the story

author's corner

gemini headquarters

—  2010; 19:20

  As the sound of heels resonated down the corridor, Jaebin raised his head up slowly, in response to the sound, and his eyes flickered up just in time to meet the almost bored, cool gaze of the faery who was making her way towards him.

  “Chess.”   

  “Ah.” As if in surprise, she stopped slightly, then cocked her head to the side. “You remembered. That’s...shocking. At any rate, my apologies for making you wait. Please, this way.”

  Jaebin let a civil smile grace his features, before detaching himself from the wall and followed her. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, the man cast an eye around him, taking in his surroundings while his feet followed Chess’ heels - literally. The corridors were a dreary monochrome, some portraits of famous historical people hung on the walls - a few of which he had came across and known, actually - with other kinds of artefacts placed on display, and a black carpet lining the path to take. 

  As if she had heard his thoughts, Chess spoke, cutting through the silence. “Our leaders’ tastes could be...eccentric or questionable. Sometimes a mixture of both. However, be rest assured that our current King did not contribute to the decor. Except for the colour scheme.”

  Jaebin merely hummed in response. While he was interested in viewing what kind of person the...King would be, he certainly wasn't going to make his judgement based on a person's taste in decor (even though it does shows a lot about a person). A thought then suddenly crossed his head, and Jaebin found a smirk spreading through his face. 

  "I wonder if...his decor reflects his mood."

  At that, Chess turned around briefly to look at him, with an expression that could translate to almost boredom. "I beg your pardon?"

  "Perhaps if some colour comes to his face the place might brighten up," Jaebin suggested, giving a shrug. "For example...red. Or green." 

  A raise of her eyebrows. "Certainly you are not proposing to make His Majesty purposely mad for the sake of random amusement?" Chess then directed her gaze forward again, never breaking her stride. "I personally would not recommend it." 

  "Nothing so vulgar, of course," The man reassured her. "Though one would never know unless they try, right?" 

  An exasperated sigh. "Well, I suppose you'll certainly turn his face black with your sense of humour." Just as Jaebin was about to correct her that no that was not what he meant, they arrived at a double set of doors at the end of the corridor, on which she knocked on, before stepping away quietly. "Which, again, I do not recommend. His Majesty, the King." 

  As the doors eased open, it revealed a man sitting behind an enormous desk, on a swivelling chair who was currently busy scribbling away at something. At the mention of his title, the King gave a glance at the two standing at the doorway, before he re-capped his fountain pen, and sat up straighter. 

  "This is Lee Jaebin, the holder of the Rook position," Chess continued with the introductions, waving a careless hand towards the man. "Then, if you would excuse me." Once the formalities were out of the way, she stepped away, before closing the door behind her, leaving the two together in the room.

   Awkward silence. Jaebin could feel the weight of the King's eyes on him, before he cleared his throat slightly. "I heard...you making a humorous attempt on the monochrome nature of this building." 

  "It was rather dreary." The man gave another shrug that day. "It needed lightening up. I decided to do it my own way, through humour. I hope you don't mind?" 

  Another cough. "No, of course not. However, I suggest you keep those thoughts to yourself, Jaebin." A tilt of his head to show slight confusion. "It may...awaken unpleasant curses, you see."

  "You have curses here?" Jaebin's eyes widened, though they shrank back to their normal size as another clearing of throat alerted him to his position. "I mean, my apologies. Sir." 

  "You can call me Sungjong; it doesn't really matter." The King waved a dismissive hand at that. "Now, back on topic. I assume you know of your role?"

  "Not exactly."

  "Let me first tell you that it certainly isn't resident joker of Gemini," Sungjong said dryly, while retrieiving a sheet of paper from his desk. "As holder of the Rook position, you, of course, would answer to me, holder of the King position. As the Rook, you would assume the role of fighter in the group, and along with the Queen - " Here there was a slight cough again. " - you would be the main fighters of Gemini. Any questions?" 

  Jaebin shook his head slightly. "Good. Now Agent Chess would arrive shortly to bring you to the next meeting point. Please wait patiently." As if on cue, the faery then materialized outside the door, preparing to lead him on. Just as he was about to step out of the room, Jaebin stopped slightly, before turning back to the King.

  "You know, I have a book on interior design. Maybe if you red that - " Slight emphasis was placed on the word. " - perhaps the place would become more bluetiful." 

  After the doors swung shut, there was an exsaperated sigh that erupted from the King, before he buried his head into his hands.

 And started regretting his life choices.