Never a Dull Moment

Yeowang had, upon rescuing Jayu and sailing to the Isle of Beginnings, told him, "You'll be safe on this island. This is the newbie area for Yamato, so there's no dangerous monsters wandering around, and Olympus Alliance is not into PVP except consensually, and I will be back in a week, there's some stuff I need to manage in Dun Loireag that will bore you to tears and waste your time. Make friends here, and I will be back in a week and we can do some things."

She had not expected him to join Olymous, but that's not a problem, per se, she's actually got more associates in Olympus than in her own Alliance, so it seems like it should be fine.

And so she will return, a week later, having finished a couple errands, taken cash from her bank and delivered it to the workers who built her department store, and she's got dark circles under her eyes because her spare time, such as it is, is training.

"Jayu!" she calls, coming off the boat in Carmina Gadelica Marina. "Ah, I'm glad to see you. How are you?"

Jayu has been... busy in the last week. A lot had happened. He had left the island of beginnings and completed 3 separate Hunter's Guild quests, had been picked up by Scale Emblem, and had been working several different projects for several different Alliances. He has been busy. He almost didn't make it back to the Island of Beginnings, where he had promised to meet Yeowang, on time. With all that, he summarizes all of his goings on with a, "I'm great! I missed you. How have YOU been?" He reaches out for her hand.

Yeowang will take Jayu's hand, and most of her fatigue seems to fall away. There's still a bit left, she's training for melee 4, it's demanding. But she says, "I'm glad you've gotten into the swing of things!" she says sincerely. "I should have known you wouldn't just sit around when I left you here." She sounds a bit sheepish at the admission. "But you would have been bored following me around as I managed the final details of my department store and my bank." They might seem like extravagant details to those unfamiliar with her life before the game, but the off-hand way she describes them probably will seem normal to Jayu. "I've missed you as well," she admits. "And I've got some things to do on Westelande. But if you'd like to come with me, it could be like a cruise. As much as Yamato has cruises. Which, it doesn't. But we can pay a merchant for a spare cabin." Money does talk, after all.

Jayu gives Yeowang's hand a firm squeeze before entwining his fingers with hers. "Where ever it is, if you are there, I would like to be as well." He gives a soft smile as he looks into her eyes before getting a little embarrassed and looking away. "And well, if they don't have cruises in Yamato, why not make a cruise line yourself? That sounds like an untapped market, you know? Have you looked into it yet?"

Yeowang smiles about a cruise line, and says as she walks towards the waterfront, and says, "If there were more of a bourgeoisie we could do that," she says. "It didn't happen in the real world until there was a core of wealthy commoners with nothing much to spend money on but luxury. Here in the game world, the economy is mostly medieval, so the royalty has money, and they buy such things as they need, but there's not a huge class of wealthy commoners really. Players, are the closest, but weath level for players is hit and miss, and a cruise line has to charge a lot if there aren't many passengers. Once we can build large, steel ships, then cruise liners can run economically."

This explanation lasts as Yeowang leads the way to a ship she's paid for passage on, and she will lead Jayu to our adjacent cabins, both containing steamer trunks. There are also tiny bunk beds in each, of course and she admits, "I need to go to Westelande to find a martial arts teacher. I'm not sure if he will be able to help you or not, but I think he will be able to help me." About the trunks, she says, "I don't know if you have clothes or supplies, I know you must have left a lot behind in Lumina Cloth. We could not have diverted to pick your things up, but I hope this will help."

Jayu scratches the back of his head with his free hand (yes, he maximizes the amount if time spent holding Yeowang's hand) and gives a nervous smile and a chuckle, "Well, I... Didn't have much to begin with. I do have a decent amount of Rosenheim Currency, but I haven't really SPENT much of it since... You know. We arrived here. In the game. And I don't fight with a weapon either. I was pretty focused on my... job." He gives Yeowang's hand a squeeze as if trying to draw strength from her. "...So I only really wore the leather armor. Not many changes of clothes. I always travelled light, so... Nothing much to pack."

He gives a sigh before shifting to a reassuring smile, "Well, that's behind me now. I met this interesting gentleman named Soujiro. It seems we have a very similar set of interests. It was fun just... Doing what I want to do for a while, you know?"

Yeowang ohs, nods about Soujiro. "With Scale Emblem?" she asks. "I've run duties with him, he seems pretty squared away." But she nods slowly about not having much to spend money on. She has, as Jayu might have guessed, made quite a point in obtaining wealth. For exactly such things as these: travel when needed, good clothes, real food. The ship casts off as she squeezes Jayu's hand, and she says, "I hope you will find many people over here interesting. I have some business associates in the Olympus Alliance I will introduce you to as well. But tonight, we shall eat at the captain's table, and in a couple days, we will be in Westelande."

