Jessandra woke up to the doorbell ringing. She sat up, looked at her husband's sleeping form, and smiled. It had been three months since they escaped Mirage City and returned to the waking world after being trapped there for twenty-five years. It didn't feel real, none of it did, especially since they just got their daughter back yesterday. Every day, Jessandra woke up, fearing it was all a hallucination and that they were still stuck in Mirage City, but it was apparent they weren't anymore.
She pulled the covers off, then slowly got out of bed and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes, went into the closet, put on a robe and slippers, then dragged herself to the front door. She looked through the peephole and saw a young mundane woman at her front door and opened it.
"Hello, young lady, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Excuse ma'am, would you like to hear the cause of our wise, kind, and beloved Lord-"
"No, thank you."
The young woman nodded, her expression disheartened, making Jessandra feel bad. Looking at the young woman, who was beginning to turn around, she stopped her.
"Wait, I'll take a pamphlet."
The young woman smiled brightly.
"Thank you, ma'am!"
"You're welcome.
As the young woman left, Jessandra closed the door and soon heard heavy footsteps behind her, followed by a groggy morning voice.
"Who was that?"
Jessandra sighed tiredly, looked at her husband, then frowned at the pamphlet.
'What an odd name for a cult,'
"Just some silly cult member trying to get me to join their cause."
Kain snorted in response.
"What was the name of it?"
"The Moon's path to freedom."
His handsome face scrunched up in confusion, and he took the pamphlet his wife extended to him, then looked at it for a moment.
"What an odd name. How come there are so many names on here that start with the letter A? Alyssa, Abraham, Alice, Amon, Amleia, and a lot of others. At least try to be subtle about it."
Jessandra took the pamphlet from his hands and threw it into the trash can.
"Right? That's what I thought as well."
They both moved to the kitchen, where the back door was, and hesitated to open the curtains in fear of one of the others appearing. After a few minutes of standing there, Kain took a deep breath and opened them. Once they were opened and the rising sun revealed itself, he looked at his reflection in the window with a wavering, stern gaze, then shivered and turned his gaze to the outside. Jessandra leaned her head on Kain's shoulder while looking out the window, not focusing on her reflection, and instead began listening to the conversation Sunless was still having with Eunbin, with a growing smile.
Sunless hadn't moved an inch from his spot, except for their daughter, who was now leaning on the young man, looking at him intently as he talked. Neither of them said anything for a while before Kain spoke up with a slight smile.
"Who do you think is going to ask the other out first?"
Jessandra was silent for a moment before answering.
"Bin,"
Her husband nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same."
It was clear that their daughter was smitten, and Eunbin herself didn't even realize it yet. They weren't as clueless as they made themselves out to be around their daughter. They knew the two were simply friends by observing how they interacted. Still, they would remain that way if Jessandra and her husband didn't push them in the right direction, which is why they began teasing them from the moment they sat on the couch. They decided to pretend that their daughter and Sunless were dating, and to their credit, Jessandra and Kain were having a lot of fun with it.
They watched Sunless lean back with a smile while staring at the embers of the now dead fire.
"And so I stabbed her with the wooden knife, that's how I killed a saint as an awakened, twice."
Eunbin stared with wide eyes as he finished his story. He could feel the warmth of her body as she now leaned fully on him while still sitting in her chair.
"W-what was the first time?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Oh, it was the same Saint I encountered in the second nightmare, but this time it was the first time I met her, and it was in the ebony tower after I fell into the sky below in the chained isles of the dream realm. Anyway, at this point, which was the future for her, she was much, much older, so I guess technically I killed an old lady, but that's a story for another time."
Eunbin leaned away from his shoulder and gave him a completely blank stare when suddenly her eyebrows knitted together in thought.
"Sunless, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes?"
"If a reflection of you were to appear, do you know what I would do to tell if it were you?"
"No, what would you do?"
"I would offer it, honey,"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"You can't be serious,"
Eunbin nodded with a serious expression.
"I am, if it were to take it, then I would know it's not you, since it has the opposite personality of you, then it would love honey, it's a genius plan. The only problem is that, from what my parents told me, the reflection would know, since it would have your memories, therefore it would eventually remember me telling you this, and could pretend to hate it."
