#they took a detour before heading home and found the waterfall!

[aurorangen]

You don't have to be shy Bryce

[storiesofsvu]

Decadent Desires Ch 7

Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, alcohol, smut.

Emily had called rather late; you hadn’t been expecting it but welcomed the phone call anyway. She thought the team was still going to be out on a case over the weekend but it turned out she’d be back in D.C for just enough time to meet up before having to take off for a conference in New York. She’d told you to meet her at The Salamander in the lounge, where she currently was sat at the bar nursing a Paloma. She felt a hand slid across her upper back and was happy when she glanced up to see you, a small smile gracing her cheeks.

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting.” You greeted, slipping onto the stool beside her.

“Oh don’t worry about it.” She waved you off, “it was sheer luck you were even still awake at this hour.”

You laughed softly, thanking the bartender for your drink before you took a sip and turned back to her, “it’s not that late. Last I checked I didn’t have a curfew.”

“I only hope I didn’t drag you out of bed and all the way downtown.”

“Even if I was, it won’t be for nothing.” There was a sparkle in your eye as you glanced at her that made her body tingle, “besides, you actually pulled me out of a hyper focus worm hole of work. I should be thanking you.”

“Work?” She grimaced, “on a Saturday?”

“Yeah.” You let out a sigh, “there’s a rally coming up on Tuesday we need to be cracking down for, Heather’s got a couple of bills she wants to push through to congress and we’ve got a big thing down in Iowa coming up. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in research and proposals.”

“You did at least pause for dinner, right?”

“Course.” You laughed softly, “nothing a pizza delivery can’t fix.”

“Good.” She took a larger sip of her drink this time, “because unfortunately I don’t think I have time for food.”

“Just a drink is more than acceptable.” You took a sip of yours, “not to mention I think I’m more interested in what comes after the drink.”

“You and me both.” She laughed back.

“We can take these upstairs, yes?” You tapped your glass and the bartender nodded, “perfect. Thank you.” You dropped a twenty down on the bar top and slid off your stool, your free hand wrapping around Emily’s wrist, “lead the way.”

The suite was gorgeous, French doors leading out to the balcony with a stunning view of the Potomac River. Emily stepped out of her shoes and you followed suit, your purse finding a home on one of the small tables as you continued to sip on your drink.

“It’s nice.” You commented, glancing around as Emily moved further into the room, flicking the television on to a soft jazz music channel.

“Ehh… I think I like the Waldorf better.”

“The food selection was excellent.” You replied, stalling as marble flooring caught your eye and you detoured into the bathroom, “have you seen this shower?!”

“No.” She called back, wandering towards your voice, “I only came up to drop my bag off.”

“Talk about stunning.” You glanced over your shoulder to her with a wicked grin and she felt that familiar heat start to pulse within her.

“You’re not wrong there.” Her hands found your hips, squeezing softly as her lips brushed against the bare skin of your neck, “you have an idea?”

“I have plenty of ideas.” You replied, your eyes sweeping through the room before placing your drink down on the basin.

The shower was huge, floor to ceiling glass walls encasing it, a waterfall head built into the ceiling and a large bench built against one of the smaller glass walls. You started to realize that you definitely didn’t need the bed at this point in the evening, Emily’s hands sneaking under the hem of your shirt, nails tickling across your skin.

“I do always like a nice steamy shower after a long plane ride.” She murmured, her lips continuing to dance along the column of your neck.

“You were in Richmond.” You laughed, “that’s a fifty five minute flight. And you’ve got the bonus of your own jet, flying commercial is the nightmare.”

“Yeah?” She nipped at your neck this time, “and when was the last time you flew commercial?”

“Fair point.” Chuckling, you turned in her arms, letting her remove your shirt before she captured your lips in a kiss.

Emily cautiously backed you toward the shower, blindly reaching in to turn on the water while her lips continued to dance against yours. The two of you took the time while the water reached the perfect temperature to adjust the light in the room to a warm glow, the pile of discarded clothing on the floor growing until you were both naked and Emily was tugging her hair up before dragging you into the shower.

Water streamed over both of you, warming your cooled skin as Emily’s hand’s ghosted up your sides, cupping under your tits before her thumbs brushed over your nipples, flicking gently at them before she groped at your chest. Her tongue sunk into your mouth, rolling with ease against your own as one of your arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to you as your back hit the wall of the shower. You couldn’t help but let out a little moan into the kiss, your back arching into her touch and she chuckled, nipping at your lip when she broke the kiss. Her lips traced across your jaw before she found your neck again, pressing messy kisses into it as she continued to toy with your chest, listening to the way your breathing was picking up and your pants were beginning to come out as whines. She made a home in the crook of your neck, sucking at your supple skin and it was your turn to pinch at her nipples. She groaned into your skin, teeth sinking in a little bit harder this time in retaliation as her skin began to prickle in the best way.

Your hand cupped her chin, redirecting her lips to yours as your hands sunk down her body and she was quick to follow your lead, her hands mimicking your movements on your own body. Your fingers began to slowly rub her clit, randomizing a pattern of when you’d press harder until she let out a gasp, her body jumping toward you and your lips curved up into a grin. Emily’s hips rocked toward your touch, her pussy pulsing as it ached for more and she figured the fastest way to get it was to not hold back or tease you too long. Her hand easily found its way between your legs, the heel of it pressing on your clit as her fingers slid back and forth through your folds. You let out a breathy sigh at the sensation, your eyes fluttering shut as you copied the movement, your fingertips barely dipping into her dripping pussy, coaxing out her juices. All you needed was another small groan escaping Emily’s lips and you sunk two fingers into her, her pussy fluttering around you while her forehead dropped to your shoulder.

You started lazily pumping your fingers, matching the pace that she was rocking her hips down toward your touch, her fingers quickly sinking into your cunt and you moaned, your head dropping back against the wall. You began to match each other’s rhythms, fucking the other with ease, fingers beginning to curl on random thrusts. Pleasure began to build within you, your cunt tight around Emily’s fingers while her lips brushed over your shoulder, her breath hot on your skin as she started to pant. Her free hand pinched at your chin, pulling you back into a breathless kiss as her fingers sped up. You whined against her lips, your free hand groping at her ass as the two of you continued to rock in tandem to chase your peaks. Emily’s fingers curled again and you broke the kiss with a gasp.

“Oh god.. right there.”

“Mmm…” She replied with a smirk, thought it was one that quickly vanished as her lips parted, letting out a moan when the heel of your hand pressed against her clit, jolting her body toward you. “Fuck!”

She could already feel herself clenching down around your fingers, each thrust of your hand pressing harder against her clit as you picked up the pace. Her body was burning and it certainly wasn’t from the water, her thighs slick with her juices. She began to falter in her movements, unable to keep up the rigorous pace of fucking you but in return you were able to focus, fingers fucking faster into her wet cunt. Twisting and curling with each push, your free hand coming up to toy with her chest, pinching at her nipples, your mouth latching onto her neck, sucking and kissing at her tender skin.

“Don’t stop.” She moaned, her thighs starting to quiver, threatening to slam shut around your wrist as your fingers continued to disappear into her. Her head fell back, lips parted as her chest heaved and she leant against the wall for support, unable to focus on anything but the pleasure shaking though her. Her hand slipped from between your legs and came to land between her own, quickly rubbing at her clit while you continued to fuck her, pinning her to the wall. It only took a moment before she was letting out a loud swear, her body trembling while her orgasm shot through her. “Oh fuck!”

You slowly slipped your fingers out of her pussy, a cocky grin on your lips as you thought you’d wiped her out, only for her to take a single breath before pouncing on you. Emily’s lips were back on yours and you were pinned to the wall with her fingers deep in your cunt before you could even blink. Her hands moved with skill, picking up right where they left off and you were putty in a matter of seconds, your words reduced to whimpers and moans while your pussy fluttered around her. Fingers curling right where you wanted them, your thighs shook, body grinding down onto her hand.

“Please…” you whined, “oh god please.”

“Come for me princess.” She husked into your ear, nipping at the lobe and you were crying out, pussy juices dripping down her hand, your body shivering with pleasure.

“Fuck..” you muttered, your eyes slowly opening as you felt her pull her fingers from you. It was your turn to catch her by surprise when you caught her wrist in your hand, pulling her fingers to your lips to suck them clean of your juices.

“Fuck indeed.” She chuckled, “here I was thinking I’d get a taste of that delicious pussy again.”

“I think it’s about time I return that favour.” You replied with a smirk, “don’t you think?” Your hands grasped her hips and she was quick to move one of them, placing it back on your own body between your legs.

“As long as you keep touching yourself.” She prompted, “you’re so pretty when you come, I want to see it again.”

“Mmhmm.” You nodded, sinking down so your mouth was level with her cunt.

Both of your hands soothed up her thighs, spreading her legs wider for you, lifting one of them off the ground, pinning it to the wall. After a quick glance up at her you leant forward, your tongue making a broad strip through her pussy, flicking at her clit.

“Fuck.” She muttered, her head falling back against the wall and once you were sure she was stable you moved your hand from her skin to back between your legs, lazily rubbing at your swollen clit.

Your mouth wrapped around her pussy, sucking her lower lips into yours, tongue tracing patterns through her folds, nose nudging at her clit. It only took a second or two of your mouth moving on her cunt for Emily’s hands to tangle into your hair, holding you close to her needy pussy. As her body relaxed into the wall her leg draped over your shoulder, pulling you deeper in between her legs.

“Christ you’re good at that.” She murmured, a little gasp escaping her lips when your tongue flicked her clit.

Your tongue slid through her folds again, groaning over the taste of her, sucking as much of her juices into your mouth as you could. The tip of your tongue sunk into her pussy, massaging the best you could as her hips rocked toward yours and she let out a little whine. You surged upwards, blowing cool air onto her clit before your lips wrapped around it and she let out a low groan.

The hand you hand between your own legs sunk lower, thrusting two fingers into your dripping pussy as your free hand ghosted up Emily’s thigh and slipped inside her. As you sucked on her clit, tongue drawing patterns against it your did your best to match the pace you were fingering her with the speed you were riding your own fingers. Face buried in her cunt you hadn’t realized she’d managed to open her eyes, gazing down at you between her legs, little whines and moans vibrating against her pussy as you ate her out, fingers curling in both of your pussy’s at the same time.

“Fuck you look so pretty like this.” She panted out and your eyes cracked open, lips curving up into a grin as you looked up at her, tongue not daring to leave her body, you’d never be able to get enough of her taste.

“Mmm?” You gave a particularly powerful flick of your tongue, your lips brushing against her as you spoke, “yeah? You like it when I eat your pussy?”

Your lips wrapped back around her clit right as your fingers curled into her g-spot and she was at a complete loss for words as her head dropped back again with a louder swear. You could feel her pussy clenching down around your fingers, her body trembling, clit throbbing between your lips and you knew she was close. You groaned loudly when your fingers hit the pulsing spot inside your pussy and Emily’s fingers clenched tighter into your hair, a dribble of her juices leaking down your wrist.

“Fuck I’m close.”

Your fingers fucked faster into her, working your dominant hand with ease in tandem with your tongue, Emily’s pants getting closer together and heavier above you. Any attempt at stringing words together was now reduced to incoherent mumbles and swears before she cried out, her back arching off the wall, clinging to you to keep upright. The hand between your legs quickly returned to her thigh, pressing her back into the wall and keeping her spread open while you fucked her through her orgasm, eagerly lapping up the stickiness smeared between her legs.

The fingers tangled in your hair loosened, a hand softly stroking down your cheek as her leg gently dropped from the wall as she was finally steady on her feet again. You pressed a kiss to her inner thigh as you rose back to your own feet, slowly backing toward the small bench, your hands ghosting across your own skin, fingers sneaking between your legs.

“Such a sweet tasting pussy.” You murmured, “that’s enough to keep me going all week.” You sat down on the bench, spreading your legs wide for her, “but I do believe you wanted to see me get off again.”

“Mmhmm.” She nodded, her eyes darkening as your fingers spread your pussy lips wide for her.

You were throbbing around nothing, practically begging to be filled so you wasted absolutely no time, three fingers sinking into your waiting cunt. Your head dropped back with a moan, your other hand pinching at your tits, rolling your nipples between your thumb and forefinger before gliding down to your clit. You fucked yourself fast, squelching sounds coming from your pussy as the whimpers leaving your lips got louder with each thrust of your hand, the pressure on your clit getting harder with each circle. The taste of Emily still so apparent on your lips and your tongue more than enough to drive you wild, combined with the feeling of her eyes on you. She wanted to memorize every inch of your body but could barely pull her gaze away from your pussy, eyes flicking upwards every time you made a particularly interesting noise. It didn’t take very long before your thighs were shaking and your second orgasm was shooting through you, your chest heaving. Your eyes flickered open, catching Emily’s gaze as you pulled your fingers from your dripping cunt and sucked them between your lips, mixing the taste of yourself with hers on your tongue.

“Jesus Christ.” She muttered with a wicked grin and a small shriek left your lips as she nearly pounced on you.

The bench was the perfect height and size that Emily was able to cage you into it with one leg while the other one remained on the floor. She managed to angle it just right that her throbbing clit was pressed directly against yours and you let out a moan at the sensation, still so sensitive. Her tongue delved into your mouth, massaging yours as she moaned over the combined taste of your juices. Her hips rolled hard and fast into you, your hands clutching at her ass, grinding her body down onto you with each thrust.

“Fuck…” you groaned and she nipped at your lip, “gon’ make me come again.”

She knew she wasn’t that far off either, pressing her pussy harder against yours as one of her hands began to play with your tits again. “Let me see you baby.”

A little bit more of Emily’s coaxing praise was all you needed to come a third time and the feeling and sight of your body shaking underneath her was enough for her orgasm to wash through her.

Her face fell into the crook of your neck as your hands soothed up and down her back while she caught her breath. She kissed the side of your neck softly, a hand ghosting up your side before she tilted your head toward her, watching you for a moment before you gave her a small nod to indicate that you were more than completely alright. Standing from the bench she helped you up, guiding both of you until you were properly under the stream of water, adjusting the temperature again to make sure it wasn’t running cold so you could wash off.

You wrapped yourself in a ridiculously soft and cozy robe, leaving Emily some privacy in the bathroom while you meandered through the suite. You grabbed a bottle of water from the mini bar before scooping up the remote and flicking through the channels to find something to watch.

Emily came out a bit later, ruffling a smaller towel through her hair as she approached the bed and you glanced up at her with a curiously raised brow.

“You’re dressed?”

“I can’t stay, my flight leaves at six a.m.”

“So you’re just gonna leave me looking like your everyday call girl.” You teased and she huffed, rolling her eyes with a grin on her face as she dropped the towel onto the other bed.

“A common call girl doesn’t get a hotel room like this.”

“Fair point.”

“And I expect to see a charge for breakfast on the room bill.” She practically scolded, “if Heather’s working you to the bone you need to make sure you’re eating.”

“She’ll make it up to me.” You shrugged, taking a sip of water, giggling at the near glare Emily shot you, “but yes, I will take full advantage of the amenities before heading out.”

“Good girl.” She pinched your chin affectionately before scooping up her phone, “I’m in New York until Thursday, I’ll call you when I get back?”

“I’ve got a banquet on Friday and a fundraiser running all weekend but my schedule next week looks clear.”

“Perfect.” She grinned, “I was hoping to check out the Willard.”

“Just ticking off one luxury hotel at a time, I see how it is.” You smirked and she laughed, leaning in to kiss your cheek before she slipped her coat back on.

“Get some rest princess.”

______________

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[tomtenadia]

Island Dreams - Chapter 26

Hello people! Chapter 26 is finally here.

So, Aelin and Rowan go on an adventure for a while because something happens (you will found out what in the first line)

Toward the middle, they have a Harry Potter chat. I am not a fan but i inserted the dialogue because of where they are. And guess where Rowan gets sorted? Also, sorry I was nasty to Gryffindors... the little I know about them it's enough for me not to like them. Once a Slytherin always a Slytherin.

All the locations I have mentioned and the restaurant actually exists. Please google them if you are curious :)

Aelin during one part of the trip sings a song (near Loch Lomond) The song she sings is Loch Lomond by Runrig. This is a very, very sad song but is also one of those that it's almost impossible not to sing along. At least the version by Runrig. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHu0h9XaNcg

As of this morning I officially wrote the last sentence in the fic. One chapter still has some parts that needs developing, plus my usual editing but i wrote the end this morning.

Anyway, for now I'll leave you with chapter 26.

Have fun :)

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It was the beginning of May and Aelin and Rowan were packing for a small adventure. Two months before they had received an invitation from Elide and Lorcan to attend their wedding in Glasgow. They had accepted and they were now getting ready for their little getaway. This was going to be their last chance to have a holiday before the arrival of the twins. Lysandra was going to look after Rowan’s shop. She and Aedion had arrived a bit earlier than scheduled as he had been asked to start working a bit earlier. Lysandra, on the other hand did not have as much luck on the work front. Her job had been put on hold for the foreseeable future so when she had overheard Rowan talking about hiring as assistant for the shop she had volunteered. She had admitted that she was not a book nerd like the two of them but she liked to read so she was happy to run the shop. He had given an intensive training and once he was happy he decided to leave her in charge while he was away with Aelin.

“I can’t find my hoodie.” Aelin grunted while she was finishing packing her case. Their house was now a sea of boxes. They were a few weeks away from moving to their new place. The works had taken longer than expected which in the end it turned out to be a blessing. Lys and Aedion were there and they had offered to help with the move. Aedion had joked that they were Aelin’s personal removal company. “Which one?” “Yours. The uni of Glasgow one. It’s big enough that I can fit my huge belly in it.” Rowan came back two minutes later with the hoodie in his hands “You can’t function without me.” She stuck her tongue out and donned the hoodie “It’s far too early in the morning.” “We need to leave in half an hour. Is your bag ready?” “Yes. It was ready last night but then I realised I forgot some bits.” And she placed her Scotland’s guide in her carry on backpack. “You don’t need that.” He said pointing at the book “I know Glasgow very well.” “It was mostly for the drive from Skye to Glasgow.” “I know that very well too. I have done it a million times.” He grabbed the book from her. “Fine.” And he put the book aside. Ten minutes later she announced to Rowan that she was ready to go and he sighed in relief. They had a ferry to catch and he was being his paranoid self. He grabbed her suitcase and his duffel bag and walked out to the car to load it. Once he was done he went back to the house. Aelin was already in the car and noticed him coming back with a bulky pillow that he bought her to help her for the long road trip and stay as comfortable as possible. She smiled and noticed his other hand holding a bag. A moment later she found out that bag contained snacks for their very long car ride. Since the accident with the Korean he had been even more careful with her food. “Are you ready?” He got in the car and made sure she was all set to go. Aelin smiled “Punch it.” They arrived in Tarbert with plenty of time for their ferry. Rowan had gone to buy the tickets and Aelin waited in the car all excited for this big adventure. She had driven a part of the road they were taking when she arrived a year before but she knew that with Rowan as a guide it would be much, much more different. She had a look at her phone and realised that a year ago exactly on that day she had arrived on Lewis and walked into his shop and changed their lives. She patted her belly “It’s a big day today for mum and dad.” “I am back.” Said Rowan while getting back in the car and placing a ticket on the dashboard of the car “They should start loading soon.” “Is this one of those where we can go on deck?” “Yes, we will be able to go on deck. It’s a gorgeous day. This is an amazing crossing.” Aelin took Rowan’s hand a placed it on her bump “Do you know which day is it today?” He stared at her “hmmm… I think it’s the day when my favourite menace walked into my shop looking for books and never left.” “Happy anniversary.” She whispered while leaning forward to kiss him. “Thank you for coming into my shop.”

It was over an hour later when they docked in the tiny village of Uig on the Isle of Skye. And Aelin was in hyper mode already. When he told her they were going via Skye she had started reading all about it and it looked like the most magical place she had ever seen. They would stop in a few places along the road but they had planned to stop a bit more on their way back when they had more time. They got back on the road and not long after she noticed Rowan taking a very small road “Where are we going?” “There is a place I need to show you.” They arrived not long after and Aelin’s mouth fell open. The place in front of her seemed like it came out from a fairy tale book. And she could not stop staring at how green and lush it was. “Welcome to the Fairy glen.” Aelin’s head whipped to his side “You are kidding.” “No, that its name.” He got off the car and reached her side “We’ll go for a short walk. We’ll stop again in Portree and have proper lunch there, but I had to show you this place.” Slowly they walked to the small hills. Aelin spotted what looked like the remains of a castle and was annoyed that she could not climb there. Rowan held her from behind and turned her “Look over there.” And he pointed at the big hill in the distance and Aelin spotted a few waterfalls “This place is amazing.” “Why is it called Fairy glen?” “Skye has a connection with the Fairies thanks to the Fairy flag at Dunvegan castle, which will visit when we come back.” “Is Schatach’s castle far away? According to the legends she was a warrior on the Isle of Skye and there should be a place called Dun Scaith which allegedly was her home.” His arms tightened around her, he loved her interest in Celtic mythology “It’s in the south. I’ll take you there when we come back. I promise.” Then he grabbed his backpack and took a couple of sandwiches from it “Sit down and have a little snack” He helped her sit down in the grass and she took food and strawberry milkshake from him. Once their breakfast was over Rowan helped Aelin to stand and hand in hand they walked around the glen and Rowan had to restrain Aelin from climbing in places where she shouldn’t “Seriously?” And he folded his arms at his chest. “Fine, I am not climbing.” They explored a bit longer and then Rowan pressed to go back in the car and on the road. “I was planning on getting into Portree for lunch. Fancy doing a very touristy thing?” “If I can get a fridge magnet, yes.” Rowan roared with laughter. That had become their recurrent joke “I think so and you will be able to get more once we are in Portree.” “Good. Our new fridge will be fully covered.” “I have not agreed to that.” He complained, giving her a smile at the same time. “Where are you taking me?” “We can take a detour to Carbost and we can have a tour of Talisker distillery. All the tourists go to whisky distilleries when they come to Scotland.” “Yes. I know I will not be able to drink but I don’t care. I always wanted to do it. Yes, let’s be tourists.” “As you wish, Fireheart.” An hour later they had arrived at the distillery and Aelin jumped out of the car “This is so awesome and I can smell the whisky.” Rowan took her hand and they walked in. The next tour would be in half an hour so they explored the shop and Aelin bought her magnets and a bottle of whisky for Aedion, she knew he’d love it. She just had to find a nice present for Lysandra now as a thank you for covering the shop. “Let’s go and sit outside, it’s gorgeous.” The view in front of the distillery was breathtaking. The loch in front of them seemed infinite and it was framed mountains in the background. Aelin ate another sandwich while suntanning. She had shed her hoodie and was in a t-shirt, her bump pointed at the sun “The girls and I are suntanning.” Rowan sat on the bench beside her and kissed the bump “how are you three doing?” “They are quiet. They kicked a couple of times but now they are probably snoozing.” And caressed the belly. “If you get tired you let me know. I have enough breaks planned so you don’t spend too much time sitting in the car.” “We are doing fine. I promise.” She brushed his hair. After her night trip to the A&E he had been even more over protective and his fussing levels had sky rocketed. But he had been wonderful to her. He had gotten her all the food she was craving and cooked for her all the recipes she wished. He was with her at every single appointment and he had started reading a lot of books about pregnancy and parenting. She had realised a while ago that Rowan had been brooding. He had confessed to her that he had wanted a family for a very long time and she knew that Lyria was against it and Aelin had a feeling that it had been one of the things that destroyed him the most about the failed relationship. “Let’s put the bag in the car and go for our tour.” He offered his hand and she took it and followed him.

It was later when they came out of the distillery and Aelin was ecstatic. “I had no idea you guys had so many varieties of whisky and it was so fascinating.” He kissed her head “glad you loved it.” “One of the ladies in our group kept staring at you.” Rowan took her hand “Thank you for leaving her alive.” “She got some cold stares from me. Seriously woman, stop staring at another woman’s man.” “Let’s go, menace.” Aelin followed him back to the car and not long after they were on the road to Portree. Rowan had explained it was the main town and after a year on the islands she had an idea of what main town meant. Once in Portree, Rowan parked the car, Aelin grabbed her backpack and off they went. When in the main square, she noticed the tourist office and she dragged him inside explaining that that was the perfect place for another fridge magnet. Rowan sighed and followed her inside. He waited for her in a corner of the office and she came back later with a big bag. “That’s a bit of an oversized magnet.” He joked. “It’s Lys’ present. I got her a lovely bag made locally here on Skye. Lysandra loves bags and I know she will adore this one.” “It’s actually really nice.” He added, looking at the present she had bought. They dropped the bag in the car and Rowan had convinced her to put her stuff In his backpack so she didn’t have to carry anything. Once they were all sorted they walked to the marina and Aelin squealed when she saw the houses painted in pink and blue and green “That is so lovely.” For a while they followed the path along the marina until Rowan declared it was time to feed her and for her to sit down for a while. Aelin did not protest at the idea of food and followed him to his favourite seafood restaurant. The meal had been superb and Aelin leaned back on the chair with a satisfied smile on her face “I wonder if the desserts here are nice.” Rowan scoffed “How can you still have space?” “You should know that you have agreed to marry a bottomless pit.” Once lunch was over they were back in the car. Rowan had told her they were taking the ferry across to Mallaig instead of the bridge back to the mainland. They would do that on their way back. He had also explained that once across the water there were some amazing beaches they could stop to and have another break and Aelin was easy to convince. During the trip down to Armadale he had chatted away being her personal guide and she realised they might need a week just to explore Skye. She loved the islands but she realised there was so much on the mainland that a lifetime might not be enough “we should take breaks more often. There is so much to discover.” “We can definitely do that and it would be nice to travel with our two girls.” She put her hand on his knee and in that moment one of the girls or both kicked “They agree.” “Are they moving?” Aelin smiled as his hand moved to the bump. “Every singe time, it amazes me.” And she saw love in his eyes “It just the idea that there are two small human beings growing inside you. It’s just… incredible.” She took his hand and kissed it “just don’t be too in awe. You will be less impressed by the process when you will see how it happens, live.” “I will be in awe of you and what you will do.” She turned to him and blew him a kiss “You will be such a loving dad.” “I will do my best.”

They were just about to dock in Mallaig when Aelin’s phone went off and she noticed it was Lysandra. “Hi Lys, how are you doing?” “I am doing amazing and the shop is fine. I had a busy morning and I had no idea how fun it was to work in a bookstore. Tell Rowan the shop is fine and that I had good sales as well.” “He will be happy to hear that.” Aelin gave Rowan the thumbs up after she noticed the worry in his face when she said it was Lys on the phone. “How are you guys doing?” “We are about to dock on the mainland in Mallaig. The weather down here is amazing and we are having fun.” “Gotta go. Customers. Keep me posted.” Lysandra hung up and Aelin followed Rowan back to the car “Lys says the shop is fine and that she had a busy morning with good sales and that she is having a great time.” Rowan laughed “good. You can tell her that she can keep being my interim assistant until she gets a job at the hospital. It seems like she has a knack as well. She might want to keep busy and well, I need an assistant and we could not find anyone I liked so…” “You had very high standards.” “No. I just wanted someone who had a bit of interest and willingness to work.” “Time to drive, old man.” Joked Aelin when one of the car deck crew motioned them to move forward and disembark. They drove for a very short distance until Rowan pulled in, in a car park. Aelin was giddy, while they were driving past Morar bay, her face was attached to the window. There were sands everywhere, but Rowan kept driving. She was dying to get off the car. She new he was trying to get them as close as possible to their destination. Walking for long was getting very problematic for her so he was just being his thoughtful self. Once at the car park, she opened the door as soon as the car stopped and was out. “Come on, Buzzard. I need to go to the beach.” He grabbed the backpack and put a hat on her head “Now we can go.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the small path. Usually he was the guide, but when it came to beaches, she was the one leading the way. Rowan would joke saying that she would smell beaches like a bloodhound. Aelin stopped when the beach finally appeared in front of her. It was not Luskentyre but the water was still crystal blue and the sand white. “This is Camusdarach beach.” Aelin toed off her shoes and started walking to the water. Rowan picked up the shoes and followed her. By the time he got there, she was already in the water, waves gently brushing her ankles. “Come on, this is beautiful.” Rowan smiled and toed off his shoes as well, dropped his backpack on the sand and joined her in the water, right behind her with his arms folding on her bump. His smell of pine engulfed her and Aelin leaned against his chest “I am glad Elide and Lorcan are getting married and invited us, it gave us a lovely excuse for this amazing trip.” Hand in hand they walked the length of the beach and eventually Rowan dragged her back on the sand and they sat down enjoying the sun. Aelin started playing with the sand and began building a sand castle and Rowan joined her a bit later. “Aelin’s castle.” After her castle was finished, Rowan pulled her down on the sand and he rolled to the side, facing her “thank you for not giving up on me.” “You were a bit of a hopeless case,” she added, flicking his nose “but being cute saved you.” “Just cute?” He pouted. “Fine, as Lys would say, you are sex on two legs.” “Poor Aedion.” “Ach, she just looks. She loves him.” His hand caressed her face “You can look as well, but remember that I exist. I can be jealous too.” Aelin snuggled closer and five minutes later she was snoozing and Rowan let her. They had a very early start and he wanted her to relax as much as she could. He rolled back on his back but then sat up and kept playing with the sand castle she had built. When she woke up it was an hour later. “Hello, sleeping beauty.” “Did I just fell asleep on the sand?” He leaned forward to kiss her “that you did.” “And you let me?” “Yes.” Aelin fought to stand but failed miserably so Rowan helped her. “We can’t waste too much time dillydallying. We need to hit the road again.” She tried to bend over to grab her shoes but she had no such luck. Rowan stood and patted the sand away from her and squeezed her ass in the meantime. “Aye, aye captain.” He said picking up her shoes and patting the sand away from him as well. Ten minutes later they were back on the road and Aelin was happily sipping on her smoothie. “This road we are on is called the road to the isle because it’s the road that connects Fort William to Mallaig where you can get the ferry to the islands.” “Were you a Harry Potter fan?” He asked. “Not really. I have only seen the movies to keep company to Lysandra. Why?” “There is one place on our way that became quite famous in one of the movies.” “Oh, the viaduct?” She asked. Lysandra on the other hand, was obsessed with Harry Potter and they had watched the movies together. “Lys is a huge Harry Potter fan and since I haven’t read the books she convinced me to at least to watch the movie. She had told me the viaduct was in Scotland.” “We will pass Glenfinnan and if you want we can stop there.” “Yes, I need to take a picture for Lys.” They arrived at the site half an hour later and Rowan parked in a small car park and Aelin could see the viaduct in the distance. “There is a visitor centre and you can get your magnet there.” He joked and they started the walk to the viaduct and Aelin took a lot of photos and started sending them to Lys via WhatsApp. “Were you a Harry Potter fan?” She took his hand. Rowan shook his head “I read the books just to see what all the fuss was about but I never got into them. Not my kind of thing.” “You could be a Slytherin.” Added Aelin looking at him with a wicked smile. Rowan looked away for a moment “Lyria made me took a test. She was into the books. I was sorted in Slytherin.” Aelin lifted the hands they were holding to his mouth and kissed his “Let me guess, the bitch was a Gryffindor.” Rowan laughed “that she was.” “As if I needed another reason to hate her.” Rowan squeezed her hand “you don’t like them?” “I hate them. And I hate Potter. He is the most annoying, most useless and most boring character ever written.” She confessed “Lys made me take the test and I am a Slytherin too, Lys is a Ravenclaw and Aedion is alas, a Gryffindor.” “Poor Lys.” They finally arrived under the viaduct and Aelin took a picture of her holding the pylons of the viaduct. “This is quite impressive. Do train actually run on it?” Rowan nodded “The regular Scotrail trains from Glasgow to Mallaig come through here but from Fort William there is also the Jacobite steam train, which by the way was used in Harry Potter 2, and it’s a very fancy train that runs twice a day.” “That must be one heck of a gorgeous train ride.” “It is, I have done it a few times, the regular train, I mean. Probably one of the most stunning we have in Scotland.” He started walking back and took her hand again. “Lys is saying that she is so jealous right now and told me that I am lucky girls because my fiancé is not a Gryffindor.” “Come on Buzzard, I have a few tacky things to buy.” She pulled him toward the visitor centre. Slowly they got back to the car and Rowan drove the small distance back to the visitor centre. He parked there and Aelin went inside the shop and bought stuff for her and Lysandra and got back to him who was waiting for her outside. Together they walked to the monument standing in front of Loch Shiel and sat down at the table at the viewpoint “Remember the scene in the third Harry Potter movie when Harry flies on the big flying creature whose name I can’t remember?” Aelin nodded. “This is the loch in the scene.” He looked at her puzzled expression “I only know because I have a book in the shop about movie locations in Scotland and in the summer is quite popular with tourists and once I had a look through it out of curiosity.” “I need to read it next time I am in.” He sat down beside her and pulled her close “How are you feeling? Are you tired?” “Are you joking? This is amazing. I will sleep tonight. I have a feeling I will be out as soon as I hit the bed but for now I am fine. Really, Ro.” He grabbed his backpack and opened it “Are you hungry?” She nodded and Rowan offered her another sandwich and Aelin munched away while taking in the incredible view in front of her. “Did Elide tell you where they are getting married?” Aelin nodded “The cloisters at Glasgow University. I have no idea what it is, but I assume you know. But Elide told me that she loves that place so much and felt like it was a cool place where to get married. They don’t have a large numbers of people so we will fit.” Rowan had a large smile “It was and still is one of my favourite places around the University and once we are there you will know why. I will take you there tomorrow. Our accommodation is very close by to the university so got very lucky.” “She said that they are having the reception inside the centre hall at Kelvingrove art gallery.” Rowan laughed “they have amazing taste. That’s all I am saying right now.” “I googled some pictures and they are amazing sites.” Then she looked up to him “are you looking forward being back in Glasgow?” Rowan nodded “I love the islands but I have some great memories of the city.” Eventually Rowan stood “Let’s go. We still have a very long drive. I want to show you Glen Coe before we continue our drive south.” They got back in the car and on the road “sleep a bit, “said Rowan caressing her head “it will take us about an hour to reach Glen Coe.” Aelin blew him a kiss and did as was told and woke up only when Rowan nudged her awake. She opened her eyes and gasped at the beautiful view in front of her. “We are driving through Glen Coe.” “I am speechless.” “It’s quite incredible, I agree.” A few minutes later Rowan stopped the car and he got out and motioned for Aelin to follow him. They both sat on the hood of the car and he put an arm around her shoulder, “see this three ridges in front of us?” Aelin nodded. “They are called the three sisters of Glen Coe.” “That’s a cute name.” “Did they film anything in GlenCoe? It seems like such an mazing film locations,” she asked curious. “Tons of stuff, actually. Some more of the Harry Potter movies, some bits of Braveheart, one of the James Bond movies, Skyfall I think, and another one I remember is Monthy Python and the Holy Grail.” “I really need to read your book.” They sat in silence for a moment, then Rowan pushed her to go back into the car “Come on. We’ll have a last stop in Balloch and then from there we will do the last leg to Glasgow.” They got back in the car and Aelin was asleep again within minutes and he let her sleep. From time to time he brushed his hand on her bump but the twins seemed asleep as well. She woke up again much later “where are we?” She asked with a sleepy voice. “Near Tarbert, we are on Loch Lomond.” Aelin smiled “there is a song.” And she started fiddling with his mp3 player to find the song. A couple of minutes later she found it and pressed play and Rowan smiled fondly. He had created a monster in terms of music. Aelin started singing and he laughed. “You’ll take the high road, and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye. Where me and my true love will never meet again on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.” “You know this is a sad song, right?” “I know I read the meaning behind it but it’s so good. I love it so much.” Once in Balloch, Rowan took Aelin for a walk into Balloch castle country park but when he noticed her trailing behind slowly he called it a day and decided they were going back to the car and drive the last leg to Glasgow. She was getting tired and he felt as if he had pushed her enough although he was alway careful and walked always short distances. Aelin slept until Rowan woke her up announcing they were arrived at the hotel. “We are in Glasgow?” He kissed her “yes, we made it.” She gave him a big smile and slowly got out of the car, grabbed her backpack and followed him. Rowan unloaded the bags and they got inside the hotel and at the receptions. She let Rowan check them in. She was feeling tired and only wanted to take a shower and collapse in bed. Once in their bedroom Aelin sat on the bed and then lay down heavily under Rowan’s worried stare “are you sure you are okay?” “Yeah, a shower and a nap and I will be okay.” Rowan had a look in the bathroom “even better, you can take a relaxing bath and if you behave I might join you. I am pretty wiped as well.” At that statement Aelin stood and went to open the taps in the bathtub “no take backs.” Fifteen minutes later they were both in the tub, Rowan behind her and he was washing her hair and then her back “That’s not fair, I can only wash your legs.” Then she leaned back against him and he purred. “Will you manage to go out for dinner or shall we order in?” Aelin shook her head “I want to go out. Do we have to go very far?” “No, it’s a twenty minutes walk. Or we can walk five minutes and take the underground for one stop. There is a lovely area for food in Hillhead, the uni area. There is a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant that I adore and I haven’t been there in a lifetime. Or we can try something else. Whichever takes your fancy.” “Vietnamese sounds perfection. But can we do the half walk half underground option?” “I would drive but parking is a nightmare in that area.” She took his hands and placed them on her bump “half and half is perfect.” Rowan kissed her neck caressed her bump when he felt a kick. “I think we are getting close to the stage when they will be able to hear sounds. Their ears should be formed by now and they will hear muffled sounds from outside.” “I need to go back reading to them.” He asked tugging her even closer. “I’d love that. But only stories with badass females.” “Of course and I’ll make sure I will read them about their namesakes.” “Morrigan is going to hate us for her name as soon as she discovers where it comes from.” Rowan kissed her head “We can change it.” But Aelin shook her head in dissent “I adore it.” They cuddled in the bathtub a bit longer but when the water started to cool down Rowan ordered them to get out. Aelin, in her bathrobe collapsed in bed. It was still far too early to go out for dinner so they were going to chill out in bed. Rowan had driven all day and she was positive he was exhausted as well. He joined her in bed and snuggled against her “What are you doing?” Aelin took her phone “what’s the name of the restaurant?” “Hanoi bike shop.” “That’s a very random name.” Rowan chuckled “look at some photos and you will see why.” Aelin did that “oh wow. The place looks amazing. There are actually pieces of bikes hanging… and look at the lanterns.” “And their food is delicious.” “Let me see the menu.” She was too busy browsing her phone to notice that Rowan had fallen asleep in her arms. She set an alarm for half past six and cuddled against him and placed one of his hands on the bump, then kissed his head and slept a while as well.

