Incantare - Chapter 8
Incantare-Chapter 8
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance, Historical
Pairings: Hankyung/girl!Heechul, Siwon/girl!Kibum
Summary: Fairies were supposed to stay in their realm. They weren’t supposed to go to human world, but some fairies are just stubborn
Hankyung's POV
A week passed, then a month, then years. I graduated already and got a job. All of us actually graduated but Eeteuk was still studying trying to get her Masters.
I guess you could say that I got used to life without those fairies. After all, I lived most of my life without them. Living the rest should be easy without them as well. Why would I even bother knowing about their realm anyways? I was going to follow afterwards so I should just enjoy my life as human before I die and, I don't know, become a fairy? Get reincarnated? I didn't know. Life will bring me where life will bring me. I just had to wait but waiting was such a gruesome task.
I worked for a modeling agency where I was their publicist. Every day I was surrounded by beautiful women and handsome men, one of which was Siwon. He was discovered one day when he visited me for work. So he decided to actually model while being a sports columnist at the side. Because I handled him, we were always together.
One night, after work, we were out drinking when a beautiful woman came to us, her hips swinging in such a seductive way that both Siwon and I stared.
"Excuse me," she sat down at the space in between Siwon and I, "Can I sit with you?"
Both Siwon and I stared at her breasts which were practically exposed by her low cut dress then nodded.
"By the way, I am Kibum," she smiled at both of and the both of us nodded like two dumbstruck idiots. She was beautiful and the blue glitters around her face sparkled in such a mesmerizing way. She also had a piercing near her eye and it was a huge piercing. It even looked like a real pearl.
"Hi," said Siwon as his cheeks became red. "I'm Siwon. It is such... a pleasure to meet... you."
Kibum leaned closer and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together that Siwon and I drooled. "Siwon," she smirked. "I like your name. Actually, I like you. Would the two of you want to go to a club so we can dance?" She looked at me and winked.
Without even thinking straight, I nodded. "Please?"
+
I thought that the club scene would be fun but I was wrong. I was at the bar, drinking a Long Island Iced Tea, watching Siwon and Kibum make out with Kibum pushed against the wall. They were going to do it and I was sure of it. Siwon's hard on was visible from a mile away and Kibum's already hanging breasts were practically exposed. Seriously, have they heard nothing about privacy? getting a room? Or threesomes?! They could ask me to join! And no. I am not interested in Siwon. I just wanted to have some fun with a girl.
Actually, that was all that I was doing. Working at a modeling agency, surrounded by beautiful women who were all moody either being confident with how they look or insecure about one single body part like their fingers, I could not keep myself from letting go of my pants. Office sex. That was it. But there was nothing. I felt no love, no compassion, just the sick temptation of lust and nothing more.
I loved none but one woman: Heechul. How was she doing? Was she still a fairy? Does she remember me? Will we ever be together? I looked at the bartender and asked for one more Long Island Iced Tea. Then I asked for one more.
When the alcohol has already consumed me, I stood up and the world spun. "Hankyung!" I turned at the mention of my name and was greeted by Siwon and Kibum. "Hey, shall we go home?" Siwon and I shared an apartment together since we both had to move out from our parents to be near to work.
"Home?" I laughed and pointed at Kibum's hips. "I see your hand behind her. Are you groping her?"
Kibum laughed and Siwon winked.
"Whatever, fuckers! Let's go home!" I punched the air, "But I am not going to drive!" I fell backwards and lost consciousness.
+
I woke up to screaming. I sat up. I was already in my room in my shared apartment with Siwon and someone was screaming from the other room, Siwon's room. I stood up (and was so thankful that I don't suffer from hangovers) and ran over to the room. There, I saw Kibum holding her head, covered with only a blanket, screaming and screaming.
"The fuck?" I said. "It's not even six and you are already fighting?" I looked at the naked Siwon who was at the corner of his room. "Put on some fucking pants!"
"How can I?" He pointed at Kibum. "She just woke up screaming like that! I don't know what's wrong!"
I jumped to the bed and grabbed Kibum's shoulders. "Calm down!" I shouted but she wouldn't stop screaming. Fuck it. Someone would hear and come soon that I slapped my hand over her mouth. The action surprised her that she stilled for a moment but she kept on screaming to my hand. Then she opened her eyes that I stilled.
