"She who keeps smiling"

"She who keeps smiling"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Hyosin has always been dependable , the eldest of 5 girls , bereft of a father at a young age , pressed into taking care of an ailing grandmother , helping her mother earn a living and taking care of her siblings. She had taken stock of all this and with a smile and kindness in her heart took on the responsibilities that a young girl would not even imagine handling.

Her mother took pity on her but she had no choice in the matter. So when at the point of exhaustion a young Hyosin exhibited her latent powers and did something that frightened even the visiting Yuu clan monk her mother sent her off to the shrine to be taught. Hyosin did not resent this but rather took in some of her younger sisters as well as her influence grew in the temple. And with all this she still smiled.

She was smiling today but for a whole new different reason. Like everyone else who had enormous burdens to carry Hyosin had an outlet and that outlet was to let Soju wash through her like a wave and she could drink it down like the best of them. The people at the bar were wondering who the attractive  , smiling woman was at the back who kept on ordering the drinks. 

She was smiling but slowly tears were already mingling with those smiles. She had been taught early on that smiling despite what you felt inside will make everything right. Hyosin did not feel that it was working but it was the only thing she knew , that and the Soju that had kept on flowing at the beginning of the night. Her grandmother had just died and now she was in the middle of a battle for control of leadership in her clan but she was also tasked with keeping the sacred jewel from falling into dragon hands. She had smiled at all the weight before but she had not counted on the pressure to be this heavy. Her thoughts were leading her into dark depths so that she was not able to notice when the V sat in front of her.

"Candy Leader. Candy Leader." V said softly as if trying to wake someone from a deep slumber. "Snap out of it Hyosin."

At the mention of her name she looked at the man who Mr. Kim their manager said was going to be their body guard and driver for the next Come back. Despite her dark thoughts Hyosin managed a small smile and asked , "What is it?"

"You are endangering everyone here."

"I am not."

"Yes you are. I know that among your members you hold something that can annihilate this entire city block in seconds."

"How did you...?"

"For now suffice to say I do my research on the people that I am going to protect and your secret was not an easy one to obtain."

"If you have learned my secret then that only means that you are of the Yuu clan or you are..."

"...A Dragon. Yes I am one but please understand that I make this appeal to you now as a friend , you are too drunk to use your own power properly."

"I do not care. You pose a danger to the sacred treasure and it is my duty to stop you .Eliminate you if I can." A dark energy began surrounding Hyosin's hands and threads of the same dark energy began snaking behind her  , forming rays of darkness that were aimed at V.

"Think now Candy Leader. You don't want to hurt anyone else right? You are supposed to protect your fellow humans."

"You don't think I know my responsibilities? I know them all damn well Dragon and I don't need you to tell me what they are."

Hyosin was getting darker and darker by the minute which in V's mind meant that she will release all this pent up energy into the surrounding area pretty soon. He had to act and he had to act now.

To the people in the bar and in the CCTV that was focused on that area people would just see a blur as V apologized to Hyosin , grabbed her by her shoulders and teleported to the Yellow sea , West of Seoul. 

"It is ok Hyosin. Please let go. There is no one around." V said calmly as she held Hyosin over the darkwaters. "I will not let go though as you dont seem to be able to fly."

Hyosin looked at the dragon in human form. Smiling but still with the tears that never stopped flowing as she drank."This will destroy you."

"I have been through worse.I can take this force.So do not worry. Depend on me to see this through."

A few moments later the decision was taken out of Hyosins control as the dark energies that she was holding at bay for so long were released in a dark explosion that on land or sea could wipe out everything in a wide radius. V had already seen something like this before and calculated that he needed the correct elevation to prevent such a catastrophe. The sound was deafening for Hyosin and V alike who had seen this force but was never close when it occurred. He felt like all of his flesh was about to be ripped off but he held steadfast so that Hyosin would not fall , at this height she would hit the water and it would be like she had hit a hard concrete street. He had to hold despite the flesh from his fingers were beginning to disintegrate and he was not even sure if he could regenerate fast enough.

Hyosin was already shouting as the energies exited her body and for what seemed liked an eternity she had screamed all her frustrations away.And then there was silence.Except for the sizzling sound of V's hands and the burnt human flesh that had been through a dark energy burst that was meant to destroy hordes of dragons in combat. 

V smiled at Hyosin despite his pain. "I really hate dark orbs." , He said before losing consciousness.

Hyosin felt gravity grip them both as they plummeted to the sea.And then there was something else that held them. Hands. A woman clad all in blue who carried V and another one clad all in red with a mask over her mouth that tightly carried her as they flew.

"My master is a bit stubborn as you can see. We warned him of what the dark energies could do to him but he never listens." The woman in blue said.

"I...If he never came to the bar. All those people." Hyosin began to realize and terror gripped her.

"Yes. He didn't need to go but he came anyway. Not too bad for a dragon right?"

Hyosin nodded at the Blue clad woman and looked at V whose charred body was miraculously still breathing after what he went through. She remembered that the last couple of times she had used this power that all that remained of her enemies were ashes. So how can he still be alive?"

"Look at him. He who we acknowledge as King. V the Scaleless. The Silver King."

"The Scaleless? You mean he survived my blast without any inch of dragon armor?"

"Yes. Not all dragons are made equal it seems. If you were his enemy he would have killed you."

"Yet he did not? And he cared enough for the humans in that area when I was so ready to not care."

"Our master has his reasons. Suffice to say , you have found a friend in him today. Remember him."

"I will.I will depend on him." Hyosin said as they flew back to Seoul.