The Reflection Of True Love

The Little Girl

"Are you not visiting Jungkook today?"

Yumi giggles and starts stroking the other ear of the bunny on her lap.

"Not today. You should go though, Appa, if you want to."

"What? No... I... why would I do that? I go to collect you... mostly."

"You go when I'm not there, Appa."

"That's because you aren't there when I arrive or if I have some work to do there."

"You are going there for a date next week. I think Fluff likes me stroking his left ear more than the right ear because he changes his breaths when I do that and his nose twitches more."

Tae runs his fingers through his hair. He had been spending a lot of time with Jungkook lately but that was because there was always something that needed doing. He'd finished the wall and moved on to constructing a shed of sorts. There was such a huge area on the property and most of it outside of the garden walls had been left for centuries. Jungkook had created a bubble of safety for himself which included the house and the garden. Inside the house that in itself looked vacant and unlivable, there was one room that he used but otherwise, everything had been left, frozen in time... until Yumi arrived on the scene.

"You are also coming with me next week so it is hardly a date."

"Jangmi agrees with me that it's a date."

"I think you have the witch under your spell so I think she would agree with anything you say." Tae was told that it wouldn't be necessary for him to meet Jangmi as he had needed to do with Jungkook but he didn't understand why that was. He was left with no choice but to trust in his daughter who told him that the witch wouldn't always be in her life like Jungkook would be... whatever that meant.

"I'm not magic, Appa."

"So, what are you doing today if you aren't going to see Jungkook?"

"I'm going to go foraging for the bunnies and finish my drawing. I'm going to give it to Jungkook for his room downstairs."

"I'll be in the barn. Be back before sunset."

"Yes, Appa."

Yumi smiles as Tae walks away, she has a bag with her ready for collecting plants and bulbs for the rabbits. She doesn't go far into the forest when she forages and usually she ends up sitting in a tree with a book which she also has with her. She has a favourite tree that has a solid branch at the top where she can see the turrets of the house castle so it isn't far. She hasn't explored all the rooms in Jungkook's house yet, gradually making her way room to room. Her next task is to remove all traces of the mirrors from the house because in many of the rooms there are shards of broken glass, concealed by a thick layer of dust and dirt. She doesn't probe too much into the past with the centuries-old vampire, the pain at the memory is evident in his eyes and she doesn't want to force him to relive it. Most of the time when she is in the house castle, Jungkook is in the garden tending to the plants as he always did and the little girl is delighted that she no longer has to sneak around.

Rain from the days before made the path quite muddy so Yumi was pleased that she'd worn her boots even if boots made climbing trees a little more difficult. She was also pleased she'd brought gloves with her because she knew her father would be annoyed if she wiped muddy hands all over her clothes. She was beginning to feel a sense of achievement with Jungkook but she was yet to convince him to remove his gloves which she found annoying. She'd shared her thoughts with Jangmi and Fluff and the outcome had been that she was dealing with a vampire who had shut himself off from the world and any form of contact for centuries so some things would take time. The witch mostly listened while the little vampire ranted, vented her frustrations and shared her thoughts and ideas, biding her time to offer her own thoughts and advice. Fluff just listened and munched on carrots or clover but was a great sounding board when Yumi wanted to share things that she couldn't tell her father because it involved him. She was happy that Fluff was content in the pen with all the other rabbits and she'd noticed that he'd bonded with one in particular so she spoke to him about how she wanted that bond for her father too.