“I miss the kitties,” Taemin grumbled. His arms were crossed and he was slumped down into the train seat, his lips pursed and eyebrows narrowed with disappointment as he sulked. After spending an hour sipping on various coffees and teas, nibbling at pastries, and of course doting on the café's feline employees, the group had boarded a train to travel to the Japanese province of Kyoto. As the boy continued to mope about parting from his furry friends, his grumbling faded into the background as she turned her attention to the sprawling view outside the window.

They had abandoned the hustle and bustle of Tokyo for the serene countryside. Beyond the pane of glass lay nothing but nature, and it was beautiful; just beyond the city were gently rolling hills of emerald green grass, dotted with small shrubs and scrubby trees. The ground eventually leveled into agricultural settlements. Most of them consisted of rice paddies, flooded flats with little green shoots sticking out of the muddy water. In some of the more developed ones with stalks blooming out of the water, she saw workers in large, weaved hats hunched over, gently pulling the rice shoots from the irrigated square ditches. That looks like such hard work. Standing under the blazing sun, bent over and dragging plants from the earth- she certainly didn’t envy them, and silently thanked them for their laborious efforts. Gradually, the rice paddies vanished on the edges of sprawling forests, growing up to a few feet away from the train tracks. Eun-Ae could make out no fine details in the smudge of green leaves and brown tree bark, and quickly grew bored, so she returned her attention to the five boys seated on the train with her.

Taemin had fallen asleep sulking, his arms still crossed and his face scrunched up in disappointment. Minho was spaced out like Eun-,Ae had just been with his earbuds in his ears, and in the quiet she could vaguely hear pop music seeping from the little electronic devices. Jonghyun seemed to be snoozing as well, slumped over in the seat with his hood pulled down over his eyes, and Onew was preoccupied playing a game on his phone. When she turned her head to look at Key, who was seated next to her, she was surprisingly happy to find that he had drifted off to sleep, too- only because he looked pretty cute. His head was lolled slightly to the side, leaned back against the headrest, and the expression on his face was nothing short of peaceful. His lips were slightly parted, and she could hear him gently inhaling and exhaling. He's so cute! She thought, suppressing a squeal as she dug in her pocket for her cell phone. I have to take a picture! She never caught Key in any kind of compromising moment, and she felt the strong urge to immortalize it; so, as quickly as she dared, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo, grinning all the while. To her horror, both the flash and the shutter noise were on, so as soon as she captured the image her special moment was over. With a small groan, his face scrunched up in discomfort before he cracked an eye open and caught her right in the act of hastily trying to stuff her phone back into her pocket.

“Did you just take a picture of me?” he accused as he sleepily stretched his arms above his head and arched his back.

“No!” The refusal came out more panicked than she would have liked. That playful smirk appeared on his lips, and when he turned his sharp, knowing gaze on her, she stiffened like a board. Aw, man! I can’t believe I got caught! She thought in dismay as he chuckled under his breath.

“Lemme see.”

“I didn't take one!” she insisted. Surely, if she showed him the photograph, he would become embarrassed and make her delete it. She doubted that she could prevent him from wrestling the phone from her hands and doing it himself. I want to keep it… she thought as her shoulders slumped slightly in gloom. Though it had been happenstance, and was a normal action, it was strangely special to her. It's not often I see Key like that, and who knows if I’ll be able to see him like that again… Her glumness must have been evident, because he smiled sweetly at her.

“I promise I won't make you delete it,” he assured. Eun-Ae squirmed uncomfortably in the train seat for a few moments, hesitant, before obediently handing over her cell phone. As Key pulled up her photograph gallery and selected the most recent photo, his eyebrows crept up his forehead. “Why did you take a picture of me sleeping?” A pink haze appeared on Eun-Ae's face as she flushed with embarrassment, and she turned her gaze to her lap.

“… I thought you looked cute…” she mumbled shyly while wringing her hands together. She expected him to react negatively, to sputter refusals because guys definitely did not like being called “cute,” but to her surprise he began chuckling. Her head snapped upward just in time to see the camera flash of Key's phone. “Hey!” she objected, turning a shade darker. Key merely snickered, quite pleased with himself, and admired his prize.

“I thought you looked cute,” he grinned teasingly, and Eun-Ae could only silently fume, because she couldn’t object to him doing the same thing she had done. Still smirking that infuriatingly y smirk of his, he handed her phone back to her, and she was surprised to find that the picture was now her lock screen. “Now we can match with cute pictures of each other!” he smiled brightly when she looked up at him quizzically, holding out his own phone to display his own screen, which bore the embarrassing photograph of her blushing and looking surprised. Rather than grow even more mortified, she felt warmed. He's so good to me. Key abruptly turned his head as a cheerful female voice echoed over the train intercom. “This is our stop,” he said to her with a smile before leaning over and rousting their friends from sleep.

