Clue 1: LET THE HUNT BEGIN
The garden that whispers the words of love
CLUE 1: LET THE HUNT BEGIN..."TO HYEMI. My LITTLE BALL OF SUNSHINE~! XX
P/S. THE FOREST'LL SHOW YOU THEWAY."
GONGCHAN
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P/S. THE FOREST'LL SHOW YOU THEWAY."
GONGCHAN
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------------ CHAPTER ONE ★
To Hyemi. My little ball of Sunshine~! xx
P/S. The forest'll show you the way.
That's what the note on top of the picture I'd found on my school desk had said. And all I want is to find him again. Just one last time.
*****
I walk without looking back, feeling the leaves collapse under my sandals as the wind blows around me. The forest is silent yet alive, buzzing with a secretive suspense - it feels like the moment before a dam breaks open, letting the water gush past it in a flood of blood and tears. Closing my eyes, I take one step after another and breathe in the musky scent of the forest. My muscles relax as I remember the boy - no, the man - who once stood here so proudly, laughing softly as he told me to follow him.
Gongchan.
He'd had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen; they always lit up as his lips pulled up into that shy smile of his and I always found that I was happier when our eyes met; I'd never been able to hide from him and since I started looking out for him, I'd found him everywhere I'd looked. We'd met a few years ago at the orchestra where I'd lifted the flute up to my lips as an accompaniment him on the piano. I sigh again, remembering how his fingers had flown over the keys of the ancient piano, making the instrument sing and hum to the tune of the world. And that's when I hear the sound, flitting through the trees around me. I frown, confused.
It's not possible. He's...
Without any hesitation, I run towards the sound of the piano playing in the distance, tripping over a lone log as I reach a clearing in the middle of the forest. A young man sits at a piano, his eyes closed as his orange hair flies around his head. He plays the same tune again and again, his fingers a blur over the keys. Curious, I step towards him and like a startled deer, he looks up at me, his dark eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" He says in a deep, rumbling voice. I can't find my voice to reply. He has a very striking appearance, neither extremely handsome nor normal; it could just be because of his orange hair or the leather jacket he wears so comfortably in this stifling heat. He reminds me of Gongchan, not physically, but in the way he holds himself. They both have an air about them which suggests that they had everything under control. But if you just look into their eyes, you'd see the fire behind them - their souls would speak out to you whether they wanted to be seen or not.
I shake my head and attempt a smile. From the way the boy raises a dark eyebrow, I knew I'd grimaced instead.
"I'm Hyemi. Jeon Hyemi." I had spoken without thinking. What was I doing? Hadn't Mimi told me not to talk to strangers. "I'm sorry. I...was just looking for...uh..." I stare at the piano intently, attempting to block out the boy standing beside it. After all, the piano is what I've been looking for. It had been Gongchan's, the one he'd driven to the clearing in his old, run-down truck. "Well, that." I nod at the piano, speaking quietly. "Someone important to me told me to come here."
I look up, hoping that the boy will understand that I need to be alone. Instead of appearing calm and composed, he seems to be quite surprised - almost horrified. Realising that I'm watching him, he clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. When he looks up, our eyes meet. It's my turn to be shocked now because although I'd noticed that his eyes were extremely expressive and clear, I hadn't realised just how honest they were. They gave him away: he was stunned. Not just surprised. Oh no...he was far too shaken to be merely surprised. In fact,
"Well then. I should get going, shouldn't I?" He murmurs, almost inaudibly. As he moves past me, I release a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. This tension. This awkwardness. There's a part of me that feels as though I'm forgetting something important. I turn around, watching the boy melt into the trees behind the clearing, his body engulfed by the darkness surrounding him.
Wait...have we met before? I feel myself ask. I shake off the thought and trudge towards the piano, slowly removing the picture and note I'd kept in my pocket. It's the note from the last day of school - from Gongchan. But it isn't the note on top of the picture itself that I want to look at now. It's what's written on the back of the small picture, scrawled onto the back as though it was the last thing Gongchan had been able to write down.
CLUE 1: LET THE HUNT BEGIN.
*****
It's been two hours. Or maybe three.
