Dreamer || Jongho (A Treasure Tale)

Mermaid Song

***Just a reminder that many of Jongho's thoughts about blame and ways of coping in this work are not healthy***

Jongho hated thunderstorms. Where he lived, they were common, occurring several times per week. Ever since he was small, the flash of lightning that invaded his bedroom and the following loud thunderclap that shook the house sent him diving under the blankets with his heart pounding.

But the worst part of the thunderstorm was the fact that it forced Jongho to stay inside.

He had made a horrible mistake neglecting to buy rice yesterday, and compounded with the negative mood of the soldiers' unexpected visit, the guilt of the incident weighed heavily on him from the moment he awoke.

It was a dreamless sleep— at least if he had dreamed, he didn't remember it. Feeling unsettled in his stomach, he lay under the blankets for a few minutes just listening to the rain hit the roof tiles and trying to go back to sleep.

The sounds of Father moving around in the kitchen reached his ears and he stayed put until he surmised breakfast was made and finished and Father had moved into the smithy to begin the day's work.

It had been too much to hope that there would be food waiting for him, though sometimes Father did so after a punishment in a gesture of apology. Today, he must be busy making new weapons, possibly to gain the favour of the Navy this time.

Jongho simply toasted some bread and took it back with him to his bedroom, huddled under the blankets where the thunder could not touch him.

He finished his schoolwork as quickly as he could, plowing on even through the subjects that didn't come as easily to him so that he could flip through his book of sheet music and try to decipher it.

The book was a secret purchase, one he had lied to Father about, saying it was required for school and managing to get away with it. Lessons or an instrument to put the music to use could not be so easily obtained, however, so Jongho settled for turning through the pages and doing his best to follow along, putting names to symbols and tunes to words.

"A Mermaid's Song," he read in a whisper when he turned to the next page for him to scan. There was a short note above the staff that he read as well, curious that an origin story should appear where usually there were only performance instructions. "Sung to me by an old pirate, long ago taken by the sea."

Excited at the prospect of discovering what to him was nothing short of treasure, Jongho quickly went about discerning the proper key and rhythm for the song before picking out the notes from their intervals and stringing them together one by one.

He was interrupted halfway through by the sound of the front door opening and Father entering the kitchen, and hurried to stow his music away underneath his mattress and check the time.

Somehow it was noon already, midday's light hidden behind storm clouds, and there was still no rice for lunch. Wincing at the irritated huffs he could hear from his father, Jongho went to peek out his bedroom door at the sight of him trying to throw together a meal.

He stumbled dizzily over himself and had the bottle in his hand, so Jongho swallowed thickly, hoping he hadn't been seen, gently closing the door and pulling on his shoes.

It was still pouring rain, but it didn't matter. Jongho couldn't stand waiting around at home with an angry father while it was his fault there would be no food on the table.

He would just have to go out and buy the rice anyway.

Careful to remain quiet, he unlatched his window and escaped through it, shivering the moment a particularly cold stream of water ran down his back from the eaves of the house. He was a fast runner, and the market wasn't far. He may even be back before Father finished cooking.