Yifan sighed for about the millionth time that day. He looked back to the girl with fiery orange-red hair following him. “Do you HAVE to follow me everywhere?”

The girl in question looked up from her DS and fixed him with a dark look, her eyes looking more doll-like with her black circle lenses. “You know damn well I do. What the hell else do you expect?”

Yifan turned. “I don't know. Maybe to just wait until I summon you, like Firefall does?”

The girl sighed as she rolled her eyes before looking back at her DS. “I am not going into your damn bracelet. Just because Firefall doesn't mind hanging out in Chanyeol's pendant doesn't mean I'm going to spend my entire day stuck seeing what your wrist sees. Now leave me alone. I'm trying to beat this gym. If it helps, just pretend I don't exist.”

Easier said than done, thought Yifan. “Just...pretend you don't actually know me when we get to the coffee shop please. I don't want this date ruined like the last one.”

The girl looked back up from her DS and blinked. “You mean the date with the siren? The one I had to step in and yank you away from before she got you alone? Because you wouldn't listen to me when I warned you about her? That one?”

Yifan growled. He wasn't sure how he wound up with the snarkiest dragon out of the bunch, but Fate had determined his birth-mate would be her. Chanyeol got off lucky. His birth-mate, Firefall, was a relaxed, laid-back guy who actually listened to Chanyeol and didn't bother him much. When he wasn't in Chanyeol's pendent, he actually liked staying in his small phoenix form, or, as Chanyeol once referred to it, his travel-sized form. Shimmering Mirror, or Mim as he'd come to call her, was everything but obedient. She refused to stay in his bracelet, followed him around, and basically refused to change from her human form unless fighting.

However, she had a point. He'd been so interested in Yubin that he'd completely ignored Mim's warnings. Had Mim not lost her temper and stepped in as Yifan and Yubin were walking through the park, Yifan would probably have lost part of his soul. He had to admit that he was extremely jealous of that ability. Firefall and Mim both had the ability to recognize supernatural creatures on sight. Yifan and Chanyeol, on the other hand, could only feel if a person was supernatural, and even that wasn't always accurate. Yifan stood by his belief that his calculus teacher was a harpy in disguise, but Mim just laughed and informed him that she was just a bitter woman. Yifan wasn't convinced.

He bit his lip as the coffee shop came into view. Minhee, the girl he was waiting for, was standing outside. Taking a deep breath, he stopped. “Mim...”

Mim looked back up from her DS, seeming surprised that Yifan had used her name. Looking past him, she glanced the girl waiting near the entrance for a second before returning to her game. “Supernatural. Some sort of cat shifter. Your soul is safe.” She continued on toward the coffee shop. “I'm gonna get my coffee and sit at the park across the street. Scream if you need me.” She kept walking, dodging people without looking up from her game, bouncing a bit as she apparently beat the gym.

Yifan stared at her back for a second, debating on just running up and slapping her. She knew how to push every single button he had, and a few he didn't even know he possessed. He growled again before taking a deep breath and straightening his shirt. Smiling, he approached the coffee shop. “Minhee?”

Minhee turned and flashed him a bright smile. “Yifan!” She walked over and bit her lip, bouncing a bit. “Are you ready for today?”

Yifan smiled, a real smile. “Absolutely.” He walked to the coffee shop, holding the door open for the customer leaving, shaking his head as she passed him with a slight bow, an iced coffee (caramel mocha, he knew) in one hand, a red DS in the other.

Minhee smiled and walked in, taking a deep breath as they entered. “I just love the smell of coffee, don't you?”

Yifan smiled and nodded, moving closer to Minhee's side. “Very much. I don't get it often at home, though. My sister has this thing about making coffee so strong you could probably just eat it with a spoon.”

Minhee laughed and Yifan's smile got brighter. She had a nice laugh. “I don't think I've seen your sister before.”

Yifan rolled his eyes. “You have, actually. In fact, you just saw her leave.”

Minhee's eyes widened. “Wait, you mean that girl with the game that just left? But...she's...is she Chinese too?” Minhee looked incredibly confused, which Yifan found absolutely adorable.

He shook his head. “No, she's actually not. She's adopted. Our families knew each other for years. We were even born on the same day and grew up together. Our family adopted her when her parents died. She's pretty much my twin sister, with as close as we were raised.”

