Notorious ⊷ Haechan

65 ⊷ At last

He nodded. "Let's go," he said and went ahead, finally putting on his shoes and coat. He waited for Ji-yoon to do the same before they left the house together, closing the door quietly so as to not wake anyone.

"Here," she said as she offered him his cup while taking a sip from her own. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." He looked at the girl and made sure to fall into step with her. He didn't want to go ahead since he didn't know where she was headed. "You?"

She nodded eagerly. "I woke up early," she said, "and saw how cute you look when you sleep."

He huffed. "I probably just look dead."

"You look adorable," she commented, smiling to herself. 

She walked a little faster once she spotted the bench she had guided them to. Content, she brushed over its surface with her hand to ensure it was relatively clean before sitting down and motioning for Haechan to do the same.

Once seated, the girl scooted closer to him. She kept her eyes on the skyline in front of them. The dark night sky turned a bit brighter, the stars slowly making way and disappearing.

"Why are you so eager to see the sunrise today?" Haechan asked out of curiosity.

"I feel like over the past few weeks there was so much that happened and so much we had to deal with." Her gaze dropped from the skyline to the buildings below. To the roads and the vehicles driving on them.

"It was understandable at that time, but now life is calming down, right?" she wondered, hoping she was correct about this. Haechan, sensing how uncertain she sounded, quickly hummed in agreement. "So I wanted to do something trivial. Something that we didn't have time to pay attention to lately." 

She took a deep breath, feeling a hunch of melancholy settle down inside her. 

"I know I should be happy that we can finally find the time to just stop and breathe. I was constantly on my toes. It got exhausting," she admitted. "But then I suddenly paused and realized... I don't know what to do now. Not because I don't like how things are now but..."

She sighed. Uncertain whether he understood what she meant, she looked at him to see for herself.

"You're not used to it," he summarized.

She took a deep breath, happy that he understood her. "Bottom line is," she said, "if I want life to be a bit more normal, then I should allow for normal things to happen. Right?"  

Haechan smiled at her. "Right." 

It had taken her a while to realize that her life didn't have to centre around revenge. That she didn't have to spend every day worrying about the safety of those around her. That it was alright to just enjoy the time she had. 

As she sat there, she felt a breeze brush over her skin. She enjoyed the sensation that the cold air left behind in her lungs and the feeling of it clashing against her teeth. She enjoyed just being there with Haechan. She enjoyed just taking a moment to experience all this. 

They both looked ahead, watching the sky silently for a while. The pale blue turned into shades of yellow and orange with lines of deep red pulling through it. It stretched through the entire horizon, the further up the colours reached, the more they mixed in with the sky's regular blue. 

The sun's arch peaked out from behind the buildings, its rays dipping the city and everyone in it in bright, warm light. Despite the coffee cooling down quickly in their cups, the two didn't mind. They didn't feel cold anymore. 

Haechan was the first to look away. He wanted to watch Ji-yoon enjoy the scene. Just like everything else, she too was shimmering in the sunlight. The sky's play of colours reflected in her eyes and the sight of the sunrise alone made her smile without her even realizing it. 

He noticed how she began to relax. Her eyes shone brighter than usual. Her lips were a richer pink and her eyelashes a darker brow. Her messy hair looked just right and her puffy eyes were adorable. 

He wondered why she appeared so much clearer than everything else and why the colours on her were more saturated. He wondered why not even the beauty of the sunrise could compare to her in the slightest. 

Then she turned her head. When she noticed him looking at her, her smile got wider. Her puffy cheeks pushed up her eyelids, hiding some of that pretty brown right underneath. 

Suddenly, he realized what it was. 

He realized that when he looked at her, he saw his future. A future that was bright and colourful and more beautiful than anything else around him. 

Ji-yoon raised a brow. "Hm?" she wondered, confused by his mindless staring. "Do you want to go back?" Haechan quickly shook his head. 

"Let's stay a little longer," he said. Overjoyed, Ji-yoon looked back ahead while Haechan didn't. 

He didn't mind missing out on this sunrise if it meant getting to look at her like this a little longer. The sun would rise again tomorrow and then the day after. Ahead of them lay a life full of sunrises and sunsets and small, ordinary things to enjoy. He was certain of that. After all, they were safe now. They were alright. 

At last, life was good. 

At last ⊶

☆

[ The End ]

Compared to the last chapters in my other stories, this one is a bit calmer. It's something simple and I think that works well to portray what Ji-yoon is looking forward to now (Ji-yoon kind of grew on me haha)

Also, this was the first time I killed off a character (that I spent time introducing). What an experience haha I really liked Andy though~ 

Thank you all so much for reading and supporting this story! I really appreciate it!! 💚💚

I love you guys~ stay safe 💖