Chapter 4: Our Nth Meeting

Parking on her specified space, Irene let out a sigh when she saw the nearly abandoned mansion deep in the mountains. No one would thought such a big house could exist in the middle of nature but this was the intention of the owner; to be one with nature away from civilisation. Transportation getting there was difficult unless you have a car and the personalised GPS created just for the area. The exterior of the mansion was laid with limestone bricks creating that vintage feel.

She entered the house with a card she was provided with long before. After hearing three consecutive high pitched beeps, the large, heavy wooden door opened automatically and she was welcomed by a more modern look compared to the exterior of the house. It was thanks to her the maintainance and the systems on the house were all up to date or else it would've been unhabitable. A panel just on the right was glowing green which gave her satisfaction. 

A bit further in was recently refurbished kitchen. Just how she loved it. The worktriagle located in the center as the core of the kitchen with black marble kitchen island table. She was thinking of refurbishing it again to a white marble the next time. 

Placing the white plastic bag on the table and took out each contents with care. Two insulated containers lined up on the table and a plate. She sighed once again. It was another trial of the same solution she had been dealing with for the past five years. This whole time there was no change. It was the same ever since that day.

The food that she brought was arranged on a plate and placed it along with a few side dishes stocked in the refrigerator and a glass of orange juice on a breakfast tray. She climbed the flight of stairs leading up to the next floor above. She did not reach her destination though. She had to climb up a further three flights to reach the sleeping beauty in the attic. The sensors switched on the light automatically and thankfully, even the door to the said sleeping beauty was equiped with sensors because it was difficult carrying a tray and opening a door at the same time. 

A single door was the only thing between them yet she was still so far away. The door opened and there she was, lying on her back in a daze. She had not moved, not even a flinch in the past five years after understanding her circumstances and in the past five years, Irene would visit daily to freshen her up and hopefully get her up and living.

Ever since that day at the lab, Sooyoung went to what Irene described as a 'break-down hibernation' phase. Her physical body was fine but her mind and heart crossed the red flag and had fallen into the pits of dispair with no chance of escaping. Irene believed that she was completely broken and that her body was recovering slowly through hibernation. For the first six months, Sooyoung's eyes were closed like she was sleeping after a very tiring day. Suddenly, her eyes were half lided that made Irene thought she was finally waking up. However, no reaction came from Sooyoung even after giving the muscle between her shoulder and the base of her neck a squeeze. Irene hypothesize she was healed physically yet she was not ready come back.

"I have your favorite again today, Sooyoung. But this is no ordinary pork belly. I got it from Jeju just for you so please get up. I promise I cooked it exactly as how they cook it." This was what Irene had been doing on a daily basis for five years; coming up with ideas to stimulate her. She looked for any movements, observing from head to toe, and as expected, the results were the same. 

She placed the tray on the side and grabbed a chair closer to the bed. "You know, you received a wedding invitation yesterday morning. Do you want to guess who is getting married? It's Wendy." She waited for a few seconds. Maybe she would move, she thought. Seconds turned to minutes with no signs. It was another failure but this was nothing. If she gave up now...

Like usual, Irene left the tray in her room. The possibility of her walking to the desk to eat was very low and close to impossible. However, Irene kept telling herself to never give up. The routine was cleaning her room first and then she would move on to the next adjacent rooms before cleaning the ground floor of her mansion. Then she would clean up the food and bring it back with her and then come back the next day with a different dish.

She went around the house for a final check and a final look for the day at Sooyoung. She looked comfortable and if ever there were any hints of movements, the sensors she bought at a very high price would go off and alert her right away. Irene would want to stay and live there instead but her work prevented her from doing so. During the day, Irene would be with Sooyoung but at night, she was at the lab supervising the current research assignment.

She made sure the whole house was secured before entering her freezing car and switching on the heating right away. On pressing the start/stop button to start the car, she felt vibrations on the right pocket of her jacket. She took out the vibrating phone and opened the mail she received. As she read it, she could sense the urgency of the sender. Irene typed a few words and waited for a few seconds before receiving a reply. Change of plans. She pressed the start/stop button again and hopped off her car. She opened the boot and grabbed the big black bag before running back to the house. She swiped the card and re-entered the house. Hurrying as best as she could, she grabbed some spare pillows and blankets and laid them on the couch to prepare for the incoming visitors. Without missing a beat, she opened the black bag and took out a few packets of medical products and laid them out on the circular round table.

Barely a few minutes later, she could hear a thump from outside. 'It must be them,' she thought. She ran to the door and opened it. Two men, one was dragged in by the shoulders by the other, entered in a rush. Irene gestured to the sofa before both men dropped down on the leather furniture. "You're such a great help. Thank you, Irene," said the sweating man who was the only concious one of the two from what she was seeing.

"It's my pleasure, Sir Changsub."

Strange. He couldn't remember what happened. He recalled working in his office feeling a bit out of normal when a sudden tickle and pressure from the back of his throat forced himself to cough. What came out from his mouth was blood. His usually calm right hand man started panicking and before he could calm his friend down, he started having chest pain and he coughed up blood even more. After that, his extremities became weaker and everything was blurry and then black.

And now, he awoke with a ceiling so unfamiliar to him. It was too 'Earthly' of a design. He closed his eyes for a while to check the condition of his body; he felt better and the pain on his throat was gone. His body was definitely lighter that if he attempted to jump all his might, he may be able to reach the exosphere easily. 

