The flagrant smell of peppermint and summer woke me up. I looked up to see a guy about my age sitting beside me, his knees propped up with one arm wrapped around, staring at me intently with his cat-like eyes. His lips were set in a firm line.

“Who are you?” I asked, raising one eyebrow. My heart thumped against my ribcage unforgivably by the fact that he was this close to me.

“I should be the one asking. You’re in my property.” At the word “property”, he poked my right shoulder with his index finger. The ghost of his touch lingered on my skin, though he did not directly do it.

His property? I thought. This broken down place is his property? Nevertheless, I didn’t question him as his bottomless orbs were boring into me and I scrambled up. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

His dismissing nod was imperceptible. “Don’t come back.”

<:>

“Where were you yesterday?” Sungjong asked me the second I stepped in our home.

“Fresh air.”

“It was raining like hell.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” I took off my drenched cloak and hung it by the window to dry. “Where’s Mother?”

“She went to visit the Jung family.”

“Of course she did.”

“She’s disappointed in you.”

“I know.”

“Jangmi, will you ever get over him?”

Silence.

“One day I will. But today isn’t that day.”

We sat on the ground in comfortable silence. That’s what I like about my brother. He knows when to stop talking. He suddenly pulled me in a tight embrace. I let out a sigh and laid my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that for a long time.

“I won’t tell if you went.”

“Went where?” I questioned, pulling away.

“The North.”

“Really?”

My brother nodded and I gave him a grateful smile. “You remind me of him.”

“Do I?” A smile flickered on his lips.

I threw a couple of herbs and nuts in my small canvas bag. I threw in a folded piece of yellowed paper along with it. It still smelt like him. I slung the bag across my shoulder and took one last look at my room, at Sungjong’s sleeping figure, at the space between our sleeping spots.

“I’ll miss you,” I whispered.

I silently tiptoed across the room. My cloak hung by the window, where I had left it earlier. I slipped it over my shoulders and walked out my house. The wind blew at me and my cloak billowed. I took light steps towards the back, down the muddy field and the secluded area. I wanted to see that mysterious guy again. There was something about him that intrigued me.

I walked through the narrow way, towards that broken-down place. I made myself comfortable on the ground, my back against the wall. A wild cat brushed my legs as a silhouette appeared underneath the moonlight.

“I told you to not come back,” a deep, husky voice said.

“I like to live dangerously,” I replied.

The person stepped towards me and even in the dark; I could see him eyeing my bag. “Where are you off to?”

I glanced at his blank expression and a fleeting image appeared in my mind. I shook it off. “The North. What’s your name?”

“What a coincidence.” He avoided my question as he sunk into the ground, dropping his bag in the space between us.

Wait. What? “You’re also heading there?”

He nodded. He took out a piece of wood and a small blade and started carving it. The strange feeling of nostalgia took over my senses.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

We sat in silence underneath the roof in the dark, the only sound being the scratches of the blade against the wood and our breathing.

The scratching halted abruptly. “I feel like I’ve met you somewhere,” he whispered so silently that I wasn’t sure if I had heard what he had said correctly. “I don’t know. You remind me of someone.” He looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for an answer. “I must be insane.”

I stayed quiet.

He let out a heavy sigh and the scratching continued. I didn’t think I’d get sleep that night but then he started humming. He hummed a song. That song. That song.

It was a breezy day, the afternoon sunlight weaved through the orange and red leaves, and the light flared beautifully. The sky was a pinkish hue interwoven with streaks of blue and white. The grass swayed gently underneath my feet.

“Jangmi!” he called out from across the field.

I looked up and ran into his open arms. He held me tight as I breathed in his scent that reminded me of summer. We sat underneath the oak tree, our backs against the huge rough trunk.

“Do you want to hear a song?” he asked me.

I nodded and he began to hum a sweet, lilting tune that reminds me spring. I laid my head on his shoulder and drifted off into dreams of a perfect land.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his dark eyes staring at me in concern. I wish he wouldn’t do that. Stare at me.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I said, giving him a grim smile.

“You’re crying.”

A tear slipped down my cheek, down to my chin and it dripped off.

“I’m fine,” I replied, as I tried to suppress a sob. But I failed. I didn’t like feeling weak. I didn’t like crying. But I let it all out in front of this stranger.

He stayed silent and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. He did not say anything, he simply held me in his arms.

“You’re not,” he muttered. “It’s okay to break down once in a while. It’s okay.” Then he my hair, whispering words of reassurance.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I didn’t know why I thanked him. It just felt right.

That night, as my tears subsided, I fell asleep to his humming and the scent of summer.

double update 'cause I feel bad