07/10/13

Long time no see my lovely readers! This is my longest chapter yet, so I hope you enjoy!

            The day after Yoona rejected Taecyeon, Yoona would have never expected Taecyeon to visit her again. But when he did visit her, carrying his usual bowl of soup on a tray, Yoona felt giddy. He even brought more guzheng picks.

            Yoona didn’t know why she was so glad to see him. She had explicitly told him not to the day before. Maybe she had been lonely with no one to talk to. Barely anyone had ever talked directly to her before she came to the Palace. And even in the Palace, she only trusted a few people.

            All the other people talked to her because they wanted something from her. But Taecyeon wasn’t like that. Taecyeon just… just talked to her. She knew that he was here because he wanted her hand in marriage. He told her right when he came in, but it relieved her even more, knowing exactly what he wanted. And even so, he still talked to her with sincerity. He didn’t force her to like him.

            ::::::

            “Yoona has been happier lately,” Victoria told Nichkhun as they were getting ready for the advisor’s meeting. She used a towel to wipe her freshly washed face.

            “You mean Taecyeon’s one and only?” Nichkhun joked as he buttoned up his tunic.

            Victoria laughed. “Yes, the very one.”

            “I’m glad,” Nichkhun said as he extended his hand to his wife. “My brother’s vision might come true after all.”

            “It would be great if it did,” Victoria took his hand with hers and kissed it. “He deserves it.”

            They smiled at each other.

            “I wonder if he’ll be at the advisor’s meeting today,” Nichkhun asked as they walked out of their room, still holding hands. “I can’t believe he forgot about it last week.”

            “He was visiting his one and only,” Victoria smirked.

            “Then I’m guessing he’s not coming today either.”

            “Most likely not."

            ::::::

            Yoona rushed to her practice room, knowing that Taecyeon would be there. She opened the door, and she saw Taecyeon. She was about to tell him why she was late, but the next thing she knew, Taecyeon was hugging her tightly.

            “Thank goodness you’re alright,” he said with a breath of relief.

            Yoona was surprised in herself. Taecyeon was hugging her, and she’s not reacting. She didn’t even struggle in his hold. Instead, Yoona just let him hug her.

            Releasing Yoona, Taecyeon looked into her eyes, “Where were you?”

            “You didn’t have a vision?”

            Shaking his head, Taecyeon replied, “No, I tried as hard as I could. Nothing.”

            “I was trying to find something for you,” Yoona explained. Pulling out a flower from her pocket, Yoona proudly showed it to Taecyeon. She had spent hours trying to look for it. It was a bit squished now. “I heard a rumor that this flower would increase a person’s sixth sense. It might help you have more visions of me. You’re supposed to boil it and drink the soup.”

            Yoona saw Taecyeon’s usual brightness falter. He asked, “Where did you hear this rumor?”

            “I overheard Hara talk about it with her boyfriend Junhyung,” she explained. “He’s a magician, so I think she wanted to help him increase his powers.”

            After hearing her explanation, Taecyeon smiled, and Yoona let go of the breath that she didn’t know she was holding.

            “I appreciate the fact that you found this flower for me, but it turns out this flower is poisonous.”

            “Oh!” She didn’t see that coming.

            Taecyeon nodded. “It’s best to throw it away or bury it. It’s not fatal, but the person eating the flower would be bedridden for at least a week.”

            “… Will Junhyung be bedridden?” Yoona asked, concerned for her colleague’s boyfriend. “Did Hara find one of these flowers?”

            “I don’t see Junhyung getting sick because of a flower, so that means Hara didn’t get her hands on one,” Taecyeon smiled. “The flower is pretty rare, so you probably found the only one around here.”

            Yoona fetched paper from her desk, wrapped the paper around the flower, and threw the flower away. “Oh, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know at all! I would have poisoned you, and I wouldn’t have known!”

            “I don’t blame you,” Taecyeon smiled brightly. “Besides, it’s the thought that counts.”

            They sat down on their usual seats, with Yoona sitting behind her guzheng and Taecyeon sitting a few feet away.

            “How did you know that the flower was poisonous?” Yoona wondered as she warmed up her hands, getting ready to practice. “Did you know about this type of flower beforehand, or did you see yourself getting sick?”

            He shrugged. “I saw myself getting sick.”

            Yoona studied him. “You don’t seem too upset by that fact.”

            Taecyeon laughed. “Why should I be upset if I can prevent myself from getting sick?”

            “Okay, that’s understandable,” Yoona nodded. Looking down at her hands, she casually said, “I was talking to Hyuna, and she told me that you can see all the different outcomes of a situation. Then you do what is necessary to prevent the worst situation from happening. Is that true?”

            Leaning closer to her, Taecyeon eyed her flirtatiously. “You were talking about me?”

            Yoona blushed and hit his shoulder. “The topic just came up. Don’t get your hopes up.”

            “Alright, alright,” Taecyeon laughed and leaned back. “But yes, I do see all the different outcomes of a situation.”

            “Aren’t there a lot of different outcomes, though?” She questioned, trying to understand how he viewed the world. “How can you process all of them?”

            “It depends, actually,” Taecyeon explained. “There are some situations where there is only one outcome. Like Hyuna and Hyunseung falling in love. That was going to happen no matter what.”

