Galiah would find herself bumping into Edgar, but more surprising she would find him catching her to prevent a fall, her arms wrapping around him as well in case he were to fall as well. She would sit there for a moment, just taking in his worried face to calm her own nerves down, if only a little. She replied “Unless you count someone extremely rude then no, we are not under attack. It seems to be someone that Lady Kyung calls her son. I would assume her son was already upstairs with Lady Yoon. How many children does Lady Kyung have? And he called me a Housekeeper! A Housekeeper, Edgar! I am utterly insulted and humiliated.”

Kyung-ha’s confusion grew even more at the reminder of Yoon that came from the body inside the box. Its sleeping position was one of her favorites, after all. If it weren’t for her previous job, she would’ve scoffed at Johnathan’s attempt to convince her it was from the sky itself. She dared to squat down a little, combing its hair to the side to reveal more of itself, for she was too befuddled to even reply to Johnathan’s joke.

Yoon on the other hand, who was still eavesdropping, managed to exhale through her nose as a chuckle at Johnathan’s joke. It was almost enough to calm her anxiety. But it didn’t last long. Was this the same person she was explaining the concept of a joke was? Her of all people? It made her pick at her thumbs anxiously, and she decided to leave the scene before he was brought in. However, just as she was about to leave, she saw Edgar and Galiah regroup nearby. It made her change directions and seek an escape room that would lead her further down the halls where the rooms were located.

There was a look of confusion plastered across Edgar's face as he heard about Kyung-ha having another supposed son there, which he wasn't sure was the greatest of ideas. But as Galiah began to speak about how insulted she was about being called a housekeeper, his brows furrowed slightly. "Don't worry too much about it," he said while offering a hand to pull her up from the floor. It did irritate him, however, knowing that he couldn't go to see whoever this person was supposed to be himself. "Probably just another mouth around this place. I'm sure he'll be long gone soon. Hopefully."

~

As Kyung-ha would brush the waves of silky, almost stringy brown hair to the side, it would have a very oddly familiar feel to her fingers, as if her fingers had been through it once before. Or perhaps, subconsciously, many, times. The strangeness came when part of the person's face would be revealed. And more familiarity struck with eerily similar Asian features to Yoon. But not just Yoon.
As the individual shifted some onto their side with a quiet but hard snoring hibernation like slumber, there was almost a flash of Raven where a a few freckles ran across the bridge of the nose and under the eyes.
What made it stranger was it couldn't be told whether the person was a male or female, appearing to somehow be either a very feminine featured male, or a woman possibly just a year younger or older than Yoon.

Johnathan knelt down on the other side of the box across from Kyung-ha. "It's...strange. The manner that it plummeted in, there was no immediate impact—not a forceful one. I arrived immediately afterwards to investigate."

Meanwhile, as Yoon was heading upstairs, she would not only hear it, but the sensation of a soft th-thmp that felt as if it reverberated for a moment.

Galiah looked up at Edgar as she was helped up. She wasn’t one to accept the aid of a Keeper, believing she looked week for doing so. But since it was Edgar and she had long since accepted his aid as anything far from looking down on her, she would take his hand and lift herself up, before she would pull Edgar into a protective hug m, her arms wrapped around his waist and pulling him close to her with a stubborn “hmm” coming from the elf. “And I thought I told you to stay down there where it was safe, Edgar. You know how much I worry. You should really stop wandering off when there are constant threats. It worries me”
The elf kept her head resting against Edgar’s chest with a sort of pouty look on her face, her cheeks puffed. But as she was still frustrated from the encounter with the man, she spoke softly, “But… I sensed something from that man. Something different then before”

"Yeah?" Edgar leaned down a little and placed a kiss onto the top of her head. "Well having you run off into those same threats worry me," he said. "It always worries me. And I..I can't just keep sitting by, staying back and doing nothing knowing you're doing everything you can to keep us safe. I..just can't. And there's just somethin.. somethin' that makes me move. Tells me that I need to. It's...concerning sometimes actually," he chuckles a little nervously. "Because...in a way, I..kind of understand it."
But when she mentioned the man outside, his arms tightened around her slightly. "Yeah...I felt it too. That's why I couldn't just sit down there, Galiah. Something feels...off."

“But Edgar” Galiah spoke, staring up at him with a stern look on her face, her cheeks still puffed slightly as she would tighten her arms around him. “It is my goal to protect you and the others. My entire life has been leading to the moment where I will protect the Keepers with my very life, to endure their survival over my own. And if I am to die in battle, to know that I saved you all and ensured your safety and the safety of this very earth then I would regret none of that.”
But as she looked at Edgar once more, she would stand onto her top toes, her hands reaching up to slide her hands up his dark hair, her eyes locked onto every facial feature of his as she would speak softly, “But now I’m not sure. Because my love, my very heart belongs to that if a Keeper. While my desire to protect you is still as strong as ever… I don’t know if I would want to die. To never see you again. It’s… much harder to embrace death now. Because I don’t… want to leave your side Edgar”
But as Galiah would lean in, she would hear the same response from Edgar, surprised at this before she would ever so slightly pull back and proclaim, “p-perhaps we should keep an eye on them”

Edgar gave a hesitant nod, and he looked towards where he thought he had heard the door close after Galiah had entered, and he stared for a couple of seconds. He couldn't See—no, it was like a blindfold of oil and ink had been splashed into his Sight. It almost made him partially dizzy. He turned his head back to Galiah. "Just...try to keep your distance. But Galiah, if you suspect anything, and I mean anything, that says he's an immediate threat, don't hesitate to put him on the burner. Yeah?"

Galiah looked to Edgar with a nod, her hands still wrapped around Edgar with a nod of confirmation as she would answer him softly, “If he does anything I’ll be sure to burn him to ashes. But… what about Lady Kyunf-Ha? She seems to know the person, and not in the same way of the previous attacker. There’s something more there. Something truly familiar from how she treats this man. There’s a sort of protectiveness to it, like he were a really her own offspring”

"Well Kyung-ha didn't feel what we just did," Edgar said as a counterpoint. "And I'm tired of taking chances with things bound to turn out messed up for all of us. We've got enough to deal with right now, and if we have to deal with another attack like last time then we need to be ready. I don't know if I'm the only one who's gotten the bright idea around here, but that was too damn close." And paired with the visions, too close for him to ever really feel as comfortable there as he had before.

Galiah let out a sigh as she would hear Edgar’s frustrations, sensing for once just how stressed and paranoid he had been ever since he lost his sight. Her hands slowly reached up passed his arms and placed themselves gently on his cheeks, holding him there as her thumb would brush softly as his cheek bone. She looked to Edgar with another soft sigh and spoke softly, “You must ease your heart. A stressed mind struggles to think in the heat of the moment, or so my grandfather would say”.
Her hands remained against his cheeks, a warm cozy sensation like a warm blanket on a cold winters evening. She would try to force a smile that was of no use due his his blindness and spoke, “I will keep my eyes on the visitor. If he even attempts anything, it will be the last mistake he makes. Do not worry yourself Edgar.”

