Sera

The classroom was left in dead silence. I couldn’t comprehend anything that was going through my mind at that very moment. What was all of this? What was this- with all of them believing that they knew me so well? Calling me a weird name- I didn’t like it at all. There was a heavy feeling in my stomach, leading me to believe that this was my last day breathing.

“Who are you to tell us what to do?” My teacher demanded, trying to stay brave even though she was clearly quivering with fear. I guess the intruders caught on and didn’t care too much about her.

“Then why don’t you tell me how your dead guards-,” the female paused. “Can protect you all? I’d suggest that you stay out of this. I just need a word with So Li- ah, I’m sorry.” She didn’t seem sorry at all. “Your student, Sera I mean.” My teacher seemed to hesitate, knowing that if anything happened to me, she’d get in trouble as well. Nevertheless, she had evidently valued her life over her job.

“What can you guys possibly want from me?” My hands were clenched into tights fists all due to the nervousness I felt. My hands had broken out into cold sweat and I felt a strange urge to just let go of something. My facade- but it didn’t seem right. How could I let go of my facade when I didn’t have one? At least... I didn’t think I had one.

“Oh, trust me- if it wasn’t for him, you would have been long gone Kim So Li.” The way she said the name made me cringe. I was getting a hostile vibe from her. Within seconds, I found a sharp object held by my neck, the female merely staring down at me, her hands obviously ready to move at any second and slit my throat with her sword. She nodded her head and a male behind her, threw something besides me. Too afraid to move, she pulled her sword back slightly. “Oh Great Kim So Li, why don’t you protect yourself? Or do you have plans of running away again?”

I felt numb. Those words were directed at me. I could feel it through the way her eyes stared into mine, threatening and hostile.

“I’m sorry- but running is no longer an option, So Li. We’ll always find you and your little Shin Leader.” She sneers and she nods her head in the direction of the object. “Why don’t you pick up that lovely sword of yours and protect yourself now? We’ll have to face each other sooner or later- I want to see the Great Kim So Li I’ve always been told about.”

I inched my way in front of Dong Ho, in hopes of- I don’t know. The female seemed to find my action amusing and twitched and curved upwards.

“Oh how could I forget? You’re Kim So Li. The Kim. You’re just like your father- just as fearless, just as foolishly loyal.” A shot of pain spread through my heart and I stayed silent. “Death doesn’t mean anything to you. If I told you- your dear leader was going to die- would you do anything then?” Her words hit me, causing me to fall into a giant pit of confusion as I tried to peace my emotions and thoughts together. Nothing was making any sense, but I knew one thing for sure- I had no intentions of picking the sword up.

The males behind her quickly moved forward, snatching Dong Ho from my weak grasp and kicking me aside. A sword was held dangerously close to his throat. Dong Ho had blood trailing from his forehead down to his chin that dripped onto his shirt and it worried me.

“You wouldn’t hurt him.” I say confidently. A bit too confident for their liking. The female’s face turns hard and she clenches her jaw.

“You seem so sure. Have I told you, we’ve located the book already?” She questions. “He’s of no use to us now. Are you willing to put up a fight now?” I don’t respond and I can feel all eyes on me. She nods her head and the sword by his neck is pulled away for a brief second to be swung to hit his neck.

A white flash hits me as I grab the sword and I nearly topple over, my head dizzy from the pain it was causing me. The next thing I knew, I was no longer Sera.

So Li

The first thing I see when I open my eyes after the excruciating pain I felt was Dong Ho still surrounded and all their eyes on me. My short hair barely grazes upon my shoulder and I am reminded of who I really was. Dong Ho and I lock eyes and he’s terribly afraid. Attacking when the guards were distracted by me, I could hear Dong Ho say one thing.

“I’ll be fine.” With that  he quickly runs off, leaving the female to leave the guards in charge of me as she chased after him. My mind spun, but I was shaken by everything that was happening. Our whole plan fell apart and- my eyes just turned blue. It had to. The next thing I knew, I was done with the guards, leaving them in heaps.

I chased after Dong Ho and the others, wanting to get there before anyone else got him. Halfway there, I saw her standing guard, a crooked smile on her face.

“It’s all over.”

I don’t hesitate to attack and our swords immediately clash and I pull away from her. She’s incredibly fast and her sword cuts into my arm, sending me into pain. I try to match her speed, taking another strike at her sword and knocking it out of her hands. I have my sword by her neck and my eyes are dangerously dark blue.

“It’s not over.” I bring my sword down onto hers that was lying on the floor, cracking into tiny pieces of silver. “Know your place and stay out of this.” I hear distant sounds of fighting and I rush into the dance studio the school has.  I was losing lots of blood. She cut me deep, but my bleeding meant nothing to me. I had to make sure Dong Ho was okay.

