[ ❉ Two Weeks Later - October 4th 2016 ]

   “Could you hold onto his leash for a moment?” asked Kyungsoo. He started digging around in his pockets to try to find his phone. It had been ringing a lot recently; it seemed his name and reputation as a healer had gotten around.

   “Of course,” Jeongri replied, taking Haengbogi’s leash from Kyungsoo, her fingers brushing gently past his.

   For a moment, her heart fluttered a little. Haengbogi bounced around, diving into leafy piles and splashing in dirty puddles, happy to be outside for his daily walk. The local park was only small, but it was a welcome change of scenery compared to the usual bleariness of asphalt and concrete in the district of Hallowmire.

   It had been just over a fortnight since Kyungsoo had rescued Jeongri. While she was still nervous about being a burden, she had tried her best to keep up with chores while Kyungsoo was out working. When she felt more confident about her strength, he had followed up on his promise to teach her about his work and let her come along to learn.

   Jeongri had to wear a facemask when they went outside, but it was worth it, life outside the suffocating palace walls was exhilarating. There was a clinic that Kyungsoo worked at during the weekdays. She would accompany him every day, meeting a wide variety of people from all different walks of life. Every single patient had their problems, their pain and suffering, and Kyungsoo always found a way to make them better again. There was nothing but kindness in his world. What surprised Jeongri the most was that his patients weren’t always human. She could tell when a demon, a vampire or even once, a werewolf, walked through the door but Kyungsoo never faltered. He would treat all his patients the same, and they’d appreciate it in unsaid thankyou’s.

   “Jeongri?” came Kyungsoo’s voice. He’d finished his call, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his black winter’s coat.

   She shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled brightly, “Yeah?”

   “Are you okay?” he asked.

   “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

   Kyungsoo looked at her with a bemused expression, “You just looked like you were thinking about something.”

   “Who was that calling?” she asked, attempting to change the subject.

   “Oh, the clinic asked if I could work overtime on Saturday for the festival.”

   Jeongri opened her eyes in interest, “The festival?”

   “Yeah, every three month’s all the nearby districts gather for food and fireworks to celebrate peace and prosperity. There’s going to be hundreds of people, and everyone dresses up for it,” Kyungsoo said, turning to her. He hesitated for a moment before adding, “Would you like to come with me?”

   She bit her lip, “Come with you to the festival as two people having fun… or to the clinic for work…?”

   Kyungsoo looked at her for a few moments before replying.

   “Why can’t we do both?” he said with a smile.

   Haengbogi barked loudly, running between Jeongri’s legs in glee. It twirled around before running away once more, growling at the other dogs in the park. Jeongri eyes followed Haengbogi in a desperate attempt to think of anything but Kyungsoo. She could feel her face warm up in response despite the icy chill of autumn whisking by. Shaking her head, Jeongri decided to ignore the fluttering within her heart and instead chose to stare at the ground, watching her feet push past the hues of purples, reds, yellows, and orange leaves that littered the floor. They had made several loops in the park already, how many exactly she did not know, time seemed to just fly by whenever she was with him.

   “The park is lovely this time of year,” she said, facing up to the sky, letting the sun shine across her face, “I never realised how nice it could be. Anywhere I went would always be within Central and under supervision.”

   “Are there any parks within Central?” asked Kyungsoo.

   Jeongri shook her head, “No. The only thing similar would be the gardens of our royal compound and a small flower garden outside the church, neither of which were big or private enough to walk around like this.”

   “It must have been strange being supervised everywhere,” remarked Kyungsoo.

   “Yeah,” Jeongri said, “The security guards were there every time I had an event to attend, every time I wanted to go out, every time I met with friends, every time I went on dates-” she paused for a moment, not knowing why she mentioned that. Flustered, she tried to cover it up, but her words came out in a ramble, “I mean, it’s not like I went on loads of dates. I really only meant date as in with this one guy, and it was several dates. I mean, it’s not like it was anything serious and it wasn’t even a long relationship. I don’t want to sound totally inept, I’ve been on lots of dates, I’m totally experienced and stuff…”

   Her voice trailed away as she realised Kyungsoo was trying to stifle a giggle.

