Siren Lullaby

shwaaaaa-

No matter where you look, all you can see is the sea. The wind was not strong, the calm sea was showing off its blue light in the midday sun, but Iran's mind was filled with confusion.

'Where…..am I?'

Iran tried to remember what had happened before she woke up here. She was looking at the sea from the shoreline on Jeju Island. Perhaps it was due to the heavy rain the day before, wild waves were crashing on the shore.

[Seo Iran, a rising singer who was referred to as the voice of God, lost her voice due to laryngeal cancer…...]

[A voice that mesmerizes people a.k.a a Siren. This time I'll be the Little Mermaid, but….]

['Seo Iran', who suddenly emerged as a star in the music program <I Am an Opera Singer>, was brought down by laryngeal cancer.]

After losing her voice in the aftermath of the laryngeal cancer surgery, Iran, which lost all her motivation and hope in life, recklessly visited Jeju Island. It was as if she was running away from the public eyes.

However, Jeju Island, where it is crowded with tourists, also failed to provide stability for Iran.

While searching for a place where there were no people, she found a place on a beach surrounded by rocks.

Perhaps because of the harsh weather, there were no shadows of people in the place where there would normally be one or two tourists.

Iran, who had been staring blankly at the raging waves for a while as if they were reflecting her upset mind, looked up at the sky with a resentful face. Both hands that had been stretched out were trembling. Tears seemed to be dripping from her eyes that led to the side of her nose bridge.

'......What mistakes have I made. What else do you want me to do…..'

Heaven was resentful, God was resentful.

When she was in her 3rd year of high school, Iran applied to the music college. She did it without her aunt's knowledge and her application was accepted.

But the joy only lasted for a brief moment. Her aunt, who learned about Iran's music application from her homeroom teacher, started following her on the way to school and prevented her from attending the interview.

The problem did not end there. Her aunt, who discussed Iran's grades with her homeroom teacher, had sent in an application to a nursing school that suited her grades without her permission. Without her aunt’s knowledge, she focused on singing, as a result her grades were a bit too low to apply to medical school.

She thought of purposely failing the exam out of rebellion, but in the end, it was her aunt who controlled her whole life. Even if she failed the exam, it was clear that her aunt would never let her go. Iran thought that it would be better to pretend to obey her aunt and aim for another chance, so Iran obediently accepted the test. When she became a college student, she thought she could earn money by working part-time and become independent.

Such an unexpected opportunity came to Iran when she graduated from school and started working in the hospital. One day, she saw an ad for a TV music program while she was working.

Hearing that it is a music contest to find future opera singers, Iran applied in secret, avoiding her aunt’s watchful eyes. It was a cannonball that signaled a new beginning for Iran.

[Heavenly voice 'Seo Iran'. The video surpassed 2 million views in just three days.]

After the first broadcast, Iran became a star overnight. Her video that was posted on the Internet was on people's lips every day, and reporters came to the hospital and her house to interview her. Her aunt, who belatedly learned the truth, tried to use her hands, but the public attention was already focused on Iran. She missed the time to respond, calculating the end of her rope, Iran didn't miss the chance to be a genius.

Through various interviews, Iran revealed her growth process in detail. The death of her parents, the transfer that happened against her will, and the incident that caused her to give up music school.

People's affection and interest in Iran turned into sharp arrows that flew towards her aunt.

A new article pops up every day.

Hundreds of comments were appearing below them.

And in the process of the truth being revealed, the ugly truth that she never even thought of was revealed.

[Ms. Seo, the aunt of the up-and-coming singer 'Seo Iran' stole her niece's insurance money under the pretense of being a legal guardian…...]

[An aunt or stepmother? Seo(45), the aunt of 'Seo Iran', was arrested by the police under charges of extorting insurance money.]

Iran's parents were covered by life insurance. The insurance money that should have gone back to Iran after her parents' death was handed over to her aunt without her knowledge. Everything her aunt has ever provided for Iran came from insurance money left by her parents.

The betrayal and anger felt by Iran, when she later found out the truth, were beyond imagination. All her aunt’s actions, which she thought were good intentions, were means to control her.

After Iran's situation was revealed, sponsorships came in from several companies. Iran, finally freed from the shadow of her aunt, dreamed of a bright future ahead, and prepared vigorously for the journey. However……

'Only 1 year……'

After her name became well known, she was only active for 1 year.

At first, she thought it was a cold or mild tuberculosis that came because her throat weakened due to overwork. However, the diagnosis made at the hospital after the biopsy was laryngeal cancer.

If removed through surgery, it will not be life-threatening, but she will no longer be able to speak. For Iran, this was equivalent to a death sentence.

