(13)

            We had three days to prepare.

            Three days to decide the world’s end. A century ago, power lied between the two different union, when none of the clans was willing to aid those countries at war. Sena was supposed to be glad that Wu Yi Fan agreed to help them in this conquest, but something about this whole ordeal seemed suspicious. Maybe she was over-analysing everything, but she felt truly unsettled these days – with one thing falling after another. Two years into her reign – almost three – and everything was bloody madness. All four clans were led by young adults, barely escaping adolescences, with raging hormones and unstable mentality. Perhaps that was the reason why negotiation was invalid in this world.

            “Eat,” Sehun waved the food in front of me and Sena blinked awkwardly. He was holding onto the chopsticks with very firm expression, almost reprimanding. Slowly, she opened , her fair cheeks blushing a little. He carefully fed her and when she finally chewed the seafood with a frown, he smiled in relief. Sena had been out of it for a while now, since they came back from Suzakku’s headquarter. The food he left for her had always been untouched, and she was barely living with water and fruits, and that wouldn’t do.

            “It’s just food. Don’t look so proud,” Sena grumbled and took the chopsticks away and started feeding herself. The appetite slowly returned when her taste bud’s sensitivity increased. She had forgotten how good it was to be full. Sehun dropped his smile, but glee was very evident in his dull brown eyes. He lifted his hand to wipe off the bread crumb resting on her cheeks. She was too skinny for his liking, and it hurt him so that she looked uncared for when she had so many people by her side.

            “You haven’t been eating for a week now. I ought to feel a sense of achievement having persuaded you successfully, no?”

            Jongin, who just came back from the restroom at the back of the airplane, happened to pass by their seats. He found his eyes lingering on Sehun’s hands on Sena’s cheek for a particularly long time. He wasn’t used to their sudden closeness, having been gone for two years without seeing them together. He had expected it, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt him. There was this painful ache spreading through his chest, sending electricity jolts through his entire body, and he finally registered what it really was – jealousy.

            As if sensing his gaze, Sena looked up from the staring battle with Sehun, meeting his eyes daringly and accusingly. It hadn’t been long since she accepted Jongin back into the rank of Elites, and while she received tons of criticism for doing so – particularly from Luhan and the Council – she didn’t care much. She welcomed him back like an old friend. Or as he had suggested before, in a civilised manner. During the time of his stay, she had avoided his existence unless it was of absolute importance, and he, too, wasn’t very keen on seeing her everyday, because seeing her always reminded him of what could have happened if he had not left, and he didn’t want that kind of wistful thinking.

            She gave him a bland glance and returned her focus to Sehun. She pretended not to notice the shift of tension when Jongin passed by and sat down in front of them. His seat was only two rows away, and he could hear every single word spoken and exchanged between the two in that hateful affection they shared. He put on the headphones and closed his eyes, trying to let the sleep take over his consciousness. He didn’t like the darkness that set in afterwards, like a clutch of the bottomless abyss he could never escape from. He missed her comforting arms.

            “You don’t look so well nowadays. What’s bothering you?” Sehun asked, handing over a piece of wet tissue to Sena. She wiped with it, trying hard to conceal the grimace on her lips, but Sehun didn’t miss the hint of revulsion in her turquoise eyes.

            “Can I join the front line for this war?” She retorted with a question, her eyebrows unamusedly raised. Her eyes were on Sehun, but he could tell that her mind had wandered away to the seat in front of them. Supposedly she had heard everything even when the two protectors tried not to involve her within the art of war. She should not know so much, though technically, they had to report everything back to her. Just like before, it was a world of secrecy, and the bubble wouldn’t seem to burst anytime soon.

            “The front line?” Creases appeared between his eyebrows. “Not that you are allowed to, but why?”

            There was this prickly feeling, like thorns that could not be plucked no matter what, and it had been there for the past two years. Lately, whenever she lied on the bed, ready to sleep, it was all she ever felt. She looked at Sehun’s hands – too fair and awfully pale for a male so strong and powerful. “Won’t you allow me to? I guess I just want to. I hate Byun Baekhyun. I want to destroy him. Even though it is forbidden for one clan leader to kill another, I still want to. I want him dead, Hun.”

            “That can’t be all. There must be other reason,” Sehun insisted, searching for the truth in her bottomless eyes. She seemed distracted for a moment, and it was all the reply he needed. Everything had strangely came to this. He leaned back to his chair, no longer interested in her reason and instead, pondered over other matter. As far as he knew, no Gemini was this stubborn and faithful. Her capability of love and emotion surprised him again and again.

            “What other reason do I have –“ It was more of a statement than a question – one that caught him off-guard. He wasn’t as good as Joonmyun in reading others’ emotions, but he knew that she didn’t really mean what she said, from the request to join the front line to her sentences she spoke clearly, but soullessly. Instead of replying to her, Sehun stood up, walked to the restroom, and asked for a glass of water from the stewardess. His heart was pounding against his chest, and not in a good way. He looked over, and saw Jongin glancing at Sena, and Sena staring emptily at the seat in front of her. She knew. Sehun felt so guilty for hiding something so important from her, but he was selfish, and Jongin was compliant. Would it kill her if she knew more of Jongin’s plan?

            Joonmyun, who sat by the opposite row, rolled his eyes and shook his head helplessly. His two protectors noticed this and shot him a questioning look. This was by far, the most frustrating love triangle he had ever seen, and not just because it was forbidden, but because none of the three was willing to admit and confessed. He wanted to pull his hair out and dragged either one of Jongin, Sehun or even Sena and told them to get a grip of themselves and stop this madness. Love should be relayed, not kept silenced.

