A group of girls slowly made their way down a pebbled path as the sun had risen to its highest point of the day. The girls were almost completely exhausted, having walked the whole way from the bus station nearby.
The way that most of them had masks on to hide their identity also didn’t help them feel cool except for one of them. The girl had walked down this path more times than she could count on her hands. Even if her eyes were closed, she knew exactly where the path went.
“We’re almost there, don’t worry. Wuah, I can see the beach from here~” Yujin replied to her youngest member, pulling the large trolley bag along the pebbled road.
“Where?! I wanna see!” Leeseo ran up quickly over to her leader, stepping on the tips of her shoes to try and see one of the landmarks the town had to offer.
Yujin glanced at the smaller girl that had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and had her bag in front of her. The pink plushie was peeking out the bag she had in front of her as if trying to see what was in front of them.
“How much more do we have to walk…?” Gaeul asked from behind the pair breathlessly.
“We’re getting closer to the town, though we still have to walk a little more to reach our house.” Yujin replied, her eyes focused on the sets of houses and small buildings in the distance.
Yujin heard her and the rest of the girls groan lightly as they walked. Thinking back, she should’ve told them that they had to do a lot of walking.
She glanced back to look at them and saw that they were all holding onto fans as they walked with their bags.
Their leader tried to look for a place for them to rest for a bit but all they had was the lone stretch of road in front of them. Even the bench and the little shop that stood by the road was nowhere to be seen.
Fond memories slowly crept up at the back of Yujin’s mind as she slowly remembered all the times she ran down this road, running from a boy as they innocently played tag.
Yujin sighed out into the air, just in time as a refreshing breeze blew by them. She held her head high, as if she wasn’t affected by the heat.
“Why can’t we just get a taxi?~” Liz complained, leaning into the fan of the Japanese girl next to her.
“Taxi’s rarely pass through the town and even if they did, they would charge us an arm and a leg.” Yujin replied with a ready-made answer that made the girls sigh and groan out more behind her.
Despite their circumstances, Yujin wondered if this was some blessing in disguise. She would’ve wanted much more days to recover, even if her request was granted. Perhaps she could use this time to relax back home.
She was sure her parents wouldn’t mind if she appeared suddenly with guests on such short notice.
They knew all of the girls already, especially Wonyoung, since it felt like they were growing old together, being friends since they were both trainees.
For the other people in town, she wasn’t quite sure.
Word travels fast, especially in this day and age. Who knew if all the news about her had spread through the town and through the people. She wouldn’t want them to think of her as someone the reports claimed her to be.
She would much rather be thought of as the carefree girl that was friends with everyone that she once was.
Even if she hadn’t gone home for years and even if the way she had treated the town was more often superficial lately, she hoped that they would take her back with open arms.
Every time she denied herself the idea of going back home, it wasn’t because the town no longer meant anything to her, rather, she didn’t want to face a familiar person that, she recently found out, still lived in the town.
Seoul was where she worked, stayed and lived but the little seaside town of Gyeokpo-ri has been, and always will be, home.
The town where she formed her dream of becoming an idol and the same one she left to pursue it.
The town that had its own quirks and characteristics that she couldn’t find anywhere else.
And the town where she experienced many of her firsts.
The change of scenery surely did help relieve the stress the past few days had given her.
From the blinding camera flashes to the blinding sun shining down on her and from the high-rise buildings to the rice paddies that stretched both sides of the road they were on, the change gave her a sense of calm through the rage and confusion she had previously been experiencing.
Yujin glanced over her shoulder and thought that the girls needed some extra motivation to get to her hometown. In an energetic and optimistic voice, she shouted.
“If we make it quick enough, I’ll make sure to treat everyone to a meal!~”
“Goodbye, Teacher Pham!”
A classroom of children shouted at the lone woman at the front of their room. She smiled at them brightly, as their time in school for the day came to a close. She gave them a short bow before hearing the screeches of chairs and tables being pushed across the floor.
The woman assisted the kids to the door, opening it to let them through to the halls of the school, all except one.
