Cheonha flipped the drain on the tub, and the water drained away. It was a little difficult to move her mother without Bethany's help, but Cheonha managed to carefully dry her mother and dress her. She hadn't had enough time to buy her mother any proper clothes, but for the time being her own things would work. The two women were the same size, or would be if Lee Suha weighed the right amount for her age. Being away from the old environment strengthened Suha, and, after a session with the blow dryer, she was able to walk back to Cheonha's bedroom so long as she kept one arm firmly clasped to her daughter's shoulders.
They emerged together from the bathroom to the combined living area and kitchen. That American, Bethany, stood puttering over the sink. The smell of cooked onions still hung in the air, but wouldn't be for much longer, as Bethany was scrubbing out the frying pan. She smiled at the Lees briefly before going back to work.
Cheonha went ahead and brought her mother to the bedroom, before the American could stumble through a few clumsy attempts at korean words. She led her mother through the door and to the bed, tugging away the top comforter before she lay Suha down. Strangely, Suha still felt cold. Cheonha slipped into the bed beside her, where they cuddled.
"Cheonha," Suha glanced back towards the door. "Was that an American?"
"Yes," Cheonha answered, brushing a piece of hair out of her mother's face. "She's Bethany."
"She isn't dangerous?"
"No. Nothing they said about America or South Korea or England is true. It was all a lie." With a smile, Cheonha hugged her mother tight. "And we don't have to worry about lies anymore."
"Are we in South Korea now?"
"Yes, we're in Seoul."
"How exactly did we get here?" Suha's brow furrowed. "And who was that tall, brown person? Why did he have a beard without a face?"
"His name is Aldaris, Omma-ni. He's a Protoss, and from very far away." Cheonha paused a moment, uncertain if she really should tell her mother about Starcraft. "I'll explain later, but we have to keep him a secret. We can't tell anyone that he's the one who brought you here, okay? If we do..."
Cheonha stopped, realizing that she had no idea what the consequences of telling on Aldaris would be. All she knew was that he was a character in a video game, and that he didn't want to be talked about. She blushed at the thought of telling someone that a video game character was real. People would laugh in her face. Unless Aldaris came down to Earth himself, but so far as Cheonha knew, he never seemed to want to. Not that she minded. It was nice to have a secret friend. Cheonha found herself wishing that she could draw pictures with him again. She pulled the blanket a little more snugly around her mother. Hobbies could wait.
"Anyway," Cheonha continued. "As you saw before, he's a very strange person. He's...shy, and doesn't want to speak to humans right now. I don't think anybody knows about him, and if they did, they would be frightened."
"I don't like the sound of that, Cheonha. He seems like a nice enough person to me, so why shouldn't we speak of him? Isn't he the one who took you away before?"
"He is, but we still have to keep it quiet for now. I'll show you something later that will make things clear. But for now, you have to stay inside my apartment for two weeks. You have to eat lots of good food so that you can look like you were brought over by professional smugglers. By that time things will make more sense."
"Lying is not good practice." Suha shifted in the bed, stretching for comfort as she yawned. "But I am too tired to argue. Ah, I haven't had good rice in a very long time. And such a nice place to rest! Cheonha, how did you get all these things?"
"The government gives people from the north money for a year when they come to live in the south. I still have plenty of time left."
Suha, eyes shut tight in exhausted contentment, nodded. "Hmm, I'll get a job before then. There's no sense in waiting until the money runs out."
"Omma, you'll get a year of money too."
"I will?" Omma peeked out of one eyelid. "That's good then. Oh, Cheonha, I want to sleep now. But I'm so afraid that if I do, I'll wake up in old Minhi's hut, and you'll be gone."
"No, no," Cheonha snuggled in close against her mother. "I'm not going to go anywhere, Omma. I'm going to stay right here and take care of you."
"That's good, that's good," Suha sleepily murmured. For a brief moment, she opened her eyes again. "Cheonha, I want to speak to Aldaris sometime later. I want to thank him for everything he's done."
Cheonha considered this with a hint of dismay, wondering how in the world she could get Aldaris to do anything. It wasn't as if she could call him on the phone.
"I don't always see him, Omma. I don't know when we'd get a chance to speak next."
