Ok here's the anticipated third chapter! Ta-da! Now, I might have edited the back history of Yunsung and Talim, like cos this is totally AU and stuff! So yay! This chapter took me a good while to write so don't let it go to waste! REVIEW!!!

And I'm very pleased you like my idea of Tornado!

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Yunsung left the city the next day. Mina begged him not to go, tugging on his arm and eventually clinging onto him, sobbing that Talim couldn't be helped and she would surely kill him. They had always quarreled, but were drawn together by some magnetic force- the pouting, mocking and jeering that had followed them since childhood appeared to be some sort of pleasure to them both.

Mina then insisted that she come with Yunsung, that way he would not make the same mistake twice. But Yunsung knew he wasn't the same man anymore- this journey was not of cockiness, or self-fulfillment, but for someone else special to him. He knew there was something special between him and Talim, and he wanted it help her any way he could, by any means, even if he wasn't sure how at the moment.

Then Mina reached breaking point. She was crying so hard Yunsung found it impossible to ignore it. He comforted her, even kissing her on the cheek-he really would miss her. But eventually he had to pull away and begin his journey. He told Mina to find someone special and settle down, and move on with her own life, because he could be any amount of time, and he would make contact if he could.

He had only his feet for transport, and made a start. He kept his head down, daydreaming, walking along a path trodden by horses and carriages- he was heading towards the nearest port, so he could sail to Korea, where Talim was last seen. He was daydreaming about when he and Talim first met...

oOoOoOo

"So then...so then I says, well you can 'ave the horse, mate, it only cost me five..."

There was an outburst of laughter from the crowded table. It consisted of one, old, mostly toothless man, and several middle-aged men, and about three teenagers, all having a drink and a joke. The Ayutthaya bar was packed as usual; there was heavy fumes in the air from tobacco, and there was a loud gabble and lots of folksy music. And there was Yunsung, at the crowded table, in tears at the joke. His peers at this town had told him not to miss this old comedy act of a man. He was a true expert at repertoire, and his husky laugh and his toothless grin had a charm which you would usually get from your own grandparent.

Yunsung watched the man, eager for another joke- the rest of the congregation was still recovering from his latest. As the man began again, Yunsung was distracted by a small girl passing the group, behind the old man's chair. Yunsung stood up and looked over the heads of the table to see the girl properly.

She couldn't have been taller than five feet. She wore white, red and green clothing- a light green strip covering her chest, cloth plumes which might have been sleeves on her shoulders and forearms. She wore white, baggy shorts which tightened below her knees, long socks and green plimsolls. This outfit was standout, but what was most standout to Yunsung was her face. Her eyes seemed impossibly large, yet set beautifully in her face, and she had black hair which was tied into two ponytails. Her lips were visibly smooth and her nose was small, cute and pointy.

The girl stopped behind another large group of guffawing men. She was trying to get past them to reach the counter of the bar. Yunsung could see her trying to politely ask them to move, but the men ignored her. With his heart beating a little quicker and a surge of impatience at the men, Yunsung removed himself from his table and started towards the girl.

"Excuse me..."he tapped the girl on the shoulder.

"Oh!" she turned quickly, and smiled. "Hello? Can I help you?"

"Can I help you?" Yunsung said, grinning.

"Oh, no it's quite alright!" Talim said politely, and turned to try and address the men again. And again they ignored her, too immersed in their own rude conversation.

"O-kay!" Yunsung announced to the men, impatience for the girl raising again, and the men turned, "Move it, ladies!" Yunsung ordered.

The men began to argue, but Yunsung took the girl's arm and pushed past the men to the counter. When they reached it, he banged on it, "Hey! Pint-man! We got a lady lookin' for a room...err, is that right?" Yunsung consulted the girl.

"Um, yes." she nodded.

The diminutive man who produced the drinks from under the counter, came to them and sighed, "I wish you wouldn't call me Pint-man, Yunsung, my name is Shan."

The girl giggled at Yunsung (who swelled inside), and moved forward, "Shan, I'm Talim, and I'm looking for a room for the night."

"Okay, then." said Shan, obviously content at being called his real name.

"Say..." Yunsung asked Talim as she forked over some money, "You wouldn't be from the Philippines...?"

She nodded again, her eyes, he noticed, almost permanently bright.

"Thought so when I heard your name." he replied, "It's a cool name."

"Thank you." said Talim quietly.

Yunsung cringed inside- maybe saying her name was cool wasn't the ideal chat-up line. He readily offered to escort her to her room. When ascending the staircase, Yunsung asked Talim her profession, and she replied, "I am a Wind Shaman."

"What's that?" Yunsung asked.

"It is someone who is experienced at reading the wind and can teach others to read it." she said, textbook-style.

"You can read the wind now?"

"Yes. It's very useful."

"Can you tell the future?"

"Sometimes." she said patiently, "It's very vague. I can make it out sometimes."

"So...so could you read the wind right now?" Yunsung asked.

"If you want." she said, and she drifted. They reached the top of the stairs and Yunsung waited for her answer. She leaned on the banister, staring up at the ceiling. After maybe a minute, Talim looked at Yunsung, and smiled. She didn't say a word. She just smiled at him, and there was something knowing behind it.

"Well?" Yunsung asked, nonplussed to it, "What does it say?"

"No-thing..."she said in a high and more girly voice, and continued along the landing, consulting the number on her key.

"Come on, there was something wasn't there! Tell me!" he insisted.

"Oh, it's not important. I'm tired." she said unconvincingly.

"You're not!" he said, and with a half-hearted chuckle, he gave her a little push on the shoulder. She stopped outside the door to her room, and turned and looked at him with a huge grin, her eyes brighter and larger than ever. Staring at her pretty face, Yunsung found he knew what the wind said before she's even told him.

"It told you I liked you, didn't it..?"

"Yes!" she cried, and swing herself around the door and into her room. Oh well, Yunsung thought, at least hinting wasn't so necessary any more...