The descriptive, short, journey of a romatic couple into old age and, learning to eventually accept death

On this lonely summer night, the moon shone brightly over the murky water. The breeze from the mountains came from the east and blew Eunji’s hair into her face. Each strand of hair whisked her head harder as the wind picked up pace. Busan was cool, especially in Gwangandaegyo, most of its warmth coming from the harsh heat of the sun. When the sun is gone, it gets cold, and it feels as if you’re in an entirely new place.

But if you’ve been out at night, and walked along the streets, felt the wind push against you, walked along the deserted beaches, and endured the cold, it’s different. It becomes a part of you. She carried a small blanket over her shoulder now, in case she got too cold.

Eunji lifted a small rock that she saw as she sat down in her spot, secluded, and covered on both sides by tall, step hills. It was smooth and soft to the touch. Not necessarily overly intrigued, she stared at it blankly. She gripped it tightly, and swung her arm to the side and let the rock slide out of her hand, to be engulfed by the icy water. It bounced only once before fully submerged. The ripples, she concluded as she again looked around, were the only sign of life on the beach other than the wind. She was alone. It was an eerie feeling

She stood slowly, as if she had all the time in the world; As if the sun would never come up, and began walking. The ocean is different at night, too. It’s opaque, seemingly devoid of any sort of light. I Eunji felt that now, as she sat on the dock without shoes, her feet dangling over the edge. As they swayed back and forth, she made ripples in the water with her toes. She lost her careful rhythm she had made, and angrily pounded the water with the ball of her foot. The cold water splashed on to her face, and she realized just how cold she was. She swung the blanket over her back just as she started noticing the goose-bumps.

Everything was silent tonight. This beach was one that was considered geographically unsafe, so Busan never officially opened it to the public. But since she was little she always found a way down here. It was probably 1 A.M. now, and the time of people driving was over. The blare of car horns and people cussing at each other was replaced by the comforting, familiar sound of crickets. She now found herself swinging her feet to the rhythm of the chirps as she gazed half-mindedly into the reflection of the moon.

But it was different tonight. She wasn’t here just because she liked it, or because she wanted to come here. She was here because no one would look for her here. Off in the distance, the loud music from the party resounded through the expanse of the beach, echoing off of the barren rock walls that surrounded her. The music was upbeat and lively, the kind of music that she usually enjoyed. But she felt different tonight. She glanced down at the water just as the moonlight illuminated her distorted reflection. She saw a sad face; a lonely face.

She was broken from her trance when her phone rang again. She picked it up, hoping that it wouldn’t be him, but it was. Her boyfriend had been calling her for the last hour. She didn’t feel like talking to him; not now, not ever. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

Suddenly she found herself thinking about what had happened. She pictured her dad, with painful clarity, charging at her mom. That was all she stayed to see. Her hand whipped out to grab a blanket as she ran out the door. She could hear the struggling inside the house. But she didn’t stop. She kept running and running until she got to the only place she felt safe. And not knowing what else to do, she removed her shoes and sat noiselessly over the ocean.

The time seemed to melt away as she sat, and with each wave brutally the side of the dock, she felt lonelier. Off to the side, she could see lights on the other beach: it must be her friends looking for her. They shone through the polluted air, and she watched the inquisitively. It seemed that they were getting brighter as more and more became visible, but in time, the light disappeared and the beach was once again plunged into darkness.

She was glad that they hadn’t found her. It was, however, a bittersweet situation. Before she had come here, her friend had tried to stop her. The guilt, she realized, had finally set in. She wished that she could go and curl up somewhere warm, but she was torn between familiarity and comfort. Familiarity eventually won, and she stood up and walked over to the sand.

It was warm; retaining its heat from the heat of the sun. She spread the blanket down and sat. She put her feet into the sand and gripped some with her toes, letting it fall slowly between them. She was just about to lie when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The sand and the waves had masked the sound of his approach. She stood up, not knowing what to think. This could be anyone; A stranger, one of her friends, or even one of her parents.

She turned nervously, but relaxed when she saw who it was. She looked into his eyes and immediately felt better. If someone had to have found her, she is glad it was him.

“Chen, you’re here?.” She said softly. It was a surprise to see him, but she felt like she had been hoping for it. She had picked the spot well, and especially in the darkness, people walking on the top of the hills surrounding it can’t see the beach.

“How did you find me here?”

He grinned, happy that she had allowed him to stay. “This is the first place that we went when we first came to this city. We ran as fast as we could and found ourselves here. Remember?”

She did remember. They had been friends growing up, but both of their parents had died. They were orphans when they were moved to Busan. Because they were over 16, they were allowed to go outside occasionally. This was where they found each other for the first time. They were inseparable in the orphanage, but then both of them got adopted. She hadn't seen him for Six months.

Chen kicked at a stone that was sitting on the sand, being by the waves. When it didn’t roll, he picked it up and examined it. It was glossy and smooth, and he almost wanted to keep it. Eventually he threw it into the ocean. Eunji smiled at this. It was strange that she had done the same thing. Then he just looked at her. She could see that he wanted to say something.

The words were hard to say. They kept coming to the tip of his tongue and evaporating. He was opening and closing his mouth as it did so, resembling a fish out of water, gasping for its familiar medium. He couldn’t say it yet. So he just asked her a simple question.

“Why are you here?”