"That's true,"
"Anyway, back to our previous conversation, I understand now why Nightingale panics when he's around you. I wouldn't be able to take it; everything you say is somehow always true."
"As I said, the readers demand I torment, Kai. It's the law."
Eunbin scoffed in response and leaned her shoulder against his again with an eye roll.
"First, 'the people' now 'the readers', who the hell are you referring to-"
"Anyways, what are you going to tell Ki Song?"
Eunbin stared at him for a long moment, unamused, before fixing her jewelry and focusing on his question; Sunny noticed she did this when she was nervous.
"I…I don't know, I've been avoiding thinking about it. I have no idea how she'll react. Will she be sad thinking I don't need her anymore now that I have my birth parents?"
"I doubt it, if anything she'll likely be happy that you're happy."
"I hope you're right,"
"I hope so too,"
Sunny was about to speak again when he heard the back door open. Eunbin and Sunny turned to see Kain and Jessandra walking towards them, the former in pajamas and shoes, the latter in a robe and slippers.
Kain approached with a knowing smile.
"I hope you took my advice in wearing protection, Sunless, and I hope you two found a hotel room and didn't do it out here in our backyard. I'd better not get any unexpected news soon."
Eunbin stammered at his statement and pointed at him with a trembling finger.
"We didn't do anything, we didn't even move. All we did was talk!"
Kain threw his head back and laughed, then shook his head and looked at her again.
"Right, uh-huh, you know I was your age once, Eunbin, you can't fool me. Just so you know, I don't want to become a grandpa yet, I'm still too hip to be one, ow!"
Jessandra, who had walked up while they were talking. lightly smacked her husband on the side, her expression irritated.
"You're 57 years old, you're past being 'hip', and you're embarrassing her, Kain. I, for one, can't wait to be a grandma."
Eunbin blushed in embarrassment as she stared at her parents with wide eyes, then glanced at Sunny before speaking while avoiding his gaze.
"Sunless, I wouldn't blame you one bit if you were to walk away right now or stop associating with me."
Sunny laughed.
"You're being dramatic, Eunbin. It's just a little teasing; you'll get used to it."
She shot him a look of betrayal.
"Don't encourage their behavior, you're supposed to be on my side. They're just like Howl."
Kain raised an eyebrow at that.
"Who's Howl?"
"One of my adopted sisters in Raven Heart. Speaking of Raven Heart, we should go there today so I can show you around."
"I don't know, sweetheart, what if your adoptive mother, Ki Song, thinks we abandoned you and just randomly popped back into your life."
"She knows what happened to you two, or at least what I thought happened to you for the past two decades."
"I see, well, I hope she hears us out, I'd rather not get turned into a puppet."
"That won't happen, I'll make sure of it,"
"Alright, then I'm fine with it. What about you, Jess?"
The older woman nodded without hesitation.
"I am too. I'd love to meet the woman who took care of you, Eunbin."
She smiled and held out her hands to both of them, then looked at Sunny.
"Then we'll depart now. I can only take two people at a time, so I'm afraid you'll have to transport yourself to the dream realm, Sunless."
"Thats fine with me,"
Eunbin smiled,
"I'll see you soon,"
A few seconds later, he was at the entrance of Raven Heart, where Eunbin, Jessandra, and Kain stood in front of him before they all turned around to face him. That was when Kain spoke.
"You two go on ahead, we'll tour this place ourselves first, then find Sunless' emporium and tour the place again with you, Eunbin, and then go to Ki Song."
Eunbin bit her lip in nervousness.
"Are you sure?"
They both nodded.
"Positive,"
Eunbin still looked worried but nodded nonetheless,
"Alright, well, I'll be with Sunless then,"
The parents waved as they began walking to the guards who stood at the entrance.
Seeing her worried gaze, he nudged her arm to get her attention.
"They'll be fine, Eunbin."
"I know, but still,"
Sunny held out his arm with a lopsided grin.
"Come on, I got something planned that I think you'll like."
Eunbin smiled as she took his arm.
