Chaeyoung had been standing outside of the lone house situated at the east side of the gate of the Cultivator Academy for quite a while. She brought a pouch of coins with her and her hands fidgeted the pouch, thinking of how she didn’t have any solid plan to confront the woman whom had easily slipped into her mind when she thought of Junhoe. The woman whose name was Hana according to Taehyung.

Chaeyoung didn’t even know what exactly she expected to gain from this possible meeting. She had a hunch that she would get chased away for her presence might be an irritation.

She took a deep breath, knocked on the door a few times gently as she looked around the area. Though Taehyung’s house used to be small, it wasn’t as petite as the house before her. It looked like it could fit only a family of three.

There was yet a response. She knocked again a little harder. Just as she was about to tell whoever inside that she came for some potatoes, her ears registered the sounds of footsteps coming from behind the house. Chaeyoung stepped backward, cocked her head a little to see and a figure came into view. It was Hana dragging a larger basket of potatoes.

“Our stock of potatoes for today is only for the academy,” she said and when she looked up, her face fell. “What are you doing here?”

Chaeyoung held the pouch tightly in her hand. “I want to see you.”

Hana’s gaze diverted toward the pouch that Chaeyoung was holding. “If you are here for the potatoes, you heard what I said.”

It wasn’t unusual for Chaeyoung to receive such coldness directed to her before, but it was rare to be getting it from a complete stranger. The only ones who would give her cold responses most of the times directly to her face were her own father and her Master.

Chaeyoung figured that using the coins she brought would no longer be useful after Hana tried to send her away, telling her that the potatoes were not to be bought by anyone else since they were kept for the academy. She figured that it was best to skip the act of beating around the bush.

“I am here to talk about Junhoe,” Chaeyoung declared.

She watched Hana’s expression hardened, her eyes narrowed. She saw how Hana had swallowed hard upon the mention of Junhoe’s name. There was hate. There was anger. There was disappointment. Each of them was tainting her pretty face.

“Get out of here,” Hana responded with a heavy frown. She looked away and tried to drag the potatoes into her house, suddenly gaining more strength as she was able to drag them easily with a speed that was not present when she first showed up.

“I mean no harm,” Chaeyoung pleaded, not wanting to give up just yet. “I need you to help me.”

Hana scoffed heavily as she stopped moving. Her green eyes rolled and darkened. “Help you with what? To learn of him? You are going to marry him. You’ll learn about him much better by then.”

“I do not want to marry him,” Chaeyoung immediately revealed. “And I know you hate the idea as well. So please help me out.”

The woman only stayed silent. Her expression changed but the hurt was still available on her face. It was still evident to Chaeyoung. “There’s nothing I can help you with.”

Chaeyoung let out a disappointed sigh. “This marriage can be stopped if you’d just help me out.”

Hana’s gaze dropped momentarily and when she lifted her gaze again, Chaeyoung was surprised to see disappointment, a look that held not even the slightest bit of hope. “No, it can’t,” Hana weakly replied.

Chaeyoung felt her own lips trembled with hurt and disappointment. Why was it so easy for her to give up? She clearly had strong feelings for Junhoe and it was mutual between the two. Why wouldn’t they fight for what they wanted? Why would they let themselves be tied to the act of giving up? She couldn’t let Hana give up on this. This would only destroy them all.

“I love someone else,” Chaeyoung revealed rather slowly in a low voice, but did not go unheard to Hana as the latter’s eyes flashed the briefest form of surprise. “What I have with the man that I love…” she trailed off, thinking of all the things that Jungkook made her feel. “I don’t ever want it to be ruined by the presence of another man.”

Hana’s expression that was initially hard as stone slightly softened at Chaeyoung pouring her heart out. Chaeyoung offered a soft, weak smile. “And you… I know you don’t like me for I will marry Junhoe. I understand that, truly. Trust me. I don’t want to ruin whatever it is that you share with him either.”

Startled at the statement, Hana’s eyes widened and there was a hint of pink on her cheeks. “He’s not more than -”

“He’s special to you,” Chaeyoung cut her off just before she could proceed on denying her true feelings. “He is very special to you, and you are to him. I am in love myself. I can see the way you look at him. I can see the way he looks at you. And I definitely know what those looks mean.”  

For seconds, the two young women only let the insects threw sounds to fill in the silence. Hana looked away, breathing in and out softly as she seemed to have a lot on her mind, Chaeyoung noticed. Chaeyoung patiently waited to see what Hana would want to do next.

After a while, Hana slowly walked away from her potatoes, toward Chaeyoung. Unlike how she had looked earlier, this Hana, the Hana that was walking toward her seemed to have more sadness hanging on her countenance as she drew closer. When Hana spoke, Chaeyoung couldn’t help but became nervous at the hint of sorrow in the woman’s voice.

“We must not speak here on the outside. Please, come in.”

*

During the whole walk home, Jungkook couldn’t get rid of the unsettling feeling he had after the information he received from Yugyeom. There was as though a hand existed behind his chest, clenching his heart brutally slow. His guts twisted unpleasantly, and his mind was restless