t h r e e
Ephemerathree. // l i s t e n…
“This is…”
Jisoo was no longer outside of Taeyong’s house and is now standing amidst of a vast room. She surveys the unfamiliar surroundings with agape; taking in the glass ceiling that hangs high above and several lampposts shining on either side of the room. Floating at the top of the stairs is a gigantic celestial globe-like clock; the ticking sounds of the seconds hand echoing in the still silence.
“This ought to do,” Yuta mutters; ignoring her surprise as the golden hourglass he turned moments ago disappears.
Jisoo snaps out of her trance upon hearing his voice and turns to him, her gaze piercing at his direction. “I believe that you have something that belongs to my people, especially my father.”
He became quiet for a moment, then stares at her blankly. “I hate to ask, but that’s not why you risked your life to come here, is it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I assumed that you have made your decision to offer your time in place of your father’s, but I guess I was wrong.”
“As if I will. I’m here to get everyone’s time back, if you haven’t noticed already.”
He turns his back against her and began to walk up the stairs towards the celestial clock. “Then you should already know that it’s pointless.”
Gritting her teeth, she chased after him and forcefully grabs his arm to face her. “Nakamoto Yuta, please. I’m begging you, return everyone’s time at once.”
He heaves a heavy sigh. “What made you so desperate for you to follow me, Kim Jisoo? Is it because you feel helpless having to watch your father sleep indefinitely, as well as seeing others having to experience the same thing?”
“How could say this to me? You don’t know what it’s like to have a family who’s struggling to survive in a country that’s falling apart!”
“You’re right, I don’t. But it’s not like it matters, does it? The Malady of Time I bestowed upon them is a mere ten years of uninterrupted sleep. It’s not like they’re dying. With that said and done, I suggest you give up.”
Jisoo couldn’t believe what she’s hearing. She felt mocked and infuriated from his insensitivity, and all she wanted to do was hold him at gunpoint. But if she loses her composure, there’s no telling where she’ll lead this situation, and so she tells herself to calm down. “You scumbag. You don’t get what I’m trying to say, so if you could at least listen to me just once.”
At that moment, Yuta lost his chance to escape her grip. No matter how much he tries to slash her with his cold words, her stubbornness refuses to waver.
“Then tell me so that I can understand.”
“This isn’t just about my family,” she began, a hint of desperation lingering in her voice. “This is about my country that is under Japanese colonization. Joseon is already in the state of falling, and it will continue to fall once the Japanese finds our weakness. I suspect that they have yet to discover the state of our people who are in desperate need to find a cure. But if they do, they will take advantage of this and take them as hostages to keep us under control and detained, especially rebellions like me. If we don’t bend our knees, they will do anything to destroy us. They will trample our hearts that have been fighting for our freedom. That’s why I can’t let them figure out my country’s weakness because of your meddling.”
As she continues to speak, Jisoo became unaware of her vulnerability coming to light. “My father is the only one I have left, and if they take him away from me…” She gazes down at the floor and clenches her fists. “Please, you have to give it back. For almost 10 years of fighting, I’ve lost so many people. I can’t lose any more that I love.”
Yuta quietly watches her struggling to hold back her tears. He wasn’t sure on how to respond to this; the woman standing before him is like a sheep hiding underneath a wolf’s clothing. It must’ve been exhausted for her to display a headstrong façade, but because of his circumstances, he couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge her situation.
“Regardless of your country’s condition,” he says, catching her full attention. “I’m afraid that I still cannot return their time. No matter how many times you beg me to, I cannot permit to do so.”
Jisoo stares at him in utter disbelief. “Why are you doing this? Why are you desperate to keep them?”
“I’m not desperate. Even if I tell you why, nothing is going to change.” He pauses for a moment, then, “Are you willing to listen just as I have listened to yours?”
“Tell me…” she mutters, her voice barely audible. “Tell me, so that I can understand.”
He takes a deep breath before speaking.
“I don’t know what it’s like to have a family,” he starts off in usual monotone. “But I do know what it’s like to have our world crumbling beneath our feet. Long before I was born, Vlendiora was on the verge of extinction. Legend has it that there was once a person who served the world’s life for eternity. However after some point in time, that person disappeared without a trace, and in turn, Vlendiora’s existence slowly begins to deteriorate. There was not a single person with greater magic who could provide Vlendiora’s source of energy to prolong its life.”
“That was when Timekeepers like myself were born to this world,” he continued. “We were given a sole purpose to serve time we gathered from another such as yours. If we don’t, time will eventually stop in Vlendiora and everyone will cease to exist. Just as Joseon needed a brave warrior like you to fight for its freedom,” his change of tone causes her to lock eyes with him. “Vlendiora needed a Timekeeper like myself to prevent this world from dying. If I were to stop, everything that you saw and the people you’ve met upon your arrival will disappear.”
In the midst of dreadful silence, Jisoo stood there in utter conflict. All of her hatred, anger, and desperation vanished into thin air and were replaced by confusion and despair.
“So you mean to say… that there’s nothing you could do,” she murmurs beneath her breath, in which Yuta manage to catch it.
“I don’t expect you to understand just as much as you expect me to understand yours,” he says. “It is… what it is.”
Reality struck her painfully like lightning. She felt like she lost the battle, but a part of her says that it’s not over yet and there’s still hope. Can she trust this part of her? Maybe, but not right now.
She lets out an exasperated sigh and shifts her attention to the celestial clock; in which it stood out to her for some reason. Yuta on the other hand, noticed how exhausted she looked and ponders on what to say.
“Why don’t you rest here for today?”
Jisoo became taken aback by his bizarre offer. “Are you crazy? You’re my enemy, you shouldn’t be concerned with my wellbeing. Why did you bring me here in the first place?”
“You could take this as a preemptive action from running into someone dangerous,” he answers. “Besides, if I really am your enemy, you would’ve shot me when you had the chance.”
She grunted in annoyance. “I can take care of myself…”
“There’s no guarantee that you’ll be taken into Taeyong’s hospitality, now that he knows who you are.”
She gives a weird look. “Why didn’t you kill me when you had the chance?”
“You posed no threat to Vlendiora, so there’s no reason to dispose of you.”
After spending her last energy to argue, Jisoo had no choice but to give in. “Fine… But if you try to pull something on me, then I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”
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