Midnight Tales | ✔

3

Jaehyun

I left my baggage at the door of my room and followed after Mr. Kang. Stopping before the third door, Mr. Kang reached for the doorknob and pushed it open, revealing a small room.

Half of the ceiling's room is covered with glass panels, letting in sunlight. White walls surround the room with a few hanging plants. There's a bench at the side and a big window on one side of the wall, but unlike the other rooms, this one is empty save for an old piano in the middle.

"This is the music room"

The place smells of flowers.

"I'll be at the back lawn if you need me okay?" Mr. Kang said and turned around, leaving me alone.

Looking around for the last time, I grab the door and closed it before walking back to my room. As soon as I entered my room, I immediately undid my bag and started unpacking. I only bought a few clothes since I'll be just here for a week only, even the boys wanted me to bring extra snacks and stuff but I insisted on only bringing a few things with me.

Speaking of the boys, they must be worried by now. I took out my phone and dialed Taeyong hyung's number but the call was immediately cut off. Still no signal.

"What do I do now?" I muttered.

Changing my shirt first. I put my bag inside the wardrobe and went out. I should just look around and see the place first, find things I could do for the whole week.

It's still my first day and I'm getting bored already. What more for the following six days.

Stopping at the next door beside mine, I opened it and went inside. The study room is a space bigger than the music room and smaller than my room. It has two bookshelves, a desk, and a chair. I walk over to the shelves and checked out the book.

Reading was one of my hobbies before. I read a lot of stuff but I mostly like the ones written in English. Mom would say that I got it from my grandfather, he had hundreds of books hidden in his study before. Surprisingly, the books found on the shelves are mostly well-known classics, like Shakespeare's and Jane Austen's.

I was about to stop and walk away when one book caught my attention. It was the only book written in Korean.

The Fairy and the Woodcutter

It's a famous folklore in Korea, about a woodcutter who's desperate for a wife. I find the story actually kind of absurd. The woodcutter hid the cloth of the fairy to stop her from going back to heaven and then played hero to convince the fairy to marry him.

The woodcutter was selfish and the fairy was foolish.

I walked over to the near window giving a whole view of the back lawn of the house. The lawn was empty unlike what I expected it to look like—full of plants and flowers. Then I saw Mr. Kang below the tree—just at the end of the fence, facing an easel in concentration. He was indeed painting when I came.

"Jaehyun" Mr. Kang called out as I went out from the back door and approached him.

"Do you usually paint here?"

"For years. It's a lovely spot. We always spent our time here doing our own thing"

"We?"

Mr. Kang smiled. "I forgot to mention, your grandfather and I are very close. Such youthful days, it's just sad now that I won't be able to see him again"

"Did he visit here again?"

"After marrying your grandmother? No, he had been busy since then"

"I thought you're good friends?" I asked as I settled down under the shade of the tree. Mr. Kang laughed at my question.

"Oh yes, we are. Before he got sick he still sent me letters. Your grandpa was a good man"

"I heard the opposite"

He stopped for a minute and shake his head.

"Your father despised him"

"Because he never loved our grandma. I think he had the right to"

Mr. Kang laughed and stuff his brush into the small pocket of his apron and wiped his hands with a cloth.

"You can never despise a person who only wants to love Jaehyun"

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, Mr. Kang walked back inside the house, leaving me with his easel. I stood up from my place and went over to the painting he did.

It was a portrait of a girl.