𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 ♕ 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐊

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲

After a very long time, Li-Mei had returned to remind Gaeun of her irredeemable mistakes. She stood by her feet, at the end of her bed, while she slept. Li-Mei watched, burnt skin peeling off her eyelids and charred fingers wrapped around the beam of the bed frame, until Gaeun slowly came to.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your parents?" Gaeun's voice was heavy with sleep as her mouth curved into a soft smile.

"I thought Master would forget me."

Limbs aching, Gaeun slowly sat up. "How could I?" She said, "I will keep you in my eyes till my last breath."

Li-Mei shook her head and Gaeun wondered whether she was in pain. "You believed the illusion," the girl hummed, "and so, you forgot me."

"Forgive me," she pulled her knees to her chest, "I suppose, in the back of my mind, I always thought you would return to haunt me, Li-Mei. To tell me how much you detested me, resented me for failing to protect you."

Skipping to the adjacent beam and swinging lightly, Li-Mei said lightly, "I never can. You know that. What happened was never in your control. You, with all your powers, couldn't have known the secrets they kept from you. I could never resent you."

Gaeun laughed under her breath, "Funny. I remember Ren wrote the same words."

Her little girl nodded. She raised her palm to gaze at her fingertips. Resembling sticks of charcoal, they had begun to crumble. "Of course, they are your Squad Leader's words. She wrote them in her last letter to you." Li-Mei looked up, locked her bloodshot eyes with Gaeun, and smiled through her cracked lips. "I'm not here, Master. Did you forget?"

"No," she refused, the glimmer of hope turning futile in her chest, "No, Li-Mei, you're right here. I will stay with you. This time, I—"

Gaeun woke with a start. Her heart pounded mercilessly in her ears, making her sick. Her neck was drenched in sweat. She sat up, felt around the mattress helplessly, and found the spot between the bed beams empty. Pressing her palms to her eyes, Gaeun leaned back against the headboard.

She took a moment to become aware of where she was—in her bed, at home, still in yesterday's clothes.

Home?

Jooyong stirred in her mind. He huffed angrily, unused to the ache in both their bodies. Mind magic, he spat viciously as he breathed fire, I haven't seen sorcery that potent in years.

It was a troubling thought.

Combating mind magic had been assumed to be rather simple in Yeol. If one strengthened their brains, fortified their mental defence and built walls and shields to protect their conscience then no spell, no curse could harm or control your mind. But Ryu Minshik's prowess had been a blow to Gaeun's beliefs. It would have taken immense magic to manifest her memories and manipulate them. He didn't even break a sweat when he hexed her.

Massaging her temple, Gaeun undid her tunic and headed to the bath. Someone—most probably Wook—had loosened her braids. The house was oddly quiet and she assumed the staff had been instructed to not bother her while she was unconscious. She couldn't even sense Rooster or anyone from the embassy on the grounds. Strange. She had thought they would be impatiently waiting for her to wake up after things had gone south last evening.

To her pleasant surprise, the bath had already been prepared for her. Gaeun undressed and dipped her toes in the water before deciding to heat it to the point that the water started to bubble. She and Jooyong sighed in simultaneous relief when she sunk into the tub.