🚗
———
"You are invited to the wedding of—" Sicheng stopped midsentence, his soulmate eyeing him from her spot in the drivers seat, waiting for him to continue.
"Who?" Haneul asked, as she kept her eyes on the long empty roads, a stunning green scenery playing besides them as they drove in the middle of the warm summer sun, a contrast to the snowy winter in Korea
Winwin blinked at the screen of the phone, turning it off before he rolled the window down, letting in the summer breeze which caused Haneul's hair to dance around. He slid his sunglasses back up his nose, looking out the window. A smirk making its way to his lips.
"I still want to know." Haneul spoke over the wind.
"It doesn't matter, you're not going anyways." Winwin answered rolling his eyes at the disgruntled look from Hanuel. "Ryu and Seori." He scoffed, unable to say it seriously. The two eyeing each other momentarily before breaking out into a fit of laughter.
"That's so stupid." She blurted.
"They obviously invited us knowing we aren't going to attend." Winwin chuckled, watching as Haneul perked up with an idea. "No, we are not going."
"But it would be such a big deal!" Haneul pouted.
"Yeah and that's how the public find out we're dating." Winwin reminded her how he was indeed famous. Hanuel had almost forgotten after the past week she had been spending with him. The two have been travelling and camping around the country, enjoying each others company as they spent every minute getting to know each other. They would stare at the clear night sky and not mutter a word, simply enjoying each other's presence. There was no worries about being recognised or managment, it was something she shouldn't get used to. Haneul had also met Winwin's sister, who happened to live here - in New Zealand too - without Haneul's knowledge, it was quite a pleasant surprise to see that Winwin had another reason for wanting to be here.
The whole trip was overall refreshing, and it was definitely something the both of them needed. "We should invite them to our wedding." Haneul suggested.
"Oh yeah for sure." Winwin agreed. "By the time that happens they've probably have gone through a divorce."
"Who knows, they might actually be perfect for each other." Haneul laughs lightly, glad the situation no longer has anything to do with her.
"While we're talking about the ideal future, how many kids do you want?" Winwin asked, the question almost throwing her off the road as she swiveled lightly in surprise. Her eyes wide as she turned to Winwin. "Too soon?"
"No I just didn't think you liked kids?" She replied, going back to her usual speed as she continued to drive. "I've never actually thought of that."
"You don't need to answer that at all. That's totally up to you anyways." Winwin told, giving her a sure nod. Winwin has been playing scenarios of what his life would be like with Haneul once they can finally settle down. It seems unreachable now, but he loves to think about it.
"Probably two." Haneul thought as they eased into a small township, the sleepy town was quiet, and she had no doubt they were in the right place. "Yeah I like two."
"Same." Winwin smiled to himself.
"We can pick a name from your baby name list in your notes app if you'd like." Haneul laughed knowingly as Winwin blushed lightly. He did in fact have a list of names.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged as the car stopped in front of an old house, despite that, it looked well kept and clean. "Is this the place?"
"I think so." Haneul double checked the address on the letter she received with the money. She swung open the car door, stepping out of it as she began walking towards the place, Winwin following closely behind as she couldn't help but feel oddly comforted by it's nature. The way the vines and leaves climb up the dusty white walls was the complete opposite of the blank grey walls of the house she grew up in, she almost found it hard to believe her mother would ever live in such a place, but then again, she realised that she knew absolutely nothing about her.
She entered the gate, making her way through the path created by old pots of colourful plants. Haneul knocked on the maroon wooden door when she reached it, their ears filling with the sounds of birds and crickets as Haneul couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness within the peace. Winwin slipped a hand into hers, shining her a calming smile as they shared a nod.
The door creaked open slowly, as if it was unsure as to whether or not it should even open or not. As if it hasn't welcomed anybody in before, and didn't know how to.
"Oh." A voice said, sounding like a classical instrument in an orchestra. The door opened wider, to reveal a woman who Haneul recognized almost immediately, despite her looking like a familiar stranger at the same time. The actress shined with a different glow than she had before, no longer glassy and posh, instead she glowed with raw happiness. "I didn't think you would fall for such a silly game."
"Mother." Haneul's voice was laced with shock, as she had expected to see the woman, but part of her had somehow doubted it. But now that she was standing in front of her, in a homely dress of earthy tones, she still found it hard to believe. "I've uh...missed you."
She realised that she hadn't thought this one through.
Her mother smiled, a real smile. "I missed you too, honey." She opened her arms, inviting Haneul into them as the girl accepted, embracing her mother for the first time since she was in high school. Now she has graduated university, and had her entire life to tell to her mother. A smile widened itself across Haneul's face, a new sort of happiness building within her as a small tear rolled down her face.
"I genuinely thought you died." She sniffled as her mother laughed heartedly, giving Haneul a pat on the head, releasing her from the hug.
"Well, to be honest, I'm surprised I'm alive too." She shook her head. "Well, come on in you two, I would be thrilled to hear everything."
🪴
———
"Your father did what?!" Her mother's eyes bulged at the story. "I should have brought you here, marrying that sorry excuse of a man was the second worst decision I've ever made."
