Time Magic

24

"Yah lady, stop screaming, here's your son, safe and sound." Jongho called out and pressed the baby into her hand, who had slept through the whole drama and didn't even wake up from his mother's screaming. She hugged him protectively and looked at us suspiciously. Jongho took my hand.

"Let's get out of here, I've got the data, then you can go straight on." After a brief nod on my part, we were back in our kitchen.

"Oh man, I didn't get to test him for magic, it all happened way too fast." I was annoyed.

"Don't worry Noona, he's not really in any danger, he just needs a little adjustment. If you go off on your own, you can make two more intersections today." he cheered me up.

"You're right... I'll have more energy on my own. Tell me the times." I asked him. The others just stared at us and didn't understand, while Jin took my hand and stroked my signet ring. Then he laughed.

"Well, I don't know Yoongi personally yet, but from what I remembered about him before... he just sleeps through it... pahahaha." Amused, he sat down and winked at Seonghwa, who had been looking at him for too long, lost in thought. After raising his eyebrow briefly, however, he only gave the older man a disparaging look, whereupon he grinned amusedly.

"17.02.2000 13:34h... in Daegu in front of his parents' house. The interface is critical for 37 minutes..." he hadn't even finished talking before I had already traveled back in time. That was all I needed to know anyway. This time I was luckier, I landed behind a wall so no one could see me. But it was low enough for me to see over it and what I saw broke my heart. A little boy was sitting on the steps outside a front door, with a small suitcase next to him and a black teddy bear lying on top. I couldn't see his face because he had his head on his knees, his hands on his head as he cried heartbreakingly. Even though I couldn't be sure it was Yoongi, but I didn't care at that moment, the poor little guy was all alone, no one else was around, so I went to him and sat down next to him.

"Hey... Can I help you? Where are your parents?" he raised his head, sniffling, and looked at me, it was Yoongi... His teary eyes immediately brought tears to my eyes too. I had never seen a child with so much despair in his eyes. He didn't think twice and wrapped his little arms around my waist as far as he could and buried his face in my stomach. He clung to me with all his might and although I was surprised, I wrapped his little trembling body in my arms.

"Shh... It's all right, you're not alone, I'm here..." I tried to calm him down a little.

"Noona... I'm scared... I'm so alone... my Eomma said Halmoni was coming to get me, but she didn't come... Eomma and Appa went to work, told me to wait here... but Halmoni isn't here and I'm scared all alone..." he sobbed and it hurt me so much to see him like that. He was completely beside himself.

"Do you have a phone number where I can call your parents to tell them to come home?" I asked him, trying hard not to beat up his parents if I found them.

"They're not coming, they've gone away on the train, they're going to work far away, I have to stay with Halmoni now because we don't have enough to eat..." his words made my blood run cold. They had left without seeing that he arrived safely at his grandmother's? How could anyone be like that? I lifted him onto my lap and rocked him back and forth a little in my arms.

"Don't worry, Yoongi... I'll stay with you until your halmoni comes. I'll take care of you." I said in a low tone and he slowly calmed down.

"Do you promise, Noona? You won't just leave me?" he asked hopefully and I intertwined our fingers, a gesture that showed him that I would hold him so that he wouldn't feel so lost. He fell asleep shortly afterwards. I just held the sweet worm until half an hour later, when a friendly-looking older woman came.

"Oh thank God, nothing's happened to him... Did you look after him?" she asked me, visibly shaken, she must have been worried the whole way here.

"Yes, I found him here crying and decided to wait with him so he wouldn't be so alone." I explained and she put a hand on my shoulder as she smiled.

"Thank you so much, I was so scared for him... My bus didn't come and I had to find another way. And now he's asleep." She smiled a little.

"Can I help you somehow, I can carry him for you, where do you have to go?" I could have teleported us, but she might not have survived the shock, so I offered her my help in another way.

"That's very kind of you, but we'll wake him up and he can walk." she tried not to push me too hard, but I insisted on carrying him and not waking him up, he was completely exhausted from crying.

"To the bus stop then... we have to change four times before we get there..." she smiled sheepishly, she was probably uncomfortable.

"No, you know what... I have a voucher for a free cab ride, I'll take you both home in a cab." Hopefully there were no recent years on my money, because the voucher thing was a lie, I would pay when she wasn't looking, but if she knew that, she would refuse. So we got into a cab and drove to her house.

"He said he's going to live with you now?" I asked as we entered the house and she led the way to his room.

"Yes, his parents are poor, they got new jobs now but could only take one child with them and because his brother is older and needs less supervision, they took him with them and Yoongi is coming to live with me... I don't even know if he will ever move back in with them. I feel so sorry for him, separated from the family so young... but I'll take good care of him, don't worry." she assured me when she noticed my pitying look. We had put him to bed and tucked him in. There was nothing left to do but leave, giving him a kiss was impossible under her gaze, so I would just have to try again next time. I said goodbye to her and promised that I would come back for cake sometime after she invited me. I just didn't know when that would be. As I stepped out of the house, someone hugged me from behind and I stopped, shocked.

"Shhh... just for a moment auntie, when I saw the boy sleeping on your lap, it reminded me of my childhood when I slept with you like that... it was always so nice... I miss you terribly." Warm tears dripped onto my shoulder. But it didn't make any sense, wasn't that the voice of our opponent?