The skyline and the seawater had the same color as if they merged. In all four directions, you only see the sea.
It was so fascinating to be on a ship for a ten-year-old who never believed to be on it. He was flabbergasted to see that the ship has everything they found on the land.
The weather was mild in the evening, the sky was orange and red, destination the Jeju Island, and the fresh air of the sea was bringing their spirit to him. He ran to the end, closed his eyes, and spread his arms like once he saw in the movie.
He felt like the captain of the sea like he owns the ship... When he turned around he found a beautiful woman clicking his photos, he widely smiled showing his both upper and lower teeth while posing with a victory sign, then became shy.
The woman took his photo with a Polaroid camera. She shook the photo and gave it to him...
"Thank you!" He bowed, putting photos in his pocket. The woman ruffled his hair... His cheeks were red, she was pretty...
"Ji-Jimin!" He said his name, wanting to let her know...
She smiled and forwarded her hand to shake with him...
Jimin was about to touch her hand but her husband and son called her so she left.
"Jiminie!" His uncle and aunt came there with their 2-year-old child. They won a trip of four to Jeju Island a night on a ship and 2 days on the Island.
Jimin desperately wanted to come with his aunt and uncle, and they agreed.
"Jiminie! They called us in a sudden meeting, Will you take care of your brother until we return?"
"Yes!" He said cheerfully, he loves his little brother. His uncle and aunt left them in their room and rushed out to the emergency meeting.
He lay beside his little brother, trying not to sleep, eventually, he did.
He woke up by the crying sound of his little cousin. His uncle and aunt weren't there yet.
We will be back soon is what they said but it was more than an hour, and he was feeling hungry.
He tried to make his brother quiet but failed. He thought he must be hungry like him, nothing was there to eat.
He saw a telephone beside the bed, however, he didn't know how to use it. He searched for the pacifier, thinking it might help which was on the table.
When he got off the bed, his foot came in contact with the water... Cold water was everywhere in the room. It was covering his feet.
He was in terror... Didn't know what is happening...
He sprinted to the door and unlocked it from the inside, unfortunately, it was locked from the outside... He banged on the door as hard as he could and scream for help...
He began to give up when his throat burnt and his voice became diminutive. By that time, the water was reaching above the knees. He took the pacifier and put it in his brother's mouth to stop him from crying but he couldn't stop himself, scared, and helpless, he sobbed.
________________🍀🍀🍀
After a few minutes...
He heard a clicking sound, sprinkling hope in him. He saw the same beautiful lady he met before, who took his photo. He ran to her and hugged her legs, sobbing. She bent down and hugged him as well to calm him down...
After that, she carried the baby and grabbed Jimin's hand, and got out of the room fast.
Jimin asked her what is happening. Where are his aunt and uncle? She didn't reply. However, he had the idea that the ship is loading with water and soon going to sink into the sea...
Relying on her, he went where she leads. He could tell she was also scared but for some reason she was appearing courageous, Maybe to provide courage to Jimin.
She used the lift that was somehow working. Jimin thought, they are going to the top floor but she stopped at the fourth.
She gave him his little brother to hold... Then suddenly a gush of water begins to pool up in the lift from each corner. She pushed Jimin straight out of the lift when the upper part of the lift suddenly fell. Her leg was trapped under the heavy metal.
Jimin made an effort to remove it from her while his little brother was still in his hand who was crying...
The woman pulled his cloth. She patted her chest and did something with her hand.
Jimin not understanding anything, began to sob when he saw the woman has tears. Then he thought there must be someone who can help them. He screamed for help.
"I-I will call someone for help!" He said to the woman but she shook her head, keep pushing Jimin...
"Eomma!"
Jimin heard a small voice from behind... There was a little boy...
"Eomma!" He ran to the woman. The boy did some hand signs and the woman did the same.
Jimin realized why she never spoke with him because... She was mute... He realized why she stopped the lift on the fourth floor. She has a son, younger than him...