Haneul was sure she's heard her mother speak more now than she has had her entire life. "What was the first?"
Her mother lifted a cup of tea to her mouth. "Prioritising my job over you." She sighed. "I wasn't a good mother, and you've had to live on your own since you were born. It truly isn't something I can say I'm proud of and I apologize for that."
"Wow." Haneul muttered, taking a sip of her steaming cup of tea. "That's alright though, I don't resent you." She wasn't expecting to hear such a thing. It's weird to hear the people who brought you up, or barely had, apologize for it, as if they hadn't normalized the experience for you. Haneul didn't complain about the way she was raised as she thought that was normal for the longest time, it wasn't until she made contact with the "outside" world where she saw what life could really be like.
"It's funny how I had to leave to come to such a realization. I also missed this wonderful love story between you two. I can just imagine the look on their faces when you proposed."
"Oh yeah that's definitely something we'll never forget." Winwin laughed, a contrast to the time he had met her father for the first time, and though the circumstances were completely different, it was obvious that he was a lot more comfortable with her mother as compared to her father. "Ah, Haneul has something for you." Winwin nudged her, giving her a small nod as Haneul grew shy. She pulled out the thick, but petite sized notebook from her bag, sliding it across the table to her mother.
"I wasn't sure what to get you, so Winwin suggested a little scrapbook off what I've been up to since you left. It's not much but I've done a few things, just enough for father to keep me in the house up until I ran away." Haneul laughed as her mother was already flipping through the book, a small smile on her face. "Oh that's Jing-wen, my step sister, she's cute isn't she. And that's my roommate Sara and Yoonbin, Yoonbin owns the store I work at -- did you know I work at a bubble tea place..."
Winwin watched as the two were smiling, enjoying each others company for the first time ever. Hecouldn't help but feel happy, seeing Haneul happy in a way he had never seen before, almost child-like, like when you win an award and can't wait to show your parents, that's how she looked, and it was obvious she's never experienced it before. But she finally had it, the warmth of family.
⛰
———
"Your mother is lovely." Winwin smiled as Haneul joined him on the balcony. The weather cooled down for the night, and the stars began to show themselves as the sun set. Across from them were the snowcapped mountains, an identical image to that of the photograph on the wall of the Binnie Cha. It was breathtaking, and the two could stare at the peaks for hours without a care in the world. A sense of peace in their stressful lives.
"That's something I just learned as well." Haneul sighed as she sat down next to him, throwing a blanket over their legs as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's almost like that was the first time we'd ever met. But I'm glad I did it."
"So am I." He smiled as he looked down at her, patting her hair softly, watching as she took in the view in front of her. "We made it, Haneul." He whispered softly.
"We did." There was a twinkle in her eye from the small specks of gold that revealed themselves around her eyes.
His heart had softened for her, let go of the cage that surrounded it and set him free. He was free to care, and free to love her, free to enjoy the presence of another person.
But part of him couldn't help but feel apologetic.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly, his eyes going back to the mountains in front of them, and the dark blanlet of stars that watching over the couple.
Haneul looked up at him. "What for?"
"For falling in love with you and not being able to do anything about it?" He breathed, their eyes locking once more. He watched as her eyebrows furrowed, sitting up to look at him seriously.
"Sicheng, what are you doing now then? You followed me to a foreign country just to meet my mother. You dealt with my horrid 'fiancé' and basically set me free. If anything you're doing too much." She explained, cupping his face so that he was paying attention to her every word. "You don't have to do anything, I'll love you either way."
"Well yeah I- but we won't be normal. We can't hold hands in public's or go on lunch dates or post cute pictures on instagram. And to be honest my schedule is a mess all the time and we won't even know when's the next time we get to spend time together." It had been on his mind ever since the two became official. But he never knew when was the right time to bring it up.
"That doesn't bother me at all, I'm quite an adaptable person you know." She reminded with a smile.
"It bothers me though." He sighed, remembering how this trip will have its end, and they'd have to go back to being apart. "It bothers me so much that I can't give you the best all the time. I want to do all those things with you. I want to tell the world that you're my soulmate."
Haneul pursed her lips, thinking for a second. "And you can...one day. This might be where we have conflicting opinions but I honestly don't care about who knows as long as we're together. I just want us to be happy, together." She said, she felt warm despite the cold air as her arms hung around his neck. He stared at her intently, taking in everything she was saying. "It'll be hard, and there will definitely be moments, but we'll learn about each other through those experiences. And I'm ready to go through anything with you, you don't have to apologize for anything."
Winwin blinked, the single light above them reflecting its orange tint onto his face. The hands that held her waist made its way to her cheek, where he pulled her in for a peck on the lips, a soft smile appearing on them. "Thanks for everything."
"All I wanted was to raise the storm that raged in your heart." She said softly, her words vibrating against his chest as they continue to look into each other's eyes, the view in front of them was a dark shade of blue with nothing in sight other than the blinking of stars, but that didn't matter. None of it did. Because it didn't matter where they were. As long as their hearts were intertwined with each other's, they were unstoppable. He smiled, and so did she. They knew it too.
"And you did, you did that much more."
end.