POV: Hae Na Ri
I have splashed my face and I return to the game room in hopes of just one more game. Hajoon can go on his way, as he is a king. But I am unemployed and I can play all day long.
Captain Kang is still here, much to my surprise. Their conversation abruptly falls silent when I enter.
"Nari'sshi, we have a problem," Hajoon says after a few moments. His headset is around his neck. I don't like when men wear their headphones that way.
I take my seat, waiting for him to continue. I doubt there could be any problem bigger than crossing over to another world and questioning your sanity all the time.
"CEO Shin, unfortunately, has taken an interest in you after your brief meeting in my study."
It takes me some moments to recall. "The Prime Minister's daughter? She is a CEO?"
It's Captain Kang who replies, "You don't know–ah, you–yes, she is the CEO of Nevsoon Electronics. Cellphones, tablets, Nevbooks, TVs, all sorts of electronics. Her great grandfather established it."
"Oh sounds familiar." I should have looked her up. But there are so many new things to learn, it messes up with my existing knowledge. "But why is she taking an interest in me?"
If anything, I should be the one interested in her. Such a young CEO and that too a woman in STEM!
Captain Kang looks at me as if I have asked a dumb question. "You were seen with His Majesty and it's not going to take her–and a lot of people–to find out that you are living in the palace. It's His Majesty people are interested in." His tone is quite insulting.
The audacity to talk to me like that with Sayoo Oppa's face! My Oppa would never…
I throw him a cold glance. "So?"
"I am going to Busan in a day," Hajoon says, his voice soft and placating. "To attend a cybersecurity summit and announce the launch of a new app from Correlate. After I return, Sunwoo will take some information from you and create an identity for you."
I don't know what Correlate is and he probably realises it.
"Correlate is the tech company my mother founded shortly before she died. I worked on her vision and expanded it." Hajoon says.
"I thought you had a degree in Political Science and Law?"
"You don't need a degree to write code. You need skills and practice." There is no smugness in his tone. He states it as a matter of fact.
I stare at him in amazement. Is it possible to do so many things in one life?
But the answer comes to me on my own. Oh yes, it's possible. When you are a privileged man born with a golden spoon and the best of everything available to you, you can do anything and everything.
"So, right now I show up as dead right?" I ask, glancing between the men.
"That was an error that has been resolved. Your identity now does not exist in any system," Captain Kang says. "Being dead is more suspicious than not being at all."
So they consider it an error. An idea suddenly rises in my head. I look up hopefully. "I showed up as dead? When? And about my family?"
Hajoon intently watches me, but looks to Captain Kang as if he doesn't know the answer either.
The Royal Guard Captain's words are slow with a hint of wariness. "Song Ga Young died at the age of 12, in a road accident with her family. Only some distant relatives are alive."
What an awful thing hope is!
I look down at my feet, wondering what else did I expect? God keeps leaving me on my own everywhere. At least in this world, I was with my loved ones.
However, it's strange, and it always strikes me as strange. Their behaviour.
Why are they going out of there to create an identity for me? Wasn't the lack of it a reason for keeping me here? They can simply throw me out of the palace if I am too much trouble.
There it is. Their strange behaviour that confuses me and puts certain ideas in my head.
So just as a test, I try to softly suggest the idea. "How about I move out of the palace–"
"No,"
"Yes,"
Both men give contradicting answers in unison, then glance at each other. Some unspoken, telepathic conversation goes on for some moments between them.
"You are welcome to stay here till you can positively figure out your future plans etc.," Hajoon says at last. I don't like his commanding tone. "Till an identity is in place, don't talk to any stranger for long. Go everywhere with a guard or take Captain Kang with you."
"Your Majesty, I am the Royal Guards Captain."
His Majesty ignores the offended remark, pushes back his glasses and resumes. "By way of your association with me, you can attract all sorts of attention. I am only warning you. Sunwoo will design an identity, as per your wishes, and you will follow that whenever you meet someone new. It's for your own safety."
I have a feeling I am being gaslighted. It's as if he is seeing my suspicions and trying to counter them.
Some intuition, some deep uneasy feeling tells me that there is more to this than it appears. Like Hercule Poirot, exercising my little grey cells is clearing up that picture. What I need now is a motive, like Poirot seeks in murder. I don't know the 'why' behind it.
"I get it," I say. "I will be careful."
"Then I will take my leave–" Captain Kang is about to bow.
"Captain Kang, you are getting punished," Hajoon turns to him. "Arms up and on one leg. Outside the main security office from dawn till dusk. Tell 771 to break your arm if you break the posture."
I gasp. "Your Majesty, I will take you seriously and I don't think you are a boring person. You don't need to punish someone!"
He frowns. "You misunderstand me. This is unrelated to that."
"As you command, Your Majesty." Jae Hyuk dips his head as though this isn't anything new, but I think I hear him murmuring to himself as he exits the gaming room.
The gamer boy gets up, takes off his headset and glasses, throwing them on the desk. He stretches his arms and hands. His sleeves are still half folded, his masculine arms out.
Sleep is inviting me too. I cover my mouth as a yawn overtakes me. This chair is quite comfortable though.
Hajoon sees me tucking in my legs and getting comfortable to sleep here, and a small smile appears on his tired face. "When I was little, I played board games a lot. Fell asleep at random places but I would always wake up in my bed."
"In the orphanage, we were not allowed to fall asleep anywhere other than our bed. If any child was taking a nap somewhere else, they were shaken awake. Sleeping was only allowed in sleeping hours," Still, Minho used to fall asleep everywhere all the time. "That's why I slept a lot in classes later in middle and high school. Random naps in uncomfortable places are the best."
I laugh a little but stop, baffled, when I see that Hajoon's smile has faded. But it was not something sad.
Why do people look concerned every time I share an anecdote or idea, huh?