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Imagination; one of the most unique abilities of human mind. In essence, it allows one to explore ideas of things that are not existent in their present environment or do not exist at all, something unreal. For example, one can imagine their childhood bedroom, or what they had for dinner the night before. On the other hand, imagination can also provide an unreal mental image of something illusory, preposterous even; mystical creatures, perhaps? Ghostly entities and aliens. The point is that what is imagined is generated from within one’s mind, rather than perceived based on input from outside. Perceptively, humans gather information from their outer environment and finds meaning in it through memory and perceptual process. Imagination on the other hand is a reversal process. Imagery, or creating a mental image takes place inside the mind, gathering information from within.

What’s problematic, however, is this. How does one distinguish between what’s imaginary and what’s real? How does one tell what’s real and what’s entirely in their mind? As far as human mind can perceive, both mental images and real images captured through eyes, reflected on the retina, eventually appear in the cognizance. If that is indeed the case, how can one say if what they’ve been seeing for a long period of time is real or not?

Especially if all five senses of their body have perceptibly responded to what they’ve encountered in that particular span of time?

Sung Gyu, when he comes face first with Eunji that evening, he isn’t sure how he must broach the subject of a possible alien invasion in their home; or whether he should ever even approach it. He isn’t sure if its real or if its imaginary the first place. If one has been continuously encountering something which has no possibility of being real, then can it still be something existent in this reality? Sung Gyu isn’t quite sure, himself. So the moment the front door to their house opens and Eunji steps in; the first thing he does is pulling his wife out the front door out into the windy autumn evening, close the door behind him, cup her face in both his hands and kiss her.

And that, he thinks, is also because he has vehemently missed her, so much so that he has physically felt that pain. Sung Gyu loves her. He doesn’t know if there will ever be a simpler way of putting how he feels. Eunji is his strength, yet at the same time, his weakness. She makes him weak, she makes him strong; she messes him up, ardently so, in a way so beautiful, so mesmerizing that words don’t exist in this universe to explain what she truly does to him. In her arms, he’s weaker, and stronger. With her in his arms, he’s safe, he feels the fervent need to protect her with all that he can give. For seven years, he’s carried these emotions for her. For seven years, she’s messed him up so hypnotizingly. Yet, every time he finds himself getting lost in her eyes, it still feels like the first time. For Sung Gyu, she’s the world, the universe. She holds them in her eyes.

Sung Gyu finally pulls away when he’s had his fill of her presence after having been away for far too long, and lets out a sigh. When he stares down into her eyes, he sees reassurance and fear; a mixed emotion he cannot quite pinpoint. Regardless, he realizes, she’s real, the feel of her lips is real, the sound of her breaths is real, the glimmer in her eyes are real, and that’s all he needs to forget everything he’s been going through during the time of her absence; for him, that’s enough.

When Eunji looks up at him, she smiles tenderly, her bangs shimmering softly in the ocean wind. “Hi” She says to him, and he smiles back. “Hi”

There is silence, and during that silence, Sung Gyu hears strange sounds coming from inside, and fear washes over him, it finally occurring to him that a possible eerie entity, either real or all in his mind, is still lurking and looming inside their peaceful family home. “So, can I go in?” Eunji says to him, and Sung Gyu, acting on reflex, presses himself against the door. “Uh, what are you doing here, Ji?” he asks distractedly, the first thing which comes to his mind.

Eunji gives him a rather perplexed look, glances at the glass panelled door behind him and looks back into his eyes. “Back at you, Sung gyu. You did say that you won’t be at home”

“Ah” he breathes and gives her a small smile. “I did, didn’t I? Well, something came up, actually…”

“I imagine so” Eunji nods and tilts her head. “Anyway, we should probably go in, it’s getting colder”

Sung Gyu still cannot let her, especially not knowing for sure if the dangerous creature he’s been seeing for the past few hours is real or not. Sung Gyu loves Eunji, immensely so. Dangerous or not, he sure can’t let her be subjected to the alien’s merciless clutches. On the other hand, she still doesn’t know if something of the sort does exist (if it really does), he has to warn her, at least subtly so. Or simply let her know. Sung Gyu understands that that’s what he must be doing right at that moment, but he’s not quite sure how to, and so he simply acts on his impulses.

