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Lifeless. That's what the one word that Na-ra could describe the man's eye beheld that hide past the shadow. Yet, an hint of shimmer of something interlaced his eyes amidst the hollow yet piercing gaze.The sole gaze that stared at her carried the weight of all the etched tragedy and the indifferent passage of time. An depthless void that reflected the entirety of his existence that could live on her til the end of time.

Na-ra's whole posture stilled for a second, examining the man from head to toe with an questioning gaze that is mixed with something else before she chose to sheath the sword back. As if a man that is unknown to her, followed her through the dark alleyway that was empty of any other soul didn't give out a tinge of danger.

Even the man appeared to be taken aback by the faith or belief, she put in himself without a doubt.

" So? What is the reason for your little tactic of following me?? "

The nonchalant voice that acted along her question essentially unsettling for the latter, the sense of caution that latched onto her completely lacking from seconds ago when she appeared to be eager to cut his throat.

An huff of scoff were passed out from his lips by the easing air that came between them and travelled across bitter that only the man found, by his bitter thoughts that concealed the secrets that unbeknownst to the girl before him, his daughter.

" I only followed you because, I recognized you as an mage... Mages are enemies to shamans who uses sorcery. "

A scoff that was nearly similar to the man's earlier made way over her lips, along with an faint smirk as her eyes bore over to the ground. Her arms crossed over as she took a closer step to the man with the underlying curiosity painting them.

" That's all? You simply followed me cause you thought I was a mage and for what exactly?? "

His eyes crossing over her features with an recognition of other, that existed in the fragments of everything and nowhere to be seen─── the sunlight that casted over the autumn leaves, the faint scent of the cherry blossoms that'll soon wither in the cold breeze and the illusion that captures his vision in the unconscious mind. Every face he had to look back had something to reminisce about her, but the girl in front of him was every pieces of her that lingered past in the memory that taunted him of the misfortune he inflicted on her.

" And...You look a lot like your mother. " His words nearly an laugh to himself, the word once rotting inside his mouth like it has been for the past years which he didn't wish to count any longer.

Na-ra's steps that were eager to close to him faltered for an second, as if the determined mind scattered to pieces with that sole information.

" That's a first.....some say I more look like my father. "

The last word that drew out from her mouth that interlaced the years spite nearly dragging away the ground at his feet, the regret that never seeped away of his own doing that lasted by curiosity, pricking inside his chest as an thorn vines that circled around.

" That madman.....He was truly a madman..." A scoff of pity or guilt that gnawed it's claws into his throat was spilled out, the eyes of retribution filled inside his sight as his gaze fell onto his thoroughly draped arms that concealed one of his secrets that soon ends.

" It's the first time someone cursing him instead of my mother in front me...... How refreshing. " An sweet tug in the end of her lips, something the man in front of her never even dreamt to see by the odds.

They say a father and daughter share the bond of roots and blossoms of a tree. The father who protects and provides wisdom and the strength to his daughter to grow on his light, so she could bloom as the most radiant. Yet, this valued bond of the Jang's were reaped before the sapling could sprout and bettered in the shadow than the light.

" Are you hurt? "

The eyes that bored onto his draped hands like an burning knife, Na-ra took a unconscious step forward which led the man to step back in the fear of hurting the one person that he shouldn't. Not when the whole reason of his existence prolonged so far for her.

" It's nothing.....you should be get going, This place won't answer your questions anymore."

Drawing back his hands to himself, the man peered at his daughter once more without any regrets before his figure turned around to walk away, yet for an second, his steps halted, a warning for the future that can't be intervened to be passed without meeting her eyes.

"some things are better unsolved,...Na-ra."

Staring at the disappearing figure to the swallowing darkness, her gaze trembled as she took a shaking breath that etched her mind.

" It would have been really hard not to hate you without even seeing your face..."

✿

The blue hour prolonged the darkness of the night while the stifled wind around the men's dorm kept spiraling around as if to witness or to guide one.

Seo-yul, concealed between the mounted books that scattered on his table, each particular pages of the books that contained any slight contact to the fire bird, ripped off and distinctively put away from the mess. Every words that etched into the paper Scrutinized under her his finger tips with the desperation of finding an answer─── Nonetheless, every words appeared insignificant, words that leads to anything but to the answer he's seeking for the past days without an avail.

The candle has been melting down in the presence of time fleeting away, the trace of the melted candles that sticked to the table acting upto let him see he has been searched enough, yet the refusal of his heart to the reality stood solid until an single knock on his hard wooden door of his dorm came across.

Puzzled at the knock that came across at the inauspicious hour which strived for his presence, without setting aside the mountain of books, he quickly blew out the candles that were about to die down and walked away to answer the door, only to met with the woman his mind were spiraled around for days in every single thing as his door were set wide open.

Her Eyes that bored down to the floor, desolation taking over with an hint of embarrassment that mixed in, whole stance in the verge of crumbling to the ground if an slight affinity were to touch her facade. Yet putting up with the scrambled courage, her eyes that held more than enough secrets taunting into the one of that bristled with affinity.

