01 January 2017

Shirahama

The month was named after the Roman god Janus, who opened and closed doors. In the space of a week, I had gone from a constant state of feeling numbed by an anaesthetic to feeling things more vividly than I ever had in my 20 years on Earth. As my girlfriend, ah how that word made me tingle inside, prayed gratefully at the Mifune Ashiyu shrine, I knew I was hooked like a fish.

All this while, I had kept my heart locked up like a pearl in an oyster. Until I talked to the singer for the first time. The fireworks in the sky of last night echoed the way I exploded during that first kiss. Except that the rainbow sparks would never vanish from the horizon of my mind. She made my heart beat a sea shanty and my arms always reached for her like anemone in the current.

Eunbi's smile was the sea; calm and lovely on the surface, with a beautiful and cruel riptide underneath. That painting of the Birth of Venus had nothing on her entrance from the depths of the ocean, after she had helped to conquer a leviathan. I admired her determination, strength, confidence and honesty. The singer had a clear idea and worked to get the desired result, never giving up. She gave a final bow and ran to me, ignoring her exhaustion.

"Eunha," saying her stage name made me light and bubbly, and I swear I was fizzling like champagne. In the breeze of her attention, I swayed like a palm tree. "Heejin texted me that all preparations are complete so we're going to the airport now."

She jumped up and down so much that she inadvertently hailed a taxi cab and I couldn't help but to sink further into the whirlpool that was her charm. I knew I had fallen for her the first time we held hands but it felt natural, not the usual earth-shattering moment I knew I liked Joo-yeon. The suspension bridge theory, that people who faced danger together fell for each other, was thus not applicable. As I grew older, I realised that rushing head-first into relationships was not the way to go; it required objective deliberation and reflection.

The sea mage and the GFriend member continued sharing rooms at Kyuhyun ajusshi's while I slept on the couch. She decided to visit the hospice alone tomorrow and I respected that. I would wait for her, preparing for the best and worst situations, so I was ready to celebrate or comfort, as she needed.

(A/N: If you have fanart/edits of MERMAN VERNON, please DM me on Twitter @JJudisu or https://twitter.com/JJudisu. I would like to showcase it at the end of the AQUARIUS fic and will credit you for your hard work :))