“Are you cold” Thus Sung Gyu says, hastily removes his cardigan and gingerly places it around her shoulders. “Better?”

Eunji, however, does not seem to be feeling the same. “Sung Gyu, are you okay? You seem…tensed” she frowns, looking far ahead beyond him, and raises her eyes back to search through his. “Didn’t you say there’s been troubles at home, Sung Gyu? Is everything alright?”

Sung Gyu stares down at her; mortified and hopeless, wondering how he can possibly approach a subject that she’s never going to believe. She’d laugh at him, probably; which is alright. But she’d also think he’s insane. And if anything, she’d most probably grab the over-night bag she has now left by her feet, tell him that she’d return when he’s a little saner and go back the way she came.

He, yet again, watches her, tries to perceive her emotions; the concerned look in her eyes, that reassurance, that hope, everything that he holds so dear. Eunji is his wife, the woman he has chosen as the partner for life, the woman who’s still and always loved him despite his eccentricities and quirks. As much as her not believing him still remains a fat chance, when Sung gyu meets her soft gaze with his own, he feels a slightest flicker of hope. So, he decides to tweak it, right off the bud.

Sung gyu takes a deep breath and one small step towards her, bringing them closer and places his hands on her shoulders. Eunji doesn’t budge. She watches him. Her doe eyes glimmering and full of concern, and he feels safe within them. He nods to himself as if in reassurance, and-,

“Eunji…listen, I know you’re probably not going to believe me, think that I’m sick or insane or what, but-,”

He stops, bites his lower lip, but then Eunji’s hand moves to his own still resting on her shoulder.

“Go on” she says.

“Eunji, you have to believe me; there is nothing that can be explained, nothing that will make sense to you, but still you have to believe me, okay?”

She looks perplexed, she nods; nonetheless.

Sung Gyu bites is lip again then, and thinks harder. What are the pros and cons of telling her? Is this even necessary? What is he going to say even? How is he going to say it?

“Um, Sung Gyu?” Her voice cuts into his thoughts, and Sung gyu finally wills himself to return her attention. “You were telling me something?”

“Okay, umm…” He tilts his head and wonders. Making up his mind in the end then, he says; “Eunji, there is an alien in our house”

 

 

The nights in suburban Busan is beautiful. It isn’t as dark as one would imagine the night to be. Even if the sky is evidently starless, from the horizon, a soft lavender beam still shines as if it’s a little secret of their own, only coming into visibility when one looks closely at where the sky and the ocean meets. The air is balmy and salty; the wind which blows incessantly is so intense that their hair is dancing endlessly behind them. The season, late in the summer, is colder in the night while warmer in the day. Sitting amidst of it all, Eunji looks down at Sung Gyu with her widened doe eyes, concerned. And it’s not the apparent alien invasion to her home that concerns her the most.

“An alien?” Eunji repeats for the nth time, and her voice is almost teary. “Sung Gyu, sweetheart; the only aliens in that house except for you and I, are those monkeys you have brought who are dead”

Sung Gyu is silent, because he knew, he knew this would happened, that she isn’t going to stomach it well until she sees it. That’s exactly what he tried to do the moment he revealed her the truth; but then she rather stubbornly decided that they’re having a talk; which they are having now. “That’s why I said, Eunji, you just have to believe me” He says in the end.

