The Secret Sonata || Ryeji

Chapter 45.1 : Evocation

Since the electricity and telecommunication had been cut off mysteriously, the girls couldn't contact Jennie to warn her about the upcoming ordeal, nor could they implore her to take care of Mr. Hwang while they were gone. Therefore, they had to leave the man at a neighbor's house, who also happened to be a close friend of the Hwang family and was willing to look out for him for the night. While sorting out things for his comfort, they had to hide Ryujin from his sight, for the reason that he was still holding a grudge against her. They didn't want him to go berserk like last time when he saw that girl.

On the way to the location where Lia's soul was residing in, with Yeji leading the way and Ryujin driving their van, Chaeryeong angrily reproved Ryujin for letting Lucy possess the former's body and being easily deceived. After she calmed down, only then was the whisker-dimpled girl able to puff out a breath of relief. Sitting at the shotgun seat and putting her hand out of the window to absorb the moon's energy, Yeji knitted her eyebrows due to the fact that the heavenly orb had returned to its original color—from blue to silver—, thus the slower process of recharging. Reflecting back to the previous horrendous events, the atypical emergence of the blue moon could be regarded as a miracle since it transferred a surge of power into Yeji's soul, ten times faster than the normal rate, and enabled her to revive Ryujin. It was indeed a once in a blue moon moment, the moment which she had always waited for ever since her twin started to suppress and robbed her of her energy with agonizing tortures, so that she would never attain her goal. She could've used that opportunity to complete the task in the basement, yet she chose to bring the girl she loved back to life. It proved that Hwang Yeji's love for Shin Ryujin was indisputable. Likewise to Shin Ryujin's unconditional love.

To bring light to Lucy's wrongdoings on her, the evil phantom was the sole reason why she was stuck in this spiritual state and her silver hair, including the moon's empowerment, was a product of a ritual that had gone wrong, thanks to Lucy's curse. Yeji resented Lucy, she resented her so much that she didn't want her to ever return from hell. The root of Yeji's hatred wasn't only because Lucy took her life but also their- no, her mother's. Furthermore, she blamed Lucy for taking away the chance to meet Seulgi for the last time. Had she known that Seulgi was slaughtered—accidentally—on the same day and she would miss her mother on the way to heaven, she never would have rushed back to earth upon being given a chance to reunite with her loved ones. If only she had stayed a bit longer at the celestial gates, she could have bidden her mother's soul a farewell or hugged her for the last time. Or maybe she could decline the offer to return to earth and live together with her mother as angels. But, would she be able to make that decision for real? Because Ryujin was the first loved one that came to mind as soon as the offer was mentioned. Nonetheless, she still didn't have the courage to allow herself to be the young Shin's girlfriend again, owing to her hopeless state and the conscience that was eating at her. She wanted what was best for Ryujin and no one could change her mind; though the whiskers never failed to sway her decisions.

And the reassuring palm of Ryujin's on her own wasn't of any help either. She couldn't help but enjoy the comfort it brought to her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" The driver asked, eyes ahead of them and one hand on the steering wheel while the other was enveloping the spirit's.

Thinking about how much I can't resist you even though I want to because I'm a lost cause. Yeji thought in melancholy, but what she vocalized was, "Just... reminiscing the good old days." Then, she averted her eyes to the leather bound book on her lap, heaving a sigh. It was partially true because every time she landed her eyes on that particular book, good memories of the past never failed to flash up in her head.

Ryujin stole a glance at Yeji and the book before fixating her eyes on the road back again. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"If you're curious, then okay..." Yeji breathed, treating her charging palm from the window and placing it onto the book, instinctively flipping to a certain page, her energy half-full. "You know... I hate Lucy. I really do, but I can't help recalling the good memories we'd shared together and... the sight of this book and this particular story in here always evokes such memories. Plus, I can't understand what went wrong with Lucy. She wasn't this cruel before. I mean she even accepted our relationship and told me to make better memories with you. It just doesn't make sense how love changed her for the worse and made her suddenly act like that." She rambled.