"I have to tell her today.
Even if it ends, it's better than keeping it from her and hurting her later."
---------------
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The alarm clock breaks the peaceful morning. Haewon groans hearing the continuous annoying sound. She turns on her bed and closes her ears with her pillow. It's Saturday and she knows she didn't set the alarm. She mentally curses anyone who did it.
She wishes that closing her eyes tightly can turn off the alarm clock. But of course it continues to beep. She finally relents and sits up on her bed.
"Aish...," she hisses as she ruffles her hair. She the turns to her bed side table and turns off the alarm clock.
"Who sets the alarm?" She grumbles. But then, she notices a sticky note attached on the cap of her bed lamp. She takes it off and read the notes with her still half opened eyes.
Don't pout, love :*
Quickly get ready!
I'll be waiting for you, love ♡
Haewon cringes reading the word 'love'. "This Dumbo, seriously!" She grits her teeth, but she can't lie that she feels butterflies in her stomach. "Wait. Does this mean he entered my bedroom?" Her eyes widen and she quickly gets up from her bed.
"Mom!" She exclaims as she walks out of her room.
"In here, honey!" comes her mom's voice from the dining room.
"Mom did you let Chanyeol enter my- whoa! What's with the pancakes?" She asks when she sees a plate with two pancakes covered with maple syrup stacked on it. "You never make them for breakfast." She walks toward the table with eyes that are glued on the pancakes as if she is hypnotized by them.
"I wasn't the one who made them. Chanyeol did...for you." Her mom smiles.
"He did?" Haewon's eyes widen in surprise and her mom nods in reply.
"Now eat it and quickly get ready. He said he'll be waiting for you at the park."
What's with him today? She wonders but sits down to eat the pancakes anyway.
---------------
"Oh? He's not here yet?" Haewon is surprised to find the bench with no one sitting on it. She looks to right and left looking for him. But all she can see is white blanket of snow covering the grounds of the park. Suddenly her vision turns black. Pitch black.
"Guess who~" a deep voice with a cute tone sings in her ears.
"A giant." She answers holding the hands covering her eyes.
"That's it?" Asks the said giant still covering her eyes.
"A really tall giant!" She giggles.
"That's all I am to you?" He whispers with his deep voice near her ear sending ticklish feeling on her sensitive neck.
"Oh! A really tall giant Dumbo!" She chuckles and he finally uncovers her eyes.
"Ya! I told you not to call me with that!" He grumbles as she turns around to face him. Still chuckling, she wraps her arms around his waist.
"You're my Dumbo." She says looking into his eyes.
"That's it?" He pouts again but his arms are already encircling the shorter girl's body.
"Okay. Okay. You're my handsome Dumbo. There! Happy?" His frown turns into a smile and he pecks her forehead. It's just a light peck on her forehead, but it is enough to make her cheeks heat up.
He freezes looking at that heart-stopping eye smile she sends to him.
I don't want to lose you.
"By the way, what's with the alarm and the pancakes?" She asks slowly pulling away from the hug. Her question snaps him from his thought and he blinks a few times.
"You don't remember what day is today?" His eyes widen in disbelief and she only shakes her head slowly.
"Saturday?" She looks at him innocently.
"Aigo," he flicks her forehead.
"Ouch!" She flinches and rubs her forehead. "Ya! What was th-"
"It's our 100th day, dummy!" He pinches her cheeks before letting them go and crossing his arms in disbelief. She gasps and immediately looks apologetic.
"Mianhe," she forces a smile and clings onto his folded arms. "Sorry... I lost count of the days I spent with you."
"Araso..." he sighes and unfolds his arms bringing one of them around her shoulders. "It's okay. That's why I have prepared everything for today." He leads the way grabbing her hand and she just follows him.
He brings her to the frozen lake of the park. There are some people skating on the frozen lake.
"Are we going to skate?" Haewon asks turning to her boyfriend who nods happily. "But I don't bring any ice skates."
"I told you I've prepared everything." She only raises her eyebrows hearing Chanyeol's response. He puts down his bag that has been hanging on his shoulder and opens it. He squats beside his bag and takes out two pairs of ice skating shoes - one black pair and one white pair.
"You really did come prepared," her eyes widen as she smiles widely. "But whose skates are those?"
"Ours. I bought them as a present for our special day."
"With whose money?" She knits her brows.
"With my money of course," he proudly answers standing up while handing her the pair of white skates.
"Aigo!" She slaps his arm. "You shouldn't be spending your money on something like this!" She pouts and he laughs at her reaction.
"I see you'll be a good wife who can handle the household's finance later," he chuckles. "But don't worry about these. I purposely saved my money for our special day. I've been planning for today since the day you said yes, you know?" He gives her a proud grin and wiggles his eyebrows. Haewon can't help but to smile at him.
