OOC: Don't worry about it. xD Here's some more time progression stuff to help with dates, and I put in some of the feelings that Ai Lin wanted Mei to have after Shi'ren died. Hope this helps your portrayal!

—-

The next few weeks were a blur. Money was a little tighter than Ling would've liked it, so she put in extra hours at the docks to make a few extra yuans. She worked late nights, as always; everyone hated graveyard shifts, so there was always someone looking to skiv off. Some would even pay her to take their shift. Yuans were yuans, and Ling never minded dock work. The people there were kindred spirits, and though the work could be gruelling, it was never unpleasant.

With her nights occupied, Ling spent days working on Lee's request. Mei hit the books, predictably, and the younger Yao was grateful. She had never been much for sifting through paperwork, which almost always required sitting in some stuffy, dusty room poring over a mountain of files searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Not exactly a good time. With Mei doing the boring stuff, Ling hit the street, interviewing people that might know something. She poked around the Power Plant, pretending to be investigating working conditions at the facility. How were things? she asked the workers. Were the working conditions good? Did the facility take care of workers and their families, such as being understanding if someone had an ill child?

Her questions were leading, and served their purpose. Someone had heard of a healer the Plant recommended to its employees, and that a handful of people had visited him before. Ling tried to figure out which of them had families, but didn't get very far interviewing workers. The ones she talked to were either called back to work, or didn't know anyone well enough to know if they had families. So, Ling put her ... other skills to use, accidentally finding herself near a locked door marked "Personnel" and accidentally finding her way in, and mysteriously finding that the previously locked file cabinet had suddenly unlocked itself. Quick as a wink, she found a folder marked "Services"; opening it, she saw the names of a few contract employees — a few of them with the surname "Lee", and a handful of healers to boot.

She slyly copied the information, taking care to put everything back exactly as she found it — including being locked. She had just stepped out of the room and re-locked the door when someone — a supervisor by the looks of it — started over and demanded to know what she was doing. With a blank, but pleasant look on her face, she apologised and said she couldn't read and thought this was the bathroom and was waiting for whomever was inside — the door was locked after all — to come out.

The lie was thin, considering she had spent the last few days taking notes from the people she had interviewed, but thankfully she hadn't met this supervisor before. He directed her to the bathroom, and she scurried away and home, eager to share the news with Mei.

After a few more days of digging — all of the Lees she had found were not related to Hyuk-jae, and all of the healers had never heard of a condition like his — Mei was able to find the name of a healer who diagnosed his condition and helped with some therapy. If it could be called that. When the girls went to question the healer, he mentioned recommending that Hyuk-jae be made unable to have children. He left it vague, but Ling was disgusted. She had heard of a lot of amazing things, but short of being cursed by the Spirits she had never heard of any way to take away someone's ability to have children.

She glanced at her sister, starting to understand why Hyuk-jae distrusted healers so much.

But, no matter the distaste she felt for the healer, he managed to give them a first name. Eagerly, the girls had sped home to share the news with their mother — only to find that she had died. Ling thought the conditions were suspicious, but no one else seemed to think so. So, she put it out of her mind for the time being; one job at a time, no matter how much it hurt.

Mei did not take it well, to say the least. Ling was lost as Mei seemed to crumble, and no amount of her patented awkward joking made her beloved older sister smile. For her part, Ling spent a fair amount of time drunk off her arse, picking fights with bigger men at the Golden Fan to let out some stress, all the while smiling and joking. When she wasn't at the Fan, she stuck by Mei like a purple pentapus. Not because she was worried about Mei, exactly... just the people around her. There was a dark, shadowed look to her older sister that hadn't been there before, and the freckled girl was worried that the waterbending might snap.

After taking a few days off to grieve in their own unique ways, the girls left a message for Lee at the Eye; Ling decided not to call Hyuk-jae, and left it to Lee to figure out how he was going to get the younger man to meet up with them.

She armed herself before they left home, sparing only the briefest glances at their mother's room. The girls kept it shut up tight. Ling doubted that Mei would go back in there in the near future. Sure as hell she was avoiding it.

After a cab ride, the girls met Lee and Hyuk-jae at the corner of Fifth and Banyan, the latter being a small street closer to a less-populated part of the City. With only the briefest of pleasantries, Ling lead the way to their destination. Upon reaching a modest-looking home, Ling turned around to face her companions, hands jammed in her coat pockets.

"So..." she began, a little awkwardly, not sure how much --if anything — Lee had told Hyuk-jae. "Here's our end of the bargain. Shall we do this?"

Getting Hyuk-jae to meet up in his old neighbourhood was easier said than done. Lee was shocked, just shocked, by what flimsy excuse he had to give to get the boy there. The gangster had to promise dinner and a night off and use sweet talk, which shockingly worked better than he'd anticipated. He met up with the younger man on Fifth street.

Hyuk-jae was very reluctant to come, and when he did he came wearing only black and looking very unhappy — more unhappy and suspicious than usual, which was saying something. It was obvious that Hyuk-jae knew the area, and equally obvious that he didn't like it. Lee turned towards Banyan and his companion frowned. When he started walking, the frown got deeper. As soon as the two men entered the area, Hyuk-jae's eyes were drawn to his old house.

