Fireworks | ATEEZ story

My Sins That Stripped Me Bare, The River Shall Cleanse Them Naked

The smell was salty and damp. The air was tight and humid enough to breathe clouds. The sun stopped shining, and all Yunho could lay his eyes upon were mists of white. There was nothing that could faze him up till now, but the gloomy atmosphere didn't matter as much as what he's seen down below.

Everyone turned their eyes to the water, and their breaths hitched. The boat seemed to float on its own. Like it was slowing down on purpose to avoid hijacking the wheels on one of the masks, then by then, they'd all be stuck in the middle of the water. But Yunho wished it went faster, he didn't want to be reminded of what his nature meant to society, cause' he's already known his entire life. This wasn't new.

Yunho gulped and hid behind Hongjoong out of instinct, carefully placing his hand on his shoulder just to confirm if all of this was real. "Captain...is this the reason why...?"

Hongjoong stared at the water. "It's possible."

He left in some possibilities that, it's true, the reason how they found out about the masks in the first place was because of Hongjoong and Seonghwa's fishing attempt. Instead of food, they found these artefacts instead. Yet why did they need to find out that way...why did they want to know that people like them were condemned for living? Could they have walked away ignorantly with a successful batch of fish for the boys, and never known about everything here instead?

The group didn't say a word, and only watched as these fallen masks floated the opposite direction from the boat. Nobody had the courage to keep working or crack a joke. Who would have the courage to say anything at this point?

This sight inflicted so much fear in everyone. There were no bodies that were sighted with the masks, but everyone could tell each had belonged to someone out there. There were probably a hundred of them floating, and Yunho couldn't help reading each that passed by.

SIN: PAINTER

SIN: HOMOSEXUAL

SIN: EXCEPTIONAL

SIN: RETARD

SIN: THIEF

SIN: TERRORIST

SIN: NARCISSIST

Yunho and his friends probably embodied some of these descriptions themselves, and they were still alive. It was unsettling to think that way.

But why would you put "PAINTER" and "TERRORIST" in the same level? Yunho wanted to curse, why should they have been compared to each other in the first place?

And even if some of these Sins vary, some had valid crimes. But was it enough to execute them, even if they were criminals? Yunho thought about it, and glanced at Dae-Seong. And he shut up.

Dae-Seong's ropes untied, and he saw her watch the river with the same expression as everyone else's. Blank, but uncomfortable. Unsettled, but composed. And Yunho could feel his fist tighten. Why was she as shocked as everyone else? Wasn't she the one who contributed to probably thousands of these used masks? Why was she confused, why was she unsettled? Shouldn't they be the ones to cry? And not the one who caused it? Why are you shocked? Didn't you do this yourself?

What the fuck is wrong with her? Can she have some decency, at least?

Dae-Seong watched the river with two large eyes. Yunho got used to her expressionless face over time, having been seeing that for the past days together. Whenever her face contorted into something other than that, Yunho's blood boiled for some reason. He wanted to punch her face, or slap it at least. He wanted to grab her face and use all his strength to stop her from expressing emotions, cause if I'm not allowed to do that, how can you? It's as if, you condemn people with the same acts like yours, face like yours, mannerisms like yours, and you're the one alive. This isn't fair, is it?