II

Chapter 2: The Girl Named Yuna

A few days have passed since then. The sky, that night, was cloudless, making the stars twinkle even brighter as the army of a hundred men walked to their country. The trip to San would take another two weeks by foot.

"We are near Haneul(sky)…"Jin looked over the forest, between the dozens of trees where smoke trailed up. They were near the borders of one of the most powerful kingdoms. "Be careful not to cross that line and hurry up. We don't want to alert our enemies. I don't want a diplomatic issue to arise if they find me here unannounced."

At the mention of the Kingdom, his lashes fluttered. That was where he was from. Born and raised here. He didn't really care which country his future vessel was from but if he found one here, it would make blending in way easier for him as he is not prone to make mistakes since he knew the culture and etiquette better than anyone.

His soul lay waiting on the edge, still connected to his fingertips and with a snap, the tension in his body dulled. A figure-less, invisible shape got out of the crack, floating as it's finally free from restraint. The soul was red with black edges encasing it.

He needed to be fast and find a body. His usage of magic felt unstable to control since he never did this before. There should be many powerful mages to take over here.

He sank into the village, near the borders, passing through the vast buildings of chestnut branch thatched-roof houses. It was a newly built area and very poor looking.

He turned around, looking for a body that seemed strong, passing right through humans to check their soul's color. Each color represents a spectrum of good and bad. Depending on the person, they may fall on either side. He passed by someone with only red as their soul. Red for passion, love and courage but it could also easily turn to anger, danger, and lust. That meant this person was only half compatible with him.

I can't seem to find my match. Maybe I should look for my academy. As he traveled, he found people dressed in white, praying as they bent down. There were many blue and black souls. Blue are tranquil, loyal and honest people but they can also be sad, aloof, and predictable. Since it was a mourning place, some souls can temporarily switch colors during the highest high of their emotions. He doubted many people would be black as that reserve for powerful, determined, independent people but they may also be insecure and fearful. At least that's what the scholar, who spent all his years researching this soul spell, wrote in his book.

He went miles and miles deeper into the city, becoming weaker and slower. "I need to find a body quickly."

The soul slithered around, trying to find similarities. He passed many oranges, green, blue and other singular colors. As he passed by for another ten minutes, he dropped to the ground. There wasn't any soul similar. "Tsk, I have to try again next week."

He lay there, waiting for his remaining magic to dimish so he can return forcibly back to his own body. It took way more magical power to do this than he thought.

"Yuna, watch out." A yell bursted out, followed by crashes in the area. He didn't bother looking at what's going on since this is a mortal problem, not his. He did feel a demon energy approaching him rapidly.

"AH!" A body fell right into his spot. The color was vastly different, white with a hint of yellow.

White? It was considered the rarest color as many people are jaded. The soul had innocence and purity but maybe it meant isolated and cold because he doesn't believe anyone is innocent in this world. Instead of passing, his soul was getting sucked into the body. Before he could block it, it forcibly interfered and he blacked out.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It was dark with a hint of lightness at the center, he felt himself stir awake when the dizziness in the back of his consciousness, brightened with each motion. His vision cleared up but the movement continued, passing by a bunch of stalls selling fabric, pins, jewelry, herbs, grains.

Why am I here? He was confused with the sudden change of atmosphere? The people on the stall waved at his direction and a hand in his peripheral vision rose, waving back.

"Why is this body moving already?" He tried to pilot this new body to gain control but it didn't work. "I can't move?"

The body stopped moving, the vision lowered with them. He saw two low pigtails on each side and his focus snapped to their straw made shoes as it kicked a pebble then started again. "Hm? It seems like I haven't taken over this body yet? Maybe I have to wait a while?"

A woman suddenly came into vision, wearing her hair in a high ponytail, donning a silk, indigo, cropped Jeogori (top), her waist tightened a few rounds with a fabric, holding her norigae (accessory) and lastly, well fitted baji (trouser) that matched her top.

"Yuna!"

"Chiyu!" Suddenly, the body hugged this girl quickly before they parted. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Will I be tormented with this until this girl dies?" he questioned, disappointed. He felt a brief emotion of confusion go through him.

"How's your injury? You suddenly blacked out yesterday from fighting that demon. Are you okay now?" Chiyu asked him-or his host however he chose to answer too to satisfy his boredom.

"I'm not okay. Thanks to that demon, now I'm stuck in this body when I could have possessed a better one." He sighed.

"I'm definitely... not okay." Yuna muttered to herself and he quirked a brow. "And why is that?"

"But I'm feeling so much better now," Yuna then added with a smile.

Chiyu frowned and threw her a worried glance since Yuna never admits her weakness but decided to play it cool and instead, interlocked their arms together. "Let the bygones be bygones and instead, we should enjoy our time. I've got some gossip to tell you."

She dragged Yuna and with a staggering feet, Yuna rushed with her in a giggle as if she knew what she meant.