“Be-believe you?” Eunji stutters, her voice wavering slightly. “Sung Gyu, how could I-?” She begins but gives up, and with a loud sigh she falls onto the bench beside him and stares at the rolling waves for a moment too long. Sung Gyu wonders what she’s thinking in this silence. Then she answers him herself;

“Sung gyu…. I….” She intakes a sharp breath then, and turns to face him. “The truth is, I had thought that you bringing those stuffed monkey corpses home was the peak of your madness…I had really thought so. But now…”

Sung Gyu stiffens, hearing the worse of his fears being answered. This isn’t something he’s hearing for the first time, nonetheless. Sung Gyu’s heard her asking him and at occasions, calling him mad enough times. When he brings home a couple of bones, when he gets so excited and goes on and on when he’s talking about the primates that he loves. More often than not, though; these comments of madness have never meant any harm or malice. They have only contained her love and concern. But now, judging by the tone of her voice, he isn’t sure anymore. And the fact that she might be right, that he probably is mad…

But no, he’s pretty sure he isn’t; especially if the hole on his back door and sand mountain in their part of the beach is real, which he had to show her just so he can prove his claim.

“I know, it’s hard to believe” Sung Gyu reasons as sincerely as possible. “But if you see what I really mean. You would…and I don’t think I’m mad. I really am not”

Eunji nods and purses her lips before she observed him closely. Her eyes glimmer, and he feels a little part of him dying within. “Sung Gyu” She says and then smiles gently. “I don’t think you’re mad. You aren’t. What I think is it’s just a phase…it happens to the best of us”

“Well yea but-,” Sung Gyu starts, he realizes, and then pauses. Eunji is implying that he’s developed a mental illness; is that it? He feels a crushing pain in his heart which seems to keep growing as the seconds progressed. “Eunji” He frowns. “I’m not mentally ill”

Eunji only smiles at him a little sadly and says in a soft whisper. “Some cases of extreme stress and depression shows schizophrenic tendencies”

“Schizophrenic?” He whispers back, and feels like crying. “Eunji I’m not schizophrenic!”

This, however, makes her sob in return. “Then what am I supposed to think, Sung Gyu? What am I supposed to do? First you start bringing dead monkeys into the house, and now you’re saying there’s also an alien!”

Sung gyu sighs and tries his best to not raise his voice in return. He stands up, making up his mind; It’s time for her to finally see what he’s been talking about. “I’m saying so because there is one. Come on, I’ll show you”

 

 

Ten minutes of searching the entire house, however, the alien cannot be found. He’s looked in the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom; everywhere. He’s looked for an extra piece of furniture or any item that he cannot recognize as his own. He goes to the back beach and finds the lump of sand still there but gone down considerably than earlier and Eunji says it’s probably just something the kids who come to the beach could have done. The hole on the glass now no longer exists. Still, Sung Gyu isn’t about to give up; because the lump on the sand is there, and though fixed, you can still see a clear circle of melted plastic on the door.

But after ten minutes of searching frantically, Eunji is now standing in the kitchen, dabs of tissue in her hands and crying. She’s somehow been completely convinced that her husband has gone mad.

“I knew something’s wrong the moment you said you’re bringing a dead loris as souvenir into the house, Sung Gyu, I knew you’re not in your sane mind but I had thought it would pass, not that-!”

“I swear he’s somewhere around here, Eunji, you just got to look!” Sung Gyu exclaims back, now on both his hands and knees, looking under the kitchen cabinets. He stands up then, walks over to the dining table and starts kicking its chairs. “He’s probably camouflaged. He can turn into anything. The last time I checked, he was an armchair” He moves into the steps which leads to the back of the house on the left and the hallway to the right, then he compares between two chairs, trying to remember if there were two of them before. “You just have to see if there are two of the same object somewhere…”

“What…” Eunji continues in a small voice. “What is this Alien, Sung Gyu?”

He finally turns to look at her. “A messenger of some sort, he said. From some extra-terrestrial organization. He looks human, but he has a true form with silver skin and….” He gulps, shaking off that mental image in his mind. “Pores” Then he returns to sitting on the chairs he’s located a few times to see if the alien would suddenly poof out, coughing and rolling on the floor.

“He doesn’t sound like one” Eunji says. “He sounds like you’ve invented him…in your mind”

Sung Gyu finally stands up and closes his eyes; “Eunji…”

And then she breaks out crying again. “Stop it, Sung Gyu! Stop it please!”

