The ever familiar green meadow welcomed Junkyu. Unlike before, the place looked more lifeless and dull- as if the absence of Junkyu for so long had ruined the boring field. The grass was less green, the sky less blue. And there was no purpose for Junkyu. He wasn't looking for someone, he wasn't running, he simply had no business there!
Yet Junkyu stood there staring at the horizon. He knew in his heart that the meadow would answer him. For the first time, he entered the field voluntarily. He needed answers. He needed the truth. He needed to know where he could find the solution to his problem- the elixir of life.
Junkyu walked on the pale, soft grass. He asked the non existent butterflies where he should go. He looked for the same glass wall that stopped him every time. But there was nothing. Nothing at all. Everything, everywhere was the same. Junkyu turned around, took a few steps and then returned again. He was getting frustrated. He really hated the scene- because every time he crossed the damn sky, he'd feel horrible!
Junkyu became tired after walking for so long. He took a seat on the ground. He imagined hearing the sound of crickets, imagined watching fireflies and smelling the sweet scent of flowers. He thought about Jihoon. It immediately made him smile. The graceful face of the man he loves- better than those flowers or fireflies. It's a wonder that Junkyu found him in this meadow!
Right! This place has to be the solution!
Junkyu touched the grass, and the same way once he did, he tried removing some of those green leaves. It worked. The grass that was never rooted easily slid past his hands, and he saw a faint, very faint glow. He tried to focus on the light, there was an unclear image of something- or someone, Junkyu couldn't quite understand. But he guessed.
"Jihoon?" He asked. He immediately heard a swirl of wind pass him by. It was strong, cold. He looked at the sky, it suddenly darkened.
"Park Jihoon? Is that you?" He asked again. This time, a very loud bolt of thunder answered him. Junkyu stood up all scared. It had never happened before. The green meadow he knew had always been calm and gentle. The faint glow near his feet strated to grow; but Junkyu who focused on the rogue sky had no idea. He missed that the small opening started to widen, and it reached all the way to his feet. When Junkyu felt the absence of ground underneath his feet, he looked below. But before he could even protest, he fell down at the pull of gravity.
And the hole over his head closed to form a pitch black hollowness where Junkyu saw darkness only.
And he was falling face down in a tremendous speed!
Junkyu tried to stay strong, tried to hold onto something, swim his way through absolute nothing but it didn't seem to work. He kept falling and with no pit to reach to, he felt scared. It was suffocating, blinding! There was no swish of wind, no touch of hot- or cold. It was a sensation less, uninterrupted fall towards a hollow black hole. Junkyu closed his eyes shut- tried to focus on the living images he could imagine. He thought of his parents, his pets, his friends, and then Jihoon. Even amidst the dark surrounding him, he found light in those faces. He reached his arms to hold onto the light- and he suddenly felt something under his feet. A red burst of light glowed on his closed lids- meaning- he had found light. He opened his eyes immediately. To his delight, a beautiful garden welcomed him. There were all sorts of butterflies and some other insects he didn't know of. There were fireflies and small birds. Junkyu's lips spread into a smile. The sight was so pretty that he forgot about the reason of his arrival. He made a walk instead. On the live green grass, surrounded by blue sky and a gentle sound of river flowing. Junkyu spotted a large oak tree right in the middle of the garden. What looked like small fairies encircled the tree. Junkyu's eyes sparkled with numerous stars upon noticing them. They were tiny- and adorable. Some even flew over Junkyu's head- probably wondering what a lone human could do in their peaceful abode.
Junkyu saw small green strings of leaves hanging from the tree. They decorated the dark brown stem like jewels. Small flowers bloomed on the strings, like crystals on a gown. Of many different colors! However, Junkyu's eyes fell on the center of the tree. He saw, a small basin made with thousands such green strings filled with crystal clear pink liquid. All the fairies and butterflies seemed to safeguard the reservoir but as Junkyu took small steps towards it, they made way. As if they were waiting for such a man to invade their nest.
Junkyu stared at the liquid, standing still- so still that he saw his own reflection. His eyes were filled with wonder. He felt so safe there, so welcomed that for once, he felt like staying. But the next moment, he remembered why he went there in the first place.
He had a hunch that the pink liquid was what he was looking for.
So he extended his fingers to touch the protected, preserved liquid. He expected a cold touch, but the liquid was warm. Like the beating heart in his chest. Like his blood and tears. Junkyu focused on his reflection as he dipped his fingers in the strange liquid.
