" picnics are always special "
"Seyeon~" Donghyuck called to the girl when she opened her apartment, a wide smile on his face as he walked into her apartment.
"Hey bitch," Seyeon smiled at him, getting her bag from the sofa.
Donghyuck deadpanned, walking towards her, "Butterfly, we gave each other cute nicknames not for you to call me a bitch," he ended with a pout, as Seyeon laughed at him, pinching his cheeks.
"You are a bitch though." A voice came from the kitchen.
Donghyuck looked up to see Chenle coming from the kitchen with a cheeky smile on his face. A sigh left his lips as he looked at Chenle with his lips pressed together.
"So are you," he replied with a smile, "And do you live here now? You're always here," He asked as Seyeon laughed at him.
"Don't mind him. He followed me over after work cause he left Daegal's favourite toy here," Seyeon put on her cream sandals matching the blouse and dress she was wearing.
Donghyuck pursed his lips before looking over to Chenle, "Go home, if not Daegal will miss you," he jokingly says to him.
A laugh escapes their lips as Chenle nods his head at them. "Have fun!" He shouted, watching as the pair left Seyeon's apartment.
"So Haechan, where are we going?" Seyeon asked they went down from her apartment, a smile on her face as she called him by his nickname.
Donghyuck grinned at her, glad she called him by the nickname she gave him when they were young. "Well my butterfly, I promised you a picnic that we've always been dreaming of. So we're going to have a picnic in a magical place."
When they got down, Seyeon noticed a car right in front of them. She looked at Donghyuck with raised eyebrows. "No way," she said in disbelief as he pulled her towards the black car.
"You don't drive," Seyeon laughed as Donghyuck opened the door for her.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't. But my friend here does," Donghyuck pointed to the handsome man in the driver's seat, waving his hand at Seyeon.
Seyeon broke out in a burst of small laughter as Donghyuck got in beside her, "You're incredible."
Donghyuck smiled proudly at her words, "Of course! Anything for you." He looked fondly at her, euphoria flowing through his veins as she smiled brightly.
"Just so you know, he sacrificed late-night karaoke sessions with himself for this car ride," the bunny-like man said with a cheeky smile as Donghyuck glared at him.
"Which didn't have to happen if you just offered this car ride for free Doyoung," he retorted back at him causing Seyeon to burst into a fit of gigglings.
Doyoung gritted his teeth at the younger and began driving towards their destination. It was a rather fun journey, Donghyuck playing songs from their childhood causing Seyeon to smile with joy as her favourite songs of her past blasted in Doyoung's car.
Memories of jamming to these songs with Donghyuck popped into her mind. All the times they sang their heart out to these songs. All the duets they sang, all the covers the jokingly posted online. She even listened to some of these songs when she was overseas. She missed the days of being free and happy every day.
As they neared their destination, Donghyuck put a blindfold over Seyeon's eyes, explaining to her that it was necessary for her to enjoy the surprise fully.
"I'm only allowing you to do this cause I trust you," Seyeon said as she saw nothing but blackness.
"And I'm only doing this cause I want you to be happy," He said with a smile, glad Seyeon's eyes were covered so that she couldn't see the blush on his face and Doyoung's shocked face.
Not long after putting on the blindfold, the car came to a stop. "We're here!" Donghyuck shouted in excitement.
A sigh left Doyoung lips before saying, "You have arrived at Butterfly's Full Sun Garden! Enjoy your stay!"
Seyeon laughed with pure joy at his words, remembering the times she and Donghyuck created their own little garden to play around in.
"I know that Hyuck paid you to say that," she said in between laughter earning a whine from Donghyuck and a chuckle from Doyoung.
"Come on Seyeon~," he said whining. He helped Seyeon out of the car, placing his hand above her head to prevent her from hitting the roof of the car. He shouted a quick 'thank you' to Doyoung before he drove off, leaving the pair alone.
