Island: The Legend

Chapter 10

Mi-Ho was going crazy, not only were these men in her garden doing god knows what but Van was still holding her closely against his chest. It was hard for her to concentrate on anything else but him. When she looked over to the side she couldn't do other but notice his neck that that was so close to her face what else should she do but stare at it. He still wore his white shirt that was dirtied with sand, mud and blood, the collar was a mess. When her eyes travelled a bit up she saw his jawline which was a bit longer than Yohan's and his chin a bit more pointy. It was a bit cute considering his overall dark appearance. He was still looking to the side, watching every step from the white cloaked men, presenting her his side profile perfectly. Mi-Ho's eyes travelled yet further up his face and she had to smile at his slim but pointy nose. She never realized just how cute he actually looked. Like a small teddy bear she had to cuddle all day. His eyes were dark, they were so dark she could lose herself in them if he continued to look at her like that. Look at her... Why was he looking at her?
''What are you doing?''
''Nothing.''
She turned her head to the side again, ignoring the fact that she stared at him the whole time and he must have noticed. She didn't know how much time passed but she knew that she was more than embarrassed about it. Especially because she got caught by him. What was he thinking now? Carefully, she glanced up again only to find him looking through the bushed again. Was he not in any way affected by this close proximity between them? Or was he just too tense because these men were here? She closed her eyes for a moment trying to banish all thoughts about him from her mind in this situation. Why couldn't she stay serious now and think about the more important things?
''What do you think they are doing here?''
His voice was calm and almost not audible to her but she opened her eyes and started to watch them as well. There were three of them, it wouldn't be a problem for Van and her to take them out but it could also be a trap. Mi-Ho shifted her body slightly and tried to turn around to the other side. She felt his arm around her loosening up a bit, giving her the space she needed but never let her go completely. What if something suddenly attacked them and they had to dodge it? It would be more safe like this at least Mi-Ho tried to tell herself that and not put too much second thoughts into his action. Back to business. Mi-Ho looked around trying to find any source of magic around them but there was none. They were alone, only these three men were here.
''You stay here, I'll try to get a bit closer.''
He let go of her and wanted to back up but she caught his arm and pulled him closer again much to his surprise. But she had often been like that. She never feared him neither did she fear his touch or simply pulling herself into danger when she just acted on impulse and did those things. He had always been amazed by how fearless she actually was.
''Wait.''
''What?''
''What if they take you away again.''
Her grip on his arm was so strong it almost hurt him. She didn't want to let go, to let him go. Was she that scared that he might disappear again? Her eyes weren't lying neither was her voice when she whispered her next words.
''I just got you back, I can't lose you again.''
It was something he also admired about her. She just always said what was on her mind not thinking twice about it. But what was he supposed to do now? How should he react to something like that? Did she even expect any kind of answer to that? Why was she making this so complicated now? They had to find out why these men were here. They probably didn't just walk by and thought about checking out the garden. They must know that Mi-Ho lives here and they probably also knew that Van was here. So the question was, why were there only three of them? Sure Van and Gungtan killed a lot of their followers but they didn't find the temple where all the others were, where their leader was.
Her tiny hands were still tightly holding on to him like her life depended on it and he couldn't tear himself away from her. He didn't want to. He never wanted to hurt her again, it still bothered him that he tried to kill her so often the past few days. And it pained him that he actually forgot about her after all she did for him. Even though he lived a long life of pain and loneliness, Mi-Ho brought a new warmth into his life. A warmth he didn't feel for a very long period of time and he welcomed it. At first he was pissed that she wasn't fully awake yet and it bothered him that she was trying to run away from her fate. But the more he got to know her and see how she lived and handled situations he felt compassion for her. Living up to such a fate wasn't easy but she tried everything to do it. She tried everything to save him. And he just forgot her and tried to kill her because he thought she was Wonjeong. But why did he want to kill Wonjeong in the first place? He never held hard feelings against her. He knew how much she cared for both, him and Gungtan and how genuinely she tried to save them. In the end she had been used by Jeongryeong as well. So why did he try to kill her so badly? His head suddenly started hurting the more he tried to figure it out. He tightly closed his eyes. Mi-Ho noticed his change of attitude and leaned up a bit.
''Van, what's wrong?''
