Kintsugi // ATEEZ [Ishihara Sequel] ✔

6 Parting

Yunho waits for Akira to close the door to the room as he leans against the wall, crossing his arms. He trails her with his eyes until she stands in front of him, her expression a mixture of pensiveness and curiosity, but long gone is the hardened general. Living in Nyla did truly do something to her... and he can't say whether he's already used to it even after around two years.

"You've decided to go back?" he asks. "To the very place where we lost Emira?"

She meets his eyes, her gaze hardening. "You've been acting off ever since Jongho came yesterday," she says, avoiding the question. "Is it Seonghwa?" He stays mum even as she advances forward, looking like she's about to shove him. Instead she stops, eyes dropping to the floor with her fists curled on either side. "I'm sorry."

He looks confused as to why she's apologizing, but wants to let her continue talking. His questions can wait.

"Are you unhappy that I got married to him?"

He sighs. "That's not it. You know I'm happy for you. If I didn't want you to be with him I wouldn't have told you who saved you that day when we were attacked at the ball. I would've let you think that I was the one who saved you, but I know he makes you happy."

"Then what's wrong?" Her shoulders sag. "What did I do wrong?"

He doesn't want to answer but he spills it out anyway. "You're different."

She scoffs, but there's a flicker of pain in her eyes when he tells her that. "Is it a bad thing that I've changed?" Her voice starts to get hard. "From the heartless person that I was when I became a general for Lucida."

He gets stumped, because he knows that is not what he wanted to say. It seemed that his mind and his mouth weren't processing the same thing. "That's not- that's not what I meant." He catches her eyes again, asking the same question again, "You've decided to go back to take on the throne?"

"Hmm," she hums a response. "I just... Seonghwa and I talked it out and I think that it's the best decision I can make."

"Of course it's Seonghwa," he mumbles under his breath. "Deciding to rule a kingdom is not as easy as deciding what you want to eat. Heck, you even take so long to think about what you want to eat. But you've already come to a decision to take the offer just a day after Jongho came in bringing the news?"

"Lucida can't wait," she responds. "Do you want to see the legacy of Lucida gone just like that? For it to become an abandoned kingdom? It's not impossible; look at what has become of Ileara. Not even a single person survived. Legacy? You don't even know what they pass on anymore. It's as if they never existed. Do you want Lucida to become that way?"

Ileara. A kingdom that was once a thriving kingdom among the others in the country, standing proud among Lucida, Nyla, Estar and Fyrae. But its legacy was destroyed due to unknown reasons, and now they're no more than a name in the history books. No one knows what happened to the kingdom, nor the entirety of the civilization that once existed. In fact, when talking about the kingdoms, only four of them are commonly mentioned - Ileara is not considered a part of them anymore. Everyone just went on with their lives, as if Ileara had never existed. It could also be due to the fact that as opposed to the others, the kingdom was built near the seas, their people blending in with nature.

"Why are you bringing up Ileara? A kingdom that doesn't even exist anymore."

"I don't want Lucida to become that way. We can salvage our kingdom, make us proud of it. Like we discussed that day. We don't have to abandon our kingdom forever."

There's a sad smile on Yunho's face as he temporarily forgets the ill feelings he has towards Seonghwa. "It was your silly dream, but it's becoming a reality."