The Japanese folk music covered the whole festival where its tune swayed smoothly along with the cold weather, giving a nice warm vibe to everyone. Then one by one, partner by partner, group by group, people went to the center and started dancing. Even with the slow music, some danced happily as they go round and round each other, while some danced steadily as they clung into each other’s embrace.

Jihyo sat with Jeongyeon and Mina on the snowy floor and smiled as they watched the people move around the center while they hold on to each other. It was a heartening view where the ambience of the lanterns’ lights gives the perfect subtlety to everyone as they danced.

Later on, after shy attempts, Jeongyeon asked Mina to dance. They both went to the center and started at stiff and timid movements. And after a while, they got comfortable without the cautiousness of the prying eyes of others. Mina laid on Jeongyeon’s chest as they wrapped each other’s arms on one another and started to freely dance around, feeling the music.

Jihyo smiled while watching them lovingly hold each other as they whisper to each other’s ears. She thought how it would feel to have someone caressing her while dancing.

“They’re really sweet to each other, aren’t they?”, a man smiled at her and he sat cautiously as he is of old age now.

“Oh, Mr. Karavan!”, Jihyo was surprised to meet him now as she wasn’t expecting it. She planned on meeting him later when the presentation of the open gallery starts.

In 1998, Daniel Karavan is one of the five recipients of the Japanese annual Praemium Imperiale art prize, which is an international award prize given by the Imperial family of Japan – an award dreamt by almost all of the artist in the world, including Jihyo. She had long admired the old artist ever since she had seen his works from articles, magazines, newspapers and even in person. They were unique and different from everything else. Just like the one he made for this art park – The Path to the Hidden Garden. With his works, there is no doubt that he deserved to be awarded with the imperial prize.

She calmed herself before she said anything to have a decent conversation with him. “It’s really an honor to meet you, Mr. Karavan. My name is Park Jihyo.”

“Ah, Korea’s prodigy artist. I’ve seen only your works and now it’s great to finally meet the artist behind them.”, he chuckled. The old artist is now in his late 80s. And one can see through his eyes that he had gone through many. And one could call him a wise artist of a wise man. Even at his old age, he can still remember well. “For a young artist like you, you have quite made a big reputation across half of the world. I’ve only known your name and your pieces. Forgive me.”

Jihyo smiled and bowed as thanks. She beamed when Karavan knew her. “It’s no problem at all, Mr. Karavan. I’ve been wanting to meet you actually. And I want to say that your works are really full of my admiration. I’ve seen some of them back when I travelled in Europe, and all I can say is that I am really inspired by them.”

Karavan nodded as he smiled at her. “Are they really that worthy of praises?”, he chuckled. “It’s only a simple thing that makes them that special. I’ve made a lot of pieces and embedded with them are meaning. And that’s what makes them above everything else. It’s true that the physical aspect gives an impact but why would an art be called as such if it doesn’t hold any meaning or value?”

Jihyo was silenced and thought how many times she had heard this. She wanted to know more about it, so she just listened to him as it is an honor to have such a great artist give some advice to follow along.

“Art is just like a memory. Memories have meaning and value, don’t they?”, he paused as he breathed in the cold air. “Someday, I’ll forget my time here at the festival, my moments with my loved ones, and anything in my life. I’ll forget everything that I’ve done and made.” He didn’t look sad when he said this but instead, he looked at Jihyo with an earnest smile. “But I won’t forget that I had my love and happiness laid upon them.”

Jihyo softly smiled and remembered her time with Sana under the huge gate of the path. That was when she realized that memories are what make one human, and it’s what Sana wants to see in the project.

“I’ve met you before, haven’t I?”, he asked as he slightly narrowed his eyes at her, seeming to remember like he recognized her.

Jihyo nodded. “Yes. In one of the conferences in Italy. Although I never had the chance to talk to you then.” Now that Jihyo said it, she realized that she never did talk to him then. How is it that Karavan recognized her when they never had actually met? Karavan said it himself that he had only seen her works and not her.

“No, no. Much, much earlier than that.” He paused as he tried to remember, his forehead wrinkled as he furrowed. Then he beamed and smiled. “Ah yes, I remember now. You were very small and young. It was right here in this park.”

Jihyo looked at him with confusion and she was very much shocked to hear it. She had never been to Japan ever before.

But then she remembered that she actually had as that was she was told. She was told she had lived here in Japan for about a year. She remembered that it was here where her mother had passed.

