𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 | sim jaeyun

9

chapter nine;; the lady in white

"A message in a bottle?" Inah exclaimed as her eyes widened with excitement.

"Looks like it." Jay carefully uncorked the bottle and took out the note. "I wonder how old this is."

Jake leaned in closer, intrigued. "Open it up. Let's see what it says."

Jay unrolled the paper, revealing the faded handwriting and began to read.

"To whoever finds this, know that this message carries a secret that has been buried for decades. The key to the truth lies within the lighthouse."

They slowly yet simultaneously shift their heads up to take a glance at the lighthouse above the cliff before exchanging bewildered looks to each other.

"Do you think it's connected to what we've been finding in there?" Inah's heart raced.

Jake furrowed his brow, glancing at Inah. "It has to be. It can't be a coincidence."

Jungwon whistled. "This is intense. What do you think the secret is?"

Inah calmly sighed, her mind spinning with possibilities. "I'm not sure... but we're gonna find out."

Jake nodded as determination is evident in his eyes. "We'll be back to cleaning the lighthouse tomorrow and see if there are more stuff to discover."

The night was quiet, save for the gentle crash of the waves against the shore.

As they approached the path leading back to the town, the lighthouse loomed in the distance. The group's light-hearted mood had shifted into one of anticipation, knowing that possible new discoveries will be brought on.

Meanwhile, Inah's thoughts were a whirlwind of what-ifs and maybes.

Jake glanced at her as they walked. "You okay? You seem in deep thoughts."

Inah smiled slightly. "Just... trying to piece everything together. There's so much we don't know yet."

"I'm sure we can figure it out," Jake assured her, "we've come this far, right?"

Inah nodded. "Yeah... we have."

🗼🗼🗼

The next day, Jake and Inah returned to Haewundo, determined to uncover more of the lighthouse's secrets. The morning sun bathed the coastal town in a warm glow as they walked up the familiar path.

Their minds was focused on the discoveries they hoped to make.

Inah glanced at Jake. "Ready for another day of cleaning and mystery-solving?" She asked with a hint of a smile on her lips.

Jake nodded with determination in his eyes. "Let's see what we can find today." Inah lightly giggled which made Jake curiously look at her. "What's funny?"

"Didn't expect that you'd already care about solving a mystery instead of being all grumpy to it and just wanting to clean," Inah replied, glancing back at Jake while plastering a smile.

Jake stifled a laugh, placing his hands on both his hips.

"Cut it out. Let's just go." Jake stepped in first the lighthouse as Inah grinned a bit with his expression.

They started cleaning, meticulously going over the areas they had already worked on.

Despite their thoroughness, they found nothing significant. Inah sighed, wiping sweat from her forehead.