She woke again five minutes before the alarm was meant to go off. Rowan was still fast asleep and she felt horrible at the idea of waking him up but her stomach was grumbling and she was getting hungry. She kissed him gently and brushed a hand through his hair and slowly he woke. “Hi you.” “Hey,” his voice still gruff “did I fall asleep?” “Like a baby” she kissed him “I didn’t want to wake you but I am starving.” Rowan laughed and rolled on his back. A second later he was off the bed and went to the suitcase to grab some clothes “Come on, let’s get you fed, then we can come back and relax.” Ten minutes later they were both ready and outside. Aelin had a look and in the distance she noticed a park. Rowan had told her they were near his uni. They walked for a bit along Sauchienall st. until in the distance she noticed some amazing buildings and pulled him to walk faster. Rowan stopped her and went back into guide mode. He went behind her and took her arm and pointed “that, is Glasgow university. And this amazing red building in front of us is Kelvingrove museum. Glasgow uni is the second oldest uni in Scotland dating to 1451 and the fourth oldest in the UK.” “I am jealous. I went to a modern uni. Yours looks amazing.” “We’ll have a proper look tomorrow, same for the museum.” They reached the underground and while they were waiting Rowan explained that it was a circular line and they only had the inner and outer circle. And that the only mistake you could make was to take the wrong one and having to go all the way around before reaching your destination. The whole concept puzzled her, behind used to the London tube and all. Once out of the subway the restaurant was at a minute walk and Aelin loved the place already. The restaurant was busy but they did manage to get a seat. Aelin would have killed if they told her that there was no space. She was now dead set on that restaurant and did not want to go somewhere else. She had already studied the menu in full. An hour later Aelin relaxed back satisfied. The meal had been wonderful and after her dessert she finally felt full “I think we can walk back to the hotel, I ate too much and I need to walk it off.” Rowan laughed “are you sure?” It took them forty minutes to walk back to the hotel. Aelin had decided to be brave and walk and she soon realised it had been a very bad idea. Rowan had tried to convince her to at least take the subway again but she had been stubborn. Rowan knew she was struggling but had given up when he suggested a taxi and he got a deadly glare from her. They were finally in front of the hotel and Rowan relaxed a bit. “Don’t.” She snapped. “What?” “You have a ‘I told you so face’ I know, I was stubborn and now I am paying for it. Now stop gloating.” He gave her his hand “Come on, Fireheart, I am curious to see which funny pj you have with you tonight.” Aelin took his hand and followed him to the lift. Once in the room, Aelin threw herself on the bed but Rowan grabbed her hands “get changed first.” Then he let her go and grabbed her suitcase and placed it on the bed “come on, jammies on and then bed.” “Can we cuddle? Perhaps with a back massage.” “That can be arranged, but I need you in your jammies to do that.” Aelin dragged herself up and grabbed her night clothes from her bag and got changed and Rowan did the same and both get ready for bed. Rowan was the first one under the blankets and once she joined him he pulled her to him, her belly facing him. His hands went to her back and started rubbing the sore spots. Aelin melted in his arms. “Thank you for today,” she mumbled against his chest, snuggling against him a bit more. She felt a kiss on her head and then laughed when he felt a kick “I think our girls had a great time as well.” “They did, but now they are exhausted like mum.” Rowan pulled her down to an horizontal position “Turn around,” he said to her when he noticed she was not on her left side. “But I want to face you.” “You know the left side is the recommended position. Turn around.” He helped her and once she was settled he climbed over and lay down in front of her “Sorted.” “You are such a mama hen.” She joked, running her hand through his hair. “Your hair getting longer.” “I was thinking about letting it grow. What do you think?” Aelin kissed him “very naughty thoughts right now.” Rowan laughed “I used to have them to my shoulder when I was t uni. Not practical for swimming but I loved it.” “I can braid it.” She smiled “Please let it grow back.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss back “As you wish, my Queen.” Then he took her hand and placed it on his heart “Now sleep, please.” He told her gently, closing her eyes with her fingers. Then his arm reached out over her and pulled her as close as possible. “Goodnight,” he whispered to his favourite women.

Tag: @rowaelinismyotp

[tdoompoet]

Keep You: Preservation of Papyrus

Sans had snapped from the humans endless genocide routes, and so took the option away from them by killing everyone himself first. After so many times doing it on his own, he grew tired (and desparate) from the loneliness. He can't keep it up, but he can't stop, either.

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(Full story under Keep Reading, with alt link to Ao3 in notes)

(Potentially triggering drawing at end of story)

(CW: injury, violence, genocide, decapitation, body horror)

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Keep You:

Preservation of Papyrus

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Not again.

He couldn't do it again.

Yet here he was, covered in dusty remains once more, the population under the mountain made silent.

It had become routine:

Wake up.

(was he really awake?)

Recognize the world had Reset.

(again. he had to do it all again. and again. and again--)

Spend an hour staring at the ceiling, bracing himself for the day's work ahead.

(--again. and again. and again. he had to--)

Slip by Papyrus, busy preparing a fresh batch for his spaghetti trap.

("Today I, The Great Papyrus, WILL capture a human! Nyeh-heh-heh!! --Brother! Don't forget to Calibrate! Your! Puzzles" --yet again--)

Murder Everyone.

After so many repeats (thousands? tens of thousands? how many by the kid's hand, how many by his own?), he was able to go about his self-appointed duty on auto-pilot. Easy enough to slip on his smile, walking alongside the townsfolk and make them laugh or groan at corny jokes as though it were any other day, until they were out of sight of anyone else. Then they couldn't react to anything anymore.

Easy enough for the first dozen or so, as he built up his first few levels of LoVe (don't think about how with his single ATK lousy damage that the only ones he could take down swiftly and quietly at first still being in stars damned stripes--). Even easier once the LoVe trickled into his Soul and what little guilt he could still feel was replaced with adrenaline and the growing reinforcement of the knowledge that he would soon be completely alone in this world once more.

But things would be different this time.

He dusted his way through Snowdin, then Waterfall, and Hotland along with the Core, and finally on his way to the Capitol, careful to keep a good distance between his brother and himself even as the population dwindled to be replaced by gusts of dust, and his growing LoVe became more and more obvious to the point that others went on the defensive as soon as they laid eyes on his on imbalanced red-tinted gaze.

No one would be allowed to stop him. He must complete this before the human arrived and destroyed everyone themself. (was he really any better than the kid, or even that damned flower?)

An encounter with the King would have been likely to end in Sans' favor even before he gained any LoVe, what with the King's own LoVe and guilt making him weak to the mercies of the Judge. This, it couldn't even be counted as a fight. Sans couldn't afford to stop and think of why, if it was because the King believed he deserved the Judgement for all his own sins when there was nothing left to lose, or if it was the shock of grief and betrayal from one of his most trusted-- No, can't think about that. There was a goal to complete.

One last task. And then..

The trip to the Room of Souls was quick. Anyone who earned a Royal title was made aware of its exact location, and given a general knowledge of how the Soul containers functioned. No point in limiting the information to the King alone if his death would also result in the loss of the six souls the Underground had managed to collect so far. No point in denying them what little HoPe was left to cling to.

Now, they were Sans' only means of preserving his own last HoPe.

Soul container collected and stashed in his inventory, a detour through New Home where he quickly found and claimed that damned knife (so many Resets since the kid was last able to hit him, and that scar-that-never-happened still fucking BURNED), and a shortcut later found him blinking a gust of dust mixed snow out of his sockets. And ahead of him on the path, same spot as every other time it had come to this point--

Deep breath. Don't get distracted yet. He was so close to finishing this.

So close to saving Papyrus from the non-existent mercies of the creature masquerading as a human.

Papyrus stood there, seemingly expecting him (as he did every time it came to this point of the timeline), the small remainder of hope being replaced with that soul wrenching mix of grief, disappointment, and ever-present Mercy once he took in the changes to his brother. Once he saw the effects of the LoVe he'd earned.

"Brother."

Sans said nothing. Time was of the essence. The human would be through the ruins soon. But--

"All the Dogi are gone. And all of our neighbors."

"..yea." There was no denying the evidence, he fully knew and accepted what he'd done, but somehow it was still a struggle to get the admission out past the sudden tightness in his non-existent throat at admitting it to his brother.

"Undyne isn't answering her phone."

Sans said nothing. The reason why was obvious. He can't think of how his actions hurt his brother just yet. He'll accept everything Papyrus has to throw at him once this is over. He deserves nothing less.

"She's never going to, is she. Nor any of our other friends." A statement. Not a question.

Every other timeline, he ended it immediately upon shortcutting here before his brother had the chance to talk him down. To allow his guilt and grief to overwhelm him before he could finish and result in his brother being left to the tender (non) mercies of the kid. But if this worked (it WOULD work) Papyrus would be able to say anything he wanted to his Soul's content. He'd be ALIVE to do so.

"..i'm sorry, Papyrus. i have to do this." He was cracking. He needed to get his shit together. He needed to finish before that door opened and everything was ruined.

"Brother, this isn't the way to solve any problem! You KNOW this! Talk to me, I don't underst--"

His barely-wavering appeal, a tangled mess of bravery, belief in his brother, and wet with tears of grief finally released when the truth could no longer be denied, was cut off by a wave of bones surging up behind him. Familiarity from years of training with his brother had him dodging forward into Sans' space without a thought. It was playing dirty, but right now that didn't matter.

Sans took advantage of the familiar routine, manipulating Papyrus into position to move under his outstretched arm, yank him down by the scarf, and within a blink the cursed knife was out of his inventory and through Papyrus' neck.

Everything stopped as quickly as it started, Papyrus never even having a chance to recover from the shock before his body started dusting away beneath him.

"W-well, that's not what I expected," Papyrus managed to say. Sans' soul damn near broke right then from hearing the familiar words usually spoken to the human all those genocide runs ago now directed at himself. But he couldn't let it affect him. Not now. No time.

With speed few would believe he possessed, the knife was dropped, the Soul container was out of his inventory, on the ground, opened, and the orange soul of Bravery tossed aside without a thought. With hands starting to shake, Papyrus' head was reverently lowered inside in its place.

The lid was quickly sealed. Sans remained crouched, staring into the jar and shaking with anticipation as the rest of Papyrus dissolved to dust beside him. The scarf caught up in a sudden gust of wind, fluttering down to catch around himself and the container holding what (HoPefully) remained of his brother. It was hard to tell whether it felt more like a threatening noose or a comforting embrace.

(It was his brothers. Of course there was only ever one option it could be, regardless of what Sans thought he deserved.)

The silence stretched on, Sans refusing to break eye contact for a moment even as a stinging mix of magic and dust dripped into his straining sockets. He couldn't look away, not even to blink. Not until he was sure it worked. Not until--

"Brother, I believe we need to have a talk. There are much better ways to solve problems than shoving people into jars! Well, parts of people! That was very rude! I was very attached to my body! And where did you even find a jar that already seemed to have people parts in it?? They--!!!"

Sans couldn't help it. The tension melted out of him, body falling into a heap between the jar containing his ranting (LIVING!) brother and the dissolving human soul. Tremors wracked him as dreaded anticipation of failure switched too quickly into hysterical laughter, the disbelief of success overwhelming.

Alive. Papyrus was still alive, and still very much himself. Well, until the shock wore off, at least. He was well aware he had a lot to make up to Papyrus for, not that he could ever make up for everything he had done. But Papyrus was safe, ALIVE. With him, and unable to needlessly sacrifice himself to the human yet again.

Sans managed to save him, and he would never have to be alone with his ghosts again.

.

.

.

At the far end of the path, through the woods and over the bridge, a stone door creaked open. The human child stepped out into the snow.

--------------------

A.N. Wasn't sure how to do it, but had the idea of the human coming out of the ruins and being horrified out of their genocidal stupor at the image of Sans gleefully hugging the jar containing his brother's decapitated head, evidence that he'd willfully done it surrounding him. Who knows, maybe it would be enough of a shock to get them to reconsider their choices up to now.

Alternatively, there was the idea that Sans would manage to evade the human while keeping the Papyrus jar close to him at all times (perhaps he even did this early on before killing everyone else), and.. just enjoying what he can of his brother's company before using him as a last resort EXP boost, even going so far as to break the jar and finish dusting his brother in front of the human for the extra shock factor.

But I couldn't bring myself to go that route. With Papyrus having the chance to natter on and chip away at his brother's mental walls while trapped in the soul container, I don't think Sans could have brought himself to murder Papyrus a second time in one run.

[cinebration]

The Darkest Shine (Dan Torrance x Reader) [Part 8]

Dan and Abra go searching.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Epilogue

Tagged: @blackeasteagle​​, @theblackmaskclub​​

Warnings: none

Gif Source: directedbysnyder

“Well, this is ironic.”

Crow Daddy’s voice made Dan and Abra both jump. Panic reared up in both of them, Abra most keenly as she recalled the man killing her father and abducting her. She wasn’t afraid, but they had killed Crow Daddy, watched him turn to dust.

If he could reappear, could Rose too?

Dan pulled the truck off the road. In the passenger seat, Crow Daddy smiled thinly, amused in a small way. The last time he had been in a vehicle with the two of them, he had flown through the windshield and died.

“I’m still dead,” he said, glancing up at the rear view mirror. Abra glared at his reflection.

“Has this happened before, Abra?” Dan asked, tensing as he kept his eyes on the steam vampire.

“No.”

“All sorts of new things happening in your lives,” Crow Daddy muttered. “First a resurrection, now me.” He laughed wryly. “I wonder what’s changed that you can see me now, stranger man.”

“Can you push him out?” Dan asked.

Abra sat and concentrated. Dan did the same, pushing on the steam vampire’s ghostly energy.

Crow Daddy remained where he was, his amused smile widening with a curve of his lips. Panic snaked through Dan’s gut, echoing Abra’s fears. Before, they could hurt the vampires, maybe even trap them in mind boxes.

But this seemed different.

“What do you want?” Dan asked through clenched teeth.

“As much as I’d love revenge,” the vampire murmured, “I’m not capable of it. This has to do with a mutual friend of ours.” He met Dan’s gaze with his own dark one. “She’s dead.”

Dan’s hand tightened on the steering wheel, attention flitting to Abra for a moment. She nodded minutely.

“We know that already,” she said.

“Yes, I figured as much. Do you know where yet?”

Abra frowned but didn’t answer. She had picked up a signal after two and a half hours of intense focus, picking up only a sense of you somewhere to the east but no exact location. Just endless trees. Though sitting at home, supervised by her mother, Abra had thrown her senses wide to catch the thread of your trail. Dan had insisted she merely project herself in the car with him, in part to keep her safe.

“I didn’t think so,” Crow Daddy said. “I guess that’s why I’m here.”

Suspicion slithered into Dan’s mind. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m guessing I’m supposed to tell you where she is.”

“How do you know that?”

“I was there.”

Anger flared up in him. “It was you.”

Crow Daddy shook his head, long hair shifting like a waterfall over his shoulders. “I had nothing to do with it. I’m guessing I was just there as a witness.”

Dan didn’t believe him, though the Shine knew the vampire wasn’t lying. Dan didn’t want to acknowledge that, but he asked, “Who did this to her?”

“The devil.”

Dan wanted to punch the suddenly solemn look off Crow Daddy’s face. It was worse than his bemused smirk. Swallowing thickly, Dan glanced away, helplessness settling into his bones. Everything the vampire was saying confirmed his worst fear that you had been taken by some…thing beyond your own power. Perhaps beyond his and Abra’s.

We have to go, Uncle Dan, Abra thought to him. We’re wasting time.

Do you believe him?

A pause. Then: Yes. This time.

Steeling himself, Dan pulled the truck back onto the road. Crow Daddy settled into the seat as though he could feel it and looked out the window, watching the beautiful landscape slide by.

It reminded him of traveling with the True Knot.

~~

The drive took four and a half hours. Traffic backed them up for some of it. A semi overturned a mile ahead and blocked them for forty minutes. They missed the turnoff and had to drive three miles before they could double-back. The route they needed had sprouted detour signs sometime early that morning, forcing them to circle.

At least they reached the woods.

The truck died.

Something was trying to stop them. The realization twisted Dab’s guts. It was the Overlook all over again, only it wasn’t just one place working against them. It seemed like the very fabric of nature, or at the very least luck, had been turned on them.

Grabbing a flashlight—I’ll need it—Dan stepped out of the car. Abra appeared beside him. He glanced over his shoulder to find Crow Daddy.

They were alone.

“Shit,” Dan hissed.

“We don’t need him,” Abra said, but her voice shook ever so slightly. It all seemed too much like baseball boy…and the woods where Billy had died while she’d been kidnapped out of her house.

“You can sense her?”

“I think so.”

They walked an hour through the woods, following Abra’s sense. The feeling of dread grew heavier and heavier on Dan’s shoulders. This, he realized, must be what it was like to be toyed with, to be the mouse against a cat.

Peering ahead through the trees, his steps faltered. Abra stepped around a tree to see. Her own spirits plummeted.

There was the truck. They were back at the start.

Dan leaned against a tree, fighting the frustration rearing its ugly head in his chest. Behind him, the sun had already begun to set, painting the sky orange and purple in wide paintbrush strokes.

“I don’t get it,” Abra muttered. “I thought…”

Dan had tried reaching out with his own senses. It seemed like he was peering through murky water. If only the silt would settle…

“Let’s split up and try again,” he said.

~~

Night drew its dark curtain over them as they found themselves back at the truck. Dan’s urge to kick out a headline nearly overwhelmed him. Struggling to get a grip on his anger, he paced around the truck, trying to figure out the solution. No answers came to him.

“No luck, I see.”

Dan jumped, pivoted sharply to face Crow Daddy. “Where were you?”

The steam vampire shrugged. “I don’t have any control over this. I was here, then I wasn’t, and now I’m back.”

“Where is she?”

Crow Daddy gestured for Dan and Abra to follow. They trailed after him for forty-five minutes down the dirt road until it ended.

He pointed. “Somewhere over there.”

Dan swept the flashlight over the dirt and grass, making monsters out of shadows. An almost flat plane of earth had been disturbed, grass missing and overturned.

His stomach plummeted; the flashlight swung jarringly as he sprinted to the spot.

The ground started to churn, arresting him in his tracks. The disturbed dirt shifted, moving like some unholy thing, and then there was something emerging from it, a hideous monster scrabbling at the earth for purchase as it pulled itself from its grave.

The light flashed on it and then it was you. It had always been you, covered in dirt and mud and blood, screaming. Not a scream of terror or pain but unadulterated rage.

“I see you,” you screamed at the trees, gasping for air. “Just let me fucking die!”

Dan approached you slowly, reached out a hand to your shoulder.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

He flinched back. You pulled the last of yourself out of the earth and let out another enraged scream.

And another.

And another.

Until your voice went raw.

[stardancereivor]

It had started with a whisper.

A Viera who left the wood was not meant to hear the Green Word. It was unclear if such a thing was meant to be a permanent punishment for leaving behind her duties, or if it was incentive to bring them back into the fold. In years past, a Viera was never allowed to return to the wood after abandoning her sisters; she was exiled. In recent years it had become allowed, and those Viera were no longer in permanent exile. Still, typically none returned. They left for a reason, after all. Eivør was one of those Viera; she left to find herself, to discover what she was missing. Damn did she find it. She had seen so much in her time away from Viras. She had seen magic unlike anything the Viera typically practiced, and learned it as well. She had been introduced to weapons, technology, things she still didn't entirely understand. It was exciting, it was enlightening. However, not all of it was good. She had also been introduced to evils she had never considered, and heartbreak.

Eivør had always intended to return, she just never had a plan on when. Part of it was because of how much she enjoyed being among others not of her kind, but part of it was also for fear of if she went back... would she leave again? It was not worry that she wouldn't be allowed that stopped her, it was fear that she would decide to stay. It was home, after all. Twelve years did not compare to eighty. While she had made a home for herself, Viras was home. She had accepted many things about being away from Viras; it guaranteed she would never birth a child, she would not see her mother, her brother, any of her companions. But in leaving them she gained so much more. She gained knowledge, power, strength, and happiness. Was it always perfect? No. Was it always easy? Also no. But was it worth it? Usually the answer was yes.

And then one night something visited her in her dreams. It was a quiet, distant voice. Barely above a whisper. But she knew this voice. She had heard it before. She would know it anywhere. It was one that had her sitting up in bed and waking in a cold sweat. The ticking of a distant clock and the idle tip tapping of a dodo wandering around were the only sounds around her. No chirping of birds, no rustling of leaves and branches, no distant rivers. Just Eivør's breath, her racing heart, and Fat Son.

Mother?

She hadn't been able to sleep again that night. It made carrying on with her tasks difficult for the following day; all she could think about was the whisper of her mother's voice. Falling to sleep for the following night had been difficult. It had been stressful, and though the night was fitful she eventually gave in to exhaustion.

She is sick. She needs you.

A second sleepless night had followed that. Her mother was sick? How? What could she do for her? It once again had Eivør waking in the night. She was shaking, she could barely think, or breathe. As if by no conscious volition of her own she began to back; clothes, weapons, food. The necessities. And Fat Son. She at least knew not to abandon him in her packing frenzy. And that was that, she rushed home. The use of aetheryte teleportation made the initial journey so much quicker, as it allowed her to get as close as possible to the borders of the jungle before she was forced to travel by foot.

This was a path she had taken only once before, and it had been in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, her feet carried her as if by instinct. Her body knew where to go. Home. She stopped only to rest, and to care for Fat Son, as the travel has stressed the poor dodo. Otherwise she made no detours, no stops for anything extracurricular. Only what was necessary. The closer she got to Golmore she louder the voice became. She needs you.

And then Eivør found herself at the edge of the forest. There it was. The familiar scent, the sounds, the trees. It was all there again right before her very eyes.

Golmore Jungle.

Dare she step foot beyond these trees? Was she even truly welcome to return home? Eivør's heart raced, she could hear it pounding in her ears. Home. She was home. But what awaited her here? She stood there for what felt like an eternity, just staring into the depths of a forest she had always known. A forest that had at one time been her entire world. All she had known. Now it felt... small. It was no smaller than it used to be, and it was still a massive place, but it felt so much smaller than the world she now knew. All that was left was to take that final step forward...

Because her mother needed her.

With a gentle sigh and a shake of her head, Eivør squeezed Fat Son tightly in her arms and began walking again. She stepped easily over logs, stones, and creeks. This forest was her domain, and she had always been and always would be its master. She ducked, she climbed, and she maneuvered her way through the forests of her homeland with ease, as if she had never left. While she did this she could hear everything, all those sounds the missed. The animals, the singing of birds, the distant creeks, waterfalls, rivers, the creaking of the trees moving and swaying, their branches heavy upon their trunks. She could even hear quiet whispers, the soft patter and skitter of humanoid footsteps. Someone was following her. It wasn't threatening, however. It was almost comforting in a way. Most likely it was a wood warder who had seen her enter the forest from the outside, but he did not attack a Viera. He just kept a wary eye, but made no move to stop her from her goal. She clearly knew where she was going. If she didn't stop she could get there by nightfall...

Eivør all but ran through the forest, leaping and climbing and gliding down pathways she had never forgotten. She stopped only when she finally smelled it; Viras. Someone was preparing something delicious. What time of year was it now? They must have been having a party of some kind. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she ventured closer, only to be met with a pair of spears being pointed at her face. "HALT! Stranger, who--" There was then a gasp, and one of the spears was lowered. "Eivør?"

"Wait, what?" The second woman lowered her spear and stepped closer with her partner. One was familiar to Eivør, white-haired Viera with dark skin, golden tattoos, and eyes like honey. The other as well, with her sandy hair and green eyes. Eivør recalled being lost in the eyes of both of these woman on more than one occasion. "No way." Honey gold eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. "No way--no..?!" The spear was slung over her back into a strap, and the white-haired woman walked a full circle around Eivør. She had stood still the entire time, hugging Fat Son protectively to her bosom and watching both women with relief and amusement. Svana and Hilde. She remembered these two so well. Were they paired now? Good for them. She must have been quite a sight to the two of them; she had been gone for eleven years now, and while not much had changed physically she was still a changed woman. She even dressed entirely different from the both of them. While both huntresses were garbed in leathers, she still wore a red dress covered in jewelry, and made of something much more delicate than leather.

"It has been.. a very long time," Eivør finally cut in, her voice quiet for the pair inspecting her.

"A ver--are you serious?!" Svanna gaped. "You abandon us for how long and come back all 'it's been a long time?!' That's your greeting?!" Claw-tipped fingers sank into fluffy white hair, clutching her head as if trying to contain herself. Meanwhile, Hilde's arms had wrapped around her midsection to laugh at Svanna. Eivør merely grinned and shrugged.

"Are you surprised, Hilde? That is very her. But.. Eivør. You have returned! This is wonderful, yes? And... you have brought dinner?" Green eyes landed upon the rotund creature in Eivør's arms, and Fat Son honked. "What--"

Eivør gasped, laughed, and squeezed the dodo with a wide smile. "Oh! Haha. Oh. No, no. He is not for dinner. This is.. this is my pet. I could not leave him behind, so... ah.. Hilde. Svanna. I. Mm. It's. This is awkward. I know you.. I know you will want to catch up? And perhaps have many questions.. but--"

With a gentle smile of understanding Hilde cut in, "you are here for Salma." Svanna immediately sobered and lowered her hands away from her head. While Hilde smiled, Svanna frowned. Eivør's ears slowly lowered to lay flat against her hair. "It's fine. We understand. Come, she still lives in the same home she did when you left.. we'll walk you there." Hilde finally turned, holding an arm out toward Eivør in invitation. Mismatched eyes widened a moment as she looked first to Hilde, then Svanna, and then finally to the village behind them. Viras. Her bottom lip quivered a moment, and Eivør had to cough and clear her throat as she took a shaky breath in and then began to walk closer into the village.

It was exactly as she remembered. Nothing had changed. And in the best way. Eivør's gaze wandered as she walked between Svanna and Hilde, following them to humor them. She still knew where to go. While many women were busy with their own suppers or various preparations, there were a few who met eyes with Eivør. Each one had a similar reaction; shock, relief, joy, and confusion. The closer they got to her mother's home, however, the less often she was met with confusion.

"How did you know of Salma's condition, Eivør?" Svanna asked as they approached the home. An abode covered in flowers, with a garden to rival Gridania surrounding it. Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed upon her childhood home. The home she grew up in. Her mother's home.

"I--I.. I dreamed of it. I. I heard it. I heard her." Her voice cracked a moment, but Eivør was quick to clear her throat. "Thank you for escorting me. Is there anyone in there with her now?"

"Yes, a healer from the next village over. It.. Eivør. It does not--"

"She needs me."

Svanna frowned. "...Right.." White ears lowered a bit, and Svanna approached the door to open it without bothering to knock. "Salma looks as ill as she is, Eivør. Are you prepared?"

