Mirage
Mystical Love
chapter five
Mirage
"Time ticks away mindlesly as I'm pulled by the world, by foolishness
Trapped in a bird cage"
– Mirage, BAECHIGI ft. Kim Bokyung (Three Days OST)
*flashback in italic*
*thoughts in bold*
“Son… Naeun?” Chorong asked, “If I remember correctly, you spoke of her on the other day, too…”
Grandma Kim smiled as she saw Chorong’s confused face, “I didn’t tell you the whole story last time, right? Do you want to hear it all?”
Chorong nodded and watched as Grandma Kim closed her eyes and smiled, “this’ll take a long time, but bear and listen, Chorong-ah…”
[FLASHBACK, 50 YEARS AGO]
Kim Taehee was busy flowering the front yard of her house when she heard her daughter’s voice, “good morning umma!”
“Good morning, Taeyeon! Oh, who’re they? Your new friends?”
“Yep! Come on you two, introduce yourselves! Don’t worry, my umma won’t bite!” Taeyeon said cheekily. The two kids awkwardly nodded and bowed at Taehee.
Hello, Mrs. Kim… my name is Son Naeun…” the kid with the jet black hair said. Meanwhile, the other girl with brunette hair kept mum. The impatient Taeyeon nudged her new friend, “yah, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
“O-Oops, sorry! I thought Naeunnie still wants to talk more. Hehehe~” she grinned, “good afternoon, Mrs. Kim! My name is Yoon Bomi! Pleased to meet you!”
Meanwhile, somewhere inside the forest…
Bomi was tending to her flower garden when she suddenly had an insight of her past. It was actually uncommon for a forest elf or any mythical creature in general to have it, unless…
“… Mom, huh?” she whispered, smiling softly. She stopped whatever she was doing and climbed on top of an oak tree nearby. As she leaned towards the trunk on top of the sturdiest branch and made herself comfortable with her position, she closed her eyes, letting the surge of memories invaded her mind.
“Nice to meet you, Bomi-ah, Naeun-ah. Where do you two live?” Taehee asked nicely, as she noticed how the two kids were fidgeting and shuffling their feet, signs of nervousness. Both kids hesitantly pointed at the same house, a cozy-looking wooden house near the cliff. “You two live together?” she asked again, slightly bemused. “Yes, we’re sisters…” Naeun trailed off. The oldest lady raised an eyebrow, but before she could say something, Bomi beat her to it, “we’re not biologically sisters, Mrs. Kim. But to me, Naeunnie will always be the best sister! Right, Naeunnie?” she blobbed while nudging her ‘sister’. The black-haired girl only nodded slightly; face down in either sheer embarrassment or just downright shy.
“Well, there’s no problem then! Right, umma?” Taeyeon interrupted, tugging the hem of Taehee’s long sleeve. Upon seeing her mother’s head moving up and down, the Kim’s only daughter grinned, “then… you two!” Taeyeon chirped towards the two awkward kids, obviously surprising them. “Ye-yeah, Taeyeon-ah?” both answered at the same time.
“Let’s go play in my room! I have lots of awesome games!” and the two new kids didn’t even have time to responded because Taeyeon already dragged them into the house, bragging about how awesome monopoly was, and that she’d be the banker, Naeun’d be the secretary, and Bomi’d be the debt collector. And Taehee almost laughed out loud the moment she heard Bomi’s bewildered protest, “YAH! Why am I the bad guy!?”
“Son Naeun?” Eunji reconfirmed. “Yes… hm?” Naeun was about to say something more when she suddenly saw memories flowing inside her head. She rubbed her temple, hoping it would erase the sudden throbbing pain she was feeling out of nowhere. The Busan girl panicked at the sight of Naeun grimacing in pain and scooted closer to the taller girl, “N-Naeun-ssi? Are you alright?”
“Yeah… just some… flashbacks…” Naeun smiled weakly, still massaging her head. However, deep inside she was frowning. She never had flashback before. Why now of all times? Why now when she finally managed to strike a conversation with the cute girl?
