Soojin was fifteen when she realized that the encounter she had with the strange man is actually real.

They moved to the same town where she spent the first 6 years of her life. The same old creepy house was still there and it intrigues her just like how it did years ago.

Her mind couldn't decide if the memory she had about the place was a dream or a reality. The image was too vivid to be a dream but too magical to be real. A part of her wishes to see the strange man again. There was something about him that warms her heart and squeezes her chest in a painful kind of way. If it was longing she couldn't be certain.

The place was still as dark as she last remembered, full of cobwebs and dusts, signs of being deserted for a long period of time. There was no sign of life. The furniture looked as if they were not used for hundreds of years. There was no electricity or water. The late afternoon sun seeps through the half open window but it only adds an eerie look to the place.

How can someone live in this kind of place? she wonders.

It gave her another reason to doubt the possibility of the stranger being real. It had been plaguing her mind for years. She regretted not staying a bit longer and more so regretted not coming back. She needed to know if the man is real or else live the rest of her life wondering.

It was actually one of the reasons why she decided to drop by right after they settled back to the town. The other being the desperate need to run away. Her parents had been fighting with each other for the longest time and she’s getting tired of hearing shouts and pretending she didn’t notice the fact that their family is falling into pieces. And so she ran away from home (something teenagers do at one point in their teenage life).

But now as she stared at the poor condition of the house she chose to live in for a while, she almost regretted her decision. She mentally scolded herself for being so impulsive.

It’s too late to change my mind. This will have to do, she thought.

She searched for the light switch and groaned in frustration when the lights didn’t light up. It confirmed her presumption that there was no electricity. She didn’t bother checking the water because she was pretty much sure she’ll be disappointed.

She decided to search for a place to lie down. She’ll think about the rest of her problems the day after when her mind is clearer and she had enough sleep. She walked around the house in small light steps memorizing every room and searching for the most comfortable bed she could find. Candles, she needed those too. She could no longer remember the exact room where she found the sleeping man. Her memory was so fuzzy she couldn’t remember much from the encounter. The only clear thing in her mind is the memory of the man’s smile. He had a really pretty smile and Soojin couldn’t seem to get it out of her head.

“Perfect,” she uttered when she found a small room with a window facing a mushy garden of wild flowers. The bed was covered with white sheets to keep the dust off. She pulled the covers off and sat on the bed. The soft surface dipped with her weight. She didn’t expect the bed to be comfortable and she smiled when she realized that it is. She was beginning to love the house more and more.

"Soojin..." A voice of a man from behind startled her.

She whirled around, eyes fixed on the man who uttered her name. He was standing by the door, shoulders leaning against the doorframe, a smile curving at the corners of his mouth. It was the same man from her memory, the one with tears in his eyes, the one who knows her name even without her telling. And this time she was certain she wasn't dreaming. He is real just like how she wished him to be.

"You're... real," she said more like a question than a statement.

His chuckle convinced her more that she wasn't dreaming. "I am," he said.

She moved closer making sure the man in front of her will not disappear into thin air if she reached out her hands and touched his face. His skin was strangely cold. The man looked surprised but he didn’t avoid the touch.

 “You’re real…” she said again.

The man smiled showing his perfect white teeth. “How many times do I have to tell you that I am?”

“Ran away from home?” the man asked just when she thought nothing else he says would surprise her.

“I did not… Well, sort of… Wait, how did you…?” Soojin feels stupid for coming up with nothing but incoherent sentences. It’s just that the presence of the man is unnerving and not to mention the smile on his face was making her feel all sorts of fuzzy feeling she couldn’t quite understand.

“You’re free to stay for as long as you want.” He said without answering her question.

She brightened up almost instantly. “Thank you! I promise I won’t be a bother. I’m Soojin… which I’m pretty sure you already know though I’m not sure how you knew. But anyway, what’s your name?”

“Choi Minho.” Soojin smiled and reached out her small hand in which Minho took with his cold ones.

“Nice to meet you, Minho,” she said. Minho smiled and Soojin’s heart flipped inside her chest.

When Soojin woke up the next day, she found Minho sitting outside the door with one knee propped up, back leaning against the wall, and eyes closed. Books littered around and a burnt out candle lies next to him. It gave Soojin the impression he had been reading the entire night. He opened his eyes when he heard the door open.

He smiled and Soojin felt like melting again. “G-good morning,” she said. She suddenly hates herself for acting like a lovesick school girl.

“Morning. Had a good night sleep?”

“Yes… T-thank you.” She stuttered and she blamed it to the fact that he was so freaking good looking. How can this man be even real?

He stood up and came closer which Soojin thinks a very bad idea because now she can smell the man and oh god, not only is he handsome but he smells really nice too.

“The water is now working so you can take a shower if you want.” Soojin had to look up because the man is too tall and she regretted staring because she couldn’t come up with anything to say.

“But I’m sorry. I couldn’t prepare you breakfast,” he said again.

“N-no. It’s ok. Really. You didn’t have to. And thank you.”

She spent the first day cleaning and Minho was totally against the idea. “You really don’t have to do all these things, you know.” The place is huge and cleaning the place is not an easy task. Besides he said he was perfectly fine with dust all over the place. But of course Soojin didn’t want to stay for free. The least she could do is help out.

She already finished cleaning the kitchen and half of the library when a knock on the door was heard. Soojin ran to the door before Minho did. They were greeted by a confused and fearful delivery boy. “You ordered pizza, ma’am?” The look on his face shows impatience and an unspoken, hurry-up-so-I-can-get-the-hell-away-from-this-creepy-place.

Soojin gave the boy a smile. “Yes,” she said before taking the box from the boy and paying. Minho only watched as she placed the pizza on the table (a newly cleaned, dust-free table) and motioning for Minho to join her.

“I’m starving,” she said before helping herself with a slice and taking a bite. Minho sat on the chair opposite from her and stared at the pizza with a look as if someone poisoned the food and he didn’t want to put the thing anywhere near his mouth.

“You don’t like the pizza?” she asked when she noticed Minho is not taking a bite.

“I’m just not hungry.”

“Can I have all of it then?”

“Only if you promise to stay longer.”

Soojin loves the place- really loves it to the point that she wanted to stay there forever. The wild flowers outside the window look more beautiful in the bright morning sun. It was quiet but she had always loved the silence so the place is indeed perfect.

But of course she couldn’t stay forever. She still have school and she can’t live without her parents until she turns legal and she gets a job to support herself. So after 2 days when she finally had to leave, her face looked anything but happy.

“I can drop by again right?”

“Anytime.” Minho gave her a smile and Soojin felt all fuzzy inside for the hundredth time. Soojin gave her a wave before running off. Her face burns and she had to leave fast to hide the blush on her face.

Soojin was fifteen when she liked someone for the first time and she decided she will come more often to the same place to meet the same man who makes her feel butterflies in her stomach because even if it’s unnerving, it wasn’t unpleasant – wonderful even.