Her voice wasn't firm anymore like before it was shaking slightly showing him clearly how worried she was about him. He shook his head slowly and opened his eyes again.
''It's nothing.''
''That didn't look like nothing.''
''It's fine, don't worry.''
For some reason she felt caught again but what could she have done? He looked like he was in a lot of pain just now... Her feelings just took the better of her again and made her react like that. It's now like she ever showed him how consistently worried she was about him. Every time he took a blade for her, every time he threw himself in danger for her, every time he looked so sad and tired... She always was there and couldn't hold back her feelings of concern. He just meant too much to her to just ignore it when he was in pain.
''Won Mi-Ho.''
''Hm?''
''Are you okay? You are very cold.''
''What?''
She didn't realize herself how could she was until she saw small puffs of air in front of her mouth again when she breathing. When she looked at Van he seemed to be fine. Was it just the air around her that was getting colder? He now also crouched down in front of her, his one hand on her shoulder. That's probably how he noticed her cold body. But didn't she notice at all? It was the same when she placed the barrier on the chain, the whole room got pretty cold and if she didn't have to run to Van back then she probably would have put more thought to it. When she came back she saw this strange ice thing. But she used her powers back then why was she cold now when she clearly didn't use any kind of magic right now? Both Van and Mi-Ho seemed to have the same thought when they both looked over to the men who had formed a triangle and started chanting something when a flashy pillar erupted from the earth. Mi-Ho suddenly felt very strange, she couldn't breathe properly and her hand automatically flew to her scar that started burning again. Why was this scar still hurting her so much even after Wonjeong's powers left her? Van didn't think twice before he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before he charged for the men who were obviously responsible for her current state. He didn't care right now if it was a trap or not he had to do something. With his speed he knocked on of the men to the side, making him fly all over to the other side of the street, the second he left the triangle the pillar disappeared. The two other men looked rather shocked and confused to see Van. Did they not know that he was here? Or were they confused because he didn't look the way they remembered him? He didn't care. He jumped over to the other man who was seemingly overwhelmed with the situation and punched him so hard that he flew back through the air and smashed into the old building, leaving cracks in the wall. The third one seemed to be a bit more capable of fighting when he took on a defensive stance after Van turned around and looked at him. Van ran up to him, reaching his arm back with the intention of hitting him into the side which the man dodged and caught Van's arm. They looked at each other for a second before Van turned his arm around, swirling the man with him and kicking his lags to the side making him land on his back. Van pushed him further into the ground when he started strangling him not to strong, he didn't want to kill him he simply wanted to pass him out.
''Van!''
Yohan came running over to his side a shocked expression covering his face.
''What's going on?! We heard loud noises and suddenly felt a strange energy...''
The young priest looked around, probably searching for Mi-Ho.
''Mi-Ho is fine. Look over there.''
Van nodded his head next to him where these men chanted their strange spell. On the ground was a circle with different symbols, it was still glowing slightly.
Yohan took a few steps towards it to inspect it. He pulled out a small glass bottle with water and poured it over his hands. Van could only guess that it was holy water. He let go of the man by now not feeling any resistance anymore but he checked his pulse just to be sure. He was still alive. He walked over to Yohan and see him kneel down putting both his hands over the circle while mumbling something in Italian. Another circle appeared, this time it had a faint blue colour to it and slowly lowered itself over the circle the men created here.
''Is it some kind of binding?''
Yohan stood up and brush off his hands on his legs. He looked at Van.
''Something similar. At least whatever it is it can't release it's powers for now.''
''Why didn't you just use that on me the first time we met again?''
''I can't use it on people...''
Van nodded while Yohan looked around once more.
''Where is Mi-Ho?''
Right. Mi-Ho, she didn't look so good when he left her. Van didn't waste another second and ran off into the bushes again after he told Yohan to tie the man up so he couldn't escape when he woke up. He was beside her in a mere second. She was lying on the ground, curled together into a ball, breathing hard. But it looked like she was already calming down as her breathing started to regulate the moment he crouched down next to her.
''Won Mi-Ho.''
He carefully put his arm under her upper body and sat her up. She was still slightly trembling but she didn't feel so cold anymore. She was pale though.
He turned her a bit more in his arms, shaking her softly.