Her eyes were changing color. From brown to grey to gold. Her eyes were just flashing different colors that I grew scared.
Siwon saw it that he too stared and said, "That's scaring me. Hankyung, what's wrong with her?"
Tears started to stream down her face. I did not know what was happening and I did not know what to do.
"Hankyung, do something!"
"I deal with fairies and not this!" I shouted.
Kibum placed her hands on my chest and pushed me onto the bed. I groaned and she went on all fours, her hands frantically searching for something. The blanket that was covering her fell down her body and exposed her skin.
There were silver scales on her hips.
"S-Siwon, was that there yesterday?" I pointed to the scales.
"No," Siwon shook his head as he was baffled as well.
Kibum then sat on her heels and held something in her hand; a pearl, the pearl piercing that she had that I stared back at her face. Her face was clear and there was no sign of any piercing. "Siwon, was the pearl removable?"
Siwon shook his head. "I couldn't remove that pearl yesterday. It was a real piercing."
Kibum raised her hand up and our eyes followed. Slowly, the pearl rose up that I moved away from Kibum. My eyes couldn't leave the pearl. I was seriously frightened. Then my back hit the headboard that I quickly stood up and ran to Siwon. I grabbed his arm and we both stared at the pearl. For such muscular men, we were both acting like little wimps at that moment.
Water then exploded from the pearl, pushing both Siwon and I against the wall with such a great impact. I gasped; Siwon groaned. The water was pushing us and entering our noses and mouths. We were going to drown by the water's force all because of that pearl.
Then, the water disappeared. Siwon and I slid down the wall onto the floor. I felt my head spinning but I did not want to lose consciousness again. I had to stay awake. So I forced my eyes open and I was so surprised. In front of me, everything was dry while Siwon and I were wet. On the bed, wearing historical Korean clothing, was Kibum and she was sleeping.
I was so confused. I grabbed Siwon's arm and shook him. "Wake up, bastard!"
Quickly, Siwon's eyes snapped open and he too was baffled at the sight of Kibum. He asked, "What is she?"
I shook my head. "I don't..." and that was when it came to me. She could be a fairy. I rose to my feet and ran to the bed. Sitting beside her, I grabbed her arms and shook her until she woke. "Kibum!"
Her eyes opened. When our eyes met, she sat up. "Chaos. There's chaos everywhere."
I did not know what she was talking about. Was she talking about the past?
"Heechul, she's gone!"
"What? You know Heechul?"
She nodded. "She's gone. Since she last saw you, she rebelled. She created so much chaos in Incantare. She wanted to know the answers. I tried so hard to keep her inside the realm. We fought, water versus fire but my friend Donghae sided with her."
Donghae. I remembered him.
"Then Kangin. The three of them were tired of secrets and they escaped. I followed them here and tried to look for them but the human world got to me. I fell into temptation. When I saw them, I was already deep into the sins I had to take a chance."
"What chance?"
Kibum slowly looked at Siwon who still looked frightened but his nakedness was just making it look hilarious. Anyways, Kibum said, "I remembered too much of my past. Before I went here, the king told me the truth. If fairies remember their real name, they will turn human. Another way for that to happen is for us to lose our markers. For the final marker to fall or for all of the markers to fall, a fairy must make love. If a fairy just has sex, he or she will immediately be thrown into hell. Love must be there."
"Wait, I am so damn confused," said Siwon. "I just met you yesterday!"
"Shut up, Siwon!" I shouted. "I will explain everything later! I need to know this!" I turned back at Kibum. "Tell me everything!"
"I was losing myself to every single temptation that I took my chance. I did not know if it is Donghae or Siwon who I love. Donghae was with me in Incantare but Siwon was reincarnated. I took a chance so that I could not lose myself, so that I could regain myself."
I told her, "Ryeowook told me that if you turn human, all memories of Incantare would be lost and that Incantare must not be mentioned or else permanent death would come."
Kibum shook her head, "It's not permanent death. It's hell. The reason why I remember is because I have a job right now. I must get those three fairies back."
"How will we do it with you being a human?" I asked.
She opened her palm and showed me a pearl. "Through this. As long as I have this, I still have my powers. I also have the king's powers in this. If we see them, we can capture them but we would need them to be alone. No human can see the powers."
"Hello!" Siwon shouted with a raised hand. "I just saw!"