“Excuse me, Mr. Karavan.”, a man, who looked like his caretaker, approached him and said, “It’s getting late and you need to take a rest now.”

Karavan sighed and stood as his caretaker supported him. Before he turned away, he looked at Jihyo and smiled. “It’s great to see you have grown and become a great artist.”

She looked at him, still in confusion, as he left. She thought they probably have met before, and it’s unfortunately a pity she couldn’t remember it.

Jihyo thought how much of her life she had been missing ever since she wasn’t able to recall anything that happened in those thirteen months. Although, she does remember her mother telling her that they will someday travel to Japan for Jihyo to see wonderful art works across the country, for her to have as many inspirations.

And the first place her mother mentioned was Sapporo.

So, she thought she must have gone here at the art park before with her. She wondered what could have happened at that time. What was it like here in Sapporo fifteen years ago? What memories did she make then?

“You should be having fun, Jihyo.”

Jihyo looked up and saw Sana smiling at her. Then she sat beside Jihyo and fixed the creases on her kimono.

Jihyo didn’t mean to stare. But seeing Sana wear a kimono made of expensive black silk and wool is more than worthy of attention and praise. The golden ornaments on it glistened with the lit lanterns around them. Her hair shined with the golden flower pins that hung loosely in its sides, but her face shined brighter than anything else.

“You look really beautiful, Sana.” Jihyo said as she smiled shyly at her. Although she was stunned and speechless, she can’t hide it and just say nothing. Sana stood out from the crowd because she looked so heavenly. She deserves every single compliment in the world.

“Thank you. But I was expecting more from you.”, Sana giggled. She put her arm around Jihyo’s and laid her head on her shoulder. Then she sighed and asked, “Are we okay now? I’m really sorry about yesterday.”

Jihyo felt her spine tingle with the question. She remembered what happened yesterday. They didn’t exactly address anything about it, and they didn’t even talking about it. Although, they did understand what each of them had wanted to say or what they had felt about it.

An apology is an apology. It doesn’t take many words and long dramas for it to be accepted. The sincerity in it is what matters. This is a step to having maturity in a relationship. And Jihyo knew and felt that Sana meant it to the depths of her feelings.

“You don’t have to worry about it. And you know I’m really sorry too. For being… you already know.”, Jihyo smiled as she sighed. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Ms. Chou, though? Why isn’t she with you?” Jihyo thought that this might be the time that Tzuyu should be talking to Sana about her small confession. Even with this ease of talking about it, Jihyo can still feel the tug in her heart.

Sana chuckled and pulled away. She looked at Jihyo and raised her brows, still giggling. “You really don’t like her, do you?”

Jihyo blushed with a bit of shame as there was a bit of truth about it. She doesn’t exactly not like Tzuyu. But rather, it was the feeling of competitiveness and jealousy that got ahead of her which made it look like Jihyo doesn’t like her. “It’s not that…It’s more of… Aish, never mind. You already know about it.” She looked down with the embarrassment creeping to her ears.

“But you want to know why?”, Sana chuckled and smiled softly at her while Jihyo looked so eager to know. She leaned to her ears and whispered, “Because you’re here.”

Jihyo couldn’t hide her blush but she also couldn’t hide her laugh as she wasn’t expecting to hear such a guessing remark from her. She raised her brow at Sana. “You’re developing a habit of teasing me, you know.”, she said as she continued to chuckle, but Sana just laughed at her.

“Do you dance, Jihyo?” Sana asked as she looked at Mina who was having an endearing time with Jeongyeon, endlessly swaying with the music.

Jihyo saw how Sana looked at the two and it seemed like she wanted to dance too. “Do you want to?”

“Can we?”, Sana looked at Jihyo and smiled.

Jihyo stood up and reached out her hand to Sana. She smiled at her and said, “I don’t dance but only this time.”

With the weight of the kimono, Sana took Jihyo’s hand and slowly stood up as she pulled her.

As they walked towards the center, Sana held on to Jihyo’s hand. There was no feeling of awkwardness or tension. Jihyo’s heart beat steadily as they calmly tread towards the middle of everybody dancing on the floor.

When they reached the center, Sana let go of Jihyo’s hand and faced her. They both bowed at each other and stood there for a moment. Both of them couldn’t hide their soft smiles as they moved closer.

Sana slowly put her hands on Jihyo’s, feeling the warmth and comfort from it.