“… Eunji—can I call you that?—do you want to know some secrets of mine?” Naeun said all of a sudden, catching the called girl off-guard. They just met… err, maybe not just met but that was definitely the first time they ever talked to each other, right? So why would Naeun suddenly want to confide her secrets to her?
Not that she minded, though.
“Well, I-“
“You don’t have to tell me yours, I just want you to know some of mine…” the taller girl cut. Eunji simply nodded, “I don’t know your reason why, but…” she paused, “if you trust me enough to tell me your secrets, then I don’t mind. Shoot away!” she said childishly, which somehow made Naeun chuckled. Seeing the response she got from her made the social butterfly more confident and somehow the awkwardness dissipated into thin air just like that.
“But… don’t freak out, okay?” Naeun asked with expectant eyes. Eunji had seen that look a lot from her family, but she had never seen a look this expectant. It was as though Naeun was too scared to see her left.
“No, I won’t.” the Busan girl flashed her newfound friend her most beautiful eyesmile, flustering Naeun who definitely didn’t expect to see it coming.
“U-Uh… s-so…” Naeun avoided eye contact with the shorter girl as she looked far off the vast ocean, before cupping Eunji’s face with both of her palms, shocking Eunji so much her heart nearly popped out of her ribcage.
“N-N-N-Naeun-ssi!?” she spluttered out, flabbergasted, “w-w-w-w-what are you d-d-d-doing!?” she closed her eyes tightly as numerous inappropriate things ran inside her mind.
Is she going to do what I think she is going to do?
Is she going to do ‘that’?
Is she going to kiss me!?
BUT WE JUST TALKED TODAY!
Her thoughts got cut when she felt something touching her forehead, something cold. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Naeun’s face on extremely close proximity, eyes closed and forehead pressed on hers. By then, Eunji’s heart was beating so loudly she was scared to death that Naeun would be able to hear it.
“Eunji… close your eyes…” Naeun whispered, but it sounded rather commanding.
“Y-y-y-yes?” Eunji stuttered. Kudos to her and her erted mind, whatever Naeun said always ended up as something ‘different’ inside her mind.
“If you think I’m going to kiss you, then…” Naeun chuckled again, eyes still closed, “…no. But really, I need you to close your eyes… now.” She ordered again.
Eunji, despite feeling slightly disappointed, nodded obediently and shut her eyes close, not daring to open it. Suddenly, pictures appeared inside her head and she groaned as sharp pain suddenly hit her. One of Naeun’s hands went from her cheek to her temple, rubbing it gently. “Are… you okay…?” Even though Eunji couldn’t see it, she could hear Naeun’s worried look.
“I… I’m fine.” She answered while holding onto Naeun’s hand on her temple, “w-what was that?”
“… Memories…” Naeun simply answered before silence took over. But none of them really paid attention to the silence because they were so lost in those ‘memories’.
“Taeyeon! What happened!?” Taehee gasped the moment she entered her daughter’s room. There they were, two other kids that Taeyeon had brought with her crying their hearts out. Taeyeon jolted in surprise, “mom! Knock the door first!”
“We’ll talk about that later. What happened to your friends!?”
“Well-”
“W-We were…” the Kims turned their heads to the brunette-blonde-haired girl who was trying her best to stop sobbing, “J-Just playing this g-game…” she pointed at the monopoly board which was flipped upside down, whatever was on top of it scattered everywhere on the floor, “B-But then T-Taeyeon…” by now Taehee had already focused her sharp gaze towards her shivering daughter, “S-She accused N-Naeunnie of c-cheating…”
“Kim Taeyeon.” Taehee’s voice was so cold and commanding that Bomi and Naeun stopped sobbing immediately and jumped a bit in surprise. Oh those two poor girls.
“… Y-Y-Yes… M-Mom…?” Taeyeon croaked, obviously fearing for her live. She may be the fearless, dorky gangster kid leader who was far more mature than anyone else her age, but in front of her angry mom, she was nothing but a kid who couldn’t not cry when their mother scolded them.
