Blue Summer

Chapter 11: A friend of a decade

"Will I still be called a person, a human, if my mind, my soul, my heart and my body all are disconnected and who drives me into this madness? I don't know. Will then someone else's mind and heart choose how I shall live while my heart and mind die of thirst for freedom."

Ibuki woke up with a jerk. His heart was thumping and his breath was heavy. He held his head and got out of the bed dragging his body. It had been regular at this point having experienced it for weeks now. He recalled the moment he went to Chang where Ibuki told him, "I have chosen it for my dying will to live. To spark a fire in me to live knowing this fire may burn me from within."

Ibuki had realised that the experiment for the research centre had used meth. That was the reason he was taken to the hospital, and what he had also realised was the power it held to suppress the demon within him, the demon of his past. Between letting the demon live within him and burning it with a fire that may burn him, too, he chose the latter. Ibuki had chosen to have drugs willingly, a choice he did not care to regret.

Weeks had passed since his choice, and he had been taking drugs alternatively. It had become a habit that he loved, that helped him calm down his rage. His mind was flooded with fantasies of joy and freedom. He was doing well at work, too, and the finances were well handled by him and his mother. He also got money for all the tests he was part of. His situation was rather well to his liking.

Summer in Incheon had reached its prime and the weather was bursting with lively laughs and chirping birds. What would otherwise drive Ibuki mad now felt peaceful to him. He was going out more frequently than all the years before. It so happened that Youra and Joon-Woo had been coming across him in the park every day. They would have a small chat about the happening in their life and then move their way. The one thing that caught Joon-Woo's attention was the fact that in all their greetings, not once had Ibuki asked about Misao given she had not met him for weeks now being busy with school.

It was surprising to Misao when she was told so by her friends. As they sat having lunch on the terrace of their school, Misao spoke, "Never? Like never ever?!"

"Yes! How many times will I repeat?" Youra mumbled.

Misao pouted, "Why?"

"Your guess is as good as ours. We don't know. Why don't you go to him today?" Joon-Woo suggested.

"I should meet him!" Misao said.

The other two agreed, and they decided to visit him after school. Right after school ended, they went to Ibuki's house, hoping to see him there. They first inquired from a nearby shopkeeper if he had seen Ibuki leave through the day or come back. He told them that Ibuki usually left early morning and would return late evening, except today, when he hadn't left the house.

The group then went and knocked at Ibuki's house. Mrs Cho opened and greeted them. She told them Ibuki's room was upstairs and that he had been in his room for the entirety of the day.

Confused over Ibuki's sudden isolation, the three friends made their way up the stairs. They knocked but no one answered.

"Ibuki, it is Misao!" Misao called out.

Finally, Ibuki opened the door, wearing a white baggy t-shirt and green trousers. His hair was well done and his face looked brighten up.

"Why are you all here suddenly?" he asked.

Misao gave him a side eye and responded, "Why? Is there a problem? And the fact that you did not bother asking about me is just so...."

Ibuki lowered his gaze and looked back at Misao, "I am sorry. Did not mean to hurt you."