"You were reincarnated!" said Kibum. "You and Hankyung don't count! If you want to know how I know, thank the king of fairies."
Siwon grumbled, "This sounds like a fairytale."
"It does," I said, "so please wear some pants because naked models do not fit the image of fairytales unless if we are talking about adult fairytales."
+
That night, after work, we were with Kibum again and we were going around the streets of the city, peeking into the buildings specifically the bars.
"Why wouldn't they just look for their loved ones?" asked Siwon.
"Rebellion," said Kibum. "They were so mad that they left. They wanted to separate to look for their soul mates but fear took over them and they stuck together. Then they feared to look for their loved ones in fear that the king might hurt them so they decided to live by themselves. The king wants them back. He was always so careful of the souls."
"Tell me first about Eeteuk," I demanded. "She died as a fairy and now she is human."
"Fairy deaths result in reincarnation," said she. She walked in front of Siwon and we all stood still. She jabbed a finger at Siwon's chest and said, "That is what happened to you."
Siwon raised an eyebrow. "I do not remember."
"Some can and some can't," said Kibum. "Eeteuk remembers, doesn't she?" she turned to me.
I sighed. "She does."
"Painful memories of the past of different lives should not blend with the memories of the present. That is grief," said Kibum. "Yesterday is different from today. Both are different from tomorrow as well."
I nodded and asked, "How long has it been since they left Incantare?"
"Three years."
I looked down. It definitely has been years since I last saw them and I still wanted Heechul. She was just different from everyone. With her, I felt passion and not lust. I wanted to strip her naked and hold her body against mine, to taste her skin and kiss her lips, to tell people that she was mine. I would want to make love to her, to give her pleasure and see her reach that climax, to know that I gave her that pleasure. If I slept with Heechul, would she remember all? "Kibum, if one of them slept with their true love, they will not remember, right? Only you can remember for you are working with the king?"
Kibum nodded. "That is true. If you really want to sleep with her, go do it and when you're done, I can just return her to Incantare where the king can undo everything and make her forget. The king has the power to do that. He always runs after the souls of the fairies who become humans and he always redoes their cleansing."
My eyebrow rose. "I thought that they were to be damned to live here?"
"That is so but the king wants to be merciful," she said with such calmness.
"I worry about Heechul." I sighed. "I... love her."
+
For a month we searched for the missing fairies. I have been going around the streets of Hongdae at night and heard the story of a girl who can produce flames, making it dance however she wishes to. I knew immediately that it was Heechul and it was Kibum's nightmare coming true. She feared that the three fairies would not only lose themselves but that they would also expose Incantare. She would get updates every day, from a guardian in hell who would inform her if ever any of the three fairies entered. Since none of the three has appeared yet, we were assured that they were still in Korea but where?
I was alone. Siwon went to Gangnam and Kibum went to Itaewon. We were all at different places, all looking for the fairies. I entered bar after bar, club after club.
Inside one bar, as I was drinking beer, I saw someone who had a pearl piercing near his eye. It was the same like Kibum that I knew immediately that the man was probably Donghae. I took out my phone and took a picture of the man. He was at a booth with a number of people. They were laughing merrily and soju bottles were everywhere along with shot glasses.
I wanted to call Kibum and tell her to magically bring herself to Hongdae, but my fingers froze.
There, beside Donghae with a golden ring around her arm, was Heechul. She was flushed, laughing loudly, her hair longer and falling down her face that was covered in thick make-up. What happened to her? She was always full of mischief but she looked destructive with her revealing clothes and the dark choker around her neck. I stood up, angry, and walked to the table.
"Excuse me!" I said, taking their attention but my eyes were only on Heechul.
"Hankyung?" she said. She still recognized me. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" I said. "You disappear for three years and now you're here?" I had to be careful not to mention Kibum.
"You missed me!" Heechul laughed and stood up. Excusing her way, she left the booth. "I'll be back." She winked at Donghae.
"Don't tell my brother about this." She wrapped her arms around my arm and pulled me away. "Hankyung, I missed you."
"Where have you been?" I grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the corner. She didn't pull away nor did she say anything. She let herself be pulled that I gently pushed her against the wall. I looked behind me to make sure that no one was near us to listen. When I saw no eyes on us, I whispered to Heechul. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be in Incantare cleansing."
