Chapter LXX – Declaration Of War
“Because I couldn’t accept the truth. . .” Yeona admitted, lowering her voice.
Irene and Yeona stood centered in the guest room. While Irene was on her way back from the upper floor bathroom, Yeona invited her in to discuss sleeping arrangements. She didn’t expect her request to escalate into her revealing the truth behind knowing Arthur before the suicide attempt. However, she knew that Irene wouldn’t back down easily and was prepared to eventually face her.
“Sounds to me like there’s more to this story than you’d like to admit,” Irene crossed her arms leaning against the wall near the door, ready to leave at any moment.
“You wouldn’t understand. . .” Yeona defended herself, raising her voice to the point where Irene could clearly hear her.
“You said you two were more than friends. . . I want you to be honest with me, were you a couple?” Irene was tired of beating around the bush.
Yeona felt pressured to tell the truth under Irene’s gaze. Irene intently listened to everything she had to say.
“Yes. . . Yes, we were,” Yeona said confidently.
Irene lowered her head and looked to the ground. She wasn’t pleased to hear that a man she cared about was in a complicated relationship that he didn’t even remember. She held her imagination back as best as she could, eventually looking up to meet Yeona’s eyes.
“Tell me everything. . .” Irene said calmly.
Yeona was hesitant at first, but she knew that a chance like that wouldn’t come again. A chance to convince Irene to back off and allow for the two to reunite. After all, she knew that Irene had the advantage as the two bonded significantly more after he regained his consciousness.
“Fine. . .” she sighed, readying herself to tell Irene the whole truth. “It all happened a little over a year ago. Arthur and I met on a construction site near J High. We were both messed up and came from difficult backgrounds. He lost both his parents after his mother abandoned them and his father died in a car accident after driving intoxicated. As for me, I never had parents. They both died when I was two in a house fire, so my grandparents took care of me. Life was hard and both of us endured severe bullying. . . I don’t want to go into details, since that’s a whole different story. . .” she paused briefly. Irene simply nodded in agreement, respectful of Yeona’s wishes. “When we first met, we both sat silently across one another until he eventually left. The same kept repeating few days in a row until he offered me a cigarette. I accepted even though I didn’t smoke since I was curious as to who he was. We introduced ourselves and began talking. The first few months we simply hung out on the top floor of the construction site and enjoyed each other’s company. He was thankful that there was finally someone who didn’t bother him or tell him what to do. He’d constantly complain about his teachers, parents who abandoned him, his so-called friends, and even his younger sister who kept following him around like he was her caretaker. I didn’t share much about me, but on occasion, I’d tell him what happened to me and how I was bullied. He hated listening since it frustrated him to hear that someone would hit me or verbally attack me relentlessly, especially when he heard that a teacher did so as well. . . You could say that it was kindness in a way, a weird form of kindness that made me develop a certain attraction to him. . .” she paused, walking over to the bed and sitting down while looking to the ground. “Arthur often used, and I’d join him for a smoke sometimes. I used to watch him all the time, even going as far as to draw him in my notebook. Later I’d rip the paper and give it to him only to find out that he kept all of them. We slowly bonded and eventually kissed atop the construction site. It was my first kiss. . . After that we both started skipping classes and even went to his place since nobody was home. You couldn’t imagine how different his room was compared to now.”
“You were in his room after the accident?” Irene asked.
“Arthur wasn’t home when it happened. I snuck in to find out if he kept the box with all the letters and drawings. Sophie had invited me to a sleepover. . .” she sighed. “Still like I said, it was different before. We hung out in his room all the time playing games and smoking weed, he even used stronger stuff from time to time. It got to the point where I was sincerely worried about him and asked him to stop. He didn’t take kindly to it, but at least he didn’t do anything other than huff. I chose to ignore it and even did them with him sometimes. It wasn’t anything serious though. . .”
“I don’t think you can say that about drugs. . .” Irene interrupted which threw Yeona off.
“I-. . .”
“Never mind. . . Please continue.”
