with wide eyes.

“Jonghyun?” Jinki asked hesitantly, starting to pull back.

Jonghyun grabbed his arms in a tight grip to stop him, his breathing coming out in irregular gasps.

“Something is happening,” he breathed and Jinki stiffened. “Ever since I went to that gallery in your castle I keep seeing different places and hearing different sounds. One was a street with people, the other was a meadow with children, then a battlefield and a boat and now a forest? What is happening to me?”

Jinki's breath quickened as well and he looked away guiltily. Jonghyun narrowed his eyes at him, his grip on Jinki's arms tightening. He was hiding something. Something that seemed extremely important.

“Did you or your son do something? What am I seeing, Jinki?” Jonghyun demanded, his voice sounding steelier than he intended. “Exactly what aren’t you telling me?”

Jinki shifted uncomfortably, his gaze moving around before landing on Jonghyun. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was gathering up all the courage he had. When their eyes finally locked again Jonghyun felt a lump form in his throat. Jinki's eyes were filled with so much pain and fear he could practically feel it himself. He did feel it himself, he realised, as his heart stuttered in despair, pain blossoming in his chest again.

“I have known you for a very long time,” Jinki almost whispered, voice hoarse. “You have reincarnated time and again, and I have been present in all of your previous lives. I can even claim I am the cause of your deaths.”

It felt like the world was pulled from underneath his feet and Jonghyun gasped, the room spinning.

“What?” he breathed, his eyes wide and his heart hammering against his ribcage so loud he could barely hear himself.

“I told you I have not visited this world since the Roman Empire began to grow.” Jinki swallowed nervously. “The reason is you.”

A/N: Not proofread or edited so it probably *sigh* Oh, well... I guess you're used to my laziness if you've read this far, haha xD

And WHAT?!?! DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT JINKI SAID MEANS?!?!?! I bet you do and I also bet you already guessed it >_< I'm not that good at being unpredictable.

This story is actually becoming a lot longer than I intended, but I guess you don't mind, right? 

Sooooo, I hope you liked this chapter :) next one has a lot of Jinki telling stories in it too so I hope you'll look forward to that! No y times (yet?) though, hahaha (I can't even write well OTL)

Okay, lots of love to all of you subscribers and commenters (who are also subscribers, really, haha... I need sleep) and those who just pass by! I hope you have a great day or night or morning or whatever time! xD

Yeah...

Buh-bye~!<3