The house still had bright red flowers in the window boxes. Hyuk-jae spotted it down the street. Before Ling could reference their end of the bargain, he spun on his heel, muttering something about a quick errand and promising to be right back. Lee the Gentle put a hand out for a moment but then thought better of it.
"It's better this way first, I think," he said softly, watching Hyuk-jae go. "Let's do this quickly, all right?"

Stepping up to the door, he rapped quickly and stepped back. The girls would be better to stand in front, less threatening. He was counting on Ling's acting skills to charm some details out of the occupants. When the door opened, the man standing in front of them looked so much like Hyuk-jae that Lee found it difficult to hide his surprise. Tall, slender, finely boned — the man had the same almost-androgynous look to him, just this side of obviously male. He was wearing the uniform of the Power Plant and looked a bit worn out. Childish laughter spilled from inside, and Lee was suddenly quite glad that Hyuk-jae had taken the time to find an elsewhere to be.

"Can I help you?" he asked, looking out at the three visitors.


While Ling, Mei, and Lee the Gentle stood in the street, Hyuk-jae was standing at a roadside food vendor, staring. He knew it had been odd at best to run off so quickly, but the sight of his parents' house twisted his innards. Did they know this was his old neighbourhood? Surely Lee hadn't asked those girls to find his family. That seemed to ridiculous that he smiled a little and rubbed at his forehead. The food stall owner smiled.
"You look awful familiar son," she said.
"I get that a lot," said Hyuk-jae.
"Like a skinny version of that Seo-joon Lee," she commented, looking him over.
Hyuk-jae bit his lip. This wasn't good. He ought to go back and tell Lee that no matter what the errand was, he just wasn't feeling well. The Earthbending gangster was always so understanding. He wouldn't mind, right?
Hyuk-jae made an excuse to the woman and turned again, heading back the way he'd come. He'd just tell Lee he wanted to go lie down for a while. He wouldn't begrudge him that.... right?


—————

OOC note: The girls don't know that Hyuk-jae is a Firebender. He doesn't discuss it and they have not at this point seen any signs of it from him. He physically has orangey eyes and all, but he would never have told them or used the bending in front of them. Not yet, anyway. Just so you know (: and, I don't want to write through this too fast, so please don't RP us up to leaving just yet, okay?

OOC: Just going to take the lead here to give Airi something to work with.

——

Before the words were even out of her mouth, Hyuk-jae turned on his heel and practically sprinted away. Guess he knows where we are. Ling bit her lip. Part of her felt bad for going against what she knew had to be his wishes for anyone not to know about his family. She just couldn't comprehend why. He had his condition, so wouldn't his family want to care for him, make sure he didn't have to turn tricks and sell papers a decade older than the other newsies because he couldn't keep a better-paying job?

Lee rapped on the door stepped back, leaving Ling at the foremost of the group. Trying to stand up a little straighter and exude an air of professionalism, like this was business as usual for her, Ling gave a small smile to the slender man who opened the door. "Good evening," she said, trying to be courteous as well as direct. Not her usual style. Quite difficult. "I am looking for a Mr. Lee? Lee Seo-joon." Even before he replied, her sharp eyes took in the uniform; they definitely had the right home.

His eyes were wary, she noted, as he regarded them. "I am Seo-joon," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "And you are?"

Ling opened her coat and showed her brass Private Investigator badge, pinned on the lining. "I am Yao Ling. This is my sister and partner, Yao Mei-zhen, and our associate, Lee." The freckled woman realised suddenly that she didn't know of Lee was their companion's first name or last. Not that it mattered particularly much.

Seo-joon leaned in, examining the badge and the engraved numbers below. Seemingly satisfied that all was in order, he straightened and repeated his question. "Can I help you?"

He seemed guarded, and so she was on the alert for anything unusual. "Well, sir, we were recently contacted by a client who requested we locate you and reunite you with your son, who should be arriving shortly." Hopefully. Where had he gone?

His reaction was something Ling did not expect. There was a brief flicker of recognition in his eyes before turning blank. "Son?" he echoed blandly. "I don't have a son."

....What?

She faltered, second-guessing her detective work. Had she found the wrong Lee Seo-joon? The chances of finding a "Lee" with an identical first and last names were, she had thought, quite slim. Ling glanced back at Mei. Had they made a mistake?

From inside the house, a woman's voice called out. "Who is it?"

Without taking his eyes off of her, Seo-joon called back. "It's nothing. They have the wrong house."

A woman came to the door, holding a small, giggling girl-child. Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. It was impossible that they had the wrong house. Seo-joon could have been an older Hyuk-jae, and the girl-child was quite clearly his sister. Or at the very least, half-sister. Ling forged ahead, her grey-blue eyes cold and her voice hard as steel.

"No, I don't think so," she asserted, taking a small step closer to the family, studying their reactions. "You have a son. Hyuk-jae. He looks exactly like you."

Seo-joon's eyes became decidedly unfriendly. "I do not have a son," he repeated.

Ling lifted an eyebrow in silent but apparent disbelief. "Yes, you do." she insisted.

Mei stood there in wait as Ling took the initiative and confronting the man about Hyuk-jae, her arms at her side and her mouth closed, not a word uttered in the past few hours. But she knew, at some point, Ling would hit a standstill and she would have to do something. What that something was, she had no idea, taking it as their conversation progressed. The man was cautious, or simply tired from a long day's work, as she could see it. Hostility hung in the air as Ling pushed the topic of his son to the point that he even denied the existence of Hyuk-jae. This wasn't going to work out as easily as they had anticipated. Whereas back at the Eye, Ling was the one who knew how to handle things, Mei knew how to handle people like this.

