Whispers and Promises IV
Title: Whispers and Promises IV
Author: 79_percent
Rating: PG-13
Form: Chaptered
Fandom: TVXQ
Pairing: JaeHo
Genre: Drama, Fluff, Angst
Whispers and Promises
IV. Something Else
YunHo ran both hands through his damp hair, removing random strands of black from obscuring his vision. As he kept himself afloat in the cool water, he could not help but admire his surroundings. The immense span of ocean seemed to exhibit more shades of blue than he thought it ever possible, drawing such picturesque portrait for his eyes to marvel. It was so serene and calm, as he watched the grand spectacle unfurl before himself, almost making him stare in such simple, yet trusting, wonderment.
Almost. The only thing that broke his concentration was the shrill cry coming from the jetty a couple of metres above him.
“No~ There’s no way I’m gonna jump from here!”
YunHo winced at the loud, not to mention uncharacteristic, yell from his youngest dongsaeng. He watched three figures engaged in their own version of tug-o-war, except that this time there was nothing in between for them to pull. ChangMin, at the far end, was trying to keep himself away from the edge while both YooChun and JunSu were struggling to get the youngest among them to jump.
“Hyung, hyung, I beg you, please don’t let me do this!!” YunHo heard ChangMin scream, his plea was masked in both desperation and intense fear. It was obvious from his trembling voice that the boy with serious height phobia was honestly scared at the mere thought of having to jump from the jetty down to the embrace of the sea.
“ChangMin-ah, don’t worry! I’m here,” YunHo shouted back, hoping the wind would carry his words to his friends up there. “I’ll catch you!” Then again, he would not literally catch ChangMin like he had promised, of course. He would not be able to do it even if he wanted to anyway.
“No!! I know you won’t!” ChangMin shrieked again. By this time the terrified boy had himself latched onto some random wooden poles, refusing to let go of his stubborn grip.
“Don’t look down!” YunHo hollered; this time he was more amused than exasperated at the whole situation. “ChangMin, look up when you jump! Then you won’t feel as scared!”
“NO!”
“Come on, ChangMinnie,” JunSu started with a grin, feeling strangely gleeful, grabbing one of ChangMin’s bare arms and dragged him far and away from his comfort zone. “You won’t die from jetty-jumping.”
“Just remember to look up,” YooChun added, feeling equally merry as he grabbed ChangMin’s other arm. He had to tune his ear to deaf-mode when the boy in tow began to screech as he was yanked away from his life-saving poles. He forced ChangMin to stand at the edge of the pier and held him strongly by his shoulders.
“Just jump!” He ordered, fixing a firm gaze on those dark eyes ready to cry any time. “Or I’ll pull down your pants.”
ChangMin swallowed, taking a short peek at the intimidating blue sea beneath him and immediately retreated with a scared ‘eep’. He would not do it. He just could not. The height was making him shudder; the large angle of elevation when he looked down was making him sweat; he could not even bring his feet to move on his own accord, how could he jump?
“ChangMin-ah!!” He looked down at the last of his companion; the older boy was no more than a small speck of black from where he was and the thought of having to jump down there was making him tremble. “Think of something and then shout it out when you jump,” YunHo suggested over loud crush of rhythmical backwash in the distance. “It’ll make you feel better.”
“I- I can’t...” He turned to give another helpless look at the other two behind him. “Hyung, please... I can’t do this.”
“Of course you can!” JunSu smiled. The smile was intended to be encouraging but somehow ChangMin perceived that small gesture as something evil, that both JunSu and YooChun were planning something horrible and he could not escape now that he was cornered.
“Just remember to look up and shout.” He heard YooChun say behind him. The sky was a lightened blue with a slight hint of grey while the sea was a mixture of emerald and sapphire, but somehow even the charming swirl of colours could not calm the raging storm within his mind.
“Ready?”
Wait, no. He was not!
“One, two...”
Dear God!!
“Three!!”
There was a push.
