Chapter three - Almost there

Chanhee grumbled as he sat slumped against the crystal box in an attempt to make himself comfortable. He had tried every way to break out of his crystal prison, and failed terribly each time. No matter how much he kicked, punched or scratched, the crystal box showed no sign of budging. Chanhee glowered at his broken nails and sighed in defeat. If there was one thing he could be grateful for, it was that he felt no hunger or thirst while being trapped in his enclosure. However, time passed at an agonizingly slow pace and the fact that Chanhee had no way out drove him absolutely crazy.

“LET ME OUT DAMMIT!” Chanhee found himself pounding his own reflection with a blazing fury. For the first time in his life, he found his own reflection revolting. How long had he been forced to stare at it? Chanhee couldn't even keep track of the time if he wanted to, there was no indication of day and night in the box and he couldn't tell between minutes and hours. All he could do was to stare at his tired reflection and wallow in his misery. Never in his life had he felt so defeated before. Chanhee thrashed in the crystal box relentlessly, desperately trying to get himself in a comfortable position. He eventually gave up and sighed, resigning to his fate.

♥♥♥♥

Months, years passed. Chanhee didn't care any more. He was convinced that he was condemned to be in the crystal box forever. He sighed as he recalled the mysterious words he heard when he first found himself in his predicament. What exactly was he supposed to repent for? He groaned and ruffled his hair irritably. Chanhee yawned as a sudden wave of sleepiness coursed through his body.

“You'll find out what you're repenting for soon, Chanhee. Is that the answer you wanted?” The feminine voice echoed through the box again, a voice Chanhee hadn't heard for a long while.

“Whatever.” Chanhee mumbled as he drifted off to sleep. He could have sworn that he heard the female chuckling, but he shrugged it off and gave in to his fatigue.

♥♥♥♥

A sudden jerking of the crystal box rudely interrupted Chanhee's slumber. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes tiredly, annoyed that he had to be woken up when he was sleeping so peacefully. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but the next thing he saw definitely woke him up. Chanhee was no longer looking at his own reflection. Instead, he found himself facing a white wall. He noted that his crystal box seemed to be located in a corridor, as many people walked past him without giving him a second glance. The other three walls of his crystal box were still mirrors that mimicked his every moment, but Chanhee couldn't be bothered about that when he finally found something that could lead to his escape. He could even hear the chatter of the people who walked by him. Chanhee couldn't help but to screech in delight, hopping around excitedly in his limited quarters. By now, he was pretty sure that he was trapped in a mirror. Occasionally, people would stop in their tracks to peer inside his crystal box, but yet they never noticed Chanhee's presence. They would fix their hair and scrutinize their reflections before walking away. He found it rather disconcerting that they were looking right at him without even seeing him. It seemed that only he could hear and see them, Chanhee concluded. He found everything about the people who passed by him peculiar. For starters, all of them were wearing the same drab outfits, a red blazer over a white shirt, and black skirts and pants for the females and males respectively. How distasteful, he thought. He couldn't comprehend why these peasants were all dressed in the exact same clothing. Chanhee brushed it off and continued to observe their weird behaviour. Another odd trait he noticed about these people was that a lot of them were unusually fixated to their unusual handheld devices. Most of them had their eyes glued on what seemed to be small blocks of glass and plastic, which they continuously tapped with their fingers.

“You're in 2012.” The female voice mused, breaking Chanhee's train of thoughts. “Quite a fascinating year don't you think?

Chanhee blinked, taking a few seconds to absorb this new piece of information. When it finally registered in his brain, an ear-splitting shriek tore through the crystal box. It was a miracle that the box was still standing, considering the sheer volume of his outburst.

“YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I'VE BEEN STUCK IN HERE FOR A CENTURY? SHOULDN'T I BE DEAD?” Chanhee screamed his response while flailing his arms.

The female laughed. “You're not dead. I froze your ageing process while you were stuck in here. Time flies doesn't it?”

“F-froze? NO ONE CAN DO THAT. YOU'RE A WITCH!” Chanhee glared accusingly at no one in particular. He directed his glare at different areas of the crystal box, hoping that the female would see it somehow.

“Relax, you'll begin ageing normally again once you step out of this crystal box. And yes, I can see you, stop glaring or you're going to get wrinkles on that pretty face of yours.”

Chanhee quietened down. He leaned against the crystal box, trying to digest his current conversation with the cryptic female. He had unknowingly spent 100 years in the crystal box without ageing. Chanhee couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt thinking about his father. He was dead for sure. How did he die? Did he find his way out of the forest after chasing him? How did everyone deal with his sudden disappearance? And what about his family? Chanhee found himself holding back tears thinking about his mother and brother. Was his mother heartbroken when she found out he went missing? Did his brother miss him? All of them were dead now. He wondered about his friends too, the mischievous boys he spent most of his time with. How did their lives go? Only now did Chanhee think of them. He spent 100 years either sleeping or be his fate, but his kin never crossed his mind once. If only he wasn't so rash in his actions back then.

“I assure you Chanhee, your family and friends led wonderful lives. They assumed you died in the forest. It took them a while to come to terms with that, but they eventually moved on.” The female voice spoke in a gentle tone, which comforted Chanhee slightly.

“How do you know?” Chanhee whispered, his voice barely audible.

“I'm immortal Chanhee. I can control time. And I have the power to send you back to the past, back to your family and friends. You just have to learn your lesson first.”

Chanhee didn't reply. He gazed out at the corridor, which was now empty. He didn't know what lesson there was to be learnt in the crystal box, so he was sure that he had to break out from his crystal prison somehow. Maybe he was meant to discover something in 2012. At that moment, a girl walked down the corridor, stopping when she noticed the mirror Chanhee was in. He watched, transfixed as she smiled while adjusting her bangs. She was rather pretty, but what drew Chanhee to her was that he felt the crystal box fading away in her presence. The box glowed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Chanhee didn't know how, but he was positive that she was the key to his escape. She walked away, and the crystal box returned to its sturdy, solid state. It's her, Chanhee thought. She's the key to my freedom.

a/n: hello there! ^_^ sorry for the terrible chapter OTL, just got back from two consecutive camps and I'm really tired. Took me a while to get this chapter up, I needed time to sort out my life whoops. .___. Anyway hope you're liking the story so far! :3