I jolted awake with a startled scream from the feeling of something heavy crash landing on my body. A litany of curses sprung forth from my lips as if I was channelling one Mr Min Yoongi being woken. I was angrier at being pulled from my dream than I was for being woken up so rudely. I had been having a nice date with the man I loved, and it was starting to get interesting.

"You'd better have a good fucking reason why you're lying on top of me at sparrow fart." I glared at my sister with all the fury in the world as she was trying to wrestle my sheet off my body since tickling me hadn't worked.

"I do, and it's not too early. It's already after 8," Esther replied as she managed to wrangle the sheet off me. She was lucky I wore jammies in case Caleb came into the room I was crashing in, otherwise she would've been met with a sight she might want to forget. "Quit your earbashing and get your bum out of bed. We've got a flight to catch."

I was in the middle of sitting up when I heard my sister's last words. I froze and turned my head so slowly it would have looked comical.

"What? Huh? Flight? Where? Why? When?"

"Ugh, come on!" she groaned trying to pull me out of the bed. "I will tell you everything when we're on our way. Now, hurry up. You've got half an hour."

"Well, if someone had the common decency to tell me that we were going somewhere and that I needed to have a bag packed, then I would have been organised. But instead, someone," I said, emphasising the word to make my irritation known but it was pointless because she was already moving towards the door. Raising my voice so she could hear me, I continued in my rant, "Decided to rudely wake me from my dream, pulled me out of bed, told me to pack a bag—and I have no idea how much to pack, by the way—and then proceeded to groan at me like I was the inconvenience."

"28 minutes now," Esther's voice chimed from the room next to mine, which told me she was with our nephew. "And pack for three days. We're not leaving Australia, so no need for warm clothes."

I spent the entirety of my extremely short shower grumbling under my breath about my sister. Esther knew I loathed surprises, yet she always kept springing things upon me. I should've expected her to do this, but since I only had nine days until the portal closed, I thought I was in the clear.

I would've liked to have washed my hair. With about 20 minutes left on the deadline, though, I knew there would not be enough time to do my hair routine, get dressed, pack a bag, and then dry my hair. The only thing I hated more than surprises was having wet hair, so there was no way I'd be on a flight to God knows where with damp locks. Thus, I skipped my hair and stuck to washing my body.

After drying myself, my hands worked at superspeed to rub some body milk into my skin before I pulled out an outfit. Since I had no clue where I was going—and given that Australia's states can have any of the four seasons in one day—I pulled on a pair of cropped light blue jeans and a white tee. I thought the t-shirt would look cute if it was layered underneath a loose, lightweight cardigan if it got chilly. It didn't hurt that it matched my white canvas sneakers.

"Five minutes, Squish!"

I groaned hearing Esther call out through the house. I pulled down one of the duffel bags I'd brought back from Mum and Dad's and emptied everything onto the bed. I hated knowing I'd be leaving the room in a mess, but I'd blame my twin for that.

I threw in different items that I could mix and match together. I made sure to pack several extra pairs of undies since you never knew what might happen. After shoving the charger for my phone into my handbag and double-checking the room for anything I missed, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I finished with two minutes to spare.

As I made my way down to the living room, I noticed that all three males who lived in the house were awake, albeit bleary-eyed with fatigue after my sister had woken them up. "About time. Thought you were piss-anting around up there," she teased, standing up from the sofa. "We gotta hit the road if we're gonna pick Mum up on our way. You ready bro?"

I looked around at Aiden and Christof, who both had conspiring grins planted on their faces. It was obvious that everyone knew what was happening... except for me. I gave Christof and Caleb a quick hug and made sure to tell them both I loved them. I grabbed my carry-on and handbag and followed my brother and sister out the door.

I had given up years ago trying to figure out what my family had planned when it came to surprises. I knew my siblings well enough to know that they were not going to fill me in until they were ready to spill. At least I knew three things...

We were flying somewhere in Australia...

It was for three days...

And Mum was coming with Esther and me.

୧‿︵‿๑︵‿୨💜୧‿︵‿୨💜୧‿︵๑‿︵‿୨

This surprise was hell for me because I hated that I wouldn't find out where were going until the announcement for our flight was called up. Because everything was digital now, Esther had already checked us all in last night. I also wasn't allowed to go with Mum when she went to check in her wheelchair for the stewards to stow it on the plane. As Esther wheeled the trolley with our bags loaded on it, I pushed Mum in the temporary chair we were loaned. Mum joked that we weren't her companions, but her staff as she sat there while the two of us took care of everything else. A lot of other people who relied on a wheelchair might get frustrated with not having a push ring on the two large wheels, but not our mother. She said it was her time to rest and that she let others take care of her for a chance. Neither Esther nor I cared, and we both happily doted on our mother.

