Seasons 계절

Chapter 1 It was the first day of spring. Hyun Joo was almost gliding down the stairs, failing to hide her excitement as she let her bag hung loosely on one shoulder. It was the first ever Monday morning where the thought of coming to school exhilarated her, ignoring her mother's numerous offer to drop her off instead. As odd as it may seem, she specially woke up earlier than she usually does so she can walk to school today. "Are you sure, Hyun Joo? It's a pretty long way." "Mom, it's spring! Don't wanna miss it." She retorted at her mother's stubbornness, crouching down to wear her shoes. It was a self-made tradition for her, she never knew why the thought of walking along a brick road lined with cherry blossoms seemed so comforting for her. She never wanted to miss it again like how she did in the previous year. Afterall, this will be the last time. She will be moving to college in a few months, which means a one-hour drive away from their place. "At least take the bicycle with you. I see some students outside doing the same thing." She insisted, peeking through the off-white curtains. Hyun Joo stepped outside, seeing the bicycle stationed beside the potted plants. With a sigh, she mounted her bike and left. "Okay mom, I'll be going now!" Paving her way outside the neighborhood, she let her eyes wander around the confinement of this safe haven she grew to love. She can't believe how as trivial as spotting a man dropping newspaper in front of someone's porch or an old lady opening her small store seemed to stir something sentimental within her. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that her remaining months as a highscool student will eventually come to an end. "Ah, this is nice." Closing her eyes for a moment, she let the gentle breeze and the soft sunlight caress her skin. This was what she was craving for after a long winter, there is always something about spring that leaves her a lingering feeling of peace, it reminds her of home. Her happiness was soon disrupted when the crank of the bicycle started creaking, making a grunt escape from her throat as every pedal started to get harder. She was pretty sure she lubricated the chain yesterday. "Really?" With a deep scowl in her face, she stepped down and examined the chain wheel which was stuck, much to her own disliking. Hissing under her breath, she hastily tapped on her phone and pressed send with every ounce of irritation she got. Deep breaths, Hyun Joo. Darting her eyes around, a small part of her secretly hoped she'll find someone she knew and perhaps help her with her current dilemma. However, the chances of having friends aside from So Ah was down to zero percent. Dropping her shoulders in defeat, she let her attention focus on the new message from her phone instead. "Eomma! The bicycle's broken. I should've walked instead." "Ommo ommo! I'm sorry to hear about that. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ" For a split second, she rubbed her eyes briskly as her system refused to believe her mother's reply. She can hear her laughing at the other side of the phone as the mocking characters at the end of her message stood brightly against the screen. "God, I can't believe this!" Stuffing her phone back in her pocket, she pushed the bicycle with little to no enthusiasm at all. She had lost count of the number of times she sighed in a minute. Every step she took over the scattering leaves in the dirt left her wallowing in self-pity. The path in front of her was quite a scenery, however, it wasn't enough to make up for her mood. "Come on." She muttered to herself, blindly poking the mechanism in hopes of fixing it but she was out of luck. At this point, she could only hope the heavens would hear her silent pleas of salvation and perhaps send her a winged creature with a toolbox in its hand. But on contrary to the blinding white light and an angelic orchestra she anticipated, the sound of squeaking tires announced the arrival of the savior instead. "Do you need help?" Looking up, she gaped at the person in front of her. Indeed prayers do work. The guy in front of her was an exact definition of an angel. With his dark brown hair and soulful eyes, his delicate lips were carved into a kind smile. His voice was smooth and sensual which left her in a deep trance. He could pass as a Disney prince the manner he rushed to her aid. Yet instead of being clad in a shiny armor while riding a majestic white horse, he arrived in a school uniform on a bicycle instead. How could he appear so angelic but devilishly attractive at the same time? She unconsciously looked at him for unnecessarily too long and man did he look hot. If not because of a single hand waving in front of her face, she swore she couldn't stop herself from gawking over him. As soon as the focus seeped back to her eyes, the guy lightly chuckled. "I'm glad you're back," Poking the inside of his cheeks, he gave her a lopsided smile, "I see you're in some small trouble here." Dropping her gaze, she felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment; she just shamelessly stared at his face a little longer than what could be considered normal. She hoped the guy didn't perceive her as a weird boy-crazy highschool girl already. Clearing her throat, she tried to stabilize her breathing and put on a straight face. Lifting her head up, the sight of his dark orbs fixed intently at her almost made her drop back to her knees again. "Uhm, yes. Do you know how to fix these things?" She managed to speak out without her voice wavering, making her praise herself mentally. The guy stifled a laugh, looking at something in her face. "I'll do what I can." As soon as those words were said, she released a breath of relief when he turned his back from her and went to his bicycle, grabbing something from the carrier in the back portion. He went back beside her, a mini toolbox in his hand. What was that for? That small laugh somehow made her a bit self-conscious, she started wondering if there was something wrong with her face. As much as she want to drool over this guy, she shouldn't, well at least not in front of him. She was digging her past memories as to where she encountered him before. This guy was in the same neighborhood as she is but she rarely sees him around. They were also in the same school surprisingly, but she never once bumped into him in the campus nor even shared a single word with him. "Let's see." He muttered, folding the sleeve of his uniform until it reached his elbows. She tried to focus her eyes somewhere else rather than the flexed muscles in his forearms as he maneuvered around, nor the way his manly hands clutched the compartments of the bicycle. Her bicycle. Get yourself together, Hyun Joo. This nice guy was trying to help her and she was secretly checking him out, that's not a nice thing to do. He started inspecting the crank as she quietly observe at the side, quite confused as to where to fix her eyes, to this malfunctioning bicycle or to this stranger overflowing with too much appeal? She may never know. The rest of the time was spent in silence aside from the occasional clanking of the tools and low grunts from the guy as he put his overall effort in repairing it. Hyun Joo's eyebrows rose in admiration as soon as he sighed in contentment, indicating that the job he so confidently taken as a challenge was successfully done. "Try it. " He muttered, a proud smile etched in his lips as sweat shimmered in his forehead. They both stood up, patting his hands on his pants as Hyun Joo started testing it. "It's working! It's working!" She squealed, going in circles. Her over-delighted reaction made the guy chuckle at her, a pair of bunny teeth peeking through his curved lips. "Try not to break it next time, I won't always be there to help you." The guy said in a playful voice, making her eyes shoot up to stare back at him in gratitude. She couldn't keep track of the number of times she stared at his face but she couldn't get enough. This guy was insanely attractive, she wouldn't even try to deny. He was definitely taller than her and his black doe eyes gleamed in amusement, a pair of loop earrings on both side of his ears complimenting his entire appearance. "Thank you so much, I owe you." She forced herself to bow, breaking off the eye contact. The male's lips tugged up to a smirk, "Have you realized you got grease on your cheek?" Her head snapped up in response. "What?" Her ears started to feel hot in embarrassment. Did he mean that all this time, when she was shamelessly ogling at the guy like some infatuated puppy— there was a stripe of ugly grease in her face? The guy snickered, leaning his body slightly towards her and swiftly held out his hand, sliding his thumb along her cheek. A smirk graced his lips, seeing the flustered reaction on her face. "It's nice meeting you—" He glanced at her nameplate, "—Hyun Joo." He swept pass her, the smell of spring hitting her. Jeon Jungkook. It was written on his nameplate.