            Yoona smirked. “And not Victoria and Nichkhun?”

            “They were a stubborn couple,” Taecyeon smiled. “There was a possibility that the two would hate each other’s guts forever due to multiple misunderstandings. So we had to actively push them together.”

            “Hmm, so some situations are limited by fixed factors,” Yoona deduced.

            “Almost all situations are limited by preceding events,” Taecyeon continued. “Like what we’ll have for dinner today. Since there was a huge wind storm a few days ago in the Eastern provinces, wheat production was halted. That’s why we won’t be having a lot of bread and rice.”

            “Then there’s usually just one outcome to something?” Yoona asked. “Since preceding events have already been decided?”

            “Usually,” he nodded. “Of course, people aren’t the most predictable, so there are a few possibilities that exist. Like, Nichkhun may or may not allow a known thief to take refuge in the Palace today. But when the event gets closer, his decisions will get clearer. He’s more likely to let the thief in today, since he’s in a humanitarian mood.”

            “How do you see these visions?” she continued asking. “I feel like you would have at least a hundred visions per second to be able to see all that will happen.”

            “It’s more like my mind can access information from a library. I pick and choose what I want to see.”

            “How long does it take for you to process all the information?”

            “Pretty quickly now,” he considers. “When I was younger, I had a lot of trouble trying to organize the information I was receiving.”

            “I see,” Yoona commented. Wow, Taecyeon basically has the world in his hands, she thought. He had access to what was going to happen in the next moment, in the next day, and, if he really wanted to know, even in the next ten years. Well, except for what will happen with her. But besides Yoona, Taecyeon had access to every single possibility of every event in the world. Even the most gruesome events…

            “That means you must have seen a lot of bad things,” She commented. “Especially when you were younger, when you didn’t know how to organize all the information that was given to you.”

            Shrugging, Taecyeon said, “I also saw a lot of bad things in my past lives, so it wasn’t as hard to deal with.”

            She instinctively reached for his arm. “Still, it must have been traumatizing.”

            Taecyeon smiled and covered her hand in his. “I admit, I had a phase in this lifetime when I was very pessimistic and depressed. It felt like life had no meaning. So many people die before they reach their goals. So many lives are lost in unfair circumstances. But then, I realized it was better to just view the world with innocent eyes. Admire and enjoy the small gifts that mother earth gives us. Just being able to exist and being able to enjoy these gifts is a blessing. My goal in life now is to preserve the happiness that comes with life.”

            Yoona didn’t say anything in response, but she continued to look at his honest and sincere eyes. She realized this was the reason she was attracted to him. Ah! Not attracted. Maybe okay with having him around. His smile was always bright, and his actions were always honest. His childishness and his purity, those were things that she missed in her own life. Perhaps it’s not too late… to start anew.

           Taecyeon’s eyes grew wide. Then, a few moments later, he looked reluctant. He released her hand.

            “What happened?” Yoona asked, confused.

            Considering his words carefully, he confessed, “I was able to see your future. It was the first vision I’ve had of you that involved the two of us.”

            Surprised, Yoona tensed. What will he do now that he knows our future?

            He sighed, smiling wistfully. “I can’t see anything else now.”

            Yoona furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

            “It seems like you have the mental control to allow me to see your future, especially my future with you,” he said, sounding sad. “You had let your guard down for a moment, so that’s how I was able to see you future.”

            Yoona didn’t know how to react. “What exactly did you see?”

            “Just this conversation.”

            “The one we’re having right now?”

            He nodded.

            “So you knew that I would block you out after you told me that you could see my future,” she stated.

            “Yes.”

             “Then why did you tell me? You didn’t seem too happy about telling me.”

            “If I didn’t tell you, the chance of marrying you disappeared. You left me no choice.”

            Yoona’s nostrils flared. “So you only told me because you knew you’d get caught if you didn’t? That’s the only reason why, huh? You wanted to keep it a secret so you could woo me without me knowing about it!”

            “That’s not the only reason!” He defended. “Besides, no one is completely selfless, and I’m not any different.”

            For some reason, she felt betrayed. “No, you’re not any different at all! You’re just like all the other men! You just want me. That’s all you care about!”

            Taecyeon stood up, his voice unexpectedly calm. “What’s wrong with wanting you? What’s wrong with wanting anything? People eat because they want to live. The king and queen want each other. Hyuna and Hyunseung want each other. Why can’t I want you?”

            Yoona shrank back. He was walking closer to her, and his anger, although it didn’t show much in his voice, radiated from his body.

            Realizing that he was scaring her, Taecyeon backed away. He sat back down and faced away from her, doing his best to hold in his anger.

            There was silence.

            In a small voice, Yoona commented, “I’m assuming you don’t care much about enlightenment.”

          “I have memories of many past lives, and in every life, the definition of enlightenment is different.”

            To this, she had no reply.

            Taecyeon continued, his back still facing her. “I may want you like a typical man, but please take into consideration the fact that I am not a typical man, and I don’t want you under the typical circumstances. You are special to me, Yoona. And I’m not after you because of your physical beauty.”

            With that, Taecyeon walked out.