It was an interesting offer, if it held any water. Elly wanted to believe that it was all a hoax, that it couldn't possibly be so easy to have answers but Youngjae did not seem the type to present himself as something he was not.

   Its not as if he would look exactly the same as he did when he was 9, something in her commented. There's no harm in establishing how the boy looks.

   But then you'll think you're seeing him everywhere, another part argued. You know yourself, Elly. You won't let this go. Is it really worth it?

   Her lips curled into a frown into her cup of water. Youngjae leaned back in his seat, completely quiet though not intimidatingly so. More like he was being patient for her. Elly, sighing and lifting her eyes to focus on his, swallowed.

    "Do we have to start with that?"

    His brow bunched together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean," she tried again, "do we have to start with him first? Why not something simpler? Like my fear of the dark."

    Youngjae pinned her with a bland expression. "This is something simple. Recalling images is one of the easiest things for the human brain to do. Overthrowing fears is another, complicated can of worms that may take weeks, months or even years to accomplish. You just don't want to face him," he declared. "You came here to look at a building and come to terms with how the separation of your parents affected you as a child, but what you're not taking into account is when you weren't with your parents you were with him. That boy. He molded your mind just as much – or maybe even more – than they did. You couldn't have thought that you wouldn't be coming here to revisit his memory."

   She most definitely could have been holding on to that hope. That it would have been OK for her to just deal with one issue and not the other right now but Youngjae was obviously having none of it. Elly tightened her hold on her cup and frowned once more.

    Her companion leaned forward, placing his cup on the table. "Elyssa," he called, getting her attention when she averted her gaze from his once more. "Its OK. I know that its hard. I know that you're scared, but we can do this one step at a time. I won't rush you into anything. I'm here to help you. I just wanted to let you know that with me, you have this option."

   Elly nodded in understanding. She didn't want Youngjae to think that she didn't appreciate his attention, but things weren't as black and white as he made them out to be. She knew deep in her bones that the second she delved into that particular part of her past that there was no turning back. She wasn't ready to make that commitment just yet. Not while she was away from her chair and Himchan and his array of incense. She didn't have the confidence for that just yet.

   She pressed her lips together in a line and apologized again and again for her lack of resolve which the young doctor waved away in understanding. He smiled accommodatingly the entire time, offering to meet again to start on something she was more comfortable with at another time. So with a lunch date - Not a date, she scolded herself - scheduled for the following afternoon after she was settled into her temporary home to discuss her initial feelings about it. It sounded simple enough and a small enough step that she wasn't completely terrified to take it. Youngjae was smiling the entire way to her childhood home, driving her because she couldn't seem to refuse his offer and continually telling her that looking after her was a part of what Himchan demanded of him. She felt that it was more like he didn't want to abandon her when it was possible that she could have had a breakdown right in front of the house, but she didn't hold it against him since he was being so kind to her. 

   The little blue house didn't seem to have changed in all the years she had been away from it - if anything it looked newer. The picket fence was repainted a pristine white, the walls of the house a cool, sky blue and the door, even, had gotten the upgrade of a warm varnish on its wooden surface. Elyssa was at a bit of a loss when she stepped out of Youngjae's car. She knew that someone had bought the house, which was why she had to rent it during her stay, but it was obvious that they had put in a lot of effort to completely restore the house to what it must have been long before her time because she had never seen the house looking that beautiful.  

    "Are you alright?" Youngjae inquired a her side. 

   He must have been thinking that he was having a moment from the steadying hand he put on her arm. He was not expecting the smile that bloomed across her face as she moved closer.

    Elly took careful steps along the walkway, through the open fence. "Yes. I'm fine. I'm great, actually. This is where I'm going to be staying."

    He blinked at her in confusion. "I....I know that. Are you sure you OK?"

    "I am." Elly met his gaze apologetically. "Did I scare you? Its just that this place looks way better than I thought it would look."

    Youngjae strolled up the path with her suitcase in tow. "You're way too excited," he chuckled.

   Elyssa's hand shook when she lifted the key to the door (she wrote it off as good nerves and not trauma) but her expression was bright when she spied around the inside of the home. Although she had no idea why, very little about the layout had been changed. If she wasn't wrong, the furniture in the living room was exactly the same, from the coffee stain on the left cushion of the couch to the chip off the corner of the shelf where the TV was tucked away. These little imperfections were easy fixes, yet the owners opted to leave them be and make improvements rather than renovations. Silently, she thanked them for their choice as her eyes found little piece of her childhood all over the room.