I've been looking for the second clue since the boy had left. It's too dark to look for it now. Since Gongchan had only brought me to this clearing in his truck and he'd told me to look in the forest, I'm pretty sure the clue is around this clearing somewhere. But I feel like a failure. I've spent all so much time here but I hadn't been able to find the second clue...the first clue had literally been handed to me. And now, I won't be able to find my way back home. I'd barely been able to make my way here during the day. In my despair, I sink to the floor beside the piano, resting my back against the cool wood. I feel a sob rising in my chest as I hold onto the piece of paper, cradling it in my palms.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of footsteps, fast and hard against the cold ground. As I look up, the boy from earlier on bursts into the clearing, a twig falling from his orange hair as he looks around frantically. I try to stand up and as I do so, my hand brushes against a bag; I look over my shoulder to see a black backpack propped up against the piano. As I get up, I pick the bag up with me, holding it out to the boy. He takes it from me, the relief on his flushed face so clear that it's cute - his eyes light up and he grins.
"I guess you left that behind, huh?" I whisper. His grin turns into a sheepish smile as he rubs the back of his head.
"Yeah...I didn't want to interrupt your date..." Suddenly, he blinks and he reaches out for me, eyes wide. "Holy crap. Why are you crying?" He looks around frantically and grumbles. "Wait. Where's your date? Why are you here alone?"
"Calm down!" I burst out laughing, surprising both him and me. I find his fussing adorable and sweet - this is the first time I've laughed in a long time. I thought I'd forgotten how to laugh. I mean, it's been that long! I rub my eyes furiously before smiling at him. "It's ok. He isn't actually...around...he just told me to go here if I missed him."
The boy raises an eyebrow at me and folds his arms.
"Mmhmm? What idiot tells a girl to come - by herself - to a forest where anything could attack her? Wolves? Men? What would you have done if someone else had come instead of me?" He mutters. "Honestly...girls."
"Hey! Don't insult Gongchan Oppa!"
"Gongchan...oppa?" How many times has this guy been surprised today. I think I've lost count. I feel sorry for this guy... Biting my lip, I nod in reply. "O-kay...so what did he want you to do here?" I feel myself blush as he looks into my eyes again. God! He's seen through me. "What I mean is, you can't have spent four hours sitting in front of a piano, right?"
Four hours? I thought it'd been three...
"Well...I can show you..." I pull out the picture but I stuff the first note (the one he'd placed on top of the picture itself) and I told him what I needed to do.
*****
"Let me get this straight...Gongchan," the boy says, tapping the picture of Gongchan (who's grinning at the camera with his arm around my shoulder), "wants you to look for these ridiculous clues in the middle of this forest?"
"And the neighbourhood where we live. And our school."
He stares at me, unmoving and silent before muttering, "Then I'll help you."
"What?!" I gasp. "What?! I mean, we've only just met and-..." When I look at the boy, his dark eyes seem to shut me out as a sad look passes through them. he quickly covers this up and I wonder if I'd just imagined it. "But why?"
"Let's say it's a favour for an old friend." His voice is quiets but somehow he manages a small smile. I smile back although I'm still confused. Did he mean he knew Gongchan? Was he even talking about Gongchan? Suddenly, he tilts his head and glares at the spot behind me, where his bag had been. "Wait. Could that be this clue you're looking for?" He asks, picking up a small envelope before handing it to me. I hold the envelope with shaking fingers, one hand tracing the lazy scrawl I'd always associated with Gongchan. Looking up at the boy in front of me.
"How did you-? You found it so quickly!" I shriek, feeling the excitement and the anticipation bubbling within me. He shrugs with a quick grin. "You're amazing! Thank you! ...uh..." I stop, realising I still didn't know my helper's name.
"Haha. Kim Taehyung. Clue hunting extraordinaire!" He winks at me and I can't help but smile at him, fighting the happy tears welling at the corners of my eyes. He becomes abruptly sheepish again. "Also, I think my bag hid it from you for these four hours. Sorry."
Taehyung? I...Don't I know you?
"Don't be." I grin, waving a hand dismissively at his apology. After all, he'd found the second clue. That's when he stops smiling, his face contorted in something similar to pain as he looks into my eyes.
"Will you open it?" He shakes his head, breaking the brief connection between us and says slowly. "Go on. Open it."
I nod, my fingers slowly slipping it open. I close my eyes as I pull the small card out.
"Go on, Hyemi. Read it." Taehyung's voice is soft, calming me in an instant. And with it is another voice in the distance. Somewhere in my mind I hear his voice.
Yes, little one. It's time.
And when I open my eyes and read the first line, I know it's him and that I've found him once again.
