(III)

“Where are you going now?”

She halts her movement and tilts her head at the direction, seeing Seungwan sprawl on the couch with face fully masked.

“Taking a stroll outside...?”

Seulgi watches as the latter peel one of the cucumbers out from covering her vision then peeking through one eye. “At this hour?”

The taller girl shifts to her right, noticing the current time on the clock planted against their wooden walls. She looks back at Seungwan, motioning her own attire. “Yeah, but I got my jacket so rest assured.”

“Don’t you afraid?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

Her best friend straightens her posture, making the other slice of cucumbers fall down comically at the gravitational pulls. “Ghosts? Lake monsters? Beasts? Haven’t you heard about them?”

Seulgi raises her brows, hands folding across her chest as she deadpans. “They aren’t real. You’re reading too much of fantasy books, Seungwan.”

“I’m currently writing one.”

Comes the fast reply and Seulgi remotely nods.

“Oh okay, good but I’m sorry, I don’t believe in them.”

“Seulgi, I’ve been searching through the internet about this area for the past few hours and I’ve stumbled upon unlikely information along the way.”

Seulgi tries her best to stay focused and listens, but Seungwan’s current face doesn’t really match her dead serious expression. She doesn’t comment though. “Go on.”

“Apparently there’s an untold story regarding this place, folktales about a mythical creature lurking around to guard the lake and the forest. The source that I’ve read isn’t stating the actual form of it, though I do believe it’s wiser to stay away whether you believe in myths or not.”

“But, I don’t plan to bother anyone... or anything here.”

“It’s a precaution since you tend to be a curious kid after all.”

The standing woman shakes her head in disagreement. “I’m nowhere near believing any of it.”

“What if you suddenly encounter one? I mean, look at you,” Seungwan gestures at her from head to toes, clearly ignoring her earlier respond. “Wanting to go out in the middle of the night alone. Not believing in any myths either. You’re like that one character in horror films who is brave enough, then probably die first.”

Seulgi’s eyes widen by the blunt implication. “What the heck. I’m not that weak.”

“I’m sorry to blatantly point it out, but you get what I mean, right?”

“No, I don’t.” She retorts. “The only thing that’s possible to happen is meeting those wild animals, but I doubt they’ll go around near this neighborhood. Besides, I only plan to take a walk nearby, and not going to get myself into a trouble for entering a forest at this very hour.”

“There are times that something can make nonsense to people like you. Not everything can be explained by science though. It just happens like that.”

“Science can explain everything.” She interjects.

“Just be careful, stubborn.” Seungwan reminds her one last time before she lies backward and turns the television on. “And stay intact.”

“No worries, I got everything inside it.” Seulgi points at her dangling small bag and smiles broadly. “I’m going!”

“Don’t stay up late or I’ll lock you out!”

“Yes, Mom.” She mockingly says before pulling the door open and leaving the warmth of her cottage behind to blend in the chilly air of the outside weather.

—

“Myths aren’t real. It’s only spoken tales made by a bunch of irresponsible people who tend to exaggerate and make up stories for an entertaining purpose. It’s not even close to the truth. The sources are questionable, lacking its validity to be deemed as real events.”

Seulgi finds herself muttering under her breath out of nowhere. Putting her hands inside her pockets, she decides to stroll alongside the edge of the water where the small lampposts aligning to illuminate the path below. “Where should I go anyway?”

She looks down at the pavement and when she spots a small pebble near her footing, her leg has instinctively moved to kick it towards the lake out of boredom. It causes the calm surface of the water to break into a ripple, making a familiar noise echoing in the stillness of her current surroundings as it disappears into the depth of water.

Seulgi hears it and instantly smiles. Urging herself to walk faster, she knows where to go now. She takes several long strides to the right, marching towards the earlier place with a new determination.

It doesn’t take long until she sees a familiar sight of the big stone. She bends down a bit to gather some pebbles before Seulgi, for the second time, has to use all her strength in order to reach the upper side of the stone a moment later.

As soon as her has managed to sit properly, she consecutively throws the pebbles she has gathered earlier into the water. Seulgi quietly observes as it bounces over the water surface for several times before it sinks with a low thump.

She then leans back against the stone after done throwing pebbles. The surface of the stone is quite smooth and she lets out a sigh after quietly shifting to get into a more comfortable position. She stares up at the clear night sky and notices the moon shining brightly amidst the black surface. And just like the sunny afternoon when she had stared off at the horizon, Seulgi feels the urge to close her eyes is getting stronger than before.

“Is it midnight already?”

Seulgi yawns and pushes herself up, rubbing her eyes in the process with one hand as she sits still. Her will to move suddenly evaporates as she catches a sight of something white muddled in the middle of the lake. It’s an odd sight. From her current position, it’s such a hard task to observe more for detailed information with a eye because of the distance that once separating her place and the object as well. Thankfully, she always takes her small binoculars wherever she goes so she quickly launches to see through it.

She fiddles with the tool to get a clearer view when it, without any glitch, shows a sight of a white swan bathing under the moonlight in the middle of the lake. Seulgi’s other hand quickly fumbles to get her journal out and a pen in hand, eyes still glued on the optical tool to magnify the object.

“Approximately around 56 inch or so,” she looks back and forth from her journal then to her binoculars. “White feathers covering its whole body.” Seulgi notes. “Its beak is orange, a bit reddish on the edge. Its neck is quite long, making a perfect ‘s’ shape when it bends a bit to touch the water.”

