Once the meeting was concluded, and Caijoonyung was unhooked from all of the monitors, he was once again escorted out by the main castle guards. During the long walk through the halls to the main castle doors so he could leave, he started to question why the gods and demigods were asking him about his feelings for Persephane. He wondered how all that would tie into him possibly becoming Persephane’s knight. Everything he went through during his time with the gods and demigods has left him feeling a bit overwhelmed. He’s not sure what to make of everything that he learned. His brain was flooded with so many different thoughts that were running through his mind. Caijoonyung couldn’t figure out which one to think of first. The whole thing was beginning to give him a headache. Part of him is happy to hear that he has all these untapped abilities, is healthy with no problems, and that there is the possibility that he might in the future become Pesephane’s knight. Should that time ever come, he hoped that he would be able to somehow aid Persephane in achieving her objective. 

Caijoonyung couldn’t seem to get the thought of being her knight out of his head, which caused him to go over his feelings for her. Mulling it over again in his mind, he started thinking up different possibilities for how his feelings for her could help him to manifest his powers. The feelings that he has for her might just be the key he needs to unlock his full potential. Otherwise, why else would the gods have asked him about his feelings for her? 

# 

I keep forgetting how long these halls can be. I’m still a bit far from the main doors. Man, I feel so drained. Hmm, I still can’t get over what the gods and demigods told me during the meeting and examination. I am still unable to wrap my mind around the fact that I got to meet the actual gods. They were imposing. With all these thoughts racing through my head, I’m starting to get a headache. I am still a bit confused by most of their talking since they were using terminology and vocabulary that I had never heard of before. However, I was able to at the very least understand that I am healthy and in good shape. It was scary being hooked up to all that high-tech stuff that they were using. Especially seeing what my heart looks like on the inside and being able to hear it audibly with my ears. Whatever they were talking about, it did sound like it was something positive. At least I hope it was.  

I am curious and want to learn more about those abilities that they mentioned, and I really do hope that I can be of more help to Persephane. But I still can’t get over what the gods and demigods told me during the meeting and examination. If I recall, I think they said that I could become her knight if I could find a way to manifest these powers and abilities. The question now is, how do I go about getting them to manifest? I need to figure it out so that I can become hers. Me being a knight? That sounds pretty awesome to me. 

# 

Caijoonyung wanted to investigate his feelings for her so he could confirm that everything he told the gods and demigods during their meeting was for real and not something he said in the heat of the moment because they were intimidating to him. He knows for certain that spending time with her has changed him, and in his opinion, for the better. He has found himself on more than one occasion smiling and feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness and joy, something that he had not experienced before meeting her. Whenever they were apart, regardless of duration, he noticed that she would occupy the majority of his thoughts. He would even find himself missing her even though he was just with her a few minutes ago. 

That idea gave him pause. These thoughts were exactly what he had nearly shouted at the gods and demigods earlier. Caijoonyung gave it some thought. Just how long has he been feeling this way? Was it from the moment that they first met each other? Or was it after spending some time and getting to know each other? All these thoughts reminded him of something that his second-in-command had mentioned to him once before when they were sharing drinks at a bar and the topic of relationships came up. Caijoonyung could not recall the entire conversation all at once. It came back to him in chunks until he had made it out of the castle. He remembered his second-in-command mentioned that when a person consumes your mind fully and you wish to be with them every waking moment, you know you are smitten with them. His buddy said in addition to that, if you feel butterflies in the pit of your stomach every time you see them and a wave of happiness fills you up deep inside just from thinking of them, those are also signs. Caijoonyung began going through his memories of his time spent with Persephane, and sure enough, he did feel all of that. In every memory of him escorting her back to her room, he recalled how he struggled to let her go, because he wanted to keep spending time with her, and would find ways to stall so he could squeeze out every minute. 

During the times when he would be out on patrol and would see her off in the distance going about her day, he would feel his heartbeat faster, and sometimes it would even skip a beat just at the very mention of her name. When they were together, he couldn’t be bothered to think of anything but her. After having these sudden revelations, he just knew deep inside himself that he was in love with her. There was no denying it. Everything matched up with what he had told the gods and demigods. 