When our flight was called, I was surprised to learn we were heading to Melbourne. During the two-and-a-half-hour flight, I tried to ask a few times why we were going there. Both women, though, remained tight-lipped. I was excited to go to the foodie capital of Australia—I hadn't been there for about three years.

Instead of ignoring each other to focus on music or movies during the flight, the three of us chatted about everything and anything. It felt like I was with two best friends rather than my mother and sister, and I loved how close we were together. There were a couple of times that my heart squeezed tight when a thought flittered through my mind that I might not have this again if the portal took me back to my Jiminie. Nevertheless, I tried to push those thoughts out and I focussed on the here and now.

It wasn't until we'd landed, found a taxi and had arrived at the Crown Casino and checked into our room that I found out why I'd been brought here. Three tickets were pulled from Mum's handbag and my mouth dropped when I saw the name plastered on them in a large font.

"What the fuck?!" I breathed out as I traced my fingers over the three embossed letters. BTS were playing in Melbourne tomorrow and we had tickets to see them. "How? When I heard they were playing here after I returned, I tried to get tickets. Although, because it was two weeks before the concert, there was not even one available. How did you get not one, but three?"

"You remember that competition you entered just before we left for Costa Rica?" Esther asked, watching as Mum wheeled over and transferred herself onto the sofa to sit beside me. I nodded and weaved my fingers through Mum's as I tried to harness her strength so I could focus on what Esther was saying. "Well, you won. A letter came about two months ago informing us that you had won two tickets to the concert and..."

One more ticket was placed onto my lap, but I couldn't make out what it said through the glassiness of my eyes.

"Squish, you get to meet them too," Mum clarified as she saw me not taking in the meaning of the paper on my knees. "You won one of the fan-meet tickets. We didn't know what to do because you were missing without a trace, so we weren't sure whether you would come back. Esther contacted someone at Big Hit Music and told them everything that had happened to you—how you'd disappeared and that we weren't sure whether you would be attending. Because we were able to provide evidence with the police report, they could see we were legit and weren't trying to scam them out of tickets. They transferred the name on the ticket to Esther.

"Well, when you returned home, I had Esther contact Big Hit again and she told them you had returned. We were able to get the fan-meet ticket back in your name, and somehow, they were able to find a third concert ticket. So, that's why we are all here in Melbourne. Can you believe it? I get to be in the same place my Jinnie is?"

I had completely forgotten that I had entered into the competition for tickets. Esther, Isla, Mum and I had all submitted entries in, each of us impatient to hear if we won as soon as the entry was placed. As I thought about my entry, I remembered the conversation Esther and I had during the trip to the airport before we left on that fateful trip to Costa Rica.

"So, Nell, how did the competition entry go? Did you get it submitted in time?" Esther asked quietly as our parents were engaged in their own conversation.

I nodded. "Yep, got it all done an hour before the cut-off."

"Wow, that's so unlike you," she laughed. "Usually, you have your entry submitted as soon as the competition opens."

I couldn't help but agree with my sister. "There's a lot at stake with this one, and because it's open to everyone, I had to make sure my entry was perfect."

"Knowing you, it would be," she said with a smile. Lowering her voice, she asked, "You still worried about what you'll do for work?"

It's funny, all those months ago I had been so nervous when I was writing the mini essay on why I wanted to meet the seven men. Now, though, I could say that I was very good friends with a different version of them. I wondered what it would feel like to see my idol Jimin, the version who reminded me so much of my ex.

Would I feel the same connection with him as I had with my Jiminie?

It felt to me like my blonde Seed Bearer was my soulmate. I was both nervous and interested to see if this was the case in this universe, too. What would I do if it was the same here? Would I forget about my Jiminie and leave to be with the singer?

Or would BTS' Jimin be like an ordinary man to me?

I managed to shake myself out of the downward anxiety spiral that I could feel myself succumbing to. Mum, Esther and I gushed about how we were excited to see our favourite band perform in person. I'd been lucky enough to go to concerts of ATEEZ, Stray Kids, Astro, Exo and (G)I-dle. However, I'd never been able to see the one band I loved above all others.

Mum transferred swiftly back into her wheelchair and declared, "I could eat the bum out of an elephant. Let's go find some tucker." After so many years of being bound to her chair, she had been able to learn how to get in and out on her own. It helped Mum gain a sense of independence that was needed as she was able to use that skill to get in and out of her car as well.