After the train screeched to a halt in the station, she and the other boys piled out into the station and retrieved a visitors' guide from a nearby stand. Though none of them could read Japanese, the boys were able to tease the details of the pamphlet out of a very friendly and patient attendant, and after some deliberation Eun-Ae decided that she wanted to visit a famous shrine. Armed with the map of the surrounding attractions, she and her companions exited the station and set off down the quaint roads of the Kyoto province.

The shrine was a decent walk down the main road leading away from the station, and as they proceeded toward their destination they occasionally paused to admire the other nearby tourist spots. Many unique, charming shops lined the road, selling proclaimed lucky items and protective talismans. Though they were likely gimmicks to ensnare the large tourist population, Eun-Ae thought the elaborately carved rune stones and beautiful necklaces were at least interesting enough to earn a passing look. The other boys took as little stock in their supposed magical powers as she did, except the laughably gullible Taemin, who was sweet-talked into purchasing one of the enchanted stones by a savvy vendor.

“It'll give me good luck! Just wait and see!” he insisted as he waved the round stone carved with swirling patterns above his heads while the other boys rolled their eyes and snickered at his expense. Poor Taemin will believe just about anything, she chuckled and raised her hand to enclose it around the limpet shell she had received on the island nearly a week ago. I don't need luck… I have my strength, she thought with a sidelong glance at Key, who was looking off at another vendor with interest.

Dotted among the shops were small cooking establishments advertising local delicacies, and their various aromas wafted out into the street to produce a tantalizing harmony of scents. Enticed by the fragrances, the group relented to a seller of grilled squid on a stick before continuing on toward the shrine. As she tore into the succulent meat with her teeth, watering from the savory taste, Eun-Ae was glad she had chosen to travel to another country. I’m experiencing so many new things!

“Eun-Ae, do you need to take a break?” Key suddenly asked her, pulling out of her nearly rapturous enjoyment of the grilled seafood. When she looked at him in mild confusion, he gestured to the heavy oxygen tank that she was lugging along behind her. “We've been walking for nearly half an hour… Surely you must be tired.” Eun-Ae had been so fascinated by her surroundings, and her yummy treat, that she hadn't really been considering her handicap. Surprisingly, she felt quite fine.

“No! I’m not tired at all!” she responded cheerfully. He looked at her doubtfully, but she continued to beam brightly at him. “Really, Key, I’m okay right now. I guess all this excitement is giving me a second wind!” she laughed before tearing the rest of the grilled squid off the wooden skewer. She wanted to enjoy the enjoy while it lasted, and so she set off down the road with a spring in her step. She was acutely away of her boyfriend stating after her.

After another fifteen minutes, they arrived at the shrine. It was set back from the road, down a gravel path flanked by thin yet full trees laden with little red berries, many of which littered the ground to be consumed by the various small animals likely to be hiding in the bushes. They crunched under Eun-Ae's feet and the wheels of her medical equipment along with the small rocks as she walked down the path; at the end lie an elegant shrine constructed of redwood, with colorful banners streaming in the gentle breeze. Attached to these banners and the frame of the building were bells as large as basketballs, filling their air with their surprisingly sweet and gentle tinkling. On either side of the shrine were a pair of cherry blossoms in full bloom; as the flowers were rustled by the wind, their petals detached and fluttered into the air, creating a sweet-smelling, pale pink carpet on the building and the ground around it. Situated at the forefront of the shrine was a stature of a fox decorated with red paint. Several offerings were laid at its feet, stacks of yen and piles of various sweets and even a tray of fresh rice balls. In the face of such serenity, Eun-Ae felt at peace.

Eun-Ae climbed the steps of the shrine, her oxygen tank clunking loudly as she dragged it with her, to stand in front of the fox statue. Its lidless stone eyes gazed down at her with piercing intensity, and seemed to be staring into her soul as she coaxed her delicate legs into allowing her to kneel. She bowed her head and placed her hands together, feeling a little self-conscious with the boys watching nearby. I’m honestly not sure which god you are and what you stand for, but I hope you'll listen to my plea… I’m not going to ask for a miracle or to be saved. I just want the rest of my days to be happy, and to have as much time as I can with the man I love, she prayed silently to the god she did not know the name of. After a minute of sitting in awkward silence, she muttered a quick “thank you” before pushing herself to her feet and looking back at the five boys, who were milling about at the base of the steps. After she descended the wooden stairs, the boys did the unexpected action of praying as well, one by one kneeling in front of the fox statue for a minute or so before joining her back on the footpath. As she watched her boyfriend do the same, she wondered if he prayed for the same thing she had, or something else. When he hopped down from the steps, he bee-lined for her and threw her arm around her shoulder and pressed a kissed to her temple. As his lips met the side of her head, a gust of wind blew through the shrine and showered them in the pretty pink blossoms; as the petals settled into their hair, they smiled knowingly at each other, and Eun-Ae didn't need Key to say it for her to know that they had wished for the same thing.

I hope our wishes come true, Key, she thought, laying her head on his shoulder as they walked down the path, his arm still wound around her shoulders. For you, and for me.