He does stop. He just falls onto the chair back again, and helplessly stares at his feet. Sung Gyu’s pretty sure the alien is still there. He can clearly recall the sounds he makes, what he looks and sounds like, everything he said. Hell, even clear evidence that he’s real are still there. But where has the real subject really disappeared to?

“Now have a shower, I’ll make you some coffee. And then please go to sleep. We’re going to see doctor Im the first thing next morning”

“But-,”

“No buts, Sung Gyu”

“B-but Eunji-,”

Suddenly then, the screech which rips through the ears comes, startling her. Sung Gyu acts quickly, standing up and gathering her in his arms. The screech is followed by the static sound, and then the alien appears, right out of thin air, it’s face covered by his hands, his hair on the tips of his fingers…and in his true alien form; A beautiful, silvery creature now stands in the middle of their hall. The screech comes yet again then, the static sound; the alien takes its human form of dark hair, full cheeks, puppy-like qualities in its silver suited glory. Then he points a hand towards Eunji and says; “A female human has finally appeared!”

Eunji is slowly trembling in his arms, Sung Gyu feels. He also feels triumphant still, because he could prove his claim to her right without much explaining to do. He turns Eunji to face him, smiling widely, just about to ask her if she finally believes him. But the moment he does, Eunji looks up at him with widened, terrified eyes, and collapses right into his arms.

 

 

“Feel much better?” Sung Gyu asks as he places a steaming hot mug of coffee on the table before her. Eunji is now sitting in the kitchen, together with him, her head resting on her folded hands, tired and the initial shock still not worn off, an hour after she fainted. Eunji nods hastily, Sung Gyu rubs her shoulders in response and moves across the kitchen to take his own mug of coffee and a glass of Banana milk filled to the brim. The alien, after having successfully driven his wife into a complete blackout, had claimed that ‘he’s pleased to have captured a female human, and she shall take him to the leader, and can he also have food since his abdomen is demanding to be fed?’

“Here you go” Sung Gyu grunts as he sets the glass on the table before him and sits beside his wife. “Sung Gyu” She asks, her voice tired and small. “I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Nope” Sung Gyu shakes his head. “Don’t worry, that’s pretty much the same reaction I made, I think. I was lying cold in the kitchen”

“Oh” Eunji nods, but she doesn’t sound convinced.

“This consumable liquid tastes different” the alien pipes up as if it helps. “It is tasteful, still. But it has a distinct taste-,”

“It’s banana” Sung Gyu supplies tiredly. “It’s a type of fruit”

“Ban-nan-na” The alien recites, busily typing on his usual gadget, the silver in his eyes swims leisurely circles inside, and Eunji who sees this, clutches his hand. “Please tell me I’m mad”

“You’re fine, Eunji” He replies, and gestures at the small mobile-phone like instrument in the alien’s hand. “That’s the Humonictionary” he whispers in her ear. “He uses it to look up human terms he doesn’t recognize”

Eunji is silent for a moment, and then asks. “How does he know…stuff? He speaks Korean, Sung Gyu”

Sung Gyu tilts his head in contemplation. “I think he’s trained to come only here. He says there are more of messengers like him sent to different parts of the world. So like this humonictionary, he might have also been given training or something”

“Oh” Again, unconvinced.

“The ban-nan-nan has a strange shape” the alien says and holds up the humonictionary for Sung Gyu to see. “It is a different species from the animal, cow”

“C-cow?” Sung Gyu mutters, and then rolls his eyes, remembering that he’s forgotten to tell him what’s distinct about the two milks is the flavour not the origin. “Oh god”

“May I know how one distinguishes between different species of earthlings?” The alien asks.

“It’s a rather complicated process” Eunji supplies suddenly, making Sung Gyu stare at her in amazement. “There are so many different species of earthlings. The primary division is animals and plants. In this case, cow is an animal, and banana is a plant. We can further explain this another time if you want, right, Sung Gyu?”

Sung Gyu is so mesmerized by how confidently Eunji can speak to an incredibly stupid alien that he takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts. “Oh! Uh, yeah…”

“I have no orders to learn human knowledge” The alien informs them, and despite the kind of cute strip of milk above his upper lip, the alien sounds quite scary. “My only job is to give a message of great importance to your leader. Take me to your leader”

Eunji blinks. “Leader?”

