#yhserim

it was a slow day at her stall -- she figured it was just because most of the people who bought her jewelry had bought their fill for the week already. so instead of standing on her feet for another 3 hours, she decided to close up early and head to a cafe to get something to eat. it was fairly quiet, which was exactly what she was hoping for coming at a time like this. 

she watches the bubbles rise in her soda, chewing her food slowly and enjoying it. when she’s finished, she orders a to-go drink, offering a polite bow to the waitress before getting up to walk out. 

when she spins around, though, she slams right into a tall figure. the paper cup is crushed in between them, soda spilling all over the front of them. eunbi yelps at the cold liquid running down her shirt, looking up at the person standing in front of him. her eyes are wide with concern, cheeks heating up from embarrassment, “i’m so sorry!” she blurts, immediately turning to grab a napkin from her table. she pats the gentleman’s shirt, desperately trying to soak up the liquid. “i should have been watching where i was going–” she says quickly. she had worn foundation that day, but there was no denying how red her ears probably were. 

~

If the town of Yunhwa ever needed a mascot, Jinah considered Serim to be an optimal candidate.

The woman had been walking through Sunjaro street, tasked with the responsibility of setting up decorations at the inn to prepare for the upcoming parade for the Wishing Tree festival. Unwillingness aside, Jinah spent the time she had on the street to peek at the up and coming festivities. It was her first time experiencing this festival, so even she couldn’t help be excited.

The candescent light from the sun’s rays caressed her skin with exuberant warmth as the breeze kissed with the taste of the ocean encircled her motions. And the calloused, violent grip of a stranger pushing her against the rough grit of cement winded her from an optimistic dream. A small cry was all she could muster as the stranger fought her small form for her valuables. “No...way! You-- bastard!” She kicked and screamed louder, fighting for her bags until the moment he raised his leg to kick her most valuable asset; her face.

With a prayer to a God she didn’t trust, Jinah closed her eyes and prepared herself for the blow that would surely take her out. Waiting. She waited. More.

...

Slowly, with care, her gold freckled eyes opened to investigate. Had he not hit her? Carefully, she looked up a bit more to see a new man standing before her while the other ran off into the darkness of hushed alleyways. Ah, she knew this person. Briefly, she recognized him from the grocery store.

𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: still accepting!

there had been no reason for her desire to be out and about. the boutique was hitting slow season and most of the menial work was left for her assistants, and on a normal day she’d take this opportunity to vegetate on her couch while watching dramas. even now she dreamed of pretty faces and stiff lip locking, but the outfit she’d created due to sheer boredom deserved to be seen by the general public. it was the cusp of summer, even the welcoming sea salt breeze that was always an undercurrent throughout town couldn’t subdue the heat that left a sheen of sweat on her forehead. the two piece set was perfect in its own right, the long skirt hitting right below her knee as the top was sleeveless and made from a lightweight fabric she’d fought an old woman for. she was not putting this opportunity to waste. 

after browsing the booths for the better part of the day, she’d come to grow tired. her wedges did little to help, her feet begging for reprieve on a bench in front of the pond. she watched the fishes swim by, their bright scales catching light for a moment before they submerge deeper into the water. the thought enters her mind just as he spoke it, and she has to break herself from her daydreams to seek the source. 

ㅤ    ㅤ    ㅤ    ㅤ    ㅤ    BY THE WISH TREE …

ㅤ 

            ゛       the idea of a wish tree terrified her. actually, just the idea of a bunch of people following some old tale that no one could ratify and making a tradition out of it put a sense of disturbance into her. as a local of yunhwa, it was part of aeran to know traditions, her parents made it sure that she grew up knowing everything about her surroundings ⎯ either good or bad. especially the incidents that led to festivals were celebrated in high spirits in the household of han family and festivals often meant sweets and sweets meant an increase in honey sales. in other words, traditions were welcomed by open arms as long as they meant business and aeran did not even argue with it. that was also why she would look at her reflection in the mirror, call herself a scheming face and then go out to help her parents sell honey. she would even utter creative lies about traditions just for tourists ( and sometimes locals ) to buy more honey.

those were all part of the past. she rarely helped her parents business anymore, did not utter lies to gain more allowance to counterbalance her ballet requirements. therefore, she had no reason to visit  namisan forest area or the wish trees in it. then why was she there with a  thin slab of wood carved in the shape of the yunhwa flowers in her hand? the old answers came easily to mind and hers stood in front of her eyes, lost in his own mind as he stood by one of the trees.

everything would be easier if aeran ignored hwang serim and leave before he noticed her. after all, she was there to leave a message for him but had no intention for him to find that out. that was why she aimed to write her message with her right hand ( even if she was left-handed ) just for him to not recognise her handwriting. yet, curiosity got the best of her and aeran found herself approaching him, peeking behind his shoulder to see what he was up to.   

         ⎯  “ damn... how come puberty hit your height but not your handwriting, ” aeran uttered as she looked at his messy handwriting.

ㅤ 

it’s reaching the point in the night that the room is spinning, like haneul’s world has become tilted on an axis, twirling like a top. the tavern was a little bit more full tonight, and it was fun to experience it not as a bartender, but as a customer. in result, he had enough that everything felt warm and light, like butterflies were fluttering around in his stomach, and he was starting to laugh more freely, like there wasn’t something keeping it under lock and key anymore. 

the song made a flurry of giggles fly past his lips, the way that someone sloshed their beer over a rim of their glass, the way his hand looked in front of him, vision swimming to find a place to stop at something that wasn’t moving to anchor himself. 

he feels like he’s been here for hours, surely the tavern closes soon— he looks over to the exit to see people moving out in couples and groups, the music getting turned down, and figures that maybe he’s had enough, it’s time for him to somehow find his way back to the inn. he thinks he’s gotten good at it, for the amount of times he had gotten drunk here and found his way back on his own. 

though, there was that one time he woke up to an early morning rain in a patch of flowers. truly, he doesn’t know how he stopped there for the night, but he assumes he had been quite tired... maybe he still had to work on his abilities a bit before he considered himself in the clear for being able to take himself to where he was staying efficiently. 

he’s thankful that somehow he still has his jacket on, patting his phone in his pocket to make sure that it’s still there. looking around, he sees that someone is still sitting next to him— he wonders if somehow, the man also has a difficult time getting home as well. the alcohol in his system is evident in his willingness to lean in a bit to him so that he could maybe get his attention as he speaks. 

“excuse me— sorry, do you live close to here? um— i just wanted to know because last time i tried to walk back to the uh,” he takes a moment as he has to think about it, his brain like swimming through mud.