"...I'll have to give that demon a visit if I see him." His days aren't looking very bright suddenly. He just prayed she would die sooner than later.

Their short trip lead them to a small, outdoor tavern. It had a couple of seats, ten tables to be exact, four big ones that held four people and six small ones that held two. It was another thatched-roof house with opened indoors, showing the kitchen as an old lady sat, fanning the fire.

"Is this where poor people eat?" He judged the area with clinical eyes.

"I have never in my life eaten in such-" he let out a sound of displeasure at the dusty tables when Chiyu and Yuna got to an empty, two seat table. "-disgusting looking place."

Yuna called out to the lady cooking on the side like she been here before. "Granny! Two Chicken soups please!

As they bent down to sit, Chiyu immediately started talking, banging the table in her excitement. "Did you hear? There are rumors that a royal consort event will be held at the end of this month. All eligible, noble women are allowed to compete. I heard it could be the sixth or seventh Prince? What if this end up-"

He was already done listening to them talk.

"-as a royal marriage? Do you think I should give it a try?" Chiyu muttered, embarrassed.

Yuna nodded, not to confirm but rather to prove she's listening. She seemed a bit lost in thought. "You want to give it a try? Do...you even like any of the Princes?"

She twirled on the low tip of her hair tails.

"No. I actually don't care about it but I think it would be fun." When those words left her mouth, he felt a strange swirl in his chest that he couldn’t explain.

"It's all about the fame, the prestige. My family will never allow me to not to give it a try." Chiyu leaned on the table, letting out an exaggerated groan as her toes taped up and down aggressively to the point she was shaking. "At least I'll be richer with royal husband, right?"

What was he listening to? What was this conversation? Although what she said made a unpleasant person surface to his mind but he quickly shoved it aside. He really couldn't be more out of place than right now.

He focused back when he felt someone approaching them, alerted by the presence but his host seemed relaxed, only staring at Chiyu.

"Chicken soup for my beautiful ladies." The elderly woman smiled as she placed the set on each side. The girls returned that smile, sending their kind regards. "Thank you."

It was half a chicken simmered in water, nothing too fancy. The smell wafted in the air and he genuinely almost gagged. He never ate food like this since he was a teenager, starving during the war.

Yuna then continued where they left off. "You will really participate for the prestige? What about love?"

If he had a face, it twisted into repulsion. Did she really say what he thinks she did? Love? There is no such thing as love. No wonder her soul was white...

He zoned out of the conversation, pulling himself out of her vision to allow himself to focus. He needed to think of his next move. Clearly there was a mistake in his process to find a body. The fact they aren't compatible, not even a little bit, is already a big mistake. When possessing a body, especially one with an extreme opposite as him, the host's soul is likely to die from the mix up. That's probably why he doesn't have control of her body yet. Another way to possess a body that is incompatible is if they are near death or are already dead, the color of their soul doesn't matter. Anyone can take over them. But that could range between a month or six months if the host is meant to die later.

The only other way to get out is if he had casted a spell but he had no magical reserves left… but she does.

He tried to tap on her reserves but the soul barrier stopped him from touching it. He would need her permission to use it which is impossible because she doesn't know he is in here so he had to wait for her to die.

He focused back on her vision.

"-are you sure you are going to be okay? You know she has it out for you." The conversation seemed to have shifted into a different topic.

"I'll be fine... I think," A layer of insecurity laced in Yuna's voice that he caught on although he hadn't paid attention to the conversation to understand why. She lifted her bowl up to drink soup, the chicken long gone. "I was thinking of going to the library to study again. As you know, I'm last in my class. I can't fail my next exam."

She paused, lost in thought again. "I've been borrowing books and-"

He stared at Chiyu since he is forced to look at everything his host saw and since she was right in front of him, she is all he saw. She's pretty, he noted. The way she mouthed each word, smiled and laughed. Then his eyes lowered, where her boobs lay. "Hmm you have a nice rack."

"-you have a nice rack." Yuna ended her sentence. Her smile dropped quickly when she realized what she said, jaw slacked a little.

His impassive lips slowly turned into a devious grin. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

"What?" Chiyu was confused.

"What? Yuna also repeated before she laughed, slapping her face. "Ha, ha, ha, I mean I also BROUGHT a rack to my dorm and it's... holding my clothes nicely. That's what I meant."

Chiyu nodded slowly, as if that made sense when it really didn't but that other statement didn't make sense as a stand alone either so she didn't comment about it. "Yea, you have been complaining about having to put your clothes in boxes. Would you like to leave some of your clothes in my room?"

"No..."

"You know you can always ask for my help. My dorm space is big."

"I know. I just…"

"Don't feel shy, it's okay to ask for help, y'know?" Chiyu grinned as she stood up, done eating. "For today's lunch, I'll pay."

"Oh no, I got this. Last time, you covered, this time I got-"

"Nice ass she got," he provided for her unnecessarily as revenge.