Hello Hyemi.
P/S. The forest'll show you the way.
That's what the note on top of the picture I'd found on my school desk had said. And all I want is to find him again. Just one last time.
*****
I walk without looking back, feeling the leaves collapse under my sandals as the wind blows around me. The forest is silent yet alive, buzzing with a secretive suspense - it feels like the moment before a dam breaks open, letting the water gush past it in a flood of blood and tears. Closing my eyes, I take one step after another and breathe in the musky scent of the forest. My muscles relax as I remember the boy - no, the man - who once stood here so proudly, laughing softly as he told me to follow him.
Gongchan.
He'd had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen; they always lit up as his lips pulled up into that shy smile of his and I always found that I was happier when our eyes met; I'd never been able to hide from him and since I started looking out for him, I'd found him everywhere I'd looked. We'd met a few years ago at the orchestra where I'd lifted the flute up to my lips as an accompaniment him on the piano. I sigh again, remembering how his fingers had flown over the keys of the ancient piano, making the instrument sing and hum to the tune of the world. And that's when I hear the sound, flitting through the trees around me. I frown, confused.
It's not possible. He's...
Without any hesitation, I run towards the sound of the piano playing in the distance, tripping over a lone log as I reach a clearing in the middle of the forest. A young man sits at a piano, his eyes closed as his orange hair flies around his head. He plays the same tune again and again, his fingers a blur over the keys. Curious, I step towards him and like a startled deer, he looks up at me, his dark eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" He says in a deep, rumbling voice. I can't find my voice to reply. He has a very striking appearance, neither extremely handsome nor normal; it could just be because of his orange hair or the leather jacket he wears so comfortably in this stifling heat. He reminds me of Gongchan, not physically, but in the way he holds himself. They both have an air about them which suggests that they had everything under control. But if you just look into their eyes, you'd see the fire behind them - their souls would speak out to you whether they wanted to be seen or not.
I shake my head and attempt a smile. From the way the boy raises a dark eyebrow, I knew I'd grimaced instead.
"I'm Hyemi. Jeon Hyemi." I had spoken without thinking. What was I doing? Hadn't Mimi told me not to talk to strangers. "I'm sorry. I...was just looking for...uh..." I stare at the piano intently, attempting to block out the boy standing beside it. After all, the piano is what I've been looking for. It had been Gongchan's, the one he'd driven to the clearing in his old, run-down truck. "Well, that." I nod at the piano, speaking quietly. "Someone important to me told me to come here."
I look up, hoping that the boy will understand that I need to be alone. Instead of appearing calm and composed, he seems to be quite surprised - almost horrified. Realising that I'm watching him, he clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. When he looks up, our eyes meet. It's my turn to be shocked now because although I'd noticed that his eyes were extremely expressive and clear, I hadn't realised just how honest they were. They gave him away: he was stunned. Not just surprised. Oh no...he was far too shaken to be merely surprised. In fact,
"Well then. I should get going, shouldn't I?" He murmurs, almost inaudibly. As he moves past me, I release a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. This tension. This awkwardness. There's a part of me that feels as though I'm forgetting something important. I turn around, watching the boy melt into the trees behind the clearing, his body engulfed by the darkness surrounding him.
Wait...have we met before? I feel myself ask. I shake off the thought and trudge towards the piano, slowly removing the picture and note I'd kept in my pocket. It's the note from the last day of school - from Gongchan. But it isn't the note on top of the picture itself that I want to look at now. It's what's written on the back of the small picture, scrawled onto the back as though it was the last thing Gongchan had been able to write down.
CLUE 1: LET THE HUNT BEGIN.
*****
It's been two hours. Or maybe three.
I've been looking for the second clue since the boy had left. It's too dark to look for it now. Since Gongchan had only brought me to this clearing in his truck and he'd told me to look in the forest, I'm pretty sure the clue is around this clearing somewhere. But I feel like a failure. I've spent all so much time here but I hadn't been able to find the second clue...the first clue had literally been handed to me. And now, I won't be able to find my way back home. I'd barely been able to make my way here during the day. In my despair, I sink to the floor beside the piano, resting my back against the cool wood. I feel a sob rising in my chest as I hold onto the piece of paper, cradling it in my palms.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of footsteps, fast and hard against the cold ground. As I look up, the boy from earlier on bursts into the clearing, a twig falling from his orange hair as he looks around frantically. I try to stand up and as I do so, my hand brushes against a bag; I look over my shoulder to see a black backpack propped up against the piano. As I get up, I pick the bag up with me, holding it out to the boy. He takes it from me, the relief on his flushed face so clear that it's cute - his eyes light up and he grins.