The boy hugged her and began to cry with her... She wiped her tears and her son's as well. She grabbed Jimin's hand and placed it over her son's. She looked at Jimin with hope, that he will take her son with him, he will protect her son...
She pushed them, trying to say run...
Run for your life.
Then Jimin grabbed the boy's hand firmly and in another hand his little brother... He pulled the boy who wasn't ready to leave his mother. He ran with them, in his mind he was sure he will find help for the woman once he find other people...
But no...
He, his little brother, and the boy was saved but not the woman... They were on the boat, traumatized, with numb brains, shivering in the cold night...
The boy was next to him, completely impassive, and unresponsive, gawking at his feet without a blink...
His feet looked skinless because of the water... Jimin took out his shoes and gave them to him...
The boy chose not to wear it.
They reached safely on land. Crowd of people waiting for their loved ones. Jimin's parents and grandparents were already there to take him. They were so scared for their son. They hugged each other and cried...
Later they did not find Jimin's aunt and uncle's bodies. And his parents kept his little cousin as their little son.
Everything was so traumatizing for Jimin. It took him many years to recover from that memory. But to the woman who bravely saved him, he will never forget her, she will always stay in his heart. She was kind even in that hazardous situation. She had her son to save but she chose to save him and in the process, she lost her life.
For him, she is the real hero. He tried many times to find out about her son but he couldn't collect much information. He didn't know their name and he hadn't a clear image of that boy in his mind.
What he heard from the news is that the children who lost their families are sent to childcare and orphanages.
Jimin's family wasn't rich to do charity. From that day, he promised himself that he will collect money to give to the orphanage. So that if that boy is in any orphanage he supported then he will also get help.
Maybe that incident was the reason why he chose surfing as his dream.
"Hyung!"
Jimin fetched out of his long memory lane. It felt like the disaster just happened yesterday. He started at Jungkook's face... So he was that boy. The son of a woman who sacrificed herself for him and his little brother...
The boy was Jungkook.
"Isn't she beautiful?" He asked.
"Yeah! Just like you." Jimin reached his hands on his cheeks. He couldn't believe they met again. The boy he searched desperately...
"You are very beautiful Jungkook! Especially your eyes. They are big and sparkling."
Jimin moved a little close to observe his face. "You have a cute nose that is so attractive to your face. Your cute heart-shaped lips___
He paused, looking at his lips, slowly rubbing them with his thumb. He looked serious...
"They are naturally colored. I like it when you smile and the mole under your lower lips becomes visible."
Jungkook felt his cheeks become hot No one explained his features like that until now. He quickly moved to the room...
"I think we should sleep now." He said...
"Y-yeah!" Jimin realized how weird he is when he was describing the features of a boy in front of a boy. He doesn't know why he let out his thoughts so freely. He felt embarrassed. He quickly moved his legs to get out of the room when Jungkook stopped him...
"Hyung! Sleep on the bed from now on!"
He said it because he saw how much he works hard to earn. With the tired body how could he get a good sleep on the sofa? So he offered him his bed.
"What?" He asked just to make sure if he heard right.
"Yeah! I have no problem sharing my bed with you."
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
Jimin excitedly ran to take his pillow from the sofa and jumped onto the bed... He doesn't want to lose the chance. He felt so soft. His body became light on the mattress.
Jungkook giggled and slipped under the blanket beside him... In a minute he heard snoring... He turned to Jimin and pressed his lips together and he stopped...
Why he showed his emotions to him? He doesn't do that easily. He doesn't let anyone to know what he is going through. Jimin is not close to him. Then why?
He didn't feel embarrassed when Jimin saw his tears. He felt like he could cry in front of him and he will not judge.
Somewhere Jimin reminds him of a boy who gave his shoes to him when his feet were freezing.
-Cloud surfing 🍀
I have tried to create the scene here. I don't know if you all can imagine or not. Anyway thank you everyone for reading this book.💜