I got home, somehow. I went to work, somehow. I came home and ate some rice, stared at the wall, and sat there. Agent Michael's business card was still on the plastic tub I used as a table. So it was right there in front of me as I ate. The agent gave it to me because he wated me to keep him updated if anything happened with Aldaris. There's no laws on aliens, but prolly I'd get in trouble if I didn't tell this guy what he wanted to know I picked up the card, then dug into my backpack for my cell phone, and dialed his numer.

"Hello?"

"Uh yes, hi," I answered. "This is Bethany Beverly."

"The one with the alien?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Alright, what's your alien up to?" Michael chuckled.

"Nothing, that I know of. Uh, I just wanted to ask when you guys searched my apartment, did you copy my hard drive?"

"Yes, I believe they did. That's standard procedure, anyway."

"Ah, cool then. See, my hard drive just died today, and no, I'm not blaming you guys. It's been on its way out for a couple of months. I was just wondering if I could get a copy of that hard drive. Or at least the documents on it."

"I'm not sure that's possible. I'll put in a request for you, though."

"Thanks. Oh, and you guys can read all the stories on there, but I would prefer that you didn't distribute them. Copyrights, you know."

"...The girl who claims she's been withholding information on an extraterrestrial entity is lecturing me about what's right?"

"Uh...yes...?"

Michael laughed a bit at that. "Don't worry about it. We have rules."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"Bye then."

"Bye."

I pushed the end call button and set down my cell phone. Then I groaned. I should have asked Michael about Cheonha. She and her mother needed a funeral. How we were going to get one together, and who would come to it, was beyond me. Koreans do this thing where mourners come and bow before the picture of the deceased. People have thee days to go do so, and then is the burial. There's probably more to it than that, but I'll have to do my research properly when I find out what they've done with Cheonha's and Suha's bodies. I started feeling sick. There's no way in the world Charlie will ever let me and the guys go to South Korea now that he knows the feds are onto us. I figured at that point that he was back in the K Sector by now. It was the only thing he could do at that point that made any sense.

...And if he was in the K Sector right now, I wouldn't be in trouble.

Turned out not to be the case, though. Instead, Aldaris interrupted my plans to stare at the wall by the teleporting me to his ship. It was the observatory again, only now there was a chair inexplicably in the middle of it. It was a nice chair, an armchair with a high back and two sides alongside that back. The kind of chair you fall asleep on when you're at your well-off grandma's house. Kind of anachronistic on an alien spaceship. I wondered where it came from. Had that been here on Aldaris' ship before? I hope so, because it doesn't seem right that dude would steal a chair.

"Sit."

I didn't see where he was, and I didn't look. One does not look when one hears that tone. I sat in the chair, placing my hands on the armrests and trying not to dig into them with my nails. And failed when Aldaris suddenly appeared above my head. I mean heck, guy is nearly ten feet tall, and dang if he didn't look it right at that very moment.

He stared down at me, with the burning stare of a monster. I bit my lip and tried not to tremble as he slowly lowered down to eye level.

"You have gone back on your word."

"I'm sorry, really..." I said. "But I wasn't going to lie to my government for you. I'm...I'm pretty sure I told you that at some point, but yeah."

Aldaris studied my face for a moment, and his stare lessened not one mite. I stared back...no, just looked back. I did feel bad for him, but it was right of me to tell the truth. Aldaris basically had said as much before. Only now, Aldaris had the opportunity to make good on his threats. He very well could kill me. It's just that...well, I didn't feel I'd done wrong. Both in hiding Aldaris, and telling the truth about him too. And if I die now, well, then I die for doing right. I was at perfect peace about it, and didn't feel the need to look away from the alien's blood red gaze.

Aldaris stood back to his full height again, his gaze relaxing just a bit.

"I do not intend to kill you," he said simply. "To do so at this point would only make my presence obvious."

I'm not sure if Aldaris didn't decide that just now, but living is nice. I almost made a joke about how I wouldn't mind dying in space, but it wasn't the time. Instead I settled in and folded my hands. Judging from the tone in the air, Aldaris was expecting something to happen. He wasn't saying anything, though, so I just kept quiet, not knowing what else to do.

