There are four chambers in a heart; two atriums and two ventricles, each separated by a single septum. The heart was a core, embedded in a living temple and constantly fed with information by the other departments in packages, categorized into two – crucial, and non crucial. The information were transmitted via electric impulses from a node at the top of the right atria, triggering the contraction of the first chamber and allowing the feedback to be transferred to antoher node at the lower edge of the atria. Then, they were sent to the Purkinje branch in the septum where Bundles of His were supposed to read the feedback, triggering the contraction of ventricles that allowed the cycle of deoxygenated blood to be somewhat complete.

 

That was where the knot came in.

 

The Purkinje Branch which supposedly lead to the Purkinje tissues were not connected.

 

On the 3^rd of August 2013, an iron blade sliced through the temple's epidermis, penetrated the main firtress, disturbed masses of systems and cells, and thinly invaded the core, which held the key to the the living temple's existence. The fibres were destroyed by rust and bacteria, and the temple faced destruction, however it still stood.

 

Departments fell to ruin, blood left the temple in streams.

 

But the temple still stood.

 

It stood, and it waited.

 

Waiting as the clock ticked away its chance of standing ever again...

 

Tick. Tick. Tick.

 

*

 

119 hours

 

An excrutiating, searing pain ripped Oh Sehun right out of slumber and into the freezing cold depths of reality, landing him back into his bed in the chill of 2 am in the morning. His fingers gripped at the thin piece of material between the cold and his chest as the fire in his heart did not cease. His brains functioned desperately to recall what he had done the day before to result in such an agony in his chest, but he could make out nothing. He had not done anything unusal, other than the usual swimming after school in the sea behind his house and had taken nothing excessive for dinner.

 

The fire raged on, and his head seemed to spin. He retracted his limbs up to his chest and chin and shuddered in the cold sweat. The shuddering turned into unhealthy twitches, and then he started to rock himself, pressing his knees against his heart. Gradually, the the headache intensified, and his pupils rolled back before he finally entered the unconscious state that he had dreamt of since the minute he woke up from the pain.

 

The last thing he thought before allowing his brain to sleep was that Death had come to claim him.

 

*

 

114 hours

 

When Sehun woke up the next morning, the sun was peeking into his room through the blue curtains, casting glowing patterns on his mattress. His chest felt no different than yesterday, before he had gone to sleep. He let his fingers trace unconsciously over his chest, wondering if it had all been a nightmare. But his bedsheets reeked of sweat, and his pillows were scattered all over the floor as though a fight had broke out on his bed that night. He absently picked them up and tossed them onto his bed before leaping into the showers, his mind still occupied with the event.

 

*

 

111 hours

 

The rapping was getting louder.

 

Not the kind of rapping that included fast lingo, gangster twists, senseless rhyming and beatboxing skills, mind you; but the unorthodox kind of knocking of knuckles or perhaps fists against a hard surface, resulting in a knock-knock sort of effect. However, rapping was slightly more grating on the nerves and its increase in pitch was pissing Sehun off. He slammed down his pen onto the page of his calculus homework, stood up, slid open the door of his aunt's diving equipment shop with one aggressive movement and stared right into the eyes of his best friend, who had magically popped up out of nowhere to conveniently piss him off.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Slacking off at work, I see," Jongin grinned, and whacked a volleyball at his head, "come on, let's go play."

 

"Ow, I have to watch the shop."

 

"Let your brother watch it, come on!"

 

"Excuse me," someone suddenly called at the counter. Jongin stuck out his tongue and slid the door to Sehun's private study shut. Sehun sighed, climbed over his chair, and leapt over a paper divider and right behind the store counter. A kid around Sehun's age was standing there in a pair of trunks and sunshades, flipping through the island hopping itineries on the rack.

 

"I'd like to rent a kayak and a suit," he said without looking up.

 

"May I see your diving license, please?" Sehun asked and he forked it out. He keyed in the code into the online system and the diver's details appeared on his screen. Sehun shrugged and photocopied it.

 

"Urm, that'll be 135 dollars, do you need a tank?"

 

"No."

 

"Okay, I'll knock it off to 150 if you buy a 20 buck shirt," he gestured towards the tees hanging on hooks at the display.

 

"Deal," he said and signed his name at the bottom of the account book Sehun forked out.

 

"Thank you, and please return the equipment by nightfall, or it's 50 extra each," Sehun called and when the dude had gone out of sight, he flopped down onto the counter. Jongin hopped in amd poked Sehun's temple.

 

"How's business, swimming?"

 

"Not really," Sehun pushed himself off the counter and his eyes swept past the account book. His eyes trained back to the list of names and signatures. Someone hadn't returned his equipment since yesterday evening.

 

"Choi Junhong, 96'er," Sehun read aloud, "lifevest and kayak, damn," he looked up, "I hope he didn't lose them."

 

"Forget it, let's go spike some balls," Jongin insisted, twirling the volleyball on his finger.

