Chapter-17
First Love
With that, Ha-Jin was on a chariot in the air pulled by low ranked Mana Beasts with wings jutting out of either sides of their bodies on his way to Yunxi City, the place where he had been born and also where the Arena and Junkyard resided.
Ha-Jin drifted into a deep slumber as he had not slept for a long time, his mind drifting back to the Emperor's reaction to his request to go back to Yunxi City.
The Emperor's eyes widened as he tilted his head to the side before speaking. "For what reason could you possibly want to go back to that hellhole of a city?" He asked in a calm voice despite the initial shock from the request.
"I have someone waiting for me there, I want to meet her… and give her something." Ha-Jin responded calmly, Jae-Woo quickly understanding who he meant by "someone"
A small smirk directed at Ha-Jin played on his lips as he stared at Ha-Jin. Ha-Jin's cheeks tinged a light pink as he looked at Jae-Woo. He averted his gaze to the Emperor instead.
The Emperor let out a dry chuckle before speaking once more "Alright then, so be it." He said before yelling "Guards! Call the Charioteers! The boy will depart for Yunxi city this evening!"
And so, he was in the Mana Beast driven chariot to Yunxi City.
***
A few hours passed as the morning sun rose. Ha-Jin's eyes fluttered open. They were almost there. He looked around at the vast forest. Before departing for Yunxi City, Jae-Woo had told him to be careful. The Emperor had covered up the deaths of the innocent civilians that had been caught up in their "little fight" and even the injured and their families but some of them would not forget what had happened.
Ha-Jin let out a deep sigh before looking around and realising that they were in the same forest that Jae-Woo had taken him and Alex to.
They were close.
Butterflies danced about in his stomach thinking about meeting Joo-Hee after so long. Though much had not happened in their relationship, it was the first form of love that he had ever experienced in his entire life.
Murderous snarling snapped Ha-Jin out of his trance. The charioteer did not dare stop, instead hastening the pace of the chariot. Suddenly, a tiger-like beast, its back lined with a blue flame pounced upon the chariot.
The chariot came to a halt as the charioteer let out a surprised yelp. "Keep driving!" Ha-Jin hissed, raising his arms, ready to kill the beast that stood before him. The chariot suddenly came back to life, the charioteer was scared of Ha-Jin more than the beast.
The tiger tried to bite the boy in front of it, though it quickly regretted its decision as Ha-Jin grabbed it by its maw, turned on his heel and threw it right off the chariot. Though, instead of accepting its defeat, the tiger raced along with the chariot. The blue flame lining its back suddenly grew wilder. It soon engulfed the entire tiger as it pounced back onto the chariot. It let out a bellowing roar before it slashed Ha-Jin on the torso, its claws sinking deep into his flesh. Ha-Jin let out a grunt, his shirt suddenly ablaze with a blue flame along with the chariot.
Ha-Jin let out a startled cry as the entire chariot came crashing down onto the floor of the forest from several meters in the air. A piece of mana infused, blazing wood dug it's way into Ha-Jin's arm. Ha-Jin looked at the tiger before him, it lay on the floor, unconscious. The dazzling blue flame engulfing it had died down, the tiger surprisingly not burnt a single bit. The charioteer suddenly came into Ha-Jin's mind as he frantically looked around, letting out a sigh of relief as he spotted the charioteer right in front of him, unharmed except a few cuts and bruises here and there. It seemed like he had managed to protect himself using the ambient mana in the air.
"Good, you're fine." Ha-Jin said, looking at the destroyed carriage. It seemed like he would have to walk the rest of the way now. "Hey, you can still get back to the Capital using those mana beasts right?" He asked the charioteer who frantically nodded, not daring to speak in front of the boy even though he knew that he was completely safe.
"Good, then carry this guy back to the Capital too. Tell "Prince" Arthur that it's a gift from me." Ha-Jin said, binding the tiger with the ambient mana in the air before throwing him onto a mana beast.
He pulled the piece of wood out before his wound
Ha-Jin flashed from the floor he was standing on onto a tree. The charioteer rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't delusional. Ha-Jin was too fast for the normal eye now.
***
Ha-Jin hopped from tree to tree throughout his journey. When the forest ended, he knew that he was really close now. He couldn't help but think about the tiger-like beast from before. It was an A+ Grade beast at best even without training. It had very high potential.
Amidst all his thoughts, he did not realise that Yunxi City was now in sight before he actually stepped foot in it. Butterflies once again fluttered about in his stomach as he walked to the church where Joo-Hee stayed.
Joo-Hee was just on her way back to the Arena after lunch break when she saw Ha-Jin in front of her. Her tiffin slipped from her grasp as she leaped off the floor into Ha-Jin's arms. He had never seen her this happy before. She let out a joyful giggle before finally releasing Ha-Jin from her grasp.
"It's been two years already!" She said, her voice full of joy and excitement before her eyes darted down to scars running along his arms. "Where have you been and what have you been doing?! Just look at these scars on your arms!" She cried out, grabbing Ha-Jin's arms and inspecting them closely.
She looked up at Ha-Jin, whose cheeks were slightly tinged pink and realised what she was doing. She pulled her hands away, resting them behind her back as her cheeks flushed a deep pink.