"- a nice as- sElf payment recently. " Yuna stuttered and just smiled awkwardly, saving herself at the last minute. "From my job."

There was a strange silence "I'll go to the chamber pot. I suddenly have a stomach ache." She waved her off as she stood up abruptly and Chiyu stared confused… then she waved back unsurely to let her know she got it somehow.

Yuna rushed out of the tavern, looking frantically at her surroundings for the nearest toilet.

"All this time you were pretending not to hear me."

"... I can't hear you."

"Yes, you can. You are responding to me right now."

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"Oh no! I'm delusional! The voice in my head won't stop talking."

"I'm real."

"Oh no, what am I gonna do?"

"I'm real."

"Am I that desperate? I create a voice in my head or something? Did the stress get to me? No... noooooo..."

"She must really think she's going crazy," he was amused.

"This can't be happening."

"Indeed. It shouldn't have happened. What a phenomenon. I've never read anything like this in any books." There was never a case of a host hearing the soul, then again, not many people are capable of using this spell in the first place.

"LALALALA-" She held her cartilage and closed her ear holes, obnoxiously repeating herself and pacing back and forth.

"You look more silly like that I bet." He chuckled at the thought.

"LALALALA-"

"Everyone passing by might think you are deranged although they are not far off on that assumption."

"LALALALA-" She made sure no one was near the toliet.

"Oh look, Chiyu!"

"Where!" She stopped, looking around frantically.

"Now that you are quiet, I want you to listen to me otherwise, we are not getting anywhere." He calmed her down. She let out a sigh as she leaned her hand on the door before getting inside the chamber and closing the seat as she locked herself inside. "Am I seriously going to talk to myself... alright, let's hear it."

"You are not delusional. I accidentally entered your body the other day and I would like to leave if possible but it would require a lot of your magical power... which you don't have," he started out confidently but ended it with a whisper. Was she a mage? Because the amount was pathetic.

He thought she would focus on finding the solution, you know, by asking how to get him out but instead-

"So you are an actual person..." she paused as if trying to process it.

"Yes?" He let out a suffering sigh. Did this matter? She is so slow witted.

"Then where is your body?" He didn't expect this question to come out. His mind went through multiple scenarios of what would happen if he told the truth.

"Someone took it away and forced me into this position. I want my body back so if you cooperate, I won't bother you." He was not a liar, he never had any reason to lie so he chose to tell the truth while hiding the rest of the details since she didn't ask for that.

Yuna raised a brow, waiting for a chance to speak since she noticed he can't read her mind despite feeling him on the back of her head.

"You sound like a bad person," Yuna worriedly mused. Should she have said that to him? Probably not but she got that feeling all day from him, that he was not a good person.

"I had some good days."

"?"

"..."

"... you didn't deny it."

"... I have a lot of good days," he rephrased.

Blood drained from her face, her lips frowned. He sounds less like a delusion and more of an actual person now. "What! Why should I help you?"

He chuckled amusedly. The audacity to challenge him? If he wasn't physically incapable, she would beg him to have mercy on her.

"Because if you don't," his voice went low, as if he was right next to her ear. The vibration of his throat made her squirm a little. "You will die."

"Are you threatening me?" Yuna glared up, seeing the edge of her forehead.

"I wish 'I' was the one upholding this threat but unfortunately, it's not because of me." A shiver went down her spin. That confirmed it to Yuna. He was one hundred percent a bad guy. Now she is doubting everything he says. "What you mean?"

"The fault is in our soul. We are not compatible." She can tell. She really can. "Which means you will die or you were meant to die."

She wanted to know what was going on because she wasn't sure if she could believe anything he said. He could be lying to her to get her to help him. She has to research before she makes any real judgment.

When she went quiet, he decided to assert himself more to get her to do it. He can't wait. He genuinely doesn't think he can stomach being with her for one month or worse, six. He prioritizes comfort over discomfort. "I'll be generous and save your life by telling you how to get me out since, you will die if I don't. This is more beneficial for you than me so do we have a deal?"

"No, we don't have a deal. You crazy lunatic!" Is what she wished she said but she didn't know what to do with him since he is in her head. For now, she has to pretend she will do it until she figures out how to get out of this mess. She ignored his "generosity" and focused more on his suggestion because she wanted him out. "Unfortunately, we do have a deal."

"Good. There is some sense in you." A vein popped at her head at the insult he threw at her but she ignored it. She needed to reprocess everything that happened. The more she thought about it, the worse the problem seemed.

She let out another sigh, standing up and opening the door as the sun hit her to reality. Chiyu is probably waiting ages for her to come back so she needed to go back and lie about how bad the constipation was.

As she closed the door, a thought hit her.

"Since we are...umm somewhat partners in this strange situation." She rolled her eyes at her own statement but kept it going.

"I think I deserve to know your name?" She realized she hadn't asked him.

There's an uncanny pause as if he didn't expect her to ask such a thing.

"Ryu… Hyun, Ryu."