“Umma~!!”
And then there was a loud splash, followed by two more consecutively. ChangMin flailed his arms wildly in water, not knowing where was up, and where was down until a strong hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, allowing him to finally pump oxygen into his lungs.
“There,” he heard a gentle voice say beside him. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
ChangMin shook his head, trying to clear his thought, making random droplets of water fly. “I- I guess so,” he answered softly, still trying to calm his tripling heart beat. If for a moment where he indeed looked up at sky-blue and his feet left ground, he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline running through his systems. Strange enough, however, he was not as scared as he thought he would be.
At the uncertainty lilting those words, YunHo only chuckled.
“And shouting really help.” ChangMin added, this time with more cheer and less fright. “How did you know that it would make me feel better?”
Before the older of the duo had a chance to reply, a blonde head suddenly emerged from the deep water right in between them, startling both boys. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” JunSu chirped cheerfully, an obvious allusion of amusement was etched across his angelic face at the fact that he managed to scare both friends.
Following that, before YunHo and ChangMin had the time to recover from their shock, another head surfaced, this time topped with a lighter shade of chestnut brown, effectively splashing two stupefied expression with sea water.
“Let’s do it again, shall we?”
ChangMin did not even let YooChun finish his words and already he was swimming with a speed that would put penguins to shame towards the opposite direction. “No~ I’m not doing that again!” He wailed; however he managed to swim so fast and still scream that loud at the same time, they had absolutely no idea.
“Park YooChun! Why did you have to make him run?” JunSu reprimanded with a pout.
“I thought he would be over it after one jump!” YooChun retorted back at the accusation.
“Let’s follow him,” YunHo said, almost in exasperation as he watched those two close to jumping into another verbal fight. They could argue over anything, anywhere, anytime, sometimes one would wonder how they become such good friends in the first place.
“Yah, ChangMin-ah, we won’t jetty-jump again so don’t run away anymore!” JunSu panted. He got hold of the other’s shoulder after managing to give the frightened boy a chase. By the time they were able to crowd together as a quartet again, all four were breathing heavily and YooChun immediately gave ChangMin a hard push at the side of his head. The latter only pouted.
YunHo noticed his surroundings. At the sight of spectacular peaks soaring over the different hues of blue, somehow he felt something dark pulling at the back of his mind, making him apprehensive. Somehow he did not like the foreboding feeling.
“Hey, we’re at the sacred lagoon!” JunSu piped up. He only giggled when three pairs of confused eyes docked themselves on him. “They say this place is haunted. And cursed. No one who dared to enter its water ever came back alive,” he began his explanation. “That was what I was told but some people said that it’s just due to strong currents.”
ChangMin shuddered at the words haunted and cursed.
“Let’s go further!”
ChangMin widened his eyes at YooChun’s suggestion, asking him if he had lost his mind. He did not want to go there and risk his life. He still had his high school to complete!
“I- I don’t think that’s a good idea.” ChangMin cheered at YunHo’s objection and cheered even more when he saw JunSu bobbing his head in agreement.
“Yah, Kim JunSu, are you scared?”
“Who’s scared?” The blonde cried defiantly. At YooChun’s further taunt, JunSu could only grit his teeth in annoyance. “Fine, I’ll go with you,” he declared; he pulled ChangMin’s arm in a strong grip. “You have to go too!” He added firmly, ignoring the boy’s meek protest.
Why was it so easy for YooChun to trick JunSu into doing things? YunHo wondered even as he tried to suppress his amusement, finding his dread escalating. He watched the “sacred lagoon”, noticing the surprisingly darker tint of cobalt, indicating that the water was indeed much deeper. The storm in his mind raged and the darkening sky was not helping to alleviate his uneasiness.
“We shouldn’t-“
“YunHo-hyung~ Help!!”
