As a child, whenever I visited my grandparents’ place, I would go to the flower field behind their house to pluck dandelions. I would blow them off their stems and hope for my wish to come true. There was a boy from a house nearby who would join me sometimes. We even went to catch fireflies, to fish in the river and do fireworks in the summer. I never asked for his name and neither did he. Then one summer he disappeared, without revealing his name or saying goodbye, just like how the wind would take away all the dandelions.

“So Ra, come help your mother in the kitchen!”

“I’m coming.”

Now, 13 years later, I’m back at this house to gather my grandmother’s belongings. She passed away. Grandpa doesn’t want to keep any materialistic memories of her. He says their marriage and the time they’ve spent together is his most precious treasure and the only memory he wants to keep.

“Seriously So Ra, why did you have to pick a closet of all things? Couldn’t you have chosen a nice dress or jewelry, like other girls? You owe me one for this deed”

“Oh, come on Kang Joon. It’s not like you haven’t known me since we still wore diapers. So quit that whining of yours and hurry the hell up those stairs.”

We picked up all of grandma’s belongings and gave them away for donations. I only kept this vintage closet, as it was my favorite hide out and a piece of my childhood memory. After hours of moving furniture, sorting out and organizing clothes, it’s now part of my room and I couldn’t be any happier.

“Let’s go have some ddeokbokki, Kang Joon.”

“Don’t think you can make it up to me just with some ddeokbokki!”

“Well, if you don’t want to, I won't force you. See ya.”

“Hey, wait for me!”

So this is how I’ve spent Valentine’s Day at the age of 20, still single and fighting over the last piece of ddeokbokki with my childhood buddy.

“So Ra, when will you introduce us to your childhood friend?”

“Kang Joon? Why would I do that?”

“How can you not see it? He’s just too handsome.”, So Ra’s friends Mi Joo and Eun Ji shout at her in unison throughout the bus for everyone to hear.

“You really think so? To me, he’s just Kang Joon, nothing more or less.”

“Why are we even talking to you. No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend, if you walk around like a brick without noticing anything at all.”

“Is that true? Am I just too ignorant of my surroundings?”, Sora thought to herself.

“Well, I have to get off now. See you guys tomorrow.”

This is So Ra’s daily routine, going to classes with her friends, stopping for some snacks on their way home after university and eventually having dinner with her family. Today, the Kim family is joined by Kang Joon, as his parents are on a business trip again.

“Eomma , what are we having today?, Kang Joon gives So Ra’s mother a back hug.

“Omo, what a mischievous boy. You surely know how to charm women. Alright, I’ll give you a triple portion.”

“Assa! I love you the most!”

“Eww, I think I have to puke. What are you doing here again?”, So Ra comments walking in through the house door.

“You’re just envious, because auntie likes me more than you.”, Kang Joon counters sticking out his tongue cunningly.

The day has come to an end and So Ra is lying in her bed, watching her favorite drama “Reply 1988”, once again. While watching Taek confessing his love for Deok Sun to the guys, she unwillingly had to think about the conversation on the bus. Imagining Kang Joon to be her Taek gives So Ra the creeps and she decides to better go to sleep instead of fantasizing about nonsense.

Drrring. Drrring.

8 o’clock, the sun has risen and it’s the start of a new day.

“Unni, when are you finally done? Hurry! I have to get to school.”, her younger brother Ji Soo pounds at the bathroom door.

“You should have gotten up earlier then. Chill, you’re already late anyway.”, So Ra comes out of the bathroom.

“Hmm… what should I wear today?”

Wrapped in a towel, So Ra opens her new closet after taking a shower. She goes through the clothes on the rack and takes out a pair of girlfriend jeans and a sweater to get changed for classes.

“Why are you leaving a puddle in front of my door?”

So Ra turns around after hearing a voice from behind to find a boy crawling out of her closet.

“Kyaaaaa!”

“Bwad bappen? Bwad ar chu skremin por?”, Ji Soo rushed over from the kitchen, still chewing his peanut butter and jam sandwich.

