I Lava You

CHAPTER 04 : A CANDY FOR YOU

Stare~~~~~

With hand props on his chin, Kim Dokja stared at the statue before his eyes. He scrutinized the vague details of the two people carved on the stone. The way the sculptor portrays his talent was excellent, every edge and curve were done in exquisite and detailed workmanship. It was really beautiful, however the maker left the faces of the statue blank.

When Kim Dokja read the description under the statue that state about the sculptor's opinion on his piece, it was worded like this:

[My parents often tell the story behind my hometown when I was young, and I was awed every time I heard it. It was also the moment where I swore to myself to make a monument for them using the sculpture skills I inherited from my grandparents... The reason why I left out their faces blank is because I'm afraid to make a mistake in portraying them. I don't know what they looked like, that's why I chose to let the people who'll see my piece see them in the way their heart views them. - A.M.]

"...the way their hearts views them." Kim Dokja murmured, then turned his head towards the supposed to be portrayed as the volcano spirit. He let his heart judge it and a smile appeared on his face. He felt this statue was pleasing to the eye and was very very handsome. Yet, the more he stared, the more he felt fidgety and his heart seemed to be pricked by needles. 'This feeling again...' He frowned. '...Is this really the place I've been looking for? Is the spirit of this place somehow connected to my dream?'

When Kim Dokja recalled his dream yesterday night, his cheeks flushed red. He slapped both of his cheeks with his both hands hard, which attracted the attention of the few tourists because of the loud crisp, but he didn't mind them. 'Shit! Shit! Shit! Maybe it's actually a wet dream, not that continuous dream?'

"..."

'Arghhhh! Why do I keep remembering those tempting lips!'

He pinched his cheek until a mark formed to distract his imagination. When he stopped thinking about those scenes, he turned his gaze back to the statue again, this time Kim Dokja looked at the lover.

Hands on the pocket of his jacket, while standing languidly and tilting his head, he scrutinized the woman statue. He admitted, the woman looked beautiful even though she had a blank face. Even so, every inch of her edges and curve irritated him, or let's say, he didn't like the woman statue at all.

Kim Dokja didn't know why or what was the reason for his irksome mood, but there's a fact that appeared on his mind when he looked at her. "...They didn't suit each other."

That's right! He thought the woman statue was out of place and didn't belong or harmonize with the spirit's statue. He even felt it was not the spirit lover at all.

Shrugging his shoulder, he looked at the information beside the sculptors' opinion. It stated the town was founded many years ago. There were only thousands of people left from more or less three thousand after the volcano erupted madly in February. But, because the people at that time were focused on exploration, the population living in the town increased as the explorers or some people who heard about the place chose to settle down here. By then, the town prospered, their agriculture also flourished due to rich soil, as well as becoming one of the suppliers of beauty products that use volcanic ash clay.

After reading, he became awed on the day of founding. "...1864 years ago, ah."

'So, according to their story, it was founded after the spirit's lover died and after he left the people off of his madness... They say, the spirit is still waiting for his lover to come back. That also means he'd been waiting for 1864 years? Wow, how tough, like the protagonist in my favorite book.'