The night air is crisp and refreshing while stars twinkle ever so softly in the distance. Crickets chirp, never ceasing their endless choir. The surface of the lake is calm, reflecting the wispy clouds that race each other in the night sky.

Then I break the surface of the lake, gasping for breath. It sounds so loud against the utter silence of nighttime. Droplets of water launch themselves in the blackness, revealing themselves only with a faint glimmer of light.

Looking at my wristwatch, I smile to myself. Five minutes and 47 seconds. A new record. 

Flinging myself back into the water, I close my eyes and let the water take me. The sensation of cool water lapping against my skin is soothing and familiar. The water swirls around me, supporting my burdens like an old friend.

Swimming is my escape, my sanctuary. Ever since I moved to this ancient countryside house, trouble seems to follow me. 

Broken windows caused by an unknown intruder, lights turning on at night, random objects moving across the room. Happenings that have no explanation. Especially the event where I heard a soft feminine voice wailing during the night. It sounds familiar, but I can't pinpoint her voice.

So I come out to the lake every night, to wash away my worries until the next night. 

Every night, I come to swim and wipe my mind clean.

I swim to the island in the middle of the lake.

And I sit there, just me and my thoughts.

But on the nights of the full moon, there is the boy. He just stands there, underneath the sole tree on the island. And he seems to be waiting, for someone or something.

I've tried approaching him more than once, after my nightly swim. He stood there, quiet as can be. And when I reached him, I gazed into his eyes. His eyes! So strikingly beautiful yet so full of sorrow and longing. I never knew someone could look so mournful. Then suddenly, he faded into the night air. As if the eyes were just a figment of my imagination. But I knew he was real.

After that, I knew. I knew I would see him again. See his mournful expression again. See his haunting eyes.

I open my eyes in the water.  Swirls of dirt pass by while shafts of what little moonlight remains filter through. Silvery fish dart past me, in pursuit of food, while a lone fish nibbles at my fingers. I follow the little school in their search for dinner, weaving through forests of waterweeds. I'm absorbed by my hunt with the fish, I don't notice a shadow above me. And then I hear a voice, crystal clear as if I'm no longer underwater.

"You come here often."

Surprise overtakes my body and water comes rushing into my mouth, uninvited.  I breach the water's surface in order to gulp in fresh air. Dragging my wet body onto the shore, I begin hacking up water on the sand. My eyes are watering now.

Wiping my mouth, I look up trying to find the source of that voice, only to see a pair of deep pale eyes.

I jerk away, as if stung. Those eyes are just so disturbing, I can't help but want to scramble away. They depict incidents that should never occur. Murders, adultery. 

Upon seeing my retreat, they look at me solemnly. Calmly as if me choking happened all the time and is nothing new.

His voice surprised me. No one is here when I swim. No one. Yet here he is, standing there, as if he watches me every night, like it's a regular thing to do.

"Yeah, it helps relax me." I'm examining his face now. The color of his hair, the way his eyebrows arch, his pale skin, his lips' lack of color.

He just nods and turns away. He walks off so silently; he looks like he's gliding. But he's not. I can see each faint imprint his foot makes when it touches the ground. 

I don't know why but I walk after him. Something about him screams 'Help me!' but its like he can't bring himself to say it.

"Hey! You should tell me your name since you almost made me drown!" I yell after him, wringing out my hair. He keeps walking. Then, I realize something. He's walking towards the tree.

The sole tree on this secluded island. It doesn't look particularly remarkable, with twisted branches and green mottled leaves. That and the the occasional blood-red flower that bloomed near the base.  It was the atmosphere surrounding it.

Every time I get near the tree, I want to go back to the shore. There was just the sense of being enveloped by a thick blanket of grief and pain. It was like falling into an ever growing pit of darkness and no matter how much you claw at the sides, you can't climb out.

I stop about ten feet away from the weather-beaten tree, hesitant. Its branches sway gently in the breeze while he stands alongside to it. The scene looks like the perfect snapshot, with him staring at the moon giving a sense of eerie tranquility.

