Chapter LXXVI – Peace Talks

Standing in front of Sophie’s room, Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to ease his nerves. With no idea what to expect from the conversation, many questions popped up pointlessly. Was she going to be mad about him hiding his secret relationship with Yeona or was she also going to be furious now that she knew he attempted suicide? He knew he could lie about it and get away with it, but that wasn’t something he wanted to do. Forming a fist, he knocked on the wooden door with his knuckles.

“Come in,” Sophie’s disembodied voice called out to him from behind the door.

Arthur carefully entered the room and saw Iseul sitting next to Sophie. They were in the middle of talking when he knocked, making Arthur wonder if he should leave. However, Iseul showed him a welcoming smile before getting up.

“Everything’s okay,” Iseul whispered as she walked past Arthur, leaving the two alone.

Arthur couldn’t express how thankful he was that Iseul took the time to talk to Sophie and calm her down. He didn’t know if it was because she had a younger brother that she carried herself so maturely and soothingly, but he could always appreciate and respect her efforts. While she was only a year older than him, theoretically younger, it always felt like she was an unbreakable pillar that everyone could lean on.

His focus quickly shifted back to Sophie who sat on the bed, leaning against the wall with her legs stretched out. She had a soft smile on her face, but her lips looked a bit dry and her eyes puffy. Arthur sat down on the edge of her bed, right around her feet, half-turned toward her.

“You okay?” he asked, grabbing her ankle gently.

“I’m fine. Just needed to get some things off my chest,” she leaned her head against the wall, placing her legs on Arthur’s lap.

“Sorry for not telling you the truth. . .” Arthur let out a sigh, getting straight to the point. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t know how you’d take it so I kept it a secret. Though, it seems you’re not as furious as I assumed you’d be.”

“Why would I be furious? I can’t be mad at you for what happened in the past as it’s not your fault. However, I am disappointed that you kept your past with Yeona a secret after finding out the truth.”

“I know. . .”

“I’m not a kid anymore, so I know there’ll be secrets that you won’t tell me. I just hope that such secrets, the ones that affect us both, will eventually cease to exist. Might just be my intuition playing tricks on me, but I feel as if you’re still keeping something from me. I don’t know if it’s to protect me or not, but I hope you’ll trust me enough one day.”

Arthur was shocked by the sharp intuition that always told her what to do whenever he was feeling down, but he never knew that it would lead her toward his secret. He was certain that if magic or anything of that sort was proven to exist within this world, she would’ve already figured out the truth long ago. It was only thanks to these concepts being so unreasonable to believe that she was struggling to piece it all together. However, she already treated him as if he wasn’t the Arthur she once knew. That was made perfectly clear to him since she didn’t blame him just then for the attempted suicide and instead was simply disappointed that he held the truth hidden from her that he learned after the accident.

Arthur felt the need to tell her everything but refrained from doing so as to not push his luck. His fear of losing her was far greater than he could imagine, even uttering a single word felt impossible. Ever since reincarnating, he stuck to Sophie like glue. While Ryung was also his family, Sophie was always special in his heart since the day he met her. He truly considered her family, one that he’d go to any lengths to protect. To him, she embodied everything he believed a family should be. No matter how messed up anything in the future might end up being, even if Irene was to leave him one day, he knew he could turn to her for support. That love that she showed him since the first time she laid eyes on him back at the hospital was one he hoped to never lose, one that he knew he couldn’t afford to lose as it would ruin him.

“Hey,” she shoved him with her foot, chuckling for the first time. “Don’t look so lost,” she said with a faint but charming smile. “I’m not gonna get angry cuz you have secrets you can’t tell me. I already told you that I only wish that one day you feel confident telling me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Arthur openly admitted that there was such a secret.

“Now. . . What’ll you do? Yeona and Irene, huh. . . I won’t tell you who I think you should pick since I believe it should be your choice alone, but whatever you do, just follow your heart.”

“Wiseass,” he laughed, teasing her smilingly. “About that. . . I’ve already made my decision long ago.”

“It was always gonna be her, huh?” she tried to hide her cheerful smile, but Arthur could see her mouth itching for it.

