Chapter 10: Meeting the younger brother and training

Future Yeon

Two days later we were heading towards a hair salon to finish my sister’s 1938 make over and she was wearing one of her new dresses. She had decided on the black with white polka dots, with the black shoes, red jewellery and her black bag. I wasn’t sure if I had seen her looking so free, watching her took me back to a day ago when her vision returned.

Flashback

Hong-ju, Moo-young, my other self and I were eating breakfast when Jook Hyang came running towards us with the message for moo-young. She relayed the news of Rose getting her eyesight back. Moo-young got up focused on me and told me “Wait till I give the okay before coming to her room. I want to make sure her vision is truly back before you overwhelm her.”

He paused, then instructed Hong-ju and my past self “please keep him busy and I will get Rose to send a message when he can enter.” After breakfast the two of them dragged me to the training ground to spar against them. I’ll admit it was the right decision as I had been trying to overcompensate for the years she didn’t have any family around her. It was during this time I floated the idea of Hong-ju and Moo-young finding myself and Rose in 2024. They could help me keep her safe and grow her abilities at the same time.

Flashback End

I was taken out of my thoughts by our arrival at the hair salon, I got out of the car and stood by the door ready to steady Rose on her left side. We had discovered my sister could walk with a walking stick in her right hand so it made getting around easier but at a slower pace. Yoo Jae-Yoo had parked the car close by to reduce the distance Rose needed to walk so this helped along with the lack of stairs getting into the building.

We were greeted by the owner who turned out to be a demon like ourselves, Hong-ju helped Rose over to one of the wash basins. I noticed the relaxed look on my sister’s face during the hair wash and especially with the head massage so it took her longer to get up from the chair. She needed more support to reach the styling chair due to her body being more relaxed and the stylist was happy to wait till she made it over to the chair.

I was sitting on the love seat watching Rose get her cut under the guidance of hong-ju who understood the styles of the day better than Rose’s core. It made me wonder how it would have felt to experience the hair cut without her vision but I was distracted by how much hair was falling to the floor as it was being cut. I checked in with her {how are you doing over there?} I felt the red string tug a bit before I got her response {I’m a bit tired with the walking draining my energy, otherwise I’m enjoying this experience.}

I put down my cup of coffee and walked over to her, grabbed her hands and channelled a tiny bit of energy into her. Her face gained more colour then she squeezed my hands {thank you brother now go sit down and rest.} The walk back to the love seat took longer and I was rewarded with a lump of sugar in my tea to bring back some of my energy.

It was good to see Rose have a positive memory during our time here in 1938 and I hoped some of the walking practice will transfer to her physical body. As I was having these thoughts I saw her hair change from shoulder length to a long bob, after this stylist started to cut the layers into her hair and take out some of the thickness. Once the cutting was done it was time to put the finger waves in her damp hair to make sure they stayed.

This whole process so far has taken two hours. I got up to keep my legs from going numb after sitting for most of this by walking around. I asked the staff member making tea if she could make a cup for my sister and put a few sweet biscuits next to it. By the time I sat down Rose had her cup of tea and was enjoying the biscuits.

I understood why Ji-ah enjoyed her hair appointments as it gave her some time to relax and come out looking amazing, so I was determined to make sure Rose got some time like this once she was healthy. Once her hair was styled and dried by a hood blow dryer, the stylist asked Rose if she liked it and her blue-green eyes with gold around her irises told me everything I needed to know. Hong-ju paid the owner while Rose and I made our way back to the car as it was going to take her longer to walk, then we headed back to rest before the dinner that night.

Back in 2024

Ji-ah

It had been a week since Yeon and Rose had begun the ritual so to make it easier on Yun and myself, I had decided to invite Ki Yu-ri along with Kim Soo-oh over to stay. I had two objectives with this course of action, the first was to distract my daughter from her dad and auntie being missing. The second was to get an update on how they were going so it was better to kill two birds with one stone.

