Sun disappeared behind the floating clouds, turning skies into shades of gray. If only eyes could capture moments, Yuna would’ve capture every seconds she spent on this beautiful, faraway land. She was distant from her family in Seoul, miles away in the gate of Arctic – a strange place that stole her heart ever since she stepped her feet on the frozen ground of Bodø, Norway.

            Everything was silent, even the waves made no sound when it stormed the shore. The trees seemed like waving as it was blown by the cold wind. It was mid-December where half of the world is in winter and no one dares to visit the beach, especially the beach in the Arctic Ocean.

            Yuna gazed at the magnificent scenery before her. The coastal-alpine landscape sheltered from the ocean by the garland of small islands, islets, and rocks. In this compact and varied landscape, Yuna brushed her gaze to the sheer mountain face and shiny – with its peak covered in white just like a drawing any 5 years old will do – white, sandy beach that contrast with each other. It was indeed a breathtaking view.

            She pulled strands of her black hair into the back of her ear as her gray eyes glanced at the Elle watch on her wrist. The clock hands stopped at a quarter to eight. She purposefully wanted to spend time in this beach, where the Landegode Lighthouse located. The lighthouse is a perfect place to witness the dancing aurora borealis on the northern skies.

            If only she visited Bodø in June, she probably could also see the midnight sun since Norway is referred as the land of midnight sun due to the fact that the Northern part of Norway is located above the Arctic Circle. This location is known to receive sunlight 24 hours a day from mid-May to mid-July.

            Yuna about to leave when someone tapped her shoulder, making her turned in awe. Because she was solo traveling, she needed to be extra careful to strangers and the villagers weren’t exception.

            Before her, stood an Asian guy with a sheepishly smile. He wore a thick eye glasses that hid half of his face and a faux fur black coat. What stood out the most from his was a pair of green ugg boots on his feet. He looked odd but somewhat familiar. Yuna tried to think hard of where she could’ve seen him before.

            The guy coughed, trying to find words to say. “D-do you speak English?” he asked with broken accent.

            Yuna furrowed her eyebrows. His voice reminded her of someone. “Of course,” she replied.

            The guy out a mini map from his pocket and pointed at a place near the beach. “It’s a…Umm…,” he paused and bit his lower lip in nervous. Yuna watched as he hit forehead in annoyance. “Eotteon yeongeo deungdae? Molla, molla, molla!” he mumbled to himself.

            Yuna’s eyes widened upon hearing him speaking in Korea, her mother tongue.

            “I speak Korean too,” she said.

            The guy silenced before his brain could process what she just said. “Where do you come from?” he asked in Korean.

            Yuna smiled. “Gwangju, and you?”

            “Seoul,” he replied with a smile and extended his hand at her, “My name’s Joonmyun.”

        Joonmyun? Kim Joonmyun? Yuna thought in disbelief.

            Yuna shook his hand lightly. “Yoo Yuna. Nice to meet you Joonmyun-ssi,” she paused briefly, “Excuse me, Joonmyun-ssi. Do you perhaps know Suho of EXO?"

            Joonmyun's pupils dilated. “Ah? You mean the leader?”” he gulped.

            Yuna nodded. “Yeah, your name reminded me of him. If I’m not wrong, Suho’s real name is Joonmyun. I heard my sister cheered and yelled for him when we watched their concert together.”

            “It must be coincidence then.” Joonmyun said, mentally cursing himself for not telling her the truth that indeed he was Suho.

            “Yeah, it must be,” she muttered. “Anyway, are you asking for the direction to Landegode Lighthouse? I’m about to go there, so how about you come along with me?”

            “Is it okay for you to go out with strangers?”

            Yuna gave him a comforting smile. “You seem like a good person.”

            Well, a good person didn’t lie to anyone no matter what.

 

 

            “So, what do you do for living?” Yuna tried to open the conversation as they both made their way to the Landegode Lighthouse in the middle of the beach, not too far from where they were.

            Her questions surprised him. “Ah… I’m a news anchor.” Joonmyun replied with the first job that came up on his mind. He couldn’t think of anything else.

            Yuna stared at him who just two steps behind. No wonder he’s familiar, I must’ve seen him in the TV, she thought.

            “What about you, Yuna-ssi?” Joonmyun asked quietly.

            “I’m a writer.”

            “So you came a long way from Korea to Bodø to find inspiration?”

            She shook her head. “Not really, you can say that I’m trying to find something, but it’s not inspiration though.”

            Joonmyun raised his eyebrows. “What could it be?”

            Yuna didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at him blankly – as if her mind was somewhere else.

            Joonmyun about to change the topic when Yuna suddenly parted her lips to speak, “To be honest, I don’t know about it either.” She answered truthfully.

            “Sorry?”

            “My life has been too busy lately that I couldn’t concentrate on what’s missing and what I’m searching for. I forced myself to be a perfectionist since writing is my dream. I think I’m forcing myself too hard until I grew tired then realized that although I really love my job, there’s something missing.”

            They both silenced. Joonmyun didn’t reply because he knew he didn’t have the right to, while Yuna was immersed in her own thoughts. It wasn’t an awkward moment. It was more like a comfortable silence to both of them as they reflected on themselves. Little did she knew, Joonmyum was thinking about her words. He had to admit that his life is tiring and he was missing something. He missed a comfortable silence like this, but there was something more. They weren’t talking, but they both knew what each other’s thinking; what could be they’re missing?

