Sheet 18

 Hand

         

          The song ends and a new one begins. Before Kim Sung Gyu knows it, he’s dancing with the princess. She smiles at him as if she’s known him for quite some time. She raises an eyebrow obviously teasing; the look on her face is unreadable. He feels unnerved, like being scrutinized.

 

          “It’s nice to finally meet you...” She declares, eyes sparkling with mirth.

 

          “Same here, the prince talks a lot about you, non-stop. It gets too repetitive most of the time... ” he teased back.

 

          “I’m not talking about the prince...”

 

          He tilts his head in inquiry. Who else would talk about him to the princess?

 

I am your doll

I’m still waiting for you

A doll in the corner of the room

I’m quietly waiting for you

 

          “Are you familiar with the song that’s playing?” the princess asks, seemingly changing the subject.

 

          Kim Sung Gyu shakes his head. It’s the first time he’s hearing the song, not that he’s familiar with songs from the country where he’s currently at.

 

          The princess sings to him a few lines, her voice sounds enchanting almost as if putting him in a trance. The words of the song is mysterious bordering to creepy. Curious, he can’t help but ask if the song was written specifically for someone.

 

          “Perhaps... I heard someone asked Lady Ji Ae to write her a poem. It can mean a few things depending on who hears. Listen to the words carefully...”

 

          He doesn’t know if the princess is playing with him. If he analyse the song and pretend that it was written for him to hear, he’d most likely assume that it has something to do with his Narra.  Though it’s impossible for the princess to be aware of what’s happening; she’s a character in the book. Soo Jung would probably be writing about her being here, dancing with—

 

          “Why are you dancing with me?” he wondered out loud.

 

          “Because I was asked to...”

 

          “You’re not obligated to dance with me... I’m technically not part of this story...” He tests the waters, waiting to see if the princess would grasp what he’s pointing at.

 

          “I’m aware but I can’t break an oath I made with someone. She’s there and she waits...” she affirms his suspicions.

 

          He tries to piece everything out; Lady Ji Ae is the doll. But if this song was about Soo Jung then she could also be the doll, considering she might be under the Anta named L’s control.

 

Waiting. Sung Gyu tries to memorise the song as it plays. She’s inside a room, waiting in a corner.

 

          “The song is about to end, we don’t have much time...”

 

          He remembers the note from the book of lies; a faithful knight would stand tall. He looks around seeing several knights positioned at every entrance. The knight named Ho Won is standing close to the King and Queen. Sung Gyu wonders if he’s the knight Soo Jung is talking about.

 

         There’s another one, Seong Yeol. He hasn’t seen him in a while. He’s usually stationed close to the prince. Upon second glance; he saw the knight on the second floor, scanning the crowd. He chances a glance at Sung Gyu. The look on his face is terrifying.

 

          Without warning, an explosion takes place by the grand staircase. The invitees scream and run in a panic. Sung Gyu sees Ho Won commanding the guards on the lower floor to assist in evacuating the guest from the castle, making sure the King and Queen are also removed from the grand hall.

 

           Seong Yeol on the other hand stays put, looking amused at the chaos.

 

           “It has to be now...” the princess urges him to move.

 

            “What are you talking about? Woo Hyun is still here... We have to find him...” Sung Gyu retaliates. He’s unable to see where the prince was taken to. The story can’t lose another lead not now that he already has the princess with him.

 

            “There’s no time... Hold my hand!”

 

             “What?”

 

            “If asked, take the hand that’s offered. Everything will be clear in due course.” The princess recites.

         

          Sung Gyu is again reminded of the note that he received. He takes hold of the princess hand and everything becomes a blur.

 

~0~

         

          They land unceremoniously on a familiar carpeted floor. It took a couple of minutes before Kim Sung Gyu finds his equilibrium. The princess on the other hand is sitting comfortably on a winged chair; how she managed to land there he’s too shaken to bother asking.

 

          “Why are we back in my attic?”

 

          “It’s not yours...”

 

          “I know how my attic looks like...” he insists, insulted that he’s being made a fool.