“T-th-there… over there, there’s something in my closet!”, So Ra backs further away shaky from the opened closet, pointing her finger in the direction for her brother to see.

“Heol. Did you finally fell into my prank?”, Ji Soo gets all excited at the sight of his frightened sister.

“P-prank?”, So Ra stutters.

“Yeah, I’ve put this giant fake snail into your closet a few days ago. Weren’t you shocked by this huge, realistic snail?”

Ji Soo goes toward the closet, takes out the snail and hands it over to his big sister. Relieved by the fact that it was fake, but still grossed out due to her fear of snails, So Ra scolds her little brother, when suddenly she notices a shadow behind his back.

“What, weren’t you about to scold me like you always do? What’s with that face?"

“Behind you… I saw a ghost behind your back!”, So Ra’s stare won’t move away from her brother.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing there. You must have gotten old and senile.”

Ji Soo scratches the back of his head and turns around to leave, when So Ra grabs his arm to stop him.

“What do you mean you can’t see him? He’s sitting right there on my bed! I’m not crazy, he’s really there. Jinjja!”

So Ra, desperate and frightened, clings onto the young boy with all her might, but he brushes her off and turns around on his heel, walking right through the door.

“Noona, I got it. I went too far. I apologize, alright? I gotta go to school now.”

“Yah! Is that how you treat your noona? You’re late anyway. Don’t pretend to be a diligent student!”, So Ra curses at Ji Soo as he puts his jacket on to leave for school.

So Ra, now all alone in her room, puts her clothes on and gets ready for classes.

“Was it really just imagination? I could have sworn that there was someone.”, she mutters to herself in disbelief.

“The show you’ve put up back there was really disappointing.”

“Heol, am I even hearing voices right now? I shouldn’t stay up this late to binge watch dramas anymore.”

“Yeah, if you keep watching those unreal, good for nothing prince charmings, you’ll end up as an old maid with only cats as friends.”

“Yah! I know that myself. No need for you to remind me of that. Speaking of which, haven’t you left for school already, Ji Soo?”

She turns around, expecting to catch her brother skipping school and prepared to get her revenge, suddenly turns pale and feels a cold shudder down her back. In front of her is not the little brother she expected, but a fully grown guy with a handsome face and a wide cheeky smile.

“Hey, are you alright? Can’t you see me?”, the male wavers with his hands in front of the frozen girl.

She passes out.

So Ra regains consciousness and after she managed to calm herself down, she’s finally able to talk to the mysterious boy who has been playing with the fake snail.

“Who are you? How did you get in here? Are you a ghost?”, she showers the stranger with questions.

“Me… a ghost? How am I a ghost?”, he fires back in an animated tone.

“Then explain to me, why couldn’t my brother see you? Thanks to you, I’m now deemed as a weird lunatic.”

“Well, I’m a nature spirit who fulfills wishes. Only my master can see me. But to think that such an unattractive, weird lunatic is my master… tsk.”, he roles his eye.

“So what you’re saying is that you’re not a ghost, but you aren’t human either?”, she stares at him in disbelief.

“That’s what I’m saying and now stop staring at me like that. It’s creeping me out.”

“Ah, now I get it! You’re a genie, like in those fairy tales. And you have to fulfill all my wishes, ‘cause I’m your master, right?”, the eyes of the young girl suddenly start to sparkle.

“I’m a nature spirit and not a genie. Don’t you dare to call me genie at anytime! And you get nine wishes, no more or less.”

So Ra jumps out of her bed in joy. Excited about the sudden turning point, she tries to hug her newly won genie, without success, as her arms go right through the boy’s body.

“Hey, why are you getting so close? Didn’t I tell you that I’m not human? Consequentially I don’t have a physical body either.”, he tries to defend himself.

“Oh right, I forgot. I’m just too excited at the thought of what I can do with those nine wishes. But let’s postpone this, I gotta hurry to school and tell my friends about this.”

“W-wait, what did you just say?”

So Ra puts on her Jacket, grabs her bag and rushes out the door.

Author's Note: Credits for this beautiful layout go to vigour & shangrila.