"I'M SORRY." Ji Hyun flashes me a weird look as I push the box of chocolates toward her. 

"What have you done?" I remain silent as I try to find the words to explain. "Byun Baek Hyun..."

I look at her as her tone changes, "...you messed up didn't you?" I nod my head, "didn't I tell you not to have s*x with Ri Na?"

I roll my eyes as I lean back in the chair, "that hasn't, and will never happen." Her shoulders visibly relaxes, "the Crown Prince was a who treated you badly."

She points to herself and I nod my head. "You had another dream."

I sigh deeply, "he forced you to send him to the Spirit World." She blinks rapidly at that, "and he separated you from your son so you wouldn't refuse."

"Wait a sec," she takes a deep breath, "so the Ji Hyun from the past knew how to send people to the Spirit World?" I nod my head, "daebak!"

I furrow my eyebrows, "you seem way too excited. Didn't you hear the part about me separating you from your kid?"

She flashes her hand at the question, "I don't even like kids." The engineer sighs deeply, "I wouldn't want to pass on these abilities to an innocent child. I'm not that cruel."

I nod my head in understanding, my eyes flash to the open screen doors and I smile softly. "Ri Na's trying to paint again."

Ji Hyun turns and follows my gaze and her face falls, "I admire her tenacity, but I can't help but feel bad." I chew on my bottom lip as I remain silent, it's still hard for Ri Na to paint how she used to.

"So, the both of you went out..." she turns to me with a nod, "...and? What happened?"

She shrugs nonchalantly, "it was okay, although Ri Na-ssi has way too much energy for a shut-in." I roll my eyes, "anyway, I got the chance to place protective spells over her parents' property."

I furrow my eyebrows, "was that even necessary?"

"Yah," she runs her hands through her hair, "after spending the entire night checking out popular snack bars in Itaewon, it's the least I could do."

A sudden chill runs down my spine as I pick up something ominous from her words, "did something happen while I was gone?"

She blinks a few times, "remember the entire spiel about Ri Na being a blessed soul?" I nod my head, "well, she isn't the only one. There aren't many persons like her, so it would be rare to hear stories about them."

She exhales deeply, "I ran into a rather peculiar character the other day." I look at her urging her to continue, "a priest from the Vatican."

"What?"

"Baek Hyun-ah," she leans forward, "now, I don't want you to panic. But, there's a group of maniacs going around collecting blessed souls."

The disbelief of her statement causes me to scoff, "you're joking," I stand to my feet, "you really don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

I place both hands on my sides as I look at her, the look in her eyes tells me that she's not making this up. I run my hand through my hair out of frustration as I begin to pace back and forth.

"I just got her back..." My voice cracks a bit and I clear my throat, "...and now you're saying that I might lose her again?"

"That's not going to happen," I look back at her, "not on my watch."

I throw my head back with a sigh, "did that priest tell you anything else about these..." I frown, "...soul collectors?"

Ji Hyun snickers and I look back at her with a straight face, "sorry, ever since you walked into my life, I don't know how to cope with all of this." She giggles and I shake my head at her, "but apparently, these soul collectors have been around for a while. And because people like you and Ri Na will exist forever like you're stuck in some constant loop, the fanatics are serving up your souls to some higher power."

"I'm now in the Divine Fury," she blinks up at me curiously, "it's a movie. Crazy guy sells his soul to some demonic thing, and to continue looking youthful he sacrifices others."

"Huh," she nods her head, "I haven't seen it. But, pop culture does have some bit of truth."

"Anyway," I massage the space between my temples, "what am I supposed to do?"

"The Vatican is investigating, so they're dispatching priests all over the place." She folds her arms across her chest, "I haven't received news of anything strange both here, and in North Korea."

I look at her, "you know people in North Korea?"

She smiles softly, "if I have contacts in the Vatican City, why wouldn't I know people from North Korea?" She rolls her eyes playfully and I chuckle softly, "anyway, Ri Na's the ultimate target, but luckily she hasn't been tainted with the memories of her past life. So she should be fine for now, I'll let you know if I hear anything else."

THE shuffling of Ri Na's legs underneath the blanket catches my attention, I remove the large, half-empty bowl of popcorn that rests between us, and she immediately leans closer into my side. I had long stopped paying attention to the movie we decided to watch as my mind went on a journey of its own. 

I can't help but think about Ji Hyun's words from yesterday, I have no idea what we're up against, and I don't know if I'm strong enough to protect her. It's almost as if we're not allowed to live a normal life.

I look down at her as she sleeps soundly, her long lashes seems to be touching the top of her cheeks, and I think she gets even more beautiful as the days go by. My initial plan was to tell her what it is I'm feeling, and I've accepted that these sudden feelings aren't influenced by the Crown Prince.

Yes, I understand how he felt about Yoon Ri Na, and while I'm beginning to feel the same about this Ri Na from the present, my feelings are developing on their own. Funny thing is, I haven't dreamt about the Crown Prince in a long while.

It's as if that dream about him entering the Spirit World is the last memory that ties everything together. If I had known this would happen, I would've cherished all those dreams I had before, instead of being miserable and hating the situation.

I take a deep breath then lean downwards as I try