I see Dong Ho pushed up against the wall, his sword held up to try to fend for himself. Back then- he never learned how to use the sword properly and it stood true to this day. He was barely keeping him off and that was only because the other male- wasn’t putting his all into it.

The tall male pulls his sword away and quickly dodges Dong Ho’s weak attack, aiming for Dong Ho’s vital chest area. I interfere and the tip of his sword hits mine, causing him to stumble back. The tall male is left stunned and his eyes land on me, his gaze softening.

“So Li...” He mumbles.

“Shut up.” I growl, forcing my tired arm up to defend Dong Ho. “Why do you have to do this?” He’s in a relaxed position, not even slightly scared by my defensive position. “Is power really this important to you?”

“Power...?” I see a flash of anger cross his eyes and his expression hardens as he looks at Dong Ho. “So Li, when will you understand that I’m not an enemy. I’m just like you in every way.” I stiffen as he mentions it. “In that power hungry place we called home- we were the lowest of the lows. Who is he?” He looks past me and I understand he’s talking about Dong Ho. “He’s someone who thinks that dirt will always be dirt. Useless and unworthy of anything.”

I’m confused by his words and my arm falls to myself, losing my defensive position. The blood from my arm drips to the wooden floors of the dance studio and I find myself trying to decipher the words that fall from his mouth. Dong Ho’s breathing is heavy behind me as he stays still.

“So Li, the both of us are different from him. We’ll never be his equal. If you choose him over me,” he paused for a moment, obviously needing more time to think things through. “You’ll never get that happy ending. You’ll never be treated as his equal and you’ll forever be protecting him. I chase you guys down to the end of time not for the book, but just for you.”

“So Li...” I hear Dong Ho breathing even more so heavily. I can hear the desperation in his voice, as he’s weakly standing behind me. My father... I had made a promise to my father to protect Dong Ho- even if it meant putting my life at stake.

“When have you ever protected me?” The male in front of me breathes. “Never. You’ll never have to protect me. I’ll protect you. I’ve known you for so long and you’ve been- stripped of your childhood to protect the guy behind you. All you’ve ever been doing is protecting him.”

“So Li... It’s true that I’m weak without you. I wouldn’t last a day without your protection but-,” Dong Ho takes a hold of my hand from behind and I can feel how sticky his are. He too was bleeding, I had to remind myself. “That doesn’t mean I see you any less of a human than I am.”

The tension in the room is amplified and a new wave of memories hit me, sending me to topple over onto the ground and someone rushing over to me. My head is throbbing and every thought in my head turns painful thinking about the past.

Six Years Old

I can’t remember when the sky turned dark forever and so did the streets of the city. Was it when the whole fuss about power started? Was it when my mother was killed when she was carelessly walking about the street and happened to get herself caught into an unwanted fight? Or was during my mother’s funeral when a group of men came to my father and asked him for his help and to join them?

My father became a busier man and seeing him even at night was hard for me. He brought me to work only to leave me at the house of his employer. His employer was a very busy person and he himself, had a son. His wife was awfully beautiful and sometimes served as my own mother figure- though I knew I couldn’t get too close to her. There was just something about her that constantly reminded me someone as regal and powerful as she, could not be my mother. My mother who was nothing like her.

I grew close to the young boy, like my father had asked of me. He told me it would only be better for the future if I got more comfortable with him and so I did. I would wait in his living room as his tutors would come and go, teaching him in every possible subject. I couldn’t read and was fascinated by how smart he seemed.

There were also times that my father left me at home all alone. He left me alone in the house, telling me to leave only if necessary or I needed to run. I was bored and evidently, I did deem it to be necessary to leave. Ah, the mind of a six year old.

I took it upon myself to sneak into the park nearby, still seeing it as a place of fun and happiness though it was in total ruins. There was a sandbox with barely any sand in it, but still- that didn’t stop yet another kid from playing in it. The kid looked so lonely sitting there, I decided to approach him and play with him. After all, building sand castles would be even better with another.

We played around for a while, the both of us shouting our names at each other as a form of introduction a way to remind the other of our names. I had fun and soon, I noticed the setting sun and stood up to leave. I had to get back before my father got home. We went our own ways just to meet again whenever it was possible.

A/N: A little bit of her past was revealed here! I'm sure you guys have a good idea of who the boy in the sandbox was and who the boy with such a regal mother was. xD Well, here's another update! I wasn't planning on putting the past in this story, but I don't think I'll have any space to put in the sequel so... here's one part of it! The next chapter will also be about the past so... curious about how So Li, Dong Ho, and Jun all met? Next chapter! :)