"𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬,"
~🌙 ~
The beach was desolate in the black sky. A moon hung low in the sky with a reflection bouncing off the still sea. The waves crept up the shore slowly, pulling back silently. They rolled over my feet as I strolled down the beach. There was a slight breeze that brushed through my hair and the air was colder in comparison to the afternoon heat.
I felt calm and at peace, much like when I lay in our field. I missed it - being there. It felt great being away in a new place with my closest friends, but look at what it brought. Why did it feel like I was continually being punished? Everything had gone wrong: My science grade, Amy, my grandmother's lie and now a fight with my best friend.
More importantly, what could I do to fix it?
"Jay-ah!" Heeseung called from the house. He spotted me walking and ran towards me.
"I wanted to be alone," I announced once he was close enough to hear. Heeseung ignored my comment and hung his arm around my neck. He took a moment to catch his breath before doing what he did best.
"You don't want to be alone; you want to be heard,"
"Possibly," I said shortly.
"Sunghoon's upset that you fought,"
I perked up at the sound of his name. My shoulders fell as I thought about it more and more. I felt disappointed in myself because I knew I did wrong. I told Heeseung about what was said, admitting that I intentionally bombarded him with questions about his date with Hyerin. He was understanding, whilst also addressing Sunghoon's point of view.
"I don't believe in the old 'I saw her first' rule that friends have," I explained, "Quite literally we saw her all at the same time."
Heeseung chuckled at my comment and urged me to continue.
"If he knew that I liked Hyerin, whether I said so or not, why didn't he tell me? We could have talked it out. Being honest, I don't know if I like her that much at all - she was just there at the right time,"
"Sunghoon said he really likes Hyerin, but doesn't want to hurt you by pursuing it without your permission,"
"He doesn't need my permission. She isn't mine. She isn't my property!" I yelled in frustration making Heeseung flinch.
"I'm sorry, hyung. All I want from him is honesty," I sighed as we approached a wooden boat that was anchored on the beach. We both climbed into it, sitting on its sides. The boat swayed with the movement of the waves.
"You'll have to talk to him then,"
"It's not as easy as it sounds, hyung,"
"You've known him for how many years and you can't even talk about something as simple as this?" Heeseung laughed ironically, teasing me about his words, "I think he would appreciate talking about Hyerin with you. It sounds as though he's caught in the middle about dating her,"
"Because of me?" I asked owning up to my fault.
"Not entirely, he isn't sure about long distance,"
"I can't help much with that," I chuckled. I swung my legs into the boat and stood up wobbling a bit as the boat moved below me.
"And why not?" Heeseung joined me in climbing into the boat.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm eighteen years old and haven't done anything with my life. I don't have someone who I can make happy everyday,"
"Jay-ah, you don't need to worry about that stuff yet," Heeseung comforted. He threw an arm over my shoulder with a reassuring smile. We stumbled a bit as the boat continued to move underneath us. I regained my balance and sat on the edge of the boat again.
"I know I don't, but I want to. I'm not saying I want that with Hyerin exactly. I just haven't experienced anything exhilarating yet. How would I be able to give Sunghoon advice when I have nothing to go off?"
"Maybe he doesn't need advice," Heeseung spoke. I looked up at him with confusion and he continued to explain.
"I think you'll both feel better if you both talk and support one another. No advice or decisions made just yet,"
I nodded, understanding what I needed to do. I thanked Heeseung for coming out and talking to me, even though it was midnight and dangerously dark.
"Shall we go back?"
Heeseung hopped out of the boat first, splashing into the water. I went to follow but found that my foot was caught in something.
"Wait a minute I'm stuck," I twisted my foot around trying to get free of the thing that was trapping me. The more I moved, the more tangled I found myself.
"Don't move, I'll come help you," Heeseung offered, but I told him that I was fine. I yanked my foot upwards seeing that my foot was caught in a broken fishing net. There was a torn hole in it that my foot seemed to have slipped into. I lifted my foot up and tried to untangle it. For a second, it worked and the net freed the heel of my foot.
Then, the wind blew stronger than usual, ushering the waves up the shore. Another boat was lined up next to us and with the force of the water, knocked into the boat I was stood in. I finally freed the net from my foot, but the boat's sudden jolt made me lose my balance. My arms flew in the air as I tried to grab hold of anything, but my fingers missed by an inch.
With that, I fell.
"JAY!"
***
My eyes blinked open to see a bright light shining down at me. My body shook as I realised: Was I dead? I looked around and saw medical equipment and me in a hospital gown. My mother stood in the corridor talking to someone as she cried. Damn, I really must be dead.
"Your son will be fine, Mrs. Park," a nurse comforted my mother, "He's suffered a broken bone which will heal over time, you don't need to worry."
Oh, so I'm fine?
I lifted my arms, which were heavy and weak. Pushing myself up, I sat up in the bed but winced as pain suddenly shot up through my leg. Oh yeah, the nurse said I broke my leg. I grabbed a hand full of the blanket that was covering me and peeled it off slowly like a wet plaster. My fingers were weak too and only managed to pull off so much. My lower right leg was bound in a red cast.
My heart started to race at the thought of my injury. I couldn't remember what actually happened. How did me and Heeseung hyung walking on the beach turn into me breaking my leg? My hands traced the cast and felt its rough and thick exterior. This was going to be a tough recovery.
"Jongseongie! You're awake!" My mother ran in from the corridor and engulfed me in a bear hug. I was pulled tight against her as she wailed.
"It's okay, my son! Eomma is here! You will get better soon!"
"Eomma, you're so loud," I whined and pulled out of her strong hold. She smiled at me and wiped her tears.
"I'm just glad you're okay,"
"What happened?"
"Heeseung said you fell off a boat and your leg got caught in something as you fell. You dislocated and broke it,"
That made more sense. I sighed as I took it in. Even though it sounded perfectly credible and I was safe and recovering - none of it seemed real. I couldn't remember a thing of what happened, no matter how hard I thought about it.
"I don't remember," I whispered.
"That's okay. Your doctor said you might have some temporary amnesia,"
"Okay,"
"You should rest. I'll go and get your lunch," my mother got up and kissed my head before getting her coat from the table.
"Eomma, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, son."
"Are we still in Philippines?"
"No, Jay-ah. We're in Seoul. You've been asleep in a coma for two weeks."