ᴍʏ ɴᴇᴡ ᴍɪꜱꜱɪᴏɴ . ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ² ᵃⁿᵈ ³

VI. ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ

"I've been practising," Hyun-su assured, his wing out on his left side, like it always was. He shook it slightly, like when someone would try to shake away their nerves. "I wouldn't be up here if I didn't feel ready to."

Sung-hyo nodded, understanding. It didn't make her any less worried, however, even as she watched her boyfriend jump off the building and go down the side. Rushing over to peer over the edge, she only breathed with relief when she spotted Hyun-su move upwards and back up the side.

It worked. 

He was flying with his lone wing. Sung-hyo watched with an amazed gasp and smile as Hyun-su continued to soar through the air and around the building they had both stood on. The teenage girl cheered loudly, already imagining the smile Hyun-su must have on his face.

After flying through the sky for a few more moments, Hyun-su swooped down and landed beside Sung-hyo, who was still trying to comprehend everything she'd witnessed in the last few minutes. Sure, the girl had seen some very peculiar things in the last year, but none as incredible as her boyfriend using his wing to his advantage.

How far he'd come.

Before Sung-hyo could even open her mouth to voice the pride she had inside of her, she felt Hyun-su wrap his human arm around her waist before bringing them both to the edge. Sung-hyo immediately knew what her boyfriend wanted to attempt.

"Are you sure?" she voiced.

"Only if you want to," Hyun-su answered. He would back down immediately if he didn't have her consent.

Sung-hyo was silent for a moment, looking over the edge. She'd always enjoyed the views of tall buildings. The memories of her sitting on the ledge of the top of Green Home came to her... the same place where she had met Hyun-su.

Sung-hyo nodded, "Go for it."

Hyun-su's grip around Sung-hyo's waist grew tighter... and they jumped.

Sung-hyo could feel the air blowing through her body as they began to fall... and then lift back into the air. Sung-hyo's arms instinctively went around Hyun-su's neck as they went up, but her laughter made it clear that she wasn't scared.

She was loving this, surprisingly. It was ten times more thrilling than any rollercoaster or ride... even if it was just them flying back up and onto the top of the building again.

Her smile never left Sung-hyo's face, which led to Hyun-su's smile appearing too. The pair laughed in excitement as they held each other, both relieved they hadn't become human pancakes and ecstatic that they could perform such a stunt together.

"Well... I don't have to worry about being pushed off a building now," Sung-hyo joked.

Hyun-su let out a small chuckle through his nose, his smile still bright as ever.

"C'mon," Hyun-su eventually said, picking up his makeshift bag - a blanket Sung-hyo had found a while ago - and began to lead them both to the exit. "Ah-yi will be getting bored from your brother's jokes."

Sung-hyo nodded, knowing how terrible Ji-ji's jokes had always been, even when she was little. However, she stopped suddenly as they reached the door. Hyun-su, feeling her stop through their interlocked hands, turned back to her. His face showed a mixture of confusion and slight concern, as if silently asking his girlfriend what was up.

"We don't technically have to use the stairs, right?" Sung-hyo questioned, seemingly reminding Hyun-su of what they'd just done.

Hyun-su smiled, his arm wrapping around her waist once more as the pair ran towards the ledge and jumped off.

ᶠYͧoͨᵏu

"Big sis! Hyun-su!" Ah-yi smiled a big grin upon noticing Sung-hyo and Hyun-su approaching where she and Ji-ji sat atop the roof of an abandoned boathouse beside the river.

Sung-hyo's smile always grew upon seeing the little girl. Today, however, was a special day. For a while now, Ji-ji had kept saying how peculiar it was that Ah-yi somehow didn't have any shoes, so Sung-hyo headed into a children's shop in the city during her and Hyun-su's outings together.

"Hey, look what I got you," Sung-hyo smiled at the girl, placing the shoes down beside Ah-yi, who seemed to already love the gift.

"Thank you, big sis!" Ah-yi smiled. "Ji-ji, can you help me put them on?"

"I most certainly can," Ji-ji replied, immediately helping to place the shoes on Ah-yi's feet.

As Ah-yi watched Ji-ji place her new shows on her feet, she felt someone watching her. Looking to her right, Ah-yi noticed a woman watching them. She had very short hair which slightly covered her face and wore something similar to what Ji-ji wore, along with a rucksack on the woman's back.

Ah-yi didn't recognise her, so she turned away when Hyun-su offered to give to girl a ride on his shoulders as they walked back to their boat. The child grinned, immediately nodding to the offer.

As they walked back, Ah-yi had never noticed that Sung-hyo had noticed the woman too.

Sung-hyo gave the woman, Yi-kyung, a sad smile before continuing her walk back to the boat with her family.

They were almost out of sight when Yi-kyung had climbed onto the roof of the boathouse, where Ah-yi and Ji-ji had been moments ago. Yi-kyung looked down on the roof, taking in the drawings she'd seen Ah-yi making while Hyun-su and Sung-hyo had been away. They were messy, like you'd usually see with a child's drawing, but Yi-kyung could tell what they were of.

They were people, no doubt, with how they'd been drawn and the hair that coated the heads. A tiny person in the middle and two larger people on either side.

It was Yi-kyung's thoughts... of her, her husband and their child. A tear rolled down the woman's right eye, realising her child could see her mother's thoughts.

She made her choice... at long last.