Luhan was starting to feel cold now because of his soaked clothes. Comforting Namjoo earlier had kept him warm up till her tears ran dry. They were now sitting with backs propped against the walls. Like the past few days when he received no call from Namjoo, she also didn’t talk to him for a long time. They just sat there and that was it.

For a moment he wondered if Namjoo was also upset with him; that he’d intruded on her time alone; that he’d made her cry by spouting stupid nonsense.

Luhan was starting to feel the chills, but he didn’t move…couldn’t move. He was afraid Namjoo would close the door on him, tell him to leave; go home.

“I think one thing we never tend to learn,” Namjoo started so suddenly that he shifted his head to look at her, “is that people leave all the time, but we still let them come into our lives.”

Namjoo’s eyes were droopy and she suddenly looked tired.

“I placed all my happiness on Kai,” she spoke, “but now that he’s left, I have nothing.”

“That’s why you don’t do it.”

Namjoo slightly tilted her head to look at him, “You should know.”

His shoulders rose as he snorted, “Whatever.”

A breath of laughter escaped her as she mimicked his, “Whatever.”

As if the mood had lifted he lightly laughed before they ended up laughing together.

Luhan ended up spending the night after borrowing some clothes and blankets from the aunt next door. It was totally dark in the room he was sleeping in. It was the very same room he and Namjoo had fought in.

While searching throughout the room he could barely make out any object. For a long while he hadn’t slept on the ground, so he was uncomfortable. Shifting and turning didn’t improve his comfort much. Suddenly sitting up he grabbed his phone and turned it on. It lit up the room perfectly with its majestic white glow.

Finally taking a look around Luhan slid off his futon when he spotted a photo frame sitting on the table to his right. Curiously reaching for it he held the light closer to the glassy frame. There was a middle aged thin man and a little girl sitting beside him. Without asking he knew that the little girl must be Namjoo and this man her father. Compared to when he met Namjoo who smiled a lot, this little girl was without one; just like the Namjoo he knew now.

Luhan turned when he heard the front door opening and putting the picture down got up curiously to see what was going on. After walking out of his room he turned to look at Namjoo’s bedroom door. It was open. Turning to glance at the front door he reached out to slide it open and found the heavenly dark sky lit with white stars above his eyes. The stars looked like pretty beads glowing in the luminous dark. It was such a sight he almost smiled.

When he lowered his head he found Namjoo standing with her back to him. She, too, was looking up at the stars, but unlike him, he assumed she wasn’t feeling bliss at the view. How lonely she must feel just watching such pretty things shine when she knew she couldn’t share the sight with anyone important in her life.

She must be so lonely…

Slowly closing the door he returned to his room.

Luhan slept the rest of the night tossing and turning till his blanket was nearly removed from his body. When he woke up he felt a sore spot at his lower back and groaned while sitting up. Ruffling his hair gently he slowly sat there with his head falling forward as if gathering himself before finally rising.

Upon stepping out he saw that Namjoo’s door was still closed and curious if she was still sleeping slowly opened the door. When he spotted the clean ground he further opened the door to discover that Namjoo had neatly folded up her blanket and futon. Where had she gone?

Turning around he walked toward the door hoping she was outside; however, when he opened the front door Namjoo wasn’t in sight either.

“Namjoo?” He still found himself calling out. “Namjoo.”

Obviously no one replied. Wondering where she could have gone off he narrowed his eyes due to the bright morning sun while stepping out of the yard. He didn’t see her anywhere. It was almost as if she’d disappeared. Honestly he didn’t know what he’d do there without her around. Namjoo was the only reason why he’d come in the first place and if she suddenly just ditched him, he had to admit he was at a total loss.

“Good morning!” Luhan turned to see the aunt from next door stepping outside of her house in her usual farming attire.

He quickly bowed in he greeting before wondering if the aunt would know, “Have you seen Namjoo around?”

Just a few minutes later he found himself stepping onto a blank area of grassland spreading out toward the horizon. It was a pretty sight, one he would never catch in the city of bustling tourists and traffic. The air was distinctly fresh and clean with a scent of pureness.

Namjoo’s father was buried here, the aunt had told him.

Looking around he spotted a shape of land standing up from the flat land and took a step forward only to pause when he saw Namjoo lying on the grass. Her head was seemingly tilted to the side; her eyes closed and he suddenly thought she was injured. Almost at once he raised his head to glance toward the woods surrounding the grassland before jumping forward.

“Namjoo!” He screamed as his legs scurried toward her.

