january 2nd & 3rd 2021 → in jeju

[tinge]

january 4th, 5th, & 6th 2021

with the gentlest shakes, jinah is awaken. she grumbles, reaching up to remove an earplug and slide the eye mask off. she stares up in confusion at the stewardess, "oh, did we arrive in hong kong already?" "not exactly…" the pretty stewardess wrings her hands together and gently drops to her knees beside her seat on the plane. "our clearance was revoked and we were ordered to turn back." jinah sits up now, removing the other earbud, "what? why? by who!" the stewardess bites her bottom lip and glances at jinah's neglected phone within reach, "we got a phone call. i'm sorry jinah-nim… your grandmother is passing." and that was how she found out. she blinks a few times, as if trying to let it soak in and she turns to her phone, checking the screen and seeing a myriad of missed phone calls and texts. there was almost a hundred of them from various members of the im family. she licks her lips and listens to the voicemails as she reaches for the window, lifting the screen. it's raining in jeju, despite the weather reporting sunshine. the sky above is dark and ominous. rain falls heavy, pelting the ground with big droplets. the messages are all asking her to fly back, come back, where was she. she turns them off and stands, collects her purse and exits the plane. she takes the short flight of steps down and glances around the airplane hanger. there's a car waiting and the security detail is back. she fights off the urge to roll her eyes, as she climbs into the car, chancing a glance towards the steely eyed composure of the man who held it open for her. it's not her normal team, but she assumes they were sent urgently. the car ride back to the estate is silent, except for the voicemails she listens to and deletes as she checks for anything of importance. or maybe she's bracing herself for the inevitable. the car pulls up the drive and at the door, a man in a suit comes running forward with an umbrella. she greets him with a soft, "thanks" and a bow of her head, before she's ushered into the main hallway. her shoes are changed and she walks the long path into the massive home, past the beautiful hall they dined and danced in the night prior, celebrating a new years together in style. the house is completely silent, which is eerie on its own and she ignores that nagging worry at the back of her head. the moment she turns a corner, she's greeted by the massive doors that lead her deeper into the home and off the main path. she inhales slowly, phone still clutched in one hand, she uses both to push the big oak doors open. immediately, the smell of earth hits her. it's wet and the dew of early morning raindrops on grass. but more importantly, the incessant wailing of an unseen woman. she grimaces as she walks past the many solemn looking women of her family. the nymphs all quiet, and in deep thought, it's when she passes a room with the door open that someone comes running out. dressed in a black hanbok, and it counters jinah's casual soft pink track pants and matching sweatshirt. "where have you been?!" "i—" "never mind that, everyone's in her office and waiting for you." she grabs her by the elbow and half drags and leads her quickly down the path she was already going. the wailing dies down as they walk away from the source, a young witch who worked for the manor for years, crying into her hands, while surrounded by some concerned nymphs, in the room she had walked past. the woman pulling jinah is im eunjoo, younger than jinah (by at least 600 years), but you wouldn't be able to tell. she presented herself as a late thirty something mother of two children, the blasphemy of the family, when she decided to marry a human man and birth two half-nymph children. at another big important door, she abruptly stops and turns to jinah. "everyone is in there and waiting for you, i'm not allowed in." she gives jinah's elbow a squeeze and offers her a small smile, "my sister eunji, will want to speak with you after. that's the message i was meant to send to you. okay?" somewhere behind them, a voice cuts through the sobbing, loud, "someone get that witch to stop her blabbering. she's messing up the weather pattern!" the doors begin to open and eunjoo looks from jinah to the doors and grabs the skirt of her hanbok to run, but not without a hard push to the elder fae's back, causing her to stumble into the room, where she was quite literally fed to the wolves. somehow she catches herself before she falls face first into dark hardwood flooring, she stands at attention to meet the many faces in the room. her mother stares her down from her seat behind the ornate desk. where jinah's grandmother usually sat. after what felt like ages, jinah bows deeply and apologizes for keeping them. with that, the meeting begins. ➘ saturday january 2nd, 2021; mid-afternoon

