୨⎯ I knew the pathway like the back of my hand ⎯୧
A LOUD LAUGH LEFT Heo Ari's mouth as she listened to Dang gu explain the reason behind why he had dragged her out of her home and towards chwiseonru. To be exact, he had barged inside the Heo household, almost making Ari drop the medicine she was about to take before going over to her grandfather and asking for permission to take the girl out. The young lady didn't mind leaving her home, so she let him take her without an explanation. "That means I won the bet! I knew he wouldn't last long."
"You guys made a bet?" Dang gu raised his eyebrows, curiously. He had his arms behind his back with his accustomed grin constantly on his face. It was one of the traits that Heo Ari admired the most because he always found a way to bring the positive side of things even in the darkest time and she was thankful for having someone in her life that with a simple smile could easily ease her nerves.
"Yes." Both side stepped through the small crowds of people attempting to not bump into anyone. "I told Wook he wouldn't last over two months with his new master but he kept insisting that this time it would be different, so we made a bet."
"Hmm." He smiled, nodding in understanding then jumping excitedly. "What's the price?"
Heo Ari smirked. "The loser has to buy the winner anything they want."
"Do you already have something in mind?"
"No, but whatever I choose, it'll be the most expensive one." Her words made Dang gu chuckle as the two finally reached the entrance of the bar. The place was pretty full considering it was the middle of the day. There were many servants passing drinks and food to the customers sitting on the tables as they all talked among themselves. Probably talking about the newest gossip to later spread the rumors somewhere else.
The two were immediately welcomed by the owner of the bar, Juwol. The woman led them through the place as she asked. "Who are you here to meet today?"
"My uncle told me to come and fetch someone." Dang gu said making Juwol turn to them surprised as they stopped walking,
"Fetch someone? Who?"
"A trainee in Gisan humiliated his master and got sent away." He explained. "I bet this is where he's hiding. Now we just have to find him."
Heo Ari nodded at his words in agreement as her eyes trailed to a pair of servants taking a tray full of seafood inside one of the private rooms in the bar. "I'm sure that won't be a difficult task, look." She pointed at the door. "Crab. He must have craved seafood because he was stuck in the mountains for so long."
"He must be in that room, then." Taking a hold of the Heo girl's arm, Dang gu dragged her towards the room, without sparing any other glacé at Juwol.
Sliding the door open, the two entered the room, their eyes trailing down to Jang Wook's figure, sitting criss crossed on the floor while he stared intently at the table full of seafood. The sound of the door closing pulled him out of his thoughts making him look up. First, his gaze fell on Dang gu before trailing over to Heo Ari. She was wearing a lavender hanbok that complemented her pale skin tone and her hair was in a half-up half-down hairstyle with many hairpins adorning her dark brown hair.
Upon seeing Heo Ari's presence Wook stood up, a smile on his face as he opened his arms waiting for the girl to greet him with a hug. He had to admit he had missed the girl's bubbly personality and company. Of all the previous master's he had in the past Monk Hoyeon had been the toughest.
Not because his lessons were difficult or burdensome—but because they were boring. All Wook did was sit around and spend hours meditating on top of mountains and reading books that in his opinion were unnecessarily long and not useful in the slightest. And to top it all off Gisan didn't have the same variety of food that they had to offer in Songrim.
To Jang Wook's disappointment the girl ignored his gesture, making a b-line to the table before sitting down and grabbing one of the crab legs as she started breaking the shell with her hands.
Dumbfounded, and quite offended by the girl's actions, Wook crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes wide open with his eyebrows slightly raised in a frown. "Aren't you going to greet me?"
Heo Ari gave him a mocking smile. "Hey."
The Jang boy scoffed as he went back to sit on the floor beside Ari while Dang gu sat across from them. The latter one watching the interaction with amusement as his eyes darted back and forth between the two best friends.
"Hey? Really?"
Ari shrugged as she started to eat the meat from the crab leg. "You asked me to greet you, that's what I did."
Rolling his eyes at the girl's attitude, he said. "And here I thought you'd be happy to see me."
"I am, but between you—and this crab leg I'm happier to see the crab leg."
Before Jang Wook could utter a comeback Dang gu spoke. "Thanks to you, my uncle has to go all the way to Gisan to beg for the monk's forgiveness. Meanwhile you are here enjoying this damn crab."
Wook shook his head, "No, I have not eaten it. It is such a hassle to eat."
Pausing her movements Ari looked away from her hands and over to her best friend. "Oh, please, just admit you're lazy."
