Day 15 Cloytober: Green
A/N: It took me a while to write this chapter because I quite literally rewatched CLOY again for this. DID NOT REALISE HOW MUCH GREEN THERE WAS IN CLOY. Happy hunting for the little greens you may have missed out on after this chapter!
P.S. This list is not exhaustive. I had to pick and choose the more relevant ones to this ficlet:)
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Love is red – or so they say...
Perhaps love is red, for love is passion-filled.
But is that all? Can love be classified as merely one colour on the colour wheel when the universe houses more than tens of millions of colours?
Unlikely.
In the end, the love shared by every couple is painted differently, unique to the obstacles they have overcome together and the memories they have shared.
Just like how artists have different artistic choices, a couple has the freedom to choose the colours that define their love.
For Ri Jeong Hyeok and Yoon Seri, their love housed a mosaic of colours. But if you asked them to pick one, it would be the colour green.
Green was the forest Yoon Seri woke up in – the very one she mistook as a national park as she panicked over the turn of events. Hanging from the trees with the mere hems of her parachute supporting her weight, Yoon Seri recalled seeing a little deer amidst the surrounding greenery. Dewdrops clung to the leaves around her, trickling bit by bit down to the earthen ground. If she hadn't been panicking about the mountainous work left on her table, she would have stopped to admire the view.
Green was the colour of the uniform her knight in shining armour donned when he discovered her in that forest. She had literally crash-landed on him then, whereas the poor Captain had been wholly unprepared for what her presence would mean to his life. Ri Jeong Hyeok looked particularly dashing in that uniform, more so than prince charming, and Seri couldn't help but think that green was the new trend.
Come to think of it, he rarely wore anything else apart from green during her stay at the captain's house. From his long-sleeved casual shirts to his uniform, they were all green, more so for practicality purposes as a Captain than for any other reason.
Seri wasn't complaining, she loved how his uniform hugged his figure, highlighting those broad shoulders of his. Even from day one, Seri had already established that he was exactly her type.
Green was the theme of the Seri's Choice logo on the sportswear she had been testing when the crash had happened. Yoon Seri remembered designing that logo specifically to convey the vibrancy and life that the sports series would bring to the market. Little did she know, the ultimate choice that she had to make was deciding whether to trust the stoic captain when she came across the forked road that he mentioned.
As she believed...Sometimes, the wrong train takes you to the right destination.
Green was the expanse field that Seri sprinted across, unknowingly dodging the mines that could have ended her life right there. Talk about luck, but somehow, she survived long enough for her to meet the family that she chose for herself.
Green was the wall of his bathroom. Each tiny square tile decorating the white walls were barely the size of her fingernails, yet the green was classy against the wood of its interior. It was in that little hand bucket she used to transfer more water to the "basin" too. Back then, she had comforted herself by washing off the dirt on her face such that she looked less like a madwoman – as Pyo Chi Su was fond to call her – and more like her pretty self.
In fact, green must have been the theme of the captain's house, for the walls in his common area held an odd dull green tinge to them too. Seri once thought that it was unfashionable and sorely lacking – aesthetically speaking – but she quickly found peace and comfort in the dull interior that absorbed their memories and laughter.
The room that held the phone – the exact one she used to call him – housed a couch that was velvet green, with throw pillows of a similar theme lining the comfy room. The checkered curtain hanging from the windows were green too, perfectly in harmony with the rest of the house.
Even his gate was a faint blue-ish green – the very ones that he had pressed her against when he saved her the first time. Yoon Seri could still remember that spark of chemistry when their eyes met properly and intimately for the first time.
The first bowl of noodles he had made her had been garnished with spring onions, adding a pop of colour to the egg noodles – the best meal she had despite her initial reluctance to trust him.
And of course, the pillars around his house were painted in green – the brightest shade amongst the greens in the house. Surrounding his front yard were trees and the odd vegetation that gave the captain's house its simple and homely vibes; one that Seri would expect out of a countryside home in South Korea.
The ducklings donned their green uniform proudly the first time she met them too; a sign of unity amongst soldiers in every single battle. To fight as brothers and emerge victorious as one.
Still...Captain Ri looked the best in his uniform although Park Gwang Beom was a close second.
Back in his house, Seri recalled walking past this little green box that had never been moved once during her stay at Ri Jeong Hyeok's house. It was always stacked on top of a white one on the lowest level of the wooden shelf in the common room. Little did she know, his late brother's letters were locked up in that box, kept safely yet away from the brother that was still in mourning after all these years.