"... Yes," she lied. Eivør then slipped past Svanna to let herself into the home. She stopped just past the threshold to look around. Everything was still mostly the same. Some redecorating here and there, but it was still her mother's home. It smelled of flowers, of nature, but also.. herbs. Healing herbs. Natural remedies. Medicines. Eivør frowned. This was why Salma needed her, she had learned healing outside of Viras' capabilities. Without a word she continued through the home, her arrival announced only by the clicking of heels and the jingling of jewelry. Even Fat Son dared not make a sound. She stopped only when she reached the threshold of her mother's bedroom, where she stood in the open doorway and gazed down upon the women gathered in the room. Two women were to the side, perhaps praying to the Green Word. She vaguely recognized them. These were friends of her mother's. One woman was completely alien to her; this must have been the visiting healer.

And then there sat Salma... she was gaunt, she even looked malnourished. Eivør could hear her breathing struggle, as if each breath took everything within her to take. Her normally beautifully dark skin was somehow pale, and even her hair had gained more grays. If Eivør didn't know any better she would think her mother to be an ancient; a Viera thousands of years old, old as the oldest tree in Golmore. But that was not the case at all. Salma was barely two hundred.. she still had so much life left to live.

Finally Eivør's quiet voice broke the silence."... M.. mother.. I--" Her breath caught in her throat, and tears filled her eyes and fell down her face. There were quiet gasps in the room as the healer and Salma's companions looked up from what they were doing. There stood Eivør, the daughter who had abandoned them to learn silly star magic. After eleven years. She had returned. "I.."

"Is that.. Eivør?" Croaked a familiar, but sickly voice. Eivør choked back a sob. "My... shining star..?" Fat Son was set down on the floor as Eivør stepped closer, nudging gently past the visiting healer to kneel down beside Salma's bedside and take a thin, shaking hand reaching out toward her. She took it in both hands and held it tightly at first, then more gently when she thought better of it. Eivør's own hands trembled as she brought a hand that was all but skin and bones to her lips. "Eivør, my love. You returned.. let me make you some tea--"

"No, mother.. no. It's. It's fine. I." Another kiss to her hand, and then it was brought to her forehead. "I heard your call. I'm here. I'm here. I'll fix you. I promise. I'll make you better." This was followed by another choked back sob. Svanna and Hilde in the doorway exchanged looks before quietly stepping in to usher the other women out. Let them have their reunion, especially since Svanna was sure it would not last.

There was a tired smile on Salma's face, but joy was still seen in dulled eyes. "Oh, my little star. Do not cry. If the Green Word brought you here, it must know you can help, yes?" With one hand held captive, the other reached across to pet dark hair of a weeping child. "I feel... better. Better already. Just seeing my Eivør. My darling girl. My little star."

She needs you, Eivør.

[hannahmcne]

I Know You (From Once Upon a Dream)

The biggest problem in Audrey's perfect relationship with Ben is the sporadic dreams that plague her of Ben living happily... with someone who isn't her. She's not used to being jealous and she's never felt so... overlooked. Her only consolation is that when she wakes up, everything is over and nothing is real. Ben is with her, life is perfect, and this Mal person doesn't exist.

In her dreams was a large apartment. The sort of thing that existed for families inside of large castles, with all the necessities to function in one small area. It was cozy. There was a kitchenette attached to a living room. A wicker basket filled with nice blankets. Lots of paintings on the walls. An electric fireplace with beautiful tile surrounding it.

Audrey wandered through the halls, peering first into a home office that was so neat she didn't see how it could have ever been used before and then into a bathroom. Dozens of hair and bath products – mostly for men – were set in metal hangers on the wall. She kept going and peeked into a bedroom.

She glanced over the comfortable suite and, upon realizing two people were fast asleep in their bed together, quickly turned to leave. She couldn't. She had no control over what she was viewing. It was as if she were watching a screen she couldn't look away from. She watched one of them – a man, judging by his hand – run his fingertips over the covers.

Her vision panned up until she was looking down on her boyfriend, Ben, who was shifting a little as he opened his eyes. The girl beside him was not her.

How dare he? She stared, dumbfounded. Then, she realized she couldn't look away. She couldn't even close her eyes.

Ben blinked a few times and then peered at the slumbering girl next to him. Audrey wasn't sure what she expected. She realized that this was probably just a funky dream, she had imagined that Ben, being the man of her dreams, would remain faithful even in her dreams. No matter the reality of the realm. Maybe he would jump up and demand who the other person was? Maybe he would ask where Audrey was?

He didn't do either of those things. Instead, he leaned up and traced his fingertips down the other person's cheek before he leaned over and kissed it. She stirred. He continued peppering her face with kisses and gently caressing her jaw and face until a smile crossed the girl's mouth and she opened an eye to peek at him. "Who are you?" She teased. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ben chuckled. "Good morning," he whispered with his mouth close against her forehead as he began to comb his fingers through her hair. "It's time to get up."

"Up?" The other girl moaned, snuggling deeper into her pillow. "Why? You don't want to get up and neither do I. Let's just stay here."

Ben laughed and wrapped his arms around her before burying his nose into her shoulder. "Come on," he whispered. "We both have meetings."

"Says the man still trying to fall asleep on me." The girl released her pillow and rolled over to wrap her arms around his neck. Audrey felt like screaming, but she was disembodied and unable to do anything. As the girl wrapped her left arm around Audrey's boyfriend's neck and started running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, Audrey saw something sparkle and was momentarily blinded by the glint and an intense fit of rage.

This wasn't a dream – it was a nightmare.

"Hmm," Ben replied wordlessly. He kissed her jaw and then somehow managed to tangle his fingers in hers while her fingers were still messing up in his hair. Then, he raised their clasped hands together and turned their fingers around to watch the ring on her hand sparkle in the early morning light coming through the window. The girl laughed and let him play with her hand. Smiles were frozen on their faces.

The girl, Audrey decided to notice now, in favor of watching their infectious show, was an unreal mix of attributes Audrey didn't think could exist together on one person. She was much smaller and shorter than Audrey, with pale skin like she'd grown up in a cave. Vivid green eyes that caught the light in ways eyes were not supposed to and a thin mouth that was pink even without lipstick. And, most unbelievably, long purple hair that was spread out over the pillow behind her. The impossible standards did nothing to ease Audrey's jealousy. Why did her dreams have to conjure up someone so fake and yet flawless? Someone so unlike her?

Ben finally released the other girl's hand and climbed out of bed. "Come on," he called, heading into the attached bathroom.

The girl whined and buried her head underneath her pillow. "Goodnight!" She called.

"Mal!" Ben called, still in a teasing tone as he re-emerged from the bathroom, still in his pajamas. He pulled all the covers off her and then took hold of her foot and pulled her towards him. Mal yelped and tried to grab hold of the headboard before he could pull her away, but found herself being pulled off the bed nonetheless. Ben snatched her hand as soon as it was close enough and pulled her to a sitting position.

"Ben…" Mal began to whine, but he caught her jaw again and kissed her to cut her off.

'Wake up', Audrey told herself. 'Wake up right now.'

Mal sighed against Ben's mouth and then slowly got to her feet. "Okay," she sighed, putting her arms around his neck briefly. She leaned in to kiss him again but dodged his mouth so she could plant her lips on his neck. The filthy, slimy little wrench.

Audrey was too blinded by her rage to even notice as Ben and Mal disappeared into the bathroom together before re-emerging fully-dressed. Ben was still wearing button-downs and shined shoes, but Mal wore a t-shirt with rips around it. Audrey could see both skin and parts of a black undershirt that made her blood boil when she saw the way Ben's eyes clung to Mal's sides.

Ben put his watch on. It usually sat on the bedside table while he slept. Audrey knew that much from late-night and early-morning visits. He read the time quickly and then glanced over at Mal. "We have about an hour and a half," he told her.

"Why did you make us get up, then?" Mal demanded, picking a purple phone off the nightstand and putting it in her pocket. She then began tossing pillows from the bed onto the floor.

"Because I wanted to spend time with you at breakfast," Ben responded, picking up his phone and then starting some music before joining her in her endeavor to rid the mattress of all its accessories. Mal scoffed but didn't respond as they both yanked up the first sheet and then pulled it tight over the bed.

They were domestic. How cute.

Audrey wished she could throw up.

Mal procured a bottle of something brown from her nightstand and began to spray down the sheets. "I don't know why you like this stuff," she wrinkled her nose at the smell, which Audrey quickly realized was vanilla. "It all wears off after the first little bit."

"I like vanilla," Ben replied, reaching across the bed to take the bottle from her. "It smells nice."

Please let her wake up now. Please let her wake up now.

Mal snorted. "Whatever makes you happy, Ben."

"You," Ben replied without a moment of hesitation. Mal's face flushed. A pink color crept into her cheeks as she rolled her eyes and then helped Ben pull up the rest of the covers.

"You make me happy too," she promised as she began picking pillows up and replacing them in their proper positions. Ben gave her a goofy grin.

It was such a simple scene. Such a simple task. Something sweet and trivial and something she'd imagined herself doing with Ben oh-so-many times.

It made her blood boil to imagine this other… tart experiencing it with him.

________________________________________________________________

Let me get this straight," Ben snorted, swinging their hands together as they walked down a road not too far from Auroria's castle. "You're angry at me for something that I did in a dream?"

Audrey pulled her hand back and crossed her arms as she looked away and sulked. Ben began to laugh. Earnest, loud, and clear. He paused on the side of the road and Audrey stomped her foot against the ground. "It's not funny!" She whined.

"You're being silly," Ben rolled his eyes. "You don't have to get jealous of someone who doesn't exist."

"I know…" Audrey whined. She didn't protest when Ben reached for her hand again and then they took a detour onto a trail together. It was something they often did – go hiking through the Auroria woods together. She was wearing grey shorts and a pink shirt while he wore blue jeans and a yellow shirt. Ben had never been a big fan of shorts. Waterbottles were tucked into their backpacks and snacks for later were stowed away. Audrey had her phone in her pocket and Ben had his in his backpack. She wanted to take photos. He wanted to pretend he was far enough away no one could contact him.

"So, you were wandering through a house," Ben began, and Audrey's mood immediately soured. "You walked into a bedroom and I was lying down with someone else and that's when you flipped out?"

"No, I couldn't do anything," Audrey huffed. "And then you both got up and you were talking and laughing and touching-" She shuddered. "Oh, it made me so mad!"

"You know it's not real, right?" Ben gave her an easy, soft smile that made her heart forget it was angry. "I'm here, not there. There's no one else right now. I'm your boyfriend."

They heard the crashing of water up ahead and rounded a bend to reveal a little pond with several different tiny waterfalls rippling down a creek. Audrey hummed as she took a seat on a little wooden bench and then withdrew her water bottle from her backpack. "I know," she mumbled and took a long drink. "I just… feel a little insecure, is all."

"Insecure?" Ben burst into laughter again. "You? Audrey Rose? Insecure?"

Audrey grumbled and yanked back on her zipper as if to punish the poor article for her boyfriend's teasing. Ben dropped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. She leaned into his side a little and focused on the waterfall bubbling over the rocks in the creek.

"I know it's silly," she muttered in his ear. "I guess I just feel like… you could have anyone you wanted and just… anyone would be happy with you. You're just that person."

"Thank you," Ben laughed. "But that's not a reason to be insecure. I pick you, Audrey. It's you and I. Don't forget that."

[dwyguyhikes]

Kolob Arch

23ish mile roundtrip (with lots of detours)

1,781 feet elevation gain

Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/kolob-arch-via-la-verkin-creek-trail

 This hike was a bit of a surprise to me. I had two friends from college (Ryan and Josie) coming to stay with me when they were passing through Salt Lake. They told me they were going to spend the weekend in Zion before going back home to Arizona, so I decided on Thursday night that I’d drive out Friday after work to meet them.

After about 5 hours of solo driving (driving at night on unfamiliar backroads BLOWS), I met them at a campsite outside Zion. It was already pretty late, so I set up my tent and got some rest to prepare for the next day.

We woke up, made some breakfast, and then headed out into the park. The trail had 13 campsites in order, and luckily Ryan had booked campsite 2, which was only about 3 miles into the trail. For reference, campsite 13 was about 9 miles down the trail. We trekked downhill to our campsite, set up our tents, put together some day packs, and set out for Kolob Arch.

The trip to the arch was incredible. We were walking in a canyon with breathtaking views of the towering rocks on either side. They were MASSIVE, and I loved the way that they changed colors depending on how the sun hit them. After about 4 or so miles, we made it to Kolob Arch. I wasn’t overwhelmed or underwhelmed, so I guess I was whelmed? I think it would have been better if you could see it from directly below or if the sun were in a different position.

We also met this lovely woman named Lisa who was doing a solo backpacking trip and had booked campsite 13. We wanted to check out the waterfall there, so we all pushed forward together on the trail. Quickly, the trail decided to randomly disappear. We knew we were supposed to follow the creek, but we hit a lot of overgrowth and lost our way. I climbed up the side of the creek bed, causing a minor landslide (shoutout the Dixie Chicks) in the process, and was able to spot something that kinda sorta looked like a trail on the other side. With my aerial advantage, I was able to direct Ryan how to scramble over these HUGE boulders to check it out. After hearing him shout “I found footsteps!!!!” we all carefully followed him. I found it kind of ridiculous that there were no markers or signs to help direct us, but I also liked the added challenge.

After that, the trail was pretty well-maintained. We hiked on for a few more hours in search of the waterfall, but eventually had to turn back or else end up hiking back in the dark. We made it to where we thought the waterfall was, but there was nothing. Was it further along? Did it even exist? The world may never know.

Lisa also decided to just take campsite 12, since we didn’t make it to 13 either. She was an awesome hiking companion! She was telling me all about her life and career, and it turns out she lives in Salt Lake, too! We exchanged numbers, and she’s going to introduce me to her friends that can take me out on some backcountry skiing trips.

The hike back was easier once we knew where the trail would disappear for a bit. The only tough part was when I took a slip and put my hand right into a cactus… That was pretty agonizing. I spent about 15 minutes picking needles out with tweezers before deciding to just chop it off… Kidding, of course. But I wasn’t able to get all the needles out, and some are still there even as I’m typing this.

We finally got back to camp right around sundown, so it’s a good thing we turned around when we did. We made a quick dinner then got ready for bed. I left my raincover off my tent so I could stargaze, and it was pretty magical. I’d never seen so many stars in my life! And the milky way was clearer than I’d ever seen it before.

We woke the next morning to a grueling uphill hike back to the car. This was Josie’s first backpacking trip, and she was rewarded with a 3 mile uphill battle (with a full pack) after a grueling hike the day before. What a trooper. We finally made it back to the car, and I started my drive back to Salt Lake and my own bed.

Overall? Pretty incredible. The landscape: breath-taking. The stars: magical. The company: great. I’m glad I took the trip, but I think I prefer the snow-capped mountains of northern Utah to the red rocks of southern Utah. Regardless, I’m sure I’ll be visiting Zion again soon.

[awakeandalive2012]

Grateful

The last several months have been a whirlwind of [much needed] change. For me personally, things went from 0 to 60 real quick from my last post. It’s been insane, but now I have a little bit of time to step back and take in the scenery a little bit. Which, in my own way, is to recount everything that I have been up to since moving back to the east coast. 

As the title of this blog suggests, I am nothing but truly grateful for everything in my life thus far, even with everything that has happened this year thus far. My former coworkers, my family, my friends, every single one of you has been been truly helpful and sending so much love and positivity my way during this difficult time. So for that, THANK YOU. 

--------------

May 2020

My journey back to the east coast from sunny Los Angeles was eventful. We travelled for four days, with my mom and I alternating driving times in my car, while my dad tailed us (and sometimes sped ahead) in the other family car. Each night, we did stay in hotels (which we vigorously cleaned upon arrival).One of the highlights of this trip was making a detour into Scottsdale Arizona, where my grandparents used to live. We stopped at our favorite Jewish deli eatery, Chompies, and had one of the best meals in recent memories. We also visited some of my parent’s Israel trip friends who lived nearby. One of the hardest days was the last one, when we hit a massive rainstorm crossing through Arkansas and Tennessee. It was more rain than I had seen during my nearly four year tenure in LA. But also, it was the last leg of the trip and at this point, I was ready to return home safe and sound. 

Even after all that, the long days on the road, the unexplainably cold night sleeps in hotel rooms, the constant pit stops, and the loving embrace that I gave my cats as soon as I barged in the front door, it didn’t actually hit me that I was truly back home. Not yet anyway.

--------------

June 2020

My main focus this month was scouting and landing a job (and still is, spoiler alert). Boy, that is easier said than done. I know that millions are in the same boat as me right now, which is awful. Current political & pandemic atmosphere aside, I have been blessed with having enough funds to manage. Unfortunately, for the rest of the world, including former work colleagues of mine, are struggling every day to make ends meet and don’t have the same luxuries. I truly wish I could help them out, but being in a similar boat as them, it’s hard for me to figure out the most efficient way to do so. All I can do is be a friend, a positive light, who can provide positive energy and words of encouragement. Feel free to reach out and I will reply <3 To those who fit this bill, or to anyone who needs to hear; WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS. I promise. 

I moved up to Virginia to be with Caleb in mid-June. He came down to Tennessee to help me gather my belongings, because yes I am a packrat and love stuff and it all wouldn’t fit in my car. That moment, when he finally drove down my driveway and made his way to my front door, I wrapped my arms around him super tight. We had done this routine numerous times before, but this one was the most impactful. To embrace him and know that we had successfully closed the gap on a nearly three year long distance relationship was truly memorable. 

At this point, I felt in my heart that I was here to stay. But it didn’t really feel “real” yet; it was as if that nagging feeling of “check in to your flight” or “pack up your suitcase” was still triggering my internal reminders. 

--------------

July 2020

What. A. Month. 

It has been one of the happiest months of my life. Firstly, Caleb and I finally moved into our own apartment together. I walked into the apartment for the first time on July 8th. Breathless, unable to fully encompass my thoughts and my emotions. In that moment, I felt as if a huge brick that had been crushing my soul finally tumble off. I walked in and looked around in awe. After weeks of searching and inquiring, I found us a place to call our own. We managed, in this crazy and turbulent time, to start a new chapter in our relationship together. Our first night in the new apartment, after the big move in, we shared a meal of Korean Fried Chicken together. In that moment, as we sat down and enjoyed our meal together (so delicious by the way), it hit me. Just like standing under a waterfall at summer camp, or a big gust of wind swirling your body around with its current. It finally hit me that I was home. 

Secondly, Caleb and I headed down to Hilton Head for a much needed vacation with my family. Beach week for us is a family tradition; we have been going for at least 21 years now. This year was special, because the purpose of this trip was to celebrate my newly married sister. They held a small beautiful ceremony from our rented out beach house, which overlooked a nearby golf course and grandiose lake. The ceremony happened and I took a moment to look around. Even though there were only seven of us, in those brief moments, everyone was smiling. My family was happy, but more importantly, my sister was happy.  Throughout my whole life, I know that Elena has been by my side, picking up the pieces where I fell and had my back. We even joked that she was the older sister figure, not me. She made me laugh, she was my rock, my confidant, my number one fan, and my happy place. I can never pay her back for all the joy that she has brought to my life. But now, it was her turn to to be happy. I was so glad to be a witness to that joy; she deserves every bit of happiness for her new life with her now husband. 

Lastly, I got engaged. Yep, Caleb got down on one knee and proposed during beach week with my family.  And yes, I cried. For the moment, since we didn’t have a ring yet, he used one of my sister’s birdseed bundles from the wedding ceremony and tied a ribbon from that bundle around my finger. All that set against a golf course sunset backdrop. Truly magical. When we got back, we went and got a ring. Even as I sit here and type up this post, I constantly stare down at my finger in awe and excitement. I get butterflies. I smile. The one moment in every girl’s life that she dreams of, finding someone truly special for them and realizing that you’re going to be with them for the rest of your life. That is happening to me. I never imagined that it would happen. Years of Pinterest boards and swooning over my favorite rom com doesn’t even come close to the joy that I am feeling in the moment. I am going to marry an amazing man, and it feels fucking amazing. 

At this point, still job hunting and still coming up empty handed. But I continue my search because I know it only takes one.

--------------

August 2020

Cut to today, August 5th 2020. Seriously, this year is both progressing at a snail’s pace and at top notch speeds. The job struggle still continues, but I’m still standing. Now that I have sat back and reflected on the last few months, I have had to slowly adjust both my mindset and time towards tomorrow. Every day, I am finding new strengths and weaknesses that I possess. Every day, I have made some choices for the benefit of our future. And, like I promised myself months ago, every day I try to write in some capacity. Because of the numerous events described above, that goal has not been met to my satisfaction. But now, as I rediscovered my feature script which I started nearly four years ago, I hope to make a dent of progress in that front. 

In conclusion, I am truly grateful for where my life is right now and I am grateful for those people in my life who have helped me to get to this point. <3

[jsmnutami]

Kyoto: day 02

Fri, Feb 28th 2020

We started today at 8 am, after having an Indonesian fusion breakfast at our apartment (we brought abon + teri from home, and some rice of course) we were ready to start our day. It was a sunny day but still, the temperature was around 7-8 degree celcius. No rain predicted which always a blessed.

Our first destination was Kiyomizu-dera temple. It located at kiyomizu area, Higashiyama district eastern of Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera is a buddhist temple founded in year 778.  It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water, or pure water.  In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

We have to walked 1,5 km from our apartment which was not that bad. One thing to be noticed was the uphill road along the way. We chose the uncommon way to got there (again, thanks to google map), less crowds but still feel a bit touristry thanks to many store lined up from small cafe to souvenir shop. 

Once we arrived, we welcomed by a small temple-like gate with a few steps along the way. There were not many people that day thank god, I heard in its peak season, there would be massive lines of people and its not that enjoyable to visit.

After passing the gate, we found ourself at the top of the hills, at this point you could see the city of Kyoto from its modern building to mountains surrounding it. By the way, I think Kyoto is pretty much like Bandung (minus the traffic) because this city is located in a highland and surrounded my mountains, not a modern as Tokyo but still a city not suburban. 

Before entering the main temple, we required to bought an admission ticket 400 yen (Rp.55.000) per person. The main temple was located 18 m above the ground, this temple is famous for its large wooden terrace surrounded my cherry blossom and maple tree. Unfortunately, we went there on winter so all of the trees has no leaves left. The best season to visit here (and visit Japan in general) is autumn or spring, you’ll feel mesmerized by its beautiful pinkish cherry blossom blooming or orange-red maple leaves there. 

After we satisfied with the temple, we were heading downhill thru the exit gate. Besides the main temple, Kiyomizu-dera has a couple of other small temple as well. We payed a visit to one of the small pagoda called Koyasu Pagoda which reminded me so much of the pagoda in Kemaro Island, Palembang lol. Just before the exit gate, we made a brief stop at Ottawa Waterfall. Legend has it, each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life. However, drinking from all three streams is considered greedy.

Done with Kiyomizu-dera, we proceed to our next destination; Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka slopes. 

First we headed to Sannenaka, a street full of souvenir shops, cafe, and street foods. Here in Kyoto, one of the well-known souvenir was a traditional japanese fan which ranged from 1000 yen (Rp.125.000) up until 15.000 yen (Rp.2.000.000). I also happened to bought a snack, a cream puff with matcha custard inside, yum!

One thing I like about these slopes was how they were reminding me of old and authentic japan. I like the classic and traditional vibes they provided. A lined of machiya-like (old traditional japanese wooden house) shops and traditional rickshaws somehow soothed me. These were definitely a must visit place while you’re in Kyoto.

In Sannenzaka, we stopped at one famous dessert cafe I’ve been dying to visit; Maccha House!

This cafe sells variety of matcha dessert (since Kyoto famous for its uji matcha) but famous for its matcha tiramisu. I tried one for 590 yen (Rp.80.000) and it was worth every penny I’ve spent! The cream, topped with matcha powder, was smooth, not too sweet which I like and it has a strong matcha flavor. If you’re happened to be here, I really recommend you to try this! Again, thank me later.

After Sannenzaka, we were entering Ninenzaka street. Here’s place of the famous and one of the kind Machiya-like starbucks. Too bad we were already full from tiramisu before, we bought nothing from this starbucks, maybe next time.

From Ninenzaka, we continued our journey that day to Gion District. Gion is Kyoto’s geisha district, with hostesses in colorful kimonos often sighted on the wooden Tatsumi Bridge, or amid upscale Japanese restaurants and boutiques on Hanamikoji Street.

From Hanamikoji street (famous for its geisha diner) to Gion Shirakawa (a river banks street full of traditional japanese restaurant). I personaly love the vibes at Gion Shirakawa, it was so peaceful with its large pavements and again, a lined up of machiya restaurant with cherry blossom tree along the way (no, not blooming yet).

It’s lunch time! We were craving for some hot dish, and we picked halal ramen Naritaya which located 500 m from Gion Shirakawa. Finding a halal ramen in Japan could be a little challenge since ramen traditionally made with pork broth or topped with chasu but thankfully this one is the halal one :)

Their food ranged from 800-1400 yen (110.000 to 190.000). I picked spicy miso ramen; which in my opinion it tasted almost similar with ramen I had in Indonesia but better. As a sucker for japanese food, I think this place is quite good for a nice bowl of halal ramen. In my experience, the halal food in japan always more expensive than the regular one, i dont know why tho.....

Gion district, done! Next: Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine is one of the well known icon of Kyoto. The highlight of the shrine is the rows of torii gates, known as Senbon Torii (the orange gates we all know, even we had one of its replica here in Bandung). Located at the foot of Mount Inari all the way to the top. It’s pretty easy to get there, once you arrived at JR Inari station, the Shrine located right in front of the station. This is one of the place that didn’t have an admission fee or free entrance!

a little detour, as you might already knew, train is the main transportation here in Japan. With its extensive and somewhat confusing line, it covers almost every inch of the country. In Tokyo, they have more complicated lines yet I feel like its less likely to get lost there than in Kyoto. Kyoto has so many lines managed by various company; not just metro and JR like in Tokyo. Sometimes, they’re using the same line for a different train. My little tips here is to always read the sign on every train you’ll take, make sure those train will make a stop at your destined station. And if the seats in the train are nice, it probably a long-ride train, not a local train so always do the check and be cautious. 

Okay, back to the main road.

In Fushimi inari-taisha Shrine, first, we saw the main shrine, then we have to hiked all the way to the top of the mountain with the torii gate along our way. We didn’t make it to the top, I heard it takes 2 hours to get to the end of the gate. Lucky for us, there were not many tourist that day so we could enjoyed our hiked there. The gate actually are a charity given by a person to the shrine. The bigger the money, the bigger the gate you’ll get.

Along the way to the station, there was so many food stalls selling japanese street food. From dango, daifuku, yakitori, and other Kyoto specialty. I myself bought Strawberry daifuku (mochi) for 250 yen (Rp.33.000). Yum! Japanese food is the best, even the street food. So, make sure to take a stop and buy one to yourself whenever you’re in Japan.

The sun has set and we were back to the apartment. Took a little bit rest and decided to strolled around Gion for a quick dinner. It only took us 20 min from our apartment to Gion by foot. One thing I noticed again during our walks is that how quiet and peaceful Kyoto is compare to Tokyo. We took a shortcut thru residential area and its the most peaceful among all. Even the famous Hanamikoji street (Geisha’s area) is far from crowded. 

We were having dinner at Mcdonald’s Gion, near Kamo River at Kyoto-Karawamachi area. This is something that worth the try if you’re planning to visit japan. Go to the nearest Mcdonald’s and order their ebi filet burger. The crunchy tempura-like exterior with a mashed AND real shrimp inside....again, thank me later.

It’s a wrap for our 2nd day, 5 days to gooo!

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 30: The Winding Road

Chapters: 30/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: None Relationships: Loki x Reader (Someday) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Reader, Brunnhilde, Thor Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), On The Road, Horse With A Side Of Extra Horse, Bills Bills Bills, Let’s See If You Can Guess Based On Descriptions Exactly Where New Asgard Is, Summary:  Who’s ready for a road trip?

This was only the second time you'd gotten out of the city, and the countryside was just as beautiful as the first time. So very different from the tall, orderly cornfields of home, that went on and on for untold miles of green, or even from the wild roadside margins, with their riot of luscious weeds. The plants here formed a dense carpet, confettied with colorful wildflowers, which climbed up the nearby mountainsides. Here and there, patches of tall lupines towered over their shorter brethren like miniature forests.

Endless ranges of mountains rose on either side, the river running sluggishly through the wide valley they created. Heading north from the city, you quickly came into contact with evidence of human habitation in the form of small farms, and a paved road that followed the river off into the distance.

The party had been forced to ford the river in order to reach that road, as it did not cross the water, but Loki had spared you with what you considered a tremendous feat of magic, teleporting both you, and sweet Acorn across the slow river, safe and dry. He didn't even break a sweat, and if you had wondered before about the upper reaches of his strength and speed, you were now in deep wonder about the limits of his magic.

You wondered briefly if any of those mountains were volcanic before Thor began to sing.

“When the sun shines through the summer

I find my thoughts turn to another

To a shining city

Writ in poetry witty

Whom I miss like an absent lover.”

You stared at him. Where had that all come from?

Loki seemed to be contemplating something.

“Is it the ocean?” Saldis asked. Thor shook his head.

“A reflection?” Borgliot ventured.

Oh, it was a guessing game! This was another thing right out of the fantasy stories; the proud and poetic warrior king.

“It's the moon.” Loki said.

“Yes! That makes it your turn.”

Loki thought a moment.

“O' sing of the Sapphire Brand

Living as Loki's right hand

Our two links we clasp

Like Jormagand grasps

it's tail, to encircle the land.”

Heat crept up your neck to wash across your face. That was really obvious.

“So...I'm guessing that's me?” You asked.

“Very good, my dear. You know what that means, don't you?”

“M-me? My turn?” Oh heck, you hadn't signed up for this. What did you say? How did you rhyme? What subject did you pick?

This was Loki's revenge for your teasing about the cinnamon rolls, you just knew it. Wracking your brain for a rhyme, you were only able to blurt out the first idea that came to your mind.

“Stories told before bed

It's supposed to be all in my head

But myth became real

Now I'm left to deal

With the path my saviors have tread.”

You lost the tune partway through, but got some applause anyway. Loki looked especially pleased, and you felt a spark of pride in yourself for having kept up.

“Could it be me?” He asked.

“Well, not exactly...”

“She said 'saviors' plural, you smarmy boy.” Brunnhilde interrupted. “She means us. The gods, the myths and stories we represent.”

You nodded. “Yeah, that's where I was going.”

“Oh.” Loki said with some indignation. “Well then, I suppose it must be the General's turn now.”

“Sure is! So, let's see...

Viewed with envy, but never with scorn

Shining long before I was born

But something eternal

Can still be burned all

to dust; even gods have to mourn.”

Nobody ventured a guess, but even you knew what she was talking about.

Asgard.

How did they stay alive and sane through all this? Even though you'd lost your home, you were still on the same planet, at least. There were still other humans all over the place. You'd been taken in, and given what you needed, accommodated, and even fawned over a little bit.

They had nothing. If things didn't work out, there was no old country to go back to. There was no other nation of Asgardians to emigrate to. They had to do whatever it was they did to survive.

What did they do? You hadn't asked how they afforded the materials for the city they were building, or for the food, or the electricity. Just how were they making their money? Loki had said they had enough for day to day affairs, but how?

That familiar feeling of money-anxiety weaseled it's way back into your mind. How much was this costing? How much were you costing? These dresses? This serpent brooch? Loki's promise to take you around and get you some toiletries and things for yourself; whose sacrifice was paying for that?

How did you pay it back?

Eventually, the riddle song game started up again, but you didn't venture any more guesses. Just listening to their voices was enough; their rhymes and subjects giving some greater insight into the things they liked and valued. For Saldis it was mostly objects, for Bogliot, places. For Thor, nature and traveling, and for Brunnhilde, the comforts of home and civilization. For Loki, most surprisingly, it was people. The people closest to him, the people he had known in his life, friends and family. He went through every member of the party, in more or less impertinent rhymes. You couldn't help but focus on how he had started with you.

It was very sweet of him to make sure you were involved.

                                                                           ******

Hours down the road, Thor turned Sleipnir down a short detour. All of the other horses followed him without the slightest command, reinforcing your guess that Sleipnir might be a god among horses. You'd have to ask later.

The group clattered up to a small complex, away from the road. You could just barely make out the sound of braying sheep before a few excited people rushed out of the nearest building, and began making a great fuss.

They seemed to know Thor, who dismounted, and greeted them, letting one take Sleipnir's reigns. The great horse graciously allowed himself to be led away, and the rest of the party began to dismount.

“-avail themselves of some of your feed, we would greatly appreciate it.” Thor said. “We have many hours to go, and mountains to cross, and we will need every bit of their strength. We also would eat, at your lovely cafe.”

