tales of youth: the golden age

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(i)

It was in the middle of summer. The eight years old Jongin was sitting under the tree near the river, carving things that seemed like some kind of codes on the tree. He just loved doing it, even though Soojung always said that he hurt the tree - that they were also living creatures even though they couldn't move and say things. He believed it and started to stop doing it, but he always found himself carving things on the tree over and over again.

Jongin felt that the sweltering heat was soon going to burn him up, although he could feel the wind softly blew against his skin as he licked his ice cream slowly. He watched the other kids who were pretty far from his and Soojung's place playing, as one of them climbed on the tree and dropped some fruits that the kid harvested.

It seemed fun, but Jongin never approached and never interested. A part of him wanted to be with those kids, but another told him to stay in his place; and he chose to just stay wand make sure that Soojung didn't try to do weird things again.

Eight years old Soojung ran carelessly on the field full of sunflowers, chasing after a blue butterfly. She stood out by wearing eccentric blue dress that he somehow liked - she never wore dress before and she said that she wore it that day because it was her mother's birthday.

"Look, Jongin! A butterfly!" she shouted in excitement. "It's blue! The same as my dress!"

She continued running and Jongin couldn't help but worry. Everything happened so quickly and she ran too fast down to the river as he was about to stand up - "Soojung, no! Be careful of-"

But the rest of the words just stuck on his throat and the next seconds, he found himself all wet and he could feel the icing water of the morning river. Soojung came up on his mind and his eyes began searching for one's with blue dress; there she was. But what met his eyes wasn't so great; Soojung was standing up and all wet too on the ground with one of her shoes missing. She gave him an awkward laugh, "He he. Chasing after one beautiful creature can hurt, yeah?"

"Are you hurt?" was all that he asked and wanted to know.

"Yeah. I landed on my back and it hit some rocks but I'm fine." She said, waiting for him to come up.

He sighed. "Look, your shoe is missing now."

She kicked him softly and laughed, "I'm the one who lost my shoe but why you're the one worrying about it? Don't worry! It was an old shoe anyway."

"What are you going to do with another pair then, Soojung? Won't your mom worried about it, and also you. You said it's her birthday now."

"I will just throw it away then." She said lightly.

There were words of protests that Jongin wanted to say to her of how she shouldn't do weird things again so carelessly that it might cause her danger and how she should worry about herself more but in the end, he held back. Soojung always took things so lightly as if it didn't bother her. Jongin didn't know if that was what she really felt or not, because Jongin never understood her well.

On that day, he took her home and along the way she told him many things about species of butterflies and that sunflower always follows he direction of the sun. Jongin didn't take it as her random tales but he took those as her short lesson to him about something that he didn't read in books.

She never complained about anything and Jongin was pretty comfortable with it.

Soojung had always been a fun friend to hang out with. For Jongin it was enough with just the two of them. But for Soojung, she didn't want it. She said that she wanted to befriend other people too and said that Jongin was too boring and they should make a group of three, or maybe five. Jongin never took her sharp words into his heart though. And he didn't take her words of how he should open up to other people than clinging to herself all the time and she said that it was annoying for her.