Min Yoongi's POV

I stood in front of the mirror, mulling over whether I should wear the sweater, Soo Ah had knitted. Remembering the clumsy, briny fish incident from the morning made me feel awkward. I ran my hand over the soft woolen fabric, stopping when my fingers brushed the kitten paw embroidery. She spent hours knitting it. So let me wear it, I mumbled to myself.

The awkwardness from the morning and the fact that I was now wearing the sweater she'd knitted made me want to avoid her. I was too timid to show up in front of her. So, when I spotted Soo Ah across the doorway, I dipped behind Hoseok to avoid being seen. She peered right to leave to catch a glimpse of me. The way I hid behind him was as ridiculous as trying to hide the brown sugar and nut filling in a hotteok. It doesn't make sense at all.

"Yoongi, why are you sticking behind me?" Hoseok turned around to ask me. "It doesn't feel like you," he said, briefly touching my head before placing it on his own. I swatted his hand, moving away from him.

"It's nothing... The doorway is narrow, that's all."

He gave me a blank stare, glancing at the doorway.

"It's not a crooked alleyway. It can fit people. You are acting weird lately, and I didn't get an answer yesterday as to why you were late to the restaurant," he spoke, pressing his fingers on my chest.

Soo Ah rushed towards us, interrupting our talk. "Hoseok, stop dawdling," she said, pushing him out playfully. "We're running late. We need to reach Zhengding County."

"I need an answer," Hoseok yelled, but he was shoved out by Soo Ah.

"He slept. Hope that answers your question," she replied, giving me slow blinks and an uncalculating smile.

After making sure Hoseok went out. Her eyes traveled up from my shoes upwards, finally settling on my caramel-colored sweater. "You're wearing the sweater. I almost thought it was lost in your closet," she gasped. "It looks good on you," she added before turning toward the door, carrying the basket that had the chick inside.

"Thank you!" I mumbled, hurrying behind her.

The entire car ride was filled with Grandpa's childhood stories. Meanwhile, Soo Ah called her parents, and everyone had a brief conversation. Grandma handed me a cupcake-like pastry with a split top. She said it was Fa Guo and asked me to try it. It was mildly sweet and chewy. I found that she packed plenty of food to keep us from getting hungry.

Zhengding County,
Shijiazhuang.

We reached there at dusk after a three-hour-long drive. I noticed that the houses here in Zhengding County were mostly traditional, featuring a courtyard.

The place appeared luminous and colorful, festooned with strings of light bulbs around the tree and pathways, and clusters of lanterns hung from the tree. The place felt nostalgic, reminding me of the lantern festival in Seoul my parents took me to when I was eight. My childhood days were a mix of happiness followed by unease. The reason is that my mom loves me more and sometimes becomes overprotective, which I never liked. My dad always smoothed things over between us whenever we had a fight.I sighed and got back to myself.

Hoseok prodded my stomach with his elbow. "What are you thinking about?"

"Seriously, can you stop nudging me with your elbow every single time?"

"I can't help it," he grinned, teasingly. "I love doing that."

"I'm done talking with you," I said, letting out a long breath.

"You guys are acting like toddlers. Come on, you both are grown up, remember?" Soo Ah glanced down at the chick in her hand. "Don't pick up their bad habits," she said to the chick, laughing at us.

I snorted, "Say the one who trips often like a one-year-old toddler,"

Hoseok laughed, tapping my shoulder. "You are right, Yoongi. I couldn't have said it better myself."

Soo Ah gave us a dark look before turning to walk away. We both followed Soo Ah and their grandparents.

"Yoongi, look at this," Grandpa said, pointing toward the posters. Riddles were scrawled across them. A small crowd of tourists and locals were enjoying trying to solve them, scratching their heads. We spent some time puzzling it, and Grandpa was the one who answered most correctly.

"Back in my day. Riddles were pasted on lanterns," he said, staring at the posters. "Those were good old days," he chuckled.

Grandma explained, besides eating sweets, setting off fireworks, and watching the colorfully decorated lanterns and lion dances. People would gather in the evening in front of temples to guess the riddles hung from lanterns.