As Hanni guided her students, she felt a tap on her back. She turned around and found a small girl behind her. Her small hands carefully held onto the straps of her backpack.
The little girl swayed side to side slowly, as if she wanted to say something to her teacher. Soft sounds of metal tapping against each other came from the sets of keys she held in her hands.
“It looks like someone’s ready to head home.”
Hanni crouched down slightly to match the girl’s level. She smiled gently as she raised her hand over the girl’s shoulder. The small girl only looked at her teacher silently, hoping they could be on their way home soon.
“Is it fine if I accompany you home today?” Hanni asked the small girl, soft enough for her to hear. The small girl nodded her head to answer.
“Oppa already told me earlier and he told me to let you hold onto these.” Seowon held out the keys in her hands, the metal bouncing off some of the light that shined through the windows.
“Really? Thank you for trusting me with bringing you home.” The woman bent her head down, bowing at the child. Accepting the keys into her own hands, she slowly stood back up.
“Before we head home, I need to get my bag first. So…would you like to follow me to the teacher’s room?”
Seowon pondered with herself a bit before she shyly nodded her head. Her teacher smiled down at her before reaching her open hand out.
Grabbing a hold of each other’s hand, the two girls slowly lead themselves out of the room and started their way towards the room specifically made for the teachers.
*CREAK!~*
The door to the teacher’s room was pushed open slowly, letting in the woman on the other side. She went inside and was immediately enveloped by the cold air from the air conditioners.
She saw the other people that stayed within the room. All were already carrying their bags, all ready to head home after using the day to teach students.
“Look, Hanni’s back!” One of them said, adjusting the strap of her bag that ran across her chest.
“Looks like she has a visitor too~” Another one said, looking at the small girl hiding behind Hanni’s leg.
The woman bowed down to greet them before moving to the side, making her other teachers see the young girl behind her.
“Hello there, Seowonnie~” The eldest of the teachers waved her hand at the young girl with a smile.
“Good afternoon!~” The young girl glanced down around the room in confusion before she decided to bow down to greet her teachers formally.
The teachers smiled and giggled at the girl’s actions. Seowon leaned back up to see that Hanni had walked over to a table near the corner of the room. It had papers stacked up neatly on it but the pens and pencils were scattered all around.
She quickly followed her, wanting to stay by the woman’s side.
Hanni smiled, watching the girl walk back to her. It felt like she was growing a close bond between them, maybe her brother would be proud of that too.
“Seowonnie~ Are you also going out for dinner?” Sakura asked the young girl who turned her head towards the woman next to her as she was organizing her bag.
Hanni looked down at the girl before chuckling rather awkwardly. She thought that the little girl knew nothing of her and her brother’s arrangement at night so she quickly responded for her.
“Of course, she is! I’m sure her brother wouldn’t want her to just stay at home. He would want her to have fun outside too, so why not bring her along?” Hanni explained, putting a hand over Seowon’s shoulder and pushing her closer towards her side.
“I see. Make sure to have with your older brother and Teacher Pha-Wait no, Hanni unnie!” Minji cheered out, making the woman shake her hands, flustered.
“Unnie? W-we’re not that close for her to call me that.” Hanni rejected before glancing back and forth between her friends and the young girl. “But I wouldn’t mind if she did, got it?”
Seowon nodded with an adorable smile only a child could wear. Hanni and the other teacher’s hearts melted at the sight, cooing out one compliment after the other.
Their words made the young Seowon shy, using Hanni as a shield to hide behind.
“Should we head home now?” Hanni turned around slightly, once again offering her hand at the girl.
“Yes, unnie.” Seowon replied softly, placing her on the woman’s to hold.
Hanni was slightly taken aback with her response, not because she didn’t like it, but rather she wasn’t expecting it. Her reply was an unexpected yet welcome one.
“That’s good.” Hanni turned to the other teachers inside the room. “If you don’t mind, we’ll get going now.” She bowed her head down slightly and as did the young girl next to her.
Waving goodbye to the other women inside the room, Hanni and Seowon walked out into the now empty hall after the rest of the students made their way outside. And hand in hand, the pair began walking their way out of the school and towards the girl’s home.
