endless • kth

s i x t e e n

• watering the seeds •

"The butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state."

•

Steamy pots were scattered around the burners. Vapor all over the place as the cooking noodles would detach a tasty aroma. The sound of the metal chopsticks clicking with the ceramic pots echoed around the small place.

There wasn't too many space for the people who usually attended the small restaurant. Sometimes even the customers had to wait in line outside of the place just to get a cup of noodles. They were supposedly the best noodles in Gwangju and the restaurant was buried in the heart of the city.

She was used to all this stress during the day, after all she's been serving noodles for the past 35 years, it was something she loved even if it provided her with a pain in her back. Seeing the happy faces of the people when they ate her noodles was something that made her feel satisfied and gave her an inner strength to keep doing her job.

"Two cups of noodles to table one!" She yelled as she took the bill from table 6. The small place had a smell characteristic of her seasoning and a peculiar background music mainly made of the people talking and making toasts with small glasses and soju bottles.

After a long day, she would clean up all the tables, count the money and chop the vegetables and meat for the next day. It was a tiring job but she always had the best smile and disposition to the next day.

"Yah... It was shaken today." Woonki said as he cleaned the kitchen. She chuckled as she counted the money from the cashier.

"It's a Monday night, what can you expect?" She mumbled as she tried to keep the track of the bills she was counting.

Woonki brought a wet cloth and started cleaning all the tables until he reached the cashier. He stared at her and smiled. She felt his stare and without looking at him, she sighed.

"Yah... Do you believe in such a thing as a love that lasts 100 years?" Woonki froze on his spot as he put the wet cloth on his shoulder and looked down at her with a big frown on his face.

"Tsk. That's rubbish. There's no such a thing." He chuckled as he shook his head and returned to the kitchen. She chuckled bitterly as she turned her head to the window. The heavy rain started to fall not so long ago. The moon was shinning above, it had a peculiar white glow that she loved so much.

Her eyes traveled from the moon to the streets where something caught her attention. A pair of hands and legs moving, more like running around the block. She noticed the scared look on the boy's face and feared for his health after getting stuck on the rain, in such a cold night. She rushed to the door and opened it.

"Yah! Come here, you shouldn't be outside in the rain this late!" She yelled at the boy. He stopped for a moment and nodded as he ran towards the restaurant's door. She took a step backwards, to give him some space to come in. The boy was soaked wet, his clothes, shoes and hair. She thought he looked like a wet cat and somehow found it funny.

He came inside and walked around, running a hand through his face to wipe the drops of rain. When he turned around, she stood quietly looking at him. His towering figure somehow made the place look even smaller. His eyes widened as he looked at the woman, his head tilted to a side as he swallowed hard.

She thought he must have been through something, after all he was walking a bit lost under the rain for no apparent reason, and now she noticed how he looked troubled and even confused.