✓LOVER BOY | hwang hyunjin

31. The Woods

Hyunjin was breathless. His heart was a haywire.

On Sunday when the rest of the world flooded down the streets, packing up the spaces of green gardens, under delicate canopies with even delicate peace in heart, Hyunjin had run all the way from the shop to Yeseul's apartment.

Although they didn't have a shift on Sunday, he was asked to make an urgent delivery to the store. After he had finally placed the saplings in their designated place, with plenty of water sprinkled on the soil, he walked towards the lobby. There he saw the open diary on the their boss's cabinet. Skimming through the pages, he noticed something odd. Yeseul hadn't been making any entries since Wednesday. Hyunjin pressed his lips in a straight line. They recently had a change in their timetables, pushing Hyunjin's arrival towards the hour when Yeseul left, so he hadn't taken it seriously when he saw the girl absent from the store.

Hyunjin pulled out his phone. His messages weren't even received by her. This was worrisome. And that's how he ended up on Yeseul's door at 10 in the morning.

Despite of the nervous hum in his chest, he gathered the courage to push the bell. Once. Twice. Too many times. Five minutes had already passed and no one was answering. Except for the annoyed neighbour who walked out with a clear sleep in his grimace. "Boy, it's too early for this. Why don't you just leave?"

Hyunjin bowed, apologising. "Sorry, but do you know where Yeseul is?"

The men leaned back, crossing his arms. He sighed, shaking his head. "She left with a guy some days ago. I haven't seen her since then."

"A guy?"

"Yeah. They looked really similar. Might have been her younger brother. Yes, I think I know him. He is that artist, you know? The one who won some award last winter." The man grew silent. "Leave now. You ruined my sleep."

Hyunjin left after apologising. His mouth mumbled things that weren't aligned with his thought. His arrival was futile. But the disappointment was soon washed off of his face when his phone rang. It was Jeongin.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hyung. So Ji wants to go to the beach."

"That girl needs some serious rest. You were the one who gave this idea to her, didn't you?" Hyunjin sighed in the receiver. Jeongin started whining on the other end. There was a sudden silence, then a rustle, and a sigh.

"Hey Hyunjin."

Hyunjin's eyes softened. "Dude, you can't go to the beach. You will catch a cold."

"I'll dress warmly. I promise."

And Hyunjin had nothing to say other than a tired okay.

_________

Yeseul and Jinho had visited their family house. Everything was vibrant there. Yeseul sometimes forgot that her parents were rich. Living alone was something her parents wanted her to experience. She and her brother were pushed off the ledge into the world of independent living really early. So coming back to her house, with all it's old charm still in the elegance it had from years past was like a breath she barely could hold in her lungs.

Jinho had proposed the idea of them camping in the forest for a night or two. Yeseul had been hesitant to accept it since she was too bothered by the thought of bugs creeping in their tent or perhaps the legend of a skinwalker hunting both of them down.

Yeseul's mother was too assertive about her children having some time together in the woods. She personally had packed Yeseul's bag, and even had given them a ride till the 'blue stairs'. After waving a goodbye, she left the two with their bags, and a note with all the emergency numbers in pocket.

"We're not kids."

"There might be bears, or weirdos. Just to be safe."

Jinho shuddered. "Not a positive message."

Things went smoothly. Smoothly is relative as per Yeseul, because she wasn't over the fright she got when her brother had thrown a caterpillar in her hair, or when he accidentally used her toothbrush. When night had fallen over, and every single noise was a potential murderer for Yeseul, Jinho had thought it would be a nice idea to creep up behind her and try to take her down. She gave him the justly owed punch in stomach later.

"I prevented murder by controlling my anger today. Don't test my patience again." Yeseul had darkly whispered this threat to Jinho when he tried poking her by a random twig. It had somehow worked since the boy had been calm for a couple of hours.

The morning started late. The two slept in. With no adults to scold them awake, and no responsibility in mind, they slept enough to turn their lunch into the first meal of the day. Yeseul's bones ached. Jinho acted as though he drank the elixir of life.

"We should head home today, no?" Yeseul poked at the fire. The pot of porridge bubbled.

"I found something last night." Jinho grinned.

"I asked you a question."

"I said I found something and we must visit the place together."

The universe knows it took a lot to stay calm for the girl. "Inner peace, inner peace. I'm calm, I'm collected, I have my life in order, my brother isn't a fugitive from an asylum, I'm kind, I'm beautiful."

Jinho snorted. Yeseul threw the remaining water in her cup at his face. A satisfied grin seeped over her lips. "Okay, since you are being so persistent let's visit the place."

Jinho had a scowl on his face. This was the first sign of anger he had shown in their two day stay. "At 1 AM."

"Deal."

"You better be prepared."

"Sure."

Soon after their mushroom hunt, landscape painting and countless pranks, the time turned its arms to 1.