 

Sehun kept his eyes on the name, and his brow furrowed, sliding his hand under the counter and pulling out a black folder. He peeled it open, punched a hole into the new customer's photocopied license and slid it into a new slot. Then, he flipped through the A4 papers and his eyes rested on JunHong's photocopy. A mature face stared back at him with a tiny curl at the corner of his lips, brown bangs hovering exactly above his eyebrows. His skin was pale, like porcelain and he was dressed in his school uniform.

 

"Hey, that's one good-looking kid," Jongin nudged him aside, "he the 96'er?"

 

"Yeah," Sehun nodded, and snapped the folder shut, "pretty rare for a passionate sculler that young."

 

"I'll say," Jongin said and peeled it back open, ignoring Sehun's indignant smacks on his arm to make him move over, "he's only seventeen, and he went kayaking by himself."

 

"Huh? How do you know?" Sehun asked, eyebrow raised.

 

"He rented a single longtail, says here itself. Besides, wouldn't be surprising. Dude's on the swim team, I've seen him at the matches in Seoul."

 

"Ah."

 

JunHong's face smiled on at him, and he couldn't help but feel the hair on the back of his neck rise.

 

*

 

95 hours

 

At exactly 2 am, Oh Sehun sat up from his bed for the second time and his fingers clenched over the skin over his ribcage. It felt as though something was piercing into his lungs and twisting the blade within the membrane, churning through plasma and cells. His chest was all red from his grasp and his eyes bulged, like a fish out of water as he found the inability to breathe properly. Cold sweat froze on his blue skin and in the moonlight, the writhing figure twisted, turned and crashed onto the cold, hard floor, pillows and blankets scattered around him as he kicked and struggled with an invincible tormentor, whose fingers were groping in his chest. He wanted to rip them out, but his fingers felt nothing but his own skin. It was pointless. It was hopeless. He writhed until he had no energy left in him, and when that happened, his mind went to sleep.

 

*

89 hours

 

"You look like crap," Jongin commented as Sehun trudged into the dining room, bidding a sleepy greeting to his mother behind the counter. Sehun grunted and picked up a piece of toast from Jongin's plate blindly, whilst Sehun's father watched his son with a raised eyebrow over his letter.

 

"Did you sleep okay last night?" Sehun's mother inquired, planting a soft palm over his forehead, she flinched at the dampness of his skin and her eyebrow furrowed.

 

"Why are you so sweaty?"

 

"I played basketball in my dreams last night."

 

"Sehun, you hate basketball."

 

"That's my point."

 

"Alright, I'm off," Mr. Oh declared and tossed the letter into the wastepaper bin before reaching out to Sehun for a hug (their morning ritual since Sehun was a kid), "I've got to be in the office by nine, I have meeting with EXO Corporations," he addressed his wife as Sehun bumped his chest to him tiredly. Then, he turned to Sehun, "lay off swimming today, you look beat. I'll get you some coffee milk on the way home if you want."

 

"Thanks dad."

 

"I have to go out as well," Mrs. Oh said as she straightened her skirt, "we're out of beans."

 

"Okay."

 

"Don't worry," Jongin patted him on the elbow, "I'll be sticking around."

 

"Don't you have a home to go to?"

 

"Why pass up a chance for double breakfast?" Jongin grinned, and eyed the bacon Mrs. Oh had laid out for Sehun, "you gonna eat that?"

 

"Yes, and everything else on my plate," Sehun stuck out his tongue and pulled his plate closer to himself. Jongin shrugged and peeled a banana.

 

"Now that I think of it, here, have everything," Sehun rested his head on his palm and pushed his plate to Jongin, "I don't feel hungry." Jongin's eyes nearly popped out and he stared at Sehun with wide eyes and a mouth full of banana.

 

"Dude, are you okay?"

 

"I've been having chest pain these two nights, I suspect it's high blood pressure," Sehun eyed the bacon warily, "I better quit before all this fat kills me."

 

"Dude, you exercise every day," Jongin slid the plate back to him, "you'll get yourself killed if you don't eat. At least have your meat with bread or something, you're going running with me after all."

 

"I prefer swimming."

 

"Your dad said lay off swimming, and as your hyung, I'm gonna make sure of that," Jongin peeled another banana, "so eat up."

 

*

 

93 hours

 

The rain hammered down on the beach like a waterfall, dampening the white powdery sand into coarse stones. A flash of lightning sliced through the dark sky in one swift movement, like a knife cutting through blue cloth. Sehun and Jongin jogged through the cascade, hoodies over their wet hair as their tracksuit pockets filled with water.

 

"Now this ," Jongin yelled over the high winds, his breathing heavy as he struggled with his track shoes sinking into the sand.

 

"You were the one who wanted to freaking jog."

 

"If you went swimming in this weather, you'd be killed by the waves."

 

"Dude, do I look like the type of retard to swim in this weather? Let's get the heck out before we get struck by lightning, fool."

 

"Do you see shelter around here? Let's get back to your... wait, what's that?"