 

          “Listen.”

 

          Looking around would’ve been better than hearing whatever it is that he’s supposed to be listening to.

 

          He takes notice of crying noises. “There’s...”

 

          “Crying? This attic is filled with them. I don’t believe you have the same...”

 

          “Why are they—“

 

          “Because they hurt. I don’t like it here, but I’m forced to stay...”

 

          “I don’t get this, where are we exactly? What are we supposed to do now?”

 

          “That’s something you need to figure out for yourself. I’m back and the story continues.”

 

          The princess slowly disappears leaving him alone in an attic full of crying books. He’s entirely lost in the concept of what he’s supposed to do in a room that makes him more distressed than any other story he’s ever been to.

 

          He decided to explore the room more thoroughly, though the thought of looking into any of those books makes him feel terrible. The crying differs in various degrees, some are quiet sobbing but there’s mostly wailing noises; he guesses the sounds of defeat.

 

          It makes him feel guilt for all the times they were required to fight with them, which is all the time. And the times the other needed to accept defeat. In some ways, he’s also part of the cause for these books to cry.

 

          He’ll have to find a way to bring to an end to the crying, not by force this time. Maybe they could find a truce somehow without having to sacrifice the other character’s stories.

 

          He stops in the middle of the attic. Like his own, there’s a book stand with an ancient book laid down on top of it with the initial L encrypted in front.

 

          He almost shouted in annoyance, it was so obvious why didn’t he realize it.

 

          He just landed in the enemy’s attic.

         

~0~

 

          He’s feeling very positive today, everything is going as planned. He had his Narra take a rest for a while. There’s plenty of time to continue the story now that they’re the ones controlling it. He wonders if his friend Seong Yeol is having a grand time creating havoc in that fictional world. He plans to join him soon to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

 

          He’s getting thrilled for the things he could do in the future. His attic would no longer hear the sound of crying, they would now know the feeling of victory.

 

          “Sir, Lady Ji Ae has been taken...”

         

          L has expected as much given the girl doesn’t seem to have a grasp of what she intends to do. He decided to include her in the story as his spy, an ally, someone to guide the upcoming rebellion. And what does she do? Out herself.

 

          She doesn’t have much experience as an Anta, more so her pretending to be a Narra irks him to no end. She doesn’t understand that roles were given for a purpose. She needs to learn to live her own adventures and not rely on him so much.

 

          It gets tiring; he doesn’t intend to be his little sister’s babysitter.

 

          “Sir?”

 

          “I’ll ask my Narra to do a rescue for her... And you will do the rescuing seeing that you have nothing better to do than to wait on me hand and foot.”

 

          Jang Dong Woo finds the statement more than insulting. He’s been working his off with pleasing these siblings and this is all he gets. He’s a legit Anta and his family has been helping the Kim’s with their stories.

 

          One thing he doesn’t understand is their son’s thirst for victory. It’s the logical order of things. They’re on the lower end of the food chain and it’s not like the Protos have bad intentions, they’ve always been in charge of that.

 

          His father’s friends with a few Protos and they have fun doing their stories. He can’t see why they can’t be the same.

 

          He passes by the stairs leading to the attic. This house keeps a slew of crying books; he finds it creepy, them displaying it like a badge of honour. He’d never let any of his books cry if given a choice. His own attic is filled with defeated books, though he never her them cry like that.

 

          “Psst...”

 

          Dong Woo stops on his tracks; looks back up the attic stairs. The door’s tightly shut but he can hear a faint sound of something moving. Feet? Exactly what types of books are in that attic?

 

          “Psst...”

 

          There it is again. This time, he’s sure that it’s coming from the attic. He takes a deep breath, squared his shoulders and marched towards the attic. Tentatively, he opens the door but only big enough to accommodate his head. If there’s something really weird happening in this attic he is more than ready to bolt.

 

          A book flew directly on his face, effectively blurring his vision.

 

          “Sorry, Sorry... I’m really...” he hears someone whisper. “I wasn’t... I didn’t think it would hurt?”

 

          “Ouch...” Dong Woo falls down on the floor, both hands on his face.

