“Anyways, we’re getting a little off topic here. Jinah, what I’m trying to say is…” her mother looked at her in a solemn and stern manner, and Jinah felt her face drop and become serious in concentration. “You’ve been clinging onto an unsure and thin string of hope that love exists, that equivocal possibility that seems implausible, and that’s very powerful and brave of you. It’s fantastic, and we’re glad that you are untainted by the unhealthy, mendacious, and squalid morals and regulations of the government. It means your belief is stable and firm. That’s the first step. The second is to learn to love not an ideal person, but a real one. Fall for someone’s individual charms, and like them because they are them, and not because they’re good-looking, or they’re a skilled combatant, or for their money. That’s shallow interest. You’re looking at the exterior, what you see. And from Miss Kim’s perspective, you are unambiguously and explicitly unaffected by outer appearance, and that is extremely unbiased of you, which is an exceedingly positive trait. At any rate, you have to fall for the smallest thing of the person. Not everything, but things that stick to them. Like habits or tendencies. That way, your love will last longer.”
         “Of course, just because they’re good-looking doesn’t mean their insides are rotten,” her father reminded her. “I mean, look at me!”
         While her mother lightly smacked her father’s arm for his bold arrogance, Jinah laughed, which turned to a frown. “What about ‘nice’? That’s sort of in and out, right? It’s not a small thing either…”
         Her mother chuckled, and the ringing melodious sound was surely going to be embedded in Jinah’s memory. “The word ‘nice’ is very vague. There’s ulterior ‘nice’ and forward ‘nice’. Either could be from genuine altruism, but at the same time, neither could be. There’s occasional ‘nice’, helpful ‘nice’, meaningful ‘nice’, inclined ‘nice’, and more. My main point is: don’t be fooled be temporary ‘kindness’. Instead, expand. Maybe you like how he is polite to females, or treats you specially, like you’re an exception… does that ring a bell?”
         Baekhyun came to her mind, but she quickly shook the thought away. Luhan…? But Baekhyun was nicer… Then again, she didn’t want to rule out the Luhan-possibility… wait a minute –
         “This is complicated,” Jinah fibbed. The whole thing was pretty simple. What her mother was asking, what Jinah was supposed to think…but everything that came after was complicated. There was no way that she could love Luhan or Baekhyun. “I’m not going to think about that anymore,” Jinah dictated, refusing to dwell on the possibility of loving Luhan. That didn’t make sense.
         “Leaving an issue unresolved? That’s not like you, Jinah. Usually, your stubborn nature and strong determination would impel you to find an answer, no? You wouldn’t settle down for just any answer, either. The right one, the correct one – you would search to the end of this planet for it, wouldn’t you?”
         Jinah bit her lip. Her mind was tempted to just contemplate on that thought a bit more, and she weighed the benefits and drawbacks of doing so. But her mind concluded that it was absurd to think on it any more. There was no point. So she changed the subject. “I have a question,” Jinah started.
         “Go on,” her father encouraged.
         “Do you… love me?” she squeaked out. It was tough. Spluttering out that question wasn’t easy. It made Jinah feel immature and childish, but she was dying to know the answer. She didn’t know why, though. Was she desperate? For what, something to fill in that empty hole in her heart from the absence of parental love that she had been aching for, that he heart had been imploring for? What was the point in receiving it now though? What could it possibly change?
         “Yes.”
         It changed a lot.
         Jinah’s insides warmed up and suddenly she felt like planting flowers and baking a cheesecake for the gang, with lots and lots and lots of sugar, sweet syrup, and fresh fruits. But of course, her outside didn’t react the same as the inside, because the interior was very confused, and at Jinah’s passive face at the one-syllable answer, her parents laughed again, even if nothing was funny.
          “Anyways, Luhan…” her mother said, and Jinah groaned. “Are you sure you don’t already love him? You called for him for help when you didn’t know we were your parents. He’s your gang leader. And he’s nice to you! That’s actually really rare in DE, you know.”
          “No way.”
          “How can you be so sure?”
          “I just am.”
          Her mother sighed. “Jinah, how do you feel around him?”
          Jinah scratched her head. “I don’t know… normal?”
          “Jinah, think. Had he made you feel something different before? Excited, happy, upset, really sad… anything dramatic?”
          “No.”
          “You’re not thinking. Why? Are you scared of the outcome?” her mother questioned with an amused eyebrow raised. “Miss Kim said you were partly Intrepidus material. Was this observation incorrect?”
          Jinah snorted. “I don’t mindlessly throw myself at stupid dares just to be brave, so yes, that observation is unambiguously incorrect.” But Jinah thought, the way her mother asked her to. What do I feel around him? Jinah didn’t know. She had never really, seriously thought about it. To be honest, she did think she felt a weak fluttering inside her whenever he was near… and there was that time with Cougar, when Luhan patted her head, her heart stopped… and last night, when he had called her beautiful, her insides went warm…
          Her mother exhaled. “Next time you’re with him, think about how it makes you feel. Certain feelings mean friendship, others mean love. Either way, I know you’re fond of him. Don’t be afraid of love, Jinah. It’s a riddle waiting to be solved. Sure, it can’t a hundred percent be translated accurately, but you can get pretty darn close. So just try, alright? It’ll be worth it, I promise.”
          “Alright, whatever…” Jinah murmured, not knowing why her mother was so interested in Luhan.
         Then, the full-colored and high-definition screen rippled like a stream and static noise buzzed from wherever the sound was coming from. Jinah’s orbs incremented in size as panic rose in her body, destroying the festive feeling in her chest and stomach. “What’s happening?” Jinah asked carefully, as the screen rippled, stilled, rippled, and stilled.
         Her father sighed. “I guess our time’s up.”
         “What? There’s a time limit?!” Jinah cried. “How can I contact you again?”
         “You c – n’t,” her mother said. Although she was cut off, Jinah knew the last word was ‘can’t’. The colors were slowly fading and the figure outlines of her parents were blurring. “Next ti – we – talk – ten years.”
         The projection became still and the quality returned to its fullest. Just when Jinah thought that they had more time, there was a twenty-second countdown at the corner. Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…
         “Jinah, there’s not much time so you have to listen to me,” her mother quickly said in a cursory manner. “Keep in mind that life is unpredictable so mistakes are bound to happen, and it’s good that it does. Love never makes sense, not even after marriage. That’s the beautiful thing about love – it makes you wonder. It’s a puzzle.”
         “Wait –”
         “You’ve believed in it so far, so keep doing it. And remember,” she paused before she smiled at Jinah with a hint of rue and regret, her father doing the very same, although he kept his mouth closed. “We love you.”
         “I –”
         There was a large zapping noise and the screen zipped back into the ring, which clinked a little against the desk as it rattled, swallowing up the projection. The ring vibrated for two more seconds before it became completely still, as if it was nothing more than a piece of simple jewelry.