Journey Into the Knight

Chapter Eleven

Byul felt like she swallowed her heart. At first she had no idea what she felt TaeOh tense next to her, but the second her eyes met the woman had entered the room, she knew. It may have been fifteen years since she had seen TaeOh's mother but there was no mistake that this was her. The room was silent, TaeOh and his mother did not break eye contact. Byul YongSun and Ernesto were looking between them, words hanging in the air. TaeOh looked both hurt and happy, his mother had her hand up to her mouth as if she had just seen a ghost. She took a step forward but TaeOh's obvious move backward stopped her. "You were alive this whole time?" He asked sounding very hurt. Byul could understand the anger but it was not like they stayed in the village long enough to see if any of their parents had survived the attack, they had assumed everyone dead.

TaeOh's mother, or SoMin as these people referred to her as, had tears streaming down her face. "When I saw what had remained of the house I thought you suffered the same fate as your father." She choked on her tears. "But here you are, I can't believe you have been alive this whole time." Her eyes went wide. "You have to understand TaeOh, if I thought for a second you were alive I would have never stopped looking for you."

TaeOh remained silent, as if contemplating screaming or leaving so Byul answered hoping to lift some of the unsaid words. "Well it is not like we made it easy." SoMin's gaze shifted to Byul, again looking as if she had seen a ghost.

She let out a gasp. "ByulYi?" Her full name send her stomach plumitting. "You look so much like your mother."

Byul felt like throwing up at the mention of her mother, unwanted memories surfacing. "I think we all have some catching up to do." She managed to force out. "But I don't think now it the time, we came for a purpose." Her eyes flicked to YongSun, who was watching her, eyes saying so much, more than Byul wanted to read.

Ernesto got up to help SoMin clean up the fruit she had dropped, the woman could not stop the tears flowing from her eyes as she did. Byul glanced over at TaeOh, so many emotions swam in his eyes as well. She bumped his arm, making him look at her, eyes asking him if he was okay. A short nod that didn't mean yes but that he was okay for the moment, probably suppressing everything.

The front door opened and everyone turned, it must have been a sight to see because WheeIn and a man Byul assumed was her father Joon, stood there looking at all of them like they had just walked in on a war. Their eyes but dangerously around the room. "Is everything alright?" Joon asked. He was a short man with the same colour hair as WheeIn, only his had hints of grey in it, and he was quite unfit looking.

SoMin wiped the tears from her eyes. "Joon," Her mouth wobbled and she broke into tears, Joon rushed to her side and WheeIn had pulled out a couple of knives. "It's TaeOh." She managed to say.

The man turned, obviously familiar with the name as he surveyed TaeOh. "How is that possible?" WheeIn seemed to take the statement as enough proof to put away one of her two daggers, still standing tense.

Byul cleared her throat. "Long story short, TaeOh and I escaped that village, we saw his house up in flames and thought his parents dead, we ran and now we're here."

Joon glared at her. "And who is this?"

Byul put her hand out. "I am Byul, also from the village."

SoMin placed her hand on her husband's chest. "This is JiHye's daughter, my best friend." A new wave of sadness washed over Byul at her mother's name, the one she had not spoken in many years.

"Enough." TaeOh's hoarse voice cut in. "We can sort this out later, we are here for a reason as Byul pointed out." They all looked at YongSun who now looked visibly uncomfortable.