Then, all of a sudden, I was leaning against the back of the chair, and my face half buried against the upper side of the backing. My neck was sore, too. How long had I been sitting there? I sort of remembered seeing North America out the window before. If some other continent or an ocean faced the ship instead, then clearly time had passed. If I could only look...

"Do not attempt to rise."

Man, that guy has a voice that's hard to disobey. I rested down in my seat again with my hands on my lap. After a bit, a waterbottle suddenly appeared above my head. Oh, Aldaris was handing it to me over the chair. Wait, he's behind me? When did that happen?

"Thank you." I took the bottle. I sure hope he didn't steal that from anyone, either.

"Yes, I have. From John."

"Oh, okay."

Aldaris walked past the chair, toward the window while I drank some of the water. Huh, since when was I so thirsty? I could kind of feel a headache coming on.

"It is good to know," Aldaris said. "That you have not lied to me about the questioning."

I froze. Oh crap, dude did something to my brain. With a sigh, I replaced the bottle's cap and sat it beside me. Somehow I felt too do anything coordinated.

"I did nothing you need fear. It is necessary for one in my position to have all information available. Most interesting is the truth of your assumption concerning me, that they did not believe in my presense because of Starcraft."

I almost said that that was just my perception of the given events, but interrupting was rude, and I had no energy. Man, I really hope coffee fixes whatever he did to my brain.

"It is most fortunate you did not speak in detail of my vessel." Aldaris wandered over to the window. "Under such circumstances, I would indeed end your life, and the lives of those you with which you have spoken."

If this kept up, I might faint. Why didn't I think about this before? I slumped back into my chair.

"Charlie..." I said. "Forgive me if I sound rude, but why are you still here? You had to have known I would have told my government about you after you left. You need to go back before they find you. I mean, dude, they can track the teleports. It's only a matter of time."

Aldaris got mad, and his reflection in the window showed it. I winced. What did I do besides state the obvious?

"I'm sorry," I stammered. "But it's uh, just logical..."

"I know what is logical." He turned back to me. "And my most logical action would have been to slay all four of you before you had the chance to speak a word."

I sat there slackjawed.

"You needn't succumb to needless emotions," he added, recovering his usual sense of dignity. "It was then the most reasonable option. Presently it is not, and it is too late for reconsideration."

For a minute, I just sat there, not sure how to respond. Aldaris again turned away to the window.

"Charlie," I said. "Did you see in my mind the part about Cheonha?"

"Yes. It is a pity. I regret my part in it, for she was undeserving."

"'S not your fault, not really. Anyone can make a mistake in dealing with North Korea. You can't be blamed because they're messed up."

"You said this before."

"Doesn't make it any less true."

Aldaris didn't answer me. He was getting all weird and nostalgic, for some reason. So it was more to himself when he started speaking again. "What have I done heretofore that this is my condignment? Would the gods have me here? Is it my portion to be torn from my own kind and suffer exile in a world I do not understand, nor wish to?"

These words were a rebuke, I think. But I wasn't really listening to the end part. I got caught up at the 'gods' thing.

"Gods?" I said. "You really think that's the case? I mean, it would be interesting if your gods were responsible, but uh, it's far more likely that my God did something about that. Wouldn't that make more sense?"

Aldaris whirled around, his face pale with horror. "You mean to say this God of the humans has drawn me here for his own purposes?"

"I'm saying the possibility exists. He didn't actually tell me anything to that nature."

This must have stumped Charlie, because for the first time since he got there he seemed utterly at a loss. But dang if I knew why. He just facepalmed and went back to that stupid window again. Like he didn't want me to see his face, or something.

/

"Hey look, isn't it high time you got back to the K Sector? I mean, if you do have a way back, then you need to take it. All you're doing by staying here is leaving more evidence you were here. Oh hey I had this idea. Since we don't know how you got here, we also don't know that it won't happen to someone else. You said that your ship can read human cds, so if you put the like, all the technical gobbledy-gook on a disc, I could give it to another Protoss..."

I blinked. I was saying words, but it was pretty clear he wasn't really listening. Was he...in pain?

