[CONTENTID1] 004 [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] Gold Field [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

As they had reached their destination, Eunseo watched as Baekhyun gaped at his surroundings in awe. Around them were full of field flowers that reached toward their knees settled upon a cliff overlooking the crystal-blue waters of the sea and distant mountains with buildings settled upon them. The place itself would’ve belonged in a fairytale as it never ceased to amaze Eunseo, no matter how many times she had come by.

For many years, Eunseo would come by the cliff whenever she needed some time for herself, needed inspiration to draw, or even read books. The silence and the great view around the cliff made her stay at the spot worth being in.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Eunseo asked Baekhyun, who remained in awe. 

“It really is,” he answered in wonder, and he continued looking around. “How did you come across this place?”

An amused smile tugs upon Eunseo’s lips. This was probably the only time she had seen Baekhyun act this way. He looked like a child.

“Let’s just say, I have a lot of time on my hands.”

“Ah,” Baekhyun nodded. 

“Let’s sit down over there,” Eunseo gestured toward the spot she would normally sit by whenever she came here. “I brought a blanket so we wouldn’t get our pants dirty.”

Walking toward the spot, Eunseo laid out the picnic-styled blanket onto the low-lying flowers and grass and smoothed the fabric out before sitting down. Turning to Baekhyun who stood idly behind her, she shot a smile and patted the empty spot  next to her. 

“Come sit,” Eunseo insisted. 

Baekhyun slowly made his way next to her and sat himself down on the blanket, leaving a space of about a foot between them. It was expected.

“So, what are we doing here,” Baekhyun asked. 

“Just to talk, really,” Eunseo replied.

Talking to Baekhyun more could lead to some level of understanding of him, he was like a man with a mystery throughout the times they have spent together. Eunseo wanted to learn about him like he had learned about her from the many times she had been babbling about herself.

“To talk?”

“Yeah,” Eunseo nodded. “I uh came across this picture of us when we were close,” she reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out the photograph of them for Baekhyun to see. “It’s funny since I thought the idea of us being childhood friends wasn’t that believable but that picture solidifies the reality of it.” 

She handed the picture to Baekhyun, who hesitantly took it from her hands and studied it. As he looked at the photograph, he smiled with his lips.

“You didn’t believe it,” Baekhyun questioned as he handed her back the photograph.

“I didn’t. I don’t remember one single interaction we had back then and when I saw you for the first time again, I didn’t feel anything at all,” Eunseo answered as she shook her head. “Which is weird because we seemed so close but now it’s like that closeness between us is gone. Do you remember?”

“I do, but some,” Baekhyun answered to her surprise.

Remembering what he said when they first met, she looked at him with disbelief. 

“You actually do? You said you didn’t remember much.” Eunseo looked at him, agape. “What do you remember?”

Baekhyun sat in silence, collecting his memories. “There was this one time you came by my house and jumped on my back when I wasn’t looking to surprise me. I hit my head on the floor and then you cried because I started to cry.” 

Why was she so embarrassing back then? Seeing Baekhyun suppress a smile after telling one of his memories left her speechless.

“I, uh,” Eunseo stammered, trying to find words. “I’m sorry about that. You weren’t extremely hurt that day, were you?”

“Not really, the pain lasted for a couple of hours. I had to spend the rest of the day in my room though.”

“Well that’s good,” Eunseo sighed. “Again, I apologize.”

“You’re apologizing for what you did when you were only three?” Baekhyun raised a brow as he turned to Eunseo. He bit his lip and pressed his lips together, adding onto her embarrassment.

“Well, I didn’t think I would do such a thing back then. I may as well apologize for anything else I did to you back then.”

“You don’t need to,” Baekhyun replied. “It’s all in the past,” he continued in a hushed tone.

The air settled into silence as they both stared into the blue waters ahead of them. Eunseo turned to Baekhyun, whose eyes remained at the view in front of him. He was finally starting to talk more despite what had happened on the weekend. Her gaze continued to fix on him, a flutter in her stomach appeared as hope seemed present.

“So, that thing that happened between us at the cafe during the weekend,” Eunseo began. “I didn’t mean to get so upset and walk away. I’m sorry for that.”

Baekhyun inhaled before saying, “You’re forgiven.”

Sighing in happiness, Eunseo thought he wouldn’t. This was good, amazing even.

“I thought your perspective on love’s just,” Eunseo continued, struggling to find the right words, “wrong.”

“Wrong,” Baekhyun questioned, an obvious puzzled look on his face.

“Yeah, I just don’t see how love can be such a bad thing. It’s quite beautiful.”

“It’s romanticized excessively. I don’t see the appeal of it.” Baekhyun leaned back with his hands supporting him from behind. “And uh, how were those books?”

The books Eunseo had bought were beautifully written. One of them was about a man who was diagnosed with aphonia, causing him to learn sign language with difficulty which leads to the downfall of his friendships until he meets a someone that knows the language. And you know, they bond and form a special connection. She wasn’t great at summarizing books. The novel itself was emotional, she cried in her bed after reading the whole thing in one sitting, it continued to reinforce the idea that love was a beautiful thing. She had yet to read the other one.

“I read one of them, it’s quite an amazing read - to me,” Eunseo answered as she recalled some excerpts of the novel. “I can lend you it to you, if you want.”

“No thank you,” Baekhyun declined, “but thanks for the offer.”

As expected, he wouldn’t want to read romance novels but it was worth trying. At least he wasn’t rude about it. 

“Well, going back to what you said earlier, I think a good way to show that love isn’t as bad as you say is to show it,” Eunseo suggested, hoping he would comply.

Baekhyun gave her a puzzled look, “What do you mean?”

“Show it,” Eunseo began, “through some experiences. I was thinking of the movies, we can watch the romance movie that came out recently, tomorrow.” 

“A movie won’t change my perception on love,” said Baekhyun, shaking his head.

Eunseo’s shoulders slumped and sighed. “But it would be a great place to start. Plus, the theater is in a place we haven’t been around, we can explore parts of the city there too.”

“Can’t we explore that part of the city without - you know - watching that?”

“Nope,” Eunseo shook her head. “But let’s get past that and talk about ourselves besides love. I don’t want to make you anymore uncomfortable.”

What Eunseo would ask next could completely erase the progress she had just made with Baekhyun. Yet, things seemed to be going so well. If she was going to relive her friendship with him, she may as well ask about the situation.

“Why did you actually move here,” she asked with hesitance. 

Baekhyun stiffened at her question before abruptly turning his head to her. “Why do you want to know that?”

“I just thought it was weird because, ever since you moved you never came back to visit your grandmother and now you’re suddenly moving in with her. That’s all.”

Baekhyun became silent afterwards, which was eerily scary. Eunseo anticipated another dispute between them again to her despai