Chapter 2 - His Perspective of the Capture

Purple splotches on Kai’s lean and tan back were slowly fading away at the touch of the Rune of Healing equipped to the Origin Arm. His head was buried in his pillow and she sat on the bed at his left side.

“You should have asked Lay to heal these.”

“I wanted you to do it,” he said. “It’s a little awkward with him.”

“Why?”

“He would only talk about you.”

She blushed heavily and slapped the back of his head. His yelp was muffled. “What are you doing? Are you trying to heal me or kill me?”

She didn’t answer but instead said, “Just keep your mouth shut.”

“To be honest, I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier.” His tone became serious. She stopped her hand for a minute to think. It was nighttime and what Kai was referring to was when Se Hun woke up in his old room that afternoon.

The mute Argent already woke up when Yin came into his room with food and medicine. As soon as he saw her put the tray down on his bedside table, he shot out of his covers and crushed her to his chest. He pulled away when he felt her hands trying to push herself away. He stared at her face, trying to memorize it.

Yin did the same. She recognized his face from her memories. In those flashbacks, she would only see his face and be blinded to the others. He stood out the most, but her mind was playing tricks. 

“Se Hun,” she breathed. “I’m not who you think I am yet.”

She sat him back down but his hands never left her shoulders. “I know you can’t speak, but please, don’t tell me what I’m not supposed to know too soon.”

His mouth tried to form something and they both tried not to cry. “You’re the only person I remember the most as of right now.” Se Hun hastily wiped one tear falling from his eyes with his hand and finally broke down in her shoulder. She rubbed his back to soothe him.

“When I remember, I’ll tell you the rest.”

Yin explained and Kai only listened. She finished healing his last bruise but she kept her hand on his back.

“He just has to be patient a little longer.” He spoke his opinion as he rolled over. She nodded. He grabbed her hand to make her look at him. “Don’t think too much about this.” He roughly tugged her arm to lie down beside him. She climbed onto his bed and rested her head on his outstretched arm.

“Kai?” She spoke softly.

“Hmm?” He responded.

“I don’t know how to say this, but every day, I feel closer to you as time passes. It's strange but I can tell we’ve met before."

“What do you mean?”

“I feel like we were once friends.”

Oh, how Kai wished it was more than that before fate twisted their lives.

“I know that somewhere in the back of mind is telling me that you’re a good person, someone who I can turn to talk about anything.” Before she could continue, Kai planted a kiss on her lips to silence her. If she did, he would have blurted out the truth and Hong Ja Young would never return.

“Just stop talking.” He said in between pecks. 

The kiss became more passionate with each passing second. Yin could feel his body heat through her long-sleeved shirt when he pulled her closer. He nibbled at her bottom lip when her arms slipped from his chest to his neck and his around her waist. She gradually opened , but he remained gentle with her.

When he hooked her leg to his hip, he felt something foreign above her knee. He broke away from her lips and saw the same cloth wrapped on her wound. He frowned and asked, “Silly girl, you heal me but not yourself?”

“I couldn’t do it. If I did, then the shrapnels would still be in my skin.”

He sighed. “I’m taking you to Lay tomorrow, even if he’s not fully healthy.”

“How cruel.”

“I don’t want you to be in pain.”

“I’m not.”

He pressed his thumb on the covered scrape and she winced. “See?”

“You cheated.”

“I just want to warn you that it’ll be infected if you don’t treat it.”

“Give him some time, please.”

He gave in and combed some of her hair away from her face. “Okay, but you’re not leaving on another mission until you get that fixed up.” This time, she pushed her lips on his and he gladly kissed her back. He rested his arm on her hips, and took note of how skinny she became. Her head rested against his bare chest as she immediatly fell asleep and he pulled the blanket over them. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep too. He hoped that there weren’t going to be more close calls for her until the final battle.

Lay assured Yin while plucking out the shrapnels that he was up and alive. She lay on her side while he did his work on her leg. The scrap piece of cloth was tossed in the garbage and there were small black shards on a piece of tissue on the table. She tried to believe him, but they both knew that he was still a bit weak.

“I’ll come around in due time, Yin. Don’t worry for this frail man.”

“But you’re not. I don’t want to see you close to death again. It wasn't easy when I saw you beg for it.”

“I am here now. That’s what is important. I thank you, though, for being so considerate for me.”

“You took care of me. I wanted to repay you. I made a promise to Ying Jie and Xiang Hua that I would rescue you.”

“And you did. It’s more than enough.” 

“Yi Xing,” she said.

“Yes, Yin?”

“What happened to the orphanage?”

He finished her treatment and removed the numbing needles from the wounded area. He closed the scrape with his ability and patted her leg to move it. She sat up and watched him put away his materials.

“First of all, I know this isn’t an easy topic to discuss, especially for you and the children. When you and Ji Eun left, there was the same stranger that watched the orphanage from afar. What I did was careless: I left him be. About half a year later, I heard the children screaming. I came out and watched them all being slaughtered by a party of Daemens.

“I was surrounded and outnumbered. As someone who didn’t like to fight, I had to take precautions. So I sent Kirin with Ying Jie and Xiang Hua to get to Lotis as soon as possible. When they were out of sight, I surrendered my sword and let them take me captive.”

