Jolyu looked around, obviously nervous about Kwangmin's question.

She didn't hesitate before, why now? 

Minwoo nuzzled his nose against her back. "You can tell us, Jolyu," he whispered quietly. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, but the question was nagging at his mind since Kwangmin had told him about her.

Kwangmin tried to ignore Minwoo's whispers to Jolyu. He sat in front of her patiently and untangled her hands from Minwoo's. He squeezed them gently. "Jolyu. Where did you come from?" he repeated the question quietly. Maybe she hadn't heard him or understood the first time.

Jolyu bit her lip. She squeezed Kwangmin's hands back as she nodded her head decisively. "Boat," she answered firmly. 

With that answer, she let go of Kwangmin's hands and brought them back to Minwoo's. He played with her fingers as he looked at both his hyungs.

Kwangmin and Youngmin were staring at each other, trying to put two and two together. It was beginning to make sense...

"So your boat was wrecked?" Youngmin asked Jolyu curiously. She nodded, biting her lip harder.

Everyone was quiet, taking it all in. If Jolyu had come from a ship, it would explain the coins from her necklace. She may have sailed all over the world her whole life. It would also explain why she couldn't speak; she probably just didn't understand Korean.

Jolyu's eyes drifted to the TV. She picked up the remote and flipped the channel to a documentary.

Youngmin hugged his pillow, his eyebrows furrowed. One thing didn't make sense to him. How would Jolyu coming from a ship explain why she couldn't walk? he pondered. And WHY WASN'T SHE WEARING PANTS?

"Why weren't you wearing pants when we found you?" Kwangmin asked Jolyu. Apparently the subject was on Kwangmin's mind as well. 

Jolyu snickered and answered with a shrug.

Minwoo gaped, his eyes wide. "S-She wasn't wearing pants?" His arms that encircled her waist tightened without him noticing. "Kwangmin yah you failed to mention this before! I would have come earlier!" Minwoo recieved a slap to the head from Youngmin."Yah!" he squeaked. 

Youngmin slid to the floor next to Jolyu. She didn't even blink. "Why couldn't you walk?" he pressed. 

Jolyu shurgged again, her mind and thoughts miles away. She turned up the TV, a documentary on Greek Mythology permeating her brain.

The twins looked at each other. They both knew it just didn't fit. Sure, she could have washed up on the shore from the shipwreck, unconscious. It still didn't explain her inability to walk or the absence of proper clothing.

Minwoo tapped Youngmin's shoulder. He whispered, "If you said she has a sickness, then this is obviously the reason for the problems with her..." here he paused to blush to himself, smiling, "...lower body." The twins couldn't help but blush themselves.

Kwangmin's hot cheeks cooling down, he wondered aloud, "What kind of sick people would mark people who are ugly? Jolyu isn't even ugly for that matter! She's...," his voice trailed off as his gaze fell onto Jolyu. 

"...beautiful," Youngmin finished, his eyes on the ground. He looked up. "But what are you even talking about?"

Kwangmin sighed, a hint of pain in his breath. He hated looking at the scars, imagining the torture Jolyu must have gone through while recieving the badge. Lowering his eyes to his hands in his lap, he whispered. "Look at the left side of her neck."

Minwoo and Youngmin quickly adjusted themselves and looked. Their eyes both widened. 

"What is this??" Youngmin almost shouted. She had been marked for being ugly? He quickly cupped his fingers under her chin, tilting her head towards his own. Their eyes met, Jolyu's widdening. "Jolyu, did someone hurt you?" 

She quickly squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head back and forth. "NO!" 

"Someone did, didn't they?" Youngmin pressed on. He couldn't help but be mad. How could anyone hurt Jolyu? Eespecially with their reasoning being her looks. Youngmin's eyes traveled across Jolyu's features as she continued to shake her head, her movements growing slower and slower and becoming sadder and sadder. He loved the jagged ends of her wavy black hair, the innocence in her blank, gray eyes. He loved the fluidity of her upper body, which seemed so skilled at movement, contrasting with  her clumsy lower body. 

"It didn't hurt that much," Jolyu whispered finally. Her accent was completely gone by now, and her grammer was nearly flawless. 

Kwangmin could feel his heart ripping on the inside. This girl that contained so much beauty, so much insight, so much mystery was sitting before him. Pained. His hands might as well have been tied behind his back. He watched as Minwoo brought a gentle hand to Jolyu's neck, carressing it with care. He held her head in the concave of his neck as he her cheek quietly. Youngmin's hands had slipped from Jolyu's chin. The world was silent.

Youngmin waved at his brother, catching his attention. He pointed to Minwoo subtly then jerked his thumb towards the door. Kwangmin grinned and nodded quickly. He looked out the window to see the glorious moon rising. Perfect.

Stretching at the same time as his twin, Kwangmin mumbled, "Minwoo ah, it's getting late..."

Youngmin got up and strolled into his closet lazily. "Neh, dongsaeng," he said, yawning. He shut the door and yelled out, "I think you should leave now so Jolyu can get her rest."