Donghyuck took a deep breath smiling at the view in front of them, very proud of himself for arranging this for his best friend.
"Can I take off the blindfold now?" Seyeon asked, curiosity eating her up. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, excited for whatever Donghyuck had planned for them.
Donghyuck chuckled at her impatientness, "Wait a little my butterfly, be patient."
He took her hand, Seyeon willingly intertwining their fingers making him blush a little. He carefully walked her towards the picnic blanket which he laid on the soft grass.
"Just a little more." He guided her to sit down on the blanket. Once she was seated on the edge of the blanket, Donghyuck sat down beside her and faced her.
Taking a deep breath, he readied a smile, "Okay, you can take your blindfold off now."
He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit nervous. He hoped that she would like his little surprise. But he was human and he was nervous. But he took this nervousness as a good thing. The relief will feel better, he thinks.
As Seyeon put her hands up to remove the blindfold, she felt the bubbling curiosity grow inside her. Donghyuck seemed to have spent so much time and effort and it warmed her heart.
Seyeon took off the blindfold and let her eyes adjust to the light. As her eyes adjusted, she took a look around, her jaw dropped to the floor at the sight.
They were seated on a red blanket surrounded by small trees which had fairy lights hanging on them. Colourful flowers decorated the trunk of the trees. The light shone on the blanket just enough to brighten the area and have shade.
Small flowers laid on the green grass around them, a brown picnic basket laid on the red blanket, filled with delicious sandwiches and fruits. A black speaker sat next to the picnic basket.
Not until Seyeon looked around even further did she realise exactly where they were.
Joyful tears threaten to fall from her eyes as she saw a familiar playground off in the distance. The playground where they met. The playground they spent most of their time playing with each other. The playground they grew up in.
She looked back at where they were situated and realised their 'garden' was the little patch of green grass they used to have mini picnics. Every little picnic they had, they imagined the picnics they could have when they grew up. They imagined how they would decorate it to become the picnic they've always dreamed of.
She never thought this day would come. She dreamed of it. But she never imagined it would happen right now. She hoped for it when Donghyuck said they were gonna have a picnic but she was shocked when she saw that he actually prepared it. What shocked her more was that they were in their childhood neighbourhood.
"How long have you been planning this?" Seyeon turned to Donghyuck with a wide smile.
Donghyuck bit his lip as his cheeks turned pink. "Maybe forever? Okay. Ever since Valentine's Day. Do you like it?" He asked nervously.
Seyeon laughed out loud, reaching forward to hug him tightly. "I love it. I can't believe you brought us all the way back here... to have our dream picnic just like we imagined."
Donghyuck grinned proudly. "Of course! I told you we would be having the picnic that we've always wanted to have." He was relieved and overjoyed that Seyeon already loved his surprise.
He had been preparing for a little over a while now. He knew this day would come eventually, not wanting to break his promise of taking her on a magical picnic someday. But when he heard from Mark that Seyeon possibly had a crush on someone, this picnic had to happen really soon. He would've loved it if they had their dream picnic as girlfriend and boyfriend but he overthought and didn't want to assume. He'd rather have the picnic now as best friends than when he was heartbroken (Although he really hoped his heart wouldn't be broken by his first and only love).
"Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars or One Direction?" Donghyuck asked pulling his phone out and connecting it to the speaker.
Seyeon chuckled, "How about all three?"
"Look at me. I'm so prepared. I already made a playlist with all our favourite songs from them and others."
"Alright. That's great. So prepared, hm," Seyeon pinched his cheeks watching fondly as he blushed at her words.
Seyeon laughed at his reaction as he just pouted and started the playlist. He looked up at her and shook his head.
"Cheese or egg and mayo?" He asked reaching for the basket and taking out two neatly wrapped sandwiches.
"You already know," Seyeon smirked taking the cheese sandwich from his hands.
