CHAPTER 24; RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
Rin sighed and went in Ma Roo's room and pulled one pink sticky note from the ones he had and scribbled on words and stuck it on Ma Roo's MacBook. She then went in the living room and grabbed her white jacket and a pink scarf. After putting them on her white sweater and grey pants, she went out. She went to the library where she was last time but this time it didn't seem like she had come to read books, she seemed to be looking for someone. Finally, at the corner, she saw the lady who was wearing luxury clothes from famous brands, reading a book. Rin smiled because she knew she would find her here. She then made her to go meet the lady.
"Hi, ma'am. Do you remember me from yesterday?" Rin sat on the lady's bench. "Oh, I've been waiting for you but you have finally came." The lady closed her book. She knew Rin would come looking for her. "Oh wow. You knew that I would come. I have a few questions to ask and I think you know what I want to ask about, don't you?" Rin said to the lady. "I know want you ask about but I don't know what you want to begin with." The lady said. "Huh, first, I wanted to know how you knew I was a mermaid." Rin said. "Because I am a mermaid too myself and before coming to land we were taught special skills and one of them was recognising fellow mermaids." The lady explained.
"Oh, then. Yesterday, what did you mean by what you told me?" Rin asked quickly after the lady had answered. "Don't you think we are going too fast? We haven't even introduced ourselves to each other." The lady said. "Oh, I am sorry. My name is Kim Hye Rin but you can call me Rin." Rin introduced herself. "Oh, Rin's meaning sure suits you. Clear water. You are so innocent. Mine is Hong Ga Ya. It's nice to meet you." The lady gave a warm smile to Rin. "Oh, I didn't know that my name meant that. Can we continue now?" Rin said impatiently.
"Ok, what I meant yesterday was that the mermaid soul suckers, the mermaids who varnished become those demons who live by sucking on to other mermaids' souls." The lady explained. "I have herd of that thing of one year whatever once in the sea from the guards who were guarding me but I didn't get to understand it in details." Rin asked another question indirectly. "One year on land to find love? You don't know it? I wonder which kind of mermaid doesn't know that. Anyway, let me tell you. We mermaids were able to go to land for as long we liked till a few centuries ago when the supreme mermaid's heart was broken by the man she loved for one year but the man never even said 'I love you' to her even if he didn't mean it, she bared with it all but the man kept on going out with other girls and in the end he also married another woman. She was so heartbroken that she created a spell on all other mermaids. We could only go on land for once in our life for one year and find the one we love and get him/her tell us that they love us from the bottom of their hearts in that period and if they don't we have not succeeded in that, we have to go back to the sea a day before a year or else we varnish out of existence and become those lurking demons." The lady told her the whole story.
"Wow, I feel sad for the supreme mermaid. Is there a way to break the spell?" Rin said. "There is one but no one knows because the supreme mermaid herself failed to do it and died after creating the spell." The lady said to Rin. "Oh, I see but I don't understand why those mermaids wouldn't go back in the sea if their time had come." Rin was confused. "If you go through the same situation you will understand how hard it is." The lady told Rin. "It doesn't seem so had, if someone doesn't love you, why don't you let them go?" Rin still couldn't understand. "Maybe, it seems so easy for you because you don't love anyone yet or do you even know what love is." The lady sneered at her. "Once, I thought I did love someone but I don't think I really did. He's my best friend." Rin smiled to hide what she was feeling.
"Anyway, it seems like the one you loved confessed to you. You must be happy with him now." Rin added on to prevent the lady from asking her more about her love life. "Oh, he died a three years ago." The lady became sad after saying that. "I am sorry." Rin felt guilty for asking the question. "It's okay, it's not like you knew or meant it." The lady forced on a smile to show Rin she was really fine. "What do those demons look like?" Rin asked. "They are shadows. They can't be seen normal humans. You must be really lucky to have a special human around you." The lady explained. "Then how can you that person is special?" Rin was getting confused.
"Actually, I don't know how, I just happened to hear about it too nut during this time. Mermaid go to areas that there is barely any water because those demons are always near water bodies. They come in the dark where it's hard it's hard to recognise them, you cannot even know that they are sucking your soul. So you have to be on a high alert every night and switch on lights every time. Avoid the dark or go back to the sea for the time being until spring when they are dried out of the energy they had." The lady explained every detail he knew. "Wow, that's scary." Rin felt goose bumps all over her body. "let me go get a drink, what do you want to do drink? Do you want anything to eat?" the lady asked Rin. "Anything is fine with me." Rin smiled. "Ok, I'll be back in ten." The lady stood up and went to buy them drinks.