"I am fine," Aldaris said, in the sort of tone that fools nobody. "Your plan is needless because I can...report when I return the necessary information..."

That didn't sound like a guy who knew what he was doing. And then it hit me. It was so obvious, at least to someone near him.

"You...you're not telling the truth. You're not going back to the K Sector."

"You do not know what it is you speak."

"Don't I? The sky is blue, water is wet, and you're lying. Whatever happened to 'I do not decieve even humans'?"

Aldaris didn't answer. Hold up. If he wasn't going to the K Sector, then where was he going? Wait a minute...there's only one answer to that...

"You're going to kill yourself, aren't you?"

"That is none of your concern." he replied with complete self-assurance. "I know what is required of me, and it is my own cowardice in delaying that has both compromised Protoss security and ended Cheonha's life-"

Without thinking about it or waiting for him to finish, I ran over to him and snatched a nice grip on his pretty embroidered sleeve.

"Remove your hand at once!" he snapped, trying to pull his arm away without stretching the fabric.

"No!" I yelled back. "What, I'm just supposed to say and do nothing, and just let you die? Absolutely not!"

"And by what logic do you say this?" he demanded. "You know very well I must protect my kind and our secrets. Shall I then risk everything simply to spare my own life? Speak then, if you have so solid a line of reasoning!"

I gritted my teeth. Charlie knew good and well that I didn't have reason on my side. I tried to think of something, but Aldaris had a point. There are plenty of people on Earth who would want Aldaris' tech, and, from a survival standpoint, it may even be right for people to feel that way. Protoss have blown up planets after all.

"Because you're a person!" I blurted the first thing that came to mind. "And a person's life shouldn't just be thrown away like this! We've already lost two people, and now you're gonna die too?!"

We stared each other down only a couple seconds. The wooziness in my head only increased, and had been since I got to my feet; apparently he hadn't told me to stay sitting for no reason. My mind started to cloud over, like it was bubbling up with carbonated foam. My hand let go of Aldaris' sleeve on its own, and I struggled not to fall. Aldaris gently took my arm and held me up.

"You are a good child," he said softly, his voice foggy in my mind. "But a child you remain. Do not argue fruitlessly against what must be done. You are overly excited. Sit now, and sit quietly, that your obnebulation may subside."

Aldaris directed me back to the chair and I sat down. I think he might have patted me on the head, but I can't quite remember.

"Bethany, keep silent for 100 days, even to Toby and John. Say what you must after this, but until then, wait. Out of respect, for no longer can I carry out the threats I intended against you, I ask that you obstain from describing what you have seen of my ship, even beyond those days."

Whatever "obnebulation" means, apparently it includes me not being able to answer. My mind felt whited out, where I couldn't think or see anything. At times the clouds let up, and the observatory reappeared. I didn't move. Sometimes I just saw the room. Other times I saw Aldaris standing in various places, or checking on me. At no point did I feel ready to move. My mind was scattered and my limbs too heavy. So I just watched as the world blinked in and out of existence.

Eventually the pattern stopped, and I woke one last time in my own bed. I stared up at the ceiling for a while. My body's senses returned, and I noticed I was holding something. Moving my arm into view I looked. It was Desiree, my Tokidoki doll. I let my hand drop to my chest.

"Oh God," I prayed with tears in my eyes. "Please save him!"

-t-

Toby felt sick. He felt like he was either going to spray paint the walls the color of his lunch or faint dead away. It wasn't a virus. It was the appointed time. In South Korea, the time was early evening, when Toby was supposed to play Starcraft 2 with Cheonha. And she wasn't there. Tony lay downwards on his bed, forcing a cuddle out of the coverlet (and reminding him that he hadn't done laundry in a while).

"This sucks." Toby rolled over onto his back. "Aldaris, any chance you could beam me up? I...I really don't want to be alone right now."

It was too silly. In fact, Toby hadn't been teleported onto Aldaris' ship for a while, and whatever Aldaris had done to fix the recall unit apparently worked. There were no adventures. There was only the death of a friend he didn't have the chance to really know. Then a long interrogation by the police, one which drained any spare energy that he'd had. Apparently Bethany had blabbed; she'd been caught, and whatever testimony she'd given had given the fuzz plenty of ammunition. Whenever Toby tried to hide something from them, they knew exactly what to ask to reveal it. Tony had no hope of holding anything back.

