《我明白》-[w.jh]

[23: plea]

"Let go of you?" Jun repeated. "What do you mean, Seoyul? Why should I let you go?"

"I think it's time, Jun. It's time for me to leave this world, because I've done enough here."

He shook her lightly. "No. Don't leave me. What about our forever? You told me you wanted a forever together with me..."

Seoyul smiled sadly. "I've done almost everything I've wanted to do in this world. I got my dream job. I managed to travel around China and see the place my mother came from, even though she was not there with me. I found my soulmate, which is what everyone in this realm would love to discover. I've tortured and killed enough people too. I don't really have many regrets anymore. I've kept myself artificially alive for months just waiting to see if you would come, and now that you're here, I can stop taking those elixirs. The curse would have taken my life long time ago."

"Almost everything. What have you never done?"

She waved her hand, and a small, silver object came flying towards him. It was so small, and it was dark, but he could still recognise it.

Jun held out his palm as the object fell inside it. "Is it...?"

"Your ring. The one you wanted to give me." She confirmed it for him.

"So...you thought I was dead. You thought I was gone, so you took the ring like I told you to." Jun turned the ring in his fingers. It still looked as if it was brand new.

"My one regret was that I could never marry you. Because I'm dying, and you have someone else in your heart now." Seoyul smiled again. "Give it to your girlfriend, Jun. She will appreciate it, and I'm sure she'll treasure it more than I ever will."

He stared at the ring. He remembered when he had gone to the jewellery shop, and picked out the ring himself. It looked just like any ordinary wedding band, but he had wanted to give it to just her. Jun couldn't imagine giving it away to anyone else.

"You don't have to do this, darling. You could stay here. Let me cure you. My kisses are doing something, Seoyul. Stay with me, and we can create the forever we have always dreamed about. We can always be together," he pleaded, holding her hands. He wanted, no, needed her in his life. Nobody else could replace the glaring gap in his life, except her. Only her.

"I don't want to hurt you any more. It's what's best for both of us."

His eyes burned. He had always been able to keep his emotions in check, but now he couldn't. It hurt when she said those things, even thiugh he knew she meant it for his own good.

"Why, Seoyul? Is our bond not enough for you to stay? You are my soulmate. I'm yours. Is that not enough?" He asked, desperation in his voice.

She sighed. "Many humans never get the chance to find their soulmates, Jun. Yet, they still marry, even though their partners are not the best match for them. You have a girl waiting for you back home, Jun. I don't want you to waste that. And I don't want to waste any more time. I should have been gone by now."

Seoyul rose from the bed. "I'll call Minghao right now to tell him to pick you up tomorrow. I asked you here just to tell you a few things, not to get back with you."

He caught her hand. "If you weren't cursed, would you still be willing to be with me then?"

Silence filled the air before she silently confirmed, "Yes."

What happened afterwards was a blur. Jun tugged her back on the bed and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her desperately, almost as if it were never enough. He drew her closer to him, making sure there was no gap between them both.

She made no effort to push him away, nor did she try to hide the fact that she, too, enjoyed the contact and the affection. And so when his tongue crept past her lips, seeking out hers, she did not fight him, letting their tongues intertwine around each other.

Another kiss followed. And another kiss. And another...

They lay, out of breath, on her bed. They couldn't count how many kisses they had shared. Jun lightly grasped her hands in his, and looked into her eyes.

The red flickered to brown.

He blinked, afraid he it was part if his own imagination.

But it wasn't.

Her eyes flickered, once, twice, three times, then stopped at her original light, hazel brown.

"Darling, your eyes..."

"What about them?"

"They're brown..."

Seoyul gasped. A mirror flew towards her when she waved her hand, and she stared into it disbelievingly.

"How? How did you do something that so many physicians and specialists couldn't do?" Her voice was full of shock and disbelief.

Jun shook his head. "I did nothing."

"But...but you saved me, Jun. You saved my life. You broke the curse." She emphasised every syllable.

"What? No, I didn't do anything special...I'm just a human!" He spluttered. Of course he couldn't do much. He was powerless compared to her.

She smiled. "No matter how you did it, I'll always be grateful. Eternally grateful. How will I..." she paused. "How will I ever repay you?"

Jun sighed. "You don't have to."

"Something. Anything you want. Please."

He grasped her hands. "Then promise me that we can have our forever."

Seoyul drew in a a breath, slowly. "But you can't."

"What?"

"You have a girlfriend, Jun. I can't be yours. I can't promise you a forever anymore."

"No, Seoyul..."

She turned away, her palm facing him. "I'm sorry, Jun..."

And he felt himself grow drowsy, and he succumbed to the feeling and laid himself on the bed.

• • •

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

"Seoyul, you're crazy if you want me to take him. You know what he'll do if you force him to leave your side."

"He has his own responsibilities back in Korea. And I don't want to rob the poor girl of her boyfriend."

"There's a lot that has been going on with him, Seoyul. I know he will definitely ask to return."

"It's dangerous here. This isn't the place for him. I can't even get out of the house as it is."

"But, Seoyul..."

"Go. Before she suspects anything. I'll see you tomorrow."

She knew her decision would tear at her heart, but she still did it nonetheless.

"Goodbye, Junhui..."

• • •
a/n
happy chinese new year!