Chapter 13: Return to 2024 and a new bond

16th Jan 2024

Shin-ju

It had been two days since Rose and Lord Yeon had returned home, with Yeon resting on my orders otherwise he’d be watching over his sister. She was yet to wake up but this hadn’t stopped her body from developing a low fever, which I hoped wasn’t the start of other symptoms. I remembered being told by Moo-young back in 1939 of the disconnect Rose’s body and core would experience.

The two of us weren’t sure how the disconnect would show itself, so we prepared for anything while she slept in her own bed. I was returning from the bathroom with fresh cold water when my ears picked up wheezing from the direction of Rose’s room. The bowl was placed on her bedside table, “raise the appropriate arm if you can breathe through your nose”, her left arm went up and I let out a sigh of relief.

I helped her sit up then stood at the end of her bed facing her “focus on my face and voice to help you slow down your breaths. Don’t worry about anything else at this moment. The rest can wait.” I kept an eye on her energy as her breathing slowed down to a more stable rate, this took ten minutes.

This helped her mind recognise where she currently was, after being in 1938/9 for seven months. “In the chaos of your departure Moo-young wasn’t able to warn you about the disconnect your body and core would experience.” My body moved into a low bow while I respectably said “joesonghamnida” and her with a slight bow of the head was “gwaenchanayo.”

I knew she was going to ask about her brother so “I am giving you the same order Yeon was given to rest. He is catching up on his sleep and you need to do the same to help both parts of you slowly sync together.” I held her hand as I promised “Moo-young and I will make sure this transition goes seamlessly, now rest as best you can.”

Ji-ah

I was watching my husband sleep after returning from the office, he looked so cute and peaceful. The peace he is experiencing could be due to the success with Rose’s core; it was good to know she had a better chance for the future.

I petted him just like I did my first life which it seems he has started doing with his sister. A voice at the doorway softly called out “he will sleep better with you next to him so have a lie down.” I turned my head to see Moo-young, this let me know it was safe to trust his advice, and I laid down holding Yeon’s hand.

A few hours later I felt a small hand tapping on my body, along with a soft whiny tone saying “eomma I’m hungry.” I turned over to see it was dinner time. “I didn’t realise the time Yun, let’s get some dinner for both of us and leave your dad and your aunt to sleep.”

I was proud of my daughter for not throwing a full-blown tantrum, which could have woken them up. To get food into my child quickly I got the instant ramen from the pantry and set the kettle to boil. Each packet went into a bowl, so while we waited for the kettle, I gave her a big hug. She didn’t shed any tears and I was able to feel her relax in my arms.

We stayed like this till the kettle told us the water was ready, Yun waited at the table while I got some of her favourite toppings out before placing them on the table. I loved watching her have moments of independence, especially in uncertain times like this. Her favourite moment with ramen was watching the water being poured into the bowl cooking all the ingredients, she softly giggled as the bubbles covered everything.

We let the bowls cool down for five minutes so we didn’t burn our tongues or throats while eating. I tested the temp of our bowls so I knew when to say “it’s safe to eat, jal meokgesseumnida.” I kept the conversion light as a distraction from the current situation.

After dinner we worked together with the dishes. I took care of the sink part while Yun stood on a stool to dry them with dish cloth. Bath time was next to help her calm down for bedtime and to finish off we read a story. “Goodnight and sweet dreams Yun”

one and half week later

Moo-young

I noticed Rose was getting worse with the symptoms of a runny nose and fever making it harder for her to breather and get enough sleep. Shin-ju, Yeon, Ji-ah and I came to the decision to get their family GP to make a home visit. This would allow us to get the required equipment to make the transition period easier on her body.

The GP’s examination of Rose confirmed my suspicion of what was wrong with her body, he took some blood and ordered a Chest X-ray. He asked for her medical history and by the time I had finished, he was speechless. “I’m 99% sure she has bronchitis so the x-ray will tell us the extent of it” he remarked, so Yeon and I went with Rose to the hospital.

The results confirmed the GP’s diagnosis, so the hospital gave us a few prescriptions along with a portable oxygen machine. Her doctor told us to bring her in if she got any worse due to her medical history. We needed to get Rose over the worst of the symptoms before letting Yun or Kim Soo-oh near her.

I recalled Ji-ah telling me about Yun bursting into happy tears the moment her dad and aunt returned to 2024. Hmm I wondered if these moments of knowing might lead into an important element in the future. I pondered this while driving to Yeon’s place to relieve Shin-ju.

