Ishihara // ATEEZ ✔

12 Worry

Yeosang looks at Seonghwa, who is busy staring at Akira. He smiles when he sees this before asking, "You think she's pretty don't you?"

"Huh? I-" He blushes but he feels grateful that the room is dark.

"I know you usually start malfunctioning when you find a girl that you like. That is why you don't like to entertain them. You end up looking stupid," he whispers. "Or you might end up saying anything that hurt them. You don't-"

"-have the best socializing skills. I know, but I'm working on them."

"Well, it's not wrong if you think she's pretty. You're human after all. Plus, you're the oldest among us and I think you ought to get married. Maybe you can ask her-"

"Hey!" he whispers angrily, trying to sound menacing but at the same time keeping his voice down. "Stop talking rubbish. I'm still young to have a wife."

"Right. I hope you don't cry when she returns back to Lucida though. You might never even see her again."

"I won't."

"Won't cry? Or won't see her again?"

"Stop it."

"But why do you like her, though? She is pretty but she seems a bit scary to me."

Seonghwa chuckles but quickly returns to become serious. He really wants to tell Yeosang the truth, but he knows it's better to keep it a secret. He likes her because she is... different. She can't see colours yet she brings herself forward with confidence. He has only met her for one day yet he feels like he wants to spend his time with her describing every colour that exists to her. At first, he does feel a bit wary as she is an outsider, but after being around her, he can't help but feel the attraction. He doesn't know exactly what it is, but he's fallen for her. In a day. But deep down, it does disturb him slightly due to the fact that he doesn't even know who she really is. Even the colour of her blood cannot tell her backstory. What is her identity?

"I don't know. Maybe it's just because she's pretty."

"Oh no," he groans. "You're starting to sound like Wooyoung."

"Just go to sleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Fine."

Both of them pretend they are asleep, but they are only staring at the ceiling, their eyes refusing to close anymore. They are too busy thinking about what tomorrow might bring, and what exactly happened to Akira.

---

Wooyoung is the first one to arrive at the round table, eager to start the day with addressing yesterday's issue. He is in the meeting room, impatiently tapping his fingers on the table, waiting for the rest. He has invited the rest of them to gather at 7a.m., even before breakfast is served. He has relayed the message to Mingi and Hongjoong, who promised that they would come. He glances at his wristwatch - 6:59a.m. Okay, so maybe he was too early. He looks up expectantly when the door bursts open, and the five of them - Hongjoong, Mingi, Seonghwa, Yeosang and Jongho - come pouring in.

They take their seats around the table, and when he notices that San is still not around, he asks, "Does anyone know whether San is coming or not?"

"I haven't seen him since yesterday, right after Seonghwa and San talked to each other last night," Jongho offers.

Seonghwa only shrugs, still disturbed over their conversation last night.

Wooyoung sighs. "Maybe he's busy running errands... again. So I'll just proceed with our meeting, if that's okay?" There is a murmur of agreement, as Wooyoung clasps his fingers and lean forward. "As you all know, something undesirable happened yesterday and our ambassador is now hurt, still unconscious from the fall. If anyone knows what exactly happened yesterday, please do speak up." He peers at the two who found her, who look at each other while shaking their heads weakly.

"We wanted to walk back to our rooms and heard something loud crashing onto the bushes. We thought that it might be a wild animal getting lost in the palace, but it was..." Seonghwa cannot bring himself to finish the sentence.

"I see. And did you see anything, or anyone suspicious around there? In her room?"

"We were too worried about her that we forgot to even look around. We didn't hear anything or saw anyone."

As if a light bulb suddenly lights up above his head, Seonghwa abruptly stands up. "I can ask around." He doesn't ask for anyone's agreement or permission to leave the room. He bursts through the door, with the rest only shrugging and following suit. There was a bird perching on the tree near her window a few minutes before she fell down . It must have seen what happened. The only problem is trying to find the same bird.

"He... is going to do something weird isn't he?" Mingi whispers to Hongjoong as they try hard to catch up with him.

"Seeing how he is, I don't think it's even weird anymore."

They gather at the garden under the morning sun. Just as they guessed, Seonghwa starts talking to the birds that are having their first meal of the day. They understand what he is saying to the birds, but they don't understand what the birds are saying to him. He looks around frantically, asking every bird that he sees with something along the lines of, "Where is the bird that perched on that tree during midnight? I have something urgent to ask it." It seems like the birds only give a negative answer because he sighs heavily, looking almost defeated. He even goes as far as asking the plants, but they too, have no idea. Finally, he approaches the tree near the guest rooms. He is distressed that he forgot one thing - if the bird must have seen it, then the tree must have seen it too.

The five of them look in awe as the tree bends down, until the upper leaves are all on the same level as Seonghwa's face. He caresses the leaves, his forehead creased when he saw that some of the leaves are wilted, the whole part covered in brown. Perturbed by what he's seeing, he gently says, "What happened to you? Why are some of you so sick that you turn brown?"

One of the wilted leaves reply him, characteristically like a person on its deathbed. "I have seen something terrible. We have seen something terrible yesterday that we were so in shock. I don't think we are able to live for any longer."

"Please, do tell me what you saw. Something terrible happened to our friend and we do not know what to do."

"There was someone... with a mask and a hat. We don't know his face but he came in with the intention of killing her. We are so sure because he reached for the pillow to suffocate her. But! She is indeed a strong woman as she fought back, even if the situation was disadvantageous for her. She was almost out of energy as she was fighting that we saw her. They were all over the room - it even seemed like they were dancing as they wouldn't stop moving. When she was trapped in the corner she didn't escape through the door. Instead! She threw the dagger that missed the culprit by a few centimetres and using that as an opportunity she reached for the window. Alas-"

The leaf only stops there, and Seonghwa sees that he is finally at the end of its life. He looks at the rest of the leaves, almost in tears as he quietly picks up the fallen leaf. Just as he is about to turn around, another leaf speaks up, finishing the story.

"She was in pain as she was dragged backward and jerked around violently. We wanted to close our eyes but we couldn't! It was a tragedy but at least she managed to kick him and released the grip around her neck. However, it was unfortunate that she had to fall out of the window because she couldn't hold on to anything! We were so shocked but relieved when we saw the two of you bringing her to safety."

"Thank you," he replies, almost choking up on tears. The tree straightens itself back up and he looks around for a spot to put down the leaf. "Rest in peace, little friend." He returns to the expectant men gathered at the garden before relaying everything to them. Yeosang and Wooyoung gasp, while Mingi shakes his head, not believing that it all happened yesterday. Jongho sighs heavily. Only Hongjoong remains calm.

Hongjoong stares at the window, the very window that Akira fell through. He grits his teeth before saying, "So they did come back."