As Jongho opens his eyes the next morning, all is silent.

He still wakes feeling empty-scared.

But - no alarms, no news, no yells. No car driving by, no dripping coffee, just, quiet, as the sun rises. Jongho rolls over in the sheets; as far as he knows, he has nothing to do.

Coming further out of his groggy state, Jongho looks around: same room, same colors, same water-swept metalwork. The mattress is still soft and lumpy under his back; the colored mosaics still stun him in the depth of their vibrancy.

Soon, however, he becomes bored, and boredom is the birth of innovation.

Climbing out of bed, he quietly steps out of his room to an empty hallway. He ventures farther through the hanok, stepping through the dining room to the center courtyard. This is when he hears humming, low and resonant, drifting on the breeze from the gardens.

Now why not follow the humming?

As the sun rises over green peaks, it seems as of nothing unwelcome could happen in these mountains.

So Jongho ventures farther, and farther, until he finds the source of the enchanting hum; the tall young man from yesterday crouches, gazing upon a rapidly opening blossom. When the man's humming stops, so does the petals' movement.

Yunho shuffles along in the grass to the next cluster of flowers and begins to hum a new song - Ode to Joy is it? - and Jongho gasps when these flowers nearly double in height and breadth.

He looks on with awed eyes as Yunho stops his melody and turns around, slightly startled by the early visitor. But, "morning, Jongho," he waves with a smile from the grass. "Do you want to help?"

So Jongho heads over because, again, why not? He reservedly sits on the ground next to Yunho. "The ground is wet again," Jongho murmurs disgruntled.

But Yunho still hears. "It's called dew. It falls every night."

Now if a week ago Jongho had been told some magical liquid comes to wet the ground every night, he would not have believed it. But now, with the moisture surrounding him not only once, but many mornings over the last few days, it seems plausible.

"Why haven't I seen it before?" he asks.

And Yunho looks saddened in his response. "It doesn't fall in cities; for almost 30 years it hasn't, and no one is quite sure why."

Jongho is beginning to notice a lot of things are different between these two worlds. So he just nods in response.

"How..?" Jongho starts, but is unsure.

If I asked the wrong thing, see the wrong thing, say the wrong thing... Jongho worries.

But Yunho hears and smiles anyway. "How did the flowers grow?" And Jongho nods slowly.

But instead of explaining, Yunho starts to hum a new tune, one Jongho has never heard, and softly digs his fingers into the grass, weaving through the blades until he touches the soft dirt underneath.

Waving along to the enchanting melody, the grass surrounding the two boys dances up higher, and higher, toward the sun. Yunho looks over to the person with him. Yunho loves the way those eyes don't light up but rather seem to hold a new depth as Jongho gazes in wonder at the grass soon to consume them.

Then Yunho stop the melody and the two are left shrouded in a circle of tall, green waves.

Yunho laughs as he stands, seeing Jongho's daze. Jongho half-heartedly takes the oldest's outstretched hand and is pulled to his feet. "Jongho?"

"I-" He looks up into Yunho's bright eyes, "I thought magic was just a rumor."

"Well," Yunho laughs, "some of it is, like we can't talk to animals or control the weather. But this?" He looks to the mountain of grass that they stand in. "This is elemental enchantment."

Yunho leads them out of the grass walls and onto the short prairie grasses.

He turns back to Jongho with a proud smile. "How do you think you recovered from giardia so quickly? It's good that Hongjoong Hyung was there. He's a corpus: heals bodies."

"I see," is all Jongho can manage to breathe out in the midst of his overwhelmed thoughts.

"Oh, Jongho! Do you want to look at the dew?" Jongho at first, forgets he knows what dew is.

But, "you can see the liquid on the ground?" He asks.

And Yunho just smiles like it's a question he never tires of. "Yeah, but it's just water, not some magic liquid. And it's in little tiny droplets. Try looking through the grass."