Mrs. Hong Ga Ya came back in exactly ten minutes as she had promised with soft drinks, milk, yogurt and water with tinned instant noodles and crisps of different types with a coffee. "I didn't know what you liked, so I brought what I thought you'd like." The lady explained to the puzzled Rin. "Oh, thanks." Rin didn't have anything more to say more than that. "Where were we?" The lady asked to pull out herself of the awkwardness. "Oh, why don't you also go back in the sea if there are mermaid soul suckers?" Rin then asked randomly. "If you succeed in getting a person to tell you they love you. You become almost human and your mermaid sense disappears." She explained.
"Oh, I asked that randomly, I didn't actually know that it was so useful." She was surprised. "Anyways, I think the better choice for you now is to go back to the sea." The lady said. "I am fine. I will just avoid the dark." She declined the offer. "It's up to you. I have told you everything about me. Now, can you tell me more about you." The lady said. "My story is boring. I don't think y=that you will like it." Rin wanted to change the topic. "No story is boring. Only the listener decides how it is." The lady prevented her from changing the topic. "Oh, ok. If you don't mind. I'll start now." Rin said. "Ok, tell me everything." Mrs. Hong Ga Ya said. "Oh, my father is the king of all mermaids. He abruptly locked me up in a dark castle down in the sea with a power brake on my hand so I couldn't escape but just recently I managed to escape and meet Ma Roo who was so kind to give me shelter after I gave him only a bag full of a few sea stones and my power brake, I heard the guard once say that those stones were so useful here on land. So, I brought a few with me. I don't think any person is as kind as Ma Roo, don't you think so." Rin smiled without knowing as she spoke about Ma Roo.
"I must say you were scammed of your sea stones. You could get a permanent home with those and money that could last you at least one and a half year. I thought you seemed innocent but you really innocent." The lady pitied her. "I don't care, they were just a few stones and it's not like I gave them to a stranger. I have many of those in the sea." Rin said happily as if she had fulfilled all her life dreams. "Where is your bracelet? Does he still have it?" The lady was more worried about the bracelet. "Oh, he told me he sold everything." She said as she closed the empty tin of noodles. "Oh, is that it?" The lady seemed disappointed. "Anyway, how did you know it was a bracelet? I hadn't told you." Rin asked. "It's one of a kind in the seven seas given to the descendants' of supreme mermaid to prevent them to cause. "Wait, what? I am a descendant of the supreme mermaid that's why I do things other mermaids can't" Rin almost choked on her milk.
CHAPTER 25; TELL ME I AM WRONG
"Mrs. Ga Ya, apart from smelling the scent of other mermaids, what other skills are mermaids taught?" Rin wanted to know more about the mermaids. "Being in water without becoming a mermaid and teaching them to use their powers, teaching them everything latest about human I guess from what I remember." She said and took the last sip on her coffee. "Wow, is it even possible for us to be in water without becoming mermaid?" Rin was more surprised the more she got to know about her kind. "It is possible." Mrs. Ga Ya said.
"Mrs. Ga Ya, can I please ask you for a favour?" Rin asked more politely. "Anything for you." She said in a gentle voice with a motherly look in her eyes. "I wanted to ask if you could teach me some of the skills and how to use my powers, I discover new powers day by day." Rin said. "it's not like I have much to do I'll any time you ready I'll come and find you but as a friend and an elder, I advise you to go back to the sea at least till the beginning of spring." She then picked up her Chanel purse and the two exchanged smiles and she moved gracefully out of the library.
Rin remained in the library sitting alone thinking about what Mrs Ga Ya had told her. She then stood up and went to the librarian, "Could you please show me books that teach about love?" Rin asked politely. "Follow me and you choose from the ones I'll recommend for you." The lady in her mid-twenties said to Rin. Rin read a stack of books for a few hours till it was 7 pm. When she saw that it was getting late and packed the five books, she had not finished to go check them out. One book fell down but when she bent to pick it up, she bumped her head with someone who had also squat down to help her pick it. "Ouch!" The two howled. When she looked up, it was a boy her age wearing a school uniform and spectacles.
"Hi there, I am sorry. You must've been hurt. I was so reckless. I am very sorry please." The boy thought the girl was going to throw a tantrum. "It's okay, you were just trying to help me, you must have been hurt more than I did." She sympathised him. "Oh, no. I am fine." He pretended but was blushed away from reality when Rin removed his bangs to see if he was bruised. "Oh, dear. Look how your forehead has become red." She pitied him. She tiptoed to blow his forehead because he was taller than her. She gently blew air on his forehead but the high schooler's happy moments weren't going to last forever.
Ma Roo ruined the moment for him when he came from behind and pushed her back down so that she couldn't reach the high schooler's fore head. "Rin, let's go home." He grabbed her arm and left the boy angry. He ran back to his fellow buddies who were also in school uniforms. "Wow, Yoo Jung, you did great just now. She even blew your forehead. I wish I was the one who went to see her instead." The boys mocked him with envy. He just blushed when he heard his friends envious. "Who was that? Her brother?" The boys saw the two get out after paying for the books Rin had got.
