Moonbyul & Jin | Oneshots

Summer by the Void

I haven't written anything in a while and I wanted to write something to get the creative juices flowing! I hope you all enjoy a silly sentimental pastoral fic about a summer by the void. 

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Seaspray turned to mist against the rocky cliffs of the void. Byul sat with her feet hanging off the edge, bare feet glistening with ice-cold water. Kongang sat next to her, tongue lolling out of his mouth. His hair was matted with water and she patted his head gently. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon of the void, a foggy gray light spilling over the water.

Behind her, the Lighthouse loomed large, casting an ominous shadow on the void. Her home for as long as she could remember, equal parts comfort and prison. The light it cast over the void was bright, but the void always seemed to swallow it up. She wondered if whatever was on the other side could see her light, or if it disappeared into the inky waters each night. She felt like that sometimes being so close to it. Like it would swallow her whole if she let it.

No one knew what was beyond the void. Ships refused to float in its strange waters and swimming in it felt as if you were swimming in molasses. No one ever came from the other side of the void, and yet the Lighthouse remained. As did its caretakers. Byul's family had been here for generations. She was just the latest in the long line of the Moon clan who tended to the flame, waiting for something to appear out of the void. Every Moon thought that perhaps their tenure at the Lighthouse would bring something out of the void, but every one of them had been wrong so far.

After the sun had appeared over the horizon, albeit behind gray storm clouds, Byul left the cliffs to tend to the Lighthouse. Her sheep were milling about their pasture, nosing through the tall summer grass and the chickens squawked angrily, awaiting their grain. Her summer garden bloomed behind the animals, foliage spilling over the fence. It was less tended than it should have been, but she liked to think she was simply giving the plants the freedom they desired. Morning glory flowers in shades of purple and pink and blue bloomed all around, a sign the summer was coming to an end.

One lamb had been born that spring and it had become unusually attached to Byul, since its mother had died during the birthing. She had named her Lele, and the lamb followed her about whenever she did her morning chores. If Byul was going into town, she usually let Lele follow her to town. In town, they asked when she would butcher Lele and sell the meat, but she always told them she could never. That morning as she gathered eggs and tomatoes and squash, Lele nibbled at the legs of her overalls. She batted playfully at Lele, but truthfully she didn't much mind it.

She needed to go to town that day to pick up candles and grain for the animals. The End of Summer festival would happen soon and she knew the town would be busy. She pulled her boots on over her muddy feet and placed her hat on her head. She lead Bada, her gray pony, out of her paddock and to the path. Lele waited for them on the path, knowing what her boots and hat meant. The path to town was not well traveled, it was mostly only traveled by her, and it was muddy from the recent rain. She glanced behind her, noticing that the rain clouds were moving inland. There would probably be more rain today. Hopefully, she could make it back before it began in earnest. If not... well she could always wait it out in town.

Lele and Bada's ankles were covered in mud by the time they made it to town and Byul didn't look much better with her muddy pant legs and stained jacket. Her long, black hair ruffled behind her in the wind, wisps freeing themselves from under her wide-brimmed hat. She tied Bada outside, but let Lele follow her into the store. The store was busy, as she had expected and she had to wait in line for half an hour before she could buy the candles and grain. The two brothers who ran the shop, Hoseok, and Yoongi, were both standing at the counter. One so bright and cheery and the other so reserved and somber, they made quite the pair.