As Jongho begins to walk, it's as if the grass sparkles with crystal underneath his feet. He crouches down for a closer look and, sure enough, the ground is sprinkled with clear spheres. Quickly, however, something new catches his attention: he notices objects moving in between the green blades; something small enough to be tumbling dirt.

Yunho notices the shift in the younger's eyes, so asks, "what do you see?"

"I don't know."

Yunho comes to crouch beside him. "Those are ants."

"Ohhh," Jongho nods, "I've never seen one in the wild."

"Do you want to go see the nest?" Yunho asks hopefully, "there will be a lot more there." And this time, Jongho says, "sure."

So the two endeavor to follow the trail of ants, and they reach the nest a few steps later.

Much to Jongho's disgust, Yunho lets a line of the creatures crawl along his hand.

Jongho may have now noticed that Yunho has very nice looking hands.

Jongho looks on from a slight bit of distance and sees a little change in Yunho's demeanor; he's no longer childlike and bubbly, but focused and almost enthralled by the ants.

Yunho feels the heartbeat of these little ants as they march across his skin. He watches their little legs carry them along in their little lives.

Slowly, he begins to hum and a single blade of grass reaches up like a bridge to his palm; the ants crawl one by one along the blade and back to their nest.

"Do you have to hum for the magic to work?"

Yunho is broken from his connection. Yet he doesn't mind.

"Enchantment," Yunho corrects, "and no, I don't need to hum, but it does help me channel the connection. Plus I just like music."

"Kids!" Hongjoong's call reminds the boys that others are nearby. "Breakfast is ready!"

Yunho stands and reaches out a hand to help up Jongho. But the boy ignores it, and stands on his own.

As the five of them sit down to eat, a lovely array of rice and pickled eggs is placed before them: looking exceptionally good to Jongho who has been living on granola bars.

Jongho has yet to see more people around, even though there are more hanoks, so now he finally finds the nerve to ask, albeit hesitantly: "Minji, are there more people around somewhere? Or is it just... you guys?"

Not that it would be horrible with just these four, but it is... certainly not what Jongho expected.

But when this question leaves his mouth, Minji glares at Hongjoong as he chokes. "Ya, ya!" Hongjoong defends himself, neatly covering his full mouth with a hand. "I forgot to explain it."

Hongjoong quickly swallows and turns to Jongho before Minji can say more. "This place is called Geoncho - the outpost - and this is where chimmongs stay for a week or so as they get used to our kind of life."

Jongho raises a brow at this new words, but thankfully Yunho notices and explains it; "chimmongs mean sleepers, the people who live in the cities, etc. They're asleep to a lot of the beauty of earth, unfortunately."

And Jongho knows all too well what he means.

Hongjoong continues: "so yes, the main community is about a day's hike from here, farther up into the mountains. There's a lot more people there," he laughs, "don't worry."

"Actually, Minji and I will be going back the day after next," Yunho says, looking at Jongho, "and two people will be coming to replace us tomorrow."

"We each have two week shifts here," Mingi explains with a full mouth. "Hongjoong Hyung and I will be staying and bring you up to the community when it's time."

Well, a week here doesn't sound too bad to Jongho.

- • -

The next day is a quiet one as Yunho and Minji prepare for their departure.

One of the few things of note was the conversation Minji and Jongho had after breakfast this morning.

Jongho slept in late due to a restless night, for it seemed that he could only get to sleep once the sun came up. He felt tense and a little like he had drunk far too much caffeine, but not at all in a fun way. Why this was, he didn't know. Perhaps because new people are coming to Geoncho today, or because half of the ones he knows are leaving.

Whatever it is, talking with Minji certainly did help.

At first, Jongho just wanted to brush the feelings off: it was selfish and unnecessary to lay them on someone else... But Minji repeated those words from the first day-I am here to help-and after a little more coaxing, Jongho explained.

Minji, as always, seemed to be empathetic; her words held nature's smile.

That was when Jongho discovered the name for a new kind of enchantment: anima.

