haven - zb1

20

Jiwoong, funnily enough, wanted to spend the night in Taehyun's room. Quanrui spared no effort in expressing how ridiculous that idea was, but ultimately didn't stop him. Jiwoong did have some worries, he didn't want to accidentally damage and burn down anything from the ancient room but he was so curious he could hardly sleep. Which was another thing Quanrui reminded him, Jiwoong was likely the next one to spar tomorrow, since after Yujin and Woohyun, only Gyuvin and Jiwoong had not showcased their skills.

To be fair, Jiwoong wasn't particularly looking forward to sparring. He was aware of their rankings. And he knew he didn't rank high. His father tended to comfort him by saying that ranking was decided after the incident. But that just made him feel worse. Perhaps he could have been ranked higher than Quanrui, had he avoided the incident. Perhaps he could have been ranked the highest.

But no matter, he couldn't change that now.

With only his index finger tipped with a small bright flame, he made his way carefully around the room. The more he moved, the more he noticed the room was actually so much more lonely and overwhelming.

He took a seat in the centre of the room, deeming it the least flammable portion of the room. The boys had left some books littered about the floor, so he picked one up to leaf through.

This book was a diary, describing the monotonous day of training, writing and thinking. Jiwoong wondered why Taehyun bothered to document every little detail, what he ate, his schedule, how much the children have improved... 

Honestly, Jiwoong just wanted to know more about the man they were brought up to respect and revere, but also told close to nothing of. Was there a reason behind the challenges? A greater spiritual being perhaps, pulling the strings. And why were they so unlucky the previous round?

To make use of the time he had, he scoured the room, searching for the very first book to start with. When he finally uncovered the volume, ridden with dust and the cover so brittle Jiwoong accidentally took a chip off. But when he cautiously peeled open the book, the faded ink was still readable and clear.

This is Taehyun's first volume of records. I don't know how long my memory will last, but I wish to retain as much of my experiences as I can, both the bitter and the sweet. And everything in between, I suppose. I'll talk about what's happening now.

I'm writing this on the xx/xx/xxxx. It's been quite a while since I got to sit down and write. There's only a small branch I set on fire to write this, plus I'm no bookbinding expert, so this book looks like trash. But it's better than nothing.

I'll start with what happened that day.

After that tiff with my friends and the rest of the gifted community, I was even more certain in my decision to leave. I thought there was no point staying there. It was a painful choice, I had friends I loved and a life that meant everything. But I didn't want to choose between the gifteds and the humans.

So I left. In the dead of the night, I snuck away with the kids. And we just ran.

We ran and ran. And we found the other world, as Minhyun had fondly named it when we first reached the border.

There was this idea, this thought we all shared but didn't verbalise. What if there's no way back after we pass through? Then, we decided, might as well. There was no turning back for us anyways.

So we walked ahead and didn't turn back. Somi later said she saw the border disappear. As if it was never there.

We walked until even Minhyun and Jaehwan said they couldn't move anymore. It was just vast, empty land, the endless horizon visible from every direction.

Everyone was exhausted and we needed shelter to rest. So I did the only thing I could think of, and I built the Celestial Palace.

It wasn't as grand and beautiful as it is today, if I could say so myself. Just a humble shack, but it was enough. As they rested that night, I couldn't sleep. It was as if electricity was flowing through my veins. I felt as though I had reached the peak of the world.

From the little hut I extended to create the Solar Hall. Then the training grounds, since I wanted to let the kids tumble around somewhere. They helped too, with what they could. Somi did the silks, she always had the most artistic eye. Minhyun summoned his spirits, amazingly, he still could call so many of them to him.

It took some time, maybe a couple months, but soon we had a majestic compound fit to be named a palace. And I named it. The Celestial Palace. Cool, huh?

I don't think we'll ever get to go back. Not saying I want to. But I wonder how they're doing, every now and then. I miss them. I still do love them.