I'm trying ok??!

Mira stayed tucked against her chest for the rest of the night. At one point, after getting them all into bed, Celine had Rumi tucked under her arm. Now both girls had a wet nose against her neck and were awkwardly crushing her chest.

Celine did nothing to change that though. Instead she scrolled through listings in Yeosu. A few she marked for later, but she wouldn’t do anything until she had more information from Eun-Kyung. She’d take the girls over to introduce them to Zoey. Reassure Mira as much as she needed. Hold Rumi back from playing to rough. Maybe she should offer to take them all out? Burbank had to have some decent park nearby. A good run would do her pups some good and give her an idea of what Zoey knew.

Actually. If Zoey was going to be around, Celine would need to work on a playground for them. Mira and Rumi would love it too. It’d need some tunnels, so she’d probably put it near the pond. The soft ground would work for when they inevitably taught Zoey how to dig too. Miyeong had loved swinging out over the pond, but that old rope had snapped long ago.

By the time Celine had compiled a list, her alarm for the day was close to ringing.

…

Mira was not happy about going to see the new pup. She’d dragged her feet in every way she could. Refused her shoes, hid her coat, and even tried to convince Rumi to talk Celine into a theater.

But. Eventually their rental car was in the driveway of a small but nice neighborhood. It was a bit more, drab in daylight. But a fresh coat of paint and some garden care would fix it.

“Girls behave.”

“Yes Celine,” two voices replied. Celine would have said something else but the door opened at that moment.

Eun-Kyung blinked at her with no sign of recollection. Her hair was pulled back neatly but only one eye seemed to have make up. Her clothes clashed as well, a bathrobe thrown over a blouse and sweatpants.

“No Girl Scouts today. Late for work.” She said in a brisk tone before trying to move around them. Celine reached out, to stop her, to grab her, to pull the girls aside? She wouldn’t be able to tell.

“So-yee, behave for the sitter!”

“Mama, wait!” Celine’s heart broke as her mind caught on to what she was seeing. Zoey latched onto her Mother’s waist, speaking in rapid English for her to stop, to go inside, to remember.

Celine coughed to interrupt. “Eun-Kyung, I’m Kang Celine. I’m here,”

“Gods I did it again, didn’t I?” Recognition burned across the woman’s face like a flare. “Zoey, baby,”

Celine felt like an intruder as she watched her lift her child to her hip and mutter soft apologies. “Let’s take this inside.”

“Right, yes.”

It wasn’t Celine’s place to do anything to the woman, even if it was to help. But she’d never forgive herself for letting a pack member suffer. She needed to get Eun-Kyung and her pup help. It didn’t matter if she had Zoey or not. This woman had been left alone in declining health. That was wrong.

Seong-woo was failing and had been for years, but regardless of what she’d done to Celine’s pack, she’d made sure the old Hunter was cared for.

“Girls go play,” Celine felt eyes linger before Mira hummed and tugged them away.

“Rumi and I watched Gremlins. Have you seen it?” The question opened a whole conversation as the trio left the entryway.

“I’m so sorry,” Eun-Kyung repeated. Celine let her. She didn’t have the experience or knowledge of what was happening but she could imagine how terrifying it was to suddenly be aware of things changing to fast. Actually. She had experience with that.

And Celine sees the two of them and tells Rumi to go upstairs.

Rumi, of course, sits, hidden, on the upper landing and strains her ears to hear the quiet argument that her mom is having with those two. (Who are they, Rumi wonders. Debt collectors? The mob?)

Celine: What are you doing here!?

Miyeong: We -- we saw you and --

Seoyi: Who was that girl, Celine? Was that --

Celine: Don't.

Seoyi: Celine --

Celine: Seoyi, if you even look that way again, I'm throwing you out of my shop.

Celine: Neither of you have the right to ask about her. Now if you're not going to buy something, then please leave.

Seoyi: Seriously? We thought you were dead, Celine. We thought --

Miyeong: Everything.

[Silence]

Celine: What.

Miyeong: We'll buy everything. Your entire inventory.

Seoyi: Miyeong what are you doing?

Miyeong: And there's an event in July where we're still looking for a florist. If you're interested.

And one contract had turned to another and then another and by the time Rumi is thirteen, business (especially the corporate event side) is steady enough that Celine is able to pay off all their debt and actually start saving money.

Slowly, extremely slowly, over the course of years, Celine and Miyeong and Seoyi manage to rebuild their relationship.

(Celine is... lonely. In this version, it's just been her and Rumi for a very long time and...

She acknowledges that this could be a mistake. But hunters... were never supposed to be alone. And Celine is a hunter to her bones, even if she's particularly poor one.)

(She still doesn't trust them to be alone with Rumi.)

All Rumi knows is that Celine doesn't like talking about Miyeong and Third and doesn't let her be alone with them (and every other time her mom is alone with Miyeong or Seoyi, she hears arguing or crying and her mom comes back with her eyes red.)

Zoey's was blue and yellow and like a cold glass of lemonade in summer and lit sparklers during new years.

Mira's was red and dark like velvet, like wine, like a thrumming heart.

(She sees Celine's by accident; they'd agreed to give each other the space they both needed after --

But well, Celine had an important meeting and Rumi had been in the office.

It had only been a few seconds, Rumi catching sight of Celine as she walked turned a corner, embroiled in a conversation with the COO and head of legal.

But it had been enough.)

Celine's was... it *had* been green, Rumi thinks, though *so much* of it was marred by dark scarring all through it that it looked like it was more scar than soul.

(It was not recent, the damage. Rumi had seen what new soul scars looked like -- raw, festering, glowing as though the life was leaking through it.)

(Celine's had new damage too, almost lost underneath the scars)