"I-I didn't mean it like that!" She blurted out before adding. "I'm just saying you should take better care of your body…"
Silence hung heavy in the air before Ha-Jin let out a chortle. He covered his mouth in a desperate manner as his memory drifted back to the time he had almost lost an eye to her syringe throwing skills. "S-Sorry, you just looked so funny."
Joo-Hee chuckled before grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the greenery of the place. "Make up for that by walking around with me."
Though, Joo-Hee couldn't help but be a little disappointed. She expected him to be a heroic and dashing man when he came back but he was still the fierce boy that suddenly looked like a cute and timid puppy in front of her.
She resisted the urge to let out a sigh as they walked around through the thick greenery until they reached the church. Joo-Hee tried to speed away from the church but failed miserably when the father spotted them. "Hey, Joo-Hee!" He called out, waving his hand in the air. "Is that your boyfriend you've been talking about for two years?" He added. He had slicked back silver hair and a joyful smile on his face as his two brown eyes glinted with mischievous glee.
Joo-Hee's cheeks tinged a light pink as the Father strode towards their direction. The Father immediately took Ha-Jin's hand and grinned from ear to ear. "You must be Ha-Jin, am I right?" He said to which Ha-Jin slowly nodded. "Oh, you have no idea how much Joo-Hee has talked about you for the past two years! She's just been going on and on blabberi- Ow!" He teased—quickly cut off by a sharp smack to the back of the head by Joo-Hee.
"Back to the church!" Joo-Hee ordered, resulting in a whine from the silver haired man before them as he slowly walked away to the church, frequently looking back, his ears perking up to hear if they were talking about anything.
Joo-Hee let out a sigh of relief as the Father walked out of sight. Ha-Jin couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction between the Father and Joo-Hee. Joo-Hee noticed his chuckle and glared at him which immediately made him stop.
They kept walking for a while, catching up with each other's lives. Ha-Jin told her about his experiences and fights which sometimes made Joo-Hee excited, sometimes horrified. This happy moment went on until Ha-Jin remembered the Emperor's words. "You must return by the next day." He had told him very clearly. The sun had set and he had only an hour or two until he had to leave.
He looked at Joo-Hee with a solemn expression which immediately alarmed Joo-Hee that he was gonna say something not so cheerful as their conversation.
"I have to leave soon." He muttered "The Emperor said I have to return by tomorrow morning."
Ha-Jin then looked away from the ground and towards Joo-Hee and saw her expression which hadn't changed a bit. It was almost as if she had been expecting this for a while now. "Fine, go on I guess." She said, "But promise me two things."
"What is it?" He asked, his expression clearly curious.
"First of all, you won't push your body that much." She said to which Ha-Jin hesitated but eventually nodded.
"It'll be hard not to. But I'll try."
"Secondly, you'll visit me again whenever you get the time." This one was not like the first request. This was a command.
Ha-Jin nodded which made Joo-Hee smile as she extended her fist to him. Ha-Jin cocked a brow and met her fist with a light fist bump to which she giggled.
"Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now!" She said before turning on her heel and preparing to walk away.
Suddenly, Ha-Jin remembered about the necklace still in his inventory. "W-Wait!" He blurted out, putting an arm behind his back as the necklace materialised in his hand. "I-I have something to give to you!"
This made Joo-Hee turn back and walk closer to him. "What is it?" She asked, her voice calm but with a tinge of sadness in it.
Ha-Jin brought his hand forth, revealing two half broken heart shaped pendants, one on a gold chain and the other on a mana enforced string. He looked away from Joo-Hee as he gave the gold chained pendant to Joo-Hee and took the pendant on the string for himself.
Joo-Hee's mouth fell agape as she covered it with her hands, slowly taking the pendant from his hands. The two broken hearts could be joined together to form a whole.
Ha-Jin smiled at her before preparing to walk away from her. However, to his surprise, her arms suddenly reached out to grab his head and pulled him into a deep, aggressive kiss.
She then quickly pulled away, looking away from him, her cheeks flushed a deep pink. She was flustered, but not as flustered as Ha-Jin who looked like he was still processing the kiss. His brain buffered as he stood there, touching his lips as Joo-Hee chortled. Her chortle snapped Ha-Jin out of his thoughts.
"Pff—You look like an idiot standing there!" She blurted out in between her laughs.
Ha-Jin's face flushed till the tip of his ears until he let out a laugh as well. "You didn't have to be so blunt about it." He said, suddenly realising just how short Joo-Hee actually looked in front of him as he looked down at her.
"How else would I be able to snap you out of that trance?" She said, her lips curling into a smirk as she nudged his side slightly with her elbow.
"So, I guess it's time for you to go huh?" She said, putting her arms over her chest as she added, "You'd better bring a souvenir from me from the Capital the next time you come!"
"You bet!" Ha-Jin said before turning around and walking away. Before Joo-Hee and he were out of sight of each other, he turned around and waved a hand.
Whenever I think of that day, I wish I had never left, that I should have taken her with me, that I should have always protected her. I still regret leaving her to this day…