When evening mist

rises from the reed leaves,

in the chill dusk,

I'll think of you.

– Anonymous

"You don't love me, do you?"

She sighed, frustrated and sad. It was never him, nor the boy before him, nor her best friend from Busan who thought she didn't know about his feelings. It was no one's fault that she wanted more; she wanted more because she was selfish and, most of all, unhappy. Everyone claimed to love her, and she loved them back with equal fervor - simply without the devotion.

She looked up at him, his eyes searching for something in hers, but his face was stoic and devoid of the heartbreak she was used to seeing on many faces. He wasn't surprised, she realized, but he wanted an answer to justify them - perhaps to prove that they had existed.

"Not enough."

-

The first time I fell in love with you was when you kicked me when you knew you were losing the argument. Not because your smile is the prettiest I've ever seen, nor because you're pure of heart (even if you vehemently deny it), but because your temper matches your personality. You don't hold back; you say what's on your mind, and it's refreshing. I want to tell you, "Stay that way," but I'm afraid someone else might fall heavier in love if they knew that that's the kind of person you are. So instead I'll say, "Change for good. Change, because it's the only thing I've ever asked of you." 

Seohyun folded the piece of parchment into a perfect square and re-emerged from beneath the counter. A child and his parent were scanning the shelves, but the floor was otherwise empty. Satisfied, she safely pocketed the letter in her bag, tucking it away with the first. She turned her attention to the book it was folded in, one she identified as a Shakespearean play. Tragic, she thought. She stickered the front cover with their logo and shelved it.

Ae Sook combed his fingers through his graying beard, squinting his eyes as Seohyun walked back towards the counter. "What was that?"

"Someone donated a book."

"What was it?"

"Romeo and Juliet."

He grunted and sighed. He plopped down on an empty stool and scanned the collection of returned books, eyeing them for any unsolicited markings - "vandalism of the new age," he called it, and said newer generations didn't know how to appreciate a good book.

"That boy wears his heart on his sleeve too often," he muttered.

She arched a brow, questioningly. "You know who it is?"

"Oh, you know," Ae sook waved his hand dismissively. "He's the only kid that donates international books that no one can read or has the time to read. It's taking up precious space, if you ask me. But you can tell that the kid's smart as a whip - perhaps smarter than you, Joohyun, but only because he's wiser with experience. Comes in every now and again."

"Who is he?"

He snorted. "I don't like butting into strangers' affairs, Joohyun. Besides, there's another good-looking boy that you need to set your eyes on."

"I'm not really interes-

"Joohyun, why are you listening to an old man? I think I'm senile." At her unamused look, he shrugged his shoulders. "Look, he has a particularly interesting habit of donating books that fit his current state of mind. And Romeo and Juliet suggests he's going through a slump. Don't bother a man in a slump. It screws with their mind - turns it into scrambled eggs! Hey, take your break and buy me some rolled eggs."

Seohyun choked back laughter. The older man changed subjects as easily as one could tie shoelaces: seamless, even if it didn't make sense all the time. She took some money from her wallet and started for the door, but not before pointing out that she had given him chocolate only an hour ago.

"You expect me to have only chocolate for lunch? I know I'm going to die eventually, but that doesn't mean you feed a dog steak in his last few moments on earth."

"Wouldn't it make sense if you did, though?"

"I hired a librarian, not a smart aleck."

She departed with a hearty laugh.

▲

NOTES:

Yeah, it's not like I promised lengthy chapters all the time. Hope you guys can cut me some slack. I'm more of a novice in anything longer than a one-shot.

One step closer to finding out who the mystery writer is! Maybe! I still don't actually know who he is. I'm debating on two or three people, but the main one I'm looking at doesn't make sense. I like him, though, because he's my man of interest right now.

I should note that I'm already feeling like I should re-write a little bit of what I have so far. ACK, I AM NEVER SATISFIED WITH ANYTHING.