[CHAPTER 16]

"The Meddler"

“Where are you going?” Hakyeon asked him.

“I’ll be back real soon. Don’t worry about it, okay? Be good and wait here for me,” Hongbin told him and gave him a kiss of reassurance.

It’s been a week since Hongbin returned to Moirae’s Edge on a short notice. After receiving the urgent call from Jaehwan and Wonshik, he had no choice but to return. It was for Hakyeon’s sake after all.

Hongbin sat in the middle of the library with Hakyeon’s book in his hands. The book looked as if it was alive, but in a very frightening way. The black ink started to ooze out, overflowing and unstoppable. The text was all jumbled up and scattered that Hongbin didn’t even know what was going on with Hakyeon in the present time. Everything was morphing together than separating all at once. It was a complete mess.

Jaehwan suggested for Hongbin to see the new Supervisor of the Scholars’ department as well as other Supervisors for their advice on what is happening to Hakyeon’s story. But can Hongbin trust those people that he’s never met before? Even his own Supervisor, Seo In Guk, was lazy and never inside the Library while on duty. Hongbin really doesn’t know what to do.

“Still deciding?” Wonshik barged in on Hongbin’s silence.

“Yeah,” Hongbin sighed.

“You should just listen to Jaehwan-hyung and meet this so-called Supervisor.”

“Have you met him?”

“Ran into him a few times but didn’t talk much with the guy. He’s a bit… scary.”

“I don’t think you have the right to say that,” Hongbin mocked him.

“Whatever,” Wonshik ignored it. “There’s no point in just sitting here and doing nothing. Cha Hakyeon’s story is a mess, even you can see that right? If we don’t do something now, we might end up being too late to do anything if we stall time.”

“I know, but I just… don’t know at the same time. What if… we can’t trust these people?”

“Like Jaehwan-hyung and I said before, if anything does go wrong, we’ll be there to back you up. It doesn’t hurt to try does it?”

“I guess. So, where do I meet this new Supervisor anyways?”

“In the main facility up north. He’s in charge of all the scholarly research up there and everything the students report goes directly to him to monitor as well.”

It took Hongbin a bit to really think about whether or not to take the bet and meeting this new Supervisor but Wonshik was right, it was better to do something while they can before it becomes too late. Either way, Hongbin was powerless, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“So what makes this Supervisor so special anyways?” Hongbin asked along the way as Wonshik led him to the north facility.

“Apparently he worked in the fields right when he got admitted to the department.”

“In the fields?” Hongbin was confused.

“It’s a rare opportunity but he was allowed to work on Earth and study the humankind in person. Almost like what you were doing except he did it legally.”

“I see…” Hongbin sighed.

“Anyways, he’s gotten a lot of achievement and helping the facility in their research on fate, like a step closer to the Goddesses so he got promoted to being a Supervisor right when he came back.”

“Jaehwan-hyung said he’s quite young, how old is he? Do you know?”

“I think three years older than you and I. Age means nothing in this facility after all. Even our chairman is still quite young for his position. It’s all about achievement and being favored by the Goddesses.”

As Hongbin and Wonshik walked up further north of Moirae’s Edge, the buildings started to look much different than those away from it. They were all covered in white concrete and glistening clear marbled floors. Everything gave off a sense of clarity and cleanliness, as if it was a whole different dimension. Though most of the students from the Scholars department studied in the center facility like Hongbin and Wonshik, those that are far superior in rankings worked up north. And just by the looks of the exterior of the buildings, one could tell that only the ‘special’ ones would get the chance to work here.

“Anyways, you can ask more about the Supervisor later once you meet him. We’re here,” Wonshik said as he reached the research sector of the building.

“Okay. By the way, what’s the name of the Supervisor?” Hongbin asked casually as they walked inside.

“Huh? We call him Leo.”

“What do you mean, call him Leo?” Hongbin asked.

“That’s what he wanted us to call him. Something about it being his alias or something. Not sure what his actual name is though. That guy is a mystery---”

“Kim Wonshik?” a man noticed the two unexpected visitors who entered the room and walked towards them.

