WARNING: this story contains cheesy trope "childhood friends", it is super sweet and the ending will make you wanna cry... I hope *evil laugh* (I'll be honest with you, I cried so you should try, too)
Story is set during the time of TID, it isn't set in London Institute but in Hanseong, Joseon (today's Seoul, South Korea). It bothered me that there is no known Institute in Korea so I made one up, because why not? (Another thing that bothers me - there's not enough of Jem's childhood in Shanghai Institute in this fandom!) I am also a big fan of Korean historical dramas (Jackpot and A Flower in Prison are my favourite!). When I watched them, I wondered how amazing it would be to have an Institute in Korea.
A short background on Jem's childhood friends:
Ito Soo Jin's parents are divorced, which rarely happens in the Shadowhunter society. Father, whose surname she wanted to have to remind her of him while she's in Korea, lives in Japan and mum in Korea. Soo Jin and Zhang Jun lived in Shanghai Institute until Jem was 9. Soo Jin moved to Korea with her mother at the age of eight and regularly traveled to Tokyo Institute to her father. Zhang Jun moved to Beijing at the age of 10 after his father became the head of the Institute there. When he turned 18 he decided to go to Hanseong because he knew Soo Jin lived there.
A/N: When I wrote words in Korean or Mandarin Chinese, I used both romanization, pinyin, Hangul and Hanzi. Prepare youself for foreing terms but please, google them (it's better that way, it would take forever to explain everything and I'm not sure if I'd explain it very well). One last warning - do not listen to Taeyang's Eyes, Nose, Lips when you will read the ending *sobbing*.
I want to thank Moonlight and Ashes for answering every question I had :).
I also want to apologize for any mistakes.
Disclaimer: Shadow World and all the characters from the book I've mentioned in this one-shot belong to one and only Cassandra Clare
It'd been one week already and Soo Jin still didn't arrive from her stay in Tokyo Institute. She was the reason why he came to Joseon for his 'travel year' as his mother called it. He hadn't seen her for eight years now.
Zhang Jun sat before the small Hanseong Institute, moonlight illuminating the front yard and a path to a small garden with a pond and Japanese sakura, gift from a head of Tokyo Institute.
Jun was deeply in thought so he didn't even notice the front gate open. He was recollecting his times in the Shanghai Institute with two years younger Soo Jin and one year younger Jian. Jian, the man of strenght he was, just like his name said. He hoped Jian was alive. By some miracle he survived a terrible and the most devastating attack on the Institute and then he left. Jun wasn't sure where and if he's still there. Some said he went to Idris to live with his uncle, some claimed he went to London, the birthplace of his father.
His other friend, Soo Jin or Mei, as her father called her, was still in touch with Jun. She turned 16 two days ago. He was clutching a small box in his hands. Jun was going to give this small present to her. He wondered if she would like it or not. As a child she had always wanted big expensive presents, but... was there a little girl who didn't?
His gaze fell on a pair of geta. She had said they weren't as comfortable as kkotsin (꽃신), but she liked them anyway. Jun raised his head and saw her. Mei had her dark brown hair, taken after her American mother, tied behind her head. She wore a beautiful green kimono with embroidered yellow flowers. Mei looked so mature now, even when she was just sixteen.
Well, of course she does. You didn't see her for a long time, you idiot, he thought to himself.
When he looked into her black eyes again, she smiled and kneeled in front of him.
'Jun-ssi?' she asked unsurely.
'Gēge (哥哥),' he corrected her. He prefered to be called an older brother in Mandarin. What she prefered was a different story.
'Orabeoni (오라버니)!' she exclaimed and hugged him as tightly as she could.
Jun chuckled. She didn't like to use the Chinese equivalent of oppa for some reason.
'It's been eight years, incredible,' she whispered, in English, into his neck sending shivers down his spine. Why did she have this impact on him?
