The sunset in the tangerine grove reminded Minna of her time in Seoul where she was finishing up her biochemistry doctorate degree. A part of her research project had to do something with microorganisms living in certain types of soils. So she, and her team of three, had to go to various plantations to obtain different soil samples to bring back to the lab. 

The mud under her shoes felt damp and sticky from the rain last night and the citrus scent from the rows of tangerine trees filled her nose. She thought about Eunhee’s words, how Howon seemed to be living the dream life, and she wondered if Howon had been like her - doing something completely different in his previous life before he decided to come here. He did say he used to live in Seoul. 

“Ack!” A yelp came out of Minna as she suddenly felt herself tripping against a clump of soil standing in the way of her path. The next thing she knew was she had fallen on the ground, her face smushed on the damp brown soil. 

“,” She cussed as she quickly tried to stand up again, but she felt her feet stuck under the soil. 

“Are you okay?” 

Minna jumped in surprise and quickly turned her gaze from her shoes to the man standing beside her. He had a dark auburn hair, with narrow eyes that was looking at her in worry. 

“Y-yes, I’m sorry,” she wasn’t sure why she was apologizing, “I wasn’t looking around and I tripped over,” 

The man smiled as he grabbed Minna’s arms and helped hoist her up without saying anything. He looked at her shoes that was now filled with mud, “Sorry about your shoes,” he said, “We can try to wash it but I’m not sure if it will retain it’s original color,” 

“That’s okay,” Minna mumbled, she was still perplexed. A minute ago she fell down on her face and somehow the next second, a stranger was helping her out of no where. 

“I’m Sunggyu,” he reached out his hand for her to shake, “You must be the teacher Howon told me about,” 

Minna shook Sunggyu’s hands unsurely and she nodded, “I’m Minna,” she said, “Sorry, I got mud all over you. This is embarrassing,”  

Sunggyu chuckled, “Don’t worry about that, I was scared you got hurt. That would put a lot of liability for me,” when Minna gave him a questioning look, Sunggyu expanded, “I own the inn and this farm with Howon,” 

“Ah!” Minna nodded. 

“Well, you have to clean up, and we’ll eat dinner in a couple of hours,” 

“Yes, I should take a shower,” She said as she started walking towards the guesthouse. Sunggyu followed next to her, “Are you and Howon always like this?” 

“Like what?” 

“Kind to strangers you’ve never met,” Minna replied, “You know, I could’ve been a thief trying to steal your oranges,” 

Sunggyu laughed, “We have never had any thieves yet, but I'm sure they would be a lot more careful than you are,” 

Minna felt her cheeks warm up, and she was thankful she had mud all over her face so Sunggyu couldn’t see it, “That’s not what I meant,” she muttered. 

“Howon and I are not Jeju locals, did he tell you that?” Sunggyu turned to the woman next to him and she nodded, “When we came here a couple years ago, we knew no one, but everyone had been kind to us. So, it only makes sense to do the same. I think that’s what so special about Jeju - it can make you feel like home even though you’re surrounded by people you’ve never met before,” 

“What made you two come here?” They were now a few meters away from the inn and Minna could see Howon setting up the dinner table. 

Sunggyu gazed up and replied, “Let’s just say, we were trying to leave something behind.” 

~

Sunggyu only met Minna’s students when they came out from their rooms for dinner. Minna, once she had cleaned up, had helped Howon cook some fish while Sunggyu scrubbed Minna’s shoes and placed it in front of the air con to dry it. 

“This is Eunhae, Seungho and Changsun,” Minna introduced her students, “Kids, say hi to Sunggyu-goon,”

The high schoolers gave Sunggyu a polite bow and greeted him and Sunggyu told them to drop the formalities and talk casually. 

“What are you competing for?” Sunggyu asked as he scooped rice on everyone’s plate.

“Spelling bee!” Seungho, the taller boy and the eldest of the three, replied excitedly, “We’re competing in the regionals,”

“You’re an English teacher?” Sunggyu turned to Minna and she nodded, “And you guys made it that far to the regionals? That is so great!” 

Changsun grinned, “Seonsaeng, instead of practicing tonight, how about we celebrate?” Minna had always considered him to be the student who didn’t have to try hard to get flying colors in his exam - it was as if he had this innate ability to grasp materials and learn new words so quickly. 

“We could light