Auoran | Kang Mira

I hate lizards.

I hate them from the bottom of my heart.

I stare at the ceiling without blinking, occasionally gulping and sinking aside. A gigantic, vicious, nasty and spooky black lizard is residing there. I know very well that it's far from where I'm at, but I still can't stop thinking that it will suddenly grow wings and come flying at me.

"Mira, you're done, right?" Yurin rushes past the bed and bents down to take the bags underneath it. "Then we should be get going."

I wrap the cloack around me tightly, give a last scornful look at the lizard and get down from the bed. Following Yurin's hasty steps, I exit the wide hallroom where I have been staying for almost two weeks. I have got released from the hospital only this morning.

Good, no more lizards.

As I step outside the oak main door, my eyes fall on the man leaning against it. Kai and Taehyun are busy chatting with him.

A black shirt is clad around his torso which hangs loosely right above his thighs. With matching pants and leather boots. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, first three buttons of his shirt are opened. I spot a silver chain dangling from his neck.

Suddenly, Yeonjun stops talking and turns around, giving a soft smile while waving. Others also wave at me. I feel extremely stupid and awkward in front of these handsome boys; my eyes grow bigger as I smile sheepishly.

"Ms. Yurin, your carriage has arrived." Yeonjun directs at the large, four-wheeled wooden carriage standing in front of the gate. "We will miss you, really. Come to visit us, okay?"

Yurin smiles a bit, her chestnut eyes glistening in tears. I put her in a strong headlock, my fingers messing with her hair. Yurin gives a strangled laugh and hugs me back.

"Remember what I have said, right? You will send me a telegram at the moment you arrive there. If you feel unsafe, don't even hesitate to come back in this same carriage." I draw circles on her back, and she sniffs. "Yurin, please, don't cry. I will forever be waiting for you. Forever."

"Okay." she breaks our hug and brushes away the tears from her eyes. "I will need to see how my old lady Mrs. Hyun is doing. And if your father doesn't accept me, I'm going to straight run to you."

"Then he better shouldn't accept." I reply with a chuckle. "Take care, Yurin."

"You too, Mira." she holds my hands before muttering. "Be happy in your newly found home."

Yurin grins and gets on the carriage. The coachman closes the door after putting her bags inside. We all stand beside the carriage, watching the horse kicking his hooves in the air and starting to pull the carriage forward.

"Yurin! Goodbye!" I scream as the carriage begins sliding away. "Stay safe!"

She waves at me through the open window. Yurin is mumbling something, but the sound of hooves doesn't let me hear it. Soon, she disappears from our sight.

My hands fall on my both sides. Void surrounds my chest as I stare at the path. Yurin's been always beside me since my childhood. I have never gone or stayed anywhere without her.

"Mira." Yeonjun speaks after a long pause. I turn around to see him staring at me softly. "Well, our carriage is also ready. Let's go then, shall we?"

"Yes." I nod while clutching my cloak. Taehyun and Kai joins me from behind.

"Noona, don't forget us, okay?" the taller boy says in a puppy like voice. I chuckle at him, as Taehyun chims in.

"Yes, you better shouldn't."

"I won't! I will have to come back in some days for the checkup, right?" I speak to Taehyun in a bright tone. "I will pay a visit at the children's ward, don't worry."

"Okay then."

Soon, an open carriage standing on the ground comes before our views. Yeonjun walks toward the white horse tied with harness. He is chewing straws silently. He pats the horse's head and rubs his ears in an affectionate way.

"Mira, meet Lix. My most loyal buddy." his eyes shimmer in happiness as he looks at me then at the horse. "Lix, meet Mira."

Lix gives a low neigh. With astonish, I find out that his round and opal eyes are actually set on me.

"He's so beautiful!" I mumble while inspecting the robust horse. Looks like he belongs to a royal family, judging from the bush of silver hair on his head and tail. Yeonjun seems to be overwhelmed in pride.

"Yes, he's beautiful. But he's also very fast. If Lix didn't pull the carriage in that fast speed last time, then we couldn't had made it here with you being alive."