“Right. . .” she took a deep breath, trying to remember where she left off. “Anyway. . . We eventually decided to become a couple. I initiated believing he could change with my help. It was sweet at first, but then he started to change. I saw him slowly drifting away from me. Not just me, but everyone. His rare smile was long gone and the drugs caused him to lose control sometimes. His depression got to the point where he started mentioning suicide. I was shocked and told him that he shouldn’t talk like that but the more he thought about it the more he liked the idea. That’s when I realized things had gone too far. . . I insisted on telling his grandfather how he was doing, but he just yelled how he was abandoned by him too. He claimed that nobody cared, regardless of how much affection I showed him. One day, he got so high and started talking about reincarnation. He believed that if he killed himself, there was a chance he’d enter another world. One in which he could live a fulfilled life. I was petrified as my boyfriend kept saying all those things to me and all I could do was sit there and cry curled up on his bed. That’s when I tried calling the police, but he took my phone and smashed it against a wall. He told me to get out and that he never wanted to see me again. He kept telling me how I wasn’t there for him and just wanted to be like everyone else, controlling.” Yeona started to sob, refusing to look toward Irene who still leaned against the wall unable to muster words. “We broke up, so I disappeared. . . A month later I learned that he got into an accident. The story about a truck driver that hit a J High student was all over the local news. There was conflicting evidence about who was at fault since the driver claimed that he just jumped in front of him. However, later I found a hidden note that Arthur left for me at the construction site. He hid it in our corner where we always hung out. In the letter, he apologized and said that once he was reincarnated and got the powers he wanted, he’d come back for me.” Yeona gripped the sheets out of anger, gritting her teeth as tears ran down her cheeks. That was the first time she told the story to anyone. “I couldn’t believe that he was gone, but that’s what happened. Luckily he survived, so I found the hospital he was in and learned that he was stable. Somehow, the injuries weren’t life-threatening, probably cuz the driver reacted on time. I cried realizing that I almost lost him forever and hoped to use that chance to reconnect with him. Of course, I couldn’t have predicted that he’d lose all his memories which only made it harder to approach him. It was awkward showing up out of nowhere with a story of loving him when even his sister didn’t know about me. He was already confused enough as it was. That’s when I decided to transfer to J High since my grandparents were well off. That’s when I met Sophie, almost as if fate wanted us to reconnect.”
“Sophie still doesn’t know about this, does she?”
“Of course not. . . I feel guilty about it since I’m lying to her. Especially cuz I grew to care deeply for her as well. She’s truly an amazing friend and I’m afraid that telling her would rip our friendship apart.”
“Sophie’s not like that. . .”
“How’d you react if someone told you that they could’ve helped prevent your brother’s suicide attempt?” Yeona sobbed. “I’d probably hate them. . .”
“You’re overthinking it. . .” Irene sighed knowing that Yeona was simply too young to do anything and that nobody would blame her for it, especially Sophie.
“Anyway, I was happy knowing that I’d have a chance to meet him again. However, that’s when rumors about you appeared and I found out that the man I liked was already close to another girl. It was almost as if fate mocked me. . .”
“And that’s when you met at the temple and confessed?”
“He told you?” Yeona looked at Irene surprised.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Yeah, we try not to keep secrets from each other. . .” Irene finally sat down next to Yeona having finished listening to the story. “You don’t have to tell me the rest since I already know.”
“Right. . .” Yeona averted her gaze again.
Irene let out a sigh while leaning down with her hands together.
“Yeona. . .” she mumbled. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
“So you understand, right?” Yeona brushed her tears away before letting out a helpless chuckle. “You’ll give up?”
Irene looked Yeona straight in the eyes. She couldn’t believe the story she heard, believing that nobody could hear that and refrain from feeling at least somewhat compassionate. Her thoughts were an utter mess and all she could think about were the memories she shared with him. Irene finally imagined what it’d be like if she gave up on him. The idea of watching Yeona and Arthur walking side by side pained her, as she imagined not being able to stand next to him.
“No. You can’t have him. I’m not giving him to you.”
“What! Why?” Yeona became visibly shocked. “You’re not even his girlfriend. . .”
“I’m not giving up on Arthur,” she said confidently. “That story has nothing to do with me.”
The guy Yeona talked about was unrecognizable and the man Irene fell for was none other than the Arthur she met on her first day back to Korea. She had no intention of yielding to Yeona’s tearful story.
