K-atched

Chapter 3

Aly woke up early the next morning in a hungry and tired yet excited state. Her meeting with Jungkook last night made her really happy, and left her with wonder about his plans. How is he going to cover for me when I'm gone? What is he going to tell my mother? she thought as she looked outside her window. Fog covered it in an uneven circle when she let out a low sigh, and she rubbed it out to see Jungkook -- well, Old Father Kook -- walking towards the river with a sack of laundry.

Laundry day served as the perfect excuse to meet Jungkook near the river.

Aly gathered all her dirty clothes in a basket and tiptoed out of the quiet house with a pep in her step and strong curiosity that no other time in her life could rival. She ran down the main village path freely -- anyone could assume that Aly wanted to get her laundry done early. She had no need to hide.

The tune that Jungkook was singing got stuck in her head. She didn't know the words, but she knew the melody, and she hummed along as she neared the river.

Soon, she could hear someone singing along with her. She looked forward to see Jungkook sitting on the rock near the river in the same place that he did the night before. She smiled at him and joined him next to the rock.

"Ready for tonight, Aly?" he said, smiling at her.

"I'm excited. I'm nervous, but excited," Aly said, grinning back.

Jungkook nodded and looked down at the calm river, watching the fish that slithered by.

"What was life like as a Kpop citizen?"

Jungkook looked over at Aly and gave her a soft smile. She gazed at the river, almost regretting the decision to ask. Twiceland was nothing but ruin now, and it probably had been ruined for many, many years. Jungkook looked young, so he probably wouldn't know anything about it anyway.

"Twiceland was a beautiful city. There was a lot of people, and a lot of pretty buildings and houses. It was really flowery too. I remember picking flowers with my friends and putting them in our hair..." he trailed off, looking down at the ground.

"There were flower trees and fruit trees...it was so beautiful, you wouldn't believe it. And it was all right there, in that forest," Jungkook said, with a crack in his voice. Aly looked up at him to find tears streaming down his face.

"What happened to it?" Aly almost whispered, dreading the answer.

"It was so sudden," Jungkook stuttered, crying a bit harder. "Someone set fires on all sides of the city. Next thing you know, the city's nothing but a puff of smoke."

"...I'm so sorry..."

"Those who managed to escape did so with horrible burns and smoke in their lungs. Those who couldn't..."

Aly got up and hugged Jungkook. To see him in such pain put her heart in convulsions and twists she couldn't explain. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed in exasperation.

"...those who couldn't ran away," he continued.

"Ran away?"

"Yes. Kpop citizens are immortal and can choose the age that they'd like to be forever when they get to a certain point in their lives."

"Well that means that they're out there someplace!"

"Yes, but they have no home. They're suffering with whatever injury they had during that fire, and they have to disguise their identities or else they'll suffer worse."

Aly looked down at her hands. She felt immediate anger at the people who burned down the city, and sadness for those who were hurt in this fire. Jungkook's home and friends were gone. All he had were his memories. How long had he suffered in silence?