Jayu is quiet for a couple of seconds before speaking up with a nervous grin, "So, hey, Yeowang. Can I tell you something real quick? It's... probably important, I think. Haha..."

Yeowang looks intrigued as Jayu asks that, and it's a worrying sort of question, particularly the way he asks it. But she decides that it's just tension making her panic and she calmly says, "Of course. You can tell me anything at any time."

Jayu turns to face Yeowang and putting his other hand on top of the hand he's holding, "So... When I was training with Soujiro, well, we did some talking and... How should I put this? I... Ah... Might have actually joined Scale Emblem instead of Olympus. Haha..." He laughs nervously, "Silly, right?"

Yeowang looks blank for a moment. She knew it was going to be something that wouldn't bother her, so she's not sure why he's making such a big crisis of it. She /likes/ Scale, the Scalies she knows. She's trained with Vertina, and she's talked with Proph on game world subjects. And she works with Kita, but that's a secret. "Silly?" she asks. "I think it's a good choice. I may join you, I'm sure Prophylaxis will not turn down someone with my credentials."

Jayu sighs with relief, stroking Yeowang's hand, "Well... Okay I suppose not silly. But... I should have talked to you about it first. It's a big decision after all. And... Well, if you would join me in Scale, maybe you would have joined me in Olympus, too. Or maybe I would have joined you in NWA." He sighs again, this time with a bit of weariness, "The point is... We are going to be TOGETHER whatever we do. I... Want to be by your side. At least metaphorically, if not ALWAYS literally." He gives a shy blush, looking down at the hand he's holding, "But... I'd like to be PHYSICALLY with you as much as possible, too. Within reason."

Yeowang smiles and holds Jayu's hands in hers. "I'd be more than happy to join you, wherever you go. I have more friends in Scale and Olympus than I have in NWA, and I'm afraid they don't care for me much. I'm not clear on why." Nor does she seem to care particularly. "But I would be entirely pleased to join you in Scale, and I want to be together with you here as well. That's why we joined this game anyhow, so I suppose that's the best way to stay together." She smiles earnestly. "And here, you're probably at least as capable as I am at fighting. My twelve years of martial arts training in real life don't count for me at all, it seems. I only hit as hard or as accurately as the game decides I do based on class and level. I can't even /do/ much of what you remember me doing," she laments.

Jayu laughs at what he percieves as humility from Yeowang. "Not a week ago, you hit me with a butterfly kick that could have cracked granite. In Rosenheim, I was..." He looses a bit of the jovial attitude he had at the mention of the kingdom. "Well, I have abilities from out of Wuxia novels here, Yeowang. I know that I am MUCH more powerful than I was in the real world. And I know you made short work of me. Maybe it FEELS like you aren't as strong because, in RL you were like a small military and here you started at level 1 and had to work your way up but... I think if 'Queen' of the Real World and Yeowang of ETO fought... Well, I am just saying... You shouldn't look down on your progress. From someone who you recently defeated easily," He squeezes her hands with his, "You are LEGENDARY."

Yeowang blushes a bit at the praise for her attack in Rosenheim. She -was- one of the first players to develop an Epic attack, and ... well, her attention is too divided by projects right now to keep that skill in her skill bar, alas. "Thank you for saying so," she says with a smile. "I worked for years, in the game, to get to where I am. I think part od my success comes from having had the training in real life for so long, I could learn the lessons again. But don't sell yourself short, either. And we can train together now, We will be unbeatable together."

She goes on to explain, "That's kind of what the trip we're on now is about. There's a skilled player who can help me train further, but he lives in the hinterlands in Westelande. I'm not sure /exactly/ where, but I have some skill in that regard. Inseong," her little brother, "coached me in selecting a class, but I think he possibly steered me into a few things I wasn't planning on, like the ability to track outdoors."

Jayu nods in agreement, "Inseong was always good at whatever he did. I... Might have went to him for advice as well, and my build has tracking too. Maybe... He was trying to tell us something?" He shrugs (still not letting go of Yeowang's hand).

He lets a pretty big smile appear on his face, "Don't worry, Yeowang. I have had many examples of proof that I am NOT weak since coming to ETO. I can say, with confidence, that I am WAY more powerful now than I was in the real world. And now... I have way more freedom, too." He leans forward, resting his head against hers, "I... want to thank you again. And a hundred times more. Thank you for getting me out of there. I... am so grateful." He gets a bit choked up near the end, and he squeezes her hand with quite a bit of strength. Must be bad memories coming to the surface.

