Wicked Fate

FIFTYFOURTH CHAPTER

An arrow through the heart

Love doesn't care who you are or where you come from.

It doesn't care what happened to you in the past or what is happening to you now in the present because all it cares about is maybe... slightly... ridiculously... it could change your future.

Jiyong knows that whatever he is to do now would alter everything but he expects that and in truth, THAT is what he hopes.

He doesn't want to be acting like a criminal just to be able to talk to Dara or to see her. He doesn't want people around her feeling guilty whenever they help him be near hear... he's had enough of that.

And no matter what some people say about this bet of his, he is going to give everything he's got into winning this. He prepared himself and he is, he is very sure, in top shape and quite at an advantage against all the other competitors.

But he would never underestimate Jay.

A man fighting for his love is a powerful man and he respects that power. They are in the same boat.

The whole course for this preliminary leg before the actual battle in the coming months maybe shorter than the one they compete in during the festival battle but it is not an easy one. It will run from the top of the mountains down to the coast. There would be cycling, running, and a swim to the other side of the beach.

It is a triathlon that people observed for it gives homage to the strength of hundreds of ancestors who coexisted with the amazing mountain of Halla.

And being honest with himself, Jiyong prayed that the spirit of those ancestors would further support him.

He has no plans for what he would do after this should he lose.

All he'd done are preparations for plans he has should he win.

Unknown even to his cousins, he'd already applied for a discharge from his services. His superiors had offered placing him in Singapore so he could be nearer home. His influence and standing are of immense use to them as the US gears for some heat coming from China. But his response is very strong against coming back. His life is here now.

He had also bought a villa by the beach that is near Seunghyun's home. It is utterly lovely, sitting on a knoll above the sea with a rolling lawn edged with flowers and trees. People would think he'd gone overboard with it for it is too big for a bachelor but it's perfect for a family.

Jiyong couldn't help smiling at the thought of it.

He commissioned a group from Taiwan (who created high quality yachts) for a sailboat too. A bigger sailboat than the one Dara has so he can take her anywhere she wants to go.

He would nurse her back to health and remind her of everything she had always loved. He doesn't know how he would go about proposing to her to let him give her that life but he is sure that he won't ever let the chance slip him by.

He is going to fight and he is going to win.

As he maneuvered his car to park, he saw a sizeable crowd already gathered in the beach front inspite of this being just a preliminary contest to see who will represent the clinic. He laughed to himself when he saw a huge sign saying, "Doctors and Nurses are meant to be together".

It was good old Mr. Yuri holding the sign and he was talking to Cho Yuan, their ever-trusty police officer, who looked prepared for the outdoors with his well-worn board shorts.

"There's the man!", Nandeuk shouted from behind the two men and they all waved at him.

"You go win this thing Kid. I placed a huge bet on you", Mr. Yuri informed him as he walked closer to them.