At ChangMin’s frantic call, YunHo felt his temples ache when he saw the trio already making their way towards those pointed rocks that spelled “danger” in bold, red letters. He knew, for some reason, he should not go there, but he just could not let his other three friends jump into trouble recklessly. As the oldest, he felt some kind of responsibility over them. Besides, it was because they were trying to cheer him up that they decided to hit waters for that afternoon. Against his better judgement, YunHo found himself tailing the other three.
“Don’t... Please don’t go there...”
YunHo almost paused at the soft voice ringing in his ears; the only thing that prevented him from stopping and looking for the source was the slowly distancing back-view of his companions. Dismissing it as a part of his hallucination, YunHo doubled his speed, not wanting to lose his friends especially when he felt the currents getting increasingly stronger.
“Don’t... Please...”
He halted mid-way, suddenly recognising the voice. Instinctively he looked over his shoulder but only the vast span of azure greeted him. There was no one. YunHo gaped, brushing droplets of water away from his eyes. Were his ears playing tricks on him?
“Hyung!!”
YunHo turned back just in time to witness a cyclone forming right before his friends. So that was what making the currents gaining strength! He gulped, unable to do anything else besides urging his mates to return to where he was, safe from the immense pull of the twister. He could only hope that none of them was hurt but when he saw only two heads returning, he could only pray for the best.
“Hyung, Jun- JunSu-hyung...” ChangMin stuttered; an obvious sketch of fear and shock was on his face. Even YooChun had his drained of colour. “He- He...” He was close to tears. “I- We got too close and he didn’t- He got- The cyclone...”
He did not need ChangMin to put to words what had happened. He could guess. YunHo watched the strong currents mix with the cyclone, creating the most hated water-hazard even for seasoned divers. And they were not even licensed! What should he do? He gave the chaotic moment a feeble glance before gritting his teeth in hard-built determination.
“Wait for me at the shore!” He said, making up his mind as he prepared himself.
A mixture of protests consisting of “YunHo!” and “Hyung!” was heard.
“Just do it!” He commanded; he rarely used such authoritative tone but there and then, he felt the need to put his point across within the shortest time. The longer he delayed, the worse JunSu’s predicament might be. He was not sure he would be able to get them both back safely, but he had to try.
“Don’t go there... You won’t return...”
Stop it.
“You can’t. He’s gone. Please... Don’t lose yourself...”
And I’ll still lose myself if I let JunSu die without even trying to save him.
He was already halfway into the dangerous area when he thought he heard a faint sigh of defeat. He was not sure who it was, or if it was only his subconscious trying to dissuade him, but he was almost sure he knew that gentle voice. But it could not be. He glued back his torn focus and braved the strong whirl of water. He had more important task at hand. That could wait.
Then he was hit by a strong wave, the current dragging him away. For a moment, he was thrown off-guard; he lost his orientation. He knew he could not hold his breath for too long underwater but there was no time for him to surface and breathe. He could not even identify which side was up, and which was down anymore. All he could see were sprays of blue, green and white in a tangled fusion. It was much harder to see in such turbulent waters than he thought; how could he expect to find another when opening his eyes was even such a gruelling task?
“He’s inside…”
YunHo heard the soft voice returning. Unconsciously, he found himself following the advice even if he was not sure what it was. He paused, holding onto a large boulder deep within the recesses of the seabed. The cyclone was directly before him as he looked on in apprehension.
He did not know why he trusted the voice so much but he soon found himself kicking the rock, leaving his support and entered the cyclone. The strong, spiral effect of the water was making his body hurt as he tried to keep himself conscious. Once he entered with arduous effort, he was surprised to see a familiar body lying unconscious at its heart. It was weird as he was sure he did not see that when he was outside; it was as if he had entered another plane. Gritting his teeth, he dove forward and grabbed his friend just before the body hit sharp rocks. When he had the other save in his arms, he allowed himself to relax momentarily before focusing at his next hurdle. How would he get out of there?
