Chapter 25 : Sailing Through a Nightmare
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Suyin peered at the gray water beneath their sailboat. It was a never-ending pool of agony. Rain poured from the sky, and blackness thrashed against the boat's wooden surface. The sailboat wasn't the biggest to conquer the sea, but it had enough room for seven members to maneuver.
Thunder growled deeply in the sky. It echoed in everyone's ears–a constant reminder of what lands they were about to infiltrate. Jay controlled the boat's wheel while Sunghoon and Niki focused on the sail system. Heeseung navigated with their map, helping Jay guide the steering wheel. Everyone else watched the sailing process. Suyin glanced at Jungwon, whose stance appeared like a captain's as he analyzed every action.
Jungwon surveyed the whole ship, stating a few things to the driver and navigator now and then. While their team had never confirmed who their leader was, their most skilled, calm-collected, and intelligent member held the leading role through a silent agreement.
Suyin shifted her attention away from Jungwon. The continuous rain drummed against her head, urging a painful throb into her head. Once they started sailing across the waters, Suyin had to bear another unbidden headache that repeatedly arrived and vanished. She heaved a heavy sigh and settled her eyes on the sky–it only burned darker in the direction they headed in. Suyin rubbed her arms and wandered to the railings again, observing the daunting waves below. She attempted to distract herself from her headache for a moment, sinking into the view, but she gasped as a gust of wind shoved her forward.
"Oh no–" Suyin tilted over the railings, and her eyes screamed. The water clutched her heart from the heightened view. She screwed her eyes shut until a hand grasped the back of her collar.
"That's why you don't go too close to the railings, silly," a boy's voice entered her ears.
The boy yanked Suyin away from the railings. Her back pounded against a firm chest, and she heaved a sigh of relief. She thought it was Jungwon, but she spun around, catching sight of Jake's damp blond hair clinging to his forehead. "Jack," Suyin blurted.
"Um...you mean Jake?" Jake chuckled, raising his brow.
Suyin mentally facepalmed, and her embarrassment splattered onto her face within seconds. "I meant Jake! I'm sorry," she sighed and laid her hand on her forehead, closing her eyes.
Jake shook his head, and his eyes flattened as the rain poked his sight. "Um...It's alright." His lips stretched into a thin smile. Noticing Suyin's uncomfortable expression, he dropped his smile. "You don't seem so relaxed."
Suyin didn't respond. She only grasped his arm as a burst of wind attacked them. Without realizing it, she shifted closer to Jake, head ducked. Jake instinctively held her by the arms. "The winds are icy knives here," Jake remarked.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," she apologized, stepping back from Jake. Suyin elicited a rough groan, and her hand grasped her head.
"Woah– everything alright?" Jake asked again.
"I don't know...My head is pounding right now," Suyin's voice softened. Her words slowed down, walking through a foggy trail. "Ever since the Black Desert, my head has been..."
"Hm, let's see," Jake pondered. He continued talking, giving suggestions to help Suyin. However, his voice became muffled, and his face blurred into a fuzzy view. Suyin's headache roared through her mind. She began to tilt–unable to recognize what Jake said. Before Suyin's body collapsed, a voice that sounded like Jungwon's cut in.
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Darkness oozed into Suyin's sight. Her weak eyelids attempted to open fully, but something prevented her from waking up. After a few moments, Suyin's eyes burst open. She viewed the vast darkness before her–a deep scene of total black. Serenity and easement stood at the heart of this odd place. However, an eerie sense muffled her up. A constant tingle crawled up her arms and legs, yet it also didn't exist. Suyin couldn't hear any noise--not even the usual quiet ringing in the ears.
Where am I? She thought. She lifted her arms...except her arms were...gone. Her sense of touch has withered into the darkness. The rest of her body had vanished as if only her eyes and mind had survived.
"Shadow Wielder," a voice called.
Suyin flinched at the unknown voice, spinning around. "Who's...there?" She asked, searching the empty space endlessly.
"She's a threat," another shot.
"Misfortune is written all over her!"
"Her powers are a menace to our kingdom. She must be locked up."
Multiple bold voices engulfed the daunting silence. Each phrase bolted straight through Suyin's spirit.
"Darkness will alter her views, and she will only cower in fear."
"She is a warning. She is a sign of bad times."
"Execute her already!"
"When will you realize that she's bound to fail us?"
Suyin hadn't realized the air imprisoned inside her lungs. She exhaled, begging to cover her ears, but her body was nonexistent. Even if she closed her eyes, it made no difference–nothing stopped the voices swirling into her head.
