[HIATUS] gift of the sea • woosan + seongjoong

o n e

The transition of Spring to Summer was always Wooyoung's favorite time of the year. The grass was cool to the touch and soft upon raking fingers, the saturated green shades running for miles and miles across the port. Across the hills the view of the town stretched along the edges of the bay and crawled closer to the forests. Wooyoung leaned against the trunk of tree he found himself perched in, gaze set on his hometown.

The best part of mid-May was that the constant rain showers of spring had slowed to only a few occurrences at night a month, and the early summer sun shined down beautifully across the land, peeking through the quiet ruffling of leaves to brush against his skin like a soothing caress. The afternoon breeze brushed through his clothes and hair, sending both awry in a pleasant touch.

It was probably his favorite place. Being so high up that he could see everything, and everything that seemed untouchable now became small and pact beneath his eyes. The basket resting in his lap was filled with berries and an abundant range of colorful flowers varying in size. Cherry blossoms which grew heavily surrounded him and a few of the petals stuck into his dark hair or brushed gently across his cheek.

The port was filled with a buzzing excitement, people running around with baked goods and decorations wrapping around all houses. The men were busy preparing the feast as women helped around house to house to lend a hand to anything that needed to be done. A close friend of Wooyoung's, Minho, was hours away from being newly wed to his soon to be wife, Jia. Growing up without parents, Wooyoung struggled to fit in with the other kids in the port at a young age which grew into his teenage years. They ridiculed his upbringing with his old school grandmother, ultimately isolating him.

Minho was like a ray of sunshine into his dark loneliness, becoming more of a brother than a friend, really. It wasn't until years later that he realized the amount of friends he kept held no importance to the inseparable bonds he shared with the few he was close to. Jia was another close friend that their family names interacted with, and the three became an inseparable trio together.

Obviously Wooyoung was no idiot, he could tell for years long before either of them had realized just how much they loved each other. Honestly, Wooyoung was more surprised at how long it took for them to bring up to their parents the talk of marriage than he was of the actual marriage. He wonders if people in his place would be upset about this, but he felt nothing but pure joy at the thought of the two finally bringing their happiness together.

It would be a wonderful wedding, he concludes. The day was beautiful, with blue skies and bright white clouds. Both Minho and Jia were loved by the village and everyone was ready to celebrate a joyous union, Wooyoung included. With that thought he makes his way down the tall tree with ease, hitching the basket up further upon his shoulders.

His younger days being bullied led to him escaping a lot through climbing the buildings and trees nearby, so he often found ease in moving around high areas that would usually make others' stomach drop. The thing was, besides the people his age, he was well liked by a lot of the older women and smaller children in the village for his respectful politeness and soft caring nature. The men looked down on him for his gentleness and his classmates hated him for how much their mothers gushed about him. Of course, there were few outliers to this group, but Wooyoung sometimes wonders to himself if he can truly go on living how he did.

His grandmother was a sweet but traditional of woman who brought Wooyoung up with the same softness she had with his mother. Wooyoung knew he had a knack for curiosity, often going off to explore around the docks or forests on his own which would grant him a good scolding from her when he returned. It was only around three years ago that she had passed away and Wooyoung was truly left alone with no other family to hold dear. It might've explained why he sought comfort and happiness in the young children of the village, often watching over them and playing games while their parents went out for work.