Chapter 14: Synced up

Hong-ju

I recalled one of the days before I made myself known to Rose when Moo-young confessed the feelings he had been holding on to since we had been children.

Flashback

It had been a week since I had returned to Korea. For the meantime I was staying with Moo-young, allowing us to reconnect after 73 years. I was relaxing after catching up with Taluipa and Hyunuiong, my nose detected a familiar aroma. My nose led the way into the dining area where my favourite dish was on the table.

Moo-young appeared from the kitchen carrying a bottle of my favourite drink along with two glasses. “What’s the occasion?” He placed them down looking nervous and took two deep breaths “Ryu Hong-ju, I have loved you ever since we were kids training to be Mountain Gods. I have watched you run after Lee Yeon so many times, so I am asking if you would give me a chance to fill a bigger part of your heart?”

I was taken aback by the sudden confession, I realised I needed time to process what he had said. “May I have some time before I give my answer?” He nodded, rendered speechless. It was the quietest meal the two of us had ever shared.

End of Flashback

It had taken another week for the Awkward feeling to disappear from the apartment. Since then I had been reflecting on our childhood for signs of his feelings within his actions. Lee Yeon had been my first crush, so I felt betrayed when he fell in love with a human instead of me.

I wondered if Moo-young’s feelings kept on getting hurt every time I went after Yeon. From now on I needed to pay attention to my own feelings to see if I could give him a bigger space in my heart. I hoped this experience would help me when it came time for Rose and Yun to find their mates.

Yeon

I was watching over my sister and my daughter cuddle while asleep, my mind wandered back to when we returned. The re-sync process had been rough on her so it was hard to watch her struggle physically. Yun and her forming a permanent bond was a surprise for everyone, it had sped up the syncing process. Her symptoms had eased along with Yun sticking to her side and Moo-young could sense the energy sharing between the two of them.

Hong-ju’s reappearance was a welcome surprise, right after the two of us had said goodbye to everyone 85 years ago. She brought us the information about bonds, as if she knew someone with premonitions. It was good to know our daughter would have people around her once we had passed away, especially her aunt.

I noticed some awkwardness between Hong-ju and Moo-young’s interactions, which meant he had confessed his feelings. Ji-ah reminded me of how her and I went through the same process while figuring out our feelings as we fell in love. Moo-young confided in me during our mountain god training about his feelings for Hong-ju.

Both of them were important to Rose and I, thus making them part of our family so this gave Yun more people to guide her as she grew up. I was taken out of my thoughts by hearing knocking on her bedroom door. It was Moo-young with an update on Rose “I have good news, one more week till both parts of her have synced up.”

Time stood still for me until I noticed him silently laughing joyfully. Once he had calmed down I asked “how can we support her to make sure she stays healthy?” “The key is being careful while her immune system rebuilds itself. Anyone sick needs to be kept away from her” he looked me in the eyes “especially Yun, as she attends school, my place can be a back up if she needs a safe place to avoid illness.”

He gave his permission for her to visit the snail bride’s restaurant. Later on I spoke to Ji-ah and Hong-ju about planning a few distractions while it wasn’t safe for her to leave the apartment.

Rose

It had been three weeks of hell, with a heavy weight on my chest stopping me from breathing normally. No one warned me this would happen when my healed core returned to my body. I had been respectful on the outside but annoyed with Moo-young on the inside.

Generally, I prefer to avoid surprises, so the moment Yun and I bonded, I set off my fight or flight response. I was calmed down by the aboriginal ancestor spirits whispering to me about how this was part of my path. They have been my guides since I was born so I trust them with my life.

The presence of my niece has been a comfort during these hard weeks. Her energy has been flowing into me and in return I have learnt so much about her personality and experiences. I didn’t expect to find out her extra gift of empathy as a nine tailed fox.

A note had been made in my mind palace to contact Matilda once Yun was older enough for empathy training. I knew there were no options within the Korean branch for any skill training because the organisation system was different. Another note was filed away to talk about her joining the family business once she was of age.

My niece was sleeping next to me still giving me energy even though my core and body had completed the syncing process. It was strange to have a 24/7 connection to another person. I checked if Hong-ju was in the apartment. {Can you please come to my room?}, a knock and she walked into the room. {from your research, is it normal to have the connection open 24/7 with bonds like ours or are the two of us an exception?}

She was about to speak but paused for a moment {are you having trouble adjusting to the connection?} I wiped my eyes, before closing them and took a deep breath {My brain is overwhelmed by the sensory information coming from Yun’s mind. This is a big change I wasn’t prepared for… I don’t know how to process this.}

She gave me a bear hug which lasted a few minutes, I felt less overwhelmed with her physical touch. {How can I help to reduce your sensory overload to a bearable level?} {I need a way to dampen the noise coming from her brain.} Hong-ju grabbed her phone to show me a message from Mia, which made us smile. She grabbed my hands, “ready?” and I nodded. The volume of the background noise in the room was overwhelming.

It was evident from the background noise in my mind palace of how it was overwhelming me. Hong-ju found the open hallway where the door needed to be placed. She asked me to create a soundproof room off to the side. I could hear myself for the first time in two weeks, allowing me to breathe.

Ten minutes later I was ready to create the soundproof door with the help of Hong-ju. The open hallway slowly changed its appearance with a soundproof door replacing Yun’s door. Black soundproofing panels lining the walls and lastly another soundproof door appeared in front of us, drastically reducing the noise coming from her young mind.

It took me a moment to realise my brain wasn’t being screamed at, so it felt safe to release the stress from the past three weeks. Hong-ju’s arms embraced me, allowing the tears to fall and she helped me to lie back down. The covers were pulled up to my shoulders and the last thing I felt before falling asleep was a pain in my lower abdomen.