'Why are you wearing kimono?' he asked her to distract his thoughts from her lovely smelling hair (how did she do that? she spent hours and hours on a ship).
She pulled away from him but didn't let him go, she was holding his hands now. Jun wasn't surprised they were cold.
'Father insisted. He really likes this kimono and didn't want to say goodbye unless I wore it,' she said.
Her gaze then fell to the box he was still holding.
'What is this?' she asked before lifting her eyes to meet his.
He had sworn he wouldn't blush but now he could feel his cheeks getting warmer. 'It's your birthday present, nothing big, though... just something I thought you would like.'
'I'm sure that whatever it is I will love it,' she smiled at him and cupped his cheek with her palm.
He gulped, blinked and looked at the box, hoping she didn't see his blush, that would be embarrassing. She took it and opened it. Her eyes widened when she spotted a green jade bangle. Soo Jin opened her mouth, then closed it and opened it again. He really appreciated this moment because there was rarely a time when she was speachless.
She looked up at his eyes and said, 'It's beautiful. It must have been expensive.'
Jun shrugged.
'That's not a problem. I'm not poor. Sixteen is pretty important age, you're getting older and wiser...' he was stopped when she raised her hand.
'Silly, eighteen is more important than sixteen. I'm still a child to my father, he barely even let me return here.'
Jun smiled. 'I bet you told him you're a big girl now and can take care of yourself,' she grinned. 'Which reminds me - you didn't arrive on your own, right?' he asked her and started looking around and, to his relief, he saw her maid behind him watching them. What was her name?
'In Sook eonni came, too. And one of the servants accompanied us from the docks so we wouldn't go alone.'
'Good, because you never know what those crazy mundanes can do.'
'Don't worry. And even if something was about to happen we would use our superb Shadowhunter weapons and slay them all!' she assured him.
Jun chuckled. 'We are supposed to protect mundanes, not kill them,' he reminded her.
Soo Jin sighed, 'Yes, I know. I just wanted to sound really confident and fearless to make you feel less concerned. Besides, you know how I feel about mundanes.'
'I think I have to stop you here before we get into a deep conversation about politics. I'm tired and I'm sure you're too,' said Jun and stood up.
Soo Jin didn't answer but stood up as well and put on the bangle and admired how it looked on her left wrist.
'I'm glad it's not sliding off,' he said and held her hand for a moment to see how the jewel fit her. 'It's good that you wear it on your left wrist. The closer to the heart, the better. Make sure you wear it all the time, alright? The jade will recognize you and make you feel better. Even when I'm not with you.'
She felt like her breath was stuck in her chest. Her dearest and closest friend was holding her hand and told her to never take off his priceless gift. Her cheeks were on fire. Oh, she hated blushing. Not because she was embarrassed but because it made her feel vulnerable and feverish. She needed a cold cloth. Immediately.
His fingers caressed her inner wrist. By the Angel... She didn't want to pull away from his touch, she missed it since the moment they said goodbye to each other. She had to, though. Her maid was already eyeing them suspiciously.
'Eonni, please take me to my room,' she told her maid.
After that Soo Jin looked at Jun as apologetically as she could manage. She was tired and she also didn't want her maid to start spreading rumours.
'Wǎn ān (晚安),' Jun wished her good night.
'Jalja (잘자),' replied Soo Jin in Korean. It was their tradition to bid each other good morning and good night in their own languages.
Jun watched as she disappeared into the house with his gift adorning her wrist.
The next morning she woke up early. She hated that moment when she woke up with the sun and she was still tired and sleepy. Was is the reason for waking up when you're still tired?
Soo Jin groaned and rolled in her yo (요) (A/N: futon, basically). She dozed off for another hour then woke up again, less sleepy than before. She got up of the bed and washed herself. She glanced at a green jade jewel on her wrist and smiled. Now she knew that Jun would always look after her.
Soo Jin changed into a training gear and went out into a sunny morning.