She cleared her throat and put on a smile, taking a step towards him and gently touching Ling's arm to back off a bit. "We have documented evidence,"

[/color] she began, her voice soft from not having talked a lot in the past while, "of a Lee Seo-joon as the parent of Lee Hyuk-jae in medical records."[/color] She was throwing out a line, hoping he would take it. They didn't have such evidence on hand, though it was somewhere in the files of the healer they had went to for their son's condition. Hopefully. "I understand,"[/color] she said, trying to appeal to the scared sense in him as she did as a healer, "that you don't want to admit you have a son with a very embarrassing condition."[/color]

This got no response whatsoever from the man who simply gazed over her like she was some street vendor trying to sell him some odd thing. "I've said it once, I'll say it again: I don't have a son. You have the wrong house," he told her, a deep knit scowl directed at her. An "Oh..."[/color] slipped her lips and she felt like she had just made some type of fool of herself. Mei took a full step back, unable to comprehend why someone would say they didn't have a son or possibly believe they never had one. She mirrored Ling's previous look back at her. It was impossible they had the wrong house or the wrong people.

"Miss!"[/color] she attempted. "Are you, uh, positive you've never had a son?"[/color] she asked. A father might not remember... but a mother had to carry a child for nine months and then go through labor. Those kinds of things couldn't be as easily forgotten. Mei bit her bottom lip, hoping for a better response, but none was given. The woman looked at her like the waterbender was a stray dog. "We've never had a son," she said, confirming what her husband had said.

Feeling even more so like an idiot, she took another step back. Wanting to make up for her mistake (though there was no mistake she made), she bowed. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time."[/color] When she resumed her normal stance, she didn't move. I'll play it safe, she thought to herself, and follow Ling's lead again. [/blockquote]

Lee had expected to meet with unhappy parents, but he'd certainly not expected to be met by people who denied the very existence of their only son. Seo-joon was obviously Hyuk-jae's father, he had no doubt of that. He was healthier than his son, but the blue-black hair, the pale skin, the fine bones, the firey eyes — it was all the same. Exactly the same. He narrowed his eyes, mind clicking over the details.

To them, Hyuk-jae was dead. That was the only explanation. He'd run away and they'd wiped him from their lives, having another child — clearly a normal child — to replace him. Lee felt stunned. Seo-joon glanced at him in a dismissive way, holding his chin exactly like Hyuk-jae did when he didn't feel like talking.

"Let's go," he said swiftly. He wanted to leave before Hyuk-jae came back. He could make up any lie, feed them all, do anything — but this situation wasn't going to end up how he'd hoped. It was far worse than he'd anticipated.

Unfortunately, Hyuk-jae had already seen them at the open door. The young man was walking up the street, hands in pockets, preparing to beg off and excuse himself with sickness. He noticed the door open, the man standing in the way, same uniform he'd seen for years. He stopped walking when he saw the little girl in his mother's arms. Another child, a better child. Hyuk-jae took a breath.

Seo-joon saw him behind Mei's shoulder and his eyes widened. Turning his attention back to the callers, he cleared his throat. "As I told you," he said, voice a little louder this time, "we don't have a son. You must have the wrong Lee — there're a lot of us." His voice carried in the street, meant to reach his son. "Have a nice day, and please don't ever come back." Quickly he pushed the door closed, shutting them all out.

Lee the Gentle turned instantly, eyes landing on Hyuk-jae. He crossed the distance between them, saying nothing. Standing there, so thin and all in black, Hyuk-jae looked... stunned, and otherwise emotionless. Lee reached out, drawing a finger down the young man's cheek. He didn't say anything. Wrapping arms around Hyuk-jae, Lee pulled him close.

Unmoving, the paperboy stood in the other man's arms. "I-an-ah," said Hyuk-jae softly, using the familiar and intimate -ah ending on what was obviously Lee's first name, "what were you hoping to find?"
"I'm so sorry," said Lee I-an, turning his face towards Hyuk-jae's hair. In that moment, his true self was visible to anyone in the street, as were his true feelings.
Over his shoulder, the boy stared at Ling, eyes accusatory.

Who among them was satisfied?

Mei stood there, stunned into silence when the door was shut in their faces. She didn't get it. She couldn't even comprehend what just happened her. Hyuk-jae's parents went as far to deny the thought that they had a son to disown him was so cruel, so wretched, so horrid for her to even begin to understand the reasoning to the parents. In all her years not once, not ever, had she encountered people like this that couldn't care less about a child they raised. It felt like she couldn't move, simply staring at the knob of the door, as her thoughts swirled in her head. Their mother just died, someone who had loved them from the day they were born and never once questioned her love for her children. That was what a parent should be like, not that couple. She couldn't even begin to think of them as 'parents'.

Finally, Ling's words returned her to reality. "Yeah..."

[/color] was all she could say in response in the silence that surrounded them. Even then it sounded mutilated, sounding more like "E-ahh". Mei's blue eyes looked at her sister's when she started to apologize. She felt horrible, like she had failed all of this, somehow. Like she could have said something different that would have forced the family to admit and open up to their son. Her stomach felt like someone twisted a knife in when she continued to apologize. She shouldn't feel like this, she thought with teary eyes. It's my fault.