For someone who was incredibly persistent about having a balanced diet, greens were part of every single meal she had in North Korea. But she ate well there. Gone were the days where she would only have three bites of her meals. As Ri Jeong Hyeok fondly recalled, Yoon Seri has never once had less than three bites of food during her time with him. The way she would munch on the leaf of an iceberg lettuce reminded him of a bunny, a very adorable bunny with her large doleful eyes.
It was in the little things too. Like the stems of flowers in the vase she held up when she was scared that one night when he left her. Like the bottle of antiseptic medicine that soothed her wound. Like the makeshift bed she slept on the first few nights before Ri Jeong Hyeok decided to sacrifice his bed for her.
She intentionally wore that forest green cardigan to match with his uniform, in hopes of shutting the other ahjummas up by playing the part of a doting fiancé.
Their tomato baby came to them in its green glory with that tiny red bow, waiting to grow and blossom with the ten nice things that Ri Jeong Hyeok had generously showered it despite his initial insistence that he didn't care much for the gift.
But how could he not when it was a gift from Yoon Seri?
Green was the view that they had soared past on that parachute together. Despite having escaped from a life-threatening situation by jumping into the next, Yoon Seri and Ri Jeong Hyeok had never felt more at peace in each other's arms than during that flight over the gentle hills.
The Soju bottle on their clam-shell night, the little demarcation line of those silver and green beer bottles, the typewriter at one corner of his house. They were all green.
The night that they were stranded, the fire they had cozied up to, held a tinge of green despite its bright amber flames, for they vaguely remembered being surrounded by an endlessly wide field.
Or perhaps it was because they were already falling hard for each other.
When they watched the first snow together, Yoon Seri had allowed herself to wear her heart on her sleeves that night, leaning against his broad shoulder with the green cushions of the chair supporting them. The chicken and beer were a perk to their wondrous night that inevitably deepened the affection and protection they had towards each other.
Green was the colour of the turtleneck she wore during the farewell picnic the ducklings had set up for her. She serenaded them so lovingly that day that Ri Jeong Hyeok couldn't help but admit that he would miss her once she was no longer by his side. The ducklings had been in tears too, for Yoon Seri had become like a sister to them.
No one wanted her to leave although they wanted what was best for her. It was why she had to go home.
Ri Jeong Hyeok had been reduced to a flash of green when he zoomed past in a motorbike to save her. Yoon Seri would never be able to forget how he took the bullet for her, fulfilling his promise to protect her as long as she was within his sight. She must have cried so hard every time she remembered the blood blossoming on the site of his wound and that helplessness she felt when someone she loved was injured in a country she was unfamiliar with.
Yoon Seri hated the doors of that hospital because no matter how she stared at it, Ri Jeong Hyeok never came out. She had been engulfed with worry during his operation and though she was told not to cry, she couldn't help it.
And in that hospital where she confessed her feelings for the first time, the walls of green soothed her as she spoke to Ri Jeong Hyeok, silently praying for his recovery.
The heart she had sewn to cover the bullet hole looked particularly beautiful against the green of his uniform. In the end, theirs was a love that was green.
When he came to save her with his healing gunshot wound in that blizzard storm, Ri Jeong Hyeok had been in full black. Yoon Seri remembered missing the green so much. It was as though he had already prepared himself for that heartbreak when she sent him away to protect him.
Green was the walls of the school they escaped to, for they would have died otherwise if they stayed out there in the snow. Ri Jeong Hyeok had been unwell then and Yoon Seri had been incredibly concerned about his fever.
What was the man thinking when he decided to run away from the hospital to search for her? As far as self-preservation goes, neither of them was good at it. Yet, she couldn't help but chuckle over the captain who was seated upright in his sleep, a soldier at heart through and through.
And of course, how could they miss the mini-Christmas tree Yoon Seri had decorated with an assortment of handmade décor? It was the most adorable sight Ri Jeong Hyeok had woken up to. It was simply unfortunate that the bliss in his heart was short-lived since Yoon Seri had disappeared from his life so suddenly just like that.
He had spent one night imprisoned by those sickening green bars that kept him away from his Yoon Seri. The captain had been an angry hulk when he confronted his father after, bent on ensuring Seri's safety and delivering her home as he had promised.
And when he had played the piece he had written for his brother in his childhood room, Yoon Seri remembered the angel she saw during the lowest point of her life, seated in front of a well-loved brown piano against the green backdrop of Switzerland's rolling hills and swaying trees.
Slowly, the thought of jumping down from the bridge faded into a mere wisp of a thought, along with the trees she saw that gave Ri Jeong Hyeok the precious seconds to save her soul.
