(Word count: 23097)
"It'll be spring soon."
The tired groan of the schoolhouse door swinging shut is grating, but it's swiftly wiped out by the sound of excited chatter and scattered laughter as the children scuttle off toward their homes for the evening, winter coats swallowing them whole right up to their rosy cheeks.
Frost still clings to the air, unable to shake the very last dregs of winter, and every now and then Jake will make a point of sniffling, red tipped nose constantly running no matter how much he bundles up in the ever growing pile of scarves Sunghoon's collected for him on his travels.
"I can feel it coming." The other man says, boots scuffing over chilled earth as they make their way from the building and onto the footpath. In the thick of winter it'd been so slippery he'd apparently fallen over four times. Sunoo can't help but wish he'd been here to see it. "It sits in the air around us, just waiting to bloom."
Sunoo glances toward the sky, crystal blues spotting thick cloud, and hums. "I wonder how the field looks in spring."
At that Jake grins, cheeks flushed from the cold. "You'll soon see, won't you?" There's something like excitement in his voice, as though he has so much more he can't wait to show Sunoo. An endless list of wonder and magic that he gets to share.
A warm trill rockets through Sunoos abdomen and he feels a smile tug at his lips, a familiar giddiness marking his next step. I suppose that's true, isn't it?
The trail toward the crooked, cramped hut on the edge of town is familiar, earth that'd once been blanketed by thick snow now scattered with frost and dew instead. Sunoo hasn't tired of the beauty of the journey, thinks the town looks stunning no matter what shade it's cast in. He can't help but think that nothing lights the province up quite like the sun though.
Jake's right, there's a certain warmth lingering beneath the bite in the air, a whisper of new life fluttering about them as it lays in wait to rear new colours and a fresh start. Soon, the ever welcome call of birdsong will become a constant once more, and the grass either side of the trail they walk will be threaded with a rich sea of blooms of all different colours and sizes.
The sun feels like a rarity even in late winter, and when it peeks out from behind the clouds to set each and every dew drop alight, he can't help but smile to himself, so content it almost feels surreal.
"Does he know we're coming?" He asks, soles of his boots sinking into rain dampened earth with every step. He tightens his hold around the small stack of novels hitched under his arm, nose stinging a little in protest every time the wind picks up.
Jake snorts. "Does he ever? Ni-ki's more than used to me turning up unannounced by now, it's why he leaves the door unlocked."
"He leaves the door unlocked because he knows you'd only break it down to find your way in anyway." Sunoo says, snickering when Jake playfully shoves at his side.
The two of them laugh, the sound echoing off of the trees, and Sunoo not for the first time, is struck by how easy it feels to simply walk and laugh with someone, someone he's so ridiculously fond of. A friend.
He never thought he'd have this, not really.
Yet here he is, nose running and cheeks hurting from how much he's smiling.
"I've hardly seen him since I've been back." He remarks with faux offence, ducking beneath a low hanging branch as he trudges after his friend. "He spends all of his time in that hut nowadays."
