Her hair was dark as a raven in a thick forest and fell perfectly over her oval face,hugging every inch of her face lightly.The way her eyes curled when she smiled was so enchanting and mesmerizing.

Her charisma and energy was like a morning coffee on a cold winter day , in a snug blanket by the fire place.Her body was not anything special but her face, personality and glare were like the lyrics of ballad.

Shejin would always look at her when she was reading the story for the children through the creak of the door to the pediatric recovery room . When she read the little souls a story-book, it was like listening to a zither playing..After witnessing this with his heart wide open , he would spend the whole day happy and go to the extent of fantasizing about the two of them.

Time passed really steadily and SheJin was starting to become too drenched in his affection for her.

One day while SheJin was too busy watching her, one of the kids pulled him into the room.

Everyone s eyes fell on him the second he steeped into the room . He is not a big fan of being the center of attraction so when he saw the eyes mounted on him, he felt his thyroid begin to somersault in his neck. It was beating so much that he was convinced that it would close his trachea one way or the other.

Because of the increased anxiety and excitement, his veins were also beginning to widen so much that he began to feel his palms sweating. The worst part being that the sweating velocity had a very steep acceleration . All this combined made his mouth and head void that he was no different from the furniture in this room.

Thanks to this, SheJin spaced out so much that his face looked like he was caught walking into a forbidden place. This look in his face was also very endearing to tell the truth. No matter one s age and pride, they can't help being charmed by it.

She was no exception and thus she subconsciously smiled at him.

Seeing this , SheJin is positive he momentarily died . How is it possible that a someone like himself can make a diamond shimmer.

The kids laughed at SheJin and him stammering when he tried to justify why he was behind the door made them laugh a lot more.

This did injustice to his nerves and instead he bowed to her as his grandfather and his doctor, once told him that she is older than him . But the real reason was that SheJin didn't know how to react. This is the first time he has felt like this to anyone.

He remained bended over and when he raised , he found her already standing in front of him.The poor dandelion jumped back as he didn't see her coming.

Seeing her impact on him did little to shake her because she was trying to remain cool. In this attempt, she had held her hands behind her back and smiled like she was ordering ice-cream.

The other reason she was so confident was that she already knew or atleast guessed what he wanted . And that thing was her.

She smiled and wrote her number on a paper then stepped even closer to him.

She stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear . The warmth of her breath on his ear made his blood boil to the point that his face turned redder than a rose.. It's not what she said because he didn't hear a word but rather how she said it to him. It felt so much tantalizing and made him what to react with his hands but was unfortunately paralyzed by shock

SheJin stationed awestruck as what just happened was extremely beyond anything he could ever imagine. Literally because the most intimate he ever imagined was being in the same room with her and talking about thing like culture and clothes.

Before SheJin thought he was about to become mentally retarded due to the hormone imbalance, the winter pearl raised her beautiful hand and tucked the note behind his collar,

Immediately then she glided away towards the door like a floating angel ,like her feet didn't touch the ground.

She turned around to meet SheJin s incredibly red face then walked away knowing she just wrote her name ,in bold across his mind.

Apparently the little kid who had pulled SheJin in, had been telling her reading teacher that there is a man who keeps looking at her.. At first she was slightly unsettled by this, until she too started watching SheJin when he was tending for his grandfather..

She grew attachment to how delicate he touched his face when he fell asleep and how childish he was around his grandfather, always acting stubborn and playing silly game . It's clear from the way he is with him that all of the world revolved around this senior resident. Even their doctor said he had never seem such a sort of union of two people.

From that moment , that scene and possible plot developments built a residence in his head and claimed citizenship in his thoughts. He could not stop wondering what if he turned his head, what if it was just the two of them. And with every lingering thought, the more intense he thought of possible outcomes, the more his face changed colors.

Two days later, after pondering millions of times if it's okay to call and making his grandfather annoyed at the same topic of the' lady next ward ', a change finally came. SheJin typed her number on the phone but was too scared to call and just tossed it to the side only to pick it up again.

Admist this genuine and ambrosial display of anxiety, the doctor on round ,who was also assigned grandfather, came to check on him. Despite the bitter pills and endless health advice he gives him, Grandfather was trully delighted to see him this time. Because he can sympathize as SheJin had asked him too many times for advice about what to do.

" Doctor, please get him out of my room.My knees hurt just seeing his cowardice", Grandfather mocked SheJin, who responded by puffing his cheeks to his grandfather. His eyes assumed a heart-warming crescent moon shape when he did that. But his grandfather almost swore at him as he hates how he likes that face?!

As they were having that petit episode, the doctor took the chance and snatched the phone from SheJin then he hit dial.

SheJin jumped to him but the doctor did his most to dodge him.

The old man on the bed laughed at how much this looked like watching two children fighting over a candy

SheJin kept trying to reach the phone but he was too slow for his opponent.

His opponent ran to the other side of the room but SheJin counterracted him by pulling his arm and pushing him onto the wall nearby. He then enclosed him in his arms against the wall.

AhMun turned to face the side so that SheJin doesn't snatch the phone and finally the lady of the moment answered.

" Hi , I am going fishing this week. Could you please come along if you have time. I would solemnly appreciate it", he begged pathetically.

SheJin tickeled AhMun and struggled the phone from his hand. He then pulled the doctor s nose the way his grandfather used to and still pulls his nose . This action is not at all painful in fact it's like a soft gesture but according to grandfather, it was a common punishment that he did when Shejin played in alone instead of trying to make friends or when he was being naughty.

