Dear, Summer

Eighteen—the age some call youth.

To Sayul, summer had always just been another boring season, and this one was no different.

“You’re not a bad person, are you, senior?”

“Do you trust people just because of their face?”

Until he landed in her life like a baseball tracing a soft parabola.

“Are you this sweet to every girl?”

“No. I’m only careless with you.”

A white school shirt that smelled like soap,
Eyes as dark and glimmering as glass.
Nineteen-year-old Hyun Sijun seeped into every moment of Sayul’s summer like monsoon rain—
And disappeared like a lie.

Then, nine years later, like a lie again,
He stood in front of her once more.

“Don’t you know how to keep work and personal matters separate? Stay in your lane.”

The only person who had ever been kind to her—
Was now the only one who wasn’t.
Still, Sayul couldn’t stop herself from swaying, just like she did during that one summer.

“You’re not eighteen anymore. If we kiss, I might not stop.”

“I know.”

The taste of summer’s sweetness lingered on their tangled tongues.

That once pure season—
The moment it crossed the boundary of youth, began to burn, hot and wild.