FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

Down in the Swimming Hole

CHAPTER 13: DOWN IN THE SWIMMING HOLE

The thought of her role as the Key of Fire plagued Eun-soo in the middle of the night, in the light of day and in the void when she was alone. The divided feeling intensified with each passing day. The pleadings of Baekhyun and Suho stuck on replay in her head. She wasn't prepared and she wasn't adequate for such a role. Who could fall in love in a strange land? Not on her will, and not the way she wished it to be! It doesn't make any sense!

And the way Kris turned her down after thanking her hurt her a bit. She'd seen the real Kris behind the unsurmountable wall, though for a brief moment, during the strange adventures, the Mermaid Cove stroll and the smile in the kitchen. That is, if that's the real him. But at least he'd tried to talk to her and protect her. Perhaps he was aware of his heavy burden as the Dragon Warrior and her role as the Key of Fire.

Perhaps he was as awkward as she was.

Perhaps she was disillusioned by an illusion.

Perhaps that's how it feels like to be a pawn of two different missions.

Konstantin. Kris. Two Ks killing her slowly.

Fate is not under her control.

The tug-of-war would only come to an end if one side gives in and one side wins. Someone needs to try. The longer she hesitated, the longer would she be stranded in Wonderland. Maybe to the point that she would be stranded in a tyrannized Wonderland forever! That would be the end of her.

The judgement appealed more to her head than to her heart.

If only someone could turn her fears into hope.

"Eun-soo ah," Xiumin sat by her side by the lake. "Why don't you join the others?"

Eun-soo fiddled with her fingers and averted Xiumin's gaze. "I don't feel like it."

Xiumin cupped her cheeks with his icy hands and brought her face to face his. "Look at the one you're talking to."

She brushed his hands away. "It's not that I'm being insolent, I'm just a little unwell."

"Too much pepper?" Xiumin's sentence broke into a half-hearted chuckle.

"No." Eun-soo shook her head. "But I do have a question to ask. Why were you in the ocean that day?"

"I fell into the ocean by accident." Xiumin heaved out a regretful sigh. His tensed shoulders quaked along. "I know I shouldn't chase that stupid rabbit down the hole."

"Why?"

"He stole my wallet!" his voice rose in a crescendo. "I was too entranced running after him that I fell into this death-trap of an ocean! It wasn't so bad after all, for at that time, I saw you."

"You saw... me?"

"Indeed!" his shoulder relaxed and he slumped against a rock. "When you floated around in the ocean in your flowing, silky black dress, I thought you were a mermaid, but your face was frightened and your eyes were wide and empty. Then I realised that you really needed some help there."

"Any escape route was blocked by ice. How did you get out?" she dropped her ultimate question.

"There was an underwater route, graced not by any light." Xiumin leaned closer towards her. Winter breeze blew to her face. A whimsical smile played at the corner of his lips. "It's a route no one discovered."

"Tsk. A contagious panic attack got us that day, I guess." She rolled her eyes. "Without oxygen, who wouldn't be?"

"I wouldn't!" Suho surfaced from the lake with a serious expression, a little submarine ready to blast the two intruders out of his domain. "Don't just stand there! Go and clean the kitchen!"

"Mwo?" Eun-soo and Xiumin dropped their jaws simultaneously. "What's with that?"

"The kitchen's a mess! My kitchen!" The resistance leader barked. "And all the pepper!"

"Let me help," Xiumin offered.

Surely, he kept his word.

The clatter of dishes on the racks jolted Kai from his slumber. He looked left and right, yawned, scratched his shoulder and slipped back into dreamland. Tao scrubbed the dishes, and between his whistles the clattering sounds rang again. Some plate or two may had slipped between his grasp, but he was always quick to save them from shattering misery. Quick eyes and quick limbs, they say.

Sadly, a slimy, fleshy green cup crashed down to the ground. A faint scream was heard and a blue, jelly-like substance flowed out from the cracks. The blue jelly pulsed and dribbled up his feet. Tao blanched and cried for Eun-soo to sweep it. She shrugged and faked a whistle.

Wait a second, it wasn't Tao who screamed.

Next to Tao was Xiumin. His large orbs were fixed on the moss- and starfish- and barnacle- and anemone- and fish-hook- and entrail-laden racks and cabinet, hidden under a blanket of pepper. He was armed with nothing more than a horse-shaped steel wool and a sponge with red and white checkers. Suho instructed him to clean the racks of pepper, but his perfectionist eyes saw other threats—the unwanted critters inhabiting the racks.

He squeezed a considerable amount of soap unto the sponge and set it aside. Then, with all his might, he scrubbed all the strange things away. The twisted remains of whatever that was scraped from the racks were left for Eun-soo to manage. With the kitchen in this sorry state, one might wonder how did they even cook last night.

The poor Cinder-Eun-soo was left to sweep the flood of pepper and revolting rubbish off the ground. She bend down rather delicately and swept, swept, swept all the way to the trash can. "Aishh!" The mess was too much for her, and the more she swept, more would appear. She rested her broom against the squeaky-clean cabinet for a short rest. From behind, someone took her broom and her hand.

"You're tired?" Xiumin asked. He swayed her arms forwards and backwards to sweep the ground while he sang a song.

"Wha? What are you doing?"

"Helping you with your chores." Xiumin turned her around and the broom made a clean brush, leaving a clear trail behind where they had passed. It started to resemble a waltz more than a chore. A celebratory waltz for two.

Eun-soo didn't know how to react. One thing had invaded her head: dread. She was careful not to step on Xiumin's foot while he marched her to a corner of the kitchen. Nevertheless, she still felt uncomfortable. He pulled her closer. She blushed, her heart making a riot. She was supposed to sweep the kitchen, not dancing. Definitely not a waltz. "Okay, Xiumin, please stop!" she said.

His grip broke away.

"Take a look around."

She glanced at the kitchen. Everything was as good as new, the ground included. The racks and the cabinet were more family-oriented now. Their work was done. At last!

When the last heap of pepper was thrown into the trash can, Xiumin left the kitchen.

Eun-soo cringed.

What a strange guy.

"Suho, do you have any, what should I call it, bathing chambers?"

Suho raised his gaze. It was Xiumin, covered in pepper and slime. "Sure, it's next to Kris and Lay's so-called 'sick room'."

"Thanks."

Xiumin walked to the said place and found a chamber leading to a small garden. For a rocky place like Mermaid Cove, this was an odd sight. There was a small pond in the middle of the garden. Lush pine trees enclosed the pond, giving him a nice shade and a sense of privacy.

He brushed his frost-shaped badge. The garden began to freeze, including the surface of the pond. Soon, the whole garden was carpeted in pristine white. He stopped straight away to leave a hole of water amidst the frozen pond.

He dipped into the swimming hole and smiled at his reflection—a happy look on his face and a heart-shaped mark between his shoulder blades.