A cool breeze blew through into the town and through its streets. The trees whistled in the wind, shedding its leaves down onto the ground below. The sky had a soft shade of amber painted across its canvas, with the birds that flew above, being its details.
“Wuah, the wind is getting colder by the day.” Hanni commented, rubbing down her arm with the other. “Are you sure you’re not feeling the cold?”
She looked down at the young girl holding her hand, who turned her head upwards towards Hanni and shook her head no.
“I see. But you need to wear something warm later, I’m sure it’ll be much colder at night.” Hanni looked back at the stretch of sidewalk in front of them. Houses lined up until the end of the road, all bearing almost the same design as the one beside them.
She glanced over her head at the other side of the road where more houses were. She could see the front yard of one of the houses. Tables and chairs were laid out on the grass, and she could see a group of girls around them.
Hanni felt like she has seen them somewhere before but she couldn’t pinpoint where. Seowon shared the same feeling of familiarity as she looked at one of the girls on the yard.
She had short black hair that barely reached her shoulders but she had her back turned against them so the little girl couldn’t see her face. Despite that, she felt like she had seen her before.
“It looks like Mrs An has guests over.”
Hanni didn’t put any more thought into it as she focused back onto the sidewalk. The little girl’s house wasn’t that much farther, so it was best to hurry up so they wouldn’t be late to their dinner plans.
Seowon carefully watched her teacher fumble and jumble the set of keys in her hands. She saw the confused look in her eyes as she swiped between key after key.
“Gosh, it would really help if he labeled all of these.” Hanni mumbled putting one of the keys inside of the doorknob. She twisted it all the way and the wooden door clicked open.
Sighing in relief, Hanni pushed the door open revealing the interior of the home. She reached her hand over the wall to the side and flicked the light switches on, providing light to the dark hone.
Hanni and Seowon entered the house, leaving their shoes by the door. The little girl quickly dashed to the kitchen, surprising the woman. She must have been hungry.
“I can’t believe he left all of these out.” Hanni mumbled, closing the door behind her. She approached the living room where an empty cup and a small plate were laid out.
An open book rested beside them, revealing what page the man was on when he left it.
Hanni pulled her bag down from her shoulder and placed it on the soft cushions of the couch. Leaning down, she carefully picked up the plate and the cup before making her way to the kitchen.
Passing through the doorway, she saw the young girl standing in front of an open refrigerator. The light inside the cold appliance illuminated her face as she looked for food inside.
“Are you hungry for anything?” Hanni asked, placing the cup and plate down into the sink. Seowon turned towards the woman and shook her head.
“Alright, but tell me if you do want anything, maybe I can make something for you.” She smiled before walking back into the living room.
She stopped in front of the table and picked up the book that was left on the table. Making sure to fold the side of the page, she closed the book and found out it was some old novel.
Hanni then went over to the book shelf at the corner of the room and placed it in between two of the other books. As she did, she couldn’t help but see a small picture frame displayed in a section of the shelf.
Inside was a dated picture that showed a man next to a woman and a boy in between them and a table full of food in front of them. She has never seen them before but the young boy looked like a younger version of (YN).
She grabbed the frame to get a closer look. Hanni continued staring at the picture and didn’t realize that a small girl had crept up behind her.
“Teacher Pham.”
The woman gasped out loud, almost dropping the picture in her hands. She quickly turned her head towards the young girl, placing her hands back to her sides.
“What time is oppa coming home?” Seowon innocently asked before her eyes drifted down to the frame she was holding.
“I-I’m not exactly sure, but he won’t be out for much longer. Maybe he’s on his way home now?” Hanni explained, calming down from her initial shock. She then noticed that the small girl was looking at the frame in her hands.
Seowon looked at what the woman held. She hesitated to nod her head before she turned around.
“Seowon-ah, do you know where we’re going later?” Hanni suddenly asked, placing the frame back on the shelf. Her question caused the child to stop on her way to the stairs.
