8/9/11

Produced another chapter instead of doing my homework! Well, it'll be okay. I don't have that much, anyway (hopefully D:)

Not much to say here, but I kind of want to know how I'm doing with explaining things. I'm afraid I'm saying one thing and meaning another :P So, since how Terra operates is mostly explained now, if there is any confusion about the storyline or constructive criticisms about anything, feel free to jot it down in the comments section:P

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            Morning came quickly for both Chaerin and Bom. Not having enough sleep last night, they didn’t notice the happiness weaving around them. The other four seemed to be in a good mood. It was as if something happened last night, but nobody knew what it was. It was dawn, and Chaerin could the sun rising up the horizon, creating a beautiful mix of red, pink, orange, and light blue. Somehow, it reminded her of a nectarine with blue spots. Everybody was packing up for the hike to the River of Paint. Chaerin felt so guilty that they were not able to cross the river the day before. It just took about thirty minutes to hike up there. If only she had just stayed strong.

            As they reached the river, Chaerin gasped at the color of the river. It really did live up to its name. The river was made up of the colors of a rainbow, each color perfectly mixed with the next, leaving each color in the color wheel visible for everyone to see. As everyone stood to admire the colors, something happened. The colors started spiraling together, the perfect mix slowly becoming muddy brown. Staring in surprise, everyone but Youngbae walked unknowingly forward to take a better look. The water swirled around in a clockwise motion until they became dizzy. Slowly, white came out of the brown and turned the color of the river fiery red. More white continued to swirl wondrously, and Dara tried to reach for the swirl.

            “STOP!”

            Someone shouted behind them, but the voice was not loud enough to penetrate the beautiful circling whirlpool’s grasp upon their eyes. Suddenly, someone grabbed Dara’s hand to stop her from touching the hypnotizing swirl. She struggled to let go of the grasp, but the hold was too strong to break through. Everyone tried to help Dara break free from the stranger, but it didn’t work. The grasp was too strong. It pulled them back, away from the river.

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            “Sorry about that, Youngbae,” Bom apologized. “I should’ve known it was a trap.”

            “It’s not your fault,” he replied shortly.

            The other four had not woken up yet, and Bom was worried. If it hadn’t been for Youngbae, she knew that they would all have been dead. Now, she was the only one to wake up. Bom didn’t even want to check the time in case it she had been waiting for over an hour. She sighed and looked over at Youngbae. Having a pained look on his face, Youngbae kept his gaze down. It was as if he was about to cry. Bom’s heart dropped down to her stomach.

            “It’s not your fault either,” she told him.

            “No, it is my fault. I should’ve told you guys more about how dangerous the Vidle is. I should’ve told you guys about her tricks,” he said with regret.

            Even though Youngbae didn’t notice, Bom’s face twitched from those words.

            “I feel so stupid.”

            “It’s really not your fault.”

            “No, it is. I knew she was going to come up with some way to hurt you.”

            Bom was about to retaliate, but she knew that if she did, they would be circling around the same arguments forever. Sighing with frustration, Bom crossed her arms and looked away. Didn’t I already tell him that I don’t regret anything? Why is he still beating himself up about it?

            Without turning her head, she shifted her eyes over to Youngbae. Why did the Vidle target Youngbae, anyway? It’s not like he could have done something to make her angry nine years ago, especially since he was only nine back then.

            “What?”

            Bom jumped, jerking her head toward Youngbae. “Nothing.”

            “You shouldn’t look at people out of the corner of your eyes like that,” he commented without looking up. “It’s creepy.”

            Scoffing, Bom uncrossed her arms and adjusted her sitting position. “And knowing what people are doing without looking isn’t?”

            Youngbae smirked and leaned back on his arms. “You turned your head slightly, and your hair moved along with it.”

            He nonchalantly shifted his weight on one arm and lifted the other to gently pull on her ponytail. “With your hair so long, any small movement with your head will be magnified here.”

            His hand traveled up to Bom’s face and he tucked the stray hairs behind her ear. She felt a tingle along her neck. Continuing to look at Youngbae, Bom saw his iris turn a shade of blue. After a blink, the foreign color was gone, and his eyes were dark brown once more.

           Youngbae brought his hand back down and looked away. Bom turned her head to face front again.

            There was a long silence.

            “…Youngbae?” Bom asked timidly.

            He was now lying on his back, his arms crossed. “Yeah?”

            “I just realized that you never told me why,” Bom continued to look straight ahead. “Why did the Vidle target you, of all people?”

            He didn’t reply. Bom looked back at him to see what was wrong. Although his face held no expression, Youngbae had his arms clasped tighter around his body, as if he were scared.

            “I-It’s okay if you don’t want to answer,” Bom said quickly. For some reason, she can’t stand seeing him being vulnerable. Scooting closer to him, she uncrossed one of his arms let it lay on top of her lap. Playing with his fingers, she told him. “You can tell me when you’re ready.”

            Youngbae curled his hand over thumb. “I’m sorry.”

            “As I’ve said already,” Bom turned her head to face him. “You have no reason to feel guilty. Please don’t beat yourself up about not warning us about the Vidle, or about not being able to protect us. It’s… It’s—”

            Chaerin groaned, and started to wake up. Bom had completely forgotten about the four others that were there with them. Realizing that they were showing an obvious sign of intimacy, Bom immediately let go of Youngbae’s hand and stood up. He did the same.

            After Chaerin woke up, the others didn’t remain asleep for long. As they once more tried to approach the River of Paint again, Bom and Youngbae looked at each other, but quickly turned away.

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Also, it would be really cool if you guys could tell me either what your predictions for the ending might be or what "type" of relationship each couple has/will haveXD. Teehee, I want to know if I'm being totally obvious or not XD