"Alright,"
***
A pretty, young, mundane woman walked down the street toward an emporium, looking bored. She had finished training with her teacher hours ago and now had nothing to do. After a few minutes of walking, she reached her teacher's emporium and opened the door. Listening to the melodic ringing that graced her ears, she looked around and found it empty.
Well, it made sense, considering it was still closed and they hadn't opened yet. Rain let out a sigh and was about to open the door to walk into the kitchen and begin setting up before they opened when she suddenly stopped in place as she heard Princess Eunbin speak,
'What is she doing back there?'
"Put the damn thing in, Sunless."
Huh?!
Rain heard her teacher scoff in response,
"I'll put it in when you stop holding it with your death grip! You'll crush it like wet paper with those damn hands!"
Rain covered her mouth with wide eyes and silently gasped. W-what were they talking about? Surely it couldn't be what she thought it was!
Not wanting to draw conclusions yet while also eager to hear more, she pressed her ear to the door and listened to Eunbin's response.
"Are you trying to say that I'm rough-handed? I'm trying to make this process as smooth as possible since it's my first time, unlike you, who already has experience in this sort of thing. Just slide it in, you're making this much more difficult than it needs to be."
"You think I haven't tried that already?! You were there, it didn't work!"
She could hear Princess Eunbin practically roll her eyes.
"That's because it's too big."
Rain stumbled in place at the response and blushed.
"I told you it would be, but you didn't listen, you said 'oh, Sunless, don't worry, it'll be fine' and now look where we are!"
"That was before you got it all over me. How the hell am I going to get this stuff out? Look at me, I'm a damn mess."
"I'll help you, don't worry,"
"You had better."
She blushed more as the conversation went on, s-she wasn't supposed to be listening to this! Then again, they weren't supposed to be doing such a thing in a kitchen of all places! She always figured something was going on between them ever since Princess Eunbin visited, along with her sisters Moonveil and Silent Stalker, months ago.
Especially with their recent 'outing', even though it was clearly a date, one which they got back from recently, before Rain woke up from her needed nap after training and came to work. Working at her teachers' emporium was something that Rain did whenever she wasn't training with him or resting from exhaustion, mainly because it paid well… at least when he did pay her.
Which was only once, and it wasn't even the whole thing!
Still, she digressed. Even though those two were together, there was a time and a place, and this was neither! Rain wanted to storm in there to tell them to do that stuff in a room, but immediately shrank at the thought of catching them in the act! Rain would be scarred for life if that happened! That's why she decided to sit behind the counter and try to tune out the conversation, and she did for a few minutes until the conversation grew louder.
"Damnation! Aiko, stop standing there watching and get over here and help us!"
'A-Aiko?!'
Just what kind of relationship was her teacher in? Did he have a harem?!
"Me?"
"Yes, you! Who else would I be talking about?"
"I can assist you as well, my friend," a pleasant voice answered, with a tone that sounded like he was smiling.
Mordret too?! Just what in the dead gods was going on in there?!
Why did Rain allow her teacher to make her start working here, not to mention while being unpaid for the first three damn months! Rain stopped complaining when she realized the kitchen had gone silent for a few seconds before she heard a pot hit the wall…. hard.
"What are you even doing in here? Get the hell out."
"Calm yourself, I only wanted to see what all the fuss is about, and I just got back from ice skating. Song Eunbin, why are you so messy? Did you have too much fun?"
Eunbin responded in a dangerously friendly tone.
"I don't want to hear another word out of you, Mordret."
Meanwhile, her teacher scoffed.
"Ice skating- goddamnit, never mind that, get out or I'm going to murder you,"
"How kind of you, Sunless. Anyway, I suggest you put it in at an angle. Like this,"
"Ive already tried that damnit! It won't fit that way! No, no, quit touching it! Aiko, use your aspect to make it float."
"Sure, boss."
After a moment of silence, the sound of something closing could be heard, and Rain listened to her teacher sigh in relief.
"There, the cake is finally in."
Huh?! Cake?! That's what they were doing this entire time?!
Rain was shocked at the information, but also glad!
