The new stargazing hill that the government had decided to open up was named In the Black Hole. Since it was the grand opening, there were many families and couples lying on the soft grass. The rustling trees at the bottom of the hill gave the atmosphere a calm feeling, even though there were children running around and screaming. In the sky, the stars were twinkling together, but each had its own light. The moon was in its crescent form, but the edges looked sharper from where they were standing. Overall, it was a breathtaking sight. Joy subconsciously let out a sigh. The warm lights filled her with a feeling of security. Like the day they had first met, Sungjae couldn’t look away from Joy. He felt his heart thumping louder with each second passing by. For him, he did not need the warm lights to fill him with security, because Joy standing by his side was enough to make him feel safe.

“How do you think they knew about this?” Sungjae asked.

“Well, I don’t know. But we’re not completely sure that this is the place they wanted us to be in.” Joy replied, looking around at the smiling families. Some sat next to each other while the little ones lied down on their laps, whether it be grandparents or parents. It was an adorable scene. For couples, some were holding hands while others leaned on each other’s shoulders. She sat down. The grass was surprisingly soft. Confused, Sungjae followed and sat next to Joy.

She gazed up at the sky that was filled with bright, glowing stars. She hadn't been able to stargaze ever since she was ten, when she still lived with her grandmother. On those sleepless nights, she would look out her bedroom window and make a wish whether or not there were comets. Her grandmother would then notice and take Joy out to sit in their backyard, each quietly looking up at the sky and taking in the beauty that was laid out above them.

“My mother used to tell me a story about the supreme Star that lives in the sky.” her grandmother would start the story Joy had heard countless times when they laid next to each other on the grass.

“The supreme Star is the king who rules over the other stars!” Joy said cheerily.

“That's right! Why don't you tell the me the whole story?” the grandmother chuckled.

“Even though he had a higher rank than the rest of his stars in his world, he always treated everyone with equal kindness! He would help when stars fell down and always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ He would eat with his mouth closed because that is polite! He would be grateful when anyone helped him and would return the help when they needed it. He lived a long life, almost nine billion years old, so he was a very, very wise king.” Joy continued. Her grandmother faked a gasp, exactly how Joy would react when she told the story. Joy’s voice held so much passion for the story and knew each word from heart.

“Everyone loved him and wishes that he would rule forever and ever, but he fell to a bad, bad disease that shortened his life. Soon, he died and another king came. But the new king was bad! He did not rule kindly at all and laughed when his stars hurt themselves.”

“Joy!” Sungjae tapped on her arm. “Joy, are you okay? What’s wrong?” His expression was filled with worry. She looked down and smiled to herself.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Did anything catch your eye?” she replied. Sungjae scooted around on his and pulled out an envelope from his back pocket. Carefully, he pulled out the piece of paper out and gave it to Joy.

“I found this lying on the ground in front of my door. I was going to tell you but I forgot. This is just straight-up creepy,” he shivered. “They know where we live, too. I’m starting to really want to report this.” Joy took it and opened it up to read.

Uv Wbl! V xabj guvf zvtug or jrveq, ohg jr’ir orra cynaavat n fhecevfr cnegl sbe lbh. V qba’g xabj vs lbh pna gryy, ohg guvf vf n pbqr pnyyrq ”EBG1.” Ohg vs lbh haqrefgnaq guvf yrggre, gura lbh svtherq vg bhg, lbh fzneg puvyq. Gur ernfba jul V npgrq fb fgenatr nebhaq lbh orsber jnf orpnhfr lbh xrcg nyzbfg svaqvat bhg nobhg bhe cercnengvbaf. Gurfr pyhrf ner whfg n qvfgenpgvba sbe lbh orpnhfr V xabj lbh yvxr gurfr chmmyr tnzrf. V’z fbeel gung gur raqvat vfa’g rkpvgvat be nalguvat. V’z cebonoyl tbvat gb xrrc guvf tbvat sbe nobhg guerr zber pyhrf. Unccl rneyl oveguqnl.

                                XOXO////

Joy could not make any sense out of it. But for some reason, it gave her shivers down her spine and she suddenly felt the need to call Wendy. As she placed the paper down, a green substance stuck to her fingers. Taken aback, she gave a small yelp. She looked up at Sungjae, confused and disgusted. Sungjae didn’t know what to do either.