The Fishtail Story

Chapter 02

Who was that person swimming in that stupid lake? Isn’t he aware of the risks of being there? I mean the legends? Jeonghan thought to himself as they had lunch deep in the forest that day. No matter how hard he try to forget what he saw earlier, still he can’t keep thinking what if that person drowned because he was not surfacing at all. He was deep underneath and who knows what happened with him? He thought that it was absurd for him to worry for that guy because that means he believed what he heard from his cousins and that may cause a huge laughter for them.
“You keep staring at the lake.” Jun smirked at him. “Want to swim?” he asked but of course Seungcheol was quick to go against it.
“Don’t joke around Jun, plus it’s that lake. There are so many other lakes there to swim to but not that one.” Seungcheol said.
“Then we could go swimming next week. I know a good place to swim. Plus there’s a falls.” Mingyu beamed and upon hearing it, Seungkwan cheered.
“Sure sure. Next week. This week will be a bit busy because of the festival of the God of harvest.” Seungcheol said.
“And here I thought you set aside your fish God.” Jeonghan said slurping on the cold lemonade his cousins brought and glancing at the lake every now and then but there weren’t any sign of the guy with pink hair from earlier.
“That’s different from the one in the folklore. That one we’re feasting at was the one who give people bountiful harvest of fish during summer and the king of the sea.” Jun said towards Jeonghan.
“Poseidon you mean?”
“Ah seriously, nothing ever comes in your brain right? Whatever, let’s get on with getting crayfishes now.” Seungcheol said and they started cleaning up their mess and gave a small prayer for the deities of the forest for their little noise. Jeonghan doesn’t seem to understand any of it though.
The next spot was near the mysterious lake and seeing it irked Jeonghan. It was muddy everywhere and he didn’t dare step any closer to the middle or his branded combat boots will be smeared with dirt and cleaning it will be hard for him so he excused himself and just told his cousins that he’ll be there to watch out for their things as if there were risks of it getting lost but there weren’t.
He just sat under the mango tree where flowers of the upcoming fruit started to bloom. He just watched as his cousins fool around on the dirt as they collected crayfishes or maybe crabs and now he finally understood why they wore shabby clothes. He was feeling envious somehow but once again, his eyes went on the lake and he saw that same sparkle that made him more curious what is.
Without a word, he disappeared from the spot where he was before and followed the trail that leads to the run down shrine. There were series of steps before making it to the top and at first he hesitated whether to go or not but for him, nothing is ever true without proofs so he went ahead not caring about the dangers of being there. It was really run down and you could see the bushes growing taller than normal. The house itself looks older than where he currently live and there was no any sign of life in that place. He was crept out and didn’t dare enter the old house nor come near it. He went straight ahead on the lake behind it following the trails that has been hidden by tall bushes and there were leaves scattered everywhere.
When he arrived near the lake, he hid behind the tall mahogany tree standing near it and there, he saw a small bridge that connects the main land and the lake and could be a good spot to dive on. And then this time, he was sure about the person swimming there. He just keep on glancing as the person paced on the water, diving and surfacing and seems to be playing around the lake.
Speaking of the lake, Jeonghan was astonished seeing its beauty despite being set aside by the people living in the area. The lake itself was shining underneath the bright sun and it has a bluish color like the sea. Usually, lakes have greenish colors and were filled with moss but this one was different, it was amazing and the view of the mountain from that part was really beautiful. But once again, his eyes landed on the person, who this time surfaced out of the water and he gasped seeing the person all bucked naked and walking ahead of him. It was a male!
When he was aware that that person was going nearer, he started running away. He could clearly hear that person or probably deity calling out to him but he didn’t look back. What if he was abducted and won’t ever be seen again? Then his city life won’t ever return and thinking of it scares him the most. He kept running until he was wheezing. He pop out of the bushes and when he did, his cousins who by then finished hunting crayfish screamed due to surprise.
“That is the first time I hear Seungcheol-hyung scream like that.” Seungkwan said, clutching his chest because he too got surprised with Jeonghan.
“It is the loudest one.” Jun said, sighing in relief.
“Shut up! I thought he was the fish God or something. What if we’re killed?” Seungcheol said with a blush then his eyes landed on Jeonghan who was still panting. “You alright?”
“There—I uh oh god. I can’t breathe.” He said and the rest of them panicked. They were well aware of Jeonghan’s sickness and seeing him all pale and wheezing was not a good sign. So even before Jeonghan died in their arms, Mingyu put his hyung on his back and they all started running back home to tend on their sick cousin.
Good thing that it wasn’t that great of an attack. Seungcheol’s mother managed to put the nebulizer just in time but there was still a look of shock in Jeonghan’s face, perhaps from seeing another naked man or in fear. No one knows.
His cousins kept asking him what he saw but he was not in the mood to speak about it though. He heard the creature call out to him and follow him via super speed running and just thinking about it made Jeonghan cower in fear. Whenenever he closes his eyes, he could see the creature before him, all white and skinny with dazzling pink hair and almost perfect feature. It was the loveliest creature he ever saw in his life and though he was a man, he can’t believe such aesthetic. And now he fears his life the most.
The following day came quickly but then Jeonghan realized something—his iPhone X was missing. He looked around everywhere to find such thing, every nook and cranny even the path leading to the forest but to no avail, he can’t find it.
“Yo cousin! Ye feeling better?” Seungcheol asked as he saw his cousins all gathered around the living room, watching some absurd volleyball play with so much interest.
“Yeah. I’m good. Have you seen my phone?” he asked and all eight eyes averted to him.
“Have you lost it?” Jun asked, munching on corn chips.
“I’m not sure but it’s not anywhere in my pocket.” Jeonghan bit his lip nervously.
“Mingyu have you seen it when you carried him yesterday? But we’re all sure that nothing fell off from you, I mean we’re just standing behind you two.” Jun asked once again while Mingyu just shook his head and focused on the volleyball game.
“Seungkwan!” Jeonghan suddenly yelled his cousin’s name and Seungkwan looked at him with a frown. No one disturbs him while watching volleyball.
“What?” Seungkwan said.
“You have a phone right? Let me call mine with yours.” Jeonghan pleaded.
“But it’s in my room. I am too lazy to even go there.”
“Here use mine.” Seungcheol handed him his phone which looks like it has been of use for years but his cousin didn’t dare change it. “It still works! Don’t give me that look”