Open & See

Dal Gong-gi was alone: and he loved it. Living comfortably in an old barn in Norway, the only luxury that came from his old life was his iPhone. It was the only way he could contact the outside world. If you went into his home, you wouldn’t believe that he was once an international pop star who sold millions.

The phone beeped and vibrated on his table. Gong-gi looked away and tucked into a slice of chocolate cake.

After having a slice of chocolate at the old barn, Gong-gi did some work at the farm. After the job was done, he discovered a suspicious package wrapped in a brown paper box by his doorstep. Where did it come from and how did it get here? His location was suppose to be a top secret? He couldn’t turn around and say it was sent to him by mistake: it has his name written in capital letters.

Against his instincts, he picked it up from the ground. A worm was dangling from the bottom of the package. Gong-gi managed to flick it away. The box had been illustrated with scribbles and doodles. Two sharks wearing marigold flowers were stuck in a frozen pond. Above his name was a bull raging towards a pear tree under the green light.

Putting everything together in his head, there was only one person who could have sent the package: Taeyang. After all, he was one of the few people that joined him in the Norwegian barn.

Taeyang had a shark tattoo on his arm, and the shark had a marigold flower on its forehead, much like the sharks on the art box.

Gong-gi didn’t feel so scared anymore.

Taking the box in with him, he placed it on the table and stared at it for a few minutes. The only way he could get a conversation out of anyone was through the wandering sheep that lived in the farm. The spiders that made home in his ceiling were not so interested in him.

He hadn’t seen anybody in over a year: not even his own family.

Taking a knife from the cabinet, he cut the box open, leaving the artwork on the packaging in tact. As soon as he opened the box, the smell of flowers overwhelmed in. There was a batch of them in front.

Now he knew it was Taeyang, he was the only one that showed affection for him. The second thing was a green light bulb that Gong-gi assumed represented the Northern Lights.

The next thing he got out was a shark plush toy. As soon as he got the plush out, there was another plushie representing a raging bull. Both toys had marigold flowers attached to the side of their faces.

Last but not least was a bag of pears. Gong-gi clapped his hands and cheered. He ripped the bag open and bit into the pear the moment it touched his lips.

Looking outside his window he saw a frozen pond and a tree next to it. The tree won’t be able to grow anything as it’s too cold there, but he hoped that in the summer there would be lots and lots of pears.

He converted the brown paper box into a vase, and placed the marigold flowers by his kitchen window. Amazing how such a handful of flowers could bring such colour to a worn-out barn.

The bull and the shark now had a place on the sofa. As for the pears, they would not last very long.

As he was about to lay down in bed, he heard noises coming from the living room. He rolled over to the wall, assuming it was the pigs. Gong-gi jolted up after hearing a sigh. Tiptoeing into the living room, he saw the shadow of a tall man changing his lightbulbs.

Smirking, Gong-gi turned on the lights. The whole room turned green.

“Ouch!”

“That’s what you get for breaking and entering!” Gong-gi shouted.

“The door was wide open!”

“Well thanks for the gifts.”

“You’re welcome. I should hope so too. I came a long way just to send them, and you didn’t answer our calls.”

“I wanted some peace and quiet.”

“Sorry,” Taeyang said, shrugging his shoulders. “You won’t get that around me. Everybody needs company and social interactions, even a hermit like you.”

“You’re right. Come on, let’s make some pear juice.”