Chapter Text
🔹 🔹 🔹
Jeongguk loves the sea.
He loves walking across the beach after the storm. The smell of wet sand is soothing. It makes his soul feel at peace.
For the past couple of days, it has rained so much that the town people have been cursing at the gods above them.
Storms are now common in this small town near the sea. Jeongguk loves it but he never shares it, especially when he's around his boss, an old lady that owns a small souvenir shop by the shore.
Jeongguk has been working there for three years now. He decided to stay here and help his single mother make a living and pay her debts. Jeongguk is a good son. He loves her too much to leave her alone.
The young boy is also grateful for getting a job next to the sea. He enjoys looking at it during his breaks. His boss isn’t that bad either. After so much time, he has got used to her strange whims and little unusual behaviors. He really doesn't mind her. Peuli-jeum, as she calls herself, is more interesting than any of the narrow-minded and brooding townspeople.
But she can also turn into a raging bull. Especially when he is late.
Now Jeongguk crosses through puddles and mud to reach the small souvenir shop. He is in fact late.
Today, the wind is saltier. It makes Jeongguk’s nose itchy. As he opens the salt-eaten door, the sound of the old bell floods the shop.
"Jeongguk!" The old lady by the counter shouts, her old yet wise eyes examining him from top to bottom. "You are late… again."
"I'm sorry, auntie. Our basement flooded again and I had to help my mom extract the water," the young boy apologizes, walking behind the counter to leave his bag.
"I swear, I'm going to move somewhere where there's no rain at all!" The woman then declares, letting her elbows rest on the counter.
Jeongguk nods. He has heard about her little plan multiple times. Yet she stays here. In this little town which is terrorized by storms half of the year.
"Where are you going to go, auntie?"
"The Sahara Desert!" The woman answers.
"And what would you do there? What would you even eat?" Jeongguk smiles a little.
"Sell sand to the mummies and eat lizards!" The woman now leaves the counter, walking to the wind chimes hanging from the ceiling. Her fingers brush the glassy domes, letting the chimes produce a pleasant sound. Then her eyes turn to the beach, traveling all the way to the little lighthouse in the distance. "It looks like there's going to be a storm tonight."
Jeongguk nods. He can already feel it in his bones.
"Yeah…"
A smile forms on his lips as his eyes see the grey clouds moving towards them.
Grey… Jeongguk finds peace in grey.
"How is your mother by the way?"
"She's working a double shift again."
"That woman," the old lady murmurs, eyes finally turning away from the grey landscape. "I admire her."
Jeongguk nods again. His mother is the only person he has left in this life. His time with his father was short. His mother told him he was claimed by the sea on a stormy night that took more than one life. Jeongguk was only four.
Jeon Jung-hyun was a simple man. He had a boat and a goal in life; make a living and beat his wife to death after drinking himself to a stupor to forget his misfortunes.
Jeongguk doesn't want to remember the sound of beating and screaming. Neither the color of violence nor the smell of despair.
So now, he is thankful that the storm had claimed him. They never found him. His body probably became food for the sea creatures below.
At least his body became a source of nourishment for nature's children…
"What are you thinking?" The woman's voice attracts his attention as the wind chimes keep swinging back and forth.
"Nothing really," Jeongguk answers with a smile. "I'm sorry. I'll start dusting now."
"Good," the old lady folds her hands behind her back, walking around the little shop. There are all sorts of things on the old stalls. Fish sculptures carved out of wood, glassy wind chimes, charms, keychains…
Years back the shop was full of tourists who wanted something to remember their time under the sun. But these days are gone. Because then the storms began, and people lost their interest in the small town by the sea.
Jeongguk doesn't care. He hated the sun. It was too bright. Too yellow. But blue and grey were more than fine.
As the old lady walks around, her employee grabs the duster and moves to the wind chimes. The sound always does something to him. He can't really explain what that is. Maybe he's been listening to them for too long. Sometimes, Jeongguk thinks he can listen to the little bells through the night.
