Not really the content I had in mind for this chapter, and not really happy about how this turned out to be either, but this will have to do. >:(

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The pounding at the back of his head became prominent as he swam between consciousness and unconsciousness. Although he would’ve gladly returned back to sleep or whatever comatose state he was previously in, it was almost impossible as his senses slowly started to return in a messy jumble. With the ticking of each second the uncomfortable state he was in became more and more pronounced.

His mind was hazy, confused and numb. His whole body felt weak- his limbs uncooperative. Even opening his eyes seemed to call for far more energy than he had left so he opted to just lay there with his eyes closed for the moment. The feeling of nausea was so overwhelming that he could almost taste the bile at the back of his throat and he swallowed rapidly willing himself not to throw up.

After what felt like hours the pounding in his head reduced into a dull headache and his stomach felt somewhat settled. His mind was less confused so he raked his brain for an answer.

What the hell did he do last night?

Did he get drunk or something?

He gave up a couple of minutes later however, as it only managed to make his headache worse. He laid there quietly, unmoving, letting his mind drift off aimlessly. It was then that the memories came rushing back.

There was a man on the boat.

His eyes shot open as his muscles jolted him up into a sitting position- cursing in his head when the nausea returned in full force. His eyes stung and watered with the sudden exposure to the bright light. But somehow, miraculously he managed to control the urge to throw up and took in his surroundings.

He was in his room and Minwoo couldn’t see anything other than the usual. His room was messy. But then again it always was. It looked the exact same way he had last seen it. It didn’t look like anyone had gone through his stuff or had taken anything. Nothing unusual, nothing out of place.

He listened carefully for any sound that would indicate he was not alone.

Nothing…

So it was all just a dream then?

The man… the fight… everything?

Although he was happy that it wasn’t real, at the same time it was a little unnerving. Imagination starting to mess with the reality was never a good thing.

Maybe his friend was right.

Maybe he really needed to take some time off work, try to get his life back together.

Sighing Minwoo sank back on to the pillows. Closing his eyes he tried to calm himself down by listening to the familiar sound of the waves.

But wait…

Something was not right. Something was missing.

Why couldn’t he hear the seagulls cawing?

    ~~~

Ever since the day he had moved in to living in the boat, it was a noise that had annoyed him beyond belief. It was something that had taken the longest time for him to get used to. The birds were noisy especially at night. There were countless times he had stormed out of the boatyard, angry for being unable to get even a wink of sleep. But after so many months he had gotten used to it- had started to think of it as music. Now it was something that defined the place as ‘home’.

And not hearing it… it felt unnatural.

    ~~~

Minwoo slowly sat up, fingers digging into the bed sheets as he eyed the small glass porthole that connected him to the outside world. He couldn’t see what was on the other side yet, but in the pit of his stomach he had a really, really, bad feeling about it.

Kneeling on the bed he crawled towards the window, movements almost hesitant as if he was afraid of what he was going to see when he looked out. When he finally reached the window he took a deep breath and took peeked outside...

...and he felt his stomach plummet down a million miles a second.

No seagulls…

No dock…

No familiar sight of the boats anchored alongside his…

But water…

Miles and miles of nothing but water…

For the first time in his life Lee Min Woo was at sea.

                             ~~~~~~

It took him a moment to realize that his face was almost plastered to the cold glass window and that he was gaping at the ocean like an idiot. He stumbled back as the uncomfortable coldness of the glass seared his skin, forgetting momentarily that he was kneeling on a narrow berth. He toppled right off landing on the floor with a loud thump.

So this was not a figment of his imagination. His mind was not playing tricks on him.

This was real.

The man was real.

And what the hell had that man done?

His mind raced through all the possible scenarios of how he could've ended up in the middle of the ocean.

Could the man still be on the boat?

Or could he have just cut the ropes off and let the boat drift off ?

Panic flared up his body at the sudden idea.

What if the man had cut him loose and left him to drift off ?

How the hell was he supposed to get back?

How the hell was he even supposed to steer this thing?

He didn’t have a clue about boats let alone steering them. This was not even his boat. It was his friend Junjin’s. He just took up his friends offer to set up house there because he had nowhere else to go when he lost everything. It was Junjin who was an expert in this stuff not him. And the last time he checked his friend was not even anywhere near the boat.

Minwoo was going to be stranded- in the friggin ocean.

He was going to die… all alone… in a small boat… in the middle of nowhere…

His eyes started to prickle as tears started to gather and before long Minwoo found himself wiping harshly at his eyes trying to get the tears to stop flowing. The more he tried though the more he failed.

For the past couple of months his life had been ty. But he had been able to deal with it. Maybe not in the best manner, given the way how disorganized his life had become, but nonetheless he had dealt with it. But this… this was too much.

He sat there for a long time, hunched up over himself, wallowing in his misery and cursing the unfortunate miserable blunder his life had turned out to be.

At that moment he could hear something apart from the gentle shush of the waves.

Footsteps…  

He stood up quickly wiping away the tears.

So he wasn’t alone in this boat after all…