"I guess you left that behind, huh?" I whisper. His grin turns into a sheepish smile as he rubs the back of his head.
"Yeah...I didn't want to interrupt your date..." Suddenly, he blinks and he reaches out for me, eyes wide. "Holy crap. Why are you crying?" He looks around frantically and grumbles. "Wait. Where's your date? Why are you here alone?"
"Calm down!" I burst out laughing, surprising both him and me. I find his fussing adorable and sweet - this is the first time I've laughed in a long time. I thought I'd forgotten how to laugh. I mean, it's been that long! I rub my eyes furiously before smiling at him. "It's ok. He isn't actually...around...he just told me to go here if I missed him."
The boy raises an eyebrow at me and folds his arms.
"Mmhmm? What idiot tells a girl to come - by herself - to a forest where anything could attack her? Wolves? Men? What would you have done if someone else had come instead of me?" He mutters. "Honestly...girls."
"Hey! Don't insult Gongchan Oppa!"
"Gongchan...oppa?" How many times has this guy been surprised today. I think I've lost count. I feel sorry for this guy... Biting my lip, I nod in reply. "O-kay...so what did he want you to do here?" I feel myself blush as he looks into my eyes again. God! He's seen through me. "What I mean is, you can't have spent four hours sitting in front of a piano, right?"
Four hours? I thought it'd been three...
"Well...I can show you..." I pull out the picture but I stuff the first note (the one he'd placed on top of the picture itself) and I told him what I needed to do.
*****
"Let me get this straight...Gongchan," the boy says, tapping the picture of Gongchan (who's grinning at the camera with his arm around my shoulder), "wants you to look for these ridiculous clues in the middle of this forest?"
"And the neighbourhood where we live. And our school."
He stares at me, unmoving and silent before muttering, "Then I'll help you."
"What?!" I gasp. "What?! I mean, we've only just met and-..." When I look at the boy, his dark eyes seem to shut me out as a sad look passes through them. he quickly covers this up and I wonder if I'd just imagined it. "But why?"
"Let's say it's a favour for an old friend." His voice is quiets but somehow he manages a small smile. I smile back although I'm still confused. Did he mean he knew Gongchan? Was he even talking about Gongchan? Suddenly, he tilts his head and glares at the spot behind me, where his bag had been. "Wait. Could that be this clue you're looking for?" He asks, picking up a small envelope before handing it to me. I hold the envelope with shaking fingers, one hand tracing the lazy scrawl I'd always associated with Gongchan. Looking up at the boy in front of me.
"How did you-? You found it so quickly!" I shriek, feeling the excitement and the anticipation bubbling within me. He shrugs with a quick grin. "You're amazing! Thank you! ...uh..." I stop, realising I still didn't know my helper's name.
"Haha. Kim Taehyung. Clue hunting extraordinaire!" He winks at me and I can't help but smile at him, fighting the happy tears welling at the corners of my eyes. He becomes abruptly sheepish again. "Also, I think my bag hid it from you for these four hours. Sorry."
Taehyung? I...Don't I know you?
"Don't be." I grin, waving a hand dismissively at his apology. After all, he'd found the second clue. That's when he stops smiling, his face contorted in something similar to pain as he looks into my eyes.
"Will you open it?" He shakes his head, breaking the brief connection between us and says slowly. "Go on. Open it."
I nod, my fingers slowly slipping it open. I close my eyes as I pull the small card out.
"Go on, Hyemi. Read it." Taehyung's voice is soft, calming me in an instant. And with it is another voice in the distance. Somewhere in my mind I hear his voice.
Yes, little one. It's time.
And when I open my eyes and read the first line, I know it's him and that I've found him once again.
Hello Hyemi.
Hi! I've been wanting to write this story for a while. In fact, I think I've had the foreword and characters up for a year or two now!
PS. Hyemi isn't related to Jungkook BUT they have the same surname. My best friend shares a surname with a close friend of ours so...it's acceptable, right?
PS. Hyemi isn't related to Jungkook BUT they have the same surname. My best friend shares a surname with a close friend of ours so...it's acceptable, right?
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