Krampus [Book Two Of King-Queen, Jester Series](CYJ)

11 :: Thy Rictus

"Displaying thy rictus,switchel in hand
The demon is on thy land"

⊱ ───ஓ๑♧๑ஓ ─── ⊰

There is a movement in psychology, positive psychology more accurately, towards radical acceptance, focusing on gratitude, and resonating with the positive. And with good reason: it works.

Acceptance has been a key to happiness since Buddhism was born. The Second Noble Truth of Buddhism (of The Four Noble Truths) is that "desire (or craving) is the root of all suffering." This is interpreted as wanting reality to be anything but what it is; in other words, a lack of acceptance.

Acceptance, in Buddhist terms, refers to our ability to stay present. When life presents us with something the ego finds painful and not pleasurable, the mind's tendency is to resist, avoid, change or generally push against. But when they conclude on the same point, that is called acceptance.

At the present, Yeonjun wasn't accepting the reality. Soobin was missing, Soobin was held hostage somewhere with no ransom calls. Soobin might not even be alive.

"Don't put your words in my mouth, Eunhye!" The rage in his eyes had a coldness of frustration. He banged his hands on the steering of his car, setting the horns of the car ablaze. His words no more came out as a whisper.

Eunhye felt her throat stifling. She had never had anyone scream at her the way he did. She was frozen.

"I trust Yi Young! I love Yi Young! Why do you hate her?!"

"I..."

Eunhye turned her face away. Her heart throbbed eccentrically. Was she afraid of that face? Yes, she was. She silently smudged of the water at the bream of eyes and unlocked the door.

She shut it back.

Yeonjun did not turn back at her, neither did she. She walked away, farther and away from the car, somewhere that Yeonjun didn't know. He stayed still in his position. His own eyes were red. Why was he sad? What wrong did he do? He should stand up for his lover, shouldn't he?

Something in his heart told him, you did right. Women tend to be jealous of eachother. It was right of him, he should defend his family. Was it his family?

He did not wait to see where she might be. He drove away. He had questioned himself, where was he even going? What was he doing?

Frustration took over him. He was crying, unintentionally, unknowingly. What would the people tell when they see him like this? Such a coward of a man!

The dull passageway had no shines of light even in the day, like a body that lacked soul. He brushed his heavy hands on the railing of the stairs to support himself in the narrow space. A sense of sorrow had taken over him. Why?

Yeonjun had reached his favourite spot on the third stair, halfway down. Today, when Eunhye stood behind him and completed the poem, he had mistook her for his mother for a split second. Mama usually left for work at the wee hours of the day and returned a little later than midnight. She barely rested but made sure the boys had food on their table in the morning, a clean house for them to live and some cash in hands all the time. Yeonjun was barely seeing her around the year she ultimately took her much needed rest.