Yeonjun continues patting his head with utmost care. Stepping forward, I speak politely.

"Lix, thank you for saving my life."

He neighs back as if he is saying. "Yeah, no problem at all."

"Get in, Mira." Yeonjun lends me his hand, which I take eagerly. I get inside the wide carriage. The hood is pulled down, so wind can brush our hair. Taehyun and Kai waves at me gleefully, and I wave back at them.

"Wait, don't you have work today?" I ask Yeonjun as he sits on the coachman's seat. I lean forward, trying to catch his gaze, which he gradually accepts.

"Took a day off. Need to show you around, don't I?"

"You took a day off, Hyung?" Kai shrieks in a high pitched voice, as he clutches his chest dramatically. "You? I can't believe!"

"I'm also shocked." Taehyun states without blinking. "What kind of treachery is this? You never took a day off when we asked you to!"

"Yeah, remember that day we all guys wanted to visit the blue fountain in Gilham, and he refused because he had some paperworks?" Kai glares at Yeonjun, who grimaces sulkily.

"And that night we had twenty shots of Roseburst. All of us were passed away for the next morning! But he, well he- he just went back to work after having some hangover soup!"

"And that afternoon when we were puking on the streets for eating outdated pastries, and he still managed to not cancel his shift!" Kai and Taehyun barks together. "He refused!"

"Seems like you did very wrong to them, Yeonjun." I mutter while gazing widely like a deer caught in light. "You shouldn't had done that."

"Oh, these guys should be proud that I still keep up with their carefree butts." Yeonjun whispers at me before barking at the glowering men. "Yeah, go away! Get back to your work!"

They glare more furiously than ever.

"Ignore them." Yeonjun turns to face me while pulling the harness. "Now, where to go, Mrs. Choi?"

I jerk my head at him, blinking rapidly as his words sink in my mind. Feeling totally puzzled, and those weird butterflies inside my stomach, I ask. "What?"

"I said, where to now, Mrs. Choi?" he tilts his head to a side, eyes dancing playfully. "I will take you wherever you want to go today!"

Red blush crawls up to my cheek as I fiddle with my fingers, deeply thinking.

"Well then, Mr. Choi." I point at the sky above my head cheerfully. "Let's go there! To the stars!"

"Hm. The stars you say." Yeonjun holds his chin, then says after a short pause. "Well, the stars are too far. My Lix will get tired. Won't you, pal?" he looks at the horse who neighs back. "Let's go to my house for now. We will go to the stars some other day, okay?"

"Will do." I nod with a chuckle. "But you will have to take me there."

"Yes, madam." Yeonjun turns around briskly. "Come on, Lix. Let's go home!" he giggles in delight.

Lix gives another neigh, and sets off. The carriage slides on the ground smoothly. I lean forward, gaze wandering around the new environment. 

With every passing seconds, I start to realize that Kyeon-ju can never beat the beauty of this town, Auoran.

Grey and charcoal isn't swirling around the chimneys of the houses. The clouds aren't as gloomy as the ones of my village. Splashes of yellow, red and blue are splattered in the sky; through the foams of white, golden sunrays are peeking down at earth. Wind soars high above my head, leaves and butterflies fly with the rush of cold breezes.

Most of the houses at the both sides of the street are painted cream white, with brown wood curved into various sequences and latched on the bricks. We ride past a high tower, on top of it stands a giant clock that has its hands pointing at half past three of the noon.

There are green lawns in front of every buildings, decorated with silver fences made of what it looks like steel. The color combination of white, brown and ash is pleasant to my eyes.

"Wow." this is the only word I can mutter while gaping around. "Wow. Just... wow."

I can hear Yeonjun chuckling.

Aerial buildings, towering streetlights, marbled paths, orange paper lamps dangling from the shops, bright and flashy signboards rush past us. Soon, we reach to a more crowded area; a market place. Yeonjun slows down the carriage as I look at the people inside and outside the shops. Direct sunrays are blocked from our views by the blue and green veils draped high above our heads.

"That's the coffee shop me and the punks go in free time." Yeonjun points at a tiny shop at the street, which is coated with bows and ribbons all over. A white cat chasing a pink mouse is drawn on the signboard. It says, 'Lovely's Pastries.'