Seowon turned around to face her again. Instead of giving an audible answer, she simply shook her head no at the woman. Hanni softly exhaled with a smile, taking steps closer to the young girl.
“We’re going to a seafood restaurant later. Do you like those kinds of dishes?” Hanni innocently asked.
“I like calamari.” Seowon simply replied.
“Ooh~ let’s make sure to order lots then, I’m sure your brother wouldn’t mind if I spoiled you just a little bit.” The woman placed her arms behind her back and leaned down slightly.
“R-really?” The young girl stuttered, her eyes slightly widened.
“Of course, I want you to enjoy the night too. Say, how about I help you pick what you’re going to wear, like dress up?” Hanni offered making the girl’s eyes sparkle upon hearing it.
Seowon energetically nodded her head. Maybe she could use another girl in the house since she was getting so enthusiastic with just getting help to pick what to wear.
“Should we get started? Guide me to your room so we can pick out clothes for you~” Hanni leaned back up, offering her hand. The young girl softly held onto her hand before dragging her along up the stairs.
Lim (YN) slowly walked down the sidewalk that led back to his home. He had his coat in his hand as he steadily held the bag slung over his shoulder with the other.
He glanced upon the now darkened sky, just as the stars began to appear all around its blank canvas.
He said he was going to be late, but did not think it would be this late. He wondered how his younger sister was doing. Maybe Hanni was still taking care of her, or maybe she went home to get herself ready.
The thought crossed his mind but only briefly, as he knew she wouldn’t leave Seowon all alone. The sight of the lights inside their house might have just proved that.
He was suddenly reminded that he was due a favor from the woman anyway. Walking to the front door of his home, he wondered what she might make him do.
He softly placed his hand over the doorknob before twisting it and pushing the door open. Through the open door, warm air mixed with the calm scent of tea met the man’s nostrils.
“Welcome home!~”
Hanni placed a cup down on the table in the living room before she waved a hand at him. Seowon sat down on the couch with her own cup on the table along with a small plate of biscuits.
(YN) closed the door behind him and walked deeper into the home. “Sorry if I came home later than I told you I was going to be.” He bowed down shortly before he felt a nudge over his arm.
“Don’t say that~ You were just doing your job and I can’t really make you come home quicker. You must be so tired after a long day, have a seat.” Hanni pointed him to an empty chair, as if he was the guest of his own home.
“What’s going on here?” (YN) looked at the plates and cups before him as he sat down on the cushions of the chair.
“Well, Seowonnie wanted a snack so I helped her find food around the house. I might’ve gotten a few packets of tea, if you don’t mind.” Hanni softly chuckled, sitting down next to the young girl as she quietly ate.
“There really isn’t a need to do all of this, aren’t we going out later?” (YN) exhaled, putting his coat down on the table.
“Let her eat, we both know she wouldn’t have been able to wait until dinner, right?” Hanni smiled as she turned her head down at the girl that nodded back at her.
“You two seem to have gotten close. Anything else happen while I was out?” (YN) said before he picked up a chocolate covered biscuit then bit into it.
“Nothing much, to be honest. I just helped pick out what Seowon wanted to wear for dinner. I gotta say, you have to buy her more clothes.” Hanni chuckled, raising a hand to cover her mouth.
“Why is that?” (YN) asked in between his bites of the biscuit.
“She doesn’t have a lot, first of all. You’re lucky I picked out some pretty ones for her. Maybe you could take her shopping, or even order some online.” Hanni shrugged, before crossing her arms across her chest.
“But she said that her clothes all still fit her, how am I supposed to know if she needed more?” (YN) argued back.
“Because you don’t ask! It wouldn’t hurt to ask if she wanted more dresses, skirts and what not.” Hanni quickly replied.
(YN) didn’t want the argument to go any further, so he sank deeper into his seat. The woman smiled at him before she leaned down onto the table and pushed the tea cup in his direction.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll be heading home to get ready now.” Hanni started, standing up from her seat.
“Seowon already took a bath and all she has to do is get dressed in the clothes that we picked out. Shouldn’t you get ready too?” Hanni asked, looking at his now worn out work attire.