“What do you mean? I finally have a chance to meet the real him!”
“I understand where you’re coming from, but you two broke up. Regardless of how messed up the story is, he doesn’t belong to you and I have no intention of giving up on him because of your past!”
“But it’s not fair. . .” she looked utterly lost. “I never had the chance that you got. I didn’t have the time to get closer to him.”
“You had your chances and I won’t give up on my feelings out of sympathy. You’re chasing someone who’s no longer there. The man he was is not who he is now. From what you just told me, they have nothing in common. It doesn’t matter to me who it is or how unfair they find it, but I’m not walking away from him. Not now, not ever.”
“But-”
“I promised that regardless of what I learned about the two of you, it wouldn’t affect our friendship and I intend to keep my word. While I can sympathize, I won’t allow anyone to coax me into walking away from him.”
Yeona jumped up, looking at Irene spitefully. To her, Irene was nothing but an insensitive girl who wanted to take away the man she loved.
“I won’t back down either! I won’t allow you to take away my chance to be with him again.”
“I never expected anything less,” Irene said standing up in front of Yeona.
“What?” Yeona looked her in the eyes, confused as to what Irene was aiming at.
“Yeona. The way I see it, we have three ways to go about this,” Irene crossed her arms. “The first option is that one of us simply gives up. We both know that’s not going to happen. The second option is that we both try our best. In the end it’s his choice, so all we can do is accept and move on. We can decide later if we want to stop hanging out afterward or not.”
“You want to compete for him?” Yeona looked baffled.
“I’m not competing for him, I’ll make him mine,” she cast an overwhelmingly confident gaze upon Yeona. “Besides, the final option is that you throw a fit and I have to send you home since this is my house. However, I doubt anyone would be happy with that. It’s only fair that both of us give it our all without going psycho on one another. So what will it be? There’s no other way for me to respect your past while staying true to myself. I promise that if he chooses you, I won’t hold it against you.”
“But you two are much closer. . .” Yeona tried complaining but Irene cut her off by shaking her head.
“It’s your choice. . .”
“Fine. . .” Yeona let out a sigh, brushing away the tears. “We’ll do it your way.”
“Agreed,” Irene extended her hand as a symbol of a formal declaration of war.
Yeona cleared her throat and shook on it.
“I’m off to bed now. . . I’m tired,” Irene sighed as she walked to the door.
“But what about Arthur?”
“What about him?” Irene looked back at her puzzled.
“It’s unfair that you get to share a room with him.”
“I’m not gonna throw my advantage away just because you feel it’s unfair. I also don’t plan on helping you take him away from me. Keep in mind that if you go too far by trying to sabotage the house, hurt me, or anything of that sort I won’t hesitate to kick you out. . . I hope that’s clear.”
“Will you tell him everything?”
“I don’t want to keep secrets from him and I certainly have no desire to hide something so important from him. He deserves to know.”
Yeona couldn’t say anything since Irene never promised to keep what was said a secret. She never even asked her to do so. Saying that she had no desire to keep secrets was Irene’s way of giving Yeona a chance to stop her and ask to do it herself, but she just silently watched.
“I. . .” Yeona looked helplessly before forming a fist and mustering the courage to speak up. “I won’t lose to you!”
Her determination made Irene smile.
“I expect nothing less from my rival,” she said before finally leaving the room.
It was exhausting, but it was finally over. Now that she was openly competing with Yeona, she knew what to expect. Irene was glad to learn that the two never slept together, but at the same time was genuinely shaken by the story she heard. Regardless, Irene intended for the contest to end as quickly as possible, not wishing to drag it out unnecessarily.
After returning to her room she saw Arthur sitting on the bed, waiting for her to return.
“How did it go?” Arthur asked feebly smiling while holding his chin.
“So you were eavesdroping, huh. . . How much did you hear?”
“Up until she mentioned that we were more than friends. . .”
“Not a lot then. . .” Irene sighed.
“Care to fill me in?” he gestured to the bed by tapping on it.
