Side Story 5. A Midsummer Night's Letter (2) Main Text: The Island of Runaway Lovers  (14)

The blue mist that flew fiercely bound his movements. Tae-un's body was suddenly pulled towards the sea, just as it had happened earlier.

Splash–!

Once again soaked from head to toe, Tae-un wiped his face, shaking off the water, and said,

"Haah. Jin Soram, come to think of it, you... Weren't you supposed to be clumsy at controlling people with your special ability? Why are you so good at this?"

"How many years do you think I've been riding on you?"

"Ah, so I've become your vehicle?"

Tae-un chuckled and waved his hand, splashing water onto Soram's shoulder.

"What's that for?"

Soram, not one to hold back, opened his eyes wide and pushed water with both hands, wetting Tae-un's mouth. In response, Tae-un used his long arms to gather water and thoroughly soaked Soram's head.

A little later, blue mist and white light gathered around the bodies of the two glaring at each other.

Just as their conversation had been without context, a contextless superpowered water fight began.

Waves created by special abilities rose and crashed over the opponent. Their hair was pickled in salt water without a chance to dry, and their clothes were completely ruined. They had long since thrown their shoes and socks onto the beach. It was questionable whether they would be wearable again.

"Ack, hey, hey, hey, hey! Puha!"

Tae-un's model student nature showed itself here too. At first, he floundered while pushing away the waves, but soon got the hang of it and sent house-sized waves towards Soram incessantly. Soram, who had been gasping for breath, finally sank gurgling into the sea. Only then did Tae-un stop his attack with an "Oh!" and approached, parting the water.

"Jin Soram, are you oka...!"

Soram sharply pulled Tae-un's ankle underwater.

Tae-un, who had been dunked head-first into the water, was further pressed down as Soram swam over and pushed down on his shoulders. Large air bubbles burst from Tae-un's mouth.

It was a while later when both of them raised their upper bodies above the water surface.

"Huu, aah, salty."

"..."

Tae-un also rubbed his mouth silently.

As they continued playing in the water for a while, the cloudy sky darkened and thunder rumbled. The raindrops that had gone unnoticed when they fell one or two at a time on their already wet bodies now became thick enough to be visible. Soon, concentric circles created by raindrops bloomed all over the sea surface.

As Soram looked up at the rain-pouring sky, part of his vision was blocked. Instead, Tae-un, who had somehow come right in front of him, was captured in his eyes. Soram, who had shaken off the moisture clinging to his eyelashes to clear his vision, soon opened his mouth wide and laughed.

"I wish we could stay here for a month... no, even just a few more days."

As his laughter faded like a sunset, only a faint smile remained.

"In a place with no one but you."

An island where shipwrecked lovers who had drifted here lived their entire lives believing it was an uninhabited island with only the two of them.

"Han Tae-un, you lied earlier that this was an uninhabited island. That wouldn't be so bad. There's a pretty legend too."

"It might not be a pretty legend."

"Huh?"

The two who had been in the water came out onto the beach. They were holding hands, just as when they first walked here. Fortunately, their shoes hadn't been washed away, but they were in no condition to be worn again, so they carried them in their other hands. Thunder struck once more. The heavy sound echoed off the cliff.

A place that would be connected to other areas if one just crossed over a steep mountain, or passed through a cave for a few hours.

Did the two shipwrecked people really not know until the moment they died that this place wasn't an uninhabited island?

"There were traces of people having passed through inside the cave."

Inside the dungeon-burst cave, Tae-un had been the only one with his eyes open. Seeing the artificial marks left here and there, he realized at the last moment when destroying the rift.

Rifts are created by the power of origin, like the awakening of hunters. If the mimicry dungeon they had cleared was the same, then the wind dwelling in the cave was meant to make intruders lose their way.

As if trying to prevent anyone from going beyond.

"One of them might have known about the existence of the cave passage but hid it from the other for their entire life."

Tae-un squeezed Soram's hand tightly. The increasingly heavy raindrops beat down on the two of them. The owner of the hand docilely trapped in his grasp was his childhood hero, his pure white lover, the person he loved endlessly.