Kim Soo-oh was a close friend to Yun who knew about our world, this allowed her to have a human to help with cover once her powers start to show. I made sure the second bed in Yun’s room was ready for him. The doorbell went off as I finished getting the room ready and went to open it.

“Yu-ri and Soo-oh please come in”, the kids ran to her room leaving the adults to chat. Yu-ri called out “Kim Soo-oh come grab your suitcase” five seconds later his footsteps came towards me to grab it and head back to my daughter. The two of us shared a look then we headed towards the kitchen for a nice catch up, with coffee and biscuits.

I brewed two cups of her favourite coffee and opened a packet of biscuits to share, her eyes lit up once she took a whiff of the contents. “Has a certain someone been too energetic this week?” I asked Yu-ri. She took a few sips of her cup before answering “is my body language and tone of voice that transparent” with a tired smile.

“My one might only be five developmentally and physically, but she is half nine tailed fox so her energy levels are close to his age. I understand how they can make us feel tired at the end of the day and Shin-ju spending most of his time keeping an eye on both of them, it must feel harder at the moment” I responded.

She looked at me “for a human you are wise when it comes to knowing the right thing to say, thank you for giving Shin-ju and I some alone time tonight. I have good news about Rose’s condition, the core where her power and abilities come from has been repaired. The old man was with her when the holes were filled and she is recovering at a steady rate.”

She took another sip of her cup then continued “Moo-young has warned Shin-ju her physical body might take longer to accept her new core and it will show up as health complications, so we need to be prepared. We will be happy to have Yun overnight if the two of you need a break once Rose wakes up.” I took a bite of a biscuit before I replied “thanks for the offer and if we need to take you up on that offer, we will let you or Shin-ju know.”

Yu-ri turned her head when she heard small footsteps coming up behind her, “Aunt Yu-ri, Soo-oh told me you have info of how my aunt and dad are going?” “I will let your mum tell you she can be more gentle than myself” she paused to ask permission and I nodded my approval. “You can have one biscuit each, please don’t make a mess in Yun’s room.”

A ding rang out prompting her to check her messages, “I need to go as Shin-ju is on his way home from the office, remember I am a phone call away if you need to chat during this time. We are one big family so we support each other and thanks again for allowing Soo-oh to sleepover.” She grabbed her bag and left the table to say goodbye to Soo-oh and Yun then left the apartment.

Three years ago she was rougher with her manners towards everyone but lee rang, I was able to see the softening of her heart which warmed me up. I heard the noise of two kids playing loudly but nicely as I grabbed the cups and empty biscuit plate to wash in the kitchen.

My eyes spotted another cob web, hmm spiders aren’t active during winter; so what was going on? My thoughts turned to what my husband and sister in law’s spirits were doing at this very moment.

Hong-ju

I was heading to wake up when I saw Yeo-hee walking across the courtyard, “Yeo-hee I need your assistance, so please follow me.” We reached Rose’s room so I placed a finger on my lips to show we needed to be quiet as we entered. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Rose sleeping, I moved forward to gently wake her up “it’s time to wake up for dinner.”

She stretched like a cat before opening her eyes and smiling at me and I knew she was about to sense yeo-hee presence so I decided to introduce them. “Rose, this is Jang Yeo-hee, your sister in law and Yeo-hee Rose is the adopted sister of Yeon and your husband.” At the same time Yeo-hee gave Rose a deep bow of respect and in return she sat up to give her a deep bow to the best of her ability.

{It’s nice to meet you Jang Yeo-hee and may I call you by your first name as we are family?} Rose asked her. I knew Yeo-hee had seen us return with Rose being carried so she understood. “I’m happy for you to use my first name,” she replied with a soft tone. “ready to get changed for dinner?” I asked, she nodded yes, so I lifted her and carried her to the hard back chair.

“Yeo-hee have a look at her dresses and pick out one for tonight” I left Rose’s outfit to her while I removed the bonnet and luckily her hair was still looking stylish enough. I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was yeo-hee holding the purple dress. “The purple dress is perfect along with black accessories and the low heeled black shoes, what do you think Rose-nim?” she asked.