"And that's 'Marietta's Heaven'. We go there for an ice cold glass of Roseburst. Marietta makes the best Rosebursts in Auoran!" he points at the shop right beside. It has the total opposite vibe than the coffee shop; the dim red and blue glass doors have made the silhouettes inside appear foggy and mysterious.

"Who's Marietta?" I ask slowly, feeling triggered for an unknown reason. Yeonjun purses his lips, trying hard to muffle his laughter.

"She's someone our Taehyun flirted with after getting a little tipsy, and regretted his life decisions in the next morning."

Then she must be gorgeous.

"I want to go there." I say while staring at the disappearing shops behind us. "What's a Roseburst?"

"It's a kind of drink! No alcohol, but makes you little tipsy. It's made from the essence of roses, honey, lemon and a lot of sugar; that's why." Yeonjun closes his eyes for a moment, reminiscing whatever he has inside his mind with a large grin. "And it's finished with rose petals swirling on top! Then Marietta puts the drinks inside the freezer while we wait like hawks... and after thirty minutes when they are served- ah, what an experience!"

I can't help staring at him through my narrowed gaze.

"You still haven't told me if I can come here or not."

"Oh!" Yeonjun snaps back from his thoughts quickly. "Yes, of course! Rosebursts can make you a bit tipsy, though. You okay with that?"

"Never felt tipsy, so I'm not very sure."

"Well, it depends on tolerance. You have that in a sufficient amount. Because your wound healed at a very fast rate." Yeonjun pulls the harness to make Lix turn to the left. He starts going slow again. "Well still, I have a question. What's your age, Mira?"

"Twenty three." I answer while fidgeting my fingers. Yeonjun nods and continues driving.

"I'm twenty five. Turning twenty six this September."

"Really?" my gaze widens as I turn my attention to him. "You look younger than your age, Yeonjun."

"Really? That's nice of you to say that, Mira." the carriage stops after some moments. Yeonjun descends from his seat and unlocks the miniature door to let me get outside. "My punks often call me grandpa."

I chuckle at his grumpy expression, and get down the wooden stairs. Lix neighs and grunts in front of the carriage. Yeonjun walks to the horse, and speaks to me while taking off the harness from Lix's neck.

"Mira, you go inside. The gate must be open. I'm coming back after sending Lix back to the stable. Okay?"

I nod and wrap the cloak around my shoulders tightly. Taking a deep breath, I start walking beside the cream white wall and toward the end of it.

Everything feels so new... and lively.

As if the air has its own voice. As if the ground can hear my accelerated heartbeats, so that it hums soothingly beneath my feet.

In front of me, a double storeyed building stands after a small yard. It's painted in lemon yellow and indigo shades over the oak doors and aerial windows. The front door is opened; I can spot people rushing back and forth inside the room.

To my right side, there's a wide, green garden; various flowers are peeking through the fences surrounding it. Roses, carmines, lilies, tulips, bougainvilleas, daisies, dandelions, jesmines and what not! My interest has risen up fiercely at the very sight of it; I automatically turn and step over the fences to enter the garden.

My eyes catch a figure amongst the thin and long grass. Coming closer, I realize that it's a girl, probably in her teenage. She is crouching over a flower pot and trying to pull out a weed from it.

"God." she pants and pulls harder, but the weed seems to have no mood for shifting. "Why- this- ugh- shallow piece of- ugh-"

She pulls it out suddenly by splattering a handful of soil on her face completely.

"Shit." she curses while rubbing her eyes hurriedly. "Shit, shit-"

"Hey." I kneel down in front of the girl who is trying madly to wipe herself. She stops slithering by my voice, and squints her gaze. "Let me help." I start wiping off the dirt from the corner of her eyes by my cloak.

"T-Thanks."

"No problem."

The girl opens her eyes, and her auburn pupils clash with the green of mine. She blinks furiously, her mouth slowly hanging open.

"Shit." the girl mutters in awe, pointing her fingers at me. "You have got red hair. That's totally my type."