chapter.23  »  knowing more.

Walking without knowing where to go was the hardest thing I had ever done in my entire life.  It was the hardest thing yet; harder than getting to know On Earth better, harder than putting up with the stress I have been getting ever since my stay here in this foreign land.

And carrying a woman in my arms bridal style after sundown was not making things any better.

My clothes were itching my body since I hadn't worn the formal uniform for a long time, and the longest I'd worn it was on the second visit of the witchess at Soojin's house.  Sadly, however, we were not in Soojin's house anymore.  We were stranded outside, unaware of what could and will happen as I walked, hoping and praying someone with a good heart would find us.

And, as if my hoping and praying were answered, a dark silhouette of a boy stood at the end of the street ahead.

“Hello?  I need help!  Will you help me, please?”  I called out as loud as I can to the person.  Lampposts, I assumed they were called, were lit brightly, golden orange rays shining down on the ground from them.

“H- Hang on!”  He called back, stepping down the sidewalk ledge.  He waited for clearance as a car zoomed past him.  (Soojin had pointed out things to me during our walks; she thought she was talking to a dog, of course.)

I waited, tapping my foot on the sidewalk nervously.  What if he was not going to come?  What if he was just waving at somebody else?  I gasped, what if he was some sort of criminal about to trick me?!  Oh, what have I gotten myself into...?

Soon, I snapped out of my doubtful thoughts and went back to reality, welcomed by a figure of the same person huffing in front of me, his hands placed on his knees.  He looked up, showing his bespectacled, sweating and deep scarlet-colored face.

“I- I'm sorry.  You said you needed help?”  He wiped his eyebrows with the back of his hand, then adjusted his glasses up his nose.  I hadn't noticed it, but it was completely dark now, save for the tall street lampposts giving off their light.

“Yes, um—” I gestured at the witchess I was carrying.  “—S- She's my mother, and she just passed out not long ago.  I really have no idea where to bring her, especially since it's dark out already.”

His expression quickly changed, eyebrows suspiciously furrowed at me.  “Don't you two live here?  And what's with the clothes?”

“I really don't... I just need help.”  I sighed.  “And the clothes, well... it's a long story.”

He blinked at me, probably still suspecting me of being something when it really should be the other way around.  Then he made up his mind, straightening his back and raising his head high.

“Come along, then.  I'll bring you to my place.  Haven't had a visitor in a while, anyway,” he said.  “What was your name again?”

My mind fumbled for words:  should I or should I not tell him my real name?  “Jinki.  Just call me Jinki.”

“Nice to meet you, then,” he said, a hint of grimace in his voice.  “My name's Seungpyo.”

I smuggled a quiet sigh of relief under my breath.  Choosing to tell him my real name was far better than lying about it.  I couldn't imagine running around a period of time wearing a fake name.

The walk to Seungpyo's place was hushed except for our steady breathing.  It was starting to get chilly out, walking for quite some time out in the dark, exhaling clouds of mist in front of my mouth.  He was silent as well, as if he was letting the atmosphere tightly grip itself on me.  We turned left one last time, and stopped at a small house.

Seungpyo inserted his hand into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys.  He used one of them to open the gate.  “Here we are.”

The gate creaked slightly, and I followed suit.  The front lawn was smaller than Soojin's, but it was almost just the same when it came to cleanliness.  The grass was freshly mown, like it had just been mown five minutes ago.  There were pots filled with dirt and flowers lining up the right side of the lawn.  A cement pathway separated the grass on the left and on the right, which was connected to the sidewalk outside and the three-step staircase leading to the house.

Seungpyo walked up the steps, me following behind him.  “I live alone, so you don't have to worry about having to meet anyone.”

Once he had turned the knob and opened the door, he walked in and I followed, closing the door behind me.  We were welcomed by the best-looking living room I had ever seen in my life.  The floor was also wooden and shiny, but only parts of them were visible and the rest of the floor was covered with shaggy beige-white carpet.  One long black couch and two white single ones were set up in front of the huge television screen that sat atop a black sort of cabinet.  There was a clear table in front of the long couch; underneath it were magazines and books and other things paper (Soojin taught me a lot of things).  Everything was neat.

