It was a hot summer’s day when DaeHyun found himself riding a train back to Busan. He glanced outside the window and felt sick to his stomach as the raindrops slid down the glass. Why did it have to be such a gloomy day?

“Na-na-nah boo-boo! You can’t catch me!” A small girl had been running around the cart. Undoubtedly, she had lifted the mood of such a gray day by simply ducking in and out of the rows of seats. She taunted her brother who half heartedly chased her. “Whaaah?! Oppa, you’re cheating!”

The two siblings ran past a girl, probably DaeHyun’s age, and hit the cap of her knee shaking her into consciousness. The girl blinked into the light and lowered her headphones from her ears. Slowly, she stretched her arms towards the poor lighting overhead and used her hand to cover a quiet yawn. She quickly turned her wrist over only to realize she wasn’t wearing a watch. When she check her music player, she let out a breathy groan of disgust.

DaeHyun cocked his head to the side to gain her attention. “It’s nearly noon. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed much.”

She blinked letting her eyebrows furrow into confusion. “Only twelve?” Her forehead hit the seat in front of her and she seemed to doze off once more.

“I wish I could sleep.” DaeHyun said to himself.

“You can try closing your eyes, I hear that helps.”

The boy raised an eyebrow before sizing up the girl. “So you’re not asleep?”

Her head rolled against the back of the chair, eyes making contact with him once her bangs fell from her face. “You think I can sleep with these kids screaming?” There was a hint of humor in her voice, but he couldn’t point out where.

“Were you awake the whole time?”

She brushed away her short, golden hair. “Only for about five minutes. My batteries are dead, and if you think I’ve got a cellphone, you’re only half right. My twerp of a sister lost it this morning.” Her words were a bit harsh but she said them with a sneaky smile. “Not like I used it anyways.”

“Ah, I don’t have one at all.”

She looked at him and frowned. “You don’t have a cellphone? How old are you?”

He counted on his fingers. “Seumul-sal, my nineteenth birthday was last month.”

Her eyes closed into a smile that scrunched her nose slightly. “Oppa, happy belated birthday.”

A sort of happiness bubbled inside him. ‘Oppa’ sounded incredibly sweet from her lips. “Are you coming back from Seoul, or leaving from?”

Her smile smoothed into a flat line. “I’m not sure. I guess it all depends.”

“It would seem you don’t want to head to Busan.” It sounded more like a question than a statement to her. “Care to tell? Or am I prying?”

Her eyelids fell over her dark eyes and she sighed. Ruffling her hair she looked up at the ceiling and smiled. “My halmoni needs someone to take care of her. It’s just me and my parents that can do it, but they’re tied down by work. I just finished high school so, naturally, I’m going.”

She seemed bitter about the whole thing, like there was somewhere else she really wanted to be. This place was possibly more exciting and relaxing than the large port city. “Do you know anyone else, in Busan that is?”

“I haven’t lived in Busan for about thirteen years. So everyone I knew has grown up. Hopefully nicely.” Her bright smile was still sad. Something was bothering her.

“No family?”

“Eh? Oh, my family...well we’re small. My parents were only-childs and three of my grandparents have passed. I don’t have any Uncles or Aunts, so there are no cousins. It’s just me and my sister.” She shrugged. “What about you? Why are you going to Busan?”

It took him a moment to realize the conversation was now directed to him. “Me? My whole family lives there. I just study in Seoul, well...at least, I did.”

She let a breath of air puff past her lips. “Are you going to continue college in Busan?”

He nodded.

Just like that, the two of them chatted all the way to Busan. It was storming when they reached the station and she hadn’t the slightest clue where to go. “My hyung and I can give you a lift, where are you going?” He took her slip of paper with the address and thought it over. “If I’m not mistaken, this is too far from me. It’s on the other side of town, an hour over.”

She looked shocked until the boy laughed to himself. “I’m just kidding, it’s actually in the neighborhood surrounding mine. No worries.”

“So you guys can give me a ride?” She was in total disbelief. How could someone she’d only just met be so willing?

When they reached her grandmother’s apartment she thanked the two boys who hurried to get her things from the trunk. “Yah, you call me if you have any trouble...or get bored. There’s plenty to do here, you just have to know someone.” DaeHyun smiled handing her a piece of paper with his house number on it. “Feel free to call anytime, but not at night. That might be the end of me.”

She laughed thanking the both of them again and soon they were on their way.

“DaeHyun, who was that anyways?”

