Mind Alive, The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia Part 114, Vol 8 No 9, 1970 (on cover an arresting image from a National Theatre production of Shaw's Back To Methuselah, 1969)
Work of Art [J.JH] - one hundred and fourteen | long flight
You put your phone on airplane mode and shoved it into your bag on your lap.
"I paid for onboard wifi, so you can text whoever you want."
You laughed softly. "I just told Anna we didn't pay for it because I want to sleep at some point."
He nodded. "Johnny is texting me, so I'll tell him the same." Jaehyun opened his phone and typed a quick message.
"You're lying for me?" You stifled a laugh.
"Well..." Jaehyun answered Johnny's response and put his phone on airplane mode, putting it in his pocket. "I don't want to blow up your spot."
"Wow." You said and looked off into nothingness.
"What?"
"No, like… I think Anna is the only other person who would do something like that so fast. You didn’t even ask why."
He shrugged. "If you want to sleep, then sleep."
You nodded and leaned back in your seat. You weren't tired and the plane hadn't even taken off yet.
You stared at the back of the seat in front of you and wondered why he had done it so easily. Jaehyun went back to reading the book he had been reading in the airport and you tried, as sneakily as possible, to see what it the title was, but couldn’t. Jaehyun must have felt your eyes on him, because he turned and looked at you.
You flinched at the sudden eye contact and hoped he didn’t notice. “--It’s...”
He watched as you thought.
“Like, I’d never lie lie to Anna. I just sort of... want to be left alone for a bit.”
Jaehyun looked at you thoughtfully and nodded with a smile.
Moments later the flight attendants came around to ask everyone to put their stuff into the overhead compartments and put their seat belts on, and you finally took off. The horrible lurch in your stomach as the plane ascended reminded you of when you had first come to Korea, disregarding it as a necessary evil to being able to start a new life; just another bad thing that had to be overcome to find something good. You couldn’t believe that you were currently enduring it again, now like a portent of possible doom, going back the other way.
As the angle of the plane leveled out and the seat belt light went off, you could at least try to relax for the time you were suspended in the air. You, like a ball that had been thrown upwards, in the moment that it reaches the apex of its trajectory - seeming to float for a second - before it plummets back down to earth and lands in the dirt. But right now, all you could think about was that moment; the crashing down, and you were suddenly apprehensive. You inhaled deeply as you took your seat belt off and tried to steady yourself.
You wondered if you could convince the pilot to let you parachute out of the plane. You wondered if Jaehyun could bribe him. How loaded was his family? The guy could probably accept an account transfer, right? Jaehyun could pay for it.
You heard his seat belt click open and felt his hand on yours.
"Are you going to sleep right now?" He asked.
You rocketed back to sanity; thankful, but unsure of how to explain what you felt and why. Maybe being alone with your thoughts wasn’t the best thing right now. You tried to think of anything else and landed on the only other thing that had been jangling around in your head all day.
"Uh-- in a little bit. I, umm... I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"And actually-- I didn't want to ask until we were in the air because I didn't want you to, uh…"
His brow furrowed as you paused.
"...Come to your senses?"
Brow still furrowed, he smiled a small smile. "What is it?"
Everything you said came out in one panicked breath: "What did your parents say when you said you wanted to fly to the US with a girl you barely know, and pay for her ticket? And for the hotel room and everything? They couldn’t have been okay with it. You’re their only son. Did you steal the money? Do I have to help you apologize later? Do they think we’re eloping?" You inhaled.
Jaehyun dad-laughed loudly, realized how loud he was, and quieted himself.
You looked at him, confused. "Did you not tell them or something?"
"I did."
"What'd they say?"
"I told them and they said they didn't mind."
Your mouth opened, agape. "Didn't mind… you paying for the tickets or me being some girl they've never met? Do they know we’re staying in the same hotel room?"
"Y/n, they don't have some kind of stranglehold on my life. They raised me to be responsible and they treat me that way because they know I am."
"But-- what about the money? It’s theirs, isn’t it?"
"I explained the whole situation and they understood that you needed the help and that I wanted to help you."
"...Oh."
"And you're not just 'some girl'. We've known each other, what, almost a year now?"
"Quite a few months shy of it." You looked at him for a moment, wondering if he was normally this bad at math and shook your head. "But they don't know me."
He tilted his head for a second. "They do. A little bit."
"What?"
"I told them about you."
"You-- you did? When? What'd you say?"
One of the flight attendants came by with the beverage cart. You and Jaehyun ordered and received your drinks: he got a Coke, you got a ginger ale. Once the attendant had left, he turned back to you.
