Chapter LXXIII – The Unbelievable Truth

Irene silently followed Arthur as he led her across the moonlit beach. She could tell that his thoughts were a mess simply by his eyes that kept looking down.

“I think we’re far enough, don’t you think?” Irene mentioned before stopping in place, with the house no longer in view.

“Right. . .” Arthur mumbled, still refusing to glance toward Irene while desperately holding on to her hand.

“Please look at me. . .” she lowered her voice.

Without hesitation, he met her gaze as her meek smile made him realize how anxious she must’ve felt being dragged out with hardly a word said.

“Irene. . .” He uttered her name, still struggling to gather himself.

“You must have a lot on your mind, huh. . .” she approached closer, running her fingers through his bangs and revealing his forehead before gently caressing it. “You said you wanted to tell me everything. Don’t worry and take your time.”

While her words were soothing, her eyes were telling him a different story. He could see that the longer it took him to decide on what to say, the more afraid she became of the idea that he was simply struggling to come up with a way of rejecting her. Still, she fought back her anxiety the best she could and patiently waited.

“Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve been enthralled by both your beauty and personality. I still remember clearly the day we first met. You were standing in front of a clothing shop before some random guy started bothering you. Even in casual clothes, you were attracting so much attention,” he chuckled. “I remember the worried look on your face as my lip bled from the tiny cut I received. It was right here,” he touched his upper lip. “The same place I first felt your lips press against me.”

Irene listened intently, unable to hold back her soft smile.

“You took off as soon as one of the boys called you,” Irene pointed out while trying to remember everything. “I didn’t even have a chance to properly thank you and I was gonna offer you a drink at least.”

“I was running late and had lots on my mind already. Besides, you just had to deal with one asshole trying to pick you up, so I didn’t want to add another to the list.”

“But you’re my type of asshole. . .” she chuckled. “A good asshole.”

“Thanks. . .” he laughed along.

“So. . . What now?” she lowered her voice.

“Let me finish. . .” he stopped her, showing her a reassuring smile. “After we first met I didn’t believe I’d ever see you again, yet there you were, sitting right next to me in class. I didn’t know what to think. . . Never did I imagine that such a daring girl would end up being a storm that swept me away. The more I got to know you, the more I couldn’t get you out of my head. You don’t even realize how big of a role you play in my life already.” Irene blushed while intently listening to what he had to say, refraining from interrupting him. “I promised. . . I promised that I’d tell you everything and that I’d answer your confession as soon as I felt ready. However, I think it’s important to point out that I had never doubted if we should or shouldn’t be together. From the very beginning, I knew that I wanted nothing more than to be with you.”

Arthur saw her pupils dilate as her feeble smile which was slowly losing hope, transformed into a shy and affectionate smirk.

“Then-”

“But. . .” he cut her off before she could say anything, pausing for a second to collect his thoughts. “I held myself back knowing that it wouldn’t be fair for me to be by your side without telling you the whole unbelievable truth. The guilt would eat away at my soul.”

“I don’t. . .” Irene looked confused and worried. “I don’t understand. . .” she mumbled.

“Hey, hey. . . Don’t look like that,” he sighed before getting even closer. “Hear me out and relax. It’s not what you think,” Arthur gently pushed her hair behind her left ear. “Irene, I could tell you without a shadow of a doubt that you mean more to me than you can imagine, a lot more than a friend does. . . Hell, I wouldn’t even dare admit how many times I dreamt of you. However, to be with you truly, I would need to tell you my secret, but I have no right to tell you without you asking for it.”

Irene was left speechless. She had no idea what to think anymore. Every word he said caused her heart to flutter, but then he’d always give her a reason to worry.

“Arthur, I don’t understand. . . Maybe I’m being dumb, but why would you need permission to tell me your secret? It’s your secret and if that’s what’s keeping us apart, then I’d love to hear you out. . .”