Institute looked so beautiful in the morning light. She felt very much at home in Joseon. Going to Japan wasn't bad, she liked visiting her father and learning the arts of Japanese fighting, which made her the best female Shadowhunter in Joseon. Even better than her mother, who fought demons occasionally but since the divorce she stayed inside the Hanseong Institute most of the time. Korea made Soo Jin feel more homey. Residents of the Institute were very caring and friendly to her. Japanese people were more closed and focused on themselves. They did have feelings and she had friends in Japan but she felt more happy in Korea, friends here made her laugh, which she appreciated.
Before breakfast she went to a training room to warm up. Shuriken was her weapon of choice. It wasn't very Korean but she liked using them. Shuriken made her feel more dramatic, sitting on a roof and killing a demon from distance. This was one of the reasons why her father gave her a set of those deadly stars, he didn't want her to get close to demons. Since Yanluo invaded Shanghai Institute to avenge the death of his demon offspring, killed by Jian's mother, he'd been very protective of her (she'd often wondered what happened to Jian after he left), even when she wasn't in China anymore that horrible day. The second reason was that he wished for her to carry a piece of her heritage with her when she was in Joseon.
'What are those called again?' asked a female voice behind her.
Soo Jin stopped before she threw another star and turned around. She saw her friend, Hye Rim, dressed in a gear standing near the door.
'Hye Rim-ah!'
Soo Jin rushed to her and huged her friend. Hye Rim laughed and hugged her back.
'Shuriken, I've told you many times!' Soo Jin pulled back and smiled at her friend she made two weeks after she had come to Joseon.
'It's been a long time, Soo Jin-ah.'
Hye Rim examined her, her gaze fell on a jade jewel on Soo Jin's wrist. She gasped.
'Who? Who gave you this?' she asked enviously. 'He must be very rich.'
'It was Zhang Jun,' the lucky girl answered slyly.
'Oh,' Hye Rim's eyes widened. Hye Rim hit her arm lightly and smiled. 'He likes you.'
'Well I hope if he wants to continue being my friend,' said Soo Jin.
Hye Rim laughed. 'No, babo (바보)! I'm sure he likes you more than that. You see, he arrived a week ago and was getting more and more anxious when you still didn't arrive back from Japan. He was both excited and scared to see you again.'
Hye Rim knew Soo Jin and Jun were childhoor friends. Soo Jin and her mother couldn't escape the gossips and questions about their past.
'Scared? Why would he be scared?'
'If he heard me saying the word 'scared', he would deny it... but I'm not blind! I could spot the worry in his eyes. And I've heard many times that he was constantly asking your mother when you were coming. I guess this worry was because he wasn't sure if you'd recognize him after so many years. Or maybe it was because of the tense mundane political situation. It doesn't really matter. My point is that he came to Hanseong for a reason and I bet that reason is you!' she pointed her index finger at Soo Jin, who looked shocked.
She didn't even think about Jun being so nervous because of her. When they were younger, he was always restless. He simply couldn't just sit and do nothing.
It seems like nothing has changed, thought Soo Jin.
Hye Rin gave her a foxy smile and said, 'Let's have breakfast.'
Soo Jin sat in a small library... if you could call it a library. More like seven shelves with stacks of books. Nothing grand. She still remembered a huge collection of books of various genres in Shanghai Institute. Before everything went to hell.
It was almost midnight, a dark sky decorated with stars and new moon. Soo Jin tried not to stare at the sky and get lost in that beautiful sight. Studying Mandarin Chinese wasn't very exciting. She saw no point in it. Despite the fact that she left China a long time ago, she still knew some words. Pronunciation was a bit tricky, true, but... why make her study the language again? Was it because Jun came for a year-long visit and then he would return back home?