He was beginning to feel lactic acid building up in his thighs; the ascorbic sensation coupled with the burning awareness in his lungs were making him panic. When the next wave hit him squarely, YunHo was sure he only had another second before losing himself to darkness. That was when the voice wafted in his hearing. Despite the water around him, the voice was clear and comforting.
“Don’t’ worry... I’ll protect you.”
YunHo bit his lower lip hard to retain his consciousness, feeling the metallic taste of blood.
“You’ll be safe... Trust me.”
And he did.
He persevered for a moment longer and true enough, just when he felt his legs were about to give up, he found the water around him cease its spinning. The cyclone broke, returning to its calm state that instant; it was as if a divine force had instructed it to stop. He took the opportunity and prepared himself to resurface immediately, lest the cyclone decided to return, but he began to fluster. Having lost his orientation when he dove in earlier, he still had no idea where the surface was. He felt his lungs contract and he unwillingly forced himself to exhale. He watched the bubbles of air going towards his feet and YunHo brightened.
He mustered the last bit of his energy left within his physique and hauled the unconscious blonde towards the surface, following the floating effervesce. From his peripheral vision, he thought he saw a mass of vine-like plants at one crevice deep into the water, splashes of pink and white accentuating emerald green. His curiosity was aroused on top of the nagging feeling at the back of his heart, but the lack of oxygen was already propelling him up.
By the time he resurfaced and swam back to the shore, he was breathless. YooChun had met him halfway and relieved him of the lead-like weight in his aching arms. He was panting, letting himself drop to his knees on the golden sand. When he looked up, he was surprised to see the darkening backdrop. Grey clouds began to gather and his vision was blurred, but somewhere beneath the old oak tree high on the cliff beside them, he thought he caught a familiar figure. One that he thought owned the voice he heard.
“Dammit JunSu, wake up!”
YunHo tore his gaze away to see YooChun giving the unconscious blonde first aid, trying to revive him. When he looked back, however, the only things that entered his eyes were the clouds, the cliff and the ancient tree at the distance.
There was no one.
"Whispers and Promises"
Part IV
-end-
Author: 79_percent
Rating: PG-13
Form: Chaptered
Fandom: TVXQ
Pairing: JaeHo
Genre: Drama, Fluff, Angst
Whispers and Promises
IV. Something Else
YunHo ran both hands through his damp hair, removing random strands of black from obscuring his vision. As he kept himself afloat in the cool water, he could not help but admire his surroundings. The immense span of ocean seemed to exhibit more shades of blue than he thought it ever possible, drawing such picturesque portrait for his eyes to marvel. It was so serene and calm, as he watched the grand spectacle unfurl before himself, almost making him stare in such simple, yet trusting, wonderment.
Almost. The only thing that broke his concentration was the shrill cry coming from the jetty a couple of metres above him.
“No~ There’s no way I’m gonna jump from here!”
YunHo winced at the loud, not to mention uncharacteristic, yell from his youngest dongsaeng. He watched three figures engaged in their own version of tug-o-war, except that this time there was nothing in between for them to pull. ChangMin, at the far end, was trying to keep himself away from the edge while both YooChun and JunSu were struggling to get the youngest among them to jump.
“Hyung, hyung, I beg you, please don’t let me do this!!” YunHo heard ChangMin scream, his plea was masked in both desperation and intense fear. It was obvious from his trembling voice that the boy with serious height phobia was honestly scared at the mere thought of having to jump from the jetty down to the embrace of the sea.
“ChangMin-ah, don’t worry! I’m here,” YunHo shouted back, hoping the wind would carry his words to his friends up there. “I’ll catch you!” Then again, he would not literally catch ChangMin like he had promised, of course. He would not be able to do it even if he wanted to anyway.
“No!! I know you won’t!” ChangMin shrieked again. By this time the terrified boy had himself latched onto some random wooden poles, refusing to let go of his stubborn grip.
“Don’t look down!” YunHo hollered; this time he was more amused than exasperated at the whole situation. “ChangMin, look up when you jump! Then you won’t feel as scared!”
