Chapter 2

The Cabin

Now sitting beside the man staring into the roaring fire Seungyoon listened to him talk. The man talked about the storm, his boat and how he’d attempted to get home before the weather got too bad. That was the part of the talking that had made sense to him at least.

    «It didn’t work out, good thing I’m a good swimmer» the man said with a sigh, staring out through the narrow lighthouse windows with a sad expression on his face.

    «I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?» Seungyoon asked, finally getting a couple of words in. 

    «Oh, Mino. Song Mino. Nice to meet you» Mino stretched out a hand to shake his and he grabbed it in his own happy to observe that Mino had stopped shaking. He introduced himself as well and they smiled at each other, both probably relived that the other was there. He because Mino wasn’t a ghost, at least not a dangerous one and Mino probably just happy not to be alone. 

    «You don’t have any food do you? I couldn’t find anything edible here last night, but I was so cold from the swim I didn’t really look around properly either» Mino said with a weak smile as if to say sorry if there are food here he hadn’t spotted. 

All Seungyoon got was a couple of muesli bars and a water bottle up by his bike, he told Mino he’d go get it for him but before he went had he hung up all the drenched clothes by the fire. If Mino was going to leave the lighthouse he would need dry clothes. 

Hurrying down the stone stairs as fast as he dared Seungyoon thought about what it must have been like to swim ashore in the storm the night before. Just the thought of it gave him shivers. He wouldn’t have made it, that much he was sure of. 

He gave Mino all his food and his water bottle on return and put more wood on the fire before asking Mino why he was out on the ocean to begin with that evening. Mino shrugged, then sighed and looked out the window again. 

    «I moved out here to find some peace and quiet to work, but it got too quiet so I got a boat. I enjoy the bad weather, I used to go fishing with my friend and his father while growing up» Mino stopped, took a big sip of the water bottle and shook his head before continuing «Obviously I’m not as good at driving a boat as he was» Mino said voice dripping with what could be both regret and annoyance at himself. 

    «Obviously you are a very good swimmer» Seungyoon replied playing on what Mino had just said without really meaning to. 

Mino smiled and huffed before replying «I’ve been enjoying my morning swims out here for almost a year now, had to get decent at it in the end didn’t I» 

Seungyoon shuddered just at the thought of taking morning swims out there every morning. Every man to his own, but still he hoped Mino weren’t swimming around out there during winter. 

    «Why? Doesn't your home have hot water?» He asked playfully while checking if the pants he’d hung by the fire had begun drying up. 

    «Sure, but it’s invigorating and helps me wake up in the morning» Mino explained smiling a brighter smile this time. 

    «I prefer coffee for that purpose» he replied honestly while watching Mino eat his muesli bar as if it was some gourmet meal. They kept chatting a bit, then he looked around for more food but couldn’t find any. 

By now the clothes must have dried he figured and having checked, finding them to be damp but not terribly wet he handed them to Mino.

Mino who had just laughed at him getting startled by a spider now emerged from the pile of blankets for the first time. He was kinda lanky looking but obviously very muscular, what surprised Seungyoon the most was all the tattoos, he only glimpsed them before Mino got dressed, but he was practically covered in them. 

    «What’s our plan then?» He asked noticing for the first time Mino got no coat, he probably threw it off before jumping into the sea as it would have weighed him down too much. 

    «It’s a long walk back to my place, could I crash wherever you stay for a night before heading back?» Mino asked getting to his feet but swaying a little on the spot where he stood. 

He’d offered Mino to stay with him over night although it would be a little uncomfortable for the one ending up on the sofa which he guessed would be him since Mino was still looking quite out of it from his stormy swim. Walking out of the lighthouse the wind hit them from the side and he offered his coat up right away to a reluctant Mino. It fit him well enough and soon they were making decent progress to the walk down from the lighthouse. 

When they reached his bike he noticed Mino was already looking pretty strained. At first he’d thought to offer Mino his bike to go ahead of him, but he feared he would fall off from exhaustion before getting there. In the end he’d taken off the wooden box he kept strapped to the back of his bike in case he needed to rescue a bird or something and left it at the side of the path. He could come back for it later and it would be easy to find as they were directly above the lighthouse.

    «Hop on and hold on» he said as soon as he was ready to go. Mino didn’t hesitate for a moment, he looked relived more than anything else. 

Soon Seungyoon could feel the strong hands wrapped around his waist and after a few bumps could he feel Mino holding on rather tightly, pressing against his back to keep his balance back there to the best of his ability. He couldn’t help but to smile a little at this gesture. While working out there he’d kept envisioning rescuing some duck, taking it bace to his cottage carefully in that box which he had filled with a towel and dry straws from the grassland above the beach. Instead he was bringing back a fully grown, rather handsome looking man, who was now clinging to him as if his life depended on him holding on. 

It was oddly nice although grim too, he couldn’t quite explain it to himself. One thing he was certain of and that was that it had turned out a lot better than he had feared that morning because as far as he could tell were Mino no ghost. 

He tried to make the ride down to the cottage as fast and smooth as possible, but it was a stony, sandy path and they were under constant attack from the ocean winds and so he weren’t surprised to find Mino looking a lot more exhausted than when they’d left the lighthouse once they’d finally arrived. 

    «This is cozy» Mino commented almost tripping on the top step of the decking to the cottage. «Really cozy» he repeated a couple of times once they were inside. 

    «Sit down and I’ll make us some food» Seungyoon said, nodding towards the couch, already lighting a fire in the fireplace. 

He watched Mino huddled up under one of the thick woolen blankets staring into the fire sleepily while he went ahead and made them some food. He weren’t a great cook by any means, but he could make some basic stuff from scratch and with the bread he got he managed to make a pretty decent stew with a lot of veggies and a rich broth that even he himself was impressed with.

Handing Mino his bowl he asked yet again if he was okay to which Mino responded a yes that sounded so far away he wondered what world Mino had wandered off to in his mind. They ate in silence watching the flames, enjoying the heat on their skin along with the heat from the food. Mino praised his cooking more than once and seemed to regain some color in his cheeks while he ate. 

Once they were done eating had Mino begun asking questions about his work, the birds and then his life in general. He seemed interested in what he had to say in such a genuine way that Seungyoon just kept talking and talking. It was only when he became aware of the fact that it was getting dark outside he realized how long they must have been talking. 

    «Are you feeling better now? Warmer?» He asked Mino who was closest to the fire and still under the heavy blanket. 

    «Yeah, still cold though, not sure what to do to get it out of my system. Maybe I swallowed too much seawater» Mino mumble