“You can put your shoes here, then I'll give you a bit of a tour before you settle yourself.”  He took of his shoes and placed them near the door.  “I'll take your mom to the couch so you can rest your arms.”

“Settle myself?”  I asked, surprised of what I heard.  I slowly transferred the witchess to him, which he caught very precisely.

“Sure.  Anyone who steps into my house can call it their house as well.”  Seungpyo brought the witchess to the couch, carefully laying her there.  Then he walked into a room near the living room, which I reckoned was his bedroom.

I took off my shoes and placed them just beside Seungpyo's, my arms feeling relieved as the semi-heavy weight lifted off of them.  The floorboard under my feet squeaked, and I was careful the rest of my way into the living room.  I removed the water bottles and chocolate bars from the back pocket of my pants and set them on the table.

“Come, I'll show you the rest of the house.”  Seungpyo walked out of his room wearing plaid pajamas and a shirt.

We headed toward the back of the house where the kitchen was located.  It was so big it made me think about the house being bewitched to look small outside but huge inside.  A polished granite countertop stood in the middle, stools placed around it.  A black fridge was in one corner, and beside it on a countertop was a white microwave oven and three feet away was a black stove which, underneath almost inside the countertop, was some sort of a bigger oven.  I guessed Seungpyo liked the colors black and white a lot (also, I knew a lot about On Earth technology because, believe it or not, I did listen to my tutor sometimes).

“So yeah, this is the kitchen.  And over there is the bathroom,” he pointed to a door across the left kitchen.  He strolled to the right side of the kitchen and I found myself standing in front of a grand dining, untouched table.  “And this is the formal dining room.  I call it formal because my main dining room is in the kitchen.  And... I barely use this room anyway so let's move on.”

Quickly he left me standing there like he was trying to avoid something in the dining room.  I took one last glance at the twelve-seater dining table, and the prepared utensils and plates and was reminded of the kingdom.  I, too, hurried out of there like Seungpyo.  It seemed we were both trying to forget something.

I found him standing in front of a white door to which he turned the knob and pulled open, revealing an empty but clean bedroom.  A white bed already made was placed against the wall and a closet was across from it.  A bookshelf filled with all sorts of thin and thick books was on the right side of the room, and a full body mirror was beside it, facing the bed.

“And this is the guest room,” he said, holding out his arm for me to enter.  “It seems like you'll be staying here for some time, so make yourself at home.  Oh!  Hold on, I'm going to get you some clothes.”

He left just as I had opened my mouth to ask him something.  I shook my head and looked around the room instead, sitting on the bed as soon as I had reached it.  My eyes took their own tour, and I felt queasy inside.

Seungpyo came back, holding some folded clothes.  “Here's a shirt, pair of shorts, and... boxers.  You know where the bathroom is, if you feel uncomfortable changing in your room like me.  We'll talk later.”

I took the clothes from him and before he could walk away, I said, “Thank you, Seungpyo.”

“It's nothing.  Company's always welcome,” he gave the first smile of the day at me.  I hoped he wasn't suspicious of me anymore.

After I had changed, I got out of the bedroom and came back outside to the living room.  It turned out that the bedroom was near the living room as well.  I found Seungpyo sitting on one of the empty single couches, the witchess covered with a blanket.  I made my way quietly there and sat on the other one, facing him, the table serving as a barrier between him and me.

“Where are you from?”  He asked as soon as I had sat down.  His eyes were shut tight, as if he was enduring some sort of pain.

This part was better lied about.  “Province.  N- Never been here before.”

His eyes shut even more tightly, if that was even possible.  “Why were you wearing those clothes?  Why is your mother wearing a gown?”

“W- Well, I—”

“I read something once, on accident.  It was about a land, far away from Earth... if it was even on Earth.”  He began, then opened his eyes.  They were blazing.  “The book was under the Mythology section of the library, of course, but I couldn't help but be curious as it was already open on the floor.  I read... about a certain four kingdoms.”

I gulped.

