No POV

The clouds lazily stretched across the sky, creating their own shapes. A young bird stared up in wonder, wondering how far up it could fly. Mother said it was dangerous for him to fly for the first time without her but he wanted to know. He ruffled up his feathers, preparing to take off. His siblings still in the nest chirped at him, disagreeing with his decision.

Mother would be back soon and she would be worried to see him gone. Still, he wanted to venture off. Just as he was about to take off there was a loud noise down below. A few car doors slammed shut. Out of one of the cars stood a thin woman with long hair. She had a scary face. Out of the house walked a man who looked worried.

"Himchan." They talked their strange human language for awhile. The man grew more nervous by the second but his face changed when the woman said he had a present for him. A man no longer wanted his woman so he was getting her to go along with the many other women in his mansion.

She said the woman's name was Jiyoon and the bird saw the man smile.

"It's nice to see my prediction come true. When will she arrive?"

"She's already here."

They walked to the back of an armored truck and opened the doors. The little bird couldn't see inside but he squawked and startled back when they lifted out a woman with blood running down her legs.

"What did you do to her?"

"She tried to run away."

Himchan fluttered his hands over the back of her legs. He knew that Soomyun would have found any excuse to send her to him in less than perfect condition. "There are better methods to keep them complacent."

"Oh yes. You mean those drugs of yours that turn them into mindless dolls?"

"Is your drug any different?" he bit back.

Soomyun hummed. "Mine just has better results."

The bird turned away, growing bored. He never liked listening to humans speak. It was ugly and not pitched and beautiful like their language, full of song and wonder. Speaking of songs, he heard his Mother's as she flew close. He huffed, frustrated that he missed his chance.

She comforted him in the folds of her wings and sang that his time would come. Patience was a bird's ally. If they always rushed they would never see the beauty of the world and all the Creator had made for them. The little bird agreed, hopping back into the nest. As his siblings ate he turned his attention back to the humans. The scary woman was walking inside with everyone else.

Jiyoon was going in and out of consciousness. She was trying hard to ignore the pain and pull herself back into memories with Jinyoung. With her legs the way they were she wouldn't be able to search the house for the cure. She hoped Hyemi had made it safely.

Jinyoung sat down at the piano. It was still early and Jiyoon was asleep. He was worried about her. The remnants of her painting project were still evident in the room where she