Jihyo felt her heart jump at Sana’s touch being so slender and soft as her hands slowly slid towards her arms. The heat crept up from her neck to her ears when Sana slowly led to her to move. They both held onto each other and smoothly slid on the icy floor. Then with the beat and tune of the folk music, they let go as their arms swayed and swung through the air, with the minimal movements of sliding their feet as they slowly turned and switched positions.

With the shyness covering her, Jihyo couldn’t look at Sana in the eyes so she just focused on looking at Sana’s movements as she followed for she isn’t familiar with traditional Japanese dance.

“My eyes are here, Jihyo.” Sana giggled as she continued to gracefully move around Jihyo. “You should look at me when dancing.”

Jihyo faltered and felt embarrassed when Sana noticed. “Sorry.”

Slowly, Jihyo moved her eyes to meet Sana’s. With every inch of her eyes moving away from the movement of Sana’s hands, her heart constantly beat louder and louder. Then she saw the soft glow illuminating from the brown and orange of Sana’s eyes, radiating lightness and gentleness, complementing the glints on her kimono. And her heart suddenly felt calm.

Sana smiled wider when their eyes met. And Jihyo felt in between their gazes, there was a glow of warmth. She couldn’t help but smile either while her eyes and movements showed softness with care and delicacy.

Then at the beat, their palms found their way back to each other, above their heads through the air, and slowly moved down to the level of their chests. And slowly, they entwined their fingers, feeling the soft brush against each other’s skin. They pulled and moved closer as they continued to dance at soft and subtle movements.

Jihyo can smell the scent that she had unknowingly always looked for, inhaling the fragrance of the perfume from Sana’s clothes and skin.

With their closeness, Sana slowly let go of Jihyo’s hands and softly pulled her closer as she moved her hands on her back and pulled her to a light embrace while Jihyo did too. She placed her chin on Jihyo’s shoulder and smiled.

Then she whispered, “Let’s watch the fireworks together at the garden.”

Jihyo felt her blood rush to her face as her heart and veins pulsed so rapidly and loudly, like her chest was about to burst at any moment. Sana blushed as she felt the pounding of Jihyo’s chest against hers. It was so loud that anyone who would go near them would hear it. It was so clear and profound – just as how Jihyo feels for her.

Then the music softened, and an announcement was made that the open gallery will start in a few minutes.

Sana pulled away and smiled at Jihyo. “Thank you for this. I need to go now. They need me there.”

“Sana-chan.” Tzuyu called from behind. “I’ve been looking for you. They’re calling you.” She walked beside Sana and smiled at Jihyo. “Thank you for giving her a wonderful dance, Ms. Park. We’ll see you later.” Tzuyu bowed and then she left with her arm around Sana.

Dahyun had roamed around in almost all of the booths in every corner of the festival. She had played so many games and won lots of them. And now she’s holding bags of the prizes. She had eaten so many – steamed corn, shaved ice, crepes, chocolate banana, choco pie, and a bunch of Takoyaki. But she doesn’t feel full yet, so she went around to look for more savoring food.

Then she saw Nayeon and Momo walking towards her, and they were oddly silent. Nayeon looked like she had been dumped with so many trivial things as her brows’ creases deepened. While Momo, who also looked puzzled and silent, just walked behind her. Dahyun thought it to be unusual because whenever the two are together, they would never stop shouting and yelling as they always argue about the smallest of things. She wondered what could have happened to them, or between them.

“It’s been almost two hours since you guys suddenly disappeared. I hope you had a good time too”, she said as she munched on her last piece of choco pie. She pointed at her bags showing off her prizes. “I got these and if you guys want some, then I’ll give them to you. Except the tofu ones.”

But both of them were just silent. Other than their small share of intimacy back there, they had quite a long talk with Chou Tzuyu and it holds a lot. But both Nayeon and Momo were too staggered to talk about any of it.

Nayeon, with tons of thoughts in her mind, let out a breath of exhaustion. “Listen, Dahyun-ssi. We’ll discuss something in the agency later.”

Dahyun saw how serious Nayeon is and it seems that she’s in quite a bad mood. She wanted to ask more but Momo looked at her and mouthed not to and just go with it. So, she just let it go and agreed. “For sure.”

Nayeon sighed in relief. “For now, let’s just head to the open gallery and see what’s going on there.” She said and she walked ahead of them, still a bit disgruntled.

