For BaekYeolJi

Sunflower

On the eve of my discharge from the military, I was walking around the fields of where we were stationed for our final assignment. We had been helping this little farming village with their work, and I was able to see the beauty of nature and the importance of agriculture as a job and as a way to put food on the table. What was more amazing was how the sky was so clear in the country side, and how clean the air was, and how the sky is made up of millions of different colors at sunrise and sunset. It was already after sundown and I had decided to take a walk to look back on the past two years that I had served, and I felt very proud of myself. As I was walking I saw a figure walking in the dark, and heard the crack of a tree, as one of its branches detached itself. I ran for the figure and managed to push them out of the way of the falling branch.

When I got a closer look, I realised it was a girl. Her eyes were big, and it reflected the light from the moon. I reached out for her hand, and she stepped into the light. She had dirt on her face and a small cut on her chin that would heal very quickly. She was pretty.

“Are you alright?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“It’s my honour and duty to help you.”

“You must be serving in the army right now…”

“I am, but I’m getting out tomorrow.”

“Thank you, again. I don’t know how I could possibly repay you.”

“No need. I’m glad that you are alright.”

She shuffled a bit, and bent down to the ground to retrieve something. It was one of the sunflowers that were in the field. I had passed by them many times and always thought about how they looked like soldiers. Standing tall, looking ahead, and prepared to withstand anything. She extended it towards me, but I just stood there.

“I want you to have it. It’s to show my appreciation for saving me.”

Something made me want to sit down on the grass. She looked at me oddly, but then followed suit, and sat opposite me. The wind was blowing gently and her hair was being ruffled and caressed, and it made her look very cute. She placed the sunflower in front of me, and then took out another one and started playing with it. It seemed as though she had picked a bunch and were taking them home.

“Do you like living here?”

“I do. But sometimes, I want to get away, to the city, and follow my dream.”

“What’s your dream?”

“To sing. But my mother told me that I need to work hard, and that I shouldn’t waste my time on something that might fail.”

I didn’t know what to say to her, so I remained silent, hoping that she would continue her story.

“But even if that doesn’t work, I want to go to Seoul and open up my own flower shop. There’s so many flowers here. You must have seen them. They’re very beautiful.”

“They are beautiful. But, why a flower shop?”

“It’s like bringing nature to a man-made forest. It’s real and tangible, but it only lasts for a little while. You need to learn to appreciate it more, if you can only see it for a short time. Cities are beautiful, especially at night, because of all the lights. But in the country side, you see the real lights. The ones from the sun, the stars and the moon. That light is what makes flowers grow. The light can really brighten up your day. They’re like flowers. Flowers can make anyone happy. You probably don’t understand my rambling, right?”

“No. I get it. Living in the city is exactly like you said. It’s beautiful, but it’s man-made. Coming here really made me realise how wonderful nature is, and how it can sustain people. Not just because you can get food from them, but because the atmosphere is better and cleaner and crisper. There’s so much more color here, than in the city.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“You need to stop thanking me. How about you sing for me instead? Here, use this.”

I took the sunflower she gave me and held it in front of my mouth and pretended to sing. I motioned for her to do the same, and she did. As soon as the first notes of the song rang out, he voice gave me chills. It was beautiful and she could hold the notes. He voice was soft, because she was trying to keep quiet, and it tickled me, like she was whispering into my ear. When she finished I clapped.

“You should follow your dream. Both of them. I have to go now, but one day, I think I’ll be listening to you on the radio…”

“Good bye.”

“Good bye.”

And with that, I took the sunflower and left.

One Year Later…

I was walking to the florist because my boss had forgotten to buy flowers for his and his wife’s wedding anniversary. He wanted me to buy 100 roses, and so, I did. Initially, I didn’t want to go, and I wanted to say something to him about going out to buy the flowers himself, so that he actually put some thought into it, but I thought that it was better for me to shut my mouth. However, going to the florist wasn’t all that bad. It always reminded me of being in the countryside, and it reminded me of that girl that I had saved, and what she told me about appreciating the beautiful. The sunflower she had given me, I still had it. I had it pressed and then framed, and hung up in my bedroom so that it was the first and last thing that I saw every day. It made me feel good

It was just after lunch and everyone must have already gone back to work, so there was nobody at the store when I went in. When I walked inside, I heard someone singing. I knew who it was, because I felt that soft tickling in my ears. I spotted some sunflowers. It seemed as if the store had specialised in them. I picked out a bunch and brought it over to the checkout.

“Excuse me, I would like to buy these.”

She turned around and smiled when she saw me.

“It’s you. The guy that saved me.”

“And it’s you, Eunji, the girl that I saved.”

We smiled at each other. I liked her name. I forgot to ask her name when we met, but luckily it was on her nametag. She hesitated for a moment, but then realised that she had a nametag.

“You want to buy sunflowers?”

“Yup. They’re the most beautiful flowers in the world. The way that they stand tall and look towards the sun. It’s like they reflect the light, for everyone to see and appreciate.”

“You remembered. What’s your name again?”

“Chanyeol.”

“It’s nice to know your name.”

“Is this your shop?”

“It is.”

“You followed your dream…”

“I just listened to your advice.”

We ended up talking for another hour before I realised that I had to go back to work. When my boss asked me for his flowers, I realised that I had forgotten about them. A certain brunette was occupying my mind.