Chaeyoung's breath stuck in her throat. At the same time, the upsetting feeling that was once sitting in her gut climbed up so high she almost threw up. His name came out only in broken breaths. Her feet attached to the ground for the longest time before she finally made a move, trying to run toward the door and knock it with her whole heart.

"Don't." A voice came out of nowhere.

Once again, her feet stuck as she tried to search for that voice. From behind a large tree just beside Jungkook's house, a figure appeared slowly and Chaeyoung didn't need a whole second to identify him.

Jungkook's grandfather walked with silence as his friend. He stopped by a small cart a few steps in front of the house, picked an empty pile from inside it. His eyes examined the old pile before he gave his head a slight nod. "I needed him to bring some water, but it seems like I have to do it on my own," the old man said.

Not knowing what to say, Chaeyoung looked down for a moment, feeling like the argument she had with Jungkook was guilty of it. Jungkook's grandfather must have despised her, too, for hurting his grandson's feeling. "I am sor –"

"You have come at the wrong time, child."

Chaeyoung looked up and saw the old man getting closer. Unlike her expectation, the old man's face calm, malice was not written on it. He looked slightly exhausted with sweats glistening on his old skin and she recalled what Jungkook told her, that his grandfather trained himself on his own to not let his skills die.

Perhaps, staying silent was the best at the moment. His grandfather had heard most of her conversation with Jungkook, she was certain. Though she felt like saying something, anything, would eliminate the awkward air, it didn't feel right.

"Talking to a young-blooded man of the Defense Sector would only waste your time," he said. "Wait until he finds peace. Only then your words will get a clear path to get to him."

"When will that be?" she asked and realized how desperate she sounded. "Will it... will it be anytime soon?" When she looked at him, his eyes were at somewhere else. Albeit brief, she caught the sight of the faintest smile on his face.

"When he wants it, he will find it."

*

Jimin stood at the door to his sister's room, watching the two women in his life interacting silently. His sister sat with her lips sealed tight, her face solemn, her pose rigid and if it wasn't for the movement of her fingers slightly fidgeting on her lap, Jimin would have thought that she was a statue.

His mother's hands were busy on his sister's hair, combing and braiding, making sure there was no strand falling. Yet, he could see clearly how forced his mother's hands looked. She might have been mostly silent, but Jimin knew that she had tried to stop this from happening behind their backs, only to meet with rejection of his father every single time.

When the Koo family arrived, Jimin caught his father's eyes, warning him to drop the frown off his face. He caught a similar look thrown at Chaeyoung, only sterner than what he got.

Luckily, his sister wouldn't be engaged right away. It was only a day to warm up with each other. Nevertheless, when his eyes settled on Junhoe, he felt his hatred grow. Just recently, Taehyung and he saw Junhoe with a girl from the Cultivation Sector clinging to him before they went inside a hut, doing who knew what.

How was this man the best choice? He could find more fine Healers who deserve to be at Junhoe's spot now.

"Is this not a day to get to know each other better?" said his father after an hour of both family members spent on talking. "We know the both of you already know each other, but it would be wonderful if you can be more comfortable around one another, do you think not?"

Junhoe's mother agreed. "It would be best to leave them on their own. We will only make it harder for them to get comfortable. Why don't the two of you leave for a while? Head out to anywhere you want."

Junhoe made his way out a second later while Chaeyoung sent Jimin a look of hesitance before she slowly followed Junhoe. For some reason, Jimin's mind wandered somewhere else, thinking of what Taehyung said about his sister and the place where her heart actually resided and the well-being of that certain place.

*

Chaeyoung's hands stayed gripping her long heavy gown, watching her every step, careful not to trip while she walked alongside Junhoe. He had his hands crossed behind his back, feet pacing slow to match hers which she appreciated lesser and lesser, especially when people stopped momentarily to see them two.

Where she was heading to, she didn't know. Nor did she know where he wanted to go. She had no idea if he was only following her or it was the other way around.

Despite the long time they hadn't talked to one another before that very day came, surprisingly, Chaeyoung didn't find it awkward when they finally did say something.

"Do you want to do this?" she asked.

They arrived at a Cultivation Sector, and she realized that it was her who led the way. There were less people of different sectors in that place. Healers could rarely be seen and so were the Defenders. Cultivators were not known to be blabbermouths. Less people would talk or eye them like they were from a totally foreign land.

The Cultivation Sector had a lot of places almost similar to the pond she frequented that was located in the Defense Sector. Unlike the pond, though, the ones in the Cultivation Sector were guarded, for they were places where people of different sectors come and go to do something with total privacy. Usually, these places were top choices to discuss serious matters.

Junhoe eyed a bench stone for a moment and took a seat. Chaeyoung chose the ground instead. The healthy green of the grass reminded her of the Defense Sector's pond, of the calming sound of the water, of Jungkook. Chaeyoung chewed her lip lightly. His last words rang in her ears before she shook her head.

Junhoe hadn't answered her question. Perhaps, Chaeyoung thought, he didn't hear her earlier. "Do you want this unison to happen?" she asked, louder this time.

"Why wouldn't I?"

For a moment, she was caught by surprise in not only his answer, but also the tone of his voice. It did not sound like him, like the Junhoe she knew and she expected. Junhoe sounded sure, like he knew what he wanted and that he had no doubts about it.

When she turned her head to look at him who was seated behind her, she found what she expected. Taking in her breath deeply and with a frown, she responded, "No you don't."

The silence filled in for him when his expression changed. His eyes on hers, firm and strong as he held her gaze as though he was telling her off but that didn't flinch her one bit.

