The Sound Of The Ocean/SEQUEL-[m.yg]

~3~

The next days were terrible. My mood swings went from sadness to desperation and back to anger. One time, I hald almost taken my phone to call Yoongi, but I held myself back. I figured it would be bad if I acted too clingy.

Give me some space, was what he had said.

I had to give him space. Then everything would be fine.

On Sunday my dad came back from his work trip, in an euphoric mood. Apparently, he had been very successful at work.
"We'll be able to afford a villa like Mr. Min soon", he told me in excitement even the next morning. He was packing his suitcase again to go to Mr. Min's party that evening.

The statement had been meant as a joke, but my face didn't move.

"What?", he asked.

"Nothing. It's just that that place isn't really my dream-house, you know."

Typical of my dad to not get what I meant for a few seconds. I scoffed when he finally made an "Aah" and nodded thoughtfully.
"What about Yoongi? Is he going tonight?"

It was as if he had hit me right where it hurt. Yoongi had promised me that he wouldn't drive home without telling me beforehand. However, the party was set in a few hours and I hadn't heard from him at all. I tried to tell myself that that was a good sign and that he had maybe decided not to go after all.

Give me some space.

I covered my face in despair and thought about it. Then, I came to a decision. I went to my room, took out my phone and called Yoongi.

"Yes?", he answered, obviously from inside his car. The sounds in the background blew his cover.

"Where are you?"

He hesitated. "On the way to the ferry", he admitted.

I gave up on blaming him. "Okay", I just said. Then I hung up. And had to sit down for a moment.

Dad looked at me in confusion. "What is it?"

Angry and at the same time, sad, I stuffed my phone inside my pocket.

"Wait for me", I muttered. "I'm coming with you."

~~~

The Min residence was located on a small island next to the main land. Just like last year, we had to take the ferry to cross over. While my father went to the ticket service, I also got out of the car and was on a lookout for Yoongi. The ferry had already arrived and there was a huge commotion.
At first, I thought I must have been mistaken and that Yoongi wasn't here. I couldn't find him anywhere. Then, I did see him.

He stood leaning against a metal fence, the only place from which you could see the water without all those cars and people in the way. He was staring out at the sea, of which the colors were reflected on his sunglasses.
I wasn't sure whether it was a smart move, but I went over to him.

"Hey."

He let a few seconds pass before he turned to face me. His voice was raspy and tired.
"How come I knew that you'd follow me?"

I saw my own reflection in his sunglasses. Positioning myself next to him, I also leaned against the fence and threw a glance at the sea. I was instantly reminded of the sight from the cliffs last winter.

"Maybe because you knew that I'm not one to give up", I muttered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I hoped to find at least a small smile, but there was nothing. He only gazed at the horizon for a few more minutes.

"What would you do if I asked you to go back to Seoul?", he asked.

They began preparing the ferry to load the cars, so I waited for the loud noises to stop. I fought against my disappointment. What was all that "I don't deserve you but I want you" and all the other things that he said about needing me? Had all that just been a lie?

"Then I'll just make you a bit more angry", I replied.

"I want you to go back."

I shook my head slowly.

He sighed in disbelief and anger. "You're so stubborn."

Says who?

The first cars boarded the ferry and dad soon came towards us with two cups of coffee.
"You wouldn't believe me, but I actually got us the last ticket for the ferry!"

Dad noticed the tension between Yoongi and me a few meters away and stopped walking.
"Oh uh, sorry for interrupting."

Yoongi shook his head. "Not at all." He gave a suppressed sigh. "It would be better if she drove back", he calmly told my dad.
I wanted to take off his sunglasses and look him in the eye, see if he really was serious about not wanting me there.

"Not a chance", I countered.
His jaw muscles visibly moved.

"Why don't you want her there?", dad asked in confusion.

Yoongi didn't answer him. I felt how he was watching me, even through his dark glasses. I had no idea what was going on inside of him. Then, finally he took them off. In his eyes was an expression I had gotten to see only a few times last winter. I needed a second before I could decypher it. It was fear. No, more like despair.
For a few seconds, I was hypnotized by that painful look. However, then he put the sunglasses back on.

"Fine. Come along then", he said, composed.

The ferry took about 45 minutes and we reached the island in the afternoon. I drove with Yoongi in his car, hoping that he would maybe relax a bit and get into talking again.
I was wrong. He was as silent as ever.

As we drove across the island, I began remembering the scenery which now looked so different in the summer. We drove across the bridge, where my father and I had had the whole talk about meeting Mr. Min and his son for the first time in winter.

Yoongi swallowed harshly when we drove across the stone bridge, which was very close to his house.

"Nervous?" I had the feeling that I had to say something. I was beginning to lose my mind because of the silence in the car.
Yoongi didn't seem to mind and stayed quiet, as he had never been talkative anyways. He didn't even say a word when the outlines of the mansion were visible behind the blooming shrubs and beach rocks.

Nothing will happen to anyone here, I told myself. We'll just go to this dumb party and we'll be out of here by tomorrow morning.

If I had known how wrong I was, I probably would have turned around at that point and swum back home myself.

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