Kyung-ha was stupefied at the eerie resemblance of her daughter and the other Keeper from the sleeping body, which encouraged her to retract her hand away at first. Besides freckles, Yoon would also get some temporary freckles if she was under the sun for too long. The inner parts of her brows raised when that confusion only intensified upon being reminded that the mysterious person had descended from the sky itself. She wasn't acquainted with anyone that had the powers to do such a thing, and she doubted that the magical people she knew could perform such act. The only one that crossed her mind was dead, after all. Luckily she didn't think it had anything to do with the Constables. "It look like Yoon." She finally spoke with a concerned and wary tone in her voice. "Why it look like Yoon?" She disliked the uncanny resemblance being a mystery, especially since her daughter was somehow involved with it. The familiarity to Yoon almost made her want to care for the sleeping person. But she was also hesitant and very skeptic. "And how it still asleep?"

Meanwhile, Yoon was forced to stop in her steps, her shoulders lightly shuddering at the sound and vibrating wave that overcame her. She instinctively turned around, as if the sound was right behind her. But she saw nothing. She turned to her left side. Then to her right. The Keeper frowned with darting eyes, assuming it had something to do with Johnathan's arrival. The suddenness and uncertainty about it made her tighten her grip on the small knife her mom made her carry around inside her sleeves.

Johnathan took a closer look at the person when Kyung-ha stated that it looked like Yoon, and upon closer observation, he found that there were a few similarities to Yoon's features. But what confused him the most was the feeling he had to poke at the person like a child poking a dead animal with a stick while observing. "I'm uncertain, and in fact, had been wondering of so myself," he answered when Kyung-ha questioned how the individual was still able to be slumbering so. He stood up, reaching inside of his coat as he stared down into the box, but paused.
He was conflicted on what course if action to take, something that he couldn't have experienced two years prior. There was a part of him that still hung on to the protocols of The Order. Grant no hospitality to an abnormal upon captive. Investigate, and interrogate. Then eliminate. The G.I.I.E.. That part of him believes that it was proper grounds for enacting it. Something falling from the sky as it had, it couldn't be trusted within the confines of society. But another part of him asked if, despite all that he had witnessed so far with the Order, if that was still the proper course of action to take.

~

Edgar gave a small, slow nod. But his worries hadn't been eased in the slightest by the elf's reassuring words. "I'll head back downstairs. I...need to get away from whatever this feeling is," he said, it having more of an effect on him because of how much smaller his mana reserve was compared to Galiah's.

“I understand, Edgar. I promise that I’ll do my best” she would speak in some attempt to ease his mind, her hands brushing against his cheek once more with a hint of sympathy for the artist. It was as if she could feel his own mental exhaustion from all of the strain.
“My sweet human” she would speak softly before leaning up to place a longer kiss against his lips, as if to hide from him that she was on the verge of tears from his own pain. She didn’t want him to see it or sense it. She wanted to be strong enough, for him and herself

Kyung-ha stood by protectively when Johnathan took a closer look at the body, her arms hovering besides him in case it took an unexpected turn of events. But they fell limp when she realized that the person inside the box was in fact sleeping and it wasn't some type of trick. Her initial instinctive thought as an ex-agent, much like Johnathan's after evaluating the situation, was to eliminate an unknown threat. Perhaps stick the box inside her car and drive it far, far away from the manor. Tie it around and submerge it in the same water her children swam in this morning. Set it aflame. Skewer it. But she couldn't do it when taking into account the oddity of its familiar appearance. If it was not related to the Constables, then was it still a threat to be taken care of? She took precautions and decided to keep the box outside, standing in front of the door as a blockade. One hand was on her waistband holding onto her weapon of choice, while the other gently combed through its hair one more time, tugging softly at its stringy strands until she reached its shoulder with a light shake to awaken the being. It almost felt like waking up Yoon in the morning with her grogginess and deep slumber, which encouraged her to also speak. "Oi! 깨우다!"

Edgar had found himself leaning into the hand that brushed against his cheek a little, finding at least a small bit of comfort within the warmth that the elf always provided with the natural heat from her body. His breathe caught itself for a split second when she kissed him, it catching him off guard when his thoughts started to run deeply into the river of doubt that he started to feel. He cherished the touch of her lips against his own. He pulled back slowly, but didn't go far at all with the elf still being able to feel the brush of his lips as he cupped her cheeks into his palms. He rested his forehead against hers, and from his lips came words that sounded as if they were specifically for her. "I trust you."

~

Johnathan watched closely as Kyung-ha would observe the person within the box once more, his brows very slightly knitting together. His hand itched subconsciously to return to the awaiting handle of the weapon within his coat out of wariness. But as he saw the way that Kyung-ha attempted to wake the individual, he felt an odd feeling. It reminded him of how she had to wake him during his first couple of weeks during his training as an official Constable. He could feel the muscles on his face around his mouth almost twitch upwardly.

But the person within the box, curled on its side, only turned in the opposite direction that she was shaken from, releasing a very soft, almost cat like yawn as it stretched momentarily, but then curled back up into a loose ball.

Galiah would keep her lips against his for a moment more before she would feel Edgar pull himself from her loving hold, if only slightly. The way his hands rested on her cheeks, how his words spoke with his breathe brushing against her lips like a soft brush, it was all so much like Edgar, and it all made her appreciate those little movements in his hands, his mouth, everything. Just his tiniest details. She would raise her hands up to rest against Edgar's hands before she would speak, his hands being able to feel as her lips formed into a smile, "Thank you. I should go and keep an eye on them then. Please, um... don't get too lost if you can prevent it so, Dear Edgar"

"I'll..try not to. I won't be gone long," Edgar promised her. What he needed to do was find out just what the hell it was that he was feeling. To try to see if he could get some sort of read on it again from a distance, because as it was now, he felt as if something inside him was being suffocated. It made him feel as if he were stuck in a pitch black room full of a sticky, humid heat.
He managed to smile if only just a little. He could feel Galiah's own smile within his touch, and that brought a little more comfort. He kissed the top of her head before he told her, "Be careful. We'll...we'll meet in the library in a few. Yeah?" He paused for a moment, and considered the possiblity of actually getting lost as the elf had said. Or the possibility of much worse. "But if I'm not there in ten or fifteen minutes, come find me. Just in case."