Dahyun slid beside Momo and whispered, “What’s this about, Hirai-san?”

Momo scratched her head and was also a bit in disarray for what they talked about. “This isn’t where we should be talking about it.”

“I’ll give you anything you want here.” Dahyun showed her the tons of prizes she won from the games.

With Momo being attached to things such as the cute prizes Dahyun has, she is a bit tempted to tell Dahyun right now. But she thought that it would be too risky if someone heard it. Because just as what Tzuyu told them, there could be eyes and ears everywhere.

“You can wait, Dahyun-chan. This isn’t a safe place to talk about it.”

Dahyun pouted and just let it pass. She sighed and said, “Then I guess this is really a big thing, huh. Just looking at Nayeon-ssi…”

“Yeah. You can say that. But while we’re here, just follow what she says.” Momo nodded wearily. “I’ve never seen her this serious before.” She looked at Nayeon who was walking ahead of them. They can feel the air around her constricted as she bore much to think about. Although Nayeon had always been serious with work, this is very different from any of it.

When they reached the open gallery, Nayeon walked through the crowd and stood at the edge of the display area. She saw Chou Tzuyu walking through the gallery while she studied the pieces displayed. She thought how she looked and acted so calm and fair around others while she was so grave and serious with them earlier.

The agency had its eyes on Tzuyu for a long while now and apparently, Tzuyu knew about the agency looking after her too. Since her father and the head had been working together with some projects, there are chances that Tzuyu might be one of the head’s confederates with all his schemes. So ever since her father went overseas, the agency tasked Nayeon to take a closer look on Tzuyu and see if their speculations were true.

With what they saw earlier where Tzuyu had been communicating with the head, it is very much likely that she is one of his.

But it turned out they were wrong.

With their long talk with Tzuyu, she is actually the one who gave them most of the information about the head. Quite a bit much of it, Nayeon thought. For she never had expected any of this information to be true. And it turned out they were right.

However, they didn’t discuss anything about the case about old Minatozaki, just the ones they had been dealing with recently.

It is true the head had been stealing money from the company. He had the man, who got the transactions for him, killed before he could give up his name to the agency. Tzuyu showed them earlier one of the transaction papers the head has. She said it was given to her as somewhat of a payment of forming an alliance between them. In other words, to keep shut for she had known too much. Even though she refused, the head told her to keep the paper if she ever changes her mind.

Apparently, Tzuyu told them the information just because she had been looking for anything to blackmail the head because he wouldn’t agree on returning the money he had also stolen from her. The transaction paper wasn’t enough to repay for what he did. So, she just decided to blackmail him.

With the information and evidence that he had been stealing lots of money and for indirect murder, they can just easily walk in and arrest the head.

However, Tzuyu’s actions are quite unpredictable where one can never know if she had her back turned against them. So Nayeon thought they can’t just easily trust her. But under the tight circumstances, all they can do right now is rely on Chou Tzuyu. Thanks to her, they’ll have no problems putting the head in jail.

Thoughts aside, she looked at every corner to see if everything is safe.

Nayeon saw Jihyo talking to Jeongyeon and Mina on the opposite side of the gallery while they looked at the painting in front of them. Then she saw Sana on the other corner talking to the local artists.

Then she looked at the crowd to see if there’s anything suspicious. Tzuyu told her that there could be the head’s other men snaking around. She told them that there should be nothing to worry about for now because the head wouldn’t do anything reckless. However, if he ever saw any opportunities, he wouldn’t hesitate to move.

“Nayeon.”, Momo called her from behind. Then she whispered, “Do you see anything? I told Dahyun to look around and see if there’s anything weird.”

Nayeon took another look at the crowd but it seems that there’s nothing. She is quite relieved that they’re all safe for now. “No. I think his men went away with him when he left earlier so we’re all good here.”

Dahyun walked towards them and leaned. “I didn’t see anything. What’s this about, Nayeon-ssi? I’m really itching to know about it.”

Nayeon smiled at her and patted her back. “Always in a hurry, Dahyun-ssi. All I can say is we can at least worry about it later, but we can’t let our guard down. And I guess you had fun since you have those already.” She pointed at the bag of prizes Dahyun was holding.

Dahyun covered them as she squinted at Nayeon. “Not the tofu plushies.” Then she walked away and headed fast to the center.

“I can’t believe I have a kid on my team.”, Nayeon sighed as she watched Dahyun stomp away.