And then, like a thunderstorm, the liquid stirrd and swirled, pulling Junkyu's hand. Junkyu tried to set free, but the once warm liquid pulled him in, took him to the eye of the whirlpool. Before Junkyu got lost in it, he saw, for a split second, a face.
Jihoon's face.
And then he woke up.
He breathed hard, he still felt the fear of getting lost in the cyclone. He felt the rush in his blood, the image of the tree still afresh in his memory. With heavy breaths, he looked at his side- Jihoon was sound asleep, holding his waist. Junkyu focused. He was certain that he saw Jihoon's face at the last minute.
"Jihoon?" He called, lightly pushing his lover. Jihoon stirred and closed his lips. But nothing more.
"Hey, Jihoon? Wake up!" Junkyu pushed him again. And again. And one more time. Jihoon opened his eyes, still red from the impact of a deep sleep.
"What?" He asked, voice as rough as a dired up leaf.
"We need to talk to Yedam asap!" Junkyu answered. Jihoon took his phone and squinted his eyes to check the time. He looked at Junkyu in question, "It's 5 am."
"Yeah," Junkyu said, "But I need to talk to him. I think- I think I got something."
"What?" Jihoon asked. His voice so tired. He was still as sleepy as one could be.
"I'll tell you after I talk to him. Can you please call him for an appointment?"
"Now??" Jihoon asked, "He's probably sleeping."
"Then just text him!" Junkyu said, "We'll get ready in the meantime."
"Kyu, the sun is not up even!" Jihoon said, "Let's sleep a few hours more, hm?"
"You don't understand Jihoon!" Junkyu said, "I may have made the biggest discovery and I can't sleep without confirming it!"
"What is it then? Tell me." Jihoon asked, slowly getting free from him sleep.
"I don't wanna give you false hope, so I wanna confirm first." Junkyu replied.
"Just say it, it's okay." Jihoon said, "I'm curious."
Junkyu bit his lips, he really didn't wanna sound hopeful. But he was so excited and he couldn't keep it inside for long. So he opened up. He held Jihoon's shoulder and spoke with a grin on his face, "I think I found the elixir of life for me!!"
-
Junkyu shook his leg in anticipation. Beside him, Jihoon yawned a few times. Since he was awakened at an odd hour of 5, even after two hours and a full mug of coffee, he felt sleepy. They had gotten ready, according to Junkyu, and then rode straight to the city library. Although the place opens at 9, they called and requested Yedam for an early appointment. Sure enough, Yedam looked sleepy too, but for Junkyu he agreed. After all, Junkyu was an all time legend for him.
When they settled down, Yedam looked at Junkyu in query of what he said over phone- that he found something important. Junkyu coughed, made a brief eye contact with Jihoon and then asked, "Can a person be someone's life source?"
Yedam frowned, "A person?"
Junkyu nodded, "Yeah. Like, you said no one knows what the elixir of life looks like. And I thought it would be some sort of magical thing but can it be a living person?"
"I... Don't think so." Yedam said, "Because if that is, then it's not an unlimited source."
"Can't it be that way?" Junkyu asked, "Like I'm tied to that person, and I'd die once he dies?"
"Why are you asking this?" Yedam asked. Junkyu once again looked at Jihoon who nodded in affirmation. So, with a deep breath, Junkyu explained what he saw in his dream that night. Starting from the begining, with every detail he could remember. Yedam listened to it carefully, and gasped once he heard about the crystal liquid. And then about the face.
"So you saw a small basin on an oak tree and there was- Jihoon?"
Junkyu agreed. "Doesn't that make him my life source??"
Yedam looked confused. It looked like he didn't know, or maybe he was in denial. "Look, I don't know for sure. I mean, there's not much information about your whole situation and this- this is even rarer. But you knew for sure that the place was the answer?"
"Yeah. Positive." Junkyu said, "It's like the place was built for me. And the liquid reacted upon my touch."
"It's so strange!" Yedam said, "Let's look for it, shall we?"
Junkyu agreed. The three of them followed Yedam to the restricted section of ancient books. The biggest city library was really rich in those stuff as they were carefully preserved years after years. Yedam took out a few books. He knew he didn't exactly have the right to touch them. But there was no one else and Junkyu really needed his help. They returned with at least five thick, worn out books. They took one each and flipped through the pages in search of anything. There were several mentions of inter universe traveling but none about the elixir of life. The language was pretty hard to decipher and every now and then, both Jihoon and Junkyu required Yedam's help.
After about an hour of pointless search, Jihoon was the first one to come across something close to the line of what they were looking for. He quickly showed it to Yedam, who read it with a frown. He explained later- that it said, 'Anything that can bind one to a space not created for them is the supposed life source of that person.'
