11/13/11

Yay!! We've finally arrived to the point where the fun begins *evil laughter*. Sorry, but I really do love to drag out the coupling process, so expect more conflict later on!! The answers will come soon!

Hmm, I wonder what you guys think will happen? *looks down at comment section - hint hint*

Anyways, enjoy! I probably won't work on this story until thanksgiving break, so yeah... :( sorry for the wait!

            It was the morning, and the group met up in the kitchen for breakfast. While eating, they decided to first go and shop for clothing together before splitting up and doing their separate jobs.

            Chaerin was so tired yesterday that she did not even remember how the land of Fos looked like. All she remembered was the comfort of her pillow. So when the group walked out of the inn, she was in a state of shock.

            “Why in the world are there huge tanks of water everywhere?!” she exclaimed.

            The rest of the group looked at her in surprise. Bom asked, “You don’t remember?”

            Chaerin just looked back, confused. “I guess I completely knocked out yesterday.”

            Seungri laughed, and Chaerin shot daggers at him. “Fos is a land of mermaids and mermen. They migrated here from the lakes in the east.”

            “Yeah, the only reason they are able to live here is because of those water tanks. Those are basically their homes,” Youngbae added. “During the day, they transform into humans so that they can walk on land, and during the night, they retire in the water tanks and turn back into merpeople.”

            “Oh, wow,” Chaerin said, signifying she understood. Continuing to look around and taking in the scenery, she added, “In any case, this place is beautiful.”

            Unlike the land of Wun, the land of Fos was very clean and white. The architecture had a similar style to the style of ancient Greek buildings. There were large, tall buildings supported by pillars, and even the water tanks looked like they were each a coliseum.

            As the group walked to a clothing store, Chaerin couldn’t help but notice the passersby eyeing them curiously. All of the people here are so beautiful, she thought to herself.

            After arriving at the clothing store, Chaerin, Bom, and Dara went to the girl’s section and started trying on clothes. Unfortunately, there was not a huge selection of clothing, since all of them were togas of some sort. In the end, Chaerin decided to buy a simple white one, Bom bought a coral one, and Dara bought a pastel green one.

            Going toward the cashier, the girls saw the guys being surrounded by a group of mermaids, giggling to each other.

            Dara laughed at the sight. “Well well, aren’t the guys popular?”

            “Hmm, I thought the mermen here were pretty good looking. I wonder why they seem to be so excited to see three human boys,” Bom thought aloud.

            “Beauty is to the eye of the beholder, I guess,” Dara stated. “I have to admit, although the mermen are handsome, they all look the same. Their looks are probably considered normal to the mermaids.”

            “Aren’t you at all fazed by the fact that those girls are practically kissing your boyfriend’s shoes?” Chaerin was befuddled. If my boyfriend was surrounded by girls like that, I would be furious.

            Dara shook her head and said nonchalantly. “No, I’m used to it.”

            Bom laughed at Dara’s reply. “Jiyong certainly picked the right girl for him. You don’t even bat an eye when he’s with other girls.”

            Chaerin smiled and shook her head in awe. She looked back at the group of mermaids and saw that one of them was touching Seungri’s arm. Cold air traveled down Chaerin’s neck and along her spine. Quickly shaking the feeling off, Chaerin said to her friends, “Shall we go and crash the party?”

            The two friends looked at her with the same incomprehensible expression. They looked at each other furtively before turning back to her and nodding. What was that all about? Chaerin frowned. What’s with the smirks on their faces?

                     ::::::::::

            After shopping, the six friends split up and started on their individual tasks. Youngbae and Dara went back to the inn to work on their creations while Seungri, Jiyong, Bom, and Chaerin went to look for jewelry shops, fabric shops, and gambling arenas, respectively.

            At the end of the day, Bom and Chaerin walked back to the inn carrying a few bags of coins. They were extremely satisfied with their days’ work. As the two girls went into the inn, they heard the rest of the group discussing something in the kitchen. Walking toward the kitchen, Chaerin and Bom heard Youngbae saying something.

            “How about we stay here for a bit longer?” Youngbae suggested as Bom and Chaerin came into the kitchen.

            Dara nodded. “I think that will be a good idea, since one day passes by too quickly. I was barely able to make anything today.”

            “That’s fine by me,” Seungri agreed as well. “I mean, if there’s nothing to sell, then I won’t be able to do my job.”

            “Same goes for me,” Jiyong nodded.

            “Wait, what just happened?” Bom asked, confused. “Are we staying in Fos for a few more days?”

            “That’s what we were thinking,” Youngbae replied. “Unfortunately, I take a few days to finish a sculpture, and since we ran out of the sculptures that we took with us, there’re no more sculptures for Seungri to sell.”

            “Oh, okay, that makes sense.” Bom nodded. Then, thinking of something, she smirked and said jokingly, “Or are you just saying that so you can hang out with the mermaids for a bit longer?”

            The guys laughed.

            “Jealous much?” Youngbae teased.

            “Psh, as if,” Bom lightly slapped his arm and teased back. “I have my eye on a merman I met in the gambling arena.”

            Chaerin couldn’t help but smile at the exchange. It seems like Bom and Youngbae are getting closer. Hmm, I wonder if they will get together. If that happens, then Seungri —

            Immediately stopping her train of thought, Chaerin made her way to the dining table. Helping Dara and Jiyong set up the table for dinner, she mentally slapped herself. How can you think something like that, Chaerin? You don’t even like him in the first place.