Then there was the announcement that the lantern lighting is about to start in a few minutes.

Momo walked beside Nayeon and said, “So… since we’re all on break… are we going to talk about that?” She smirked at her and looked like she really had a good time with it.

Nayeon scoffed at her and raised her brow. “Now, at least focus a bit. We can’t just slack around here. And for your information, that was for disguise. Stop assuming things.”

Momo nodded, still smirking. “I know, I know… But it didn’t feel like a disguise, though.” She teased and laughed. “We can’t just let it go to waste, can we?”

Nayeon wasn’t in the right mood and she just couldn’t believe what she’s hearing right now. “Shut it, Hirai Momo. Remember I’m your senior.”

Momo just shrugged and still, she was smiling. “You can’t deny it felt good, though. I liked it.”

Nayeon felt her ears heat up and remembered that she had almost out because of it. She just scoffed and crossed her arms. She looked at Momo and she was grinning at her, quite happily. “You’re so annoying.” Nayeon pushed Momo’s face away and walked faster ahead.

Momo continued laughing and tried to catch up to her. “You’re so serious, Senior Im.”

Nayeon didn’t say anything and just continued walking. But even with Momo being annoying as hell right now, she couldn’t hide her smirk.

Jeongyeon went to the lantern booth and there were many people looking for their lanterns. There were lots of families, friends and, just like her and Mina, lovers.

She went from row to row and finally, she saw theirs. She checked the ribbon and the design and then picked it up.

She tried to peek on what Mina wrote but her eyes was suddenly covered with a pair of hands. “That’s cheating, Jeongyeon.” Mina giggled behind her.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

Mina removed her hands and hit Jeongyeon on the shoulder. “You should wait. You’re always in a hurry.” She sighed and took the lantern from Jeongyeon.

They walked to the top of the walled waterfalls and stayed on the stoned bridge. People started to slowly gather at the center while they held their lanterns with other people. They saw a pair by the frozen pond who couldn’t wait and just lighted it right away. And there it goes, the only lantern flying over the park.

Jeongyeon peered at them and saw it was Chaeyoung and Somi who were laughing so loud while they watched their only lantern fly away. The other people around them looked at their lantern and were perplexed why they lit it up so early.

“Aish, those two are really crazy.”

“Chaeyoung is really becoming like you.”, Mina sighed as she shook her head. “So stubborn and impatient. You’re such a bad influence.”

Jeongyeon made a pouty look and raised her brow at Mina. “I have nothing to do with that. She probably got used to my habits and started adapting to it.”

“That’s the definition of ‘influence’, Jeongyeon. You better behave yourself around her.”

Jeongyeon smirked. “And when I’m not?” She moved closer and whispered, “I can’t behave myself when I’m with you.”

“You’re really a bad influence.” Mina put the lantern between them to keep the distance. “You can’t get me with those little quirks of yours, Yoo Jeongyeon.”

When the people have finally gathered at the center, one by one, they lit up their lanterns and held on to it as they waited for everyone else.

“You ready?”, Mina asked excitedly and Jeongyeon nodded. With the small candle they have, they lit the lantern. Then the design around it was illuminated beautifully with the translucent shade of red.

“Now are you going to show me what you wrote?”, Jeongyeon asked with a bit of impatience for she was excited for Mina to see what she had written.

Mina smiled at her and quietly spun the lantern around for Jeongyeon to see.

Jeongyeon blushed deeply when she read what Mina wrote.

“Forever and always, I’ll stay with you. Even if you get so annoying at times, I will always love you. Even if you tease me a lot, I’m the happiest when I’m with you.”

She was about to say something, but she looked up and saw Mina was crying. She was crying at how Jeongyeon wrote something so sweet and soft, filling up her heart to its fullest.

“When we grow old, I’ll still carry you on my back. When we grow old, I’ll still tease you around and give you kisses. When we grow old, I’ll love you so much as much as I do now. So…”

“Let’s run far away from here and get married somewhere.”, Jeongyeon continued as she moved beside Mina who was still in tears. Jeongyeon smiled widely at her as she put her arm around her waist and kissed her hair.

Mina sniffed and smiled softly. “Why do you want to run away?”, she giggled as she continued to cry.

“You know we can’t stay here forever.” Jeongyeon looked at her seriously. “And I want to marry you somewhere. Maybe in Singapore, or Greece, or Hawaii. Anywhere you want.”