The waterbender pulled Ling into her arms, giving her a -what she meant to be- a reassuring hug. The air in her lungs went stale and she took a deep breath to calm herself from crying. Her sister needed her right now; she couldn't be thinking of herself in such a time. "It's alright... You did your best. I know you didn't mean this,"[/color] softly she said, keeping her voice low enough so that only Ling could hear her, wanting only her sister to hear anything she said with the fear that she might do something wrong again. Everything was so... wrong.

Smoothing down her sister's hair, something their mother used to do to calm them down, and giving the hug one last, warm squeeze, she loosened her grip on her sister and looked over at Hyuk-jae and I-an. What could she do? She couldn't afford to do anything else wrong. Maybe they should just wait it out and then return to the Eye for their information. Sure, things didn't go according to plan -if anything, it went against everything they thought would happen- but they did their job. Not every story, she realized then and there, had a happy ending. I can't, she thought to herself with sudden sadness, heal anyone's broken heart. This isn't something I can fix.

Mei let go, completely, of her sister and took a few steps towards the duo. She bowed once more, shutting her eyes tightly. "This is my fault,"[/color] she lied, to take the blame. "I acted upon my own selfish desires to know more about you and thought it would be best if I could reunite a family. I take full responsibility of today's events."[/color] She waited for a response, frozen in her bow.[/blockquote]

When Ling had the audacity to joke about the situation, Hyuk-jae's eyes burned at her. Her apology turned his gaze from her completely; he didn't want to hear it. Hyuk-jae, after standing there a moment, brought his arms up around Lee. His words were very quiet, too quiet to reach the girls, but the older man pulled back a little and the men stared at each other for a moment before Lee turned, his face back to its cheerful facade. He didn't say anything as Mei began to apologize, stating that it was her fault entirely.

Hyuk-jae laughed humourlessly. "No," he said, waving a hand at her. "Stop. That's nice, but stop. I know who did this, and it wasn't you." His eyes passed over Ling but he didn't say anything else. Lee wound their fingers together.
"Dinner," said the gangster. "I think we should eat dinner and pretend that this never happened."
"Oh?" Hyuk-jae turned that acidic smile on the older man now. "I'm sure that's exactly what you'd like to do. But I think since you were so curious —" he glanced back at the girls "all of you — I don't see why we can't all just sit down and discuss every facet of my personal life until your curiosity is satisfied."

He turned, practically dragging Lee by the hand, and headed down the street. There was a restaurant a few blocks away, owned by an older couple and their adult children. Hyuk-jae's parents had gone on dates there before, and that was where he took them now. It was a rustic sort of place, serving traditional Earth Kingdom food. Hyuk-jae sat down and Lee sat with him, silent. It was obvious that the young man was very angry... angry and deeply sad.

"Go ahead," he said, looking directly at Ling. "Ask me. Whatever you want to know, ask me." Then, he spared a glance for Lee. "And —"
"No," said Lee, relaxing in the booth. "I'll ask you in private, and believe me, you'll regret it."
Hyuk-jae leaned his chin in his hand. Beneath the table, Lee slid a hand over the young man's thigh.
Lee leaned in towards Hyuk-jae. "Come on," he said softly, "Miane, okay? I'm sorry. Mianeyo."
Hyuk-jae was silent for a moment as the waitress brought the water and took orders. When she left, he rubbed at his eyes.

"I didn't know," he said quietly, "that they'd replaced me. I knew they didn't love me, but..."
Lee put his arm around Hyuk-jae's shoulders, and the paperboy didn't pull away.

Ling made another joke of the situation when Mei finally relaxed. Her body relaxed, at the least, though not her mind, but considering the past few events and the last couple days it was a huge improvement. With one hand, she griped her other arm that covered her eyes that held no tears. She felt like she should cry; it seemed like the most appropriate time to do so with so much going on. The waterbender felt ashamed that she couldn't even show her grief, but removed her hand eventually: they had more to do, today, from the looks of it and she had the growing feeling in the core of her being that none of it was going to be pleasant.

With an uncomfortable silence following her every step, she made her way into the restaurant and taking a seat next to Ling. Her gaze glazed over as she zoned off, accidentally (and thankfully) the lover quarrel, until everyone began to order. "A side of rice,"

[/color] she ordered, knowing she wasn't going to eat much even if she ordered something substantial. She wasn't even sure she'd be able to finish the side of rice when it arrived. Mei could not do much more than sit there and keep track of what her younger sibling said, trying to empathize what Hyuk-jae was feeling right now with no success. This kind of situation was beyond her comprehension.

Mei reached over subtly and gave Ling's hands a light squeeze, her thumb rubbing her hand gently, feeling like the gesture was meant more for her than the one it was aimed to help. "Hyuk-jae,"[/color] she said, her voice barely above a whisper and her eyes looking at the table between them, "I have no need to know you inside and out,"[/color] she said bluntly, though her voice still gentle. A quick and slightly harsh glance sent towards Lee, the older girl feeling guilty that her sister was feeling like this. "But if there is anything you need, I will be more than happy to provide it for you."[/color] Her words, though they came from her mouth, felt like they weren't hers. She felt so out of touch.