* * *
While her explanation was chaotic compared to Yeona’s, she kept true to the important parts. Arthur was clearly unhappy to hear what she went through but remained relaxed the entire time. Irene knew that telling him could negatively affect Arthur, but he deserved to know the truth. Once she finished retelling the story, Irene mentioned the declaration of war the two had.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed while at the same time worried about his reaction to all of it, she laid down and turned off the lights. She felt uncomfortable so she moved around a lot, managing to entangle herself with the blanket. The moonlight peered through the window, illuminating the room.
“So that’s everything, huh?” Arthur mumbled laying down, looking at the ceiling.
“You should ask her if you want to confirm anything. After all, I only heard it once. . .”
“No, I believe you.”
Arthur’s words surprised Irene, especially after hearing him turning to her. It wasn’t because he believed her or even his confidence, but the fact that he sounded disinterested in who he was in the past.
“Aren’t you curious about your past?”
“You said it better than I ever could. Whoever that was, it wasn’t who I am now. . . Trust me when I say you’ll soon understand what I mean,” he let out a sigh knowing how insane that already sounded, let alone the whole truth which he planned to tell her. Regardless, he smiled and gently brushed his hand against her. “You’re worried that I remember something, aren’t you?”
“What makes you think that?” she mumbled, giving away that he was right on target.
“Because you refuse to look at me. . .”
She sighed before attempting to turn around sluggishly. Her movement was restricted by the blanket which caused her frustration to show.
“Dammit!” she grunted loudly.
“Relax, let me help you,” Arthur laughed, grabbed the blanket under her and pulling on it. While he managed to untangle her, she ended up flipping over helplessly. While he couldn’t stop laughing, he still covered her back up. “There. . . All better.”
She refused to look him in the eyes, unsure if she should feel guilty or not.
“Was I wrong to tell her that?” she whispered.
“No.” Arthur smiled confidently. “Even though the whole thing is kinda silly, you said what you needed to say.”
Arthur intended to say that the whole contest was ridiculous since he had already chosen Irene, but it all came down to expressing it properly. While he felt bad for Yeona, there was nothing he could’ve done. He wasn’t the one to do it nor did he feel the need to take responsibility. It might have seemed a bit insensitive, but he always lived for others and their wishes and he no longer wished to do so.
Arthur did find one thing that happened that night surprising and that was Irene’s ability to not even question if Arthur would ever revert back to his old ways. She didn’t even show a slight hint of judgment toward his past behaviors.
“Don’t mock us. . .” Irene closed her eyes, completely oblivious to the meaning behind Arthur’s words.
“I’m not. . .” he sighed, touching her shoulder.
“So. . .” she paused. ”Did you remember anything?”
Arthur couldn’t help but smile softly as he listened to Irene’s worries. He understood that she needed reassurance.
“Nah, and I don’t believe I will anymore,” Arthur said confidently.
After hearing everything Irene had to say and listening to Yeona by eavesdropping, Arthur became certain that the only reason he remembered the crying on the bed was due to the negative Qi gathered in the medallion. In the past he could attune to leftover Qi and attain knowledge, but that level of mastery over Qi was profoundly difficult to attain and impossible for the previous Arthur to achieve. That only proved how strongly Arthur remembered the whole ordeal and the amount of negativity he felt since he was able to perform a near-impossible feat. What made it so confusing at first was the fact that Arthur never possessed a body that wasn’t originally his. It clouded his judgement and made him believe that the Qi within the medallion wasn’t a leftover emotion, but a trigger to his memory that would spiral and cause him to remember Arthur’s whole past.
“I’m not gonna let her have you. . .” Irene finally looked at Arthur who at no point looked away.
He simply nodded in response and pulled her in closer. Her forehead rested on his chest as his arm wrapped around her. She covered both of them with the blanket he put over her before entangling him with her legs.
They laid in silence for a while before Arthur noticed that she fell asleep. He couldn’t imagine how exhausted she felt after all that commotion.
He contemplated if it was the right time to tell her the truth, but considering how overwhelmed she already was, he believed it best to be left for tomorrow when the two of them are alone. He too had no intention of letting everything drag out any longer so he planned to ask her for a walk along the beach at night. All that was left was to think about what to say without sounding insane, but if anyone was going to believe him, it would have to be her.
Chapter End.
Thank you for reading.