𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 | Jungwon

chapter 15

Chapter 15 : The Golden Glow Sunset
≿ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ≾

The morning sunlight fluttered onto Suyin's eyes. Her nose itched, so she simply swiped it with her hand. However, it itched again. Her eyebrows narrowed, and she opened her eyes, revealing...black. Suyin shot up from her sleeping position, and she stared at a familiar black cat before her. "Where do you keep appearing from!?" Suyin blurted, rubbing her eyes.

The cat yawned, flapping its iridescent purple wings. Suyin huffed out a heavy sigh, and her hands cupped the cat's face. The two sunk into a staring contest.

"Hm...maybe I should give you a name?" Suyin asked softly, analyzing the cat's lustrous eyes. It slowly blinked, and its wings flapped once more. "What should I call you...how about Clyde?"

The cat instantly slit its eyes in reply. Suyin chuckled. "Fine– okay, Leo?"

A menacing growl rumbled in its throat.

"OH– you're a girl, aren't you?? I'm so sorry!" The cat quit her snarl, resting her eyes back into her harmless appearance.

Suyin awkwardly peeked at the cat, and she hummed. "A girl. Huh, okay," Suyin pondered, "Wendy?"

The cat glared at her. "Eleanor?" Suyin asked, and she frowned at the cat's stillness. "Barbara??"

Suyin groaned at the cat's deadpan stare, slumping her shoulders. She studied the cat's wings, and her fingers tapped her knee. Every angle of her wings sparkled with the light. The sunlight reflected off of the breathtaking blue hues that were painted over the purple streaks, like a night sky. Suyin gasped, and she patted her hands on the bed. "Nebula," she whispered. "Nebula–a beautiful beginning of a star. I've heard that they're astonishing in space."

The cat blinked her eyes open, rising from its sitting position. "Nebbie for short?" Suyin asked, chortling as it hopped into her lap.

≿━━━━༺◎༻━━━━≾

She lost Nebbie.

Suyin had no idea where she went. After she cleansed her face for the morning, the cat vanished. She had no time to lose either since today was the special golden glow of their Aureum Palace. Suyin scratched her head at Nebula's odd disappearance, but she should have expected it after what had happened every other time she saw Nebula.

Searching through the outdoor hallways, Suyin headed her way to the dining room. Her finger tapped her chin, pushing her brain to light up with an idea. But no matter how many times she called for Nebula, she didn't appear.

"There you are," a high-pitched voice grumbled from behind.

Suyin's eyes lit up, and she spun around to see Jungwon storming at her. She should have been wondering why vex colored his tone, but her eyes betrayed her and ran elsewhere. The only thing the boy wore was a towel that wrapped around his hips. Water fell from the ends of his dark hair, and droplets caressed his exposed upper body.

"What the hell is that black cat doing in our palace?" Jungwon growled, arching his eyebrows. "And in the showers of ALL PLACES!"

"She appeared from out of nowhere, I- I swear! I think she followed us back!" Suyin's palms sprung into the air.

Jungwon lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm pretty sure you're the reason why it's here," he seethed. "You are giving me more and more reasons to blast you off this island."

Suyin's eyes glazed over his toned abdomen. The sun accentuated his smooth, milky skin, bouncing off the edges of his figure. As Jungwon lifted his head, his brow furrowed. He noticed her speechless expression. "Yah, what is it?"

"Nothing," Suyin squeaked, driving her eyes away.

Jungwon raised his brow, but he glanced at his naked torso. Oh. He turned his head away, pink dusting his cheeks. "Just– get the cat out of the bathroom."

"Yes, ma'am– I mean sir– I MEAN–"

"Go!"

"OKAY!"

≿━━━━༺◎༻━━━━≾

The entire day was spent training and preparing for the golden glow sunset–a renewed shield of protection that would last for the next ten years. The team had already offered the materials they had gathered from their first team quest. Everyone was resting at the entrance of the palace, waiting for the sun to finally set.

Jungwon stood next to the table decorated with dishes of food and fruits. He drank up the grand view of the sky and distant lower grounds that ran off for thousands of miles. His attention turned as footsteps approached. His eyes dipped down her lavender hanfu, noticing that she had changed into her more casual robes after training all day. Suyin's parted bangs swayed with the comforting breezes, and her skin soaked up the afternoon glow.

Jungwon faced away before speaking. "I'm finding it hard to believe how you didn't bring that cat back on purpose," Jungwon said.

Suyin claimed an apple from the wooden fruit bowl. "I'm finding it hard to believe that you were scared by her too," Suyin replied.

"No, I wasn't," Jungwon denied, averting his eyes.

"Then how come you keep a far distance whenever you see Nebula?" Suyin crossed her arms, smirking at his faltering confidence. She swirled on her heels, sauntering down the main stoned path.

Jungwon scoffed as he lifted his weight off the table, and he followed behind the girl. "Clearly to stay far from you, dirty peasant."

"Dirty peasant?" Suyin repeated, rubbing the apple against her robes, "I'm not the dirty one here, pervert."

"Again with the–" Jungwon's sentence was cut short as he tripped over a crack in the path. His hands instinctively reached for Suyin's shoulders, bumping into her back. Suyin's body hesitated to fall as well, but she remained standing somehow.

"Not so far from me now, huh?"

Jungwon lifted himself off of her, dusting off his robes. "That was an accident."

Suyin chortled, and she spun around on her heels. A teasing smirk glimmered on her lips "Aw. It's okay, baby boy," Suyin pouted.

Blood rushed through his cheeks like a vibrant rose, and he glared at Suyin. "WHAT THE FUCK–"

However upset Jungwon was, almost all the vex had drained from his eyes as a heavenly light flared across her face. Suyin laid her hand on his arm while viewing the Aureum palace, urging the boy to turn around. Jungwon turned, inviting the golden light of the Aureum Palace into his sight. Suyin's mouth sat agape, taken by the luminous golden glow before them. "It's beautiful..." She trailed off.

Jungwon eyed her hand momentarily. "Every ten years as Master Wonchul said."

A wide grin cast upon her face. Her eyes twinkled like a youthful child dancing in a parade. "You guys are so lucky," she breathed. "Growing up on these floating islands...being able to experience wonderful sights like this."

"Well, you're here now, aren't you?" Jungwon noted. She glanced up at Jungwon, and she displayed her softened smile. Jungwon averted his eyes. Impelled by her smile, a spark of the most subtle bliss had touched his own expression.