Eunji eyed him suspiciously. He had a happy, almost playful tone to his voice. Her mood was very much the opposite, and it made her uncomfortable that he was in a better mood. Being sad is, after all, not very fun. “It’s relaxing.” She said flatly, her voice no longer giving any indication of her mood.

“Yeah” was all Chen said as he looked the way she was looking. They stared at the moon for a few minutes, speechless and a little awkward. “I heard your friends are looking for you. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Eunji had been fearing that question ever since she saw him. The idea of talking about her horrible life made her stomach queasy. She didn’t want him to know that she had it rough. Thinking about it before, she had promised herself not to talk about it, but saying things to Chen felt different. There was something about him that made her want to pour out her soul to him. But she still couldn’t.

“Family problems” was all she said as she turned away from him. A wave of guilt swept over her. He had never hidden anything from her. Yet she had been hiding this for over two years. She bit her lip to stop herself from saying more.

He knew she wanted to say more, too. He looked at her, waiting for her glance back to catch his eye. And when she did, the words he wanted to say burst out of his mouth.

“I love you.” He said.

Eunji had looked away, but she could feel the seriousness in his voice that she would see in his face. She smiled to the ground, and turned to him with a deep sigh.

“I love you too.” She said. She didn’t realize what she had just said. They came out with such confidence that she didn’t know that she said it until she saw his face.

He smiled, looking at her in the way that he had always. But this time, combined with the words they had just said, she finally knew what it meant; and before she knew it, she was in his arms. At first it was just a hug; tight and perfect in every way. She leaned her head against his shoulders. With her hands, she his arms, feeling the muscles that had saved her life more than once. She pulled away and put her hand on his chest. Through his shirt, she could feel the scar that he had taken to protect her.

She opened to speak, but was cut off. His lips were warm and soft, and every ridge and bump in them seemed to connect perfectly with hers. They embraced in the cold air until she found herself on the ground. He lay over her, staring lovingly into her.

It was a wonderful bliss. The warm sand wedged itself into the spaces in between her arms and her body, enveloping her in warmth. The Chen looked around, making sure no one was watching.

“Do you want to go?” Eunji said breathlessly, trying to control her emotions. He breathing was uneven, as if she had just gone into shock. “Do you want to go far away from here?”

“I want you.” He said, equally as breathless.

She giggled. “That didn’t answer my question,” she said as she caressed his hair with her fingers.

“I wouldn’t care where we are as long as we’re there.” Chen said.

“Then I want to.” Eunji said with such a strong determination that it took Chen off guard. He felt her hands go around his neck and pull him closer until their lips touched again. There, on the beach, for the next few hours until the sun rose, their hearts became a part of each other. They shared their secrets, they shared their fears, and they shared their dreams with each other.

Then they went. They went far away and for years never looked back. And since that day, that’s how it’s been. When he wanted a kiss, he took it and she gave it to him. Everything changed that night under the moon. It didn’t take long for it all to fall into place.

And all those years later, when they can hardly find the strength to move, they still felt the same as they did that night.

*******

The old couple walked up the hill shakily, using each other as balance. They glanced down at the hill, worried about walking in the dark back down. As they treaded carefully down the hill, the woman became slower and feebler. By the time they got to the bottom, the man had to carry her rest of the way. He looked up to the sky at the moon; it was exactly where it was the first time.

The man sat her down, and slowly lowered himself down also. The woman leaned her head towards him and laid it on his shoulder.

"Thank you” She said. “For bringing me here. I know it must have been hard. But I wouldn’t have preferred any place else.” She shivered violently.

The sand was warm, despite the cold air gnawing at their skin. They sat there together, not needing to say anything, yet knowing what the other was thinking. It had been like this before. It was as if they had pushed reset, and were back to the beginning. They basked in the wonderful familiarity of it all for about an hour. But time was unimportant now. It was just the present and the past. The future didn’t matter to any of them as long as they were together.

The man gripped her hands in his. He could feel their heartbeats. But the one that wasn’t his was weaker.

“Chen.” She said, so quietly it was almost inaudible.

He kissed her forehead. “Yes?”

“Promise me that cancer won’t be the end of us.”

A tear forced its way on to his face. “I won’t.” he said, squeezing her hands tighter, 3 times. This was a way that they had made to say they love each other. Three times for three words- I-Love-You. She smiled as he squeezed the third time. But Chen knew why she smiled. Another tear came onto his wrinkled skin.

She knew the time was now. She could hear the wind whispering to her, calling her. “See you in heaven?” she finally asked, hugging him as tight as she could.

Chen looked into her eyes. “Of course.” He said.

She looked out towards the moon again, closing her eyes as she took in a deep breath. She looked back to him, kissed his lips for the last time, and laid her head on his lap. He didn’t know how long it took her to pass, but it didn’t matter; he knew this was what she wanted to come here for. So he didn’t cry this time. He knew it had to happen. She was happier now.

He laid her body down gently into the sand and rolled onto his back. He kissed her one last time as he himself lay on the sand. He stared into the middle distance, trying to clear his thoughts, but lost to her memory. He became uneasy.

He had never left her alone, and he wasn’t about to now. He had to make a decision. He sat there contemplating, no longer in a hurry. He thought about the world in which they lived, rushed, imperfect, always changing. Then he thought about the world in which she was now. Finally he knew what he had to do. So there, next to her, he laid down on his back.

“I’m coming Eunji.” He whispered to the wind as he shut his eyes. He gripped her hand, and there, next to her, the way she had wanted, he willed himself to sleep. A sleep he would never wake up from.

As requested by Solichida XD