By the time they reached the beach, the sun was already beginning to set. A mixture of red, blue and orange hues bathed the sky while the salty brines of the ocean hit the seabed in continuous wave torrents. Sunye took off her shoes to enjoy the feel of coarse sand on her feet with a soft smile on her face. It had been a long time since she had visited the beach.

"Here," SD said, handing Sunye her pills and a bottle of water. "Take your meds otherwise your hypothermia will act up again."

​​

"Thanks," she replied and popped them into her mouth with the water. The air at that time was cool so SD was a little worried that Sunye would fall sick but her hypothermic attacks had reduced over the years and she did not suffer from any ever since she came to live with them.

"Let's take a walk," she suggested. SD shrugged and followed her. The couple strolled along the ocean bed, enjoying the lazy sunset in front of them. SD looked at Sunye who seemed a little lost and hesitant.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"The unpredictability of life I guess," she sighed. "From the palace to the streets and then studying to become a lawyer. And a few weeks ago, I was living in my own home but now I'm living with you. Everything is so...abrupt."

SD did not reply but kept on staring at her. She was easing into asking whatever it was she wanted to but he could not read her at all.

"What about you?" she asked. "Did you also face such unpredictability?"

"Nope," he claimed. "My life was meticulously planned by others from the moment I was born."

He did not elaborate but his eyes fell on something. SD sprinted forward and picked it up.

"An oyster?" Sunye mused.

"I wonder if it has a pearl," he said.

"That's very rare," she pointed out.

"But collecting them is fun, right?" SD asked. He was now acting like a child who had found a new toy to play with. SD was gleeful as he kept on searching for oysters on the beach making Sunye laugh.

Oh well, she thought and joined him in his search. Both of them scavenged the beach for oysters, picking up any they could find.

"What are you gonna do with all these oysters if you can't find pearls in them?" Sunye asked as she looked around for more.

"Turn them into sauce or cook them," he replied. He had picked up a bucket from a nearby stalle and they were placing their oysters in it. Finally, the bucket was full of oysters of all sizes.

"Bon appetit!" SD exclaimed. "Oyster sauce, grilled oyster, oyster kilpatrick…"

He was now salivating at the thought of the fresh meals he was going to cook. Sunye shook her head in amusement, still laughing at his funny expressions.

Who would think that this man is one of the most dangerous people in the country? She wondered. Aloud she said, "Are you done thinking about food? Can we keep walking now?"

SD smirked. With the bucket in one hand, he grabbed her palm with the other. Sunye blushed as they continued to walk along the water lines. Even though the moments of peace between them were rare, it felt nice to spend one quiet evening at the beach with him. Especially when he was not making any sadistic remarks.

"You wanted to come to the beach for a walk?" SD asked.

Sunye deliberated on her words. "Not exactly," she admitted.

There were quite a few people around them so she was reluctant to ask him about his eyes in a public place. She pointed at a rocky cliff ahead.

"Let's walk till there," she suggested. "And find someplace private."

"Ms. Lawyer, are you planning to do something kinky to me at a public beach?" he teased. "If you are, then I am totally up for it-"

Sunye scooped up some water and splashed at him in annoyance.

"Let's go!" she snapped, marching forward. SD sighed and followed suit.

She walked until they reached a small, cave-like space behind a rock. Seeing that no one was there, she turned to face him. SD leaned against a wall, waiting for her to speak.

"What is it you want to ask me?" he asked. Sunye took a deep breath.

"I...I know about your eyes," she finally said. "I saw the medicines in your bathroom cabinet and looked them up on the internet. Those are medicines taken to prevent blindness for patients who had iris transplant."

"Lemme guess," he said in a steely tone. "Orea told you about my eyes."

"No!" Sunye lied. "She didn't-"

"You don't have to cover for her," SD replied. "I know she told you or at least gave you hints. I'm not mad at her nor at you."

Sunye stepped closer to him looking directly into his blue eyes. She raised her hand, hesitant to touch his eyes but he grabbed her wrist and made her touch his face. She gently stroked his left eye with her thumb, feeling confused about what to say.

"Why did you do it?" Sunye softly asked. "Why did you get an iris transplant? It's one of the riskiest surgeries in the world. You didn't simply change the eye color. You...you changed your entire identity with it."

"I wanted to get rid of my old identity," he revealed. "And the only way to do that, was to get rid of the eyes I was born with."

Sunye held her breath, listening to his every word with apt attention.

"When I was fifteen, I changed my iris so that the remnants of my identity would go away," he went on. "With that, no eye scanners in the world will be able to display my real name. This name...Kim Haein. It's fake. Other than my surname, of course. I kept that for a special purpose."

"My fingerprints weren't registered anywhere," he explained. "So it was easy to manipulate the records. I use various techniques to forge my prints when it comes to making business deals so it's not a big issue. The eyes...it was the only thing I couldn't manipulate so I completely changed the root of it."

"But this will make you blind!" Sunye argued. "The risk you took...it'll inevitably make you blind-"

"Two years," he stated. "I'll be blind in two years."

He was smirking as if it did not bother him at all. Sunye was trying hard to control her anger and frustration. How could he smile about this? Why did he not care about his health at all?

"What are you trying to achieve, SD?" she demanded. "What is this goal you want to fulfill? Why is it so much more important than your life? Or more than everyone else in your life? Is it more important than-"

She stopped herself from asking if it was more important than even her. It baffled her that he was going to such lengths to change his identity. Did he hate himself that much?

SD was quiet for a while, not sure of how to express his feelings in words. The aim he had was far more complex than anyone could decipher. His eyes were on the throne and the heir to it. As long as he got what he had planned, his life did not matter to him. But he was not willing to risk the ones close to him either.

"What I want to achieve," he began. "Is to create a world where the people I care for can live in peace. That's all."

"And what about us?"

Sunye looked at him with sadness in her eyes, silently begging for answers. What about them? What was she to him? A fling or something more?

He slowly touched the corner of her eye, dabbing at her tears. "This isn't the pearl I wanted," he softly sighed, holding up the single drop of tear on his finger.

"Don't worry, Sunye," he told her. "I'm not dying. Maybe someday, I won't be able to see your pretty face. That's okay. You can see the world on my behalf."

He flashed her a sad smile as he held up the finger which had her tear on it. Sunye stared at it for a while. Her heart was in a dilemma and she was afraid that something was about to change between them. She needed to make a decision and keep him with her, shield him from any harm. He was not training her to become strong but rather, it was to protect the people he loved once he became blind.

And when that day comes, he would quietly disappear from their lives. She knew him too well. He would not let himself be a burden on anyone.

"Let's go home," he said. "It's getting dark."

He turned around to leave but she held his hand. Without a word, Sunye stepped forward and planted a deep kiss on his lips, taking SD by surprise. She was conveying many of her unspoken words into this single kiss but was holding onto him for life, not willing to let go.

"Not home," she whispered against his lips. "Somewhere else."

SD was confused but her next words shocked him.

"SD…" she began. "Make love to me tonight."