"Any time he's available, that's fine." Suha yawned again. "Oh Cheonha, I'm so happy to see you again..."
"I'm happy too, Omma."
Suha stopped speaking, but with her frail, thin arms, she embraced her little girl and relaxed. Her breathing slowed, and she fell into a peaceful sleep. Cheonha too finally realized how tired she was. She'd been up for hours, long before she'd played so many games of Starcraft with John.
The sounds of water and dishes no longer sounded from the kitchen. A faint electrical scent was in the air, and to Cheonha it was familiar enough to identify with the Protoss' teleportation device. Bethany was gone, apparently, and that was fine by Cheonha. Now that she had her mother back and they were both safely far away from their enemies, her whole world was only as large as the twin bed. Cheonha fell into a deep sleep, more content than she had ever been in her entire life.
-t-
Ah, awkwardness. That one feeling that, no matter where I am or what's happening, remains a familiar component of life. There was really no place for me at Cheonha's apartment. They ate a simple dinner, they went to the bathroom to clean up, and then they went to Cheonha's room. I'm just the awkward near stranger hanging around in their house. I cleaned up the kitchen so I wouldn't feel useless, but once they went into Cheonha's bedroom, there was nothing for me to do but wait until Aldy picked me up.
Yeesh, "Aldy" sounds ridiculous. I'll just stick with "Charlie" for short, then.
Anyway, so I cleaned up the kitchen, then sat on the couch and stared at the wall a bit. Turning on the TV probably would have bothered Cheonha and her mom, so I didn't mess with it. I took a book down from a shelf built into the wall, but unfortunately, I'm still behind in learning Korean. I could pronounce the words, but not know their meaning. I did kinda half get the title, which was something like "Chance to Leave the House of Long Life", but I'm pretty sure that's too mangled to be accurate. Maybe it's a metaphor for something. It was written by Shin Gyonsook, but more than that I don't know. I put the book back and sat on the couch. Thought about stuff. Stories I was writing. What I was going to tell Toby and John. Pretty dresses.
Telepathic conversations are, uh, interesting. Somehow I knew Aldaris was talking to me, even though he didn't say any words. He sort of did this signal in my mind, like the mental equivalent of a guy honking his horn from the driveway. So basically, he was rude. Whatever. I'm far from expecting anything logical from the guy right about now. Without a chance to say goodbye to the Lees, I was whisked away to the ship again.
Not that I minded meeting back up with our resident 'Toss. I owed him a telling off. Charlie beamed me back up directly to the bridge, and I folded my arms the very instant the recall clouds receeded. He, still sitting in his chair at the console, greeted me with a dark frown. I couldn't help but notice he was wearing different clothes, and that the room smelled a little nicer than before. Ah, he must have cleaned up. Can't blame him for that, not after what he saw down in North Korea. Kinda wish I'd had a chance for a shower, but I wasn't going to use Cheonha's bathroom. I don't like using other people's showers.
But all that's stuff I'm thinking about now that I'm writing this. At the moment, I just stared at Aldaris. I wasn't angry or anything, but still, dude was really confusing. Why did he go down in front of all those North Koreans if he was so insistent on staying a secret from Earth?
"Remain silent," Aldaris snapped, immediately catching my intent. "Unless it is to answer my questions."
"Oh sure, Charlie," I retorted. "You're gonna tell me what to do after you completely blew off my entirely logical advice for no reason."
"You are not entitled to lecture me, human." Aldaris growled, unashamed to look me right in the eye. He pretended to have something important to do at the computer. "I have rescued Cheonha's mother, just as you wished. Whatever obligation you feel you have towards me I have more than fulfilled."
"Obligation?" So much astonishment came out of my face that I could feel it dripping down my chin. "I have no idea what you're talking about with that. No sir, I get to lecture you as much as I want, because it's my home country that's gonna get in trouble from you teleporting us down there."
"May I remind you, this is my vessel, and I needn't allow you to remain. Patience is not my strong suit when it comes to your nonsense, and these outbursts of yours will not be tolerated long."
Aldaris said that, but he didn't do anything with the computer yet. I got the distinct feeling that he wasn't merely talking about sending me home. A threat silently crept through the air, like a current of electricity. Too mad to care, I went on. Because I have a case of the dumbs, apparently.
