“Aigoo, my son has arrived. Why so sudden?” A warm embrace welcomed him by the time he opened the door. He planted a kiss on her forehead before going in to greet his beloved father.

“I’m here, Father,” he said as he paid a bow and later gave the old man a hug just as tight. His sisters also hugged their youngest and only brother, despite the confusion. It was only three weeks ago when they visited his apartment in town along with his sisters and in-laws, but he somehow missed them. Thus, he paid them a surprise visit.

“Mom, I brought you flowers, too,” he said while unloading his luggage. He took the neatly wrapped bucket of red roses and gave it to his mother whose face immediately turned bright as ever. The old lady put those roses in a vase just as beautiful, and put it on their buffet. While arranging the flowers, his mother realized something.

“Jaejoong-ah, you seemed very into roses lately,” she said without looking in to his face which turned pale in a second.

“When we stayed at your place the other time, there were roses everywhere as well,” his 8^th sister added, while the others looked at him.

Jaejoong who was putting his gift which was a warm coat on his father, focused his eyes on the coat and tried to look concentrated on it. “Yes, I just like it recently,” he said just to fill in the conversation, as calmly as he could to keep his sharp sisters from noticing.

After making sure his father was comfortable and warm, he went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea—which he rarely did. He walked to the window and looked at the windy road outside while sipping his tea. When the others were not looking, he let out a sigh. He took a glance at the roses on the buffet.

And that scene from two years ago flashed back.

“Ah!” he heard a low voice when he hit someone. He looked back and found a girl with a long wavy hair. The colour of her hair was dark brown, like that of a wood.

“I’m sorry, I’m very sorry…” he said in an awkward English as he felt guilty yet awe by her beauty. Her brown orbs matched just perfectly with her pearly skin.

“It’s okay,” she said in Korean, which surprised him.

“Are you Korean?” he found himself too excited. She nodded as her lips curved a smile.  He felt a slight jump on his stomach.

“Oh, thank goodness. I’m a tourist here, and I got lost. Do you know where this café is?” he handed her a picture of café he had been searching for a two hours already. For the first time in his life, he felt grateful to get lost in a foreign country.

She surprisingly knew the café very well, and was willing to take him there. He was excited yet worried at the same time, for he didn’t want to get in the way of the lady’s schedule, whatever she was going to do that day.

“You don’t have to walk me there, though. You can just show me the direction,” he said when they were walking side by side in silence, but strangely not awkward.

She was chuckling when she shook her head. “No, it’s totally fine. Besides, it’s not that far, and I’m heading that way anyway,” she said.

He wasn’t sure whether she was saying the truth, or whether she was just being too nice for not wanting to offend him. But his doubts were gone the second she gave him a sincere smile.

They already reached the place before he could even begin to admire her eyes. She pointed at the entrance door and told him to get in. He knew they had to say goodbye when she reached out her hand. He took her hand rather reluctantly, but still trying not to show it.

He held that hand tight. “Thank you very much for all the trouble taking me here,” he said with a smile, in which he got one as a return.

“May I know your name? I realized we didn’t get to greet each other properly,” he said as he didn’t want to let her leave just yet.

He saw her blinked in a split second, probably being surprised. But then she drew a smile again when she answered, “Jang Mi. Han Jang Mi.”

Just then he realized that he liked the sound of her voice too much. It gave him more of a delight than it should.

“Kim Jaejoong,” he replied. His grab got unintentionally tighter.

“Well then, take care, Jaejoong-sshi. Don’t get lost,” was the last thing she said before she pulled back her hand and left.

He smiled rather bitterly when he took another sip of his now lukewarm tea. Jang Mi, which meant rose in Korean. He had tried to look for her, but the results had always been disappointing. Not to mention his tight schedules didn’t allow him to spend too much time searching for someone he barely knew. He learned from their short conversation that she didn’t know him, though he found it a bit strange.

After letting another sigh, he thought he needed some fresh air. Hence, he decided to take his dog out to walk. Besides, it had been quite a while since the last time he spent time with Vick, his huge Great Pyrenees.

“Mom, I’m taking Vick to walk. I’ll be back before dinner,” he said when he was putting on his coat.

He glanced at the roses once again before heading out with a dog collar in his hand.