As the wind and rain intensified, the sound of water entering the sea cave grew louder. The gap that he hadn't even been conscious of before suddenly seemed enormous.

"..."

What choice would I make if the same situation came?

If I could collapse this cave and all the roads connected to this place right now and be isolated with you alone.

Soram-ah, what choice would I make?

Tae-un had always had a wish.

He wished for his lover, the hero who had saved the world, to receive cheers, respect, and love from countless people.

He thought that finding a house for them to live in together, a wedding venue to vow eternity, and a honeymoon destination to show Soram places he didn't know were extensions of that affection.

However, coming here, he discovered another wish that had been pooling in a corner of his heart.

He wanted to confine this lovable and innocent person. He wished that only he could see Soram, and only Soram could see him, as if trapped on an uninhabited island.

"..."

At that moment, Tae-un couldn't help but hug Soram tightly.

"Huh?"

The greed that had bloomed inside him was not much different from the person who had isolated their lover on the island.

Soram seemed surprised for a moment, then stretched out his hands to hug Tae-un's back in return.

"This place is really nice. We can hug like this in an open space."

Tae-un pressed Soram, who offered no resistance, even more tightly into his embrace. As if he could confine him this way.

Jin Soram was a lovable person, and he loved Tae-un as his only person.

So, in a place where they would never be unhappy for the rest of their lives, looking only at each other.

If I could have every breath you exhale, every step you take in the remaining life filled with terrible love...

However, Tae-un suppressed his greed by hugging Soram even tighter in his arms. If he revealed the wish he had just harbored, Soram would willingly give himself to Tae-un, saying he could confine him as much as he wanted.

Just as he had smiled and said it was fine when Tae-un had lied earlier about this being an uninhabited island with just the two of them.

That's why he had to hide it even more.

Two directions of love clashed fiercely like flint stones.

I want you to be loved by countless people.

I want to confine you in a world with just the two of us.

To be loved.

To confine...

"Han Tae-un, I can't breathe now."

Until the voice of protest came out, Tae-un kept holding him.

***

"Oh, we meet again so soon, my child. Did you acquire a wonderful jewel from the sea?"

"I'm sorry for coming here wet. The rain was too heavy to go back to the resort."

"Why don't you move your reservation date to today and stay until the rain stops?"

The pastor proved through action that there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Thinking that on a day like this, no one would make a reservation and it would be empty, Tae-un felt a bit frustrated.

"Rent?"

Again, the person who shouldn't have heard those words heard them.

"You, while scolding me, you were secretly spending money abroad?"

"No, that time..."

"And in such a... cult-like place."

Soram whispered a truth that could only be spoken in a low voice even in Korean.

"My children, the bathroom is ready, so please use it and come out."

It's a room service we offer to those who visit on a rainy day, the pastor added.

"Ah, you must enter separately. There are often people who forget that this is still God's ground, you see. Couples who come in holding hands in the rain are especially dangerous. Hohoho."

"...Ah, yes."

"It really does seem like a cult."

Tae-un and Soram went to separate bathrooms to wash and came out. Then they received clothes provided by the church.

After changing clothes and meeting again in the hall, a subtle silence flowed between the two.

"Why does this church only have clothes like these?"

"...It suits you well."

...Right. This church had its own tourist product.

Soram came in, awkwardly touching the collar that covered his neck. He grumbled that all the clothes hanging in the closet were white suits with not a single comfortable piece.

"You already seem to have been ripped off, isn't this a ploy to extort more money for dirtying white clothes?"

"It's not. It's because they do wedding experiences here."

"What kind of wedding experience clothes do they give to two men?"

"They say their belief is that anyone can love."

"What does that mean?"

"They say even criminals or fugitives can get married here if they want."

Of course, on the premise of paying money.

Everyone's love is equal and of the same value. ...Tae-un had been fooled by those words.

"...That's cool. But the quality of this is too poor."

Hearing the complaint, Tae-un felt the fabric. Indeed, the fabric was quite rough. He hadn't noticed because he had become desensitized to such things.