Treasure tales

Junkyu #3: The puddle

Yedam logged onto Zoom, where he was supposed to videocall the rest to discuss why Junkyu was having dreams of past timelines. After a short while, Jeongwoo logged on as well. None of the other members supposed to attend the meeting turned up even after 30 minutes.

"It's a little awkward," Jeongwoo confessed after 30 minutes of silence. "Just the two of us. Where are the others?"

"I received a text," Yedam said, squinting at his phone. "Hyunsuk and Yoshi are busy with an 'urgent business' and cannot attend the meeting. They asked the four of us to discuss the matter without them first."

"Four of us?" Jeongwoo asked, a cloud of confusion hanging over his face. "Then...the other two..."

"I've been meaning to ask this, actually," Yedam said thoughtfully. "Junkyu and Rin haven't opened the chats at all the past week. It's a little odd. Junkyu sometimes takes days to reply, and so does Rin, but not this long."

"Then," Jeongwoo said quizzically. "Where is Junkyu and Rin? How did they manage to disappear at the exact same time?"

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Yoshi asked with an eyebrow raised. "Are you sure this would work?"

"We've got to try," Hyunsuk argued obstinately. "It's better than nothing." He looked up at the sky, feeling the wind slightly ruffle his bangs. He closed his eyes. 

"It's so peaceful up here," Hyunsuk said. To his surprise, a tear slid out of his eyes. He touched it. "Why am I..."

"You're too stressed," Yoshi said. "I can't even imagine being you. Witnessing tragedy again and again, and repeating each and every single one. And having to shoulder so many burdens each time."

Hyunsuk turned to face his friend with a smile on his face. "You just have to keep treating each loop as a new and fresh adventure. Then it would feel less suffocating."

"We managed to get valuable information today," Yoshi said, showing Hyunsuk the file he was holding in his hands. "I hope this goes well. Is everything all set up?"

Hyunsuk paraded the area thoughtfully. He flashed a small smile. "Check. Now, let's begin."

I woke up, rubbing my eyes. The first thing I noticed was that I had no idea where I was. I vaguely remember that I had fallen asleep in Junkyu's house, but this place did not look like Junkyu's house. I was lying on a grass patch in the middle of nowhere. Junkyu was nowhere to be seen. 

I tried to stand up. My legs felt wobbly, so I immediately collapsed back onto the ground. My head was spinning. Black spots decorated my vision. Water, I thought. I desperately needed water. Blindly, I crawled about, until I found a puddle on the ground. I knew about how unhygenic it was to drink from a puddle from an unknown source, but I was so desperate I thirstily gulped it down. I coughed.

I blinked. Surprsingly, the water tasted very good. It tasted very clean. It tasted like those mineral water found in bottles sold in convenience stores. With my thirst satisfied, my vision cleared. I found my head clearing up as well.

I took a good look around me. I jumped in surprise. What I thought was grass was...well...cyan grass. The water I drank was as clear as day. There wasn't a speck of life inside. It was more like a depth in the ground filled with very clear water. There was soil, but the soil didn't touch the water, for some reason.

Where was I? I was puzzled. I stood up and brushed my pants. In the distance I saw multiple flying vehicles I had never seen before. The sky was very peaceful. I tried walking a little, but quickly gave up when I realised there was no end to it. 

I went back to the puddle, trying to come up with a survival plan. Water was settled, at least, but what about food and shelter? Was there even rain in this place? It didn't feel like I was in the same world anymore.

"Ughhh," I heard someone moan. I turned around. It was Junkyu. I jumped in surprise. How did I not notice him when I had been looking about this area for so long?

"Rin?" He moaned sleepily when he took notice of me. Then he rolled over lethargically and remained motionless. I immediately guessed what was going on and dragged him to the same pond I drank from. In a few moments, Junkyu was on his feet.

"Why are you here?" Junkyu asked me, confused.

"Where are we?" I questioned him.

"So I sometimes get these really weird dreams," Junkyu explained. "I'll wake up in a random place, a different place each time, and always be very thirsty whenever I awake. Then I'll kinda just sit there. Sometimes there are people who disturb me. Other times I just...sit somewhere until I wake up and return to earth. I see we're in the middle of a plain or grassland this time."

"How long have you had these dreams?" I enquired.

"As far as I'm concerned, from the very beginning," Junkyu admitted. "I've never not had these dreams ever since I got my powers. I never understood what they mean though, so I usually don't talk about them. It's not as if I mind these dreams."

There was a pause.

"I must admit, I'm relieved to see this dream this time," Junkyu murmured. "Any dream but those nightmares. Still, nobody has followed me into these dreams before. I don't understand why you're here this time."

"You should have mentioned it," I chided him. "That sounds like really valuable information. It could help with the explanation to your dreams. We can mention it after you wake up. How does that happen?"

"I try to fall asleep here," Junkyu said. "Which is hard. I love sleeping, but this world somehow gets me awake. Ever heard of a 'sleeping bug'? Well, this world has a 'not sleeping bug'. But I usually return in the end. When I dream here, I return to our world."

He returned to sleeping. Or trying to sleep. I was puzzled. Was I supposed to join him in falling asleep? Me, who routinely suffers from insomnia? Was I fated to never return?

"Am I supposed to fall asleep with you for me to return as well?" I thought aloud. I thought I heard Junkyu murmuring unintelligible things in his sleep.

I glanced at him. Junkyu hadn't properly responded to my question. Sometimes I felt, in between us, a distance that he wasn't planning on closing anytime soon.