Chapter 5: Awakening

Six more paces and he would be by the bed. Six more paces and he could touch her. It wasn't that far yet fear was pulling him away further. He reach out his hand. Every step he took twisted his guts. She was reachable. A few more centimenters and he would feel her skin on the tip of his finger. A bit more...

"Your highness!" Sungjae stopped. One more centimenter and he woud have touched her. But why? Why did he have the urge to feel her silky smooth skin? Why did he want to touch her jet black hair? Sure she was pretty by his standards but he had no time for romance. More like, he was no longer capable of loving someone. He had tried and had failed countless of times yet why did he suddenly think of the concept of love? He was suddenly confused.

He looked back at the person who stopped him. Irene was by the door, panting. Climbing up a few floors was exhausting especially if the house was built with a high ceiling. Changsub followed after to see the commotion she made.

"You shouldn't be here, your highness." Irene's face was pale and sweat started to form on her forehead. Was it form running up the stairs or was it because of some other reason?

Sungjae apologized. "Who is she?" He asked, pointing at the sleeping woman.

"She is the owner of the house." She quickly grabbed Sungjae by the arm and pulled him out of the room. She was going to press the button just beside the entrance to slid close the door but she saw Sooyoung with her eyes wide open and her head facing the door where they exited. Irene did not notice Sooyoung moving at all when she came in. She then followed her vision line and Sooyoung was staring at Sungjae. Sungjae was staring back. 

For five years, the only movement that Sooyoung made independently was barely opening her eyes. Other than that, it was mostly Irene who helped her turn and move her limbs. No matter what Irene did, she received no reaction at all. But a few words from Sungjae resulted with a significant outcome. 

"Sooyoung!" Irene reached out and shook Sooyoung's dazed body. "Can you hear me? Say something! Do something!" The volume of her voiced increased that worried Changsub. He grabbed her and dragged her out of room while she was lashing around trying to get her friend to answer her. Both men didn't understand what was happening but they had a gist of the situation. Something must've happened to the lady on the bed that caused her to be in this circumstances. They weren't healers or anybody close to that but they weren't that heartless to not help. Irene looked desperate, so different to her usual demeanour.

As Changsub held onto Irene, who slowly calmed down in his arms, Sungjae went back to the bed without disengaging their eye contact. He was vigilant with his actions. "Can you hear me?"

A blink was her reply. "Can you really hear me?" No answer. 

Pushing that suspicious feeling emerging from no where to the back of his mind, he traced his thumb between her brows and when he did, she closed her eyes. When he stopped she opened them again. "There's nothing wrong with her," he said with certainty. "But why is she like this?" he glanced at Irene who was finally up on her two feet, composed. "I know I'm not meant to intrude on your privacy but I'm sensing some deep secret you may want to tell me."

Straightening her back, she replied. "There is no such thing as a secret. She is a normal human being who was heartbroken and this is a result of that pain." Irene wasn't lying. She was heartbroken over the fact that Sooyoung would live a very long life with no companion to stay with her forever.

"Don't underestimate me, Irene. If it was an 'ordinary' mortal problem, I wouldn't poke my nose in but all I sense from her are auras not seen here. You may have hidden it from the other beings but I could see it clearly." The look in his eyes were so hard that Irene had no chance of spouting non-sense lies. No. She was ordered to tell him. He was the king and she was a mere smart woman on Earth and one of his people.

They all sat on the sofa in the living room where Sungjae sat at the single arm chair at the top, Changsub on his right and Irene directly facing Sungjae, the judge. His legs were crossed and his arms were too. All he was doing was waiting for Irene to reveal everything but she was taking her time. She was organizing her thoughts on how she would say. There was probably a lot, Sungjae thought, so he was being patient. No matter how much she arranged her thoughts, there was only one truth and he would pull that out.

After a long waiting, she let out a few words, so gentle and careful. "Her name is Park Sooyoung. At the moment, she is known as Joy."

"Is it like an alias or something?" Changsub asked and received a glare from Sungjae for interrupting. Of course, Changsub backed out.

"You could say she is human," she continued, completely ignoring the question Changsub asked. "The only difference is her immortality. Even I am not sure why she is like this but I am definitely sure she is biologically a human according to the results we got when we assessed her. This whole time, she has been figuring out a way to end her life: decapitation, burning herself, drowning... she had done them all. Getting infected with the most dangerous virus was of no help because at the end she will heal. If she will heal despite the torture her body experiences, it could only mean one thing; she will never die. Knowing this awful truth resulted to that.

"I met her years ago when I was only a fresh graduate. Like you, Your Highness, mentioned she was giving off an otherworldly aura. It was so strong that she was easily seen by other beings from far away. At first, she was of no threat but ever since we exchanged a few words, that aura changed and she became a target. I don't know the reason so I covered an extra layer of protection and stayed with her until now to protect her and maybe figure out why her destiny ended up like this."

"A target?" Changsub once again interjected. Another stare from Sungjae put him in place. Irene, however, answered his question without noticing Sungjae's intensive warning of stares towards his right-hand man. "She experienced a few assaults and ambushes from aliens. A lot coming from the enchanted beings of Earth." 

He crossed his fingers together. "From what I can remember, she isn't on any of the most wanted list."

