Kang Chi: Beyond Life and Time

Chapter 20: Beyond Time: Another Beginning

Kang Cheol was standing amidst a group of people, occasionally checking the time. He required Yeo Wool's presence in fifteen minutes, and less than two were remaining.

He discreetly searched for her among the crowd, but she was still nowhere in sight. He wondered if it would be like that time in the past when he did not recognize her after they agreed to meet at the lantern path during the festival, either because he was such in a haste for being late, or she showed up garbed in a hanbok.

Ani...I will recognize her this time.

Then, as if on cue, Yeo Wool entered the banquet hall, garbed in the blue glittering gown he personally picked for her. She was shining brilliantly as that night of the Lantern Festival, it would be a sin for him to fail to acknowledge her beauty. He smiled as he noticed her awkwardness, as she kept touching her bare shoulders. She was obviously looking for him, so he made his way through the crowd of guests to approach her.

"You're late." He whispered softly, which startled her. He came from behind her, and caught her off-guard.

"Jwesonghamnida, Daepyonim." She replied, as she turned to him and gave a slight bow. "Nevertheless, I am here to escort you...."

"Ya...This is a party. You don't have to be too serious about your job."

"Geunde...I am here for a job...."

"Aniyo. You are here for me."

He could see the surprise in Yeo Wool's eyes upon his last remark. He wanted to take it back, but what was the use?

"Ne?" She asked.

"Let's just enjoy each other's company."

They went around the banquet hall, Yeo Wool constantly by his side. He could feel her rigidness, perhaps because she was still trying to do her job as a security escort. He wanted to wrap his arm around her waist, or have her arm cling on his elbow...or just walk holding her hand...but restrained himself with all his might.

He wanted to pull her out of the crowd, take her somewhere they could be alone, and spend the rest of the night with her. It did not matter whether they talk or just stare at each other. He just wanted them to be alone.

He led her out to the veranda, away from the party guests, and into the chilly night air. He could not help stealing glances of her and smiling.

"Waeyo?" Yeo Wool asked, perhaps wondering why he was reacting to her that way.

"Aniyeyo." He answered with yet another smile.

"Daepyonim...."

"Call me Kang Cheol. Please."

Yeo Wool hesitated. He understood, so he did not repeat the request. But he wanted to hear her call his name so badly, he even thought of shaking her until she does so.

He was planning this encounter for so long, but surprisingly he was at a loss for words.

"Eotteoke jinaesseoyo?" He found himself asking.  He closed his eyes and mentally cursed at his own half-wittedness.

How have you been?!...You've been waiting for this moment for four hundred years! And that's it? HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?!

"Eo...Jal jinaeyo. N-Neoneun?"

He turned to her, happy at the thought that she also wanted to know how he had been. He wanted to tell her that he had been missing her for centuries...but he decided to just answer with a smile, and raised his sight at the night sky. He was surprised to see the moon, because he was not aware that it would be  crescent tonight.

"Nado jaljinaega isseo."

She smiled at his response. That same smile that made him fall for her unknowingly, four centuries ago. It had not changed a bit. It still had the same effect on him—it makes him weak inside.

She did not say a word after that. They just stood there in silence, occasionally looking at each other and smiling. He could sense her uneasiness that told him she was not used into things like these...or perhaps she was just feeling the chill?

"It's chilly tonight, isn't it?" He asked, as she kept touching her bare shoulders. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her. She did not make an effort to refuse, which delighted him.

"What's the matter?" He continued, noticing that she seemed uneasy as she pulled the coat tighter around her.

"Nothing...I'm just feeling...a little...." She hesitated with her next words.

Weird?

"...Strange." She eventually said.

He was supposed to be the one thinking that. When he and Yeo Wool met during the lantern festival, he could not believe his eyes at the sight of her. He felt weird...strange. And that reaction did not go unnoticed. He remembered she was a little offended and threatened to leave.

"What's strange is the fact that no one seems to be noticing that strangeness."

She looked at him with puppy eyes, which told him that she, somehow, knew what he meant and that what he just said had a deeper meaning for her.

"They should be wishing on the stars to behold such strangeness." He continued. "Not appreciating such strangeness is synonymous to not being human."

To his surprise, Yeo Wool's wide eyes begin to tear up, but she managed to wipe them off before they fall.

Remembering that night of the Lantern Festival, he felt a tug in his heart. He recalled that moment when Yeo Wool hung her wish lantern. He thought it was for him, but it turned out that she was wishing for his wishes to come true. His youth, lack of experience, inadequate knowledge and understanding of women might have plenty of bearing to his reactions that night. But now, everything made sense. At this moment, he should be the one shedding a tear.

Why she shed tears, he was not certain of it yet, but why he said the things he just said, he certainly knew why.

How can we block flowing emotions? How can we block the wind that is blowing?

Admiral Lee Sun Shin's voice kept playing in his mind. These emotions that had been kept for centuries could not be blocked any longer. It had been contained for so many years, and from a human standpoint, that was more than four lifetimes. Could anyone block the wind that long?

Someone that was not fully human could. But he did not want to do it anymore. He would rather allow the emotions to flow and the wind to blow freely.

Beginning right at this moment.