Bethany'd always said that Aldaris wasn't as dangerous as he pretended to be. Toby wasn't so sure about that. Bethany was always terminally naive when it came to the local alien.

"Then again, he was always nice to Cheonha...I just don't know."

It was hard to know. He felt so alone, and there was no one to talk to. Aldaris was far away, and always seemed to like talking to Bethany best. John had his girlfriend, and she was some comfort whether or not John bothered to tell her anything. Toby didn't have anyone at all. Even his Chinese friend Fu Hao wasn't online. There was simply no one to talk to, no one who would really understand what was going on.

"I have to do something about this." Toby sat up in the bed, pausing a couple minutes for the acidic pain in his stomach to subside. "Ugh, pork skins and depression do not work well together."

Toby changed into some clean clothes, hoping that his place didn't have hidden cameras in it. Sure, it was probably bugged somehow, but if he was lucky, it would only record sound, not visuals. On the other hand, Toby was pretty proud of his body, so he did a bit of a striptease towards his wall clock just in case. He grinned as he pulled his Pikachu tee out of his dresser and over his shoulders.

Jeans, jacket, socks, shoes. Toby picked his keys up from a coffee table in the living room.

"I probably should go get that thing for Aldaris, now!" Toby said, too loudly. "He'll want it soon!"

With that, Toby left the flat and cruised down the elevator with his earbuds in his ears and his iPod blasting. He'd just put on it some downloads of Sonic the Hedgehog remixes, and he wanted to give them a listen. The convenience store on the corner was probably still open, so he figured he'd head that direction. He did, and the foggy London streets gave him a cold welcome. Toby pulled his jacket tighter, not looking at the grey sky, but knowing all the same that it would rain soon. He didn't care. This trip wouldn't take long.

Toby, ever steeped in technology, pulled a cell phone out of his other jacket pocket. He held it over his shoulder, sending an innocuous text to his mother. The reflection on the screen revealed a familiar shaggy blond. Not terribly familiar, but Toby had seen his face often enough to know he wasn't simply reading the London Post as he walked down the street. All of a sudden, Toby turned around and tapped the paper.

"Hello, how are you?" Toby asked in his most cheerful voice.

"I'm sorry...?" the man stuttered, trying to straighten his paper. "Do I know you?"

"Yes, you do, I'm certain of it. You must know something after having followed me for the past two weeks. M15, I presume?"

The man wavered, and his jaw did too as he tried, and failed, to think of an excuse.

"Thank you, dear sir," the stranger retorted. "You're really hurting my chances for a promotion."

"Don't be too put out. I've been really paranoid about this kind of thing, especially of late." Toby smiled, faintly. "I've been going on lots of walks, and the weather's been abyssmal. You've probably been half freezing to death trying to keep up with me. Would you like some tea?"

The blond frowned momentarily, but after seeing Toby's sincerity, broke into a crooked grin. "Well, alright then. I suppose it's easier to follow you if I don't have to hide. I'm Carl, by the way."

"Toby Collins, nice to meet you."

"I already knew that part, mate. So aliens, then, eh?"

"No, just the one," Toby chuckled. "Come to my flat, and I'll tell you all about it."

-t-

John sat quietly on his bed. He really wanted a drink, but there wasn't anything in the house besides half an old bottle of bad whiskey – Tonya's selection, not his. He actually knew something about whiskey, but he tried not to rub it in her face. On most days. For the past eight months it had sat at the back of the fridge, undrunk and ready for any time Statkus was desperate enough to try it.

John poured a shot into his glass and stuck the bottle on his side table. The smell, unfortunately, had permeated the room, and John stared at the glass and debated internally. He was about to side with his offended nose, but bypassed logic and poured the drink down his gullet.

Hrnk…ugh, should have brought some food in here to get the taste out of my mouth… Statkus gagged, but managed to keep the drink from flooding his nose. Ants be damned, that is horrendous.

