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accioecho · 3 years

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Tkem Novel 12

Chapter 15 - “The secret only I know”

Tae-Eul thought over what Nari said.

“If there are two identical worlds, then one is bound to destroy the other.”

She wished Gon would come back soon. She wished he would appear right there, right then, in her courtyard atop Maximus.

Carrying this secret alone was too much of a burden and she felt lonely.

—

Chapter 16 - “Even if the flower doesn’t bloom”

After a long day at the station, Tae-Eul was finally on her way back home. Instead of heading inside the warmth of her house though, she stopped in front of it and took the time to water the small flower pot that contained the seeds she bought in the Kingdom. Crouching down, she carefully examined the surface of the planter.

Only soil was visible underneath the soft glow of the street lights.

“Why won’t you sprout?”

Rationally, she knew it was because they came from another world. Just thinking about the fact that these flowers may never bloom left her disappointed.

Gon was still away and these flowers would probably never bloom.

Tae-Eul stared at the pot for a long while, lost in her thoughts. Finally standing up, she lightly tapped her legs with her two hands.

“How have you been?”

The voice she longed to hear all this time rang clear in the empty courtyard. Turning around, Tae-Eul saw Gon standing tall, donning a dark coat. Still struck by his sight, she simply nodded.

“Have you been waiting for me?”

Unable to tear her eyes away from him, she nodded once more.

From the Kingdom of Corea to the Republic of Korea.

Crossing universes.

Tae-Eul knew how far these two worlds were. How big the space between 1 and 0 was.

She couldn’t go to his world even if she wanted to. She couldn’t meet him even if she wanted to. The only thing she could do was to wait.

Gon who was equally glad to see her let out a small laugh. “That’s a relief. I was a bit scared that you didn’t want me to come back—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish. Tae-Eul reached Gon in a few strides and hugged him.

There were a few things she could do now.

She could touch him. She could embrace him.

With Tae-Eul’s head tightly pressed against his chest, Gon felt his heart skip a beat. Silently, he wrapped his arms around her.

Warmth spreading from one body to another, they relaxed into each other.

Their time spent in the Kingdom was short, and their goodbye felt even more rushed. Their current situation meant they couldn’t send each other texts like any normal couple and Tae-Eul probably worried over him. Feeling sorry for being away for so long, Gon held her a fraction tighter.

As much as he did his best to carry out his work as quickly as he could, Gon wished he could have come sooner.

—

Finally breaking their embrace, Tae-Eul led Gon to the Taekwondo center.

She was the owner’s daughter yet Gon was the one holding the key to the training hall.

Gon had come in earlier in the day, greeted her father and borrowed the house keys. Tae-Eul didn’t know what to make of it. Did he really have to go that far?

She got the answer entering the Dojang.

At first glance, the man standing in the middle of room looked like Eun-Sup. His attire was the one detail that gave him away. This man was not Eun-Sup. It was Yeong.

Yeong faced Tae-Eul and glowered at her, posture stiff. This wasn’t the first time Yeong looked at her with disapproval but this level of animosity was new.

“You brought Jo Yeong here?” Tae-Eul frowned, turning to Gon.

“It was unavoidable. He wouldn’t let me go alone.”

There was several reasons why Gon had wanted to bring Yeong to this place, but one particularly stood out. Yeong had chased after him in the bamboo trail and blocked his path as he was about to cross the gate.

If he was leaving to go meet that girl Luna, then he couldn’t let him go, Yeong had explained.

Luna.

Gon had also learned about her existence in the Kingdom. He had spent hours and hours searching for Tae-Eul and it turned out that her doppelganger did exist in his universe. That time when he saw a glimpse of her at the rowing competition was not a figment of his imagination after all. But her name wasn’t Tae-Eul and she wasn’t a police officer either. She was just a fugitive, chased by both the mob and police forces.

Gon couldn’t blame Yeong for being wary of Tae-Eul. His best friend had dutifully looked for her at his request. He believed that Luna and Tae-Eul were the same person, so it was only normal that he couldn’t let Gon go to her.

This was about to change.

Gon wanted to show Yeong that Luna and Tae-Eul were really two different persons. That one person belonged to the Kingdom and the other was from another universe.

Yeong still seemed frozen in place, disoriented from the journey from Corea to the Republic’s Seoul. Examining his surroundings, his confusion only grew as his eyes lingered on the various frames that adorned the walls.

There were several pictures of Tae-Eul posing with her father. Another frame of a younger Tae-Eul with Shin-Jae. Countless awards and certificates bearing her name.

To any outsider looking at these various pieces of memory, this was a real, separate person. A person that matched the police ID Yeong saw, belonging to a certain police officer named Jeong Tae-Eul.

“What… what’s going on?” Yeong asked, face slightly tilted. “What is this place?”

“I totally understand how you feel. I’m sure we both have a lot of things to worry about, but for now, welcome to the Republic of Korea.” Tae-Eul replied calmly.

So… did it mean he had to call her Sunbae here?

Yeong pulled out his phone and tried to get a signal.

Yeong’s confused state reminded Gon of Tae-Eul’s similar reaction when she first visited the Palace.

“I’ve never seen him act like that. He looks so cute when he’s flustered.” Gon chuckled.

Tae-Eul had to admit this was a new side of Yeong. She never imagined that the man who didn’t flinch at the sight of blood could look so flustered. But she wouldn’t go as far as to describe him as cute.

She guessed it made sense. Tae-Eul lips stretched into a small smile. Gon did consider Yeong as his little brother.

