❝wear the jacket for today, then return it the next time you see me on the train. sound good?❞
in which two individuals cross paths on a train.
choi jiung ff
tw: ANGST/CONFLICT, strong language + scenes, family death
+++
❥ bae juhee is a fourth-yea...
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the next day, the sun shined down on the sidewalks, over the trees, and across the green fields as juhee waited in front of a large black gate for jiung. the weather was a complete opposite of what she was feeling then. with a billion thoughts on her mind and a heavy chest, it was hard to even pay mind to how beautiful it was outside.
she spotted jiung approaching, and after he greeted her with a sweet smile, they walked into the memorial grounds together.
"did you sleep well?" jiung asked. he had his hands at his back, and with them he held a plastic bag.
"yeah," she nodded. "did you? i hope i didn't make you get up too early today."
"don't worry about me, ju," he laughed. "i just want to be here for you, okay?"
juhee smiled at him and nodded again, then led him to her father's resting place. the bundle of flowers that she'd put there a few months before had shriveled up and become old, but they were still sitting on the ground, untouched. it seemed that no one else had visited since she last came.
they both bowed to pay their respects before sitting down next to each other on the grass, the sun beaming down onto their skin.
"hi dad. i'm here with my friend, jiung," the girl said quietly. "it's been five years today since you've gone."
jiung put a hand on her back, rubbing up and down softly to comfort her. juhee's voice began to quiver.
"jae, mom, and i... things aren't the way you'd want them to be, but i'm trying to fix that, alright? i... i just hope you're resting well, and i hope jae comes to see you too. i'll make sure to visit more often, and i'm really sorry that i don't," she said, rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt.
she took a deep breath and cleared her throat, then looked over at jiung. "thank you for coming with me. i feel like i've cried in front of you too many times now," she laughed, trying to brighten up the mood. "it's just that it's my second year visiting without jae now, and it never seems to get easier."
"i'm sure she'd want to be here with you, and one day it'll happen. you're just going through a rough patch right now, but it'll pass," jiung reassured her, smiling. "one more thing."
he reached for the plastic bag next to him and took out two familiar containers.
"for you, mr. bae. enjoy," he said, opening one of them. he pushed the hefty serving of black bean noodles next to the flowers, then opened the other container and sat it between himself and juhee.
"ji, did you go to haneul?" juhee gasped. she could feel her heart begin to race, the nerves in her stomach also fluttering.
"i may have driven down there after getting off the train yesterday," he smiled, mixing their noodles. he raised the pair of wooden chopsticks towards her, gesturing for her to take a bite.
