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Chapter 2 – Distant Heart

Even if our body are in close proximity

I feel our heart so distant

.

Yona feels she really want to meet Hak even if he just goes, but after her conversation with her dragon, somehow this bad feeling lurching on her stomach. Yona's impatience grows bigger by the time passing by, she clenches her fist on her chest, why is Hak taking time so long? She feels distraught due to Hak's absence. Till finally Hak comes back to the campsite casually, asking what happen while carrying two sacks fulfilled with their daily necessary like weapon and foods. Zeno and Yun approach him to help him carry that sacks.

Yona sighs in relief, her heart palpitating loudly as she fisting her hands on the fabric of her skirt and standing up with blushing face "Hak?! I'm so sorry for yesterday?!".

Hak seems surprised "…why are you apologizing?".

"I wasn't able to find the right words, and I ended up hurting you. I'm sorry", Yona confesses that she overheard Hak's conversation with the people of the Wind tribe and she's always felt like she stole him away from the Wind tribe, what's more she heard Hak has a fiancée "ah, I can't say it properly, I think I'll mess up again, but I have to tell him?!".

Once she's mentioning about his fiancée, it's clicked on his head "fiancée...? Ah, you mean Ayame".

Yun and Jae Ha narrow their eyes and agape in unison "he's not denying it?!".

"I see…", Hak looks to the side and puts his hand on his hip before turning his head back into her "so, that's why you were pushing me to go back and said that stuff about returning my freedom?".

"yeah… but! I don't think that you're unneeded or anything like that. It's just that you're a very precious person to me", Yona blushes and bows her head further, closing her eyes as she prevents the tears out from her eyes "so… so… stay with me…".

"tsk, what a mess. Listen well, princess", Hak scratches the back of his head, looking straight to her and heightening his voice "I won't leave you!? Like hell I'd leave you!? And that's not simply because I feel obligated, not to!? Get that shit into your head already!?".

Yona takes a step backward with his attitude, but Hak goes on.

"right, King Il was a master I swore complete obedience to and maybe you don't think of yourself as someone as great as him, but…?!", Hak takes a deep breath before continues his outburst "I've promised to someone for not let go, not leave and not betray someone precious to me!? even if all of this world would turn as my enemy, I'm not going to betray and leave you!? I will fight as long as it needed to protect you because like you've said, you're also very precious person to me!?".

Yona is teared up by his confession, she wipes her tears away before asking "Hak, you might have been exasperated by all the things I've said, but… can I ask you one thing?"

Hak sighs "bring it on".

"what will you do about Ayame?".

Hak flies his hand to his forehead "okay, I hate being at the center of misunderstandings, so just please, listen well and just put that shit in your head already… the fiancée thing is just something Gramps decided on his own and Ayame has a lover".

"eh?! Wait, so you got reje—".

A vein pops in Hak's head "DAMN IT, THE ONE I LOVE IS—!?".

Suddenly, someone with sad looks on her eyes from his past appears within his head. Breeze of the winds blows her delicate features as she smiles in the middle of her tears "I will always be waiting for you, Hak".

With both hand fisting on his sides and his expression freezes as he trails off, Yona concerns if something wrong "…Hak?".

"…forget about what I have barely to say just now", Hak drops his hands and sighs heavily, closing his eyes before clears his throat "anyway, the fiancée thing is just something Gramps decided on his own when we were children, Ayame has a lover named Saki from our tribe and the one I love is not Ayame, so be it. Does it clear already for you?".

"yes, but…".

"what else?".

"well, you see… you never told me about… exactly, who does the woman you love?".

"beats me. Why should I tell you about it? It's my privacy".

"EH!? No fair, Hak!? Maybe it's true, but you never tell me about it, I even don't know who your first love is?!".

"I'm not about to tell you about my first love or the woman I loved in front of other people so casually, not even more with others watching us like this".

"ugh, then would you tell me when it just the two of us?".

"NO", Hak states adamantly before he retorting "why do you care to know about it? It's not your business".

Jae Ha is holding himself back from hitting Hak and Yun groans internally "just tell her already!?".

"right, it's not my business. I know I'm being childish again but we've always been together for so long like we were siblings. Back then, I've always thought the closest girl to you is me but I realize that was just a delusion from living in my own small world. No wonder you felt annoyed sooner or later with naïve, spoiled, selfish and ignorant princess like me but I tried to not being egoist, I only want make you happy so sorry if that's rather annoy you".

Looking her bad-mouthing about herself in front of them, Hak sweats-drops and reaches out his hand "eh, wait… I didn't mean…".

"I wonder, actually… since when did you stop speaking about what you feel to me? because no matter how close we are, it feels like you're so far away from me at the same time", Yona feels guilty floating to the surface again as she remembers how the pain and sadness visible on Hak's eyes even for a while when he barely mentioning about who the one he love. Hak never does mention about anything of his love life to her and it's his privacy, yes, she knows it, but does it wrong if she tries to make him happy and want him to be happy even if not with her?

Hak sighs before comes closer to her.

"look, I've told you, many times in fact, I won't leave you… so what's the matter? I thought I also told you before to only think of me as your tools and you shouldn't have to worry about your tools…", Hak leans his forehead to Yona's before straightening himself and patting her head "guys, our next destination has decided?".

"not yet", Yun shakes his head "what's the matter?".

"I know where we can rest here and relax for a bit", Hak tells them there's small hot springs near Kuuto but still within Wind Tribe territory belongs to Mundok's acquaintance "maybe we can get discount here, what's more I want to go to somewhere near that hot springs".

Zeno is the first who agree with Hak, because Hak said that place near Kuuto before explains to others about how Hiryuu Castle's shrine has the power to heal the Four Dragons due to its high divine protection.

Yona realizes Hak isn't there when everybody has settled on their room after taking bath in the hot springs. Shina has told her to where Hak goes and they follow Yona who sneaking to peek on Hak because they are curious since Shina tells them that Hak has brought bouquet of Cosmos flowers with him. Jae Ha suspects he will go to meet a girl. Once they arrive where Hak is, they're surprised when they find Hak puts that bouquet Cosmos flowers before crouching himself and praying in front of cemetery, written 'Son Setsuna' on its cemetery.

"get out, I know you guys following me here".

Hak's stern expression is enough to make them silent. Clearly, he doesn't want to talk about who resting here to them. Surprisingly, Zeno tells them she who resting here is Hak's adopted little sister. Zeno knows because he met with Mundok when he bringing toddler Hak and baby Setsuna to Fuuga.

Yun gasps when he sees her from the corner of her eyes "wait, Yona, why are you crying?".

Yona touches her face, she doesn't realize that she's crying. From far distance, when she sees him standing in front of his little sister's cemetery, she feels like Hak will cry as she looking his back that feels lonely "it's so frustrating… even if he is this close with me, it felt like he's so distant… why did you never told me about how you felt to me? you even never bothered to let me see your wounds…".

Hak turns his head to Ogi, patting Yona's head "so, what are you doing here, Old Man?".

Ogi gets out of his hiding spot and apologizes for peeking, lifts his hand in surrender before he explains what he's doing other than meet with other broker information "Royal Family of Northern Kai Empire have paid my service so I'm here to bring her to meet with you".