Yeowang returns the hand squeeze, her own heart pounding. "Yes," she says with a laugh. "I suppose he set us up well. It was so hard, not seeing you for two years after we agreed to meet up," she says with a sigh. "It was like you had rejected me again after the first time. But that was the game, neither of us expected Yamato to be cut off. And then you were here. When Lynn mentioned knowing someone who mentioned me, my heart leapt. I'm so glad we got you free, of course." She leans back into Jayu. "Even if you changed your name," she says with a smirk. "But it's all worked out now," she agrees, and she squeezes his hand just as firmly. They're both hella tough.

Their grip would break a lesser person's hand, but to them, there is nothing but comfort in this power that could make diamonds out of coal. His heart seems to be beating in time with Yeowang, which is to say, it is beating quite rapidly. His face goes very red. "I... Was not myself after I was crowned... I remember that, even though I was crowned, I still sought you out with all my might. I am... glad that you found me and not the other way around."

He tactfully clears his throat. "And, ah... You aren't supposed to use your real name when you name your character. People can Doxx you like that."

Yeowang finally relaxes the bone crushing grip into a mere firm handhold as our hearts both race together. "I am glad also. I do not think I would have cared for being Crowned." As to using her real name, she says, "The players here are all gamers. None of them have heard of Wilds, and few enough practiced martial arts in real life. Of those, fencers of various flavors, or LARPers, I guess. No one who would know me. And if they did, what could they do? Anyhow, it's not my real name. It's just sounds, to Japanese. Only the Koreans in the game understand it at all, I imagine."

Jayu chuckles, leaning into Yeowang, letting her feel a bit of the weight of his body as he does so, "That's fair. I guess that's why Inseong didn't yell at you when you were making your character." Was there an unspoken, 'like he did me,' in that sentence? Who knows? "Ah... Just to be sure... You said that we were eating at the Captain's table for dinner. When is that exactly?"

Yeowang leans in, considers, says, "Well, and I was in Japan, so as I said, the name is just sounds to them. In Korea, he might have been more worried about your anonymity." Or he may have simply assumed she could take care of herself." But she nods about the captain's Table. "It's a custom from the real world. We'll be having supper with the Captain, and eating real food. I'm not sure if you were stuck with mostly menu food in the Palace Lands?"

Jayu lets emotion leave his face, "Everything. Tasted. Like. Soggy. Crackers. Everything. Until you appeared, I was certain that my hubris in the real world was being punished, and I was in Hell, being subjected to eternal torment for taking you for granted so often..." He leans his head back (which until now had been leaning against Yeowang's head), so that he can look into her eyes. Still holding her hand in one of his, he uses the other to brush her cheek softly, lovingly, "It was quite the shock: the transition from Hell to Heaven. And I have the angel before me to thank for delivering me from that place."

Yeowang sighs at soggy crackers. "For two and a half years?" she asks with a soft gasp. "We figured out cooking within a couple months." And of course she kept a cook on payroll after that. She looks up into Jayu's eyes and smiles as he rubs her cheek, and says, "I'm so glad I could rescue you. And tonight, you will eat real food with the best flavor they can manage. It's not up to my chefs at home, or even Dal Dal, but it's acceptable."

Jayu smiles softly with nostalgia as he thinks back to their time spent together, before the Apocalypse. "That seems like a lifetime ago. I... can't even remember what her cooking tastes like anymore. It feels like a half-real memory..." His face takes on a look of concern for a few seconds... and then one of nervous determination. His heartbeat increases to the point where Yeowang can feel it through their connected palms. He locks eyes with hers with intensity for but a moment before closing his own, tilting his head to the side, going in for a kiss...

Yeowang closes her eyes, and her lips meet his, lingering sweetly there as they forget the real world /and/ the game world for a few moments. /This/ is was her whole purpose in joining this game, to meet Jae Gu, she still thinks of him by his RL name, and to spend quality time with him. After so much complication in RL, and then two years in the game, she's earned this, and she's not going to let it go for anything.

Finally, though, breathing is neccesary, and she backs off, cheeks flushed.

Jayu seems careful at first, but then gets perhaps a bit more passionate as the kiss goes on. When Yeowang pulls back, he follows for a split second before snapping back to sentience, realizing that he too needs to breathe.

He rests a hand on the side of her neck, his fingertips gently caressing the back. "I am glad... It... It's the same now as it was back then: your lips, your scent... Your... You. You are still my Queen. And... Even though I didn't think it was possible... I love you even more today than I did back then."

Yeowang beams happily, holding her Jae Gu close, such sweet words, and she murmurs, "I love you too, so, so much. But we should get out and see about supper and make sure everything's squared with the captain." Because even in the middle of kissing, logistics is never far from her mind. "Anyhow, it's a two-day trip, we will have plenty of time."