The people agreed readily, though they viewed Loki with some concern. All of his earlier playfulness bled out of him, leaving him a pale, grim presence among the grinning and grateful Asgardians.

You stepped forward, legs wobbling from the hours spent riding, and allowed yourself to fall against him. He glanced down at you in mild concern.

“I'm not used to being on horseback for such a long time.” You said. “'Fraid my legs are a bit weak.”

He offered his arm without further explanation, and you took it with appreciation. As you had hoped, the chivalrous display of tender helpfulness towards another human being seemed to change the way the owners of this place looked at him.

It was a petting zoo, about the last thing you expected to find nestled into the lofty mountains. But Iceland, though a land full of tourist-attracting beauty, didn't necessarily have too many stops that would appeal to children. Looking out the window of the little cafe, watching the little lambs and goat kids frolicking together, you could imagine that this was a welcome respite for excitable children from the waterfalls and valleys that so captured their parents imaginations.

You found the animals compelling as well, envying their innocence and boundless energy. You were handed a menu, finding the offerings to have been helpfully translated into several languages, English among them.

You ordered a mocha and a hot lamb sandwich in a slightly hushed voice, trying hard not to side-eye the animals outside. It wasn't as if they could hear you, and it was very unlikely that any of their animals ended up on the menu, but it still seemed a little insensitive.

Loki also opted for a coffee, while Thor and Brunnhilde naturally ordered whatever alcohol was strongest. If the 'weak' crystal mead was any indication, the most powerful libations of man wouldn't so much as give the Asgardians a buzz, but maybe they'd like the taste.

Saldis and Borljot however, dared to try something new to them; Soda pop. They simply couldn't stop giggling about the bubbly sensation of the carbonation, though Borgliot declared it “Too sweet by far!”

Watching the others eat, it occurred to you that Asgardians all seemed to have huge appetites. Perhaps it had something to do with their different physical attributes. The denseness of their skin and muscle, the heaviness of their bones, it all probably required a great deal of nutrition. But if they were going to be eating like this the whole week...

“Where does the money come from?” You wondered aloud.

Thor paused in eating, never quite expecting your questions.

“Well...” He began. “Multiple avenues, actually. First of all, though the less than adoring crowds outside the city today might attest otherwise, there are a great many people in this world who look upon us charitably. We receive many donations of useful things; clothes and cloth, dishes, kitchen utensils, books, pencils and paper, and a great many other things, which lessen our daily costs. Otherwise, some of our scholars have been offering Asgardian language and history courses at the local schools, and our weavers, clothiers, and artists are facing a growing demand for their works. When the city is closer to being finished, we will open for tours. And, of course, I am a member of Earth's primary defense force, which pays well on it's own, not even taking into account the merchandise.”

“Oh, you mean the calendars?” You asked.

“What do you know about the calendars?” Loki asked, mildly scandalized. “Oh, you own one, don't you?”

“Uh...well...I did.” You admitted. “I doubt Dad would have saved it, even if he did manage to get some of my stuff.”

“What calendars are you talking about?” Saldis asked.

“Uh, well...They're sorta like...Do you know what a pin-up is?”

She shook her head.

“Well, they're...pictures that are kinda risque, but not outright...you know...pornographic.”

“Oh my.” Saldis said, and you ducked your head in embarrassment. “And you owned one of these?”

“I, uh, I owned the whole set. What?” You griped defensively. “I like the Avengers, and the calendars are kind of a hot commodity.”

Thor snorted with laughter.

“Well, I don't own them anymore! I hope they didn't just get thrown away.” It would be a shame if no one else was enjoying shirtless Iron Man, with his mysterious glowing heart, working on his suit. Or Shirtless Captain America, grease smeared artfully on his hands and face, fixing an airplane. Or any of the other shirtless pictures of various heroes, in teasing poses. Even the king...

Should you be bashful about that? Having seen the king like that?

“What picture did you leave on?” Loki asked suspiciously.

“It was May...Yeah, that Was Captain America, and some puppies.”

“Of course...” He said sourly.

“Why do you care? Were you in it?”

“Of course not! Do you really think I would debase myself so, as to participate in such a..a burlesque?”

“He's in next years.” Thor said conspiratorially. “We put him in a jail cell and handcuffed him to the bars.”

Loki went bright red in the face at Saldis' gasp, and Brunnhilde's bray of laughter.

“I-it's for Asgard...” He stammered. “All the proceeds come to us...I only did it for the sake of the people. It's not like I enjoyed it.”

“It's true.” Thor teased. “He complained the whole time.”

“I've got to get one of these calendars!” You declared.

“You'll do no such thing!”

“You can't stop me.”

“I very well can!”

“I'm going to get two.” Brunnhilde said. “And if you won't allow her to get her own, I'll give her one of mine.”

“Why must you torment me so?” Loki adopted a put-upon pout.

The rest of the meal passed in companionable jokes and conversation, though Loki continued to pout a little. No doubt he disliked being embarrassed in front of the likes of Saldis and Borgliot, but you figured nobody could be purely dignified all the time.

Never mind that this all could be considered your fault for bringing up the calendars, or even asking about finances in the first place.

                                                     *****

Soon enough, you were on the road again, all stomachs pleasantly filled.

“How many illicit photos do you think they took?” Brunnhilde asked. “You gonna charge them?”

“No, we ate most of their food, after all.” Thor said. “And besides, how would we even prove it? Confiscate and search their phones? Asgard is not a police state, and neither is Iceland.”

“Did they take pictures of us?” You wondered. “I didn't notice.”

“Not us, though they might have.” Brunnhilde answered back. “Sleipnir.”

“We tried to take him to a few horse shows, to drum up some quick cash.” Thor explained. “Of course, he was disqualified immediately. However, many people were eager to pay for pictures, so we didn't go away empty handed. There were even a few offers to put him to stud. If those offspring are found viable, we may have a very lucrative source of income indeed.”

“Oh wow, I'll bet!” A whole new breed of multilegged horses running around...The horse world would be turned upside down and shaken about!

Then again, hadn't Loki said that his Leynarodd was related to Sleipnir? She did look like a paragon of horse-kind, large and beautiful, but she had the normal number of legs. Perhaps functional polymelia was not a dominant trait.

A few hours later found you deep within a terrain that was unusual to both Iceland and Iowa: Forest. A lovely forest of pale, slender birches and furry-looking spruces, the understory a magical blanket of flowers. It was straight out of a fairytale; you half-expected to spot an elf peeking out from a particularly lush patch of blossoms.

But that was silly. Elves didn't exist.

Just gods. And aliens. And killer robots. And green rage giants. And century old, cryogenically preserved super soldiers. And wizards. And ghosts. And magic stones that could reshape the universe.

You continued looking for elves.

Leaving the forest behind, the road took a rather sharp turn, as a series of lazy switchbacks took you suddenly up the mountainside. As the air grew thinner and colder, you drew your cloak closer and leaned over Acorns neck. Even in summertime, you found the air a bit chilly. Back home, you would be sweltering, seeking the refuge of an air-conditioned indoor environment. Here, there hadn't been a single day where the sun had caused you to sweat, even though it graced the sky day in, day out.

The higher you rose, the more pronounced the chill became, wind cutting through all your layers of clothing, burning your ears. At your first tooth-rattling shivers, a thick, velvety, leaf-green cape was dumped over your head. You wrapped it tight around you, peeking out from the makeshift hood, to give Loki a grateful smile.

He remained as regal as ever, though now bared to the wind, which teased his sable hair.

“If you begin to feel faint, say so immediately.” He urged. “The air is thinner up here, and it may affect you. We will need to see to you as soon as possible, if you begin to grow weak.”

You agreed without any argument. You and Tara had once gone on a hiking vacation in the Rockies once, and you knew exactly what altitude sickness felt like.

These mountains didn't rise quite high enough to truly take your breath away, but the altitude did cause a painful pressure in your ears, Loki noticed you gritting your teeth and tried to stop the whole expedition to fuss over you, but you flatly refused.

“It'll go away once we get lower.” You said, deflecting his insistence that you stop. Maybe the discomfort was making you irritable, but you found his fretting to be annoying. You were already well aware that you were the weak link here, but you would not be responsible for slowing the group down over something as simple as temporary, manageable pain.

But on the other hand, maybe he was as worried about putting you back in that murderer's presence as you were. This man wanted to kill you! If any of a number of things had gone differently, he might have succeeded.

How many times might he have replayed the scenario in his mind? If you had died in his arms that day, what would he have done? Would he have returned your body home, or buried you here? Would he have hunted your killer down? Did he care enough back then? Would he have mourned? And what would the magical bond between you have done to him if you had died? He didn't even seem to know.

But you were going to die long before Loki did, so there was no way to avoid it: He would find out eventually.

You shook your head, trying to clear the morbid thoughts as well as the painful pressure. This was no time! That was the future, and you couldn't know what would happen. Besides, you were nearly at the top.

As you crested the mountaintops, and began down the other side, you were overtaken by the glorious view of the glittering fjord, sprinkled with ships and bordered by a thick band of green farmlands. In the distance you could barely make out the city. It seemed so small from here. It didn't even fully cover the inward edge of the fjord, lying clustered all on an outcrop on one side, surrounded by even more verdant farms.

A killer lay in its midst. You were headed right for him.

[donewithjeon]

Gravity

Characters: Jungkook x Reader

Word Count: 29,223

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Note: Inspired by 5 Centimeters Per Second. Please keep in mind that the majority of this takes place in the 90s and will be following the Korean school year schedule.

The universe works in mysterious ways.

You’re never the type to try and figure out the answers to those unanswerable questions, but ever since you were little, you always held an utter fascination with how everything worked, both in unison and in discord. You believe that the world is like an unending stream, one that everyone is thrown into at birth with no other instruction other than to stay afloat. From there, the best thing to do, the only thing you can do, is to let the current carry you through the long and twisting river until you reach the inevitable edge of the waterfall.

This mindset most likely spawns from your mother, much like yourself. She often articulated charming stories and intriguing facts to you throughout your childhood, teaching you all that she knew in order to make sure that you were growing up with as much ease as you could, especially since she was raising you alone. With your mother being the only guardian in your life even to this day, you undeniably find yourself adopting her way of thinking more often than not.

The greatest lesson you learned is that the stream knows where to take you, and the world knows how to continue spinning—all you can do is go with the ebb and flow and hope for the best.

What you didn’t know was that the world would give you the best at such a young age.

You met Jungkook in elementary school, specifically in third grade. He had recently moved from a different district that was farther up north but still in the same city of Busan. At a first glance, he wasn’t too outstanding with his conventional black hair and brown eyes, especially when clothed in the same uniform as all the other students. He was very soft-spoken when he had to introduce himself to the class, and his woefully timid demeanor didn’t do much attract the attention of his pupils who had already created their own cliques from friendships built during the previous years.

The ones who did care weren’t so nice to the new transfer.

Although Jungkook was still from the same region as everyone else, the other boys liked to poke fun at his way of speaking, accusing him of having a stronger accent since he had supposedly come from a more rural area. Given that the dialect was the same throughout the entirety of Busan, their argument was completely illogical, but then again, the traits that children chose to pick on never really made sense. It was just easy to tease the new or different kid, and it upset you to see that happening, because in your own way, you could relate to the ones who were preyed upon.

You had never been adept at fitting in with others either, as you preferred staying indoors with a nice book rather than running around the playground with the rest of your classmates. It had always been that way, and you couldn’t help but feel drawn to Jungkook, since he seemed to be fairly similar in nature. You sought to befriend him, but that opportunity presented itself in the way you least expected.

One day, you walked into class to see that the mean boys found yet another aspect of him to make fun of. School had already ended a few minutes prior, but Jungkook was standing by his desk, shifting in place and tugging at the end of his school uniform nervously. His belongings were cleaned up and his backpack was on, but the bullies were preventing him from leaving the room, all so they could tell him how he had “giant buckteeth”. His permanent upper central incisors had grown in at the age of eight and stood out more prominently as his face was in the process of getting used to the new adult teeth, but it was hardly anything to point out, let alone make the center of attention.

You had never been one to pluck up the courage to step in and risk confrontation in these situations, but even so, you couldn’t help your feet from rushing forward and your arm from reaching out. Taking a hold of Jungkook’s hand, you attempted to pull him away from the other boys, and to your relief, there was no resistance from him or the other party. You briskly led him out of the room, ignoring whatever comments your barbaric classmates were making as you chose to listen to the shuffling of feet following you.

You didn’t really have a plan behind your maneuver other than to distance him from the others, so that was exactly what you did. When you made it out into the front of the school, you released his hand, thinking that your valiant effort was a success. It was only when you turned to face him that you realized that the job wasn’t done—Jungkook looked like he was a few seconds away from crying, the first signs of tears glistening at the corners of his eyes as he kept his head low to the ground.

“Don’t listen to them,” you spoke softly, afraid that even the vibrations from your voice would make the tears spill over. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” You watched as he nodded in acknowledgment at your words of reassurance, but the gesture didn’t leave you feeling like he was fully convinced. “I think you look like a bunny,” you blurted out in hopes of raising his spirits in regards to his front teeth. Jungkook hesitantly looked up at you with his dewy, round eyes, not exactly sure how to react to that statement. “It’s a good thing!” you explained before he could even think that you were taking a jab at him as well. “I think bunnies are cute,” you said with a friendly smile. His eyes remained wide, but the way he stared back at you changed as he nodded with less reluctance this time around, the slightest grin gracing his lips.

“Thank you.”

You didn’t know what had stirred within you that had caused you to take action like that, but you were sure glad you had conceded to its appeal.

Like with all new things, the buzz died down with time. The kids lost interest in Jungkook shortly after your impromptu rescue mission, but on the other hand, your curiosity only increased. Soon, you found yourself enjoying his company more often than not, sharing the once solo moments with your newfound friend.

Jungkook had moved here by the decree of his parents, although he took care to mention his indifference with the relocation. They felt that there would be more opportunities in this area for their son, since they didn’t want him to grow up with the only viable options for his future career being a farmer or a fisherman. The town he had come from wasn’t too much smaller than the one you were currently residing in, but a larger portion of it consisted of natural landscapes and open plots for livestock and agriculture—it was the epitome of the countryside.

And you thought this place was boring.

Your town was situated near southern Busan—not close enough to the beach to be able to see it, but definitely not too far to take trips down there on special occasions. There were still quite a few fields for farming that you regularly passed by on your walks to and from school. You also remembered there being a station near the center of town where trains traveled as far as the capital, but you couldn’t say that you had ever set foot in one before.

Even as you tried to explain all the fun things you could do here, you couldn’t come up with a decent list. Despite the fact that you had been living here since the day of your birth, you soon noticed how little you really knew about your own hometown.

Jungkook saw this as a golden opportunity, often speaking about how there were so many more places to discover here, so much unknown territory to conquer. The offhand conversations slowly turned into prospective planning with one thing in mind: exploration.

The more you learned about your new friend, the more you realized that your initial impression of him had been misguided. He had so much energy and passion within him, but he had just been too shy to take those first steps towards doing the things he had wanted to do. It took him some time to adjust to his new surroundings, but after lying dormant for far too long, his curiosity erupted tenfold—and it was contagious.

“Where are we going?”

You called out to Jungkook when he suddenly changed directions from the trail you two had been walking on, proceeding to jog ahead of you. Picking up your own pace, you followed him as he started to go down a different road, one that you knew would be a longer way home compared to the usual route you guys used.

“Everywhere!” he spun around to shout back with enthusiasm. “This is where our adventure starts!”

You laughed at the grand exclamation but jogged after him nonetheless, falling back into step with him as you two went down this fresh and unfamiliar path. Jungkook proved to be more daring than you, perhaps even a bit reckless if you really thought about it, but something about him urged you to hop onto his train of thought.

The detour you took wasn’t extremely exciting as you walked along the unpaved track lined with fields and utility poles, but the change in scenery made all the difference. A good distance down the direction you were headed, after passing by a couple houses and a humble convenience store, you two spotted a landmark that couldn’t have caught your attention more if it had tried. Of course, you had to take a closer look, and when you stepped up to the gorgeous sight, you were glad that Jungkook had decided to stray from the routine you two had set.

There was a large tree located away from the side of the dirt road, surrounded by a meadow of grass and its own fallen petals. Just one glance at the awe-inspiring display and you could tell that spring was in full effect.

Cherry blossoms.

The bark of the wood was dark and dusky, but the flowers that were perched upon every available branch ranged from light pink to white, providing an aesthetic contrast that almost seemed too seamless to be of nature. Some of the blooming buds had already dusted the ground with pale specks, and with each incoming breeze, a few more fluttered down from above to join them.

“It’s so pretty,” you said in awe, standing under the impressive tree to stare up at the intricate arrangements.

“It’s alright,” Jungkook replied in a lackluster tone. You dropped your gaze to regard him with a frown, but he was too busy to notice the scrutiny. He was standing in front of you with his neck tilted upwards to the foliage, his doe-eyes and slightly parted lips a dead giveaway to what he was truly thinking.

Ignoring his feigned disinterest, you extended your hands out in front of you just as an agile gust of wind drifted through the area. The flowers overhead rustled and danced, and when the loose petals started their descent onto the ground, you were fortunate enough to catch two petals in your palms.

“They look like snowflakes,” you stated, barely having time to voice the observation before the fragments were carried away, leaving your hands empty once more. Looking up again, your eyes met with Jungkook’s for a split second before he averted them, suddenly finding the ground more fascinating.

“I guess they do.”

His lips pressed tightly together after he spoke, but you could see the slight curve at the corners of his mouth as he attempted to refrain from smiling. That instantly became a failure when his eyes darted back up to look at you again, his round cheeks straining against the expression before he gave into the grin. You felt yourself wanting to follow suit, but you realized that there was no need.

Your smile had never left you.

The cherry blossoms were gone by the next week, with the ever ephemeral season coming to an end. Jungkook and you had gone back to marvel at the delicate petals cascading from the steady tree in the days following the first visit, but even after they disappeared to make way for the customary vibrant, green leaves, you two continued to take the long way home.

The tree was like a checkpoint on every trip, and you consistently stopped to rest under the shade that it provided, especially on exceedingly sunny afternoons now that the weather was starting to warm up. The trunk was considerably tall and wide, and the branches looked thick and sturdy, reaching up into the sky in every which way to cover more ground.

“Do you think we can climb it?” Jungkook asked during one of your habitual stops.

“Maybe?” you replied, but you didn’t like the mischievous expression he wore when you said that.

“I bet that we can see our houses from the top,” he keenly declared, taking a step back to size up the tree. His notion was most likely farfetched, but that didn’t seem like it was going to stop him from finding out on his own.

“I really don’t think we should.” You cut him off before he could even try to get a good grip on the rough bark. You decided that it was best to advise against the rash behavior, knowing your mother would no doubt disapprove, as would most other parents.

Jungkook pouted the rest of the walk home, or at least until the point where you two went your separate ways. He had ultimately let go of the idea after you had persuaded him otherwise, becoming visibly unhappy that you hadn’t agreed to join him in his senseless stunt. You had honestly expected him to put up more of a fight, but you hadn’t even needed to repeat your discouragement to stop his actions.

You had quite the influence on him, but equivalently, he had a significant effect on you as well.

You had always thought that you would be perfectly content with the way you were spending the majority of your days, but Jungkook’s wanderlust and thirst for first-hand knowledge was so captivating, you couldn’t help but be on board to enjoy the ride. He made you realize how much you wanted to survey the world, something you had thought that you could only do through textbooks and tales told by your mother. He ushered you along on these so-called “adventures”, and you found yourself thoroughly reveling in the new discoveries you two made, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

These explorations of the neighborhood expanded once summer break began. Without school to confine you for most of the week, you were free to use that extra time to widen your range and find even greater things you had never even hoped to uncover. You two even managed to take a few trips to the beach together, a place you had always deemed to be your favorite, but little did you know that there was going to be a contender for that top spot.

“Where are we going?” You repeated the casual question with the pronoun that had become second nature to you these days: we.

The two of you had ventured past a few rice paddies and corn fields, but you were now wandering into an area that held lesser plots that seemed to be unused at the moment, whether it was because of neglect or soil recovery. Jungkook was walking ahead of you on the single road surrounded by farmland on either side, leading the way like he usually did, but right now, he was leading you right across an empty field.

“That house over there.” He pointed his finger towards the far corner of the grassy plain where a wooden structure sat.

It wasn’t a house at all—it was a shack.

Being brave enough to approach anything, of course Jungkook was willing to enter the mysterious building. You didn’t know if you found it surprising or not that the door was unlocked, but it was even more of shock to see that the interior was kept tidy, albeit a little dusty. The individual room was more spacious than expected, and there were a few shelves pressed up against the bare walls that held tools that you assumed to be used for farming, although none of them appeared to have been used in a long while.

“Come on, it’s empty,” Jungkook assured you when he saw that you were still reluctantly hovering near the entrance, scared to go in.

“Are you sure this is okay?” you questioned, heart beating with the possibility that you might get into trouble. Not sharing in your fears, Jungkook strode forward and took your hand in his before slowly pulling you into the shed. The sound of your feet hitting the hardwood floor resounded throughout the expanse, and when Jungkook stopped his movements, you did as well. There was a moment of silence as you stood in the middle of the room with him, and then he spoke.

“See? It’s fine,” he declared confidently, releasing your hands to take a step back and scan the space. “No one’s going to know we’re here. It’ll be our secret hideout.”

Jungkook’s delight showed in his cheeky smile, one where his bunny teeth were free for the whole world to see, and you felt your heart hammering again, but in a different sense.

Somehow, he convinced you of his plan to make this place your own personal corner of the town, and after the weeks and months went on with no sign of getting caught, your worries were eradicated and replaced with exhilaration. It didn’t beat the cherry tree as the place to be during times of immense heat, but as the temperature dropped with the transitioning seasons, you guys favored sitting inside the warmer shelter of the shack. Even within the four walls of this place though, the frost of December was a bit too cold to undergo the trip out to the vacant field, so your hideout went out of commission for the time being.

Winter took a hold of Busan, showering ice crystals upon the land, but that still didn’t prevent you and Jungkook from marching around to spend this break from school like you had done with the last. Everything from the buildings to the trees were covered in a thin sheet of white, and more particles added to it with each passing second.

“Did you know that snow falls five kilometers per hour?”

You looked over at Jungkook to gauge his reaction towards the fun fact you had just graced him with as you two strolled along the beaten path, one that was gratefully not iced over.

“What? That’s so slow,” he proclaimed, turning so you could see the tip of his nose and the apples of his cheeks that were starting to flush due to the frigid air.

“Really? I thought it was pretty fast.”

“I bet I can run faster than that,” he rowdily called out into the sky, proceeding to jog ahead just to prove his point. You laughed at the fact that he was actually challenging snow to a race. He halted his impromptu dash a short distance from you and spun around with a question rolling off his tongue. “How do you know that, anyway?”

“It was in a book my mom gave me.”

Jungkook hummed in response as if contemplating your answer, but you knew that it signaled the end of the short chat. He scurried off to the side of the road to scoop up a handful of fresh snow that had piled up, and you could see from the glint in his eyes that a battle was about to ensue.

The conversation was then buried under the exchange of soaring snowballs and forgotten by the time you returned home with sodden clothes and a smile that felt as frozen as your reddened hands and feet.

During your early years of being in the same class, you had formed a routine with Jungkook that became pretty much set in stone by the time fifth grade rolled around.

On walks home from school, using the same route you two had discovered together, you often stopped by the convenience store before the halfway point to grab a few snacks. No matter how many times you browsed the shelves, nine out of ten instances you guys got a fruity popsicle and split it right down the middle, sharing it so that both of you had one stick each. You weren’t really sure how that habit came to be. Sure, at your age, children had a limited allowance to use on the things of their liking, so the division of the frozen treat among friends wasn’t a peculiar occurrence. That explanation would have made sense, but you two never failed to go back and get a second popsicle after finishing the first, only to do the same thing over again.

It wasn’t the most sensible thing to do, but it made sense for you two, and that was all that mattered.

From there, you walked to your checkpoint cherry tree and sat under the much-appreciated shade, making sure to gobble up the rest of your popsicles before they melted, although that was not at all possible on extraordinarily sweltering days. Even on days that were freezing, you two still bought and shared the ice cream like it was a normal event. The caring lady at the convenience store tried to advocate warmer treats during those days, but Jungkook and you refused to budge, agreeing on the logic that a frozen tongue didn’t seem too bad if the rest of you was already frozen anyway.

While the temperature didn’t affect your choice in sweet indulgences, it was usually the determining factor on how long your detour lasted before you got back on track to be on your merry way again.

Sometimes, the weather was so nice, it practically called for you to take initiative on some shenanigans.

One day, an innocent idea popped into your head, and without giving it a second thought, you began running down the trail, leaving Jungkook behind you in a befuddled state.

“Race you to the store! Loser buys the ice cream!” you yelled behind you, way too giddy about your unfair head start.

That was a big mistake.

You should have known that it wouldn’t end well for you the moment you saw the flicker in Jungkook’s eyes and the clenching of his fists as he leapt into action. You turned back around to focus on the path ahead of you, but before long, a figure appeared from your peripheral vision—Jungkook was gaining speed to overtake you. Bracing yourself, you forced your legs to move faster with all your might, but he was already running off so quickly, you could see the distance between you two starting to lengthen with each stride he took.

At this point, you were just fueled by the determination to keep up with him, since beating him was completely out of the question and almost laughable. Not once did he bother to look back to see if you were still there or not—as long as he was in front of you, his eyes stayed on the finish line with the intention of keeping it that way.

A knot began forming in your chest as you struggled to catch up, but as you watched his figure shrinking in the distance, becoming farther and farther out of reach, an inexplicable feeling overwhelmed you.

You were scared.

“Wait!” you tried to beckon, but he couldn’t hear you anymore—he was too far away.

Needless to say, he arrived at the convenience store much earlier than you, a smug grin resting on his face as you continued to push yourself the rest of the way. You never stopped running, even as the feeling of your throat constricting grew with each labored stamp of your feet. When you finally made it to him, bent over and panting with your palms pressed to your knees for support, the straining floodgates finally snapped, and everything just poured out of you.

That was the first time you cried in front of Jungkook.

Whether it was frustration or fear, it just translated into tears. He had no idea what to do with the scene unfolding before him, and if you were being honest, you probably wouldn’t have known either. He stood there stammering as your sobs mixed in with the intermittent coughs of you trying to catch your breath, but after he realized what was wrong, he started profusely apologizing. You tried to brush it off the best you could, much like the tears with your shirtsleeves, but when that didn’t seem to work, Jungkook ran into the convenience store with the utmost urgency. He wasn’t even gone for a minute before he returned, bursting out of the front door with a blue popsicle in his hand.

Not only had he bought the ice cream regardless of winning the race, but he gave you both halves that day.

Yet again, you didn’t know what had come over you, but after what seemed like a couple hundred exchanges of “I’m sorry” and “It’s okay”, the situation was remedied.

Times couldn’t have been simpler.

Even though you forgave him, he still went on to offer you his half of the second popsicle as atonement. You declined it gently, feeling as if you had already caused him enough distress for the day.

You had learned an important life lesson after that incident: never challenge Jungkook. As for him, he told you that he was going to make a conscious effort from now on not to leave you behind again.

Unfortunately, there were just some things that were out of his control.

The end of elementary school drew near, and with it came the news that Jungkook was moving for a second time. He was leaving subsequent to graduation week in February, marking a mere four years of being a resident of this town. His father had been able to obtain a promising job a few towns over, and although Jungkook really didn’t want to go, he knew that it was a chance that couldn’t be passed up. You tried not to be resentful about the decision either, since it was the same decision that had been made previously that had given you the chance to meet your best friend in the first place.

You weren’t disheartened, but that didn’t mean that you weren’t disappointed.

“Did you miss your friends when you first came here?” you asked Jungkook during the chilly walk home as the date of his departure crept up too close for comfort.

“I didn’t really have any.”

The answer sounded so doleful to you, but Jungkook seemed kind of indifferent about it. You liked to think that in these past years, you had grown to know him well enough to speculate that he wasn’t the type to ever get lonely, but you could never be too sure. Taking a pause to collect a solid breath, you decided to present the question you had been meaning to since he had broken the news.

“Will you miss me?”

Jungkook swung his head to look at you like a deer in headlights, baffled to the point of being rendered speechless, if not just for a cursory second.

“Of course,” he managed to let out in a secure tone as if he was stating a clear fact.

Lowering your chin, you buried your face in your scarf and felt your cheeks instantly heat up against the soft cloth. The unwavering confirmation made you happier than you could have even properly tried to express, and you felt an odd sense of accomplishment that the feeling towards your best friend was mutual.

“Good, because I’ll miss you, too.”

Despite the circumstances, it seemed like you weren’t even given a chance to miss him.

March came around, signaling the beginning of another school year for students all across the country. Jungkook and you enrolled in different middle schools in different towns, but the distance wasn’t so much of a problem that you couldn’t see each other regularly. You had scheduled a time and place to meet before he had even moved, and sure enough, two weeks after classes started up, you two were together again.

The agreed-upon location was the train station in the middle of your town. It was a bit of a long walk from your house, but you couldn’t complain. Jungkook lived a couple stops away, and while you suggested meeting halfway after seeing that there was another stop in between your two towns, he insisted on saving you the trouble and coming to you instead. You had to admit, it was all pretty spontaneous and poorly-planned—each successive meet-up was decided on at the end of the preceding one—but it worked out without any hitches, so it was good enough for both of you.

Jungkook visited on most weekends, and you waited for him in one of the empty seats in the modest station waiting room—always at the exact same place. Whenever he walked past the doors where the arriving passengers exited, you immediately greeted him with a cheerful beam without fail before you two set off on your new mini adventures.

No matter how many obscure streets you discovered or how many stray cats you met on the trivial expedition, you two always made your way back to your usual pastoral trail to settle back into the former pattern. Your time together wasn’t as abundant as it had been in the days gone by, but you still took advantage of every single minute, filling the silence with debates and discussions and filling your tummies with snacks and sweets.

“What are you thinking of doing for clubs?”

Tossing another chip into your mouth, you leaned back onto the trunk of the tree, stretching your legs out over the grass in front of you. The cherry blossoms had bloomed a bit earlier this year, so you had been afraid that Jungkook would miss the short-lived annual spectacle. Thankfully, he had made it just in time this weekend, and you were now sitting under the nimble petals as they floated down like confetti around you, littering the grass and even occasionally ending up in your chip bag.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Jungkook replied impassively, reaching over to steal a few chips from you and gracefully shoving them in his mouth.

“Well, you still have some time to choose.”

“What about you?” he reciprocated the question, dusting his hands off to the side before crossing his legs to get in a more relaxed sitting position.

“I was thinking of joining choir.” Truthfully, it was a thought that had originated from your mother, not yourself, as a proposition to make more friends. It wasn’t an activity you were truly taken by, but you figured it would be better than sports, since you evidently didn’t have a knack for that. “You know, if you can’t make a choice, maybe you can join the choir at your school, too!”

“What? No way!” he instantaneously shut down your suggestion, a flustered expression growing on his face.

“Why not?”

“I just…I don’t want to,” he mumbled lowly, but as he turned to look off into the distance in an attempt to hide his face, you swore you saw a slight tint in his cheeks, causing you to wonder why he was getting shy all of a sudden.

“I’m sure you’ll be great at it. You’re good at everything.”

Without warning, Jungkook sprang up from his spot and started jogging across the grass, trampling some of the fallen flowers on the way.

“Hey!” you called out hastily, perking up and contemplating whether or not you should get on your feet to go after him.

“I’m going to get some more snacks!” he hollered before you could make that decision. You slumped back into your spot with a sigh, watching the boy run towards the convenience store like his life depended on it.

There were many things Jungkook was good at, but if there was one thing he was exceptional at, it was running.

You were confused as to why he had fled so out of the blue, but all inquiries faded away when he returned with three different flavors of ice cream bars, and the rest of the day was spent lazing around under the spring petal shower.

The following years flew by much like how the foregoing years had done so.

Jungkook visited more frequently during the summer and winter vacation months, and it was like you two were resuming your everyday cycle of exploration, except instead of meeting at the fork in the road that had led to your houses, you met at the reliable train station.

In the midst of all that was happening, you two didn’t forget about the farming shed in the corner of the field. The plot had remained unused throughout the years with the only thing occupying the space being a bed of snow during the winter. This was good news to you, because it meant that the two of you could continue to stay in your hideout without the constant dread of imposing on other people’s property.

Cleaning up the room didn’t take too great of an effort, and once you brought in a thick fleece quilt to covertly store in one of the cupboards for when the temperature dropped, you fashioned the place into your own little sanctuary.

It was like your home away from home—a part of the world that was always going to be here.

“Remember when I told you how fast snow falls?”