"It would seem Charlie lacks patience in a lot of ways," I said. "And holy crap, this isn't half so much a betrayal of me as it is of yourself. Aren't you the one supposed to be hiding from humanity? Legit, what's gotten into you? I don't believe for a second that you had to see North Korea up close and personal."
After a second of awkward pausing, I suddenly understood. Thought I did, anyway. He's not afraid of humans, but what better way to get an ego boost than suddenly being surrounded by people who have every reason to be afraid of you? Sure, the North Koreans don't know that Aldaris is a powerful psychic, but who wouldn't be scared of a strange, vaguely gingerbread-man-ish giant with no face?
Or a third of a face, I guess, with the eyeballs... I looked up, receiving the dirty look I deserved.
"Does your tiny mind so quickly forget its vulnerability?" he snapped. "Put aside your childish musings and answer me clearly. In my misfortune, you are my only source of speculation. Speak of the potential consequences to this night, if you can."
Heh, it's kinda funny how Aldaris thinks he can just yell at me and I'll just take it. Boy, is he so arrogant. Yeah, I really do think he wanted some humans to think he's all big and bad for the sake of his ego. I'd bet money on it.
"Bethany..."
"Yes, I know you can read my mind, and at this particular moment, I don't care." I rubbed my face, so done with life. "Oh my gosh, Charlie, why did you have to go down there?"
"Because Cheonha was in danger. Her circumstance bore a certain resemblance to a situation in whch you found yourself in not long ago. You had little objection to my interference at that time."
Ugh...Charlie's talking about that time when he rescued me because of things I prefer not to talk about. Maybe one day I'll write that down. ...Not soon. Let's just say that I got the picture pretty quickly.
"Y'know Charlie, you could have just said that," I sighed into my upturned palms. "May I remind you, I couldn't see what was going on. So okay, you had to save Cheonha. Cool. But did you really have to bring me too? Nobody down there knows who or what you are, but an alien and a westerner together? That's only asking for trouble. I told you that I'm an American stereotype. And there is more than a slight difference between teleporting down to North Korea and North Carolina."
"Are you so foolish as to believe I would for one moment leave you unattended on my vessel?" Aldaris retorted. "She who cannot be trusted with recording devices? She who nearly electrocuted herself by acting against clearly stated safety precautions?"
"Oh, the sir is going to lecture me on clearly stated precautions?" I said. "I told you that me going down was very bad. All you would have had to do is go yourself and then check my mind when you got back. Since they saw us together, they're going to assume there's some sort of alien-American conspiracy. They'll make all these dumb accusations, like that time they claimed we dropped diseased insects on them. Granted, that's kind of hilarious, but I didn't think you shared my sense of humor."
I tried to rub out the headache I was starting to get. Maybe I didn't have enough coffee before coming over here. Honestly, I should have suggested that Aldaris go with Cheonha in the first place. Then he wouldn't have gone down, if only to spite me and my advice he apparently thinks very little of.
"Indeed," Aldaris replied, a new, darker tone in his voice. "But as I have none other to consult, tell me then of the consequences you so greatly fear."
I really, really wanted to snark at the guy for that, but he comes from a people that once blew up human planets. I don't get to be rude, and I didn't want to be. Frankly, I'm not so much mad at him as plain confused. What in the world was going on in this guy's head?
"Mitchi gessoh." I breathed in to calm down. "Anyway, might I mention that North Korea is closest in political relations to China, another country that has had an incident with magically teleporting humans. The good news on that end is that China didn't get pictures of us that time, so there's little chance both incidents will be connected."
"That is an assumption on your part," Aldaris accused sharply. "What is the likelihood of its accuracy?"
"That really depends on how much the Chinese told their superiors before we disappeared. If messages were sent, then there's no chance of it being swept under the rug. If they kept their mouths shut until after we were beamed out, then we're good. No sense in telling the authorities about things they can't explain."
"I am more concerned with the North Koreans. What are they capable of?"
"I don't know!" I threw up my hands in frustration. "For the time being, we're all out of their grip, so they can't do anything to us. What they will do is spread the word, which thankfully has limited believability. Best case scenario is that rumors stay entertaining rumors. Worst case scenario, North Korea talks to China and they start making plans to do something about the West. Most likely there'll be some form of paranoia and North Korea will start making threats about Western conspiracies."
