Of Gifts and Memories

“How do I keep losing to you?! I swear you cheat!” Sunny yelled, having lost another round of rock, paper, scissors against Insoo. He grinned and took the last piece of chicken out of the takeout box they had been sharing at the hideout. The others were no where to be found, but that wasn't anything strange. Sometimes, they just don't all happen to get there at the same time. It had been a few days since Sunny's run in with the gang member.

“Maybe you're just bad at rock, paper, scissors?” the oldest member said, that triumphant smirk still on his face. Sunny stuck out her bottom lip and crossed her arms across her chest, pouting like a child.

“Someday, I'll get you back. Just you wait. Someday I'll win!” she said, sticking out her chin in determination. Insoo rolled his eyes and shook his head, picking up his container of rice and shoveling it into his mouth. She stuck out her tongue and took a sip of her iced green tea. Insoo laughed at her childish antics, reaching over and ruffling her hair. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, both merely glad for a bit of peace.

“So, the kids have taken a liking to you,” Insoo said, a wry smile pulling at his lips as he took a drink. She scoffed and flicked him in the knee.

“So have you, don't even try to fool yourself,” she said. He laughed in return, nodding his head in agreement.

“Indeed I have. Do you know what it is that draws us together?” he asked. She raised an eyebrow.

“I know what drew me to you guys. As for why you decided to keep me around, I haven't the faintest idea,” she said, drawing her knees up and resting her chin on them.

“Well, Gunwoo, Seyong, and I feel this...sort of protectiveness over you. Something about seeing you in the hospital like that stirred something in us. The kids see you as almost like a mother. Or perhaps more like an older sister,” he said, tilting his head and looking up as if to scan his mind for the answer.

“So we're like a big family?” she blurted, covering a small bout of laughter with her hand.

“Well, kind of, yeah. I mean, we were like a family before, but you seem to fit right in like a piece of a puzzle that we hadn't known was missing until now,” he said. She leaned forward.

“Who was the mom?” she asked, trying to make the corners of stop turning upwards in a smirk. Insoo laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well, it was me. But now it's you,” he said, pushing her back slightly as she laughed at his role. “Gunwoo is like the dad-”

“Chaejin is the good kid-”

“Seyong is...an uncle?”

“JunQ is the trouble maker.”

They burst into laughter at the title decided on for the second youngest. Sunny's ribs flared in pain and she barely bit back a groan as she pressed her hand to the broken bones. Insoo instantly switched from his light mood to concern, placing a hand on her knee.

"Your ribs still bothering you?" he asked. She bit her lip and nodded. "I wish there was something I could do to help you," the oldest boy muttered, looking down with what could best be described as a kicked puppy expression. She managed a weak smile.

"Don't worry about it. I appreciate your concern, though," she said, squeezing his hand lightly. His face flushed as he pulled his hand back, trying to find anywhere else to look that wasn't at her. A thought struck her, almost causing her to burst into laughter again. “Wait, doesn't that mean Gunwoo and I are married?” she asked, scrunching her nose up. Insoo cracked a smile at the joke and Sunny cheered internally at her victory.

“What is this about you and Gunwoo being married?” JunQ asked, walking over to where the two were goofing off and plopping down beside Sunny.

“We were describing our family,” Insoo said.

“Don't worry, you're the trouble maker,” Sunny blurted, slapping a hand over to stifle her laughter. JunQ pushed her arm lightly, a smile pulling at his lips no matter how he tried not to. Insoo stood up and held up his hands.

“I'm leaving for work before this gets out of hand,” he said, escaping while he could.

“Does that mean I can call you mom?” he asked, poking Sunny in the face.

“Call me sis, but not mom. I'm not your mom,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. He leaned against her, pulling something out of his pocket-a piece of paper-and grinned cheekily at her.

“Well then, mom, I have a present for you,” he said, earning himself a pinch on the cheek. “Alright, alright, you're not mom. Seriously, though, look at this.” The change in his expression was so extreme that it threw her off for a moment. One second, he was playing around, and then all of a sudden, he was all business. She looked at him with confusion on her face as he unfolded the paper. Once the faded and torn flier was fully open, she read over it.

“Healer?” she asked, the skepticism plain in her tone. “As in, like magic?” JunQ nodded, a look on his face that was either really naive or really smug.

“Yeah, she has a gift, like you do,” he said. Sunny looked away from him, mulling the idea over in her head. It was entirely possible that someone out there had a gift as strange as healing. After all, Sunny could see the future. She leaned over and read over the flier again.