"Araso. Thank you for giving today much thought, Mr. Park!" She praises him as she takes the skates. "But by the way, I can't skate."
"I'll teach you."
.
.
Soon enough they were standing on the frozen lake facing each other. Chanyeol holds both of Haewon's hands as he teaches her how to skate. He imagined of skating with her side by side, but this turns out much better than he imagined. It gives him more chances for skinship. And he loves seeing her relying on him.
After a while, Haewon finally gets the hang of it. She slowly lets go of his hands and tries to skate by herself. At first, Chanyeol is proud to see her finally able to skate by herself ahead of him, but then he feels a pinch in his heart.
What if she leave me when she finds out? What if she lets go of my hands like this?
Just as Chanyeol's mind is wandering elsewhere, he feels a pair of hands clinging onto his arm.
"Come on. I don't want to skate alone." Her hand slides down from his upper arm to his hand tangling their fingers. She gives him a smile - that warm smile of hers that always melts his heart.
Will I be able to see this smile even later?
"Is something wrong?" Haewon notices the growing gloom and his disappearing brightness.
"No," he is flustered but manages to give her a smile. "Let's go!" He lightly pulls her. He puts aside his worry and decides to enjoy the moment. It is - after all - their special day. And he knows that if his worst thought is going to come true, then it is all the more reason for him to seize the moment he is still able to spend with her as much as possible.
They glide on the layer of ice passing some other visitors of the park. The white blanket covering most part of the park gives off a tranquil vibe perfectly contrasting the various sounds of laughter let out by the visitors. Soon enough, Chanyeol and Haewon are chasing one another like little kids.
"Gotcha!" Chanyeol finally catches his giggling girlfriend and envelopes her in a back hug. Haewon loves his warm hug, and she knows it's not just because of the cold weather of winter. She just always loves it.
"You can't run away from me anymore!" He chuckles resting his chin on the crook of her neck and hugging her tighter. Please don't run away from me!
"Araso. Araso. I won't," she giggles and gives a peck on his cheek. Chanyeol is surprised by her action.
"You know I love you, right?" She smiles and nods to his question before feeling his pair of lips pressed on her cheek.
---------------
"Here." He gives her a thermos flask of hot chocolate while they sit on the bench.
"You prepared this too?" He just gives her a grin flashing his pearly white teeth. "Thank you for today." She takes a sip of the hot chocolate and leans her head on his shoulder.
Tell her now. Tell her now. Tell her now.
"Actually...," he breathes out, "I have something to tell you." Haewon lifts her head off his shoulder and turns to look at him.
"Hmm?" She hums.
He turns away from her for a while and takes out the small box from his bag. He then slowly hands her the box. Haewon looks puzzled but she takes the box anyway after placing her flask beside her.
"Why are you giving me this?" She looks at the box and then at the happy virus whose happiness seems to be drained. "I told you that you don't have to feel burdened about this-"
"I want to show it to you - no - you have the right to know." He firmly says. "It's okay. You can open it," he forces a smile and nods for her to open the box. But his heart is beating really fast he feels as if it is going to burst anytime soon.
Haewon finally opens the lid of the box.
She freezes when she sees what is inside the box. Chanyeol too keeps quiet as he tries to figure out her expression. But he fails as she stares at the inside of the box with no expression. She is just plainly frozen. The atmosphere between them feels colder than the real coldness of the winter season when silence slowly creeps in.
"I...made a pair of it," Chanyeol breaks the silence, "I gave one to a girl I once knew as a promise that I will be back. But...my parents died before the day we were supposed to come back to Korea." Chanyeol tells his story while Haewon never takes her eyes off the inside of the box. Yes. It's the twig ring. And she knows it's not hers. The diameter of this ring is slightly bigger.
"I came back here thinking that I've lost her and that she might have forgotten about me," Chanyeol continues. "But when my neighbor mentions the name of her daughter...my heart skips a beat. But I still thought that she has forgotten about me," he sighs and continues, "I was wrong about that. She remembers me and the worst part is I had hurt her. I made her cry. So I vowed to never let her cry again. I vowed to myself to protect her like a brother to a sister. Yet, feelings I thought I would never feel for her started to grow. I love her... I love you, Haewon." Silence envelopes the two again once he finishes. The girl beside him only breathes. She doesn't even look at him. Chanyeol slowly hangs his head down not knowing what to do.
"All this time... You were right beside me..," she mumbles under her breath; her eyes, now welling with tears, still stuck on the ring. Chanyeol knows she meant it for him, but somehow he feels like she's talking to herself at the same time.
"Haewon-ah..." A drop of tear fell on her cheek.
You have failed to keep your vow, Park Chanyeol!