“He’s been going on about it for the past few hours” Sung Gyu explains. “Apparently that’s his purpose here”

“Oh”

Sung Gyu gulps. “And he says he’d destroy the house if we don’t. He’s keeping me hostage until I agree to take him”

“Oh” again. Sung Gyu steals a glance at the alien who’s watching them over the rim of the glass he’s drinking from. “What do we do, Eunji?”

“Well, I don’t know” Eunji shrugs. “Going to sleep now, probably? Because, Sung Gyu, I’m sure whatever we saw is stress induced because we both are not in good shape, and this kid-,” She points at the man whose features do not show any likes of being a kid, “-Is just as mad as we are. He’s a weird cosplayer feeding those thoughts into our minds, Sung Gyu, and we’re so vulnerable that we believe it’s all true”

Sung Gyu stares up at his wife for a few seconds, speechless and completely hopeless. It had been slightly better when she’s accused only him being as the mad person of the two of them; but when she claims herself to be mad as well, he really cannot take it. Especially when he has all the right ways to prove her wrong. All he has to do is pull a few strings and quite likely put himself into possible danger. “You know what, Eunji?” He says, stands up and walks to her side. “I can prove to you that it’s all real”

Eunji turns around to face him with a bored look on her face and her eyebrows raise. “Yea? How so?”

Sung Gyu smiles triumphantly and turns to the alien who has now finished his milk and resorted to stare at Eunji and him with a look of great interest. “You see” he says to the alien. “My wife here doesn’t believe you’re an alien, so you might as well prove to her you’re one or you’d never make it to the leader”

The alien doesn’t even take his time to ponder the challenge he’s been given before he says with a straight face; “I do not take orders from humans. I only take orders from my leader”

Sung Gyu rolls his eyes. He should have seen that coming. “Okay fine” he says, making a quick plan. “How about we come to a little agreement? You show my wife you’re an alien, and I’ll take you to our leader. It’s a deal”

This time around, however, the alien does take a moment to think. He seems to be weighing his options, the silver in his eyes going around and about as the gears in his mind pulls and meshes. He finally turns to the other then, and nods diligently. “The deal is sealed”

 

Sung Gyu orders the alien to transform into various objects in front of Eunji’s eyes. It’s more for his pleasure than to prove his claims, as it happens, since he greatly enjoys it himself. The alien turns into a kitchen chair first, and then to a stack of books and then an electronic kettle; all as Eunji and Sung Gyu watches in fascination. While Sung Gyu deeply wonders what else he can make the alien turn into; the screeching comes, then the static. All of a sudden, an exact resemblance of himself is standing before him, and Eunji squeals in delight.

“Wah!” Sung Gyu exclaims, consumed by his own delighted peals. “You can actually take other human forms too?”

“Apparently so” the alien version of himself answers, and the voice too, sounds exactly the same.

“Sung Gyu, the voice is same too!” Eunji coos, grasping onto his waist in fascination. “This is really…Wah…”

Sung Gyu ruffles her hair softly with a mild chuckle. “Do you believe me now?”

“Yea…” Eunji answers, almost in a dreamy stance and watches the resemblance of her husband standing in the room before her. The alien, on the other hand, looks all bored, an exact replica of Sung Gyu’s sleepy bored face, and Eunji begins to laugh. “Oh! he’s so sweet”

The screech and the static then, the alien returns to its truest form. His silver hair is slightly tousled, but shimmers under the light in silver, blue and lavender just the same. His skin glimmers so marble like, and the silver in his eyes is breath-taking. But then he makes another screeching sound, not transforming this time around but near collapsing against the wall. Sung Gyu pouts. He’s made him transform so many times and he supposes the alien is now very tired. Eunji, on the other hand, has found more about the alien to be captivated completely.