The full moon. I forgot that tonight was the full moon. It must have been the clouds. They must have obscured the moon from my view. Usually I try not to swim to the island on full moon because there was the chance I would see him. I always have the urge to try and talk to him but each time, he disappears. So I've tried to save myself from the disappointment.

He was still staring intently at the full moon, as if his gaze would somehow unveil some long-lost secret. He doesn't move or flinch when I approach this time. A first for him. I stare at the moon with him. 

It's looks especially beautiful tonight. It looks like a silver orb, hanging in the sky. You can even see the faint craters in its surface. And, if you stare at it long enough, it seems like it has a face. With the craters and indentations, you can piece together eyes and maybe even a soft smile on its face.

After some time passes, I try to speak to him. Very awkwardly I might say.

"Hey," is all I can manage to say. Of all the words in Korean, "hey" seemed like the least provoking word to say.

He turns around and blinks at me, showing how oblivious he had been to my presence.

"You come here often," he responds after a long pause. 

"You can't just say the same thing over and over again," I joke. He just continues to stare at me with a blank gaze. It's as if he never had a sense of humor when he was, or is he still, alive. I'm thinking he doesn't even have a physical body, only some mist gathered together to form a shape.

"You can see me." He says flatly, seeming as if he's disappointed somehow.

"Yes, I can. That's why I came after you," I say a little impatiently. 

He looks genuinely shocked at this. "You did?" Poor guy, he probably never had anyone search for him after his death. Again, presuming he was dead. But I was absolutely sure of it now.

"Yes. Since you're on speaking terms with me, can you tell me your name maybe?" I say tersely. He's a little slow I guess. But no matter, I'd find out whatever this boy was hiding soon enough.

"Kim Myungsoo," he replies, staring at the ground then returning to gaze at the moon. It doesn't sound that special of a name. Upon hearing those syllables, something tugs at my mind, like I should recognize it though. It's like how you walk into a room to grab a pencil, but forget and walk out of the room, only to return. The memory is itching to show itself but my brain stubbornly refuses.

"Kim Myungsoo. Can I ask you how you got here?" I say little more gently. I try avoiding implying anything that he's dead. He could lash out on me if he's frightened or scared. 

Maybe he doesn't know he was dead, and I could help him into the afterlife or whatever lies after death. I saw that once  in a TV series so maybe I could be wrong.

Myungsoo smiles ruefully and answers, "I died here."

When he said that, I believe I just nodded, as if it was normal for someone to be dead. Now, I was really interested about this Kim Myungsoo guy. Things that I know: hung around a tree during full moons, was killed on this island. Yep, he was a mysterious fellow. I naturally wanted find out some answers: why is he still lingering here?

"Why were you killed?" As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I know I had crossed the line. He cringes at the question and flees into the tree. I mean, he seriously walked into the tree and vanished. I rub my eyes, to make sure I'm not hallucinating from inhaling lake water or anything. But he vanished, again.

I should've known that people would be uncomfortable about talking about their death. Why did I have to say "killed"? He could've choked on a bug and died here but I just decided to blurt out that he was blatantly murdered or killed.

Idiot.

After he left, I have no reason to stay on this cursed island. I swam back to the lake's shore and climbed into my car. I put the keys in the ignition but don't turn them. I just stare at the dashboard, thinking.

Myungsoo is stuck here for a reason. And I'm going to find out why, so he can be freed from being trapped in this world for eternity. No one, not even the most vile creature on Earth, desereves to be sentenced to perpetual isolation. I nod to myself, agreeing with the thought, and start the car.

I pull the car off the lake's shore and then ease onto the dirt road that leads to my personal hell.

I thought you subbies deserved a taste of the story. I'm very excited about this story! I've already dropped some clues for you guys~ This story will have about two or three (or even four!) parts so I will make it my priority to finish this story!

~Snow