“That's a really shady part of town. Do you think it's legit?” she asked just as Insoo walked back in to grab his wallet off the floor, the red head grabbing one corner of the flier and pulling it closer to look over inch of it.

“If it's shady, I don't want you guys going there alone,” Insoo said, raising an eyebrow at them. Sunny looked up at him, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “No means no, Misun.”

“Aw, fine, party pooper,” she said, crossing her arms. He rolled his eyes.

“I mean it,” he said, giving them a stern look as he walked back out. Sunny looked over at JunQ, raising an eyebrow at him.

“So do you think it's real?” she asked. JunQ bit his lip.

“It is legit. I fell on my way there and scraped my knee,” he started.

“You went over there?” Sunny asked, eyes wide. “You shouldn't go to places like that alone-”

“Sis, I scraped my knee. Look at my knees now,” JunQ said, pulling his shorts above his knees. Sunny's mouth snapped shut in shock that he cut her off, only to drop back open when she looked at his knees. They were completely normal. No scrapes or even blood could be seen. She looked back up at him, trying not to look too hopeful as she took a deep breath.

“Y-you serious?” she asked. He nodded, not a single trace on his face that would indicate that he was pulling her leg. The look she was giving him nearly broke his heart. Her wide eyes looked so close to tears. He gently pulled her into a hug.

“I'm taking you there. Now. It'll be okay soon, I promise,” he murmured, kissing her temple.

“But, Insoo said-”

“Psh, we'll tell him we brought Seyong along.”

“...Fine.”

That was how they found themselves in a part of town the two kids would previously never have thought to enter on their own. The part of town they were walking in was where the more violent and definitely gang related crimes happened. It was older, less populated, and not taken care of nearly enough. This was the part of town abandoned by civilization. Sunny looked over at JunQ, an eyebrow raised.

“You came here by yourself?” she muttered before going back to scanning the doorways and alleys as they passed. JunQ shrugged, doing surveillance of his own.

“I wanted to make sure it was for real before I brought you,” he said.

“How did you find that flier, anyway?” the girl asked, biting the inside of her lip slightly, her eyes darting around and not missing a thing.

“Funny thing, actually. It blew right into my face. Weird, right?” he said, grinning over at her. She giggled lightly at the mental image before a thought crossed her mind, a light frown spreading along her features.

“Was it even windy today?” she muttered. JunQ shook his head.

“No, that's why it's weird,” he said. “But you would have laughed at the sight if you were there. Ah, here it is.” He took her by the hand and led her up the steps to a small, worn down house.

The paint was peeling in many places and what paint wasn't peeling was faded or covered in dirt. The windows were coated in either dust or grime. Or both. The lawn was overgrown, and more than a few small critters skittered away out of fear. Sunny raised an eyebrow at JunQ.

“You bring me to the loveliest of places,” she said, a hint of sarcasm lining her words. The cheeky kid grinned at her and nudged her lightly with his elbow.

“What, you didn't like the shack last week?” he asked, opening the door and walking in without knocking.

“It was falling apart and my foot punched through the floor,” she said dryly. He chuckled and looked around the dark house.

“Maria, you home still?” he called, flipping a light switch on. The interior was almost as bad as the exterior of the house, falling apart, full of dust, and cluttered. A young girl with long, black waves and dark blue eyes came down the hall, one hand trailing along the wall. Sunny tilted her head at the girl who was clearly foreign to the country and frowned as she noticed something strange. She wasn't looking at either of them. She was looking in the general correct area, but not quite at either one.

“Junnie, is that you?” she asked, a smile gracing her features. Sunny raised an eyebrow at the younger boy, who gave her an innocent look.

“Junnie already?” she muttered with a shake of her head. He rolled his eyes at her. She smirked at his reaction. The other girl tiled her head.

“Is this the girl you were talking about?” she asked in a soft voice. Sunny smiled, even though she wasn't sure the girl could see her.

“My name is Misun, but you can call me Sunny,” she said. The other girl turned her face to the general direction Sunny was from her, tilting her head again.

“You're a fellow Gifted, are you not?” Maria asked. Sunny raised an eyebrow at JunQ, who shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn't tell her,” he said softly.

“I can See it in you,” Maria said, smiling at the older girl. Sunny was taken aback by that, her eyes widening in surprise. JunQ raised an eyebrow at Sunny.

“Is that an ability that goes with you being blind and Gifted?” Junnie asked. Maria shrugged.

