A Body Of Water; A Mind Of Light

Fulgurite

Light... Have you seen the way it refracts when it hits the surface of the water?

Isn't it magical? But more importantly, doesn't it make you feel that there's hope? Especially when you are sinking deep...

Invisible hands made of water dragging you down...

Deeper...

Deep...

De...

Until the oxygen leaves your lungs and the only thing left is a trail of bubbles moving upwards...

* * *

Jeongguk's eyes open. It's still dark outside.

He's not back home yet. Somehow he fell asleep after getting the girl back to her room. Jeongguk hasn't seen anyone crying so much. But he can feel her pain.

And somehow, he can sense it deep in his core. Jeongguk thinks he had an olfactory hallucination episode earlier. Nothing else can explain why he saw that boy instead of her.

The kiss didn't mean anything. It was just in the heat of the moment. A moment drenched in alcohol and memory.

"Hey," the girl suddenly says, shifting between the sheets. Her eyeliner is all smudged and her eyes look puffy from crying. "You stayed..."

"You asked me to before you fell asleep."

"Ah," the girl opens her eyes, looking at the equally tired doe eyes. "I did."

"Do you want me to go?"

"No. Just stay..."

Jeongguk feels this weird attraction towards her. She has something very familiar on her that makes Jeongguk want to be close to her.

"You should go back to sleep," the young boy reaches for his phone under the pillow. "It's almost 4."

"It really is Sunday, isn't it?"

"It is..."

The girl hugs herself, eyes closing just for a moment before she takes a deep breath. "Can I- talk to you about him ?" Her voice almost trembles.

"Your brother?"

She nods. If she hadn't offered to tell him, Jeongguk would not have asked about him. The pain in her eyes is just too much to handle.

"Taetae was just 6 when he went missing... It actually happened here, in Bangsan."

Jeongguk's hand moves under the pillow, listening carefully.

18 years ago he was just 4 years old. He couldn't remember her brother even if he wanted to. No. Jeongguk doesn't really remember anything from his childhood. Just flashes of green... And maybe it's for the best. His mind is trying to protect him. Building a room to keep him safe. Yet in doing so, Jeongguk ended up a prisoner.

When will I be free... I wonder...

"Our grandma's house was on the cliff."

"The one built next to the wintersweet fields?" Jeongguk's eyes move on her face.

More tears...

"Yes. I never got to see it myself. I was in Seoul at that time. I had pneumonia. My parents thought I would die... Taehyung was my older brother. They sent him here so he doesn't have to see my mother cry. Our grandma was a very kind woman. She loved him so much as if he was her own child."

"Where is she now?"

"At the bottom of the sea," the girl whispers, tears rolling on her honey face.

"Why?"