So, now that Joon's out of the way,

Let's have some Jaemin moment \o/

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Hyomin's POV

The next day began with a fresh fall of snow. I woke to see ice decorating the panes of my bedroom window and pushed my blanket up to my neck.

Downstairs, I can hear Hwayoung's excited voice trying to urge my father to go outside and play snowballs with her.

"You're late!" I heard my mother yelling to my sister above the sound of the radio in the kitchen. "Get in the truck and Dad will take you to school."

Hwayoung's protest faded and then the back door shut with a loud bang. At the same time, Mum switched off the radio and silence filled the house. I waited for her to shout at me to get up, but there was only the sound of footsteps in the hall and the back door opening and shutting again.

As much as my family drove me mad sometimes, I didn't like being alone in the house. Even though Mum had probably just gone outside to get the post from the mail at the end of the track, I felt agitated.

The house was eerie.

I turned over and slid my hand across the sheet then under the pillow, touching the hard case of the notebook. I dragged it out and levered myself up against the headrest, examining the shabby cover once again. It had to be decades old, and holding it I felt a pleasant thrill. I was holding on to a piece of somebody's feelings. I opened the journal to where I had left off last time.

There were more drawings, some done in ink-pen, ornate, detailed - a sketch of a face caught my eye and I turned the book to study it at the right angle. It was a slender face, rigid cheekbones, deep-set eyes, framed by curls. I couldn't tell whether it was male or female. By the side of it, it was a sketch of gates and a large, grand building. I stared at the face again -- something about it registered as familiar, but I couldn't think how. Then I turned the page to find another short entry.

December, she wrote. Another freezing day and I'm beginning to think you aren't real. That I simply dreamed you .... If it weren't for the pendant you gave me, I would certainly think so. I keep it somewhere safe and when she's asleep I think of you, but you don't come. Have you forgotten me already?

My mother is getting better. Today she ate a whole bowl of soup, even some bread. It's such a relief, when only a few months ago I thought she would never recover. But she is strong. I read to her at night and sometimes I want to tell her about you. About how much there is between us. And I get angry, because none of this is simple. And she would never understand. I've thought endlesly about us, and every way I look I can't see a wayit would work between us. But then how can I ever be without you? Sixteen years old and I feel my life is over. At least, if you are truly gone forever, I will be lonely forever.

The entry stopped suddenly then, but I lingered on that last sentence. As much as it was melodramatic, something about it resonated strongly with me.

I shut the book quickly, not wanted to dwell on how it made me feel. Then I slipped the notebook back to under my pillow and lay back. By now I should have felt happy. At the beginning of something wonderful. But instead I feel muddled and sad. I wrinkled my nose, hoping the melancholy feeling in me would disappear. And Joon suddenly came into my mind. The crinkles around his eyes and their colour, that unearthly bright brown.

I rolled my head on the pillow and my eyelids dropped, but a scratching sound opened them again. I shifted and propped myself up on my elbows. A familiar face down at me.

"Jaejoong?" I grabbed my blanket with one hand and sat up properly. There were two pink spots on his alabaster cheeks, but the brown of his eyes were as intense as ever.

"Good morning, Hyomin." He perched on the bed, rubbing at his knees. His coat was covered with bits of twig and flakes of snow. "Sorry to wake you."

"How did you ...?" My eyes darted to the window, which swung open.

"I hope you don't think this is indecent." He grinned. studying my blanket. "Visiting an unmarried lady in her chamber."

I shuffled back down under the covers. "It is a little indecent," I said, smiling. "And quite a risk."

"Ah. I saw your mother walking to the town," said Jaejoong. "I figured it was safe to come in."

I shook my head.

"God knows what she'd make of you," I said wryly. "You look like a Victorian urchin."

He looked blank. "I have no idea what that is, but I'll take that as a compliment." He started undoing the buttons of his coat and shed it. He wore only a T-shirt and dark-blue carpenter jeans. He looked delicate. Pale. Regal.

"You must be freezing." As I spoke an icy blast from the open window drifted over to the bed. Jaejoong seem to be unaffected.

"I've been on the move," he explained. "I'm still warm from travelling here."

