Weeks have passed as I wait. I wait and I still wait. And I wandered and I wander: to watch the volcanic mountains, to the middle of the sea where whales swim out and back into the waters, to the peak of the mountains or into the thick remote forests inaccessible to humans, to watch the aurora borealis, to watch the snow-capped mountain peaks from where beautiful clouds can be seen. All these and more I can watch together within minutes of an hour of just one day; they are all marvellous. Ha! Sucks to be you, humans!

It happens each time I'm on a mission. This work takes time, and I'm impatient. I get very bored following around the clients all day for however long it takes(sometimes even years). I mean I always get bored, I've told you that countless times before. But you know, somewhere along the time when I'm on missions, I take a break(whatever going around different beautiful parts of the earth can be called, it'd only be an actual 'break' for me if I can go to . Unfortunately, I can't ever return until the work is done). When it comes to the stage where there is nothing I need to do and let the time(or Fate's written will) prevail, that is when I take these 'breaks' sometimes. And it's not like I am gone for many days. I disappear for some minutes to hours, and it's not like I can't collect the happenings in my absence in case something important happened to the client or others concerned.

Soojin's doing well at the present. I don't think I need to use my magic to help her further. She's figuring out her emotions and feelings, and I think I should give her time. She should figure out what's best for her. In the end, my job still isn't checking all the taskbar of materialistic or spiritual gifts I or Fate deem apt for a better life for her, it's her soul's satisfaction with the lifetime that counts. We still think that a romantic life and a partner is what she also needs for that, but if she proves otherwise, we'll see that fit. Jongho or Seonghwa, or someone else, or someone else new in the future when she'd be ready, or no one ever at all.

The achievements I've made so far is guiding her to feel more confident in herself, she isn't as conscious of herself as before, she'd learn to accept new people and learned that it is okay to depend on others when needed, she learned to be a bit more daring, learned to not worry too much for her future and more. And then there's the major thing I assumed I'm here for, to build a healthy, happy relationship with the people she couldn't in her previous life. I think that's established. And if she chose someone to permanently rely on and care for, the list will be checked out. Only one decision of her remains; and then I'll be free of this duty, free to head home. I believe that day is not so far. It has been almost six months with her and the boys on earth, ignoring the equally long span of time I created in the faux dimension where it all began.

I guess today's one of those days where I can expect some fun as the destined events unfold. After so long, finally! But a lot of things did happen in this span I was wandering. As I said, Soojin was busy with her emotions, it was her internal battles every day, so I had nothing worth mentioning.

Soojin and Sooyoung spent the next week all jittery and anxious after that 'sugar daddy' or whatever showed up. Soojin went recluse, her chats with Ateez had been minimal. She was scared. She or Sooyoung didn't and couldn't have known that that man had met with an accident on the same night( Fate's work) and I, taking that golden opportunity, wiped all his memories of Sooyoung and her contact details from his life. There was nothing to be afraid of, but of course, she couldn't know of that. It was when Sooyoung herself texted that man that she came to know that not only did he not save her contacts anymore, but also he didn't remember her. She didn't believe him, but when the man spoke of his accident, she played it off telling him she probably texted the wrong person.

After that, the sisters learned to completely ignore something like that had happened. It had been tougher for Sooyoung. She had talked with her sister, but the others also had heard something so personal about her too. It was washed off over time. By the way, Soojin had won Top Taste and had remained the talk among the viewers for the next week. And if you're wondering, it was not favoured by Fate, we are supposed to gift clients with luck like that but in her case, Fate went for a slow and gradual pace for success and wealth, Soojin just has the talent and doesn't need extra help to achieve those. After the win, the restaurant has been busier than ever.

What Soojin also learned to ignore was the after-effects of her sudden fame; fans now knew for sure that she was Ateez's friend, the members had been directly asked multiple times if the girl was their friend and they didn't deny it. Speaking of Ateez, all of these didn't stop the parties from hanging out with each other; Jongho would actively text or call her and meet whenever possible, they had been to the cat cafes once to meet the doppelgangers of Minnie and Monnie. And Ateez are now openly regular customers of Ahn's Restaurant. Seonghwa preferred and somehow afforded to have more face to face meets with the girl than Jongho, they had been to multiple places together. He had experience with this with the previous girl, of course. Previous girl, I can go on about what problems this previous girl has been imposing, there's a lot to talk about just that. But enough boring you!

