Moment and Heart Together

After the strange mushroom incident, the sun was already beginning to set. They were tired, dirty, and still without a proper place to sleep. That’s when Kael, after a long silence, spoke up.

"You two can come to my house," she muttered, avoiding eye contact. "So you don’t have to sleep in the street or waste money on some inn."

Lian blinked, then smirked. "Oh, look who's being useful for once."

He barely finished the sentence when Kael punched him in the shoulder—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make her point.

"Say that again and I’ll make you sleep on the roof," she snapped.

They followed Kael through winding streets until they reached the edge of the city. There, half-hidden between twisted trees and a crumbling stone wall, stood what could barely be called a house. The wooden door hung off one hinge. Vines covered the cracked walls. One window was completely broken, replaced with cloth nailed across the frame.

"...You live here?" Mira asked, blinking.

"It’s not that bad," Kael muttered. "Just a little... dusty."

Lian whistled. "Dusty? Kael, this place looks like it fought in a war and lost."

Kael crossed her arms. "No one asked you."

They stepped inside, careful not to trip over broken floorboards or piles of who-knew-what. Mira wrinkled her nose but said nothing. Lian looked at Kael with raised eyebrows.

"Seriously though, how do you live here?"

Kael shrugged. "I manage."

But there was something in her voice that made them stop asking. Something that said the topic was closed. Mira gave a small nod, and without another word, rolled up her sleeves.

The next few days passed in hard work. Mira and Lian worked together to clean, patch holes in the roof, and repair furniture. Kael, though grumbling, eventually joined them. Slowly, the house transformed into something livable.

When the last bit of dust was swept away and the final plank nailed into place, they sat down, tired but proud. Kael looked around with something like surprise. "Huh. It actually looks... good."

"It’s called effort," Lian said. "You should try it more often."

Before Kael could throw something at him, Mira stepped in with a bright smile.

"You two really need to get along better."

"What?" Lian blinked.

"I’ve been observing you," she continued. "You’d be a great team if you weren’t always at each other’s throats."

Kael frowned. "I don’t need—"

Then click.

Lian froze. Something cold and metallic had snapped around his left wrist. He looked down to see a handcuff.

Another click. Kael stared at her own wrist.

Their gazes slowly rose to meet each other’s. A short chain linked them.

"What the hell is this?!" Kael barked.

Mira grinned mischievously. "I have the key. I’ll come back tomorrow and see how you’re doing. You’ll be free in three days—if you’ve learned to cooperate."

"Mira!" Lian shouted, standing up.

But Mira was already at the door.

"Oh, and don’t bother escaping. I’ve locked the house from the outside."

The door slammed shut.

They stood in silence for a moment.

Then Kael yanked the chain. “This is all your fault.”

“My fault?” Lian snapped. “You’re the one who’s always picking fights!”

“You made the mushroom explode!”

“What are you even talking about?! You're making no sense at all!”

They fumbled and stumbled across the room as each tried to walk in a different direction.

“This is infuriating,” Kael muttered, sitting down heavily on a chair, dragging Lian with her.

He nearly tripped. “At least wait until I sit down too, you animal.”

They both exhaled sharply, tension thick between them.

After a long pause, Lian mumbled, “You know... for someone who looks like she’d cry if a butterfly landed on her shoulder, Mira’s surprisingly ruthless.”

Kael smirked. “Yeah. She’s got that scary kind of quiet. You think she’s harmless... and then she handcuffs you and locks you in your own house.”

Another silence settled, less tense now.

Then Lian leaned back slightly. “You know... she said three days. But what if we didn’t wait?”

Kael turned toward him. “Go on.”

“She’s coming back tomorrow, right? To check if we’ve 'improved.' So... what if we trap her?”

Kael blinked, then slowly smiled. “Tie her up. Take the key. Escape.”

“Exactly.”

Kael tapped her chin. “Alright. We’ll need rope. I’ve got some in the shed out back... too bad we can’t reach it.”

Lian raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Right. So... anything inside we could use?”

They gave the room a quick look. Searching together wasn’t easy. Every time one of them moved in a direction, the other was forced to adjust. They got tangled trying to pass through narrow doorways and had to pause often just to realign their steps. It wasn’t hostile—just awkward.

