Kyungsoo was going to read a book when he spotted something unusual in their garden. When he came to check on it closer, he cocked his head in bewilderment.

“What are you doing?” Came a soft voice from Kyungsoo’s right. It was a girl with blue wispy hair. She was peering from the stone fence that separated their houses. He couldn’t remember her name, although he was sure they’d met a couple of times already.

He looked at the arc of mushrooms in the middle of his mother’s lawn. “This appeared in our garden last night.” She looked at him strangely. “It wasn’t here yesterday.”

Kyungsoo crouched to get a closer look at it. They were mushrooms of various sizes. Some were as big as his palm, while the others were barely the size of his thumb. “Wonder how they got here.”

“They’re caused by a single piece of spore of a particular fungi. Then they grow outward resulting in the circular shape.” She answered. 

Kyungsoo raised a brow. “From a singular spore to this? Overnight?”

“Sometimes, they’re already there even before you know they were.” She shrugged. “They might have been covered by the grass.” 

“You know a lot about them.”

She showed her phone and waved it. “Wikipedia.”

“Hmm.” He stood up, circling the round of fungi. She watched him and counted the times he walked around the ring. He stopped at the sixth round and seemed to ponder what to do next. 

He lifted his foot but before he could even step inside it, she spoke.

“Do you know what they’re called?” Her eyes drifted to the circle. “A fairy ring.”

“ A… fairy ring?”

The blue-haired girl nodded. “Or fairy circle, pixie ring or elf circle. Sometimes, a witch’s ring.” 

She continued. “They said that they were the result of fairies or elves dancing. If you step in their ring, you’ll become their captive and you won’t be able to come out of their place. They’ll eventually release you but you won’t even remember it. Interesting, huh?”

 Kyungsoo moved his foot away from the ring. 

She giggled. “Do you honestly believe that to be true? It’s all folklore.”

“Do you think I should remove it?”

She thought about it. “Well, they did say it might bring one good fortune. Maybe your mom’s roses will bloom beautifully next spring. Better not cut it.”

“Okay.” He crossed the lawn and headed towards her. He raised his head to get a better look at her. “What was your name again?”

An amused laugh escaped her. “Have you forgotten again? You have a very poor memory.”

“I do.” He agreed. “Your name?”

“It’s Jieun. J-i-e-u-n. Lee Jieun.” 

 Kyungsoo smiled. “I’m—”

“Kyungsoo. I know. Unlike you, I have an excellent memory.” Jieun teased. 

“Anyway, it’s lunch time so I have to head back.” Jieun was about to lower herself from her perch when he called out. 

“This is going to sound crazy but do you— do you believe in them? The fairies, I mean.” Kyungsoo frowned. “Last night, I woke up and I heard someone singing. When I looked outside my window, I saw… something glowing. I don’t really know what it was but... I thought I saw you.”

“You saw me?” She raised a brow. 

“Yeah? No. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I must’ve been hallucinating. I was half-asleep.” 

“You probably were.” Jieun laughed in good nature. She extended a hand for him to shake, to which he took. “Don’t forget my name next time, okay?”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “Nice to meet you again, Jieun.”

“See you around.” With a wave, she started to walk away, humming.

Kyungsoo stood there by the stone fence and studied the fairy ring from afar. He found it so odd. 

It took him a while before he realized that whatever Jieun was humming was strangely similar to what he heard last night.