It was dark outside when Yoon Soeun finally put her pencil down. Dazed by how dark her room was, Soeun reached for the lamp and glanced sideways at the clock next to her. 11:45 PM. Yawning, Soeun stretched her arms over her head and started to put her homework and books away. 

"Hmm...I ended a lot earlier today than I usually do," Soeun noticed. She sighed. 

Maintaining her grades required a lot of effort on her part. Not that she minded too much. Studying was an efficient distraction, a worthwhile venture to invest time in. Time that would otherwise be much too long and lonesome. 

Soeun opened her window to feel a rather chilly gust of wind. It seemed like it would rain this week. It was so refreshing; she stuck her head out a bit further to breathe in long drafts of the crisp air. 

"Should I...go outside?" Soeun pondered the idea for a while before deciding to act on a whim. She grabbed her cardigan, her journal, and her iPod. After making sure that her parents were asleep, Soeun eased herself out her window and onto the ground outside her house. 

"Where should I go?" Soeun muttered to herself as she wrapped her cardigan around her closely when she felt a light sprinkling of water droplets. The light rain felt good.

WIthout any particular place in mind, Soeun just started walking, meandering around here and there on this street and that street. She simply wanted to walk and breathe in the fresh air, clearing her mind of any extra thoughts. Before long, Soeun found herself at the entrance to a park. There was no one there. Just the tall lamps casting weak beams of light and lengthy shadows across the playground and some benches. Soeun squinted her eyes, making out a secluded pathway that led further into the park. It was a rather big park; behind the playground and picnic benches was a vast expanse of untouched nature, a small forest. Right now, this part was shrouded in darkness; Soeun could barely make out the outlines of the bushes and trees. 

But Soeun didn't mind. Without hesitation, she made her way towards the trees to take some shelter from the light rain, away from the light that the lamps provided. Once among the dense trees, Soeun adjusted to the darkness, barely able to make out the shapes around her by the pale, silver moonlight. It was a subtle beauty, but Soeun didn't miss it. She loved the way that the moon cast its silvery light among the tall trees and onto the foliage on the floor, the light and resulting shadows creating patterns. 

Soeun didn't know exactly how long she stayed in the midst of this nature, just observing. It was comfortably quiet, and this mesmerizing peace that had slowly eased into Soeun filled her. During the day, she was surrounded by so much motion, the flurrying chatter of the people around her constantly requiring her feedback, constantly requiring her to be alert and give the appropriate reactions. But even after school, when Soeun trudged to her room and all was quiet, it wasn't a comfortable quiet. There was an immense loudness in the quiet of her room. No one was talking, but her mind was constantly whirring, 'Keep up with the work. Study this. Oh, I have to attend this club meeting soon. Wait, didn't Aye want to go shopping? These equations are so difficult. What should I write my article on. I miss him. No stop. Don't ever think about him' and it kept going like that. Soeun hated how much her mind churned out thoughts. Constantly. 

But here, it was different. It was as if her mind had come to a halt. No more whirling thoughts. Just her and her beautiful, peaceful surroundings. 

CRUNCH.

Soeun was yanked from this lulling atmosphere to notice the footsteps of another person on the leaves near her. She crinkled her face, trying to locate the source of the noise.

"Umm...is there someone here?" Soeun tentatively ventured to ask, her shy voice reaching out for an answer.

She scrutinized the area around her, finally making out the shape of a figure as it came towards her. Under the weak moonlight, Soeun couldn't make out the person's face until the figure came closer. It was a guy. A young guy that seemed to be around the same age as her. His face was cast half in shadows, the other half bathed in the soft natural light. Even like this, Soeun could make out the handsome features of his face. Her eyes lingered on his eyes for a longer moment. 

His eyes.

Startled, Soeun took a step back, bumping into a tree. 

The guy stared at her for another moment. And without a word, he sat down at the base of a different tree, tilted his head against the bark, and closed his eyes.

Soeun just looked at him, confused and little disoriented. She slowly started edging away from the clearing and picked up her stuff to leave him undisturbed. Glancing back once more at him, Soeun turned around to walk away, back home. The light drizzling had stopped.

She took one step when she heard his voice.

"I'm Daehyun."