 

          “Shhhh... Please don’t make so much noise. I need your help...”

 

          Dong Woo looks at the intruder incredulously. “Dude, you aimed a book at my face. It would probably leave a permanent damage and you want me to help you?!”

 

          “Well, you have that or I’ll have to hit you again and make sure you stay unconscious this time.”

 

          Dong Woo is more than appalled.

 

          “That wasn’t a threat... Well it is if you’re not going to help. So are you?” The guy, who has barely visible eyes, picks up another book and Dong Woo is certain it’s going to hurt a lot this time.

 

          He sprawls on the floor, guy aiming a heavier book on him be damned. “Why am I in this story again? I should’ve just sticked to doing shorts instead of attempting novel writing...” he muttered.

 

          Their visitor steps into his comfort zone, sits down and stares.

 

          “What?”

 

          “You’re not a book character?”

 

          “Dude, no. I would’ve disappeared if I was, with you aiming that book right into my face and all...”

 

          “This isn’t like that game...”

 

          “Huh?”

 

          “Aiming a ball at you so it could catch you? It’s pretty popular nowadays...”

 

          “Oh... yeah. Anyway, I should be reporting you... Who are you? How did you get here?”

 

          “Don’t report... I mean, I’m Kim Sung Gyu. A Protos and I believe you are one...”

 

          “I’m an Anta... Though this isn’t my story, I don’t know if you can tell. I’m kinda just the sidekick around here...”

 

          “Hey, never doubt your importance.”

 

          Dong Woo sits up and smiles. That could actually be the nicest thing someone has told him for the entire week. He’s exhausted of being bossed around. And really, he’s not good at fighting with people.

 

          “Why are you here, Kim Sung Gyu...”

 

          “I’m going to do an abridge version, okay... This is my story, I need to get my Narra back... Do you know where she is?”

 

 

          “Oh, you’re Soo Jung-nim’s former partner...”

 

          Sung Gyu doesn’t like that statement and it shows on his face.

 

          “Dude, I don’t mean to offend but she’s gone. It’s impossible for you to get her back. Once a seed of hate is planted in the heart of a person it’s almost impossible for you to break it. The Anta she’s writing for now is pretty good at manipulating emotions. You don’t stand a chance. You’ll just have to wait this out. I’m terribly sorry about your book characters though.”

 

          “Almost? Then, I still have a shot at it...”

 

          “Aren’t you listening to me? I said it’s ‘impossible’...” Dong Woo makes air quotes to put emphasis on the word.

 

          “You said ‘almost impossible’, meaning there’s a loophole. Look, you don’t need to actually go against whoever he is. Just point me to where my Narra is. I’ll take it from there...”

 

          Dong Woo releases a sigh. Soo Jung and the princess have been really nice to him. And he really hates where this story is going anyway. His dad used to say that peace can only be achieved through cooperation or something like that. He’s not going against his kind; he’s just helping restore the balance.

 

          Kim Sung Gyu stands up, brushing the dust on his pants. He doesn’t expect this person to offer help. He’s technically an enemy. He’ll just have to find out everything on his own.

 

          “The ‘almost’ is entirely up to you... You can bring her back if you have it...” His companion blurts out, standing up as well.

 

          “Have what exactly?”

 

          “A memory...”

 

          “What kind of memory?”

 

          “One strong enough for her to remember you, but it has to be a really really good one. Like one that would remind her of what she is, what you are to her...”

 

          Kim Sung Gyu thinks that would be easy, they’ve made a lot of memories. Lee Soo Jung definitely thinks fondly of him, one look at his smile would probably turn her back to her old self.

 

          “I’ll take you to her now...  She did say that help will be on the way sooner or later...”

 

          “What?”

 

          “It’s weird, I’ve just become a hand... And it feels good to be doing something relevant for once...”

 

          Kim Sung Gyu sees a silver lining and another reason for him to be in awe of his Narra. Lee Soo Jung, you’re knight in shining armour is coming to your rescue. He thinks to himself, this time he smiles sincerely.