The applications stayed on their desks for three days.
Neither Daewon nor Aera submitted them.
Not because they had changed their minds.
They were simply thinking.
Daewon's summer arts workshop would last two weeks.
Two weeks of classes, drawing sessions, outdoor studies, and critiques with students from different schools.
Aera's photography workshop in Busan would last three days.
It was smaller.
Only twelve students would be selected.
Han Sora had told her about it because one of the instructors was a photographer whose work Aera had admired for months.
Both opportunities were good.
Both were far enough away to feel unfamiliar.
And both happened during the same summer break.
On Thursday morning, Daewon sat at the kitchen table staring at his application.
His mother poured tea beside him.
"You've been looking at that paper for a long time."
Daewon looked up.
"Do you think I should go?"
She sat across from him.
"Do you want to?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you asking me?"
Daewon looked down.
"I don't know."
His mother smiled.
"Then maybe you're asking the wrong question."
"What should I ask?"
"Are you afraid of going?"
He thought about it.
"Maybe."
"Then go."
He looked at her.
"That's your advice?"
"If you're afraid of something you want, that's usually a good reason to try it."
Daewon smiled.
She reached across the table and tapped the application.
"Besides, you can't spend your whole life drawing the same streets."
"I like these streets."
"I know."
She smiled.
"But there are other streets."
Across Haneul-dong, Aera was sitting beside her brother at the kitchen table.
Jihoon had the application in front of him.
He read it carefully.
Then looked at her.
"Three days?"
"Yes."
"In Busan?"
"Yes."
"Alone?"
Aera nodded.
Jihoon leaned back.
"You'll be fine."
She smiled.
"You didn't even think about it."
"I did."
"For two seconds."
"Three."
She laughed.
Jihoon pointed at the form.
"Do you want to go?"
"Yes."
"Then go."
Aera lowered her eyes.
"What if I'm not good enough?"
Jihoon shrugged.
"Then you'll find out."
She looked at him.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"Yes."
"It doesn't."
He smiled.
"You don't have to be the best person there."
Aera was quiet.
"You just have to be the person who went."
She looked at the application again.
That sounded like something she needed to hear.
That afternoon, Daewon and Aera met on the rooftop.
The school day was almost over.
Most students had already gone home.
The rooftop door creaked behind them as they stepped outside.
Aera held her application.
Daewon held his.
They sat against the fence.
"Did you submit?"
"No."
"Me neither."
They laughed.
Aera looked at his application.
"Why haven't you?"
"I think I'm worried I'll go there and realize I'm not as good as I thought."
Aera nodded.
"Me too."
"You?"
"I'm worried I'll go there and everyone will be better."
Daewon smiled.
"That sounds like the same problem."
"It probably is."
They were quiet for a while.
Then Daewon said:
"Maybe that's the point."
Aera looked at him.
"What?"
"If everyone there is better, we'll learn."
She smiled.
"You're right."
"You sound surprised."
"I am."
He laughed.
She nudged his shoulder.
"Don't ruin it."
They submitted their applications that evening.
Daewon pressed the final button first.
Application submitted.
He stared at the screen.
Then looked at Aera.
She had just submitted hers too.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Daewon said:
"That's it."
Aera nodded.
"That's it."
They smiled.
Nothing changed immediately.
They were still sitting in the same room.
Same school.
Same city.
Same evening.
But something had shifted.
A road had opened.
They just didn't know where it would lead yet.
The following week passed quickly.
School continued.
Homework continued.
Seojun continued arguing with Minjae about completely unnecessary things.
The cafeteria continued serving food that nobody could identify.
Daewon continued drawing.
Aera continued photographing.
But beneath everything, there was a quiet anticipation.
Then, on Tuesday morning, Daewon's acceptance email arrived.
He opened it before breakfast.
Congratulations.
He read the rest.
Then read it again.
He had been accepted.
The summer arts workshop would begin in July.
He stared at the screen.
His mother walked into the room.
She saw his face.
"You got in?"
Daewon nodded.
She smiled.
"I'm proud of you."
He smiled too.
Then he immediately reached for his phone.
Daewon: I got in.
Aera replied two minutes later.
Aera: Me too.
He stared at the message.
Then smiled.
Daewon: Congratulations.
Aera: You too.
Daewon: Busan.
Aera: Seoul.
Daewon: We're going different directions.
Aera took longer to reply.
Then:
Aera: Only for a little while.
Daewon smiled.
Daewon: I know.
At school, they met before first period.
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
They laughed.
Aera looked at him.
"Are you excited?"
"Yes."
"Nervous?"
"Yes."
"You?"
"Same."
Daewon nodded.
They walked toward class together.
After a few steps, Aera said:
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"When you go to the workshop..."
She hesitated.