“Can’t I go to the restaurant like this?” (YN) answered her with a question of his own.
“Aish, you should at least put on another outfit. If you go out like that, then it feels like I’m going out with a business man, not a friend.” Hanni joked as she rounded the table and stood beside his seat.
“Fine, fine, I’ll put something on, for you.” The man assured her with a nod.
The woman’s smile grew as she bowed down politely before she headed towards the door.
Hanni Pham wanted everything to be perfect.
From her hair, to her outfit and all the way down to the shoes she was going to wear, she wanted everything to look pretty and perfect, even if it was just some simple dinner.
Hanni meticulously examined her reflection on the mirror. She carefully checked everything from head to toe, as if she were checking out the details of an art piece.
“Does my hair look okay?” She asked herself as her hands fixed the large hair clip that held her strands to the side.
“These will go well, I think.” Hanni picked up a set of eyeglasses with red frames before wearing them. She now stared at herself with a smile. Swaying side to side, the long skirt she wore flowed freely.
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
Hanni turned her head towards the loud noises coming from her house’s front door. Immediately knowing who it was, she rushed to get herself ready. She quickly picked up the easiest set of shoes to wear, a set of flats.
She grabbed her purse along the way out of her room and through to the front door. Hanni slipped into her shoes before taking a moment to breathe right in front of her door.
Anything could happen tonight, and all she hoped for was the best. She took in the soft smell from her perfume before slowly pulling the door open, revealing a man and a small girl on the other side.
The man immediately retracted his arm to the side after going in for another knock.
“Did I make you two wait for too long?” Hanni asked, stepping outside of her door.
“Not really, we just got here, right?” (YN) replied, looking down at the young girl next to him.
“You look pretty, Hanni unnie!” Seowon suddenly shouted, getting both of their attention.
“Hanni unnie…?” (YN) mumbled, glancing at the woman.
“Aww~ Thank you, Seowonnie. You look so pretty too, thanks to the one that styled you.” Hanni replied to the younger girl, putting her chin in between her index finger and her thumb.
“Hope you don’t mind if she calls me that, it might be a little awkward if she calls me a teacher everywhere we go.” The woman glanced back at the man.
“Oh it’s fine, I mean that is what you are to her. You don’t have to worry about it.” (YN) shook his hands.
Hanni looked down at the outfit he now had. He had changed out of his work attire and slipped into something more casual yet more appealing than a wrinkled up polo and tie.
“Seowon’s right by the way, you don’t look half bad.”
Hanni knew that despite his annoyingly crude way of talking at times, he meant more than what his words meant.
“You don’t look half bad yourself, not that ugly but just enough to be appealing in my eyes.” Hanni joked with a smirk on her face, putting both her hands together to form a rectangle which she used to look through towards the man.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh don’t worry about it~. Should we get going now?” Hanni nodded her head to the direction ahead of them before walking down from the short steps of her home.
Through the distinct sounds of people’s chatter that littered in between the tables and chairs sat a group of three. They carefully read through the menu they held with the help of the dim light above them.
“Oppa, can I get this?”
Hanni glanced her eyes away from the menu and towards the man and the young girl in front of her. She watched them point to different parts of the large menu in front of them.
She couldn’t help but smile at the two. With her brother working in and around the town and with a lot of her time spent in school, it was a rare sight to see them two together.
Initially just wanting to bond with (YN) more, she felt surprisingly more pleased at being able to spend her time with the both of them.
“Are you ready to order?”
Hanni immediately averted her gaze from the man that looked up from his menu. Her eyes quickly scanned all the names of the dishes, trying to look for a good meal to eat.
“Hanni…?”
Once she heard her name called once more, she made up her mind on what she could order. Gazing over her menu, she saw that the man and the young girl next to him were patiently waiting for her.
“Y-Yeah, I’m ready to order.” She stuttered softly, placing the plastic menu down onto the wooden table. She placed her hands down onto her lap and felt how warm they had gotten.
