━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

                  Every step Jihee took, she would hear the rustling of the leaves. That's all the noise she has heard for the past two days as she walked around the forest, probably going in circles as she tried to search for the little cabin in the picture. The towering trees made a noise as it sway to the direction of the wind. It was a little dark because the only light source she had was the ray of sunlight passing through the tiny spaces between the trees.

Well the real reason why she's been walking for two days is the fact she keeps making stops to sit under the shade of a tree and play with her magic. It's been a while since she's used her magic, having to play a normal teenager every time she was in school.

But after her long walk, from afar she could see the familiar brown cabin that was printed on the page fate had given to her. She quickened her pace, trying not to run as she makes her way closer and closer to the mysterious cabin. And when she stood in front of the door, she didn't hesitate to knock immediately.

She kept waiting only because she could hear footsteps from behind the door that was made of thin wood which she knew was only a kick away from collapsing. After a minute or so, an old woman stood there, wondering as to why a young looking lady like her was standing outside of her cabin that was deep in the woods.

"Are you a hiker? You may not stay here for the night." The old woman said, about to close the door but Jihee managed to stop her.

"Fate sent me to you."

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?" The look on her face already saying that she knew what the stranger was talking about.

"I'm a stranger." Jihee said, removing the illusion she had put to cover up her golden eyes. "I think we have some things to talk about."

"Very well then, come in stranger."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

                   Jungwon stared at the bracelet he was wearing, waiting for it to glow even for a few seconds. Jihee hasn't been contacting for over a week now and he was starting to get kind of worried.

"Why are you staring at your bracelet?" Byeol asked her friend with a smile.

Ever since the summer started they have been hanging out more frequently. It all started when they kept meeting at the convenience store, and ever since then they just hang out. He talked about it once to Sunghoon (since they were now friends) and he answered he was okay with it.

"Waiting for something weird to happen." He seemed as if he was joking to Byeol but everything about the sentence was serious. "What do you want to eat?"

Byeol continued to look at the menu until she dropped it to give him an answer. "I don't know, I'll just have whatever you're having." He nods, giving the order to the waitress. "School's starting, I'm assuming Jihee's going to come back now from her trip."

"Yeah but she's been busy lately so I haven't been talking that much to her." He answered despite not knowing the real answer.

She nods. "Ah I wish I could go on a trip like her. Roaming around the world so freely, she must be from a rich family if she could afford that."

He could only smile awkwardly. The last time he spoke to Jihee, she adamantly said out of all the trips she's been, by far the one she's currently at was the worst. She never explained why but she was pretty serious when she mentioned that to him. It didn't take long for the food to arrive and Byeol although she was the most pickiest eater he has ever met, actually liked the food he ordered this time. The last time she had the same as him, she ended up not liking it.

"At least you like the food now." Jungwon smiled to which sparked soft giggles from her.

Once they were done, they separated the bill. "It's nice to eat lunch with you again, you usually play with Jay during the noon." Byeol says as they stepped foot outside the restaurant. "You must be practicing hard because you're finally going to play for the school."

"No I'm just really bored." He shrugged, laughing a little. "Ah by the way grandma really loved the pie your mom made."

Byeol grinned. "That's good to hear! I'll bring more when mom bakes again!"

"Alright, see you then. Sorry I can't walk you home, I still have to stop by somewhere." Jungwon apologized which Byeol replied to by saying it was fine.

He stopped by the market to buy some stuff that his grandmother had asked him to buy. It was still the middle of the day anyway, if it were night he would've been more worried for Byeol. With a bag on his left hand, he opened the door, hollering he was home.

He placed the bag on the dining table and made his way to the living room, to which he later on discovered a bag filled with snacks and souvenirs from another country. He rummaged around the bag trying to figure out where it came from but it seemed like they all came from different countries.

"Oh you're home! A friend of yours stopped by earlier." His grandmother informs him, sitting on the couch as she turned on the tv. "What a nice kid she is. She even bought us a lot of snacks from her trip!"

He raised his eyebrow. "Who was it?"

"Jihee." She answered. "She was also looking for you." His eyes widened and he couldn't help but immediately stand up. Without hesitation, he runs to the door only to be stopped by his grandmother asking him why he was suddenly rushing to leave.

"I'm going to visit her!" He answers while putting his rubber shoes on.

His grandmother couldn't help but smile once she saw the excited look on his face. Rushing to get his bike, he pedaled like a participant in a marathon to his old family house.

"The apple really doesn't fall that far from the tree." She smiled, closing the door behind her and proceeding to watch the show she was watching earlier.

Jungwon, who was fortunate enough not to hit someone on his way there, got off his bike and walked to the front door. He knocked twice and the door all of a sudden opened on its own. He sighed, smiling a little when he realized she was trying to spook him. He entered the house and closed the door behind him.

"Jihee?" He called, looking around. "You home?"

"Boo!" Looking at his back, he sees Jihee standing there frowning because she failed to scare him. "Aw I didn't even scare you."

He laughed. "You're back!" Then he engulfed her into a hug, pouring into that moment all the hours he spent missing her. She was caught by surprise because of his sudden actions but later on, she hugged him back too. "I didn't know you were coming home today." He said, letting go from the hug.

She shrugged. "I had to. If I stay anymore longer on that trip, I would've gone crazy. Well the important thing is I'm back!"

Jungwon grinned until his cheeks began to hurt. "Yeha that's all that matters."

You're back.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
AUTHOR'S NOTE :

stranger is back ! the second part is going to be a tad different from the first, more revelation nd more romance ig