"Why the hell is the fog so damn thick tonight…"
I muttered to myself, pulling the job flyer out of my pocket.
Pavilion 9, huh?
Great. But where the hell is it?
I followed the wooden signs along the pier, one after another.
I'd only moved to this city recently, but I'd passed this harbor enough times to know the layout. Pavilion 9… that one must've been built not long ago. I'd never seen it before.
I walked along the docks, counting quietly.
"Three… five… seven…"
There. "Nine."
Compared to the other pavilions, Pavilion 9 looked like it was losing a fight with gravity.
The roof sagged. The posts were crooked.
The whole thing felt like one strong wave could send it straight into the sea.
And right beside it, I spotted a small wooden boat tied loosely to the post.
"Well, well… someone's not very careful, huh?"
I grinned. "Thanks for the charity."
Before the thought even finished forming, I was already stepping onto the boat.
And before guilt could show up, I was already untying the rope.
And before common sense could argue, I was already out on the water.
I found a compass inside the boat—just lying there, like it had been placed for me on purpose.
A coincidence? Maybe.
But my instincts told me someone prepared all this ahead of time.
The old wooden boat drifted away from the pier quickly.
The midnight wind was strong tonight; it pushed the sail with surprising force.
In only a few minutes, the shore behind me dissolved into nothing.
Fog swallowed the world.
Left, right, straight ahead—
everything was just water and white mist.
"Guess that's the fog's fault… can't see shit."
Or maybe it was just my luck.
I kept my eyes on the compass, adjusting the tiller, steering toward what I hoped was my new workplace.
Who in their right mind would pass up a high-paying job like this?
Good money, free housing, and best of all—
no need to deal with people.
Sounded perfect to me.
-
Keith's POV
-
Night at sea was quieter than I expected.
Too quiet.
Only the sound of slow waves tapping against the hull kept me company.
The fog was thick, the sky pitch-black…
yet somehow the stars were brighter than I'd ever seen.
"Well… at least the view's good," I said, lying back in the boat.
The stars looked close enough to touch.
That moment of peace didn't last.
A low rumble rolled across the sky—
not too close, not too far.
Just enough to piss me off.
"Great. Exactly what I needed. Not a single normal day in my life, huh?"
I sat up, checking the compass again.
"How far is this damn lighthouse?
At this rate I'll end up swimming there myself."
Then—
rain.
Instant. Hard. Violent.
Cold drops smashed into my face and shoulders.
Within seconds the small wooden boat was filling with water.
"Are you kidding me?"
I yanked off my outer jacket, using it like a sponge to scoop water out.
Pointless.
Completely, utterly pointless.
"Fantastic. Rain's falling like justice, and this jacket's about as useful as a wet paper bag…"
Thunder cracked louder.
Wind slashed at the waves.
It felt like the storm was sprinting toward me like it had somewhere urgent to be.
"Yeah, yeah—go find your dad who left to buy milk, whatever—just don't sink me!"
I kept dumping water out, body soaked through, hands freezing.
And then—
like someone flipped on a spotlight—
I saw it.
A tall silhouette rising from the ocean mist,
a single beam of rotating light cutting through the rain.
The lighthouse.
"There you are…"
Relief hit me harder than the rain.
It was closer than I thought—maybe a little over a kilometer.
Close enough that for one insane second,
I actually considered jumping in and swimming.
But logic slapped me back.
If I abandoned the boat now,
the storm would drag it God-knows-where.
And even if I reached the lighthouse,
I'd need this boat later just to get back to the mainland.
One day. A week. A month. Who knows.
So I kept bailing water, swearing under my breath,
until finally—
the boat scraped against the wooden dock.
Simple construction.
Old wood.
Everything drenched but somehow still standing.
"Made it… somehow."
I tied the rope I'd brought around a support post,
double-knotted it for safety,
and stepped onto the dock.
The rain hammered the back of my neck as I pushed open the narrow gate
and approached the lighthouse door—
completely unaware that the real job
was about to begin.