He ignored her comment. "I am glad you came. Break the shell with your spell and save both Ari and me the time of breaking this apart." Gesturing with his head at the tray he looked at the Park boy expectedly, waiting for him to do as ordered.
"I do know how to crack the shell and pick out just the meat." Dang gu analyzed the seafood before looking back at Wook. "But maybe I should use the spell on you, not the crab."
"Dang gu, if that monk had been kind enough to at least teach me that, I would not have left that way." Wook whined, expressing his frustration and distaste towards the monk—or not only the monk but overall to his situation. A situation he has been dealing with for years.
"What good is it if you cannot do it?" Dang gu asked. "Your dad blocked you from casting spells."
"A dick move if you ask me." Heo Ari whispered to herself, as she picked out the meat from a crab leg, not caring about her improper language which she always got scolded for by her grandfather. The poor man had witnessed the girl's foul language many times and even then he always had the same reaction as he did the first time.
Ari could already hear her grandfather's voice saying that this way of expressing wasn't meant to be used by a prestigious young lady as herself. Still, that never stopped her from saying what she thought even if it resulted in receiving shocked looks or scolding lectures from the people around her.
Why?
Because as Heo Ari always said, you only get to live once.
Holding back would only end in remorse and disappointment. It was better to regret something you did or said over something that never happened.
Jang Wook, who had been the only one who heard her words, chuckled. Maybe because that was the reaction he generally had each time his best friend expressed herself in such a way. Or maybe because he agreed with her statement, it's not like the words affected him. After all, his so-called father decided to abandon him just when he was a newborn and close his gate of energy without caring about how it would affect him in the future. He never met the man, so why care over what people had to say about him?
Looking away from the girl and back to his friend, Wook leaned forward resting his crossed arms on the table. "Then he should have helped me break that. That is what masters do. They help their students."
"No one in Daeho is brave enough to go against your dad like that." Dang gu shook his head as he tried to get his point across. Internally he couldn't fathom the reason behind why he kept trying to make his friend understand. It didn't matter how many times he and Seo yul would tell him his plans wouldn't work, it was like their words entered in one ear and out the other.
Heo Ari chewed a piece of meat, swallowing before saying. "I am, unfortunately, I don't possess the power to do it." Her words made Dang gu stare at her in disbelief while Wook could only observe her with a warm fondness in his eyes. Wook knew she meant it. In the past, she had told him countless times that if she ever had the power to help him she would do it in a heartbeat. He couldn't understand what he had done to deserve such an amazing friend but he wouldn't complain.
Ari was one of the few people that believed in him, who completely believed he could do it.
Which is why he never gave up on trying to open his gate of energy. Because he wanted to make her proud. To show her that believing in him wasn't a waste of time or a lost cause.
"Are you okay?" Dang gu asked, reaching over the table and placing a hand on the girl's forehead as if to check her temperature, making the young lady slap his hand away. "You can't say stuff like that. Especially in front of my uncle, he would scold you for saying such things."
Ari rolled her eyes, already tired of the topic. "I'm just telling the truth. What's so wrong about that? I won't sit here and sugarcoat things because you both know I'm not like that. Everyone praises him as if he's some kind of god when the only thing he is, is a coward. The man left god knows where, without leaving an explanation of why he did what he did or caring about the mess he left behind. So tell me, why should we care about what he said or did years ago?"
Dang gu stared at her wide eyed, and mouth slightly opened. The reason behind the girl's bothered attitude being unknown to him. Not even Jang Wook got so pressed over the topic. But what the boy didn't know was that Heo Ari had been the one to console Wook every single time he would come crying to her. She had to hold him as he sobbed, staining her clothing with tears as he let his feelings out. Which always broke her heart every single time.
Jang Wook sighed, momentarily looking down before placing a hand on the girl's thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze as a way of telling her to relax. Shifting his attention back to a still stunned Dang gu, he changed the subject, knowing Heo Ari could get very heated over the topic involving his father. "You're right, not many have the guts to go against my father, but some live fearlessly. For example, the shadow assassin, Naksu."
At the mention of the young woman, Ari couldn't help but tense up. The memory of the young Assassin's body still lingering in her mind, but more specifically the bracelet she had taken off her body. The one identical to the one she possessed.
Dang gu's expression dropped. "Don't be ridiculous."
"I heard she is so skilled that not even the leader can beat her." Wook said, as the gears turned in his head. It seemed a plan was already forming in his head, which made Dang gu stare at him nervously.
"She is dead."
The Jang boy argued back, using the piece of information he heard a couple of hours before.
"Her soul left her body, so that means she might still be alive."