"I do not want to cleanse, Hankyung. I like being here! As long as I keep this marker," she tapped the golden ring around her bare arm, "I am immortal. And I still have my powers. I do not want to return."
"You will endanger the existence of Incantare."
She laughed. "Do you think that I don't know that? I'm careful about it. That time when I accidentally called some flames only happened once and it won't happen again."
"I... Why didn't you tell me at least that you're here?" I felt my resolve crumbling as feelings of loneliness and madness. "You should have told me that you were here!"
She clicked her tongue and crossed her arms against her chest. "Now you are just being moody."
"It's because I don't know what to say or do! I missed you, thought of you every single fucking night and... I thought that I would never see you again."
She sighed. "I am not a person who deals with love, Hankyung."
"But you remembered a lot of your emotions. Do you not remember me?"
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes cold and emotionless. "You were the Chinese prince who I had a love affair with. You left me."
"What? I did not!"
"Whether you did or did not, that is all that I remember of you. I remember loving you then seeing you walk away."
I wanted to cry. "I do not remember but I know that I will never walk away from you. I loved you then and... I still love you now."
She pushed me away and clicked her tongue, tapping her hand on my nose. "I do not deal with love. I know that it will remove my last marker."
"Please... I love you."
"You loved me then but you do not know me now. You knew me as a clueless fairy who stuck to you like glue, curious and just an imbecile." She laughed. "You do not love me." She patted my face and kissed my lips. I wanted to kiss back, to show her that what we had was real, but she pulled away. "That is my thanks so leave me be. There is no love between you and me." She laughed. "I am such a poet, don't you think so?" She patted my cheek and walked away, leaving me alone and confused, feeling so... lonely.
I looked down at the phone in my hands and bit my lower lip. I didn't want to call Kibum. I didn't want to say goodbye to Heechul again but I had to make things right. I could not pick my feelings over the sake of Incantare and the sake of the three fairies.
I searched through my contacts, to look for Kibum's name but my hands were shaking. I couldn't do it. I couldn't let go of Heechul again. I pushed my phone back into my pocket and ran to Heechul. I grabbed her arm, turned her around, and pushed my lips onto hers.
End of Chapter 7
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance, Historical
Pairings: Hankyung/girl!Heechul, Siwon/girl!Kibum
Summary: Fairies were supposed to stay in their realm. They weren’t supposed to go to human world, but some fairies are just stubborn
Hankyung's POV
A week passed, then a month, then years. I graduated already and got a job. All of us actually graduated but Eeteuk was still studying trying to get her Masters.
I guess you could say that I got used to life without those fairies. After all, I lived most of my life without them. Living the rest should be easy without them as well. Why would I even bother knowing about their realm anyways? I was going to follow afterwards so I should just enjoy my life as human before I die and, I don't know, become a fairy? Get reincarnated? I didn't know. Life will bring me where life will bring me. I just had to wait but waiting was such a gruesome task.
I worked for a modeling agency where I was their publicist. Every day I was surrounded by beautiful women and handsome men, one of which was Siwon. He was discovered one day when he visited me for work. So he decided to actually model while being a sports columnist at the side. Because I handled him, we were always together.
One night, after work, we were out drinking when a beautiful woman came to us, her hips swinging in such a seductive way that both Siwon and I stared.
"Excuse me," she sat down at the space in between Siwon and I, "Can I sit with you?"
Both Siwon and I stared at her breasts which were practically exposed by her low cut dress then nodded.
"By the way, I am Kibum," she smiled at both of and the both of us nodded like two dumbstruck idiots. She was beautiful and the blue glitters around her face sparkled in such a mesmerizing way. She also had a piercing near her eye and it was a huge piercing. It even looked like a real pearl.
"Hi," said Siwon as his cheeks became red. "I'm Siwon. It is such... a pleasure to meet... you."
Kibum leaned closer and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together that Siwon and I drooled. "Siwon," she smirked. "I like your name. Actually, I like you. Would the two of you want to go to a club so we can dance?" She looked at me and winked.
Without even thinking straight, I nodded. "Please?"