# 

If my becoming a knight is predicated on my having feelings for Persephane for my abilities to manifest, then I need to think hard about this. I don’t want to say without a shadow of a doubt that this is how I feel, mainly because when they asked me about my feelings for her during the meeting, I felt pressured and intimidated at the time. So, I’m not entirely sure if I just spouted that out because it’s how I truly feel or if I was just so nervous that I shouted out the first thing that came to my mind. I know I do feel something for her, but I’m not entirely sure if those feelings are real or not. I went with the flow and accepted what was going on without thinking about it. Let’s see, thinking back to all the times that I walked her back home, I would hesitate and try to stall so I could be with her a little bit longer. I really hated having to leave. As far as I could tell, I don’t think she was bothered by my stalling. I enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with her. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I wonder how long have I been feeling this way. Honestly, I’m not sure. Did I start to feel this way from the first moment I saw her, or was it over time? What I do know for sure is that after spending more time with her my feelings for her did deepen. 

That reminds me, what did Joyule say to me last time we went out for drinks? If I remember correctly, he had mentioned something about that if Persephane is always on my mind then more than likely I have feelings for her. Almost every day in some shape or form, Persephane is on my mind in some capacity. There were many times I have caught myself making a mistake at work because I was too distracted thinking about when would be the next time that I would be able to see her again and what we would do once we met up. I would find it hard to focus when I was in her presence because I kept trying to think of ways for me to touch her hand or find ways for me to be physically close to her. Sometimes I would steal glances whenever she wasn’t looking. When I would go on patrols around the town, I’d find myself looking for her in the crowds. Those are all the things that Joyule said were a sign. 

He said that the other sign was feeling butterflies in the pit of your stomach and having your heart skip a beat or race. If I dig deeper into my memories, I can tell that whenever I hear her name spoken my heart would race. I would also get butterflies every time I caught glimpses of her out around town, hoping each time that she would turn and notice me. That longing feeling I would get after she would leave to go do something, even though we were just with each other moments ago. Alright, so after reviewing my memories of those moments, and recalling what I felt during those times, I guess it is safe to say that I do have romantic feelings for her. Yes, I do love her. 

# 

Once he snapped back to reality, he was shocked to see that he had somehow made it back to his room on base without even realizing it. He couldn’t even recall how he managed to walk from the castle to his room without even realizing what he was doing. He didn’t even notice all the people that were milling about in the streets. Caijoonyung couldn’t believe it, he just hoped that he didn’t upset anyone making them feel like he was ignoring them. When Caijoonyung walked inside his room, it gave him a sense of emptiness. Caijoonyung wondered if his room had always felt empty and huge. After his walk, thinking about Persephane and then returning to an empty room made it feel lackluster and depressing. Once inside his room, it dawned on him, regardless of how he feels about her, how does Persephane feel about him? Does she feel the same way that he does? 

# 

(Stops and looks around) Hey...When did I make it home? Geez I must have really been deep in thought. Oh man, I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice anything around me. Hopefully, no one approached me to get my attention and I didn’t even realize it. I would hate for them to think that I was ignoring them or something. Oh well, if I did then I’ll just apologize to them. I need to take a shower. I still have some of that weird gunk on my body from the exam. (Stares inside his room and surveys it) Uh...has my room always been this empty? Why does it feel so depressing in here? Ah, whatever. Hold up, it just occurred to me, I’ve realized my feelings for Persephane, but I have no idea how she feels about me. What if she doesn’t feel the same way about me? If that’s the case, then I’m not sure how I will be able to become her knight. This is worrisome. Well, there's nothing I can do about it right now. (Let’s out a deep sigh) It’s time to get in the shower and get cleaned up and try to get some sleep if possible. This day has been so draining. I’m really exhausted. 

# 

While in the shower, he looked through his memories again and realized something in the way Persephane would act with him. Caijoonyung noticed that Persephane seemed at times to hesitate as well when it was time to say goodbye. He also realized that she would smile a lot whenever they spent time together. Caijoonyung hoped that he wasn’t just fooling himself into thinking there was something there when there wasn’t. He shook his head to get rid of those depressing thoughts. Caijoonyung decided that instead of worrying about it the best thing to do would be to just ask her directly. Instead of thinking up crazy scenarios and making himself worry over nothing, he’ll just ask and that way there will be no room for any doubt.