Finally, she looked up and at Hyuk-jae. "I would like to offer you the spare room in our home."[/color] She probably didn't like him any more than he liked her, but she wanted to feel in control of something; she wanted to help. She gave Ling's hand one last squeeze, hoping her sister would back her up. "Please. Don't just blow away my offer."[/color][/blockquote]

Lee squeezed Hyuk-jae's shoulder gently, but didn't say anything. He knew exactly why Hyuk-jae's parents had treated him the way they had, and he knew that the little girl was likely to receive the same treatment if, as she aged, she had the same disease.

As Ling tried to begin to say that Hyuk-jae's parents hadn't replaced him, the young man just laughed. Anyone could see it, of course. It was no surprise. Well, he shouldn't think that. It was a surprise that they'd done it so quickly. Had his mother already been pregnant when he'd run away? He wouldn't have known, surely. Maybe they'd wanted him to leave for fear he might hurt her during a fit. Hyuk-jae didn't blame them at all.

He jumped when Ling slammed her glass on the table, and then stared at her when she apologized. Hyuk-jae didn't remember the meal in which she'd discovered that tick of his personality, but it was true. He hated loud noises. Sometimes they triggered fits, and he was jumpy at best on his own. "That's right," he said.

"I don't GET it, Hyuk-jae. How could they do this to you? You're their son. Family is — should be — everything."

"Well, I —" Hyuk-jae stared at her. How could he explain this?
Lee gently rubbed his thumb along the seam in Hyuk-jae's shoulder in an absent and comforting gesture. "Not everyone values family the way you do," the older man said to the freckled girl. "Surely this isn't the first time you've realized that?"
Hyuk-jae swallowed. "I, um. Was a frustrating and dangerous child," he said quietly. "My mother resented not being able to work. I was schooled at home. It was very... time consuming and hard for them, I'm sure. Disappointing. It's all right. I already knew how they felt about me."

When Mei offered her a spare room in their house, Hyuk-jae glared at her. She 'had no need to know him inside and out'? Well, what else was new? He wanted to choke her, her and her Waterbending. In his mind, Mei was just like the healer he'd seen all his childhood, the one who had pronounced him abnormal and come up with the hated diet and told his parents it would be better off to sterilize him and cut their losses. Those people didn't care about what he thought or how he felt. He was a disease to them. Mei was no different — no healer was — than that man, and the thought of living with her turned Hyuk-jae's stomach to ice. No. Absolutely not. "I have a place to live," he snapped. "I don't need anything from you."

Lee's hand tightened on his shoulder again.

Mei cast her eyes back down when her offered was denied. What should she have expected? There was no way, after all they did, that he would ever accept anything from her. And to offer their mothers room? She inwardly slapped herself. There was no explanation she could give to Ling later for what she had done. It was insensitive of her, just like the tears that wouldn't flow. What was with her? Did she not care? Or did she care too much that it hurt on a whole other level? She began to wish that Ling could listen to her thoughts, that she could understand what a mess the waterbender was right now.

Lost in her own thoughts of grief, she barely even heard Ling apologize for her. Only from the corner of her eye did she notice her harsh glance. They would talk about it later, but not now, she thought to herself. Not anytime soon. I need to get myself sorted out before I do anything else.

The food arrived and while Ling dove right into it, Mei barely touched the measly potion of rice she had ordered. She forced her body to move, to pick up her chop sticks and eating a bite or two. After the second bite, her body gave her an unwanted reaction of nausea and she set the chop sticks over the rice. Her body moved on it's own accord, but what it did, she didn't even mind. She slid out of the booth, giving a quick bow and a 'thank you' for the meal. "I'll be home,"

[/color] she told her as she leaned over to kiss her sister's cheek. With a pause, she added in a whisper, "I'm sorry."

One last glance towards Lee, she hoped conveyed the fact she wanted the payment of their information. If she couldn't deal with this now, it would be later, but they were going to need the information. Otherwise, they could kiss good-bye to the reward money, money they needed. She left without another word. And at home - though it didn't feel like one without her mother - she laid down on her bed, expecting her body to resist sleep. In a matter of seconds, she dozed off, finally managing to sleep and regain her wits.[/blockquote]

(OOC: slight NPCing of Iluak being out of the clinic and Mei being in. Since it's an agreed-upon plot point, I figured it would be okay. Tell me if you want me to edit!)


The squeeze of I-an's hand on his shoulder brought to Hyuk-jae's attention the fact that he was gritting his teeth. He loosened his jaw and tried, visibly, to relax. He let out a heavy breath when the food arrived and stared. Lee had ordered for him, meat and vegetables and nothing else, just like he knew Hyuk-jae would want. The young man closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and concentrating on his food. It tasted good to him, spicy and hot. It gave him something to focus on.

We didn't mean any harm

Was she kidding? Really? Like she hadn't gotten the hint from previous interaction that Hyuk-jae wouldn't want to find his family? The young man opened his mouth to yell at her but Lee cut him off.
"It was my idea, and we'll talk about it later."
Lee and Hyuk-jae had an agreement about never fighting in public. The young man shut his mouth.

When Mei got up and ran off, Hyuk-jae just set his jaw. He wasn't sorry, not a single bit. Lee stroked gentle fingers through the very back edges of his neck. It wasn't obvious, but it was comforting. Hyuk-jae sighed.
"Now," said the gangster, "I'll pick up this bill, you two can get on home, and Hyuk-jae can come home with me."
The paperboy didn't say anything, but he clearly agreed. He didn't have a problem with going home with Lee. In fact, he liked it a lot. And he had a lot to process.

