Jinyoung rubbed his sweaty palms together as he looked around the house. It was huge to say the least. There were many expensive looking furniture and decorative items. He grew nervous thinking about accidentally breaking something and having to pay the price with his life.

“What are you doing just standing there? The room is over here.” Jinyoung scrambled over to the staircase and followed one of the butlers. He was in awe of everything around him. Everything looked so fancy and valuable.

He was so busy taking in all of the things he had never really seen before that he didn’t realize that the butler had stopped, causing himself to bump into the older man. The old man gave him a look of judgement, “The young madam of the house is not to be disturbed. Just go in there and fix whatever it is that needs to be fixed and leave. If anything bad is said about you or your work, expect a form of dismissal.”

Jinyoung nodded. He nervously watched the butler leave, and he stood in front of the white door, letting the anxiety eat him alive.

What if things are awkward after what happened earlier? Should I just ignore it? But what if she was…No, she couldn’t have been.

With a shaking hand, he knocked gently. From the other side, he heard her sweet voice telling him to enter. He grabbed the cold metal door handle and twisted it.

He stepped into the sophisticated-looking room and saw Iseul laying on her bed, listening to music. It seemed as though she did not sense his presence, so he cleared his throat to catch her attention.

When Iseul heard Jinyoung, she quickly sat up and took out the earbud hanging out of her ear. “I thought Old Man Jang was supposed to come.” Jinyoung gave her a muddled look, “Mr. Jang told me that something needed to be fixed.”

Iseul laughed, “I never told him that I needed something fixed. I just needed his help. I wanted to unpack all of my vinyl records. He’ll do anything to avoid helping me.”

The atmosphere grew awkwardly silent and the two just stood there, avoiding eye contact.

“So, can you please help me? I have a lot of records, and I don’t think I can trust myself. I can be really clumsy sometimes” Iseul timidly asked.

Jinyoung nodded just as shyly and asked her where the box of records was. He froze when he saw her pointing to five very large boxes in one of the corners of her room.

---

The two slowly began to unpack the records and put them in order by genre and the last name of the artist. Iseul and Jinyoung occasionally stole glances but would avoid direct eye contact.

“I’m sorry…again.” Jinyoung looked up at her upon hearing the sudden apology.

Iseul didn’t look up from the records splayed across the floor, “I didn’t mean to make things awkward back at the greenhouse. I don’t know why I did that. But then again, I don’t know why I do a lot of the things I do.” She chuckled at herself awkwardly, “I hope I didn’t freak you out earlier.”

Jinyoung shook his head, relieved that she was clearing up the atmosphere, “I’m sorry about spraying you, Miss…I mean, Iseul.”

Out of nowhere, she began to laugh. Jinyoung looked at her throw her head back and almost roll over on the floor. She seemed so carefree and beautiful as she laughed with wide open and eyes almost closed.

“You sprayed me for a good five seconds before you let go of the hose.” She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath.

Jinyoung chuckled, “I apologize for that. I should have been more careful.”

“No! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I liked it.” Iseul stopped talking and stared at Jinyoung who looked more confused than ever, “That sounded weird. What I meant to say was that it reminded me of running around in the rain when I was younger. Have you ever done that? Run around in the rain?”

Jinyoung smiled, “When I was little, but my mom would always scold me and tell me that I would catch a cold.”

“Oh! I have the perfect record for this topic. Hold on, let me…find…Here it is!” Iseul ran over to the record player on her nightstand and carefully set the large black disk on the player and led the needle over to the sleek surface. When the music started to spill out, she walked back over to Jinyoung with a warm smile.

“I used to listen to this when I was getting over the sniffles that I caught after playing in the rain.” Jinyoung carefully listened to the soothing melody that blanketed them with a sense of warmth and comfort.

“Why do you have so many records?” Iseul looked at the vast array of vinyl records on the floor, “They make me happy.” Jinyoung tilted his head, curious.

“I may sound like a rich brat who only knows how to complain when I say this, but living in a place like this makes me feel really lonely. My parents are always busy trying to keep their company alive and well, and my brother is almost always at the hospital or volunteering in a different country. The maids and butlers make it seem like they have to play with me. And I don’t really have any friends that I can trust. Other than my brother and your father, my records keep me company and tell me stories about the world.” Jinyoung grew sorry for the girl who seemed to be trapped in a world full of silence and boredom wrapped up so beautifully.

“Jinyoung,” Jinyoung looked at Iseul who looked so heartbroken behind her smile, “do you want to listen to another one?” He nodded and requested another smooth melody.

Iseul excitedly grabbed a sweet jazz piece and played it. “So what’s your story?”

Jinyoung stopped sorting the records and stared at her, “What do you mean?”

“Who are you? What makes you Park Jinyoung?” Iseul eyed him with exaggerated curiosity.