“… Outside. Now.” Taehee pointed at the door with her thumb. Taeyeon being an obedient daughter nodded weakly before turning her head towards her two friends and mouthed “sorry.” She looked at the floor, mentally preparing herself before closing the door, leaving the sisters alone, not knowing what to do, and not knowing what just happened.
And the moment Taeyeon’s pained scream pierced through the door and into their ears, both of them closed their eyes as they gave their friend prayers of support.
At the forest…
Bomi tried so hard not to fall from the tree because she just couldn’t stop laughing out loud. She remembered that event all too clearly. That was the time when she discovered another side of the leader-like kid who was well-respected amongst the other kids in the neighborhood; even all those boy bullies didn’t dare to confront her. And she was more than glad that Taeyeon befriended them, two new kids who didn’t know much of the countryside and only had each other as friends.
Two… she really didn’t expect to remember about her stepsister, not at this moment. She had wondered for half century about Naeun’s whereabouts. To say that she missed her was an understatement.
50 years…
Without realizing it herself, she had stopped laughing, and a trickle of tear fell off her eyes.
It’s been that long?
At the beach…
Eunji could feel Naeun trembling slightly. She wanted to say something, whatever, but went dry. She was at a loss. It was like going inside a huge labyrinth.
Whose memories are those?
And how could I see other people’s memories?
“… Eunji…” the Busan girl could feel the taller girl’s breath tickling her lips. Yes, that was how close their faces were. The called girl couldn’t help but shiver at the sensation, but still had the decency to scold herself, Eunji you idiot! Don’t think anything weird!
“Y-Y-Y-Yeah?”
“Those are… partly my memories…” she said in a hushed manner, shocking Eunji so much she almost opened her eyes. How did she-
“I… can read mind… as long as my forehead… touch that person’s…” she answered, slightly chuckling. Eunji choked on her saliva and tried to release herself from Naeun, but the seemingly skinny girl proved that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
After a few attempts, the shorter girl gave up. “T-Then…”
“… You know… I don’t really mind…” the Busan girl could feel the taller girl smiled, “so you do think of me…” she said, not bothering to hide her satisfaction, “although what you think is… somewhat inappropriate…”
Eunji’s face were as red as a burning charcoal by then, hot and flustered by what Naeun had suddenly said. Who would’ve thought that such a cold looking girl could make her heart race like that?
“B-But how-”
“Ssh…” Naeun whispered, placing her index finger on Eunji’s parted lips, “let’s just let these flashbacks reveal everything, okay?”
At the Kim’s…
Chorong looked at Grandma Kim intently while processing everything the older woman had confined. Taehee herself didn’t mind the curious look the girl gave her. It actually made her want to reveal more of her story.
“Chorong-ah…” she called. “Yes, halmeoni?” Chorong answered politely yet a bit impatiently.
“How do you know of those two’s name, sweetheart?” It was rare for the great Kim Taehee to call someone other than her family members as ‘sweetheart’, or so Chorong had heard from none other than Kim Namjoo. So it was not surprising when Chorong gasped, both of the way Grandma Kim had called her and the question itself.
“H-How…? W-Well…” Chorong stammered, failed to find an acceptable answer. Well, she wasn’t one to lie either. “I…”
“I actually met her… or should I say them…” she said, glancing every so often at Grandma Kim to see if she had a change of expression. Surprisingly, there was none.
“Let me guess…” Grandma Kim interrupted, “did you meet Bomi at the forest… and Naeun at the beach…?”
Chorong had never gasped so loud in her life before.
“How do you-“
“Let us continue the flashbacks, shall we?”
It had been a little more than six months after Taehee first met the two adorable kids. She was kind of happy that her daughter had friends, or rather, GIRL friends. It never went unnoticed by her, of course, with the way Taeyeon had spoken to every single kids in the neighborhood, or the way she wore her clothes, or the way those kids looked at her in both respectful and resentful manner, it was so obvious that her sole daughter had taken just maybe more than normal dose of gangster’s traits.
