Ciphertext – Chapter 9: Together

Luciel flung a few essentials into his duffel bag and jumped into his Porsche, in a hurry to get away and make sure Eun-ji was going to be alright. He fixed up the satellite navigation, because although he relished each moment he could spend driving his expensive car, his sense of direction was atrocious. But this was no time to enjoy the drive, or even think about anything else. The girl's well-being was the only thing weighing on his mind and she was the other side of the city.

He sped out of the car park and onto the main street. Feeling himself reacting too quickly, he forced himself to calm down and relax his body more. "Chill …. Just chill. It's all going to be fine."

If he was being honest with himself, he was less concerned about his ability to secure the apartment than he was about meeting Eun-ji properly for the first time, especially after everything that had happened. As he held onto the steering wheel with his right hand, he put some music on to try and keep his mood consistent. It was a song he particularly liked, "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel. Though his English ability mostly extended to "hello" and "good morning", he'd made a conscious decision to learn the lyrics to this particular song. Whenever he went to sleep, the song echoed inside his head like a lullaby.

"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence"

When people saw him walking around in the street with those huge headphones on, he bet they'd wonder what he was listening to, or just not care at all. He chose his music according to his mood. That helped him to live his life in the best way possible. If he weren't religious, he'd have chosen music to replace the void that would have been left behind there. Maybe he'd surprise others with his eclectic choices. When he needed to concentrate, he listened to something by Mozart or Enya. When he needed to motivate himself, he listened to techno house. Sometimes, when he was feeling especially down about something, there'd be a good excuse to jack it up a notch. Heavy metal.

When he was in love? Well, he didn't know about that, but perhaps he'd find out soon.

Finally, he arrived at Rika's apartment, leaving his car in the free parking space at the front. He opened the boot and grabbed his belongings, before making his way to the entrance. After buzzing the intercom once, he waited, shuffling around a little to keep himself warm. In his determination to get away, he'd forgotten to put on his thick jacket, so he was only wearing a shirt, and it was already less than three degrees outside with a sharp wind cutting across his face.

Eun-ji spoke into the microphone. "Saeyoung? Is that you?"

"Ya. It's me. It's freezing out here, can you come and let me in?" Her voice sounded just like it did on the phone, but now she was only a flight of stairs away from him. It was so surreal.

The heavy front door clunked open and Eun-ji appeared before him, wearing a fluffy turtle neck and some nice jeans. Her brown hair was just as bright and shiny as her personality seemed to be. She smiled.

Luciel smiled back. "Hey … it's so good to finally see you in person", he said, moving closer towards her. "I mean … now that we're acknowledging each other."

"I feel the same way …" Eun-ji had turned red. "Anyway, i-it's cold out here, so let's go inside."

As they walked up the stairs, Luciel wanted to clarify his reasons for coming to the apartment. "Listen, I know it's new and exciting that we're together now but you need to be aware of what's going on here."

Eun-ji held onto the banister with one hand and turned to face him. "You do … want to be with me, don't you?"

"…"

"Why are you being so silent all of a sudden?" she asked, stunned by his lack of response. "Please …"

Luciel sighed. "I'm sorry … I'm still feeling complicated," he began. "So don't make me answer that question right now."

Eun-ji looked hurt and turned back to face forwards. She continued to walk towards the apartment. "Well … okay, if that's what you want. I'll give you some more time."

"Besides. The special security system I mentioned on the phone, it's actually …"

"Yes?"

"A bomb …"

She didn't know what she was hearing. This had to be a joke. He was always joking.

"A BOMB? You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid I am being 100% serious. There's a bomb installed in Rika's apartment. That's why I told you not to touch any of the controls near the door."

"I managed to get out of the apartment, even though you told me I couldn't leave."

Luciel scratched his temples. "Hmm. You're right. That shouldn't have been able to happen. I'm glad nothing exploded when you opened this door."

"But then, where is the bomb hidden?"

"In the toilet … You're not on your period are you?" he asked nonchalantly.

Eun-ji's face turned an unearthly shade of crimson. "Wh-what kind of question is that?"

"Oh, you see … I programmed it to react to blood."

"WHAT? That's a crazy way to programme a bomb but … no … I don't have my period."

"Oh …" Luciel averted his eyes from her as he realised just how personal he was getting. An embarrassing secret had already been let out, but this was something far more intricate. His face was nearly the same colour as his hair. "… then you're safe."

"Are you really serious about that?" she said.

Luciel chuckled to himself. "Hahahaha. No. I'm sorry, I'm sorry … that was a really cruel trick to play on you", he said, repositioning his glasses.

"Why would you even say something like that?"

"I just wanted … to make you smile," he said. "I'm so sick of hurting people that I thought at least if you'd smile it would be worth it."

"That hurts, Saeyoung," she said, starting to wipe away the small tears that were appearing. "Please don't ever joke about something that concerns human lives."

Luciel looked downbeat. "I really am sorry Eun-ji. If I could invent a time machine and reverse what just happened there, I would." He looked over at her again, a little more hope in his eyes. "You know, you're the only person who calls me Saeyoung now … besides the guy at Starbucks, but I won't count him. He isn't really cute enough."

Seeming to have accepted his apology, though it had been very brief, Eun-ji let out a light sniffle. "Do you like being called Saeyoung, or do you want me to call you Luciel … or 707?"

"Who cares? I'm just one person after all."

Eun-ji smiled to herself. Hearing him insinuate that she was cute was nice and her heart felt soft and marshmallowy.

That's right. He's the same person he's always been.

"Bomb or no bomb, let's make ourselves some coffee."