    "Will you be alright?" Elly turned to find Youngjae standing near the couch, propping her suitcase up beside it. "Do you want me to stay a while?"

    She smiled at him. "Its OK. I'm feeling good. Thank you so much for driving me."

    "If you end up needing anything, anything at all--"

    "Just call you. I know." Her smile widened considerably. "Thank you."

   On the porch of her old home, he looked at her, searching her face for anything before he finally left for the day. Sure he would see her the following day, but he wanted to be sure - bad things tended to happen when he wasn't sure about a situation. Still, it wasn't as if he could sit in her house all day, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He bid her farewell, content enough with her excitement over the quality of the work that had been done to the building to climb back into his car and head home. As his eyes scanned the neighbourhood, he realized two things: first, that despite it being an hour where at least children were home from school, there was no sign of the other houses on her side of the street being occupied; second, that the one house at the end of the corner that was obviously occupied had a car in the driveway, on the trunk of which a man sat and watched him intently. Youngjae stopped at the red sign on the end of the street and glanced at the handsome man who, after what seemed to be an eternity of staring finally smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes and nodded his head to the other man by way of greeting.

   Youngjae nodded in return and drove in the direction of his house trying not to be too freaked out when he saw in his rearview mirror that the man was still watching him like a hawk, smile still plastered in place.

   Elly rolled her suitcase into her room and got to work on unpacking. She avoided the master bedroom, which was still labeled "her parents' room" in her mind and opted to head to what was once her den of stuffed animals. Amazingly enough, though the room was lacking the essential trinkets and keepsakes that made the space undoubtedly hers, the shell of it and the potential for it was still there. The queen sized bed was neatly made up with a foam green comforter set that closely resembled the Tinker Bell set that she had as a little girl. All her princess stickers were neatly peeled from the walls, but there were very nice fairytale-esque pictures hanging on the walls. The dresser with the vanity mirror hadn't moved and was the only thing that remained complete with Snow White and Beauty and the Beast stickers on on the corners of the drawers.

   She now couldn't decide if it was a good or bad thing that the owner decided to keep that the way she had left it, but it only served to make her more comfortable, which wasn't exactly a downside. She unpacked her clothes and toiletries to the musical stylings of Brittany Spears live from the media player on her phone. She was just about to take a much needed shower when the doorbell rang. Was Youngjae really that worried?

   While she understood his concern and was kind of warmed by it, she needed to do this alone, partially because she really wanted to do this and go home and partially because Himchan would probably ship her right back if she didn't do it properly. Still, she combed her fingers through her hair to make it look a bit better and took a deep breath before she opened the door and , only to stop in her tracks when she saw that the man on her porch was not only not Youngjae but was giving her a pearly white smile that took her breath away, a plastic bag in his left hand. The man's eyes were as warm as the amber sweater he had on and didn't leave her face for a second as he bowed slightly.

    "Um, hi. I'm Daehyun. Jung Daehyun. I live just at the end of the street."

   His voice just had to be angelic too, right? she mused idly.

    At her dazed silence, the man gave a knowing grin and a bit of color spread over his cheeks. "I told everyone that we should come together and try to do a community welcome for you, but I guess they all....forgot?" His shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I don't know but, welcome."

   He offered the plastic bag in his hand to her, snapping her out of her ogling session and forced her to be polite and accept his gift with the right amount of gratitude. Her peek into the bag revealed a small container of cupcakes.

    "Thank you so much," she said again. "Your last name is Jung? Are you familiar with the owner of this house? He is a Jung as well."

    "Ah! That's my big brother." Daehyun nodded at her raised brows. "He's the one who owns this place. But it was a joint decision to allow you to stay."

    Elly blinked in surprise and took a step back. "Oh wow, where are my manners? Would you like to come in, Daehyun? We can maybe eat these cupcakes together."

   The idea seemed to light up his features from the inside out. His nod was eager just before she let him in. He strolled in, obviously comfortable being there, and took a seat on the couch with his gaze still set on her, warm and almost relieved. It wasn't an odd look on him so she didn't think too much of it as she placed the bag on the table.

    "Should I make some tea?" Suddenly proper etiquette came back to her as she considered her guest. "I'm afraid I didn't think to buy any plates or even to buy anything to eat for the house yet, so I can't even do that."

    Daehyun shook his head with a chuckle. "Don't be too concerned about me," he told her with a hand patting the cushion beside him. "Have a seat. How's the house? Do you like it? Is it like how you left it?"