Eventually, they started moving more in sync. With some patience and a few clumsy bumps along the way, they managed to collect a bundle of improvised materials: a long curtain from the back room, a cracked old broomstick, and a pair of leather belts found in a forgotten drawer.

They dropped everything on the floor between them and crouched down to examine the pile.

Kael reached for the curtain. “If we fold and twist this tightly, it might hold a loop strong enough.”

Lian picked up one of the belts and checked the buckle. “Could work as a lock. Or maybe to hold down an arm.”

They started experimenting. Kael focused on making the loop firm and stable while Lian reinforced a chair with the belts, testing the sturdiness of the joints. At one point, they both instinctively reached for the same knot, paused, and exchanged a small smile.

They didn’t say much, but each adjustment came quicker than the last. They practiced the timing—who would distract, who would trigger the trap, how to anchor the snare—and readjusted every time it failed.

The first few tries didn’t go well. The curtain slipped from its knot, the chair tipped over, the loop didn’t tighten fast enough. They quietly fixed each issue, learning from the mistakes without blame.

“Try this,” Kael said, gently repositioning one of the belts.

Lian nodded. “Makes sense. And maybe we brace the back leg, so it doesn't slide.”

Together, they wove the curtain into a better loop, reinforced the pressure points, and adjusted the angle of the trap. By the time they were done, the improvised snare looked surprisingly sturdy.

They stepped back and observed their creation.

“It’s... not bad,” Lian said, brushing dust from his hands.

Kael nodded. “Yeah. We actually made this work.”

Lian looked around and let out a small laugh. “You know, if we hadn’t spent all that time fixing the cracks in this house, we might’ve had more escape options.”

Kael gave a soft chuckle. “True. But at least it’s livable now.”

He hesitated, then looked at her. “Actually... I’ve been wondering something.”

Kael stiffened. “What?”

“This place... It was almost falling apart when we got here. How the hell were you living here before? I mean, no offense, but...”

She didn’t answer right away.

He expected her to snap back. But she looked at the floor instead.

“I ran away,” she said.

Lian blinked. “From...?”

“My parents. A few years ago.” She scratched her arm. “This place used to belong to them. Technically still does. But they forgot about it, like they forgot about a lot of things. I found it, and... I stayed. No one came looking.”

Lian opened his mouth to ask more, but stopped himself. He could tell from her voice that she wasn’t in the mood for sympathy or questions.

So he just nodded. “Okay.”

They didn’t say anything for a while after that.

The next morning, just as planned, Mira knocked.

Kael and Lian exchanged a quick look.

“Coming~,” Lian sang, feigning cheerfulness.

The door creaked open.

“Good morning!” Mira said brightly, stepping in. “So... how are things—hey!”

The snare caught her ankle. The belts wrapped around her wrists. She stumbled forward, fell onto the prepared chair. Before she could move again, Kael pulled the curtain tight across her arms and Lian knotted it behind her back.

Within seconds, Mira was immobilized, blinking in surprise.

Lian raised his arms triumphantly—well, one arm, the other was still cuffed to Kael. “Operation Butterfly Trap: success!”

Kael smirked. “You didn’t think we’d just sit around and sing duets, did you?”

Mira stared at them. Then... smiled.

“I knew you’d cooperate eventually.”

Lian frowned. “What? We just tied you up.”

“Exactly.” Mira giggled. “You planned it together. You listened. You executed the plan perfectly, even with one arm each. That is cooperation.”

Kael’s smirk faded into a scowl. “So you’re saying... the only reason we passed is because we tried to sabotage you?”

“Correct.” Mira nodded happily. “Good job.”

Kael groaned.

Lian sighed. “You are a very peculiar woman, Mira.”

“Oh, I know.”

She held up her fingers, wiggling. “Now untie me?”

Kael and Lian exchanged a look. Lian shrugged. “Fine.”

Once Mira was free, she pulled the key from her pocket and unlocked their cuffs.

Click.

Kael rubbed her wrist. “Never again.”

Lian flexed his fingers. “Freedom never felt so good.”

Mira dusted herself off. “Now, wasn’t that fun?”

Kael and Lian glared.

Mira just smiled.