“Good afternoon, sir. I brought a friend here to ask you something very important,” Wonshik bowed and greeted the young man politely. “Sir, this is my friend Lee Hong-“

Hongbin froze.

He stopped Wonshik and pulled his friend a step back. He was almost frightened by the Supervisor’s face. Though he’s only seen it in a photograph, Hongbin would never forget that face.

“Kong-ah?” Wonshik looked at his friend who grew silence in fear. “What’s wrong?”

“He… he looks like…” Hongbin found his voice trembling nonstop.

“What is it?”

“He looks like…” Hongbin swallowed deeply, almost too frighten to think that this was real. “He looks like him. He looks like Jung Taekwoon.”

“Jung Taek…. No way,” Wonshik turned his head back at the Supervisor of the Scholars department, the one known as Leo.

He nor Jaehwan has ever seen Jung Taekwoon in person before. They have only known of this person’s existence through reading Cha Hakyeon’s past and present. The name appeared countless times throughout Hakyeon’s story but never once, have they met the person. It was only recently that Hongbin have also seen what Jung Taekwoon looked like and though its only through a photograph, the picture and that face was unforgettable.

“So what did you need to see me about?” Leo stood right in front of the two friends now.

“Uh, we were just going to ask you about something…” Wonshik said but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Hongbin gathered up his courage and stood back straight. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

“My name is Lee Hongbin,” he said and held out his hands. “I heard you’re the new Supervisor of the Scholars department and I’ve been hoping to meet you sir.”

“Lee Hongbin?” Leo said.

“Yes. I am a childhood friend of Wonshik and Lee Jaehwan from the Coordinator’s department.”

“I see. What position are you in?”

“I’m in the Keepers unit.”

“The one that In Guk-hyung supervises?” Leo asked.

“Yes.”

“I see. So what did you want to ask me about?”

“I heard you’ve worked in the fields alongside humans in the past and is very knowledgeable about the occurrences to human fate. So I’m just curious about a few things.”

Then, Wonshik nudged him and whispered “what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, I just need to confirm something,” Hongbin whispered back to his friend.

“What are you curious about?” Leo asked.

“I’ve been recording and marking every new fate as well as old in the Library of Fates. That’s my job as a Keeper. But I’m curious about something. All human fate are predetermined by the three Goddesses of Moirae – Klotho, Lakhesis, and Atropos. They spin the human fate to whatever they wish and write the stories of every being on Earth. They have full control of their fate but in some occurrences, fate gets out of their hands too right? I’m sure that as much control as they believe themselves to have, there are bound to be times when they can’t control or can’t determine a story’s ending. If a human has no ending and has no future without a hint of death, what does it mean? How does a human’s fate become undetermined?”

Hongbin’s question and curiosity got Leo to become silent. He didn’t expect anyone, especially a normal student to be asking such intriguing questions about fate. Indeed, fate is a strange thing.

He looked at Hongbin for a good minute as if he was figuring out how to answer the younger.

“You’re right. Though the Goddesses have a lot of control, they also don’t have it at the same time. Humans have grown much more intelligent over time that even they start hypothesizing whether fate is real or not. They question things beyond our control and their stories become unpredictable. Though most human fate are predetermined by the Goddesses, there are a few things that can affect their fate. Such things can include suicides, unpredictable natural disasters and … encounters that they were not fated to have.”

Hongbin gulped.

An encounter… He thought to himself.

“When someone interferes with a story, a fate to be precise, that story becomes unpredictable as it is out of the Goddesses’ control. Those are the encounters that were not called for by the Goddesses and even they did not predict it.”

“I see…”

Is it my fault then? Because Hakyeon wasn’t supposed to meet me… Hongbin started to think.

“Your questions are rather intriguing,” Leo told him. “No one has ever questioned the powers of fate before. We all simply work in the Goddesses’ favor and never question how fate came to be. It’s almost a waste for you to simply record books all day in the library. Lee Hongbin was it?”

Hongbin nodded.

“I’d like for you to come assist me here in Scholar’s department. I think your curiosity will prove to be a great asset to our research and I’m sure that our studies here will broaden your knowledge on fate as well. What do you think?” Leo proposed.

“I…”

Hongbin hesitated for a second.

