perfect sacrifice | a love dive fic

001

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"the water is so clear," rei stated as she stared at her reflection in the lake. the fading sunlight casted a range of beautiful colours onto the clear water as nightfall approached. "it's like a mirror."

"and it makes me look like crap." yujin muttered, poking and pulling at the skin of her face. rei simply shook her head at her friend's words.

"speak for yourself. i think i look great." rei said as they both continued to stare into the deep abyss of the large body of water.

"that's 'cause you're a narcissist." yujin nudged rei with her elbow. she leaned down, poking her finger into the water, causing a ripple effect. "hey, stop that. you're distorting my mirror."

"it's so mesmerizing.." rei kept staring into her own reflection, her dark eyes were ones she couldn't help but get caught in.

"i'm curious, why are you literally attracted to yourself?" yujin jokingly asked, but there was a hint of genuineness in her voice. her question made rei roll her eyes. "i'm not. i just think the water looks pretty."

"no, i think you find yourself pretty, not the water." yujin stated, getting bored with the activity. she started playing with a few rocks on the shoreline, bouncing one into the lake every so often.

"you're making my reflection all wrinkly." rei complained, lightly slapping yujin's extended hand from throwing another pebble. "maybe that's just how you look."

"anyways, i gotta go. you can keep staring at yourself." yujin laughed, dusting off her skirt as she stood. rei stayed put, only giving an exaggerated eye roll, muttering a small goodbye as she continued observing her reflection.

the sun's light created an array of sparkles that seemed to perfectly surround the reflection of rei in the water. the lake was especially clear, which was uncommon in a busy city like theirs.

a while passed, rei barely moving a muscle. she ended up getting stuck in herself. in the water.

she felt frozen. there was just something about that lake. those colours. the shine of it. and to top it off, her beauty. if it were possible, she'd take a snapshot of what she saw. to cherish that moment.

but she couldn't. so instead, the only logical thing to do was to stay there until it was too dark to even see. maybe then, the memory would stay imprinted in her mind.

the soft wind blew, making the leaves rustle. with the light movement of the water, it created a unique and calming ambience.

so much time had passed, that the sparkles and beautiful colours which made the view so captivating, were replaced by a cold darkness.

the stars were barely visible in the sky, most likely from the mass amounts of pollution that still somehow didn't make its way to the lake yet.

the blackness of the water prevented rei from seeing herself in it any longer. she reluctantly stood from her spot, stretching her limbs to wake the muscles that hadn't moved for so long.

she took a deep breath, closing her eyes in an attempt to shake away that feeling. the feeling of longing.

why on earth was she even feeling this way, she asked herself? as she made her way home, the realization of what just happened hit her.

did i just... spend all that time staring at myself? what the hell is wrong with me?

she groaned in frustration, angry at herself for wasting all that time for nothing.

for nothing...

but it didn't feel like nothing— it felt... almost euphoric. there's something up with that lake...

and yet, as the night came and she sat in bed, the urge to go back to that lake was... overwhelming.

i can't go back there. i think i'm going crazy. was yujin right?

am i really that much of a narcissist?

the hours passed by slowly, the clock on rei's nightstand now reading 12:00. her mind kept getting clouded, the thoughts of the lake, and how mesmerizing it was, took over.

yeah, i really am going crazy...

maybe... maybe i can talk to her about this— she'd understand, right?

rei shakily picked up her phone, unlocking it. it felt like she went on autopilot as she got to yujin's contact.

once again, her thoughts overwhelmed her, causing her to lose faith in herself. it always did. her finger hovered over the call button for a moment, before she hesitantly shut her screen off.

what if she doesn't understand? what if she thinks i'm insane, and never talks to me again?

she let out a sigh, one she'd been holding in for a while. she slowly set her phone down, and began getting dressed. she slipped into a hoodie and sweats, the background noise of her family became muffled as her thoughts surrounded her.

she stared at the ground as she made her way to the front door, ignoring the presence of her mother in the living room before putting on her shoes and leaving, without saying a word.

the sound of her mother's confused voice calling out to her failed to stand out amongst the other sounds, now being mixed in with the cars and other city noises.

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