Picking her up from the ground into his arms he slightly shook her, searching for any wounds.

“Namjoo, wake up!” He urged.

A frown first started crossing her face before her eyes opened to look at him. Suddenly groaning she pushed him back before sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

“What the heck…” she voiced her irritation out.

Luhan stared at her completely dumbfounded and finally stood with an exasperated, yet stupefied snort.

“What hell are you doing sleeping around here!?” He scolded. “What if something attacked you?! A snake or a beast?! Shouldn’t you be more afraid?!”

Scrunching her face up into annoyance she stared up at him and stood up too, “You’re so cautious, aren’t you? Are you here to nag?”

“At least I care for my life.”

Namjoo’s expression laughed at him, “Look at you talk.”

Luhan was filled with an urge to retort, but fought hard to hold himself back. What was it his business anyway?

Turning away from her he glanced at the mound popping up from the ground and shot a glance Namjoo’s way. She didn’t so much as look back at him before shifting to walk away.

“I’m not waiting for you,” he heard her say as she stepped further away from him.

Sending a rueful frown her way he quickly bowed toward the mound and turned to run after her.

“You couldn’t sleep last night?” He asked when he caught up to her, even though he knew she hadn’t slept.

“No.”

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye he slowly nodded.

“I want to feel closer to him by going to the same places he’s been; imagining us being there together, but the picture’s not coming out well in my head,” Namjoo told then turned to look at him. “I guess that’s just how it is. Even if you lose someone, the living still has to keep going.”

Unsure how to reply to what she’d just said he watched her quicken her pace leaving him behind.

Of course he didn’t know what it was like to lose a parent. His were both very alive and well even if he hadn’t seen them in a while. On a part he was afraid of seeing them, but it was probably a different measure from how Namjoo felt toward her father who was no longer there in earthly form. Times could still be spent and mended with his parents, but Namjoo would never get that chance to see or hear her father talking to her.

He didn’t know how to fix that. There probably was no solution to it.

When he turned into the yard Namjoo had a broom in hand with her arm outstretched toward the roof. She was trying to get at the cobwebs and dirt hanging around the house. He thought she made it look more difficult than should be.

“Give me that,” he said walking over and snatched it from her.

Stepping back she watched him sweep the broom back and forth and turned away as the dust drifted down. Within a few seconds Luhan could hear her walking away only to appear minutes later with a pail in hand. His eyes followed her toward the water pump at the side near the grassier area before she suddenly grabbed the handle to pump water out. He listened to the metal shriek and scream as they touched, but still no water came.

“Move aside,” he walked toward her and handed her the broom. “I’ll do it.”

“What are you doing?”

“Doing the work for you,” he replied. “Do you think you can actually carry this around?”

She watched him tap the pail and rolled her eyes.

“What were you going to do with it?”

“Clean the sheds,” Namjoo replied. “Don’t you see all the dirt on it?”

Luhan turned to stare at the shed on his left. There was dark grime, a lot of cobwebs, and some bird droppings on the walls of it.

“You do all that then!” Namjoo told shaking the broom out in front of him.

Luhan coughed and immediately turned away from all the dust emanating from it screaming, “Namjoo!”

He watched her skip away gladly and resumed to sweeping the rest of the filth off the house. Luhan groaned to himself when the cold water finally came through the pump and jumped back when it got onto his feet. Cleaning the filfth off the sheds was no less fun than sweeping the dust off the house, but it was definitely a lot dirtier. All he had in use was an old rag he’d discovered in the house and he dreaded the thought of using his bare hands to hold the rag.

As he worked hard at cleaning the sheds to Namjoo’s liking she still came around to tease and bother him. Every once in a while she’d shout at him from the steps where she was sitting telling him to scrub harder or that he’d missed a spot.

“Put your back into it!” She’d shout at him. “Put those muscles to use! Luhan! You’re messing up!”

Or if she’d tired shouting at him she’d skip by while sweeping the dirt his way before scurrying off. Part of him was pricked by her teasing, but a smaller part of him was glad she was cheered up enough to resort to being playful.

It was…a relief.

When she came one more round to sweep the dirt his way again he shot up from the ground with his back creaking and screaming.

“Give me that!” He screamed reaching out for the broom. “How old are you again?!”

He listened to her shriek and yelp as she continued running in circles to escape his chase. Turning around in the opposite direction he caught the surprise on her face and laughing from the surprise quickly shifted away. Cutting his way through half the yard he reached out for her arm and finally grasped onto the broom. The chase transitioned into a game of tug-of-war before he accidentally pulled too hard. He felt Namjoo fly into him with her head knocking into his shoulder.