I walked into her room while she was still asleep, so I sat down beside the bed. Shin-ju had reported her breathing had stayed stable with the oxygen, allowing her to get some deep sleep. She began to stir with a perplexed expression, “Rose are you ok?” Her reply threw me for a loop {last night I might have seen Hong-ju sitting in the armchair during my sleep, but I’m not sure I can trust my own memory.}

“She has returned to Korea since she missed both of you and will be taking over your jobs. I offered my spare room so she can be close to everyone.” Her whole body relaxed for a few moments before a short coughing fit, causing visible pain in the chest.

I saw the armchair in the corner and had a good idea, so I texted Yeon to assist. He came in and I directed him to pick up Rose while I moved her oxygen machine so she could sit up in the chair. Yeon covered her with the blankets, while I raised her level of oxygen to offset her coughing fits.

It was hard watching her struggle with breathing, and I wished there was another way for both parts of her to sync up, instead of putting her in more pain. Yeon looked at me “if Yun put a mask on, would you allow her to see Rose? It could be the right distraction to help keep her calm.” After thinking about it for few minutes, it seemed like a good way to test out my theory about Yun, so I agreed to the mask condition.

a few hours later

Rose

I was dozing off in the armchair when I heard voices coming from my right, one of those voices was my niece, Yun. Her small footsteps informed me she was trying to walk instead of run towards me. She stopped in front of me and grabbed my hand, waking me up.

A gentle warm wind carrying cherry blossoms surrounded both of us, while both of my eyes glowed purple along with one of Yun’s eyes. A telepathic link opened up between us with a young Eucalyptus tree symbolising our young bond. I discovered she is an empath when I felt every moment since Yun had known me.

I hoped my end had kept anything she felt or saw at a child friendly level, as a lot of my memories and experiences were appropriate for teens and older. We returned back to my room with Yeon and Moo-young looking at us with surprised expressions. {auntie, what happened} she asked. Raising my head towards Moo-young {I echo Yun’s question of what happened?}

He paused before answering our question with “I don’t know, but I will look into this. In the meantime, do either of you feel any different?” I took a moment to check in with myself, and I realised my breathing had improved a little bit.

There was a strong feeling of warmth coming from Yun, which made sense with my discovery of her empathy powers. I looked down at my hand to find a purple string tied to my little finger leading towards my niece. As I was reporting these insights to Moo-young, he took down notes to help with his information search. A big yawn escaped my mouth and my eyelids felt heavy, so I let them close.

I felt a weight on my left side, so I opened my eyes to find Yun asleep and I realised we were in my bed. There was nothing in my memory of how we got here. I was so focused on my niece I didn’t realise who was sitting on my right.

It had been ten and a half days since I last saw her, and she hadn’t aged at all. {Hong-ju how are you here in 2024?}, she smiled and replied “between Matilda and I, we knew you were in trouble, so she sent me back here to help. Moo-young was researching the events both of you experienced and I took a peek at his notes.”

“I remembered reading something similar in the library back at the Melbourne branch about how bonds can be formed, so I helped speed up his research by giving him access to the Australian branch’s database.” {wait a minute… are you saying I formed a bond with my niece?}, she nodded her head and my body reacted by starting a coughing fit. She helped me sit up and swapped the nose attachment for the full mask version to get more oxygen to my lungs.

After ten minutes my breathing became more stable, the whole time she held my hand and distracted me by talking about the highlights of her life since 1939. I was glad she had made it out of the Korean war in one piece, and I didn’t realise we had met while I worked for the Aussie branch.

Flashback

I was a senior manager in the demon hunter department so it made sense I would be introduced to new hires as they got a tour of the office. There is a chance I might have had a feeling of deja vu but probably brushed it aside to focus on work.

End of Flashback

It occurred to me, the situation with Hong-ju and I meeting out of order was similar to how Doctor and River Song met. I was brought back to reality by a cold feeling on my chest, it was Hong-ju checking my breathing. She breathed a sigh of relief, and I heard her writing notes.

“Moo-young has had a working theory about Yun and yourself since she started getting gut feelings about you. The bond formed between the two of you has confirmed his theory.” {I knew he was hiding something, when Yeon and I were transitioning back to our bodies.}

“Rose, how much can you sense from your side of the bond?” Hong-ju asked with curious tone. The newly formed connection didn’t come with an instruction Manual, I tried using my sensing ability to locate the purple string but it didn’t work. My second attempt used my mind’s eye which was successful.

I was able to see where she was located in the apartment and vaguely, I could feel her happiness of knowing where her gut feelings had been leading her towards. While I was doing this I accidentally got her attention, {auntie?} {sorry I was testing how much I could sense from my side of our connection.}

She went silent then {have you been silently crying, go-mo?} {yes I have been, it’s frustrating needing help to breath. The moment we bonded you allowed me to breathe a bit easier.} {can I… can I spend some time with you?} {with… permission}, so I went to sleep with my niece next to me.