 

Sehun turned to squint in the direction Jongin was pointing and his heart skipped a beat, there, floating on the rocking waves was an orange life-vest bobbing on the surface, about ten feet from shore. Without thinking, he peeled off his shoes and leapt into the water, Jongin yelling behind him. He kicked powerfully to the object and grabbed at it. To his surprise, there was no one in it, and yet the straps were buckled. He tucked the vest under one arm and swam to shore. The waves pushed against him and he made sure to keep under the surface when a crest wave swerved towards him. Jongin was there watching him, and he tugged the younger boy out of the water.

 

"Anyone out there?"

 

"Nope, just the vest."

 

"Weird."

 

"Whatever, let's get into my aunt's shop."

 

*

 

91 hours

 

"Shower's yours," Sehun told Jongin, rubbing his hair with a towel as Jongin flipped through the catalog.

 

"Thanks, say, does this vest belong to your aunt's shop?" Jongin inquired, looking up and holding the lifevest aloft, "'cause the last 4 numbers of the bar code kind of tallies with the ones on the back of it."

 

Sehun's eyes narrowed and he picked up the vest, squinting at the tiny numbers above the pectorial straps. He was not familiar with the brand of the vest, but he recognized the faded numbers hand-written with permanent marker on the back as his aunt's handwriting and the four numbers added up to twelve, which was a rule that his aunt set for all her product codes. He picked up the catalog to make sure when Jongin's elbow nudged against his rib.

 

"Ow, what?"

 

"Look at this," Jongin pushed the rental folder under Sehun's nose, "Item 7140, Lifevest 12, loaned to Choi JunHong, the 96'er," he tugged the catalog from Sehun and inspected the lifevest section, "yep, matches all right."

 

"Damn that kid," Sehun growled, "he hasn't returned any of the items and now I find one bobbing in the sea."

 

"Cool it," Jongin clapped the folder closed, "I think we better turn on the weather broadcast just in case we have to sleep here tonight. It doesn't look like it's going to let up," he nodded towards the window.

 

The rain striked against the glass windows, and Sehun had never felt so cold in the middle of summer before.

 

*

 

80 hours

 

Jongin was breathing heavily, turning and tossing slightly as he tried to find comfort below the thin blanket on him. The temperature in the shop was starting to decrease, and Sehun shivered. The rain had not let up at all for the past five hours, and Sehun was beginning to feel thankful that he had eaten that morning. The phone lines did not work, so he could not contact his mother, but the Wi-Fi surprisingly did, so he had sent an e-mail to his father and Jongin's sister. Sehun threw off his blanket and covered it onto Jongin, who flinched slightly involuntarily in his sleep and a bit later, his turning ceased. Sehun piled up the folders and flipped through the rental folders absently, as he tried to count the number of times Choi JunHong had rented from them. Apparently, he visited the beachside every year, and never failed to return his rented items. However, this year, he had broken his record. Sehun yawned and the goosebumps on his skin rose in the chilly air, and he flipped through another page. JunHong had been visiting since seven years ago, that meant the kid had started his training at sea since the age of ten. He wondered why he had never noticed JunHong before in his childhood at the beachside, but then again, JunHong was only good-looking when he turned fifteen. Before then, he looked inexpicably plain.

 

Unconsciously, he touched his chest and felt the chambers pump within him. He wondered what caused the pain for those two nights, and a wave of fear swept through him. If this went on, he would have to quit swimming.

 

And Sehun would rather drown in sea, than to stay away from it forever.

 

*

 

72 hours later

 

A loud hammer on the door sent Sehun jolting out of sleep and drove him to the door, sweeping past Jongin in quick strides, who grunted irritably. He pulled open the door to be greeted by his father in a poncho.

 

"Dad?"

 

"Rain won't let up till tomorrow, come on. The car's outside."

 

*

 

71 hours

 

The minute Sehun stepped onto the threshold, it hit him again. Sehun's father's eyes widened as he watched his son suddenly sink to his knees and collaspe in a heap on the floor, twitching madly. His mother screamed as froth began to form from his mouth, and his lips turned blue. His father grabbed his shoulders and almost cringed from the freezing temperature of his son's skin. He half dragged, half carried Sehun to the couch where his mother tried cupping Sehun's face with her hands.

 

"Sehunnie, tell me where it hurts," she almost pleaded as Sehun's pupils rolled upwards, the fingers of his left hand clutching the material over his chest whilst his right pounded his chest. The pain had intensified compared to the day before and he toppled over sideways off the couch. He wasn't even writhing now, he was twitching against his will. He could practically feel his arteries contrict, and his skin turned ghostly blue.

 

For the third time, he lived a temporary hell, and he wondered if he would have to deal with this torture for the rest of his life.

 

*

 

I had fallen into the sea once when I was twelve years old. I had been leaping over rocks and collecting clams when my foot rammed against a giant clam between the rocks and I smacked my head against its shell when I went under. The waves enveloped me and I felt a force tug me lower and lower under. My leg was trapped between the clam's shell and that kept me from being tugged into what seemingly felt like a whirlpool. For a minute, I was dazed, then I remembered that I couldn't breathe. I swam to the surface, but just then, the clam snapped shut with my calf in it.