“He’s so pretty…. his skin is clearer than mine and his eyes are all shiny…” Eunji rambles on. All her weariness and disbelief has disappeared, replaced by her usual bubbly self that he loved the most. Despite her age and her rather extensive occupation, Eunji, at most times, behaves like a child and that’s one thing amongst many other that he loves the most.

“Sung Gyu” She turns to her, all bright eyed. “Do you think he has a name?”

“I don’t know” He shrugs and smiles. “Why don’t you find out?”

Eunji nods and turns her attention to the alien which has now collapsed onto the floor. Despite his energy to make a fuss all time around, Sung Gyu supposes his stamina isn’t much to really talk about. She takes a few steps towards the creature, and Sung Gyu holds her back before she could get too close. The alien may seem completely harmless, and even slightly cute with his hair sticking all over the place and fluffy cheeks. But he indeed held a weapon against him and threatened to kill him, earlier on. So, you could never tell what he is capable of.

“Hey Alien” Eunji calls, and the alien looks up with his usual straight face. Eunji smiles, looking down at him so tenderly that Sung Gyu feels his heart catching up a bit. “Hey….do you have a name? We don’t want to be calling you ‘alien’ the whole time…”

The alien looks at Eunji for a moment and shows a slightest of an emotion. The corners of his lips pick up, something Sung Gyu decides is remotely close to a smile. But then, he opens his toothless mouth and makes a screech.

“What the hell” Sung Gyu mumbles and clutches his heart. He doesn’t speak alien language, of course. Extra-terrestrials are not exactly included in his field of expertise. But he is pretty sure that the ear pitching screech that he always seems to make in his alien form is the language that they speak. Whatever it was, it didn’t really sound pretty in the ears.

“Woah! You’re cute and all but your voice is a bit…” Eunji grimaces, but the expression morphs back into her usual smile. The alien looks at her for a second, and then his shoulders fall before he tugs at his suit. Sung Gyu near falls back, remembering the pores. But then he realizes that the alien is actually pointing at the name tag on his clothes. Eunji takes a cautious step towards him, narrows his eyes and surveys the tag. “It…it isn’t a familiar language, to be honest” Eunji says and beckons Sung Gyu towards her. “I guess you might know better”

Sung Gyu too, takes a closer look, and true to her words, based on his knowledge in humans and their linguistics, the language on the alien’s name tag clearly isn’t one existing on earth. But for some reason, it does look distinctly similar to English language; all those and straight lines formed in every angle. Sung Gyu tilts his head and tries to form a word distinctly similar to that of English language or just about any human language he knows. He’s rather good at anagrams and acrostic poems, so forming a word from an alien language is quite a piece of cake for him. He locates a few lines jumbled together which vaguely forms an N. A few strange jabbed lines in every angle later, something vaguely close to a W, and immediately after there is something like a Y, and an N again; all of which he reads out loud.

“Hm…that doesn’t make much sense” Eunji says to him, giving him a curious look. “But that’s got to be enough….” Eunji is thoughtful for a moment; her eyes in a tight frown but lips pouting cutely. Sung gyu can almost see her brain work, putting two and two together, working her creativity at its best. Finally, she looks up, smiling brightly that Sung Gyu is certain her eyes are glittering nearly as same as the alien’s do.

“Nam Woo Hyun” She announces, with a nod, a pleased smile on her face. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Sung Gyu snorts. “Yah, isn’t that the kid from some boy group you like in Immortal song?”

Eunji rolls her eyes at him and turns back to the alien. “Nam Woo hyun. Woohyunnie. Do you like that name, little alien?”

Sung Gyu cringes at the cutesy tone that she uses to speak to someone who is intrinsically dangerous and smiles at the irony of it all; at how two equally cute creatures can have equally dangerous tendencies, and then laughs. Whatever the alien thing which has appeared in his life sure has sent it in a topsy turvy in a matter of few hours; and for now, he feels it’s good going.

“W-Woo….Woooo…Hyoann?” Repeats the alien in a childlike tone, his silver eyes widened in curiosity as if he’s a child asking for praise and approval from a mother. Sung Gyu feels warm in the heart, watching the way Eunji reacts to him; laughing softly and teaching him how one pronounces his name a few times. Woohyun who seems like a dangerous predator has melted and softened under Eunji’s innocent, affectionate ministrations, and that, somehow makes him smile.

