Somewhere Between the Sea and the Sky.

Episode 2: Chapter 4.

Jongho coughed as his body tried to get rid of the water, his perception completely useless as his surroundings went black. What the hell happened? They were just talking around the beach and, in just an instant, something pulled them into the forest. He didn't see anything, not even a shadow approaching.

The blacksmith finally felt the good, sweet air on his lungs and, despite being drenched, he finally felt safe from the water. It wasn't the sea what trapped him, but a small lake in the woods. He remembered the moment, he was being dragged into the water. And there was someone else.

Right.

He wasn't alone.

Jongho finally opened his eyes, only to see the deep forest surrounding him. He directed his gaze to the floor, to the puddles and patches, to the trail of dirty water that soon guided his eyes towards someone.

The blond wasn't much better than him— No, he was way worse. Silent coughs made it clear that he still felt the pressure, but there was something weird with it. He was clearly breathing, nervously but fine, he already got rid of the water. It wasn't until his hearing started to come back that Jongho noticed Seonghwa wasn't coughing; he was crying. Aggressive gestures only led to more tears, now that was the thing taking his breath away, not the lake.

"Lieutenant...?"

Jongho said that out loud but the blond didn't even react, so he would have to try something else. The blacksmith didn't have the energy to get up but he managed to move closer to the other without actually invading his personal space. If someone knew how important it was to leave people distance to breathe it was him, after all.

Then, he finally noticed.

Seonghwa's eyes finally met Jongho's, they opened wide as he tried to process the information. He didn't talk at first, Jongho felt like his world suddenly shattered and he was trying to find himself again.

"Are you okay...?"

Jongho asked, like the answer wasn't obvious. He didn't do it for a reply though, he asked for the reaction. And just as he expected, the other needed a moment to process it. The strange thing was, Seonghwa's gaze fell on Jongho's lips as he spoke.

Was his hearing still affected by the water?

"I'm okay." He suddenly replied, probably just taking a guess on what the youngest asked him.

The blond wiped away the tears and took a deep breath, trying his best to put up a serious expression. Was he just pretending nothing happened? No fucking way, he perfectly knew Jongho saw him.

He was about to say something, but then he realized it wasn't the best moment. Whatever Seonghwa's burden was, it shouldn't make them get killed by whatever dragged them into the forest.

"Where's Joong...?" The blond muttered.

"It's just us here." Jongho replied, ignoring the fact that the other completely forgot the soldier was with them too. "They're probably somewhere else in the forest."

"... Right."

Something was definitely wrong with Seonghwa, Jongho knew well by the way he shaked his head like responding to someone's question. It wasn't a "my hair is wet and I'm disoriented" kind of shake, it was a clear "no". He was answering his own thoughts, probably.

Jongho really hoped so.

He hoped it even more when the other got to his feet and something was missing. The blond didn't notice at first, but then he saw the youngest's eyes fixed on his hips and close areas. The blacksmith wasn't the type to look at his wet crewmates' parts, so it had to be something else.