I yawned, looking at the alarm clock.

"It's very early," I said. "Has something happened?"

He shifted on the bed. "Not exactly." He paused, sniffing and picking at an invisible thread on the bedspread. "But I have had a request from my mother," he went on. "She wants to meet my ... girlfriend."

I raised an eyebrow. "You have a girlfriend?"

The pink in his cheeks spread across his face. It was adorable.

I waited a beat before putting him out of his misery.

"Okay," I sighed. "So you told your mother about me?"

He hesitated, then, "Not me. Sunkyu. The demon."

"Oh." I smiled sympathetically. "So ...?"

He looked a little pleading. "I wouldn't ask ..."

"But you need me to pretend?" I stuck my arm out of the bed and gestured to my hoodie. "Pass me that -- and close the window, would you?"

Jaejoong stood obediantly and did as I instructed, bringing my sweatshirt over to the bed. He perched on the edge, watching me as I wrapped myself in the hoodie. I sank back against the pillow, surprised at how unselfconscious I felt in front of him.

"My parents are going to spend time with the greats," said Jaejoong. "They will be away for a week or so."

"The greats?"

"What you call, 'grandparents'," He wrinkled his nose. "Which is a very long-winded term if you ask me. You people are weird."

"I hardly think you're in a position to call mortal traditions weird," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps," He eyed me, amused. "The point is ... I have foolishly agreed ... to bring you to our midday meal today."

It was clearly meet-the-parents week. I suprressed an ironic smile.

"If this is too much," Jaejoong began. "I will understand."

For a minute I thought of Joon. But what was the point?

"It's fine," I said. "I wasnt doing anything anyway."

Jaejoong gave me a curious look. "It's a liberty," he said glumly. "You're spoken for, I know that."

I tried not to give anything away in my expression. It was humiliating somehow to have to admit that I'd made a mistake with the smooth-talking Japanese boy.

"You know what, I'd like to see your family." I said, brightening.

"Really?" The serious brown eyes lit up. "Wonderful!" He grabbed my hand with his, and it was as though I had sank my fingers in warm, soothing water. Momentarily I closed my eyes, enjoying it, before I stopped and pulled away. We looked at each other for a few seconds, neither of us knowing what the other was thinking, before the thud of more snowfall against the window made us both jump.

"I'm ready when you are," said Jaejoong then.

I took a deep breath, glancing at the slag head of clothing on my chair.

"Oh dear, I haven't got a thing to wear." I said, sighing.

Jaejoong waited with his back turned as I dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt with my trusty, long grey cardigan.

"I'll have to steal something from my mother, I suppose," I said, tugging one plimsoll over my head. "For the ball."

"It's not for a couple of weeks," Jaejoong said, finally turning back around. "I would offer to pay for something, but ... our currency would not be accepted on mortal Earth."

I grinned. "Oh, I'll think of something." I said, then looked down at myself. "Something more suitable then this. Your mum would think I'm a boy."

"No chance of that," Jaejoong muttered, and for a second our eyes met, in an awkward kind of acknowledgment.

"I need to call my dad," I said. "Tell him I'll be out for a bit. I think he's picking up some timber this morning, but this snow probably means he'll be back early." I picked up my address book and flipped through to find Dad' number.

"Don't you have one of those portable telephone things?" said Jaejoong, looking curiously at the book.

"Nope." I located Dad's mobile number, which I still hadn't memorised. "No point."

"Quite right," said Jaejoong. "I am amused by the mortal obsession with constant communication. "What do you all find to talk about?"

Keeping my finger on the right page, I closed the address book and poked him with it.

"Not everyone shares our antisocial tendencies, Jaejoong." I said. "But for the record, it baffles me too."

"You'd better make your call," he said gruffly, looking out of the window. "I do appreciate this, Hyomin."

"No problem." I opened the bedroom door. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Downstairs, I left a message on Dad's phone. Mum was still out somewhere and when I ended the call, I glimpsed a piece of paper on the table with her handwriting on it.

GONE FOR A WALK TO SHINHYE'S HOUSE, it began.