by morning, after a night's weak attempt at sleep and void of much else, jinah is elbows deep in the garden. it's in the backyard of the manor and largely left untouched by anyone else but herself. she's pulling out the weeds from the garden, gently moving herself down the row on her knees. she's wearing proper gardening clothes, protecting her jeans and sweater from the dirt. her gloved hands offer her warmth as she works, but it's the sudden cold that chills her to the bones, and comes from the words of a chilly woman herself. a tall, lithe woman with short blonde styled hair, in a black suit walks behind her, talking to a few others walking with her. "and here, we can build a pool. i want the garden torn down immediately." that causes jinah to jump to her feet and rush over, carefully dodging the plants. "excuse me?!" she leaps onto the pathway they're taking, that walked them over a small footbridge above a pond and in front of the tulips. once the dust settles, the other nymph laughs, "what is it jinah?" "first of all, it's unnie, i'm older than you." granted the other woman was somehow taller and much more intimidating in appearance at the moment. wardrobe aside, "second of all, who are you to decide what happens to the house already?! they haven't read the will yet!" "well, we all know halmeonim will leave the house to me. do you think she would leave it to you?" "no, but i think we shouldn't be making rash decisions so suddenly." "why? do you think halmeonim will care once she's gone?" jinah looks aghast as she's pushed out of the way. the group continues on their path, through the massive backyard, she is left behind. standing there in her boots and gardening overalls, knees and gloves covered in dirt. "this is the way of the future, jinah. nothing lasts forever, get with the times." by lunchtime, there's a small bulldozer uprooting the garden and demolishing twenty years of work. ➘ sunday january 3rd, 2021; morning-noon

people had been called and gone in to pay their respects to the matriarch. it was only around dinner time that it was jinah's turn. seated in the kitchen, her only company her phone playing a movie, and the magic at work. the spoon stirring the pot of soup, kept warm on the stove, ready to serve any hungry being that walked up with an empty bowl. the dirty dishes in the sink were scrubbed, rinsed, and then dried with a towel, before being placed back in a cabinet. the witches who made everything possible had left for the night, but left their incantations. out of the many rooms in the massive manor, jinah found comfort alone in the kitchen. it's warm and there's no questions or prying 'well-meaning' cousins. that is until there's a knock at the opened door and someone steps into the kitchen, "jinah, halmeonim wants to see you." then she exits the room, having delivered her message. everything else is put on pause, her phone tucked away, her soup bowl disposed of in the sink. she walks the empty hallway towards their grandmother's room and she knocks twice before the heavy door opens. a nymph dressed in black steps out and lets her in, then shuts the door behind jinah. the room is dimmed for the evening, and the elderly woman lays in bed, staring out the window. "halmeonim." jinah greets with a deep bow when she's neared. "sit." her voice croaks, aged. much different than the youthful one she normally carried. her entire body seemed much older overnight. wrinkled, skin thin like paper. age spots scattered over what was visible. jinah pulls the high-backed chair close and does as she's told. the hand outside of the blanket turns over and jinah gently takes it. her skin is so soft, and the limb felt weak. she felt fragile. jinah looks from the hand to meet the gaze of their matriarch. "did you solve the puzzle?" "i did." jinah nods and reaches her free hand into the pocket of her sweats, pulling it out. with one hand, she pops the lid and withdraws a blue sapphire from inside. its beauty is evident in its shine, and quite large, jinah holds it within her view. "it's real, i checked." "marvelous. keep it." "but—" "it's alright, dear. i won't be needing it." silence falls on jinah and she bites her lip, feeling as if she had stepped on an unseen land mine. she remains seated, however. one hand holding her grandmother's hand and the other clutching the sapphire. "would you stay with me tonight?" "yes, halmeonim. i will." she returns the sapphire to its box and pockets it. this time, when the silence comes, it's oddly soothing. all jinah can hear is the elder fae's breathing and her own heartbeat filling the room. ➘ sunday january 3rd, 2021; evening