 

I screamed with pain underwater, seawater gushing into my eyes and mouth before I broke to the suface, clinging against the shell that had trapped my leg. For an hour, I tugged at the shell of the clam, trying to pry it open, but the clam was at least five feet in width, and its muscles held. Once or twice when I was able to retract at least an inch my calf out, my energy failed me and I could feel the contractions of the muscles within the calm pressing on me even harder. I gave up when the shell clamped the region right over my joint, and pressed against my bone. I could not even feel my leg. I was feeling a cramp on my left leg when I finally collasped against the shell, drained.

 

Then, the tide came in. I was certain was going to be drowned, when the water crept over my shoulders, neck and finally reached my lower lip which was quivering from cold, which was strange since I had never felt sea water to be cold before. This time, my arms were cramped from the clinging towards the shell and my fingers were wrinkled. My flesh was blindingly pale in the water and I was shaking. The numbness had reached the lower half of my body and I couldn't even tread water. Just then, when I thought all was lost, I felt him.

 

Hands below the water, strong and sturdy tugged against my free ankle and I went underwater without warning. I swam against it with my free hands and leg, and broke to the surface again, ignoring the pain in both arms and legs as I desperately screamed for someone, anyone to save me. The nearest lighthouse was even three kilometres away, and yet I screamed like never before, like something was choking me, which was partially true since the waves had accelerated. They beat against the rocks, against my bare flesh, smaking me against the jagged shell and I felt the surface slice against my thigh. I could not even scream now, as the water now covered my lips.

 

Then, he appeared. Like a ghost, a skinny figure as tall as I was then stood at the edge of the rocks, eyes wide, and the bucket of shells he was holding clattered onto the rock. He didn't scream for help, he didn't leave me like I thought he would to look for the adults, instead, he jumped into the water between two rocks and steadied himself behind the shell where the tide wouldn't get him. My eyes widened at his action and I wanted to shout at him, to ask him to run and call someone stronger, but my lips were glued under the surface. Then, he pulled out a penknife from his swimming trunks and his lips moved.

 

"Pull."

 

With both hands free, I helped him peel the sides of the clam open. It barely widened an inch when I suddenly felt my strength fail me. Suddenly, to my amazement, he reached his non-dominant hand in between the shell and the shell clapped shut again. His arm was skinned than my calf, so he was barely affected, however the renewed pressure of a solid surface pained me than before and I screamed underwater. Then, he grabbed at my shoulders and tried to pull me up as the tide reached my nostrils.

 

"It's all right," he whispered.

 

"No, it isn't," I'd felt my own tears mingle with the water, "I'm going to die."

 

Then, to my further surprise, he reached his other hand inside, holding the penknife where my leg was and d around. He located my leg with his hand and kept his hand pressed against my calf, then, his other hand took the penknife and hacked against the flesh of the clam. The clam squeezed tighter and I screamed, clutching his arm and shaking my head. He ignored me and reached in deeper. Then, I felt it. Something pulsing to the right of my trapped leg. I didn't know what it was then, and it scared the crap out of me, but now I know that they were the muscular tissues that controlled the movement of the clam. The kid seemed to know what he was doing, holding my other leg with his fingers so that he knew the position of my leg and wouldn't cut against it. Before I knew it, his penknife exchanged hands again and he reached in deeper. I could count the salt and sand on his cheeks, the way his eyes narrowed with concentration, and his breath against my shoulder. Then, I could see him hacking at something feverishly, using all his strength to tear at the tissue within the clam.

 

Then, he stopped. For a minute, I thought he had given up what he was doing and he originally had no idea what he was doing from the start and I started to cry. Then, a smile broke through his face and he adjusted his position.

 

"I've got the first one," he said and his arms reached in deeper. I didn't stop crying. He was ripping and sawing against something, but my insecurity didn't leave me. He stopped again.

 

Then, he peeled the right side of the shell open and pushed my leg out. I was caught off guard and the torrent within the water took this opportunity to grab at me again, this time, with both legs. I squirmed and kicked as the water clasped its fingers around me, tugging me down. My fingers clutched against the shell. The kid did not seem to see what was going on, then the numbness of my arms stook over and I suddenly went under. Water closed into me once more and my legs were too numb to kick anymore, I closed my eyes and opened my mouth, as though offering myself to the sea.

 

In the deep blue, I thought I heard laughing.

 

It was nothing like the kind of laughter I had ever heard before, not triumphant, not amused, not even cynical. It was evil, and it scared me like the sea had never scared me before.

 

I was certain then that I was going to die.

 

*

 

47 hours

 

Sehun was by the beach again, there was a kind of tingling in his chest. The sea breeze caressed his cheek and arms as he stared into the distance, his fingers clutching his chest. His veins throbbed, and there were cold sweat dampening his shirt, like how he was every night at 2 am. But then, there was only an unpleasant tingle in his chest. He stared on at the horizon, now cupped with the fingers of dawn.