But ever since Bomi and Naeun entered Taeyeon’s life, she had become… more feminine, just a tiny bit more feminine than before. And so, with little to no worries anymore, Taehee started gifting her daughter her sets of extremely feminine dresses back in her teenage days. But of course, changes couldn’t just happen immediately. And Taeyeon got herself some good amount of scolding after the older Kim accidentally saw the sisters wore her dresses and found her own daughter’s closet devoid of any girly clothes.
And that just keeps on happening.
Until Taehee found herself growing fond of Bomi and Naeun, so much to the point that her love for the two equaled her love for Taeyeon. And Taeyeon was both pleasant and not pleasant at all.
“Mom…” Taeyeon called with the I’m-not-pleased voice, “why did you give Bbom and Naeunnie my hats?”
“Why, you ask?” Taehee narrowed her eyes, “as far as I remember, the last time you use them, you complaint to me that they were too small and tight.”
“But those are my favorites!”
“Kim Taeyeon, I’m sure Bomi and Naeun will take good care of those hats and use them often. If those hats stayed in your closet, they’ll only become dirt collector.” Taehee said firmly, ending the conversation as fast as Taeyeon had started it. And although the younger Kim was still reluctant, she soon found herself smiling in satisfaction when the sisters praised her for her good sense of fashion and thanked her endlessly for giving them her favorite hats.
Chorong chuckled lightly, “you must be so fond of those two.”
Grandma Kim smiled cheekily, “those two kids were so adorable back then, I had actually wished they were my daughters.”
“What about me?” Chorong whipped her head to the left and found Mrs. Kim, pouting adorably. “Nah, you were—and still are—too hard to handle.” Grandma Kim said, sipping her green tea gracefully. Even in her 80s, she still managed to look so beautiful. Mrs. Kim jutted her lower lips even more and looked at the youngest girl in the room, “Chorong-ah, if you see Bomi and Naeun again, tell them I said ‘hi’, okay?”
The Park choked on her own saliva and stared at Mrs. Kim in disbelief, “what-“
“Oh please…” Taeyeon rolled her eyes, “I believe you. Those two… they’re kind and pure enough to be mythical creatures. And besides, Naeunnie, and especially Bbom-ah, were really fond of fairytales. And they made me study mythology back in my college days… just for them…” she trailed off, suddenly looking so sad and pained.
“Taeyeon…” Grandma Kim called, worries evident in her voice. But Mrs. Kim was quick in stopping her tears from flowing and excused herself back to the kitchen. As her retreating back was no longer in sight, Grandma Kim sighed and looked at Chorong who had a quizzical look all over her face. “I’m sorry, Chorong-ah. Taeyeon always gets emotional when Bomi and Naeun are involved.”
“… They must be really close…” Chorong managed to say. Taehee smiled weakly, “perhaps even too close to my liking. But then again, Chorong-ah… In every good thing there’ll always be bad thing.”
Chorong almost stopped breathing. She knew it; she’s nearing the of the story.
It was the trio’s last summer holiday as middle school students. Even though Naeun was a year younger than the two, she was bright enough to skip a class and would soon graduate with Taeyeon and Bomi. The three were chilling inside Taeyeon’s ever-so-spacious bedroom when Bomi had a crazy idea.
“’Forest elf’?” Taeyeon gave Bomi a look. “Yeah. What? Don’t tell me you two had never heard of it?”
“Busy with school,” Naeun simply replied. “Too fab to know that ,” Taeyeon retorted, flipping her hair fabulously. Bomi gagged, “you simpletons definitely live in a cave.”
“Yah!” Taeyeon shot her friend a scandalized look. Naeun shrugged, “unnie, there’s the mirror. No need to thank me.”
“Very funny, Naeunnie.” Bomi groaned, “So? Are you guys in or not?”
“You dead serious? I mean, ‘forest elf hunting’? Something’s definitely wrong with that pinkish organ inside your skull, Bbom-ah.”
“Or maybe something’s definitely wrong with your height, Taeng.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Am I sensing a fight here?” the girls looked at the already opened door and found Taehee raising one eyebrow, glaring at the two oldest kids.