Mina blushed from her neck to her ears at those words. She had always thought of living her whole life with Jeongyeon. Even during the time when they gave spaces to each other, she had always longed for her. She had always wanted to be with Jeongyeon, from now to the very end until the rest of the afterlife.

She let out more tears and sobbed. “Do you really mean it?” She looked up at Jeongyeon with her glinting eyes gazing deep into hers.

“Every bit of it.” She smiled. “But we’ll get there later on, though. Right now, let’s just be together.”

They let go of the lantern and let it fly freely into the night sky, glowing brightly with its red colors.

Jeongyeon slowly pulled Mina to an embrace and whispered, “I really love you, Mina. I can only imagine my future when it’s with you. I’ll always keep you safe. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

Mina’s heart fluttered at those words for it was full of sincerity and love. She pulled away a bit and saw Jeongyeon’s eyes were welling with tears and her nose getting red. She laughed at how cute she looks right now, so transparent in front of her.

“Don’t cry, Jeongyeon. You don’t have to worry because we chose this.”, she giggled and pinched her nose. She then wiped the tears from Jeongyeon’s eyes and gazed into the deep space that embodies their love for one another. She then whispered, “I love you, too.” She smiled widely while Jeongyeon just smirked and flushed at hearing those words she had been waiting to hear for a while now. She then gently pulled Mina’s waists and tenderly laid her lips on hers.

Still at the lantern booth, Jihyo smiled when she saw Jeongyeon and Mina on top of the walled waterfalls, embracing each other.

People had been lighting their lanterns while Jihyo was still looking for hers. There were only a very few left, yet she still couldn’t find hers. She looked through every ribbon to see which one was hers but none of it were. She kept on looking until all of it were taken.

Just my luck.

She sighed and thought that hers must have been mistaken for someone else’s. But still it was a bummer and a drag because she even had the excitement on lighting it, hoping she would send her little message go across the sky.

People kept on coming to the center and filling up every space as they watched the lanterns fly away. Jihyo felt a bit uncomfortable with so many people crowded around her. She walked through and found her way out of the large clump of people. She sighed in relief as she reached the free and empty space by the entrance of the garden.

She saw there were a few people walking around the sculpture garden with small lanterns on their hands as their light on the pathways. Even though she didn’t have any light with her, she went through the entrance and continued to walk, and Sana told her to meet her at the garden.

She looked up and saw the group of lanterns hovering all over the art park as the wind blew, leading them across over the garden. It was such a beautiful sight that one could see them as the stars coming down together as they float over, faintly illuminating hues of orange on the grass and trees and sculptures as they passed by.

As she walked, she realized she was walking through the Path to the Hidden Garden. She went through the gate and the two hills. It wasn’t lit up this time, but the floating lanterns faintly lit the surroundings. And there weren’t any music playing, only the muffled music that blared from the center of the festival was heard at this distance.

She walked through and saw the seven fountains weren’t running and just had frozen water on its top with the snow slowly covering it. The hollow cone didn’t have the light inside it , it was just cold air that compressed and flowing inside. The intersecting waterways didn’t have any water running in it, just the snow that filled up between the spaces.

Behind the waterway was the other huge gate that stood tall against the cold weather. Under it, she saw an unlit lantern.

She walked closer and saw beside the lantern was someone, who was wearing a black kimono, sitting on the glass floor, with her back facing her. She was looking up at the floating lanterns above the trees as they continued to fly along with the still wind.

“Sana?”

Sana was startled and turned her head to Jihyo’s direction. “Oh, Jihyo.” She sat straight and motioned Jihyo to sit with her. “I thought you forgot about watching the fireworks.” She giggled.

“I’d never.” Jihyo sat beside Sana, with the lantern in between them. “We could watch it at the center, though.”

“I think I already told you I like watching the fireworks from here.” She smiled. “It’s really quiet and it’s dark enough to see them well. Even the lanterns are so beautiful from here.”

“Ah, right.” Jihyo looked up and was awed at the sight of over a hundred lanterns with different colors glowing, with their ornaments casting silhouettes and translucent figures as the fire inside faintly flickered.

“My lantern was taken by someone.” Jihyo sighed and felt bummed with it. They looked at each other and Sana just giggled at her.

Jihyo looked at the lantern beside her and wondered why Sana hasn’t lit up yet.

“Aren’t you going to light up yours?”

Sana’s expression saddened but she continued to faintly smile. “Hmm, I never lit up mine.”