Two months passed from that evening when he gave her the jade bangle. His behavior around her didn't change very much. Of course, Hye Rim and basically everyone (even the head of the Institute, Hyung Won) noticed something strange about him. The way he looked at her every time his eyes spotted her. The concern on his face when they fought a demon or when either of them were outside and patrol the city. Soo Jin didn't think it was weird, they always looked after each other. So when he was concerned, it didn't surprise her. She worried about him, too.
All of a sudden she heard a noise from outside. Were the boys back from a demon hunting?
She left her homework on a table and rushed out of the library. She rounded a corner and saw four boys, two supporting Jun as he limped between them.
'What happened?' she asked them in Korean. All the boys, except for Jun were Korean, but Jun was one of a very few Chinese people who bothered to learn their language.
All of them turned to her in surprise.
'We found a group of Oni near the docks, one bit Jun but an iratze fixed it. Don't worry,' answered one of them with a reassuring smile, Chang Ho.
'Gwaenchanh-a (괜찮아),' told her Jun as they disappeared behind a different corner of the biggest building, standing in the center. They were taking Jun into his room, probably.
Soo Jin sighed and went back to the library. Jun may say he's fine but she was concerned anyway. One of her friends got hurt already, so everytime one of her friends (both in Korea and Japan) were injured, she always had to make sure they were as "alright" as they claimed.
She packed her things and hurried to her bedroom. Soo Jin checked her hair, if everyting is in place, and her hanbok. Who said you couldn't look good while being concerned for somebody? Maybe if she looked nice, it would make Jun more talkative.
Jun's room was illuminated by a warm light as she crept closer. There was no one near and, if she heard correctly, inside it. Just Jun. She gulped. Social norms didn't allow her to be in his room at night when they weren't married. But she silently knocked on the door anyway.
'Who is it?' asked Jun in Mandarin.
'It's me,' she whispered in Korean.
She heard as he got up, slowly came to the door and slid it open. He looked a bit pale a feverish, thanks to the iratze. He wore a white jeogori (저고리) and baji (바지). Even though the attire wasn't revealing, she blushed. Soo Jin never saw him like this.
'What are you doing here? I thought you went to bed,' he said and was glad for a slight fever that masked his blushing. 'It's late.'
'I know, but I had to come and see if you're okay.'
He sighed, rubbed his sleepy eyes and told her to come in.
His room was simple, yo (요) spread on the floor, oil lamp next to it, a window wide open to let cold breeze into his room.
'I actually thought you would be sleeping,' said Soo Jin. 'How did Oni bit you, anyway?'
She sat next to the oil lamp and waited for him to answer. He strode to her and sat down on the yo (요), lamp between them.
'I was climbing a roof to help Man Soo and one of the Oni saw me. It grabbed my ankles, trying to put me down. When it bit me, I fell down next to it and managed to stab him with a seraph blade.'
Soo Jin nodded and took his hand. Jun looked at her and blinked. She didn't realize until now how much she missed his chocolate coloured eyes.
'Lie down, rest. You must be tired,' she said.
'No, I'm fine,' he shook his head and smiled at her.
'Jun, don't act like a sangnamja (상남자) when you are injured. It's healing and you need to rest... and sleep if you can,' she told him firmly.
To her surprise he lied down and covered himself with a blanket. 'Happy?' he asked.
'Yes,' she smiled.
'But I still can't sleep,' Jun whispered. He reckoned it was because this beautiful girl was sitting next to him... in his room... at night.
'Alright. Then I'll stay with you until you will. In the meantime, we can talk.'
'About what?'
'Hm... I was thinking-'
'Really?' he raised his eyebrows and smirked at her, mischief in his eyes.
'Zhang Jun!' Soo Jin hit his arm lightly, but couldn't fight her smile.
'I was thinking about Jian.'
Jun's smirk vanished. He wasn't sure if it was because she was thinking about someone else than him or because of what had happened to Jian.
'I was thinking too.'
'I wish we could contact him. I want to know if he's still... alright.' Jun heard her silent meaning behind the word alright. She'd meant alive but was scared to say it out loud.