Minwoo looked up at his hyung, his eyes darting between them as he pouted. He whined, "Please let me stay," dragging out all the vowels. 

Kwangmin shook his head, taking Jolyu's hands as he pulled her from Minwoo's lap. He pushed the tingling sensation in his hands away. "No, Minwoo, we're sorry," he muttered. I'm not sorry at all.

Youngmin opened the door, stepping out in blue plaid boxers and a large gray t-shirt. Youngmin pinched Jolyu's cheek as she stared at his long, skinny legs. He then proceeded to help Minwoo up.

Minwoo pouted, "Can I come see Jolyu again tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Youngmin mused, pushing him out of their room.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Minwoo called, "Bye Joly-" Kwangmin shut the door firmly, and leaned against it. His fingertips grazed over the pastel blue paint as he heaved a sigh of relief. 

I won't have to worry about him for awhile. Maybe Jolyu will pay more attention to me now. Kwangmin thought, his eyes shut tight. He scolded himself. Yah, you don't need her attention. She's just a girl you're helping to get back on her feet. 

"Yah, Kwangmin, go change," Youngmin bossed, sitting on the bottom bunk

Jolyu sat on the edge next to Youngmin. She watched Kwangmin cross the room and enter the closet, shutting the door behind him.

Youngmin smiled at Jolyu. He leaned her head against his shoulder, petting her hair gently. "Jolyu yah, don't worry about anything, okay?" He blushed as he felt the sudden urge to kiss the top of her head. Jolyu sighed contentedly, nuzzling her head into Youngmin's shoulder. "My brother and I will take care of you. We'll keep you safe until you're ready to leave us." 

Where will you go, Jolyu? he wondered. His lips touched the top of her head as he kissed her gently. You don't have a home to return to anymore. Do you? 

Before Youngmin could ask Jolyu any more, Kwangmin walked out in dark navy flanel pajama bottoms and a thin black muscle shirt. He stretched his arms nonchalantly, making the veins in his biceps bulge. Youngmin looked down at Jolyu. Her eyes were on the TV as the documentary wore on. Youngmin smiled and ruffled her hair, sending tiny bits of sand to the floor. 

Kwangmin slid himself into the bottom bunk, stuffing his long legs under the fluffy white comforter. Youngmin carefully removed Jolyu's head from his shoulder as he got up, grasping the ladder that lead to the top bunk.

"Jolyu yah," he mumbled sweetly. "Are you going to sleep with me tonight?" He held out his hand towards her.

Kwangmin stopped adjusting the covers and looked at Jolyu, his body waiting for her reply.

She shook her head. "As you recall, you did carry me here. I don't want to burden you any further with my presence."

Youngmin's jaw drapped along with his outstretched hand. Since when did she learn such fancy grammar?

The corner of Kwangmin's upper lip twitched. Does... does that mean...?

Moving next to Kwangmin and slipping her legs under the cover next to him, she looked up at him. "I'll have to burdern you tonight."

The smile couldn't be contained anymore. Kwangmin's heart felt as thought it were burning of joy in his chest as it beat rapidly. He could barely take in all the feelings he was experiencing at the moment.

Grunting, Youngmin flipped off the light switched and crawled into his bunk above. "Goodnight you two," he muttered, stuffing his face in his pillow.

Kwangmin suddenly came to his senses. He slid out a pillow from underneath his own and rested it next to his. He patted it softly for Jolyu to lie her head on. The moonlight shined on her face. 

Is her face burning just as hotly as mine is? Kwangmin thought, his breathing becoming laboured as he became more and more nervous. 

Jolyu laid her head down gracefully atop the pillow. She snuggled her nose deep into its softness, savoring the feeling. Kwangmin smiled, pulling the comforter over her shoulders, stopping just below her chin. He touched the blanket here and there, framing it perfectly around her body. Kwangmin laid his own head down finally. Jolyu's wide, bright eyes were already watching his. 

Something burned inside Kwangmin that he knew he had to extinguish. He desired greatly to hold her close to his body. To feel her curves against the concaves of his body, to feel her breath in sync with his own, to hear her heartbeat thumping clearly through his ears. Kwangmin shut his eyes tightly, pushing these thoughts away. He turned over on his side, facing the wall. 

Jolyu's fingers carressed the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Kwangmin shivered. He clasped her hand in his and squeezed it. 

I won't let my feelings for her get the better of me. Jolyu... you're not helping my own sickness...I want you to be mine so badly... 

Kwangmin set her hand down, away from his body. His body sighed as it felt withdrawl. 

The next and last thing he heard that night was a sweet, quiet, clear sound. Kwangmin couldn't tell exactly what sound it was. The sound of a tinkling bell? The gurgling of a bubbly fountain? Chimes clinking against one another in the wind? Or perhaps... could it be the sweet sound of a young girl's soft, quiet laugh before she slipped into sleep...

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A/N: oh my! is it getting too y? o.o don't worry, it'll never go to rated~

i'm loving the comments!! <3 they motivate me, so please continue! although i don't think i did so well on this chapter... T^T

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