Right now, they're all on their way to Jeju Islands. Yeah, they finally decided to have a short trip to the place after all. After many months of planning, finally! It took time to convince Soojin. The only thing she reasoned was not wanting to be seen by the fans as the only one tagging along with the group.

"Then let's make it a full-on whole friends circle trip?" Wooyoung had tried. "Bring Sooyoung, Donghyuck and Jeno, they're fun people, unlike you."

And she was left with no excuses. "Uhh... that's a good idea, I guess."

"And maybe even bring Joshua-nim, he seems pretty nice," Yunho suggested. It was an even better idea seeing as Joshua was mistaken to be Ateez's friend by the fans.

"Cool! I don't think he'd ever been there. Are you sure though?" Soojin had asked and Seonghwa didn't seem too pleased to see her sudden enthusiasm.

"Sure, why not!" Jongho had affirmed, to Seonghwa's surprise. But the eldest still could read behind the maknae's word to realize he wasn't the only one feeling whatever he was feeling.

And that's how it all came to this. The party of thirteen youth are now walking to the exit of the airport trotting their travel bags, or carry bags( some had none, it was a two-day trip after all). This is supposed to be a private trip for Ateez. Supposedly. But now they all see some faces turning to them, people who recognized, as they start angling their phones and cameras towards the group. Soojin immediately sticks to Joshua's side, their sides almost having zero space among them as they walk. The taller man looks down to his side to face the girl. "Relax," he says and pats her shoulders and rests his hand there, as some pair of eyes from behind rest on them, or must I say, bore a hole into Josua's back( only for a bare instant though, cameras are still around).

Soojin leans to whisper to him. "Let's walk fast and pretend we're not with them. What do you say?"

Joshua leans down. "I think they already know by now," and he chuckles.

Soojin rolls her eyes. "I know that already. Why are you so calm about this? Your photos are about to probably go on the internet again without your consent."

"Nah, I'm chill. It'll bring in more customers," he says. And Soojin agreed. "What are you so nervous about? You're already almost a celebrity now. You know you're very hot amongst the..." he pauses for dramatic effect. "the moms and grandparents of South Korea." The elderly audience of Top Taste, yeah!

"Yah!" she nudges him.

Joshua lightly gasps. "Wasn't I oppa to you until 2 seconds ago?"

"And didn't you tell me to address you the American way when we met?" she says and turns her head to the front again to see cameras capturing them as well. "Oh shit, we definitely are going on the internet now. Wow, as if being exposed as Ateez's 'friends' wasn't enough, I can't wait for netizens to now say we are their friends who seem to be dating each other or something. It's bad enough they don't give their own favourite idols privacy."

Joshua chuckles. "Weren't you also one of those netizens once? How the tables have turned!"

"How do you even know about all these? You weren't even there when I was deep drown in the fangirl phase!... Ahhh, Sooyoung, that damned girl!"

"Noona!" Donghyuck catches up to the duo from all the way back behind the Ateez members. "This is so cool, I feel like a celeb."

"I think you kinda are, Hyuck, almost are," she says to her Youtuber cousin. "Jeez, why am I associated with popular people!"

.

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This trip has just started but it's already awkward everywhere, not like I didn't expect it. Joshua oppa was right when he told me that the two guys are jealous of him. Gosh, imagine how much obvious they have to be for even me to notice it too! Do they even know I know? And of course, I stuck beside Joshua oppa all the way from Seoul, he was meeting them all for the first time after all.

And thank God, I see Joshua oppa sitting between Yeosang and Yunho as the three talk among themselves. Yunho's talked to him before and Yeosang sat on his other side when we were on the flight. Sooyoung and I are returning back from the ladies restroom; we stopped at this restaurant that to eat, first thing since we departed from the Jeju airport.