He debated on whether he should tell her, but he remembered that he was supposed to do anything the Song family told him to. “You don’t have to say anything if you’re uncomfortable. You don’t have to feel obligated to tell me.” Iseul smiled tenderly at him, sensing the discomfort in his face.

“Are you okay with funny stories?” Jinyoung smiled back at her, “Sure, but may I ask why you’re so fascinated with stories?”

“Stories just make me happy. I don’t really know how to explain it. Maybe it’s because they keep my mind off of the bad things of the world. Or maybe it’s because they give me hope that there can be happiness at the end of a chapter. But it could also be because I get to hear a part of someone’s life. It could possibly be because stories remind me that everyone gets noticed at least once and get to make it into someone’s memories, how they made some sort of imprint and how they were important enough to be remembered.” Jinyoung grew surprised by the thoughts that sat deep within her mind. He had never expected an answer such as hers.

“Wow, I never thought about things that way. Are you sure we’re the same age? You seem so much more mature.” Iseul giggled at the observation, “Should I start off our story war?”

---

Three hours had passed since Jinyoung set foot in Iseul’s room. For those three hours, they had told each other funny stories, strange encounters, if they believed in aliens, what they liked to do on Thursdays, and so many other random things. Iseul felt so happy listening to Jinyoung talk so comfortably and him listening to her ramble on and on.

“I’m an only child.” Iseul stopped laughing at Jinyoung’s perspective on tacos and looked at him, befuddled by the sudden statement. Jinyoung looked at her with unreadable eyes, “I don’t have any siblings. My dad is the only living relative that I have left. My mother passed away right before I started middle school. Our family had never been on the rich side but my parents earned enough for us to get by. But after my mother died, we couldn’t really keep up with the bills. My dad and I worked hard to keep the house we live in. I haven’t really been the brightest student, but I get grades good enough to keep me in school.” Jinyoung looked at Iseul, hoping that she a girl like her wouldn’t judge him or see him as a poor boy.

She looked at Jinyoung, almost as if she were thankful. Slowly, she slid closer to him and pulled him into a warm hug, “Your parents are so lucky they had a wonderful son like you.” She pulled away from him and smiled. Jinyoung’s heart grew warm thinking about how she saw him in a different light, one that he had not even imagined.

“I also like apples.” Iseul looked at Jinyoung and began to laugh uncontrollably at the sudden fact, “You have got to stop making me laugh so much. I can see that you got your humor and randomness from your father.” Iseul’s laughter tapered down when she caught Jinyoung staring at her with his dark brown eyes that seemed to be twinkling.

The song playing behind them stopped suddenly, allowing the silence to seep into every nook and cranny of the room. Iseul stared into Jinyoung’s eyes and let the words that were swirling in her head to flow down and out of , “I’m going to sound like a crazy person, but I can’t be the only one thinking this. I think I really like you.”

Jinyoung stiffened, but Iseul’s mind was still producing more words, “It’s like the whole love-at-first-sight thing is real. Jeez, it’s like I’m filming a lame chick-flick, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my feelings. It’s like I’m freaking Anna from Frozen, but you’re not a bad person like that evil glove guy. I must be crazy, I me-”

Jinyoung let his own mind take over the rest of his body. He leaned in brusquely, capturing her lips with his own. His hands cradled her face gently, making it seem like he had kissed her for lifetimes. His lips timidly danced on her soft ones, exploring every inch of them as if he were trying to make them as familiar to him as his own pink lips.

Iseul gripped Jinyoung’s shirt tightly, holding on for dear life. She leaned in further, letting her innocent and untouched lips become tainted with the lust that overflowed from their bodies. In her mind, she hoped and begged that she would become someone important enough to be a part of Jinyoung’s story.

When they could no longer find enough air to breathe in, they pulled away. They struggled to catch their breaths as they went onto explore each other’s eyes.

---

Iseul waited for all of the lights to switch off and the clock’s hands to read midnight. She climbed out of her bed and out of her room without making a sound. She slipped on her black sneakers and closed the front door behind her ever so carefully.

She ran to the garage as fast as she could. Before reaching the open entrance, she stopped herself to give herself a shot of confidence. Quietly, she peered into the garage and saw Jinyoung standing in his white shirt and jeans. He seemed to be placing whatever belongings he had brought into his backpack.

“Leaving?” Jinyoung turned his head with a shy smile, “You like sneaking up on me, don’t you?” Iseul slyly approached him, “I’ll try to stop. So…are you going home?”

Jinyoung nodded and zipped up his backpack. He turned the light off and the two of them stepped out together.

As they reached the large front gate, Jinyoung gave her small goodbye wave, but Iseul grabbed his hand in hers, “Good night, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She let go before giving him a diffident peck on the cheek and sending him off.