"I call my parents once a week and tell them about everything that happened during the week."
"Oh… wow, really?"
He nodded, humming the affirmative.
"Oh… That must be nice.”
"My parents really wanted to have kids and almost weren't able to, so they're really grateful they had me."
“I'm not really used to that. Not since my mom died."
"Was your mom like that at all?" Jaehyun reached for his drink and took a sip.
"Oh, yeah. It’s my dad who’s the piece of shit."
Jaehyun almost spat his drink out on the seat in front of him, but successfully stopped himself. He choked as he swallowed, and sputtered.
You laughed quietly and handed him the napkin from his drink as he recovered.
"Thank you."
"Honestly, I think he only got my mom pregnant to trap her. He was never really interested in me or my brother when we were kids, but when my brother was old enough to hang out with him they were suddenly best friends."
"But… wouldn't that be good? At least he decided to be a dad at some point?"
"I wouldn't call it 'being a dad'. It's just that they share the same hobby."
"What's that?"
You rolled your eyes. "I'll tell you if it comes up."
"Mmm… why can't you tell me now?"
"Because I really don't want to have to tell you." You looked at him with pleading eyes.
Jaehyun looked at you, silent.
"I left the U.S. for a reason, Jaehyun…" you nodded, unable to think of how to put it without just saying it. "Yeah." You sipped your drink.
He nodded. "Well, hopefully you don't have to tell me then."
"Yeah…" you sighed. "Honestly... and, I’m sorry, but this is going to sound psychotic…” You sighed. “But the best case scenario is my dad is actually dying."
Jaehyun's eyes went wide.
"Yeah."
You sighed again and looked out the window for a second; the deep blue expanse of the ocean under the plane like a gently undulating blanket. You figured that all the people that had ever immigrated from one place to another to find something ‘more’ or ‘better’ probably felt the way you did as you were suspended between where you were; Korea, a place you had enjoyed living easily the best part of your life so far, and where you were going; back home to New York and back to the shit you had thought you left behind. You sat in silence for a few moments as you looked at the ocean and thoroughly zoned out, a strange sense of zen - or possibly the calm before a potential emotional storm - washed over you.
You snapped out of it and shook your head, wondering how long you had been staring out the window. You sat up in your seat and turned to Jaehyun, just in time for the flight attendant to come around with dinner. The two of you got your food and ate quietly for a few moments before you remembered your earlier conversation.
"So, what'd you tell your parents about me?"
He shrugged. "Stuff that happened. The Luna situation."
"Oh god, the whole thing? As it was all happening?"
He nodded with a smirk.
"God, that must have been like their own personal Drama."
"My mom was quite into it."
“Move over Penthouse.” You laughed quietly. "Jesus. What'd she think of the 'series finale?'"
Jaehyun chewed his food as he thought for a moment. "She admired your commitment to not starting a fight, but she was happy when you finally did."
You laughed. "Oh god."
"She said she was very proud of you."
"You-- did you show her the video?"
"I showed both of them the video. And Taeyong's audio."
"Holy shit."
"What?"
"I can't believe your parent's first impression of me is going to be me screaming at someone." You put your hands over your eyes, embarrassed. "Ohhhh my god."
Jaehyun chuckled, putting his hand on one of yours to stop you. "That wasn't their first impression of you."
You pulled your hands away. "What?"
"I told them about you when we first met at the beginning of the semester."
"Oh... really?"
"Yeah. I said I call them once a week."
"Oh, yeah."
"My mom said that we do sound like we're from Connecticut when we speak English, by the way."
"What? She agreed with me?"
"Mhm."
You laughed and rubbed your eyes. “Well, I guess I’m glad she wasn’t offended.”
Jaehyun smiled. “My dad didn’t get it, though.”
You laughed again.
“And I showed them the paintings you posted to your Instagram, they really like them.”
“Oh, really?”
“Mhm. They really liked the paintings of me.”
You smiled. “Well, you are their pride and joy. I think I’d be surprised if they didn’t like those best.”
He shook his head. “It’s not because they’re of me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“My parents own a fair amount of art, so they know a little bit about it. They really liked your use of color and movement. It just happened that, in their opinions, you used both the best in the paintings of me.”
You looked at him for a moment. “That still feels like bias because they love you.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t.”
“Hmm. Well, I don’t think I believe you, but I don’t think you’ll be convinced either.” You chuckled. “They really should thank Eunji for helping me so much with it, I had no idea how to use social media to get people to see my stuff. She helped me take a lot of the pictures, too.”
