58
Give Me 120 More Years
. . . . .
When another pile of shattered silver glowed at her feet the door flung open. Nana turned to find Onew standing outside. A growl caught her attention and that was when she spotted long fur hanging down from above.
Nana turned back when the armored Joon stood up. They stared at each other for a long time and yet she found those eyes still full of sadness. A smile crawled into the sincerity cradled in his eyes before he bowed to her with a hand gripping the handle of his sword.
A rush of wind threw her out of the room and she found herself sliding against the edgy ground. What was going on?! What about Joon? When the door to the chamber slammed shut she looked up to find Onew standing over her with a bewildered expression.
The noise of glass cracked in the air vibrating everywhere and Lin growled again. Onew suddenly bent down wrapping his arms around her in attempt to block whatever it was that seemed to be collapsing.
The ground shook with full force and the last thing she heard was Lin’s last growl before she opened her eyes and found herself swallowing water. A forced cough escaped and she found herself swallowing in more water.
Someone appeared before her and he wrapped his arms around her before she found herself dry air in. Suffocated coughs slammed her body before she noticed a hand pulling her hair aside. She found Onew looking at her and hysterical surprise made her become numb.
“What happened?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.” he replied.
She frowned and looked around again.
“We…where are we?”
“My home.”
Confusion knocked on Nana’s head again.
“It’s over. It’s over.” he said.
Nana stared at him still shaken with confusion.
“Stupid, didn’t you hear her?” he asked. “Lin said goodbye.”
The stiffness in her face slowly eased. Did it…really end?
“Just like this? It ended just like this?” she asked.
He rubbed the side of her face with his thumb before surprising her with a kiss full of emotions.
“But…don’t be surprised when you go home later,” he said, “I kind of ransacked it.”
. . . . .
Jung Ah finally threw the rock aside and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Turning her head she glanced at the sun to see it working its way up into the broad sky like a magnificent piece of painting, something she’d only see once in a while.
Glancing down at the handles of the daggers she wondered why the blades had suddenly disappeared. What was happening now? Had Onew gone to Nana’s bedside while she was busy destroying the daggers?
A small laugh escaped her, “I don’t even know who I’m doing this for now.”
After an hour of watching the sun rise she slowly headed back to her car feeling determined. Chief Jung would definitely be looking for her. He’d definitely be questioning the whereabouts of the daggers. How to explain?
When she opened the car door she found her phone ringing inside. Picking up the call she heard Chief Jung’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Detective Kim, where are you?”
Jung Ah turned to look at the woods she’d just stepped out from. The wilderness?
“There’s something important here. Come in to the station right away.”
Hanging up Jung Ah did as told and headed straight for the station wondering what could be wrong this time. If it had to do with the daggers she wondered why Chief Jung didn’t sound as upset as she’d expected him to be. However, when she got down he handed her a piece of paper. She skimmed it and looked back at him.
“What does this mean?” she asked.
“It’s a commission from the court,” he explained from beside his desk, “the case is ordered to be closed.”
“What?” she couldn’t quite understand. Maybe it was due to the fact that she’d stayed up all night smashing metal.
“I know how you feel,” he sympathized genuinely, “it happens sometimes, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the end for you or that you did a bad job. This case just didn’t turn out as we expected.”
“The case is put off?” she reworded everything.
He nodded with a heavy sigh, “It’s been handed over. It’s been nice working with you, Detective. Lets work together again sometime in the future.”
After heading out Jung Ah couldn’t help but still feel a little woozy. But everything had turned out well…even if it was confusing. Of course, she knew, she would never understand any of it. Nor would she be allowed to understand any of it. Maybe…it had been meant to be that way.
“Is this your way of thanking me?” Jung Ah asked looking toward the sky.
. . . . .
A week passed and everything slowly fell back into place. Both Nana and Onew had noticed that their dreams of the past had ceased once and for all. And even envisioning the past had become impossible now. The forest they’d ran through stopped appearing before Nana’s eyes and even she had stopped questioning her identity.
. . . . .
Joon looked up when someone knocked on his door. The door opened and Nana walked in.
