It's nearly instinct that she knows the exact time to wrap scarves around her neck and tuck her hands into mittens, and shuffle to the one large, east-facing window. She drags a padded stool over and puts a cushion down for her best friend, a small, light green frog. He shivers, even wearing the sweater and hood she made for him, but warms up when she leans over him, elbows on either side with her head in her hands.

The cold is barely noticeable, and she only has eyes for the far-off sky.

As the sun sets, pulling the layers of colours from the sky to unveil the night, she sighs. It's her eighteenth birthday; she's a young woman locked in a tower in the middle of nowhere with an amorous amphibian as her only companion.

"Someday, Baekhyun," she says, "we are leaving this tower and seeing those lanterns. Up close and in person. They only happen once a year, right?" The frog nods, having heard this spiel before. "And it just so happens to be on my birthday. Isn't it... I dunno, don't you think it's odd?" She throws a hand out, gesturing to the forest and sea barely visible beyond. "There's so much to see, so maybe...maybe the lanterns are like a guide, showing me the way..."

The way to what?

Baekhyun chirps. There's a dull glow, and Kyungsoon holds her breath.