With a nod, (YN) turned his head away from their table with hopes to find someone who could take their orders. He raised his hand in the air and fortunately for him, a waiter just so happened to be walking by.
“Yes, Sir? How may I take your order?” The waiter asked, pulling out a small notepad and pen from their pocket.
“Right. Could we get three cups of rice with a plate of calamari, fried tofu and a plate of your grilled salmon, with the side dishes included please.” (YN) gave a little nod towards the woman in front of him, both a signal to say her own order.
“Hmm…I feel like I’d love to have a plate of the spicy stir-fried squid.” Hanni smiled, saying her order.
“And…one order of stir-fried squid. How about your drinks for tonight?” The waiter quickly wrote down on their notepad before asking.
(YN) picked up the menu again, trying to look for a drink for his younger sister. Meanwhile, Hanni went to search for a drink for herself. There were interesting options, from the shakes down to the different fruit drinks.
“Can she get an iced tea?” (YN) said, nudging a shoulder to the Seowon next to him.
“How about for the both of you, sir?” The waiter quickly wrote down the order before glancing between the man and the woman.
“Hmm…I can get the…” (YN) mumbled out, looking at the list of drinks present on the menu.
“Soju.”
“Apple Juice.”
(YN) and Hanni looked up from their menus as they said their orders at the same moment. Both blinked awkwardly, realizing how drastically opposite their choices were.
The man only said it on instinct from seeing it on the menu and from the thought of all the dinners he had with his friends and co-workers, it was always present. He quickly thought to change it to something away from the alcohol, since he was with both Hanni and Seowon.
Hanni also quickly reshuffled her choices. While soju might not be the best drink to consume in front of a child, she should at least show (YN) that she knew how to let loose a little too. Plus, she wanted to match his kind of order.
“A lemonade.”
“A margarita.”
The two awkwardly glanced up once more to meet each other’s gazes before quickly breaking off back into their menus.
“I-i’ll take a lemonade.” Hanni quickly said, putting down the menu on the table.
The waiter that watched the whole ordeal play out chuckled at the two before writing down in their notepad.
“Would that be all?” The waiter asked the group. Hanni and (YN) nodded their heads in agreement before the waiter asked them another thing.
“Right, that would be a ten to a twenty minute wait. By the way, we are also offering a family discount for tonight and the following days. Would you like to apply it to your meal?”
“Actually, we’re no-”
“We’re not a family.” Hanni interrupted the man, explaining the situation herself.
“I understand. I apologize for the misunderstanding. Please wait patiently for your food.” The waiter scribbled down something before walking away from their table.
Hanni watched the man in front of her try to reach out his hand as if he had something to say but he eventually retracted it in defeat, opting to softly tap the table.
“What, were you thinking of lying for a discount?” Hanni chuckled.
“N-not really, we shouldn’t lie for a small benefit….. Though I wouldn’t have minded a small discount.” (YN) grumbled softly.
“Wuah! I can’t believe you would actually lie for a deal, especially in front of your sister!” Hanni said, breathlessly astonished. She nodded towards the girl next to him, who was seemingly busy with the sheet of paper that had a printed maze on it.
“When did I say anything? I just thought the discount would have been nice.” (YN) bickered back, before he leaned down to see what his younger sister was doing.
“Sure, whatever you say.” The woman rolled her eyes, placing an elbow on the table as she held her head up with her hand. She swiped some of her hair behind her ear.
She softly gazed at the two in front of her, looking at how the older helped the younger to navigate through the printed maze.
Her eyes then navigated themselves to look at the rest of the restaurant from the wooden pillars to the other seats and tables that surrounded them.
She eventually saw large fish tanks set up at the corner of the restaurant. She could see the fishes swim from side to side inside the tank.
“So…how was work?”
Her attention was dragged back towards their table as she heard (YN) attempt subtle small talk.
“Same old stuff, discussed a bunch of lessons, checked some papers, the usual.” Hanni replied.
“Must be difficult to stand in front of different classes the whole day and talk almost all day.” (YN) sighed out.
