Chapter 42 - Our hearts only want you

I find myself standing in an endless mustard field under the clear blue sky. Beautiful. He is dreaming of something like this. I walk through the field. I don't know how long should I walk. I am afraid of going deeper into his dream. It doesn't hurt to be cautious. I don't want to harm him in any way.

Someone tugs the sleeve of my robe. "You are finally here."

I see a child. The same 7 years old boy whom I saved from the ȧssassin in the past. He smiles at me fondly. Li Jun.

"You took a long time." The child is gone. I turn back and see the 27 years old Li Jun. His hair is long and black. He is holding a dagger. It is the same dagger that Kang Si An used to kill me when I saw him for the first time.

What's going on here? This is not a dream.

"Do you have the courage to see the memories?"

Li Jun disappears in front of me. I look to my right. It's Kang Si An. His hair is white. He has his hands in his pockets. "Coming into the mind of a timekeeper, you have some guts."

Is this a trap?

"No, it isn't." He smiles at me coldly. "You made the choice of entering his mind. This choice is the key to change the future."

"Who are you?" I clench my hands.

He pouts his lips and looks up. The sky turns dark. "Showing you is easier than telling you, traveler."

Kwon Kyuri meets the 30 years old Kang Si An in the alley. Everything goes the way it did except for the fact that she didn't find the courage to enter his mind after he falls asleep. She stares at him all night. At morning, she pretends that she has seen his memories. They spend the next day happily together. Kang Si An takes her to see the local attractions. They take a couple of pictures and eat out. They spend the days like newlyweds until she disappears after five days.

She returns to the night before she was supposed to meet the director.

"Why are you here?" He asks her slowly.

She stands up on her toes and pecks his lips. "Why would a girlfriend visit her boyfriend at night?"

"Are you bipolar? Don't just kiss me whenever you want. Our relationship is fake."

"I will make it real, Si An." She closes the door behind her. "What do you want to have for dinner? Me or ... ?"

"Get out." He tries to close the door, but she puts her leg forward to block the door.

"Kang Si An, it hurts." She cries. He stops pushing instantly. She winks and barges into his place. "I am starving."

Coming to his house and taking over his kitchen as if she owns it, she has some guts. Why can't he kick her out?

Whenever he tries to get close to her, she does a sneak attack. She would wink seductively or try to kiss him. Other time, she would tickle him. Tickles are his weaknesses, alright. He can't go close to this tickle monster.

***

"Thanks for the food."

"Why are you here?" Kang Si An stares at her. "Are you playing hot and cold with me? I have zero interest in you."

"Yum!" She licks her lips. "It was so worth it."

"What was worth it?"

"The food will get cold." She points at his plate with the chopstick. "It won't taste good. I will make something sweet for you later. Do you want to drink a chocolate shake or do you want to play in the bed?"

"I abhor your touch."

The memory flicker. Kyuri, who is watching from the sidelines, feels the lie in his words. He doesn't abhor her touch, but he doesn't want to admit it yet.

***

"I want to sleep here." She jumps into the bed.

"No." Kang Si An rolls his eyes. "You are my fake girlfriend. You are not welcome in my bed. Sleep on the couch."

"Ha!" She begins unbuttoning her black shirt. "I don't want to waste any more time. Each second is valuable. Come to bed. I will be gentle."

Kang Si An locks her in the bedroom and sleeps on the couch.

At the morning, he wakes up to find her gone. How did she leave from a locked room? He looks at the open window. This crazy girl!

***

Li Jun runs to her when he sees her figure standing in the middle of the road. She turns around, unaffected by the whispers and gasps of people around her, and she gives him a cordial smile. It's been three years since she was gone. She doesn't look a day older. He puts over his overcoat to cover her. "Welcome back."

"I am back." She leans on him. "Li Jun, I have missed you."

***

"What's this?" She paces around the room in anger. "I was gone for a few years and you got married again."

"She's just a concubine." He has been apologizing since she found out. After she disappeared on their wedding night, he told everyone that she went back home because her family was sick. He doesn't know how it happened. The 13th daughter of the emperor asked for a boon when she impressed the emperor by her painting on the emperor's birthday. She wished to marry him. She was sent here as a concubine.

"Tch! All men are the same." She glares at him. "You must be happy. She is young and pretty. She's a real princess too. Her bȯȯbs are bigger than mine."

"I tried to refuse the marriage. The emperor won't listen to anyone." He sighs again. His wife's temper is bad. "I didn't want to die because I wanted to wait here for you. I haven't seen her face once. I only belong to you."

After bringing the princess to his home, he left to the battlefield to take care of the invaders with General Yu. He didn't expect to find Kyuri at the city border when they were returning from the battle. Then, she always turns up in most unexpected places.

"Why not? You should visit her." She pouts. "I want to divorce you."

He is happy that she is jealous. He is crestfallen because she is asking for a divorce. "I decline. You are my wife. You will die as my wife."

"Unbelievable." She crosses her arms. "Let me tell you. I can't be with you for the rest of your life. I am from the future. I go back and forth in time because I don't have any control over my time-traveling ability. In the future, there is your reincarnation who is in love with me. He is someone who won't marry someone else even after I am gone for a decade. I like him more now."

Li Jun is half surprised to hear her. He knew that she is different. He is half happy to know that she isn't a spirit from hell. "Then, in the future, you are also with me. I am glad."

"You are strangely accepting." She blinks her eyes. "That guy acted so jealously when he found out. Are you two really same?"

Li Jun embraces his wife. "Our hearts only want you."