Diverting your attention from staring out of the window in the shed where you could see snowflakes persistently descending from the foggy sky, you pulled your side of the blanket closer to your body. Beside you, Jungkook was sitting cross-legged at a comfortable distance with the other half of the sheet draped over his back.

“Yeah, what was it again?” he mulled over, tilting his head as he placed the book you two had been looking at together onto the floor where a few others were scattered.

“Five kilometers per hour.”

“Right.”

You frowned at the notion that he didn’t remember, or at least he gave the impression of it, but you continued on with your speech. “I actually did a bit of research on the topic.”

The sound of Jungkook’s soft laughter filled the room before he made a nippy comment shortly after. “Of course you would.”

The quip made your frown morph into a pout, but you kept going. “So, I went to the library—” Jungkook stifled another snicker next to you, and this time, you thoroughly narrowed your eyes at his reaction. “If you don’t want to hear it…” you huffed.

“No, no! I do.” He wriggled in place as he pivoted to face you more, trying to keep a straight face as he focused on you like a child during storytime. Satisfied with the supposed change in attitude, you went on with your discourse.

“The number that was in the book my mom gave me was just an average. The speed of the snowfall depends on a lot of things like the wind, temperature, and weight. Usually though, it takes about 45 minutes for snow from a cloud to reach the ground.” It had never crossed your mind until just recently that you could look up the statistics of the curious fact you had shared in the past. Your findings had been fruitful, and as a result, you found it appropriate to follow up on the abridged discussion.

“That’s so interesting.” The slightly mocking tone Jungkook used was unmistakable in his voice as well as visually apparent in his sarcastic look of amazement. When you extended your elbow out to push his arm, he merely chortled in response, hardly even budging from his spot. “Is that all?” he tacked on, making you wonder if he was even truly paying attention to your words. Still, you carried on, thinking back to what you had read before reciting another portion you had found thought-provoking.

“Sometimes, the snowflakes don’t even make it to the ground. They melt and even evaporate before reaching the earth.”

“See! I told you.” You quirked an eyebrow at him, confused by the sudden outburst. “Snow is way too slow. It needs to fall faster if it wants to survive!”

Even though you enjoyed viewing the frozen particles pile up outside as much Jungkook did, you had no idea what his rush was. You watched him in amusement as he started pumping his fists in the air, cheering on the clouds outside with bouts of “you can do it” and “fighting”, all while successfully knocking the quilt off of his shoulders. Soon, you found yourself joining in with the shouts of encouragement mixed with laughter over how ridiculous this display of optimism was, but you still couldn’t say that you agreed with his outlook.

The snowflakes traveled down the same pace as ever, but even then, it seemed so fast for you. The only thing they could do was fall, and their purpose was fulfilled once they reached the end of their fickle path.

Before you knew it, your days in middle school were gradually coming to an end, the three years barely lasting as long as you had initially thought they would. This meant that high school was just around the corner, so the debates about what you two wanted to do in life ensued. The career selections were drastically different than the ones you guys had thrown around in your early years, although you would have been marginally concerned if he stood by his childhood dream of becoming a professional gamer.

You blamed the elementary school library for having the magazine rack that had planted the farfetched idea in his mind in the first place. For one thing, neither of you owned a personal computer, something that, according to the article about the rise of online gaming, was a necessity. The article forgot to mention that it was also not too affordable, if you could even come across that novel piece of technology in this part of town.

Sometimes you wondered how many opportunities you were missing out on by being in your current situation, but you didn’t put much thought into it—you were graciously gratified with what you already had, and you didn’t need some new fad such as the “World Wide Web” to feel fulfilled.

“Are you still going to stick with choir next year?”

You shook your head at Jungkook’s inquiry, your lips resting in a faint smile. Much to your mother’s dismay, your mission of making new friends in the club had been unsuccessful, even though you had participated just as much as the next kid. It wasn’t that you had refused to play nice—you had gotten along with your classmates just fine—but the relationships you had built with the group just weren’t up to par with the one you had with Jungkook.

To be fair, no one could compare to Jungkook.

“There’s actually a science club at the high school I’m going to, so I was thinking of joining that. I heard they get to run cool experiments and stuff.” A smiled appeared on Jungkook’s face at your fervent plans as a light chuckle escaped like a rocky breath.

“That’s good. It suits you.”

“What about you? Have you thought of anything yet?”

“Hmm…not really.”

Over the years, Jungkook had hopped around and joined everything from the chess club to the soccer team, and although the latter had been a better fit than the former, he had still managed to show off his well-rounded skillset. You weren’t joking about his ability to be good at everything he did—well, his math test scores begged to differ once in a while, but no matter, he was surely on his way down whatever path he chose.

While it was a fever dream for you to move out into a big city and discover even more of the world, you had always told yourself that you were happy staying where you were, even if your only form of exploration was to read about those big cities in textbooks and pamphlets. Perhaps it was because you were settled so comfortably here that you didn’t want to go through the annoyance of moving anywhere else.

Or perhaps you were afraid.

That wasn’t the case for Jungkook. You knew he was destined for something far beyond this tiny town in Busan, even if he didn’t know what exactly he wanted to do at this point in his life—it was okay, though.

There was still time.

Jungkook came to visit you again one weekend, but there was something off about him. You tried to ignore the fact he scarcely reacted with a simple wave when you greeted him with a welcoming smile at the train station, exactly how you had ordinarily done a million times before. The assumption in your mind was that maybe the last few weeks of middle school were being especially hard on him, causing his mood to drop as his workload rose. You thought that he was going to lighten up after a relaxing walk, but as the behavior carried on for longer than you had predicted, you felt the need to address the elephant in the room.

“Hey, what’s gotten into you?”

You tapped Jungkook’s arm lightly in order to gain his attention, but he persisted in staring off into the distance, which wasn’t very far considering you were sitting in the wooden shed that was your secret base. The tension was at a level you weren’t too fond of, and you wanted him to release it as soon as possible rather than keep it bottled up in this icy room.

“I’m moving again.”

Somehow, those words did the opposite of what you had been hoping for. They sucked all the air out of the room in one fell swoop, leaving you breathless and suffocating under the immense force of the meaning behind them.

“Where are you going?” you replied softly, keeping an eye on Jungkook who hadn’t moved a muscle in the last few minutes.

“Seoul.”

You paused for a while, dropping your eyes to the floor and apprehensively folding your hands over the quilt covering your lap as you felt the weight of that single word crush you.

“That’s kind of far, isn’t it?”

From the corner of your eye, you could see Jungkook nodding soundlessly. “I’m sure I can still find trains that come here. It might take a while, but I can still visit,” he said, speaking as if he was already a goner.

“Why do you have to go?” you murmured, your voice shrinking with each word that managed to find its way out.

“My dad’s work is relocating him into the city. He says it’s a really good opportunity—something he can’t refuse.”

That was just the reason you had expected, but when you heard it come out of his mouth, the situation suddenly felt more real. You had never thought to ask him what his father did for a living, but at this point, you couldn’t be bothered to care—that wasn’t what was important to you.

“I’m sorry.” Jungkook spoke after a prolonged moment of reticence. Only when you snapped out of your daze did you notice the clear droplets that had landed on the back of your hands below you, and you recognized that the blur wasn’t just in your mind but your eyes as well.

You were crying again.

There was a shifting sound before you felt Jungkook’s arm wrap around your shoulders, his warm hand rubbing the side of your arm to soothe you as he brought you closer to him. You wanted to tell him that it was okay, that he had nothing to be apologetic for, that you were the one who was sorry for bringing forth the waterworks again, but nothing came out of your mouth aside from muffled sobs as you brought your knees up to bury your face into the fleece blanket.

Winter suddenly felt so much colder.

Before Jungkook left for Seoul, you two decided to make a pact. Making sure to exchange the necessary information with one another, you struck a deal that you were going to write each other letters whenever you were able to. Not only did it seem like the best form of communication, but it was also one of the only ones readily available other than the landline telephone your mother warned you not to spend too much time using, whether to save money or her own sanity.

You worked with what you had, and while it wasn’t much of a formal arrangement, the plan brought you peace of mind for the time being.

With that, high school began without your best friend.

Your weekends became far lonelier, because unlike Jungkook, you weren’t as immune to the forlorn feeling as you would have liked. Still, you tried to fight it, and unlike your earlier years, you made an attempt at integrating yourself into the social world. You knew you had to adapt, and thankfully, your classmates were a lot kinder than the ones you had witnessed in elementary school. You also followed through with your decision to join the science club, so you met quite a few new friends through there, but it just wasn’t the same.

None of them could comprehend the logic behind sharing two different popsicles, nor did they seem impressed with your random tidbits of knowledge after your countless trips to the library—now that you thought about it, Jungkook hadn’t been too impressed by that either, so maybe you could let that second part slide. Nevertheless, most of them chose to hang around at home and read comics or watch television together rather than accompany you on spontaneous trips to the fantastic farm fields. You liked to think that it was their loss, but a voice in the back of your mind thought otherwise, saying that maybe it was time for you to grow up.

Veritably, there was one particular boy who liked to indulge in your frivolous adventures from time to time.

Jimin had never failed to greet you like a ball of sunshine from the moment you had met him with his chubby cheeks and a striking smile that reached his eyes as well, shaping them into complementary crescent moons. His amiable face was framed by his silky, black hair that awkwardly encapsulated his head to look like a mushroom—you would never quite understand why this unflattering hairstyle was so popular these days. Astonishingly, he took you up on your open offers to hang out at the library after class, something that not many people did right off the bat at the beginning of the school year, if ever.

The pastime wasn’t even that special; all you did was sit around reading in the unbothered retreat of the quiet room for hours on end. Occasionally, he interrupted you in the middle of your book to make small talk, and it was only then that you were embarrassingly reminded that he was still sitting with you at the table. You felt a bit guilty for being boring company, but despite your assumption that he was going to stop showing up after the first session, he ceaselessly disproved you by walking in through those library doors, the same friendly grin on his face.

You didn’t understand why he had determined that ditching the rest of his friends was worth joining you in your textual escapades, but nonetheless, his companionship was much appreciated.

As promised, Jungkook’s first letter arrived a month or so after the school year had started. You couldn’t even begin to express your happiness when you saw the envelope in your mailbox that had your name written boldly across the front in his handwriting. You had never thought that you would be so eager to open a letter before, but you guessed that there was a first time for everything.

I’m sorry for taking so long to send this out. I hope you’re still doing okay. I’ve been busy settling in and getting used to the new place, but I have to say, Seoul is pretty cool so far. This city is huge and there are so many new places to go. I don’t even know where to start. Actually, I guess I do know—I’m going to need a bicycle so I can cover more ground quickly.

You were grinning the entire time as you read the full letter. He talked about his new room, his new school, and how he was faring in those foreign environments. He listed a few other happenings from the past few weeks, but after all of that was said and done, he went on to ask how you were doing.

Jungkook never failed to show interest in your life, no matter how predictable it probably was. You almost felt a sense of him still being right beside you with the way he thoroughly expressed his curiosities and worries about you over the scrappily-written sentences.

You immediately took to your pen and stationery, constructing a reply in record time, which was still about two hours. You wanted to make sure that you were providing an answer to each question he had presented, and you also jokily scolded him to clean up his handwriting, since you were having trouble understanding some of the things that had been scribbled down. You probably killed a few trees in the process of throwing out the inadequate drafts, but once you were pleased with the result of your penmanship, you sealed it in an envelope to send off the next day.

The second time you received a reply in the mail from him, you saw that it came in a less sloppy condition than the first. You still laughed at the way the words became more and more illegible as the letter went on, but you could tell that he was trying, and you commended him for that.

From then on, the letter exchange incorporated itself into your everyday groove, and you genuinely looked forward to the days where you were able to hear back from him and compose your rejoinder. Jungkook mentioned all of the extracurricular activities his parents were trying to get him to partake in, none of which he had a notable affinity towards. Instead, he complained about the fact that there was no Wing Chun club at his school. You regretted asking him what that even was, because the next letter he sent you contained a page-long rave about the “best martial art ever”.

As the months went by, Jungkook updated you on all of his endeavors both inside and outside of school. You felt like you were right there with him with the way he told you about how well he had played at a spur-of-the-moment basketball game with his classmates or how many strikes he was getting whenever he went bowling—the latter was another new hobby he had undertaken lately and therefore wouldn’t stop raving about.

You’ll never believe it, but they have these things called “PC Rooms” throughout the city where you can go to play video games on the computers! There’s one near that lamb skewer restaurant I told you about last month, and I went in to try it out yesterday. You have to pay to get in, but with just 1000 won per hour, it looks like I can keep my professional gaming dream alive.

No matter how absurd some of his anecdotes were or how many times you heard about yet another thing he was excellent at, Jungkook always managed to put a smile on your face, even with the elongated distance between you two.

Seoul seemed like a whole new world compared to Busan.

When summer break came along, Jungkook’s letters were filled with his ventures around the city. Over there, the days and nights were jam-packed with a million things to do, and you relished reading each story he told that reminded you of novels you had found enthralling as a child.

Other than living vicariously through Jungkook’s exploits, your vacation was rather uneventful. Of course, it was by choice more than anything, since you had never minded spending the unbearably hot days indoors when you had been younger. You thought it would be the same as it had always been, but you had to admit that there was an adverse tugging in the back of your mind each time Jungkook ended his letters in the same manner.

You should come visit someday! I can show you around the city, and we can go to all these places together. I’m sure you’ll love it here.

It was a hopeful thought, but that was all it was—all talk and not nearly enough action.

You attempted to ask your mother for permission to go to Seoul during the middle of the summer, but much to your dismay, the idea was easily dismissed. The rejection wasn’t too hard for you to handle, since you had known from the beginning that she wasn’t going to let you take a three-hour trip out to a different city by yourself—you had already been pushing the boundaries by roaming around your current town with Jungkook for all those years, so you had to be grateful to her for at least allowing that.

You tried not to be too upset in your response as you wrote back to Jungkook with a simple “maybe next time”. You had casually tossed in the idea of a rain check even though the likelihood wasn’t too reassuring, but he replied back with pure optimism and turned it into a promise.

When classes resumed after August, all your friends you had managed to make and maintain since the beginning of the year gathered during lunch to talk about their summer vacations. Your classmates went back and forth as they gloated about how nice the beach was, because apparently, everyone had gone to the same one. In their defense, there was only one beach near your town, and you didn’t know anyone who hadn’t been there before at least once, including yourself. It was an animated discussion you were just content with sitting in the sidelines of, but you couldn’t avoid the ball when it landed in your side of the court.

“Did you do anything fun?”

You knew that your idea of fun differed from their definitions, so you just answered as gingerly as you could. “Not really. I didn’t go out much.”

“Why not?” one of the girls asked with a look of bewilderment on her face as if you had just committed a summertime crime.

“I don’t know. There was just nowhere to go.” That was a bit of a lie. There were plenty of places to visit—you just couldn’t go to any, at least not the places that mattered.

“You should come hang out with us next year,” Jimin abruptly declared from the group. When you turned your attention to look at him, along with the rest of your friends, he paused to clear his throat as he squirmed under the scrutiny. “I mean, only if you want to.”

“Thanks,” you replied as you presented him with a smile, and for a second, you saw him perk up in his seat. “But I actually have plans next summer,” you finished. That was also a bit of a lie, but it didn’t hurt to hold onto the possibility that your mother would let you visit Seoul in the future. You swore you saw Jimin's expression falter for a fraction of a second before he nodded gently in acknowledgment and added on one last verbal note.

“The offer will always be open, if you ever change your mind.”

It wasn’t your desire to decline him, but you were afraid that you would disappoint your new friends if it turned out that you preferred to be with Jungkook instead, even if it was just through the letters he sent you. It wasn’t like you sat around waiting for the mail every day though, because that wasn’t the only form of communication between you and your best friend.

“Sweetie?” You heard a dull knock on your bedroom door as you were studying on a random, uneventful Thursday evening. You glanced up just in time to see your mother appear from the threshold with the house telephone in her hand, an unattractively leaden piece of technology. “You have a call from Jungkook.”

That sentence never failed to make you leap up onto your feet and rush over to grab the handsomely valuable device from her grasp. Aside from the written letters, Jungkook and you sometimes contacted each other through your landlines. It didn’t happen as often as you wished it would, but it was on these occasions that you were happy to be a homebody. You didn’t want to miss a single call, even if you two conversed about nonsense half the time.

“There are so many pigeons here wandering around on the streets. They don’t even try to fly away when people walk by. They just stand there, pecking at the ground and blocking the way. I swear, I almost ran one over with my bike.”

You subdued a laugh at the strange topic he had chosen this time around as you switched the phone over to your left hand—your right was starting to get tired from pressing the phone up to your ear for the past hour or so. “They’re probably so used to the crowds by now that they’ve adapted. It is the city, after all.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he sighed, concluding his grievance about the unfavorable feathered foes. “I miss the seagulls.”

The mere mention of the white-winged birds brought back memories you had forgotten that you had.

It had been one of the rare occasions where your mother had let you travel out of the town without her, the reason being that Jungkook’s parents had agreed to be chaperones for that day. Jungkook and you couldn’t have been more than eight years old when you had taken a trip to the beach that summer, courtesy of his father driving the company car that had been lent to him.

As you went over the day in your head, things became clearer. You remembered Jungkook sprinting across the sand to break up a gang of seagulls that had settled on a section of the shore. You recalled the burst of flapping that had occurred as the birds took flight to evade the headstrong kid with the fiery red swim shorts. And you remembered the joy on Jungkook’s face when he had run back to report that he had cleared the area for you.

“Are you sure you don’t just miss the beach?” you asked, enjoying the warm aura that the mental images of that outing instilled in you. It was Jungkook’s turn to chuckle as you had apparently seen right through him.

“You’re right. That’s one thing that Seoul doesn’t have. Well…besides you.”

Those last two words made your breath get caught in your throat, and your heartbeat suddenly felt like it was reverberating in your eardrums.

Had his voice always been this deep? The static interference of the speaker muddied the waters a bit, but you were able to tell that something was different. You could still distinguish the high timbre that you had been used to hearing, especially when you made him laugh openly, but there was a distinct quality to it now, as if every syllable was draped with velvet. You knew that the voice change had been bound to happen sooner or later, but you hadn’t expected the realization to hit you like a Wing Chun palm strike to the throat in the middle of a mundane phone call.

Maybe you were just being too sensitive about the transformation because you weren’t hearing his voice almost every single day like you had used to. Throughout the six years that you two had constantly been by each other’s side, it wasn’t that the changes hadn’t been unnoticeable, but they had been gradual enough so that neither of you had really detected your steady maturation.

Perhaps it was the absence that was making you recognize things that you hadn’t before. This new revelation not only opened your ears but it opened your eyes, and you couldn’t help but wonder if Jungkook’s appearance had changed at all, too.

Much to your delight, your curiosity would soon be sated.

Near the end of the year, Jungkook and you planned to meet up after agreeing on a specific date through the letters and confirming the decision through the phone. The circle on the calendar marked what would have been any old Friday, but it signified the day you were going to see your best friend again after almost a full 12 months. It was more or less on a whim, and you surely could have waited until winter break to pick a less restrictive schedule, but you had faced the fact a long time ago that you two weren’t the most sensible people in the world.

I have practice during the weekends, but if I get on a train right after class next Friday, I can make it to you by 7 P.M. I hope you’ll be free then. I’ll see you soon—same place as always.

Of course, you were free. In fact, you headed straight home after school in order to change out of your uniform and prepare for his arrival. You made sure to bundle up warmly enough for the roaming you were bound to do; although the snow hadn’t fallen yet this winter, the temperature was well on its way to below freezing. With the arrangement of your outfit all set and ready, next came the fun part: waiting.

The three hours you had to yourself felt like an eternity, and when you grew too restless of sitting around in anticipation, you left your house and made your way to the station far earlier than you wanted to admit. You sought to be there just in case there was a chance he would be early, but alas, he was perfectly punctual.

This was a much longer trip for Jungkook compared to the ones he had taken in the past. He had eluded the subject of asking your mother for permission to meet halfway, a request that would have been shot down like last time, and instead had insisted once again that he would come to you. You were guilt-ridden that he had to endure over three hours and multiple layovers to get to this point, but when he walked through the doors into the waiting room, he looked positively chipper.

The way that the smile bloomed on his face made him stand out like a spring flower against the backdrop of the impending winter—it was an image you hoped to be forever ingrained in your memory.

You weren’t sure if you looked just as happy as him when you leapt up from your seat to greet him, but you could confirm that you felt that way. Taking in Jungkook’s appearance, you detected that he still held the features that had been distinguishable as a kid. His cheeks remained just a tad plump with baby fat, and as his lips curled up to flash you an eye-crinkling, nose-scrunching grin, you saw that his bunny teeth were ever prominent—you hoped that the students at his high school weren’t making fun of him for that. He was dressed in a fluffy, black down jacket that was zipped up all the way to block the cold air from entering; just below that, he was donning navy blue slacks that were obviously part of his school uniform, and even further down, he had a clean pair of black and white sneakers that barely looked like it had witnessed a scuff in its lifetime.

“Did you wait a long time?” Jungkook asked as you two started strolling out of the station and towards the main road.

“One year is a long time, I would say,” you quipped, knowing full well that it was not the answer he was looking for. He turned to you and brandished another smile that made you feel like there had been no need to bring a scarf today.

“I’m here now.”

Being with Jungkook again made it feel like he had never left in the first place. You guys effortlessly fell back into your regular routine for the rest of the evening, paying a visit to the same old convenience store and taking the haul of snacks to your hideout to wolf down together.

“What are you doing over winter break?”

The exchange of questions started once you two had filled your bellies with as many prepackaged kimbap rolls and chocolate-covered Banana Kick chips as you possibly could.

“Nothing special,” you responded with a shrug. “My mom enrolled me in a tutoring academy so I don’t ‘forget everything I learned’ over the two months.”

A guttural groan rose from the depths of Jungkook’s throat that could only be taken as a sound of defeat. “Me too.” You laughed at the dejected empathy he expressed as he flung his body back from his seated position to lie flat on his back with a thud. “Between that and soccer practice, I swear it’s like I’m not even on break.”

It seemed as if the life of a high school student wasn’t very different no matter what city you lived in.

“It’s a good thing we decided to meet before our non-break, then,” you stated. “Who knows when we’ll have time to meet like this again.”

Your words hung in the air for a couple seconds before Jungkook hoisted himself back upright, making the dark locks of his hair bounce back into place from the abrupt motion.

“Next year.”

“What?” you tried not to sputter as your eyes locked with the intense gaze he had on you right now.

“Even if we can’t see each other as much, let’s promise to meet again next year. Same time, same place—no matter what.”

There was no way you would say no to that—even if you wanted to, his round, entreating eyes would have made you break right away. So, instead of prolonging the inevitable, you nodded curtly and confidently, the corner of your lips rising as if being tugged by strings.

“Okay. Promise.”

Before you knew it, winter released its hold on the land, and spring brought forth your second year of high school.

Jungkook and you kept each other updated through the ongoing transference of letters. He provided you with a window into his life for you to peek through, and you strived to do the same for him, although the view from your window seemed to be unchanging from what he had already seen before. Nevertheless, he remained ever the good listener, or perhaps it was reader, since most of the interactions were indeed written.

The weather is already starting to warm up again, and I hate it. Busan’s climate is so much milder than Seoul’s all year round. Maybe it’s because of all the reflective buildings that are bouncing the sunlight around, but I seriously think that the rays are stronger in the city—it sure feels like it. I don’t know how I’m going to survive when the humidity kicks in again. Please remember me when I drown in my own sweat.

You couldn’t help but notice that you read his replies with the sound of his voice playing in your mind from time to time, and you giggled to yourself when you imagined the inflections of his words with certain phrases. It was almost like you could hear the jesting tone behind some of his remarks, specifically when he told you how “oh so fascinating” it was to hear about your latest academic findings or science club experiments. It was subtle, but the traces of the way he spoke was there.

Of course, it was much easier to read him when you heard his voice.

“Are you going to spend your whole summer in the library again?”

Talks of the next break were already being thrown around, making you seriously question how it was that time could flow so quickly.

“I actually like it there, you know,” you retorted defiantly. You could hear Jungkook’s chuckles at the other end of the line, the exhale of air hitting the microphone in a way that obscured the already substandard sound quality.

“I know, but you should get out more,” he said, starting to sound like your mother. It was a comment you would have called him out on if not for the rest of what he had to say. “Maybe you can go water the cherry blossom tree, or make sure that the hideout is still nice and clean…”

“Why would I do that?” You quirked your eyebrow at the strange requests that failed to sound as nonchalant as he tried to pass them off as.

“You know—just in case.”

If there was one thing Jungkook was bad at, it was keeping secrets.

It was nothing that a little coaxing couldn’t get out of him, and when he did finally spill the beans, you thought your heartrate would never go back down to normal again.

Jungkook had convinced his parents to take a two-week trip down to Busan for the summer, which meant that he was coming to visit you. Two weeks definitely didn’t seem like it would be enough to catch up and hang out during the break, but if you two were experts at something, it was making the most of every second.

The moment he arrived, you guys wasted no time in planning a trip to the beach. The weather was too perfect to pass up, so the next day, you two hopped in the back of Jungkook’s father’s car as he drove you to the coast—just like old times. It seemed like forever since you had gone to see the ocean, and even longer since you had gone to see it with Jungkook, but once you stepped foot on the sandy shore, it felt like you were greeting an old friend.

The beach was exactly as you remembered it.

The ocean breeze was cool on your skin, providing sweet relief under the powerful summer sun. The clear, cloudless sky made way for the lustrous rays as they reflected off of the surface of the sea, bringing about a myriad of glints and gleams upon the cerulean coastal waters. The distinctive aroma of the briny air and the sound of the whirring waves instantly hit your senses as you walked closer to the shore. The warm sand beneath your bare feet slowly became cooler and damper until you reached the edge of the coastline where the incoming tide barely crawled up the beach to reach your toes. The water was cold and refreshing, bringing about a smile on your face, but it felt like something was missing.

“What are you waiting for?” you heard Jungkook shout as he ran past you, successfully kicking up salt water everywhere as he wholeheartedly ran into the ocean. You managed to get hit in the face with the splashes from his stomping feet, and the experience was much like getting doused with an ice bucket.

“You jerk!” you called out to him, wiping your cheeks with your palms as you ran after him. He turned his body to look back at you, and you could hear as well as see his unreserved cackling as you caught up to him.

Now everything was exactly how you remembered it.

The rest of the day played out just as you had expected. Most of the time was spent swimming in the water, and the only time you two returned to the land was when you suggested that it was time to reapply sunscreen. Jungkook complied, mostly because he probably didn’t want a repeat of the last time he had protested against it. You hadn’t even needed to nag him after that day—he had learned the lesson the hard way, courtesy of unadulterated sunburn.

“Let’s build a sandcastle!” Jungkook suddenly blurted out as you were sitting off to the side in the middle of your skin-salvaging break. You raised your eyebrows at his sudden eagerness for the pastime. You hadn’t even attempted to create one as children—he had declared that there were so many better things to do with your valuable hours there—so you weren’t sure what had conjured this reversal of opinion.

“We don’t even have any tools,” you responded, still doubtful about whether you should take his proposition seriously or not.

“I have these,” he countered, lifting his hands up and wriggling his fingers in front of him. He still had a few streaks of sunscreen on his palms since he was in the middle of smearing the substance all over his arms. “We don’t need any other tools.”

It was the type of request and rationalization you would have accepted at eight years old, not sixteen, but somehow, you didn’t really care. It was a fairly childish activity to partake in, but there was no harm in doing so, especially since it was new territory for both of you.

Besides, you weren’t getting any younger.

“Alright,” you conceded, lifting yourself up and ceremoniously clapping your hands together. “Let’s build a sandcastle.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as Jungkook had anticipated. Building with your bare hands was tough, especially for an inexperienced pair like you two. It had taken a while to just decide on a good spot to start creating your masterpiece and even longer to come to an agreement about the architectural design.

After some fussing, fumbling, and a few accidents that had caused entire walls to collapse—it was agreed upon that the serial perpetrator was the wind—you finally managed to craft a structure that held enough semblance of a castle to be called one. It was a bit lopsided and the indication that it had been made with your hands was apparent in the imprints that covered each surface with grooves and ridges, but you were still proud of the collaborative creation.

Only once the glorious sandcastle was built did you realize that you two had missed your originally planned lunch time. Hours had passed during the process of your joint activity, and although you admitted that you two had gotten caught up in making the moat around the castle just right, you hadn’t thought that it would have taken as long as it had.

Who knew building sandcastles could be so time-consuming?

Taking your growling stomach as the final sign to go get food, you headed off with Jungkook to a nearby restaurant to treat yourselves after the laborious task of construction. The best part of being hungry, and probably the only good part, was that everything tasted so much better in that state. It was a peculiar phenomenon that probably had scientific facts to back it up, but the only proof you needed was in your own appetite as you scarfed down your delicious meal.

Once your plates were empty and your stomachs were full, Jungkook and you sauntered back to the shore to resume the day that was now turning into night. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky with a gradient of warm hues that were mirrored across the ocean’s horizon, but with the loss of daylight came another side effect: the high tide.

When you returned to the spot where your castle had been, it was no longer there.

Regrettably, the walls weren’t as impenetrable as you had hoped, for it stood no match against the natural flow of the ocean. In hindsight, you reckoned you should have picked an area farther away from the extending shoreline, but as you stared in pity at the mound of soggy sand that was left in the wave’s wake, you knew that there was no use in mourning over what had already been done.

So, you tried to push aside the thoughts of the poor sandcastle that had hardly been given a chance no matter how much effort you had put in it, and you focused on enjoying the rest of the beach day. Jungkook was already one step ahead of you, zealously tugging your arm when he spotted a dog that had appeared on the beach with its owner.

Just like that, the sandcastle was forgotten.

The remainder of the two weeks Jungkook was here felt like all the other moments you had spent with him. It was like you two reverted back to being children; you ate your body weight in ice cream and snacks and ran around the rural roads and fields of the neighborhood until your legs couldn’t carry you any further, but after you turned in for the night and woke up the next morning, you were instantaneously out the door, ready to rinse and repeat the previous day all over again.

Nothing you were doing was innovative or divergent of your usual shenanigans, yet the routine didn’t feel stale. Most of the town had been discovered and rediscovered by the two of you throughout the years, and while there weren’t any new places to explore, the mere fact that Jungkook was there with you to revisit the memories in all of those areas not only made this one of your favorite summers, but these two weeks were some of the best ones of your life.

However, all good things must come to an end.

Sending Jungkook and his parents off at the end of your amazing adventure should have been more depressing, but it wasn’t—actually, it never had been. From the first time he had moved away prior to middle school to all the other times you had bid him safe travels as he boarded the train to leave, it had never really felt like goodbye. It had been more of a “see you later”, which were fittingly the words you two had always exchanged during those temporary farewells, and you were satisfied with that for one reason.

You knew you would see him again.

As school started back up in September, you two continued to keep in touch. The letters were filled with the usual discussions of your everyday lives along with reminiscent collections of how fun the summer had been. It felt like it had barely ended—that was because the visit had taken place not even two months ago—but you couldn’t help but share how much you were already looking forward to next year. It wasn’t confirmed that he was going to visit again, but you had high hopes for your summer plans with him, even if you had to go to him instead.

While the possibility of going to Seoul had always been more of an impossibility, a new development caused a change of heart—more specifically, your mother’s heart.

A few weeks into autumn, you sat down to have a discussion with her about getting a job. You were the one to advocate the idea, since your mother had always been happy with you just focusing on your studies. Although that may have been true, you knew she was struggling, even if she didn’t tend to show it.

It had always been the two of you for as long as you could remember, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out how difficult it was for her to provide for both of you through her efforts alone. Now that you were old enough to be a part-timer, you wanted to help ease the load, one that she had been carrying by herself for much too long.

It was common for the youngsters of the families around here to help out their parents and grandparents with fieldwork, livestock, and tasks of that sort, but unlike those cases, your mother didn’t own a farm or a ranch. This caused you to go around the neighborhood in search of a job, and ultimately, you were able to reel one in without difficulty.

The owner of the convenience store you had frequented since you were a child was happy to extend her hand in help. She offered you a spot on the staff that took care of all the aspects of the store, which had been a party of one until now, since she had been the only one who looked over the place. It was surprising how keen she was on giving you this job, but it made sense for a certain bond of trust to form with how many times you two had interacted throughout the years. If there was a medal for the most loyal customer, there was no argument who the winner would be.

On second thought, perhaps this job was the medal—if so, you were going to wear your new uniform with pride.

Most days, you just sat on your own behind the cash register, ringing up adults crossing off their grocery list and children who were hoping to swap the few coins in their pockets for some tasty treats. The image of the latter made you feel nostalgic over your own early childhood, and it was so mind-blowing to think of how you weren’t in their shoes but on the other side now.