"Do you think you'll change?"
Daewon thought about it.
"Probably."
She nodded.
"Me too."
They kept walking.
"Are you worried?"
"A little."
"Why?"
Aera looked at him.
"Because I like who you are now."
Daewon stopped.
She stopped too.
For a second, neither spoke.
Then Aera smiled.
"I know people change."
Daewon smiled back.
"I like who you are now too."
She looked away.
"But..."
"But?"
"I hope we don't become strangers."
Daewon shook his head.
"I don't think we will."
"You can't know that."
"No."
He thought for a moment.
"But I know I'll want to tell you what happened."
Aera smiled.
"Then tell me."
"I will."
That afternoon, they went to the river.
They sat beneath the same tree where they had spent so many afternoons.
Aera brought her camera.
Daewon brought his sketchbook.
Neither worked.
They talked about the workshops instead.
Daewon wondered what the other students would be like.
Aera wondered what Busan would look like through a camera.
She had been there before with her family.
But never alone.
"Three days isn't very long," Daewon said.
"I know."
"You'll probably take a thousand photographs."
"At least."
"I'll expect to see them."
"All of them?"
"Maybe not all."
"Good."
She smiled.
"And your workshop?"
"Two weeks."
"That's a long time."
"I know."
"You're going to come back acting like a famous artist."
Daewon laughed.
"Maybe."
"I'll have to ask for your autograph."
"You already have drawings."
"Those might become valuable."
"Then I'll charge you."
She laughed.
They continued talking until the sun began to set.
Neither mentioned the possibility of missing each other again.
They didn't need to.
It was already understood.
On Friday, Aera received another message from Sora.
Bring only what you need. Don't spend the whole trip photographing everything.
Aera smiled.
She replied:
What should I photograph?
Sora answered:
The things you almost miss.
Aera read it several times.
She wrote it in her notebook.
Then closed it.
Daewon received a message from the youth arts center too.
Bring one unfinished drawing.
He frowned.
Why unfinished?
He called Mr. Kim.
"Why do they want an unfinished drawing?"
Mr. Kim laughed.
"Because finished work is easy to protect."
"What does that mean?"
"You'll understand."
"That's not helpful."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
Daewon sighed.
Then looked at his sketchbooks.
He had many unfinished drawings.
But one stood out.
The first drawing he had made of Aera beneath the blue umbrella.
He hadn't shown it to anyone in years.
He opened the old sketchbook.
The drawing was rough.
The proportions were imperfect.
The umbrella was too large.
Aera's face was barely visible.
But the feeling was still there.
He touched the page.
He wondered whether to bring it.
Then closed the sketchbook.
Maybe not.
He needed something unfinished that belonged to who he was now.
He turned to a blank page.
And started drawing.
Aera was packing on Sunday evening.
Three days.
Camera.
Two lenses.
Memory cards.
Notebook.
Charger.
Extra batteries.
She placed the dark blue sketchbook in her bag.
Then took it out.
She wasn't sure why.
She put it back.
Her brother appeared at the doorway.
"Ready?"
"Almost."
"You're taking too much."
"I need all of this."
"You need clothes."
"I have clothes."
He looked at the camera equipment.
"You have enough equipment to photograph the entire city."
Aera laughed.
"I might."
He smiled.
Then left.
Aera zipped the bag.
Before closing it completely, she placed one small photograph inside.
It was the photograph Daewon had taken of her in the hidden garden.
The first portrait she had trusted someone else to take.
She didn't know why she was bringing it.
She simply wanted it there.
On Monday morning, Daewon and Aera stood outside school.
The summer programs were still several weeks away.
But somehow, they already felt closer.
Aera held her camera.
Daewon held his sketchbook.
"You know what I realized?" she asked.
"What?"
"We spent months learning how to walk separate paths."
Daewon nodded.
"And now we're actually doing it."
"Yeah."
She looked slightly nervous.
"So..."
"So?"
"Don't disappear."
Daewon smiled.
"I won't."
"Good."
"And you?"
"I won't either."
They walked through the school gate together.
For now, nothing had changed.
They still had classes.
Homework.
Lunch.
Walks home.
The hidden garden.
The bakery.
The river.
But the summer was waiting ahead.
Two invitations.
Two roads.
Two places they hadn't seen yet.
And for the first time, they weren't afraid that walking separately meant losing each other.
They were beginning to understand something much simpler.
Growing together didn't always mean staying in the same place.
Sometimes it meant leaving for a while.
Learning something new.
Meeting people the other person didn't know.
Seeing places the other person hadn't seen.
Then coming back with a story.
A photograph.
A drawing.
A new memory.
And saying:
I went somewhere without you.
But I still thought of you.
The summer hadn't arrived yet.
But both of them were already looking forward to what they would bring back.