“I like that combination” she coughed {water please} and I passed her a cup, “yeo-hee I can stand and walk with assistance but not by myself” she finished. We helped Rose get changed as it was getting close to dinner time and were with her while she slowly walked to the dining area. It was nice seeing the brothers sitting together as we approached the table and future Yeon pulled out the chair next to him for his sister.

Rang

Yeo-hee and I had returned from our honeymoon to find we had a familiar guest staying at the Myoyeongak. eight or nine months ago a future version of my brother entered my life, and he turned it upside down. Without him I wouldn’t have met the woman who became my world, gotten involved with the Korean independence movement and held down a regular job. It was quite the shock to be told you had gained another sibling by your older brother.

I was able to see he had healed since the events of my future passing with the addition of a sister. The dinner gong went off so I headed to the dining area with my wife, who was helping my new sister to get changed. Yeon had told me I’d only see the spirit version with a temporary solid body, her actual body was lying in 2024 next to his.

He also warned me she would be assisted by one along with her walking stick as her legs had been injured. I saw the current version of my brother and sat to his right giving a clear view to see when my sister entered. He gave me a reassuring side glance to say he knew everything his other self had told me.

A few minutes later she entered with Hong-ju supporting her left side and a walking stick helping her right. My wife followed behind her in case she started to fall on her right. She took her time as I could see her walking was unsteady and this meant she was slightly out of breath by the time she reached the table.

Future Yeon stood up and placed a shawl around her and gave her a side hug. I wasn’t sure when I should introduce myself and Yeo-hee placing her hand on my right arm calmed me down. The one thing Yeon hadn’t told me was if she was older or younger than me. I decided to ask a safe question as my first, so I asked, “how should I address you sister?” “You can call me Noona or Rose as I’m older than you but younger than Yeon” she replied. Her reply got me wondering how much younger she was than our older brother.

Without warning I heard {300 years younger} in my head and my eyes grew wide when I realised nuna has telepathy. I heard both Yeons burst out into laughter, along with Rose cackling at my reaction so I needed to take a few deep breaths before returning my dinner. “It looks like my wife styled your outfit as it has all the signs when she chooses mine” I commented.

“Ah yes she did pick out and help me get changed, Namdongsaeng your wife has great taste” was her response. I focused on my food until future Yeon asked, “what are you these days now you stopped being a bandit?” My public response was “I’ve become the manager of the meal delivery service here with my wolves doing the deliveries.”

Dessert was being served and I noticed my Noona had been quiet for the last 20 minutes, so I nudged current Hyung. I whispered into his ear, “something is not right with our sister so get ready to catch her.” Rose started to dangerously sway in her chair and went too far to her left and almost fell off the chair.

Hyung moved quickly to catch her, then Moo-young checked to see if she was responding and she had fallen asleep. I watched as he lifted sister up and Hong-ju followed him. I presumed towards Rose’s room. I looked at yeo-hee and she had a worried look on her face, “don’t worry about Rose, it’s been a long day and her energy was running out” future Yeon replied.

Towards the end of dessert my wife yawned starting off a chain of yawns from others on the table, so we excused ourselves. “it’s been a long day travelling back so we will talk to everyone tomorrow” and we headed towards our room.

one month later

Roseia

The first thing I felt upon waking up was my body screaming at me, so I asked myself what did I do yesterday? Moo-young’s voice pulled me out of my head “feeling a bit sore today, are we?” {more than a little bit sore. Wait did I overuse my energy for some reason?}

“Ok let me jog your memory Rose, we had training yesterday and someone decided to forgo ‘their walking stick’ during a fight. Does this ring any bells? He hinted. A nervous laugh left my mouth, and he smiled before responding with “Yeon told me you weren’t a good patient and now I’ve seen what he means. After yesterday’s session, I knew you would be feeling sore-”

A knock at the door interrupted him “I have her bath ready and clothes so bring her over when ready” Hong-ju called out before walking away. “since Hong-ju skipped right to the end of what I was telling you, ready for a bath to warm your muscles up? I will give you a massage to get them to a point that you can move around without pain”. I nodded my head consenting to the assistance and after picking me up we headed over to her room. He placed me on one of the couches so they could close all the curtains in her room. Hong-ju carried into the bathroom and she gently helped me get undressed. I remember being placed in the bathtub but nothing else as the darkness pulled me into a memory.

