Chapter 76: Chapter 76 – Silver Eyes In The Red Rock
After that funny prank on the beach, Sohen decided he needed a break from the group.
(They’re all just incredible, but...)
He apologized to Karin mom, Phoebe sister, and Grandma Runo, said he wanted to take a walk alone, and headed off along the shore.
(I really should get away from here for a while, because I’m afraid I might... misinterpret something again, and my dick even more so...)
The girls just smiled and waved at him—they realized they’d gone a bit too far with the joke.
(How many hours have passed since we arrived?... Why does time fly by so fast here?)
An hour later, he was already far from the hotel’s main beach.
The path led him to a small cove that almost no one visited.
There were no lounge chairs, umbrellas, or bars here.
Just a wild, almost untouched stretch of shore, surrounded by tall cliffs of reddish stone.
The water here was a deeper, rich blue, and the waves crashed against the rocks with a loud, rhythmic roar.
(The whole area near the hotel and the beach looks like paradise. It’s just incredible. A place like this is definitely worth seeing at least once in your life...)
Sohen sat down on a large flat boulder, took off his shirt, and turned his face to the wind.
(How wonderful!...)
The sun was already beginning to sink toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.
(The horizon... Wait, what?! Really?! Have I really been at the beach with my relatives for that long? I haven’t been here that long either, and the drive took an hour at most... What the hell is going on with time here... Oh well. It’s not every day you get to see something like this. I’ll send Phoebe a message saying I’m on a long walk and my location so they don’t worry.)
After the notification sound confirmed that the message had been sent to his sister and she’d read it, he started thinking about how foolishly he’d behaved at the beach and how easily he’d let himself get carried away by a joke, and suddenly felt like he wanted something completely different — silence, solitude, and something... unusual.
(Wow! My soul suddenly wants to feel adventure... Strange. I usually don’t have such a desire. Could it be that the atmosphere of this place affects a person’s inner state so much?... I’m not a fan of various mystical theories and the like, but... as soon as this young man left his sexy relatives, he began to feel somehow different... Great, even in my own thoughts, I’ve started talking about myself in the third person... Phew, what a load of nonsense...)
He stood up and walked further along the cliffs.
Around the bend, he saw a narrow crevice in the rock — something like a natural cave that only opened up at low tide.
(What’s going on here?... This morning I felt like a character in a porn movie, and now I’m that same idiot who dies first in horror movies... Maybe I should stop and turn back?... Hmm...)
It was quite cool and quiet inside.
The walls were covered with soft green moss and tiny sparkling crystals that reflected the light streaming through the opening.
(Just like in that movie. What was it called... *The Accidental Possessed*, I think?)
Sohen went deeper inside.
The air here smelled of salt and something sweet, like tropical flowers.
He sat down on a smooth rock, listening to the ocean roaring in the distance.
(Maybe I really should turn back...?)
Suddenly he heard a soft sound—like a light breath or a rustle.
(Shit!!! No! No! No! What the hell is this?!)
Sohen quickly turned his head to the left instinctively and... a few meters away, a young woman was standing.
She was completely naked, except for a thin, transparent fabric that wrapped around her hips and hung down to her knees like an improvised skirt.
(A woman?... Beautiful... Wait! Is she... nude?! How... daring.)
Her skin had a strange pearlescent sheen, and her hair—long, dark green, like seaweed — swayed gently, even though there was no wind in the cave.
Her eyes were large, almost silvery.
(What is this... a mermaid? It doesn’t look like it, and I don’t believe it...)
She didn’t look scared; on the contrary, she looked at him with curiosity and a slight smile.
- (Unknown Woman). "You’ve wandered far from your own kind, hehe..."
She said in a soft, slightly melodious voice.
(What a beautiful voice. It immediately reminds me of Miss Minkun, but there’s still a difference. Is she a singer, or is this just a gift that life has given her?)
Sohen recoiled but didn’t stand up.
(My heart... started pounding.)
- (Me). "Who... are you?"
- (Unknown Woman). "People call me by different names. Here, they call me Keiko. And you’re Sohen, right? A beautiful name for a handsome man."
- (Me). "..."
(How... How does this woman know my name?)
Keiko took a step closer.
Her movements were fluid, almost weightless.
Sohen noticed that her feet were bare, and small scales, resembling fish scales, glistened on her ankles.
- (Me). "Is this some kind of prank? Who are you and what’s going on..."
Keiko laughed softly; the sound was like the trickling of water.
- (Keiko). No, it’s not a prank. I’m very real, and I’ve lived here in the bay for a very long time. Sometimes people like you come here, but... they leave this place pretty quickly when my voice starts echoing around."
(He would have been embarrassed if he’d seen a woman who was beautiful, yet very strange...)
She sat down across from him on another rock.
The fabric on her thighs had slipped slightly, but she didn’t rush to adjust it.
(Wow!... What else can I say...)
- (Keiko). "You can leave now if you wish, or stay and listen to the sea the way I hear it. It tells many things."
- (Me). "..."
(Is she... going to eat me by accident? I don’t feel very comfortable being next to her...)
Sohen was silent for a long time, but then he reached out and touched her fingers.
- (Me). "Are you really real?"
Hearing those words, Keiko smiled even wider.
- (Keiko). "Just as real as you are... my friend. Would you like me to show you what the ocean looks like from the inside? No masks, no jokes, no expectations."
She stood up and held out her hand to him.
Sohen, without knowing why, took it, and together they walked to the edge of the cave, where the water was already beginning to flood the floor.
- (Keiko). "Close your eyes..."
- (Me). "..."
(What am I doing right now?...)
Finally... he did it.
At that very moment, he heard the sound of the waves grow deeper, closer, as if Sohen himself were plunging into it.
(I’m... not scared... calm... unusual.)
When Sohen opened his eyes a few minutes later, Keiko was gone.
- (Me). "What the... Hmm?"
Only a small mother-of-pearl shell lay on the rock, glowing softly in the rays of the setting sun.
(A shell?... Where’s Keiko?...)
He picked it up, pressed it to his ear, and heard a soft, melodious whisper.
- When you want to see me again — come. I’ll be waiting for you in this place...
- (Me). "..."
(Shit!... Damn, how strange, and... what is this feeling of déjà vu?... Hmm...)
Finally, Sohen smiled, tucked the shell into his pocket, and walked back to the hotel.
The sun had almost set, and later tonight, his three sexy female relatives might be waiting for him with more teasing.
(Keiko... Who or what are you?...)
As Sohen walked away, a woman watched him from the shadows the whole time, desperate not to be noticed.
With her long, dark green hair, this beauty could only watch the back of the athletic and handsome young man as he took out his phone and began dialing a number.
Of course, it was Keiko herself, who watched Sohen with a sweet smile as he moved further away from her with every step.
- (Keiko). "He’s still the same as always... I need to let Minju know his current location right away. Expect a surprise soon, Sohen, hehe...)
Sohen would never in a million years guess what was about to happen to him.