+
I thought that the club scene would be fun but I was wrong. I was at the bar, drinking a Long Island Iced Tea, watching Siwon and Kibum make out with Kibum pushed against the wall. They were going to do it and I was sure of it. Siwon's hard on was visible from a mile away and Kibum's already hanging breasts were practically exposed. Seriously, have they heard nothing about privacy? getting a room? Or threesomes?! They could ask me to join! And no. I am not interested in Siwon. I just wanted to have some fun with a girl.
Actually, that was all that I was doing. Working at a modeling agency, surrounded by beautiful women who were all moody either being confident with how they look or insecure about one single body part like their fingers, I could not keep myself from letting go of my pants. Office sex. That was it. But there was nothing. I felt no love, no compassion, just the sick temptation of lust and nothing more.
I loved none but one woman: Heechul. How was she doing? Was she still a fairy? Does she remember me? Will we ever be together? I looked at the bartender and asked for one more Long Island Iced Tea. Then I asked for one more.
When the alcohol has already consumed me, I stood up and the world spun. "Hankyung!" I turned at the mention of my name and was greeted by Siwon and Kibum. "Hey, shall we go home?" Siwon and I shared an apartment together since we both had to move out from our parents to be near to work.
"Home?" I laughed and pointed at Kibum's hips. "I see your hand behind her. Are you groping her?"
Kibum laughed and Siwon winked.
"Whatever, fuckers! Let's go home!" I punched the air, "But I am not going to drive!" I fell backwards and lost consciousness.
+
I woke up to screaming. I sat up. I was already in my room in my shared apartment with Siwon and someone was screaming from the other room, Siwon's room. I stood up (and was so thankful that I don't suffer from hangovers) and ran over to the room. There, I saw Kibum holding her head, covered with only a blanket, screaming and screaming.
"The fuck?" I said. "It's not even six and you are already fighting?" I looked at the naked Siwon who was at the corner of his room. "Put on some fucking pants!"
"How can I?" He pointed at Kibum. "She just woke up screaming like that! I don't know what's wrong!"
I jumped to the bed and grabbed Kibum's shoulders. "Calm down!" I shouted but she wouldn't stop screaming. Fuck it. Someone would hear and come soon that I slapped my hand over her mouth. The action surprised her that she stilled for a moment but she kept on screaming to my hand. Then she opened her eyes that I stilled.
Her eyes were changing color. From brown to grey to gold. Her eyes were just flashing different colors that I grew scared.
Siwon saw it that he too stared and said, "That's scaring me. Hankyung, what's wrong with her?"
Tears started to stream down her face. I did not know what was happening and I did not know what to do.
"Hankyung, do something!"
"I deal with fairies and not this!" I shouted.
Kibum placed her hands on my chest and pushed me onto the bed. I groaned and she went on all fours, her hands frantically searching for something. The blanket that was covering her fell down her body and exposed her skin.
There were silver scales on her hips.
"S-Siwon, was that there yesterday?" I pointed to the scales.
"No," Siwon shook his head as he was baffled as well.
Kibum then sat on her heels and held something in her hand; a pearl, the pearl piercing that she had that I stared back at her face. Her face was clear and there was no sign of any piercing. "Siwon, was the pearl removable?"
Siwon shook his head. "I couldn't remove that pearl yesterday. It was a real piercing."
Kibum raised her hand up and our eyes followed. Slowly, the pearl rose up that I moved away from Kibum. My eyes couldn't leave the pearl. I was seriously frightened. Then my back hit the headboard that I quickly stood up and ran to Siwon. I grabbed his arm and we both stared at the pearl. For such muscular men, we were both acting like little wimps at that moment.
Water then exploded from the pearl, pushing both Siwon and I against the wall with such a great impact. I gasped; Siwon groaned. The water was pushing us and entering our noses and mouths. We were going to drown by the water's force all because of that pearl.
Then, the water disappeared. Siwon and I slid down the wall onto the floor. I felt my head spinning but I did not want to lose consciousness again. I had to stay awake. So I forced my eyes open and I was so surprised. In front of me, everything was dry while Siwon and I were wet. On the bed, wearing historical Korean clothing, was Kibum and she was sleeping.
I was so confused. I grabbed Siwon's arm and shook him. "Wake up, bastard!"
Quickly, Siwon's eyes snapped open and he too was baffled at the sight of Kibum. He asked, "What is she?"
I shook my head. "I don't..." and that was when it came to me. She could be a fairy. I rose to my feet and ran to the bed. Sitting beside her, I grabbed her arms and shook her until she woke. "Kibum!"
