The Reflection Of True Love

The Reflection

Tae was pacing the width of the room, annoyed that he'd arrived to collect his daughter only to be told she'd gone.

"What do you mean, she's not here?"

Jungkook was regretting the day that he decided to open his gate for the little girl. Perhaps being banished to an eternity of desolation wasn't such a bad thing after all?

"She ran out of the garden and said she would be back."

The farmer wished he'd never given Yumi permission to visit the old vampire, even if he was intrigued by him and discovered that he liked his voice, an attraction that he was yet to make sense of.

"And she didn't say where she was going? She hadn't done any drawing and all her things are here?"

"That's what I said." He had already answered too many questions.

"We had an agreement, that's all so I don't understand what was so important that she had to rush off."

Tae knew how much Yumi liked the old vampire. He appeared to be the topic of conversation most days so he struggled to understand the circumstances that meant that she'd broken her plans to spend time with him. She'd been incredibly excited about drawing the giant purple flower and Tae had reluctantly agreed to let her return so soon when she'd visited yesterday too. His daughter wasn't as talkative as usual when they left Jungkook yesterday, he could see that she had other things on her mind as she appeared deep in thought when he wasn't engaging her in conversation. The farmer wondered if perhaps she'd been scolded by the old vampire but that hadn't fazed her before and when she was enthusiastic about needing to return to draw the flower, he rubbished that thought. He knew that he could've simply come out with it and asked her but he knew his daughter well enough to know that when the time was right, she would divulge all the information so he thought best to leave her with whatever it was that she needed to think about. However, now, as he tried to get information from the masked, cloaked man, he regretted not probing Yumi further because he was sure that everything was connected somehow.

"I know about the agreement. She said she would be back and I'm sure she will be."

"She's been mixing with witches too. It's difficult to parent a ten year old who has been around for two centuries."

"I know about the witch. I can't say I understand but I have learned enough to know that your little girl is a handful."

"Is there anything she hasn't told you?"

Jungkook is about to answer with something obvious because he couldn't possibly know what the little vampire hadn't told him, when both men heard footsteps and rushed to the garden.

"Jungkook-ssi, Jungkook-ssi!" Yumi called out as she ran up the path towards the rear of the house. She noticed her art things on the stone bench as she'd left them, rushing past, her mind whirring.

She didn't even see her father who was walking behind the old vampire as she ran straight to Jungkook and threw her arms around him, thankful that she didn't get out of breath anymore.

"Jungkook-ssi... I have so much to tell you... you must let me into your house... we must go inside because I want to see if it's true... can you let me in?"

Jungkook puts his hands up and out of the way as the girl wraps around his lower body. He never knows what to do and it feels even more uncomfortable given that her father is right behind him and she obviously hadn't seen him there.

"Your father is here."

Tae walks around the side of the vampire who has his daughter clinging to him. He'd definitely be more amused than he was at the obvious discomfort that the old vampire was experiencing had he not been so keen to know where his little girl had been.