“Your hands are really warm,” Eunbi says as she holds onto Yuna’s soft hands.

“Who’s been peeling the sweet potatoes for you?”

“Not bad, you get to warm your hands up too,” Eunbi casually responds.

“Alright, you’re peeling them next time,” Yuna retorts.

“Unnie’s buying?”

Yuna releases a huff and turns away. 

The sight of Yuna in irritation tickles Eunbi; giggling, she puts her arms around Yuna.

“Unnie, I love you,” her airy voice sends warmth all throughout Yuna.

Eunbi looks up at Yuna, who softly combs her fingers through Eunbi’s hair to sweep them away from her small face. Eunbi feels her heart skip as Yuna's touch trails down from her forehead to her cheeks, until Yuna locks her hair behind her ear.

“When the winter comes, I’d like to see the snow fall with you,” Eunbi says.

“Me too,” Yuna nods her head.

Eunbi smiles and hugs Yuna close, resting her chin on Yuna’s shoulder.

Yuna forms a similar expression on her lips and remains looking ahead.

“The red leaves in the autumn are nice too,” she breathes.

“This is nice,” Eunbi replies with a rather unrelated response. Eunbi frees herself from the hug. Shaking her head and tidying her loose locks covering her face, she takes in a deep breath that smells of the clear autumn night, “I’ve been through a lot of ugly times and I’m glad they’ve strengthened me. Or I'd ask for a better time to meet you again, so that you wouldn’t have to do that ugly job of picking me up from the trenches, and also because I’d be too young to know beauty in the midst of a messy world.”

“I’d have you anytime, Eunbi,” Yuna says as she approaches Eunbi and once again sweeps away a lock of Eunbi’s hair. “I’m proud of you, Eunbi. I know how strong and amazing you are, after seeing you through the summer. And it’s proven, when the waves came again but did not drown you earlier this month. 

“I’d have you anytime,” Yuna repeats herself, “because you’re Hwang Eunbi.”

Eunbi turns to give Yuna a response, but finds no words to convey the overwhelming warmth in her heart that is mixed with gratitude, feelings of apology and immense love for the one she knows she needs to hold onto forever. 

“I’ve learnt a lot from meeting you,” Eunbi manages to say when she regains her voice, “how to love, how to see beauty, beauty that I’ve unknowingly been yearning for all my life.”

Yuna reaches for Eunbi’s hands and holds them firmly in hers. “I should be thanking you too.

“For coming into my life, and choosing to stay,” Yuna's voice drops to a tearful whisper.