'We could send him a fire message or ask one of the Silent Brothers,' suggested Jun.
Soo Jin's eyes widened. 'How come we haven't thought of that earlier?'
'Well, we left Shanghai Institute, then Jian left it, we were separated for a long time. But now... we can try to mend what we messed up.'
'You're right. We could contact him even when we were gone. But we didn't,' Soo Jin swallowed a bulb in her throat and looked at her hands in her lap.
Jun placed his hand on top of hers, warming her fingers. 'I'm sure he'll forgive us. He's Ke Jian Ming. He's a good-hearted warrior, he's strong. Don't worry. Tomorrow we'll go to Hyung Won seonsaengnim (선생님) and tell him everything.'
Soo Jin was grateful for those words. She looked at him and smiled.
They sat in front of the head of the Hanseong Institute. They'd told him they wanted to contact Jian. His old face was thoughtful.
'As far as I know, he lives in London Institute and goes by his English name, James Carstairs.'
Jun and Soo Jin let out a breath. They weren't exactly happy he now prefered his English name instead of the Chinese one. On the other hand, it was easier to live with English name in a western country.
'So... he's still alive?'
'Yes,' answered Hyung Woo and looked at both of them. 'Which means, you can send him a fire message. But,' he raised a finger at them when he saw the excitement in their faces, 'why do you want to bother Silent Brothers with it?' he turned to Soo Jin.
She was the one who'd proposed to involve Silent Brothers. She had been thinking about one thing the rest of the night after she returned from Jun's room.
'Hyung Won seonsaengnim (선생님), I know they can go to various places in the world from the Silent City. I want them to send Jian a... present.'
Jun looked at her, he was confused. What had she planned? If they could contact Jem via fire message, why would they need Silent Brothers? And what was the present she was talking about?
Hyung Won raised his eyebrows and stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
'I want them to send him yin fen. As much as I can get. I want them to give it to him. Who knows how much can he afford or how much of it they have in London.' Soo Jin was determined.
Hyung Won looked at Jun in silent question, but he saw Jun was equally confused. Jun shrugged. Honestly, he didn't like the idea. Her trip to the one and only ifrit den in Joseon didn't appeal to him. It was dangerous. Not to mention, did she have the money? Jun almost slapped himself. Of couse, she had money. She was just as rich as him, thanks to her father, who didn't want his girl to suffer from poverty.
'And what do you think, Zhang Jun?' asked him the Head of the Institute.
'I think it's good idea,' he lied, but it was the only option he saw at that moment and he didn't want to argue with her in front of the head of the Institute, 'Generous. I'll go with her and take full responsibility for everything.' Just as he was expected to.
'Fine,' he sighed. 'Just be careful,' he said and dismissed them.
As soon as they stepped out of his office and closed the door, Jun turned to his friend.
'Have you gone mad?' he asked as quietly as possible. The less people knew about what they were going to do, the better. Maids liked to gossip the most.
'No. I want to give him something, a gift for our ignorance. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life. This is the least we can do. We can't go through the Silent City to visit him, only Silent Brothers can do that. So yin fen and a fire message it is,' she said and looked into his eyes with strong determination.
He let out a breath , warming her face. Jun looked back gently and noded.
'I will help you.'
'Good. We'll write him the message now, but we won't write about the drug. And tonight, we will go to the ifrit den.'
Jun noded again and followed her into the library. He had to admit to himself he liked when he followed behing her. He could take her appearance in without her noticing. All of her hanboks were beautiful but he liked this one the best. Teal chima (치마), light yellow jeogori (저고리) tied with pink otgoreum (옷고름). Jeogori was ornamented with blue forget-me-nots. Her hair was braided at the back of her head, he could see a glimpse of her neck. Oh, Angel. Was she trying to kill him with this outfit?