He washed and dried his hands, and sat beside her. “Yin, if you hadn’t seen Wu Fan that day in the volcano, would you believe me if I told you that I saw him alive?”

“Yes. I could somewhat remember him from my memory but I may be wrong.”

“That’s alright. Su Ho’s brother was there as well.” She wasn’t surprised. “Xiu Min changed so much from what I remembered. Before he was captured, he wouldn’t harm even the most tiniest creature in this world. Now, I’ve seen his dark grin and sinister soul, taking pleasure on destruction. It is astonishing to see the wonders of the Daemen’s influences on Argents.”

“I want to save them, Yi Xing.”

He looked at her with a benign smile. “I know you do.”

“I want to be in good terms with Su Ho, too. I promised him that I would do whatever it took to save his brother. I also know that you want Wu Fan’s soul to rest in peace again.”

“You would do that for this unworthy man?”

“I would do that for my caretaker.”

He patted her head with brotherly affection. “You’ve changed, Yin. You look like you’re slowly returning to your true identity. Tao must’ve taught you well.”

“He did.”

“How is Ji Eun?”

“She is healthy and jovial.”

“Have you visited her recently?”

“Yes. I also met his fiancé and his crew.”

“I see. What was he like?”

“He was different. He was very brusque, tough and blunt. His crew members are nothing like him.”

“Were they friendly to you?”

She nodded.

There was a brief silence before he spoke again. “That boy, Kai was it?” She nodded.

“I can tell he cares for you.” She blushed. “He’s reckless, but between you and me, he wouldn't let you go so easily.” 

She nudged him for teasing her, but she laughed.

“Thank you.”

Kai listened to the conversation from outside the clinic and smiled, happy that they were able to catch up. He was about to teleport back to the training room to spar with D.O, but he spotted a fatigued Lu Han coming.

“Oh, Kai.” He greeted weakly.

“What happened to you?” He raised his eyebrow.

“Nothing happened. Just tired. I haven’t had any rest lately.”

He took a look at the older man. His face was paler and his dark circles were more prominent. He also dozed off more often and lost some of his appetite. He has been spending most of his free time alone, instead of with the other members. In fact, he has also been training in the training room. 

“Don’t strain yourself.”

“I won’t.” He saw the clinic room with Yin’s name signed in. “Did she get her wound fixed?”

Kai nodded.

“That’s good. You’re taking good care of her, right?”

He gave him an exasperated look, saying that he was. 

“Just checking.” Lu Han chuckled. With that, he continued his way.

Kai suddenly recalled his conversation with her last night and went off to find Se Hun, who was sitting on his bed in his room, reading a children’s book. He knocked and entered. He looked around and saw that there were children’s books and some of his toys scattered all over the floor.

“Hey, buddy. It’s been a while.” Kai tried to lighten up the mood. Se Hun smiled back, indicating that he felt good to see him.

“Aren't you a little too old to read these?”

The mute cheekily shook his head.

“I just want to talk, if you let me.” He pretended to be judgmental by crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes.

“Very funny, Se Hun.” He drawled. He let go of the act and noiselessly laughed. His contagious happiness made Kai laugh too. He pulled up a chair and sat comfortably. Se Hun closed the book and leaned against his headboard.

“It’s about her, Hong Ja Young. You figured that she’s not really herself, right?”

He dismally nodded.

“After we were captured, she lost her memories because of that Wu Fan. I was told that Lay found her after she was left there by herself. He renamed her Zhang Yin.” Se Hun interlaced his hands on his lap.

“She stayed at his orphanage for a while until one of the Boundless Daemens attacked there.” He sat up straighter in alarm. “She was alright, but she and her friend, Song Ji Eun, had to flee to the Gunga Mountains. She trained there under Tao while in hiding for about nine to ten months.”

Se Hun gestured to his right arm, asking about her Origin Arm. “It’s not as ordinary as you thought it was. It’s actually an inheritance from one of the Gods of the world. It has the power to absorb these Origin Runes and use them. That explained why she was able to counter your winds.”

He his lips.

“She has to gather all twelve of them before the final battle. She’s more than halfway there, but I’m just worried that it’s only going to get harder from now on.”

He scuffled closer to Kai and held out his fists in determination.

“I know. She’ll need you too. In fact, she’ll need all of us. Including us, there are ten members. Let’s hope that we’ll stay that way.”

He grabbed his small notebook and pencil and wrote something. He showed it Kai, and his heart dropped to his stomach when he saw him write down the Chinese characters of Hye Young’s full name.

“I don’t know. I wish I did. I’ve never seen her even as a Boundless Daemen myself, so I think she may be held somewhere else. It’s hard but she’s not to priority right now. She doesn’t remember her yet. Frankly, she may not remember her or me for a bit longer.”

He closed his notebook. He had a guilty look on his face.

“She knew that you were there on the highway. She would forgive you and she wouldn’t hold grudges on people.”

Se Hun dropped his head on Kai’s shoulder. The latter smiled and patted his back. “I know. It’s good to have you back to normal. Ja Young may not remember Hye Young yet, but I know that she’ll do anything to save her.”

They spent the rest of the day together and Kai formerly introduced him to the other faction members later on.