It did not take long for the Liu's to settle in the Imperial City. In less than three months, Liu Kaemon was able to rebuild his fireworks business from the ground-up. Those first weeks, he obssessively worked on his new factory and shop grounds, capitalizing on the wider area of land he acquired in Kyoto. This time his production areas were twice as big and he had a dedicated warehouse for his merchandise now.

Liu Kaemon had always been gracious man and in a short span of time was able to round up good men and women to work for him. As soon as his business took off and the work in the factory became more or less routine, he and Yukiko had their children helping in their free time as well. They wanted for the three youths to intimately learn the trade because they will be taking over someday.  Mostly, it was to keep them busy and out of trouble, Yiyun especially, since she was particularly restless claiming to not have anything to do in Kyoto.

Before, while still in Edo, Donghae had already started his training in the Shiekan fencing hall which taught the combat-geared sword style of Tennen Rishin Ryu. Donghae's head instructor back in Edo, Park Leeteuk, was in line to be the Fourth Generation Master of the Shiekan and he urged Donghae to continue his training in Kyoto. It turned out that Leeteuk-sempai knew of a licensed Tennen Rishin Ryu master based in Kyoto by the name of Jung Yunho. One of the first things Donghae did upon arriving in Kyoto was seek this Yunho man out since it was said he did not operate a normal dojo but rather practiced in the bush. It took Donghae days of searching and inquiry from locals until he was lead to a simple hut near a lake. Thus, his training in Kyoto continued.

Jaki, on the other hand, turned out to have grown a greater liking to Kyoto than she had to Edo. She had met like-minded friends, both boys and girls, who enjoyed the finer things in life like literature, poetry, and have come to revere someone called Matsuo Basho.

And little Yiyun... Well, Yiyun did not have the same luck as Donghae and Jaki did when  it came to finding new friends and company. The closest she got to friends were the workers in her father's factories who indulged her with stories about monsters and ghouls.

Young as she was, Yiyun never experienced such depth of longing before. So every time she thought of Joohyun she would crawl into her mother's arms and weep up a storm or take her frustrations out on the raccoons that raided their gardens, throwing pebbles their way to scare them off.

Some nights she could not stop herself from touching her own cheek, on the very spot that Joohyun pressed her lips against before Yiyun and her family left Edo. Yiyun would then find her face warming up from the memory.

It took a few weeks for Jaki to notice that her younger sister seemed so uncharacteristically listless. Yiyun used to pester Donghae to take her with him so that she could also learn how to fence. Donghae had to reject her each time because he promised his new sensei that he would be discreet about his training. Donghae's rejections were consistent and it reached a point where Yiyun stopped trying altogether, resorting to scowls and deep brooding that simply did not suit her.

The change in Yiyun bothered Jaki more than she expected so she brought it upon herself to at least expose Yiyun to the world of "higher thought".

So it came then that little Yiyun found herself the recepient of unsolicited lectures on literature and philosophy. Not only that, Jaki made her read religious texts and gave her calligraphy exercises that were enough to snap a grown man's hand off of his wrist. Most of the time Yiyun was bored to tears but she could not deny that there were occasions where Jaki made actual cosmic sense to her eight-year-old brain and Yiyun would then be compelled to compliment Jaki's quick wit and good taste.

Yiyun's only consolation from all of it was now she could write Joohyun a letter. Not just any letter...

But a pretty letter. With pretty words and pretty thoughts and pretty wishes.

- - -

For Yiyun, life in Kyoto was a complete and utter drag.

A year had already passed since. In between helping with the family business and Jaki's special sessions, there was not much free time on Yiyun's hands. She was able to make friends but none of them were actually of note.

Writing a good letter - the perfect letter - was hard. It took Yiyun weeks to wrestle the right words down that would best represent her thoughts and feelings. She threw away many drafts (which was bad news for Jaki's coveted paper supply) but in time, she was able to finish her letter for Joohyun. 

Yiyun sent the letter to Edo some while ago, piggybacking on her father's documents and updates for Bae Daido.

She knew more than to expect a reply to return so soon but it has been over three weeks and nothing came back for Yiyun. Did Joohyun receive her letter? Did she just toss it aside? Was it not remarkable enough?

Perhaps, to take some of the edge off, Yiyun tried something she had not been able to for a while. She followed Donghae, hoping to discover his secret training grounds. 

Yiyun used as much caution as she could muster. Stealth had never been her strong suit, being a loud bubble of a child. But that day, she made it as far as the bridge leading to the bushlands without Donghae noticing. Maybe it was finally the day in which she would see Donghae's mysterious fencing instructor. Yiyun felt swirls of excitement and nerves at the possibility. Perhaps Donghae would show his skills. Her brother had always been secretive of them so Yiyun had no clue if Donghae was any good or not. She was desperate to finally see for herself.

When Donghae crossed the bridge his footsteps made the wood creak. She was still small so she doubted if she'd make any sound while crossing the bridge but she did not want to risk it. If she were to be discovered, Donghae would surely drag her back to their compound by her ear.

This was the farthest she had gone, she did not want to waste this opportunity.

So she waited until he was completely across. She waited until he walked a little ways ahead.  She waited until he turned left and disappeared into the woods, into what must be a little pathway.

The coast was clear.

Before she could even set foot on the bridge, a rough hand landed on her shoulder and whirled her around so hard that she lost her balance and fell to the dirt ground.

"What are you doing snooping around these parts?"

The boy who spoke was tall and lanky with features that seemed to have stretched out to the sides. Lizard-looking almost. He seemed to be no older than Donghae and Jaki. But definitely older than Yiyun.

And much bigger.

Behind the Lizard Boy were six others. Though most of them looked harmless, she was clearly outnumbered. Yiyun's instincts told her to flee but her pride told her otherwise.

She got to her feet. "What's it to you?" she spat back.

The boy stiffened up with a look of shock on his face as if Yiyun had just physically hit him. To think of it, that did not sound like a bad idea to Yiyun.

"For a Fairy Boy," he said, taking a step closer to h