The problem then was, like he mentioned, he couldn't remember the events following that attack on his body. Meaning, he wasn't sure how he reached this place. Possiblities included kidnapping, wormhole and sleep walking. He was overworking the past few days but it shouldn't result to sleep walking. Wormhole was impossible. They did exist but he should be able to sense one easily if it was close. The only possible choice out of the three was kidnapping. A very high probability for him considering his position.

Escaping should never be a problem but hurting his Earthly kidnappers could result with more paperwork and worse, war. But him getting killed there and then was even more troublesome. Not for himself but the people around him and the higher ups.

Light footsteps just outside the room made his heart thump faster. He became more aware of his surroundings as if he was ready to attack. He would've gone all out and destroy the place where his kidnappers caged him in but this wasn't his territory. His hands became clammy and he felt very vulnerable at that moment.

The door knob twisted slightly and he was revving himself. Once that door opened, he would try to knock them down (but not kill) and escape as far away as he could until he could figure out a way to get back. 

When the door did open, he dashed forward to hit the kidnapper until he recognize the face that entered the room. All that adrenaline building up depleted right away and he felt relieved. He wasn't kidnapped. He was safe... maybe.

"Changsub?" He asked, making sure he wasn't some sort of an imposter.

"You're finally awake, Sol." Changsub said like he was expecting him to wake up.

"Yes," Sol, aka Sungjae, was still confused. "Do you mind filling me in on what happened?"

With his hands on his pockets, Changsub explained, "You had an attack. At the moment, we are not too sure of what causes it but staying there is too dangerous for you."

"Hold up. We?"

"Myself and a good friend of mine. You are in her friend's house at the moment. Fortunately, she knows all about our physical body so we are in safe hands."

Sungjae released a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding in. He was more powerful than Changsub, obviously, but having him beside him eased him because Sungjae could rely on him a hundred percent.

They both walked in to the aromatic kitchen where Irene was busily cooking of what seemed like a gazillion dishes. The work top was spilling with ingredients and she was continuously chopping and cooking when there were around five dishes served on the table. Don't forget the dozens of side dishes crowding up the whole table that could accomodate up to twelve people. That was a long table.

"Isn't this too much, Irene?" Changsub did a double take at the amount of food on the table. Sungjae, however, had sparks in his eyes at the feast. He was starving and every dish was appetising.

Seeing Sungjae made Irene stop what she was doing. She made herself look presentable and showed him to his seat, completely ignoring Changsub. "Please enjoy your meal, Your Highness. If you have any requests, don't hesitate to inform me and I will cook it right away."

Sungjae felt burdened at her words. He was somebody of importance but there was no need to go this far when it came to treatment. Plus, the woman herself looked very nervous and fidgety when talking to him. Usually that would be natural but something else was making Irene act this way. "I'm fine thank you and please, treat me like a friend. I do owe you a lot. Thank you very much, Irene."

Irene's face flushed, a scene even Changsub have never witnessed. "I d-don't think I h-have i-i-introduced myself. I'm Irene." She stammered as she introduced herself and bowed in courtesy. "Changsub filled me in on some details and he mentioned you. Nice to meet you too, Irene." Sungjae's hand took Irene's petite ones and shook it. More redness sufaced on Irene's flustered face.

Changsub approached the pair and placed one of his palm on himself and one on the lady with the red face. "Do you have a fever?" She quickly shook her head and shook off his hand in the process. "I'm fine," she replied and went back to cooking. Changsub and Sungjae only glanced at each other a shrugged before sitting down to ravish the meal prepared for them.

A heavenly and satisfying meal later, both men were close to food coma mode. "I haven't had that much food in a while," Changsub muttered on the sofa bed with a hand on his slight portruding stomach. The other man nodded in agreement and let out a long burp. "Disgusting." Changsub commented and no reaction coming from Sungjae.

Feeling a little too comfortable in somebody else's home, Changsub got up and went off if Irene wanted some help with washing the dishes. They did eat a lot and Irene prepared a lot so it must be difficult cleaning up alone. On the other hand, Sungjae got up to get a closer look at the house well decorated with designs he could not help but feel awed. Humans were complex beings. He could never understand them but he had so much respect for the people. They had individuality. To be able to design such a home was feat itself. It was unique. Walls colored and covered with different things and tables with... more strange things like a box that could play music from a flat paraphernalia they called a smart phone. Like he mentioned, respect for them.

He came across a stairway leading up to the the higher floor. The cold metal hand rails were designed intricate wooden sculptures of different vines and wavy lines. Each step made him look forward to see the next world a floor above and see the beauty of the place. But his eyes weren't focused on the floor. Something more interesting caught his eye just a few staircases ahead. Without full control of his legs, Sungjae climbed up and up until he was in front of a wooden door. He had a feeling he wasn't meant to reach this far but something within him couldn't stop walking. A step closer and the door slid smoothly aside to reveal a woman on the bed with her eyes slightly ajar. Half of her body was covered in soft white blankets making her look like an angel, no, a goddess. 

Sungjae reached out his hand, wanting to touch her. He wasn't sure the reason why but he wanted to cry. His blood was pumping harder in his chest and his emotions were all over the place. One moment, he was sad. The next, he was happy. And then he was angry. Every emotion was mixed that he couldn't pinpoint the exact feeling. The only thing Sungjae knew was this woman was someone he had to look out for. He wasn't sure if she was dangerous or not, but his eyes would be on her for a while.