Her eyes opened. When our eyes met, she sat up. "Chaos. There's chaos everywhere."
I did not know what she was talking about. Was she talking about the past?
"Heechul, she's gone!"
"What? You know Heechul?"
She nodded. "She's gone. Since she last saw you, she rebelled. She created so much chaos in Incantare. She wanted to know the answers. I tried so hard to keep her inside the realm. We fought, water versus fire but my friend Donghae sided with her."
Donghae. I remembered him.
"Then Kangin. The three of them were tired of secrets and they escaped. I followed them here and tried to look for them but the human world got to me. I fell into temptation. When I saw them, I was already deep into the sins I had to take a chance."
"What chance?"
Kibum slowly looked at Siwon who still looked frightened but his nakedness was just making it look hilarious. Anyways, Kibum said, "I remembered too much of my past. Before I went here, the king told me the truth. If fairies remember their real name, they will turn human. Another way for that to happen is for us to lose our markers. For the final marker to fall or for all of the markers to fall, a fairy must make love. If a fairy just has sex, he or she will immediately be thrown into hell. Love must be there."
"Wait, I am so damn confused," said Siwon. "I just met you yesterday!"
"Shut up, Siwon!" I shouted. "I will explain everything later! I need to know this!" I turned back at Kibum. "Tell me everything!"
"I was losing myself to every single temptation that I took my chance. I did not know if it is Donghae or Siwon who I love. Donghae was with me in Incantare but Siwon was reincarnated. I took a chance so that I could not lose myself, so that I could regain myself."
I told her, "Ryeowook told me that if you turn human, all memories of Incantare would be lost and that Incantare must not be mentioned or else permanent death would come."
Kibum shook her head, "It's not permanent death. It's hell. The reason why I remember is because I have a job right now. I must get those three fairies back."
"How will we do it with you being a human?" I asked.
She opened her palm and showed me a pearl. "Through this. As long as I have this, I still have my powers. I also have the king's powers in this. If we see them, we can capture them but we would need them to be alone. No human can see the powers."
"Hello!" Siwon shouted with a raised hand. "I just saw!"
"You were reincarnated!" said Kibum. "You and Hankyung don't count! If you want to know how I know, thank the king of fairies."
Siwon grumbled, "This sounds like a fairytale."
"It does," I said, "so please wear some pants because naked models do not fit the image of fairytales unless if we are talking about adult fairytales."
+
That night, after work, we were with Kibum again and we were going around the streets of the city, peeking into the buildings specifically the bars.
"Why wouldn't they just look for their loved ones?" asked Siwon.
"Rebellion," said Kibum. "They were so mad that they left. They wanted to separate to look for their soul mates but fear took over them and they stuck together. Then they feared to look for their loved ones in fear that the king might hurt them so they decided to live by themselves. The king wants them back. He was always so careful of the souls."
"Tell me first about Eeteuk," I demanded. "She died as a fairy and now she is human."
"Fairy deaths result in reincarnation," said she. She walked in front of Siwon and we all stood still. She jabbed a finger at Siwon's chest and said, "That is what happened to you."
Siwon raised an eyebrow. "I do not remember."
"Some can and some can't," said Kibum. "Eeteuk remembers, doesn't she?" she turned to me.
I sighed. "She does."
"Painful memories of the past of different lives should not blend with the memories of the present. That is grief," said Kibum. "Yesterday is different from today. Both are different from tomorrow as well."
I nodded and asked, "How long has it been since they left Incantare?"
"Three years."
I looked down. It definitely has been years since I last saw them and I still wanted Heechul. She was just different from everyone. With her, I felt passion and not lust. I wanted to strip her naked and hold her body against mine, to taste her skin and kiss her lips, to tell people that she was mine. I would want to make love to her, to give her pleasure and see her reach that climax, to know that I gave her that pleasure. If I slept with Heechul, would she remember all? "Kibum, if one of them slept with their true love, they will not remember, right? Only you can remember for you are working with the king?"
Kibum nodded. "That is true. If you really want to sleep with her, go do it and when you're done, I can just return her to Incantare where the king can undo everything and make her forget. The king has the power to do that. He always runs after the souls of the fairies who become humans and he always redoes their cleansing."
My eyebrow rose. "I thought that they were to be damned to live here?"