As if her prayers had been answered, the voices dropped dead. Silence flooded in. Suyin curled up in her distorted state. She didn't bother to move since her body abandoned her.
When she accepted the view and sound of nothing, a faint whisper erupted from the vast silence.
Suyin gasped, "no more, please." The whisper called for her, urging her to turn around. Suyin finally obeyed, and she faced a smoke that birthed into thin air. A mystifying chill invaded her senses, crawling through her figure. Suyin gandered down, watching how the rest of herself painted into life.
The smoke hovered closer to Suyin, picking up her head. Suyin froze, petrified by it. "Who are you?"
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Everything was black, but Suyin recognized a scent. As if summer welcomed an autumn breeze to its heat, a mixture of warmth yet cool washed through her.
"Yin, wake up," a light voice called. Suyin narrowed her brows. "Suyin."
Suyin's brows knitted tighter, and her eyes stretched open. She welcomed the view of Jungwon into her blurry sight. Jungwon sat next to her in a seat. His hand hovered over her forehead, emitting a white glow onto her skin. While he aided Suyin's head, Suyin lay on a bed as hard as concrete despite the few sheets.
Once Jungwon noticed her eyes opening, he exhaled in relief. "Finally," Jungwon said.
"Jungwon?" Suyin's vision cleared up. She attempted to sit up, but Jungwon laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, holding her down.
"Careful," he breathed. "I don't think your headache has gone yet."
Suyin shut an eye as pain pulsed the left of her head. She scanned the room, noting how rain scurried on the ceiling. She sensed a rocking motion beneath her, swaying. "What...happened? Where are we?"
"You fainted above deck," Jungwon answered, stroking off the hair that wandered onto her face. "I watched you talking to Jake earlier, and I noticed you were off before falling unconscious. After you fainted, I took you below deck...and now I'm soothing your head."
I fainted? Why did I faint? Suyin sunk into her own thoughts, searching for an answer alone. She felt as if there was a fallen memory within her–it squeezed at her chest. Every time Suyin touched the distant memory, it slipped away from her grasp, scurrying off for her to try again. The efforts only created a loop.
Suyin gandered at Jungwon. He caught her gaze, sending them both into a stare.
"When we were above deck," Suyin paused, and she stared at Jungwon. Jungwon cocked his brows, waiting for her to resume. Even when curiosity rang through his eyes, he tried concentrating on relieving her headache. "You were watching me?" She asked.
For a split moment, Jungwon's hand hesitated, losing grip of his power. He blinked his gaze away. "You've been looking off since the Black Desert incident," Jungwon replied, returning to his regular healing flow. "And you were with Jake, so I was curious...because you never really talk to anyone else but me."
"Oh," Suyin hummed. "So..."
"So?" Jungwon prompted.
"So...Yang Jungwon has been more mindful and attentive toward me?" Suyin gasped with a growing grin.
"God," Jungwon scoffed, flickering his eyes to the side. "You vex me."
"That satisfies me."
Jungwon narrowed his eyes back onto Suyin's smug, rolling his tongue against the inside of his cheek. His head was slightly tilted. "Really?"
"Yes." Suyin's lips curled into a downward smile.
He chortled while scanning her stifled smile. "Your headache is clearly gone now," he scoffed.
As soon as Jungwon's calming waves retracted from his fingertips, Suyin recognized a sharp jab inside her head. She furrowed her brow. "Wait, Jungwon," Suyin breathed out, grabbing his wrist. "My head is still–"
Thunder rang in the air, and the sailboat rocked, tilting Jungwon off his balance. Jungwon's eyes thickened as he leaned over Suyin, but he caught himself–his hand landed on the pillow beside her head.
Suyin leaped into the sight of Jungwon's face hanging above hers. Her breath abandoned her lungs. Light traveled along his edges, and shadows traced his features like a work of art. Something quiet twirled over her head, attempting to coax her in the back of her mind. They tickled at the strings in Suyin's chest as she caught his eyes dripping down her face.
However, Jungwon shut his gaze. He stood up shortly after, turning his back against her. "I'm...going to check on the others," he cleared his throat, rubbing his nape.
Suyin became muddled. "But–"
"I'll be back. Don't miss me too much," Jungwon quipped. Suyin could imagine his cocky smirk that was usually displayed slightly, but he refused to face her. He left the cabin and ascended the staircase leading above deck.
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heyy, so i created a playlist and its the located at the beginning of this book!! hope you guys enjoy it😩 the instrumentals are pretty epic