But alcohol was alcohol and it worked. Statkus felt himself carried away, far away from his problems. No more aliens, murders, or interrogations. Strange, as much as he'd wanted to blurt everything about Aldaris from the first, he didn't feel up to it in the actual interrogation. Someone right up front had told him about Cheonha, and well, Statkus didn't want to remember the screaming. He was so sure it was a trick, a way of manipulating him into whatever they wanted.

Statkus drank another shot of the bitter whiskey. Even if it was just a psychosomatic trick, Statkus always found that being drunk interfered with his sense of smell. That took care of the cheap drink quite nicely. Statkus sank atop his bed, too lazy to get up and snuggle himself under the cover. The alcohol in his blood was warm enough, if he ignored the science that stated the contrary. The haze, though not debilitating, took over his mind and comforted him. He fully embraced the buzz.

"John Statkus, where the hell have you been?!"

And Statkus regretted giving Tonya a key to his apartment. His weary hand reached out for the bottle again, but he was too slow. Tanya shoved open the bedroom door and sat herself between man and drink, unsympathetic to the man only halfway out of consciousness. Apparently he was aware enough to satisfy Tanya's need to express herself. She took a deep breath, and Statkus wished for a deep death. Or at least to just pass out for a day or so.

"John, you've been acting weird for the past month. Do you have any idea how I feel to have a boyfriend who's away all the time. Newsflash, buddy, our anniversary was last week. Where exactly were you?"

Statkus thought about it a minute. Last week was his anniversary? Crap, it was. He knew where he had been, too. He'd been in Seoul, playing Starcraft II with Cheohna. Yeah, that excuse would fly. Wait, she was still on her business trip then. So what had he been doing last week? Which day was his anniversary again?

Statkus put a pillow over his face. "No questions, please."

"No questions?" Tanya threw the pillow away. "John, something is wrong with you. You've been acting weird, and I want to know why. I'd accuse you of cheating on me, but I know you're too lazy. Talk to me."

"Tanya...I can't do it...please, just leave me alone for a while."

Her mouth flatlined. "John, did you know that someone came to me after work and asked a bunch of questions about you?"

"Wait, what?"

"Yes. It was this guy with a badge, and probably a gun. Did you get mixed up in something? Were you working on a criminal's computer?"

Her tone was the worst, and Statkus thought if he had to hear it for much longer, he would lose his tempter and do something he would regret. So he sat up, sighed, and gestured Tanya over. She didn't quite get it at first, so Statkus pulled her in close. Tanya, finally sensing his tension, relaxed into his side.

"Tanya, please understand," Statkus started. "I didn't want to tell you anything, and I still don't."

"Is...is it bad?"

"Yeah, it's bad. One of my friends was murdered."

"Wait, what? You're serious?"

"Unfortunately. Technically we don't know if it was murder or not, because the investigation isn't over. But we're still pretty sure."

"Who was killed?"

"You never met her." Statkus tried to control his voice without sounding like it. "She was someone I knew from other friends."

"'Her'?" Tanya raised an eyebrow. "'She'?"

"Yeah, she was a girl. Don't give me that look. I didn't see her in that way." Statkus lowered his gaze and reached for his girlfriend's hands. "She was like a little kid to me. No, more like a puppy. Imagine if you rescued this puppy from the street, and it was all dirty and disgusting. Then you take it home, give it a bath, make sure it gets all its shots, and give it good food. And then, just as soon as it starts it like you, some idiot neighbor shoots it. That's what all of this has been like for me."

Statkus couldn't see her face, but judging from her tone, she must have been frowning. "Wait, you rescued this girl?"

"No. That was some other people I know." Statkus pulled his girlfriend away from his side and turned to look in her eyes. "Tanya, I love you, and right now there's something about you I love most of all. You don't know anything about this. Right now all I want is to be with someone who isn't a part of all that. Someone who I can be around and forget everything."

Tanya was so cute when she did her doe eyes. "You...really mean that? The part where you said you love me?"

"I do." Statkus hugged her again, more tightly than he had in the past month. "And right now I want nothing more than to hold my girlfriend and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist."