“We were gonna tell everyone tomorrow, but I guess I’ll let you in on the secret,” he smirked proudly. “Irene and I are officially together.”’

Sophie’s eyes went wide and her smile turned dazzling. She jumped out of joy onto Arthur’s back, hugging him tightly while burying her head into his shoulder.

“Congratulations!” she pulled away slightly, sounding more enthusiastic than he did. “Gosh, I was waiting for that to happen for so long. Phew. . . You had me worried that you’d let her slip away by being dumb and holding back. I’m so glad she was willing to wait for your dumbass to come around. Oh god, I thought you were gonna be single forever if you kept that up. I mean if someone like Irene wasn’t enough for you, I don’t know who was.”

“I get it. . .” he mumbled.

“I swear if you weren’t willing to date her, I would’ve jumped ship and taken her for myself. It’s already a mystery why she was so intrigued with you in the first place. . .”

“I get it!” Arthur said loudly, bursting into laughter along with Sophie who was clearly teasing him.

“I know. . .” she whispered. “I’m just glad to see you happy.”

Her soft and genuine smile was unforgettably heartwarming as she pulled both of them down toward the pillow. They laid next to each other as Sophie gently held him while snuggling closer.

“What are you going to do about Yeona?” Arthur asked even though he didn’t want to ruin the mood.

“I don’t know. . .” she sighed.

“You shouldn’t be mad at her. It’s not an easy thing to go through.”

“I’m not. . .” she gripped Arthur’s shirt. “What happened wasn’t her fault and she’s too young to know how to deal with it. I mean, she’s not even sixteen yet. . .”

“Ah yes, the infinite wisdom you gained once you turned sixteen was life-changing,” he teased.

“Oh shut up. . .” she giggled. “Anyway, I’m not mad about the past but I’m struggling to get over her lying to me and befriending me only to get closer to you. It leaves a bad taste now that I found out. . . It’s even worse since I was the one who made her confess.”

“Might not be my place to say, but she truly regrets it.”

“I know. . . That’s exactly why I’m thinking about it so much, otherwise I’d just say whatever.”

“You’ll find a way to work things out,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“You’re right,” she smirked, loosening up the hold on his shirt while silently laying next to him. “Promise me. . . Promise me that you’ll never leave me.”

Hearing her say that made Arthur realize that he wasn’t the only one who was afraid of them losing each other. Sophie’s worries kept piling up and the closer they got, the more she had to lose if history repeated itself. While he knew he’d never do such a thing, he knew how much his word could mean to her.

“I promise,” he said confidently, left wondering if she intentionally left out the word again at the end of her request or if it was merely a coincidence.

* * *

On the other side of the hallway, Yeona nervously entered Irene’s bedroom. An awkward silence filled the room as the two exchanged glances. Not only did Irene feel sorry about what Yeona had to go through, but she also struggled to keep her excitement at bay now that she was finally in a relationship with Arthur.

“It seems I’ve lost,” Yeona smirked while looking to the ground, breaking the silence. Irene couldn’t find appropriate words to say given the nature of the situation. Noticing her conflicting thoughts, Yeona sighed. “Mind if I sit?”

“No. . . Please do. . .” Irene shuffled to the side, leaving more than enough room for Yeona on the king-sized bed.

“Thanks,” she lowered her voice, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You don’t have to say anything, I just came by to apologize.”

“Not sure I follow. . .” Irene looked confused, unsure of what she was apologizing for.

“The fact that you don’t just makes it even worse,” she sighed, utterly defeated by her thoughts. “I wanted to apologize for trying to make you give up on Arthur by telling you what happened between us. Not that it wasn’t true, but I hoped to get your sympathy so that I’d have a better chance at us getting back together. It wasn’t fair on my part since you cared for him. Even though you refused to back down, I feel guilty for being so manipulative and I wanted to get it off my chest. You don’t have to forgive me. . .”

“Hey. . . I don’t blame you, especially after learning the truth. To be honest, I have no idea how I would’ve acted if I was in your shoes,” she explained.