Jihyo gave her a confused look.

“Every year, I sit here and watch others’ fly over. I promised to wait and light it with someone.”

Jihyo looked at Sana. She had that look again.

She thought it must be that friend of hers she had always come here with. But since her friend had passed, it must be a pity to be waiting for someone who isn’t coming back anymore no matter how much one prays or pleads for it. How much did that person mean to Sana to have her keep that promise all these years? To have Sana put up a whole exhibit dedicated for that person?

Then Sana smiled widely and looked at Jihyo with her radiant eyes. “But tonight, it’s different.” She stood up and lifted the lantern. “Can you help me with this?”

“Oh, okay.” Jihyo stood up as well and held the lantern while Sana lights it up quite excitedly.

Sana was smiling widely. With the lantern lit up, Jihyo saw how excited and happy she was. Her heart leapt out of its pace as a tingling feeling crawled up to her neck and skin. It was the happiest smile she had ever seen from Sana as her eyes were glinting with delight and relief like she had been wanting this to happen for so long. Jihyo couldn’t hide her smile as she also felt happy with it.

Jihyo looked at the lantern and saw there was some kind of writing on it.

“Hatsuyuki. Hatsukoi.”

She looked at the ribbon and it was the one she tied hers with. And then she saw the snowflake she drew. She blushed as she thought of the reason why she had written those. And here she is. Right in front of her.

This is my lantern.

“Do you know what red lanterns mean?”, Sana asked as she smiled.

Jihyo blushed even deeper when she thought of it. “Destined lovers?”

Sana nodded. “…Destined lovers finding their way back to each other’s loving embrace.”, she continued.

Then Sana brought out a golden marker under her garment and wrote, “Home.”

Jihyo remembered the painting that hung on the hallway outside Sana’s office. The painting’s description only had that word in it. She thought what it could mean and how does it relate to the painting.

Then slowly, they let go of the lantern and watched it ascend and fly with the others. Jihyo suddenly remembered the lanterns were meant for pairs. The heat covered Jihyo and her ears reddened much more when she realized she had lit up the lantern with Sana.

Destined lovers, huh.

“Jihyo.”

“Hm?”

“Are you really leaving next week?”

Jihyo felt her heart weighed down when she remembered that she does need to leave. She looked at Sana frowning as she looked up at the lanterns. Her heart wrenched at the thought of not being able to Sana anymore.

“Yeah…” She sighed and thought how she would miss the time she had spent here in Sapporo. She was shown another side of the world in a different perspective. She was shown a new light on her views about art and life.

And all these were shown by Sana – the woman she had never expected to be the person she would care for, the person she would ultimately long for once she leaves Sapporo.

The person she had fallen for.

Even though she has to leave, there’s something in her that kept on telling her not to. She can’t ignore the feeling that she wants to stay like she has to stay. She wants to spend more time here like she had been longing to ever since she arrived. Her mother had always talked about living in Sapporo and visiting every art galleries and museums with her. And she wants to do it for her.

But the most bearing reason overcomes her thoughts.

Aside from how she feels for Sana, it felt like she had been missing her and yearning for her. The gap in between them had been filled with emotions that one wouldn’t expect to have in such a short amount of time spent together. She wants to lengthen that time if she could, stretching it to its longest.

She wants to stay for Sana. There’s this pull in her that tells her that if she leaves, something might happen.

“Then let’s finally settle this.” Sana faced her.

“What?”

“I want you to be honest.”

Jihyo nodded. “Alright.”

“What does ‘first snow, first love’ mean?”

Jihyo looked at Sana and she felt the light skip against her chest. Sana was softly smiling at her. Jihyo tried not to look agitated and answered calmly. “It’s probably a first love during the first snow.” She shrugged and looked back at the lanterns, looking away from Sana’s stare. “Why?”

She felt Sana walked closer and stood in front of her. “Well, it was written on the lantern and it was weird because all the lanterns didn’t have any writings on it, just illustrations.”

“Hmm. What about it?”

“You said someone took yours, right?”

She was moving a lot closer and Jihyo couldn’t hide it anymore. Her heart was beating so much faster and much louder. Sana leaned so close to her face and whispered, “Doesn’t that sound familiar to you?” She grinned in a teasing manner.

When they lit up the lantern, Sana already knew it was Jihyo’s. From the moment she read those phrases, she already knew what it meant as it reminded her of the night of the first snow.

