lei·sure

    [ˈlɛʒə (US also) ˈliːʒər]

noun

Freedom from time-consuming duties, responsibilities, or activities.

What are bodies? I mean, if you think about it, bodies are plain weird and out of this world. I’ll try to explain.

Every single cell in our body replaces itself and by the time seven years have passed, you’ll never be the same again. It takes seven years for every single cell in our body to be replaced, because some take longer than others.

What does that mean? The kid you used to be seven years ago, it’s not wearing your body. You’re not you.

That’s weird. I can’t even think about what that would mean for Kris and most of all, what that would mean for me.

“Where is this going to?” I groaned and rubbed the back of my cold neck. Yong Guk cringed as he looked at me. He couldn’t answer the question without thinking about it for a long time. The café was quite empty today, we shouldn’t even be outside. The air was extremely polluted, but not toxic today.

“I thought you stole that painting.” I added and looked at his closing eyes. There was this tension in the air that couldn’t be described with words. We knew that it was due to both of us, but it still irked me. I felt weird meeting up, seeing him outside The Lennox House.

“I wanted to. I really did. However, someone was ahead of me. I don’t even know whether this is Zico’s doing.” he rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. When the waiter wasn’t looking, he’d poured some whiskey in it. Yong Guk was on the verge of collapsing.

“What do you mean? It’s clearly Zico.” My headaches were getting worse. I had a feeling that this head of mine was too small for all the chaotic thoughts that were infesting it. When was the last time I smiled? A long time ago.

“Yes, but…” Yong Guk sighed deeply. “The painting said ‘wrong’. Maybe the person is mocking us. We’re not really after Zico. That thought has been haunting me this week and it’s tearing me apart.”

“I understand.” I emptied my cup and nodded. “But that doesn’t mean Zico has got nothing to do with it. Did he say something about the jar?” I remembered Yong Guk placing that thing on Zico’s desk.

Yong Guk shook his head and clenched his fists. “That card, is it really just threatening us?” he pointed at the Tarot card that was lying on the table. “What does the card mean?”

A humming noise interrupted me. The waiter was standing next to our table and looked at it. “Death means letting go of something. It means saying goodbye to the person who’s been accompanying you, who’s been the closest to you.” the waiter grinned and accepted our money, giving back our change. His nametag said: ‘Lee Donghae’.

The second the guy left Yong Guk stood up, swearing until my ears hurt and slammed his fists on the table. People gave us a weird look, but Yong Guk couldn’t care less. “I’m not saying goodbye to Zelo. I won’t. I refuse to. We’ll search the fourth floor when we have the chance.”

I stood up and got my coat. The meaning of the card scared me; it frightened me ‘till the core. I didn’t dare asking Yong Guk the true meaning of the card, because he would judge me for it. Why? Because I judged myself already. I did not link the card to saying goodbye to Zelo, Yong Guk’s closest friend. I linked it to Tao, for he had been my companion for some time now and the only one I could somehow trust.

I couldn’t breathe right now. The cold night had fallen and turned the world into a cruel, icy place to live in. I inhaled deeply and ignored my screaming lungs. My scar hurt. The aching pain that haunted my entire body reminded me of the lugubrious granulation tissue I used to have. The wound, the gaping wound had been…

The deeper I fell into my maze of irrational thoughts, the faster I climbed out. I blinked and realized where I had been sitting right now. I was at The Lennox House, right next to the secret entrance. The window on the left side wasn’t locked. It was never locked.

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