ocean eyes

prologue

Hoseok was always different.

He saw things. Things that shouldn't be known. Things that meant to be kept under sealed mouths and oblivious minds. He was six when it happened, and the child version of him was lost in fear. Cold sweats dropped when the clock stroke midnight, his heart beating unsettled against his ribcage, telling him something was wrong.

He roamed the hallway with his brain pulsed agonizingly. He was six, the dark path scared him. Mother was asleep, father was tired, his big brother wasn't home and Hoseok was alone. He managed to stumble to a familiar lock of a door, then at the hollow rustle of a knock, he called out to his sister.

'Noona...' he meekly whispered, his own knuckles scratched the wooden surface. 'Let me in, please.'

The door stood tall and shut, profoundly refusing the presence of a terrified child. Hoseok tried again, this time a little bit louder but the air was still silent and his sister never showed up. Leaning a little, Hoseok went for the door knob, twisting and found it to be unlock. At the entrance made, he wasn't sure whether it's a good idea to surge forward, but there was a burning need to continue and step in, and the stubborn part of him demanded to do so.

Dark.

It was dark and there was a downpour outside. The lights were out, and Hoseok looked everywhere for his sister but she wasn't there. Her books were stacked in order, there were five trophies showing glory and pride, Hoseok remembered screaming proudly when she won that Spelling B contest. His sister was... the epitome of intelligence. The mascot of the family, one that mother brags to her friends and father set as an example for him.

His big brother was rather the opposite. Rebellious, in some way hidden beneath the scent of cigarettes. His eyes often pierced Hoseok, telling him to be a man when he grew up later then. Hoseok didn't like those eyes. It's evil, just sometimes.

His sister's though, Hoseok liked the most. It's covered with her black strands and that thin glasses, hovering just right on her nose. She looked pretty, but she didn't think so. Hoseok always made sure he let her know. He treasured her, as much as his safe haven and refugee, made him feel loved and safe.

Safe. Until now.

'Noo...na?'

His voice echoed in the hollow silence. The lamp on the nightstand was off, and his sister hated dark. The bed was too neat, left without no touch nor any signs of her presence. It was midnight, the moonbeam struggled to pass through the curtains and under the poor lighting, she wasn't here.

The thunder outside blasted.

Hoseok let out a small yelp before crouching down, keeping himself close to ground as if he was falling. He felt like he was, and the air in his lungs were taken away. The world was spinning in his mind and there were snowflakes on Hoseok's eyelashes, clouding his vision to the point of blindness until the roots of his hair screamed ache. There was something about the storm tonight.

The charcoal sky was telling him what his brain couldn't process. Something vile, wrongful, dishonorable. It hid behind the heavy ash clouds and the groaning thunders, and Hoseok was halfway standing up before his legs belonged to an odious force when it finally happened.

Five, a voice drawled. Then there were two voices. Three. Six. Ten. It went on, repeating the syllables of a number. Five.

Hoseok pressed his hands against his ears, hard.

But they didn't go. They got louder, louder than his own chant telling him it's going to be okay. The room shrank like his ribs, and he couldn't breathe. The sense of danger increased and somewhere in the distant Hoseok thought he heard a noise before he messily opened a small closet and entered it with tears clinging.