In the morning sunrise, the light slowly reflected off the vast waters of the Laguna Sagar. The largest lake in the southern continent, surrounded by the town of sands. Fresh air blew from beyond, the breeze kicking up the shoreline.
Hojun held on to her hair as the gust sought to unravel her braid. Hojun’s black coat fluttered wildly, her shoes sinking into the beach sand. There she and Jorge stood a couple of egems away from Tvuj and Suruj, who walked far out enough that the water would reach their feet. To think that such a town would harbor a beautiful lagoon, Hojun thought.
Suruj kneeled and formed a puddle with his hands. “Our promise… Although this is not the Khoit Peninsula.”
“Eh? You wanted to go to the Khoit Peninsula? I can’t believe I didn’t remember that…” Tvuj marveled at the lake, moving her toes in the sand.
Hojun didn’t know the context of their promise. She remembered the Azu girl from when Hojun arrived in Dyak-ar-salaam. Suruj and Tvuj, were they survivors of the 1978 Dineh Kazaàd? No, they were, Hojun concluded. Suruj bore a grudge against her brother, who was a part of Al-Wa. She never was aware of the damages Tayang inflicted against the muqatil, and how many lives he took.
Hojun opted to walk to the two of them, but Jorge stopped her and simply shook his head. It seemed that all they had to do was watch them from afar.
“What do you think of this ‘beach’?” Suruj faced Tvuj. She moved deeper into the water, as it reached her ankles.
“I want to swim in it.”
“You don’t know how to swim.”
“Then teach me.”
Suruj facepalmed. “There’s no time for that. Not right now.”
He was right. Although Hojun agreed to take this little detour, they needed to be back in the Luzokapital by the afternoon.
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“After two years, I can’t believe you found me.”
“Saya said that Toya said that she teleported you randomly somewhere in the world.” Tvuj explained, “In order to save you in the arena.”
“Yeah, I was teleported. I’m grateful that I never ended up in the middle of the ocean. I ended up at Chatzùngmach ‘al-Muqadsa.”
The holy city. That was hundreds of li east, near the Divine Ragye Lakes. If he ended up there, then it was as if the Yyvubia had heard his call. Not that Hojun understood the entirety of the context, only from the fragmented pieces of information from the world’s situation and their sayings.
Soon after mentioning the holy city, Suruj and Tvuj gradually switched into Azu. Since Hojun only learned the Galag and Khoit languages from the Laoyuang ordinance, she could no longer follow their conversation. But from seeing how they interacted with each other, those two were long lost friends. Ever so slightly, Hojun longed for something like that.
Perhaps it was partly due to her own upbringing, being she stayed up in that one tower of the Al-Qarakh House. She rarely made appearances out of shame for being a female heir to the royal line. Hojun only ever interacted with Mister Gyeong, and later on Seung-Hyeok. They both became her bodyguards, and she regarded them as family.
Suruj and Tvuj walked back to them. They finished their moment, and were ready to return to the Luzokapital. Hojun kicked the sand off her clothes and shoes, and stepped onto the brick sidewalk again.
“Jorge… I wonder just why you are still following me in my mission.” She let out, as the station drew near. Soon they went silent, and all they could hear was the PA announcer.
“Do I gotta say it twice? Because I want to thank you for saving me that day.”
Hojun turned her head. “That day huh...”
“When I was getting beat up by the Bakalitos, that day I was fed up with all of it. You made my dream of going to a restaurant come true, so I will be sure to help you accomplish what you came here for.” Jorge smiled after saying that, while Borja hopped on his shoulder at the same time.
Hojun didn’t reply, but continued walking forward. She knew that her mission here was to bring Tayang back to Silla. She intentionally lied to Suruj of her true intentions, and the guilt started to eat her up from the inside. They weren’t going to trial her brother for the atrocities he committed. Since their father wanted him back alive in wake of Silla’s Golden Age.
And so, Hojun clenched her lip tight.