Chapter 16.

"Something is familiar, like a dream I can reach but not quite hold."

Night had fallen and Hanbyul walked with heavy footsteps to the outskirts of town, tracing the path to the campsite where her answers waited. She stumbled slightly at the exhilaration mixed with wariness that came with knowing she was heading in blind to these strangers who seemed to hold all her life’s memories.

Mingyu had offered to come with her but she adamantly refused. After Yunoh’s fall in the river earlier that day, she refused to leave him unattended and deep down, she knew this was something she’d have to face alone.

After a feeble argument on Mingyu’s part, he let her go. The dagger he handed her pressed heavily against her waist and she prayed that the situation didn’t call for it but she knew better to be safe than sorry. People could be deceiving and she had learned that the hard way; she wouldn’t be fooled twice.

The light from their camp grew brighter as she drew closer and she took in a sharp breath before taking a step into their camp. Five heads snapped towards her and she faltered, suddenly feeling immense pressure and anxiety at the undivided attention.

“It’s really Hanbyul,” the boy standing closest to the camp entrance breathed out in shock and her eyes darted to his before taking in the expression of everyone in the campgrounds. Their faces were struck with shock before it yielded into a type of relief she couldn’t understand.

The man who had been standing by the fire pit took a step forward and her hand immediately reached for the dagger. He stopped in his tracks, a flash of surprise and hurt crossing his face.

“Please don’t be alarmed,” Johnny said from beside the man as he approached her cautiously. He noted her tense posture and the distrust lying beneath her onyx eyes. He then turned to the man and put a hand on his shoulder. “I think re-introductions are in order.”

The man nodded and gave a sheepish smile towards Hanbyul which she returned with a keen gaze. “Sorry for startling you. I’m Haechan.”

She nodded stiffly and Johnny motioned to the rest of the boys, who hadn’t made any move to approach her yet. “The tall one over there is Lucas and the two guys over there are Yuta and Doyoung,” Johnny said, pointing out each man and she merely nodded out of courtesy. She couldn’t recall their faces and the way they looked at her—as if they were reliving memories she couldn’t remember—made her uncomfortable.

They were all strangers to her.

“They won’t hurt you.”

Her head whipped around to see Jaehyun exiting his tent. He had changed out of his wet clothes from earlier and he took long strides until he stood in front of her.

She locked gazes with him and mixed emotions rose within her at the look of hope and relief in his eyes. Jaehyun’s gaze then slid down to where her hand hovered over her dagger. It cut his heart to know she thought they would hurt her but he pushed down the thought and cleared his throat.

“You came,” he said.

Hanbyuil willed her own voice to remain steady as she replied, “I came for answers.”

She tried not to cower under the curious stares from his squadron and she was suddenly vividly aware of how vulnerable of a position she was in. Fear gripped her and she wished she’d taken Mingyu’s offer for him to accompany her.

Jaehyun noticed her discomfort and motioned towards his tent. “We could talk in private if you’d like,” he offered and she stiffened.

“I like having an exit strategy so I’ll have to refuse,” she replied. The way he reacted to her words, the way the other soldiers reacted to her words, made her grit her teeth. She didn’t want to care that her words hurt them but a tiny feeling of guilt bit at her.

Jaehyun looked struck and a hint of sadness entered his expression. “We won’t keep you here if you don’t want to be here.”

“I’m here,” Hanbyul answered, refusing to drop her gaze or show cowardice. “That’ll have to be enough.”

“You don’t remember me,” Jaehyun said instead, searching her eyes for an answer he already knew. “You don’t remember us.”

By us, she wondered if he was referring to his squadron or to her connection to him, but she shook her head regardless. “No, I don’t,” she replied. “But I know who you are.”

Jaehyun let out a short, humorless laugh that sounded harsh to her ears. “You know me as King of the Neo Kingdom. But you don’t know me.” When she didn’t answer, he let out a shuddering breath. “Why?”

Johnny had told him the story Mingyu had shared but he wanted—no, needed—to hear it from her. After a beat of silence, Hanbyul spoke.

“I don’t remember anything prior to being taken by the anti-Neo faction. I can’t recall any memories of my past life, the people I knew, the places I’d been. All my memories begin from that ship I was taken on.” She had repeated this story so many times, the words felt familiar and from Jaehyun’s expression, this wasn’t new news to him either.

Even as she stared at him, willing for her mind to remember anything about him, she came up with nothing. “Did…did you know I was captured?” She asked hesitantly.

She wasn’t prepared for the heartbroken smile he gave her as he said, “I’ve been searching for you for 5 years.”

Her heart leaped at the words and she gaped at him, searching his face for any dishonesty. His eyes gave away nothing.

“The human auction houses,” she breathed out. It wasn’t posed as a question but Jaehyun seemed to understand. She recalled his face on the front of the newspapers on numerous occasions and Mingyu’s words drifted to her mind.

“The King’s on the front page again? He’s been really active these past 5 years in taking down those slave rings,” he had said.

It sounded as if she was trying to reaffirm what she already knew and Jaehyun gave her a tight smile though she could see the outlines of anger in his face. “I burned through each and every one of them looking for you.

“Why?” She blurted out, unable to understand his words. She couldn’t possibly fathom why the king of the Neo Kingdom would waste his time searching for someone like her. There was nothing special about her and she had grown accustomed to the thought that her life would consist of only Mingyu and Yunoh so to know that she had so many people who cared for her threw her off guard.

The fire from their pit cast warm shadows on Jaehyun’s face, highlighting the sincerity and raw hope and grief that battled across his face.

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