The younger boy slapped his hand across his face. “D-mn, you know...I’m not sure.”

--

It was about two weeks later once she finally gathered the nerve to phone DaeHyun. “Ah, I’m calling for...actually, I don’t know who I’m calling for. Is there a college student there, perhaps? He would have just transferred from Seoul.”

“Yah! DaeHyunnie, the phone is for you.” The other end was noisy but the girl clutched the phone in her hands.

“Yoboseo? This is Jung DaeHyung.”

“Ah! You have such a nice name.”

He looked at the phone as if it had spit on him. “Who is this?”

Her breath slowed. “I’m the girl from the train. You told me to call?”

DaeHyun’s eyes gradually widened. “It’s you. I didn’t think you would call back. How are things?”

Maybe it was the way she spoke, but the boy forgot all basic structure to conversing. He didn’t ask anything about her name nor did he remember to. He was just swept up by her without much reason.

“Things are...well, they are. Do you think we can meet up? I’m starting to feel cooped up.”

The two set a time and agreed to meet at a coffee shop the following day. It was a somewhat green, stale looking shop, but as soon as the door was cracked open one could only suspect the delicious flavors brewed on the hour.

“Ah! DaeHyun-ssi, annyo!” The girl stood up and smiled brightly as he walked through the door. She was wearing a loose lilac shirt that well hid her curves. Her blonde hair was curled and pinned on the left side of her head.

He looked blankly at the girl. Unsure of how to address her or what would be appropriate to say, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, fixed his best smile and began walking in her direction. “How are you?”

Her tongue pressed between her teeth and then she made a slight clicking noise. “I’m well. You?”

Something, possibly small, was bothering her. “No, I think there’s something wrong. You don’t have to tell me, but let’s not start our relationship by lying to each other.”

She lift her eyelids, gaze shadowed by her lashes. “I’m feeling guilty. I broke a promise to someone and there’s no way I can mend it. Oppa, I just need a distraction.”

A shiver slid down his spine. There she went with the ‘Oppa’ thing again, something that would take some getting used to. He had only attended his first year of college thus he didn’t know any girls younger than him. There was no one to call him ‘Oppa’. “Well.” He coughed hoping that it would release some of the tension in his chest. It didn’t. “I--I guess I can be a distraction.”

She smiled softly but he could tell she was genuinely upset. He took her hand and placed the palm against his. He turned it over once and then again. “You’ve been sitting here for a while haven’t you? You’re hands are cold, but it’s hot outside. Let’s warm you up with something to drink.”

The pair walked to the counter and DaeHyun made sure never to let go of her hand. Something told him that if his fingers slipped from hers, the little trust they’d established would become lost. His touch was comforting. But how? She wasn’t sure, but he could read her well.

“You’re getting tea?” DaeHyun asked, cutting her off mid order. “We came to a coffee shop and you’re ordering tea?” The boy made eye contact with the barista who quickly bowed his head. “Can I get an americano and a cafe mocha?”

When she looked at him he winked letting a smirk tug at his lips. “Trust me, you’ll like either of them.”

“Hope so.”

He paid for them as punishment for canceling her order of lemon tea. “Take the first sips and choose which you like best. I’m fond of both.”

She held the americano to her lips and let the liquid wet . She looked at the boy and her eyes thinned. “I think I like this one.”

“Wait you haven’t tried the other!” He covered the americano with his hands and nodded to the cafe mocha. “Try it. It’s really sweet! I think you’ll like it.”

He watched her drink as if watching a small child hold their cup on their own. “You know, you’ve told me all about your halmoni but you haven’t told me your name.”

She choked on the sip and covered with the back of her hand. He laughed at her while she hurried to wipe the cream off her lips. “Your name is messy, right?”

Her lips pouted before muttering. “June, my name is June.”

“What character is that from?”

His furrowed eyebrows worried her. She didn’t scare him, did she? “June is the English word for the sixth month of the year. I was born in June.”

“Jjincha? So was I! What day?”

She laughed softly. “We established this on the train ride, and it’s the 28th.”

His jaw dropped and like that the two began talking more and more. For the next few months the pair would meet up at least once a week for Saturday coffee. They would talk about anything and everything. When the following school semester picked up, DaeHyun invited her out with friends and soon his friends were hers.

The first birthday they shared together was spent at the beach. They knew it would be crowded but had fun watching the yellow tubes that floated and crashed into one another. They chased the waves and she finally confided in him just how ill her grandmother was. “DaeHyun-ssi, I really don’t know how long she’s got left.”