Joshua oppa hasn't saved a seat for me. Good, he's comfortable with Yunho and Yeosang and the rest. Jongho and Seonghwa oppa are sitting on two different corners and none of the two saved a seat for me as well. I guess they thought I'd choose to sit with my friend. Sooyoung goes and sits beside Jeno, the only space available; they sat together all the way here from the airport on our rented travel bus.

I've to decide where I want to squeeze in amongst these twelve. I sigh. When I said it was an awkward trip, I didn't only mean Joshua oppa and Ateez. I'm awkward too. It has been a while since I talked to Seonghwa oppa; after our last meeting, I decided that I'd tell him about the thing when we'd next meet, and that day just happens to be today. I glance at Jongho and then at oppa. I like two guys. But lately, I'm leaning towards one a bit more than the other; And to be clear, my love for both is equal, or was equal, until I suspected one of them might not be exactly reciprocating the feelings just as par.

I look at both the corners of the table and then finally make my choice, I turn to the left and sit beside him finally. He needs to know what I feel.

"Oh," Seonghwa oppa says and scoots to make space for me. "You're back from the restroom, I didn't notice." He instantly seems happier and I smile.

"Yeah."

"Why are you smiling?" he asks and I feel Captain's eyes on us. He's sitting right opposite to us on the other length of the narrow rectangular table.

I shake my head. "Nothing," I say. "You're smiling too, you know?" Captain looks like he's had enough of us two flirting. "Did you guys order yet?"

"Not yet," oppa says and I just hum. I grow quiet, a lot of things are on my mind.

Seonghwa oppa nudges me. "You good?"

I nod. "Just thinking."

"Like?"

Should I tell really him today though? It's a trip day after all. Maybe I'm imagining it all.

Second-guessing doesn't work for me anyway.

"Soojin?" he calls me out of my trance.

"You alright, Soojin?" Captain asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Maybe I should put up a test. But how do I begin?

"I'm a bit nervous. This is our first time travelling outside the city together, I'm nervous because of possible cameras," I tell Seonghwa oppa. The easier he falls for a trap, the worse the situation is.

"Don't be. We discussed it before we came here. You wouldn't be the only new face considering there's your family and friends here too. This is a friends trip," Captain says.

Ahh, didn't work.

"No, I'm especially nervous to be hanging around oppa, we have done that and alone a few times already in Seoul, but this is a whole-ass trip to Jeju."

Captain seems to understand and turns to pay attention to his menu, he left me and oppa to talk about this.

"But we didn't come here alone, did we? There are 11 more people, don't worry, Soojin-ah," oppa says tenderly. Maybe I was imagining it and overthinking baselessly after all.

"I have experienced more nerve-wracking things before," he continues. "Once Hyunji and I..." and he did what I was expecting. Fell right into the trap. Bingo!

Captain looks up from the menu just as oppa said the name( Of course, he could still hear us, the table's too small), and this is how I can firmly conclude that it wasn't so normal.

Hyunji this. Hyunji that. 'Hyunji and I used to'... 'When I was dating her'... I was fed up with it.

"Oppa," I cut him mid-sentence and look up to meet his eyes. "Why do you have to always mention her?"

"W-What?" he looks flabbergasted. I feel bad doing this but I have to.

"I don't know if it's because of you mentioning her name every now and then or if it's because our dynamic actually is different from how it used to be back then, I just feel things are not the same." I pause to think how to present it further. "Your personality is the same and now I don't mind that you're not the AZ Fella I used to know but a celebrity, so the only thing that might have changed the dynamic is the fact that you were once in love with some girl before, unlike back in that world. I do not like this oppa, you always mention her. Are you actually sure you still don't have feelings for her?"

"I-I..." he pauses. "I'm sorry I didn't realize." I expect more to come but it doesn't. He stares at the table, a lot of emotions whirling around on his face. God, what have I done!

Is he figuring it out himself? "I..." he begins to say but is cut off when the restaurant staff comes to take the order. "Ahh..." he says to the staff and the person realizing it wasn't the best time goes to the end of the table to start taking orders.

