DUAL

//19

Chaeyoung huffed out in frustration. Junhoe sealed his lips tight when Chaeyoung tried to open up the topic of the woman from the Cultivation Sector. It seemed as though he realized his mistake of showing the emotion he shouldn't have shown in the presence of her, and now he seemed to be very cautious in the things he would be doing.

The days when Junhoe was busy with healing patients, Chaeyoung took the chance to slip into the Cultivation Sector to find the woman herself. But she did not have a name. She had only seen her once. She knew nothing of the woman apart from what her existence seemed to mean to Junhoe. If she asked Taehyung, would he know who that woman might be?

"What is bothering you?" Taehyung asked, watering his newest plant. "Please tell me it is not your betrothed."

Chaeyoung shook her head and let out a sigh. "He is not yet my betrothed. And, I am not exactly thinking of him."

Taehyung's eyes then lit up, a smirk slowly building up on his face. "It is the red-haired man, then?"

A faint blush rose on her cheeks, shaking her head again and she pressed her lips tight, suppressing herself from smiling. The dirt on the ground seemed to be unexpectedly interesting as she traced her fingertip there and she heard Taehyung chuckling next. She had a hunch that Taehyung would want to dig into the story of her and Jungkook deeper, but now was not the time for it. It was also a little awkward to talk about it to him, knowing that Jimin had mentioned to his best friend of her past feeling for the latter.

She cleared her throat. "Does Junhoe frequent this sector?" she asked. "Have you seen him a lot with the young women here?"

The bright expression on Taehyung's face dimmed and when he threw a glance at her, his eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me that your feelings for him are starting to grow?"

Chaeyoung's eyes narrowed, her head jerked backward in surprise. The thought of feeling something close to 'like' never crossed her mind when it came to Koo Junhoe. The times she spent with him did rid the discomfort she felt when he was around, though little, but it wasn't as much to make her grow fond of him.

Perhaps, something she'd feel for him was sympathy, but not so much either, seeing as how he seemed to really put his duty first and his true feelings behind.

"No, I am simply curious," she answered Taehyung with a shake of her head. Sensing that Taehyung didn't seem to be convinced, she added, "I need to find something to stop this marriage. I don't even wish to come close to the betrothal day."

Taehyung took a deep breath, his lips formed a thin line as he nodded. "Well, he isn't called a wolf for nothing. He has been with women from different sectors, including this sector."

"Do you personally know any women he's been with?"

He nodded. "A friend of mine who took lessons together with me was one of the many women he's marked," he stated with a disgusted face. "And just like the rest of the women, she seems to be his one-time companion for the night."

Her face fell in disappointment. What she witnessed the other day was something else. There was something deeper than 'one-time' for the woman in particular. Taehyung's friend didn't seem to be the one she was looking for.

"Well, does he have someone he's interested enough to be with for more than once?" she asked with a lifted brow.

Taehyung was silent, his brows furrowed so hard creases formed on his forehead. "I wouldn't say Hana is that someone. Koo Junhoe seems to visit her place often for cheaper potatoes," Taehyung shrugged.

Hana? Is that her name? Chaeyoung shifted on the ground, impatience flooded her. Now that Taehyung mentioned of potatoes, she recalled how the woman was carrying a basket full of potatoes on that day. "Potatoes?" she asked.

"Yes. Hana and her mother grow the best potatoes. Usually the potatoes are for the students of future Cultivators, but they also supply some to the market sometimes," Taehyung told her.

"I can get the potatoes for a cheaper price if I were to buy from them?" she asked, and Taehyung nodded. "Where exactly is her house?"

Taehyung looked up from his plant. "It's before the gate to the Cultivator Academy. There is only one house around that academy. That's where she lives."

The Cultivator Academy was already a very secluded place in the Cultivation Sector. If Hana lived close to the academy, it was the only explanation why Chaeyoung rarely saw the woman around that sector or anywhere else outside the sector.

*

Jungkook was strolling down the market when he felt like he was being watched. It was different than the time Jimin was lurking in the woods. A strange feeling of discomfort settled inside of him. Clenching his fist, he readied himself for when there would be a need to launch his attack. If he was really going to attack or get attacked, it wouldn't be in the middle of a crowd. Market was a public place. Certainly, no one would do anything stupid in public eyes.

The discomfort stayed in him even after he was freed of the crowd. It would only mean that the pair of eyes was somewhere around him, still following him for a reason Jungkook wished he knew.

The hair on his neck stood and his stomach tightened, feeling more uncomfortable that he didn't seem to be able to identify the possible location of the person tailing him. He waited until he was near his house. Private space was a place for when he was allowed to use his ability and skills.

Fireball formed on his palm and he threw it at four different directions. North. Nothing happened. East. Nothing. South and west. Same. His eyes narrowed. Though, the tail seemed to be gone, uneasiness only worsened in him. Who could be following him? What did that person want from him?

When he approached his house, he noticed something attached on the door. The closer he got, the clearer his view of what that thing was. The moment he realized what it was and what it reminded him of, his face hardened. His already relaxed hands curled into tight fists.

Jungkook snatched the flower from the door, flung it angrily to the ground and burned it until it turned to ashes.

*

The sunlight peeked through the holes of the cold stone wall. His sunken eyes stared at the light, the corner of his lips curved. A brand new day. He was closer to getting himself out of the small space. The darkness of his days spent in this prison would end soon.

Soon, his mind repeated.

Soon, he could finish what he wanted to do. Soon, he'd truly be able to take his revenge. Soon, he would succeed.

"Soon," he muttered to the chilly morning air, "I'll be back soon. And when I'm back, you will pay. With your blood."

Just wait. Just a little bit more, Jeon Jungkook.