Jihyo slowly looked back at Sana and saw her eyes gleamed at the hundred lanterns’ reflection, illuminating its beautiful colors. Their faces are so much closer now that Jihyo can clearly hear Sana’s soft breaths and she can see the faint steam coming out of as she breathes. She can smell the scent she whiffed from when they danced earlier. The elegant yet intoxicating fragrance that she can only smell from Sana. The scent she had and will always have been craving for.

The way Sana gazed at her bore so much sensation and intensity like it was trying to convey something, like it was pulling her to its depths and alluring her to get lost in it. She wanted to look at this forever. She wanted this to imprint on her mind for it will soon be just a memory.

“Well?”, Sana whispered as she faintly smiled and leaned closer.

“Do you really want to know what it means?” Jihyo smirked.

“I already know what it means…” She looked deeply into Jihyo’s eyes.

Jihyo looked back into her eyes and it looked like her gaze was imploring. She smiled softly when she knew what it was compelling her to do.

Sana slowly slid her hands to Jihyo’s arms and cautiously moved down to her hands while Jihyo softly grasped it with her tender touch. Sana moved her face closer to Jihyo and felt their warm breaths brush against each other’s cheeks and mouths. With their eyes half open, they gazed onto each other’s lips as the orange of the lanterns softly illuminated them.

“I just want you to show me…”

The tease had reached its peak on Jihyo as she felt the longing and thirst gobble her senses.

She slowly closed her eyes and softly laid her lips on Sana whose lips welcomed her, feeling the crave slowly swept away as it was replaced with earnest longing. Sana kissed her back and she was bewildered at how Jihyo unhesitatingly showed the feeling of want she hid the longest, touching every bit and corner of her lips.

Jihyo loosened her grip from Sana’s hands and slid them to her waists and pulled her gently against her hips and moved them further to her back and embraced her even tighter, not wanting to let go of her for she was afraid that this moment would soon disappear before her. Jihyo parted her lips and Sana caught it again, wanting to feel and taste more as the desire fill up her mind, wanting this to last for long.

Sana crawled her hands to Jihyo’s neck and pulled her as she deepened the kiss even more. Jihyo felt the need overflowing from Sana like she had been wanting this for so long. Sana held on to her and kissed her more, leaving marks on Jihyo’s heart and taking over her mind to make her remember and long for this moment.

Finally, they now both understood what their eyes had been telling one another as clarity paved its way. Just with their touch, they knew they had been aching for each other for a long while - their feelings once submerged to its depth, now flowing over its surface. It was as if they had missed each other as the feeling of separation spread in them for the longest time. It’s such a pity they had been wasting so much time and chances. And now, all they wanted was to stay here and wrap themselves with each other’s embrace and kisses.

Sana parted away and softly inhaled with weary breaths. She gazed at Jihyo like she never wants to let go of her. With countless of emotions spilling over them, Jihyo couldn’t hold back her tears as she looked back at her. An unexplainable feeling that had been wanting this to happen lingered in her.

They missed each other so much.

Tears welled from Sana’s eyes as she saw how Jihyo looked so sincere and truthful with her feelings, so bare in front of her. She was happy that Jihyo had finally settled and accepted how she feels.

She moved her hands to Jihyo’s face and wiped the tears away.

She smiled and whispered, “You’re my light among cold.”

Jihyo’s heart wrenched even more. Even with the short time they had together, Jihyo felt like they have known each other for a very long time. She wished to have more moments for them to spend together but time was against them. Everything they have done brought out their feelings. And with what they have shared, memories are what comes after.

“You know I can always come back, right?” Jihyo smiled as she brushed away the tears that kept on rushing from Sana’s eyes. Jihyo can feel the sadness pouring more and more, longing and aching for every second that had already passed them.

She caressed her face and assured her that everything will be fine. “I will come back.”

But then Jihyo saw her expression covered with a hint of fright.

Sana pulled away from their embrace and held on to Jihyo’s hands. She bit her lip and looked at her. She gripped her hands tighter, not wanting to let go anymore. She frowned and her brows creased, and more tears came.

She was about to say something but then the fireworks started shooting up the sky, flashing different colors that covered the whole park. The continuous loud bangs covered and replaced the silence that hovered around them.

Then they both turned their heads when they heard running sounds on the snow coming towards them.

“Jihyo!”, Nayeon shouted while running as she panted heavily. “Get down!”

Bang!

…