Dearest, Most Precious Readers,

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. But for all that waiting, here's a double-update for you. Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 10a

Miss Jung couldn't believe her eyes.

"JinYoung-ah?" she said as she rushed over to the boy. She squeezed his shoulders, arms and then hands in turn as though she was trying to ascertain if he was alright. He just stood there with a small smile on his face. He had always liked Miss Jung. She had always been like a mixture between a mother and an older sister to him, so he found her show of concern endearing.

"I'm here to see Mrs Shin," he said directly.

"Where's Mark? Has something happened to him? Where have you two been?" she asked worriedly.

"Mark is fine. He's safe. I just need to talk to Mrs Shin."

Miss Jung accompanied him to the director's office. That Mrs Shin was shocked to see who her visitor was, was an understatement.

"Pak JinYoung, do you know how much trouble you've caused?" were her first words.

"I'm sorry Mrs Shin, but I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let Mark go . . . to that place. If you knew what had happened to him . . ." he began.

"I know," Mrs Shin responded. "I've read the files. But that's no excuse for you both running away," she insisted.

JinYoung had no reply to that. He had tried to talk to Mrs Shin before they left, to convince her not to send Mark away, but she hadn't been willing to listen, so, in JinYoung's mind that was a very good reason for them to run away. But if he wanted to convince her to let them both return and stay in residence at the orphanage, he couldn't afford to contradict her. That was the power she held over them.

“Mrs Shin, I came back because I wanted to know if you would reconsider sending Mark to Child Crisis,” JinYoung stated.

“First, I need you to tell me where Mark is,” Mrs Shin demanded.

“I can’t do that, Mrs Shin,” JinYoung said steadfastly, “unless you can promise me that you won’t send him to that place.”

“I don’t believe you are in any position to negotiate with me, young man,” Mrs Shin said firmly. “Now tell me where he is right now.”

“Mrs Shin, I came back to tell you that Mark hasn’t had any nightmares for about a week now,” JinYoung began, ignoring her order. “You told me that the reason you were going to send him away was so that he could get help for his nightmares. Well, now he’s no longer having them, so there’s no reason to send him away, is there?”

This was information that Mrs Shin hadn’t expected to receive. That Mark no longer was experiencing his nightmares was welcome news indeed, but was it true? After what she’d learned about his past, she hoped that it was because, as of a few days ago, she no longer wished to send him back to that place. However, the idea of JinYoung controlling the situation the way he was, was irking her. She was the director or this facility and the decision of what happened to any of the children who had been placed in her charge was hers, and hers alone. So, she was not inclined to give JinYoung the upper-hand in what had turned out to be negotiations.

“JinYoung, where is Mark right now?” she demanded again, not willing to make any concessions until the young upstart before her recognised her authority.

“I can’t tell you that, Mrs Shin,” JinYoung said quietly. This had become a war-of-wills and that had not been his intention. He respected Mrs Shin and he wanted to cooperate with her, but he couldn’t take the chance that she might send Mark to that place.

“JinYoung, do you have any idea what sort of trouble you’ve caused? What sort of trouble you’re in? And what sort of trouble you’re facing if you don’t tell me where Mark is?” Mrs Shin threatened.

“I promised him, Mrs Shin. I promised him that he wouldn’t have to go back there. When he was there before, they didn’t believe him, even though he was telling the truth all along. They won’t be able to help him, because he knows he can’t trust them. But I helped him. He’s much better now. He’ll be okay if only he can stay here. Can’t you just give him a chance?” JinYoung began to plead.

As Mrs Shin looked at the young man before her, she realised how desperately he wanted to protect Mark. Now that his tone had changed, she was somehow more willing to listen to him. But that is often the way with people in authority. A little humility can go a long way.

So, Mrs Shin, for good or ill, decided to relent. If JinYoung was lying and Mark was still suffering with nightmares, that would be easy to ascertain once the boys were back. And if it turned out that JinYoung had lied, Mrs Shin would still be able to send him to get help. She had already decided that she wouldn’t send him back to Child Crisis: that would only be detrimental to him, but she had researched other facilities with good reputations and one of those would do, if the need arose.

“Okay, JinYoung, you win,” Mrs Shin declared. “I won’t send Mark to Child Crisis. He can come back here and if what you say is true, that he no longer suffers with nightmares, then that will be an end to the matter.”

JinYoung had been hoping for an outcome like this, but now that it was happening, he found it hard to believe. Was Mark really going to be welcomed back? Was he also going to be allowed to come home without any repercussions?

He became like an incredulous child.

“Are we really going to be able to come back? To our room and everything, Mrs Shin? he asked meekly.

“Yes, JinYoung,” she said, somewhat surprised to see how quickly the tough negotiator had become docile.

“Thank you, Mrs Shin. I’ll go get Mark,” he said bowing to her. He went to the door and before he departed, he turned to her and bowed again. “Thank you,” he repeated and then he left, closing the door behind him.

Directly after JinYoung had left, Miss Jung entered Mrs Shin’s office.

“They’re coming home,” Mrs Shin said with a small smile on her face.