You had primarily decided to start working in order to gain some credibility with your mother; you wanted her to know that you were not only capable of helping her out with the bills, but you were also able to be independent and do things on your own. Appreciatively, that goal was achieved not too long after you received your first paycheck for the shifts you had worked so far. It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but she was proud of your determination, and you, in turn, were elated at the results.

The extra funds also opened the doors leading to other opportunities that you had never thought to even knock on. You started saving up to get one of those new-fangled mobile phones that were starting to be more accessible to the general public. It was already popping up overseas and in the big cities judging by the newspaper articles you had read during your free time. The technology had to come to your small town sooner or later, and that day, you were going to be prepared with cold, hard cash. It was no doubt going to take a while with your measly minimum wage, but you were hopeful that filling up the piggy bank early was going to give you a head start.

At times, your mind wandered even farther to the doors that still remained closed. There were very fleeting moments where you wondered if you would ever be able to save up enough to get out of this place, but the thought was released as soon as it was grasped—you didn’t want to work yourself up with such an implausible event, so you pushed it aside and tried not to dwell on it for too long.

Instead, you thought about the very plausible event that was coming up soon.

It’s already winter again. I feel like it was just yesterday where we were still talking about the beach. Now, instead of whining about the heat, I get to complain about the cold! I feel like it’s both a blessing and a curse that all the buildings here are heated so well, because it feels that much worse when you finally go out into the streets. Riding my bike is actually painful these days, but I guess you get used to not being able to feel your face after a while.

As Jungkook had mentioned, the weather was definitely shifting, and you were able to start seeing the fog of your breath whenever you stepped out early in the morning for school. You had never quite enjoyed the frigid temperatures, but winter meant that the date you were going to see your best friend again was nearing. You hadn’t forgotten about the promise you had made last year—same place, same time—and likewise, Jungkook hadn’t either.

I can’t believe it hasn’t snowed there yet! I guess Busan really is milder than Seoul no matter what season it is. For me, a storm passed by the area last night. I was actually looking forward to the snow in the morning, but when I left my place to go to school, most of it was already gone and shoveled out of the streets. I have no idea how they were able to move so many piles of it overnight, but all that was left were those bits of dirty, hardened ice on the side of the roads. It was kind of disappointing. I miss being able to walk on all the freshly fallen snow. It’s a shame I won’t be able to when I visit you either.

While Jungkook was lamenting the absence of snowfall in your town at the moment, your anticipation grew with each passing day. The prospect of seeing him again made it so much more bearable on days where life seized you a little too tightly by the nape, whether it was the frostbitten hold of winter or the iron grip of your classes and responsibilities. Your new job only seemed to pile onto that, but through all the stresses, he never failed to be in the back of your mind.

Soon enough, the momentous day came, and so did Jungkook—but something felt different.

For starters, you noticed that his use of the Busan dialect was pretty much nonexistent. You were positive that it wasn’t just you having been oblivious to this fact before, and your suspicions were rightly confirmed.

“I’ve been working really hard to get rid of it these past few months,” he explained sans accent as you two walked down the usual paved path away from the train station.

“Get rid of it? But why?”

“My teachers said that I should adopt the Seoul dialect so I can have a better chance at being successful with my career later in life.”

“Oh, did you decide on what you wanted to be?”

“Not yet.”

Jungkook visibly deflated with the answer that was given as he stared ahead at the outstretched road before you. You hadn’t meant to bring down his mood with talks of future plans, so in an effort to cheer him up, you gingerly nudged his arm with yours. You effectively caught his attention, and he lifted his chin up to meet your eyes with a curious gaze.

“You can be anything you want now that you learned your fancy language, right? I’m sure you can come up with something. I mean, you managed to flawlessly change dialects within a few months—I would say that’s pretty darn impressive.”

A sheepish smile appeared on Jungkook’s face—it was what you were aiming for with your supportive spiel—but the expression was noticeably muted, as was the shorthanded, tepid reply he provided you.

“Thanks.”

You didn’t want to push the subject any further, especially if Jungkook wasn’t feeling up for it. Instead, you two carried on and fell back into the same pace as last year.

You didn’t know if the cold was to blame, or perhaps the inordinate expectations, but it almost felt like the excitement from the summer had cooled down along with the weather. Most of the day was spent indoors—the desire to walk through the snowy landscape had been your motivation to stay outside during preceding winters, but with only the bite of the depressed temperature to accompany you on the strolls, you two decided that it was best to save your energy and remain in the heating.

You were beginning to ponder if you should have picked a better time to hold your annual meeting, but it was already too late for that.

“Next year?”

Jungkook stood next to his train back to Seoul where the doors were wide open, waiting for him to enter, but instead of doing so, he loitered around to ask his question.

“Next year,” you decisively affirmed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Your heart did a flip of joy for the reminder, and you were glad that the lukewarm events that had occurred this time around hadn’t disenchant him from this town and future trips here.

“See you later.” Jungkook sniffed to combat his runny nose as he waved breezily at you, the tips of his fingers seeming to glow red from the dry, bitter air. You returned his gesture with a chuckle, your own hand feeling the impact of the severe chill even in the brief moment you took it out of your pocket.

“Have a safe trip home.”

With a nod and a tight-lipped smile, he boarded the train and settled into an empty seat before the doors slid shut, obstructing your outlook of him. The train departed shortly thereafter, but you had already turned around to leave the platform as the announcement rang through the speakers.

Yet another reunion had come to an end, and yet another year was on its way as well.

It had been all but confirmed that this visit was going to be a yearly event, so you weren’t really crestfallen over the parting. You were already looking forward to the next year and the year after that and all the ones following that. Obviously, you weren’t able to predict how long you were going to keep this tradition alive, and a part of you knew that the potential of this messily-arranged, short-sighted plan wasn’t all too promising, but you still held onto your sanguinity.

You wanted to believe that this would continue on forever.

In the blink of an eye, it was the third and final year of high school.

Things were as busy as ever, probably even more so since this was the last lap before you would ideally emerge into adulthood. Compared to your first year or even your second, your plate was much fuller now, and it was to the point where you felt like there was a risk of things slipping and plummeting off the edge.

As a result of your dedication to the science club, the duty of being the vice president fell on your shoulders. Not to be misunderstood, you absolutely relished the group and its activities, but the position came with new responsibilities and demanded more of your hours when you were already suffering from a scarcity of them. On top of your classes and your part-time job, you just couldn’t seem to find enough moments in your day to slow down—each diminutive instance fell through the cracks by the time you were able to address it.

The days only seemed to shorten, but even through everything closing in on you, you tried your best to keep in touch with Jungkook every so often.

You learned how to improvise, and soon you found yourself reading and responding to his letters during what little downtime you had, especially your lunch break. Your friends liked to tease you about the so-called “love letters” you were enamored with these days, but you just paid them no mind, shooing them away as you kept to your corner in order to organize your thoughts. They giggled and scurried out of the room to get their food without you, but even as you heard them whispering amongst themselves, you ignored the harmless gossip that was filling the halls.

Furthermore, it wasn’t your rejection of them that you were worried about.

The sound of your name being called tore you from the sentence you were in the middle of writing. Looking up from your desk, a smile immediately plastered itself onto your face as you greeted the boy who was making his way towards you.

“Hi, Jimin.”

The first thing you noticed about him was that he had cut his hair. No longer was the black mane covering the entirety of his forehead, but he had trimmed it shorter to sweep the fringe up away from his face so that he wasn’t suffering from a bowl cut anymore. The change made him look considerably more mature, and you weren’t sure if your eyes were deceiving you, but his face also seemed to have thinned out a bit to reveal sharper features. His physical appearance aside, you knew one thing was for certain.

He was still a beacon of light.

“You’re not going to the cafeteria today?” Jimin asked as he stood near your desk with his seemingly everlasting smile.

“I always have my own lunch.” You leaned over to pat your bag that was resting against the leg of your chair. The boxed lunch that your mother had helped you make was sitting inside for when you were done writing your letter.

“Me too,” he rejoined cheerfully, lifting his arm up so you could see the cloth-wrapped parcel that was in his hand. He lowered it almost straightaway, but the next words took a few seconds to come out. “…Do you want to eat together?”

You paused at the offer of his amity, or perhaps it was an invitation for you to accompany him. Either way, you knew the answer you were going to deliver.

“Sorry, I’m working on something right now, so I wanted to eat alone.” Your heart sank as soon as those words left your mouth, because you thought you saw the light within him flicker for no more than a second, just like it had in the past when you had turned down his company. “Maybe another time?” you softly added on, trying to remedy the dismissal.

“Oh, of course! Don’t worry about it,” he reassured, although you felt like it was more for himself than for you. “Good luck with your homework.”

You couldn’t find it in yourself to correct and inform him that you were choosing someone in a completely different city over him, so you just nodded acceptingly before uttering a meek “thank you”. As you watched him exit the room on his own, the pressure you felt from your everyday life grew, seeping its way right through you to make your heart sink. Jimin was so understanding and respectful of your decisions, but that didn’t prevent his shoulders from drooping as he walked away with his lunch in hand.

It wasn’t that you were intending to discourage him from ever speaking to you again, but even as he came back several more times after that day to extend the same invitation, you replied with the same apology and an excuse of catching up on your busy schedule—you just couldn’t help it.

You felt like you were running out of time.

“I’m home,” you called out as soon as you arrived back home after your usual shift at the convenience store. The sun had set hours ago so the walk back home had been shadowy and silent, but you were used to it by now since you often worked after school until the late evening. Kicking off your shoes at the entrance after the long day languishing in them, you wearily stepped into the hallway in order to drag yourself to your bedroom.

“Welcome back, sweetie,” you heard your mother’s voice resonate from the kitchen in response to your arrival. “Dinner is ready whenever you are!”

“Okay!” you answered back before entering your room to set your belongings down on top of your desk. As you were weighing your options on whether or not you would take out your notes to do some late-night studying after you ate, your mother spoke up again, but this time, the voice came from the much closer location of your bedroom entryway.

“By the way, Jungkook called earlier today.”

You perked up at the sound of his name, and your attention instantly shifted away from your schoolbag to address your mother who was leaning against the doorframe. “What did he say?”

“He just asked if you were home. When I told him you were at work, he said that he would try to reach you again another time.”

It made no sense for you to expect something more, but the news left you feeling hollower than you had thought it would. Glancing over at the alarm clock on your bedside table, you concluded that it was probably too late to return his call now. Your only choices were to wait for his next attempt and hope that you were home at that hour or to try and call him yourself whenever you had some free time available.

The problem was, you didn’t know when that would be.

I’m sorry this reply is getting to you so late. Track season is in full swing, and I barely have time to relax with all these meets I’m required to go to. Good news is that the coach thinks I have the potential to score a scholarship with this depending on the university I want to go to. Bad news is that I have no idea where I want to go yet. I should probably make a decision soon, since the application deadlines are coming up in a few months. Can you believe that this is already our last year?

Jungkook had mentioned before that he had been becoming more involved in track-and-field as opposed to the other available sports and activities. Even up until this point, you didn’t know if he was participating because he truly wanted to become an athlete or if he just considered it a hobby—then again, judging from all the letters he had sent you, he had no clue either.

He was still as uncertain as ever, but you didn’t blame him. He was trying to find his way among the countless roads he was capable of walking—or running. There were so many things Jungkook could do, so many things he could accomplish, but that had become a double-edged sword for him as time went on. With too many options and the tendency to be indecisive and unsure of himself, he had always struggled with being lost when it came to determining his future, and now that there was a deadline, those struggles were becoming more apparent on the surface.

You were glad to hear that he was at least narrowing his radar to concentrate on one potential route, but as he spent the majority of his time in class or on the track, you couldn’t help but notice the decline in the rate of letters that were both incoming and outgoing.

Whenever you had even a minute to spare during random points of the week, you made several efforts to call Jungkook’s landline, but it would always end in his mother notifying you that he wasn’t home. She promised to pass on the message that you had called, but whenever Jungkook tried to return the communication endeavor, the timing never worked out, for you were either out in club gatherings or working shifts.

This never-ending limbo caused you to take into consideration the fact that Jungkook was most likely just as busy as you—it was almost as if your lives ran in parallel even with the distance separating you two. Understanding this fact, you stopped making those failed attempts, especially since you didn’t want to bother his parents any more than you already had, and slowly but surely, the calls became a rarity.

It was a sound choice in the long run, because you desperately needed to focus your energy on more important matters, specifically ones you had been doing well to ignore during your state of drifting attention.

You were ashamed to admit it, but once you snapped back to reality, you were faced with the realization that you were falling behind on schoolwork. More often than not, when you had contemplated if you wanted to study after your long day of brimming responsibilities, the consensus had leaned towards the answer that had gotten you more sleep. Even when you had picked up that pen or pencil at night, it was to jot down a few notes to write in your letters to Jungkook before you dived straight into bed.

Of course, this kind of behavior simply wouldn’t do. Your college entrance exams were going to be held at the tail end of the year, but rather than preparing for what was probably the most important test of your scholastic life, you had allowed yourself to slack off.

Unlike Jungkook, you already had a good idea where you wanted to apply—given, your parameters were much more defined than his, as the borders of Busan limited your surveying process like always—but just because you knew what your destination was didn’t mean that you were automatically going to be put on that path to success. You had to work for it and use your own two feet to get on the right track, and judging by how much time you had wasted away, you needed to pour in 110% of your effort from now on.

Once again, you found yourself in the position of having to catch up.

You were sort of apologetic to the owner of the convenience store, but whenever you didn’t have any customers coming up to the cash register, you sat in the back corner to the side of the check-out counter and allocated those hours into getting homework done. It certainly wasn’t as peaceful as the library or your bedroom, especially on some days when you seemed to get interrupted every five minutes, but it was better than nothing.

If you believed that the studying would have intervened with your work, you definitely wouldn’t have risked it, but you were moderately decent at juggling between paying attention to your surroundings and honing in on your textbook, if you did say so yourself.

That was, until you heard someone clearing their throat.

You had been lost in trying to solve a particularly difficult math equation for the past few minutes to the point where the numbers and letters were starting to dance dizzily on the pages, but the moment you heard the sound of someone deliberately trying to get your attention, you were brusquely torn from your tired thoughts.

“I’m so sorry,” you started to say, leaping up from your seat to stride over to your proper post, but your words got caught in your throat when you looked up to welcome the familiar customer. “Jimin?”

Your friend was standing in front of you in his standard school uniform and a backpack strapped to his shoulders—this was understandable since it was still early in the afternoon—but the top button of his dress shirt was unclasped to reveal just a smidge more of his clavicle, something that would have gotten him in trouble if he had done that in class.

“Hey,” he greeted, his easygoing smile making you less flustered by your small blunder. “I didn’t want to break your concentration.”

“No, it’s fine,” you said, recovering from your unexpected interruption. Most of your classmates were already aware that you worked here—it had been brought up as the reason for being forced to bail on afterschool hang-outs—but this was the first time he had stepped foot in this store during one of your shifts. Rather than questioning his sudden appearance though, you were relieved that he had been the one to witness your mistake and not a stranger.

“Were you working on something for school?” he asked, setting down the items in his hands onto the counter. You promptly got to work with scanning them—he had compiled together a carton of banana milk, a box of pretzel sticks, a chocolate bar, a small bottle of the Bacchus-D energy drink.

“Yeah,” you answered, the word coming out as more of a sigh than you had intended. “I’ve just been having trouble lately, so I’m taking advantage of all the time that I have.”

Jimin nodded as if he was deep in thought. “I always see you hard at work during our lunch break, too. It must be tough to try and set aside time for everything when you don’t have any.” His voice was sympathetic as his words reminded you of how he had asked you if you wanted to eat together. The invitations had halted a while ago, but the guilt of your refusals came rushing back, especially since your reason for doing so had been the reason for your declining performance in school as well.

You merely reacted with a feeble smile before reciting the total that his items amounted to. He handed you the appropriate number of bills right away, and you turned your attention to the cash register to key in the necessary information. As you were working, you couldn’t help but be painfully aware that his eyes were following your movements; it was something fairly common, especially with your younger, more curious customers, but somehow, the weight of Jimin’s gaze was heavier than the others.

“Do you…” you heard him start to speak, drawing out the beginning of his sentence as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue the rest. “Want any help?” he finished just as you were done removing his change from the cash drawer, pushing it shut. “We can study together during lunch or on the weekends—whenever you can find time.”

Staring at him, you hesitated for a little too long before you extended your hand full of coins out to him. You were so used to saying “sorry” and moving on from the conversation, but this was one arrangement that seemed like it would only hold positive outcomes. You couldn’t see a downside of this for you, but it wasn’t yourself that you were apprehensive about.

“Are you sure?” you asked as Jimin held out his palm for you to drop the coins into. “I don’t want to be a burden…”

“You won’t be,” he said in a soothing manner, but you could detect the seriousness in the tone. “If you want, you can think of it like we’re both helping each other out. Two heads are better than one, right?” You could tell that his words were genuine, and the shimmer of hope in his eyes was even more so.

“Alright. Sounds good,” you agreed as soon as he was done putting the coins away in his pocket. His face lit up even more, if that was even possible, but rather than pure delight, there was a sense of relief as his shoulders loosened like they had been tense this entire time.

“Great,” he declared gleefully. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

Nodding as one last confirmation, you gave Jimin a wave to send him on his way. “See you in class.”

He reached down to gather the items he had just purchased, but just as you thought he was going to leave, he lifted one of his arms to outstretch it towards you.

“Here, this is for you.” Looking down at what was in his hand, you recognized the small bottle of Bacchus-D that he had gotten. “You work pretty late, right? Drink this and regain your energy.” You stood there dumbfounded for a second before lifting your hands up to accept the gift. Jimin placed the bottle onto your palms, and you felt the warmth of his finger brushing against your skin before the cold glass of the drink nullified the sensation. “You can do it,” he said, making a fist with his now empty hand as a signal of cheering you on.

Something fluctuated strangely in your chest, and you automatically broke out into a smile at the cute gesture. “Thank you.”

Jimin exited the store after your brief expression of gratitude, leaving you to your own devices once more. You stood at the counter, holding onto the small bottle he had just given you, but as you looked down at the drink, you didn’t even think you needed it anymore.

You already felt energized.

Acceding to Jimin’s offer to study together had been a terrific idea, to say the least. You hadn’t realized how much more exhausting working all by yourself had been until you had felt the stresses being lifted by the appearance of a second plate that helped to share what had been an imperiled workload on yours.

Your lunch periods doubled as your study periods, and while that should have felt like a tedious chore, you noticed that time seemed to move faster when Jimin was around. Even the weekends at the library whizzed by with him there to answer whatever questions you may have had, and before long, the fruits of your labor were proudly displayed in your grades and sleep schedule.

Things were starting to look up—until they weren’t.

This might be the last letter you’ll get from me for a while. I’m going to be spending my entire summer visiting college campuses around the country, so I won’t have much time to do any writing. My parents brought up the tour idea when I couldn’t give them a definite answer about where I was thinking of applying to. I know it’s something that I need to do, so I think this trip will be good for helping me decide. I can’t say that I’m not disappointed though…I was really looking forward to the beach.

The letter had arrived in your mailbox several days ago, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to fashion a response right away. Besides, you knew Jungkook wasn’t going to receive it before he went off on his summer quest. Sure, you had the option of just sending him letters while he was away, but you didn’t want to overwhelm him with the task sorting through a stack of envelopes when he came back home.

Regarding trip itself, you understood and respected his and his parents’ wishes. Your decision was all but made for the university you were planning on sending your application to, so you had no use in following in his footsteps. You knew what it was that you wanted to do, but ironically enough, Jungkook always seemed a bit more lethargic to arrive at his conclusions in comparison. This was a great opportunity for him to explore all of his options, and you hoped that it would all go well so that he could return with a clearer mind and stronger sense of his future.

As for you, although you had a great deal of your future mapped out and ready for initiation, it was amusing that you had yet to figure out something in your life that was far more basic.

“Do you have plans this summer?”

Jimin leaned back in his chair and lifted his arms up above his head for a satisfying stretch. You followed his example and slumped back to roll out the knots in your neck from your lunchtime study session. You had a week or so until your own vacation started, but you hadn’t really put thought into what you were going to do now that your initial plan had become unfeasible.

“Not this time, no.” You swore you saw Jimin’s lips quirk up at the news, but then again, you couldn’t really tell because of his distinctive resting happy face. “What about you?”

“Some of the others are planning a bunch of trips down to the beach throughout the entire break—the usual. I said I would tag along.”

“That sounds fun,” you cooed, assuming that it had been the conjured thought of his plans that had made him inadvertently smile, but that wasn’t all he had to say.

“It would be really great if you could join us this year.”

You turned to Jimin to see him looking at you with those hopeful eyes again. He was basically repeating the offer he had given you on your first year, the one you had declined without giving it a second thought. Now that you had a moment to actually ponder the proposition, you couldn’t find any reason not to accept this time around. There was absolutely no purpose in spending your summer vacation alone, especially when your friend who had been nothing but nice to you since the beginning of high school was generously extending his invitation.

“I would love to.”

If Jimin’s smile hadn’t been perpetual enough, it now seemed like it was permanently etched onto his face. He held the delighted expression all throughout the last week before break, and when you met up with him at the beach for your first gathering of the season, you swore that the intensity of his grin challenged that of the sun’s rays.

The rest of your friends greeted you with elation at your attendance, and you were immediately dragged into the freezing cold water upon arrival. Group festivities were bound to be rambunctious, but you still found it astounding how much energy all of your classmates had. You were wary that they would burn out and deplete themselves on the first day with how much they were frolicking around nonstop. It had been a while since you had been a part of this type of atmosphere, and honestly, it was exhausting to try and match their pace.

By dusk, you resorted to finding a nice spot on the sand and sitting on your own away from all the action, feeling pleased by just watching the others seemingly do a few more laps around the shore for posterity. You couldn’t help but rethink your decision to participate in these episodes any further. You clearly weren’t cut out for this sort of thing, and thoughts of returning back to your lonely schedule occupied your mind.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

The sweet voice threw you out of your reverie, and you glanced up to see Jimin in his swim trunks and t-shirt, the latter of which was thoroughly drenched and plastered to accentuate the curves of his body.

“Go right ahead,” you conceded, scooting over to make some room for him on the towel that had been laid out beforehand. He cheerily plopped down beside you with a sigh of alleviation before turning to meet your gaze again.

“Not having fun?”

“No, I am!” you refuted, furiously waving your hands in front of you to stop him from thinking otherwise. Only when you managed to get a melodious laughter to rise out of him did you feel yourself relaxing again. “It’s just…I don’t think I can keep up,” you admitted more lightheartedly, joining your hands together in front of you to pull your knees towards your chest.

“Honestly, me neither,” Jimin concurred with a chuckle. He turned to face forward before reaching up to run his fingers through his wet hair in a sweeping motion. The black strands complied smoothly and were flicked back to reveal the slight sheen on his forehead that glistened under the radiance of the setting sun. “There’s no problem in slowing down every once in a while. It gives you more time to enjoy what’s around you.”

You contemplated his words for a moment as you let a pause draw out between you two. It was almost as if what he had said was being brought into play, and you took a few more seconds to stare out into the horizon before breaking the silence.

“Why did you invite me?”

Saying that you weren’t the most outgoing person in this group of friends would have been the biggest understatement of the day, so you highly doubted that he had done it for the sake of jazzing up the social mood. Most of the interactions between you two had taken place in academic settings, so this transition from school uniforms to swimsuits was a bit difficult to get used to.

“I was hoping you would have a good time here and not have to spend your summer without any plans.” You nodded wordlessly at the answer that sounded dangerously close to being pity, but his next justification eradicated that hasty misgiving. “Besides, I really like hanging out with you.”

The sight of the shore was quickly replaced by Jimin as you shifted your attention towards him. You could detect the lightest tinge spreading across his cheeks, and it didn’t look like it was an effect caused by sunburn. As always, a look of contentment rested on his face as he looked on at the ocean view, but it was only then that you realized just how contagious his smile really was, turning back to look at the waves with your own grin stretching across your lips.

Even without words, you were sure that you got your point across that you enjoyed his presence as well. Contrary to your previous reservations, you continued to tag along on the beach bonanzas, and with each passing week, you found yourself creating stronger ties with your classmates.

Sharing ice cream and sunscreen created everlasting bonds, after all.

From the temperately more sun-kissed skin you were left with and the collection of stunning seashells you now had in a jar, this turned out to be a better summer than you could have ever expected. By the end of it, you almost forgot how it had felt to be lonely.

I’m sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I feel like I’m always starting off my letters with apologies. I promise it won’t happen again! The college tour was draining, but I think it went well. I’ve been preparing my applications for the schools that I felt were a good fit for me, and it looks like I’m eligible for those scholarships that my coach mentioned before. Things are finally just about ready to go. Now the only thing I have to worry about is the entrance exam. You can probably hear me sighing from all the way over there. Anyways, how have you been these past few months? Knowing you, I bet you already have everything in the bag with all this college nonsense.

It had taken three weeks after summer break had ended to hear from Jungkook again, but the surprising thing was, you hadn’t even noticed.

It didn’t feel like that amount of time had passed since you had last contacted each other. As mentioned in the letter, you had also been preoccupied with organizing your college applications, but contrary to his wager, it had been a struggle on your side of things as well. You didn’t know anyone in their third year who wasn’t currently stressing over the college entrance exam. D-day was soon approaching, which meant that you had to dedicate more time to studying, if that was even humanly possible. You were already spending every waking moment glued to your textbooks and notes, but you knew it was necessary to your survival, no matter how much it felt like it had the opposite effect.

Jungkook strove to lay out his possible college plans in his letters, and as you joined in to explain some of your options, you two began sharing your dreams and aspirations for the future, just like old times. It seemed as though he had chosen to stick with his track-and-field focus, but as always, there was the usual uncertain tone to his resolution. Even if he didn’t fully believe in his own decisions, you always did; you believed that he could even enter the Olympics for sprinting if he really put his mind to it. You had even believed that he would have done well in all the earlier career paths he had declared as a kid, whether it had been a police officer or an artist.

As long as he had the opportunity, you knew he would be able to achieve anything.

While Jungkook tended to hold an interest in those practical categories, you chose a more academic route. Regardless of what exactly you decided on studying, you knew you wanted to put yourself in the closest relationship to books as you could—that much was certain. As for a precise goal or dream, you were leaning towards becoming a marine scientist after you had picked up a fascinating illustrated encyclopedia a few years back. Not only was it something you were wholly interested in, but because you were in a port city such as Busan, it was completely possible.

The ocean was one thing you could explore freely over here, so you were planning on doing just that.

Something you had noticed with your exchanges with Jungkook was that no matter how many possibilities of the future you two had shared with each other, neither of you were part of each other’s scenarios. It was never mentioned directly, but there was some sort of mute but mutual recognition that this was the way things were going to be.

Weeks would go by between letters, leaving the disconcerting topic in the dust of all your current and more pressing worries, but they would fly by like minutes. Maybe it was because you were busy, since time seemed to have an inclination of moving rapidly when you had too many things on your mind—recently, all the things on your mind revolved around school, school, and more school. Other aspects of your life had a chance of slipping your mind or never even making it in the first place, and understandably, you no longer found yourself waiting eagerly to see that envelope with your name on it sitting in your mailbox.

Your only concrete indication of the passing days was when it was time to remove your summer uniform and put on your autumn one, and as the layers of coats and scarves kept piling on over your regular outfit, you knew that the time had finally come.

“Are you ready?”

It was now the morning of November you had been dreading since probably the beginning of your school life—the college entrance exam was upon you. You didn’t even remember the walk from your house or even passing the front gates to get into the building, but somehow you were here, and Jimin was standing in front of you with a bright-eyed expression that made you doubt his sanity at the moment.

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

It wasn’t he most eloquent choice of words, but with how close you had gotten to your friend over this past year, it was safe to say that he would let your unladylike comment slide.

“Relax. You’re going to be fine. You’ve worked hard to prepare for this—all of us have.” Along with his words of consolation, he reached over to take a hold of the sides of shoulders before giving you a reassuring squeeze and an equally comforting smile. “We can do this.”

We. That word alone lessened the mind-numbing feeling you were experiencing since you had woken up this morning after a sleepless night. Even after you had received enough aid to catch up in all of your classes, your study sessions with Jimin continued with this exam being the next point of interest. You hadn’t realized how much time you had spent with him, but somewhere along the way, you had shed your disposition of being alone.

You were in this together now.

Drawing in a large, much-needed breath, you gave Jimin a firm nod as you stared into his eyes, hoping to give him the same support and solace he had been giving you.

“Let’s do this.”

It was only after you were finished with the exam that you were able to release that breath you had taken. You thought that the wave of relief would have been stronger than this, but it was hard to grasp that the event that you had been breaking your spine over for what seemed like your entire life on this planet was over in the span of half a day.

You were only able to believe that it was done when you walked out of the gates of the school to see flocks of parents waiting outside to congratulate their children for surviving what was ultimately the roughest part of high school. Your mother was no different, waiting for you under the giant banner that had been placed up front as an acclamation of good luck to the students. Looking at the sign now, it was unquestionably more heartening than the anxiety you had felt eight hours prior when you didn’t even want to give it more than a listless glimpse.

The moment you approached your mother, she scuttled forward to envelop you in a warm hug before proceeding to place rapid-fire pats on your back.

“You did well, sweetie.”

“The results aren’t even out yet,” you grumbled as you returned her tight embrace.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m so proud of you.”

You knew that it did matter, and you were sure that she knew as well, but she just held onto you with overflowing affection that seemed to repel the cold away. She believed in you with all her heart and soul, and you felt like things would be okay, if not just for this moment.

Good luck on your exam! I’ve been studying nonstop just like the rest of my classmates, but I’m still not that confident. Even if I studied for the next ten years, I don’t think I would ever be ready. At the very least, I’ll be glad when it’s done and over with. Oh, I almost forgot! I got a new haircut yesterday. I know there’s a superstition about avoiding big changes before important events, but it was starting to grow kind of long, so I just got it done on the way home. The hairdresser even taught me how to style it in this cool way, and even though it’s different, I really like it. I’m kind of worried though. I don’t know if you’ll even recognize me the next time we meet.

Jungkook’s letter had arrived a little over a week ago, but you hadn’t had time to reply before the exam. You hadn’t meant to put off writing to him for so long, but you had gotten caught up in all the clamor around you that you had managed to postpone it for longer than you been planning to.

You made sure to hit all the points he had stated in his letter, and you thoroughly thanked him for his well wishes and congratulated him in making it over the hurdle of this exam as well. When everything was up to par with your standards, the rest was like muscle memory as you signed and dated the reply at the bottom of the paper.

That was when you realized that a certain date was coming up very soon, almost too soon.

Without you knowing, winter had already set in as the month transitioned into December, and this meant that your annual reunion was occurring the following week. You had no idea where all this time was disappearing off to, because it sure didn’t feel like you were utilizing all of the hours that you were supposed to have in your possession. You hurriedly jotted down a “P.S.” at the end of the letter regarding the meet-up, and once you sealed your reply in an envelope, you mailed it off right away.

By the time the day came, there was still no response.

Admittedly, you had sent your letter a little late, perhaps too late for him to get his answer back to you. You hoped that he had at least received it so that he was informed that you were ready to follow through with the plan once more. You had classes that went into the afternoon as normal, so there was no way you could communicate with him until you returned home.

Just like an old wound that had reopened, you found thoughts of Jungkook circulating in your mind all day. This was one of the rare occasions where you cursed your younger selves for putting together such a half-baked idea.

The moment your last class of the day was dismissed, you rushed home to your phone as a last-minute attempt at contacting him. To your misfortune, it was his mother who picked up, and you were forced to end the call with only the information that he hadn’t returned from school yet, as always, and would probably not be returning for a while. You weren’t sure if this meant that he was being held up at practice or if he was on his way here. You wanted to believe the latter, you truly did, so without hesitation, you decided to take a leap of faith and got ready for your trip down to the train station.

At the end of the day, Jungkook had made a promise.

So long as you were going through with your verdict, you doubled down on the bet. You went to work on preparing a lunchbox of various foods you knew he would enjoy, not forgetting the candied sweet potatoes for dessert. Your mother extended her help with the cooking, and although she didn’t ask who it was all for, the knowing smile on her face gave the impression that she could hazard a good guess. It took longer than you had expected, but once everything was said and done, you packed the goodies up with some cloth and stored it securely into a zip-up tote bag you could throw over your shoulder for carrying convenience.

When you stepped out of your house, you were hit with a frosty breeze that nipped at your nose, and you were met with an anomaly that had made an appearance after refusing to be present all day: snow.

It had started snowing in the short while you had been getting everything ready, and there was already a thin veil of white covering the ground before you. The snowflakes were falling at a steady pace, decorating the air with specks of the crystalized orbs, and you glanced up at the murky clouds above to see that there was not even a glimpse of the blue sky visible anymore.