                                    :::::

            After dinner, Chaerin volunteered to stay and wash the dishes. To her dismay, Seungri was there helping her out. Gosh, I don’t want to deal with him at this moment.

            She didn’t know why, but Chaerin was holding a grudge against Seungri. It’s probably just because I’ve had enough of his annoying voice.

            “This place is really amazing,” Seungri tried to strike up a conversation. “I wonder how the merpeople migrated here in the first place.”

“Why don’t you ask one of your mermaid friends?” Chaerin tried to say nonchalantly. However, the statement reeked of emotion.

            “Excuse me?” Seungri asked, surprised at her answer.

            “You know, those mermaids that were all over you,” Chaerin was surprised at her own animosity.  But for some reason, she couldn’t stop. “They would do anything, as long as you ask them nicely.”

            There was silence. Chaerin tried not to notice Seungri’s lack of response and continued washing the dishes.

            When Seungri finally spoke, he was very quiet. “Chaerin, by any chance, are you jealous?”

            Startled by the word, Chaerin’s hand slipped, and the bowl she was washing made a loud clang as it hit the sink. Thankfully it didn’t break, Chaerin thought as she quickly turned toward Seungri. She spoke quickly, “What? Jealous? For what reason? I would never be jealous of your mermaid friends! Why would I be? I don’t like you or anything. How could you even—“

            “Alright, alright, I get your point,” Seungri interrupted her rant and stepped closer to her. “If that’s the case, then why are you so angry?”

            “I’m not angry!” Chaerin shouted indignantly. It was only after Seungri gave her an unbelieving look did she realize that shouting only made her argument weaker. She sighed. “It’s…PMS or something. Stop smiling like that! I’m serious! What’s with that smug look? I told you, I’ll never think of you as more than a friend! In fact—”

Stopping mid-sentence, Chaerin caught her breath. It was the second time Chaerin realized how brown his eyes were. They were the strangest color: auburn with a hint of white and red; a milky chocolate raspberry color. She felt the sudden urge to tip-toe up and his eyes. Taken aback by her thoughts, she cleared and blinked her eyes a few times.

            “What was I trying to say?” she asked, trying to regain her composure.

            Seungri smiled his crooked smile—the one he used when he was ready to break the rules. “You were talking about how you will never like me as more than a friend.”

            “Yeah, that’s right,” Chaerin struggled to meet with his eyes. She felt a blush rise from her cheeks, and she cursed under her breath. Trying to back away, Chaerin came in contact with the counter. “So I would advise you to give me some personal space.”

            “Oh, but that wouldn’t be fun,” he teased, leaning forward even more, causing their lips to be inches apart. Chaerin’s eye unconsciously drifted to his mouth, and she struggled to bring her gaze elsewhere. She swallowed, suddenly becoming painfully aware of their close proximity. It was as if they were magnets, inches away from touching. When she gathered the courage to speak again, her voice came out in a breathy whisper.

            “What are you trying to do?”

            “I’m trying to prove you wrong,” he replied with obviousness, staring directly into her eyes. Chaerin watched his eyes slowly lower to her lips, and then even lower. Feeling heat emanate from her stomach, she snapped to her senses and pushed Seungri away. He gave way to her push, eyes still locked on her.

            Once she reached the doorway of the kitchen, Chaerin turned around and flashed her eyes at him, “You may as well give up. I’m not that easy.”

            He leaned on the counter, giving off the feeling of carelessness. But his eyes were still on her, “I don’t want anyone else.”

            It was at that point when Chaerin wished he would come up to her and kiss her, and she knew that it was time for her to go. What the heck is wrong with me? She thought as she walked quickly back to her room, glad that he had let her escape.

Note to all: Thanks for the continued interest! I half expected all of you to disappear :P But yeah, your comments make me very warm and fuzzy inside xD

thatspringskye: Ah! Welcome and thanks for being interested in this story! :D And here is a chapter as reward for you patience :P And about the Vidle's intentions: the easy answer would be that the Vidle is just trying to prevent them from dispelling all of her spells, because once they do, the Vidle will not be in power anymore. The hard answer will come in a few chapters xD

bigbangdonut: oh, are you still on vacation now :o ? But aww, shucks :3 thanks for saying that you missed the story! Teehee, I think they should get together too :P

SuperJ13: Yes, I updated! Sorry for the long wait! And I've probably been saying this for a long time, but Youngbae's connection to the Vidle will come later :P BUT it's going to come in around TWO chapters now!! Please wait a bit longer *bow* (Note: Just a head's up, but it's not extremely awesome, so don't get too excited D:)

Starlightshine: Lol, games!! I've been learning more about games for the past few months :P (computer game science major) And yesh, you did mention Kingdom Hearts here :D I really like healing too, but I recently realized I'm more of a melee/close combat type 0_0. *sigh* if only there was a mix of the two, hehe. Then I'd be INVINCIBLE! lol, jk. Oh! And yes, Dara can heal herself too:)

sweetcupcake91: Ah, sorry about the wait 0_0, I just started college and school, and I joined a lot of clubs, and I enrolled in a lot of classes >.< BUT since it was veteran's day on friday, I managed to squeeze in two chapters :P