Lost in the lively atmosphere, I glanced around and found myself standing alone with Soo Ah.

"Where are the others?" I asked, turning to find others.

"They are taking pictures. When my grandparents and Hoseok join together, they'll forget about me. Look at them, giggling like kids,"

"Let them be. Let's sit for a while," I said.

We both sat settled on the sparse grassy ground. She placed the basket in front of us and took the yellow chick out, placing it on the dewy grass before us. It began pecking, wobbling its body slightly.

I looked at the clear night sky, flecked with glowing tiny stars. It was calming to observe the stars after a long time, as it was hard to see them in Seoul due to high pollution. The lavender scent of Soo Ah, wafting gently around us, deepened my serenity. I couldn't comprehend why her scent was not stifling. Rather, it was slightly sweet. I wanted to ask, where did she buy it? But I held back my question, as I didn't want to be some oddball who was obsessed over her scent.

I turned my head toward her and found her in a red dress that was suitable for the Chinese New Year festive time. She twisted her hair and wrapped it into a bun secured with a hair stick decorated by two little red flowers and a half-moon from which a chain with a pearl dangled. I was confused as to why I was observing her, so I quickly glanced around.

"Look! Lanterns," Soo Ah said, nudging my leg with hers. "Aren't they beautiful?" she said, pattering her fingers.

The warmly glowing lanterns floated in the air. Looking at them was magical. The breeze was mild and gentle as I heard the crackling sound of paper lanterns. Only a small crowd of people released lanterns into the night sky. Soft murmurs of conversation filled the air. It was cultural and warm to be here.

"Soo Ah! I want to thank your family. I really loved spending time here."

"I'm happy you enjoyed it! In a couple of days, we will be back in Korea, drowning in work," she said, leaning back into the soft grass. "Do you think we'll run into each other?" She looked up at me.

"I'm not sure about it," I replied, gazing at the sky peppered with lanterns.

"Oh! You know, I love karaoke, but going with Hoseok is a nightmare. He never lets anyone have the mic. Maybe we could go together when we are back in Seoul."

"It depends on my schedule. I didn't know you would be interested in catching up with me in Korea," I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Like... I just wanted to...never mind," she said, as her cheeks flushed.

I really don't know the reason, but I felt happier and wished to catch up with her along with Hoseok. I stood up and brushed the dried grass from my pants.

"I should probably go make that video call now," I said, scanning the crowd until I spotted Hoseok. I gestured for him to come over.

As he approached, I held my phone. "It's Jungkook," showing him the phone screen. We turned the camera and showed it around for a while. He exclaimed how he loved the lantern festival and wished he could have joined us.

"Jungkook! I miss you," Hoseok exclaimed dramatically.

"I really should have come along with you both," he said, pouting.

"Don't worry, I'll take you with me next time," Hoseok promised.

"Wait!" Hoseok furrowed his brow slightly. "Why aren't you at the restaurant? That looks like Yoongi's house."

"Hoseok, enough talking, let me cut," I chirped in. I had completely forgotten that Jungkook was at my place.

"I came here to repair the broken windows. Didn't he tell you? Min Woo got drunk and threw a stone," Jungkook explained, slurping the noodles.

"Jungkook, bye. We'll talk later," Hoseok said quickly.

"Why didn't you say anything about this to me?" he asked.

"It's not a big deal. I didn't want to worry you." He shrugged. "As you know, I couldn't go to court. So I sent Eun Ji instead. We won the case, and Min Woo got angry about it."

"Still, you should have told me." Hoseok ran a hand through his hair.

"It's all handled now. Jungkook fixed the window perfectly, and I also dealt with the legal aftermath."

"If Jungkook hadn't told me, would you have said," he sighed.

"Come on, let's release the lantern before it gets too late," I said.

He tugged my sleeves. "Don't hide things from me, and I have prepared a surprise for you," Hoseok said, again prodding my stomach with his elbow. I chuckled at his annoyance. Before I could ask what the surprise was, he dragged me.

It's been a year, since I published My Serene Lavender. Thank you so much for the support.

XOXO

- Shin Haari