As they were leaving, Lee slipped a piece of paper to Ling while Hyuk-jae was in the bathroom. "This is an address," he said, "and two names. It's enough to take to the police. You'll tell them you heard it playing cards at the Golden Fan." The gangster gripped Ling's arm for a moment. "At the Fan, understand? If they come to Eye, I will come to you." The silent and you will regret it hung in the air between them. In essence, he had just given the girls the location of the shipment and the names of those responsible. They could collect the reward money that night if they wished. It was more than an even trade. He pulled away from her just before Hyuk-jae reappeared. Throwing a lazy arm around the paperboy's shoulders, Lee grinned. "Bye."
Hyuk-jae didn't seem interested in farewells.


It was more than two weeks before either girl saw the paperboy again. He chose different and less likely streets for his work, and stayed away from any place he remembered seeing them before. In fact, the only reason they saw him again at all was provided by Providence: the seizures. As luck would have it, on that particular and rainy day, Mei was working in the clinic as she had agreed. The healer Iluak was out, leaving the girl to manage things alone for just a little while. A satomobile pulled up and a young man got out, pulling another with him and carrying a beat-up red bag. Without ceremony or preamble, the boy dumped his unconscious burden just inside the door.

"Ta miss," he said, lifting his newsie cap. "Fellow has fits. Big one. Stopped breathing but I heard him gasp like a fish a bit ago so I'm guessin' it's all come out okay. Anyhow, we done told him before if he caught sommat on fire again he was gettin' kicked out. You can tell him when he come to —" the urchin dropped the red bag next to the figure — "that he's evicted." Keen to escape without paying for services, the young man edged towards the door. "Ain't personal. He can go to the shelters when you're done with him or somethin'. We just can't do it any more at our place." Ducking out the door, the young man ran off, also neatly avoiding the cabbie.

The figure on the floor was wearing all-black and a familiar bright red bracelet. Presumably the red bag held all his possessions — or at least all the possessions his roommates had left to him. Hyuk-jae was breathing deep, slow breaths, in a state of sleep or something similar.

[OOC: Sorry about NPCing Mei, Airi. I hope this and the slight godmoding of what happened post-meeting is OK with everyone. If I need to make changes, please let me know!]

———————

Mei didn't touch her food, and Ling wasn't surprised at all when her sister excused herself with a haunted, pained look and an apology. She nodded at the words, keeping her face pleasant and her voice low. "Go on home," the freckled woman agreed. "I'll take care of things here, and you take care of yourself." She caught Mei's arm as she turned to go. "You promise me you'll take care of yourself," she insisted, then let the older woman leave.

It had been a mistake, Ling realised, to bring Mei on this trip. Not that she missed Ma-ma any less than her sister, but Ling had always been able to keep going no matter what happened. It was the same when Father died; Ling had just kept going, a smile on her face and a joke on her lips. It couldn't be a healthy way to deal with this sort of thing, but it seemed to work to her advantage. Mei, on the other hand, was sensitive. No. Not sensitive. Normal. It wasn't that long ago that Father died, not really. Three years ago seemed simultaneously an eternity and no time at all. Ling didn't think that Mei had fully gotten over the sudden death, and to have Ma-ma go so soon after? It had to be seriously messing with the older girl's psyche.

Hyuk-jae stared daggers at her through his meal, and quite frankly she didn't blame him; she quelled the urge to snark. After all, it was his personal life that had just been invaded, to disastrous results. The end of their excursion couldn't come soon enough. Hyuk-jae excused himself to go to the bathroom, and Lee waited just until he was out of eyesight and earshot to lean over and slip her a piece of paper and murmur a few words for her ears only.

"At the Fan," she echoed in confirmation, pocketing the note right before Hyuk-jae returned. Lee bade her farewell, and she gave a half-arsed wave as the two men left the restaurant. She waited until they had gone before heading down the street in the opposite direction, toward her flat. She cursed, kicking an innocent, stray rock in her frustration. She turned two streets too soon, deliberately making her way to the Golden Fan to make good her alibi and to blow off some steam.

Four fist-fights and a minor stabbing later, Ling found her way home, reeking of cheap ale. Her cheek was swollen and bruised, and her right arm sported a shallow but messy knife-cut. Despite this, she was grinning from ear-to-ear, feeling much better after the night out. Mei was asleep, so it wasn't until the next morning that Ling opened the paper. The waterbender was tutting in disapproval as she patched up her younger sister, who unfolded Lee's note gingerly, rattling off two names and an address.

Oh, good. It wasn't far, and Ling committed the information to memory before soaking the paper in alcohol and lighting it on fire until it was an unrecognisable pile of cinder. The girls checked out the location before heading over to the police.

The clerk seemed surprised, but fetched the officer in charge of the investigation anyway. Ling laid out the newspaper clipping and expertly wove the story of how she and her sister-partner found the spice shipment. There was no mention of the paperboy or his scoundrel friend. The officer was dubious, but seeing as it had been weeks since the news first printed and they had no other leads, he had no choice but to take Ling's word. The gesture proved fruitful, and the girls were relieved to have made back their startup money and then some, paying Katsumi her wages and outfitting their office just like they had planned. They even had enough money left over to pay rent on both the office and the flat for a few months, and to buy a new record for Mei and a whetstone for Ling.