Luhan’s grip on the broom immediately froze when he felt her hands wrap around his arms to pull herself back, laughing all the way.

“Geez, I’m all out of breath thanks to you,” she stepped back.

With mind blank and his heart doing strange things behind his ribs, all he managed was an, “Ah…”

“Namjoo, are you home?” A voice appeared around the gateless entrance and they turned to see the aunt from next door. “So you are home! Come over! I just set the table for lunch!”

The aunt’s home was a replica of Namjoo’s father’s. Instead of an empty yard there was a large wooden table outside and it was where they were sitting just minutes later. A miniature, but longer table had been placed atop it and was covered in various dishes. Luhan could feel his stomach growling at the sight.

“My husband just caught these fishes this morning so they’re still very fresh,” the aunt explained. “Eat up, don’t be shy.”

They both smiled respectively in reply and continued to eat quietly.

“Your mother, how is she? Did she get married again?” The aunt perked up.

“Yes.” Namjoo replied quietly.

“Ahh…is that so? Your mother made the right choice, seeing that you grew up so well would make your father proud,” the aunt commented. “Don’t feel sad and be happy. Plus, you’re a lucky person. Your friend even came here all the way for you.”

At the mention of him he felt a twinge of embarrassment.

“Yes,” was all Namjoo repled before sticking some food into and chewed without so much of a glance his direction.

The friendly aunt handed them some sugar to make some candy with before they treaded back to the house. The silence sunk in all around them even as the bells chimed from the sun rays glittering through the gaps of the leaves above them. Shadows of the branches coursed over them while their feet kicked at the padded ground with soft thuds.

“Your family’s nice,” Luhan spoke up.

“You’re probably thinking Chae Yoon was right.”

He turned to look at her.

“She told you that, remember?” Namjoo reminded. “You two are quite awkward with each other.”

“I wouldn’t say awkward,” he quietly commented, but Namjoo heard.

“Really? Then how would you describe it?” Namjoo wondered.

Pressing his lips together not sure what to say he quickly excused, “Lets not talk about her.”

“Why? Do you not like her?” Namjoo went on.

Remaining patient he chose not to react.

“Or does she remind you of your ex?” Namjoo tilted her head up to glance at him.

“No,” he uttered.

“Then how was she like?” Namjoo pressed on, not knowing when to quit. “Is she prettier than Chae Yoon? Chae Yoon was always the prettiest girl in our school. Was she y? Do you like y girls? Or cute? Hmm?”

Turning his head away from her he peered off elsewhere without answering.

“Fine, be that way,” Namjoo gave up and quickened her pace to pass him.

Chae Yoon had been both pretty and cute. He had liked the way her hair curled around her shoulders and how her pink lips always brightened up for him. Those cheekbones of hers were the highlights of her face and her makeup was always on spot. Chae Yoon knew fashion and was always prettily dressed, outshining every other woman on the street. She had been his best and his one and only.

Namjoo had gone into the kitchen when he stepped into the house. The door had been left open and he curiously followed to see her touching the old rocket stove sitting on the table.

“What’s that?” Luhan stopped at the doorway to glance at the rocket stove amazed by how different it looked.

It was probably his first time seeing one and he didn’t think he’d be able to get it working. It just looked like a circular box of metal winded together with a gaping mouth at the bottom. Luhan thought it looked like it was screaming.

“The stove,” Namjoo replied running her hands over it to figure out how to work it.

Leftover charcoal ashes made up the black patches around the stove and Namjoo’s fingers were slowly turning darker the more she ran her hands around it.

“Move,” he stepped down the two stairs and slightly bent forward to observe it.

However much he ran his eyes over it though, he still didn’t get how to get it to function. The small space was too cramped up for him to move comfortably. Every little movement caused their shoulders to brush and he could feel Namjoo trying to inch away. Luhan lifted his shoulders up in an effort to make himself smaller, but let out a shout of surprise when the stove suddenly moved.

Surprised, he moved it a little more to discover that it was portable. Feeling dumbfounded he laughed for a second.

“We can move it,” Luhan stated the obvious.

“I know,” Namjoo nodded.

“Like you knew,” he made a face at her.

“I said I knew!” Namjoo retaliated.

He sneered at her playfully before lifting the rocket stove off the table, “Lets go do this outside.”