shades of yellow » han seojun ff

61. colours

SEOJUN MANAGED TO SNAG a last-minute train ticket to the countryside. All throughout the journey he had tried texting and calling her, but Yeonwoo never answered. 

"Come on, please pick up," he whispered agitatedly, during the train ride that seemed to take absolutely ages.

He made it to the house just before sunset, when the air was cool and cold, sunlight soft and forgiving. Yeonwoo was planting tulip bulbs in the front garden when the truck dropped him off in front of the house.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, opening the gate to let him in. Her floppy gardening hat cast a shadow on the top-half portion of her face, but he could see the dirt smudges on her skin.

"You're still here!" He pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug. "Thank goodness Jugyeong was wrong, you aren't leaving tonight!"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Before you say anything, please, I need to say something." Seojun took a deep breath, readying himself for the most important speech he'd have to make in his entire lifetime—and that included music award acceptance speeches. "Don't go back to New York. Stay here in Seoul, please please please don't leave."

"But Seojun, I'm not—"

"I love you."

There it was—finally. Not in the past tense but finally, in the present. She was silent for a long time, and Seojun was worried that he had broken her or something. But finally, she said in a tiny voice, "You ... love me." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"I've loved you the moment I met you at your house. It was raining, and you had just come out of the shower. You asked Seyeon to dry your hair for you. You were sitting next to me, and I was so tongue-tied." The moment he started rambling, he couldn't stop.

"You opened the window to let the wind in, and you held out your palm to catch the rain. You told us that your name meant misty rain, and that when your mother was pregnant with you and Seyeon, you would kick her stomach whenever it rained."

"You remember," Yeonwoo whispered disbelievingly.

"Of course I remember. It's you—it's always been you."

—

When he said those words, Yeonwoo didn't know what to feel. Elated that he loved her? Heartbroken that it would have to end as quickly as it did.

"But we're not the same people as we were in high school," was what she found herself saying, even though her heart kept on bursting out, No, don't say that! Tell him the truth, tell him! "What if—we're twenty-five years old. We're only just met each other again after five long, life-altering years. What if you don't like the person I've become within that time?"

"We've both changed, for the better. We have all the time in the world, so we'll take our time getting to know each other again. Baby steps, you know?" 

Her heart beat faster for the boy who stood in front of her, smiling the warm, genuine smile she had missed so much. But still, the words came spilling out. "You're a K-pop idol now, what if you have to leave for a tour for a year? Or what if I have to leave?"

"Then we'll figure out a way! I will, because I love you." He took both of her hands. "I will do anything it takes to stay by your side. I won't let you go again."

Despite her tears, she had to smile. She sniffled, "You always have all the answers."

"Except this one—" He stared deep into her eyes. "Will you stay?"

She suddenly laughed out a sob, sloppily dragging a hand across her eyes. "Seojun, that's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time! I'm staying!"

"Wait what?" He blinked.

She laughed again. "I was planning this whole time to stay, Han Seojun! I've been thinking of applying to Seoryeong University for my PhD, so I asked Ha Minkyu if it's any good, because he went there. Ms. Ko, my old cello teacher, got me an audition, and I just received the results a few days ago. I was actually going to wait out the results here, but I got the date wrong."

"And?" He could hardly dare to know the answer.

What do you think? I've actually been wanting to try out teaching for a long time, and while I'm getting my PhD, I can develop my skills even further." Her smile was so bright, it crinkled the corners of her eyes.

"That's great!" He picked her up off her feet and swung her feet, eliciting jubilant laughter from the joyous girl. He then put her down, but kept his arms around her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sua told me not to say anything to you. I was confused at the time, but I think I now see why." She rolled her eyes. "Our friends try so hard to act as Cupid."

"And for good reason, because it's taken us this long." Then, his face grew serious. "Yeonwoo, what's your answer?"

"I just told you, I'm not leaving."

"But would you want to, you know, start a future together?" His face grew red. "It doesn't have to end in marriage, it doesn't even have to be dating yet if you don't want it. Because I'm perfectly fine with whatever you want—"

She cut him off with a quick kiss. When she pulled away, her face was triumphant. "You're so cute when you ramble, I just couldn't resist." She rubbed away the dirt that had smudged onto his own face. "There are a lot of things in Seoul that make me want to stay, and I'm pretty sure you're one of them."

"Really?!" Seojun could hardly believe his ears, so many great things were happening to him within the space of a few minutes.

"Yeap!" She grinned cheekily. "And for the record, I think I'd like to date you."

"That's great, because I've been waiting for ages to do this." This time, Seojun pulled her in for a proper kiss. Her gardening hat got in the way, but in one smooth motion, he untied the strap at the bottom of her chin and let the hat fall to the ground so he could properly kiss the love of his life, Jeong Yeonwoo.