"Of course she isn't!" Irene bursted. "She isn't a criminal." Both Sungjae and Changsub understood why she was furious. Sooyoung and Irene had a bond; a bond of friendship. It was only natural that Irene would defend her friend and they were sure that if they accused Irene or even insult her, Sooyoung would likely chop off their heads (if she was capable of doing so) and leave their heads hanging on a cold isolated place. It was a trait a lot of aliens get after living on Earth for a long time. 

"Being on a most wanted list doesn't mean she's a criminal," Changsub explained. "On our most wanted list, there are two categories; one, fel -those who breaks the law and two, desir -those who are wanted for their rare and incredible powers. Your friend upstairs didn't belong to any of those categories and it seems she should be listed."

"Why should she be? She is an immortal human with no powers or anything special. There was probably a mutation somewhere in her DNA that doesn't make her age," she argued.

"Was it really a change in her DNA that made her immortal?" Sungjae leaned forward.

"I have asked her regarding her originality. She said she woke up one day a few thousand years ago with no memory of her life before then."

"Wouldn't her immortality is something that is wanted by others?" Changsub put forward a possibility after being quiet for a short while (and that was due to Sungjae's orders).

Irene shook her head. "No. Her cells and tissues does not give immortality. Tried and tested."

"Tested?" Changsub and Sungjae had that look of disgust. They could mentally picture an Earth animal or human eating a tiny piece of organ from the immortal beauty.

The situation wasn't funny for Irene despite the hilarious expressions both men were showing. If Sungjae asked for the story, it was quite serious. She took a sip from the warm tea she prepared beforehand and it helped her think even more clearly.

"So what now?" Changsub looked at Sungjae, waiting for his decision. Internally, Irene begged whoever could hear her to help her. She didn't want them to figure it all out yet. Her hands were starting to sweat and any more questions, her poker face would crumble.

Sungjae gave it a thought for a minute or two, the longest waiting period for Irene, and then suddenly stood up which gave Changsub a bit of a fright. "To tell you the truth, what's happening to her is not following the Law of the Universe. Being immortal alone is already a big query and, worst case scenario, a threat to all beings. For now, I want you to continue your investigations and I will look into old records if ever this has happened before. Can you manage?" Sungjae gave Irene a responsibility and she trusted him with no questions. Sol wasn't exactly the type of person to easily trust others and it would usually take him a long time to actually build that trust but for some reason, his heart and mind were telling him to trust Irene with all his heart no matter what.

"I have to check something before we go back," Sungjae made his way to the stair case when Changsub held him back before he could take the first step. "Who says we are going back? There is no way we are when there is something going around there that nearly killed you."

Sungjae heaved a deep sigh. He did not exactly have a choice. Plus, he had more work to finish. Not only that, he was way behind schedule. His plan when he got back was to check the documents while finishing up his heavy workload. "Then what do you suppose we do?" He was still quite tired so arguing back would only make him lose.

"Stay here while I go collect them. List the documents you want to see and I will definitely bring them- even if I have to bring a whole shelf-"

"I want the whole library."

"That is not possible. Do you know how heavy those ancient books are? Of course you do! Because you have read each one."

"But you just said you will definitely bring them, even if you have to bring the whole shelf."

Changsub looked at Sungjae with disbelief. "I never said that!"

"You just did!" Each of their voices got louder and louder as they bickered.

"When? Where? I need proof that I said those words."

"Do you want me to turn back time?"

And they continued on and on and on. Irene was at the side trying to mind her own business. She was glad there was no other homes within a few kilometres radius because she was most sure their voices were loud enough for the whole town to hear. She was going to tidy up their empty tea cups and the dessert tray where she served them bite-size cakes and a variety of pastries when a loud, blaring alarm filled the room. As quickly as she could, she turned the painful sound off by pressinng the button on the same panel by the door and dashed up the stairs. The two men left behind, asking themselves what happened using their eyes, before rushing along the same way. 

For a woman so short, she was a fast runner. Irene got a few seconds head start but it looked as if she ran way earlier. Closing in on the door in the top-most floor, Irene stood still, carefully looking at Sooyoung. "What's wrong?" Changsub asked.

"I installed a motion detector in this room. That ringing you heard was because of this. A slight movement will set off the alarm," she explained.

"What's the point in any of this?" This time, it was Sungjae who questioned.

"She has been like this for five years now. No matter how much I try to wake her up, she would not budge. It's only today that, for the first time in these five years, that she moved independently even if it was only her a part of her. To tell you the truth, up until now, I was not sure if she could recover. Seeing her react to you, your highness, gave me intense hope. I don't know what will happen to her once you included her in the most wanted list but don't take her away from me. Please. She's all I have." Tears that were being held back at the back of her eyes came forward and pooled.

Sungjae didn't like what he was experiencing. It wasn't like the pain he felt in his office. His chest felt like it's been squeezed and his throat closed off. And what triggered this? Irene's tears. For thousands of years, he had no such things as feeling for another. He could look happy and feel angry but could never care or love for another. One would expect him not to know about feelings of caring for another due to him being unable to feel this feeling for a very long time but he just knew this was what it was. Maybe it was his guts that told him.

He looked at her for a bit longer. Maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe that attack would come back. Maybe he would drop on the floor again and this time, instead of coughing out blood he would disintegrade and disappear forever. What was this feeling? He wondered.

He shook those feelings aside and would investigate later. At that moment, there were more important things to do. "Nothing will happen to her yet. Given that it will take some time until we can actually put her name on the list, she should be fine for now."

"What happens after her name is on the list?" she asked the question she has been dreading to hear the answer of.

"Who knows."