First Snow

Wrong Train, Right Direction

Anyway, it was here, thousands of miles away, that she felt the closest to him. In this country that had allowed them to meet, when their own respective ones didn't.

"You were right, you know, these boots are much more comfortable, look, I'm almost at the station and I haven't slipped once ..."

Still, be careful and watch you step...

She wanted him to hold her hand, to carry her on his back, to smile and to laugh at her antics.

"I really should paraglide to you, Ri Jeong Hyeokssi. I miss you so much..."

The station was empty, and the train was only twenty minutes away.

She walked over to a coffee machine and eyed the different choices dubiously, then her gaze lit up. She inserted the coins and pressed the keys.

I thought you were more a coffee person?

She chuckled.

"I have been told that too much coffee is bad for your health ..."

"The person who told you that is full of wisdom ..."

The machine beeped and she picked up the cup, sighing with relish as the heat spread to her frozen fingers.

"Did you just compliment yourself, Ri Jeong Hyeokssi? Because you..."

She froze, the cup inches from her lips.

Leather. Soap. Pine.

The smell of chocolate disappeared under the familiar scent that surrounded her. This. This couldn't be her imagination, it was impossible, it was far too real to be an hallucination.

She saw the reflection of a figure in the coffee machine, a tall figure with broad shoulders. Slowly, holding her breath, she pulled the goblet away from her lips and turned around.

She felt like the air had been knocked off of her lungs, her heart was going to explode. The shock was such that the goblet slipped from her grasp, crashing to the ground and splashing her boots. But she didn't care. She couldn't care, not when the love of her life was there.

Real.

So amazingly real.

He hadn't changed, his hair was slightly longer, a few strands falling over his forehead with that same sassy, ​​unassuming beauty that characterized him. He wore a black turtleneck under a thick coat, and his eyes, the eyes she had dreamed of plunging into so many times in a year, his eyes found hers, never to let them go. His gaze was still so warm, focused, full of love, of longing, as if everything had disappeared around them and that she was the only and last person left.

"I missed you..."

Her heart echoed painfully in her rib cage, the thud of her blood deafening her. She exhaled, realizing that she hadn't been breathing, and she blinked. He wasn't moving, and behind the unconditional love and longing, there was a slight hesitation, fear even.

Before she could fully understand what she was doing, she was running and throwing herself into his arms. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, hesitantly at first but quickly crushing her against him. Seri stood on her tiptoes, her arms hanging around his neck as tight as she could, hugging him, almost wishing to merge with him never to lose him again.

Leather, soap, pine.

She was home, finally.

His warmth, his strength, he was real, concrete, his touch reminding her that she wasn't dreaming. She had buried her face in his neck, taking a deep breath as tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking his coat.

"I'm not dreaming... Tell me I'm not dreaming."

He pulled away slightly, his face inches from hers, so close that she could feel his hot breath on her skin. His eyes were full of tears and she could see how hard he was trying to contain his emotions.

"You are not dreaming ..."

"But how..."

"I've been told that sometimes, it was a good thing to take the wrong train... So I jumped in it and it brought me to the place I've dreamt to be in for a year, day and night, the place where I belong. It brought me back to you..."

His hand found her cheek, and she closed her eyes, as she relished in the feeling she had been longing for just a few minutes ago. She had so many questions, she didn't even know where to start, from how he had found her to how he had managed to come back to Switzerland, but at that very moment, the only thing that mattered was him.

Him being here, in the most unexpected place and moment. Just like one year ago, when she had crash landed on him.

"I'm sorry for your boots, I didn't mean to scare you..."

Confused, she looked at her feet and saw that her boots were stained with chocolate. She laughed and his breath hitched, he was hypnotized.

"It's nothing, did you see, I took your advice, do you like it?"

He was transfixed by the sight of her.

"I love you."

Her breath caught in her throat, as she looked at him. He closed the gap and took her hands in his. His thumb machinally rubbed the ring on her finger, she noticed that he was wearing his, at the same finger, and the happiness that blossomed in her chest was almost too much to bear.

"I love you, Seri. More than anything... I love you..."

Saying it and hearing it outloud without tears of grief or danger was the best feeling in the world, one she thought she would be deprived of for the rest of her life, in the bad days.

She stood on her tip toes, and her lips found his. His hold on her tighten, his breath hitched, and then he was kissing her back with a new fervor, meeting her enthusiasm, the soft caress becoming an insistent pressure. It was new and familiar, thrilling and soothing, and her knees were so weak she was relieved he was crushing her against him.

As she got lost in his taste, his heat, his scent, she finally felt complete.

The hole in her chest was replaced by the warm feeling of finally, finally being home.

He had found her. And she wasn't letting go. Never.