‹ beneath blooming ›
@rmjiyul
they escape the summer heat under the cool shade of prickly pines. everyone drew lots and the unlucky pair to gather the firewood were more than just strangers thrown together by chance. not many people knew she had practically known him since the day he was born. (though their relationship resembled a sort of inherit closeness from so much time spent together as children, the distance aeri placed between herself and others knew no bounds.) they gather in relative silence for the first few minutes, aeri mostly directing jiyul with short commands and directions; she never liked small talk for the facades they fed into.
still, in the quiet and calm of the forest, away from the ruckus of the vacationing students, there was time—and room—to exchange more than just the occasional word. “anything new? i don’t think we’ve really spoken since early spring.” she feels as if that’s her fault, even though it doesn’t bother her—maybe he expects more from her?—and a stilted “sorry” follows.
even more than small talk, she hated apologizing for useless things. but if she were to venture into uncharted territory with anyone, it would be with jiyul.