Minji is an anima, that's why she is shrouded in an aura of peace and knowledge; that's why she seems to know Jongho's feelings before he can even explain them.

She was not born corporeal, like Yunho and Hongjoong, but rather she was born with gifts of the soul.

So it is on good authority that she recommends some skills for Jongho to relax his nerves.

"Try this," Minji says. "Breathe in as much as you can for three seconds, hold it for three seconds, then release for five seconds."

The two practice this technique together.

"This," Minji explains, "will help lower your heart rate, circulate oxygen, and give your brain something to focus on."

They take a few more breaths, and contrary to what Jongho had imagined, maybe it really does calm him.

"Breathing also helps ground you in reality. When you breathe, try to smell what's around you."

So Jongho does just that. What does he smell? First of all, the wooden walls, then wafts in a smell of boiling kimchi and fried eggs (maybe Yunho is trying to cook lunch again). On his next breath, the smell of food grows stronger, but Jongho can also make out the trees, and grass, and dirt.

Lastly, a smell Jongho thinks he may never grow tired of: mountain air; fresh and crisp and light, free of any of the pollutants he is used to.

In his entire life, air has never smelled like it does here.

Then Minji brings him back to his center with her sweet voice. "If you're feeling particularly bad, especially if there's an external reason, try closing your eyes and put all the energy into slowing your breath."

"Okay?" She smiles.

And Jongho nods.

"So that one is for if you're anxious." Jongho's legs are getting a little sore, so he switches them around while Minji speaks. "If you're feeling angry or sad, try smiling."

Now this one... Jongho is far more skeptical.

Sensing this, Minji laughs. "Ya! I know it sounds strange but it will send signals to your brain. You, Jongho, can trick your mind into thinking that you are happy, and then you actually will be."

"So fake it till you make it?" Jongho questions with raised brows.

"Basically, yes." Minji frames her chin with her hands and smiles brightly. "Smile as biggg as you can and hold it for ten seconds. You can even start with five if ten is too much," she adds.

And by the time this lesson is over, whatever that kimchi smell was is apparently ready to eat.

So from there on, the day is quiet.

Jongho tries to find an occupation, and in his wanderings (Minji said he could go wherever) he comes across what looks like a library. He gently pads inside of the old room-still wearing the shoes he came in-and takes a breath of the fresh air. Even here, in these elderly walls, the air is fresh. Here, too, the windows are open to forgiving elements and the library looks well-kept.

Ginormous pillows lay on the floor with a book open by the side: National Geographic: 2000.

He reads the beginning editor's note, and it starts with an apology: this will be their last publication.

Jongho takes a seat on the pillows and begins to flip through the thick magazine. Photo after photo greets him of images across Asia and the Arctic, the Americas, Africa, and Europe.

To Jongho, the magazine colors look exceptionally dull. Maybe it is because he is now used to Geoncho's true colors. Yet... the photos are so dreary... that this simple explanation seems unlikely.

The magazine is printed in English, so Jongho can't read the articles, but thankfully there is photo after photo: some accompanied by maps.

This last edition in Jongho's hands seems to go through the natural history of the past century, showing scenes Jongho has yet to see outside of photographs: cliffs overlooking pure oceans, the views from Mount Hallasan, cave systems, and fresh springs.

Jongho looks up as someone enters, and sees Yunho leaning against one of the shelves.

"Do you want to help make dinner?" Yunho asks.

And from his pillows, Jongho responds, "I'm not very good at cooking..."

"Neither am I," the older smiles, "but you don't have to be good at something to like doing it." Then Yunho notices the magazine in Jongho's hands. "Have you ever seen the ocean?" He asks.

"Only once," Jongho looks back at the photo, "but it didn't look like this."

"Yeah," Yunho sighs as he pushes off the bookcase, walking closer. "It's hard to find a part of the ocean that pure now... But the view of the ocean farther north, from the cliffs, it's one of the most wonderful views you'll get."

He points to the magazine photograph on Jongho's lap, "the color is much better than that. And you can see the horizon across hundreds of leagues."