"Have I anything to fear from them?"
"You're a great guy, Charlie. Y'know that?" I rolled my eyes. "Of course not. There's only going to be trouble for us earthlings. The only good news is that North Korea can barely so much as fire missiles at South Korea, and China's got business interests in avoiding unnecessary conflict. Though I can't help having some sort of nagging feeling that this isn't going to end in simple misinformation. All I can hope is that there isn't some sort of repercussions in Cheonha's village. I mean, maybe nothing will happen, but someone's going to take the fall there, most likely."
\\\\
I paced a bit. "Then again, maybe not. How can somebody blame a farmer town for not being able to stop a Protoss they didn't even know exists?"
"So you see, your fears are worthless," Aldaris said, a calm taking hold of him. "My knowledge of the Koreas is not great, yet I am somewhat aware of the nature of the politics concerning these unfortunate nations. Have the two not experienced mild conflict over time, that does not boil over into greater violence? Is it not been that the origin of their division was a greater war than all the time that was which to follow? So too the name of America has been spoken among other humans I have known. It has meddled fruitlessly within the Koreas for decades, has it not? Surely an oddity such as this would do little to disturb the 'cold war' that now presently exists."
I really, really want to figure out what Aldaris knows about Earth, but I couldn't ask him about it then. Plus I was starting to get tired. Did I want to explain to him that the actual Cold War was over? Nah, he's technically right that it's a mini-cold war now, though less intense. Well, whatever, what's done is done.
"In your universe," I suddenly said. "There was no Protoss around to meddle with Korea."
"That is so." Aldaris sat up in his chair, proud and uncomprimising with little ol' me. "Is it your wish then, that I had refrained from retreiving Cheonha's mother? Would that not have proved better for your nation?"
"Yeah, probably, but I'm selfish, and I want Cheonha's mother safe." I hauled myself over to one of the big 'Toss chairs and sat, probably looking really goofy in the process. "It's basically impossible to do any good for a place like North Korea without doing something wrong. Anything given to them, like that food, for example, might benefit somebody. Or else it might get someone arrested, or beat up if someone steals it from them. Heck, when the Koreas finally unite, it's gonna be a whole economic mess, ya don't even know."
"Surely I do not. For I can recall no period in Protoss history analogous to this." Aldaris shook his head at me, as though I represented all of my species. He really needs to stop doing that. "What fascinating folly you humans are capable of."
Is there no anti-human dig too easy for Aldaris? I was going to make some kind of smart remark about the whole Khalai/Dark Templar thing, but decided against it. If anything, communism certainly is fascinating folly - it's not like I don't have two tons of books on the matter. Kinda fascinating too how people act like communism is gone forever. It's a cycle of endless interest. Hey, stop judging me. Some people read about zombies, but I prefer the reality's horrors.
If Charlie heard my thoughts, he didn't say anything about them. Instead he got up and started doing something at the controls. I looked away intentionally. Though never saying so specifically, Aldaris doesn't like me watching him operate his machinery.
"If it is a matter of that which I find distasteful," Aldaris said. "Then you might also reconsider the tones with which you speak to me in the future. It shall serve you well in life to allow yourself more reservations in speech when you encounter those less rational than I."
I gave a rumpled smile. That's the kind of thing I would say to my nephews. "I'm not saying all of this because I hate you, Charlie."
"I am aware. Consider my words nonetheless."
"Y'know, Charlie," I scooted up further in the seat. "Drama like this is the exact thing you must have been hoping to avoid when you said you weren't going to save Cheonha's mother. So why this? Why did you change your mind?"
He had to have known it was coming, but when I asked the question, Aldaris visibly tensed. He faced away from me a little longer, then gave me the side eye with his glowing red orbs. Yeah, he does that when I bring up a topic he doesn't like.
"Must I explain my every action to you?" he finally said.
"No," I answered quietly. "But it would be nice if you would think things through a little more. I don't think I have to tell you that your actions affect more people than just you. Seriously, what's going on? If being stuck up here in this flying box is starting to get to you, don't worry about it anymore. You don't have to tell the whole planet you're here. I'll talk to my government, and we'll set you up a place where you can at least get some real sunlight-"
Aldaris suddenly hit one of his panels with a stubborn smack, though everything besides the one hand maintained his cool. He turned away back to his computer, but I could still see his angry eyes in the reflection on the screen.
