FANCY YOU

FISH BOY ↝ JIROSE

"THANK YOU JIMIN, FOR HELPING ME
BE A LITTLE LESS LONELY."
•   •   •

THE SHORE WAS A GRACEFUL arc of sand, glittering under Australia's summer sun, a place for a placid ocean to lap. The waves rolled in with a soothing sound, the salty water a brief flurry of sand. Every few meters or so lay a shell, a treasure of the aquatic world just out of reach, and the footprints Chaeyoung left behind were soon erased. 

There is a silence in her soul, an emptiness if you will.

She supposes she should be used to living in the rehabilitation center by now, but she wakes up everyday still thinking she's dreaming. The whole ordeal feels unreal with the always-smiling nurses, spotless and perfectly white rooms reeking of antiseptic, endless hallways, and the same tired routine every single day for the whole year she'd been here.

Other than Chaeyoung, the only other patients admitted were a young girl, merely 12 years-old who had been diagnosed with cancer and a middle-aged, partly balding schizophrenic man. 

The nurse had come in earlier that morning and told her that since she had exhibited "exceptional behavior" for the entire year she was there, Chaeyoung had earned "Outdoor privelages" which basically meant she was allowed to walk along the beach outside the building, which was also fenced around in case she tried to escape.

The only way out would be to drown herself in the Ocean trying to swim to freedom, she muses dryly. Still, it was better than being trapped in her "room" having nothing better to do than watch Dr. Phil, the only available channel they had.

The small, wet pebbles that lined the beach sparkled in the light of the waning sun. The water had slowed and was almost still, small waves occasionally hitting the beach with little force. Chaeyoung reached down to pick one up, running her thumb over its smooth surface. It was perfectly round, with no sharp edges or jagged curves. She swung her arm back and flicked her wrist, watching the small pebble skip across the surface of the sea.

She collapsed on the sand, next to a large boulder that broke every waved that crashed against it. Chaeyoung didn't understand how the very rehab center that was suppose to bring her peace of mind was making her lose it.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her left arm and felt something small make contact. "Ow!" she exclaimed, her eyes roving the ground to see what projectile had hit her. She spots it, a few inches away laying at her feet, still wet and coated with sand, it was the pebble she had thrown into the ocean.

"What the hell?" she whispered. It felt like someone had thrown it back at her, but that wasn't possible, no one else was down here let alone hiding in the sea.

Although, maybe it was the little girl trying to play with her, which was strange because she wasn't allowed to be outside. 

"Sooji?" Chaeyoung called, to no response other than the rushing of the ocean. "Sooji sweetie, is that you? Are you hiding?"

"Sooji's not here."

Chaeyoung screamed, startled, dropping the rock and whipping her head to the huge boulder at the seashore. 

No one was there.

Now she was really getting freaked out. "Wh – who's there? Who said that?"

A tuft of pastel pink hair appeared from the other side of the jagged boulder and slowly rose to reveal a...boy?

Chaeyoung gasped and hastily scrambled to her feet and looked around frantically. Were there any guards down here? Could any of the nurses see what was happening through the windows? Who the hell was this guy and what was he doing here? How did he even get inside the facility?