touch of nature ＊ JIYOO

17. "Before and After"

"I'm.. I'm sorry if it's a hard thing to talk about.." Yoohyeon looked down, getting a little chuckle from Jiho. "It's just how it is for us, nothing new. Don't worry, you can ask us questions, but we'll ask you stuff back as well." Jiho said, earning a nod from Yoohyeon. She saw them as smart and experienced kids and didn't plan to hide too much stuff from them. After all, she could easily get away if they had any ulterior moves.

"Well.. What city are you two from?" Yoohyeon awkwardly asked, getting a little chuckle in return from both. "That's the first thing you will ask? Really?" Jiwon laughed, repositioning herself because she felt a little more comfortable around Yoohyeon now. "I'm not the best when it comes to questions.. And I don't really have much to ask you two, so I'll ask generic questions so I can get to know what you two are like." Yoohyeon answered with a smile, surprising the two. She didn't seem as threatening as they believed she could be.

"If that's so.. I'm from Incheon and Jiho is from here." Jiwon simply answered the older girl's answer, earning a little happy hum from her in return. "I'm from Incheon as well!" Yoohyeon showed her fist for a fist bump, taking aback the younger by this, but she still accepted the gesture. "Okay, I'll ask now. Why do you collect SYM magnets?" Jiwon asked straight-forwardly, making Yoohyeon widen her eyes.

"How do you- Wait, did you take the magnet from me?" Yoohyeon asked after searching through her pockets. Jiho showed the magnet to the older girl, hesitantly handing it to her. "We're sorry for taking it, but it surprised us because we thought it was stolen from the Bluebirds." Jiho scratched his head, making Yoohyeon tilt her head in confusion. "The Bluebirds? What's that about?" Yoohyeon asked, getting a little head-shake from Jiwon.

"Our question first. We'll tell you if you honestly tell us why you have it." Jiwon sternly said, earning a sigh in return. "I have a little mission with someone I know and we're trying to find them all to see what all of the SYM drama is about. I found this one in that jewelry shop you guys captured me at." Yoohyeon answered, not giving much more details about it because they didn't really ask about it.

"Now it's my turn. Can you tell me what the Bluebirds' deal is?" Yoohyeon asked with a little smile, not wanting to scare off the kids.

"When we became Explorers, we were told not to mess with them because their 'Motherbird' knew a lot about SYM." Jiho said. "And the curious kids we were, we wanted to know more and we saw them having a SYM magnet and hiding it in one of their stashes." Jiwon added, followed by a nod from Jiho. "And a week or so ago, we saw a person infiltrating their supply station and leave with a magnet just like that one in hand." Jiho added, pointing at the item Yoohyeon was holding.

"But when me and Jiwon followed that woman and kept a look on her, we saw another person taking it and getting chased by an Icebreaker, so I'm sure that the magnet is in your possession judging by your uniform." Jiwon finished, surprising Yoohyeon by that information.

"So that's how Bora got the magnet.. You kids know your stuff, that's very impressive. Even I didn't know that." Yoohyeon nodded in approval, making Jiwon awkwardly fiddle with her hands. "W-We know because my dad used to work for SYM and everything SYM related makes me interested.." Jiwon said, shocking Yoohyeon by that claim.

"Wait.. Your father worked there? What's his na-"

Right as Yoohyeon was about to continue the question, Jiho's radio buzzed and he quickly picked it up, instantly frowning at what he was told and widening his eyes. He looked at his friend beside him, alerting her because of that.

"The others got attacked by Sacred.. Let's go check up on them!" Jiho exclaimed in worry, shocking Jiwon by that. "They did!? We need to go!" Jiwon stood up, glancing at Yoohyeon for a quick second. "We're sorry for leaving you like that, but it's really urgent.." Right as Jiwon was about to turn around to run after Jiho, Yoohyeon stopped her.