Chapter XLIII – The Bus Ride

Even if he wasn’t showing it on the outside, Arthur felt quite emotional as they slowly left Seoul. Not only was it the first time he got to travel in his new life, but it was also the first time he left home knowing he’d return. Not leaving out of necessity was a feeling far too foreign to him.

“You okay?” Irene nudged him while holding a bottle of apple juice.

“Yeah. . .” he smiled at her while glancing at the bottle.

“Want some?” she offered the bottle to him.

“Maybe later,” he chuckled.

“Well, I got loads of snacks and drinks for us, so just speak up if you want anything,” she placed it back into her backpack. “Oh, and I’ve made us some sandwiches, just in case we get hungry before we get there. I don’t know if they sell food at the temple.”

“Did you even pack anything else?”

“Not really. . . Am I missing something?”

“What if it gets cold?”

“I have a jacket. Should be fine.”

Arthur glanced at her exposed legs. “I hope it stays warm. . .”

“Are you worried about me?” she leaned forward a bit looking at him sideways with a grin before chuckling and leaning back into her seat, stretching her arms up. “I’ll be fine. Besides. . . Are you really not gonna comment on my outfit?”

“Looks amazing,” he said looking into her eyes.

“Not like that. I don’t want you complimenting me when I call you out on it!” she kept teasing him.

His expression when she arrived was more than enough for her.

“Regardless, you look beautiful. . .” he said with an affectionate smile.

She went quiet and just kept looking at him before turning her head towards the window, blushing at the sound of his voice. The sincerity of his compliment made her feel a tingly sensation in her tummy. Even though her teasing backfired, she smiled and accepted her defeat.

On the other hand, Tjay and Max were gradually becoming louder and louder as they kept playing exploding kittens. While Max was initially against the idea, the game eventually pulled him in.

“BOOM! You lose again,” Max chuckled. “You sure you know how to play this?”

“Dammit, you’re just fucking lucky. . . I bet you’re cheating somehow. Can see my cards?” he asked while looking around. He even checked if the cards were reflecting off the window.

“Nah dude, I don’t have to cheat to beat you,” he kept making fun of him smugly.

“One more!” Tjay yelled out, shuffling the cards while mentally preparing for the next game.

“Quiet down you two. . .” Nabi said kicking Tjay’s seat.

Tjay leaned over the seats only to see Don gaming on his phone, while Nabi was reading a book.

“You two could learn to be more fun you know?” he commented but returned to his seat as soon as he saw Nabi gaze at him intensely.

Irene took out her earphones and plugged them into her phone while browsing the playlist.

“Here, put this in your ear,” she explained while putting one in herself.

Awkwardly putting it in, he heard chill beats playing. She leaned into his shoulder and gazed in awe at the stunningly beautiful window view.

“I could look at this all day,” she commented while holding her phone in one hand and playing with her hair in the other. “When you look at a view like this, doesn’t it make you want to see the whole world?”

“It sure does. . .” Arthur said glancing out the window.

While his travels didn’t allow him to relax and he often rushed through life not paying much attention to the wonders that surrounded him, some moments left him speechless. The sight of natural beauty reminded him of what he fought to preserve.

“Hey Art. . .” she whispered softly.

“Hmm?”

“Summertime will come sooner than we think,” she pointed out as it was the second half of May. ”We won’t be going to school, so we won’t get to see each other there. So, I was wondering if you’d like to hang out together.”

To Arthur, it never occurred until that moment that there was a chance they wouldn’t see each other all summer. Considering she came to Korea, there wasn’t a guarantee she’d stay during the summer.

“I’d love nothing more,” he whispered. “I haven’t really thought about this, but how long are you staying in Korea?”

She remained quiet for a bit. “The initial agreement was that I’d stay here until the end of the year. I still have loads to discuss with my parents.” Arthur refrained from commenting. “But I don’t think too much on it, since I can just make a new deal with them. I’m sure they’ll listen. Benefits of being the younger sibling.”

It was as she said. There was no need to stress over it. Arthur was sure that no matter what it was, in the end, they’d figure it out if it came down to it.

About an hour into the ride, Arthur’s phone started blowing up with messages. It was Sophie and Ari.

Sophie – To our wonderful Oppa!

She sent a selfie photo of the two sitting together making kissy faces.

“Our wonderful Oppa? Someone’s getting popular,” Irene chuckled. “Does Ari call you that as well now?”

“She called me Oppa once,” he looked at her. “It was back when Sophie was feeling sick.”

“Oh, did she now?” she teased with a mischievous grin. “Did you like it?” she asked, leaning closer to his ear. “Oppa,” she whispered seductively.

Arthur cleared his throat flustered, making her burst into laughter as she pulled away from him.

“Come here,” Arthur said holding his phone out with the camera on.

“You want to take a picture?” she said leaning closer to him once more.

“I want to send them one as well if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” she smiled posing with a peace sign.

After taking the photo, it didn’t take long for Sophie to respond.