“It’ll be an honor,” he decided.

* * * * * *

“It’ll be an honor, huh?” Wonshik repeated. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“A lot of things right now. I don’t even know where to start anymore,” Hongbin slightly regretted his decision.

“Are you crazy? We came to ask him about Hakyeon’s book, not so you can come and work under him?”

“We did ask about Hakyeon’s book. He’s already answered all there is to know about it and what could be the cause for the changes in Hakyeon’s fate. But I need to know more.”

“What do you mean?”

“You may think this is crazy of me but you said Leo has worked on Earth before right?”

“Yeah? Your point is?”

“What if he really is Jung Taekwoon? What if he’s the one that Hakyeon fell in love with before?” Hongbin asked.

Wonshik grew silent as if he also thought of the same possibility.

“Anyways, whatever it is, I need an answer. If what he said about the changes in fate is true, and if he really is Jung Taekwoon, that means his encounter with Hakyeon was not a mere coincidence. I need to return to the Library of Fates just in case so that I can find the answers.”

“To what?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Hongbin returned to the Library of Fates that night. He searched high and low into the records of every human fate there was inside. He had to be sure of one thing.

“Dammit, where are you?” Hongbin said as he took out a book of past records from the cabinets.

Every new and present fate are recorded as a daily task for the Keepers of the library. It was also the same for all those that have died or passed away. Though the books of the deceased no longer exist, their names would still be within the records. Hongbin had to know. He had to find Jung Taekwoon’s name within the records one way or another.

But the list of records for the past several years since Taekwoon died, his name did not appear on the list as it should. Hongbin once tried to look up who Jung Taekwoon was when he first encountered Hakyeon's story but because Taekwoon was announced 'dead', there was no way of knowing a dead man's story. This made Hongbin become more positive of the possibility that Leo is Jung Taekwoon.

And if that’s the case, why did he call himself Jung Taekwoon? Why did he meet Hakyeon and why did he leave him?

So, in order to find the answers to his questions, Hongbin decided to take up Leo on his offer and work in the Scholar’s department for the time being.

Hongbin needs to know. He was getting desperate for the answers and he was willing to do anything, even if it meant becoming close to his rival, in order to find out exactly who Leo was.

* * * * * *

Hongbin, as promised, spent several days within the department of Scholars. His duties were different from those when he was a Keeper. Rather than simply recording fate like he did before, he had to read into each person’s fate and analyze them. Most fate were written quite ordinarily and nothing too significant appears in it but when something strange does happen, such as an unexpected turn of events or natural disasters that can affect fate, Hongbin was to make note of it.

Though he did make note of the fate he came across as unordinary, he made sure he kept Hakyeon’s story as a secret. After all, it was still too unusual compared to everyone else’s fate. Only Hakyeon’s story was covered in black and smudged with ink.

“How are you liking it so far here?” Leo asked Hongbin as the latter helped him carry some books around the department.

“It’s not bad,” Hongbin said cautiously.

“Have you found anything unusual with anyone’s stories?”

Hongbin shook his head.

“Not really. Most are like what you said. Stories that change or becomes altered is always due to some sort of unpredictable events. I guess the Goddesses really can’t control everything,” Hongbin said while half concealing the truth.

“I used to believe the Goddesses had all the powers, just like everyone else within this academy. But the more I read about other human’s stories, the more I became sure that even fate can’t control all. It’s intriguing don’t you think? That the Gods are not so mighty after all.”

“I guess.”

Hongbin could see that Leo was quite interested in the question for power when it comes to the Goddesses who control all fate. And just like Leo, Hongbin began to realize and question just how much power do these Goddesses really have?

“Anyways, remember to report back to me if you find anything usual. Anything at all. I trust that you will be truthful to me as we seem to be interested in the same things,” Leo said.

Hongbin swallowed and feared in many ways.

“Sure,” he tried hard not to hesitate.

It was impossible to completely trust Leo still. Though he and Hongbin had a lot in common when it comes to their theories on fate, as well as interests, Leo was ambitious. He strived to answer all the questions there were about human fate, he sought for a higher position, which could most likely be the reason why he’s become the new Supervisor of the Scholars department even though he is still quite young. His ambitions are what made him different from Hongbin.