   She was a bit taken aback by the fact that he seemed to know that she used to live here until he remembered that he was the brother of the owner and thus must have been told about his new neighbour. Elly took a seat on the cushion offered her, unpacking the cupcakes and placing them out on the table where she was sure that they could be reached. It was more than just a little nerve wracking with her every move being watched as if she was the most interesting thing in the world and not a girl in need of a shower and some rest. She wasn't used to those kinds of stares, not even at home. In fact, the boys back home didn't even give her looks like those. Was it because she was a foreigner that he was so intrigued? She tried not to go there as she settled back against the couch with a cupcake in hand. Daehyun didn't touch one until she took a bite and then, pleased with the taste, another, bigger bite.

    She had to take a minute to realize that she hadn't answered his questions. "I think your brother did a great job cleaning the place up. Its never looked this good. I like it a whole lot since some of the things that made this place familiar are still here. Like that," she explained pointing to the ring on the table made by a cup without a coaster.

   Her guest gave a cursory look but she could tell that he wasn't really reading into the significance the mark held for her. Perhaps she was making glitter seem like gold. While was full of cake, Daehyun took this chance to talk.

    "I'm glad that you like it. When you emailed my brother and he brought up your request I told him he had to let you stay. It was your house after all. Why shouldn't you be allowed to, right? Especially since you're paying rent anyway."

    "Haven't any other tenants complained about the little things he didn't change?"

    "I think it gives the house character," Daehyun replied. "Not that there had been any tenants since my brother had bought it, but I personally voted that we leave them alone."

    Elly tilted her head. "Do you run the company with your brother? You sure seem to have a lot of say in the decisions made."

    She got a chuckle in response. "Not exactly. I work as a teacher at the local preschool. I give my opinion on his projects when he comes to me to discuss them. Its not like I get paid for it, not that I mind."

   She nodded. For him to be an advisor to his older brother, Elly assumed that their relationship was a good one. The look in Daehyun's eye seemed to brighten when they talked about him and the house. She wondered if he felt an attachment to the place and that's why he requested it not be changed. She hadn't a clue, but figured that she should really stop trying to play Himchan. Just because she had been seeing a psychiatrist didn't make her one herself.

    If Daehyun noticed her internal smack to the head, he opted not to comment. "So, since this was kind of a bust of a welcome, how about I do you one better and show you around town? A few things have changed since you were last here and there are a few things you need to get like pots and utensils."

    "Oh." She met his smile with a small one of her own, though hers was more apologetic. "Actually, I already had plans for tomorrow. But if I have the time, I will definitely tell you. For right now, there are a few things I have scheduled for tomorrow."

    "Come on." His knee tapped hers in a playful manner. "I won't take long. And you just got here. What if you get lost? Like I said, there have been some changes."

    "Well, I'm going to be with someone who lives here, so I think I'll be OK. Thanks."

   She saw the moment the childlike excitement Daehyun had since the second he came inside dimmed. His smile shrunk to a mere crease of his lips as he stood, prompting her to rise with him.

    "Ah, its cool," he said with a hand scratching his hair. "I guess I'll just being seeing you around then."

   She nodded firmly to reassure him on the walk to the door. He pulled his coat a bit tighter over his chest as if to brace himself for the crisp air outside when she opened the door and let him onto the porch. He turned and looked at her. This wasn't just any look either; this look made her heart flutter in her ribcage from the way this stranger was seeing past her eyes to something inside her that made his own eyes warm in approval of what he saw. She wondered what he was looking at, what captured him, what caused him to look at her again.

   Elly couldn't say that she had the best luck with guys given her near nonexistant track record in the relationship arena, but this.....there was something about this meeting that melted her in stange ways. If she wasn't careful she would end up in this Cassanova's bed, another notch added to the post.

    Daehyun broke the connection first, placing a much lighter gaze on her. "Catch you later, Elly."

   He winked, an arrow pegging her in the heart like a bad cartoon as he turned away and made his way up the sidewalk and most likely toward his house. Elly retreated into her house before she could embarrass herself. It was only when she was under the spray of the warm shower - the pressure the perfect adjustment, which was a vast improvement from the showers she recalled having – and rinsing the bubbles from her hair did she realize something she should've picked up on sooner.

   Catch you later, Elly, he had said.

   She didn't recall telling him her name. And even if she gave him the benefit of the doubt and said that he had heard it from his brother, how did he know that she was called 'Elly' rather than 'Lyssa'?

   The very possibility of unwanted confrontations coming too fast to her door haunted her the entire night, robbing her of a restful sleep on her first night in Seoul.