"He is right Dang gu," Heo Ari butted in, "I saw her body with my own eyes. She had the blue mark on her heart, which means she shifted bodies. Why do you think Park Jin seems more tense than usual? It's because he knows there's a high chance she is still alive and most likely lurking around in somebody else's body."
Dang gu's eyes widened, her words quickly catching his attention. "What? You saw her?" He knew Seo yul had seen the Assassin's body but not Ari. "How? And why didn't I know this?"
"Last night, I saw Seo yul. He told me my grandfather and Park Jin had summoned him to the secret room and it involved Naksu. Obviously, I also wanted to see, so I made him drag me with him." She explained, not going into full detail of the events from the night before. They couldn't find out about the bracelet. She felt like it was something that had to be done by herself.
Jang Wook turned to Dang gu. "Do you think I'm here just so I can eat crab? This is the fastest place to hear everything that goes on in Daeho." Pausing for a few seconds he then pointed at the crab before yelling. "Pick out the meat already! Put those spells to good use and pick out the crab meat."
"Why don't you ask Ari instead? She clearly knows how to do it without any need of using a spell—or even better, why don't you pick out the meat yourself, you lazybones?!" Standing up from the floor he started walking out of the room before being stopped by Wook's voice.
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
"To the bathroom!" And with that Dang gu closed the door, leaving the pair of best friends alone.
Heo Ari was about to ask Wook about his time in Gisan, until she remembered the fact she was supposed to be mad at him, making her close her mouth again and stare at her dirty hands that rested on her lap carefully to not stain her lavender hanbok.
Soon realizing Ari wouldn't say anything, Wook sighed, before choosing to break the silence that had fallen between them. "How are you? Did you drink your medicine? I know you were supposed to take it an hour ago." His words didn't cause any physical response or reaction over Ari, but unknown to him, on the inside the girl was happy her best friend cared enough to still have her medicine schedule memorized.
But her happiness quickly morphed into annoyance as Wook opened his mouth again. "Remember if you faint, I won't be picking you up. You're way too heavy for that and my body is too weak to be put under the work of carrying you all the way from here to the Sejukwon infirmary." His words were in fact not true but Wook knew this was the only way he would get a reaction out of the stubborn girl sitting beside him.
So, he nervously waited as he watched the girl dangerously narrowed her eyes at him. Before he could register what was going on, in a quick deliberate movement the girl had slapped his arm hard enough to leave her hand tingling in a burn sensation.
"Ow!" Jang Wook groaned, rubbing his arm while throwing a glare at the girl. "I guess you're mad at me." When he got no response he sighed. "Is this because I left without saying goodbye?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
"I'm sorry, okay? Monk Hoyeon forced me too. He said the first step for my training was to detach myself from things that made me weak." Seeing the glare Ari was sending him and not wanting another slap on the arm from her, he quickly added. "Which does not make any sense and I do not agree with in the slightest."
As much as Ari wanted to keep giving him the cold shoulder, her capacity of not being able to hold grudges for too long stopped her. Therefore, grabbing one of the crab legs she pointed it at his face, threateningly. "Fine, I forgive you. But if you ever do that again, I swear I won't speak to you for months."
Only receiving a fast nod in response, she moved the crab leg away from his face and back on the plate, as she asked, "How was your training in Gisan? I imagine it was not pleasant guessing by your previous words and clear dislike for the Monk."
Wook scoffed, "Don't even get me started. Those were the most boring months I've ever experienced in my life. The training sessions were purely based on meditating or reading, just like the other eleventh times but even worse. My back hurts from having to sleep on an uncomfortable hard bed—if I can even call it that. And to top it all of the food wasn't nearly as good as yours or maidservant Kim's."
At his last sentence a laugh erupted from the girl's mouth. "I must say, I'm flattered that my cooking skills were compared with maidservant Kim's but is that the only reason why you missed me?"
Wook shook his head. "I never said I missed you."
"I know you did."
"But I never said it."
"Does that mean you did miss me but just never said it?"
"I don't know."
"Is that a yes?"
"Maybe." A gummy smile took over his lips, making Ari smile back as he pulled her into a hug. Taking a deep breath he allowed the sweet scent of her hair filled his senses, as he gently caressed her long soft hair. "I've missed you, Ari."
"I've missed you too."
-——————✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧——————
—Joyce speaks
What do you guys think of Heo Ari? I'm already in love her. And also what do you think about Ari's and Wook's friendship?
I want you guys to start thinking of ship names for Ari and Wook.
Don't forget to comment and vote!!
See you next time!