Tears began to swell in her eyes. White sand was smeared all over her face from their fun and he wanted nothing but to hold her and wipe it away. Without hesitation, the boy draped a towel across the back of her shoulders and kissed her lips. The kiss was nothing more than a quick, chaste peck. She leaned into the boy wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her face into his bare chest. He caressed her hair before gripping her lightly.

A few weeks later marked the one year anniversary of their friendship. He took her all the way across town and asked her to help him find a book. “The first person to find it wins a prize, at the expense of the loser.”

“Of course.” She huffed and began searching for the book.

“June, I need to use the restroom, but you keep looking. The last name is Albom and it’s fiction. You can probably find it on the second floor.” And with that she took the elevator and searched the library for his book.

A’s filed a huge section of imported books and she walked to the end of an aisle checking the spines, not aware of her surroundings.

“Found it~” a voice teased in her ear and suddenly she noticed she was trapped with books all around her. “I guess I win!”

Her eyes narrowed at the boy who’d obviously tricked her. “You’re such a jerk.” She pushed his shoulder lightly but he moved closer to her.

“Can’t I make a request?” The air between them was growing thick. “You don’t have to agree to it though.”

She pursed her lips and let out a sigh. “Let’s hear it.” She’d braced herself for the worst but only expected him to have her pay for gas. The gas for a long drive that she didn’t exactly want, there was a library not too far from her house.

“I want you to kiss me.”

Her cheeks reddened as he took a step back.

He bit his bottom lip before giving her evidence to why she should comply. “I’m not that bad looking, right? I’m relatively nice and don’t have a bad personality. I’m tall, and funny...well, at least I think I’m funny.”

She took a step forward avoiding his eyes. “Hey! Is that really the book?” She grabbed the novel from his hands and began flipping through the pages.

“Yah, you’re more interested in the book than my confession?”

“Confession of what?” Her expression was blank. “This isn’t a love confession, you just asked me to kiss you.” She picked a random spot and began reading aloud.

“Yah, now you’re just trying to annoy me.”

He was leaning over her trying to take the book back but she stopped reading and tilted her head up to kiss him. It was soft and sweet but soon turned into something more passionate. Her fingers fluttered across the base of his neck and he took the more dominant role. His tongue flicked her upper lip quickly as she parted for air. A smirk crept across her lips and he leaned forward.

“There, that good enough?” Her words tickled his mouth.

“Can we try that again?”

Her hand was firm against his chest until the fingers coiled into the fabric. “In a library?”

He chuckled kissing her nose. “Yes, in a library.”

For the next eight months the couple spent many nights at their coffee shop; walking home when the moon was well over head. It was the ninth month that struck the two. “Oppa, what’s wrong?” She grabbed his hand as he began drifted far into his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been weird lately. Is something going on? You’re spacy.”

He swallowed thickly. “I uh, I’ve been scouted.”

Her eyes lit up and and her jaw dropped into a gaping smile. “That’s great! Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Because the company’s in Seoul.”

shut tightly. “Oppa, Seoul is only a train ride away.” She closed her eyes thinking of the perfect words to say. “I can come see you on the weekends. My parents still live there.”

“But what about your grandmother?”

She tapped her fingers on the table. “Maybe not every week then.”

“I should come see you.” He took that hand in his and planted kisses into her fingertips. “That way you only have to leave every other week.”

The two agreed to this, but in a matter of months after his leave, June’s grandmother grew more ill and she was unable to make the trip. Their time together became more and more sparse but he made sure to make it back for their birthday. He surprised her by showing up the day before and knocking on her door.

When June sweetly answered, her eyes fell on the older boy causing her to cry. She covered her face and leaned against him. “You’re here.” She muttered softly into him and he held her in a tight embrace.

“How could I miss your birthday?” He kissed her forehead, fingers pushing her blonde bangs to the side.

It was a semester later when June’s grandmother died. She didn’t phone DaeHyun. She didn’t know what he would say, after all, she hadn’t seen him since the day before their birthday.

The pair e-mail every so often, but it was never regular. Neither of them made a conscious effort to meet and both were growing tired of it all. It wasn’t eachother that they disliked, but rather the inconvenience of distance that separated the two. They never really broke up, but it was clear that distance did them no good.

It was after their next birthday that she called him. “DaeHyun-ssi, it’s over. This will eat us alive if we let it live.”

Q_Q ...that is all.
Hope I haven't scrambled you're brains too much. OTL

MeiMeng