"I'll find you" Galiah stated with the utmost certainty as she would keep her hands resting on his. Her smile faded a bit at the thought of losing Edgar for any reason out of her control,. a thought that upset her greatly. She would hold onto his hands a little tighter as they rested on her cheeks as she would confirm again, "No matter what, I'll find you Edgar. But I will wait for you in the library. I imagine that this guest of Lady Kyung-Ha's won't have much to say to a "housekeeper", but I'll be sure to watch him from a distance After that... I'll meet you in the library. Alright?"

"Alright. And hey...he wouldn't have much of anything to say to a "housekeeper"," he started to say. "But to the woman in front of me, one of the best fire mages I know? The protector of the Keepers? Whether he has anything worth saying or not," Edgar then smiled. "You're Galiah Yar'gaal. Nothing's going to take that away. You got this. Okay?"

Galiah looked up at Edgar with a sort of shimmer in her eyes, feeling as if she was told something extraordinary that she had never heard anyone say to her before. To anyone else it was sweet words, but to Galiah, hearing it from a Keeper as well as her lover was like a sense of confirmation, a sense that his words held truth. It was almost like Edgar was taking away her very breathe with each word and left her speechless. She looked up at Edgar once more as the smile appeared on his face, and yet she could only smile back. "And you as well, Edgar Keeper of Visions." She would lean up on her tip toes to plant another kiss onto his lips with a smile before she would finally break from his embrace and hurry back to the entry hall. "I hope to see you soon, my dear human:

"You will," Edgar looked to watch her off, only to end up being immediately telling himself that he couldn't see. And though it was like a mild hit in the gut, his hands lifted to where the elf's lips had been. And despite what he kept bottled for her sake and the others, a chuckle escaped him. He had heard the smile in Galiah's voice, and as much as he would have rather not be reminded of what he was as a Keeper, hearing it from Galiah was... different. Like it meant something other than being the heavy curse that he had come to see it as.

But regardless, he prayed that she remained out of harms way as he carefully but briskly began to distance himself from the front of the house.

Galiah would walk with a slight pep in her step and a smile on her face u til she was certain that she was away from Edgar, much to her disappointment. But her steps would be more methodical, quick paced and her expression more stern and stoic as she moved down the halls and would stop at the corner. She had her own suspicions on who this person was, this Jonathan that Kyung Ha knew. And even if she did k ow him, that didn’t automatically make him an ally. He could be another agent spy using kyung Has trust to trick her and get in. Galiah had to be vigilant and cautious. She would peek from around the corner, using her sensitive hearing to listen in on the conversation while remaining out of sight

Kyung-ha scoffed when her “gentle” attempt of waking the person failed, much like it had whenever waking up Yoon that didn’t involve forceful actions. Because of that reason, she wasn’t too surprised. One push over the patio’s steps might do the trick. Or perhaps some icy cold water. An annoying alarm. Maybe just her stern voice. Or all of the above combined. She debated on it, but opted not to follow through in case there was some sort of automatic magical reaction considering the being came from… the sky? Her brows knitted once more to grasp the idea of such a thing happening. Kyung-ha decided she would bring the box inside and keep a close eye on it until it awoke, moving the scene to the kitchen. And to help the process, she would do other things that often made both her children wake up: the smell of her cooking. It was impossible to miss since she used such aromatic ingredients. It would be perfect timing too, considering Johnathan had returned. And though today’s breakfast was just scrap stew, it would be replaced with something more proper and welcoming on behalf of her son’s return and a new sleeping visitor that hopefully was temporary or useful.

Galiah kept her ears to the two, not hearing anything as far as a conversation, wondering just what was in the box. The way that Kyung ha looked at it with a bit of disdain, it was hard to tell. Perhaps easier if it were someone who didn’t look at everyone with that same expression but still, it only made the contents inside that more curiouser. But it was when they would head to the kitchen did Galiah change her positions, moving just outside the kitchen with her ear to the wall and listening intently to what was happening. Considering Kyung ha, it was most likely she was preparing the honorary visitation feast. But for such a rude person, Galiah just couldn’t comprehend

Johnathan watched as Kyung-ha would attempt to pick up the very same box that the elf could not, only to fail miserably as she would also attempt to take in inside. It made his brows furrow, the box once again seeming to be much heavier than it was supposed to be. And so he thought it to be simpler to remove the person itself from the box and taking them inside physically. And surprisingly it worked, as he would lift the person up into his arms carefully. More so than he would have in the past. But as he would nudge the box with his foot, he found that it still wouldn't budge. He stared at it for a moment with a mildly befuddled expression, but decided a moment afterwards that he would return that matter later.
Once they were inside, he had taken the liberty of taking the being somewhere that was more or less both comfortable for them both, placing the individual onto the couch while he would remain nearby to keep a close eye as Kyung-ha went to the kitchen.

Galiah's eyes would widen at the sight of a person emerging from the box. Someone who looked to be a strange sort of... mixture of others that Galiah had known before. It looked like Yoon, but not really. but it also looked like Raven, but also, not really. And it only brought more curiosity to the elf at the sight of this other strange person, moreso when she saw how the box was difficult to move even when the one inside was removed from it. It only added more curiosity to the elf. And as she would watch as Jonathan placed her onto the couch and snuck off, the elf would tip toe ever closer to the new guest in the house, making sure to use her smaller frame and years of hunting experience to remain quiet from the other two. And with each step, she would move closer and closer to the couch, making sure to hide behind any wall or furniture whenever she would hear a noise from the kitchen.

Kyung-ha spoke from the kitchen since the house itself was big and open enough to converse through rooms. She had complimented Johnathan's strength in Korean and appreciated him for carrying the body in, even going as far as making a small joke that he had saved her from experiencing any back pain. However, she knew herself it wouldn't be a problem. Still, it was her way of expressing how proud and appreciative she was of Johnathan and his return. She wanted to make sure he knew that before she had to tell him what he was.

The mother leaned over the small pot on the stove she put out earlier, opening it to see most of the broth and pieces of meat gone while all the nutritious vegetables were left behind. Her eyes squinted, since it confirmed Yoon had in fact been in the kitchen and even Sangeon considering his small bowl was unwashed in the kitchen sink. She mumbled to herself, beginning to prep a few ingredients to make a quick, but proper meal despite the lack of ingredients she had. Kyung-ha hadn't gone grocery shopping for a while, and even when she did, it was hard finding the foods she used in her cooking. She wasn't able to make what she originally wanted; however, she would opt for a traditional bibimbap with samgyeopsal, stir-fried vegetables, and an egg fried with pure sesame oil. She would also begin to prepare a quick jjapaguri with what noodles she had from Yoon's stash of goods.

"Yoon! Sangeon!" Kyung-ha called afterwards from the kitchen as she waited for the noodles to finish boiling. She knew well the girl could hear her, especially with the smell of oily pork belly smothered in sesame and green onion filling the air. "Park Yoon!" She called again with furrowed brows. "깜짝 손님을 맞이하러 오다!" She wasn't sure if she was surprised or not to not hear a response. Kyung-ha tapped her side impatiently, shaking her head in disapproval.