He nodded with a laugh. “I’ll tell them. It won’t stop them from saying that it’s all you, though.”
You smiled awkwardly. “Do your parents normally hype you up this much?”
“Oh, yeah.”
You laughed.
“A big part of going out and doing things is not being afraid to try stuff. And a big part of getting over the fear that can stop you from trying is having the confidence in yourself to do it. Their opinion is that, as my parents, they should give me that confidence the same way that they taught me to walk or talk.”
You nodded. “Your parents seem really cool.”
He nodded back. “I think you’d like them.”
“Are they going to visit here soon? Well-- not ‘here’ as in the plane, ‘here’ as in NCTI. When we’re back there... and not here... flying over the ocean--” you widened your eyes as you realized how much English broke down as the speaker was in between places.
Jaehyun chuckled. “They were going to visit at the end of the semester to help me bring my stuff back home to visit for the summer.”
“You’re spending the whole summer at home?”
You asked the question - on the surface - looking for confirmation of his previous statement, but there was a tiny spot deep in the recesses of your heart that you could feel twinge with pain. The home of the feelings that you had stomped down weeks ago? Months? You had been ignoring them for so long that you weren’t sure anymore. They were like a piece of paper, folded over and over again, even pressed flat by a hydraulic press owned by two delightful Finnish youtubers until the seams threatened to explode, the pressure of what was contained inside straining against the folding.
You sipped your drink.
“Yeah, I was thinking about it. It depends on how many people are staying on campus, I guess.”
You nodded. “Well, I can’t go back so I’ll be there.”
Jaehyun smiled. “If I do decide to go home, I’ll visit you.”
“Yeah?”
Your heart panged, the feelings burned against the seams of the folds you had pressed them into. You took another sip of your drink to give yourself a moment to calm down. The cool bubbliness of the ginger ale did nothing to help.
“Yeah… but I may not leave. I think Taeyong mentioned that he was going to do some kind of extra summer training, and I was thinking of joining him.”
“What about your parents?”
“I can invite them to visit instead.”
“So-- so I can meet them?”
Jaehyun smiled and nodded.
Sometimes, in life, there are things that one doesn’t understand but that one is too afraid to ask for clarification about. Like the Oracle of Delphi, a sense of clairvoyant foreboding washes over the should-be asker, and they decide to leave what was said - and unsaid - left to hang in the air like a Sword of Damocles, threatening to cause anything if it were addressed. Because even an oracle follows their fear, and thinks that the calm of continuing as they were is better than the emotional upheaval that could be caused by an unexpected answer.
“Umm… you know what? I think I’m a little tired now.”
Jaehyun nodded. “Alright.”
You both organized the garbage from your dinner and made it neat for when the flight attendants came around to take it away. Jaehyun put it on his tray so you could close yours.
You pulled the eyemask out of the bag of items for your seat and Jaehyun adjusted his overhead light so it wouldn’t bother you. You shut yours off and closed the window shade, adjusting the blanket so you were comfortable before turning to him.
“Good night-- afternoon?” You guessed and shrugged
He chuckled. “Good night.”
You put the mask on and closed your eyes, folding your arms across your chest.
Some time later you awoke, disoriented for a moment before you remembered that the intense whoosh of air outside was because you were on a plane and not stuck in some weird nightmare. You pulled the mask from your face and looked around.
Jaehyun was asleep next to you, the garbage gone and the tray up, the very picture of refusing to forfeit as sleep crept up on him, the book he was reading still in his hands and his head bent forward. You smiled at him as you took the book and put the bookmark in it.
It was the book of poetry you had gotten him for his birthday.
Fuck.
You didn’t know what to do with this information. Books were meant to be read, of course, and if he never read it you would have been a little… annoyed? Disappointed? Hurt? But why was this book the one he chose to bring for the trip? Maybe he just didn’t have a chance to read it since you had given it to him. You weren’t the only one who had been losing sleep from working so hard; you knew that the dance students had been tirelessly practicing as the year-end performances neared. Yeah, that had to be it.
Jaehyun stirred as you looked at the cover of the book.
“Hmm? You’re awake now?”
“I’m not the only one.” You whispered and handed the book back.
He took it and smiled sleepily. He yawned, “What time is it?”
You checked the itinerary on the flight map. “We still have time before they serve breakfast.”
“Yeah?”
“Mhm. We should go back to sleep.”