 

Then, he heard someone calling his name.

 

He turned to look at the beach, but there was no one behind him, and his mother was not at the verandah of their house calling to him either. But that wasn't it. The voice that called him couldn't be his mother's, it's pitch was higher, slightly more shrill. He let his gaze wander around the white sands, before he heard it again. This time, he knew that he had been looking in the wrong direction. He stared in the direction of eleven o'clock from the beach at the stretch of rocks where he had been trapped. An old lighthouse that never lit anymore stood a few miles from Sehun and he squinted as the light reflected off its glass windows at the peak. Unconsciously, he slid his hands into his pockets and strolled down the beach towards the lighthouse.

 

The building stood tall and proud, looming over him like a bear over a rabbit. The stairs leading to the top were brown with rust and the stairs creaked when the wind blew. The red and white stripes on the body of the structure were faded, and a barrier around the building had been demolished by waves. Sehun leapt onto a rock and sat at the edge of one of the remains of the wall, rubbing his chest with one hand. The breeze was cooling, like the absent-minded touch of a mother. The leaves of the coconut trees whispered, their leaves waving slightly in the orange sky. Streaks of pink slashed through the cloudless skies,

 

"Sehun..."

 

Sehun's head jerked to the left of him, his hair that flowed over his forehead like a curtain flying out of his face. There seemed to be nothing but waves, rocks and the sand, but then, he noticed that one of the shores in the distance looked strange. It was on the other side of the beach, where the rocks were larger and steeper, they formed a monument-like structure above the rocking waves.

 

Sehun stood up.

 

*

 

Thin fingers clasped onto my wrist, digging into my flesh and pulling at me, I looked up and my eyes widened at the side of my friend fighting towards the surface, both hands latched onto my own. His skin was gray in the water, and his hair appeared misty as he swam furiously to the surface. I snapped out of my trance and kicked furiously with him. We struggled below the surface, the current shoving us from side to side, furious at our defiance.

 

My mother once told me a story about the sea goddess – Calypso,who lived on an island in an ocean in Greece. Her name meant to deceive, and my mother always told me, when I'd first learnt to swim, that part of the ocean was like her. Beautiful, irresistable; everyone loved the sea at first sight, everyone wanted to touch the sands and water and watch their troubles sweep into the sea and be taken to the other side of the world. She was the sea goddess who had tried to keep Odyssey on her island to be her immortal husband. She'd danced and sang for him for five years. Like her, the sea took everything it wanted. Calypso had tried to kill herself when Odyssey was taken from her, and like her, the sea was possessive, immortal.

 

When we fought against her that day, I felt the wrath of Calypso, I felt her fingers latch onto my ankles and feet, and felt her lunge for me again and again when I resisted. We weren't allowed to rest in that tug of war. Now that I think of it, I wondered why my friend hadn't really been dragged under like me. Scientifically, he was probably sticking to the side of the waves where the interference was lower, or he was a stronger swimmer. But I really knew that Calypso didn't want him. She wanted me, as a new trophy on her display.

 

That's why, when she rested for a split second, he shoved me between a rock, despite the fact that my flesh cut against the rocks, and blood seared out from my wound, he saved me; and then and there, I heard someone scream.

 

He squeezed in next to me and helped me my way to the surface, flesh scraping against the rock and shells. He kept his hands latched into mine, and when we broke to the surface and breathed in sweet air, he told me...

 

"Don't panic, I'm here for you."

 

Maybe it was a miracle, maybe he had never swam that well before in his life before today, but I know now, that he was Hermes, the messenger sent by Zeus and Athena to free Odyssey.

 

But then, Calypso had not been pleased. If I remember correctly, she had let out her anger at Hermes.

 

He shoved me up until I was safely on a rock, and I collasped onto it, crying and panting. I was so occupied with my shock that I didn't realize that my friend looked as pale as a ghost.

 

Because Calypso couldn't have what she wanted, because it was taken from her – she reached for what was next to it instead.

 

The boy passed out before my eyes and went under.

 

I screamed and lunged for his wrist, which was gliding off the rock, I grabbed his head and pulled it above the water, his mouth was open, and when his head reached above the surface, water streamed from within his cheeks like water from a dead fish. His eyes were unfocused and starry, and his body felt heavy and limp. When he murmured, more water and some weeds streamed out from between his lips and his voice came out gargled.

 

"Don't let go..."

 

I tried to pull him onto the rock, I really tried, but I didn't try hard enough. My arms chose that time to regain its numbness and I screamed with terror as my muscles felt as though they would tear, but I kept my hands fixed on him.

 

"I won't..."

 

He closed his eyes and my hands were empty. I had let go without even knowing it.

 

Between the roars of the high waves in the stark night, I thought I heard someone scream.

 

*

 

22 hours

 

Mrs. Oh screamed as Sehun sat straight up, clutching his chest, features contorted and crashed off the bunk. Sehun had no time to register the unfamiliarity of his surroundings, yet magically, he could tell the time from the clock on the side-table.

 

0252 hours.