SheJin placed it to his ear but he was too late. The only thing he heard was 'i would like that , see you', before the line went cold.

With the phone still to his ear, SheJin subconsciously walked over to the his grandfather then slumped on the bed.He looked like his soul left his body leaving an empty.e

As he slowly lowered the mobile and his voice as well as his mind filled with utmost disbelief, he relayed the words to his audience . Grandfather mocked him while shaking his head and all AhMun did was laugh. Though AhMun s voice nor laugh are next to splendid, when Shejin heard him chuckle , he got shook back to reality and he arrived with a lot of harmless fury.

He pulled a cushion from the bed and threw it to AhMun who dodged it by escaping through the door. He returned a few minutes later with donuts , which SheJin refused to eat . Reason being he doesn't 'trust' him so AhMun stuffed them in his face, while looking amusingly , directly at SheJin. All the while SheJin didn't tear from the precious intellectual . Honestly, of the two it's not clear who was trying to fool who.

Anyway they did go fishing and naughty AhMun was the one who choose the most dramatic sites. Of course it was SheJin who showed it to him first but only because AhMun asked. But now he wishes that he didn't because it felt slightly not okay, like revealing a secret.

Withal ,they did fish and they did a lot more else...like talking about the future and non-intimate swimming lessons, with SheJin being the oblivious student who just wanted the session to end.

That was a lot of fun for the both of them and that explains why the dates where becoming more frequent . A few weeks later , they were officially close to a couple as AhMun put it, because he got hit with a pillow for calling them 'trial and error' or 'better than strangers'.

Like couples, they disagreed but it was never serious and they could never stay mad at each other.They were growing to care for each other a lot .SheJin treasured her more than day and night and she was loyal.. Everything was perfect until a year later SheJin s grandfather passed away .

SheJin was deeply upset but at least he had her since AhMun had transferred four months into SheJin s relationship. It hurt too much that he lost half his weight and she was distressed to see him like this..

This loss and trauma made SheJin subtle to falling ill and sometimes he would collapse and thus stopped being able to catch fish for sale that he used to earn a living because he feared that he would collapse into the water. He stayed isolated from her since he hated the thought of her seeing him weak. Plus he couldn't bare to see the look in her face as he blamed himself for her distress.

When one causes the one they hold dear pain the first thing they are inclined to do is to walk away and put distance between each other.

This one-sided perspective of things placed a huge void between them, one that seemed to be growing by the day...

A beeping sound came from his phone.. He broke from his thoughts and went towards the phone and it was already four in the afternoon.. The afternoon or at least this time is perfect to go and paint the sunset..

He had been working on his painting for the past several days now and every day at this time he would go and continue with painting.. It took his mind from the pain in his chest, the void and stabbing that was worsened by time and thinking.

He walked over to the corner and picked up his easel and painting tools.

He opened the door to the kitchen and finally to the outside he went.

The outside was just like a village yard.The stream was passing right in front of his house and he set up the easel there.. the scenery was just too magnificent..

The sun on the horizon and the shades of colours of the rays of the sun on the clear water , was like golden liquid.. The gentle ripples resonated from the inside out wards.. The ripples were smooth, making the water seem like a soft crystal blanket with specs of tiny lights as the light reflected on the water. The assorted pallette of colored fish's colors were so vivid and lush..and each of the frogs that rested on the water lilies were akin to a God on his throne..

Whenever he comes here, he keeps looking at the scenery that he almost forgot that the goal is to paint not to be enchanted.

He began to paint and he appreciated every inch of the landscape.. From the calming sound of the water shaking the pebbles gently all to the crickets' harmonious tunes..

His choice of colour scheme to mimic the shades of hues of the masterpiece of mother nature s kingdom was phenomenal. He painted the shape of the water and the diverse pallette of the rays of the sun. He understands that everyday the rays of the sun may not be the same but it's probably the unpredictability of the shape of the rays that makes him adore the way the rays' caress tends to misbehave on the surface of the flowing water. There is nothing more spectacular

He did spend a lot of time near the water when fishing but it's a totally different setup and vibe when he paints.

He painted until it was almost getting dark.

He stood up from his chair and stood in front of the easel and looked at the now darkening sky ..He shrugged his shoulders at the chill. When did it suddenly become cold?

The chill convinced him even more to promptly gather firewood and water before it becomes more difficult to see and function

SheJin went a little further from where he was standing to go and grab some wood . The wood here is always dry and burns for a longer time without making choking soot. Just a few logs would sustain him for two more days as he plans to leave here after then

Inspite of this popular vow to do so, he never really does it . He keeps postponing it . So this time may or may not be different. But whatever the case, because of this promise to himself, he never gathers a lot of resources.

The wind was getting really cold, too fast and the worst part was it was not blowing.. His body on the other hand was gradually freezing to the point that it was developing mild shivers that were worsening.. Along side this, his teeth were already chattering uncontrollably..

While he was still picking the wood, he heard his easel falling down .

He raised his face towards it.

Instead of him seeing his easel, out of nowhere something hit him on the side of his head, awarding him an internal cranial hemorrhage .

The wood fell from his hand and he immediately followed ensuite, collapsing to the ground.

Blood tricked from the side of his ear and the color faded from his eyes as he blacked out on the spot