“If anyone’s being dumb it’s me. . . I’m going about this in such a roundabout way that it’s to be expected that you find it confusing, but that’s because the nature of the secret is unbelievable. . . I’ll be honest, I want to tell you so badly, but it is bound to affect you in more ways than one if you end up believing me. Worst of all, regardless if you believe me or not, I could end up losing you forever. That’s why I’m afraid. . .”

“If you’re so afraid then just do it scared,” she grabbed his hand and raised her voice. “I’m not even going to pretend to know what you’re thinking right now. Hell, I can’t imagine what sort of secret would make you lose me forever after I explicitly told you that ain’t happening. I understand that you feel it’s important and that you’re afraid, so I won’t ignorantly act as if it’s not. However, I promise that I’ll listen to whatever you have to say, but please make it the whole truth.” Arthur wanted to look down but she immediately caught his chin and forced him to look her in the eyes. “Don’t look away. I want to know.”

“Even if it’ll potentially ruin everything, even our friendship?” he lowered his voice.

“Without a doubt.”

Arthur looked her in the eyes, amazed by her conviction. Letting out a sigh, he understood that the only one hesitant was him. He grabbed her hand that held his chin, firmly gripping it with a smile.

“Very well. . .” Arthur took a deep breath. “Irene, I’m not of this world. . .” Of all the things he could’ve said, that was the last thing she expected. The look of confusion on her face would in any other situation cause Arthur to burst into laughter. “I have reincarnated upon death into this body after it was in an accident.”

“You reincarnated?” she was baffled.

“Yes. I’m from a world vastly different from this one, one where magic and monsters exist. I know it sounds insane and you probably think I’m delusional, but it’s the truth. This isn’t my first reincarnation either. I had lived in that world three times, three very tragic times. . . Upon my third and final death, I wished to be free of my accursed fate and to live a life full of love and happiness. That’s when I reincarnated into this world.”

“You-” she was struggling to come up with words, but decided to listen until the end before commenting.

Arthur was certain that she believed he was insane. There wasn’t a single normal person that would believe such a story, especially in a world without magic as far as he was aware. Still, he started it so there was no point in stopping anymore.

“Nobody knows this secret and I believed nobody ever would. I couldn’t tell Sophie either because I’m afraid of her reaction. I’m afraid that I’d lose my only family. Look, I know you might think I’m insane and that’s fine, I’ll understand. . . But I’m telling you the truth and while I’m sure you have plenty of questions for me, I want to prove to you that what I say is true. Would you like me to show you?”

“Yes,” she looked him dead in the eye.

He smirked before approaching a tree nearby with her following along. Arthur took a deep breath and pressed his palm against the harsh tree bark.

“Irene, thank you. . . Thank you for giving me a chance,” he smiled before looking at the tree.

Kaisa First Form Jade Smashing Fist!

Arthur channeled his Qi through his palm, keeping the power at a bare minimum while using the smashing fist technique which was primarily used for shoving your opponent while shattering their ribcage if possible. The result of such an attack made the surface of the tree in a wide radius shatter into pieces without Arthur moving. The loud sound made Irene jump in place as chunks of wood flew past the two.

“How did you?” she looked in awe at the ruined tree before approaching closer to touch the cracks.

“It’s called Qi. While magic doesn’t exist in this world as far as I can tell, the concept of internal and external energy does.”

“So it’s all true?” she looked back at him.

“I told you I’d never lie to you. . .” he chuckled before allowing himself to go back to being serious. “Irene, think carefully about what I said. While I always acted true to myself, that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a lot more to me. I’ve lived a life full of regret and I can’t begin to tell you how messed up some of the things I had to do were. . .”

Irene could see his hands shaking as he glanced down at them.

“May I ask questions now?” she lowered her voice again.

“As many as you’d like. . .”

“So the reason you said that I don’t understand wasn’t that you were accepting or rejecting my confession, but because you knew I had to make the decision again after listening to the truth?”

“That’s your first question?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Just answer me. . .” she raised her voice in annoyance.