And when she was finally home, Yoon Seri couldn't help but feel that she was a thousand miles away from home – as ironic as that sentiment was.
Her house, with its browns, whites and classy greens was nothing like the outrageous green that made up most of the captain's house. But that was the problem, wasn't it? Her house, as modern and stylish as it was, lacked green. Everything was too perfect, too planned, too fixed, that even though the wall of her bedroom was the same green shade as his, it still wasn't home to her.
Perhaps it was also because Ri Jeong Hyeok was no longer by her side. After all, Yoon Seri had grown used to the man's quiet assurance and the stability that he naturally exuded. That and she missed him. Terribly so.
So, when he appeared on that street in his dark green jacket on the very night she decided to wander the streets aimlessly, Seri thought that it was all a dream. It was clear that not even Satan would have the heart to keep them apart for long.
Thank goodness it wasn't a dream.
A dream with Ri Jeong Hyeok was a bad dream, just like how a dream with Ri Jeong Hyeok was a good dream.
Even in Seoul, green surrounded their love, just as much as their love surrounded green.
Green was the floors of the parking lot to Seri's headquarters. The night Cho Cheol Gang had almost gotten his hands on her, they had saved each other once again. Neither of them would ever forget the gut-twisting fear they had for each other that night, nor the immense relief that left their knees weak when they found each other again.
Green was the night that they had poured their hearts out over their little soju glasses and pinky promises. Ri Jeong Hyeok shared that he wanted to stay. That he wanted twins. That he wanted to play the piano again. That he wanted to see her with grey hair and wrinkles, to grow old together.
He knew without a doubt that Yoon Seri would still be the prettiest woman in the universe even when they were old.
Green symbolized growth too and that night, Ri Jeong Hyeok truly allowed himself to dream freely.
It was the same for Yoon Seri.
Love did that for them. They could soar once again because of love.
Green was the colour of her kitchen cabinets that soon housed the stocks of food that he had packed for her. He truly wished that Seri could take better care of herself even when he wasn't around. Ri Jeong Hyeok's deepest wish would always be for Seri to be happy. That through that, she could eat well, sleep well, and live well.
Everything he touched was green and Yoon Seri loved that about him.
They exchanged couple rings for the first time in her bedroom, with the green wall as a backdrop to their promise to love each other and hold each other close. Even though Seri has seen the most luxuriously designed rings, she thought that the simple golden band Ri Jeong Hyeok had gifted her was the most beautiful ring to ever exist. Ultimately, it was because of the thought that went behind the gift and because it was from him.
They knew that no matter what, they would each hold a special place in their lover's heart.
How could they not when fate brought them together with the most unlikely turn of events?
How could they not when their love already occupied their hearts so fully and their minds so completely that they didn't ever wish to live without the other?
That wasn't all.
Yoon Seri would always be fond of the memory of a particularly pouty Hyeoky when he heard about her past suitors who she claimed merely passed through her life as though they were flies. He had been fingering the leaf of her office plant then, pouting like the child he was at heart until Seri glanced up at him mischievously yet lovingly.
Green was in everything they did together. Like when they took a walk along Hantan River Sky Bridge or when the ducklings celebrated Seri's birthday with a fresh bouquet and penguin.
When she took that bullet for him, green were her memories of their time together.
Love to them wasn't just red, it was green, through and through.
Yoon Seri hated walking in that aimless field, searching for Ri Jeong Hyeok when she was stuck in her dreams. That was the only time she despised the colour green, for it made it more difficult for her to wake again.
It was clear that green played a huge part in their lives, for it lived in their memories and in every tiny pounding of their hearts.
It wasn't an easy journey to find each other again. Seri had to recover from her bullet wound, an arduous task that she had almost died from when she collapsed due to blood poisoning.
They had to part for a few years too...simply waiting for fate to bring them together again.
And finally, when fate granted them their deepest desires, their reunion took place on a grassy hilltop for the wrong train had finally taken them to their final destination.
They had found home again.
Green. Their love has always been green.
It was unfortunate that a cruel twist of events tore them apart from each other in their human lifetime. But one thing was sure, their love could and would persist in their next one despite their clashing roles in the universe.
The only question was, what would be the colour of their love in this new lifetime?
As with all colours, the ink may fade over time, but the mark it has left leaves a legacy beyond one's ability to comprehend.
Green represented new beginnings too. Perhaps that was exactly what Ri Jeong Hyeok and Yoon Seri needed to become stronger as one.
To find each other again, to fall in love with each other again, to love each other again.
That was Angel Ri and Devil Yoon's main mission from heaven and hell.