You cracked your neck and took the eye mask from the bag of things for his seat and handed it to him as you unfolded the blanket. He put the eyemask on like a headband and went to take the blanket from you, but you swatted his hand gently and tucked the blanket around him. He held onto the book like a teddy bear as he watched you.
“I feel like a baby.”
You smiled. “Well, you tucked me in not too long ago, right? I have to return the favor at some point.”
He watched you quietly.
You looked up. “What?”
“You can just let people take care of you, you know. Not everyone is like the people you used to know.”
You nodded slowly. “But… maybe I can take care of the new people I know too, for a change. We have to take care of each other, right?”
You weren’t really sure what you were saying.
He nodded.
You reached up and turned off his overhead light. “Go back to sleep, Peach.”
As you pulled your mask back on you felt Jaehyun’s hand on your shoulder. You flipped one side of the mask up so you could look at him.
“Sleep on my shoulder. It’ll be more comfortable.”
You noticed he was still holding the book against his body like a teddy bear, but you flipped the side of the mask back down before you could think about it and leaned your head on his shoulder.
Witches Of Moonlight Falls [Season 6]; Part 114}
--- Rein Supreme ---
Moonlight Falls, Present day...
Her memoirs from past lives had taken over her momentarily:
Serena [thoughts + memoirs] ( I remember all my past lifetimes... All those magical days. Every incarnation I was in mother would reteach me the ways of evil witchcraft. My life around the 1920s to the 1940s was the most extreme.All my mother taught me as a child, and I still remember the music and the fashion of the roaring twenties, my goodness I can still smell the smoke from the speak easy mother used to run. How time flies! I can’t believe I was actually an actress in my last life. I died a terribly dramatic death during the 1940s and now I’m in this lifetime. hated casting that spell so nobody would recognise me from my past lives... I want to recognition I deserve as a Hollywood superstar. Soon I will, soon the Underworld will be bowing to their new queen. It makes me wonder why my mother can’t be reborn after the charmed ones vanquished her... I got my revenge with taking Belinda’s life anyway. )
Serena stares out the window, now the most powerful witch in Moonlight Falls. She’s just washed Beatrice’s blood off her hands and now must take to the second part of her evil plan.
Witches Of Moonlight Falls (Season 5); Part 114}
█ ▌*.*.*.* ‘ If I say “wind in pine” Will you hear it? Only waves of air. Washing around inside you. Through limbs of trees. You planted there long ago
Or yesterday. Will deliver my words to you alive. Will carry you into. The pure wonder of wildness. Like a dry NEEDLE swept into the sky.’ - Trees of Moonlight Falls are trying to warn the lone witch, Bianca Crumplebottom who has no idea what her LUCK shall come to If she sleeps. She’s unaware of her danger. Who touched a needle and fell into a deep sleep? Aurora. Bianca doesn’t need a curse to sleep and theres no needles around. The tree’s are just lying. Why must they always act so SUPERSTITIOUS. It’s just a trick, right?
The MOON is unforgiving to witches who avoid their true FATE. Bianca is an unforgiving as she ignores the demonic spawn that may or may not be growing inside of her. The MOONLIGHT shines through the windows over Bianca’s pink laced bed sheets onto her white night gown she borrowed from Beatrice’s closet. As Bianca walks towards her welcoming bed, she’s reminded of her favourite FAIRYTALE, she loves ‘ Sleeping Beauty ’ but will never understand why sleeping for centuries is a bad thing, sleep is MAGICAL. Better to sleep willingly than touch a cursed spinning wheel though. Bianca also feels like AURORA wearing Beatrice’s night gown. It’s also like a part of Beatrice is here with her now that she is gone, Belinda too... But SADNESS is not something to dwell on when your witch defences should be up and ready for anything. Bianca sits on her bed and takes in her surroundings. Admiring her BEDROOM that she’d grown up in - the PERFUME bottles have been in here forever, the self painting by Belinda, the Audrey Hepburn poster and all the PINK. To think she only got back from 1772 today, It’s all crazy. She rests her back slowly on her soft bed, she can feel her vertebras straightening one by one sinking into her bed mattress. It’s like she’s sinking lower and lower into heaven - You can only sink to hell, witch. - fate. How did Aurora sleep for 100 YEARS and keep all her BEAUTY Bianca will never know. Lying down on her bed, Bianca takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. At last, the rest she deserves, having that tail and swimming around 18th century seas and then running around versailles like a maniac really has been exhausting. Time travel is not good for anything. REST well, stay peaceful but quite soon MIDNIGHT will approach. All alone in a curse house at the witching hour? Good luck, witch. -- More like BAD LUCK for a witch.