            “Am I the only one who thinks that our silence is comfortable?” Yuna asked out of the blue, earning a grin from Suho.

            “It has been a long time since I experienced a silence like this. It wasn’t awkward, and I like it,” He replied.

            Yuna fixed her gaze the road before them. “From your words, it seems like you have a busy life, Joonmyun-ssi.”

            He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Yes.”

            “Is your life as a news anchor too noisy that you couldn’t even find silence?”

            Joonmyun sighed. “You know, we have fans. Sometimes I’m grateful for having them all, sometimes I hate my job because of them.”

            Yuna winced when he said ‘we’. What did he refer ‘we’ to?

            Joomnyun realized that Yuna had stopped from her track. He looked up and found the tall Landegode Lighthouse was right before them. The red, round, iron tower was 29 meters tall. From the guide book Joonmyun had read, it said that the lighthouse was built in 1902 and automated in 1988. The lighthouse was listed as a protected site in 1999. The light could be seen for about 17.8 nautical miles away.

 

            Yuna looked up at the lighthouse, admired. She blinked in disbelief with half open – as if the lighthouse before them is the most beautiful in the world. Her expression earned a chuckle from Joonmyun.

            “You know, you can find such a lighthouse in Jeju. It’s not that special,” He smiled.

            “No it’s not that. I mean look,” Yuna pointed at the skies above them. Joonmyun looked at the direction she meant and suddenly he was at loss for words. They both witnessed the elegant dance of shimmering northern lights. The lights started faintly in the far north, then moving higher up in the night sky.

            “Aurora borealis,” Joonmyun mumbled, more to himself as he found himself lost in the astonishing nature’s great displays; a mysterious, multicoloured show in which the night sky is suddenly lit up with a wondrous glow that twists and swirls like a heavenly lava lamp.

            Yuna was still admiring the view when out of the blue Joonmyun pulled her hand with him, making her shrieked in surprised. Before she could say anything, Joonmyun cut her off.

            “The view is far more mesmerizing from the lighthouse peak.” He explained while dragging her to the stairs. Understood what he was trying to do, Yuna followed him – half running upstairs.

            And there they were, standing at the top of Landegode Lighthouse breathlessly. They were too enchanted by the dancing lights to move nearer to the windows and get clearer view.

            Nothing compares to this, Joonmyun whispered silently.

            They would gladly stop the time if only they have the ability to do so.

            “It makes me realize something,” Yuna talked, still staring at the stunning aurora borealis on the northern skies, “All these times, I was missing peacefulness.”

            Joonmyun turned his head at her.

            Was it peace when we stood silence yet it felt comfortable? He wondered.

            “I believe it was peace when we stared at the night skies and lost in our own thoughts.” She continued. This time, a genuine smile formed on her lips. “I’ve read a travelogue that quite fascinated me. The author wrote, ‘and yes, wherever you feel peacefulness, you might call it home’,”

            Her words stunned Joonmyun. “You find home that is far away from home?”

            “Home is a four letter world, so it should be simple. Home is ourselves because we can always find peacefulness within. Sometimes, the noisy world distracted us. But once we closed our heart to the outside voice, our inner voice speaks. They’ll guide you to what your heart desires and you’ll end up with peacefulness.”

            Joonmyun chuckled lightly. “You seem very mature with your words. How old are you?”

            “Twenty-one this year,” Yuna replied.

            “And your family let their twenty-one years old daughter to travel to Norway alone?”

            She nodded. “They said it will benefit me. Journeys change people.”

            “I see that you also have a mature family. You’re lucky.” Joonmyun said.

            “I am.”

            He moved closer to her. “But don’t you miss home, though?” Joonmyun asked the question that had lingered on his mind.

            Yuna silenced. Her mind wandered to his family in Gwangju; her excellent father that always been her strength, her lovingly mother, and her hyperactive little sister that she adores very much. She did miss them.

            “I’m already home.”

 

 

            It was early morning when Yuna and Joonmyun left Landegode Lighthouse. Yuna said she wanted to visit Skjerstad, the countryside while it was Joonmyun’s last day in Bodø.

            “So you’re going back to Seoul today?” Yuna asked when they were already outside and stood side by side on the beach, facing the blue surface of ocean.

            Joonmyun nodded. “Thank you for spending last night with me,” he sincerely smiled.

            “No, it should be me who thank you for listening to my blabbering last night.” Yuna returned his smile.

            “You’re a wonderful person, Yuna-ssi. I hope we get a chance to meet each other in Korea. Gwangju isn’t that far from Seoul, right?” He laughed.

            “Yeah,”

            Joonmyun pulled out a map he had shown to her last night. Yuna was about to asking what he was doing when he wrote something on the back side of the map with a pen he took from his pocket. He then handed her the map, “This is my number. Contact me when you arrived, would you?”

            “Why would I?” Yuna joked while accepted the map.

            Joonmyun grinned. He seemed to be a little hesitant when he replied, “We’re friends, right?”

            “Of course we are.” Yuna muttered. She extended her hand at him, making Joonmyun’s brows furrowed in confusion.

            “You’re about to going away, so we need at least to have a proper goodbye.” The black haired girl explained. Joonmyun smiled and accepted her hand.

            “See you, Yuna-ssi.”

            If they fated to meet again, they will surely meet. And if the time is right, Yuna will get to know his identity – perhaps even his true self.

 

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