𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 ♕ 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐊

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆-𝘁𝘄𝗼

Gaeun was waiting alone outside of Sejukwon, sitting on the front porch, when Wook arrived.

"I told Madam Kim to wait at home," was the first thing she said to him.

Wook watched her steadily as he climbed the long staircase towards her. He strode closer and sat down beside her. Gazing off into the bamboo grove, he asked grievingly, "How could you not tell me?"

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards humourlessly as she followed his line of sight, "This can wait—"

"How much longer?" He raised his voice as it quivered, "When did you plan on telling me, Gaeun?"

"Not when my family is inside, being treated like some science project," she replied with equal outrage. Gaeun let him scratch off the dried blood under her ear. "Why are you here?"

He knew she'd ask him that. "How low do you think of me?"

"I don't think you'd be happy with what I have to say to that."

For a split second, Wook wished he had never met her. He wished that she had never stepped foot in Daeho and he had never been made to lay his eyes on her for all the pain she was inflicting on him. But it was only fate laughing at him, returning him his dues in multitude. How many times had Gaeun wished that she had never met him, he wondered.

Slowly, fearing that she'd push him away, Wook reached for her hand. He wiped the soot off her knuckles with his sleeve and paused at the golden glint of his insignia on her ring. Had he not been such a fool, he would have been able to hold her hand without regrets, without the guilt that had begun to erode his insides.

Gaeun kept her gaze low and touched his bound arm, examining the scarlet tinging his fingers and wrist, all the up to his shoulder. "Your arm," she said, "The energy circulation is imbalanced here. You might lose it if you keep training without proper care. How much does it hurt?"

It's not just my arm, Gaeun. It hurts everywhere.

"Nothing to worry about," Wook replied, "I've almost gained control of it. Though...Mu Deok did fail to mention anything about the possibility of it rotting or exploding."

Gaeun let out a hum of disapproval. "Either you are naturally gifted," she mused out loud, "Or you have the devil's luck, Jang Wook."

"Don't say my name like that."

The vitriol with which she uttered it would have convinced anybody that it was a curse and not a name. Wook had always known that Gaeun was never loud with her fury. It simmered slowly under her skin as she endured until she couldn't. The fury emerged in soft-spoken razor-sharp words that pierced the flesh, cutting deep to the bone. Wook had rarely been on its receiving end until he heard her say his name that evening.

Gaeun's silence acted as a dismissal of his plea and Wook said nothing more.

They waited for Master Heo together, standing simultaneously once the old man exited the morgue. He approached them, grim-faced and with hands behind his back, and said, "I am sorry for what has happened. It could not have been easy—"

"Apologies won't bring my family back, Master Heo," Gaeun said curtly, "The inspection results?"

"Of course," he nodded and chose his words carefully, "It was indeed done by a group of Soul Shifters, given the affected bodies we found. However, it wasn't to sustain them or to stop them from going wild. The victims, they...they died almost immediately. Except..."

"Except for my grandfather who fought back," she finished.

Master Heo nodded somberly, "Yes. The cuts and gashes were precise, even the axe wounds. They attacked the vital points with deadly accuracy."