Chapter CIX - Silent War

“Jun!” Irene yelled, turning her attention to her ex, who suddenly grabbed her from behind.

“Hey, beautiful. Wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Jun said, giving her a wink while pulling her in for a hug.

“No kidding. . .” Irene instinctively returned the hug but gently pushed away a second later. “Why–”

“To think you wouldn’t call me even after we met. So cold,” Jun teased.

“I told you I was busy.”

“The whole summer?” he furrowed his brows.

“I went to the beach house for more than half of it and had a lot happen afterward,” she explained, letting out a sigh. “Besides, you could’ve called yourself.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he reached for her hand while looking down at the ground. “But I kinda felt like you didn’t want to see me. Did I do something wrong?”

Gazing back into her eyes, he left her no wiggle room.

“No, it’s just that I sort of left my past life behind. . .” Irene awkwardly rubbed her neck. “S–”

“How–” Jun interrupted but stopped right away, laughing it off. “Sorry, what were you gonna say?”

“N–nothing. . . You?”

“Already forgot.” Jun smiled.

Irene didn’t know what to do for the first time as she stood in front of a person with whom she had history but left things behind on good terms. Truthfully, she was curious as to how he was doing; however, she wasn’t sure how Arthur would react to them talking now that they were together. They were best friends for a long time. Way before they even considered dating anyone, let alone each other. Irene suddenly left for England, which meant breaking up with Jun. While he wanted to keep it long distance, she wasn’t interested, claiming it wouldn’t work out.

“So, what are you doing here?” Irene asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he chuckled. “But I’m here with my manager to celebrate a newly signed contract. Then I saw you and couldn’t resist approaching.”

“Is that so?” She chuckled, starting to relax after being spooked. “Wait. Manager? Contract?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, huh?” He teased as her hand slowly slipped his grasp. “I’m sure–”

“Hey.” Irene’s eyes went wide as she heard Arthur’s voice whispering in her ear while grabbing her from behind. “Interrupting something?”

“Art–”

“Oh, Arthur, right? Irene’s friend from when we met.” Jun greeted him, suspiciously remembering his name.

“He’s–”

“Boyfriend,” Arthur corrected him before Irene could, which took her by surprise. “We’re dating.”

Irene’s heart fluttered, blushing as she watched her man as he pulled her in closer, too enthralled to notice their heated gaze.

“Oh, you are? Congratulations.” He acted surprised. “I hope you take good care of her. Despite not being as close as before, she was my best friend and still dear to me.”

“Don’t worry. She’s in good hands,” Arthur reassured him, making Irene turn red as she buried her head into him.

“I’m sure she is.” He let out a friendly laugh.

“Irene!” Iseul approached, placing her hand on Art’s shoulder and throwing a glance at Jun. “Could you come with me for a second?”

Like a guardian angel, she came to rescue her friend, hoping to break up the conversation after noticing Arthur’s gaze.

“Yes!” She yelled, a bit too obvious with her intentions.

“Well. . . It was good seeing you again, Riri,” Jun said.

“You too. . .” Irene mumbled half-heartedly.

“Sorry to interrupt, boys, but girls take priority,” Iseul teased, pulling her away.

“Well. . . I gotta go, but it was nice seeing you guys. I hope you don’t mind if I talk to her from time to time,” Jun indirectly asked, putting Arthur on the spot. “Oh, and don’t worry. . . Our past is in the past. I’m sure you can understand.”

“Do as you like,” Arthur said, tapping his shoulder while looking him dead in the eye. He was too tired to act normally, but the surge of energy he felt when he saw someone spook Irene was enough to put him in a more serious mood. “Besides, why would I worry?”

Arthur grinned, knowing he could trust Irene.

“Right. . .” Jun mumbled, slowly turning around. “Well, I’ll be seeing you around soon. Bye.”

He watched as Jun left, but something about how he said his goodbye made him feel uneasy, though he quickly blamed it on his exhaustion. Letting out a sigh, Arthur returned to the group, and everyone acted as if nothing had happened. Sophie was getting a bit drunk while Max desperately tried to keep her in check. As for Amelia, it took a second for him to notice she was back at the table, scrolling through her phone, looking like she had had enough for one night.

“Hey Art. . .” Irene whispered, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him in. “You okay?”

“Oppa, Look!” Sophie stole their attention as she tried pulling off a dance move.

“Art. . .” Irene whispered, looking worried.

Arthur leaned in and kissed her on the lips, a small peck followed by a smile while gazing into Irene’s eyes. “Look. This ain’t exactly a place to talk, so let’s do it later, okay? But I promise you, everything’s fine.”