She stopped suddenly and he almost bumped into her. Soo Jin turned her head to look up at him. She was at least ten centimeters shorter than him. He gulped, her eyes glanced at his Adam's apple, then back at his eyes.
'You were staring at me,' she said.
Jun blinked and tried to look as innocent as possible.
'Jinjja (진짜)?'
He looked so amusing to her. A corner of her mouth rose up. Soo Jin envied him. She also wanted to look when he didn't see her looking. He looked handsome, as always. He usually wore changshan but today he opted for hanbok. Navy blue and sand brown complimented him very well. Why did he choose hanbok? Did he want to impress her?
'I'm a Shadowhunter, I know when you're looking even when I can't see,' she told him and turned around to walk to the library.
Soo Jin and Jun walked through the empty streets of Hanseong in their black gear.
'Are you sure about this?' Jun asked her for a sixth time.
'Yes, don't worry, so much. They won't eat me alive. I have the money and that's what they want,' Soo Jin answered impatiently.
The den was far from the Institute and the center of the city. Dark house in the border between the city and a forest. However, it was no secret it was there. Every creature from the Shadow World knew where ifrit den in Joseon was, which made this place dangerous, you never knew who would you meet.
Two young Shadowhunters stepped in without knocking. They saw a long corridor and many doors leading many creatures into them. The corridor was lighted in a dim red light coming from the rooms.
'One would think this is a cheap brothel instead of a den,' said Jun.
'Why? Do you know how a cheap brothel looks like?'
'No but I can imagine,' he replied and immediately regretted it.
Soo Jin looked at him suspiciously and said, 'I think I need to write to your mother about what you do in your free time.'
'Please don't. I don't want to be interrogated by a police officer.'
Soo Jin giggled.
The first door slid open and a warlock man came out. He wore a luxurious green and yellow silk hanbok. They knew he was a warlock because of bull's horns coming out of manggeon (망건), two white gwanja (관자) shining at the both sides of his head. He started at them for a moment.
'What do you want here, Shadowhunters?' he asked, his voice raspy.
'We didn't come here as Shadowhunters tonight,' said Jun. 'First of all, we require discretion of you.'
Warlock smirked and came closer to them.
'What can I offer two young Shadowhunters?' he chuckled.
'Yin fen,' said Soo Jin.
Warlock laughed again and Jun hissed and turned to the girl standing next to him. 'Are you even trying to be subtle about it?'
'Why would you need it?' asked warlock and looked her up and down.
'That's not your problem, warlock,' spat Jun.
'Your friend doesn't seem to be very polite. And I thought that Chinese were well mannered...' he hummed, 'well, maybe the politeness doesn't apply to foreigners.'
Soo Jin sighed, 'Just show us how much of the yin fen you have and I'll pay you double the money all those drug addicts pay you for the same amount of yin fen.' Warlock looked at her in shock.
She is either stupid or... stupid, thought Jun. What is she doing?
'What about your mother?' whispered Jun into her ear, hoping the warlock didn't hear.
'I doubt she would notice if any money disappeared. She doesn't want father's money,' she whispered back, ignoring his lips so close to her ear.
'Ah, you're that one Shadowhunter with divorced mother,' said the warlock.
'How do you know about that?' asked Jun.
'This is Joseon, boy, people gossip, especially about something that is not very common in this country.'
'Can we end this chat and get to the point?' asked Soo Jin, annoyance clear in her voice.
'Of course. My name is Kim Myung Hwan, by the way,' warlock intorcued himself and bowed his head. 'In a case you wanted to come here again,' he added and looked at Soo Jin again with a hungry look.
'We won't, but thanks,' said Jun, Myung Hwan turned sharply at him. 'Show us how much of he yin fen you have!' commanded Jun.
Myung Hwan turned and walked down the corridor, Soo Jin and Jun followed. They turned right to another corridor and stopped behind the last door. The warlock opened the door and they all walked into a dark room illuminated by one oil lamp. There were dozen of sacks full of drugs. Disgustingly sweet smell filled the air.