            In the end, he knew that as much as he loved Sena, longer than the two of them, he could not compete. Not with Jongin nor Sehun. He could not sacrifice everything for the sake of one woman – as much as he wanted to. He didn’t know what Jongin did, or why he did what he did, but he got a pretty good picture from his sudden return to the Seiryuu headquarter. Sena was an unforgiving person, and if she decided to welcome Kim Jongin back as her protector, there must be something more than love.

            Sacrifice was the greatest form of love – a wordless proof that needed no explanation. And that was exactly what he was seeing right now. He didn’t like the helpless look on Sena’s face, the hurt that flashed in Jongin’s eyes whenever he thought no one was watching, or even Sehun’s play of nonchalantness, which did not impress Joonmyun one bit. He loved Sena. Hell, he was still in love with her, and all he wanted was the best for the girl, but she did not seem to be getting anything good soon.

            There was this heavy atmosphere that surrounded the Seiryuu’s Elites. Joonmyun’s instinct told him something was wrong – that everything seemed too smooth for now and the peace would soon end. He spoke up in a soft whisper so no one else could catch onto his words but the two protectors by his side, “Sometimes I don’t understand these three. They have so much to say, and still, they prefer misery over it. Why can’t they talk like grown adults? They are not fifteen anymore.”

            Taeil looked over. Those three were avoiding each other. “Master, sometimes you have to understand that running away is the only way to protect your heart when everything else is doomed.”

            “Running away is not an option, Taeil,” Joonmyun gripped onto the glass of black coffee so tightly that cracks appeared around his white knuckles. Sena was looking down on her feet – a habit he noticed when she was thinking deeply. She was overanalysing everything, and many times, he had told her not to do so because it would bring nothing but agony. “I can’t bear to watch those lovebirds. They don’t seem like they’ll be over it anytime soon.”

            “I’d like to think that Taeil is right, Master,” Kun, the Chinese man, kindly offered an explanation when his quiet partner found trouble expressing himself. His Korean was barely passable, so he chose not to speak up much, but at this moment, he didn’t care. He might not be close to their Seiryuu ally as his master was, but he was not blind. It was painfully obvious to the eyes of the bystanders. “Words are not always a good way to say what you need to say. There are pain you can’t mend over time, sadness you won’t be able to cry out, or happiness you can’t share. Sometimes, it’s not the person who causes the suffering, but the situation.”

            “Time,” Joonmyun lamented almost dramatically. “Time is human’s greatest enemy.”

            “I still think they should solve it soon – whatever troubles they are having, whatever love they want reciprocated. I have seen far too many cases, all tragic and sappy, where they won’t be getting a second chance to whatever they are having now,” He added on, his eyes narrowed unhappily. Sena should know that. This time, he wouldn’t remind her of what she should do, because both of them were adults, and there were things she should have realised before it was too late.

            “Star-crossed lovers, huh?” Kun mumbled with a sad smile. He didn’t know what it was like to love someone – yet – but he sure as hell would not find a love like theirs; so sad and troublesome and full of tears. “Which man will she pick? Wanna bet, Taeil?”

            “You’d better pay me back the thousand pound you owed me from our bet last time,” The older one frowned in disapproval but showed interest in it. As usual, being the older of the two, he got his pick first, and most of the time, he won. Kun sneered discreetly and mouthed a challenge to him. He did not have any money to pay, anyway. Might as well make it fair with this one. “I think I know who to pick. I choose Kim Jongin over Oh Sehun. For two thousand pounds.”

            “I was going to pick Jongin as well!” Kun weakly protested, looking over his shoulder to Sehun, who chose to sit by the back, his expression thoughtful. He pondered over the possibility for a while, and almost pouted when he realised that he was going to lose another two thousand from his bank account. Unless a miracle happened and struck Kim Jongin down, of course. The Dragon lady didn’t seem to be over him, and would not be for a period of time, it seemed. “Fine. Oh Sehun it is.”

            Joonmyun sighed and smiled forlornly. Two years was not short at all. But two years could change everything in a blink of an eye.

***

            “I’m not gonna go to the front line. I’ve cleared my head. No need to frown, Hun, I get the message clearly,” Sena massaged her temple and let him took the luggage away from her hands. It had been an eventful evening, and all she wanted was to rest, though she got plenty in the airplane. For some reason, she looked more fragile now, her shoulders slumped and her eyelid dropped halfway as she made her way to her bedroom. It seemed like a dejavu, however, when Sehun held her door with an ambiguous smile plastered on his face.

            “Sena, it’s Jongin, isn’t it? The other reason you had to go to the front line.”

            She stepped back and shrank in fear. She wanted to avoid this topic so badly, and she felt like a coward having done so. “What are you talking about? Jongin has nothing to do with that.”

            “It’s been two years, Sena!” He almost shouted out of despair than anger. “Two years and you’re still not over him. Why?”

            “It’s just two years, Hun…” Sena called him out affectionately, and she looked more tired than ever. Her eyes avoided looking at Sehun, and she turned around hastily as he chased her inside her own room. Grabbing onto her wrist, she collided against the firmness of his chest. It was the first time he felt so hopeless, as if he was running out of time. He had never planned on telling her anything for a long time, but he could not do so, watching her falling into despair deeper and deeper.

            “Two years, Sena… Haven’t you seen the way I look at you for all these years? Don’t you know how I feel for you?” He her cheeks, and she almost flinched at the sadness in his eyes. “Sena, please… Don’t run away from me anymore…”

A/N: Darn it! I'm sorry guys. So, so sorry for this filler chapter. I just need to clear up the tension between Sena and Sehun before I reach the epilogue in four or five more chapters. I hope I don't disappoint you guys. Thanks.