“Thanks for saying that. . . Makes me feel less insane,” she smiled, averting her gaze the entire time while thinking about everything that happened.

Irene couldn’t stop imagining how long Yeona kept it all in, grieving on her own over her loss. She was glad to see Yeona slowly accepting the situation for what it was.

“There’s no need to thank me. . .” she said, genuinely holding nothing against Yeona. “I know I might not be your favorite person right now, but if you need anything, I was always here to hear you out and that hasn’t changed.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be getting in your way. If anything, I truly wish you both the best of luck.” Yeona took a deep breath, before exhaling frustrated. “I know it’s weird to say this, but I’ve realized at the beach that the man I cared for wasn’t there anymore. Now I just have to accept that.”

Irene was certain that Arthur didn’t tell her anything since he didn’t mention it, but her words hit too close to home, leaving her wondering how many times someone alluded to the truth without realizing it. Even though his secret was unbelievably crazy, her trust in Arthur, while maybe foolish, was unshakable. It wasn’t just the feelings she harbored for him, but his repeated acts of kindness that showed her he was someone trustworthy mixed with her intuition that kept screaming it to be true even before any proof was shown.

“Yeona, I said this before and I still stand by my words. . . There are no hard feelings on my part and while my offer might not sound appealing, I wish we could stay friends. Even if you might not want to stay friends with me, I have no issues with you staying friends with Arthur if you wished.”

“Thanks, but my relationship with Sophie would first need to be mended.”

“It’ll work out, so don’t overthink it too much. . .” she reassured her.

Yeona couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You have no idea how similar you two are. . . I’m talking about you and Arthur,” she smiled. “You even say the same things.” Feeling tired, she yawned deeply before getting up. Her body was trying to shut down after such an exhausting day. “Take care of him, cuz if you don’t there’ll be others that would once they see him for what he is.”

Irene was able to tell that Yeona’s words were meant to be understood as light teasing, but there was some truth mixed in with it.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Irene finally smirked, taking Yeona’s words for what they were, watching as she left.

Arthur and Yeona met in the hallway, both exiting the rooms around the same time. He gave her a small nod, whispering goodnight to which Yeona smiled and wished him all the same. Finally reentering the room, Arthur saw Irene waiting for him in bed. She could tell at first glance that Arthur’s talk went well by the smirk his smirk. Without hesitation she got up and walked up to him, hugging him tightly.

“Welcome back,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. “I assume things went well?”

“The best they could. What about you?”

“Same,” she sighed, pulling away from the hug and looking into his moonlike eyes. “It’s finally time to hit the bed.”

He gave a nod, kissing her forehead and walking toward the bed. Arthur was thankful that the tension was finally gone and that he could relax, but his attention was stolen away by the clicking sound of the door being locked. Arthur’s expectations were blown away as she began to strip in front of him up to her matching black underwear. Turning to him, she caught him staring flustered.

“What?” she looked at him funny. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me in my underwear before. Besides, you’re my boyfriend now, so I can change in front of you all I want, right?”

“Right. . .” he blushed.

“It’s hot anyway so if you don’t mind I’d like to sleep shirtless from now on. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my bra on. . .”

“I wasn’t worried. . .” he averted his gaze, feeling a bit shy after getting caught staring.

He could hear her giggling, making him soon realize that looking away was a fatal mistake as she took the first chance she had to tease him by leaning down, pressing her hands against his thighs, and pulling closer to his ear.

“Look at you being all flustered,” she whispered seductively. “Had I known you were going to react like that, I would’ve done it a long time ago. Though, don’t get too excited.”

He looked into her eyes, noticing that regardless of how daring she was, she still blushed all the same. Irene couldn’t help but laugh before sitting on his lap and kissing him on the lips.

“We should open the window before going to bed,” he warned her.

“It was open though?” she looked confused.

“That’s cuz I opened it after waking up. . .”

“Thanks, darling. . .” she whispered, biting her lower lip.

With the lights eventually off, an open window, and both laying down, they stared into each other’s eyes. She into his moonlit grey and he into her minty green, snuggling closer and falling asleep for the first time as a couple.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.