Hide And Seek

In less than a second the little girl was gone. The children in the playground didn’t notice at all. They just continued to play and have fun as their parents keeps an eye on them. The village’s owner, Mr. Min, was already on his way back to his mansion, fleeing the scene. Every piece of him wanted to escape. Every piece of him wanted to get away from the witchcraft his sister has gotten in to and he could possibly get into as well. When he finally gets the life he wanted, why does she need to ruin it for him? What did he do to deserve the pressure of being visited by someone he did not want to see any longer especially with the oddities she has brought?
“Three, two,” Little Joohee stopped counting as she realized she has already returned. She was facing the same old tree she was at with a small thick bush to its right. She stepped back, getting startled a bit. It still works. She ran two meters away to the south only to spot Jungkook hiding behind a thick row of bushes. “I found you, Kookie!” She squealed as the boy stood up from his hiding place.
“Yeah. Yeah. Don’t be too loud, they’d hide even more.” Jungkook stated as he shushed his friend. They happened to be good friends. They tutored each other often ever since second grade. They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The two eight year olds were the best of friends, well he’d be Joohee’s best friend if it weren’t for Yoonji. She nodded in response as the two of them slowly tiptoed across logs. A shadow appeared as it slyly moved past tree to tree. Joohee let out a smirk as she faced Jungkook who, too, had the same expression on his face. They chased after the creeping silhouette until Jungkook decided to tackle him. He jumped on him playfully, grabbing hold of the caught friend. “Yoongi hyung!” “Yoongi oppa!” They both cheered upon seeing the creeping elder. The two boys got up and dusted off the dirt on their clothes. “I knew that grandpa-ish movement anywhere,” Joohee stated. “Alright, you found me, now can I get back to my study table?” He whined as he walked his way back home. Jungkook sighed as he slung his arm over his friend’s shoulder. “Hyung seems pretty busy these days.” She nodded in agreement. She bent down and sprinted away to look for more of their friends.
The little boy ran after her as both of them step on the dried leaves on the way, crunching their way to the next player. It wasn’t long before they spotted Yoonji along with Wonwoo by the old swing set. “Oh hey you found us!” The two cheered. “As if you two were even trying to hide.” Joohee commented as she sat on the swing, forcing her legs back before releasing it as her short legs swayed freely.
“Did you find Yoongi?” Yoonji asked.
“Yep. Old gramps wanted to go home early,” the younger girl answered. Yoonji nodded in response as she entwined her fingers with Wonwoo’s. They were a young couple, both aged fifteen actually along with Joohee’s older brother, Yoongi. “Does mom and dad know that you two are-?“ Jungkook asked as he looked at the two, but was cut off by Wonwoo’s statement, “They don’t and I don’t think they’d want to find out.” Jungkook didn’t bother replying to his statement. He just looked down. Jeon Wonwoo, the eldest son of Mr. Jeon that followed their first born and only daughter, Jeon Yaeju who died two years ago due to an illness. Jungkook used to look up to him, even praised him for being a good student, but now he doesn’t know what to describe him. His older brother would ask him to do his chores for him and he’d follow, only to see his brother to gain more love from their parents. Now, Wonwoo is disobeying their parents by continuing to see Yoonji whom his parents despised for some reason. It’s not that he had the right to hate her as well, but it’s just that he’s been looking up to him for years and now the person who inspired him is no longer that person anymore.
Joohee was still on the swing, humming to herself as she remembered the things she went through earlier. Her brother being these days and him being a huge success summed up. He didn’t want to disturb her brother, maybe the reason that’s keeping him busy is for him and their family’s status to rise. She felt proud of her brother who is now working so hard to get into what he’ll be in the next thirty-three years. For now, he may be distancing himself from others, but she sees it paying off pretty soon enough. She smiled widely until Jungkook noticed and took her mind away from it by waving his hands in front of her eyes, which she eventually swatted away.
The day ended and the little girl has finally returned to their humble home. Their house wasn’t even one fourth of the mansion she saw earlier nor was it as fancy. Most silverware reserved for special occasions or when a visitor arrives. With usual days like today, they’d often use their old ones rather than the new ones they bought. As they eat, Joohee would glance at her brother from time to time with a smile on her face. Yoongi would look at her with questioning eyes, before he would continue eating, but she’d reply to it with a soft giggle. Their parents didn’t mind. They’d just smile because their children are getting along well like they always do.
After finishing dinner, Yoongi would wash the dishes together with his sister although they wouldn’t talk much. She’d just be playfully smiling as each plate was passed for her to wipe it dry. Again, he’d question her blooming energy, but he just focused on the work he has to do and finish so he can go on to the next one, but he can’t help but ask her why she’d been smiling all night.
“Why were you looking at me funny?” He asked her as he passed the last glass.
“Because you were so serious with studying and working earlier today,” she answered him as she wiped the small glass and placed it together with the other glasses and dishes they had finished to wash.
“And so?”
“I just see you being all successful and rich in the future.”
He looked at her again with a confused look, but he shrugged it away. He decided to be pretty much confident especially with his sister being encouraging and such.
“Of course I’ll be successful and I’m sure you will, too.” He stated as he patted her head lightly.
“Now go take a shower, you’ve seemed to play a lot today,” he added before letting his sister leave.
Joohee nodded and left towards the bathroom. It would be a usual evening routine for her to wash the dishes after dinner with Yoongi, take a shower, go to bed. That’s it then wake up the next morning for school. After one session of school in the morning, she’s free to play and goof around with her friends who attend the morning classes with her. The morning went smoothly and she walked home alone, excusing herself from her friends. She did say she wanted to be alone for awhile and she decided to head to the tree she’d often use as the base. It was the same tree that exposed her to the future events, hoping to meet the guardian who gave her the chant, but she arrived seeing no one in sight. There was no figure visible either. All she sees is the huge tree and its surroundings, nothing out of the ordinary. All she wanted to do was ask questions why she could stay in that certain time for so long, why her brother was so successful, and why she didn’t get to see her grown up self in it. It fluttered her mind since last night and now these questions remained unanswered. Was she supposed to share the experience to her brother or Jungkook at least?

Notes

Another short chapter. Feel free to comment down!