“Yeah, that’s right. . .”

“You idiot. . .” she sighed in relief before letting out a chuckle. “Cuz of that I had to endure such troublesome feelings. . .”

What’s going on? Why is she talking about that right now?

He looked at her confused, perplexed by her train of thought.

“Don’t you look at me like that. . .” she kept laughing. “Now that I know the truth, it’s a lot easier on the other side.”

“Other side?”

“Yeah, the one that has the whole picture. . . It’s hard to fight off anxiety when you don’t know the source of it. Now that I do, I can finally speak what’s on my mind. Besides, you said you’ll answer all my questions, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true. . .”

“Does that mean that when you said that you’re not the person you were before the accident, you truly meant that?”

“Yeah. . . My soul found its way into this body after the original soul left, meaning that I had nothing to do with the life he lived up until that point.”

“So all that stuff with Yeona and the drugs wasn’t you?”

“That’s right, but is that really what you want to ask about right now?”

“What’s with that perplexed look?” she chuckled again. “If I am to think clearly, I first want to get rid of the thoughts that clouded my mind until now. . .”

“I guess. . .” he let out a sigh as his expectations were completely averted.

“How did you end up remembering Yeona?”

“There was Qi infused in a medallion that I found within my room. It contained strong emotions and it awakened the memories within me. Anyone with Qi could’ve gained those memories by merging with it. The reason I doubted that to be the case which caused my confusion was the fact that it wasn’t something the original host would’ve been able to do. However, Qi can be unpredictable as it is driven just as much by hard work as it is by strong emotions.”

“So you’re saying that it had nothing to do with you actually living through that?” she already knew the answer but wanted to make sure.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Irene let out another sigh of relief.

“Damn. . . I can’t even begin to imagine the awkwardness. . .” she realized how rough his situation was when it came to dealing with a past that wasn’t his own. “Not just the history with Yeona, but probably other things as well.”

“It’s been a process. . .” he chuckled, feeling a bit more relaxed about the whole ordeal since she looked happier knowing the truth.

“Alright. . .” she looked back at him before leaning against the tree he damaged with her foot. “Last petty question. . . Tell me the truth, how many women have you been with? Including the ones from your past lives.” Arthur awkwardly stayed silent. “Wow. . . That many huh?” she looked a bit discouraged, believing him not to have the heart to tell her the truth.

“I’ve never been with a woman before. . .” he looked somewhat disappointed, ashamed even.

“Huh? But you said you lived three lives before reincarnating here.”

“I also told you that it was tragic. . .” he chuckled. “I never even kissed a woman before.”

“I’m having a harder time believing that than you reincarnating. . .” she teased him.

Arthur could tell that she was avoiding asking about his tragic past, fearful of what she might learn.

“Irene, before you ask, I should let you know that I am not bothered by my past. In fact, after all of it came to an end, I was only left with a deep desire to change my fate. I’m not in need of pity. I just need you not to be afraid of me.”

“Why would I be afraid of you?” she looked confused before making a wrong assumption. “Are you going to tell me that you endured a tragic life and turned to evil?”

“What? No. . .” Arthur chuckled. “I’ve never turned to evil. In fact, I fought against it since birth. It’s a bit more complex than that, but the problem is I’m neither as good as it could sound.”

“Then why don’t you just tell me how it is and let me be the judge of that?” she tilted her head slightly as her hair that was tucked behind her ear fell over her shoulder.

“When I was born, it was prophesied that I’d become a hero that would save the world from an evil that wished to descend upon the mortal world. However, what the prophecy failed to mention was that I’d fail twice and end up dying. My third time was a bit luckier as I managed to finally stop the forces of chaos from achieving their goals, but it cost me my life. It all makes me sound like a hero, but the truth is I was a man who has slain countless enemies, some of which weren’t monsters. . .”