“Okay. . .” Irene said but refused to let him go. “I–”

After stopping herself and taking a deep breath, Irene exhaled in frustration and rubbed her nose bridge before slamming her forehead into him. The situation she found herself in wasn’t something Irene couldn’t handle, which was what annoyed her the most. However, the piled-up stress of having to watch over him while worried for his safety and the upcoming moronic fight his debt caused had left her entirely spent, so when Jun caught her off guard, the last thing on her mind, she blanked.

She hated that Iseul had to come in and save her from such a situation and the fact that it was Arthur who had to point out that they were together. While she wanted to know how her ex, a good friend from the past, was doing, Irene had no intention of even amusing the idea that he had a chance of getting in between them.

There was so much more raging within her mind, yet she couldn’t muster the strength to lift her chin, let alone form a comprehensive sentence. Pent-up frustration over the past few weeks had piled up to the point she wanted to burst into tears, as she didn’t even find the time nor heart to mention her problems. However, all her troubles felt like they got swept away as Arthur pulled her in for a hug.

Noticing the two needed some time alone, Iseul walked up to the others and distracted them for a bit, allowing them to hug it out without exchanging a word.

“Everything’s fine,” Arthur whispered, holding her close.

She nodded, grateful that he said what she needed to hear and meant it too, easing her mind at the time.

“I got her. . .” Amelia grabbed Sophie’s arm, pulling her away from Max, who helped her reach the house after exiting the cab.

“You sure?” Max asked, worried she might struggle to get her upstairs.

“Yeah,” she whispered before looking back at Sophie. “Let’s go.”

“I– I s–swear. . . I’ll never drin–” Sophie wanted to barf but kept it in. “Fuck drinking. . .”

They walked off, wobbling up the steps as Amelia helped her to her room.

“Thanks, Max,” Arthur said, barely standing himself.

“No worries,” Max reassured him.

Arthur felt guilty knowing he allowed Sophie to get wasted as he felt like he should’ve kept a closer eye on her, but Jun’s presence threw him off. Thankfully, Max was there to help as Iseul, and he agreed to spend the night at their house.

“My feet are killing me. . .” Irene complained, taking off her ankle boots.

“Warned ya,” Iseul pointed out with a coy smirk.

“Oh, couch. . . How I’ve missed you,” Max professed his love, staring at his bed for the night.

“You know. Ryung’s room is empty. You can crash on his bed,” Arthur pointed out. “It’s fairly big.”

“Oh?” Max raised an eyebrow. “Well. . . Noona should take it–”

“We can share,” Iseul interrupted him. “Besides, I assume Irene will crash in Art’s bed, and Unnie will stay with Sophie, so it’s just the two of us.”

“You sure?” Max looked surprised.

“If you’re so keen on crashing on the couch, feel free to do so, but I don’t mind sharing. It’s been a while since you last snuck into my room cuz you got spooked,” she teased.

“Noona!” Max raised his voice defensively, making everyone laugh.

“We should probably keep it down,” Irene pointed out, glancing at the clock.

Hearing Max’s stomach growl, Arthur turned and said, “Feel free to rummage through the fridge if you want.”

“I could probably make all of us something,” Iseul offered.

“I’m good. . .” Arthur yawned, looking as if he’ll fall asleep standing up. “Think I’ll hit the shower and head to bed.”

“Save me some hot water,” Irene said, stretching her arms out.

“Sure.”

Standing in front of the bathroom sink, fully nude, Arthur looked in the mirror as fatigue caught up to him. Splashing water in his face helped a little, but he had no clue how he was going to handle school each day.

Skipping wasn’t exactly an option, but thanks to Tjay’s father, he didn’t have to worry about money. However, everything eventually had a price, and while the situation with Ryung’s debt might get sorted out, he still knew there’d be consequences for the assistance he got.

Feeling his left hand that he leaned on tremble, Arthur took a deep breath and calmed it down. The technique he used to help Ryung wasn’t one without significant backlash, and it was much worse than what he told Irene.

Infusing inner Qi into Ryung reduced Arthur’s lifespan in exchange for healing his injuries, practically sharing his vitality. If Irene or Sophie learned of the truth, he was sure they’d stop him. However, there was no need to worry as long as he had the chance to increase his Qi once everything had settled.

While others might consider Arthur lucky that he was able to do such incredible things and even negate the severe downsides, truthfully, Arthur hoped he wouldn’t have to go through any training ever again. Many nowadays dreamed of having supernatural powers, but the scars such powers open weren’t worth it to him.

