Chapter Thirty One. Who is she?

Alicia sat holding her knees to her chest as she she'd silent tears. She pondered on how her day had started and wondered how it had to be like this. First her grandmother announcing the arrival of suitors,then Wo Ryung couldn't even remember her and kept on calling her another woman's name before he started to scare her away from himself. All the things that were happening today were not in her favour at all and she sobbed even more. Much as he didn't hurt her,Wo Ryung had scared her and she had even wondered at some point if she would leave the forest alive. The man was changed completely into a different person and nolonger the innocent and naive gumiho she used to know. He even let her fall from high above the ground! The Wo Ryung she knew would never do that to her even as he had later caught her. She sat there not knowing what to do next. Her life had taken a turn at such a crucial moment she didn't even know how it happened. She was still seated down there mindless of the wolves that roamed in the forest when she registered his presence somewhere behind her, but she didn't turn to look at him. She didn't feel like looking at him at all.

"Alicia.." she had him call her name and she whipped her head towards him and she saw him standing a few meters away from her. So he finally remembered her head and stopped calling her some Alexia woman. "Am sorry" he said but instead of feeling relieved, Alicia felt even more agitated by him.

"Sorry,huh?" she retorted. "Do you even know what it means? or you just spit out whatever comes to your mind?" she asked and noticed his jaw work but she was unfazed.

"I didn't mean to.." he started again and she cut him off.

"You didn't mean what? You didn't mean to let me go high above the ground and let me die when your hands loosened very conciously from around me or you didn't mean to let go of me that I almost fell straight into those hideous thorns after you even warned me?" she yelled and finally broke down again at the end.

"Am sorry..." he said "I... was not going to..."

"Keep your sorry to yourself. I don't want to hear it. You damned bad man!" she cut him off and when he strode towards her and tried to reach out to pat her back she retorted... "Don't touch me" she cried but he didn't let go. Instead,he came even closer and held her fighting hands that had clenched into tight fists and tried to explain himself but no word came through to her ears and after all his efforts to make her understand proved futile,he hugged her tightly to his chest where she continued to sob like a little child. He held her like that until she finally stopped sobbing and continued to stay in his protection arms.

"Alicia" he called her name but she didn't answer. Just because she was in his arms right now didn't mean she forgot what he had done to her earlier but he continued anyway knowing knowing very well she could clearly hear him. "I didn't mean to hurt you.." he started and Alicia stiffened remembering how easily he had let her go not only once but twice. How could he say that he didn't mean what he did! "I don't know how to explain it to you but I...I couldn't remember you for some time and I..." he trailed but she waited for him to continue. " I don't know.." he admitted even sounding defeated as though what he was trying to explain was something impossible and she looked up at him not knowing what to even think now. How could he do all that to her and later claim not to know as though his mind had left him some time.

"Who is Alexia?" she demanded without beating around the bush and not feeling embarrassed at all when...he chuckled! Was this man even still the Wo Ryung that she earlier knew? She doubted it.

"Why?" he asked bringing back that bemused tone to his voice and it irritated her. She continued to glare at him before he retorted. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?" he asked with a straight face and Alicia felt her head spin. What was wrong with this man? How could he say a name that repeatedly and then claim he didn't know the person with such a straight face! She continued to glare up into his blue eyes while he tantalizingly looked down into her eyes. She really didn't understand this man before her anymore. He couldn't be the Wo Ryung that she used to know.

"What is with that racing heartbeat? Jealous?" he asked with a smile plastered on his lips and Alicia lost it.

"What exactly is wrong with you?" she demanded. "And whom exactly the is jealous one here? If you think am jealous over you and some perverted Alexia woman then you over estimate yourself,Wo Ryung" she retorted while he watched her closely. It was as though he was looking for something from her eyes. And that smile on his face that wasn't fading at all was getting her wits!

"Alright. Fine! You are not!" He chimed making the last sentence sound like a question instead. The man could even hear her thunderous heartbeat! Alicia thought and blushed at the thought making Wo Ryung look at her in amusement but he didn't taunt her anymore than he already had. At least not at the moment.

"What brings you here?" he asked not in an impolite tone and neither was it polite. Instead,he sounded taunting... but Alicia just stared at him before she narrowed her eyes at him. Could it be that this man wasn't Wo Ryung? But Wo Ryung was invincible and no one had ever been able to defeat him in the whole village. Then what could have happened to him? He was completely different right now even after he had apologized to her. Alicia pulled herself away from him and took a few steps from where he stood before she answered..

"Nothing.." she said.

"Nothing?" he retorted but she didn't answer him again. She didn't feel like talking to him anymore much worse there was no coherent reason she could give him for her coming to the forest. It seemed if he really had forgotten her as he claimed,he had only managed to remember her name and not the times she came here without a reason. "Nothing..." he repeated narrowing his eyes. He seemed to want to say something but held himself back and chuckled instead.

"What is it?" Alicia asked this time and he immediately answered without farther thought

"Nothing" he said simply and Alicia felt her blood boiling.

"You..." she retorted pointing her index finger at him and he chuckled even more. This man!

."What?" he seemed bent on repeating her words and Alicia was finally frustrated and she walked away from there without another word. Meanwhile, she could hear his footsteps trailing her but she didn't look back.

"Watch your step" The man was suddenly in front of her and holding her foot in his hand. Her heart skipped a beat and she struggled to balance herself as her other foot her ears turned red. This man might cause the death of her one of these days since he became this perverted Wo Ryung that she didn't even recognize. He finally let go of her foot and she noticed a trap similar to the one that had caught her foot the previous time and she took a quick step back. He looked at her quizzically before he retorted.

"Is the little rabbit scared?" he asked

"What are you saying?" she asked him back not giving in to him and he chuckled, amused.

"Alright" he said before he put his arm around her waist, ready to leap with her off the ground at any moment.

"What are you doing?" she asked embarrassed. "I can walk on my own. Put me down" she whimpered but he just smirked at her before he retorted...

"I can't let go of you as you might get yourself hurt and you don't know how to thank people after they have helped you with your wounds" he blurted shamelessly and Alicia's face turned bright red as she remembered herself walking away from him without a word righ after he had healed the wounds at her back. And in that very moment of her embarrassment, she felt her feet being lifted from the ground and she asked.

"Where are we going?"she asked him.

"To somewhere far" he answered as they continued to fly while Alicia put her arms around his neck for support. She definitely didn't mind him taking her away for a moment.