“NO!”
“Come on, ChangMinnie,” JunSu started with a grin, feeling strangely gleeful, grabbing one of ChangMin’s bare arms and dragged him far and away from his comfort zone. “You won’t die from jetty-jumping.”
“Just remember to look up,” YooChun added, feeling equally merry as he grabbed ChangMin’s other arm. He had to tune his ear to deaf-mode when the boy in tow began to screech as he was yanked away from his life-saving poles. He forced ChangMin to stand at the edge of the pier and held him strongly by his shoulders.
“Just jump!” He ordered, fixing a firm gaze on those dark eyes ready to cry any time. “Or I’ll pull down your pants.”
ChangMin swallowed, taking a short peek at the intimidating blue sea beneath him and immediately retreated with a scared ‘eep’. He would not do it. He just could not. The height was making him shudder; the large angle of elevation when he looked down was making him sweat; he could not even bring his feet to move on his own accord, how could he jump?
“ChangMin-ah!!” He looked down at the last of his companion; the older boy was no more than a small speck of black from where he was and the thought of having to jump down there was making him tremble. “Think of something and then shout it out when you jump,” YunHo suggested over loud crush of rhythmical backwash in the distance. “It’ll make you feel better.”
“I- I can’t...” He turned to give another helpless look at the other two behind him. “Hyung, please... I can’t do this.”
“Of course you can!” JunSu smiled. The smile was intended to be encouraging but somehow ChangMin perceived that small gesture as something evil, that both JunSu and YooChun were planning something horrible and he could not escape now that he was cornered.
“Just remember to look up and shout.” He heard YooChun say behind him. The sky was a lightened blue with a slight hint of grey while the sea was a mixture of emerald and sapphire, but somehow even the charming swirl of colours could not calm the raging storm within his mind.
“Ready?”
Wait, no. He was not!
“One, two...”
Dear God!!
“Three!!”
There was a push.
“Umma~!!”
And then there was a loud splash, followed by two more consecutively. ChangMin flailed his arms wildly in water, not knowing where was up, and where was down until a strong hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, allowing him to finally pump oxygen into his lungs.
“There,” he heard a gentle voice say beside him. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
ChangMin shook his head, trying to clear his thought, making random droplets of water fly. “I- I guess so,” he answered softly, still trying to calm his tripling heart beat. If for a moment where he indeed looked up at sky-blue and his feet left ground, he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline running through his systems. Strange enough, however, he was not as scared as he thought he would be.
At the uncertainty lilting those words, YunHo only chuckled.
“And shouting really help.” ChangMin added, this time with more cheer and less fright. “How did you know that it would make me feel better?”
Before the older of the duo had a chance to reply, a blonde head suddenly emerged from the deep water right in between them, startling both boys. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” JunSu chirped cheerfully, an obvious allusion of amusement was etched across his angelic face at the fact that he managed to scare both friends.
Following that, before YunHo and ChangMin had the time to recover from their shock, another head surfaced, this time topped with a lighter shade of chestnut brown, effectively splashing two stupefied expression with sea water.
“Let’s do it again, shall we?”
ChangMin did not even let YooChun finish his words and already he was swimming with a speed that would put penguins to shame towards the opposite direction. “No~ I’m not doing that again!” He wailed; however he managed to swim so fast and still scream that loud at the same time, they had absolutely no idea.
“Park YooChun! Why did you have to make him run?” JunSu reprimanded with a pout.
“I thought he would be over it after one jump!” YooChun retorted back at the accusation.
“Let’s follow him,” YunHo said, almost in exasperation as he watched those two close to jumping into another verbal fight. They could argue over anything, anywhere, anytime, sometimes one would wonder how they become such good friends in the first place.
“Yah, ChangMin-ah, we won’t jetty-jump again so don’t run away anymore!” JunSu panted. He got hold of the other’s shoulder after managing to give the frightened boy a chase. By the time they were able to crowd together as a quartet again, all four were breathing heavily and YooChun immediately gave ChangMin a hard push at the side of his head. The latter only pouted.