'Three of these contain yin fen, darling,' said Myung Hwan to Soo Jin.
She felt Jun tensed next to her. She dismissed the thought of him standing next to her, she pulled out a big leather money bag full of Korean mun. As he reached for it, she pulled her hand with the money away.
'Thirty nyang (A/N: about 1,5 kg / 3.3 lb, there were a lot of traditional Korean weight measurments so I just went with this one, the other one I found was for meat and other groceries),' she said, 'for a hundred and fifty mun.'
'A houndred and fifty? No. Two hundred.'
'Hundred and sixty.'
'Hundred and ninety.'
'Hundred and eighty,' Soo Jin said firmly. Jun could only look in wonder.
Warlock let out a breath. 'Fine,' he said eventually.
Soo Jin couldn't be more satisfied with herself. Jun was still in a shock. His eyes kept darting between the box, Soo Jin and the road they walked on.
'How long are your eyes going to keep doing that?' she asked him.
'Are you sure you're just sixteen?' he asked her out of the blue.
'Mwo (뭐)?' Soo Jin almost dropped the box. She was honestly surprised by this question. Did she look older to him?
'It's just... you handled it so well. You looked so professional and... mature,' he said unsure how to express everything he felt when they were dealing with that warlock.
Soo Jin smiled. 'That's the strangest compliment I've ever received. Thank you.'
'I hope I didn't offend you.'
'No,' she laughed.
He looked so cute... and flustered? He was nervous.
'Is that a good thing that I acted more mature?' she asked him.
He kept his eyes on the ground. 'Yes. Sometimes I forget you're only sixteen. But I don't mind,' Jun admitted.
Soo Jin smiled again which he saw and it caused him to almost trip over his own feet. Soo Jin giggled. Nothing escaped her notice.
She stopped walking, he stopped half a meter before her, then turned around to see why she stopped. Soo Jin was only looking at him, pure happiness in her eyes. She walked up to him, he blinked a couple of times. She'd noticed he did that often when he was nervous. How can someone be so handsome and cute at the same time, she wondered.
'Jian won't mind if we send him this, right?' she asked him, worry staining her voice, the happiness disappearing.
Jun looked a bit disappointed but hid it a second later.
'We've explained in that letter that we will send him something useful,' he answered quietly.
Soo Jin nodded. She looked to be deep in her thoughts, then smiled.
'Were you disappointed because I asked about him again? Do you think I care more about him than you?'
Jun widened his eyes as he looked at her. He was startled.
'You are way braver than before when we were little,' he said after a couple of heartbeats.
'Oh, I am still scared of insects,' she reassured him.
He laughed. 'Otherwise that wouldn't be you.'
'Exactly. Although, I'm not afraid of being a Shadowhunter. I'm a good Shadowhunter and I believe in myself as a one. But I am scared right now.'
'Why?' Jun turned his whole body to her, anticipation and worry written in his face.
'Because I have feelings for somebody,' she said, not looking into his eyes but his chest. 'I am frightened of the fact that he will be married off to some pretty Chinese woman. I imagine this is what his mother wants. And then there's my family. What would they say if they knew I'm in love?'
He listened, his eyes wide open. She was in love? Did he know the guy? Was this mysterious man older than her? Was the man or, maybe a boy, more handsome than him? This was silly, that guy surely couldn't be more handsome than him. Jun was Soo Jin's prince. She said so herself when she was a child and he protected her from tripping over her feet, from cutting her own hand when she insisted on learning how to fight with them. He told her romance, according to her cheesy, Chinese fairy tales during storms when she was too young to not be scared of a storm. He was her wangja (왕자).
'-or maybe that I'm too young to be in love. Are you even listening?' she asked him and finally looked at him. He wanted to know if she could see his train of thoughts in his eyes.
'Who is he?' he asked and gulped.