She walked back into the kitchen and lead against the entrance of the other room where Johnathan and herself were keeping a close eye on the mysterious person. She expanded a small smile for him that grew, her eyes alone showing how much she missed him and was glad he was able to make it back safe. "How I have missed you so." Her smile was melancholic given the recent events. "You must be tired. You have been tired.. Have travelled long and dangerous ways to get here, no? Still, my Johnathan prevail through it all."

Focus. Stay awake. Johnathan straightened as he had begun to slip into a daze of weariness. But it was Ever since he had gotten out of that hospital in Florida, it was being reintroduced to the normalcies of things that he usually wouldn't have been able to experience that made him feel as if he had been thrown into a different world entirely. Being able to feel the exhaustion from his body was something that it took him quite some time to get used to. And though he didn't exactly tire as quickly as the average person, he wasn't exactly fond of it. Yet in the same instance, there was something in him that relished in it the sensation.

Not having entered the kitchen however, it wasn't difficult for him to feel something, almost like a shift in the air. His eyes rise to find the elf "sneaking" into the living room, apparently not having noticed him there as he had been watching the slumbering person from the other side of the room. His lips slowly began to part under the his rough facial hair until he had heard Kyung-ha's voice calling from the kitchen for Yoon and Sangeon. This made him pause briefly, his words only silent air. Yoon... Just briefly, he had forgotten that they were now under the same roof.
The last time that he had seen her felt longer ago than he had expected, and there was a sensation that he felt that he didn't understand. It felt like relief, but tied into a ball in his chest. It felt as if he had to take a second to catch his breath. Yet the sensation was more discomforting than it was negative. But soon, he could compare the feeling to the aroma that fled from the kitchen to greet his nostrils, having found a vague familiarity in it. But his attention returned to the pointed eared woman. But still he didn't speak, and instead watched and observed with an expression that held no care towards the elf's well being. After all, curiosity was sometimes to him as a loaded firearm with its barrel centered on her face was.

It wasn't until he heard Kyung-ha stepping back into the room that the tension within him eased, but not by much. That, and he noticed how quick the elf was to hide upon Kyung-ha's footsteps towards them.
His gaze turned to greet her from where he was, just to the left of the doorway. He could only return her smile with his own sense of melancholy that only settled with the bags under his eyes that had began to over the last three days. He didn't know if she knew about the status of the others, and when she told him that he had been tired, his gaze wavered until it fell away. The truth in it made him feel as if he had failed as an agent. And somewhere in his mind, despite Constantine's words, and Kore's blatant and continuous statements that he had never belonged within the order to begin with, he wondered if that was truly the reason that the Order was now after him. And if it indeed was, then he knew well that their blood stained not only his gloves, but his hands as well. It they stained them deeply.

But what was more than just that, was hearing the older woman, one that had been so much like a mother to him, who had for so long only referred to him as Abel after his initial induction into the ranks of the Constables, called him by his birth given name. A name that he had long forgotten. A name that had been washed from his mind for so long. It threw him off. It made something inside of him hurt behind the once completely cold and apathetic stare. And despite his tiredness, the life that had been once been long lost within them now looked to Kyung-ha. He couldn't hide it. Not even behind his the honed intellect. "I have not prevailed, I'm afraid. Not just yet. The others, th-they—" He paused as the smallest of cracks inflicted onto his goice, his eyes moving away again. But he forced himself to look her in the eye. "I'm unsure if they will being joining us. I apologize for my inadequance."

The elf’s ears would perk up behind the couch, making it clear that she was present before ducking back under the couch to hide herself. She would slowly crawl across the floor until finally reaching the couch with the sleeping figure, looking down at the sleeping body that rested from the perch above, as well as taking glances at the others from time to time. She would swear that Jonathan had taken glances at her, but he also didn’t say anything. This would only inflate the elf’s ego of her stealth. “My my I am the perfect assassin.”
Once she would finish, she looked down at the person sleeping, not sure of just who it was? A Keeper? An Agent? Certainly not Droven, but perhaps it could be. It was only raising more questions, and Galiah was not one to be fond of riddles. In her attempt to get answers, she leaned her hand down and tried to wake the sleeping person, lightly slapping at her face with her hand protected by a sheet of leather gloves, the make of the glove only making the light slap a tinge more noticeable

“Nuna why don’t you come out with me?” Sangeon frowned, watching as his sister sat on the floor against the mattress in the room they shared. She had ignored her mother’s calls, which hesitantly made Sangeon do the same. He was confused as to why Yoon didn’t want to meet a so-called ‘special guest’.

Yoon inhaled deep breaths to keep herself stable. With a greater distance from Johnathan, her mana wasn’t as shunned—but she could still feel it with his presence at the manor alone. Her eyes went to Sangeon, not knowing how to answer his question. How could she confess to him that she was responsible for the special guest’s initial disappearance? How could she confess guilt? Fear? “I-I… I’m just… a-a little nervous to see him again, that is all.” She said as her excuse, which wasn’t a complete lie.

Sangeon’s right brow raised in confusion, even more so knowing this was a guest Yoon knew from before. “Why?” He paused. “…Dooo youuu haveee a little crruuuushhh on him or soooomethingggg??” Sangeon teased like the little kid he was.

A tinge of red expanded on her cheeks. “Sangeon!” She was too far away from a pillow to launch at him. But she couldn’t blame his lack of understanding of why she was nervous to see him. It extended far more than just a possible crush and admiration she had for him. How could she explain the hands of death being the same hands she once held while skating? How could she explain the haunting she had for proving herself a worthy opponent ever since that day? She paced around the bed to build her courage in exiting the room, mumbling to herself a few words in Korean.

***

Kyung-ha felt her heart skip a beat the second she heard Johnathan stutter with a cracking in his voice. She had never heard such a thing from the person in front of her since he was a little child. It made her brows wiggle sadly, especially for the reasoning behind his cracking. But with the last few of his words, she felt the need to make sure he did not blame himself. She stepped forward, taking his large hands into her small ones. Johnathan would find she had placed two textile-like items in his hands, only to reveal the badges of their fallen comrades. Her eyes were melancholic, for they had days to grieve and remorse about the past. She said nothing at first, letting silence takeover along with Galiah’s poor attempt at staying quiet. She was too obvious to not be noticed, however, she had more important things to deal with first. “They will not be joining us.” The immortal confirmed, for she was forced to accept this fate. Her hands slid forward onto his shoulders to pull him in for a hug and kiss his forehead to bring him solace. Perhaps to also bring herself some and ensure he was real and not another figment of her imagination. The mother held on tightly to the person who managed to survive through it all. She hugged Sarah. She hugged Clark. She hugged Makveli. She hugged Darius. She hugged Leonard. She hugged Samantha. But more than anyone else, she hugged Johnathan. She hugged him tightly to squeeze him back into a child’s body and allow him momentarily to be the kid he was stripped from being. Because never in his entire childhood did he feel like a child, he was forced to feel like a person––an adult–– all along. The same one he currently was. “No Johnathan of mine is ever, ever, inadequate.” She emphasized, making sure to engrave that in his mind, something that the Constables had ingrained something differently. Something she wished she had ingrained in a younger, more insecure Yoon. Kyung-ha pulled away a little, but kept herself close to look into his tired eyes. She felt guilty for them being tired in the first place. “That journey ends here and a new one has begun.” She cupped his cheeks with motherly hands. “And now that you are free, now that you don’t have to be perfect or expected to be so, you can just be Johnathan. Whatever you want it to mean. And I will support you and fight for that meaning until my very last breath, even if there is yet to be one. All of us wanted that.” She said, referring to not only her family, but also her dead comrades.