“It’s not as difficult as you think, I think it’s pretty fun actually. Your job seems to be much harder. I mean you constantly travel to the next town, sooner or later you’ll have to travel out of the country for a report. What were you doing today anyways?” Hanni rebutted back at him.
“Well you know, asking the locals, getting the most truthful information possible and then heading back home.”
“That doesn’t sound like it would take the whole afternoon.” Hanni mumbled, making it sound like she was sulking.
“I was relieved that I made it home not too late. I know how much you wanted to try this place out. Thank you for waiting for me.” (YN) smiled softly at her.
“Like I always say, you’re just doing your job and there’s no harm if you put that first. I know you are just trying to provide for youself and Seowon, so thank you for taking the time to come here with me. The others have been pretty busy recently as well so I’m also grateful for your company.” Hanni smiled back, a warm fuzzy feeling building up in her chest.
The smiles on their faces dictated the mood through the rest of their night. Through the stories about their day and the stories of anything interesting that happened as of late, they shared it through their meal.
Even Seowon got into their conversation, sharing how she was doing in school and sharing how good of a teacher the woman with them was. A compliment that could make her heart fly into the skies.
But as the young girl shared her stories, her older brother couldn’t help but stare at her with his full attention. The food in front of him stayed untouched as he gave the little bits to the girl and cut up some food for her.
“You should eat your food too.” Hanni picked up a piece of the spicy squid with her chopsticks before leaning closer to the man.
(YN) turned his head back forward and didn’t realize how close Hanni had gotten. He glanced between the piece of squid picked in between the chopsticks and the person holding it.
“I-I’ll put this here.” Hanni shyly stuttered, placing the piece down onto his bowl of rice.
He chuckled at how quickly she shriveled back up in her shyness as she quickly went to eat bits of rice quickly.
“Thanks. You should try this too, this is one of Seowon’s favorites, right?” (YN) looked at his sister as she nodded her head while chewing her food.
He picked up a piece of fried tofu and placed it over her bowl. Hanni continued to shyly thank him with a slight bow, an act that amused the man even more.
The night continued on as time flew by for the small group. Soon, the plates were emptied out making their appetites full and delighted. Despite wanting to pay their bill, Hanni was forced to split it due to the adamant (YN).
They found themselves outside of the restaurant. As they exited the door, the warm air inside was replaced with the cold air the night produced.
Now, they stood on the sands of the beach that wasn’t too far from the restaurant. They were under the comfort of a light post nearby as they stared out into the dark waters that had small lights from the boats and ships in the distance.
“Seowon-ah, don’t move around too much. You just finished a meal!” (YN) shouted.
Seowon was busy writing something in the sand with a random stick that was laying around as the two adults watched.
“Let her be, she’s clearly enjoying her time.” Hanni playfully nudged his shoulder making him sigh. She stood by his side, eventually stealing a glance or two as she wondered how she could start a conversation.
“Hey, (YN).” Hanni started. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye with a hum.
“Have you had your first love?”
*COUGH! COUGH!*
The question took the man off guard as he gasped out for air suddenly. Hanni placed a hand over his shoulder, wondering if her question was something she shouldn’t have asked.
“W-where did that come from?” (YN) breathlessly asked back.
“I saw a drama playing on one of the TVs in the restaurant and…I was a bit curious.” She replied, running her hands around his back in circles.
“Whatever question I was expecting, it was not that.” (YN) sniffed and breathed in more air as he stood up straight.
“So…did you have one?”
He awkwardly looked at her before hesitantly looking back at the sea in front of them.
“No way, you totally have one!” Hanni teased, noticing his actions. She playfully smacked his shoulder, slightly sending him to the side.
“S-so what. Don’t tell me you want me to tell you about her too.” (YN) shrugged his shoulders back.
“And if I did? C'mon just anything about her!” Hanni crossed her arms over her chest, stubbornly expecting an answer.
“Unless you don’t want to.” She turned back around after the man fell silent, testing him. It continued on until he decided to clear his throat and answer her question.
“She was eccentric…in a good way.”
“Eccentric?” Hanni repeated.