"But," Tanya said through his shoulder. "Is everything alright? You're not in danger, are you?"

Statkus didn't chuckle. As much as he liked those North Korean memes on the internet, he really didn't know for sure how dangerous that country could be. Not that there was much likelihood of them finding out who he was, since Aldaris was leaving.

"No it'll be fine. I'd be very surprised if the murderer knew about me. She was...really more of an internet friend."

"...Weird guys aren't going to keep questioning me, are they?"

"No, I don't think so. They didn't ask you something weird about aliens, did they?"

Tanya lifted her head from Statkus' shoulder. "Uh, no, why?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Statkus pulled her back in again. "Hey, Babe? Let's...let's get married."

Statkus couldn't keep her contained, and she pulled out of his arms with a startled expression. "What did you just say?"

"I said I want to marry you," he insisted. "And I mean it. Life is really precious, and we only have so much of it. I like you a lot – I mean, I love you a lot, and I know everything about you. Just like you know everything about me. Why bother looking for other people? We should enjoy ourselves and be as happy as possible for as many years as we can. Let's get married, go on a trip, eat lots of weird food, do whatever we want. I'll buy your mom those stupid touristy things she likes, too. What do you say?"

Statkus hadn't ever considered her answer to this question, mainly because he'd barely considered asking it. But now that he saw Tanya's face, her look flung him into doubt. Would she, would she really say no? The firm wrinkle of her brow seemed to say so.

"John, I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that," she said. "What you're going to do is hold that thought, go out and buy me a nice ring, throw a big party with everyone we love - and yes we love my parents - and you're going to propose to me in front of all of them. I'll do my best to forget what you said here, and it'll be a big surprise for me. Got that?"

"Got it."

Tanya then snuggled back into her man's arms, lying against him in the exact way that he wanted. She relaxed, and so did he, once he had his arms in a nice, secure position around her.

"You're...you're going to say yes, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," she whispered.

Statkus kissed the top of her head. It smelled like jasmine flowers.

-t-

Eunha was mad at everything. This was supposed to be just a simple case. Most of the time, working with North Koreans was simple. Watching them wasn't even considered necessary most of the time, and even when it was, the subject proved to be boringly compliant, willing and at least somewhat able to adapt to the new world around them, depending on their personal circumstances. Cheonha messed all that up by not being normal, with refusing to answer questions about how she came south. Frankly, Eunha was surprised her government had even allowed Cheonha to stay without knowing the certain answers to those questions. But that's where she came in. She was supposed to befriend Cheonha and get her to talk. And Cheonha hadn't talked, not much. Only the "friend" part of the plan had actually worked.

And now Eunha had nothing to show for her work but the remaining unanswered questions and a pain in her heart to leave her sick for weeks. Not to mention an entire apartment being torn apart by crime scene investigators for any evidence of the killer. Eunha cooperated fully, of course, but that meant having no possessions for a week. She also felt bad for the poor landlords. Many people were moving out because of the murder. Eunha couldn't help it, but no one wanted to live in a place with a murder investigation going on.

But she did have a chance to pack up some of her stuff before she left. One suitcase full. But the hotel room the government had arranged for the week had its own furniture, so Eunha wouldn't have to stare at an empty apartment until the week was over. Now she could only sit on the bed, stare out of the window and wait for the night to end so that she could make her psychiatrist's appointment. That too was government arranged.

The Seoul skyscape was all too familiar. Eunha shifted her gaze slightly to the left. Pappa, Cheonha's hamster, ran frantically around the cage. He went to one corner and dug for a couple of seconds, then ran to another and dug, then sniffed about his water bottle. He finally scampered up to the part of the cage closest to Eunha, standing on his hind legs and shining his beady black eyes as though to ask a question. His paws rested on the plastic barrier, and Eunha, without smiling, stood up and went for the hamster food. It was a thing Cheonha used to do. She would take the sunflower seeds from the food and hand them individually to Pappa, so that Pappa got used to her scent. Eunha plucked out a few, then opened the top of the cage. Pappa was a skittish hamster, but the trick worked. He even let Eunha pat him before he scampered off.