Sure, Hongbin was just as intrigued but he wasn’t intrigued by all human fate. He was only interested in one – the one he fell in love with, Cha Hakyeon.

He let out a deep sigh and thought just how much he missed Hakyeon.

I can’t wait until this is over so I can go back to see you soon, he thought.

* * * * * *

After spending two weeks back in Moirae’s Edge, Hongbin finally decided that it was time to return to Earth. He’s been gone for a bit too long and he was growing worried about what could be happening to Hakyeon on the other side. Due to the older’s book becoming illegible, Hongbin couldn’t help but worry. He needed to return to the other just to make sure that Hakyeon was still safe.

He went back into the Library of Fates in the middle of the night in order to find Hakyeon’s book. It was essential to have the book with him and bring it down to the chambers before he could go back. Even if it is for a short time, Hongbin has to go back to Hakyeon’s side.

He went up the third floor of the library and around the corner, where two large shelves met. In between was a small opening where he always hid the book behind the shelves. He knelt down and reached for the opening. But something wasn’t right. The book wasn’t there.

“Huh?” Hongbin felt confused for a minute. “I swear I put it back here.”

He tried to scurry his hands from one side to the other, trying to reach for Hakyeon’s book but still, there wasn’t nothing there.

The book was gone.

Hongbin began to panic. He was positive that he placed the book where he usually keeps it and if Wonshik or Jaehwan were to take it, they would definitely notify Hongbin first. He decided to rush back to his two friends just to make sure and as he was running down the stairway, his fear grew.

“W-what are you doing here?” Hongbin couldn’t help his voice from stuttering.

The lights were turned off and the only light that came through was the moon that hit the golden statues of the three Goddesses. Amongst the small specs of light, a silhouette stood there by the entrance of the library as if he was waiting for Hongbin to reveal himself.

“I could ask you the same thing. It’s way pass facility hours,” the man approached Hongbin to interrogate.

“I-I just forgot something,” Hongbin didn’t know why but his feet automatically stepped back as the other approached him. “What about you?”

“I was looking for something as well.”

His voice was cold and his tone was demanding. It wasn’t like the usual man that Hongbin thought he got to know the pass several days. This man, who glared at him with such intense gaze was so frightening that it made Hongbin want to flee.

The man who had the same face as Hakyeon’s previous lover, Leo.

“I-I see,” Hongbin said while trying to calm down. “Well, I found what I’m looking for already so I’m going to go back home before I get caught by the guards.”

Hongbin tried to escape.

“Are you sure?” Leo asked.

“Huh?”

“Are you sure you found what you were looking for?” he asked once more.

“Y-yeah,” Hongbin lied. “What do you mean?”

Leo’s gaze grew much more intimidating. No lies could pass by him. None.

He reached inside of his jacket and dug something out from the pockets.

“Are you sure you weren’t looking for this?” Leo showed Hongbin a book.

The book smudged with black and dripping with ink as it was held within Leo’s grasp. He was holding onto Hakyeon’s book.

“Why do you have that?” Hongbin panicked and wanted to snatch the book from Leo’s hand immediately.

“I could ask you the same thing. How did you find this?” Leo’s tone of voice was no longer a simple demand of a superior but he was becoming furious. “I’m asking you, why do you have this?!”

Hongbin swallowed. He was in trouble and there was no way out of it either.

“I-“

“I told you didn’t I? I warned you before. That fate can change when a story becomes meddled with by other unpredictable encounters. Anything can change a person’s fate and cause their future to become undetermined,” Leo reminded him.

“I…” Hongbin swallowed knowing very well what he has learnt before but still, he tried to lie to protect the existence of Hakyeon’s book. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say here.”

Leo grew furious at Hongbin trying to feint his innocence. He rushed straight up to Hongbin and grabbed him angrily by the collar.

“I warned you before!” He raised his voice. “Why must you interfere with Cha Hakyeon’s story after how hard I tried to make him forget about me?!”

Hongbin was speechless.

The man’s words rung through his mind countless times and he was sure he heard the other correctly.

This confirmed it.

Leo really is Jung Taekwoon.