Miss Jung clapped her hands in joy. “Minnie will be ecstatic,” she said happily.

“Yes,” Mrs Shin said knowing that both she and Miss Jung were probably just as happy as the little girl would be as soon as she knew they were returning. Although she had been irritated throughout this ordeal, Mrs Shin was looking forward to seeing both of her charges back, safe and sound.

*                                *                                *                                *                                *

JinYoung had been careful that morning as he’d made his way across the courtyard and through the school gates.

But he hadn’t been careful enough. Unbeknownst to him, TaekMyun had been there. TaekMyun had followed his every move since he’d emerged from the building and he knew the direction from which JinYoung had come. And from that direction was only the library and its associated rooms.

With the cleverness that often accompanies cruelty, he’d had the sense to stay well-hidden. As soon as he had noticed that JinYoung was alone, he knew that it was very likely that Mark would still be in whatever hiding place they had found. It was a risk, letting JinYoung get away in the hopes of finding Mark and thereby making his quarry pay a higher price, but the thought of more pain for JinYoung made it a risk worth taking. He recalled the look on JinYoung’s face when he thought that Mark had been threatened that time: he was furious, but beneath that outward appearance of aggression was . . . pure, unadulterated fear.

Now, all TaekMyun had to do was to find Mark, then he could exploit that fear mightily.

*                                *                                *                                *                                *

By the time JinYoung had returned from seeing Mrs Shin to the school grounds, the earliest pupils had already started arriving; along with some faculty members.

Keeping his head down and his hood up, he hurried across the courtyard to the library building, trying to call as little attention to himself as possible. He had to get to Mark. Now that everything was taken care of, they could go home. He knew that he had to get to him quickly before Mark started to feel worried. He was better, but he wasn’t completely well yet and JinYoung didn’t want him to experience any unnecessary anxiety.

But as he strode towards the building, a pair of eyes fell on him. Then, a voice called out.

“JinYoung! Pak JinYoung!” the voice shouted.

JinYoung recognised the voice. It was Mr Yoon.

But he couldn’t stop now. He had to get to Mark.

So, JinYoung kept going, hoping that Mr Yoon would think he was mistaken.

But Mr Yoon didn’t give up that easily. He broke out into a run and soon caught up with the formerly-missing student. Grabbing his arm, he wheeled JinYoung around to face him.

“Pak JinYoung! Where have you been? We’ve all been worried. The police even got involved,” he said.

He couldn’t stop to talk now. He had to get to Mark, and if he started talking to a teacher, he would invariably be taken to the principal’s office and Mrs Nam would ask a million questions; she might even alert the police and then . . . more questions. Then who knew when he would get to Mark?

He twisted savagely out of Mr Yoon’s grip and ran into the building. He had to get to their hiding place quickly before Mr Yoon could follow him and find out where they had been sequestering themselves.

He quickly headed for the storage room and once inside, closed the door behind himself, swiftly but quietly. By the time Mr Yoon entered the library, there was no sign of movement and by the time he reached the door to the library storage room, there was no indication that anything had been disturbed. He hunted through the library, the offices and, finally, scanned the storage area, but he could find no trace of JinYoung. He waited for some minutes just inside library entrance, in case JinYoung should somehow reappear, but he didn’t. Maybe JinYoung just went through the building and was somewhere else by now. No matter where he was, Mr Yoon had no idea how to find him. If there was any hope of that, he would have to alert some other members of staff for help. So, with that, he exited the library and headed towards the science building.

JinYoung hunched down in the back of the storage room waiting for the sound of Mr Yoon’s exit. Once he’d heard the door open and shut again, he stood up and then swiftly climbed the back shelf to the oft-used ‘entrance’ tile that led to his and Mark’s lair. He moved it out of the way and pulled himself nimbly up into the attic, as he and Mark had done time and time again. Then, after he replaced the tile, he crawled towards his and Mark’s ‘room’.

For a moment he felt a sense of panic. He didn’t see Mark. He whispered his name quietly once or twice before his eyes fell on their makeshift bed. There he could see the outline of Mark’s sleeping body.

He felt relief course through him. That was the best thing Mark could have done: sleep. That way, time would pass without him even noticing and before he knew it, JinYoung would be back. He was so glad that Mark had thought to do that. Or maybe he was just so exhausted from the night before, he needed to get some more sleep. Or maybe he was just holding to their schedule. Whatever the reason, the sight of his slumbering body put JinYoung’s mind to rest.

He knew he had promised Mrs Shin to return with Mark right away, but he didn’t feel good about waking him. Maybe he should just wait until he woke up by himself.

JinYoung slid into the bedding next to Mark. He could hear his even breathing, but his head was covered. Mark never covered his head, so somehow the covers must have shifted.

JinYoung gingerly lifted the covers so that Mark could breathe fresh air as he slept.

When he peeled the covers back, he was greeted with the least-welcome sight he’d ever beheld.

Instead of Mark’s sleeping visage, he was faced with the twisted grin of TaekMyun.

“Hello, Pak JinYoung,” he smirked.