" I....I didn't know where else to go. "

✿

Lighting up the candles that the boy blew out seconds ago, and the ones that surrounded the room that distinguished the darkness so that the girl could feel less hostile, he quickly ran across the room in the need of perfecting the room that's already the tidiest one of all aside the heap of books that dispersed all around his table.

And sure enough for his dismay of being less perfect under the gaze of the one he didn't wanted to be, Na-ra's steps were drawn to the table of ripped pages and book that scattered over. An initial success to her plan of letting herself ignore the words and encounter of the night she had to put up with.

" That, isn't... "

Seo-yul, who walked over to make clear of intentions of possessing the books that the girl inspected over with her gaze that judged every second more and more as her gaze wandered over one over another, was failed as he came up with absolute nothing in the seconds of crucial criticize.

" What....Yul, this is─── "

" Books that associated with sorcery. "

His words filled in hers as if it could make any better. Her eyes taunting to find any explanation of how this was an mistake or is it her eyes were deceiving herself, in his. However, none was found and she retreated her gaze back on the papers that scattered around the table and to the ones that completely aside from the mess.

Her hands quickly acquiring the papers that contained mostly the familiar handwriting that owned by the boy that stood beside her, letting herself explain his reason itself.

A minute passed in the stifling silence, her eyes roaming over every sentence that led to one word, Firebird. Each words that inflicted on the paper questioning for an answer that she has been inquiring far too long. Some sentences that etched in the papers are ones that she found herself reading thousands of times and others are───Unfamiliar yet, which only gave out the unfilial answers.

" Where did you even─── "

" Some of the mages who Patrolled the houses of Shamans confiscated these, I... Well, borrowed these before they burned it." The term borrowed was well clear as stole or swiped since the word borrow is something that would never goes with the books of sorcery.

Na-ra stared at him and back at the mountain of books that is to be banished in utter disbelief, the one who never crossed the line of rules and orders, so far crossed away from the line that the line could be barely a blur, for her.

" You are aware that you can even get framed for learning sorcery just for having these books, yul. "

Every men ,women and even childrens that lived in Daeho was well aware of the punishment of learning sorcery, and a person like yul, who abided the rules as his principles was more than just aware of the execution that could conclude the close ones along with him and the strip of title of his family for once and for all even if it was correlated with the Royalty by the reason of affiliation with Sorcery.

Hearing the absence of answer from the latter, Na-ra swallowed hard the fear before stepping towards the boy to turn his ways from the dire consequences of his actions that may caught up soon in the ill time.

" I don't want you to break your morals and principles just like this for me─── "

" You have broken your own morals and principles for me more than once, so why can't I do it for you....for myself ? "

His question that interlaced unfairness and desperation pointed right at the girl, who was idle to the question, yet invariable to the fixed mind of resolution to an steered clear path.

" For yourself ?..... "

" The day I told you I'm yours, I wasn't lying, Na-ra.... I will do absolute anything to make sure you are more that just fine."

Seo-yul's eyes brimmed with determination of the promise in his words, his hands faintly hovering over hers as he gradually filched away the papers from her hands before placing upon the table, All while she let him to guide her hands in his, as her gaze didn't fail to falter in his comforting touch.

Sure, she was more than ever in love at this moment with the boy after knowing everything he has done set alone for her,
Yet the guilt of something that whispered in her ears that she's only dragging him into a false hope along with her to an unfortunate end kept taunting past her mind as an reminder.

" Why are you so stubborn? " A faint smile of approval in the words that aspect of humour which the boy took in as he rekindled thier fingers while his sly smile played out the amusement from her words.

" Learnt from the best. " The quite remark that pointed to her leaving the girl in disbelief, Na-ra swiped her hands from his as she proceed to lightly hit the boy's chest, which he pursued to tease her by acting as if the light blow hurt his heart before he pulled her close to engulf in a hug, nuzzling under the crook of her neck. The whisper of gentle warmth and closeness, a gesture that interlaced the sense of affection and safety that eased the mind and thoughts of the two on each others arms.

" Can't we just stay like this......For a while?"

An quiet whisper of restraint in his request as he loosed his arms around her, so she could set loose of herself if she doesn't wishes to. As an act of response to his request, the stiff hands that placed upon his shoulder glide down to tight around his waist, a shift of delicate hug into something warmer
───an unspoken answer that letting go was unthinkable as all that existed at the moment was the continuous rhythm of their heartbeats that intertwined.

A silent confession of love that soon interrupted by the ceaseless knock on the door.

" Open the door!! "

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𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 :

𝐇𝐞𝐲𝐲𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬,
𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬  𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨..... 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡.

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭
𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐢𝐭'𝐬
𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐝𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 :)....
( 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮
𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐞𝐧𝐝.... 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐲𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰)
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐞𝐞𝐞 !! <𝟑𝟑

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐬 ♡