You Must Fall In Love

Chapter Eleven

In normal circumstances, Christine would be tapping her foot and staring out the window, but given that her immediate future was on the line, she forced herself to keep her hands on her knees and her heels on the ground.

Kang had ushered her into one of the empty rooms, presumably one of those that was about to be offered to her. There was nothing in it save a white desk, a hard brown chair, a rickety cupboard, and a large and very dusty four-poster bed that seemed to take up the whole room. She could barely see the curtains, but they were red, the same deep red that lit up the streets of Chinatown and ran across the NTUC supermarket shelves every Chinese New Year.

A bright bridal red.

She had pulled the chair out from under the desk because she felt that if she didn't, Kang would come in and insist on doing it himself. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but her pocket itched. She wanted to grab her phone and check the time. She wanted to grab her phone and check Facebook. Jen was probably back in the car with Uncle Walter, driving to get Christine some clothes. She wanted to be with Jen.

She needed something to do that wasn't thinking about Mum, Rob, or any combination of the two.

"You must be Miss Lam."

Mum and Rob vanished completely. The new voice was male, and far too young to be Kang. She sat up as straight as she could.

"That's right," she said, twisting her hands into her jacket sleeves. "Um, nice to meet you?"

He was Asian, like her, but she couldn't tell if he was Korean or Japanese. Some of her classmates would, immediately, but she didn't watch dramas. His face was square and his jaw was firm; his hair was slicked up on the side of his head, lending him a bit of a biker look. His skin was going from tanned brown to paler yellow, as if the winter months were only starting to soften him up.

He was wearing a plain white shirt, like the cold didn't bother him in the slightest. His eyes were calm and collected.

"Likewise," he said, bowing at a perfect forty-five degree angle. "My name is Morita Yusuke."

Oh. Japanese, then.

"Christine," said Christine immediately, because it was far too late to stand and even later to bow. "Christine Lam. Nice to meet you, Yusuke."

She only realized she'd repeated herself after the fact, but by then it was far too late to do anything, and so she settled for giving one of her nervous grins. But if Yusuke thought it strange in any way, he didn't show it. His face remained completely serious.

"I understand that you want to live here. Why?"

Rob would have tossed a deadpan jibe her way, but she knew how to deal with those. This was making her uneasy.

"Well," she said, "I... I don't have a place to stay. And Jen said I might want to live with her until things cleared up, and then old Kang said that I could probably get a room here, but you'd have to agree with it..."

"I know that," said Yusuke. "Why do you want to live here?"

It was strange. His hair made her think of one of those made-up pretty boys on the Gatsby hair gel samplers, but he didn't look rebellious, or punkish, or like he was even trying to be remotely cool. He looked incredibly matter-of-fact, as if the hair was nothing but an afterthought, or like a pair of white socks that he just happened to have on. Like he was just trying spiked hair for the sake of it, instead of chasing a fad or any kind of self-expression.

There was magic on him, too. It was cold and clear like a bracing stream, or pure snow on a summer's day. It smelt of mint and chilled pears.

"I don't," she said awkwardly. "Want to live here, that is. I was going to come here, I guess, because Jen recommended it, but not in this state. I guess I don't have anywhere else to go."

"I see," said Yusuke.

His hands uncurled, which is when Christine realized that they had been clenched by his sides the entire time. His brown eyes became less penetratingly bright, and he seemed to shrink in presence, if not in posture. It was like he had suddenly sheathed an invisible sword, or decided not to pursue an unseen enemy.

"The four of us are here to find someone, Miss Lam," he said. "Have you heard of the Hart Princess?"

Technically, she had been about to hear of the Hart Princess, but it probably wasn't the best thing to say right now.

"Yeah," she said. "The project Jen's here to research."

"She is not a project," said Yusuke at once.

The response was so quick that it took her aback. Had she offended him?

"Sorry, I didn't mean that," she said. "The person Jen is here..."

"Miss Lam," said Yusuke, looking straight into her eyes, "the Hart Princess is a woman whom I intend to marry."

She stared at him, wondering if this was a joke. He held her gaze, unflinching, until she colored and dropped her head.

His face was honest, like Jen's, but he didn't look like the type to joke at all.

"Okay," she said, because there wasn't much else she could say. "I'll keep that in mind."

Yusuke shifted, as if to say more. The bridal red bled into the room, chased through the wintry curtains by the white sun.

"I did not mean to intimidate you, Miss Lam. I just want you to know that this is no ordinary house. We are here on a quest, all of us — to win the hand of the Hart Princess."

Poor princess. Wait.

"Even Jen?"

"I forgot about Jennifer," said Yusuke, without skipping a beat. "My apologies. Jennifer is just here to find out what happens."

"Oh, good," said Christine, relieved that Hypothetical Lesbian Clone Jen wasn't actually stalking them. "Same person, then."

Yusuke nodded carefully.

"Miss Lam, it may not be my place to say this, but be very careful of the men in this Lodge."

Christine blinked. Rob didn't seem like someone to be careful around. Someone to be annoyed at, yes, but not someone scary.

"Does that include you?" she asked.

"Yes," said Yusuke. "If you can do that, then I have no objection to your staying."

She really wanted to know what he meant by that, but she also really needed his approval right now.

"Sure," she said. "Thanks."

Yusuke nodded, bowed again with a perfectly straight back, and then turned to leave.

"It was nice to meet you," said Christine. "Who's the Hart Princess?"

He turned back around, face still completely neutral, save for the suggestion of a frown.

"If I knew," said Yusuke, "then I would not be waiting for her."