It was indecipherable how a natural phenomenon such as the weather could make you feel so sentimental, but here it was, leaving a piercing feeling of nostalgia that chilled you to the bone.

Letting the feeling release itself in the form of a shiver, you promptly shoved your hands into your pockets and made your way down to the same old place in the center of town. Once you entered the train station’s waiting room, one that had gotten a couple renovations over the years, you settled down into your usual spot and did just like the named suggested.

You waited.

You were a tad bit early, if the definition of a tad bit was an hour, but you figured it would be better than sitting at home. It had been a good call on your part to leave when you had, because as you peered outside the windows of the room, you could see that the rate of snowfall was starting to pick up considerably.

Sitting rigidly in the uncomfortable plastic seat—for some reason, they had neglected to upgrade this facet of the station—you felt yourself shaking slightly. You couldn’t pinpoint whether it was from the cold or your nerves, but perhaps it was both. Thankfully, the former was suppressed because the chairs were arranged in a way that surrounded a cylindrical electric heater, the single source of warmth in the small-scale waiting area. The waves of heat radiated from the machine to keep the winter air at bay, but as the physical cold strayed further from your body, the latter feeling became more perceptible.

There was a dull aching in your chest as you remembered all the past experiences of your time in this very seat. All the memories that had been recessing in the back of your mind during your tumultuous year were now rising from their deep-set slumbers like they had been waiting for this day. Although it was coming out of hiding from the innermost corner of your consciousness, you knew it had always been there.

You missed Jungkook.

As the minutes counted down to the long-awaited moment, the feeling only seemed to grow, spreading across every fiber of your being in a way that almost combated the heater’s effects. The snow was still falling heavily from the sky even now, but all you could do was watch as the fluffy, white morsels layered themselves onto the world below them. Your eyes traveled to the adjacent wall to check the sizable analog clock that was hanging on the otherwise plain surface.

It was past 7 P.M., the time of meeting you two had decided upon.

The image of the incessant hands of the clock ticking further away from the appointed time gave you an uneasy feeling, but you still waited. You wanted to give Jungkook the benefit of the doubt, especially since the weather was causing trains to be delayed left and right. You wanted to believe that he was just running late.

You wanted to believe that he hadn’t forgotten.

Soon, it wasn’t just a few minutes of tardiness you had to worry about. An hour passed by, and then another, and before you knew it, the street lamps outside were turned on as night fell over the town—yet, there was still no sign of Jungkook.

Your body felt immensely stiff staying in the same position for so long, and your stomach was growling with the imploration of food, but all you could find the courage to do was get up from your seat to employ a few static stretches.

What if he arrived the instant you decided to abandon your spot? What if he saw the empty seat and assumed that you had been the one to break the promise? What if the sight discouraged him to just leave without a second glance?

You didn’t want to get up from your seat if you could help it, let alone leave to go back home. There was a station worker sitting behind the glass pane of his post who made announcements of the delays over the intercom every so often, and that alone motivated you to hold onto your optimism. You didn’t want Jungkook to have gone through the trouble to get here only to see that you were no longer waiting for him.

You had made the promise to him just as much as he had to you, and you fully intended to keep it.

The scattered thoughts and probabilities whirled around in your mind like the ongoing flurry outside. The waiting area had been almost dead quiet for a while now, which was understandable since no one in their right mind would voluntarily travel in this snowstorm; it had started brewing a couple hours ago but it didn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon. You were left alone in the seat you had settled in at the beginning, clutching onto your bag that you had placed securely on top of your lap. You didn’t mind the silence or the solitude, but it was the perfect environment to invite your fatigue to overwhelm you.

As a consequence, you dozed off.

It wasn’t even an enjoyable nap, because for the first hour or so, you were hovering over the fine line between sleep and consciousness. A few times, you jolted awake at the sound of the man’s voice over the loudspeaker, but once you recognized the nature of the announcement to be about another delay rather than an arrival, you dipped your head down and closed your eyes again. You allowed yourself some more ocular rest, drifting into a dreamy state where hours felt like minutes and minutes felt like seconds.

Just then, you heard your name.

It was weak, and you almost mistook the sound as the whistle of the gale outside, but when your eyes fluttered open, the first thing you saw was a pair of running shoes. The black and white sneakers were worn and blotched with dirt, obviously having seen a lot of use and abuse, and the knotted laces were in the process of fraying at the ends. Tilting your chin up to drowsily look at the owner of these shoes, you saw Jungkook standing in front of you. He was bundled up in a long, powder blue overcoat and had what looked like his school duffel bag clenched in his left hand.

There was no smile on his face as he gazed down at you, and in that moment, you thought you recognized the emotions behind his wavering eyes from the very first day you had met him—insecure and afraid.

You lifted your hand and reached forward to take a hold of the side of his coat. The soft, woolen fabric was tangible between your fingertips, and you tightened your fist at the confirmation that you weren’t dreaming. All day, you had repeatedly tried to convince yourself that Jungkook would show up, that he would remember, but deep in your heart, you hadn’t anticipated him to—you hadn’t wanted to raise your expectations too high only to come crashing down.

But he was here now.

It wasn’t the reunion you had been hoping for, but you were relieved to say the least. Your vision became blurry as you felt the tears welling up, and as soon as you dropped your head down at the floor again, everything you didn’t know you had been bottling up was suddenly freed.

You were always crying in front of him—not even shedding a few tears, but openly weeping. You felt like the little kid who had lost the race down the road to the convenience store all those years back. You still felt like the same, impressionable person, but he wasn’t the same.

Jungkook had changed.

His stature had grown, his shoulders widening and his height expanding, and his facial features were chiseled, his jawline becoming more defined and the baby fat on his cheeks waning. All of these physical changes were most likely from the rigorous training he had gone through with his older activities and was currently going through with track-and-field.

Aside from his athletic alterations, you immediately noticed that his hair was different. Just like he had mentioned in his letter, his black locks were shorter than before, and rather than falling naturally over his forehead, the bangs were swept to the side with some sort of product that gave it a bit of extra texture. Contrary to the second part of his statement, you still recognized him with minimal effort, but you had to admit that he had gone through quite a number of changes in just a couple years. There were still so many years ahead of him for him to keep maturing as well, and at the current rate of growth, you were fearful that sometime in the future, maybe there was a chance that you wouldn’t be able to recognize him anymore.

Deciding that those thoughts should be saved for another day, you hastily wiped your tears with your sleeves and focused on the present; it was one where Jungkook was sitting beside you with his hand resting on your back for comfort, a string of whispered apologies filling the previously still atmosphere that were only matched with your habitual sequence of pardons.

It took a few minutes to calm down, and by the time you managed to do so, you stole a glance at the clock and was shocked to see that it was almost midnight.

“Are you hungry?” you asked, unzipping your bag to search for the items you had packed.

“Starving.”

Taking out the cloth-wrapped lunchboxes you had prepared earlier today, you ushered Jungkook to slide one seat away so that you could start unwrapping them and lay out the contents on the one between you two.

“It’s not much, but I made this myself. Well, my mom helped, of course, but…I hope you like it.” While you were blabbering away, Jungkook had already taken one of the pairs of chopsticks you had set out and helped himself to a few of the rolled omelettes. “What do you think?” you cautiously asked once he was done consuming what was in his mouth.

“This is the best thing I have ever eaten.”

You laughed not only at the overstatement but at how genuine he seemed when he recited it. “You’re just saying that because you’re hungry,” you said before chuckling again at the way he was practically inhaling the meal. “I think I’ll have some, too,” you pronounced as you picked up your own utensils to join in on the meager feast. You had been starving for a while as well, but you couldn’t have justified eating the food without him here. Now, as you ate your share of the lunchboxes, you were almost tempted to agree with him on his exaggerated proclamation.

All in all, hunger was the best seasoning.

“How come you didn’t tell your parents that you were coming here?”

The food was all gone at this point, and you two were sitting in peace with some instant coffee you had gotten from the vending machine across the room.

“Hm? What do you mean?” he refuted, blinking at you in a way that made it seem like he wasn’t actually playing dumb.

“I called your home earlier, and your mom said that you were at practice and won’t come home until nighttime.”

“Oh, that,” he said, your inquiry finally clicking in his brain. “I just don’t want them to worry about me.”

“Won’t they be even more worried if you’re not home when you’re supposed to be?”

Jungkook merely shook his head before taking another sip out of his paper cup. “I sometimes sleep over at my classmates’ places without telling them first, so they’re used to it by now.”

“I see,” you hummed in slight admiration for his freedom.

“What about you? Did you tell your mom you were coming here?”

“No,” you answered pensively, the image of her thoughtful expression appearing in your mind. “But I’m sure she knows. It’s hard to keep any sort of secret from her.”

At that moment, you heard a succinct knocking on a glass, and when you swung your head to the side to look at the source, you saw that it was the station worker trying to get your attention behind the counter.

“There aren’t any more trains coming in, so we’re going to close up now,” he stated, the voice sounding subdued by the window pane separating you guys from him. “Be careful on your way home. The snow has really piled up.” Thanking the man for the warning and for allowing you to loiter here for so long, you two gathered your belongings and made your way out of the station.

Just as the man had said, the entire town was covered in a thick blanket of fresh snow, but the storm was subsiding, leaving only the more serene snowflakes to languidly complete their trail to join its brethren. You stuffed your hands into your coat pockets in order to shield them from the blistering cold, but they scarcely did much to retain the rapidly declining warmth of your fingers.

You walked alongside Jungkook as you took to the unchanged lane that would lead you to the same places you had always visited. The snow crunched satisfyingly beneath your feet, and each step you took left footprints behind you so that any passersby who found the two sets parallel would know that you had been there.

Everything was as you remembered it—the lit-up signs on the buildings near the station, the fork in the road towards the edge of town that led to a less beaten path, and the utility poles that seemingly ran until the edge of the world next to the rural farm plots—but something about tonight made the surroundings feel unfamiliar, as if you were seeing everything through an altered screen with the display of the moonlight that reflected off of the white snow and transformed the areas into ethereal versions of themselves.

The two of you came to a halt when you reached one of your favorite places you had always stopped by. The cherry tree that had given you so many memories still stood tall and sturdy, even with all of the leaves having been stripped by the unforgiving arrival of the season. The bare branches stretched out in every direction and were covered by the snow that had managed to hang onto the narrow spaces. Snow was still making its way down from above you, but under the tree, it seemed as if the ice crystals were being shed from the branches topped with frozen foliage. The grass surrounding the bottom of the trunk was also hidden underneath the white winter coat, and it almost felt like you were in a completely different location than what you had remembered it to be.

“How old do you think this tree is?” you wondered aloud, peeking beside you to see Jungkook lifting his head up to admire the large framework.

“I never really thought about it. I’m guessing it has to be at least ten years.”

Doing some speedy calculations in your head, you laughed lightly when you realized that he had just counted the number of years you two had known of the tree’s existence. It had already been fully grown by the time you had come across it, so technically, Jungkook wasn’t wrong in his estimation. You took your time to trace your gaze along the trunk of the tree, turning your body in order to follow the lines in the bark that extended into the branches above. The resilience and history behind this towering icon was engraved with each mark and fissure that was exposed on the surface—if a tree could look wise, that would be your adjective to describe it.

Ten years. It had been almost a full decade since you had known Jungkook. It seemed like such a long time, yet it felt so much shorter than that, especially if you put it against the number of decades you ideally had ahead of you.

“Do you think it’ll still be here the next time we meet?”

As those words escaped past your lips, you tilted your head back down to see Jungkook staring right at you. You were now facing each other with the cherry tree to the side, but it was no longer your main point of interest. You had presented a harmless question, but you were suddenly affected by the weight of it. Everything around you was pulled into an illusion of slowing down in that moment, even the descending snowflakes, until the world seemed to suspend into a snapshot.

“I hope so.”

Your surroundings began to move again, but only one specific part of it—the only part that mattered. The crisp sound of a footstep reverberated as Jungkook glided forward, reducing the gap between your bodies until your faces became impossibly close and you could feel his warm breath tickling your cheek. The space was finally sealed when you leaned forward ever so slightly, and you felt the tender brush of his skin before he pressed forward to fully capture your lips into a kiss. The warmth of his touch melted away all the bleak feelings that winter had brought you, and it left behind a sweet sensation that equaled that of even the most radiant summer day.

It was unexpected to say the least, yet the timing couldn’t have felt more right. The pleasant sensation surpassed anything you could have imagined experiencing, but you couldn’t get rid of this gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach that was trying to tell you otherwise, and you knew exactly why.

When you pulled apart, the cold breeze instantaneously swept in to steal the heat that had accumulated from the contact, leaving you feeling more barren than what you had started with. Jungkook held a benign gaze as you gently looked through the darkness at the way his amplified pupils almost blended into his dimmed irises. Your foggy breaths intermingled in the air between you two, rising up into a coherent, wispy cloud before completely disappearing into nothingness within just a few seconds.

A sudden urge overcame your senses, and you stepped forward to throw your arms around Jungkook’s torso, burying your face into his chest. In an immediate reaction, you felt his strong arms curl around your back as he pulled you closer into the embrace, letting you revel in being engulfed in his body heat.

The two of you stayed that way for a while, unaware of the gradually dropping temperature and the snowflakes that were starting to settle on top of your hair and clothes. It was like nothing else was substantive and the entire universe didn’t exist outside of this moment, and as cliché as it sounded, you wanted everything to freeze so you could remain this way forever—but you knew that it was a dream far beyond your reach.

Time would always continue to flow, and snow would always continue to fall.

After a while, you two broke the embrace and resumed your stroll to your next destination. Jungkook took your hand in his and held it the rest of the way, and you happily rejoiced at the feeling of elation you had for finally receiving the warmth your hand had been craving in the form of his soft fingers interlocking with yours.

The location was none other than your secret hideout, the cozy wooden shack built on the side of an empty farming plot where you had spent most of your freedom in as children. You hadn’t been here in some time now, but when you entered into the room and saw the evidence of those ten years you had visited and improved this place together, it truly felt like you were coming back to your second home. The thick fleece blankets were exactly where you had left them, but even if they hadn’t been, you were sure that Jungkook’s presence was enough to keep you warm until the morning. Once you covered yourselves with the quilt and were comfortably cuddled up with one of the walls being used as a backrest, the late-night discussions ensued.

While you talked about anything and everything, the one thing that all of the anecdotes had in common was that they were all stories of the past. You two could probably spend weeks reminiscing about your early childhood and relishing your chronicle of youth, but you knew that you couldn’t avoid the present for long. Reality had to come into the story sooner or later, and you knew that it was better not to draw out what was inescapable.

“I’m moving after graduation.”

It was a sentence you had expected to come out of Jungkook’s mouth, but you found yourself as the bearer of this news for the very first time. This had been a long-winded topic of debate between you and your mother for a while now, but you had finally put your foot down back when college applications had been due. You probably couldn’t have chosen a more remote place within the borders of Busan, but the school was perfect to pursue your studies to become a marine scientist. You thought that the announcement of the fact that you finally might be able to leave this town would have been said with more cause for celebration, but the words taste more bitter than sweet.

“Where are you going?” he asked almost as glumly as you had spoken.

“The maritime university I’m planning on attending is near the southern coast, on the island at the very bottom of the city. I already have everything planned out for the move, but of course, that’s only if I get accepted…”

“You’re going to get in,” he sharply spoke, raising his voice for more emphasis. “Don’t worry about that. They would be stupid not to accept you.”

You felt your heart swell at his words of reinforcement. The confidence in his voice was one that was seemingly reserved to be used only for you, and you appreciated his dauntless faith in your abilities.

“I hope you’re right.” There was a prolonged pause after you finished speaking, so you decided to fill it with some more information. “It’s further away, but the campus is right by the ocean, so I bet the view will be great. Plus, I heard that there are lots of tall, modern buildings in that district and a ton of more fun things to do than here. I mean, I’m sure it doesn’t hold a candle to Seoul, but—”

“Do you remember what you told me,” Jungkook suddenly interrupted, “about the snow falling?” Halting mid-sentence, you were taken aback by the unwarranted question, thinking that perhaps you had been rambling on for too long like you had a tendency of doing. “It was five kilometers per hour, right?”

Surprised, you turned and faced him to commend him for his retention of information, but he was staring straight ahead. “You still remember that?”

A vague smile graced his lips as he nodded in confirmation. You drew your attention to the other side of the room where his eyes were focused on, and you saw through the window that there were still some snowflakes floating down from the overly generous clouds above.

“I take back what I said. There’s no need to rush. In fact, I wish that it didn’t have to fall so fast. I wish the entire world would just slow down.”

Jungkook didn’t sound like he was talking solely about the snow anymore. He knew that he couldn’t outrun time, no matter how hard he tried, and he certainly couldn’t catch up to something that was constantly slipping further from his reach with each step forward. It had taken him a while to realize this, but he now agreed with your sentiment, and all you could do was sigh, resting your head on top of his shoulder and moving closer to him while you still had the chance.

“Me too.”

A long silence filled the expanse, but this time, you didn’t feel a need to saturate it with unnecessary information. Instead, you closed your eyes and cherished the moment, listening to Jungkook’s rhythmic breaths and feeling the undulating movement of his body with every inhale and exhale he took.

Being in this shed again carried your mind back to old times, to days filled with unstoppable snacking and restful reading, and while you wanted to say that nothing inside here had changed at all, you knew that was a lie.

You two had changed.

You had come to the realization after your various talks with Jungkook over the past several hours. Initially, you had only noticed the changes in Jungkook, but that was because you rarely saw him anymore. It had been a full year since you had last examined his face, so any and every little detail that differed from the previous reunion seemed that much more significant. During the days you had practically grown up with him, he had regularly been by your side, and that was why you hadn’t recognized his gradual maturation, even though the years of eight to thirteen were a time of pretty drastic development.

This revelation then made you open your eyes to discover the other side of things. You had changed as well, probably just as much as Jungkook had, but you couldn’t have possibly noticed since you were with yourself every single day and night. Only when you compared yourself to the person you had been at eight or even thirteen did you see just how different you had become.

This brought you to wonder how much time would have to pass until Jungkook didn’t recognize you anymore.

Somewhere in the midst of your swirling thoughts, you had fallen into a dreamless sleep, because the next time you opened your eyes, you were met with the morning sun filtering in through the window to bathe the area in a delicate glow. You were in the same position as the night before, sitting stiffly against Jungkook’s side, and when you lifted the side of your face off of his shoulder, you realized that his head was leaning on top of yours as well. He stirred awake at your movement, and you watched as he slothfully gained consciousness before turning to greet you with a sleepy smile and barely-opened eyes.

“Good morning.”

With him by your side, it couldn’t have been a better morning.

After stifling a few yawns and stretching out your sore limbs, you two folded the fleece blanket back up and tucked it into its usual partition of the cupboard. Gathering your bags and exiting the shed, you two were on your way back to the center of town again.

“I wonder if the trains are running,” you mused as you inspected the sights around you. The sky was as clear as ever, almost like the snowstorm last night hadn’t even happened, the only remnants of it making themselves known as miniature tufts of clouds drifting across the bright blue sky. The uninterrupted sunlight reflected off of the freshly fallen snow on the ground, and you could see the ice shimmer like crystals under the luminous rays.

“If they’re not, I can just walk back home.”

You laughed at Jungkook’s ridiculous suggestion, the sound exhaling out of your mouth along with a billow of fog, and he beamed back at you in return. He was only kidding, of course, but you knew that he was more than capable of pulling it off.

That wasn’t necessary, though.

“It’s on time,” you said as the announcement of the incoming train finished echoing through the loudspeaker overhead.

The station was exceptionally empty at this early hour, so you were currently the only two people standing in the middle of the lengthy platform. In a town like this, people weren’t ever in a hurry to get anywhere, but you were thankful for it; the crowds in Seoul subways sounded like a nightmare every time Jungkook had described them to you.

It only took a few seconds until you saw the glint of the hefty metal body closing in from the distance, and as it drew nearer, you could make out the chugging of the wheels hurtling down the rails. The train then zipped into the station, bringing along a cold gust of air that felt like a slap in the face, and it was followed by the humming of the brakes as it came to a steady halt in front of you.

You heard the ring of the bell that signaled the arrival, you watched the automatic doors slide open in front of you, but it wasn’t until you saw Jungkook stepping forward to board the train that it finally hit you that he was really leaving. The car he was entering was just as empty as the platform outside, and the moment he stepped foot across the threshold, he spun around on his heel to face you, standing on his side of the opened door while you stood on your side.

Your eyes immediately locked onto his, and you realized that neither of you were even attempting to appear happy. There was something in the air—a mix of tension, melancholy, and even a tinge of regret—and both of you knew it. This was nothing like all the previous lighthearted send-offs between you two. This wasn’t just another “see you later”.

This was goodbye.

It seemed as though neither of you wanted to admit it, because an unbearable hush hung in the space between your two beings that made every second seem like an eternity, but just because it wasn’t said out loud didn’t mean that it was something that could be avoided. This was reality, and much like everything else that was unavoidable, it was best to face it with dignity and a smile.

“Jungkook.” His eyes lit up from the passive state they had been in when you uttered his name. His gaze was imploring but not overbearing, and you knew that he was going to listen intently to your every word, just like he had always done. “I believe in you. You’ll do great, no matter what you decide to do in the future. You’re going to be okay…I just know it.”

In the same respect that you realized that you had changed, you also discovered that the diffident eight-year-old boy still existed inside Jungkook. It had taken an essential push to get him out of his comfort zone, a place that had prevented him from venturing out as a kid to do the things he was no doubt good at. You knew that it was that same reluctance that was holding him back now—the fear of failing before even being given a chance to, the lack of confidence in his abilities because of his own high expectations—but if there was one thing you were positive about, it was that he would get through it.

You didn’t know anyone else who was capable of the things he was. He had been able to take multiple three-hour trips all by himself just to come down here to visit you, the last of which had taken him almost eight hours. He had been able to assimilate to every new town he had moved to with no problems and diligently worked his way through different departments of school to find what he was great at. These were all things you couldn’t even imagine yourself doing, and you knew that he was capable of so much more on top of that.

You gave Jungkook an encouraging smile, and his expression looked more mystified than anything. Hopefully, he would take your words to heart because you meant them in the sincerest way possible. All you wanted to do was help to erase his inhibitions and the worries he had been holding onto for so many years, even if you were aware that it was something he had to do himself, something you believed he would be able to achieve on his own.

“Thank you,” Jungkook whispered, the appreciative words trailing out of his mouth with the wisps of smoke that vanished as quickly as they had been summoned.

As if on cue, the doors of the train slid closed, finally sealing the separation between you two with a physical panel. Your eye contact still remained connected, and as you gazed at him through the hazy window, he gave you a contemplative look that made it seem like he was holding onto an unabridged speech that was just waiting to be expelled from the tip of his tongue at any second.

But then, the train started gearing up to depart the station.

“Take care of yourself,” he called out, the muffled words barely getting through to your side of the barrier. He had leaned forward and pressed his hand onto the window in an attempt to deliver his voice as close to you as possible. You lifted your hand up to place it on top of the outline of his, but your touch lingered on the frosted glass only for a fraction of a second before the train glided away from underneath your fingertips.

Your arm dropped down to your side as you stood fixed in place, watching the vehicle slowly but surely increase its acceleration. The joined cars of the train passed you by one after another, but before the third one could reach you, a surge of emotions pulsated through you, both sobering and muddling your mind. Before you could ascertain which side of the spectrum it was, you grappled your shouldered tote bag tightly by your side, and you felt your feet carrying you forward into a sprint in the direction of the platform the train was heading towards.

You had no idea what you were planning to accomplish from this stunt, since outrunning a train was obviously not on your list of lifetime possibilities. Even catching up to where Jungkook had been standing was a futile attempt, but you kept running, the desperate stomping of your feet on the concrete below being muted by the grinding of the metal wheels. You only came to a rapid stop when you reached the end of the line and there was no more platform to run on. There, you straightened yourself out to regain your balance and evened out your breathing as you observed the rest of the train continuing to pass you.

When all the cars had gone by and the tail end of the train was in view, you thought that the last time you would see Jungkook had retreated as well, but all of a sudden, you detected a strange movement through the back window of the very last car. Jungkook was running up to the glass pane from seemingly out of nowhere, and he almost crashed into it from the speed that he had been sprinting across train compartments with once he reached the end. The brash image made you chuckle even in your exhausted state. You didn’t know what else you expected out of him—once a runner, always a runner.

Your arm shot up as you started waving to him feverishly, hoping that he saw your ungainly gesture. He didn’t wave back, but you did notice him say something, or perhaps he was just mouthing it—you weren’t sure if it was done with the objective of you understanding it, since there was no way you could hear him.

If there was one thing you were bad at reading, it was lips.

Soon enough, you weren’t able to discern his mouth from the rest of his facial features, and once his figure shrunk further with the growing distance, you ceased your hectic waving. Despite the conflicting feeling in your chest, you still held a smile, and you were happy that you were able to send him off in this manner. Before long, the train withdrew into the horizon, carrying Jungkook back to Seoul—back home, where he belonged.

And you were exactly where you belonged.

With the train out of sight, you stood motionlessly at the end of the platform in the newfound yet acquainted silence. It was only then that you felt like you were loosening your clamp that your arm had against your bag, and you proceeded to unzip the main pocket to reach for a certain item that had been in the back of your mind since you had left home. You pulled out a cream-colored envelope and held it in your clasp as you looked down to examine it. The edges were crumpled from being bounced around during the reckless run you had just participated in, but the words written in ink on the middle of it were still intact.

To Jeon Jungkook.

This was the final letter you had decided to write him, filled with anything and everything you wanted to tell him that you hadn’t been able to say in person. You had been planning on handing it to him when you had met up, but putting it simply, you had chickened out. Writing it was one thing, but it just didn’t seem fair to give him this letter, like you were singlehandedly putting an ellipsis on the end of a sentence that had been started by two people, one that deserved proper closure.

Hence, you pursed your lips and slid the envelope into your bag before zipping it back up—out sight, out of mind. Maybe you would throw it out into the recycling bin once you returned home, or maybe you would place it into one of your storage containers along with the rest of the memorabilia in your life. You knew you had a disposition to do the latter, if the box of opened and answered letters you had collected throughout the years was any indication, but there was one thing you sure of, and it was that this envelope would never see a stamp.

A period needed to be placed at the end of the sentence, and today, after your last meeting with Jungkook, both of you did exactly that.

This is where our adventure ends.

The flow of time can’t be stopped, and as you earnestly learned, it can’t even be slowed down. You and the rest of the people in this world are not only susceptible to growing up but also growing apart, and Jungkook and you were a perfect example of that fate. The two of you were on different roads since the beginning, destined to drift down your own unpredictable way with no regard towards one another, but somehow, in a beautiful and almost infinitesimal fluke, the universe had allowed your paths to cross.

That was your youth, the most beautiful time of your life, and its impermanence made it that much more precious.

It’s like when two snowflakes meet for a passing moment during their descent onto the earth, twirling and trembling at the mercy of their surroundings and sharing a beloved dance, even if it’s only for a second, because before the moment can be truly appreciated, the snowflakes are swaying apart again, following their own set trail until they find themselves separated with no chance of an additional encounter. Resembling these two entities, you have grown apart from Jungkook, seemingly at opposite ends of the world, but you still feel at ease in knowing that you met at one point in your life, and in that fragment of time, you two couldn’t have been closer.

The places in which the two of your lives connected is still remembered with fondness—the hot summers cooled down by popsicles and ocean breezes, the cold winters warmed up by companionship and fleece blankets. Jungkook left an imprint on your life that you believe you will carry on for the remainder of your days, because even though you only have memories left in the wake of all that has passed, you will always remember the small town in Busan where you spent your charming childhood—the solitary shed in the corner of the field that you always trusted to provide an ageless haven year after year, the lone tree that changed its coat with each season but remained firmly rooted in its trusted spot, and the meek store that still held its character and purpose despite your own change in roles. These parts of your past hold a special place dear to your heart, even after many years have passed and you have wandered far from the corner of the world you once called home.

Sometimes, when you find yourself dwelling on what has been seemingly lost, you take a step back to turn your focus to what has been found. First off, you now have an excellent and tremendously gratifying job after going through with the decision to move and attend the university you were accepted into. Secondly, you have your own home that you worked hard for, as well as enough to provide for your mother to give her the tranquil and comfortable life she deserves.

“Look at that.”

The melodic voice is like a refreshing breath of air as you’re pulled from the deep reservoirs of your thoughts. You glance over at the owner of it who is standing by the window of your living room, and you instantly feel a flourish in your soul.

Last but certainly not least, you have Jimin, who managed to fight through every obstacle and endure every adversity in the universe to stay by your side, something you were late to realize he was doing ever since the beginning.

You’ll say it once more—the universe works in mysterious ways.

Jimin is peering out into the front porch, and as you walk up beside him to follow his gaze, you immediately identify what it is he’s referring to. You can see the signs of this year’s first snowfall fluttering down from the bountiful clouds, and while the view is undeniably pleasant, it doesn’t seem phenomenal in any way.

“They look like flower petals, don’t you think?”

Jimin’s unexpected comment makes you dart your attention sharply over to him, your heart skipping a beat as the association brings back fond memories. He is still looking outside with an affectionate stare, unaware of your reaction, but after a second, you instinctually smile in agreement before turning your head to look at the snow once more.

“They sure do.”

Like a switch has been flipped, you find yourself amazed as if you’re seeing this dreamlike scene for the very first time, but you know you’ve seen this before, because the emotions churning within you are all driven by nostalgia.

You’re transported back to the tender age of eighteen, where you’re in the middle of the untarnished, snow-covered land with Jungkook, standing under the frostbitten cherry tree. The image of the sequence appears in your mind; you see his smiling face and the ice crystals encompassing the area like you two are in your own personal snow globe. Just then, an especially strong gust of wind blows through the landscape of your memory, and in that fleeting moment, the snowflakes become powder pink flower petals dithering down with the current to shower the figures of your eight-year-old selves.

Then, as swiftly as the vision came to you, it slips away.

When you think back to that night with Jungkook, during the meeting that ultimately was your last, you remember you only wished for one thing: to see the tree when it was in bloom again—together. It’s a wish you believed that never came true, but now you have come to recognize that you were mistaken. You didn’t realize in that fragile moment, but you got what you wanted all along.

Your cherry blossom ending.

[bigtinyworldtravel]

As a photographer, I couldn’t wait to get to Namibia.  I’ve dreamt about going on an African safari for years, and I was told this was a great alternative to the far more popular Tanzania.  What I didn’t realize is that Namibia has so much more to offer than just elephants and zebras.  If you’re debating a trip to this beautiful country, here are some photos that should tip the scales.

Don’t have time to read it now? Pin it for later!

Wildlife

Let’s touch on the obvious, first.  When people picture Africa, one of the first things they think about is the incredibly diverse wildlife – animals that are most often only ever seen in zoos.  Africa is home to all of the well-known favorites – elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions – and there’s nothing that compares to seeing these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.

We saw all of these and more during our six-day, self-drive safari through Etosha National Park.  What an experience!  It was a photographer’s dream from dawn until dusk.  We saw thousands of animals, and we checked off almost everything on our Lion King bucket list.  If wildlife is on the top of your list for your trip to Africa, you won’t be disappointed choosing Namibia for your fauna fix.  Check out our in-depth article on where to find each of the African animals in Etosha, including where to stay in the park, the best time to go, and how much it all costs.

New Animal Discoveries

While we’re on the topic of wildlife, Namibia is great not only for all the exotic favorites, but it introduced us to many we had never seen before – or even heard of!  Have you ever seen a hornbill?  They look rather different from colorful Zazu.. yet oddly familiar.

And have you seen a kudu?  How about an oryx?  We had never heard of either one before we went to Etosha.  By the time we left, however, we were well acquainted.  We even had the opportunity to sample an oryx steak during our visit to the Okonjima Nature Reserve!  Verdict: it’s quite delicious – a bit like beef, but somehow… smoother.. and without the marbling of fat often found in beef steaks.

Seals

Surprise!  Africa also has coasts and beaches!  Though mostly desert, oceanic animals also make their home on the continent.  We were delighted to find penguins in Cape Town, and we happily visited the Swakopmund area to seek out the fur seals (actually sea lions).

When we first pulled up, we were greeted by pups hobbling across the parking lot.  This drew our eyes to the massive pile of seals surrounded by a walkway.  Once we entered the boardwalk, we were shocked to find this was only a mere fraction of the population at the Cape Cross beach.  There had to be thousands of them sprawled out on the beach, dancing into the water, and screaming like dying goats.  It really was a fascinating place, and we just couldn’t get over simply how many were there.