Johnathan's eyes went to the badges that had been placed into his hands. He could only stare. The feel of the bronze and other elements were smooth, the softer textlike silk. The glint that came from their polished and cleaned state. He didn't have to turn them over to turn them over to see what was etched into the backs of both.

"They will not be joining us."

Johnathan's gaze rose quickly as the status of the ones that he had developed a sense of camaraderie for was confirmed. There was an initial sign of shock at his suspicions having been correct, but it was brief and subtle compared to the look within his eyes. It was like raindrops of an approaching storm onto a fire within a box. "......Oh." There was so much that he felt inside of him, but for some reason his tongue could find little words to relay anything, and the confusion in his expression because of it was evident as he was hugged close, and even as his arms would eventually lift slowly to wrap around the woman. The sharp rises and falls in his chest, he didn't understand them, even with the familiarity that was still buried down into his psyche.
But soon enough, he did all he could to still himself. To tape close the cracks of a sky that was to him, once black and white sky. And as he listened to the woman, he couldn't bring himself to speak, only hugging her tighter and tighter, to the point that he forgot what strength he possessed until he felt the seasoned hands of Kyung-ha take his face into their hold. There was guilt within his eyes as Kyung-ha spoke to him again, and he looked away. Or tried to. Small tremors were in his voice as he spoke. "Then the responsibility is mine to take." He said. And as he continued, his words hardened. "I shall give them a..a proper burial for their efforts." His hands clenched around the badges, knowing that it was unlikely that they would ever recover the bodies. The least he could do was lay their work to rest. "...I require a shovel."

Galiah's attention would soon rise to the two as they would embrace in the comfort of each other, the words of the other agents hitting her pointed ears with a slight twitch from her left one. It was clear that the two knew the other agents very well, and it was even more clear to the elf that as all of this had gone on, they were all that they had left. If this was a trick to get Kyung-ha to fall for a trap, it was a devious one to use their loyalties against her. But somehow, Galiah doubted that this was a trap by this point, that this was just another ally to the woman. She kept herself hidden, still believing herself to be well hidden as she would once again look to the woman under her. And when she saw that she was still asleep, she would slap her again with a tad bit more force, this time with much more force, ducking behind the couch when the slap was made audible this time

"You no responsible for the end of their journey." She reiterated, cupping at his wrists to make sure he understood. Kyung-ha had kept the badges on her waistband the moment she had gotten them. And they went with her everywhere ever since. When she cooked, when she trained, when she cleaned, when she drove, even during the incident after the airport. She talked to them all. "It was my responsibility to keep communication and information secured for their survival. I failed with the simple task, and take the fault for their fall." Kyung-ha explained. She had yet to bury them because she felt like they were alive as long as their badges were out with her doing things they'd normally do. But she couldn't deny Johnathan's request. She knew Clark's request was completed and his body was laid to rest where he wanted. Calling his parents and informing them about the situation was one of the hardest things she's had to do. But it was necessary.

Instead, Kyung-ha hesitantly nodded. She placed a final kiss on his hands that held the badges and took a step back. "Backdoor to the garden. Shovel right there." It was the same shovel she used for gardening her smaller plants and... other things. "You require a shovel, yes; but first, how about some nourishment and rest?" She would join him in the burial process of course; however, she couldn't ignore her motherly instincts to care for him first. "Let them be with us for one last meal."

Slap. Kyung-ha's eyes twitched as she once again heard the poor attempts of the elf to stay quiet. "And let them be the reason I do not serve an elf's head piked on a stake for a meal, whose presence seems to be more clumsy and obvious than a newborn, defected deer." She spoke loudly enough for Galiah to hear.

“Elves head is not too unsimilar to that of human head, and I am to believe that cannibalism is taboo in your society” Galiah would shout in her defense before she would suddenly duck back under the couch, still retaining that she was hidden and would roll away from the couch now in her continued attempt to be stealthy. But even she knew that she had long since outworn her welcome in the room, and she had already gathered what she needed from the man. Rude or not, he was far from a threat for the manor. And that was enough for her, regardless in the sleeping figure. As she was prepared to leave she would take one last glance at the sleeping woman before crawling away, quietly of course

Johnathan's eyes wandered from the Kyung-ha's only to direct a cold glare towards where the sleeping individual had been settled after hearing the less subtle sound of the slap. With much more that weighed on his conscious now, it was as he watched the elf crawling off that he realized that he'd much rather his stay be brief if it could be so. He walked over to the sleeper and inspected their face, not knowing whether to be mildly impressed or unnerved by the fact the person managed to sleep through be bothered in the manner that the elf had done so. His attention turned back to Kyung-ha after a moment as he said with a hint of annoyance, "I'd assume that that one has difficulties with resting guests? Or would that be allowing too much credit towards it's mental capacity?"

A sigh came from him as he decided not to linger to much on the abnormal, and instead returned to the mother's suggestion. He didn't know if he had the stomach to eat much of anything. But who was he to deny the fallen their last peaceful meal? Even if it would only be in spirit. And with Kyung-ha herself suggesting so, there wasn't much room for a choice, and so he would respect her wishes to do so.

Galiha hurries out of the living room without so much as another word, not wanting to make her presence anymore known to the other agents and instead wanted to check and give her info on to Edgar as soon as possible. Besides, it was better to be in the company of someone who wouldn't call her a housekeeper/ Passing through the halls again, she would make a quick left and open up the library doors, stepping through with a sigh and resting her back on the door, slowly sliding down it into a sit with her hand resting on her head in thought and pondering. She wasn't sure what to make of the agent, assuming there was anything too make of him. She just knew that he wasn't a threat. She would lift her head from her hand and call out, "Edgar, are you present?"