"Because I am aware you are a fool, I shall resist a wrathful response to your foolish suggestion. I shall not accept a place on your planet, and thus leave the works of my people vunerable to plunder."
"Charlie!" I exclaimed. "Read my dang mind! Do you really think I give a single flying rat crap for your technology?"
"...How may I answer so squalid a metaphor?" Aldaris rolled his eyes. "Whatever motivates you is unknowable. Nor can I assume a pure motive of anyone on Earth. It is simply a matter of statistics; the greater number your kind know of it, the greater likelihood there will be of a personage of unsavory impulses attempting the theft of what I have. Surely you realize this on you own, and have no need of my counsel on the matter."
"Okay, fine, whatever. All I'm saying is, it's not the Terran Dominion down there."
"It matters not. Protecting this vessel is a responsibility that I do not intend to fail."
"Says the person that randomly teleported down to North Korea for the heck of it."
Aldaris turned sharply in my direction. "Does it amuse you to anger me?"
I thought about it a second, and then nodded. "Yeah, a little."
The Protoss just rubbed his eyes in frustration. "I am beyond exhausted of your inanity. Prepare yourself for return." He paused, his hands hovering over the teleporter controls (or what I think are the teleporter controls. I don't actually know). "When we were on the surface, what was it that you told the Koreans?"
"That? Oh, nothing much." I blushed. "They were being threatening, so I wanted them to think you're all big and bad or whatever. I said, 'don't make jokes. This person is Sun Yushik, so be respectful.'"
"...Sun Yushik?"
"Your Korean name. Congrats." I shrugged. "It seemed like a bad idea to tell them your real name, so I just made something up on the fly. 'Yushik' means well educated or well learned. I picked 'Sun', as in, the sun, as in not from Earth. I was going to pick something normal, but all the Korean last names are from like, ancient heroes and stuff. Naming you something like that probably would've been weird."
"And you claim not to have planned this?"
"It's the truth. I just saw 'yushik' in my dictionary the other day, so it's the first thing that came to mind. Though I suppose I could have named you 'theater' or 'bureau director' just as easily. They're only one stroke apart."
"I also have no interest in the Korean language." Aldaris continued to input on the computer. "When you return, remember to take some sort of medication. Certainly you've been exposed to some illness."
"Pfft. God'll protect me. If I'm too afraid of getting sick to help anyone, then I deserve to be sick," I said. "So...do you like your Korean name? Even a little bit?"
If you'd believe it, Aldaris actually chuckled. "It is sufficient."
And then I was home, standing in the mess of my half-packed living room, returning to the unfortunate reality that dealing with misadventures on the other side of the world aren't my every day life. I sighed. Then walked completely away from the mess and went to the computer to putter around. It's internet time, baby.
Normally I wouldn't write here about just puttering, but then something happened. Toby was actually online. I went ahead and told him about everything that happened, and he noticed something that I missed. Here, I'll just copy and paste the chat.
Toby: wait a minute. so you teleported to charlie's ship, cheonha teleported to the ship, then she went to nk, then you and charlie went to nk, then all three and ch's mom back, then three of you to ch's place, then you back to the ship, then back home.
that's 14 teleports. remember when five teleports meant we had to camp out all night?
Bethany: Yeah...holy crap.
Toby: that means that the teleporter is more powerful than he says it is.
he lied.
Bethany: But why?
Toby: idk. maybe he wants us to think his technology is weak so we don't steal it.
I talked to Toby for a long while after that, and he says he wishes he'd been there with us. I told him that if I had known Aldaris was going to lose his head and send us both down there, then I definitely would have gotten him to come too. He might as well, given how messed up everything got. Oh well, at least after all this trouble, Cheonha's mom is home. I just hope that there's no serious repercussions for all this.
Yeah, that's a dumb hope.
\\\\\
Author's Notes New:
- Sorry for missing last week, but I was at a writer's convention, and good times were had by all. I am so motivated...to write stuff that I can actually get published. In any case, I'm going to be out this next week too, so I thought I'd go ahead and post this update. If things go well, my next update will be on time.