Two weeks passed without word or sighting of Hyuk-jae, and Ling threw herself into other detective work. They were minor, unimportant cases, like trailing a man someone believed was being unfaithful to his wife. Mei sometimes accompanied her, but more often than not she was at the restaurant or the clinic since the cases --while paying-- were dull. Ling did some personal work as well, studying the circumstances of Ma-ma's death. There was still something off about it, but she wasn't quite sure what. It was during this time that Amon came on the radio, threatening all people with bending abilities in Republic City. Alarmed, Ling took to checking up on her sister repeatedly during the day. She may have been unable to process grief like a normal person, but if she lost Mei... she couldn't guarantee anyone's safety.

It was on one such checking in that Ling finally saw Hyuk-jae again. She had just walked up to the door, Mei's lunch in hand, when some fellow bumped into her, avoiding her gaze and disappearing into the street. Checking her pockets to make sure she hadn't just been robbed (she hadn't), Ling realised a satomobile was parked outside the clinic. Somewhat amused at the stranger's skilled evasion, she ducked her head to speak into the open window.

"He's gone, pal," she told the disgruntled driver, who muttered something about ungrateful brats before speeding away in a cloud of dust. With a small laugh, Ling stepped into the Clinic.

"Mei, I have your lu---oof!" Ling broke off as she stumbled over a red bag lying in the middle of the ground. Next to it was an unconscious figure, and Mei was just leaning down to examine him. What the hell? Then Ling's sharp eyes spotted an all-too-familiar red bracelet.

She swore. Loudly.

"Is he okay?" she demanded, dropping down on one knee, relieved to see that he was, in fact, breathing. "Help him, Mei!" Her confident demand belied her worry. "I'm going to call someone."

Thankfully Iluak had a phone, though considering how covered in dust it was she wasn't entirely sure he knew he had it. Suddenly, she realised she hadn't the faintest idea who to call. She thought briefly about asking the operator to connect her to Lee Seo-joon's residence on Banyan, but thought better of it. They didn't want him when he was well and on his feet; there was no way they'd take him now.

So she did the only other thing she could think of: she had the operator connect her to the Wooden Eye.

"I need to speak to Lee," she ordered, still having enough presence of mind to not use his first name. "Which Lee? The one who'd beat you black and blue if he knew you were delaying this information with your stupid questions. Tell him Yao Ling is calling for him."

Apparently, that was specific enough to get the right Lee. Ling thanked Lady Luck for her favour that he was in, and when his voice crackled to life on the other end, she was direct. "Ling here. Hyuk-jae's in bad. Come to Iluak's Clinic." She rattled off directions and hung up, hoping that Hyuk-jae would wake up before Lee arrived.

She paced the room anxiously, letting Mei work her wonders.

Two weeks had flown by quicker than she had imagined. Perhaps it was the fact they got their reward money, covering their rents and a few other expenses for a while, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Money, for the moment, was not the problem. In fact, they even had a bit to get the record Mei had been wanting for a while and Ling a whetstone. That, actually, had been Ling's idea. The older sister's idea had been to put it away to save for a rainy day, but at the time she didn't have the energy to pursue her idea and gave in. It wasn't like they were broke, having a few savings she had put away from her paycheck.

At the clinic, she tended to a few injuries that came in including minor cuts and a few broken fingers. It almost wasn't a surprise when Iluak said he was going to go out for a bit. The day had been rather slow and what came in she could handle with ease, volunteering to run the clinic until he came back. No one came for a while, so the woman decided to study a bit with some books she found in the back until the next person came in. With a sigh, she set aside one of the books, leaning back in her chair to look at the ceiling. A glance at the clock told her Ling would be coming soon, like she had been for the past while.

Suddenly, the roar of a satomobile was heard and two people entered the clinic, but only barely. Actually, one was kind of plopped on the floor by the other for whom she judged to be her next patient. She removed herself from the chair, listening to the conscious one's detailing of the incident. "Thank you, and names?"

[/color] Mei asked, lowering herself to boy and checking his pulse. Good, it was still beating strong and with an inspection of his breathing, he didn't seem like he was in dire need of extreme medical care, just post-incident. But... what was with all this talk of not letting him come back? Her eyes glanced upward to see Ling, the boy nowhere in sight.

Turning the boy over, an ache formed in her gut: it was Hyuk-jae.

"He'll be fine,"[/color] she reassured her sister calmly "It's after the fact. All he needs is some rest,"[/color] she said, throwing his arms over her shoulder and her arm under his other arm, putting on his weight to carry him to a bed. His torso was laid on the mattress first, his feet helped up with the help of the healer. Her hands on his shoulders, she shook him lightly, seeing if she could get him to wake up. It didn't work.

"Hyuk-jae,"[/color] Mei said calmly, removing her hands from his body, thinking if he did wake up that the last thing he'd want was for her to have her hands on his shoulders. "Don't worry, Lee is coming,"[/color] she said absently, her arms falling to her sides limply. "Ling,"[/color] she called, her voice croaking slightly. "I think he'd prefer you to be there when he woke up,"[/color] she said, waterbending a bit of water her way to wet a cloth she used to clean him a bit.