A normal life. That’s all he ever wanted.

“Art.” Irene knocked on the bathroom door. “You forgot a change of clothes.”

“Just a second,” he said, wrapping a towel around his waist before opening the door. Irene averted her gaze, handing him the clothes. Though she refused to look at him, he still greeted her with a smile, saying, “Thanks.”

“No worries. And remember to save me some,” Irene reminded him, closing the door.

Things became awkward after they met Jun at the club, and there was nothing he could do about it until they talked.

Going under hot water was just the medicine he needed as he leaned his head against the wall and listened to the muffled voices coming from the living room.

After he was finished and dressed, Arthur left the bathroom only to see Irene sitting on the floor parallel to the door.

“Were you waiting for me?” He looked confused. “I was gonna tell you once I’m done.”

“You looked exhausted, so I–” She paused, glancing up at me while half asleep. “Nevermind, it’s stupid.”

Arthur couldn’t help but crack a smile, taking a step closer before crouching down. His hand cupped her face before pushing her hair back as he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered to her, pressing his forehead against hers.

“T–thanks. . .” she mumbled, blushing at the compliment.

“I’ll wait for you in bed. Don’t take too long, okay?”

“Yeah. . .”

Giving her a wink, he helped her up before wobbling back to the room and dropping on the bed.

He didn’t even realize when he fell asleep, but his consciousness returned after Irene tried sneaking into bed.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” Irene asked, caressing his back.

“It’s my fault. I said I’d wait,” he whispered.

Irene’s hand snuck under his shirt and traced across his back as they stared into each other's eyes.

Time felt like it slowed down as Irene whispered, “Say it.”

“Hmm?” Arthur mumbled.

“You’ve been dying to say something ever since we met Jun at the club,” she pointed out while having a meek smile. “Just say it.”

“I just have one thing I want to know.”

“What is it?”

“Did you love him?” Arthur asked.

Irene was caught off guard, left speechless before a chuckle escaped her. “We were just kids back then.”

“So. . . Is that a no?” Arthur furrowed his brows.

“We were friends for a really long time, and apparently, he had a crush on me. Back then, the idea of being in a relationship was so weird that when he asked me out, I sorta just went along with it.” She paused, pulling her hand back and cupping Arthur’s cheek. “So no. I didn’t love him, and nor do I harbor any feelings for him.”

“I see. . .” Arthur mumbled, looking as if he was thinking deeply about what she said.

While Arthur didn’t say it, his biggest worry was that Irene was returning to England at the end of the semester. Had she said she loved Jun and left him anyway, resulting in their breakup, Arthur was concerned she’d want to break things off again.

“Sorry,” she said, taking him by surprise. “I should’ve handled that situation better, but–”

“It’s fine,” Arthur cut her off. “Truthfully, it’s no different than the situation with Yeona. We can’t control who likes us, but we can control our actions. So, as long as we don’t do anything we consider bad, I don’t mind you hanging out with anyone, even your ex. Of course, as long as it’s safe.”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t plan on seeing him anyway, but I wanted to make sure you knew you could trust me.” She chuckled, rubbing his cheek. “Nabi’s situation really messed with my head, huh?”

“Can’t blame you. A lot happened lately, and even I’m a bit out of it.”

“A bit?” Irene chuckled, finally showing her charming smile again. “You’re a mess, and school’s starting soon. . .”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” He sighed, rolling his eyes before looking back at her. “Anyway. . . We’ve been having a lot of these serious talks lately. You okay with that?”

“It just shows we both want to make it work. So, yeah. I’m okay with that,” Irene said, but Arthur suddenly started giggling. “What’s so funny?”

“Sorry,” he settled down, noticing she was still smiling. “I just remembered something Sophie said to me.”

“What?” She asked, realizing Arthur wasn’t going to explain.

“Oh. . . Just an advice she gave me.” Arthur took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. “She said that communication is key in a relationship, and when I asked her since when was she an expert, she told me that watching drama, she learned that if the characters just talked, there’d be–”

“No plot,” they both said it together, making each other laugh.

“You knew?” Arthur asked.

“Yeah. She told me the same thing,” Irene said, snuggling closer.

“Seems she ships us hard,” Arthur joked.

“Certainly our biggest fan,” Irene commented, leaning in for a kiss. Their lips pressed together as Irene’s hand found its way behind his ear and down to his nape. “Sleep tight.”

“You too,” Arthur whispered, gazing into her eyes affectionately. “Beautiful.”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.