I rub his back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't probably have chosen to do it now. I guess I just wanted to tell you how I felt, not accusatory or anything."

He looks at me for confirmation. "You don't say or explain anything now," I say. "If you have something to figure out, do that later, we're on a trip, it's supposed to be a fun day." Yet I chose to drop this bomb now. What a hypocrite! "Now tell me, what are you guys ordering?"

I awkwardly look at the menu with Seonghwa oppa. The words written on the paper don't get recognized by my brain, plainly staring at it is what I do. I look up from it to realize the eyes of Captain has been on me. I give him a small smile and he reciprocates with a kind, tight-lipped one of his own as if encouraging me to cheer up.

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.

Sooyoung and Jeno struggled to balance their feet on the wet sand against the calm tides as Donghyuck splashed the two with the saline water. Wooyoung and San pose for their photographer, Joshua, who's busy trying out all the angles and tricks he could, Wooyoung isn't easy to please as he newly found out. Yeosang draws a little something on the sand, something he can post on social media later, Yunho watches him do so as he stands. Hongjoong stands content with the small seashells he discovered not long ago, trying to ignore the looks of the public as they look at the weird posse he accompanied here. He's waiting to see the sunset.

A bit away from the tides and the wet sand, afar and alone from all the cluster of groups stands Seonghwa as he eyes Soojin, too deep in thought as he observes the girl and the thing she's so actively involved in right now. Soojin was right when she said they shouldn't go check in to any hotels first thing they reached Jeju, they wouldn't even have to, she was confident. The group stopped for food, for pictures, for the aesthetics, for emergency motion-sickness induced restroom stops and whatnots; and now they're at a beach waiting for the sunset before they get to go dump their baggage in the rented house for their stay. The trip was planned by Soojin and Joshua, everyone had collectively deemed the restauranteur businessmen fit for the role.

Soojin and Mingi are actively engaged in a debate on a random imaginary subject. These nerds! Jongho listens to do duo intently, the two had deemed him the judge now.

"I don't think so," Soojin says. "All you've been saying is baseless shit. Come on, put more brain and efforts into it, man." Jongho nods along as he stands between the rivals with folded hands, he looks like an umpire in a game.

"It's not my fault you can't see things in my perspective," Mingi retorts. Jongho nods again.

"Your perspective?" Soojin huffs. "Boy, you can't say one thing without exaggerating it. How am I supposed to digest the rubbish you say?"

"I stand firm on my statement, I say you are wrong unless you prove otherwise," goes Mingi.

"In my opinion—" Jongho says and just like the many previous times he meddled, he's ignored. So much for being the assumed judge of this pointless, weird debate.

"I'll prove it, then," Soojin says and searches for a face around her. "Yunho! Come here!"

"You can act well, right?" she says when Yunho comes over. "Now's your chance. You're playing a simple, boring, average human; No, you are an average man, just live it, okay? You go and start walking from that point, your character is just taking a stroll along the coast when he notices a shiny metal."

"No, no, he might ignore it if he just notices while walking," Mingi interrupts and proceeds to improvise. "Yunho, you stumble on something and fall and then notice it was some metal poking out the sand. Do this and we'll tell you the further happenings accordingly."

"Yeah, be an average man and react to the situation we put you in. Now get to work."

Yunho looks at Jongho confusedly. "Just do it, you can't know what's happening, we need genuine responses. They're just trying to prove a point," Jongho tells him and Yunho starts walking towards them from a distance, hands in his pocket, acting as a random person.

"You stumble and fall, now," Soojin says. Yunho does so and pretends to eye the imaginary thing he stumbled upon. "Just do anything someone in your position would do." Yunho digs a certain place in the sand, and Jongho looks at Mingi and Soojin, impressed by their theory, the two themselves seeming content with Yunho's work.

How lame are humans, really!

"It's a golden genie's lamp that you're now holding, Yunho," Mingi says.

"Whoa!" Yunho acts as he looks at the imaginary lamp and looks around.