Chapter 10:

With your gaze lingering on the door where Peter disappeared, your aunt ushered you to take the seat in front of her.

"Don't worry about him Yn. Sam patched him up as much as he could; he'll be able to walk in a couple of weeks." She poured hot tea into one of the white porcelain cups from the tea set displayed on the wooden table and handed it to you.

"That's not what I'm worried about..." You mumbled to yourself, but she still heard you.

"What is it then?" She inquired curiously.

You just stare at the cup in your hands in response, not knowing how to answer her question. Deep down there was this bugging sensation that was extremely concerned about Peter, it was constantly telling you to look after him and not lose him. It was there the moment you laid eyes on him, and yet you couldn't decipher what it could be; the feeling.

At your lack of answer, Yanet nodded to herself before getting up from her chair and walking to the bookshelves, inspecting each book closely.

You stared at her elegant figure as she picked up a few old-looking books, wiping the dust off them. Your aunt was a soul and spirit expert. She used to give soul-education classes at your high school. That was before she mysteriously disappeared, not leaving a single trace behind.

You wondered why she left. You had so many questions for her but, you had a feeling she would do the questioning first, so you restrained yourself from blurting out any inquiry.

With a satisfied grin, she walks back to the large wooden table and places them on it. She sits down, throwing a leg over the other, before opening the stack of paper and mindlessly flipping through its dainty pages.

"Back in the forest... Ursus transmitted to me the presence of a connection. A connection between you and Peter." She started, picking up your attention.

"What connection? I barely even know him." You piped up. Confusion was rising in you, Yanet was trying to tell you something but she wasn't very clear about it.

"Is that so? You seem close to people who just met." She pointed out, taking a long sip from her cup of tea.

That, you certainly did know of. Of course, you noticed how quickly you became attached to Peter in only the span of a night. You partially blamed that far-away-but-still-strong-sensation deep in you. But then again, for someone who didn't quite have a good experience with boys, people and even you, would think that you should be repulsed by the single thought of being close to one. But look at you now, letting yourself get all mushed by some guy you met coincidentally on a train.

"He... before we could almost get attacked by your bear-"

"Ursus. His name is Ursus." Your aunt corrected you. You took a deep breath and placed down your untouched tea cup.

"Right... before you stopped Ursus from attacking us, Peter... he said something. Now I'm not sure if it was in the heat of the moment, because if you didn't notice we were in the middle of a fight but... I couldn't help thinking about it since."

Placing down her cup as well, Yanet urged you to continue with a simple nod of her head.

"He said he thought I was his soulmate. But that's impossible because... because I already met my soulmate and it's not him." You explained, hoping she would help you to understand the source of his words, or even just give you a hint due to her vast knowledge of the topic.

"If someone says that they think you are their soulmate, it can't be a lie and it also doesn't come out of nowhere." Your aunt started, going back to the book on the table, rapidly shifting through the pages as if the answer to the unknown question filling her mind would be there.

"He didn't ask you to show him your tattoo or anything? Did you even talk about the topic before everything?" She asked distressed, still not finding what she was looking for. It was there in the depths of her mind, she just needed to find it.

"No... I mean, he only mentioned not having met his soulmate yet, nothing more." You answered her, flinching when she suddenly spanked her hand on the book, stopping her restless flipping of pages.

Her eyes quickly scanned the vanished writing. And when her eyes widened, you started getting worried.

"Is- is something wrong?" You stuttered, not quite understanding her unexplainable reaction.

"Yn... I'll have to ask you some questions and I'll need you to answer me truthfully." She started carefully, looking for any trace of hesitance in your facial expressions. And when you nodded, she entwined her hands.

"Are you pregnant?" Her question was straightforward, taking you off guard.

You unconsciously wrapped your arms around your sides, confirming her thoughts.

"H-How did you know? I thought it was hidden well." You shied away, nervously reaching for the teacup.

Just like that Yanet was the first person to know about your pregnancy. You knew you wouldn't be able to hide it forever even if you wanted, but her discovering it just like that... was making you uneasy.

She gently placed her hands on your knees, a way of reassuring you that it was normal and that it was okay. You took a shaky breath and you could feel the tears building up.

It wasn't supposed to happen. You were so stupid... that night you let yourself get taken away. You were enjoying how sweet and gentle he was. He promised to never let you go, he said he was addicted to you. You thought he finally changed and accepted you for being his soulmate but... the next morning, you turned out to be the most naïve person to ever exist.

Chris was not like that... he would never change.

There was a moment of silence before you abruptly sat back up in your seat, wiping away your tears and clearing your throat.