Absurd. He knows that.
His hand then stops the glassy domes from moving but the sound keeps echoing in his mind. Then he dusts them carefully, feeling the smell of petrichor reeking into his nostrils.
A storm is brewing.
The souls of men and women will soon tremble in the night, listening to nature's wrath through screams of thunder and flashes of lightning.
But Jeongguk can't wait to witness it all over again.
Jeongguk loves thunderstorms maybe a little more than he should. The sheer power of nature is thrilling. Somehow he finds beauty in chaos…
***
It's already darker when the young boy closes the shop. Peuli-jeum has already left to visit her older sister currently residing in the town's nursing home.
As he locks, he feels the wind playing with his hair, shuffling them a little.
Then the sound of wind chimes floods his ears.
What? He wonders, looking at the ones inside the shop. They aren't moving. Not an inch. It makes Jeongguk wonder if it's one of those days when his mind is playing tricks on him.
Just my imagination… The doe-eyed boy shakes the thought off, hand turning the key to lock the little souvenir shop by the sea.
You can't catch me…
The sound of a voice then echoes in his ears and Jeongguk turns around to find its owner.
"Is someone there? Show yourself!" He shouts but there's nothing but darkness.
I dare you… catch me if you can…
The voice continues and the young boy tries to stay calm.
"It's in your head… It's not real…" Jeongguk hides his head under the large hood, walking away from the shop.
His steps are careful, trying to avoid the puddles on the street. The chiming sound follows him for a while before the boy stops abruptly.
Go away...
In front of him, there's a huge body of water, filling an old hole in the tar. The lamplight above him sheds some light on the perfectly still surface.
For a puddle the water seems crystal clear, almost sparkling under the white light like a mirror.
Just go home… You're tired, Jeongguk… He chants in his thoughts, hands diving into his pockets.
But then, when he takes a step to cross the translucent body of water, Jeongguk sees it.
A shape appears on the surface. It's not Jeongguk's reflection. That's impossible.
"What the fuck?"
He quickly takes a step back, afraid of the weird sight. He must be tired. That must be it…
Play with me…
Another voice is then heard and the surface of the water forms circles as if someone had tossed a small pebble.
Fear creeps into his mind but Jeongguk's curiosity overpowers it. Slowly, he walks to the edge of the puddle only to find something strange on it.
There's a person being reflected. He looks young, wearing an oversized shirt and a boxy smile adorns his face.
His eyes seem bright. Full of life. He seems… happy? Then Jeongguk's eyes witness a small dog running to him, forcing him to lie back on what seems to be grass. The puppy licks his nose and giggles flood Jeongguk's ears.
This isn't real… Panic starts flooding his young body, making his knees give up. You're okay… You are fine… Remember… Breathe.
Jeongguk closes his eyes just for a moment, trying to remember the advice he had given him when the air in his lungs became thinner.
Breathe in… Breathe out… Breathe in… Breathe out…
When he opens his eyes, Jeongguk sees droplets of rain falling on the ground. The puddle is muddy as it should be. The rain now wrinkles the surface and Jeongguk stands up slowly. His clothes are dirty and his bones shiver.
The sound of thunder is heard. His heart responds to it.
Then his head lifts to the dark grey sky, letting the rain land on his hot cheeks.
Jeongguk has always felt that there's something wrong with him. It's his brain. Sometimes it creates sounds and things out of nowhere.
His mother tells him it's okay. He can deal with it but sometimes the lines between what is real and what isn't just blur.
Without moving his head, the doe-eyed boy reaches for his phone, speed dialing a number he knows by heart.
Then he waits, as the droplets crash onto his face with might.
"Doctor Kim," Jeongguk murmurs when the person on the other side of the line answers him. "It happened again…"
A clap of thunder.
A flash of lightning.
The storm is back...