Woohyun was entranced the moment he saw her as he walked up the creaky wooden stairs to the photography studio. She was sitting daintily before the camera lenses, a soft smile gently gracing her features. She might not be what society calls conventionally beautiful, but there was a mellow aura about her he was enamoured by. He carried on in his steps after the prolonged pause, trying his best to act casual as he ambled to his granduncle’s side. He quietly admired her as she had her photos taken by his granduncle and he assisted him as he usually did. He never went up to interact with her. After all, she was just a guest dropping by, and he was just an assistant doing his job.

“Oh, Mr. Camera Assistant! It’s you, isn’t it?”

It was the first time he heard her voice when they coincidentally took the same riverboat. It was bright yet delicate, but for the most part it was dulcet. Woohyun couldn’t quite put it to words, but it was just as he imagined.

“Eh, you remember me?” he returned, taken aback. He had been entirely satisfied with adoring her from a distance that he never expected her to notice him at all. Instead of giving him a reply, she simply smiled.

“It’s nice meeting you again,” she said as she stepped out of the boat and disappeared down the street coloured with cherry blossoms. “Have a great day.”

“So what do you take pictures of?” he asked her one day as they were strolling down a serene lane. She had her small camera hanging on her neck as always. The sunlight that fell on them through the mildly swaying leaves was calm and soothing, as if matching her gentleness. Woohyun wondered if his town was always this pretty – if he was imagining things just because she was around.
“Beautiful things,” she finally said, “Things I want to look at again one day, and smile as I remember that moment.”

“Would you mind showing them to me –” His words trailed off as he saw that her attention was drawn away again by yet another dreamy landscape.

“Hey, I have a train to catch in ten minutes so I’ll get going! Have a great day.” And just like that, she was gone again. She was fleeting, like the summer breeze. He could never get a hold of her, but whenever she came around, her presence had a comforting effect on him. And he considered that maybe, this transience made her even more captivating.

To Woohyun’s delight, his hometown was small enough for a couple more coincidental meetings and he was not sure how it happened, but she eventually popped by their modest place several times in a week, underlining it as a perfect rest stop.

He never asked her how long she’d be staying. Perhaps he didn’t want to hear the answer, so he had an excuse to keep nurturing those feelings. If it were fated not to last, did that mean he ought to ruthlessly severe it? Even if there was just one percent of possibility, he was willing to believe in it.

“I like capturing people when they’re unaware of the camera,” she told him another day, “There’s an inexplicable beauty to spontaneity.” He found his thoughts wandering to pessimistic ground again. Is she alluding to her stay here? She could pack up and leave the next day, and I won’t be able to do a thing about it. After all, she’s an adventurous traveller and I’m just a man destined to be saddled in one place. Nonetheless, he put on a smile and agreed.

One quiet afternoon, she dropped by his place for a rest again. He was busy cleaning some camera equipment at the time and the tinkling of the wind chimes overpowered the tender sound of her footsteps so he didn’t notice at first. Not until his gaze happened to fall on the familiar pair of red shoes and umbrella with rainbow-coloured patterns at the doorstep.

This time around, she was holding something else - a large tube. She retrieved something which looked like a big poster from the tube and straightened it out on the floor. It was a map. He noticed cherry blossom petals scattered around the map, and she pointed out that those were the places she’d been to so far.

“Good for you,” he said, at some point, with a tinge of bitterness in his voice, “You’re going to so many different places. I’m just stuck here being a small camera assistant.”
“You don’t like it?” she asked.

“I... I like it here but - there’s something exciting about travelling you know.”

“Yeah, it’s fun, but there will come a time you have to settle down. You can’t travel forever.” He nodded.

“How long --” he was about to ask her the dreaded question but swallowed his words back. “How long do you think you’ll keep travelling?”

“I haven’t decided,” she said with an enigmatic smile. “Things could… change.”

It was three days before she left that he asked her something that he’d been genuinely curious about for a long time. “It’s a small town here. Why are you staying for so long?”

“It’s a beautiful town,” she mused, “I want to experience it in all its fullness.” She looked at him with an unreadable expression after saying that, and Woohyun felt his cheeks flush. He quickly turned away and stuttered, “T-thanks for saying that. Our town doesn’t usually receive this much appreciation, so I’m glad you recognize its beauty.” When he turned his gaze back upon her, he couldn’t fathom why there appeared to be a glint of sadness in her eyes. Or the emptiness in her voice as she said, “No problem.”

She stayed there for a whole two months and fourteen days, way past the one week duration that she had scheduled for. Up until the last moment, she was waiting for him to bring it up, but he never thought of his feelings as anything more than an unrequited love.