Nothing but the trees, and a dirt road accompanied you on your trek through the countryside  to your family’s farm. It was early in the morning. A subtle fog rested near the ground while the sky was a soft shade of violet, setting a nice backdrop to the distant mountain peaks in the East hiding the sun. You smiled in content at the stillness of it all and reveled in the sounds of birds and cicadas  chirping in the trees around you. Pedaling at comfortable pace on the side of the road, you breathed in the fresh air and exhaled with a happy yell when you heard a car’s loud horn sound behind you.

Startled by the loud disturbance you almost lost your balance on your bike and shakily came to stop on the side. The car was inching its way behind you when it flew by the moment you stopped. It was a red Hyundai with tinted windows, it looked quite new. You raised your arms to protect your face from the dirt the car kicked up. What the—you thought, coughing. Clearing your throat, you placed your bike back on the road and pedaled on.

Your family’s home was small but served its purpose for a place of sleeping, eating, and washing up. Beside it other small farmhouses made the framework for the yard as you pedaled to where your mother stood stringing up clothes from the wash bin onto the clothes line. She smiled at you while hanging up the last shirt, “Enjoy your morning bike ride?”

“Mm, except a car almost ran me over!” You picked up the basin by your mother as the two of you walked to your house. Upon reaching the steps, you took of your dusty tennis shoes and slipped into a pair of house slippers when your mom opened the door and the smell of breakfast reached your nose.

“Must be Halmeoni’s grandson. She said he’d be visiting her from Seoul sometime this week.” Your mother took the basin from you as you headed for the already set table. There was a house a few down from yours where an old woman and her husband lived. They weren’t your blood grandparents but you considered them to be anyways. They raised horses but also made pots and pots of kimchi and soy sauce. They were a very sweet couple whose kids all moved to Seoul to start their own careers. You stuck by your parents though after your education. Instead of moving to the big city, you kept the rural life and taught classes to elementary kids at the neighborhood school just a bike ride away from your house.

“Good Morning!” A deep voice beamed as feet slid against the wooden floors toward you.

“Morning, Jong In.” You muttered while stabbing your rice with a spoon as he sat beside you at the table. Jong In was a dark skinned farm boy who lived close to you too. One could say you were childhood friends, but you really didn’t consider him a friend. He was just a nuisance. A cocky farm boy was what he was that chose to show off whenever you were around.

You caught a whiff of horse and hay as he sat down and immediately covered your nose, “You couldn’t wash up before barging into my house?”

He flashed a toothy grin your direction and wanted to pinch your cheek but you swatted his hand away, “Nope.  I know how much you love it.”

He took his chopsticks and began reaching around the table for food as you watched in disgust. Jong In wore a dirtied up sleeveless plaid shirt and a pair of torn jeans. His brown hair in disarray, some would say he looked like one of those rugged men you find in the romance novels but to you he was just dirty.

“Have you seen that pretty boy that moved in with Halmeoni?” Jong In asked with a mouthful of rice.

“No, I haven’t.” You placed a spoonful of rice in your mouth when Jong In chuckled, “You should. He looks hilarious.”

You said nothing more as your mom came and sat in front of Jong In ending your conversation.

After breakfast, Jong In returned to his duties for the small town you both lived in. The collection of farms, houses, little businesses, and the school made up your town. Jong In’s job was to deliver the vegetables that grew on his family’s farm to the respective houses and businesses. You decided to pay Halmeoni a visit. She asked for your help the following day to make the next batch of kimchi, but you were also curious about the town’s new visitor.

Unlike your house, Halmeoni’s was somewhat of a pension with multiple rooms creating a U shape and in the center was an open space where a lot of parties were held. In the front yard, the red Hyundai that almost ran you over was parked and you scoffed. Tsk, so it’s that guy. You could hear chatter in the back but also saw someone in one of the rooms. You only saw the back, but his back was all you needed to see to understand why Jong In said he was hilarious. The man wore sky blue shorts with a white polo shirt and a checkered ascot that matched his pants. His hair a light brown, his skin looked like it hadn’t been touched by the sun in years. At his feet was a large suitcase as he surveyed the room with his hands on his hips.

You stifled a laugh as you crept passed his room to find his grandmother in the back already getting things ready to make the kimchi, “Halmeoni!”

The gray haired woman looked up, surprised, “Ha Ni, you’re here!”

You tied up your hair, and slipped on a pair of gloves as you crouched down beside the woman and grabbed your own pink bowl, “Let’s get to work.”

You had a steady system going. You rubbed the heads of cabbage with the red pepper paste and handed it to Halmeoni who did the rest and placed it into clay pots buried in the ground. The two of you finished quite a few when you could hear someone yelling out for the older woman beside you, “Halmeoni! The hot water isn’t working!”

The woman muttered something below her breath when an angry young man appeared in front of you. His skinny white legs were the first things you saw, then the sky blue pants, and then the ascot. It was the grandson.

“Baekhyun, I told you already. There isn’t any hot water. We haven’t gotten it fixed yet.” Halmeoni spoke calmly as I stared up at the young man. His facial structure was small along with his eyes and he had a flat nose. He looked very much like a pretty city boy who hadn’t lifted a finger before in his life.

“I’ll fix it, halmeoni. I fix our shower all the time.” You offered looking to the older woman who gratefully smiled at you.

You stood up wiping the sweat from your brow with your arm and turned to Baekhyun, “Hello, I’m Ha Ni. Shim Ha Ni. I live next door to your grandmother.”

He eyes you from head to toe. Taking note of your baggy floral pants and loose gray shirt, he carefully placed a hand out, “Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.”

You took his hand enthusiastically when you forgot you still had on your gloves that were covered with red pepper paste. Your eyes grew wide as some of it splattered onto his white shirt while his shut. He took back his hand with a hiss while you quickly took off your gloves and apologized, “I’m so sorry, Baekhyun shi. I’m so sorry.”

Behind you, you could hear Halmeoni laughing, but when you looked to Baekhyun’s face, there was nothing funny about it.

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That was what I imagined him wearing without the cardigan. ^^