Sophie – Damn, you two looking gooood...

Putting his phone away, he heard the playlist change as Irene was again browsing through her phone.

Arthur glanced around the bus, smiling as he watched others just having fun as well. Though his peaceful ride came to a sudden halt as he felt someone kicking his seat. Max and Tjay kept chuckling to themselves, so it was obvious that it was intentional.

He ignored it the first time, but they kept at it and eventually provoked Irene who jumped out of her seat as her earphone fell out.

“What are you two doing?” she asked with one eyebrow raised and her head tilted slightly.

“It was just an accident,” Tjay said while barely holding his laugh in. “Besides, it was Arthur’s seat, not yours. Why are you all mad?”

Max just kept quiet, recognizing the look which he experienced whenever he messed with Iseul too much.

She just silently kept staring which made Tjay slowly start to feel awkward. Irene wasn’t messing around, she was genuinely annoyed by their childlike behavior.

“Alright, alright. . .” Tjay said raising his hands as a sign of surrender. “I won’t do it anymore, just stop with the death stare. . . It’s freaking me out.”

Irene sighed and shook her head before sitting back down.

“You okay?” Arthur chuckled.

“Whatever. . .” she said placing her earphone back in.

Taking a deep breath and trying to focus on the music Irene finally found peace again, but it was short-lived as someone in the back of the bus turned up the speakers and started playing extremely loud music.

Some students were singing along and hyping it up, while the rest were annoyed. Arthur didn’t mind it and instead found these types of troubles beautiful. If these were the problems he’d have to deal with, then he truly did end up in paradise.

Seeing his innocent expression, Irene smiled while letting out a sigh.

The teacher eventually came to deal with the noise complaints, making the students turn down the music significantly.

A few hours in, the bus finally slowed down as they arrived at their destination.

Leaving the bus, they stepped onto a stone path that they’d take up to the temple. It wasn’t far, but still a good walk for everyone after sitting for so long.

As Arthur left the bus he was blown away by just how different the air felt now that they were out of the city and surrounded by the forests of the Geumjeongsan Mountain. He could feel the natural energy flow through the air, but still no sign of chaos which was used for mana.

“Oppa!” Sophie yelled out jumping onto Arthur’s back as Ari followed behind her.

Sophie was dressed casually, wearing black linen shorts, and a short-sleeved crop top black hoodie with a print of white cat whiskers and a heart-shaped nose centered on it. Ari followed in her footsteps and wore white rolled-up shorts with a black crop top t-shirt and a thin jacket wrapped around her waist.

“You guys ready for the walk?” Ari asked standing next to Don.

“They could’ve just dropped us off at the temple,” Max complained as they all started following the teachers who called out to them.

“I bet you can’t carry me all the way to the temple,” Sophie teased Arthur.

“I ain’t falling for that. . .” he chuckled.

“Told you he’s learning,” Irene commented proudly.

“Damn. . .” she pointed her tongue at him while slowly getting off his back.

The climb was bound to take longer considering how slow everyone was moving. About twenty minutes in was when first signs pointing towards the temple appeared.

The sound of chipping birds and the sun shining brightly felt refreshing. With the whole day still ahead of them, they had no clue what to expect at the temple.

They finally arrived at what Arthur would essentially call a gate of sorts held up by four stone pillars. The group stuck close as to not get separated. Max was texting Iseul, still trying to find her in the massive crowd, but it was partially due to her hanging out with some of her classmates that the two hadn’t met up yet.

“Listen up everyone,” said a loud familiar voice.

It was their history teacher, Miss Seong. She was a younger teacher, in her mid-thirties, but one that held great authority among the students. Her reputation of being strict had reached the ears of many newer students. Typically rumors should be listened to sparingly, but those related to her had been proven time and time again.

“As you all know, I’ll be in charge of the tour of the Beomeosa Temple. You should all be on your best behavior, or we shall send you back to the bus to wait for our return. Now that I have your attention, let us discuss our schedule for the day. Firstly, we will go into the temple together and explore the place while learning about its history and meaning.” Arthur could hear a few students yawning and complaining about it being a drag as they considered if waiting at the bus would’ve been more fun. “After we’re done with that, we shall all proceed and get lunch after which all of you will be given a few hours to look around for yourselves. Make sure not to disturb the place, and continue behaving like adults. Around six, we will all meet up back here at the entrance and head back down towards the hotel where you’ll be staying for the night. If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the teachers. I repeat. . . Be on your best behavior.”

After she stepped away, the silence was broken by loud chatter as everyone started making plans. It was obvious that many weren’t interested in the tour and just wanted to hang around the place. However, Arthur was strangely drawn to the temple. Shockingly, there seemed to be a much higher presence of natural energy around the place which left him wondering what the source of it might be. Considering it was a temple, he wondered if there was anyone here that trained with hopes of mastering Qi.

Regardless of what he might find, taking the first step towards the inner part of the temple with his friends was all that mattered.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.