“Oppa tell us a story.”

Baekhyun looked down at the tiny face which was beaming up at him. It was the little girl from the day before, and today she was comfortably sitting on his lap and watching Jungsoo pick Kudzu flowers to a basket.

The little gang had followed Baekhyun and Jungsoo into the jungle, all the way to the small waterfall where Jungsoo often came to find Kudzu. Baekhyun was utterly fascinated by the unexpected small paradise where he was guided by her, the cascade of water falling down from a not-so-high hill down to a place surrounded by all kinds of trees and bushes, full of flowers he hadn’t even seen before, and the fresh silvery spring water flowing down gracefully in a small stream.

He sat with the children on a flat rock nearby the fall, and watched her doing her usual task alone.

A smile adorned his lips when he saw her tucking one small flower in her hair.

“Oppa... a story...”

He turned back to the little ones and bit his lip thoughtfully. “What kind of story do you guys want to hear?”

“A story about a princess!”

“No a dragon!!”

“Noooo I want a story about thieves from faraway lands!”

He nodded, and started his story, which was going to be an instant tale made up of anything that will be popping up in his mind.

“This story is about a village girl, who picked flowers from the woods and sold them to make a living.”

Jungsoo stopped walking through the ferns and looked at him.

With a challenging smirk shot at her, he continued his story. “This girl one day saw a handsome prince who came to watch the dances in the city carnival.” He saw her scoffing from the corner of his eye. “And she thought he would fall for her if she learned dancing as well.”

“What does ‘falling for her’ mean oppa?” one girl interrupted him and questioned.

“Hmm... falling for one means, you start liking that person. You start worrying and caring for that person.”

“So did the prince fall for her?”

“Yes he did, but not because she learned to dance, but because she wiped his tears away one day.”

The kids were gapping at him. And even the older girl who pretended not to be interested in his story, was listening while carrying on her work.

“Why was he crying hyung?”

Baekhyun continued. “He went to a battle and defeated twenty enemies with just one swift move of his sword, and yet his father didn’t praise him. So the prince was sad, so he cried. The flower girl saw him crying, and came to wipe his tears away.”

“What exactly was that story you told the kids? It started out nicely and then turned ridiculous when flying horses and grim reapers appeared.”

Jungsoo said while the two were heading back home, gotten rid of the children since they had left to play by themselves. Baekhyun rubbed his neck with a chuckle. “I just didn’t know how to end the story, that’s why.”

“The prince and the flower girl should have just got married and lived happily ever after. It’s simple as that.”

“Life would be far easier if everyone who got married lived happily ever after. But too bad, not everyone is like that.”

For Jungsoo, Baekhyun was getting weirder by every passing day. He didn’t actually seemed to be the simple carefree guy he pretended to be, and was always ending their conversation with lines she couldn’t understand at all.

“I’ll tell you everything one day.” He continued in his casual tone. “I’ll explain you surely, everything I tell you but you don’t understand.”

She silently nodded in reply.

“So will you stay beside me until I find the strength to tell you everything?”

* * *

“Listen to your future prediction young girl! I think I have a lot to tell you!”

Jungsoo stopped on her track and looked at the old fortune teller woman who was sitting by the wall of the village rice mill. She looked back at Baekhyun, hoping he would grumble disapprovingly and drag her away, like her brother always did.

But Baekhyun knew girls better than Kyungsoo did. He knew how women loved these kinds of ridiculous superstitious things, and just gave in with a nod and crouched in front of the old woman. “What do you have to tell about her future halmoni?”

She looked carefully at the girl’s face, who was already kneeling before her, listening eagerly.

“You’ve grown up being loved a lot, young girl.” She said. “You’re full of love, happiness and pure energy, and are so lucky throughout your life.”

Baekhyun watched how her eyes started gleaming with happiness.

“And you will marry the very first man you will fall in love with... Have you already met him?” the old woman asked, eyeing the young man crouching next to her.

Jungsoo turned red all over her face, and stuttered with her answer. “I— I’m not sure. I don’t know yet.”

“If you find a good man who loves you and if you feel that you can return his feelings with your whole heart, make sure you protect him.” she advised. “He will love you for the rest of your life and fill your life with happiness.”

Turning back to the fortune teller after watching her smile for a few seconds, Baekhyun decided to go for it as well. “Then what about me halmoni?”

She stared at his face for a moment in silence, and replied with an unreadable expression on her aged face.

“Such a great man with a strong heart and a strong will,” she paused for a while, as if carefully choosing the words to speak out.

“Make sure you stay strong through everything. The strongest are the ones who always survive.”

She watched the two young people disappear from the corner of the path, after handing her out a few coins.

“Poor young man. How can I tell him that he will start suffering by severe heart breaks very soon? His face was shinning, yet held a lot of hurt along his fate...” she sighed. “Hope he’ll stay strong no matter what happens.”

* * * * * * * *

“I felt really bad for Sehun. The way he dropped to his knees when he came in and saw you awake...” Seora said, handing over the lemon tea she had brought for him. Chanyeol nodded, taking a sip from the steaming hot beverage. “But I don’t blame him... it’s not his fault and that girl too didn’t betray him at the end.” He said. “It’s just that kid is hurt by being tricked and also still thinks he’s the one to be blamed for everything.”

“We’ll talk to him and sort everything out slowly.” Seora said. “They say time heals all wounds. He’ll be alright in a while.”

“And Jongin too.” Chanyeol reminded. I mean he came to me late last night when you were in the kitchen and apologized for taking you out of the capital without my permission. I said I’m grateful for what he did to save you, but the guy think he somewhat disobeyed me and ended up putting you in danger.” He shook