“Am I bothering you?” she asked.
Setting his pen down he smiled, “No. I heard Onew’s been beaming lately.”
Nana returned the smile.
“It’s good to see that you’re out and about now.” Joon expressed.
Nana pressed her lips together and glanced at the ground before raising her head up to look at him.
“Thank you, Joon,” she thanked.
He raised an eyebrow.
“For having been there all along and,” she went on, “for praying for me.”
He stared at her surprised.
“You’re probably the most important person in my life,” she told, “after Onew, that is.”
Joon laughed and smiled again at her.
. . . . .
“I heard that you’re assigned to a new case,” Onew said, “congratulations for passing your first case.”
Jung Ah sipped her cup of tea, “Well, I am a professional now.”
Onew was quiet before looking at her again, “Thank you, Jung Ah.”
Jung Ah looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“For that night,” Onew said. “But…where did you go that night? I heard the daggers went unaccounted for.”
Jung Ah stared at him before reaching for her cup of tea again, “Don’t talk about it anymore and don’t thank me either. I didn’t do any of it for you. I only did it so I could still follow you freely.”
Onew looked at her and smiled.
. . . . .
Raina walked toward Nana carrying a note in her hand.
“What is this now? Why are you suddenly using me as a messenger?” she questioned.
Nana grabbed the note from her and smiled.
“He says to eat at his house tonight and he has something to show me,” Nana waved the note before her friend’s eyes. “I gotta go!”
“Oh! You’re finally here,” Krystal turned around when Nana walked in. “Here, I’ve started the meat already. Don’t leave it on the stove, they’re not like instant noodles.”
Nana looked at her and leaned toward the stove.
“What is this?”
Krystal handed her the stirring spoon and took off her apron already halfway out of the kitchen, “I’ll be late for my date. Why are you and oppa always so slow at getting back?”
“You have a date?” Nana asked.
Krystal didn’t reply, “The stove needs to be wiped after you’re finished cooking. I’m going!”
Nana turned around as the door closed, “But…I don’t even know what you were making.”
A while later she glanced over at Onew who was picking out the burnt vegetables from the dish Krystal had left for her.
“It’s not good?” Nana questioned.
“Who in the world eats crisp vegetables?” Onew questioned.
“Well, she just left when I got here,” Nana whined. “How in the world would I know what she was making?”
“Aish, can you just eat?” he asked.
“Oh yes, what was it that you wanted to show me after dinner?” Nana asked.
Onew looked at her and smiled.
Two hours later Onew led her down the hallway while grasping onto her hand. She followed him up the dusty staircase and into a familiar looking library. Her eyes ran around the room while her heart paced inside her chest.
“Over there,” he told gesturing toward the brick chimney.
Nana turned to look at the same statue she’d seen in her dream and dropped open.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“It’s been here even before we moved in,” Onew explained. “I think…we’re where we used to be.”
He turned to look at her then wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“Those 120 years…they don’t exist anymore,” he said.
She looked at him and smiled.
“But…what do you think happened to those daggers?” she asked.
Onew eyed the ceiling with a mischievous smile, “Weren’t they destroyed?”
“Destroyed?” she repeated.
He nodded, “It’d be impossible to collect destroyed items.”
“You know, I’ve always wondered why we had to keep meeting each other one lifetime after another,” Nana changed the subject, “I thought maybe it was because we never completed our days together or it was because our love never ended cleanly. But now I’m thinking, it’s the daggers and the memories they carried that brought us together again and again. Don’t you think that’s what happened?”
He shrugged. “Well…who knows. But…I know what happened to us.”
She felt him snuggle his face against her tickling her skin with his breathing.
“Instead of a lifetime, forever is what we’ll be,” he told breathing into her skin holding her against him.
Nana clutched onto his shirt with one hand and wrapped another around his neck.
“Forever,” she repeated leaning her face into his.
THE END!!!
Thank you for reading!
I hoped you enjoyed this story as I did writing it!! ;DD
***If you're interested in my other stories, I'm working on Their Kingdom Panorama, Torn Between, & Cries in the Night
Check those out if you're ever bored!
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