Donghyuck laughed. "I'm not even gonna ask whether you want the grapes or watermelon. You and your extreme hatred for watermelon." He jokingly rolled his eyes as he placed the small containers of fruits on the space between them.
"Hey! I don't hate watermelon. I just wouldn't eat them if I had a choice."
"Oh really now?"
"Yeah. Like I wouldn't eat it for fun but if you're telling me I will win some grand prize if I ate one then I would it duh."
"What if I said you get to win me if you eat it would you?" Donghyuck asked jokingly, raising his eyebrows at her.
Seyeon stared at him, freezing up at his question before shaking her head laughing. "Not a single bite."
"Am I not grand enough a prize for you?" Donghyuck frowned as she laughed.
"I already have you. I've already won you. I won the day I met you. You're the best prize I've ever won," She raised her eyebrows back at him.
And God, did Donghyuck wish he didn't blush so hard at that. He wished he didn't get so flustered by her words. He wished her words didn't have such an effect on her.
He hated it. The way he could so easily be swooned by her. The way he would do anything for her. The way he would listen to anything she says. But he loved it. The euphoric feelings of love. The way all his feelings were emphasized while in love. Everything became more of a joy with her than anything else.
"That's cute. Sadly, You are not the best prize I've ever won. The best prize I've ever won is food," He joked though he knew it was a lie. Partly. She was the best prize and the best thing he could've gotten from life and never not once did he regret meeting her. Even if she might hurt him. He'll still love her.
Seyeon laughed at his words, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Do you remember what you said we would do on our magical picnic? I remember discussing it with you, but I don't remember exactly what we planned," she said, watching him nod slowly.
Donghyuck reached over to the picnic basket and carefully took out a folded piece of paper. With a smile on his face, he looked up at Seyeon who was staring at the piece of paper with joy.
"I always kept it with me. Even when my parents stopped me from seeing you. I always hoped that one day I would find you and we could have this picnic," Donghyuck smiled as he passed her the piece of paper, Seyeon's mouth open with shock.
Seyeon read the bullet points on the paper. It was hard to read since it was quite old but she could still make out everything written on it. A group of memories flashed through her, remembering suggesting a bunch of silly things to do with him like snacking of grapes. She remembered arguing with Donghyuck about whether to bring chocolate or not. She remembered asking him to climb a tree and Donghyuck throwing leaves at her for suggesting it.
"Did you write 'count the grass'?" Seyeon laughed as she glanced through the bullet points again.
Donghyuck laughed, leaning forward to look at the paper in her hands before looking at her in shock. "What? No! You suggested that!"
Laughter erupted from both of them, bickering with each other on who suggested it. It didn't matter though. They were having fun just spending time together. It almost didn't matter who suggested it.
Donghyuck smiled, calming himself down from the laugh fest. He stared at the paper in her hands, torn at the end. He smiled sadly, looking up at her. She was too busy smiling at the nostalgic piece of paper to notice Donghyuck glance at her lips before looking away.
"We were so stupid back then," Seyeon snickered. Donghyuck looked back at her, smiling at her words.
"We always wanted to grow up so that we could have this picnic. But I wish we stayed the way we were, never leaving each other," Donghyuck shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Seyeon nodded in agreement. "If life turned out to our favour, what lesson would we have learnt? All the things we went through, all thought us a lesson. It all helps us to be a better person, a changed person. If my parents didn't get into that car crash, we both wouldn't have learnt to live with the struggles of life. We wouldn't have met the rest of neo fam."
Donghyuck smiled, humming in agreement before chuckling. "I don't remember deep talks being in the list."
Seyeon giggled. "Why stick to the list? We can do the things on the list and the things that we want to do now too."
He didn't say anything and just smiled at her. He stoled a glance at her lips before looking back at their garden with a small smile.
"It still feels unreal that this is happening," Donghyuck muttered, looking back at her.
"What? Sharing this moment with me?" She raised her eyebrows at him, Donghyuck looked at her with a shocked expression as she just laughed.