After the condition of her throat was known, the sponsorships that had been coming in were cut off in an instant. No one was trying to help her, just a bunch of journalists wanting provocative articles.

One by one, she remembered the times she spent looking at only one song, and she couldn't even laugh at the feeling of loss that came rushing in like a wave. Her aunt, who was her only blood relative, had already cut off her ties.

There is no one beside Iran now. She was alone.

'I just wanted to sing…... was that such a bad thing to wish for…….?'

Iran tried to speak with a trembling mouth. But all she can hear is the sound of her breath.

Iran, in despair, slumped down on a rock. She wanted to scream like a madman, but no matter how hard she tried, all she could muster was a breath she didn't want to hear. Tears spilled from her eyes, soaking her face and pouring nonstop down her cheeks.

Did she even listen to her heart? With a rumble, the surroundings slowly clouded, and raindrops began to fall little by little. The raindrops, which had initially fallen one by one, gradually grew in size and quickly turned into thick raindrops.

Shwaaaaaa-

The pouring rain was taking away her warmth without mercy, but Iran was not even thinking about waking up from the rock. Then...

「......Don't cry.」

A faint voice could be heard in the pouring rain. Maybe she heard it wrong? Maybe it's because she cried so much that her ears were numb.

「.......Do you want to sing?」

But the voice came back. It was a clear voice as if it were echoing in a quiet bathroom. Iran raised her head and looked around for the direction in which the sound was heard. However, it was hard to see the surroundings due to the pouring rain.

'Who is it? What the hell are you talking about?'

Iran stood up and looked around again. But no matter how much she looked around, she couldn't see a single human being.

Iran looked down at the beach with a hopeful mind. Something with a white body was moving in the dark blue seawater under the darkened sky.

'......Dolphin? …...Is there a white dolphin in the sea of Jeju Island…...?'

At that time, the dolphin, which was swimming in the sea, stuck its head out to the surface. Then a clear voice came again.

「......You can sing again.」

Iran's eyes widened in surprise. Did the dolphin just speak now?

Her lips trembled. She couldn't understand the current situation or knew who was talking, but the content of the voice she heard in her ears was a sweet temptation for her.

'I can sing again…...? Really……?'

As if it heard her innermost thoughts, the voice resounded in her ears again.

「…..Come over here, Siren. Please let me hear your song.」

'If I go there…... will I be able to sing again?'

‘Then I want to go.’

As soon as Iran thought of it, the waves began to run wild. Surprised, she tried to back away, but before she could escape, a wave the size of a house swept over Iran's body.

'---!'

The seawater came in mercilessly into her nose and mouth. She was suffocating, but she couldn't open her eyes or move her body.

A feeling of unending fear came over her. Her ears grew numb and she heard the sound of murmuring water.

Am I going to die in vain like this?

'It's painful…...! Someone help me…...'

However, no matter how hard she tried, her body did not move as she expected. Her consciousness was starting to slip.

'It's like this…... is the end......'

A sad voice could be heard that seemed to be cut off amid the distant consciousness.

「And please…... put Anima's anger to rest…...」

* * * *

That was her last memory before she lost consciousness. When she opened her eyes, what was spread out in front of her was a small island above the vast sea. She was not even wearing anything. She hurriedly looked around, but she couldn't find any of her clothes around her.

Even though no one was watching, she felt a bit embarrassed to stay that way, so she covered her body by tying large leaves and stems around her. Then she could afford to look around.

'Did I get washed up on an uninhabited island?'

Was there an uninhabited island near Jeju Island? Iran, lost in thought, shook her head. Then, along the tilted head, her hair ran smoothly.

Iran, who was looking for a branch to fix her hair on because her hair down to her waist was cumbersome, she was startled when she saw the blue hair that caught her eye.

'.........?'

Iran, which thought it was a mistake because of the blue light of the sea, grabbed her hair and brought it to her eyes. But no matter how much she looked again, the hair in her small hands was blue.

Her hair, which had never been dyed before, was originally pitch black. Puzzled by the improbable phenomenon, Iran looked back at herself. Now that I see it, my skin is a little blue.

'What? Don't tell me there was paint in the ocean?'

Iran, dumbfounded, had a wild idea for a moment. Just in case, I approached the shore and looked at the water with my hands, but of course the sea water was just clear and transparent.

'Mirror…... of course…... there will be no such thing……?'

Thinking that there might be a smooth object that could reflect her face, she slowly walked along the shore. She was barefoot, but fortunately, her feet didn't hurt because the area around the beach was made of fine sand.

As Iran reached the end of the sandy shore, she was able to find a wooden chest that felt quite out of place from the surrounding landscape.

'......A wooden chest? In a place like this?'