"I don't understand how my pregnancy has to do with anything." You find the courage to say, muffling your trembling voice by gulping down your tea.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you what's going on and even if I could it would come out too complicated for the both of us to decipher." She answers, making you drop your shoulders in disappointment.

"Peter claims he finds some sort of safety in your touch," Yanet told, changing the course of the conversation but somehow still flowing with the same topic. She needed answers from you, and she was going to get them.

"He- he did?" A stupid smile forms on your lips. At least he's comfortable.

"Peter is afraid of people, specifically women. That could be a consequence of a lot of troubling and disturbing actions he's been through during a certain period of his life. It could be his childhood, it could be his teenage years or both." Yanet started, gaining your attention once more. You didn't know if Peter had already opened up to her or if it was just her and her observations but, whatever she was about to tell you could be a key to getting to know Peter a little better.

Yanet had noticed how he had kept his distance from her during the whole time they were talking. She even saw how hesitant his actions and moves were when he was around you. Even if he claimed to feel safe with you, his unconscious reactions and his way of being around women told everything about his traumatizing past.

"He says you're his soulmate, he feels safe around you and your touch provides him warmth. He can't be lying, I know he isn't. But then again, you already met your soulmate." Abruptly standing from her seat, she started pacing around, digging deep in her mind for any type of answer.

"Now, there's a slim possibility that he is your soulmate which will only generate a case of polyamory soulmate-ship; this never happened in the history of soulmates. So what could it possibly be?" Yanet was almost losing her mind, opening multiple books at once and looking around each page of them.

She suddenly halted, making you look at her expectantly. "Unless... of course! How didn't I think about that before it all makes sense." She exclaimed, only raising the level of curiosity in the air.

"What do you mean? Aunt Yanet what's going on, why aren't you telling me anything?"

Looking at you with a mischievous grin, she grabbed your wrist and dragged you out of the huge library. "C'mon, we need to find Susy."

You didn't know who Susy was, and you certainly didn't know how she could help you with your current issue. You weren't even sure what the issue was, to begin with, seeing as your aunt wasn't telling you everything which only made you feel uneasy.

Once out of the house you noticed that she was taking you to the gazebo you had noticed when you first arrived at the mansion. But when you got closer you could notice the crowd forming around it, lingering over the border of the lake. A lake you haven't seen earlier in the day.

Far away in the corner, you saw Peter standing away from the crowd also peeking at the lake. "What's going on here?" Your aunt mumbled with a frown, finally letting go of your wrist.

Taking the opportunity of your freedom, you went to Peter, who was absentmindedly glancing between the lake and the crowd, Yanet closely following behind. "Hey, what's going on? Why is everyone surrounding the lake?" You asked him, taking a peek at the lake to see what was worrying everyone.

Stepping closer to you, Peter shook his head. "I'm not sure but... it's something concerning a certain Susy." At the mention of the name, you glanced up at your aunt.

Just as you were about to ask her what was going on, a voice called from behind the three of you. "Ma' Yanet!" Turning around, Sam was striding long steps towards you. Once he reached you, he bent down, resting his palms on his knees, seemingly out of breath.

"Sam? What's going on?" Yanet asked restlessly, whatever was happening didn't sit good with her, a bad feeling was forming in the pit of her stomach and she didn't like it.

"Susy is gone. I can't find her anywhere and the lake is silent. Even Azul is not there." Sam blurted out with a worried frown on his face, still trying to find his breath.

Yanet glanced down at you. "Seems like our answers will have to wait." She dreaded, massaging her temples before sprinting back into the house.

"This doesn't seem good... you two stay out of trouble." Sam recommended, before following Yanet.

It was just you and Peter, and the loud kids by the border of the lake. You just stood there not knowing what to do.

Considering how much Yanet seemed pissed off and worried at the same time, this Susy girl was supposed to be such an important person to her. And she also seemed to be the key to both of your questions, so her sudden disappearance was not only problematic to your aunt and everyone else present in the mansion but now to you as well.

What does this girl know that aunt Yanet doesn't? You thought to yourself before snapping out of your daze.

Looking back at Peter, he was just standing there, clutching his walking sticks and staring at your lost figure. You blushed in embarrassment under his gaze. "Staring is rude, you know..." you mumbled quietly.

"Couldn't help myself." He blurted, making you snap your head to look at him.

As if he realised what he said, he stuttered out. "I- mean, I- ... sorry." He tried to avert his gaze from you and turned away, resulting in him tripping with the sticks, but he quickly recovered from his loss of balance.

You snickered. "Does it hurt?" You asked, clutching his sweater to drag him out of the noisy crowd.