“If I'm not mistaken, one of the kingdoms...”  he looked straight into my eyes, as if trying to read me all over, and I waited silently for him to say the kingdom's name, “...is called Preriloth.”

I couldn't move.  How would a book like that ever make it to On Earth?  I thought published books weren't allowed to get out of the kingdoms.  Who would ever write something about us?  I was told when an On Earth person accidentally makes their way into our land, their memory would be corrected so they would have no recollection of Under Earth... Had I been told wrong?

“Am I right, Jinki?”  He asked.  His voice was sharp, and it was starting to cut the truth out of me.  “Or should I say—”

“Alright, alright!”  I shouted, but Seungpyo didn't flinch and neither did the witchess.  “Yes, you're right.”

“I assumed you were one of them, those people from Preriloth, I mean.  But you were someone of high-rank, because of your clothing.  It was described in the book as well, the way it would look... and when you said your name I was right about you.”  He said all this slowly.  “Welcome to On Earth, Prince Jinki.”

I squirmed.  “D- Don't, please.  I don't deserve to be called a prince.”

“Why is that?”  He asked softly, his expression completely changed.

“That woman there is not my mother,” I said, and Seungpyo briefly furrowed his eyebrows again.  “My mother is still in the kingdom, probably worried sick.  They don't know I'm here or where I am, and that woman is the reason why I'm away from them.”

Seungpyo looked sympathetic, and ushered for me to go on.

“She cursed me, sending me straight here.”

“Cursed you?  How?”  A faint look of worry overtook Seungpyo's face.

“I was turned into a Pomeranian pup.”  I explained.  Seungpyo nodded, and I continued explaining further.  “According to her it was because I acted nothing like a real prince when she asked me to give her some water.  She was disguised as an old woman, and can turn into a cruel witch if it was needed.  I was one who felt her wrath.”

“She's that witch, isn't she?”  Seungpyo declared.  “That witch who goes around the kingdoms disguised as someone to test their orderliness?”

“Right.  I take it that was mentioned in the book, too?”  I shook my head.  “She's wearing a white gown now because she's in her goddess form, the nice side of her.”

Seungpyo nodded his head, taking everything in gradually.  Then he spoke up, “One more thing, I also found this in the book.  The kingdom Nydiralle... what happened to it?”

As if at will all the information I had forgotten about Nydiralle came back in a snap.  “Oh, Nydiralle's fallen, after its last queen gave birth to a baby girl a hundred years ago.  It was annexed by Jerilaf after that, so there are still just four kingdoms.”

“Right, right.”  Seungpyo nodded again, then froze in his seat.  His eyes were big when he looked at me.  It was like he was not breathing.  “Wait.  What happened to the baby girl?”

“Well, first, because of Nydiralle's tradition to only have a boy as the firstborn child, the queen fled and no one knew where she went.  The king was killed in the Civil Battle, and the baby... Most say she died, some say she was taken away by the queen, and the remainder says she had been transported somewhere.  No idea where.”

Seungpyo swallowed.  “And the baby's name was—”

“Soojin.”  I said... and then reality slapped me hard in the face.

Seungpyo moved around in his seat, then stood up, muttering a small ‘good night’ and proceeded to turn off the lights in the living room, running to his bedroom.  It was pitch black, and I ran to my room with sweat running down my face.  Two questions were in my head.

Where was the baby, and did the Soojin I knew have anything to do with the Soojin from Nydiralle?  Because all I knew was that Under Earth citizens aged very slowly... and hundreds of years could only equal up to twenty.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

I LOVE CLIFFHANGERS.  hahah, hey guys!  alright, so here's an update.  and woooooooooo, Seungpyo's in it now.  glad to have Jinki tell someone about his identity.  i told you guys he'd be safe!  heehee ^^ and WOW thank you guys for the 2000+ views!  i'm gonna cry (/.\) and the subs!  hello, new subbies!  so i guess this is goodbye for now, until my next update.  i love you guuuuuuise!  -hugs- God bless you all!  *p.s. i'm not gonna do chapter headers anymore, it's too much work xD*

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