 

His heart skipped a beat as he realized that the pain would last another eight minutes, then it would be gone, as though nothing had happened and all that pain had been just a painful nightmare. He curled into a tight ball as the nurse struggled him into his bunk again and tried to strap him against the post, but Jongin and my father shoved the nurse away.

 

"He's in pain!" Sehun heard Jongin shout, "don't you have any painkillers?"

 

"We're not authorised to give painkillers to patients that have been deemed in healthy condition..."

 

"Then why is he writhing like this? What the hell is wrong with you people?"

 

Sehun crashed off the bed again and this time, the nurse did slap restraints on him. Jongin and his father were disallowed to interfere. Before they could strap his left hand to the bedpost, Sehun grabbed the nurse who had pushed Jongin and his father by the collar and whispered.

 

"Someone's drowning."

 

*

 

24 hours

 

Rain hammered onto the windshiled but Jongin slammed his foot onto the accelerator as Mr. Oh's black Toyota raced through past lamp-posts that stood like lanterns outlining the roads. A police sedan followed behind the vehicle, and as the bungalow appeared in view, Jongin swerved wildly, causing Sehun to crash against the door next to him. Sehun ripped the seatbelts off him and sprinted off driveway onto the beach, Jongin right next to him.

 

"Sehun, are you sure the 96'er is in there?" Jongin shouted as they jogged at full tilt towards the lighthouse. The rain clobbered onto their hoodies and the waves roared into their ears. Thunder rumbled around them, and a slash of lightning sliced through the grey sky, murky with grey clouds. The darkness sat around them in the rain like hooded figures above the sea.

 

No, I'm not sure, Sehun felt like calling back, but the kid is in there.

 

*

 

Sehun peered around the mass of rocks around him, his eyes adjusting to dark. He hadn't known that there was a cave around here, his father had told him to keep off this site because here was where a couple of scullers had disappeared one summer in 1987. They had been dragged by the waves in front of their mothers' eyes in a kayakking competition. The search was called off after twenty days and when their kayaks returned in separate splinters with the safety vests still looped at the seats. Sehun threw off his shoes and cautiously walked into the cave, his pupils expanding. The cave stank of salt and bats and he thought he heard the flapping of wings ten feet above him. The rocks were wet and slippery, and he kept his feet slanted to increase his balance. The cave seemed endless, but Sehun was determined to see what was at the end. Which was strange, because normally Sehun wouldn't give a rat's brain what was within the darkness, and instead of entering in the first place, happily comply to his father's instructions.

 

His guess was confirmed when he saw bat droppings on the rocks but he ignored them and kept his head lowered to avoid it from scraping the rocks. He hated bats ever since one had attacked his mother's hair when he was six. From then on, he wouldn't let a bat off without tossing something at it. But this time, he let them be. Then, he heard someone calling out.

 

It sounded weak, forced and gargled, as though emitted under water. He quickened his pace and went in deeper, and slowly instead of pitch darkness, he could see the rocks in blue faintness. He almost lost his footing once or twice, but eventually regained it and went deeper and deeper in. He needn't needed a light to see the pale face staring at his direction when he squeezed past an opening. He felt his heartbeat increasing as he recognized the white face.

 

The boy who had saved him from Calypso seven years ago was crying and calling for help with his lips halfway under water. His eyes were half-closed, and exhaustion was etched on his face. His entire body was submerged in seawater and blood covered every dry bit of flesh on his torso. He was holding on to a rock which was stained by blood, where his fist dug into. He saw Sehun and his eyes snapped wide open.

 

As though he had found the reason to thread water and lift his mouth from below the water, he pushed himself higher up and pleaded in the voice Sehun had never forgotten.

 

"Don't let go..."

 

*

 

The rocks to the cave was even more slippery in the rain. Jongin slid and fell once but he made it through with Sehun's guidance. You had to keep your feet facing sideways when walking on narrow rocks, and never jump from on rock to another and expect a pretty landing in the rain. Sehun had been trailing these paths since he was a kid, even after the event where he was almost killed in the clam's captivity. The wind directed the pouring rain sideways, and they beat directly into the cave. The cave was exactly the same as how Sehun had dreamt of it, minus the storm. He felt his own heartbeat quicken and he turned to Jongin, "wait for the cops," he said, watching the flashlights waving madly at the beach, "they need help getting over the rocks."

 

"What if you need help in there?"

 

"I'll call you, you have your cell, right?"

 

"Yeah, okay. Take care, man."

 

Sehun ripped off his shoes and entered the cave. At first, he couldn't see with all the rain beating the back of his head, then as he went in deeper, the silence began to envelope him. The smell was ungodly, in the least and the current in the between the rocks was surprisingly fast, and rainwater gushed into the depths of the cave, where it led to where Mr. Oh said to be an underwater tunnel.

 

"Like a water black hole, the cave has a slimmer pathway for rainwater. Hence, the water is at higher pressure into the cave and the current in there is crazy strong. It was formed when the rocky jetty walls that were built to suppress the powerful waves against the port, was overcome by a tiny tsunami and fell into ruins. The water rushing into the cave practically leads into the deep and once you get under, you're basically under the land."