Minhee smiled softly. “That seems nice. I have an older brother, but he went to college in Daegu instead of here in Seoul, so I don't see him much.” She perked up as they got to the counter. “Do you know what you want?”

 

Yifan sighed contentedly. The date with Minhee had gone incredibly well, and they'd already made plans to meet for lunch at their college the next day. Yifan had walked her to the bus stop and waited for her bus. The kiss on his cheek before she boarded made him smile like an idiot. Waving until the bus was out of sight, Yifan crossed the street and walked into the park, the smile still evident on his face.

“You look like a lovesick puppy, you know.”

Yifan whirled around, but couldn't see Mim anywhere. “Mim?”

“Up here.”

Yifan looked up. Of course she was in a tree. Keeping her from high places was pretty much impossible. When they were home, she practically lived on the roof of their apartment building. He should have known better. Her coffee was balanced on one knee and her tongue poked out as she concentrated on whatever she was doing in her game. After a couple seconds, she smiled in victory before closing the DS, grabbing her coffee and jumping down. “So, I take it the date went well?”

Yifan nodded, his usual stoic exterior reverting now that Minhee was gone. “Quite. We're meeting for lunch tomorrow. She'd also like to meet you.”

Mim glanced at him, talking around the straw from her drink. “The usual story?” She nodded as he hummed his assent. “Will do. You should start walking her to classes. I'm getting seriously annoyed with the gossip that we're dating.”

Yifan nodded, sighing. The gossip was frustrating, that was for sure. He glanced over at Mim and noticed the sadness in her eyes as she looked further along the path. Following her gaze, it landed on a couple, holding hands and laughing together. Yifan felt a tug at his heart. He knew the reason for the sadness. Mim never seemed to interest anyone, despite being able to mate with humans and supernatural creatures alike. There were days he'd heard her in the bathroom, cursing her human form. Yifan understood. Birth-mates were supposed to look like twins, or at least siblings. Something had gone wrong during Mim's birth, though. As a result, her dragon and human form both suffered in appearance. Her family were wyverns, two legged dragons with wings instead of arms or front legs, made of beautiful red scales. In human form, they were Chinese with a family trait of ethereal beauty. Mim, however...he glanced at his dragon, feeling her sadness through their connection. Mim's dragon form was what was known as a Western dragon, four legged with wings sprouting from the shoulder blades. Instead of red scales, her scales were an incredible purple-white and reflected light into prismatic rainbows around her. Her human form was also western. She could pass for any European race, although most people pinned her as Irish. Her creamy white skin and smattering of freckles around her eyes, mixed with the flame colored hair made her a perfect Irish lass, with the exception of one thing: her eyes. Hidden from the world behind black circle lenses, her eyes were another fault of her birth. In human form, her eyes should have looked normal, human. Instead, her dragon eyes had followed her into human form: gold with elliptical pupils. For a moment, all the snarkiness and sass, all the disobedience and defiance, all the annoyance...it all vanished. His heart hurt for the girl who was tantamount to his twin sister, younger than him by nothing more than seconds. Pursing his lips for a moment, he smiled brightly as an idea came to his head. “Mim?”

She looked up at him, masking the hurt in her eyes as though it would fool him through the connection. “Yeah?”

He smiled and started walking away. “So, I figured, today's been a good day. I want to eat out.” He smirked as he whipped out the one thing he knew would make her smile. “Why don't we get samgyeopsal?”

Just as he predicted, he heard her squeak in excitement. “Really?!” He nodded. “Yay!! Can we get lots?”

Normally, he would have refused. She could probably eat her weight in samgyeopsal, and he hated spending money. Tonight, though...

“Yeah. It's been a really good day. We can get lots.” Another squeak came, followed by a squeezing hug. He smirked again. “In fact, since it's been such a good day, why don't you see if Chanyeol and Firefall want to come too?”

Mim stopped dead in her tracks, staring up at Yifan. “Okay, what happened to you? You NEVER let Chanyeol and Firefall come out to eat with us if you're paying. Spill.” Her eyes widened a bit before she giggled. “She kissed you, didn't she?” She bounced a bit at Yifan's unbidden blush. “That explains it!”

She let go of him and dug into her pocket, walking a few steps behind him as usual. He heard her talking to Firefall before giggling in excitement and hanging up. “They'll meet us there!” He smiled softly, hearing her start humming and skipping behind him. As much as his dragon pissed him off, he didn't like seeing her sad.

She was his sister, after all.