Kyung-ha could only exhale through her nose as laughter, for her heart was too heavy to do anything else with Johnathan's comment. But seeing him there, in the Keeper's quarters after years of not seeing him, gave her the small hope she desperately needed. He was safe. Seemingly unharmed. Healthy, even. But she could see behind his eyes how tired he was. And unfortunately, she knew how far he was along with the other Keepers from their journey. She approached him to push back his hair gently and place a kiss on the top of his head to empathize––to ensure he was still real and she wasn't just imagining him.

But then her eyes suddenly shot open when she forgot she had left the noodles boiling in the kitchen. She excused herself in Korean, quickly rushing to the entrance of the kitchen to transfer the noodles into the corresponding bowl. However, Kyung-ha stopped in her steps when her eyes saw her children in the kitchen. Yoon was there to prevent the noodles from overcooking, for she had finally built the courage with the help of her brother to join them.

Yoon was quiet, her eyes staring into her mother's with guilt lingering in them. She was a deer in front of headlights, being caught in the middle of her cooking––or rather, finishing up what Kyung-ha had started. She even went as far as making a pot of oolong tea, even though she herself found tea to be disgusting. She made a pot of tea before her own mother instructed her to do so, similarly to how she had done when her coworkers joined her in their other apartment. Meanwhile, her brother was given the more simple tasks, like drying the dishes they'd be using.

Kyung-ha didn't expect Yoon to come down at all. In fact, she had assumed Yoon came downstairs to steal the meal she prepared for Johnathan. But her head tilted, not even sure where to start when realizing she had done the opposite. Only silence tied them together. She finally blinked, her expression softening only slightly, "We have guest."

"... 알아요.." Yoon muttered quietly, rearranging the jade teacups on a tray slowly even though her heartbeat was skyrocketing the moment she entered the kitchen.

"Then you should know not greeting guests is rude."

"I know." Yoon repeated with a borderline hiss. She was nervous, doing her best to calm her small tremors when she picked up the tray holding the cups and pot of tea. She turned toward the direction her mom came from, inhaling deeply and holding her breath as she walked towards it. She figured she could hold her breath as long as she had beneath the water earlier that day during training. But it was the moment that she stepped through the door and her eyes spotted the man that she froze completely.

Johnathan frowned to himself in thought after Kyung-ha took her initial leave from the room, and for a moment, he could only watch over the sleeping individual with a gaze of uncertainty. He would have offered to assist Kyung-ha in the kitchen, but leaving the thing alone was the furthest thing from what he believed was within reason.
A small pucker played at his lips as he observed the unsettling guest that had been delivered from the sky. He couldn't help but to think that despite it's appearance, it couldn't have been human. He was almost certain of it. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't feel it sense anything from it, it would have been absolute. But even so, he knew that he couldn't be too sure.

Under the assumption that Kyung-ha would be returning, he decided to remain as he was and wait until there could at the very least be an eye kept on their more unexpected guest by someone he seemed more than capable, that person mainly being Kyung-ha herself. But it was when he was returning to the opposite side if the room to keep a distance that he found himself coming to a stop, the faze of his hard blue eyes coming in contact with the short woman that he had come to acquaint himself with some time ago.

Instead of being met with the cleanly shaven face of Abel, Johnathan's after shave was lightly rough. The steely expression within his eyes remained, but there was a light within them, like a glint of life. He was at first puzzled by the sight of her presence there as well her skimmer frame in comparison to when they had been in Florida. He could have almost mistaken her for someone else if not for her stature and the look on her face. For a moment, he was just as frozen as she was.

And then he smiled some. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

~

"I'm here," Edgar confirmed from further inside the library while waiting near one of the tables. His fingers strummed against the tabletop nervously, having had a few worrying things that had come to mind during his wait for the elf's arrival. He felt around again until he found the stack of books that were also present in the table, relieved that no one had moved or put them away since they had been out since before he had been blinded. He could tell that it was the stack that he had left by the rubbery texture if the book that was in the very top.

Galiah let her worries subside when he would her the voice of her lover from just across the library, a faint smile breaking through the constant confusion that had slowly settled into her mind. She walked over to the painter, seeing him resting his hands on the books. She was curious as always to ask but knew that now was perhaps not the greatest of times. She would instead relay what she had discovered. “There is another among the group. A sleeping… something. Seems to be in a deep sleep. It was founded by the agent. As for the agent himself I can confirm that he is not a threat. At least not at the moment. We may be able to rest our fears a bit for now. My concerns lie with the one resting in the living room. I’ll have to use my stealth talents. I believe that Lady Kyung-ha and the agent didn’t suspect a thing”
The elf would truly believe her own falsehood as she would sit down next to Edgar. And almost out of instinct would scoot a bit closer, looking over the books that rested as she asked rather bluntly “Edgar, you know you can’t read right?”
But then her ears would perk “Ah you wish for me to read them for you. Like how Lady Kyung-ha does for Sir Sangeon when it is nightfall. I could do that”

Upon seeing Johnathan’s unexpected appearance, the tray in her hands suddenly felt 10 times heavier, with her grip now tightening on its handles. Yoon's eyes wandered to his chest where she had last seen the nasty bullet wound. She vividly remembered most of his body being covered with blood, blood that covered her mother’s hands and even her own when she fearfully tried helping until the ambulance arrived. The small hairs on her arms rose as she recalled her mother’s voice being drowned by sirens. She recalled being left behind, being forced to watch him be taken away to repair things she still blamed herself for. Things she knew her mom blamed her for. But he looked so different now compared to when she last saw him connected to so many wires and tubes. They had both changed in more ways than one.

"It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

His smile caught Yoon off guard, for she had not expected the welcoming reaction at all, nor a smile like that since the most Abel gave was a small grin. It had indeed been quite some time. Yet, she had still expected the complete opposite of a friendly reunion. She always thought that if they were to ever see each other again, it would be to finish the job that was started that night. And she would let it be so to make up for her wrongdoings and guilt that weighed her down. Her face was notably pale when Johnathan spoke to her, reminding herself that he wasn’t a ghost or a dead apparition talking to her. But she didn’t know what to say, barely able to nod as a response. She didn’t know where to look. And for a moment, she had forgotten to breathe. Her brown eyes shifted to the floor after she was spoken to. And feeling her mana weakly beginning to frost up the tray she held out of her own anxiousness, she forced herself to quickly deliver the tray of tea with a lowered head onto the coffee table without dropping it. Her short hair covered her face while doing so, and she wiped her clammy hands on her pants. And only then did she realize she hadn’t greeted him properly like her mother wanted. She took in a deep breath, clutching her hands into fists when she suddenly bowed respectfully a few meters away from him. She eventually returned his smile with a small and shy one of her own. “.....t-tea made I—o-or I mean… I-I… made t-tea…” Yoon stammered with a bashful blush “...b-but I-I’m sure y-you already s-saw th-that—” She regretted her first choice of words since it was clear she was there to deliver tea in the first place. She awkwardly combed back strands of her stubborn, short hair that kept falling from its grip on her right ear. And though she didn’t say it out loud, it was clear how relieved and happy she was seeing the man before her was healthy and back on his feet. The only man that seemed to survive from her mother's coworkers.

