Part Six
The day had passed with nothing short of interesting happening. Siegfried had mentioned that several new mercenaries were to come to the tavern the following day. That bit of news was what kept everyone on their toes working and kept them sane despite the incredibly soporific day.
Kilik laid on the Western bed, his arms outspread to the sides and his coffee-brown eyes fixated on the ceiling above him. His thoughts, however, were on his journey---something he had put off to the side since he had arrived in Venice. Procrastination was not something favored by the elders of the Ling Sheng Su Temple. If the Edge Master were to learn of this...
And his training...
Nearly a week had passed since he had an hours-long training session. That brief spar he had with Siegfried and the wood chopping was the only "training" he had done. Kilik turned over onto his belly, burying his face into the downed pillow, cringing at the horrific picture of himself in a couple of months out of shape and several pounds overweight.
*knock-knock*
He turned his body, and thus his attention, to the door. That was strange. He wasn't expecting any visitors. "Come on in!" he called out.
The door opened slowly with an echoing creak, and in stepped Seung Mi Na, much to his surprise. Initially, he had figured it to be Lola with her super-sweet delicacies and drinks. But he had absolutely no complaints about the former.
"Hey, Mi Na."
"Did I wake you?" she asked meekly, closing the door softly behind her.
"Nope; I was just wide awake," he replied. Though he didn't object to her visit, he -did- find it strange that she came to see him at such a late hour. "Um. Something's up?" he asked her.
"I came to talk to you," Mi Na answered while taking a seat at the very edge of his bed after he had given her the "go 'head". "I couldn't sleep."
Kilik clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "So talking to me makes you sleepy?" he teased.
"Mmhm."
"I'm so hurt."
Mi Na stifled a giggle with her hand. "You're weird."
"Weird?" the handsome youth repeated questionably. "Hardly. I like to think of myself as different."
"You're right about that." A smile that spoke many kind words spread across Mi Na's amiable face. "You're not like anyone I've ever met," she went on to say, shyly lowering her gaze to her sweat-laden palms.
Kilik pulled his extended legs inward, folding them so that he can sit comfortably upright. "Not everyone's the same, Mi Na."
"True. But most males I've ever met treat me remotely the same. Siegfried... Hwang... My father..." The Korean girl leaned back on her hands placed behind her on the matttress, feeling more and more comfortable with each passing moment in the presence of this innocent yet enigmatic young man. "You know," she continued, "If even half of the men in the world were like you, things would be a whole lot better for girls like me."
Deciding that words weren't suitable for the moment, Kilik quit the discreet act; his agile figure slid along the thin sheets until he was right beside her. A shaking arm snaked about her lithe waist. What surprised Kilik, even more than the speed of his beating heart, was that Mi Na didn't reject his courageous advances; she didn't slap him or shy away. And for a moment, they sat there and simply stared at each other.
That was, until Kilik decided to test the waters, so to speak. "Mi Na," he murmured softly, licking his dry lips. "Th--"
Mi Na's index finger held his moving lips down, silencing him. "Oh, shush. You'll make me fall asleep with all of your talking."
Her own, moistened lips replaced her finger on his.
The moment lasted only a few seconds but to an astonished, wide-eyed Kilik, it was more like a few hours. When Mi Na pulled back from him with a pleased grin, he saw only psychedelic dots jumping about the room. "Good night, Kilik," he heard her say. He also heard her leave his bedroom as quietly as she came.
Kilik, on the other hand, wasn't as collected as she. His eyes must have went five minutes without blinking, and his mouth...ten without closing. After the vivid display of colors doing things he never thought possible, he finally regained some control over his thoughts and collapsed onto his back upon the bed, staring at the ceiling again. Only this time, with a wide smile. "Wow..."
"Can you hand me that plate over there?"
"That one?"
"Yeah."
"Here you go."
"Thank you, Kilik," Lola replied, hastily bringing down a sharp knife onto a tomato, slicing it thinly and neatly. She had began to cook up yet another storm at the start of the morning. Siegfried had told her that several newcomers were on their way and she made it her duty to make sure if they decided not to stay for the services that her cooking was going to make them change their minds.
"Can you take this to Mi Na?" She held a silver tray decorated with eggs, a flat bread-like cake and some smoked meat out to Kilik.
It didn't take much to make the boy run errands, it seemed; because as soon as he took the tray and beamed, he was well on his way upstairs to Seung Mi Na's room. After arriving and noticing that the door to her room was left slightly open, he nudged the door ajar with his foot, as his hands were occupied. "Mi Na?" he asked loudly, poking his head into the room. There was no response.
"Hey Mi Na!" he called out again. No response. Curiosity took over him and he soon found himself fully entering the room. "Mi Na, you'--" his words were trapped in his throat. Mi Na wasn't there. And what few supplies she had were gone as well. She had left, leaving white linen curtains to form waves in the gentle wind seeping in through the open window she probably escaped out of. Or maybe it was the door?
Kilik didn't believe it. He didn't -want- to. He even went so far as to check behind the door, underneath the bed, the adjacent wash room---to no avail. The only thing he found was several sheets of paper on the mattress.
"A good-bye letter?" he asked himself. He then carefully read:
Dear Kilik,
I don't know if you'll ever read this but something inside of me inspired me to write this to you. Please read this thoroughly because I have some intimate and sincere thoughts expressed here. Right now, you're probably thinking: 'Where is Mi Na?'
I couldn't stay at the lodge very long. It was a distraction.
Don't get me wrong. I really, -really- enjoyed being with you. It made me feel independent and carefree, and most of all, happy. I haven't felt that way in a very long time. And I have you to thank.
I'm now going to continue my search for the Sword of Salvation. When I find it and return home with it, I'll convey the news to you personally. The Ling Sheng Su Temple is near Tibet, right?
I'm going to be honest with you. I didn't expect to make a connecti---yes, a connection with you, but I am relieved that I did. You treated me fairly and you overlooked the fact that I was a female.
You're as sweet as sugar and I'm sure that Chinese Circus Girl misses you terribly. You should go to her and tell her your thoughts as you did to me. Xianghua will forgive you. She'd be stupid not to.
Maybe we will cross paths again. Who knows? But if for some reason we will never meet up again, I just want you to know that I am glad that I met you.
Goodbye.
Forever sincere,
Seung Mi Na.
P.S.: I forgot to thank you for returning my earrings!
Kilik forced himself not to ball up the papers or cry. Closing his lips tightly, he folded the crinkly sheets of paper and stuffed them into his pockets. A shaky exhale escaped his dry lips. He couldn't believe she was gone. He was so close. So, so close to seeing if she was the one for him. And now she was so far away.
He stared out of the open window. He weakly hoped that the letter was a mischievous prank and that Mi Na would be just outside of the lodge, ready to do some adventuring or talking with him. But she wasn't there. What was once the most beautiful city he had ever visited suddenly became the most dreadful place on Earth.
He tilted his head back and opened his eyes, allowing a tear to roll down his face. "You're welcome, Mi Na."
* * * *
FINIS.
A/N: Yeow! Finally finished! Hopefully, the format is not screwed.... Sorry about the way this chapter/story ended, but this is the result of me after spending Payday Night in Roppongi. Anyways, this is it. The end. I don't know if I'm going to continue this (sort of how I continued Emerald Earrings with this)---I don't think I will. I know some people are happy about that, heh. But I would like to thank each and every person who took the time to read this, write me a review and e-mail me their thoughts. I really appreciate your feedback. It helps me a whole damn lot, you know. =)