Shinhye was Mum's best friend and she lived the other side of Jongamno, which meant Mum would be gone for hours.

JOON CALLED. TWICE. LAST NIGHT.

I held my breath. Should I call him back?

Right on cue the phone rang, and I stared at it for a few seconds before picking up.

"Hello?" I said cautiously.

"Hyomin." It was Joon. He sounds distinctly less self-assured than usual. "I feel so bad about Hyuna. I had no idea. Honestly ..." He paused. "Can we at least talk about it?"

I hesitated before replying. "I don't know ..."

"You know you can trust me," he went on. "You do know about that, right?"

"Yes ..." I said, uncertainly. Did i know that?

"I can't stand the thought of you being mad at me over her. She's not worth it."

I kept quiet while waiting for him to continue.

"And the thought of not seeing you ... What can I do to make it better?"

"I don't know. And I'm busy today," I said, winding the phone cord around my free fingers. "I'll call you."

"Okay."

Joon sounded so despondent I felt like I should say some more. Give him more. But Jaejoong was waiting for me.

I swallowed, torn and guilty, but a movement from upstairs resolved me.

"I'll call you," I repeared and then hang up.

Narrator's POV

When she got back upstairs, her bedroom was empty. The window was still open, creaking, and she walked over to shut it, looking down to her yard as she did. Jaejoong was lurking behind her dad's shed, fully wrapped in his coat. He lifted a hand to wave at her. She grinned. Hyomin hadn't thought through how she would get him out of the house the conventional way.

She put a poncho on and sprinted downstairs to where he stood.

"This won't take long," said Jaejoong. He slipped around the back of the shed and she followed, glancing behind her to check that nobody had seen them.

"Now, leave most of the talking to me," he said brightly, walking ahead of her. "All you need to know is that your father runs a farm and we are distantly related through second cousins of my father's, whom he doesn't remember," He paused. "He has an appalling memory which will work well for us."

"Right." She tramped after him, her mind racing. "Anything else?"

"Stick to simple words and phrases. None of your mortal gobbledegook." He turned and smiled wryly.

"Thanks very much."

Jaejoong stopped. "Seriously." he said. "Everything else is just as it is here. Shops, restaurants, schools, even fashion. Though we tend not to wear those horrible neon colours you all like."

Hyomin shook her head. She should have felt annoyed but she found his chattering delightful somehow.

"Oh." Jaejoong stopped, biting his lip. "And we don't have cars and trains or trucks or aeroplanes. We don't need them."

"Is that it?" She smiled at his back.

Jaejoong hesitated before going on. "No televisions, or computers, or telephones. You'll think we're primitive, but our lives are much simpler than yours."

They had gone deep across the mountain by now and had been moving so fast she felt out of breath. Hyomin stopped, and a few feet in front of her Jaejoong tentively came to a halt also.

"How will it work, getting there?" She asked, panting still. "Only I've never consciously travelled to a parallel world."

Jaejoong slowed down infront of her. They had reached a small clearing. He stopped altogether.

"I'm not sure, but it has happened once. It should happen again." He said. "I know it has something to do with what you want. You have to will it."

Hyomin remembered the night of her dad's accident. Sitting in that car wanting -- willing -- someone to help them. It had worked then. And it had worked when she'd been worried for Jaejoong in the woods.

"I think I need to hold on to you," She said, feeling suddenly awkward.

He held out his arms. "Come on then."

Hyomin moved closer, holding him, noticing how his long body felt different to Joon's. It was slighter, but athletic and strong. She pressed my cheek against his coat, felt his heartbeat and his arms closing around her body.

"Okay?" He whispered in to her hair.

Hyomin nodded and shut her eyes, picturing the Water Path, the grand trees, the sound of the water. She began to drift, and Jaejoong's head rested on her's as he held her.

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Hohohoho. Hyomin's gonna meet his parents.

So, what's gonna happen now? >:D

Replies:

@aidie43 Hahaha i know right. Hyomin's mum's not a wolf, but you're quite close :B

@loveternallyou Sigh. I know right. But two can play that game too. Now Hyomin has Jaejoong >:D Hehehehehe. \m/ Don't worry. You'll find out soon :P