Before she could think of anything else, the kitchen door swung open, and out walked Princess Eunbin, wearing a dark apron covered in flour, her beautiful face twisted into an annoyed expression. Then came Aiko, who floated out of the kitchen; then Mordret, who was perfectly clean and met her gaze with a pleasant smile; and finally, her teacher walked out of the kitchen, wearing an irritated expression.
Before she could ponder on this revelation, Rain heard the bell ring, signaling the arrival of customers, and as the door opened, a woman's warm voice and a laugh graced her ears.
"Sunny's Brilliant Emporium: Cafe and memory boutique, what a cute name!"
Rain's eyes widened as she whirled around to see a beautiful woman who looked exactly like Princess Eunbin, except for the strands of gray in her dark hair that fell like a silk curtain. She was smiling kindly, looking around with a bright expression and dark eyes darting around the cafe, her gaze shining with mirth, while hugging the arm of a highly handsome man!
'Goodness gracious!'
He was a total smoke show!
The man had dark hair with a few strands of gray hair, a humorous smile as if he were ready to tell a joke on the fly, sea-blue eyes that sparkled with intelligence and a hint of mischief.
The older woman met Rain's gaze, detached herself from the handsome man, and walked over to the counter to greet her with a beautiful smile.
"Oh, hello dear, who might you be?"
Rain bowed then straightened.
"I-i'm Rain, are you Princess Eunbin's older sister?"
The woman's smile widened, and she began to laugh.
"I'm very flattered that you think so, but no, I'm her mother,"
Rain couldn't help but gape.
"What?!"
Feeling embarrassed and confused, Rain went to quickly cover her mouth until she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to her right to see Lady Eunbin standing beside her.
"Yes, it's true, Rain, this is my biological mother, her name is Jessandra, and this is my father, Kain."
Rain met their gazes shyly.
"It's um nice to meet you both."
They both stopped in place when they saw Mordret staring at them with interest and soon surprise when they both tackled him into a tight hug.
"Good to see you made it out, kid."
Mordret bloomed a bright smile as if he were truly seeing old friends and hugged them back with a laugh.
"Yes, I did, it is to see that you both are still alive and well, Mr. Kain and Mrs.Jessandra. I would have met you sooner, but I figured that I should give you two spaces considering the time we spent seeing each other over the past 15 years."
Kain scoffed at his words.
"Nonsense, boy! After what you did for us, you're always welcome into our home."
Meanwhile, Sunny stared at the interaction with a neutral gaze and suppressed a frown.
If Sunny hadn't known any better, he would have been convinced that Mordret truly did help them escape Mirage City. But he wasn't, not in the slightest; something told him that it wasn't right. He knew Eunbin believed the same when he saw her expression, but not wanting to spoil their moods, Sunny forced a smile and gestured towards a table,
"Please, sit. Eunbin and I made a cake for you two. We just put it in the oven, so it won't be ready for a few hours."
They all sat down at a table, and Kain smiled at him.
"That's fine, thank you, Sunny-oh sorry, can I call you Sunny?"
"You can, actually, I've always preferred being called Sunny; it's what most people call me."
Hearing his words, Eunbin crossed her arms and frowned at him.
"How come you didn't tell me this before? If I had known you preferred being called that, I would've been saying it months ago."
Sunny shrugged in response.
"Because I don't mind being called Sunless,"
Eunbin smiled at his words and put a finger to her chin with a thoughtful expression before looking at him again.
"Well then, Sunny is a cute nickname, I like it a lot, you can call me Bin from now on if you wish."
Sunny grinned.
"Alright,"
Rain looked between everyone and spoke up with a small smile.
"My parents call me Rainy."
Kain laughed and looked at Rain as he wiped the corners of his eyes.
"Rainy, huh? That's adorable, kid. Do people say Rain Rain go away when they get annoyed at you?"
Rain laughed.
"My friends used to say it as a joke when I was still in school!"
"Ha! That's gold,"
Jessandra smiled at them and gently squeezed Kain's arm, responding in a warm, bright tone.
"Oh, this is just too cute, you're right, dear, Rainy and Asterion are adorable nicknames.
Two chapters in a week. Aren't I amazing? :)