"So what does it mean?" Jihoon asked. Yedam bit his lip, "It's unclear. But I think it's talking about you."
"Me?" Jihoon pointed at himself.
"Yeah." Yedam answered.
"How so?" Junkyu asked.
"Remember you told me that you found Jihoon in your dreams once?" Yedam asked to Junkyu who gave a nod. "And you didn't land in any other place, right? Even if you tried?"
"I went to another place once, to bring someone back whom I accidentally sent there." Junkyu answered.
"How was it like?"
"It was toxic. Unbreathable. Like the whole place was suffocating and my friend- he would have died if he stayed there another minute." Jihoon held Junkyu's hand under the table as he talked about his bitter memory of sending Yoshi to a poisonous universe.
"So no other place has ever welcomed you?" Yedam asked. Junkyu shook his head. The younger felt silent at that. Probably deep in thought. Junkyu squeezed Jihoon's hand in his hold as the latter blinked in assurance. They waited till Yedam spoke up again. He didn't have much, but he drew a picture in his head.
"Okay, my guess is, what Junkyu hyung said is the truth." Yedam started, surprising both of them, "That Jihoonie hyung is the elixir of life for him."
"For real!?" Junkyu beamed, he looked so damn happy!
"I mean, hear me out. Junkyu hyung is the traveler. His entire life, he was looking for a place to land. But he couldn't find any; not because there was none in his sight, he was just never allowed. Because he wouldn't have survived. It's his own defence mechanism. So why did he ultimately stop here? To you?" He pointed at Jihoon.
"Because I lived in the exact space as him?"
"Ain't there a thousand other people like you then?" Yedam asked. Jihoon looked at Junkyu in confusion.
"Is it because he's the one who can bind me here?" Junkyu asked.
"Exactly!" Yedam said, "It's not because he's your twin or something. It's simply because Jihoon's the source of energy you had been looking for. Like I said, Junkyu hyung, we're variables in the system. There's no such thing as miracles. You're here simply because you looked for it. You looked for the unending source of energy in you. You looked for survival. That's it."
"So then...." Jihoon started, "He won't be affected living here?"
"Of course!" Yedam said, "It's even better if he stays with you. Like he may die in his own universe when his time comes, but here, you both will live as long as Jihoonie hyung's alive."
"Then I worried for nothing?" Jihoon looked a little embarrassed, "Like he can just come and go, and I-"
"About that..." Yedam bit his lips again, "I have another theory."
"Like?" Junkyu raised a brow. He didn't like how strained Yedam's voice sounded. Was it a bad sign?
"Since Jihoonie hyung's a living person, I don't think you should waste his energy by travelling."
"Huh?" Junkyu looked at Jihoon again, "You mean I can't go back and forth? I mean, I can be less frequent, like twice a year? What do you say? I swear I won't spend much of my energy, I'll just-"
Yedam shook his head, "It's not about the journey only, hyung. Remember, you leave a substitute? How do you think that works? That's just a fragment of your unending energy left there."
"So I can simply not make one." Junkyu said, "I mean, I'll tell everyone the truth and visit once in a while-"
"Hyung." Yedam interrupted again, "If you stop leaving the clone, you'll lose your way."
"Eh?"
Yedam sighed, "I didn't want it to come to this, but-" he took Junkyu's hand all of a sudden, looking sad as he said, "You're not rooted to that universe. The only reason your clone exists is because it's a portal for you to return to your universe. If you don't leave one behind, then... I'm afraid there's no guarantee that you'll find your home again."
Junkyu sat still, as if the sky broke upon him. Jihoon looked at Yedam once, to hear that it's a prank but it was real. He looked at Junkyu again. It wasn't difficult to process what Yedam's words meant.
"So I have to choose one?" Junkyu asked, voice trembling as he fiught hard not to cry. Yedam pressed his lips into a thin line. Junkyu glanced at Jihoon, he looked worried. Very very worried.
"Yes." Yedam said. "Jihoonie hyung or your family."
Junkyu couldn't answer. Couldn't move. He stared at the wooden table with a lifeless gaze on it. So the traguc tale of his fate finally came to the point where he'd have to make an ultimate choice. Why was he so unlucky!? Why did the extraordinary ability seem like a curse in the end? How would he choose one between his eternal love and forever home?
-
Hi! I didn't wanna be this late but I couldn't focus on it during my exams. I mean, you can see why- it's pretty complicated!
Anyway, two more chapters and this story will end. What choice do you think would be right for Junkyu? Or do you have any other suggestions?