Cats

Wildlife really is a major draw of most visiting Africa, so we have one more section, dedicated to my favorite animal.  Big cats can certainly be found in Namibia as on safaris in other countries, but we had a difficult time finding them on our own.  While they are in Etosha, they’re really good at hiding, and encounters are more based on luck.

We took matters into our own hands and visited the large predator and cat reserve at Okonjima.  We were almost guaranteed to see at least the cheetahs, and we were fortunate enough to also see a leopard.  It was expensive, but worth every penny.  You can read all about our visit with the cats here.

Tribes

Like many countries in Africa, Namibia also has its indigenous tribes.  We visited both the Himba and the Damara, and they each have very different traditions, histories, and cultures.  If you like portraiture, they both make wonderful subjects.  And if you are a fan of ancient cultures, you will love a visit to one of these villages.

Landscapes

Just because Namibia is mostly desert doesn’t mean there aren’t beautiful landscapes to photograph!  We stopped the car periodically to just take in the sights around us, and some stunning vistas were visible right off the side of the road.

However, one of our favorite spots was Spitzkoppe.  Not really on the route to other locations, we made a deliberate detour to visit this park.  It boasts several unique rock formations and bush walks that could easily eat up a few hours.  We chose to camp a night there so we could take in the nightscapes and early morning light, and it definitely deserves to be on any photographer’s bucket list.  Check out our recent Namibia camping post for our experience here along with several other campsites across the country.

  Stars

Speaking of nightscapes, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the stunning stars in Namibia.  I’ve only seen stars like this once before, and it was also in a desert – the Australian outback.  Without the glare of urban light pollution, nothing interferes with the brilliance of the night sky.

We couldn’t always shoot the Milky Way, however, due to the lunar phases, but we took advantage even of the full moon by shooting moonscapes in Spitzkoppe.  These eerie scenes almost look like daylight drizzled in stars, and it’s one of my favorite types of photography.

Swimming Ponds

Believe it or not, deserts do have some water!  Sprinkled throughout the area are various springs, watering holes, waterfalls, and ponds.  We skipped the famous Epupa Falls near Opuwo because it was out of our way and we chose to prioritize tribes instead.  But we did venture down the barely-road to Ongongo (where also could have camped) to cool off in its crystal-clear green pond.  It even came with some colorful dragonflies and friendly goats; what more could we want?

Dunes

Movies love to feature these epic journeys across vast deserts of sand, camels traversing the sharp ridges of massive sand dunes.  Well, though we didn’t see any camels, we could hike the soft ridges of several giant dunes in Sossusvlei.

Dune 45 is the most famous and probably the most photographed.  It’s the easiest to reach in time for sunrise, and it quickly becomes crowded.  But if you can run up the soft sand ahead of the crowds as we did, you’ll see this untainted view.

  The other dunes in Sossusvlei are just as picturesque – all times of the day.  They’re a challenge to hike, but the views are worth it!

Dead Trees

An interesting thing happens when an area doesn’t receive rain for years on end.  Tree skeletons left from a long-gone wetter era simply never rot.  Instead, they remain as twisted sentinels of the desert.

Deadvlei is the most famous of these sites, located at the far end of the Sossusvlei park.  We had such a field day photographing the spot both during the evening light and first thing in the morning when a rare fog settled in.  It’s by far one of the coolest places we’ve been, though it did take us two tries before we learned how to not get stuck in the sand on our way out there!

Sunsets

The African sun is also iconic, and Namibia is no exception.  We saw magnificent sunsets in Etosha, from the lofty hill in Opuwo, and all throughout our three-week journey.  The stagnant, dry air of the desert makes for some vibrant colors, and we looked forward to every one.

And since we weren’t supposed to drive at night, we were well settled into our campgrounds come dusk, with a cheap wine in-hand and nothing better to do than to sit back and enjoy it!

A Reason to Return

Even three weeks weren’t quite long enough to see everything we wanted to in Namibia.  Still on our list are the quiver trees, the Lunar Landscape, and the sandy ruins of Kolmanskop.  We’ll hit those on our next visit, and then we’ll have even more photographs to convince you to check out this amazing country!

What do you want to see most in Namibia?

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You might not be considering #Namibia for your next trip yet, but these #photos aim to change your mind! Click to see what this amazing country has to offer! #travelphotography #travelblog #africatravel As a photographer, I couldn't wait to get to Namibia.  I've dreamt about going on an African safari for years, and I was told this was a great alternative to the far more popular Tanzania. 

[golfnomad]

Norcal in September, Day 4: The Final Push

After 63 holes on Monday, I was back at it again on Tuesday with another 63 holes. The real grueling part was knowing I still had a 7-hour-or-so drive home that night! I was hoping to hit the road a bit earlier than I did, but a special circumstance came up that caused an unexpected  3-hour detour. More on that later.

Not counting the final round I squeezed in, Tuesday was focused around the city of Roseville, which is just northeast of Sacramento. With all the courses in Roseville, Lincoln, Rocklin and then Auburn a bit further east, this is an area that is certainly loaded with golf. I’ve been doing pretty good in recent years to make a big dent in this part of the greater Sacramento region.

First, came the early morning round...

Morgan Creek Golf Club • Roseville, CA • 9/19/17

My friend and I had an early tee time and were aiming to be the first off at the crack of dawn—or maybe even a few minutes before there was enough light to see much. An older couple beat us to the first tee in the dark. The pro shop guy assured us that they were regulars who were super-fast. “Nobody ever catches them,” he says.

Those words only served as a challenge to us, as we pride ourselves on playing quickly and we had another tee time to get to across town. We let them go ahead and even gave a slight head-start as I wanted at least a tiny bit of daylight to work with for pictures. Admittedly, they were very quick players and they jumped out to a good lead. By the time we got to the back nine, however, we caught up to them and started to push. They relented and finally let us play through with a handful of holes left to go.

The rack price for a weekday morning round was $50, which seemed rather steep and was definitely overpriced for this course at the moment. I’ll talk about conditions in a bit, but they were fairly disappointing. It’s too bad because the course layout turned out to be one of my favorites on this entire trip.

Morgan Creek used to be a private club and it’s only in recent years that it went fully public. You can tell the economy and the drought definitely took a toll on this place, which is unfortunate.

Morgan Creek was designed by Kyle Phillips, who is a modern course architect who recently came to my attention when I played the famed California Golf Club of San Francisco a couple months back. He led the most recent renovation of that great course. And as I did more research I found that almost all of his United States projects were renovations at high-end clubs such as Wilshire, Del Paso, Incline Village and Menlo CC. Otherwise, the majority of his courses are overseas.

However, Morgan Creek is currently the only course in the U.S. that Phillips designed from the ground up. With that knowledge, I was certainly interested in playing it despite it being a course that really doesn’t garner a lot of attention. 

Well, I sure hope Mr. Phillips is able to develop more new courses in California and that his proposed Alameda Point project (which sounds like a brand new resort course in conjunction with a major renovation of the Chuck Corica complex in the East Bay) gets further off the ground. As a course layout, Morgan Creek is a gem.

With the fairway and rough conditions being less-than-desirable, we kind of had to use our imagination a bit to visualize what this course must have looked like in its heyday (and hopefully can look like again). Phillips apparently worked for Robert Trent Jones II Design and you can definitely sense some RTJ (Junior and Senior) influence along with maybe a little Dye thrown in. 

Morgan Creek plays through a nice natural area along a creek. There are plenty of old oak trees in play, so the setting has a good feel and there aren’t many houses infringing on the course despite it being in the middle of a gated residential community. There really aren’t any significant changes in elevation here, but a lot of earth was moved to shape the course. Most fairways are lined with different mounds, steps and shelves to create a visually interesting contour. The greens are mostly elevated and also surrounded by a lot of similar undulation and some deep bunkers to add some intimidation. Beyond the creek that can come into play on many holes, there are other large man-made water hazards to contend with throughout the course.

Some could argue the course has a bit of a “manufactured” look in places, which is often the knock against RTJ Jr. and Dye. I felt like it added a lot of character at Morgan Creek and only enhanced the nice natural setting. I don’t know if my pictures will really show these contours due the spotty conditions and also the lack of light for much of the front nine as we played so early.

To me, the highlight holes were 10, 11 and 18, which all have a similar vibe. The 10th is a solid par-5 with a water hazard running the length of the hole on the left. Just off the fairway to the left is a steep slope down to the water, so you’re quite lucky if you hit over there and the ball stays up. 

The 11th plays straight back along that same water hazard. It is a long and demanding par-4. The 18th is a very strong finisher that doglegs left around a water hazard. The par-3s that stick out are easily the 7th and 16th, which both play over water hazards and have well-protected greens.

As mentioned, the conditions left a lot to be desired and we also battled with maintenance on the greens throughout our round. The tee boxes were flat enough to get a tee in the ground, but the ground was firm and the grass was patchy at best on most blue tees. The fairways were patchy and inconsistent. There were some muddy wet spots, some really firm hardpan sections, some shaggy areas, and some thin spots. It looked decent from afar as you’ll see in pictures, but not so nice up close in most areas. The rough was more of the same, just any grass was longer. I will say the back nine was probably in slightly better shape than the front for whatever reason. They did have really nice soft bunker sand, so that was a highlight. 

The greens were pretty good as well, other than the amount of grass clippings left on top from the mower. We played around the guys with blowers clearing them off, so we only got a few holes that weren't covered with clippings. Otherwise, the greens were receptive and rolling well at medium/fast speeds, and I am sure they were much nicer for later players once the wet grass clippings were cleared off. 

I’m mixed on whether I should recommend Morgan Creek to my fellow traveling golfers. It is a design worth checking out. I don’t know if we just caught the course in a bad time of year or if it is on a consistent downward trajectory in terms of conditioning. I have to say almost everywhere else we played was in very nice shape, so that doesn’t bode well for Morgan Creek. 

Some pictures from Morgan Creek Golf Club (9/19/17):

Next, we had a little unfinished business to take care off across town...

Diamond Oaks Golf Course • Roseville, CA • 9/19/17

We had initially tried to play here in July, but got screwed by a “phantom” early morning tee time that we had booked but didn’t really exist. We had a Costco voucher for 2 players that we wanted to utilize. They were unable to get us out that morning and the guy in the pro shop was not the most pleasant character.

They were much nicer this time around and we moved up to an 8:58 tee time after finishing so quickly at Morgan Creek. It was fairly busy at Diamond Oaks, though. We just played as a twosome behind some other groups and really didn’t have anywhere to jump ahead. However, we had nobody pushing behind us either. So we would just take 15-20 minute breaks every couple holes, watch TV on our phones and then play 1-2 holes at a time without having to wait in between shots. The overall pace really wasn’t that bad as we finished in about 4 hours, 20 minutes.

Diamond Oaks is one of this area’s older municipal courses with a pretty traditional design by Ted Robinson. The layout turned out to be more interesting than I expected though. It has some slight changes in elevation and it uses the natural terrain pretty well with plenty of trees in play. 

My favorite holes were the 4th, 6th and 12th. The 4th is a nice short-ish par-4 set in the back corner of the property. It is a dogleg right with an uphill approach. The 6th is a fun par-5 that I wish I had more local knowledge of before playing as I royally screwed up my second shot over the ravine. Otherwise, it is a split fairway design that will make you think on each shot. 

The 12th is kind of the signature par-3 over water, which you might expect on a Robinson course. No waterfalls or wood planking, though.

Diamond Oaks was in solid condition. Again, for a course of this caliber, nothing much to complain about. The tee boxes were fine. The fairways and rough were a mix of bermuda and kikuyu (more kikuyu, though), but fairly well maintained with mostly good coverage. You just had to pay attention to the lies before swinging. The bunkers were on the thin side. I found them just adequate enough while my playing partner found them to be way too firm. As was the theme for this trip, the greens here were excellent. They were receptive and rolling smooth at medium/fast speeds. 

It’s easy to see why Diamond Oaks gets so much local play. It is a solid layout with above average conditioning for a muni, and good deals are very easy to find. It’s not a must-play for the traveling golfer visiting the Sacramento area, but it’s good enough to enjoy a regular round.

Some pictures from Diamond Oaks Golf Course (9/19/17):

What was supposed to be my final round for the trip was kind of the main reason for this particular visit to the Sacramento area...

Sierra View Country Club • Roseville, CA • 9/19/17

My friend has an NCGA membership and signed me up as a guest for this outing, which was supposed to be on Monday and the reason why we had the travel dates for this trip all locked in. However, there was a scheduling conflict and they had to cancel the outing somewhat last minute. Instead, the club just opened it up to all attendees to schedule individual tee times on other days. It was cool they did that rather than cancel it altogether.

It worked out well because it gave us a lot more flexibility. We loosely set up a 2:09 tee time. The registration price for guests was only $60 and it also included a free lunch. We had time to relax and eat in the clubhouse before heading to the first tee. 

It wasn’t super busy out, but there were enough people on the course to slow things down. And unfortunately, a lot of people jumped on the 10th tee ahead of us as we were making the turn. They were either people only playing the back nine or they had taken long breaks in between nines. After this, we had to get a little creative. We played 15-18 and then circled back to play 10-14. It was a good move and definitely saved us some time.

Sierra View is another somewhat older course that was originally designed by Jack Fleming, who is best known for his work on San Francisco’s municipal course collection. It definitely has a traditional vibe and a nice presentation.

The course is rather hilly, so the changes in elevation provide a lot of natural character in addition to the mature trees lining all the fairways. Many of the greens are elevated, but the complexes are fairly simply designed and the bunkering isn’t too intimidating. This layout is mostly about positioning yourself safely off the tee (don’t hit a tree or catch a side slope) and then you’ll have some decent scoring opportunities. 

The back nine is easily more memorable than the front, especially the closing stretch of 14-18. Otherwise, Sierra View has a really strong collection of par-3s. The 5th and 12 feature elevated tees hitting downhill to the greens. The 8th and 17th both find you hitting over water hazards with elevated tees and greens. We had quite a bit of wind on Tuesday afternoon, which made 8 and 17 especially play very long. I found myself using a driver on the 168-yard 17th, only to come up about 10 yards short after a solid shot! Mind you, a good drive for me is only 200-210 yards max these days, but that’s still a very stiff wind.

Conditions were very nice overall, and again we had fantastic greens that were receptive and rolling super smooth at medium-fast speeds. The fairways and rough were all nicely conditioned kikuyu (with the occasional bermuda patch here and there). The bunkers were excellent, as well. There wasn’t anything to knock about the conditions here.

The facilities are nice and relaxed, and the staff was great. We felt really welcomed and comfortable as outside guests on a normal day of play. The food was also quite good.

Sierra View isn’t one of Northern California’s more prominent private clubs, but it is well worth playing if you ever have a chance. It offers an old school, friendly club vibe with a very enjoyable classic course design.

Some pictures from Sierra View Country Club (9/19/17):

Now, Sierra View was supposed to be my last round for the day so I could hit the road back home and perhaps get home at a reasonable hour. However, something else came up that couldn’t be ignored, even though it was well out of the way...

Camino Heights Golf Course • Camino, CA • 9/19/17

I mentioned in my previous article that my friend and I split up on Monday afternoon because we had different local course collecting priorities. He went off to play Apple Mountain, which is my personal favorite in the Sacramento area and one that I hope to play again someday. However, there are still so many other courses I need to play, which is why I stayed in town and knocked out a few shorties instead.

Anyway, in planning for Apple Mountain, he wanted to knock out nearby Camino Heights if he was going to drive out that way. In calling around, he discovered that Camino Heights actually just closed. Northern California short courses have been dropping like flies in recent years, which is sad. Every time I plan a trip, I have to update my list and cross off a few more. It turns out that Camino Heights’ last official day in business was Sunday. What a bummer that we just barely missed it. Or did we?

Still, he stopped by there after finishing at Apple Mountain to see what it looked like. In talking with some residents of the community that he ran into, it turns out that the course did close. However, a couple other residents just bought it and have plans to reopen it in the future, perhaps as a private course just for the residents of Camino Heights. 

What made things interesting is that the flags were still out on the course and it was accessible for play. The little parking lot and pro shop were completely deserted, but some scorecards were out. Basically, they said it’s just a play-it-as-is-if-you-want situation while the course is essentially in limbo. 

He was able to play it that evening and I wasn’t going to be outdone. I had to make my way out there on Tuesday evening before heading home, even though it meant getting home after 3:00am instead of around midnight! The course was available to play, it was free and its future is very uncertain. It may or may not reopen and it may only be private when it does, so I had better play it while I for sure could.

Camino is about 45 minutes east of Sacramento on the way to South Lake Tahoe. I was able to take side streets down straight from Roseville, but it is brutal drive in rush hour traffic. It took me over an hour to get down there. I found the course and finished walking it just before dark.

Fortunately, Camino Heights is/was only a 9-hole course with a par of 31. It features four relatively short par-4s mixed with five par-3s of varying lengths. That made it playable with my time constraints. Unfortunately, this is a very hilly course with a sometimes confusing, tangled routing, so it was completely exhausting to walk, carry my full bag and play fast at the end of a grueling golf trip. I survived, though.

It’s actually a fun little course thanks to the changes in elevation and rural setting. I hope the new owners are able to recover and restore it as much as possible.

Otherwise, calling the conditions “as-is” is exactly that. The course just officially closed and you can tell they haven’t been putting in that much effort in its final weeks/months of business. The fairways are super shaggy, lumpy, patchy, etc. The greens are ugly. There was even one temporary green in play. 

The conditions were not good, and I didn’t expect them to be. It was at least moderately playable, which is all I could hope for in this situation. It was enough to say I officially played the course. I have the scorecard and pictures to prove it!

Some pictures from Camino Heights Golf Course (9/19/17):

[seekingenjoyment]

New Zealand, South Island

Today is Friday, August 3rd in New Zealand and Cai and I have now been in New Zealand for three weeks! The first week while somewhat uneventful was followed by what has been an amazingly busy second two weeks. Last Monday Cai and I flew out of Auckland with three friends to road trip the South Island. The trip started in Christchurch and ended in Queenstown, and although there is only about a 6-hour drive between the two, we took several detours and traveled the south for 9 days. 

1st Stop: Christchurch and Arthur’s Pass National Park 

The first comment I can make about Christchurch is in regard to our accommodation. In hopes of saving some money, we experimented with couch surfing; defined by urban dictionary as “a cheap form of lodging used mainly by college-students or recent college-grads, where one stays on acquaintance’s couches rather than a hotel”. Our first night and couch surfing experience was not pleasant but definitely formed some good memories and low expectations for the rest of the trip. In the simplest terms, the place was disgusting and we all left feeling the need to shower and wash dog hair off of our clothes. The second night at a new couch surfing destination was wonderful. A house of young Argentinians hosted us and offered us a nice clean place to stay – warm and welcoming. 

Our first full day was spent driving on Summit Road, a windy road outside of Christchurch that takes you along a dormant volcano and town called Akaroa. Beautiful views and a cute little town were a great way to start the trip, especially when accompanied by an amazing meal at a local place called Bacon Brothers. Bacon Brothers is a restaurant found in one of the new dining spots in Christchurch call “Little High”, an eatery with an assortment of pop-up style restaurants. The best part of the meal was their fried cauliflower, which was covered in a honey sauce, so Cai thought we had won the lottery. Also getting a taste of the local scene, we went to a pub quiz that evening and I was valued by the team to answer any question about the States. For example: (Category: Devil) “What U.S. hockey team is known as the Devils?” 

The second day we spent the morning wandering the streets of the center city. This was a humbling experience and really put things into perspective. Following the devastating earthquakes of 2010/11, Christchurch remains a broken city. Covered in construction and little traffic, it is apparent that there is still so much rebuilding to come about. What is incredible though, are the efforts in place to rebuild the city and form new structures that are low cost and able to withstand the impact of another earthquake. Places like the container mall, the cardboard cathedral, and other new builds are all efficient and prepared to withstand the earthquakes to come in the future. 

Following our morning in the city, we left the nice city weather in hopes of finding the same two hours away in Arthur’s Pass National Park. Little did we know, we would not be greeted by sunshine, but instead heavy rain. After driving two hours we wouldn’t let the rain stop us, so we put on some ponchos and trekked on. Here we were able to go on two short walks to see waterfalls, one being the Avalanche Creek Falls and the more reputable of the two the “Devil’s Punchbowl”. Despite the poor weather, we left with smiles and new adventures. 

2nd Stop: Oamaru 

After an overnight stop in Geraldine, we woke up to news that due to a snow storm, the next stop on our road trip route could not be reached. On top of that, the entire country was expecting rain for the entire day. So, we booked ourselves into a beautiful house in Oamaru for a day of relaxation and hopes of an evening adventure to see the blue colony penguins. Based on conversations with locals, 5:30 p.m. was our best chance to see the penguins because that is when they come to shore after a day’s work at sea hunting for food. Sneaking around the coastal docks as suggested by the information center, we found ourselves peeking through a gate for a free view of the penguins entering the local observatory… $30 per person to enter. So although a bit in the distance, we watched the blue colony penguins swim in with the current and reach the shore. 

The following day after being sure the roads had started to clear, we started our drive to our third stop, Mt. Cook Village. Before getting far, we stopped at the Elephant rocks. Not only did one rock resemble an elephant, but the entire area was filled with overwhelmingly large rocks. Along our drive to Mt. Cook we also drove along Lake Aviemore giving us scenic views along the ride. 

3rd Stop: Mt. Cook Village and Lake Pukaki

Mt. Cook was Cai’s favorite part of our trip, and arguably mine as well, and the day was made even better by beautiful weather. Driving up to Lake Pukaki, I was speechless. Bright blue water and large snow covered mountains were surrounding us and a long windy road took us along the lake to Mt. Cook Village. From here we were able to see Mt. Cook in the distance, surrounded by other amazing mountains. To get a closer look we walked part of the Kea Peak Trail, which if we had made it further would have taken us to an even better view of the mountain. Due to time of day, snow, and the temperature drop as the sun fell behind the mountains, we cut the walk short and settled on decent views until we return. 

4th Stop: Wanaka

 Following Mt. Cook, it was time to back track and make our way down to Wanaka for the night and a short morning walk. Wanaka is a beautiful small town on surrounding Roy’s Bay, part of Lake Wanaka. This town has lots of amazing walks to offer and mountains for skiing, but due to time and weather conditions, we opted to take a walk around Roy’s Bay for again beautiful lake and mountain views. Along our walk we also saw the well known “Wanaka Tree”, a tree that is often submerged in water from the bay. Overall, I look forward to going back to Wanaka and hope to take a day’s hike to Roy’s Peak, a beautiful viewpoint! 

5th Stop: Queenstown

Leaving Wanaka, we planned to head to Te Anau, a stopover town to go to Milford Sound. Queenstown, however, is on route. Unsure of what weather we would have when we got back to Queenstown in a couple of days, we decided to stop in for a walk up to the Queenstown Skyline Complex where you have views of the area and surrounding lakes. After the walk, it was time to move on to Te Anau and Milford Sound. 

6th Stop: Te Anau and Milford Sound

 Te Anau was more of a stop over location on the way to Milford Sound despite again offering picturesque views. We did, however, stop at a local pub for an overpriced dinner and a chance to watch rugby with the locals. 

Arriving at our accommodation after dark, we were amazed to wake up in Te Anau to a private view of snow capped mountains, again, breathtaking. After getting over the view, we quickly got moving to Fiordland National Park, home of Milford Sound. We were catching an early afternoon cruise through the Milford Sound. Arriving in just the nick of time, we boarded the cruise and enjoyed a beautiful, but very cold, two-hour cruise among the waterfalls and peaks. We make two small stops on the way out of the National Park before heading back to Te Anau for another night, but there was no time to waste because they were closing the road out early due to an avalanche warning! Needless to say, we didn’t feel the need to stick around and find out what was going to happen next. 

7th Stop: Back to Queenstown

Another ugly rainy day as we left Te Anau and made our way back to Queenstown. That being said, 9 days of travel and only 2 days with bad weather during New Zealand winter, we weren’t too upset about it. We decided to use the day to relax and go for a walk around town when the rain had settled. Walking around we realized we could all do with a fun night out, and Queenstown seemed like the place to do it, so we went to pick up some beer to have before going to the hostel hosted dinner at a nearby bar. So, we walk up to the hostel, beer in hand, and they stop us saying… “Sorry, this is a dry hostel, you’ll have to turn that in at the front desk”. So where were we supposed to drink all of these cans when it is rainy and we can’t drink at the hostel? We went to the car. After already spending hours and hours in this car, it was practically home anyways. It was an interesting experience… but we managed to make it work and have a good time! 

The next day we went to Arrowtown, a nearby historic gold mining village that looked like a movie set. After a walk around some art galleries, a sweet shop, and old time buildings, we found ourselves hungry and ready for Queenstown’s best known burgers at Fergburger. Yes, they were great burgers, but Cai and I were still talking about the burgers we had at Bacon Brothers and our honey cauliflower in Christchurch so they won in our books! After a good feeding, we walked to the Queenstown gardens where we played 18 “holes” of Frisbee golf. Cai did great, I didn’t do so well… 

The Trek Back to Christchurch 

As the trip came to an end, Cai and I left our friends in Queenstown and had a 6-hour drive back to Christchurch to catch a flight back to Auckland. Having missed a stop in Tekapo on the way down, we drove through on the way back for a sneak peek, but otherwise just made a few brief stops to break up the ride. 

Eager to return to a warmer climate, we were excited to get back to Auckland, and eager to start making money after our spending, the job search has begun. Wish us luck and stay tuned for more updates soon! 

Cai’s Two-Cents: New Zealand’s remarkable scenery and highways make for an unforgettable road trip even in a laden Nissan Tiida 

Pictures to follow

[sharonchteh]

~22nd February 2019~

It had to be an early departure for the day since we were further to Brotas than what was on the plan. It’s nearly 800km drive from Campo Grande to Brotas, it’s the longest drive we ever done on the trip so far since I’ve joined in Santiago. We arrived rather late and I was on the cook group for the night’s dinner and breakfast the next morning.

Once we’ve decided on the accommodation option, we started the preparation and cooking process for the night. Stir fry vegetables with chicken on the side and white rice was easy enough to prepare but somehow the vegetables are less than what we thought we had bought. In my mind I was wondering whether there were vegetables pulling an MIA on us. It was a light dinner then bed.

~23rd February 2019~

The whitewater rafting was booked for around 9am so a nice late start to the day even though breakfast is at 8am. I was up early as usual as the summer body clock sets in and follows the sun cycle. Breakfast was an assortment of fruits and the usual cereals, coffee and tea with bread and spreads. We were ready and waiting in the reception nice and early to pay for the rafting.

Once we were gathered with other groups on the bus to the river, the guide (Captain Bill) described the grades for the river and what we were going to do once we get to the location. I was hoping for the river to be of a higher grade than mostly 2s, some 3s and one 4. I have no control of the river so might as well enjoy it and that, I can control.

We went through a short practical instructional session before going into the river. Our group had to be in two groups since there were 11 of us and I was in a raft led by Sardine (a nickname), a very competent guide who was helping another guide to learn the river’s feature. The ride was better than I expected it to be and we were given some time to swim along a part of the river, which was refreshing for the hot weather we’ve been having.

It was lunch time by the time we finished and I passed on having lunch in town. I went back to the pousada and ended up having a quality chat time with Martina while the sky changed from sunny to cloudy drizzle to sunny. I decided to swim for a bit while there’s a pool for me to use and swam a couple of dozens length before I felt tired and short of breath. Swimming definitely a way to go for keeping the joints moving with minimal impact and I was beginning to love it, the feel of the body gliding through water and the breathing challenge alongside it.

After an active day and a refreshing shower, I sat down with the guys gathered under a tree chatting away about life. I felt at ease with the conversations that we were having and really enjoyed it, it felt like normality to me. As the evening turned dark, both Carmen and Amber arrived almost as late as we did the night before. For us, it was dinner and after that, a few people decided to go to a samba class in town. I passed on the night out simply because I was tired and I wasn’t sure about going for a night out with the group. Guess that’s something that I had to figure out and work on consciously now that I was aware it.

~24th-25th February 2019~

One more long drive day and that’s it, we’re going to be close to Rio once we reached Paraty. It was a pleasant drive after the last long drive we had to Brotas and we arrived in good time too, enough time for us to wander into town to have dinner and shop at the Havaiana store.

Leo’s Clan is a funky hostel with character, decorated with Beatles memorabilia and has music instruments for their guests to play. Kent obviously is the gifted one and I could only play a bit of guitar, and it was fun to just have fun with the instruments since it’s something different from what we’re used to on the trip.

We had a boat trip planned for a full day with unlimited caipirinhas that turned out to be an amazing day out. This was where I found that I could swim well enough in the sea without any floatation devices like the noodle. We played catch, snorkelled, drank (I have no account of how many I had) caipirinhas, swam and had lunch in a cute little beach.

By the time we were back in town, a few people were in a very merry state to say the least. I was ready to shower and have a wander around town. We were told that there were a samba class in town square where the church is in the evening. I was keen to go and check it out, hope to learn a few more moves to add to my repertoire…not that I have many of them. Barbecue dinner was served once I was back from town with Dee and Lisa, and after that I was ready for the samba class.

It was a fun night out in the open space of the town square, listening to live music and watching the pros dancing. I later managed to catch the eyes of one of the dancers with the shaker and a tambourine, and she came over to get us involved in the dance and instruments. I learnt a couple of things about myself that night, one is that I can dance better than I thought and two, I love samba in the open air live music kinda scene. Ended the night with a high and felt ready for some street parties in Rio.

~26th-27th February 2019~

It only took a couple of hours drive to get to the dock for the ferry over to Ilha Grande. The parking situation for the truck was both amusing and frustrating at the same time. It’s just like there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Once the truck was parked, we walked over to the dock to wait for our boat to the island.

It was raining when we arrived, so we walked in the rain all the way to the hostel and then being told that the rooms will only be ready in an hour or two because there were no power. After dropping our bags, we went back to the town centre and had lunch. It was nice to be on an island again, almost like coming full circle to one of the places I started in Central America, Belize-Caye Caulker.

With the weather being what it was, napping seemed like a good idea and it was. Dinner was chocolate filled churro from a street cart, crisps, water and quality time chatting in the breakfast area. Sleep came easily that night.

I decided not to sign up for any trips for free day on the island so that I could just do whatever came to mind. It was breakfast, walked to town to have coffee with Martina then went to check out one of the many trails on the island.

The hike or walk on the trail was supposed to be just two kilometres but I somehow ended up walking 13km all the way to Saco do Céu taking a detour to the Cachoeira da Faiticeira waterfall, in flip flop (use shoes next time!). It was the waterfall that lured me into walking the distance and after freshening up at the waterfall, I was intrigued by what lies on the other side of the mountain.

There wasn’t any taxi boat out of Saco do Céu and the ones that I found, they wanted to charge me around 150 Brazilian Reals. I continued walking back until I came across a taxi boat driver who was nice enough to take me to one of the beach where I could wait for the regular scheduled taxi back to Abraão town and it cost me the normal price of 25 Reals. The beach was where I bumped into Dee, Nicky, Sarah and the rest of the group who went on the boat trip.

The dinner was the last get-together for the group and it was a good one too, both the food and the company. The rain came and gone while we were in the restaurant and was just drizzling when we were ready to head back. That night, I was thinking how quickly five months had gone past with me crossing path with so many places and people along the way. I felt fortunate and blessed.

~28th February – 2nd March 2019~

Rio de Janeiro, final destination for most of us. The drive from the dock back from Ilha Grande was short and sweet. On the way, we were reminded to pack everything and be ready for a quick drop off. Since this was our last journey on the truck, we had to go through the nets, fridge and every nook and cranny. The truck had been home for the last two months and it’s been great to have a place to store things instead of carrying everything on my back. I would definitely do overlanding again, maybe on my own or with another person.

It was early when we reached Argentina Hotel and they allowed us to check in early. I had to remind myself that it’s just for a night and I would be moving to another hotel in Centro, Windsor Asturia, for another night before flying back to Philadelphia. We decided to go out to lunch together to a nice little brewery place, Brou, and after that Dee, Lisa, Martina and I went to Copacabana beach for a bit of a look around. We had a tad of fun while we were there, the photos tell it better.

I knew I had limited time in Rio and would like to make the best out of it. I managed to go to two Bloco parties (street carnival parties) and had tons of fun dancing with the crowd. I saw what everyone meant by Rio Carnaval being one of the best and biggest in the world, and decided that I would be back next year to fully enjoy it.

It was time to leave and there were a bit of bitter sweet feeling about it and I thought to myself, I’ll be back. This journey thus far is just the tip of the iceberg, there are a lot more to explore in the continent and I’m looking forward to the next few months, when I will be planning my return. As for now…a series of flights to get back to Philadelphia.

Brazil: Brotas-Rio de Janeiro ~22nd February 2019~ It had to be an early departure for the day since we were further to Brotas than what was on the plan. 1,841 more words