Hello everyone! I hope you're all having an amazing day so far! I know I am, when this morning, I saw that my favorite artist, V, had released a song called Winter Bear. I loved everything about it and haven't taken it off of loop in hours. 

This song inspired me to write a fictional story about what would happen if I ever met Taehyung just walking out and about somewhere, so I did! I hope you enjoy this short story called, "Winter Bear."

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Walking down the streets of San Francisco, a cup of coffee in my hands, I looked up at the night sky. The foliage of the trees surrounded the area, protecting it and making it seem like a sanctuary. A sanctuary for those who feel like a part of themselves resides with nature and they're able to find themselves among the trees. The city life was very vibrant and loud, so I chose to stray away from that. 

Walking past all the shops, the bars, restaurants, feeling no spark of electricity or wonderment when faced with the nightlife. I looked back up at the sky, my camera hanging around my neck, falling comfortably upon my chest. It seemed by just looking up, I was transported to a completely different place. A whole new universe, if you will. Feeling safe and secluded in the moment, I put my coffee down and raised my hands to the sky, my camera safely intact. 

One snap, another, and then one more. Could never have too many when faced with such a beautiful sight. I put down my camera and peeled my eyes away from the sky to see another sight just as beautiful. I titled my head to see a boy maybe a few years older than I was, staring back at me. A camera similar to mine was perfectly placed in his grip as well. 

What a coincidence. Two people, not bothered or enthralled by the nightlife, but only concerned with the heavens, staring at one another. I could almost hear a calm song playing in my head. He sheepishly smiled, and I reciprocated the smile. "A fellow photographer, I assume?" I asked, trying my best to sound intelligent. Things like this didn't just happen every day, and in the moment, it felt special. He gave a simple nod back and gestured to his camera. 

I couldn't help but smile as I studied his character. He seemed like the type of person to find beauty in things not necessarily beautiful to some, as I can bet that was reflected on his camera roll. He seemed like the very observant type, able to take any situation and make it beautiful and artistic. Although, this was just my first impression. But I'd never gotten this clear of a sense of who a person was until I saw him. 

"Admiring the night sky as well? It's so beautiful tonight." I stated, lifting my camera towards the sky. He nodded. "Yes, it's very...beautiful." A heavy accent spilled out of his lips as he spoke. I smiled. I could tell he wasn't from here, but I was still pleased to see him enjoying all the sights. "Where are you from?" I asked him. "South Korea, Seoul." He responded. Ah, how my heart ached when I heard that. I had always wanted to visit that country, more so that city. The photo opportunities and beauty were overwhelming, as I had seen on Google. 

"I've always wanted to visit there." I said, with a hint of longing ringing out in my voice. The boy stepped closer to me and smiled. "You should." He encouraged me with those two words. I smiled. "I will, soon." I told him. I looked up at him. He was quite a tall man, at least according to me. I had always been short, and our height difference certainly wasn't making me look like Goliath. Or even like David, that was how short I was. 

"Where are photo places to visit in Seoul?" I asked, wanting to keep my vocabulary simple. He thought for a moment, his eyes looking to the side. "Ah!" He got an idea. He shuffled next to me, directing my eyes to his camera. He scrolled through all his, may I say breathtakingly beautiful, photos. Then, he landed upon one. 

It was a cityscape, buildings lined up on each side of the street. The only thing that was left of the zooming cars were some yellow streaks on opposite sides of the road. You could hear the bustling nightlife of the city through that one photo alone. The buildings had a foreign writing on it, and I assumed it was Korean. However, what made that photo so worthwhile was the one cherry blossom tree standing tall in the middle of the photo. It seemed to stand out, as being one thing of nature left in a bustling, fast-paced world. I could see the inspiration he felt when snapping this photo. 

"This, uh...Seoul." He said. I smiled. "I love the cherry blossom tree." I blurted out, my eyes fixating on that one tree. He nodded. "That is why I took this." I looked back up at him. Him gazing lovingly at his camera surrounded by this kind of environment gave me a sense of inspiration. I felt the excited spark of when I find a new photo surging through my body. I stepped back, my camera held in my hands. "May I?" I pointed to my camera, and then to him. It was my way of asking if I could take his picture. 

He looked very surprised at first, given by his widened eyes, his raised eyebrows, and his tilted head. He pointed at himself to make sure. I nodded, a smile spreading across my face. I found my opportune angle and put my eye to the camera, seeing him through the lens. He gave me a smile while holding his camera gently in front of his chest. I snapped the photo, once, twice, and finally a third time. The third time was the charm after all. I waved him over to look at what we both had created. He stood next to me as I flipped through my camera. 

In the photo, he was standing in the middle of the sidewalk. The loud and lighted-up restaurant stood on his left and the beautiful line of trees stood on his right. He was standing with a grin on his face and his camera held close. It was as if the photographer was finally the object of the photo, and that was a beautiful concept to me. 

"Do you like it?" I asked him. He nodded, a big smile plastered upon his face. "It looks good. You are very good." He complimented me in broken English. I smiled, feeling my cheeks heating up as I processed the compliment. "Thank you, you are too. I love that Seoul photo." I complimented back. He smiled, his dirty blonde hair flowing in the wind. "Thank you." His accent and deep voice paired together so well. 

Suddenly, he looked at me with a shy expression. "Can I, uhh.." He was struggling to find the right words, so he took to gesturing. He pointed at himself, then me, and then the camera. "Photo?" He asked, miming the clicking of the camera. He wanted a photo of the both of us. I smiled and nodded. "Of course." He turned his camera around so that the lens was facing the both of us. The old-school selfie trick made it even more charming. 

He came closer to me, and then put his free arm around me. I couldn't help but silently giggle to myself. I held up both of my hands and did peace signs with my fingers. "하나 둘 셋!" He shouted in Korean. I was confused, but went along with it. Before snapping the photo, he chuckled. "Ah, that means uh..1, 2, 3." He clarified. I let out an "ah" and chuckled. We both looked at each other and laughed. "Okay, ready?" He asked. I nodded. We both posed again. "하나 둘 셋!" He shouted again. This time though, I knew what it meant. 

We both smiled and posed until we heard the satisfying click of the camera and the flash cover us for a split second. We both broke from our pose and huddled around his camera. It was such a sweet photo, and definitely the best photo I had ever been featured in. "I love it!" I exclaimed. He looked at me, smiling. He definitely knew what that meant. "Me too. I will remember this for long time." That comment was so sweet, I saved it into my heart. We both stood apart, knowing that we would have to go our separate ways. 

"It was nice to meet you." I said, putting my hands into my pockets. He smiled. "You too." Before we were about to turn away, I asked a question I should have asked from the beginning. "Ah, what is your name? Mine is Daniela." I told him. The same smile lit up his face. "Tae-hyung." I smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Tae-hyung." "You too, Daniela." He pronounced my name wrong, but at the same time it sounded so nice in his accent, so I didn't care enough to correct him. 

We both parted ways and walked down the streets in the opposite directions. The smile never left my face that night. I looked through the photos in my camera and came across the one of him. I smiled as I brought out my stylus, writing something on his picture. 

Winter Bear

That's what came to mind when looking at his picture. However, I was hit with a wave of sadness as I knew that it was highly unlikely that we would ever cross paths again. Nonetheless...

I would never forget that night when I met the winter bear from Seoul on the city streets.