He followed you with careful steps with you walking alongside him making sure to keep up with his pace. "No. Sam did a great job patching it up."

"Where are we even?" You ask, and Peter's head perks up.

"I should ask you, you're the one leading the way." He said, looking around you. A beautiful field was surrounding you, fruits and whatnot were dangling from everywhere and you were soon engulfed with the sweet aroma of flowers.

"No I don't mean this, I mean... this mansion and who were all those kids over there?" You inquired, pointing back with your thumb.

"Oh... Sam says we're in some kind of orphanage. It's not it but, it has the same concept I guess. He says it's a refuge for kids and people who are rejected by society." He explained, spotting a nearby bench and sitting on it.

"Rejected by society? How?"

"Most of the people who live here are abandoned children, non-marked... and Sam mentioned another category... it was something like, Nima.. no not Nima. Meni- oh, Menima." At the mention of an unfamiliar term, your ears perk up in interest.

"What's a Menima?"

"I think it's people who are soulmates with different kinds of animals. I'm not sure, I only read about this in a passage of a book." He finished, stretching out his legs and arms in a yawn.

You smiled sweetly at the cute action. And for the rest of the evening, you stayed in the field, just enjoying the fresh air and permitting yourself to pick apples and peaches from the trees nearby, for both of you to snack on.

But one thought wasn't leaving your mind.

Is aunt Yanet a... Menima?

~~

Meanwhile in Seoul:

"So Chris, tell us. When was the last time you got some? Is it any of the ladies here?" Mark, one of Christopher's new friends, inquired, erupting multiple oohs from the friend group gathered around the fire.

His first thought was you, but when he felt Joanne tug on his arm from beside him, a bitter laugh escaped his lips.

Before he could have answered, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he waved it in front of them and they whined.

"Didn't we agree on phones? This was supposed to be a free-tech night." Mark protested, but Christopher shook his head. "Sorry, I need to take this."

Finally accepting the call, he thanked the heavens for saving him from that embarrassing situation. "Rosé! I can't explain how much I love you sometimes." He blurted out as soon as the call connected.

"I don't." She deadpanned over the line, and when she heard her brother laugh in response she scoffed.

"I'm not kidding Chris. Yn is gone because of you! What did you ever do to her, that she had to fucking disappear!" Rosé was so pissed off at her brother. She knew he wasn't treating his soulmate the right way, but she refused to believe it was because of his lack of trust in the government or whatever.

"What do you mean gone? Ugh, for God's sake. She's probably just hiding in the beach house we used to go to as kids, you know how dramatic she can be." He rolled his eyes, not believing how extra you were getting only because he dumped you.

"What- no Chris stop! You're only making it worse with your oblivion. You- ugh... Christopher, you fucked up this time. I think- I think Yn is pregnant."

"What!" He screamed, quickly shutting his mouth and waving a hand at his alarmed friends.

Releasing a deep breath of air, he ran a distressed hand through his blond curls. "Rosé... What the hell is going on?"

With a trembling sigh, Rosé began explaining to her brother how weird you were acting during the whole month he was gone. From you taking your distance from her to how quickly you had gained weight during that short time. She could clearly remember seeing the little bump on your tummy the night of the graduation ceremony.

"The night of her escape she came to me. She kept clutching at her stomach whenever our fight escalated and she was so pale. Chris. You need to come back, are you gonna leave her to deal with all of this alone?"

"You don't understand Rosé, I just came here. Classes start next month and I can't just abandon everything." Chris snapped, pacing back and forth in his spot.

"And you will abandon her? You really are something Christopher Chan, I can't believe you." She mumbled unbelievably.

Rosé was the only one to call him by his Korean name, even his mother didn't. And the worst was that when she does, he better know that things are extremely serious.

"I don't know Rosé..." he sighed, halting in his steps.

"You better know. If you don't come, you will not only lose her but your sister as well Chris. I am done with your stupid behaviour. Done!" And before he could say anything back, she hung up.

Christopher stared at the blank screen of his phone. A million thoughts ran through his mind. He certainly didn't want to go back. The point of him signing up for summer courses in the first place was to get away from you. But as always you were pulling him back in like a magnet.

"Oi Chris! Come back here, you have a question to answer!" His friends called back, loud laughter in the background.

Running a lazy hand over his face, he took a deep breath before striding back to the fireplace.

"So it was Joanne huh? She told us everything, you know..." Mark sang, and the others started laughing teasingly.

Christopher glanced back at the girl clinging by his side, and when she shyly looked down, only one question filled his mind.

What am I gonna do with you Yn?

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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I hope this long chapter is worth your forgiveness.

As always don't forget to vote and comment if you liked this chapter!