“Your carefree attitude is what’s cute. How can you just bring someone with the same face? What are you going to do if he gets caught?”

“That’s why I borrowed this place. Besides, Yeong isn’t the type to get caught easil—.”

The door suddenly burst open and Eun-Sup came strolling inside the Dojang. His face lit up at seeing Gon.

“The light were on so I was wondering…”

Eun-Sup shrieked, frozen at the sight of Yeong.

Yeong returned his gaze on Eun-Sup. Both staring at each other, fingers pointing towards the other.

“You two haven’t met, right? Why don’t I introduce… Well, I guess we could say you’ve met already. Anyway, this is my guard, the Unbreakable Sword, Jo Yeong. And this is the guard of a police station…” Gon explained, looking slightly perplexed.

Halfway through Gon’s quiet introductions, Eun-Sup collapsed. Tae-Eul rushed over to him, grabbing his collar and patting his cheek repeatedly.

“Hey! Jo Eun-Sup! I can’t believe it! You made him faint! What? Did you say that he wouldn’t get caught? Our Eun-Sup was also raised as a precious only child until his siblings were born. What are you going to do if something happens to him?” Tae-Eul shouted.

Woken up by Tae-Eul frantic gestures, Eun-Sup kept on rambling. “Noona, I literally just saw someone who looked exactly like me… that face, he’s right here. What the hell is this? He looks exactly like me. No. He is me. Who are you?”

“And who are you?” Yeong confronted Eun-Sup.

Tae-Eul could feel a headache coming on. Massaging her temples, she attempted a rational explanation.

“Eun-Sup. Let me explain. So this is like a parallel universe or something. Don’t get too startled and listen to me, alright?”

“I didn’t realize it until now, but I’m pretty handsome.” Eun-Sup cut her off.

Yes, okay. This was Eun-Sup alright.

“You really didn’t know? How could you not know? I’m sure people around you would’ve told you all the time.” Yeong added, keeping a straight face on.

Gon and Tae-Eul looked at each other.

Eun-Sup, who seemed to have regained his wits, shook his shaggy hair. “Wow, so this means everything was true, right? The Kingdom of Corea really exists, and King Arthur really is the King? Wow! Then you’re the King’s bodyguard, right?”

“No. Are you doing military duties right now? Is the military service compulsory here?” Yeong asked, looking at Eun-Sup’s uniform.

“What do you mean? Is it different where you live?”

“Our military system is on a voluntary basis.”

“Really? Then it means you don’t need to go…”

Tae-Eul let out a long sigh at Yeong and Eun-Sup’s back and forth verbal sparring. This conversation could drag on and on. The Taekwondo center wasn’t a safe place to hide Eun-Sup’s double.

They would be safer at Eun-Sup’s place. It was a school holidays so the twins were back at home and Eun-Sup currently lived alone in the apartment.

She ushered the two of them outside and set up a few basic rules in order for them to co-exist in this world. Eun-Sup could go out and live his life during the day. They would switch at sundown and Yeong could go out at night.

—

Leaving Yeong and Eun-Sup to bicker, Tae-Eul brought Gon to their usual bbq chicken place. She didn’t know how long Gon would stay this time around. Regardless, she had been meaning to give him a cellphone so they could reach each other whenever they felt like it.

Tae-Eul saved all the necessary numbers and slid the brand new phone over to Gon.

Her number. Shin-Jae’s, Eun-Sup’s, Nari’s and the Dojang’s landline number.

“Unlike someone, my salary is chicken feed, and I don’t have a mountain full of rare-earth elements. So I bought it with a 12-month installment plan. Don’t break it and take care of it. Don’t forget to answer my calls. I saved all the numbers you will need in this world.”

“It seems like you bought it and waited for me to come back. Why did you save Shin-Jae’s number though?”

Gon felt a surge of happiness at the idea that Tae-Eul bought this phone for him and waited for him to come back to give it to him. However, his light mood rapidly changed when he saw Shin-Jae’s number on the phone’s bright screen.

“They are the five people who will help you regardless of anything in this world. And Shin-Jae is one of the most trustworthy people.”

“Not you?”

“For me, the citizens of this nation come first.”

With the device still in his hand, Gon dialed Tae-Eul’s number.

At the sound of her ringtone, Tae-Eul instinctively grabbed her own phone, wondering who might want to reach her at this time of the day.

Lee Gon.

Gon gestured for her to pick up the call.

“Is it you?”

“Hang up.”

“Don’t hang up. I always wanted to try this.”

“What is this?”

“Just a normal daily life with you. Call you… chat on the phone…”

“…”

“Ask you what you did today… and tell you that I missed you a lot.” Gon went on.

He was saying aloud all the things Tae-Eul had been thinking about in his absence. She could see the waiter approaching their table with their order.

“Me too.” Tae-Eul admitted in one breath.

Gon’s chest tightened, joy rippling through him. He didn’t know his heart could beat so fast.

“We have somewhere to go after we eat.” Tae-Eul announced, grabbing a piece of chicken.

“…?”

“It’s something I’ve been planning for a long time.”

#tkem #the king eternal monarch #lee min ho #kim go eun #tkem novels #Sorry for being MIA #December was crazy work-wise #then Christmas break happened with its own kind of crazyness #Many thanks for your patience!#I gotta admit though #After binge watching Doctors a few weeks ago I developed some kind of Kim Rae Won situation #so I was busy catching up on his filmography #lmao I have 0 chill #anyway happy new year ~ ^_^#may 2021 make up for all the shitstorm that was 2020 including sbs robbing our cast of their well deserved awards #LMH looked so sad walking up the stage alone

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