“Yeah, one moment she could be talking to me and the next she’d be running to the waves and then she’d ask to get ice cream on the other end of town.”
(YN) realized that no matter how much he hated the person, he could never hate the moments they once shared.
Hanni looked at the expression on his face. He looked to be calm, a bittersweet smile on his lips as he stared blankly into the dark waters that crashed against the sand.
“She seems like a fun person.” She replied before the pair watched the young girl run up to them.
“Oppa, look what I made!” Seowon grabbed onto her older brother’s hand. She turned her head towards the woman next to him and reached out a hand against hers.
Hanni softly held her smaller hand as the pair were dragged deeper towards the sand. Soon, they found what the girl had made.
Etched into the sand were all three of their names, including Hanni’s. Little stick figures were drawn under them, each one showed who was who.
“Wuah, so this was what you were up to. I feel like this deserves to be in a picture. C'mon, get behind your name.” (YN) patted the young girl before he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Both of you could be in the picture, hand me your phone.” Hanni offered with him nodding afterwards. He quickly handed her his phone as they went behind the young girl’s drawings.
“Alright, look into the camera!” Hanni shouted, raising her hand slightly in the air with the camera pointed at the two.
“One, two, three!” She shouted, pressing the phone to take a photo. The flashed soon turned on before the photo was taken, and another one came soon after and then more after that.
“Hanni-yah! Seowon said you should be in the picture too!” (YN) shouted.
“Really? Fine, I’ll join in too!” Hanni turned the camera around and faced it towards herself and the people behind her. In the picture, she tilted her head to the side just enough for the side of her head to touch the man’s figure.
With a press of a button, the camera once again flashed.
*SNAP!*
Hanni and (YN) walked side by side at a steady pace. Both of them enjoying the night breeze as they approached the end to their eventful day.
Seowon has now been placed over her brother’s back, after draining her energy on the food and on the beach. She had her head over his shoulder, napping soundly.
Walking deeper into the neighborhood, they passed by the house of Mrs.An where Hanni had previously seen where they had a bunch of guests over.
“Did their guests already go home?” Hanni mumbled.
“Guests? where?” (YN) asked. The woman answered by nodding over to the house next to them. The lights inside were on but there weren’t really any open windows or silhouettes to see any signs of life.
“They rarely have anyone over. I wonder who it could be.” The man softly said.
“There were about six of them, I thought there was some special occasion happening when I passed by earlier.” Hanni commented.
This got the man thinking, he would’ve seen if they had any people over in the morning but he saw no one. He didn’t know who else would have been inside the home besides the people and pup living inside.
He shrugged the thought off, approaching an alleyway at the end of the street. Hanni then took a step forward from the man’s side.
“This should be my stop. Again, thank you for tonight.” She bowed down politely.
“Not a problem at all, Hanni. It’s nice to eventually eat outside with Seowon every once in a while. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had much of a chance to do so until you offered.” (YN) smiled at her.
The warm, fuzzy feeling engulfed the woman’s heart seeing him smile, especially one that was directed at her.
“I should look for more places we can all go together then.” Hanni said, sharing a chuckle between them.
“I won’t mind, you know where I live anyways so just ask and maybe I could free up some time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll walk back to my door now, get back home safe, okay? I hope you have a goodnight.” Hanni waved her hand at them goodbye before she started her short walk towards her home.
(YN) made sure to watch her a bit more until she reached her door, before he started his walk back to their house. Luckily, Seowon was light enough to not cause him any trouble walking back up on the sidewalk.
The long silence got him thinking again. Surely, there was no chance that the first person who would be back in Mrs.An’s home was who he thought he was. She was very far away and even if she had her own problems to deal with, he didn’t think she’d find herself back here.
Once again, as if the universe heard him, he was proven wrong.
On the other end of the sidewalk, a figure stood. The loose hoodie they wore slightly flowed with the wind. They looked at each other eye to eye, and his heart dropped as if he just saw a ghost pass by.
Maybe he did, or maybe he was just hallucinating, but the way light shined down on them and their short hair reminded him that this was reality.
“An Yujin…?”
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