Chapter 20: The Calm

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A soft breeze. The summer sun. A crystal sky. Hyejin.

She walked through the field, her fingertips brushing against the tops of the tall flowers that danced in the wind. Her hair flowed behind her like water. She stopped. 

Seonghwa stood in the middle of the field, watching her. Her white dress brushed the ground lightly as she walked through the sea of purple and red flowers. Mountains surrounded them on all sides. It was though they were in a giant bowl, hidden away from the evils of the world. It was just them. Just the two of them. Alone.

She glanced up at him and smiled. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, shining brighter than the sun itself. Beautiful, oh, so beautiful. She threw her arms out and ran to him. Everything went in slow motion until they collided. He held her in his arms, her arms wound tightly around his waist. Her head was buried in his chest and she was smiling. She looked up at him. He gazed down into her eyes. It was as if her eyes held the galaxy, billions of stars and constellations. He moved a strand of her dark hair away from her eyes and pushed it behind her ear.  His fingertip dragged slowly down her cheek and down past her lips. Her cherry red lips that he so badly wanted to kiss. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The world flashed with vivid colors and a rush of happiness surged through his body. 

Suddenly, the flowers around them wilted and turned brown. The sky darkened and the mountains grew taller. The wind became harsh and violent. Hyejin's body faded and materialized into small pink flower petals that turned black when the touched the ground. He shuddered and wanted so badly to scream out. 

When he called her name, no sound came out. Suddenly, he plunged into deep darkness. Water surrounded him and she struggled to breathe. He tried so desperately to swim to the surface, but the longer he tried, the farther down he sunk. He thrashed around. His chest began to swell with water and he was choking. His vision faded and darkness consumed him. Right before the last of the light vanished, a single soft pale hand reached down for him, but her fingers slipped from his grasp. Hyejin.

Seonghwa coughed. A bit of blood colored his lips. He tried to sit up, but winced at the pain that shot through the lower half of his back. He managed to roll on his side and reach his arm to feel his back, biting back the pain. The cut actually did not feel as deep as he thought, be he had no idea how it looked. He bit the inside of his cheek as he forced himself into a sitting position. He cursed under his breath as he brought himself to his feet. He had to lean against the wall for support, for standing on his own was not an option. 

He stumbled to the door, clenching his stomach. He felt sick. Without warning, he lurched forward, spilling few contents from his stomach on to the floor. He trembled as he wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. Just as he calmed down, his stomach tightened and he attempted to throw up again. This time, it was just water. His stomach was empty, but it was still trying to bring up non-existent contents. His stomach hurt and his throat burned. He stumbled back a bit before bringing himself to the door. He twisted it and it opened. 

The house was eerily quiet. There was no saying how long he had been out for. Minutes? Hours? Days? Steady beams of sunlight streamed through the window. Tiny particles of dust floated around the room slowly. 

Seonghwa moved to the stairs, making sure to keep one hand on the wall for support. The door at the bottom of the steps was open partly and it was bright down there. He stepped down the first step. It creaked loudly. He went down another step, followed by another, then another until he was at the bottom. He pushed the door so that it was opened completely. He managed to walk to the front door without falling and his strength had slowly regained. 

Harsh sunlight blinded Seonghwa when he pulled the door open. His car sat a few feet away along with the car that had been there when he first arrived that he had originally assumed was the house owner's car. Green patches of grass dotted the ground in various areas along with tiny flowers that popped up. 

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