“N-No, mom…” they said. Taehee had forced them to call her ‘mom’, and knowing how scary the older Kim was when agitated made them promised to do so. They silently sighed in relief when they realized that Taehee was slightly distracted by something and didn’t question them further.
“Bomi-ah, Naeun-ah, are your parents at home?” Taehee asked. The sisters glanced at each other before answering in unison, “no.”
“Where are they?” the oldest Kim asked again. “Work, perhaps? We don’t really know.”
“Well, that’s strange…” Taehee trailed off, “did nobody tell you about today?”
“What about today, mom?” Naeun asked, slightly worried. Something was fishy.
“Today is our village’s anniversary festival, so nobody’s go to work… but this morning when I was buying ingredients for dinner, I heard Mrs. Yoon and Mrs. Kang talking about your parents leaving…”
“Eh?” Bomi’s eyes widened, “well, we weren’t told about this before…” she said. Taehee’s expression changed into a worried one, “Bomi, Naeun. You two stay in this house until the festival ends in midnight, okay? You too, Taeyeon. Don’t go outside, even if it’s for the festival. Do. Not. Go. Outside.” She said firmly and commandingly.
“Y-Yes, mom…” the three said altogether.
“…” Taehee stopped talking after that. Chorong raised one of her eyebrows in confusion, “… what happened next?”
“I left to prepare for the festival… and the rest, I do not know…” Grandma Kim said, her brows creased. “I don’t suggest you to talk to Taeyeon. I highly doubt she’d answer you.”
“Then… who should I ask…?” Chorong asked. Grandma Kim gave her one last look before saying, “perhaps Bomi can help you.”
“Bomi?” the Park’s eyes widened, “do you really not know, Grandma Kim?”
“Either I really do not know or I completely forget about it… It’s been fifty years, Chorong-ah. I can’t remember them all.” Taehee said, “Now if you’ll excuse me… I want to take some rests…”
Chorong watched as Grandma Kim stood up slowly and walked away, retreating back to her room. She sighed and pondered whether she should go see Bomi or not.
In the end, she left the house.
Bomi groaned as the insight was cut off abruptly. She almost fell in the process had she not hold the sturdy branch.
“Why did she just cut it like that? Mom always had to forget the best part of a story!” she whined to no one in particular, jumping down from the tree expertly and walked towards the watering can, ready to continue what she had to do. Just as she lifted the can, she heard someone panting heavily from behind her. She didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was.
“Bomi…” Chorong said, still out of breath, “Please… tell me that… you remember… your past…”
“Not all of it,” Bomi turned around, “but if you’re talking about the continuation of mom’s story, then yes, I do.”
“How do you-“
“When someone I know in my past tells someone else about my past, I can see insights of it in my head,” Bomi cut, “and since mom’s the last elder alive from that fateful day, I just knew it’s her. And I also knew that you’ll be the one asking her to retell that day.’
“Are we still talking about the festival day?” Chorong asked.
“Yes.” Bomi said, “The same day I got trapped. Trapped in a bird cage.”
___________________________________________________
author's note » I cannot wait any longer than this! ;_; I really tried to contain myself from updating... I seriously did... SO WHY!!!??? ;A; whatever, be thankful fellas 'cause I update LOL XD and this is only half of the whole flashbacks. The other half will be in the next chapter which will be updated on God-knows-when. Also, I personally love the title of this chapter. 'Mirage'. Like, there's a sense of awesomeness in it, don't you think? (?) and when I checked the word count... dayuummm this is the longest chapter as of yet O_o so does that mean I don't have to update again for a loonnnnggg time? YAAAY
@athousandreveries: there, I update ;_; sorry, just wait a little bit longer until June and BOOM! update everywhere XD
@akumatsubasa: *appears out of nowhere* aww someone miss me (?) *bricked* LOLOLOL enjoy this chapter chinguyaaah *dissipates into thin air again*
finally putting this story to a rest. final chapter is up gaiiissss :D that 'complete' status makes me a bit teary :"
Comments