“Woohyun…Woohyun?” The alien finally gets his name right and Eunji begins to clap her hands in delight. “Yes, right! You got it right!” She says and grabs hold of Sung Gyu’s hand. “Isn’t he so cute, Sung Gyu?”

“Yea, right” He frowns, and then Eunji moves closer to his ear. “He still looks pretty human but where are his teeth? Lack of choppers kind of creeps me out”

“He has pores instead of choppers” Sung Gyu says, and soon realizing what may follow after, he quickly adds in; “But please don’t-!”

He’s still too late to get his words out, however, since Eunji has already beat it to him. She’s a doctor after all, and he’s pretty sure she works with similar situations on a daily basis. But then, as an anthropologist, so does he…

“So Woohyun, the pores?”

Alien, now namely Woohyun, nods his head and undoes the first clasp of his suit; both Eunji and Sung Gyu begin to scream.

 

Later that night, when the sky begins to turn from dusk to dawn, Sung Gyu sits Eunji in their bed, holds her close and tells her everything. He tells her everything from where it began with the explosion on the ocean which he supposes is when the UFO crash happened, to finding the alien-Woohyun- burying his spaceship in the sand of his back garden, the hole on their door, his threat and thinking he’s concussed and yet again finding the said alien in the form of a rocking chair in his living room before Eunji arrived. He doesn’t forget to mention how much he missed her, how much he wished she was there with him even as he went through what’s possibly the most ridiculous time of his life. Eunji curls into him, then, tells him how she’s still trying to come into terms with a possible alien in her house, and whom for some reason, she might quite like. They fall silent, afterwards, Sung Gyu sitting behind her, Eunji against his chest, the intoxicatingly sweet scent of her hair in his lungs and her hands tracing nameless patterns on his hands. It’s the kind of silence that they both needed after a hectic day they’ve both had. Sung Gyu closes his eyes, leans down and kisses her on her crown for a long time. He decides then that it is his chance to right some of the wrongs he’s made which caused this inevitable drift between them.

“I’m sorry” He says as he pulls away.

Eunji is quiet for a moment, allowing the prolonged silence between them to continue from thereon. Sung Gyu is certain that that moment of silence has everything to do with him; with them. The thing about his wife is that everything she says and does has a word to say; even her lengthy moments of utter silence. At most part, it’s difficult to identify what each of them do mean, unless you’re capable of seeing right through her; which is a skill Sung gyu still hasn’t quite mastered despite their seven years together. He tries to, nevertheless. Especially in instances like now, where he senses that saying sorry solely doesn’t solve the problem which has indeed grown and progressed through time. But the thing is, for the moment, it is all that he’s capable of delivering.

After a while, then, Eunji too detangles herself from him and sits on the bed beside him. The lights coming from the city further away is filtering through the glass panels of their room overlooking the ocean, illuminating the entire room in ripples of red blue and yellow. Eunji’s eyes glimmer in the lights like a pair of clustered galaxies. “I’m sorry too” Eunji replies, then, and sits flat on her folded legs. She doesn’t quite seem to meet his eyes; and that’s when he knows that she still has more to say.

“I guess I overreacted, Sung Gyu” She continues. “I mean, I understand that it’s what you’re passionate about, and quite frankly I have nothing against it…but the thing is that…” She sighs, and Sung Gyu knows what she’s trying to say. Ever since their first successful attempt of conceiving went to naught, with her facing a miscarriage exactly two weeks after they learned about her pregnancy; the very topic of having a child has been a sensitive matter between both of them. Eunji tries, she really does, to keep her emotions at bay, to not be affected by anything that comes from outside which definitely cannot have any lose effect on her conceiving a child. There are people who ask them about it, there are people who look at her through pitiful eyes, rubbing it off on her and making her feel even more miserable. More times than not, Eunji has blamed herself for what they’re going through, and no matter Sung Gyu tries to convince her otherwise, there’s no stopping her. Nevertheless, ever since Sung Gyu started prodding more and more into his field, extending it from mere arm-chair studies to actual cross continental full-fledged field researches, the both of them have stopped ever mentioning the subject of a child. This however, has given her the idea that he’s purposefully avoiding it or given up on trying completely, trying to drown himself in work as a form of distraction. It’s never really been the case. Never has he ever even imagined putting her through the sort of misery. Even so, by hook or by crook, he has put her through the same distress that he had tried his best to not to. Now he doesn’t even have anything to say in his defence.

