magic island | txt

one

don't forget, forever
this is our start line

-

the tree was as beautiful as it was twelve centuries ago. emerald green colored leaves covered its body as the warm breeze causes it to dance. according to the stories told by the villagers who lived alongside jihu at the same time in the past, the colors of the leaves of the tree changes depending on the season. however, as magic surrounded the island, with jihu as its owner and the one who obtain most of its charms, it's almost impossible to witness the alteration of the leaves' hues, as they never witnessed the seasons change. they assumed that it was a curse of eternal summer.

yeonjun never said anything about that matter whenever creatures that recently moved in brings it up. sure, he saw it once, once, but he didn't tell anyone a single soul, nor did he support any of the villagers' statement, as he simply respect jihu. and so, the rumors stayed as rumors, for them.

the blue-haired man halted his steps, stopping right in front of the mystical tree. his eyes scrutinized its every part, even though they were already embedded on his mind due to guarding it for centuries now. he threw a glance at the single camellia flower on the ground, with azure being its base color, yellow bleeding from the inner corners to the middle part of its petals.

as he raised his gaze, he was met with gin's face, the mistress' pet dragon. a chuckle left yeonjun's lips as he gently pet gin's head.

"don't worry. i'm okay." the dragon growled causing the man to stifle his laughter.

"ah but i'm serious, i'm still here. aren't i?" gin nodded, turning their back on the man to continue guarding the woody plant.  

"i'll get going now. i have something to report to the mistress. see you around." with a wave, he continued walking his way to jihu's office.

it was only him and beomgyu from the very beginning, the people that the raven-haired girl trusted the most. sure, she has an entire army guarding her, the island and its people. however, the two men were the most loyal, as they never left her side when she was swallowed by the gaping whole in her chest, drowned by the anguish of the relentless ocean inside her mind, developing her whole being until she gave in to the darkness.

despite all of that, they stayed.

they could've run away, really, and jihu wouldn't even hesitate on letting them go, for she understood. but they didn't.

"jihu?" yeonjun called out as he opened the door to her office.

the mistress was standing near the glass windows, hands behind her back as she observed the series of events occurring right of front of her eyes. the fairies were freely flying, playing a game of chase with the dead; humans, who were once alive.

the taller man cleared his throat to get jihu's attention, a sigh escaping her lips as she craned her neck and brush off the pixie dust on her shoulder. sighing once more, she turned her heels to face yeonjun.

"that was a lot of sighing. you don't want to see me?"

"yes."

"ouch, that was too straightforward mistress."

jihu ignored his remark and yeonjun took it as a sign to begin his report. with a flick of a finger, an image of a boy, with a literal star on his left eye, appeared.

"kang taehyun. imprisoned by the king named orion of the constellation kingdom, located approximately 6,958 miles from the island. obtained a supernatural skill from his deceased aunt, which allows him to foresee the future."

"i see why the king would lock him up. how'd reach us?"

"used the morse code for sos through manipulating polaris."

"he could manipulate the stars too?"

"perhaps my lady. after all, he can predict the future, a correlation with how he serves as a direction for its people. the same as the stars."

"very well."

"what's our next move?" jihu closed her eyes, absorbing the island's magic in the process as she thinks of a plan.

kang taehyun would be a valuable asset not just for her, but for her island; to prevent unpleasant things from happening again. she needs his ability. and she wants to give him a home.

magic island is open for all, so long as they have pure intentions. however, to keep him safe, she needs to hide the thing that makes him unique— his eyes. the same thing that she did to yeonjun and beomgyu.

"gather the knights. call beomgyu and return to me after." the blue-haired man knelt in one knee, hands above his chest as he bowed his head.

"as you wish, mistress."

the sound of bell ringing resonated throughout the entire island, signalling that it was exactly 12:00 pm. yeonjun opened his eyes, taking his time to breathe before standing once more. he nodded his head, an indication that he would be heading out. but before he could take a step towards the door, jihu called for him.

"yeonjun?"

"yes?"

"don't forget."

he smiled, despite the bitterness lingering on his chest.

"of course mistress."