How does time flows? Running past us, leaving us behind older, all matured?

One year brought me more happiness than my whole life offered me. I had no silk to wear and there were no luxurious meals during those 365 days. I had to wear simple clothes made of cotton and eat vegetable that we grew in the garden and chicken meat from the chickens that we grew in our courtyard. But I was happy. I discovered a different me through love.

“Oh you silly! Didn’t I tell you before that you shouldn’t wash clothes with cold water?”Jong Woon rubbed my hands that were red like a flame from the cold water. “Do you want to get sick?”

I looked at his face carefully. One year…I spent one year next to him, discovering him and learning more and more about him, about the real self. Because even though he tried to keep his distance, at some point it became natural to be together most of the time. Yes, I fell in my own trap. I fell in love with him. Deeply. Strongly. For good. I fell so hard that I could not look at tomorrow without imagining him beside me. And that was dangerous. I could feel it in my blood…

“What? Something on my face?”he smiled as he met my eyes.

“Your jaw is more masculine now,”I blurred out while my thumb touched the line of his maxillary.

“You skin ship kitten!”he laughed, pinching my cheeks and pulling me closer to him so that he can rest his forehead against mine. We stood there, in the middle of our room, with our eyes closed to make the spell longer. It was one of those moments when we were letting the silence speak for us, confess. Because neither of us ever told those three little words ‘I like you.’, not to go so far as to say ‘I love you.’. Blame the pride or blame our personalities. But everything I did, I did for him and everything he said reached my heart faster than any sweet declaration.

♃~✵~♃

Winter hasten to let spring come and then suddenly, we found ourselves in full blossom of the summer.

“What are you thinking about, Jong Woon?”I placed the plate in front of him on the little table.

“About the fact that’s been a year since we left Hanyang.”

“You miss it?”I heard myself asking, but fearing to hear the answer.

“Actually, I don’t,”he smiled as he sipped from his tea. “Strange, isn’t it?”

I smiled. Strange or not, I was happy. “Oh! Grandpa Choi! Want a cup of tea?”I offered him my own cup.

“Thank you, child,”he showed me that toothless smile of his that I like so much. “This village is changing its shape,”he said after few moments of silence as he watched a carriage passing on the road in front of our gate.

“What do you mean?”

“So many strangers are coming in our village that I can hardly recognize anyone on the road!”

“Oh, grandpa!”I laughed. “That’s because your eyesight is betting worse, that’s why!”

“Listen to me, child, this village is full of strangers that plan on moving here,”he leaned closer with a serious look in his eyes. “Last evening I was at Hyun Soo to drink some wine and there w