YunHo noticed his surroundings. At the sight of spectacular peaks soaring over the different hues of blue, somehow he felt something dark pulling at the back of his mind, making him apprehensive. Somehow he did not like the foreboding feeling.
“Hey, we’re at the sacred lagoon!” JunSu piped up. He only giggled when three pairs of confused eyes docked themselves on him. “They say this place is haunted. And cursed. No one who dared to enter its water ever came back alive,” he began his explanation. “That was what I was told but some people said that it’s just due to strong currents.”
ChangMin shuddered at the words haunted and cursed.
“Let’s go further!”
ChangMin widened his eyes at YooChun’s suggestion, asking him if he had lost his mind. He did not want to go there and risk his life. He still had his high school to complete!
“I- I don’t think that’s a good idea.” ChangMin cheered at YunHo’s objection and cheered even more when he saw JunSu bobbing his head in agreement.
“Yah, Kim JunSu, are you scared?”
“Who’s scared?” The blonde cried defiantly. At YooChun’s further taunt, JunSu could only grit his teeth in annoyance. “Fine, I’ll go with you,” he declared; he pulled ChangMin’s arm in a strong grip. “You have to go too!” He added firmly, ignoring the boy’s meek protest.
Why was it so easy for YooChun to trick JunSu into doing things? YunHo wondered even as he tried to suppress his amusement, finding his dread escalating. He watched the “sacred lagoon”, noticing the surprisingly darker tint of cobalt, indicating that the water was indeed much deeper. The storm in his mind raged and the darkening sky was not helping to alleviate his uneasiness.
“We shouldn’t-“
“YunHo-hyung~ Help!!”
At ChangMin’s frantic call, YunHo felt his temples ache when he saw the trio already making their way towards those pointed rocks that spelled “danger” in bold, red letters. He knew, for some reason, he should not go there, but he just could not let his other three friends jump into trouble recklessly. As the oldest, he felt some kind of responsibility over them. Besides, it was because they were trying to cheer him up that they decided to hit waters for that afternoon. Against his better judgement, YunHo found himself tailing the other three.
“Don’t... Please don’t go there...”
YunHo almost paused at the soft voice ringing in his ears; the only thing that prevented him from stopping and looking for the source was the slowly distancing back-view of his companions. Dismissing it as a part of his hallucination, YunHo doubled his speed, not wanting to lose his friends especially when he felt the currents getting increasingly stronger.
“Don’t... Please...”
He halted mid-way, suddenly recognising the voice. Instinctively he looked over his shoulder but only the vast span of azure greeted him. There was no one. YunHo gaped, brushing droplets of water away from his eyes. Were his ears playing tricks on him?
“Hyung!!”
YunHo turned back just in time to witness a cyclone forming right before his friends. So that was what making the currents gaining strength! He gulped, unable to do anything else besides urging his mates to return to where he was, safe from the immense pull of the twister. He could only hope that none of them was hurt but when he saw only two heads returning, he could only pray for the best.
“Hyung, Jun- JunSu-hyung...” ChangMin stuttered; an obvious sketch of fear and shock was on his face. Even YooChun had his drained of colour. “He- He...” He was close to tears. “I- We got too close and he didn’t- He got- The cyclone...”
He did not need ChangMin to put to words what had happened. He could guess. YunHo watched the strong currents mix with the cyclone, creating the most hated water-hazard even for seasoned divers. And they were not even licensed! What should he do? He gave the chaotic moment a feeble glance before gritting his teeth in hard-built determination.
“Wait for me at the shore!” He said, making up his mind as he prepared himself.
A mixture of protests consisting of “YunHo!” and “Hyung!” was heard.
