The large grandfather lock in the entrance hall of The Court struck midnight and chimed loudly through the hallways. Not loudly enough, however, to drown out the sound of a huge laugh exploding from the dining room. Jeno and his friend had been 'chit-chatting' for over four hours now, and not quietly would anyone say. Tara, more than definitely, would have agreed.

Jeno's hysterical laugh banged against the other side of the door, making her look up from the small book she was reading. She watched the door impatiently until the sound faded and allowed her to listen to the warm fire crackling. She sighed comfortably and turned her gaze back onto the page of the book that was being held up with one hand.

She was sitting in the leather armchair with her feet tucked underneath her and her now clean body wrapped in a thick, peach dressing gown that she found hanging up in the wardrobe. After combing through her hair, which was now almost dry and back to its healthy-looking, wavy self, she attempted to fall asleep in her more than comfortable bed... but just couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she would begin to fidget or itch. She couldn't force herself asleep. Tara had expected herself to be absolutely shattered after the long, action-packed journey she had come on, but she was the exact opposite. Wide awake.

And so, feeling completely hopeless, she turned to the help of the bookshelf and decided to pass some time until she really did feel tired. Tara gave a petty yawn and patted her lips with her finger tips. Turning the page, she cleared and started reading again. As the burning wood in the fireplace gave another sharp crack, Tara heard a door open. She looked up from the book and across the room; Jaemin was standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

He was still fully dressed, and still looked as unrefined and rugged as ever. Tara just stared at him emotionlessly. He pulled his door to behind him and walked towards the seating area where she was curled up.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" He asked.

Tara raised her eyebrows and sighed down at her book "I was hoping I could blame it on the bed... but Jeno was right when he said they were comfortable."

Jaemin smirked lightly and glanced over at the fire "I guess that leaves me without a reasonable excuse, either. How's the book?"

Tara tensed the corner of in disappointment "Not very helpful, I have to say."

She sighed again and closed the book with a gentle thud. She held it tightly in both hands and rested them in her lap. Jaemin wandered over to the fireplace and leant his arm up along the mantle piece. Tara secretly admired his silhouette from her seat as he stared down, into the sassy fire.

"So, Mr. Na - what's your story then?" She calmly asked.

Jaemin raised his eyebrows and peered round at her "You sound curious."

Tara shifted in her seat a little "People tend to be when they ask questions."

Jaemin smirked at her wittiness and turned around to face her "What exactly do you wanna' know?"

Tara shrugged faintly and, slipping her feet out onto the floor, stood up and slowly headed over to the bookshelves, "Well, the basics, I suppose. Where you were born, how you came to live where you do, how you became a bar-tender." Tara paused and lowered her gaze, "Why you and your parents seem to have... complications."

Jaemin raised his eyebrows, "Doesn't everyone have complications with their parents?"

Tara put the book back onto the shelf and calmly looked round at him, "Does everyone who has mundane complications with their parents constantly divert answering a question upon the matter like you are?"

Jaemin narrowed his eyes in mystification. Tara always asked such deep questions that made one think. Tara slipped her hands into the warm pockets of her dressing gown and tilted her head to the side with a little smile. Jaemin took a deep breath in and smiled weakly, shifting one ankle over the other.

"Why're you so interested?" He asked.

Tara smiled craftily, "I'm just trying to make conversation" She mimicked his previous statement "If we're going to be on a trip this long together, I figured we could at least be civil... Right?"

Jaemin's eyes lingered upon hers for a few seconds as he took everything in.

Her skin. Her hair. Her posture, and her mannerism. Her character and mystery. She was definitely unusual. But... was that really a bad thing?

Jaemin finally nodded with a click of his tongue and looked at the table in a reflective thought "Well... ever since the whole thing with the Scorpion King happened, my life changed completely. I wanted to explore more and become an archaeologist in Egypt. I wanted to get back out there," He began "But my parents had different plans. They kept me far away from anything to do with Egypt, and I began hating them more and more for it. It was my dream, I suppose."

"To work with Egypt?" Tara asked reassuringly.

Jaemin nodded solemnly, "To discover more about it's past. I wanted to be out there doing all of that, just like my parents had. But they didn't want any of it. They wanted to step away from it all and leave it behind."

"Why?" Tara asked curiously.

Jaemin scoffed and rolled his eyes at the memory, "Probably' because they'd had enough life-endangering experiences. And that's understandable, sure, but I was ready for anything."

"...So what happened?" Tara whispered.

Jaemin paused for a moment, and then turned to look back down at the fire, "I finally realized that I was old enough to choose my own path. They couldn't stop me any longer... so I just... left."

Tara's eyebrows lowered thoughtfully, "Didn't they try to stop you?"

"Oh yeah. They tried. They tried over and over..." Jaemin tonelessly replied, "Telling me that they weren't doing it because they didn't want me to enjoy my life, but because they cared for me and wanted the best for me. That they didn't want me going down the same road that my father did..."

"Your parents do care for you, Jaemin." Tara supported him; he sounded a little too emotionless for his own good.

"I got to' have my own life" Jaemin replied "and I got to' have it my way, not theirs... That was the last thing I said to them before I stormed out. My friend helped me settle into that apartment n' then I got myself a job down at the King of Spades and... well, I haven't spoken to them since."

Tara's heart sank, "How long?"

Jaemin gave another pause, "Almost four years."

Tara's eyebrows creased together sadly. How could he and his parents have stayed apart for so long? Tara couldn't understand it. If her mother were still alive, she would never have risked being away from her for so long. And if her father were still safe and with her, she would probably be laughing and chatting away with him right now. But she couldn't... not like Jaemin. A warm silence of rumination filled the room and weighed down onto Tara's shoulders. Jaemin kept staring down into the