"Ma Roo, why did you come? I said I'd come back as soon as it starts getting dark." She told Ma Roo. "If I hadn't come, you'd have to hang out with those high schoolers. Do you know how I…"? He stopped in the way. "Do I know how you what?! The little boy had injured his forehead because of me. I had to at least do something." Rin still felt because the boy had got injured because of her.
"Ok, do whatever you want. You are raising your voice at me now." Ma Roo sulked. "It's not what I meant. I just wanted to help him. I am sorry." She didn't know that Ma Roo was just playing around with her knowing that she had many soft spots. "Wow, you such a baby you yourself. Come let's go home." He laughed seeing that she was feeling guilty already. Ma Roo went the whole way teasing her.
At home in the couch where Ma Roo was seated with Rin eating popcorn. "Rin, that night when I was drunk, is what you told me the truth?" Ma Roo mustered up the courage and finally told her. "Huh?" Rin thought Ma Roo had forgotten all of it. "Please tell me am wrong? What I remember is all wrong?" Ma Roo looked at her solely waiting for the answer. "Yes…it is…it is not true." She decided to him that he remembered it all wrong because that's what he really wanted. What hurt her most was him saying that he wanted all of it to be wrong yet on the same night it's when she told him how she felt about him. It was too soon, wasn't it but she thought she was deeply connected to him. Maybe that time she didn't mean it but now she felt hurt.
"I don't feel any bit relieved by what she told me. At the beach that day I found the second bottle." He remembered well that when he went back to the beach that day he found the last bottle. If Rin was really telling the truth, why didn't she at least tell him, that at that time they went at the beach. He'd have at least thought he just imagined it because of the alcohol nut now he got even more suspicious. "Ok, what did you want to suddenly go at the library?" He asked to change the topic. "I wanted to know about humans." She said. "What?" He wondered why she wanted to know more about humans yet she was one too, was she really not one?
"Oh, what I meant was… more about us humans." She corrected herself. "Whatever, how many have you read so far?" He asked. "I have read only 26 for now." She said. "Tomorrow, come back early, I have got something to give you." He told her. "What is that?" She asked curiously. "It's a surprise. I'll not tell you since it's a surprise." He refused to tell her. "Oh, can't you at least tell me how it looks like." She was eager to know. "I shouldn't have told you, bye, I am going to sleep. Night." He let her in a deep sea of questions.
Next morning, Rin tried everything possible to get Rin tell her what he was going to give her today. "Ma Roo, today, I was just wondering, like you know." She winked and gave a chunk of meat. "Rin, you are into bad company with Saet Byul, I advise that you hung out with her less because she has made you less innocent." Ma Roo ate the meat without telling her. "Why did you eat my meat without telling me what I want?" She also pinched him playfully like he usually does to her. "Waa, Rin has pinched me. Am not eating food anymore. Waa." He pretended to sulk again. "Okay, I am sorry. Eat this." She gave him a few more meat chunks to calm him down.
"I should sulk more often now." He told her as he ate up the meat. "Take this other ones, I feel suddenly full." He gave the other meat pieces after eating only two of them. "Oh, are you sure?" She said as she ate up. "It's not like you could refuse it." He mocked her. "Can I escort you to school today?" She asked. "No, maybe another time." He refused. "Okay, I'll stay home today to read my books waiting for you to come back." She said with her usual cheerful smile. "okay, bye." He pinched her nose and walked away. "I barely understand myself nowadays. Why do I smile for no reason whenever I am with her?" He thought as he waited for the elevator.
Rin was reading her book, when she heard someone enter passcode. "Who could that be?" She asked herself. "Rin! Morning, today, my teacher didn't come and I also have more good news." Saet Byul ran to Rin impatient to tell her the news. "What is it Saet Byul? First calm down." Rin thought Saet Byul was cute today in her Minnie design dress with bow. "Oh, ok. My dad just called me and told me that he wanted to hang out with me today, he also told me that I can get to take you with me. It's awesome, isn't it?" Saet Byul said excited. She rarely got to hang out with her parents because they were all often busy with their work. "Oh, it'd be good but I promised M Roo to stay here till he is back." Rin declined. "Rin, please, you are my friend aren't you?" Saet Byul said. "Yes. I am." Rin accepted that it was the fact. "Then please, do me this one favour only in this week. Please, let me take you with me." She begged with her lips pouted. "Ok, but I'll have to go back before sunset." Rin put up a condition. "Ok, deal. Yay." Saet Byul was happy that she hugged Rin tightly.