“Just do it!” He commanded; he rarely used such authoritative tone but there and then, he felt the need to put his point across within the shortest time. The longer he delayed, the worse JunSu’s predicament might be. He was not sure he would be able to get them both back safely, but he had to try.
“Don’t go there... You won’t return...”
Stop it.
“You can’t. He’s gone. Please... Don’t lose yourself...”
And I’ll still lose myself if I let JunSu die without even trying to save him.
He was already halfway into the dangerous area when he thought he heard a faint sigh of defeat. He was not sure who it was, or if it was only his subconscious trying to dissuade him, but he was almost sure he knew that gentle voice. But it could not be. He glued back his torn focus and braved the strong whirl of water. He had more important task at hand. That could wait.
Then he was hit by a strong wave, the current dragging him away. For a moment, he was thrown off-guard; he lost his orientation. He knew he could not hold his breath for too long underwater but there was no time for him to surface and breathe. He could not even identify which side was up, and which was down anymore. All he could see were sprays of blue, green and white in a tangled fusion. It was much harder to see in such turbulent waters than he thought; how could he expect to find another when opening his eyes was even such a gruelling task?
“He’s inside…”
YunHo heard the soft voice returning. Unconsciously, he found himself following the advice even if he was not sure what it was. He paused, holding onto a large boulder deep within the recesses of the seabed. The cyclone was directly before him as he looked on in apprehension.
He did not know why he trusted the voice so much but he soon found himself kicking the rock, leaving his support and entered the cyclone. The strong, spiral effect of the water was making his body hurt as he tried to keep himself conscious. Once he entered with arduous effort, he was surprised to see a familiar body lying unconscious at its heart. It was weird as he was sure he did not see that when he was outside; it was as if he had entered another plane. Gritting his teeth, he dove forward and grabbed his friend just before the body hit sharp rocks. When he had the other save in his arms, he allowed himself to relax momentarily before focusing at his next hurdle. How would he get out of there?
He was beginning to feel lactic acid building up in his thighs; the ascorbic sensation coupled with the burning awareness in his lungs were making him panic. When the next wave hit him squarely, YunHo was sure he only had another second before losing himself to darkness. That was when the voice wafted in his hearing. Despite the water around him, the voice was clear and comforting.
“Don’t’ worry... I’ll protect you.”
YunHo bit his lower lip hard to retain his consciousness, feeling the metallic taste of blood.
“You’ll be safe... Trust me.”
And he did.
He persevered for a moment longer and true enough, just when he felt his legs were about to give up, he found the water around him cease its spinning. The cyclone broke, returning to its calm state that instant; it was as if a divine force had instructed it to stop. He took the opportunity and prepared himself to resurface immediately, lest the cyclone decided to return, but he began to fluster. Having lost his orientation when he dove in earlier, he still had no idea where the surface was. He felt his lungs contract and he unwillingly forced himself to exhale. He watched the bubbles of air going towards his feet and YunHo brightened.
He mustered the last bit of his energy left within his physique and hauled the unconscious blonde towards the surface, following the floating effervesce. From his peripheral vision, he thought he saw a mass of vine-like plants at one crevice deep into the water, splashes of pink and white accentuating emerald green. His curiosity was aroused on top of the nagging feeling at the back of his heart, but the lack of oxygen was already propelling him up.
By the time he resurfaced and swam back to the shore, he was breathless. YooChun had met him halfway and relieved him of the lead-like weight in his aching arms. He was panting, letting himself drop to his knees on the golden sand. When he looked up, he was surprised to see the darkening backdrop. Grey clouds began to gather and his vision was blurred, but somewhere beneath the old oak tree high on the cliff beside them, he thought he caught a familiar figure. One that he thought owned the voice he heard.
“Dammit JunSu, wake up!”
YunHo tore his gaze away to see YooChun giving the unconscious blonde first aid, trying to revive him. When he looked back, however, the only things that entered his eyes were the clouds, the cliff and the ancient tree at the distance.
There was no one.
"Whispers and Promises"
Part IV
-end-