Passing off the cloth to her sister, she stood at the doorway, waiting for the man Ling called to come, knowing when Hyuk-jae woke up, she just might make things worse by her staying near. She'd come by if she had to; it was her job after all. She reached down, grabbing the red bag. How were they supposed to break the news to him that he had been kicked out?[/blockquote]

Hyuk-jae was luckily very slender and thus very light, though carrying a dead weight adult was never easy even at the lightest. He did not awaken at Mei's shaking or putting him on the bed, though he did stir a bit about five minutes after the fact, at the mention of Lee. He was mostly fine — seizures only lasted a minute or so, even the big ones. The accidental Firebending was only present during the seizure itself, not the aftermath, so the girls were relatively safe.

The red bag of his belongings was just as light as he was. A set of tools, some toiletries, a few pieces of clothing, and on family photograph — that was all the bag had inside. The young man didn't have very much to his name, and of course any wallet he'd had would've been divested of its money before his 'friends' left it with him. He had a new burn on his left forearm, but no other major injuries. His breathing was normal.

The young man woke up before Lee arrived, sitting upright in the bed and looking around at the clinic. Panic slid across his features as he realized he was in a medical facility of some kind. Hyuk-jae gingerly touched the back of his head; it was sore. He must have hit it on something. He turned his head to the left and saw Ling. His orange-y eyes widened, staring at her.
"Ling?" He felt so confused! Hadn't he been at home? What was going on? "Where am I?" He looked frightened.

It wasn't hard to figure out that he'd had a large fit, and when Ling explained the young man and the satomobile, it was easy to figure out what had happened. His roommates had told him last time that if he had another seizure and caught something on fire, he couldn't live there any more. The apartments were old and the closet was wooden, and it was too dangerous. He knew that already. But when he saw his bag it hit him — they'd kicked him out. He was homeless.

Again.

Hyuk-jae swallowed roughly and looked at Ling for a moment, trying to figure out what he should say.

It took Lee more than twenty minutes to arrive at the clinic. When he did, he was impeccable in a dark grey suit, looking very successful and confident. He entered quickly and made his way to the back, where by now Hyuk-jae was sobbing uncontrollably. After a fit like that, his brain was busy resetting itself, and his emotions were way off track. He wasn't able to control his crying, or the desperate hopelessness that gripped him. Lee took one look at him and brushed past Ling, climbing into bed with Hyuk-jae, suit and shoes and all. He didn't try to convince Hyuk-jae to stop crying. He didn't say anything at all, in fact. Lee just wrapped his arms around the boy and waited for it to pass.

OOC: some slight godmoding, hope it's OK.

==============

Ling moved toward the sleeping Hyuk-jae at Mei's instruction, noting that her sister had picked up on the young man's discomfort at her abilities. She accepted the cloth wordlessly, hovering around Hyuk-jae like an awkward balloon. Mei was keeping a watch for Lee, but Ling was growing impatient. Where was he? Why didn't he come right away? Had she misjudged him? Without noticing, the freckled woman wrung the cloth anxiously, waiting for some sign of Hyuk-jae regaining consciousness.

A few tense minutes passed before he stirred, and Ling gave a strained smile as he recognised her. "Hey, stranger," she said lightly, trying to keep him calm. He looked incredibly disoriented for a few minutes, taking in his surroundings. His gaze fell on his bag, and she watched as realisation dawned. His face went from confused, to aware, to upset in the time it took her to cross the space between them and sit next to him.

He looked at her then, seeming to struggle to say something. She shook her head. "Rest," she urged. "I think you had one of your fits again." She left out the part about meeting someone outside; he knew what had happened, but she thought it best not to bring it up. Ling didn't know what to do. Hyuk-jae was just kind of sitting there, silent; should she comfort him? She glanced uncertainly at her sister, who was still waiting by the door and keeping an eye out for Lee. Where was he, anyway? She called him ages ago, it shouldn't take this long to get to the Clinic from the Eye.

So, she just sat there, next to him, hoping that her presence was enough comfort. She wanted to apologise for what happened the last time they had seen each other, but she wondered if that was exactly appropriate given the situation. Suddenly, Hyuk-jae began crying. Alarmed, Ling turned to him, offering the cloth Mei had given her before. His cries turned into hysterics, and Ling wondered for the umpteenth time where Lee was and what could be taking so damn long.

"Sh-shhh," Ling cooed, like Ma-ma had done so long ago when they were children and were crying. It didn't work, and soon Ling stood, felt very frazzled and frantic. Thankfully, Lee strolled into the Clinic, his grey suit impeccable as he swept past her and into the cot with Hyuk-jae, cradling him in his arms wordlessly.

When the sobs had died down to hiccups and whimpers, the freckled woman cleared her throat. "Thank you for coming," she said, her voice garishly pleasant. Would she ever learn how to be serious, or even sound serious? Ling hoped Lee would overlook it. "I didn't know who else to call..." She trailed off, eyeing the bag and recklessly plunged in. Get it over quickly, all the pain all at once.

"I believe, er, that Hyuk-jae needs to find a new living accommodation." The young woman tried to keep her voice even. She assumed that the red bag was all the young man's worldly possessions; why else would he be troubled at the sight of it? Ling paused, trying to think.

"Are you going to let him move in with you?" She tried to refrain from speaking of Hyuk-jae like a stray.