“The small area around its eyes is covered with black, looking like an actual black mask. But wait.” Seulgi pauses adding details and takes a better look at the said animal. The old wound is present on the upper part of its right eye. “Is that the swan I met before?”

“H-” she swallows the words when an unexpected thing happens.

Seulgi watches with eyes widely open as suddenly a thick mist breaks out of nowhere, veiling the said animal in the process and obviously covering her earlier view of it.

“What’s happening there?”

In a span of the second, the image of that former white swan is replaced with a sight of a beautiful woman dressed in white gracious satin. Dark tresses fall on the slope of her shoulder, against the skin as fair as a pile of pure white snow. A pearl crown settles gracefully on her head as she moves, albeit slowly, on the water surface, still basking under the light.

And when the latter angles her head, unintentionally inviting her gaze into a staring battle in the fleeting second, thus Seulgi finds herself losing the grip around her binoculars after she feels like being pulled into those dark brown captivating eyes.

“Aish.”

She rubs the spot around her thigh where her binoculars have just landed on without warning. Her eyes narrow at the unlikely sight and she refuses to believe what’s currently unfolding right across her eyes.

She closes her vision briefly.

“No way. It’s not real.” She mutters and starts slapping her own cheeks to get a grip on herself. True enough when she opens her eyes to check, the earlier transformation that had surprised her, is nowhere to witness. Seulgi finds herself heaving a relieved sigh. “It’s indeed not real.”

“Well, it is.”

It doesn’t sound like her voice though. Seulgi slants her head sideways to see the earlier woman smiling back, sitting right next to her on the stone. “Hello.”

“W-what?!”

She might as well get herself drenched in the cold water of the lake if not for the small hand that has prevented her from jumping down out of pure surprise. When she regains her lost balance, Seulgi doesn’t waste her time from drawing her hand out of their brief contact while skidding far to her right to create a proper distance between them. She has probably grown ten years older by the sudden presence of that creature just beside her.

“I’m harmless, though.” The woman says, twirling her dark locks with her dainty fingers. A small smile hanging loosely on her lips and Seulgi’s breath gets caught in at the stunning sight. She has to admit that this stranger is beautiful, insanely beautiful, if not the most beautiful person she has ever laid her eyes on.

“Aren’t you curious?”

The old scar that grazes past her right eyebrow doesn’t even lessen the beauty this stranger naturally owns.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t change the fact that this beautiful stranger is not an actual human.

Seulgi fears nothing, she’s sure about it.

She is merely surprised by her odd presence.

And so after puffing out a breath, she can’t hide the curiosity rising in the depth of her tone though her face shows nothing close to it. “Are you... perhaps a ghost?”

“I’m not a ghost.”

“A lake monster?”

“Not really,”

“A beast?”

A short pause before the reply comes in a slightly teasing tone. “Do I look like one?”

Seulgi grows aware with how this stranger’s eyes curling into a pair of crescents the entire time she happens to ask her with ridiculous questions. She unknowingly recites the possibilities Seungwan had uttered back then in their cottage and she has never felt so stupid in her entire life.

And Seulgi hates looking stupid. She dryly shakes her head.

And just like that the thought of her best friend rings another bell in her head. She quickly gathers her belongings and looks over the woman before her. “I’ve to go.”

“Very well,” the stranger smiles as Seulgi climbs down, she can feel her stare boring a hole on the back of her head rather strong. It almost feels like a physical blow but Seulgi ignores it altogether.

“I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

Seulgi automatically spins in her place and looks up, a bit bewildered with the abrupt gratitude coming from this strange woman. “For what?”

“For talking to me,” her jet-black’s strands stay stagnant as a swirl of gentle winds makes its presence around them. Another proof that she’s not a human, Seulgi watches in a silence and doesn’t bother to response. “And for helping me earlier.” The stranger gently says.

Seulgi remains expressionless when the said woman’s lips only twitch wider to form a grin. “I know you’ve somewhat figured it out, although you’re refusing to believe it. I wonder why.”

It finally irks Seulgi to speak up.

“Oh, right. It’s such a common thing to happen in any day. I’ve just discovered someone who was a former swan in this very place. Tell me it’s not a dream.”

To her surprise, instead of fully getting the hint, the woman only laughs heartily by her remark and Seulgi doesn’t understand where the funny material lies in her earlier sarcasm.

“If you wish to know what I am then, meet me here again after midnight.”

The strange woman replies after done laughing, it resembles a chiming bell and sounds so normal for something that’s not a human. Seulgi doesn’t even know why she is observing.

She clears to get a grip on herself and squints her eyes instead.

“Why are you so confident? I was just curious, you don’t have to be all secretive about your identity if you don’t want to expose yourself at all. Just so you know, I’m a busy person. I’ve no time for this, so no thank you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Seulgi firmly answers.

“Interesting.”

Her brows have probably met in the middle by the time she hears that woman’s strange reply. “Excuse me?”

“Then I’ll be waiting for you here, busy person.” The woman chimes in a cheery tone before she quickly vanishes, leaving Seulgi with mouth agape and eyes round in surprise when she no longer occupies the big stone right after speaking.

Seulgi has never been fond of cursing, but has sloppily sworn much to her own shock.

“This’s gotta be a dream. A ing weird dream.”