 

The scullers had been into the portal, this bit Sehun's father had left out before today, and the search had officially been called off when one of their skulls were found washed ashore two hundred miles away from my beach. Sehun inched into the cave, keeping his feet as far away from the water as possible. He could hear bats shrieking and flapping their wings together irritably, disturbed by the rain and intruder. Sehun kept walking until his outstretched hand touched something hard, and he realized that he could see nothing beyond that portal. He whipped out his phone with shaky fingers and slid on the torchlight app.

 

A skull grinned back at him and he gave a yell, staggering backwards into a puddle. Then, he figured that the skull wasn't even grinning, in fact, its skeleton was still clinging to land.

 

The second sculler must have died of starvation in here. Shuddering, he lifted his phone again and peered into the darkness. Where he had seen the child, was nothing. There were only rocks, slimy growth and more washed up shells and corals pieces. He was about to switch off his phone and get the hell out of there when one of the black rocks moved. It wasn't even a rock.

 

Choi Junhong looked up, his thin face as pale as paper, and his lips cracked and blue. His lids looked too heavy for him to lift and blood stained every spot of him that was dry enough. Dry blood caked part of his chin and his hands, oh, god, his left hand was the only thing keeping him out of the water, whilst the flesh of his right arm looked blackened and gone, something had pierced into his arm and Sehun thought he saw bone. Forgetting about the skeleton, Sehun leapt over it and towards JunHong, where the current was smashing against him. His lips quivered and his eyes widened slightly, as though contemplating whether Sehun was real or a part of his wild hallucinations for the past four days due to starvation.

 

Oh, sweet lord, Sehun almost fainted when he saw that something was poking out of JunHong's swimsuit and it was covered in concentrated dark liquid. Junhong's eyes threatened to close again and Sehun dialled Jongin's number with shaky fingers.

 

"Jongin? I found him, call the rescue team. He's got something punctured into his chest," his voice cracked and Junhong's eyes opened gradually again. Then, they snapped fully open.

 

"Help me," Junhong rasped, his blackened fingers reaching out and Sehun grabbed them, "please get me out of here."

 

"I can't move you yet, there's something in your..."

 

"My heart," Junhong gasped, and Sehun realized that he was having difficulty breathing, "my heart hurts."

 

"I know," tears welled in Sehun's eyes, "I've felt it too."

 

*

 

Stupid, that was what I was, f---ing stupid. Lone ranger, lone wolf, lone hero, f---ing joke it was. No man is an island, and I've had four days to reflect on that. If only I had asked Jongup to come with me, if only I hadn't gotten mad 2 days before the trip because he had to visit his stupid cousin when he was supposed to go bowling with me. Not that it was his fault, since his mum is dead serious when it comes to family and 'cause the stupid cousin claims to have a kind of stupid incurable fever when all I'm sure that the chicken-heart has is chicken pox. Or heartburn.

 

I wished I had done something stupid hours before coming to the beach alone so that I would've been grounded until I'm legal, like driven drunk or called my mum fat or something. Even though that was totally out of my league and my mum is as skinny as a rail. If only I had done something illegal and landed behind bars for a night under minor offences so that I wouldn't have been caught in that dad-blamed storm. I'd rather be sleeping on the top bunk of a jail cell with a smelly cellmate than cling to a razor-sharp rock with a rod in my chest.

 

The storm had caught me by surprise, since the weather forecast had claimed that it would be fairly sunny. I am usually careful with these kinds of stuff since I'm not interested in dying at the age of seventeen when I haven't even driven a Ferrari, but I was used to storms, I had swam through a storm once in junior high when my friend's sister was caught out at sea with some kind of seaweed around her ankle. I had gotten her out in fifty seconds (yeah, I counted) and had been offered a place in the swim team for that.

 

But that was by the sea, here, was one of the regions of an ocean. Of course, I didn't contemplate much on that, I just kept on rowing, until one particularly evil wave turned me over. That was when the nightmare started. I was twenty meters away from the entrance of a lagoon, but I didn't take it. Instead, I was more worried about a $200 rented kayak and clung to it as though it was my lifebuoy. I tried swimming to shore whilst dragging it, but in the end, I was the one being dragged, and the current crashed me against some rocks. The kayak was totally destroyed, but I kept holding on to this one part that was made of stainless steel and used to be fixed at the side of the kayak for I don't-know-what, and then I realized that my lifevest was choking me because the straps were undone. So, I threw it off whilst unconsciously allowing the current to take me to some rocks that I didn't see coming. I have no idea why I kept my hands on the stupid rod, I must've thought that I could use it if I ended up like Robinson Crusoe or something when I was swept into darkness.

