o2
Origin
With his head in his hands, he sighed for the nth time that day. He, one of the most famous authors in the world, had lost inspiration. The dreaded curse, writers block had befallen him.
His mind had once been like river overflowing with new ideas; but now, it was as if a huge boulder had choked the river mouth and soon, the lake before it had run dry.
The sole inspiration of his life was gone. She, his muse, was gone, and never coming back again. He had lost all reason to write; there was nobody to write for.
I need to look for inspiration. Inspiration, I know where I should go.
VROOM! VROOM!
There was a sound that stood out from the usual grunts, oinks, grumbles, whistles, coos that came from the barn. It was a stark contrast of the city and the barn. The two kids ran to the fence, only to see a sleek, blue sports car drive past as the birds in front flew off in scattered directions.
"Woah, that car is cool." The bespectacled young boy watched on in awe as the car disappeared down the sandy road.
"But why would anyone come here?" She asked, only to be returned with an equally puzzled face of the younger sibling.
***
The whole room was silent, except for the occasional clanking of cutlery against the ceramic plates. It was a comfortable silence, but for the hyperactive seven-year-old, silence was never an option. She fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably, as a loud screech was heard as the chair moved along the wooden floor.
"Suji, stop it." Her mother looked up from her plate for a brief moment to give her a warning stare, before going back to her food.
That definitely didn't satisfy the young girl as she continued to make those irritatingly high-pitched noises.
“Bae Suji, that’s enough.” Her mother put down her fork and knife, as it made a loud clank, putting everything that went on in the room to a standstill ̶ even the innocent brother froze for a brief second.
Realising that this would bring her nowhere, she mumbled a barely audible apology before going back to her meal. That silence again. It bothered Suji, but what could she do about it?
"There's a new neighbour down the road." The fragile silence was broken again.
For some reason, the children let out an audible sigh. It has been days since their mother ever mentioned about anything outside of the barn. As if on cue, they nodded their heads, knowing what they needed to do afterwards.
The rest of the lunch went by in an almost awkward silence, as the children were imagining what their neighbor would possibly look like, how he/she talked, how he/she behaved.
***
It was late afternoon. The crimson orange colour of the setting sun began to make its gradual descent. It sent pale streamers of purple and orange across the blue of the heavens; the fleecy white clouds were turning to an orangey-pink. A pair of siblings walked down the uneven gravel path, enjoying the light breeze that caressed their faces and brushed past their hair.
“Noona, what do you think our new neighbor is going to be like? ” Minjoon nudged his sister, who seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she stared straight ahead. “I hope it’s a family with nice kids” He smiled wistfully at the thought of it. Maybe he wouldn’t have to continue playing alone in the field, maybe someone would join him.
“Nahhh… there was only one person in the car just now in the morning.” She pointed out.
“Oh right.” He sighed as all his hopes of finding a playmate vanished into thin air. “Maybe a nice old man who will give us candies?” He grinned cheekily.
“Yeah right, old men would drive such cars.” She dismissed him once again, only earning an irritated cry from the younger.
“Yah! Stop practicing your Sherlock Holmes skills here!”
She shrugged him off nonchalantly as she took the jar of cookies from his hands. “We’re here already.” She announced as he rolled his eyes. “I saw that, Bae Minjoon.”
Carefully stepping into the porch of the new arriver, the duo admired the car that was parked in front of the cottage. It was so oddly out of place ̶ such a beauty didn’t belong to the rundown countryside ̶ yet at the same time, its beauty was so outstanding thanks to the background. The way the metal glimmered under the sun; the way the blue shined in the light, as if inviting her, or rather, them to caress the body of this magnificent beauty.
“What are you two little imps doing in my porch?” The voice of a grown man stopped them in their tracks as the two children lifted their gaze from the blue beauty and searched for the owner of the voice. Behind the car, stood a man, that looked like he was in his mid-twenties. Minjoon grabbed the glass jar from his sister’s hands and held it up.
“Good afternoon Ajusshi. My name is Minjoon and my sister's name is Suji. We live in the barn down the lane. Our mother has made cookies and we hope that you like them. We hope to get to know you better.” The boy piped up as he realised that his sister’s jaw was hanging agape.
“Say thank you to your mother for me. It’s very sweet of her to have done that.” The young man received the cookies from Minjoon's hand.
“If you want, you could come over for dinner.” He ended off with an angelic smile as he tugged on the hand of his sister, whom had become like a stone statue in a matter of seconds after meeting the new neighbor.
“A-Aren’t you the f-famous author K-Kim Myungsoo?” She managed to utter out, in spite of her shock.
The man nodded and her eyes widened even further. She pinched herself and no, it wasn’t a dream. The world-famous author, the author that captured the hearts of many through words, the author that had inspired her, the author that she had so admired her whole life, was standing in front of her.
Realising how stupid she must have looked in front of such a famous celebrity, she immediately removed her hand from the tyre rim as she stood up and straightened her dress, brushing her fringe in place as they graced her petite face.
After an almost awkward clearing of , she spoke up again. "I really love your books - I read every single book you wrote! And when I grow up, I want to write books like yours."
"Thank you for your support," he took a step closer, "and that's a great ambition you have there. But the journey to become one isn't easy, young lady."
"Teach me then!" She piped up.
"I cannot teach you this. Writing is something that originates from—"
His words were cut off by a holler from the street. "NOONA! Hurry up! The sun is going to set soon!"
"Okay! I have to go already. It's been a pleasure meeting you, but I have to go now. I'll come tomorrow in the morning at eight so you can teach me! See you tomorrow!" She waved and she took her leave.
W-What? Did this young girl just boss me around? He let out a snort as he went up to the fence to watch the siblings make their way home.
Their cheerful voices could be heard, though the content was unclear, he was sure they were playing around as the girl playfully slapped the arm of her brother and he acted as if he had just been on the receiving end of a professional boxer's punch as a loud cry of injustice could be heard ever so clearly, followed by the evil cackle of the girl.
The thirty-year-old author chuckled as he found a smile making its way to his lips — a smile that hadn't existed ever since she left.
Amused by their apparent playfulness, he forgot about his indignante earlier as he made his way back into the wooden house.
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