So he says nothing at all.

“Sung Gyu” Eunji says, then, and the tone of her voice sends a cold chill running through his skin. She looks up to meet his eyes, the city lights are reflected in them; the look on her face so painfully familiar that a little part of him dies inside. “What are we doing, Sung Gyu?” She asks him as if his silence held any answers. “We’re always apologizing from each other, but we always end up going back again to square one, don’t you think? We do something wrong, we say sorry, we do that again. Is there ever a stopping to this? Will we ever change?”

Sung Gyu takes in a sharp breath, reaches over and takes her hand. “Eunji-ah”

“What is wrong with us, Sung Gyu? Where did it go wrong?”

This is something that he has wondered himself. On cold, long nights, with Eunji soundly asleep in his arms, Sung gyu realizes that the crevise between them is gradually widening in size. They are happy. They’re together. But whatever the drift between them keeps on growing bigger and stronger that he isn’t quite sure how long they are going to last. Regardless, all through that late-night wonderings what he still hasn’t been able to grasp is what caused the crevise between them the first place.

But as always, Sung Gyu finds the easiest answer to carry with himself, make himself feel better, less guilty than he should actually feel. He denies it all. “There’s nothing wrong with us Eunji” he says, moves forward and gathers her in his arms. The familiar scent of strawberries and early summer seeps in and fills him inside as it always does. He buries his face in her and closes his eyes. “And it’s going to work out, everything will be fine one day, I promise you”

Eunji sobs into his chest and pulls away. “Will they? Ever?” She asks, searching in his eyes as if they ever held the answers. And truth is that they never did, because sometimes, if not, all the time, Sung Gyu doesn’t know what stands in their way beyond this point on. He doesn’t know himself. Sung Gyu takes his time to respond, and Eunji takes it as her moment to continue. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, Sung gyu. I don’t understand. Mum said that you didn’t sound yourself over the phone the last couple of days, and she’s right because I feel the same; as if…you’re compensating yourself for something you didn’t do…” She sighs and runs a soft hand down the slopes of his chest. “We’re worried, Sung Gyu. Your mum, your sister, me. She wanted to come see you today itself. She panicked when you put down the phone like that, she’s convinced you’re ill…and at some point, I believed so too…”

“Eunji…” He sighed. He doesn’t understand if there ever even exists a better way to put into words how exactly he feels. Whatever it is, he’s pretty sure that it’s nothing close to being ‘Ill’ in any form or way.

“And I am always wondering. When will it stop, when will you change? But in the end I realize I’m just wishing for something which will never happen”

He purses his lips, unable to respond. He too, understands that at some point of time, something indeed has shifted in their relationship considerably, causing their paths to go on parallel lines, never meeting on the ends. He doesn’t know where it changed, or how it did. Perhaps it’s about how he’s started to behave. Ever since the first time, Sung Gyu’s been afraid; which is something he fears to admit for her sake. And what he’s afraid of is not having a child but the fear of losing the woman he loved along the way. That’s why he’s acted like he doesn’t care. That’s why he never really gave it much thought. At least not outwardly; but deep inside, wishing and praying is all he’s done.

But of course, he doesn’t say anything. Not at least now. Not at the time he doesn’t think is right. Instead, he moves to her again and holds her once more. “We’ll work it out, okay?” He whispers into her hair and storks her head; gentle and soothing. She exhales loudly into his chest. “I’ll work it out for you, Eunji. Things are definitely going to change”

And he sure does wish that they will.

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