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Jiwoong always felt dragged to the sea, as if there were a secret in the ocean for him alone to discover. That’s why sunsets on the beach where his favorite moment of the day, and moving alone to a small town felt like a totally fair price if he could spend his way home getting lost into the pink, purple and orange hues of the sky at that time, while his footsteps left traces behind his track to be erased by the waves right away, allowing the ocean to swallow up his entire existence in a single second, dragging deep into the sea all evidence that he was once there.
His life was not boring, as his friends usually liked to call it, not for him at least. He was actually looking for that when, a year ago, he decided to move from the big capital city to a small coastal town to teach literature in a high school with no more than a few hundreds of local students. He preferred to call it simple rather than boring; a simple quiet life to finally let his true self come to the surface and leave all his uncertainties behind.
That evening was different though, he couldn’t take his usual walk on the shore but he had to rush home instead, because some of his friends would come visit, so after his work hours, he left the school, bought some drinks and food for the night and walked home.
“Remember that you shouldn’t wander around late at night, Teacher ,” Louis, the owner of the only supermarket in town, said as Jiwoong was paying. “The fishing season is approaching and it is better not to disturb the Pincoya, besides, it is really into handsome men like you and we do not want to lose our dearest teacher to it ” Jiwoong laughed along with the old lady, barely remembering the story he was told when first arrived in town about a mythical beautiful creature called “Pincoya”, whose dance foreshadowed what the fishing season would be like for the locals. Most of the people in town claim the Pincoya was a woman because of its beauty, but the truth was that no one had seen the magical being up close enough to be sure.
“You don’t need to worry madame,” he said, not because he believed those countryside stories, but mostly not to be rude.
The evening went by really fast, his friends had the special ability to turn his quiet life into something noisy and overly lively every time they visited. They wrapped up the night and went back to the city, but two of them preferred to stay in the local guest house for the night, so asked Jiwoong to walk them there to not get lost. On his way back home, he took a deep breath of sea breeze, tasting the salt on his tongue and immediately feeling the lack of sand and waves on his feet, he looked at his watch indicating 3 a.m. and ignoring how the lack of sleep would affect him the next day, he headed to the beach as if pulled by a magnetic force. The sky was clear and full of stars, the bright big moon was casting silver hues all around making the waves’ foam sparkle as if they were glitter. The cold breeze pierced through his bones making him feel alive, awake but at the same time trapped inside a beautiful dream realm.
As Jiwoong continued walking along the shore, shoes on hand while he let his feet plunge into the almost freezing water, he saw something similar to a silhouette on a rocky outcrop in the distance. At first he didn’t give it any importance, believing that it was only a product of mixing up a whole working day, alcohol and the darkness of the night, because what would a person be doing there so late at night in such a risky situation, right? But the closer he got, the clearer the silhouette became; there was no doubt that there was a person walking dangerously towards the sea. Jiwoong, without a second thought, began to run in the direction of the rocks in an attempt to stop any possible tragedy, but once he climbed and got closer, he realized the situation was far more unbelievable; right in front of him, there was a young man, half dressed with what seemed to be algaes around his hips and falling graciously, tangled along his long slim legs. He was dancing facing the sea, while the silver moonlight delicately kissed his white hair and skin making them glow in the dark. Jiwoong froze in place, unable to even blink, dazzled by the sight of what he now knew was not a person, not one like him at least.
Suddenly the magnificent creature stopped his dance and turned to Jiwoong, who felt his heart stuck in his throat as he came face to face with somehow familiar features that could be only described as ethereal; a sharp but delicate appearance, a long string of pearls going all the way across his forehead and hanging from his ears, gracing a long neck, high cheekbones displaying a shy charming smile, and round bright eyes piercing their way straight through Jiwoong's soul.
Jiwoong felt his heart burst inside his chest, as the young man walked in his direction, closing the distance between the two of them.
“You! you are not supposed to see me this close…yet” a deep sweet voice flooded Jiwoon’s ears like a lullaby at the same time that the gorgeous man reached out his hand to gently caress his face. First an insanely soft touch and then within a second, wet salty lips colliding with his own, taking his breath away and melting all his resistance.
Then, out of nowhere, Jiwoong found himself lying on the sand, under the morning sun, with only a pearl clenched in his fist like the whisper of a promise.