   “I don’t even know why I’m telling you any of this,” Jeongri started to curse herself mentally, unable to stop her nervous rambling, “Why aren’t you stopping me? I sound like such an idiot.”

   Kyungsoo started laughing, his eyes creasing in the corners.

   “It was just too funny,” he said.

   “Shut up,” she said, letting her frustration spill out. Jeongri felt so annoyed and embarrassed with herself. He probably thought she was a weirdo now, completely ruining her image.

   “So, you’re experienced, huh?” Kyungsoo asked with a grin.

   She felt her embarrassment rise and hit him in the arm.

   “Shut up!” Jeongri protested, but she couldn’t help but laugh, “Forget I said that!”

   Kyungsoo laughed out loud, conceding to her playful slaps.

   “Okay, okay!” he went quiet for a moment before adding, “So, there was that one guy, huh. Is he still waiting for you in Central?”

   Jeongri turned to look at Kyungsoo, surprised at his sudden question.

   “No. We broke up a few years ago,” she replied. There was a silence as her heart began to beat a little faster, “Do you have someone like that?”

   Kyungsoo shook his head, “Not right now.”

   “Oh, so you did at one point?” asked Jeongri, feeling a little more curious, “When?”

   “No,” Kyungsoo laughed nervously, “I’ve had people I’ve liked, but I’ve never…” his voice trailed off, “I’ve never actually dated before.”

   Jeongri felt drop, “Really? How?!”

   “What?”

   “Have you seen you?” she exclaimed almost a little too loudly, “I mean, you’re a great guy. You’re good looking too. I don’t understand-”

   He stopped in his tracks, causing Jeongri to turn around and give him a questioning look.

   “I guess I just haven’t found the time,” he said, “Or the right person.”

   She bit her lip again, “I see.”

   Unable to stop the fluttering in her heart once more, Jeongri turned away, and they continued to walk through the park, side by side with Haengbogi happily trotting nearby. It had only been two and a half weeks, Jeongri felt that it had seemed much longer. She had been surprised at how easily she fit into Kyungsoo’s life, how close they had gotten. There was chemistry between them, a little electricity, but she hadn’t wanted to act on out of fear of rejection. Her logical mind told her that being in a relationship was her lowest priority, but her heart would argue, why not? If the opportunity was there, why not grab it, especially in such difficult times.

   “Jeongri?” came Kyungsoo’s voice, piercing her wandering thoughts, “Are you okay? You went silent again.”

   “Oh,” she laughed it off and shook her head, “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about stuff.”

   “What stuff?” he asked.

   Jeongri looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes, her heart winning over her mind.

   “Maybe stuff about you,” she said with a grin.

   A smile broke out on Kyungsoo’s face and she felt her heart skip a little unexpectedly.

   “What about me?” he said, sounding a little surprised.

   She shook her head and skipped ahead, smiling slyly at him, “Nothing.”

   The late sunset glow fell softly across her features, highlighting her large grey eyes and soft brown hair. Haengbogi jumped around at her feet, sharing her cheerfulness.

   “Hey, where are you going?” Kyungsoo laughed, running after her.

   She was still laughing when he caught up with her. With one deft movement, Kyungsoo pulled Jeongri close so that she was by his side again. A warming spell radiated out from his palms into her arms and through her body. She looked up at him; there he was again, taking care of her when she needed him to. And then, for a second too long, she caught his gaze. Jeongri wanted to say something, but she knew her voice was hiding, that her words would come out in fumbles. In that moment, there were no words, no thoughts and no one who could break her out of Kyungsoo’s trance. The only thing that came from was her shaky breathes, trembling under his touch.

   Haengbogi barked loudly, tail wagging as he rubbed himself against both Kyungsoo and Jeongri’s legs trying to get their attention. The skies were beginning to darken as the rainclouds pushed in over the district of Hallowmire. With a soft whine, Haengbogi wiggled himself in-between his two owners in a feeble attempt to escape the rain, but they were frozen in an embrace, unable to look away from each other even when the heavens opened up.

   “Ah, it’s raining…” said Kyungsoo, finally breaking the weighted silence.

   The raindrops sat neatly on his