"No— We're not making this a bed time story thing," Edgar said, slightly flustered and slightly agitated by the fact that everyone seemed to keep pointing out that he was blind in one way or another. But he opted to stay on track rather than to address it, and instead directed his focus towards what she had said prior to it.
"It. You said "it". What do you mean by that? It, as in, something that isn't human or an elf or whatever else we've managed to run into, or what? Because I'm not liking the way this is sounding, because it sounds like another pet or creature or somethin' and god, Thuyeous is more than a handful as is—" he trailed off, trying not to groan at the building dismay.
He wasn't very fond of Thuyeous, considering the mantibat's tendency to abruptly pick him up when he was outside and drop him into random bushes or up to the roof where he couldn't exactly get down. And he could have swore that it thought about eating him once or twice after Mason's attempts to train it into not abducting him every time he was heading towards where the rest of the household resided.

~

Johnathan observed Yoon as she finally greeted him with a respectful bow, and again there was puzzlement within his expression. It wasn't something that he received often from the short woman back before his hospitalization. But it was in fact something that he recognized was taught well by Kyung-ha, and not only to just those who had been under her as students. His gaze moved to the tea that had been placed on the coffee table close by. He observed it, the way it sat on the plate that in turn rested on the table. It's coloring. The plate itself. Yoon's voice brought his attention back, his blue gaze meeting the contrasting brown that was Yoon's.

“.....t-tea made I—o-or I mean… I-I… made t-tea…”

There was something about the way she stammered over her words that gave him some sense of familiarity, and he found himself thinking back to, of all places, the hospital in which they had first encountered one another. Except this time, he felt a sense of relief that he couldn't quite make sense of. When it was confirmed by her that he did in fact and most obviously know that he had indeed seen her bring in the tea, he could do nothing about the quiet, subtle chuckle that came about. But with it was this small voice that urged him to look elsewhere, if only for a second. Because for that second, there was a void within his mind that he couldn't find words to fill at first. "Thank you for the tea, Yoon Park. Will you...be joining us at the table shortly as well? I'd assume so."

"Come now, Edgar" Galiah spoke as she would brush her pink hair back under her hood, "If it were an elf, I'd be able to tell. No elves for quiet a few hundred miles". But Galiah knew that it wasn't the proper time to be technical, so she took in a deep breathe, before she would answer to the best of her abilities, "I'm not sure. It was a human, at least it looked like a human. It almost looked like Lady Yoon in a way but also didn't really look like her and it almost looked like Lady Raven but also did not look like her. It also didn't respond to any of my acts of violence as I slapped it. There's a possibility it might actually be dead, but I highly doubt that. But whatever it was, it looked human and felt human. But I'm not so sure if it really is human"

Yoon’s keen ears heard Johnathan’s subtle chuckle, which was a new and lively sound she had yet to hear emit from his mouth. It caught her off guard, where even her blush was delayed after realizing she had stammered over her words. For the past months, she worked hard on her speech and conversation skills. She thought she had been doing well. But sometimes it was inevitable for her to mess up, especially ever since the day she woke up and was seemingly hesitant to even socialize with people she was already well acquainted with.

She resisted the urge of a habit she had to scratch her thumbs, being that her small hands were currently exposed, laying flat on her sides after her bow. Instead, she bit her tongue as Johnathan finished his question, only smiling a little to respond to his gratitude. Truthfully, she wasn’t planning on staying. She saw herself as a burden inferring with his and her mother’s business, and was nervous to hear what he had gone through because of her. But she also knew it was impossible to escape her mother’s scolding for disappearing, especially on someone who she considered a son. Which to her meant that she was obligated to treat him like an older brother. “Y-yeah…” She cleared her throat. “I mean––y-yes, I-I think I’ll be joining, if th-that is okay. If not then th-that’s also okay––heh––whatever you feel comfortable with, r-really.” She clarified in case her presence wasn’t wanted, which she understood completely.

Yoon awkwardly broke eye contact to look back at the tea set and occupy herself with something so she wouldn’t look completely useless standing there now that she had brought out the tea. “I-I’m just gonna––” She calmed her nerves before kneeling to the ground so that she could pick up the teapot, her middle and thumb finger holding its handle with her index finger pressing on the top knob. Her free hand rested on the forearm that perfectly gripped the teapot––as she was trained to do so. She poured the green oolong tea into the jade teacup from her stance on the ground, which was a sign of respect and submission to the guest, especially one older than her and the opposite gender. She filled the tiny cup almost to the brim, but with enough room in case he wanted sugar or milk. During the entirety of the pouring, she held her breath which surprisingly resulted in no spilling or droplets anywhere. A perfect pour without any clumsiness, which was impressive coming from Yoon. Both her hands cupped the full teacup, picking it up as she stood up straight from the ground to deliver it to Johnathan. There were no fiddling comments about his “unfun” and detached demeanor, nor nicknames about him being a giraffe or a tree like there once was whenever she saw him. A past Yoon most likely wouldn’t have even served him tea the way she did now. But like Johnathan himself said, it had been quite some time since they last saw each other.

Johnathan found it more difficult than he would have ever expected to not find Yoon's stammering a tad bit humorous. And as Yoon prepared a cup of the oolong tea for him, he was going to reassure that she was very much welcome to join them. After all, who would he be to say otherwise, other than the fact that he half expected her to hide away in her room until he left. Or at least attempt to, knowing her mother.
He wasn't sure what it was that stopped him from speaking any further in that moment, but as he watched such properly controlled motions from the woman, he was somewhat curious of her new sense of formality. And he couldn't help but smirk. And it was he who, to Yoon's surprise, would cast the first bit of humor, merely to see how well she would uphold her demeanor.

As she would hand him his tea, he thanked her. And for a moment, he would peer down at her in silence with a gaze that was like a calm sea. "And so if appears the bushel has grown. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that the same can be applied to physical stature." He paused to take a sip from his tea, only to reel back slightly at both his hot it was, and in disgust at its strong, sugarless taste. He just barely made a face, and he eyed the sugar that Yoon had brought along with her.
His gaze went back to her as he spoke again. "It's...good to see you." He didn't know whether a hug was appropriate for the encounter, nor did he understand why he had the sensation to do, and so that left merely one thing in mind. Something casual, he told himself, thinking back to something Kyle had told him during their shift time along the same road.

He gave Yoon a slow and awkward pat on the shoulder. It was the best course of action he could think of that was deemed far more appropriate than anything with Kore. He helped himself to a few small spoonfuls of sugar, to what he thought would be more than enough to balance the bitterness he tasted. After a few stirs he walked over to the tall window, peering out into what he could see of the distant town's buildings. "How've you been?"

