This Day | Gyuhao (Threequel to Youth & The Aged)

- 43

| Chapter Forty - Three — So, I |

"Are we ever gonna tell him Riki's alive?" Jay asks, eyes flickering over towards Jungwon as he speaks to Yuqi.

The boy was fast asleep, arms perched by his sides, eyelashes soft and fluttered shut.

"I wanna wait until he's healed enough," Yuqi responds, "That amount of shock could have a bad affect on his brain." She tells him, watching Jungwon's heart monitor beep at a pace she loved, "Just a few more weeks. I've been checking his head and it's getting better. We just gotta go slowly."

"I understand." Jay exhales, taking Jungwon's hand, "He'll be okay?"

"Of course, he will." Yuqi takes a seat next to him, patting his back.

"He won't speak with me." Jay tells her, "Anytime I ask him something he blows me off, acts like I'm not even there."

"He'll be that way for a while. He has a ton of guilt pent up," Yuqi frowns, looking over at Jungwon, "He didn't get the proper love he deserved..."

"He blames himself." Jay adds.

"He shouldn't." Yuqi sighs, "Amaranth was gonna come after all of us anyways. They said so themselves." She shakes her head, "No matter how much Jungwon wanted revenge on us, they wouldn't have helped him. They played him, went off on their own and left him in the dirt all alone."

Just like they did.

"Will he ever forgive us?" Tears beam in Jay's eyes, shining like crystals.

"We don't deserve it, but I'd love him to." Yuqi smiles softly, still rubbing Jay's back, "We need to let him take all the time he needs. The fight is over, we're at peace now." She tries not to think about the wonderful people they've lost, settling for swallowing down her sob instead, "We're free to rest."

"I still can't believe it." Jay whispers.

"Believe what?"

"That Jungwon left... that Umji and Minghao...." Jay trails off, shuddering, beyond overwhelmed, "Why is this the life the universe assigned us to?" He asks, genuine, "Why is whoever runs this world doing this to us? I just want to know why we're hated so much... why we can't live normal lives."

"Nobody lives a normal life." Yuqi explains, "Everybody's different. Nobody's normal." She says, "Sure, ours is dangerous and involves evil measures, but that's just because we are different. We're still people. We have feelings, things we like, things we dislike... we have hearts."

Jay closes his eyes, "You really think so?"

"I know so." Yuqi nods, tipping Jay's chin up so his eyes meet Jungwon's monitor, "See that?" Beep...beep...beep, "It's beating. His heart is doing well." Yuqi says, "We're different, and have taken lives for our own benefit, but we all still have hearts. Sometimes they break, sometimes they shatter, but that doesn't mean we can't pick them up and mend them." Yuqi takes Jay's hand, placing it on Jungwon's chest, the thump of his heartbeat like sweet candy for taste buds, "No heart can be fixed, but they can be cared for, all the way up until they're as healthy as they can ever be." She whispers, "Take Riki-yah for example. He was strong, he pushed his way through. So will Won-ah."

"He is strong, isn't he?"

"One of the strongest people I know."