The sunrise was hours away, but Jongdae was awake and waiting. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, but he could feel it. He felt it the way people feel most important things, deep in his bones. It wasn’t cold enough yet for a jacket, but he grabbed it because the chill that he was experiencing was coming from the inside. It was rare for him to be anxious, and for the first time, he didn’t feel comfortable in his bed. It was odd, like he was getting evicted from his own house. So he was left to wander.

“Maybe I’ll go to Xiumin’s,” he thought aloud, and when he got there, he found his friend curled up under several blankets. Jongdae was jealous that he seemed so peaceful, and wanted nothing more than to shake the feeling that was rising again in his chest. What was it that was keeping him up at night?

The cicadas sang in the trees as Jongdae passed underneath on his way to the beach. A nice sea breeze could cure anything, especially something as temporary as a feeling. The sand was getting cooler as the island shed it’s summer skin, but the water was still warm enough for a midnight swim. Clothes on, Jongdae waded into the water, and didn’t realize that he was getting too far out until he was already chin deep in the ocean. The odd sensation prevented him from feeling any safety in the cool depths.  Even though he was accompanied by a skyful of stars and the moon’s reflection on the water, Jongdae was lonely. He decided to wait there until the sun raised itself out of the sea. He had no sense of time, but was getting adjusted to the temperature of water and could float calmly on its surface. Jongdae forced his eyes closed as he took a bath in the moonlight. His jacket was getting heavy and his head was pulled back under the water, causing him to sit up suddenly and gulp down a mouthful of saltwater. He steadied himself, and coughed painfully, frustrated that even the ocean had rejected him.

His mood made the hours pass like whole days, but the sun did eventually come up. Showy as usual, starting with hues of orange and yellow, surprising and delighting with hues of pink and red. It calmed Jongdae enough to go back home, but he couldn’t get into his bed and still didn’t know why. He knew he would regret it, but he had to tell someone. Xiumin would probably laugh and call him a dongsaeng, a term which made Jongdae feel powerless. If he told Lay, he would probably respond with something deep and thought provoking that wouldn’t make sense at all. Jongdae’s dad was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Jongdae had no choice.

“Dad, can I ask you about something.”

He nodded without looking up from the vegetables that he was diligently dicing for omelets.

“I’ve had this feeling. I couldn’t sleep last night. I think, I think something’s coming.” Jongdae immediately felt stupid and childish.

“That’s strange. Maybe it’s the gods finally telling you to get your together. They sure know you don’t listen when your mother and I tell you.”

“I already told you that I want to be village chief. I want to stay on the island. I want to stay with the forest and my friends and I want to protect and provide for the people.” Everything he said was childish, yet he couldn’t stop it from spilling out. He meant it sincerely, but he couldn’t find the right words. There were a lot of things he hadn’t been able to do that last couple of hours and Jongdae felt like throwing up.

“Truth is,” his dad continued, thankfully not commenting on his son’s naive confession, “There’s some people coming from Seoul. They want to feature this place in travel magazine. And if they’re as nice as they are on the phone, I don’t think it’ll be any trouble. Might even be good for us. Tourist’s are great source of extra revenue. It’s about time more people get to appreciate this town.”

“City people! Are coming...here?”

“Don’t act like it’s such a foreign idea. Seoul  is only an hour and a half away plus the ferry ride. You can practically see the mainland from our western shore.”

Jongdae pouted, but at least he had figured out the source for his internal struggle. So some self-entitled people were going to come to Susido. Why couldn’t the tourists stay at Deokjeokdo, where there was plenty of hotels and restaurants? Susido didn’t have any of those things. It had a natural beauty that Jongdae was extremely possessive of. Nobody would be able to appreciate it like he did. Nobody could compete when it came to loving every animal and insect that resided there, every place had a story that Jongdae knew as if it were his own.

He rushed over to Xiumin’s house again to tell him the news. His friend was still asleep when he got there. Jongdae threw a rock through the window which was slightly ajar. The rock hit its mark a little too directly and Xiumin shouted out in pain.
 

“What the ?” he groaned, grabbing onto his left hip and rolling over, hitting the ground with a solid thud.

Jongdae peeked his head over the window sill.

“Chen, really?”

“Something really bad’s coming.”

Xiumin remained on the floor but turned his head to face Jongdae.

“People from some magazine in Seoul. They’re coming here and then who knows what’s gonna follow them. We’re going to become a tourist attraction. What if they cut down the woods to build hotels or a...theme park? They’re gonna get rid of our vine. What about that club house we built when-”

“When we were ten? Chen, that doesn’t sound so bad. They could bring the best thing of all. Girls.”

Jongdae stared in disbelief.

“We have plenty of girls here! Girls who can pry open clam shells with their bare hands. We don’t need those city girls that we would have to take care of. They’re the type that would probably make us men carry them over puddles .”

“I don’t know, I am 25. Maybe it’s time I got out.”

Got out? Jongdae thought. Get out of what? Who would ever want to leave a place where they could walk to anywhere they needed to go? Where they could see the sun rise and set without buildings getting in the way? Where the absence of city lights allowed for the night sky in its full beauty?

Jongdae crouched down angrily.

“Fine. I’m going to tell Lay.”

“Wait for me. I’m always up to hear one of Lay’s theories.”

“Maybe the magazine people will bring clothes or something,” Xiumin said as they walked the main road.

“Don’t act like we don’t have any supplies,” Jongdae argued defensively, though his everyday pants were wearing thin. The wind blew through them, freezing his legs, but he couldn’t complain for the sake of his pride. “And if you’re so interested, why don’t you just go to Seoul yourself.”

“That’s a lot of money. I mean, the ferry’s nothing, but then you have to get a cab to the city and rent a hotel room, for one night at least. And you still have to get back somehow.”

“Looks like you’ve thought about this before.”

“Looks like you haven’t.” Xiumin stared at his friend, admiring his loyalty and muttering, “Of course you haven’t.”

Lay’s house was the biggest out of the three of theirs, despite Chen’s father being the village chief, Lay’s father was the doctor. They always kept the door unlocked though, since there were no threats of burglars, excluding some of the village kids who were unpunishable. They never took anything major anyways, mostly food. Jongdae and Xiumin went there for the same reason. Lay’s mother was undoubtedly the best cook.

“Hey!” Lay said in his quiet, warm voice. “Do you want some kimchi? It’s fresh.”

Xiumin was about to say yes and sit down to a hearty breakfast but Jongdae cut him off.

“We don’t have time for that Lay. People are coming.”

Lay dropped his plate back onto the table and slammed his palms down.

“Really? I knew it. I knew they were after us.”

“What people are you talking about?” Xiumin asked.

“The government. I’ve always known they’ve been tracking us.”

“And why would they want to do that?”

“Because we-”

“It’s not the government! They’re people from a travel magazine. They want to document Susido.”

Lay nodded, thinking it over. “Well what are you gonna do about it?”

And then the answer that Jongdae had been searaching for suddenly became clear. “Eradicate them obviously. I’m going to make this island the scariest nightmare they’ve ever experienced.”

//

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