"Poor Pappa," Eunha whispered to him. "You miss Cheonha too, don't you?"

The hamster ate its sunflower seed in a far corner, out of reach of Eunha's reluctant will.

Eunha sat back down on the bed. She knew she should get a shower, get something to eat, and go to bed. She didn't move. \\\\\\ She didn't want to, nor could she figure out what else to do. More than anything else, Eunha wanted to be assigned to another case, but since that too required moving, she instead went for her suitcase. It was within arm's reach.

She didn't know why she bothered. Nothing in the suitcase was unfamiliar and worth exploring. But explore she did. After all, she had packed in a rush, and it was probably a good idea to assess what she had to wear. Soon she had little piles along the end of the bed, one for each of the next five days. Out came the odd assortment of various personal items, like a favorite book or her makeup bag.

"Hm? What's this?"

It was her little vase. It wasn't valuable, and Eunha wondered why she'd bothered to pack it. Still, it was cute: a small vase of marbled blue, green, and black ceramic. She'd bought it in Namdaemun one day on a whim, because she wanted to make her house look nice. It was only a dozen or so centimeters tall, so it didn't take up much room in her suitcase.

Eunha didn't think much longer about it. She placed the vase on the side table with every intention of going back to her suitcase and finding the next thing. Only when she set it down, a little sound came from inside it. Eunha pushed aside her suitcase and dumped the contents of her vase into her hand. It was only a necklace, a blue stone on a gold chain.

"Oh, this thing." Eunha studied the gem. "Wasn't this Cheonha's?"

It was, so far as she could remember. Cheonha, those last two days, often held it in her hand. Whenever Eunha asked, Cheonha had answered that it was her mother's, and Eunha had always left it at that. Not that she could ever remember Lee Suha wearing a necklace.

Eunha held it now, watching it as it reflected the hotel room's light. She remembered how Cheonha used to hold it, scrunching it tightly in her fist. Eunha did the same. Maybe it was a slight bit of masochism, but she liked the way the stone bit into her hand.

She suddenly frowned. Something about the stone bothered her. She looked at it again. A perfectly regular gem, so far as she could tell. She encased a fist over it, and somehow she got the slightest feeling that the stone had rejected her.

"Whatever," Eunha shrugged. "I must be losing my mind if I think silly things like that. Only I wonder why Cheonha put it in this vase. She didn't need to hide it from me. I wouldn't have taken it."

Eunha put the matter out of her mind and glanced over again at the hamster. "You're a good hamster, Pappa. Run in your wheel a lot tonight, so that I don't feel alone when I try to sleep, alright?"

As if to answer in the affirmative, the critter trundled over to the wheel and went to work. Eunha smiled. It was a bit too soon, as she had to shower first and try to eat, but Pappa was still cute anyway.

"At least I know I have you, Pappa." Eunha checked the lid to make sure it was shut. "Good boy."

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Author's Notes:

- Sorry it's been so long. I finally got a computer, but Windows 10 is a pile of garbage, so I have to figure out how to get rid of it. I've tried a couple of different ways, but it hasn't worked. But I know another way to create a bootable drive...well, maybe you don't care about that.

What really bugs me about this story is that it got so messed up by all the changes in my life. I've had so much stuff going on this year that it's ridiculous. Everything's been changing, and I haven't had the time to make this story the way I'd originally envisioned it. Perhaps my original vision wouldn't have worked, but this hasn't been getting the attention I want it to.

But it's going to be alright. I have a plan, and I'm going to finish out this story. Maybe this story will never achieve the popularity of my Mega Man fanfiction, but I still want this to be something worth reading and having fun with, to be something personal for me and yet controversial for readers - the more controversial parts are ahead.

In any case, I'll elaborate on my plan when things go forward. I don't want to spoil anything, of course. I really hope those of you who read this enjoy it. I feel pretty much compelled to finish it, as it means a lot to me, but I hope it at least tickles the fancy of readers along the way.

- If you're wondering about the title to this chapter, it's a reference to She's the Sun, by Scooter. It's the inspiration for a lot of Cheonha's story, though the original version of her death and its aftermath was very different.