"Stop with that flirty, cringiness," Donghyuck whined, feeling himself get embarrassed.
Seyeon laughed, hitting his shoulder. "I don't mean to say it! It just comes out!"
"You need to control it!"
"Why?!"
I won't be able to control myself. "It's making me cringe!"
"Whatever," Seyeon snickered, popping a grape into her mouth.
They didn't say anything, just enjoying each other's presence. Occasionally singing along to the soft music playing in the background. They eventually started talking about random things, asking each other how they've been lately. It's been a while since she genuinely asked how he had been feeling lately.
They shared some memories from their childhood, laughing at the silly things they did until tears formed in their eyes. Until they couldn't breathe anymore.
She loved hanging out with Donghyuck. He always managed to make her smile and laugh till they couldn't breathe. She felt a sense of familiarity with him.
He loved being with her. Anything she did made him want to explode, in a good way. She always managed to make him want to scream into nowhere every second. He felt euphoric with her.
"Do you remember what we promised each other?" Seyeon suddenly asked, confusing Donghyuck.
They made a lot of promises when they were younger, some now broken.
"Be more specific. You could be talking about our promise to never hide secrets from each other or our promise to not eat each other's cookies," he joked.
"No, the one where you forced me to promise you that by 25 if we aren't in a relationship, we would just date each other." Donghyuck froze at her words.
Of course he remembered. It was the one promise he never forgot. It's cringy and cliche now but back then, it was everything. He secretly hoped they would be single forever. Just to fulfil that promise.
"You still promised me anyway," Donghyuck snickered.
Seyeon deadpanned at him. "Of course I did. Wasn't so confident in finding a boyfriend back then," She laughed, shaking her head at herself. When she was younger she never thought of herself as someone who would easily get a boyfriend. Little did she know, there were people waiting patiently for her.
"And now?" Donghyuck asked nonchalantly, eating a slice of watermelon.
Seyeon stopped to think for a moment. She didn't know, truthfully. For some reason, it almost felt like a burden. Almost. She knew love was a special kind of feeling. It was the strongest. Many do things out of love and others do things because of the lack of love. It was a confusing feeling, but one anyone could feel.
But was she confident to get a love that would last her entire life? She still had her doubts, but she was getting more confident.
"We would find out in 4 years time wouldn't we?" Seyeon looked at him and gave a small smile.
Donghyuck felt dizzy. A good kind. The kind that came with his favourite feeling. Euphoria. He wanted to scream. How could she just say that?
"Thank you," Seyeon looked him in the eye and gave a genuine smile, "This picnic was the best. It was so special. You made it so special. You made our dream come true."
Donghyuck smiled at her, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. "You are most welcome. Besides, whether it was a magical picnic or a normal picnic, it would've been special. Picnics are always special, especially with you."
Seyeon laughed at his words, finding it the cutest, more romantic thing ever. "You either rubbed off me or Jaemin."
Donghyuck chuckled, "Definitely Jaemin."
Looking to the side, he spotted a butterfly on the flower on the ground. Carefully, he took the butterfly on his finger and brought it up to Seyeon's hair which was clipped to the side. Placing it carefully on her hair, he smiled proudly.
He quickly took out his phone and snapped a photo, catching perfectly the moment Seyeon laughs at the camera.
Looking back at her, he smiled fondly.
He was happy. And if this was the last, he didn't mind. He told himself that. It wasn't a promise, but he could learn to accept. That one day maybe, just maybe, she won't be his anymore. He hoped not. But at this moment, she was his.
"My butterfly," he whispered.
i got a little too excited writing this djsjf
i also wrote this while listening to Would You Be So Kind by dodie, the one on her vlog account like hello it has so much happy vibes bcsbvs like i could write an essay on that one video alone.
also can you tell she's a libra with all the unintentional flirting? yeah that's me 💀
hm... so... only chenle hasn't had a date with her yet... hmm...🤔🤔