~

"You slapped—" Edgar tried his hardest not to focus solely on the fact that Galiah had resorted to any sort of violence right off bat, which only led to him to expecting hear something about the ordeal sooner or later. He took in a deep breath to keep himself calm. At least they were getting somewhere, and faster than he had anticipated. "Okay...okay.. so we know that whoever it whatever it is, it's not human. Great. Or..not so much, fuck—" He reminded himself that he needed to stay level headed. "Alright, so, that agent, what's he look like? And are we sure it's not the same one that attacked us before? I mean, absolutely positive?"

"Well I slapped you many times and that seemed to work just fine" Galiah stated, and it was unclear if her statement was meant to be a joke or not. She would continue as her legs swayed from the chair, unable to touch the floor. "Well how do I put this?" Galiah had to think of the proper way to describe his appearance. "He seems rather... void of any interests or desires. He dresses nice, minus his facial hair. He seems respectful toward Lady Kyung, not so much me. A housekeeper, may I remind you" She spoke sternly still upset over that encounter before she would continue, "It's not really easy to describe this agent. He lacks any features that can be noticeable. There's Lady Raven's freckles and ability to change her appearances like the seasons, Sir Mason's large size, your... keen eye for artistry" She avoided saying blind. "Lady Sammy's fake hair and even the other agents with Lady Kyung's hair and her hidden features behind a silly chestplate and Sir Leonard looking as if he hadn't slumbered in weeks, but this one... Featureless. Blends in perfectly, and I believe that is what makes him stick out like an injured appendage as you humans say."
She rested her arms around her chest and crossed them, holding them close to her as she would come to a conclusion of her own, "I believe... that he doesn't have something to hide like the others here. Yes even you, Dear Edgar. Not that it's my place to pry. I can only tell physical secrets, but nothing more than that. I believe this agent is open with himself, which is why I can't see him as a threat. At least not openly. That doesn't rule out that he may not have lured someone here by mistake"

Edgar listened carefully to what Galiah relayed to him, hanging on to every word that she said since it was all he had to rely on aside from something he didn't quite have the hang of yet. The description of the agent left him unnerved though, and he didn't know if it was truly their only skill or just dumb luck that they had something that he thought they could rely on. "We'll have to keep tabs on him while he's here then," he said, though not liking the idea of things having to come down to that. He rubbed his chin in thought.
If what they had felt before was the doing of the agent, then at least they had a way of knowing if he would be involved in anything more suspicious than he found things to be already. He sighed, looking more in Galiah's direction. "It's not much but we've got something. Good work."

His brows knitted a little afterwards though. "And hey, I don't have anything to hide either," he commented on what she had said prior. He shook his head. "And you're right. For all we know, this guy could be some sort of spy or somethin'. Wouldn't be the first."

“And sadly I do not believe it will be the last” Galiah commented with a solemn tone as she thought of a sly breaking into their place of safety once more, the very idea already sending a sense of dread across her body and her mind. She let out a sigh as she tried to change their subject and would turn to Edgar. Though he could not see it he could hear in her tone that the elf was smiling at him, “Well I can only see what people hide physically. Not emotionally. And I can say with the utmost certainty that you have nothing to hide. I’ve made very sure if that” She would give a playful chuckle as her legs swayed back and forth

Edgar paused, Galiah's last statement catching him off guard. And as he heard the sweet sound of her laughter right behind the words that she had spoken, a smile inched onto his face. It didn't take long at all before it was replaced by a smirk a second later. "That's assuming that I would have wanted to hide it even if you hadn't," he replied. "Who knows, maybe I'd love having you find what I hide. Physically." He leaned down to where he had heard her voice and placed a quick kiss on the corner of her lips.

“You missed but your aim is getting better” Galiah spoke with a smile, making sure to remedy that by placing her hands onto his cheeks and planting another kiss onto his lips, “If we can’t find a cure to heal your eyes… IF we can’t” she was certain to specify the if part, “We can at least train you in the art of a blind warrior. Like Burtold the Blind Archer, who fought beasts by using sound and feeling. But of course, we’ll find a way to heal you, my love” She spoke, her hands trailing down from his cheek to his chest. The way he spoke to her, desired her, it did things to the elf that she didn’t think was possible. “And I’m sure you have many more secrets that I can find. Many other things that you can show to this poor elf girl”

"And so it appears the bushel has grown. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that the same can be applied to physical stature."

Yoon's jaw noticeably clenched as she held back a comment regarding his own height that resembled a new species of giraffe. She would've snapped back like before if it weren't for the fact that she was surprised with his calm and laid back demeanor, despite their last encounter together. But she knew the man that stood before him was extra prioritized by her mom, and so she was forced to bite on her tongue before she was accused of being disrespectful to her favorite guest. Though it was still odd to her, seeing his attempt at a joke, albeit a rather petty one in her opinion. But it was still an entertaining joke, compared to his last one of a stick being brown and sticky. She also found it odd, seeing him choose to add sugar to his tea since he previously drank it black. It was also odd, seeing so many expressions on a once expressionless face.

"It's...good to see you."

"Hm?" She found herself momentarily distracted with the oddity. "...oh... y-yeah, I'm glad to see y-you to––" Yoon suddenly froze when Johnathan's arm stretched forward and found it patting at her shoulder. The move was unexpected, and it made her take a very small step back with both her hands instinctively resting on top of his on her shoulder to attempt and prevent another unfortunate encounter. Her palms were cool unlike his––its growing frigidness being challenged by his muting aura like two magnets repelling each other. She watched with wary eyes until the awkwardness of it all made her shoulders droop and her signature blush emerge across her cheeks and nose. There was something different that she felt upon her hands touching his. Somehow, it felt different than the hands she remembered grabbing while ice skating.

She watched him head over to the window. It still was shocking to see him casually walk around when the last time she saw him was when he was strapped to a bunch of wires and was on the brink of death. "...I-I'm alive, s-so... I guess I can't complain..." She repeated what her mom tried engraining in her head. Truthfully, she wasn't doing well. Not since the day she woke up in a different bed. But if the point of all of what they've gone through so far was to just survive, then she couldn't complain despite the few bumps in the road. Yoon was quiet, afraid to ask Johnathan the same question. Yet, Yoon had so many questions to ask. Where had he been this entire time? Why did he never call back? Was he okay? Could he forgive her? Her hands shifted behind her back, and she debated on a few words before finally speaking. "..I..” She paused. “I heard… O-Or I guess I-I was told—O-Or overheard––” She corrected herself sheepishly. She sighed to herself and cleared her thoughts to start over without blabbering. “...You go by Johnathan now, is that right?” She asked. “I w-wanted to make sure I got that right…”