"Why are you still reading?" Mark muttered when he found Mira in the library tucked in a corner with a book in her lap.

She didn't lift her head, she knew there was only one person who'd dare bother her in the library, "One of my TA's suggested I read. The jury's still out on if I like it, though."

"Is this the TA that asked you out?" He asked while standing beside her chair.

She smiled in affirmation until he sat down next to her, "Why are you reading something you don't like?"

"It might help me on this course." She mumbled.

Mark looked disappointed, "Why do your grades even matter? You only study this hard because you have nothing else to keep you busy when you should be sleeping. All this hard work is only going to make it easier for you to get a job that will require even more hard work. When are you even going to enjoy yourself?"

"I'd rather not get sentimental about my future, right now." She whispered half-heartedly.

"You're one of the most brilliant people I know. No offense, but you're wasting your time on like this, Daisy." He said while tapping her book.

She rolled her eyes and closed the novel, "Okay, then how should I be spreading my brilliance?"

His face lit up as he stood, "I have the perfect idea."

-----

"A graffiti wall?" Mira asked while staring up at the colourful artwork in front of her.

Mark tossed her a can while shaking one of his own. "It's a small place where people don't care about enough to paint over it."

They stood under an underpass and stared at their busy canvas, "I've never used spray paint to actually make a design. It's going to be ugly."

"Who cares, no one's going to know it was yours. You don't have to be a perfectionist." He muttered.

She pursed her lips but shook the can of black paint before taking the hat Mark lent her and held it up to her nose to block and nostrils. She stepped up to the small space of blank wall and began drawing something.

Mark watched her for a while before he smiled, realizing her design. He turned away to do his own thing. Half an hour later they both stepped back to admire their work. Mark looked at her flower and grinned, "Daisy for a Daisy."

He sprayed the tips of his fingers in black paint before pressing them against the wall on the bottom left corner of his art. His signature.

Her lips quirked and looked over at his for the first time. Her eyes widened with a gasp, "Oh wow, that's beautiful. You're good at this."

"Wouldn't be my first time." He said while wiping his hands, "There are parts of this city that actually encourage artistic graffiti, you know, with gentrification and all. Hipster is the new urban."

She laughed and tilted her head, staring at both their drawings blended together with everyone else's. "It's all chaos."

"I know." Was all he said.

-----

Mira didn't sleep that night, although she found it easier to adjust to the sound of Jackson's breathing and his arm abruptly squeezing her in the middle of the night. There were times when she'd find his body heat to be too much and that was when she slipped out of his arms and sat on the ground next to the bed.

She picked up the dream catcher from the bed side table and stared at it in her hands. She ran the tip of her index finger along each piece of yarn that was tied across the hoop, making a design of an intricate star.

A dumb smile came up her lips as she stared at it.

She knew it wouldn't fix her and that it was largely just built on superstition but it made her smile. Someone thought about doing something nice for her, but not something superficial like buy her flowers, but something that would actually mean something to her.

And it was Jackson of all people.

Now she knew why someone like Jaebum would want to keep her away from Jackson.

He was the dreamcatcher. 

She was the bad dream.

-----

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?"

Mira slung her bag over her shoulder, "We're fine, don't worry about it, we really need to get back on the road."

"Here. At least take some for the road." Yoojung said while handing Mira a plastic bag. "You need to come visit us soon, okay?"

Kian ran down the stairs and jumped at Jackson, "You're leaving?"

Jackson grit his teeth as pain rocketed up his shoulder but he lifted her nonetheless with a fake smile plastered over the ache, "Yeah we are."

"You're seven, Kian, you need to outgrow this carry me, I don't know how to walk on my own phase." Mira muttered at her.

Kian stuck her tongue out and slung her arms around Jackson's shoulder. Mira's face twisted when she noticed the way his back stiffened and his left arm tremble in suppressed pain. Her palm reached out and smoothed down his back, catching his eye.

"You're not going to hug me, Kian?" Mira taunted the little girl.

Kian gasped and wiggled until Jackson set her down before wrapping her little arms around Mira's legs, giving Jackson a chance to roll his shoulder. She ruffled her hair before looking over at Yoojung, "I'll visit you soon, I swear."

Jackson softened at the image. He never would have thought that a 7-year-old girl would turn Mira into a ball of putty. Despite her sarcastic jabs at the little girl, he could tell Mira thought the world of Kian and her mother. It impressed him, wildly loyal to the ones she loves.

"Alright." Yoojung said with a cheeky grin, "Have a fun trip you two."

Jackson reached out and brushed Kian's hair back before smiling, "Thanks for letting us stay the night."

Yoojung's grin was larger than it needed to be as she patted him on the back, "Of course. Don't worry, it was nice to meet you."

Yoojung and Kian followed them to their car and watched them pack up before tugging on Jackson's sleeve.

"Look out for her, yeah? She tends to have hard times more often than most people."

Jackson looked away from Yoojung's earnest gaze and nodded. "I'll do my best."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but you're going to have to better than your best for her."

-----

He didn't know how it happened but somewhere along the drive, Mira's hand slipped over his that was draped over the gear stick and for a reason beyond him, he let her.

It wasn't sickly intimate to him, it was a simple gesture that displayed how comfortable they were with each other, but that didn't change how he had grown distracted by the touch. How he didn't move when the light turned green until she told him

"It should be down this road." Mira said with a frown. "Can this car even fit? It looks like a bike lane."

"Crap." Jackson muttered as he pulled over to the side of the road, "We're going to have to walk this."

Mira groaned childishly before removing her hand from his and throwing the door open. Jackson smiled at her, her behaviour was becoming less and less controlled and he figured he exhaustion was taking its toll on her but it was an endearing side of her to witness.

He trailed after her, walking down the dirty road that was canopied in thin leaves that did a poor job of blocking the sun out.

"Uh-oh." Mira called out from in front of him. She her heel and starting walking up to him.

"What is it?" Jackson asked while wiping his sweat.

She scratched the back of her neck, "It's a dead end. There's nothing past the end of the road."

"Wait are you serious? We need to walk back?" He exclaimed in exasperation.

She smiled sheepishly before turning him over and pushing him forward. "March on."

-----

"Well, we're back where we started. Now, what? Where should we go?" Mira asked as they lea