Unable to sleep, Chinsun had made her way to Naease before the sun had even risen and locked herself away in the basement with the company of the trusted gayageum. Although logically she knew what she was doing was pointless, she still found herself strumming the strings of the instrument in a desperate attempt to seek out the spirit of her parents in search of an unattainable comfort. With all the events that had been happening, more than ever Chinsun craved to be embraced by her parents and be reassured that everything was going to be alright.

In the dim basement lit with just candles, Chinsun sat on the ground. The melancholic and wistful sound of the gayageum gave form to the whirlpool of emotions battling inside of her. The image of Jongin turning away from her suddenly appeared in Chinsun’s mind, slapping her with yet another bitter memory and taking her by surprise. Losing control of her fingers, Chinsun flinched as she had put too much strength and one of the strings snapped, whipping her fingers and leaving an angry red line on her skin.

Cradling her hand, Chinsun pushed the gayageum off of her lap and reached for a drawer where the spare strings were stored. Going into autopilot mode, Chinsun languidly removed the broken string and replaced it with a new one, strumming the instrument a couple of times to make sure that it was tuned properly.

Shy footsteps echoed in Chinsun’s ears and she turned towards the staircase to see Baekhyun giving her a soft wave and with a forced cheerful smile on his face.

“Granny Im says that the weather is so lovely today that it would be a pity if you waste the day cooped up in here.”

Hearing Baekhyun mention the elderly lady, Chinsun was overcome with the guilt of neglecting the long-term patron of Naesae and mentally kicked herself for becoming so absorbed in her own feelings that she forgot her other duties. As if able to read the emotional turmoil taking place inside of Chinsun, Baekhyun took a tentative step towards her and lowered himself to meet her gaze.

“Don’t worry.” Baekhyun patted Chinsun on the head. “I’m here aren’t I? I’m not much help in battle but I can offer company to Granny Im. My one and only weapon is my ability to talk incessantly.”

“I think Jongdae will have something to say against that,” Chinsun chuckled, regaining some of her spark.

“Then he can challenge me,” Baekhyun exclaimed while punching himself in the chest.

Feeling reassured after hearing the sound of Chinsun’s laughter, Baekhyun dropped down on the ground and sat cross legged, his eyebrows slanting downwards slightly as he searched for the words that could possibly console the girl. As a writer, Baekhyun had always taken pride in his ability to concoct elegant sentences befitting of any and every circumstance. Yet, in the current situation Baekhyun found himself at a loss for words and was instead reminded of how Jongin could easily cheer up Chinsun with just a glance or simple gesture — and the same could be said about Chinsun’s seemingly effortless methods of soothing Jongin when he was in a foul mood. However, Baekhyun knew that this time Jongin was a major contributor to Chinsun’s woes, making support-system was ‘out of commission’ so to speak.

Lost in his thoughts, Baekhyun traced a finger