Flashback

one day earlier

I was in current Yeon’s arms being carried to the training area in order to save my energy for training and the first exercise was sitting hand to hand combat. Hong-ju and Rang were my opponents with two of us using wooden swords to minimise damage. I had temporarily made my brother’s axes blunt as he used two handheld axes as his weapon.

I recalled the information I had learnt about Rang and Hong-ju to plan my attack and defence. My brother uses his emotions and rushes in whereas Hong-ju was more controlled when attacking. I closed my eyes to get a sense of where they were located using my ears and sensing ability. My ears heard them coming from opposite directions so I dodged Rang’s short range attack while thrusting my rapier towards her in order to block her. They switched sides which didn’t hinder me as Bruce has trained me to be ambidextrous when using a sword and a dagger. I was able to defend against their attacks by heating up Hong-ju’s wooden sword and Rang’s axes, causing them to drop their weapons.

My final attack was to enter fox mode and direct my energy towards both of them knocking them to the ground. It was more effective on my half human brother than Hong-ju which made sense. Moo-young called an end to the exercise then, he checked on me to make sure I was able to continue and I returned the sharpness to Rang’s axes.

The second exercise was a one on one match with current Yeon. The aim for me was to match the hits from his blunted blade while increasing my walking speed until I didn’t realise I was using my stick. We started in the training area trading blows while getting faster and faster til I dropped my stick to summon my dagger.

I gave Yeon a smirk before teleporting to the main courtyard and waiting for him to catch up. He caught up to me and increased his attacking strength, which challenged me. I barely had time to catch my breath between his strikes which was good practice for a proper fight. I nearly landed a blow on him but he teleported to one of the balconies, so I followed him. We kept on fighting and teleporting for an unknown amount of time making sure to not damage the building until one of his blows knocked me to the ground. Yeon stopped to ask “are you feeling ok to continue?” I was about to answer yes when suddenly my eyelids felt too heavy and I passed out.

End of flashback

I woke up confused for a second, then I realised I was on Hong-ju’s bed getting a massage from Moo-young to help my body be in less pain. “You were out like a light once I placed you into the bath, what did you dream about?” Hong-ju commented. “I relived yesterday’s training session and looking back I used too much energy” I replied. There was a moment of silence in which I could hear a question forming in Moo-young’s mind, {I can tell you want to ask a question or two so go ahead}, he laughed “i saw an animal on the handle of your dagger and sword, which one is it and what’s the meaning?”

{I was granted permission to have a snake on my weapons by the ancestor spirits when I received my title of Lady Roseia and it’s a blessing from them after going beyond my duties to serve and protect the first nations of Australia.} I paused as I heard Hong-ju ask a question in her mind, {I was trained to be ambidextrous by the head trainer in New Holland branch currently known as the Melbourne branch of the afterlife immigration office.} She gasped and responded with “no wonder you were hard to attack during our three way exercise, the power you had in both arms was incredible. I can’t wait to see how much you can do once your body is healed.” Moo-young interrupted with “can you move your body without any pain?”

I rolled on to my left side and was surprised to find my body no longer screamed at me. Hong-ju grabbed a pile of clothes for me to change into with help so Moo-young turned his back so we’d have privacy. Once I was changed my walking stick was given to me and she helped me to stand ready to eat lunch with the others. I hoped to find out what happened to Hong-ju after World War Two once Yeon and I got back.