“I wouldn't know, I haven't come across another blind Gifted.” she said. She turned her attention back to Sunny. “You're injured, are you not?”

“Y-yeah, yeah I am,” the older girl replied. The younger girl gestured for her to come closer. Sunny walked over to her, even though she was unsure of what to do. Maria smiled and reached up, touching the older girl on the face. The smile faded quickly, however, before she spoke.

“You're in a lot of pain, aren't you?” she asked softly. “It seems as if your ribs got broken, and then while they were healing, broken again.”

“Yeah, well...uh...” Sunny stammered, having not told the others about the run in where she almost got killed. She made Gunwoo promise not to tell, either. Although, she figured he would have told at least Insoo no matter what she threatened him with. Maria shook her head slightly, as if to tell Sunny not to answer if she didn't feel comfortable in doing so.

“Ready?” the younger girl asked softly. Sunny nodded, since Maria had her hand on her face and could tell that she did so. She didn't trust her voice at that moment. A white light enveloped them, before receding into Sunny's body. She could feel her ribs moving to realign themselves, could feel the cuts and bruises fading away. The feeling of her ribs moving was strange, and slightly painful at first. But when the light faded away, there was no pain. None at all. She could finally breathe normally. She had been hurt long enough to forget what it felt like not to be hurt. And it felt so good not to be hurt.

“If I may ask, how did you manage to get so injured?” Maria asked. JunQ walked over to join them, putting an arm around Sunny's shoulders and squeezing her tight.

“She save my life. Well, mine and a few others,” he said, smiling at Sunny.

“Oh? Did she?” Maria asked, a smile brightening up her features.

“Yeah. But she only showed Gunwoo what was supposed to happen. She won't show anyone else,” he said, pouting at Sunny. Sunny gave him a look in return.

“That's because I don't want anyone else to have to hear something so sorrowful, to see something so painful.,” she said softly, lowering her gaze. The younger girl tilted her head.

“What do you mean 'what was supposed to happen'? And what do you mean 'show'?” she asked, confused by the words. Sunny glanced over at JunQ, as if asking if she should tell her, before turning her attention back to Maria.

“Well, you know how I'm Gifted like you are? My Gift is seeing the future. A-and I can show people what I've seen. I can also share memories,” Sunny said, shifting her weight from foot to foot awkwardly. She wasn't used to talking so openly about her gift. She tried not to tell anyone about it, but found sharing the information with Seyong necessary that day.

“You can show people what you've seen? How?” Maria asked.

“I just have to make physical contact with them,” Sunny said with a shrug. She reached over and cupped Maria's face. “Let me show you.” She pressed her forehead against the younger girl's and closed her eyes. She let a memory of their time at the beach play for the younger girl. It was one of her favorite memories, because everyone was smiling and having a good time. She named off each member for Maria. The six of them were playing in the sand, walking towards one of the vendors they tend to frequent. The day was cloudless, the waves were smooth, and everyone was happy. She felt the younger girl smile as she watched the scene unfold. The scene faded and Sunny smiled. “And this is you,” she said, replaying the memory of walking in a few moments prior. “You're very beautiful.” She could barely see Maria blush at the words.

“Th-thank you,” she said softly. She smiled lightly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Really, thank you so much. Your friends are really wonderful.”

“Even our little trouble maker, huh, Junnie?” Sunny said, covering a smirk with the back of her hand.

“Who are you calling trouble maker? You're the trouble magnet!” the dirty blond haired boy retorted in protest. Sunny shrugged.

“It happens,” she said nonchalantly. She looked back over at Maria, tilting her head. “You should come with us.” The younger girl smiled, but shook her head.

“I'm needed here. But feel free to come by whenever you need me,” she said, taking a step away from them.

“A-ah, I see. Well then, I promise that if I See anything bad happen to you, I'll do my damnedest to prevent it,” the older girl said, smiling brightly. Maria laughed lightly.

“Thanks. Now shoo, both of you. Go enjoy being injury free,” she said with a smile on her face. JunQ and Sunny exchanged a look, as if they both were unsure of leaving the girl on her own. Reluctantly, they both made their way to the door, but paused, casting one last look at the young girl.

“Thank you.”

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The next part is going to be really really long compared to these past few parts. The first few parts have avereaged about 3-4 pages each, and the part I'm writing now is at 4 or 5 pages and it's nowhere near done. Also, sorry about so much delay with this, I work a lot, and when I'm not working, I sleep. Haha. Yeah. Hope you enjoyed this~!