'Tā shì wǒ de wángzǐ (他是我的王子),' she said, her tones were perfect, for once.
He blinked again and bit his lip, which, again, didn't escape her notice. He only hoped he was the prince she'd talked about when he closed the distance between them and kissed her on the lips.
He did surprise her. Her breath stuck in her throat, but she didn't pull away. He took her left wrist, supporting her hand so that she wouldn't drop the box full of yin fen. He felt the cold jade wrapped around her wrist. He wanted to know if she ever took it off, but hoped she didn't.
Her other hand cupped his cheek, then moved up, her fingers stroking his hair. By the Angel, he hated when someone touched his hair but this felt good.
She shivered as he was caressing her wrist, trying to get under the fabric of her gear to touch her forearm. She deepened the kiss and felt him moan a little. His lips were a bit chapped, but that didn't really matter. Only that they were warm, gentle and sweet. Not like yin fen, but like Zhang Jun.
He pulled back a little, then cocked is head to the other side and kissed her again. She had been worried for a second he would stop and tell her it was a mistake. His second hand went to her small of the back and pulled her as close as possible. He had to think about the box with demon poison in it.
After Angel knows how many minutes, they pulled away. Both of them were out of the breath.
'Wangja (왕자),' she sighed.
He rested his forehead against her own.
'Don't worry about your or my parents. And if your age was a problem, I'd wait. I will wait,' he whispered.
He gave her a brief kiss on her slightly swollen red lips, then on her cheek and forehead before they strode off to the Institute.
Ke Jian Ming walked into a dining room for dinner. Will and Tessa were already there. Charlotte, seated next to Henry, looked up from her plate.
'Oh, Jem! This just came from... I think, Institute in Korea,' she said and handed him a rolled piece of paper with a red wax seal. He strode to her, thanked her and took the roll from her.
Will and Tessa watched him curiously. He just shrugged. He didn't know anybody from Korean Institute. Except... But why would she write now?
Jem opened the roll. Chinese characters greeted him. A letter. He didn' even care he was standing behind Charlotte's chair like a statue.
Dear Ke Jian Ming,
we are sorry we didn't write earlier. We were being stupid and cowardly, too afraid of the response. Soo Jin left with her mother to Joseon and I to Beijing because of my father. We haven't seen you since we were children. But when I got to Hanseong Institute, after I turned eighteen, I met with Soo Jin and we couldn't stop thinking about you and if you're alright.
Send us a fire message if you are willing to forgive us for our stupidity. Soo Jin wants a photograph as well but I disagree. What if you're more handsome than me? I'll never hear the end of it.
We also want Silent Brothers to give you something useful, a gift from Soo Jin. She paid for it and don't you dare feel like you have to repay us somehow. I think it is the least we can do.
Hopefully still your friends, Zhang Jun and Ito Soo Jin.
'Jem?' He heard Will's voice from a distance.
'Yes?'
'Are you alright?'
Jem tore his gaze from the letter and looked at his parabatai.
'Yes. I,' he cleared his throat, 'I need to respond to this. Excuse me.'
He rushed to his bedroom, shut the door behind him and wiped out tears from his eyes. Jem sat by a writing desk, took out a sheet of paper, thinking of what to write to his almost forgotten childhood friends.
The next morning he sat in his room, composing before breakfast when he heard a knock on the door. He put down his father's violin on his bed and went to open the door. He saw Charlotte with a box in her hand.
'Silent Brothers sent this. They said it's from Hanseong Institute in Korea. Is it from the same person who wrote to you?' she asked.
He took the box and nodded. 'I don't know what they sent. They wrote it's something useful.'
'They?'
'My old friends from Shanghai Institute,' he whispered and opened the box.
He stared at the content of the box. Silver powder, a cure and a poison. This amount of yin fen would last almost a year.
'By the Angel.'
He started weeping in front of Charlotte. He didn't care. It was, indeed, useful.
I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading :).