The bell rang as the door opened. For any other customer, that bell could morph into a pit of despair in Taeyeon’s stomach, but when golden locks of sunshine came into her view, those bells grew into little butterflies.

Taeyeon remembers the first time she saw the woman enter her store. It was an unusually warm day in spring. One where the birds came out of hibernation and were singing the tune that summer must be on its way, even if the flowers have yet to bloom. With the warm weather, Taeyeon was already in a great mood, so much so that she changed the scent in her candle shop from Cranberry Rosé to Lemon Blossom. So when the bell rang that morning to a new guest, Taeyeon saw those golden locks of hair, a woman so beautiful that she couldn’t help but stare, and to this day, Taeyeon still is reminded of that citrus scent. Lemon Blossom encompassed the woman in her entirety. Her hair yellow like the citrus fruit and her soft laugh refreshing and crisp like the blossom of a flower.

Since that time, Taeyeon noticed the woman was a monthly regular. She assumed most customers come into the store out of curiosity, or to change the scents for the season, but this woman came in once a month to pick a new candle. It was a little unusual, but Taeyeon always anticipated the day the woman would grace her store once again.

Sometimes, Taeyeon would try to guess what scent the woman would buy that day. She noticed that the woman in question preferred scents with a flowery tone. However, Taeyeon assumed it was because the past few months were summer and those were her biggest sellers this season, but next month would mark fall. Taeyeon wondered if the woman would change to some of her autumn smells. Would she choose something earthy with the scent of the Pine Trees, or go for something with some spice like Cinnamon Apple, it is possible that the woman would change to something homey and warm like Sage & Walnut. Really there were endless possibilities.

“Excuse me.”

Taeyeon blinked away her whimsical imagination to lock eyes with her. It was like time stopped for a second as those big brown eyes looked deep into hers, “y-yes?”

The woman giggle a little, she must have caught Taeyeon’s aloofness, “I like this candle, but it would be nice to have something…something with an ocean vibe.” Again she laughed, “it must sound silly. I want a scent that could take me to a frozen lake or river. Like if you were to walk into the woods and stumble upon one.”

Of course that scent doesn’t exist, but in the memories of this woman, “I am afraid that I don’t have anything similar to that…it is rather…specific.”

Raking her fingers through those beautiful locks of hair, Taeyeon could only imagine how soft that must feel, “It is. I am sorry for such a strange request.”

Taeyeon smiled for her, “Not strange, just specific. I could suggest that you buy this one that has the woods scent you prefer and then burn this one at the same time. It doesn’t have the same scent of a fresh water source, but it might come close.”

The girl nodded as she smelled the candles, “it isn’t the same…”

Taeyeon frowned at the girl. She couldn’t give her what she wanted and the weight of those 4 words on her shoulders made her feel like a huge failure. She let her down. How dare Taeyeon do that?!

“Maybe I should just get this one today.”

Taeyeon took the candle from the woman and read, “Sweater Weather.” Taeyeon tried not to laugh, but the name was a little funny for the fact that this candle was a mix of everything fall. It had a flowery aroma of jasmine and eucalyptus, and an additional hint of the woods. It wasn’t the first choice she would have picked for the girl, but what did she really know about her anyway?

Although…Taeyeon did know her name. Luckily, the customer paid by credit card, so she could safely say, “Have a nice day Jessica.”

And in response, Jessica read her name tag to say, “You too Taeyeon.”

It was a normal way to end a transaction, but the way Jessica said her name, still melts her heart.

Laying in bed that night, Taeyeon thought about her day. Like usual, she would over analyze her interactions with Jessica. However, her came to the same conclusion that she was an awkward mess in front of her, but today she flipped over in her bed and screamed at herself for being an idiot and not finding what the girl wanted. It was frustrating because she didn’t even know how to make that kind of scent. Never once did Taeyeon dare try hiking, so how was she to know what a wooded scent with a fresh water source nearby would smell like?

Tossing in her bed, Taeyeon thought about the scent some more before falling asleep. It was strange that in her dreams she found the place that Jessica imagined.

Waking up to the new day, Taeyeon felt energized as she entered the shop. Usually she would reorganize some items in the morning, but today, Taeyeon was on a mission. She went to the back of her storeroom and pulled out a box of her winter scents and then a box of her summer scents. Going through the boxes, she found all the scents that could be woody, and in the summer box she found all the scents that reflected water.  Last night, Taeyeon was sure she experienced the place Jessica described, but now she just had to find the right combination of scents.

One by one, Taeyeon went through each candle and smelled them until she got dizzy from overloading her senses. Setting aside the candles that were close, Taeyeon quickly packed up the boxes again because she had to open the shop.

Walking to the front of the store, Taeyeon froze for a second when a face appeared on the other side, “Why is she here?” It was strange seeing her monthly visitor at her store the day after she already visited. Quickly unlocking the door, Taeyeon automatically put on her best smile, “Morning.”

Jessica returned the greeting, “Morning.”

Taeyeon bit her tongue to prevent from asking why she was here. Not that she wasn’t already feeling giddy inside with just the sight of her walking around the store.

“It was bothering me last night.”

Taeyeon quickly turned around to face Jessica who was still perusing the candles, “W-what?”

“Your store has a huge selection of scents. I was thinking last night, I didn’t look hard enough. You must have something close to what I am imagining.” Jessica went over to the counter that Taeyeon found herself safely behind, “wood and water, do you have any more of those kind of scents?”

Taeyeon’s mouth went dry with Jessica being this close, “L-let me look in the back.”

Jessica grinned, “That would be great.”

Taeyeon nearly tripped as she left the counter and made her way to the back of the store. When the door closed behind her, Taeyeon released the breath that she was holding in during Jessica’s presence. Just standing there, Taeyeon tried to get her heartbeat to go down before she went over to the box she was working on before, “I was hoping to find it before she did…”

Taking out the box, Taeyeon put it on the counter, “I found these. Some were seasonal that we had from last year.”

Jessica smiled happily going through the candles one by one. Taeyeon just stood to the side watching the blonde take in all the scents, enjoying their unique smells. “None of them are exactly what I was looking for, but these two…are close.”

Taeyeon took the candles and smelled them together, “Oh…it is a good combination.”

Jessica smiled, “I think so.”

“It would be nice to smell the real thing…”

“You should come with me.”

Taeyeon fumbled with the candle, but caught it, “w-what?”

Jessica could see Taeyeon’s ears turn red, “Camping. The weather is going to turn cold soon, but we should go to the place together if you would like?”

Alone with Jessica? How could Taeyeon turn that down, “s-sure?”

“Great!” Jessica stood up enthusiastically, “I know you are closed Sunday and Monday so did you want to do those days?”

“Ah…” It was like Taeyeon’s brain suddenly failed to function, “yes?”

Jessica took her bag of recently purchased items, “Great. 8 am here, okay?”

Taeyeon weakly waved the girl off without giving an answer, but she assumed Jessica already knew that was a yes. Camping with her dream girl…Taeyeon had no idea how any of that just happened.

-----------------------

Truthfully, Taeyeon had never been camping before. Not that she never didn’t want to, but she had friends who were less adventurous and preferred to spend indefinite time inside, so Taeyeon had no idea what to pack. She scoured the internet the night before wondering what to bring to an outdoor event and he was shocked to find that she had nothing the internet suggested.

She really hoped Jessica had everything for a camping adventure because she was hopeless. In fact, Taeyeon stood outside wondering if she dreamt the fact that Jessica asked her to do this with her. It all seemed so surreal.

When Jessica’s car pulled up, Taeyeon finally realized she wasn’t dreaming at all, “Hey.”

Taeyeon looked both ways before crossing the street and hopping into the car, “Hi.”

Jessica noticed the small bag that Taeyeon had, “Is that all you are bringing?”

Taeyeon bit her lip, “Yes?”

Jessica giggled a little, “Is this your first time camping?”

Taeyeon trapped her hands between her thighs as she looked down, afraid to face Jessica, “yea…”

“I just assumed by now…you would have…” Jessica smiled, “I may have overpacked so we should be good. Ready to go?”

Taeyeon returned the smile, “w-where are we going to do this?”

“It is a bit of a drive, like 4 hours away? You can nap if you would like?”

“4 hours! Are you sure you can drive that long?”

“I don’t have a choice. For me to show you what I was explaining, I need to take you to the exact same spot. I’ve driven longer distances before.” Jessica sounded confident as she started the long drive.

Taeyeon wanted to spend the 4 hours having a lengthy discussion in getting to know Jessica better, but her late night activities of panicking over the whole trip caused her to sleep the majority of the drive. She felt so apologetic to Jessica who was jamming out to the radio when she woke up.

“Was the music too loud?”

Taeyeon jerked awake when she realized what just happened, “Shoot. I am sorry I dozed off!” Looking around, Taeyeon could see the beautiful greenery around them, “wow.”

“Pretty right?”

Taeyeon pressed her nose to the window, “The trees are changing colors.”

“Some say spring is the best time with the blooming flowers, but to me, fall is the best when the trees change color. You can see the gradual transition into winter and I think that is even more beautiful.”

Once again, Taeyeon caught herself biting her tongue to resist telling Jessica that she is the most beautiful thing she ever saw…Jessica was her autumn.

After a while, Jessica turned into a dirt road and their car was encapsulated by the trees as they went deeper and deeper in the forest, “I reserved a spot over here.”

Finally finding their spot, Jessica pulled in and hopped out of the car, “I hope you are in a learning mood. There is a lot we need to do before we lose the sunlight.”

Taeyeon went around the car, “Anything. I am a fast learner.”

Jessica smiled, “Tent. I thought you might bring your own, but we can shar mine. It is big enough for 2.”

Taeyeon swallowed hard, thinking that being new to this camping thing wasn’t so bad after all.

Afterall, Jessica was a great teacher. She taught Taeyeon how to pitch a tent, which wasn’t so hard because Jessica explained that she paid $100 more for a tent that she could basically put up herself if she needed to. Then Jessica showed Taeyeon how to dig the perfect hole to do their bathroom business and then they both set up furniture around the fire that Jessica was ready to light.

“I have a couple food items we can cook over the fire. Personally, I feel like having a hot dog.”

Taeyeon was sitting next to the fire that was starting to grow bigger and bigger, “that sounds nice.”

Jessica got a huge cooler out of the car and rolled it over next to Taeyeon, “Here you just stab it on this pole and put it in. What do you want to drink?”

Taeyeon went over and looked into the cooler, “There is a lot of alcohol here…”

“It isn’t camping if you can’t have a little late-night fun. But I think there are some sodas on the bottom.”

Taeyeon quickly reached for something on top, “No…I can drink a bit.”

Jessica raised her brow, but grabbed a drink too before helping Taeyeon with the hotdog. Settling beside the fire, the two women focused on cooking their dinner in silence. During this time, Taeyeon finally let her thoughts go and she breathed in deep. She could smell the fire, the slight dampness in the air, and fresh pine. Was this the scent Jessica mentioned? It was unlike anything she smelled before.

“Yah! Taeyeon you are burning your hotdog!”

Taeyeon quickly took her food out of the fire and examined the slightly burnt meat, “I think it is still edible.”

“You can make another if you want?”

“No no this is fine, did you pack ketchup?”

Jessica smiled, “I am glad you are a ketchup lover like me, because I don’t have mustard.”

Taeyeon found the ketchup and squirted it over her hotdog, “I love it.”

Jessica took the ketchup from Taeyeon’s hand as their fingers slightly brushed, “thanks.”

Taeyeon quickly shoved the hotdog in and turned away, knowing her face was heating up.

Once again, Jessica started the conversation, “So a candle shop…that is an interesting business.”

Taeyeon took a huge drink before turning back around, “Hum yea I love scents.”

“I can tell. Sometimes I overhear you talking to other customers. You know your stuff.”

“You do too…last week is the first time you asked me a question about the candles…”

Jessica started coughing a bit before she reached over for her drink to calm down, “Ah that…”

“Are you okay?”

Jessica nodded, “Yea I am fine. I was going to say, that I never had to ask you. I just trusted what you suggested. You know your monthly recommendation on the website.”

And that is when it clicked. Taeyeon only saw Jessica once a month, exactly the day after she posted what she thought her favorite of the new shipment was. Taeyeon noted in her head, that she should post a new favorite twice a month…

“That day…I asked you about something impossible.”

Taeyeon looked up into Jessica’s eyes, “Don’t say that, we got pretty close to what you asked for.”

Jessica shook her head, “no…I mean I do like that scent, what we are experiencing now, but I made it impossible for a reason. I wanted a way to talk to you.”

Taeyeon laughed, “You can talk to me anytime. Like right now, we don’t need candles for that.”

Jessica groaned knowing Taeyeon wasn’t getting it, “the candle…this…” Jessica motioned to all their camping gear, “I didn’t know how to get you to notice me…talk to me…I mean it has been months and the most I get is ‘have a nice day.’ Goodness I feel like I am acting desperate, sorry.”

“How can I not notice you,” Taeyeon breathed out by accident.

However, the comment didn’t fall on deaf ears, “w-what?”

Suddenly Taeyeon felt hot, she looked down at the beer wondering if that was the culprit but she knew she was falling into a trap. The beer is making her say her deepest secrets, “I noticed you from the first time you walked in. I mean you have to know how beautiful you are.”

Jessica giggled, “thank god…I thought wearing all those dresses went to waste.”

Taeyeon looked up again, “Huh?”

“I-I wanted to look nice. You know…when seeing you.”

Taeyeon pointed at herself, “Me?”

Jessica rolled her eyes back, “Of course you! I wanted you to like me.”

Taeyeon was still not understanding what was going on, “Why me?”

“I liked you!” Jessica nearly screamed out in frustration.

~4 Months Ago~

Just recently Jessica’s friend Tiffany introduced Jessica to the wonders of scents. Tiffany had a very stressful job and her yoga teacher started getting her hooked on using aromatherapy candles to handle her high paced job. And like a good friend who was obsessed with a new hobby, Tiffany forced her newfound joy onto her best friend Jessica. At first, Jessica resisted Tiffany’s advances to get her to enjoy her hobby, but Tiffany was a master manipulator and convinced Jessica that they were going to do a spa retreat together.

Naturally, Jessica couldn’t resist.

Tiffany was especially deceiving when she temped Jessica with various promises of massages and endless nap times. It was then, that her scheme came into full force. This spa used some very convincing odors that relaxed Jessica into a state of complete relaxation. So much so, that Jessica had this urge to feel that way again.

The plan worked. Jessica was back home, a week after that amazing weekend of bliss, she could feel her muscles throbbing, her head aching and her life needing an extra boost. Jessica cursed herself, and Tiffany, for making her go into town, the only candle shop that Google said was in her area to buy a damn candle.

However, that plan soon dissipated when she opened the door. It was strange that when the door opened, Jessica felt that she immediately got transported to another place. It was like she was in a field of flowers that had the fresh hint of lemon, as if she could reenact a Downey commercial, Jessica wanted to frolic in that field. When she did finally open her eyes, she saw the most beautiful woman ever. Her brown hair wasn’t very long but the right height, cutting off near her shoulders. The humidity was high that day, she assumed the girl at the register had a natural wave, but it looked stunning with her babyface and sharp jawline.

The thoughts of an aroma therapy candle went out the window. She was going through the store, when she finally heard the other woman speak. It was clear that she was the owner of the shop, so Jessica listened in. She overheard the owner say the new candle of the month and recommended that to the customer. Jessica found herself doing anything at the will of this person, so she quickly grabbed the candle of the month and went to check out. It was then that she saw the owner smile and say, ‘have a nice day,’ that Jessica knew she had fallen in love.

“You? Like me?” Taeyeon was baffled but at the same time found this very amusing. The girl she was pinning over for months, suddenly had feelings for her too? She didn’t know if to thank or curse at the Gods this very moment. She was too happy to have words to say anything beyond that this situation was unbelievable.

“Yes…sorry…I didn’t mean to make this camping trip like awkward. It is just I am tired of keeping that secret in…”

Taeyeon thought Jessica’s shy personality was absolutely adorable, so she shuffled closer to take Jessica’s hand in hers, “If you don’t make the first move…then we could be waiting years until I get the courage.”

Jessica’s eyes widened at the realization of what Taeyeon was implying, “do you like me too?”

Giving a shy smile, Taeyeon looked down at Jessica’s hand in hers, “you were the only customer to make me stop breathing for a second as you walked through the door, get me excited for the first week of every month, and to trick me into camping.”

Jessica smiled and put her other hand over Taeyeons’. They needed no further words to express their feelings so Jessica leaned in and kissed her. In that moment, Taeyeon’s mind blanked and she breathed in a huge scent of Jessica’s flowery scent, that blended together with the calmness of the woods and a hint of smoke from the fire. It was so unique and special that in this moment, Taeyeon could only describe the scent as love.

~End~