Chaeyoung sighed heavily and turned around again, letting her eyes settle on the leaves swaying as though the wind blew them. She recalled Taehyung's plant that had attacked her, the slight cut on her cheek, the soft touch of Jungkook's finger against the cut. The kiss.

She closed her eyes, attempting to keep those memories away for a while.

"You have no interest in me," Chaeyoung said. "Your commitment is to none." She rose to her feet and stared at Junhoe who was putting his attention on a particular plant, almost similar to the one Taehyung had introduced to her but it didn't seem to be aggressive and harmful. "Why did you agree?"

Junhoe chuckled, blowing the leaf he'd plucked from an immature tree. The leaf's color turned brown as it landed on the ground. She couldn't imagine if Taehyung saw that.

"Unlike you, Chaeyoung, I know my duty as a Healer that I need to contribute to our society, to our village."

Chaeyoung crossed her arms over her front, brows furrowed. "I can't be tied to a man who only knows how to run his duty to the village, but not to the family, to his wife."

"Will I not run my duty as a husband when it is time to provide the village with future Healers?" Junhoe asked with a tilt of his head, his eyebrow lifted, and a small smirk appeared.

Chaeyoung's frown grew heavier. She knew him and the way he teased. By the look of it, he didn't seem like he intended to irritate and disgust her, only giving his opinion on the matter with the truth. But it didn't stop for her anger to strengthen and her disgust toward him to deepen.

"It is not, if it isn't done out of love," she responded firmly.

He studied her for a moment, eyes intently gazing at her like he was trying to read the furrow of her brows and the burning of her face. She hoped he knew it wasn't out of embarrassment, but rather, of wrath. He sighed softly, the playfulness gone.

"I do not mind if you want to love someone else that is not me," he slightly shrugged. "This unison, after all, is agreed on for the sake of the village. We only need to play our parts."

"What do you take me for?" she snapped, feeling herself at the edge of tearing up. "I do not want to play my part if what I am getting at the end is a crushed heart in my hand!"

Junhoe's brows knitted. His forehead creased in irritation. "If you really didn't want this to happen, Chaeyoung, you would have better yourself. Stop acting as though it is my fault for agreeing when you have a role in this as well."

He was right, Chaeyoung knew. Everything he said was right that she couldn't have anything to refute. She agreed to the deal without thinking much, overestimated herself and was filled with the greed to prove her old man wrong.

If only she overcame her incapability in healing like the rest of the Healers, this wouldn't happen. If only her expectation of herself was met.

Small improvement is still an improvement, Jungkook's voice echoed in her head. If only her father shared the same thought. If only every attempt of hers was acknowledged by her father just like how her brother and her mother did.

"I've tried my best, though," she muttered, dropped to the ground with slumped shoulder.

"There's one thing you should know and keep in your mind." Junhoe stood to his feet, walked over and stopped just right in front of her. Chaeyoung looked up to see him chuckling. "It is not your best yet if you can't achieve what you want."

*

A Defender without a good instinct wouldn't last long, his grandfather once said. Enemies could appear out of nowhere from any side. Sometimes, they wouldn't show up exactly where they were expected to.

Jungkook's eyes narrowed when there was a faint sound of crunched fallen dead leaves on the ground before it was quiet again. A voice inside of him warned him of another presence in the surrounding and it certainly wasn't Chaeyoung. If it was any of the men, then, it would a great opportunity to test out more of his newly found skill he'd shown them. Perhaps, his previous show wasn't enough.

"Show yourself." One hand already curled into a fist, ready to open his palm to let his fire daggers appear.

Silence. Jungkook's eyes rolled fleetingly before he lazily opened his palm, faced it downward and a moment later, daggers appeared one by one. "Get out of the woods or I send these to you."

A low chuckle did not pass unnoticed by his sharp ears. A hint of amusement present in that briefest sound coming from the unknown presence.

"This must be your first time coming here." It was a man's voice. Calm and collected. No fright existed in his voice despite the threat Jungkook gave earlier. "Besides private spaces and the training ground, a Newcomer like you isn't allowed to do that anywhere else."

Jungkook let his daggers fade into thin smokes, brows drawn together as he slowly looked to where the man was. He was still in the dark of the woods, but the clear sounds of his footsteps told Jungkook he was coming closer to the light, toward him.

"Calm down," he spoke again. "I am no foe."

A moment later, Jungkook could finally see a lean figure coming close despite his face still hidden. When a mop of blond hair came into view, for some reason, his narrowed eyes relaxed and the crease of his forehead disappeared. Yet, his throat tightened momentarily.

"A Newcomer in one of the rural parts of the Cultivation Sector. A rare sight," the man said and Jungkook shifted from one foot to another. "What are you here for?"

If that was someone else, Jungkook would have asked the same question back at the man. But then, the Cultivation Sector itself was like a second home to the man. "I need some herb that is not sold in the market," he told the man. His grandfather had asked him to go there specifically to buy it but didn't give him a name, only a description of what the herb was like.

"What kind of herb do you need?"

Jungkook furrowed his brows. Trying to keep his politeness, he tried his best to word his question carefully. "Would you know if I simply describe it?"

The man shrugged with pursed lips. "I might know. But of course, you wouldn't want an uncertain knowledge. Would you care to join me for a walk?"

Jungkook breathed in calmly. "I am not here for a walk."

"I know," the man chuckled. "You can go find the house that sells the herb that you want for a price too high or else it would be available everywhere in the market. Or, you can come with me and perhaps, get it with no price to pay."