"Ugh, you and Dad have been married too long," Esther grumbled. That saying was her pet peeve, which made our parents utter it all the time when they were around her. Aiden and I found it hilarious, especially the indignant look that Esther's face contorted into.

As Esther and our mother organised themselves, I suggested, "There's some good places down at Southbank, so should we go there?"

Because the concert would be at Rod Laver Arena, Mum and Esther had booked us an accessible Tower Suite in the Crown Towers. It might have been more expensive than other hotels, the layout was much better for Mum in terms of access, though. Esther and I were sharing a queen bed on one side of the suite, while Mum's room was on the other. The living areas, kitchenette and accessible bathroom were nestled between the two bedrooms. What made the hotel even better was the location. It was an easy stroll to the arena across the Yarra River—we wouldn't even have to worry about braving the traffic with a taxi.

I grabbed my bag, excited to spend the day with my two favourite women in one of my favourite cities. Being a pastry chef, I loved how cosmopolitan Melbourne was in terms of their food. Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast had a good variety of different cuisines and restaurants, but there was a reason why Melbourne had been labelled the 'foodie capital of Australia'.

As we descended in the lift, the three of us worked out a game plan for the rest of the day. It was decided we'd have an early lunch, followed by lots of shopping. I needed an outfit to wear to the concert since none of the clothes I had brought with me would suffice. This had been Mum and Esther's plan, though, so I didn't feel so bad. Plus, if there was a chance that I wasn't going to be living in this universe much longer, I wanted to spend some of my hard-earned money. And if I did stay here, at least the dent I would put into my bank account wouldn't be too big.

꧁♥💜♥꧂

I was exhausted from the long day of exploring, eating, and shopping in inner-city Melbourne. I hated when you'd walk so much that your feet ended up throbbing to your heartbeat. But the pain was worth it; I had a wonderful day with my mother and sister, and we managed to find the perfect outfits for each of us to wear tomorrow. It had been a stroke of luck—or maybe fate had a helping hand—that we had stumbled onto a cool little store that was all things K-POP. The clothing was different, and each of us had brought a t-shirt to wear.

I was the designated bartender, so I was busy preparing some drinks for us to have while relaxing when Esther came into the room. "I love looking over at all the lights," she mused as she came to join me after snapping a picture of the sun setting behind the skyscrapers with her camera. "It makes me feel like the queen of the world from up here."

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing to look at. I wonder if people who live this high up take the view for granted. Does it become 'normal' for them? Or does it still take their breath away?" I questioned aloud as I handed her one of the cocktails I made. We had bought a bottle of vodka from one of the bottle-o's that we passed, as well as a whole heap of mixers. It was much cheaper than paying an arm and a leg for the tiny bottles in the minibar.

"Dunno. I'd hope that I would still admire it if I was them." My twin took a sip and hummed in delight. "Mmm, just the way I like it—strong and sweet. Just how I like my men, too."

"Probably why you're no longer with old mate, Dropkick," Mum teased as she wheeled into the room. "Tom might have been pretty to look at, but that's where the allure of him ended."

"Yeah," my sister agreed with a laugh. "Couldn't even say his dick was crash-hot since he had no idea how to use it. And don't get me started on the look that would come across his face during his orgasm." Esther writhed in disgust as she pictured her ex in bed.

"But I bet your Jiminie had no problems there, hey Squish?" Mum asked. She took a sip of the cocktail and also hummed from the taste.

I bit my bottom lip as I tried, and failed, to hide my grin. "No complaints at all. He may not dance in the other universe, but his hips most certainly have rhythm thanks to all the martial arts he does. And don't get me started on those soft, pillowy lips of his..."

"Sounds like he knows exactly how to rev your engine... Kinda like how your father still does for me. I may not be able to feel my legs but that doesn't mean that I can't feel other things. Our sex life definitely did not stop when I got the chair," Mum said with a twinkle in her eye.

Other people might find it weird how my sister and I could speak so openly about sex with our mother. The three of us had such a close relationship that it was like we were three friends. In saying that, though, there would be no way that I could have this conversation with my father—both of us would feel way too uncomfortable.

A knock on the door had me making my way to collect the room service we had ordered. I stood by the door, trolley beside me filled with different dishes that filled the air with their delicious aromas and observed my mum and sister giggling about something. It was moments like this that had me second-guessing whether my love for Jimin was enough. I hoped that whichever decision I made wouldn't make me feel regret in the future.

"Listen to your heart. It won't steer you wrong," I whispered to myself as I wheeled the trolley in the direction of the two women. What my heart wanted, well that would be Future Nell's problem to deal with. "Okay, you guys had better be hungry because Bubbles, you ordered so much food."