It was a Saturday, and Eunseo was hanging out by herself, with her ankle just fine. The pain vanished the next day, actually, and her ankle was not sprained in any way. Would've been nice if I had someone to go here with. She thought, as she passed by a few clothing stores, and an arcade.

She usually just passes by the stores, but this time, she decided to try going inside one of the stores, which sold cute little things like clips, headbands, keychains, etc.

As much as she wanted to buy, she remembered how she was treated in school, and these things might just get stolen. But her eyes stopped at the sight of a keychain with a cute sparrow, which hugely reminded her of the guy she met the day before. She realized that this would be the first time she'll buy a present for someone after such a long time.

Her eyes wavered for a moment, shaking with evident tears. The mere glimpse of memories tore the supposedly healed wounds she tried to forget. She smiled bitterly, as she grazed her fingers to the said keychain which sparked a longer recollection of her most dreaded memory. It was bittersweet feeling but nonetheless, she bought the sparrow keychain for Woojin, and ate lunch by herself, soon after.

~~~~~~~~

By the time she arrived at the hill, she noticed Woojin's bike chained with the railing, and she can't help but smile. It was the first time she hopped on a bike. She doesn't know how to ride one, anyway. Did she smile because of the bike ride or was it due to the mere remembrance of Woojin the bike gave her?

She picked up some stories on the way to the top, and there she found the ever-so-aesthetic Park Woojin sitting with his legs crossed, eyes closed, and earphones plunged into his ears, swaying to whatever melody he's listening to.

How does he manage to look ethereal for all times I've seen him?

They may have only met twice (the second time being now) but his beauty can't be described in words. It left the girl in awe. He wore a black long sleeves with the sleeves rolled up, paired with a black ripped jeans along with a pair of clean white sneakers.

The wind blew from where Eunseo's back was facing to, fluttering the hems of her knee-length dress around, and carrying along the tips of her elbow-length wavy hair towards the boy's direction, past her face. The wind felt unusually warm in a good way that she didn't mind closing her eyes, and inhaled deep breaths for a moment. It was such a good day which rarely comes in her life, and for a second, she wanted to stay still until whenever.

She slowly opened her eyes, and found Woojin now maintaining eye contact with her. And that was when she knew.

"Nice dress." Woojin complimented, shyly and puffed his cheeks with air as he looked away.

She chose not to reply to him, and just threw the sparrow keychain she fished out from her clutch bag, which Woojin struggled to catch because he was kind of looking away at that time.

She walked up to him while he examined the keychain, and by the time she was near enough, Woojin looked up to her.

He stood up, his height now meeting hers. They were only a few centimeters apart, but he looked at her as if she was the sun. She was glowing. The sunlight radiating behind her, highlighted her hair. Is her hair as soft as how they look like to be?

As the wind scattered her hair to strands, making the sunlight pass through the gaps between her hair, she glowed even more. She glowed even more that Woojin cannot control his own hand, and gently caressed her head, feeling the softness of her hair through his fingertips.

Reminds me of her hair he thought.

Eunseo remained expressionless, but she was actually startled by his action. She felt warm, however.

"It's just Day two, Woojin-ssi." She stated as a matter of fact, and looked at his eyes. Still sparkling.

Woojin's mind didn't process he words immediately, so he just stared at her blankly, and the girl had to hold his wrist, and put his arm down, before Woojin finally got a clue of what she meant.

"Sorry, your hair looked soft as someone I used to know so, yeah." Woojin apologized, as he watched Eunseo sit on the grass, and so did he. He heard Eunseo mumble something, but didn't pry on it, anymore.

"What's this for, anyway?" The boy asked, as he slid the ring of the keychain to his index finger, and examined it at his eye level, once more. He figured out it was a sparrow, and he was, again, reminded of a few things from before.

"Looks like you." She replied, bluntly, aiming for the nonchalance in her tone. It was just then that she realized that maybe Woojin thinks she's weird for giving a gift to a complete stranger she just met the day before. She sighed internally, as she gave up on hopes of not embarrassing herself even further. Why was she always messing everything up?

"I get that a lot. Thanks. I'll try to give you one, next time." Woojin replied, joy evident in his tone, which made the corner of Eunseo's lips curve into a small smile as she noticed the change in his tone. That maybe the keychain was appreciated. That maybe she was appreciated.

She just shook her head, as she tried to stifle her smile, and said that he doesn't really have to give anything back. She reasoned out that she just happened to see it while window shopping, and it hugely reminded her of the snaggletooth boy up to the point that she had to buy it, out of nowhere.

Woojin laughed at the sight of Eunseo trying to reason everything out in a way that she won't creep out Woojin, or make him assume that she likes him in any way other than what they are, currently.

Eunseo felt jokingly offended for a little because Woojin just straight out laughed at her efforts in trying to sound normal, at the very least, but she immediately disregarded it off, as soon as she realized that she made him laugh. She made someone laugh.

What an achievement, for today. she complimented herself.

"So what's your message for today, miss?" He asked, after a cough to clear his throat from too much laughing.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." She remembered the stones she picked up were still in her hands, so she stood up, dusted off her dress, and placed a stone beside the one she placed the day before. She didn't want it to grow taller, so she was expanding it horizontally for even better foundation.

She clasped her hands, and mumbled things, which were not rants, but just how she spent her day normally. Woojin still listened attentively, though. Maybe it could be a way to get closer to each other, afterall.

Soon after, Eunseo asked him back if he had finished his, which to her surprise, Woojin answered he didn't, yet. She asked him why, but he just shrugged, and flashed out a snaggletooth smile as he lent out his palm infront of the girl -- a sign for her to spare him a stone from the ones she had.

Woojin's day went unusually normal, but that was understandable as it was a weekend, no classmates to deal with. The keychain actually made his day a whole lot better, and a whole lot worse. The gift meant that someone actually remembered him even if it was just small, but it also prompted a few events he wished to forget for the rest of his life.

Why do people actually get stuck on their past? Why was he stupid enough to hurt himself all over again? Why does he still remember everything no matter how hard he tried to move on? Why does he keep on going back to square one because of the little things that he unconsciously noticed?

Why was it hard for him to forget, to heal, and to live when everyone around him seemed to go on with their lives as if it didn't hurt, as if they didn't remember.

"Know what? It feels like I'm living here alone, but at least I have somewhere I can always escape to." Eunseo remarked out of the blue a few minutes after Woojin unclasped his hands, as she stared at the sky, standing infront of the stacks, against the warm glow of the sun. She then, noticed that for the second time around, the sky was pale orange, with a tint of crimson red, but it was growing darker, if observed deliberately, as the sun probably sets.

"Like a castle on a hill." She added in a low whisper but loud enough for the other to hear.

"But then if this was a castle, then I must be a prisoner, stuck inside, for who knows until when or if I'm ever going to see the light out of this blindingly dark prison." Woojin replied, after much thought on the girl's opinion.

Castles need to be protected. Castles engage in battles and wars. Castles witness the dignified death of soldiers. And in this case of the castle they meant, there was a war the both of them are trying to forget. It wasn't a dignified death nor was she a hero, but maybe it was faith that led to her eventual death.

It wasn't a war against others, it was a war between themselves. It was a war against their regrets which took away their happiness. And just like Woojin had told earlier, perhaps, he was a prisoner in this castle, unable to free himself from the locks of memories, unable to see the light the outside radiates, unable to move on from the past. 

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[ i honestly don't know where this is going :( please give feedbacks if the chapters are cringy or confusing?? ]