In The Arms Of Morpheus || CHOI SAN

II

 
 
 

They both were polite...but oddly, they were really attractive for someone who came from the mountains. She could sense how they would have no trouble becoming friends with the villagers. Heads full of silky hair with slim and considerably toned body and pairs of luscious lips. They could easily have the young girls fanning over them with just one stare.

Sieon came out of her thoughts just as the faint sound of a certain bell ringing reached her ears. Everyone stopped in their tracks, the ladies dropping out of faze, all the children's smiles faded as they hid behind the elders and all the men passed each other shocking looks.

Sieon's first instinct was to try to guide the new comers about how they should conceal themselves in their homes and not even peak of a stray of light, or the most minor sound should be let out from one's cabin. So she turned towards them but saw both the boys pass each other a look through their eyes and she frowned. But her attention was diverted away from them when Chaeyoung grabbed her arm.
"Come on Sieon, hurry up. We also need to close the shop."

They both started to run towards the direction of the shop, while clenching their dresses in their palms so that none of them would trip and for Sieon, not again. Making sure not to clench too much, their calves exposing more than required amount is disrespectful, especially for a lady.

Sieon glanced behind once again in the direction of the boys, only to see one of the villagers taking to them; explaining them the situation in the most summarized way possible. But why do they look so calm? Are they already aware about all of it?

As soon as the girls reached their destination -after almost ten minutes, they started to blow out all the candles and once done they locked the door, pulled the curtains and by then they were still heaving. The sound of the bell was clearer now, indicating that all must stay inside of their homes and a slight wrong move could be dreadful.

"It's late Sieon. I don't think it's appropriate for you to leave now. I'll put an extra bed for you, come." Chaeyoung gave her an undeniable offer, making Sieon follow her in her cabin through the door which connected the shop and Chaeyoung's home.

"Do you want to change?" Sieon shook her head, declining the offer and laid besides her friend.

"I'm sure I won't be able to sleep. Placing this matress for me is as useless as a glass hammer." Sieon reminded Chaeyoung about her propensity as she turned to look at her.

Chaeyoung softly sighed, "I know. But at least you can try. You know I can't do anything about this darkness either."

"I know, but I'm glad you're here... Good night and thanks by the way." Chaeyoung only hummed in response, already lulling into sleep.

Hours passed and even though Sieon felt tired, she couldn't even receive a bit of sleep. The cabin was silent and tranquil except for Chaeyoung's soft snoring on the matress right next to Sieon's. The wind was also a bit chilly and everything was peaceful yet her thoughts were running too wild for her to even try to sleep. It was always when the night arrived and she had nothing to divert her attention to, all her unwanted thoughts acted like a fuel to her quirk of not being able to sleep at night. And now, lying in an odd matress she's not used to, wasn't any helpful either.

The newcomers. She thought
Are they actually from the mountains?
They seem suspicious. The one who introduced himself as Yeosang, still gives off a nice and polite vibe. But that new guy San, he has a certain vibe to him which I have never felt before.

Sieon turned her body again- for the third time in a minute, and stared at Chaeyoung's sleeping form. She looked so peaceful sleeping. Sieon envied her -she gets to sleep every night, she can refresh her mind and recharge herself before begining the new day at the shop. Whereas Sieon, she couldn't even remember the last time she had properly slept. Chaeyoung wasn't unusual, she was.

Sieon may be jealous but she was always thankful to Chaeyoung for letting her work in the shop and treating her like a younger sister. Chaeyoung owned a shop which was right besides her cabin, she had many friends and was very attractive. Sieon ok the other hand had nothing but just a boring routine of coming to work, often doing deliveries, wanting to get more and more work to divert her attention and once the shop has to be closed, she goes home only to stay in bed and wait for the sun to rise.

Sieon always wondered about how her life would have been if her parents were still alive, or even if her Uncle and Aunt had stayed with her in the village.

She felt he eyes getting glossed with tears and sniffed. Groaneding, she exhaled and got on her feet, making sure to be as quite as possible, and made her way towards the door.

A gush of wind collided with her face and she breathed out, feeling at ease. Probably in an hour or two the sun will rise and she would have to go back home and come back again, why not go now? She thought to herself and glanced behind at her friend's sleeping form before she folded the matress neatly and secured the door before making her way towards her home.

The sound of the dreadful bell had already crossed each lane and echoed in every possible corner -hours ago. Whatever, that still unknown and strange thing behind the cause of the bell was, won't come searching for Sieon in the almost dawn, currently.
But her heart was still beating at a fast rate matching the pace of her footsteps. She may be the curious, daring being but just like every other villager, her heart and mind was also terrorized by the bell.
Sieon had been living in the village since birth but had never once gotten a satisfactory answer to her questions about the villagers' fear.

She stopped dead in her tracks, as she glanced at a tall, dark figure, a few shops away from her. At this point she could neither run towards her house nor back towards the shop. There was no place where she could hide properly either.

Sieon felt her heart about to pop out if its ribcage. She felt her body going numb and her senses not working anymore. She placed a hand on her mouth trying not to make any noise and made a few steps forward standing behind a stall hoping that the man wouldn't notice her.

Sieon's panic attack only stayed for a minute before she then had a proper look at the figure, realizing that it was no one but the newcomer, San. She wanted to confront him, ask him what he was doing here, and even tell him how it's not allowed to roam here there at night, especially these nights but before she could make a step forward she heard him speak to someone, who was probably not Yeosang she assumed -the other guy seemed taller than San, which yeosang wasn't. She tried to hide further behind the shop wanting to know a bit more about the situation, hoping she'll get get to listen to their conversation but after a few minutes of silence she glanced back only to find no one there.

With slow and hesitant steps, she went to check but there was no one around and no sound either. How could he leave so quickly and quietly even when he wasn't alone? She questioned but decided to head back home as soon as possible -with a puzzled mind, before someone actually came and took her soul away.