Work Text:
Deoksun awakens when she feels the sunlight flashing onto her eyelids. She turned to her side, then slowly, opened her eyes and found another’s to be seemingly watching her since forever. And so she decided to stare back at him, equating the longing he’s casting upon her as they both lie on the bed side by side, shielding one another from the cold. It's what they are accustomed to.
Her eyes darted on his arms that are still wrapped around her waist before inching closer to him, placing her head onto his chest. His hands followed her head, pressing it closer to his body as the both of them nestled one another. Then, his arms draped on her shoulders, with his thumb drawing circles on her skin.
Deoksun has always loved his warmth. It’s where she seeks home to. And now, while she stares at the window, it worries her that everything from within ten years of push and pull might get thrown out of it.She’s also terrified of what could happen in the future, especially now that she was able to get a hold of security with him. She does know that things may be taken away from her, just as how she was deprived of the eggs that she’s always wanted when she was younger. She might have put her past to rest, but it is still innate that such pains and feelings of loneliness had been etched as her scars forever. And so she begged, let me have this peace.
He notices that she was spacing out, evident in her eyes that are all over the place. So he cupped her face, inviting her to look at him. She obliged and stared into his eyes.
“I had a dream."
“What is it about?” he asked while caressing her hair.
She swallowed while her lips quiver and eyes were earning water. “The plane crashed…” She sobbed as the tears started to fall.
His eyebrows furrowed as he pulled her closer as if the spaces will never be enough. As if the moments they’ve spent together will never suffice. He, too, was afraid. You never really know when your time is up. And so he coddled her. He, then again, cupped her face while catching the waters that wouldn’t stop falling off her cheeks with his fingers.
The sounds of her sobs dissipate from across the room. He waited and waited until her eyes dried up, until she’s ready to speak again. But never did he stop holding her.
“I’m sorry for being emotional again.”
He only looked at her while wiping away all the remnants of her nightmare. When her breathing started to moderate itself, he pulled her closer to his body while she rested her head on the crook of his neck.
“I’m here. I am not going anywhere.”
She watched his pupils dilate after her, as if watching films of their past in his eyes. She lowered her gaze to look at their hands which he just clasped together. She follows the movements of his hands, they way they latch onto hers, while he fills the void of her empty palms. “It’s so cold.” He said, still wary of the heat in her eyes. He even tried to rub it against his two large hands before asking, “Do the pink mittens still fit?” From there, she finally smiled briefly at her husband’s gestures. It reminded her experience with him when they attended the concert of their favorite artist, how he pulled her closer and brought his arms around her shoulders to shield her from the cold.
“You can sleep some more. My next flight will be on Friday.”
“I miss flying…” She snuggled even closer to him.
“Soon..” He replied. At that thought, the sides of her lips start to rise.
“And I can’t wait for that!” He found himself mirroring Deoksun’s expression, all smiley and giddy. Just the thought of seeing his love doing what she loves sends the usual feeling of warmth to his chest, just as whenever he’s with her. It’s one of his treasured picturesque moments.
“What should we get for lunch?”
Deoksun paused for a while before replying, “I was thinking of this fast food chain in Gangnam…” while looking at him maliciously.
He felt his cheeks turn red while he felt the secondhand embarrassment from his young, naive self. So what he did is he lied on his stomach and turned his back away from his wife.
Deoksun giggles while she tries to take a peek at his reaction when he turns around.
“Ya! Hahaha! I was just teasing you!” She said while pinching his sides.
He peeked at her before laying on his stomach again to the other side.
It humors her looking back how they’ve always interacted when they were younger. Then suddenly, she started to feel nostalgic of the past they’d put behind them. She rested her chin on the edge of his shoulder.
He felt it. It was as if their bodies resonated with one another and signals just easily flow from within them. “I’m sorry,” he finally looked back at her. He stared at her for a moment before dropping his eyes on the ground and continued, “for being a coward.”
Deoksun held his cheeks while she noticed a glint of pain in his eyes. Then, he held her hand on his cheeks, feeling the warmth she radiates onto him. They looked into each other’s eyes, both exuding the equal magnitude of bliss. He broke their gazes when he pulled her into an embrace that surely lasts its memory for a lifetime.
He was able to beat red lights of his own. It was something he’d go back to and repeat the same decision all over again.
-------
He was the first one to go outside of their gate while holding her hand very carefully as if she’s a fragile glass. The moment she put her other foot forward off the gate, she glanced at him and rewarded him with the cheeky smile she’s always shown to everyone, especially when she’s excited. That behavior of hers has always made his lips curve, as manifested at the moment.
“Deoksun-ah.” It still sends her butterflies when he calls her that. When they were younger, he refused to call her by her name. He used to settle on “Ya!”. But now, he’s braver than ever, and never will he conceal his true feelings again. Deoksun loved that simple yet meaningful development of his.
“Do you want to go to the airport some time?”
“Please! I miss it so bad!”
“Perhaps after we eat?”
“Already?” He nodded, still his smirk is very much evident. He just couldn’t contain his excitement too.
“Ok! Let’s go!”
He watched her eyes glimmer while she planned in her head what she was going to do when they reached their workplace that she hadn't seen for a long time.
“Deoksun-ah,” he called her again. She looked at him.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He told her once more. It was something she was greatly deprived of when she was younger. He was remembering the vulnerability she expressed to him a little while ago. He’s always been like that, always paying attention to her.
He loosened the grip of his hands against hers before kneeling.
“Hey there, little one. Please don’t give eomma a hard time, all right?” He said while he held the growing bump on her tummy.
It’s only been two months since they were made aware that Deoksun’s finally conceived their first child after a year of marriage. A while ago was a manifestation of her episodes of mood swings. And he’s always been there for her.
He whispered to her tummy, “I love you,” then proceeded to look up to Deoksun. From there, they exchanged shy smiles that one another always had adored. Before, they’d kept it to themselves, but now it is carefree. Like it’s in ‘89, the difference is that those giggles are finally liberated. He doesn’t have to hide his smiles anymore and she doesn’t have to look for clues in his signals. They might have grown apart along the way, but then they eventually found themselves in each other’s arms. Now, they are contented as ever.
“Jungpal-ah,” She still calls him by his nickname. “We’re hungry.”
He stood up and paused for a bit to look at her. He’s still very much fascinated at the fact that they wear identical rings as they vowed to be by one another’s side for life.
He smiled to himself. “Let’s go,” and he renewed the grip of his hands onto hers. They crossed the alley while swaying their hands.
“Jungpal-ah, this time, it’s just the two— no, the three of us at the table. I assure you. Really.” She replied while beaming at his reaction.
He gulped at her remark while she kept on teasing him. He even tried to change the subject and asked, “What would you like to order?”
Deoksun requested, “Double burger, large coke, fries, ice cream..." while looking at him with eyes full of malice. Then, she pokes his arm as she asks, "Why did you come to Gangnam again? I just needed to be reminded of something." He remembers all that very clearly.
He's been pursing his lips and his cheeks are full on red at the moment as he avoids eye contact with her. But still, he holds her hand. Meanwhile, Deoksun was grinning from ear to ear, trying to hide her chuckles so as he'd feel less embarrassed. But she just enjoys this so much, probably driven by hormones, too. It was as if she got even for all the pining they’d done in the past and all the headache he’d given her.
Now, she’s got him as he’s got her, and they await for their little one to come out. It was all that matters.