“So you’re telling me you fought against evil?” she lowered her voice before pushing herself off and approaching him closer. She lifted his chin again and forced him to make eye contact. “Sounds to me like you did what you had to do and that you regret it as well. Even if you didn’t tell me anything, I could say with certainty that you are a good person Arthur. That’s one of the many reasons I fell for you.”

Arthur couldn’t do anything but helplessly stare into her mesmerizing eyes. His thoughts were scattered as he had a hard time understanding what was going on anymore. Regardless of how much he prepared, there were just too many things for him to sort out in a sensible way. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes and emptied his mind.

Everything went silent as he felt something soft pressing against his lips. Arthur’s fluttering heart gave away what had happened as he felt Irene’s small hand gently wrap around the back of his neck while the other pressed on his chest. Instinctively, Arthur placed his hands on her waist and pulled her in closer. Their pressed lips parted just enough to let them embrace in a more passionate and deeper kiss. He could feel her soft and relaxed tongue gently brush against his lower lip before meeting his tongue. After she pulled away, she made sure to teasingly bite his upper lip.

Once he opened his eyes, it was as if the sound of the sea that surrounded them had returned. Flustered, he looked at Irene as she gave him his first kiss. She too was blushing, but the dazzling smile on her face was too infectious for him to avert his gaze.

“Irene,” he whispered her name. “I fail to understand you yet again. . . You’ve learned so much yet so little, but you allow yourself to make decisions impulsively. How are you so relaxed about all this? How do you know you won’t regret your decision?”

She looked him dead in the eye again and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Without saying a word, she pulled him in for another kiss, but this time his body pressed her against the tree. He couldn’t hold back either as his hands explored her body before his right hand found its way to her thigh, pulling her knee up to his waist. This time the kiss was longer and a part of him wasn’t ready to break away from it, but she pushed him with a playful grin.

“How do I know? I don’t. . . I might regret my decision and so might you. That’s just part of life,” she spoke confidently. “Impulsive? Do you even know how long I wanted to fucking kiss you? Do you understand how many times we shared a bed? You want me to go insane?” she burst into laughter. After settling down moments later, she took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, looking back into his eyes. “There was nothing impulsive about my decision. I always wanted to live my life the way I choose and if that’s fine with you, I’ll happily try and walk by your side. I know that you still have a past you haven’t told me about and I understand that what I might hear will probably shock me regardless of how many times you tell me, so my decision to kiss you was pretty selfish. But, I wanted our first kiss to be one full of smiles and disconnected from the tragic past you speak of. I wanted to remember our first kiss while imagining how romantic it was as we stood on a moonlit beach to the sound of calming waves. Sorry if it felt insensitive.”

Arthur couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re right. . . The only thing we can do is just try our best,” he let out a sigh of relief. “If you want we can continue the story another time-”

“No. . .” she interrupted him. “Now that I know the truth, my patience has run out. I want to know everything.”

“Fine, but let us sit down at least. It’s a long story. . .”

“Before that. . . Could you. . .” she grabbed his arm and averted her gaze.

There was no need for her to finish her request as Arthur already knew by her reddish cheeks what she wanted. Without letting her continue, he stepped closer and placed his finger below her chin, gently guiding her to him. Her pupils dilated while her lips barely parted from one another, eagerly awaiting his kiss. Before she knew it, he pulled their bodies closer while staring into her eyes. Her gasp allowed him to lightly slide his tongue across her bottom lip before pressing their lips together again. He had no experience, but his intuition was spot on as her hand reached for his hair, gripping it firmly. The hand which held her chin now cradled her face as they passionately kissed. He could feel her body respond to him as their heavy breaths caused their inner desires to awaken. Before anything more happened, he managed to break away from the kiss, instinctively looking away and exhaling.

He heard Irene flop to the ground as she tilted her head back while leaning against the tree, still a bit out of breath as the excitement took over. Glancing down toward her, she showed him a dazzling smile before pulling on his hand. Without resistance, he allowed himself to be dragged down to the ground next to her.

There was still a lot to be said that night.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.