Man in the Moon • Jisoo

27

"Under the moonlight-we dance like lovers do."

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Had it not been for the sudden thump that caused a sharp pain directly to her head, Gaeul would have not waken up.

Gaeul takes in her surroundings. A room, dimly lit with two candles on each sides of the room, heaps and heaps of straw bundled up at the corner and laid out underneath her. It smelled moist, and almost of mold; but it was understandable as the room appeared to be old, with rust visibly prominent onto the handles of the door, and the small window which was lined up with narrow, metal bars. She senses something not quite right with the room, as it looked almost as familiar as a cell would in the medieval times; struggling to move her arm after being supposedly unconscious for a period of time, until what followed was the jangle of chains, and that lifting her arm seemed to be a more difficult task than usual and-

Oh.

Gaeul realized she had been chained to one of the metal bars inside of the room. Clearly, this was a dungeon indeed.

Another thump ensued; making Gaeul jump and land right on her bottom, harder than the thump that woke her up from her sleep. She wonders the location she was at, the state she was in, and takes in her surroundings once again, trying to see if there was any way out. When she finally realized that there was none, Gaeul slumped back against the mount of straw, sighing. How could have this happened to her?

The last thing she remembered was the man with a hook grinning down at her, and then it was pitch black. Pressing her temples to think harder, Gaeul remembered some bits and pieces of being lifted up and away; perhaps one of those bits and pieces having Minghao's voice in them, and then she remembers the pain that came along from being thrown into the room and-

Where was Minghao?

"Are you awake, child?"

Gaeul's head whipped up to trace the voice.

"Right next to you, kid. But you probably can't see me."

Gaeul turns to her left, inching closer to the wall. She grunts when she realizes there was something tugging on her right foot; and it was the fact that her leg was chained to the wall as well. She stretched and scooted closer to the wall, finding a small crack between the wooden door; and peered into it. On the other side was the white beard of a man, looking scruffy and old, and traces of age lined against his skin. When he sees Gaeul, his eyes lit up into a smile; and those eyes were an extremely familiar sight; ones where she has seen countless times that followed with the string of familiar laughter back when they would joke around in the kitchen.