"I've never seen a cliff," Jongho pauses, "or the horizon. They always said it wasn't necessary to see stuff like that."

"To see nature?" Yunho asks.

Yeah, Jongho nods.

"Well, you'll get all the nature you want out here." Yunho offers a hand out to Jongho to help him up from the pillows, but again, Jongho denies it. "I'm making lad na for dinner if you want to help? The people from the main community should hopefully arrive in time to eat and I want to feed them well."

On the way to the kitchen, the two stop by the gardens to pick up a head of cabbage and mustard greens. They also find two dozen eggs from various hens in place of meat for the meal; meat is saved for more special occasions.

They start work in the kitchen, and soon, delicious sweet and spicy aromas float around them.

Just after Jongho adds cabbage to the simmering broth, a screeching is heard; "THEY'RE HERE!" Hongjoong yells and rushes out of the house.

Yunho smiles widely and taps Jongho on the arm, "come on!" Yunho walks backward out of the kitchen, "let's greet them!"

"But..." the food, Jongho is going to say, yet the Yunho is already gone. So Jongho leaves it and runs after the other.

As soon as he comes outside, Jongho sees Hongjoong curled around the torso of one of the new arrivals. Jongho is a little weirded out, but the tall man seems to be used to it as he caresses Hongjoong's head.

Two people came, a man and a woman. Hongjoong drops back down to the grass and this barefoot trio walks closer. As they approach, Jongho notices that the man's presence is very similar to that of Minji's: soft and knowing.

As for the woman... she's a little more intense. But Minji goes up to greet her warmly. For Hongjoong and Mingi, the greeting is a little more formal.

These two bow to Jongho and he returns it. "What's your name?" the young woman asks. "I'm Siyeon."

"Jongho." He responds curtly.

"It's nice to meet you, Jongho. This is Seonghwa," she points to her right. The man doesn't smile, but his presence.. it seems to hold the aura of a smile either way. Plus, to his side, Hongjoong is smiling enough for the both of them.

— • —

That night Jongho has a dream.

He was asleep, at home, in his own bed.

Wooyoung was there, then Woohyeon, but as she walked away, Eunmin took her place. Lastly, Kyungmin was present.

Some feeling was rising in his chest, his legs. Something was going faster and faster. Jongho's body was running, even though he lay completely still.

Again, his siblings came before his mind's eye. Wooyoung, Woohyeon, Eunmin, Kyungmin. Again... and again, and again.

His surroundings, his body, his mind, it all sped up.

And then he opened his eyes.

Or did he.

Jongho's pulse increased rapidly for one mere, second and tears covered his cheeks as he thrashed in the sheets.

It is so loud. Even though everything is silent, it seems so loud.

And then he opens his eyes.

The sun shines on Jongho's form as he sits up tangled in soft sheets.

His cheeks are now dry, and his breathing normal.

The yellow hibiscus still sits in the corner of his room, the lumpy mattress he's gotten used to is still supported by metalwork meant for a fairy king; the world is still quiet as it drifts in through the open window.

Jongho turns to let the sun's rays rest on his face, to melt off his fear. One, two, three he breaths in; one, two, three he holds; one, two, three, four, five, he breaths out.

And it really does work.

He tries smiling, in accord with Minji's advice, but it feels so incredibly forced and artificial that he cringes as soon as he tries.

The breathing, he decides is enough for now.

The sun seems to have just risen, but Jongho won't go back to sleep; perhaps Yunho is out in the garden again.

Yet, Jongho doesn't hear any humming.

Before exploring, he grabs a bamboo towel from the rack and heads to the bathroom. Washing well under cool water, Jongho has begun to love the earthen scent of that soap, and the little sand beads it holds for exfoliation. Somehow it actually seems... cleaner, than the detergent and microplastic he is used to.

Quickly, he dries off and dresses - still slipping on his socks and shoes - before leaving the hanok.

•

8-3-22 3.1k words.