"That is so but the king wants to be merciful," she said with such calmness.
"I worry about Heechul." I sighed. "I... love her."
+
For a month we searched for the missing fairies. I have been going around the streets of Hongdae at night and heard the story of a girl who can produce flames, making it dance however she wishes to. I knew immediately that it was Heechul and it was Kibum's nightmare coming true. She feared that the three fairies would not only lose themselves but that they would also expose Incantare. She would get updates every day, from a guardian in hell who would inform her if ever any of the three fairies entered. Since none of the three has appeared yet, we were assured that they were still in Korea but where?
I was alone. Siwon went to Gangnam and Kibum went to Itaewon. We were all at different places, all looking for the fairies. I entered bar after bar, club after club.
Inside one bar, as I was drinking beer, I saw someone who had a pearl piercing near his eye. It was the same like Kibum that I knew immediately that the man was probably Donghae. I took out my phone and took a picture of the man. He was at a booth with a number of people. They were laughing merrily and soju bottles were everywhere along with shot glasses.
I wanted to call Kibum and tell her to magically bring herself to Hongdae, but my fingers froze.
There, beside Donghae with a golden ring around her arm, was Heechul. She was flushed, laughing loudly, her hair longer and falling down her face that was covered in thick make-up. What happened to her? She was always full of mischief but she looked destructive with her revealing clothes and the dark choker around her neck. I stood up, angry, and walked to the table.
"Excuse me!" I said, taking their attention but my eyes were only on Heechul.
"Hankyung?" she said. She still recognized me. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" I said. "You disappear for three years and now you're here?" I had to be careful not to mention Kibum.
"You missed me!" Heechul laughed and stood up. Excusing her way, she left the booth. "I'll be back." She winked at Donghae.
"Don't tell my brother about this." She wrapped her arms around my arm and pulled me away. "Hankyung, I missed you."
"Where have you been?" I grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the corner. She didn't pull away nor did she say anything. She let herself be pulled that I gently pushed her against the wall. I looked behind me to make sure that no one was near us to listen. When I saw no eyes on us, I whispered to Heechul. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be in Incantare cleansing."
"I do not want to cleanse, Hankyung. I like being here! As long as I keep this marker," she tapped the golden ring around her bare arm, "I am immortal. And I still have my powers. I do not want to return."
"You will endanger the existence of Incantare."
She laughed. "Do you think that I don't know that? I'm careful about it. That time when I accidentally called some flames only happened once and it won't happen again."
"I... Why didn't you tell me at least that you're here?" I felt my resolve crumbling as feelings of loneliness and madness. "You should have told me that you were here!"
She clicked her tongue and crossed her arms against her chest. "Now you are just being moody."
"It's because I don't know what to say or do! I missed you, thought of you every single fucking night and... I thought that I would never see you again."
She sighed. "I am not a person who deals with love, Hankyung."
"But you remembered a lot of your emotions. Do you not remember me?"
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes cold and emotionless. "You were the Chinese prince who I had a love affair with. You left me."
"What? I did not!"
"Whether you did or did not, that is all that I remember of you. I remember loving you then seeing you walk away."
I wanted to cry. "I do not remember but I know that I will never walk away from you. I loved you then and... I still love you now."
She pushed me away and clicked her tongue, tapping her hand on my nose. "I do not deal with love. I know that it will remove my last marker."
"Please... I love you."
"You loved me then but you do not know me now. You knew me as a clueless fairy who stuck to you like glue, curious and just an imbecile." She laughed. "You do not love me." She patted my face and kissed my lips. I wanted to kiss back, to show her that what we had was real, but she pulled away. "That is my thanks so leave me be. There is no love between you and me." She laughed. "I am such a poet, don't you think so?" She patted my cheek and walked away, leaving me alone and confused, feeling so... lonely.
I looked down at the phone in my hands and bit my lower lip. I didn't want to call Kibum. I didn't want to say goodbye to Heechul again but I had to make things right. I could not pick my feelings over the sake of Incantare and the sake of the three fairies.
I searched through my contacts, to look for Kibum's name but my hands were shaking. I couldn't do it. I couldn't let go of Heechul again. I pushed my phone back into my pocket and ran to Heechul. I grabbed her arm, turned her around, and pushed my lips onto hers.
End of Chapter 7