Dara began to feel panicked as she jogged down the flight of cement stairs, tracing the dirt path that lead to the park where she would always bring Twaeji whenever they went for a walk. She felt so out of shape, and her heart rate grew faster but her legs continued to push forward.

            “Twaeji, here! Come here!” Dara yelled, desperately turning her head left to right, looking for any signs of her golden retriever. With every call, her breath grew heavier, but she continued to search the park. After circling it twice, tears began to build in her eyes, and thoughts of doubt and sadness overtook her. Her steady jog became an uneven limp. Her physical and mental state was completely against her, and she took a seat on a wooden bench under a shady oak tree. The bare branches casted dark shadows on her skin, blocking the intense sunlight from giving her an unwanted tan.

            “Bom?” Dara’s voice was nearly quivering when she answered her cell phone that rang twice before being picked up. Her voice was quiet, which worried Bom a lot.

            “You’ve been out for a long time; I was wondering what you and Twaeji could be doing at the park for so long with snow everywhere.” Bom stated the question as a sentence, but Dara did not respond immediately. The last thing she wanted was for Bom to think of her as an irresponsible pet owner, and Twaeji meant just as much to Bom as she did to Dara.

            “Dara? Are you alright?” Bom was prying, but she couldn’t hide her worry. There was no response.

            “Dara?” Bom asked again. She knew Dara was listening because she could hear her uneven breaths, and then came a deep breath.

            “I accidently let go of the leash and Twaeji ran off…” Dara felt ashamed to admit it, but there was no use to prolonging the truth. She did not want to be scolded or bothered at all, so after she spoke, she hung up.

            “Twaeiji…” She called once more, but there was no hope left in her voice. She began thinking up all the lost dog signs she’d have to put up everywhere and she’d have to go report it to the police. She closed her eyes and sighed, keeping them shut as she tried to suppress her worried and bothered heart.

            “Good boy,” a man complimented as he scratched the back of Twaeji’s ears. His fur felt soft and smooth. Twaeji began running in a circle chasing his tail, and the man watched with amusement, laughing at the sight. He had no idea who the dog belonged to, but it really reminded him of a young golden retriever puppy someone dear to him bought not long before they separated. Twaeji stopped his futile chase and sat obediently in front of the man, slapping his shiny-furred tail against the cement path rapidly, sticking his tongue out like a teasing smile.

            “Where’s your owner, boy?” the man asked, not expecting that the animal would answer. He knelt down to a squat in front of Twaeji and stared into his dark brown eyes. Through them he saw a reflection of himself, all grown up and mature, but when he looked again, he imagined the little boy that he used to be whose fuel was curiosity, and ran with an adventurous drive. Those days of youth seemed to have flown by like the wind, but like migrating birds, would come back to him every season as longing memories that he wished so much to relive.

            Dara’s head was buried in between her knees, arms holding them together like a fastener. Tears did not pour out of her eyes, but there was no doubt that she felt horrible and disappointed with her own self. She stayed in that content position, letting her mind flow freely, and her emotions quietly run wild.

            “You really do remind me of a puppy I know,” the man stood up again, never removing his gaze from the energetic dog who was now circling his feet, “But by now, he should be a full grown dog. I hope he’s as energetic as you.” Twaeji stopped running and began lightly rubbing his paws on his legs as if they were a cat’s scratch-post. The dog’s eyes seemed to say “I miss you”, but there was no way that this could be the dog that he knew. He bent down and grabbed a hold of Twaeji’s leash, as if expecting Twaeji to lead him off somewhere. Today was a relaxation day for him, so it didn’t matter where the dog took him to. Twaeji immediately began running towards a large oak tree, and the man followed obediently, as if he were now the pet, and the dog had become the guiding owner. The situation was indeed ironic, but he didn’t care. A few metres later, Twaeji’s quick sprint became a calm walk towards Dara who continued sitting with her head buried between her knees. The man didn’t notice that they were approaching a girl; he was too captivated with the familiarity of Twaeji’s presence.

            “What is it?” The man asked Twaeji who stopped parallel from Dara. Twaeji let out an assertive “ruff”, sitting straight up and regal, waiting for his owner to respond. Dara recognized Twaeji’s bark immediately and nearly jumped up into a standing position, tapping on her sore thighs after doing so. She bent down into a squat and patted Twaeji gently on the head. The man watched the girl carefully as she Twaeji’s golden fur. She looked familiar as well, and without even having seen her face clearly, he knew exactly who she was—Park Sandara.

            “Dara…” The man gasped, having not expected to see her here. Dara immediately changed her focus from Twaeji to the man staring back at her with wide opened eyes.

            “Wooyoung… Is it really you?” Dara’s left hand rose up to her face and touched her lips as she stared back at him with the same wide-eyed expression. There was a moment of silence, and Wooyoung stood straight and tall in front of her, having gained his composure. Dara was stuck in frozen shock, unable to even blink with the fear that once she closed her eyes, even for a millisecond, he would disappear from sight.

            “Dara!” Bom called from a distance away. She immediately caught sight of Dara who stood in front of the largest oak tree in the park, but had no idea who the mysterious man in front of her was. She also saw the excited Twaeji, sitting up straight to be as tall as one-third of Dara’s standing height. She felt relieved that he wasn’t lost.

            “Twaeji, thank goodness you’re safe!” Bom ran immediately to the dog and embraced him with a warm hug. He returned the favour with a wet nose-touch to her rosy cheeks, and she laughed.

            “Wooyoung oppa…” Dara breathed his name again, still unable to believe her eyes. Her pursuit to find him had ended earlier than she expected, but whether she was happy or not was a mystery.

            “Oppa?” Bom repeated the word with a confused expression, “You know him?” She was now holding tightly onto Twaeji’s leash and standing up straight in her pitch black, buckled boots and dark grey skinnies. Dara felt tears swelling in her eyes again, but she could not hold them back. She stood there still frozen, with tears streaming down her face, past her lips, down her neck, but she did not move an inch. Wooyoung took a slow step towards Dara, whose shoulders were shivering.

            “Are you really that cold?” Wooyoung joked as he eyed her shaking shoulders. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and though she wasn’t cold, he wrapped his black jacket over her small body. After all, it was still winter.

            “Wooyoung…” Dara called for the third time, “I missed you.” Dara’s sweet and innocent eyes were locked on the ground beneath them, and her face was still flushed red from embarrassment and coldness. Wooyoung poked his head to meet Dara’s nervous stare and smiled.

            “You haven’t changed.” He said with assurance, thinking back to the younger years when Dara would always hide her face from him after being teased.

            “I haven’t.” Dara reassured him. She hoped that by saying this, he would understand that her heart still longed for his presence, and that her feelings for him never faltered. Wooyoung sighed deeply and stared up into the clear, blue sky. She certainly did not change, but he did.

A/N: Yes I realize in real life, Dara is older than Wooyoung by a few years (thus calling him oppa is wrong) but for the sake of this fanfic and my storyline/plot, I’m going to pretend that Wooyoung is only slightly older than her. Please go along with it XD!