 

I knew it was a cave, but the caves I'd explored before didn't have whirlpools in them. The torrent was crazy powerful, nothing I had ever felt before. They smashed me against some rocks. The sharper end of the rod sliced across my arm and I tried to toss it away. It plopped into the water five feet away, followed the current and came back, this time, piercing me in the chest. I screamed like a pig being slaughtered as I felt my chest burn. It felt as though my organs were pouring out of my chest, but I knew it was only blood. My back was against a rock, and it felt like it was sliding lower and lower until I had to bear with the pain and turn around. I grabbed at a rock, chose a wrong one which sliced my palm open and in no time, what was left of me that wasn't covered in blood was soaked in blood. With all strength left in my other hand, I supported the right upper half of my body and was able to maintain a fixed position.

 

So much for a relaxation trip.

 

*

 

"I'm going to pull you higher up, okay?" Sehun said to Junhong, whose eyes had started to slide close again. He looked a lot more than drained, and his hands looked nailed to their spots. Perhaps that was what kept him from sliding under. Junhong didn't reply and Sehun grabbed his wrist. He had only started heaving when he saw Junhong's tissues in his left arm throb and Junhong screamed as though he had been burnt.

 

"Oh, god, please stop," Junhong cried, panting heavily like a fish out of water, "please, don't touch me."

 

"The tide's coming up, your lower half's already under water."

 

"I don't give a ," he breathed and eyeballed Sehun challengingly, despite his fatigue, "don't touch me."

 

Sehun sized him up, then he noticed that the water level was rising abnormally quickly, if the seawater entered Junhong's wound, which Sehun was certain affected the heart, the salt would kill him. Without warning, he slipped into the water with his hands gripping the rocks.

 

"What are you..."

 

Sehun went under water, his hands still gripping the edges of the rocks, and tried keeping the current from hitting his head against the rocks. Then, he grabbed Junhong's thighs and shoved him upwards. He could even hear Junhong scream from under water, and Junhong's entire body twitched, but Sehun held Junhong's stomach and made sure to roll him sideways and not increase the damage of the metal in his chest. Junhong kicked out weakly and Sehun emerged from the water.

 

"It was either that or salt in your wound."

 

"You might as well f---ing killed me," Junhong gasped, his head on damp soil, his torso rolled sideways onto the rocks. Sehun kept his shoulders around Junhong's waist, holding it off the water, listening with increasing fear to his raspy breathing. It was deep, forced and every inhalation was a horrible rasp.

 

The first time a life had slipped out of my hands was when I was five. I used to have a tiny female terrier called Shadow after the dark circles under her left eye, it had been with my family since I was three and I used to avoid it. One night, when I had just turned five, my father shook me up one night at 3 a.m., and without a word, carried me outside to Shadow's doghouse. Shadow was circulating outside the structure, and no matter how my father tried to make her go in, she would pull away.

 

"I need your help," he had whispered to me, "I need you to go in and get her babies out."

 

I hadn't even realized that Shadow was pregnant; my parents were the ones who bothered taking care of her, whilst I preferred the cat because I was scared of Shadow's shrill barks. But that night, shaking from head to toe, I had crept into the doghouse and gingerly pulled out a blanket containing three pups.They were fur-less, like mole-rats, and their eyes seemed to be glued shut together. Two of them were wriggling and squirming, whilst the third one, the smallest one did not appear to be breathing. Without a word, I pushed the third one under my pajamas against my heart. It was cold, freezing in fact, and it scared me.

 

For two days, I kept it with me in my palms, and my parents did not try to take it away. I fed it with a clean ink dropper and kept it in a basket bundled with old socks to keep it warm next to my own bed. My sleeps were restless and light, and every shuffle woke me up to check on the tiny pup in case it was cold, and my mother said I was like a mother babying a sick child.

 

My father did some research on names on the first night and named its elder brother – Adofo, that meant 'fighter', and its sister – Aurea, that meant 'golden'.

 

I named mine Evie, 'the living one', the night I buried it under a pot of roses two days after I picked it out of Shadow's blanket. I had woken up in the middle of the night to a soft but horrible rasping and turned to see froth seething out of its mouth. I had screamed for my father, holding it against my chest, and rocking it gently, tears falling onto the cotton blanket covering it. When I reached out a finger to brush a tear off its stomach, its paw rested on my index finger. I had frozen there on the spot, staring down at it, and I could have sworn its paw closed around my finger before sliding off. Only then, did the room of my door fly open and my father stood there and saw me holding the shell. The dawn that followed, I had knelt in front of Evie's grave with her ink dropper in one hand and a spade in another, staring at the plant, and before I knew it, I could taste tears on my tongue.

 

"It had only lived this long because of you," my father told me.

 

"Because you never let go, it lived beyond its time."

 

Unconsciously, holding on to Junhong, I whispered, "I will never let go."

 

"Sehun," Junhong's voice came soft and weak.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Don't let go of me."

 

"I know."

 

"I trust you, okay?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Junhong was quiet again and Sehun thought he felt him quiver even more.

 

"Junhong, what's wrong?"

 

"I-I think I just felt my rock move."

 

Whatever colour left in Sehun's flesh left him.

 

 

---

a/n - Thank you for subscribing and sticking to this fic for so long. You guys are amazing. :)