Work Text:
Dan-ah’s eyes flutter as the sunshine streaming in from the windows touch her face. Still light-headed from sleepiness, she whimpers as she flips onto the other side of her bed, hoping to be able to steal a few more minutes of rest.
But it only took a few seconds before she realized what day it was, and the thought was enough to make her jerk out of bed.
It was her birthday.
She hurried to the bathroom, eager to get ready as quickly as possible. She ransacked through her closet for a floral set. Dan-ah adorned herself with her usual jewelry and painted on her face with makeup.
She’s ready to leave, if not for one last missing piece to her outfit: her shoes. She grabs the pair of sneakers sitting at its usual spot on her shelves.
That particular pair always sits at her favorite part of the shelf, on her eye level. It is so that she could always see it, even though she doesn’t wear it on any other day than her birthday.
“Happy Birthday, Ms. Seo.” Mr. Jung addresses her as he opens the car door. His stern expression fills Dan-ah with worry. Did he forget?
The whole trip to the office is the usual, anxiety-filled birthday morning. She sits inside the car as it flows through the city. She decides to busy herself with the skyscrapers, traffic, and the people of the morning rush that can be seen from the car window. It somehow relieves her of her troubles but that is cut short when the vehicle comes to a halt.
But nothing could probably match up to the fear she feels the moment she stands before her door on this day every year.
She knows the feeling of having something taken away from her, maybe a little too well. She is used to the feeling.
But she’ll never be prepared for the day that this moment will be taken from her, and what if that day is today? What if today was the day he’d just forget?
It was the only thread she is hanging on to. The only thread that held her together for the past five years, and she doesn’t know how she will be able to cope if one day, he cuts their only remaining connection.
Dan-ah feels all her blood descend her face the moment she twists the knob, opening the door to her office. She was ready to fall to the floor, but there it was.
The painting.
It was sitting on her desk perfectly, covered in the usual white wrapping paper and string that ties it all together, complete with a note of birthday pleasantries tucked in. A smile finally rose from her face.
Dan-ah’s fingers delicately unlaced the string, unveiling yet another masterpiece from him. Colors burst from all over the canvas, seamlessly blending in beautiful harmony. She runs her fingers through the paint strokes he once touched; the strokes that came out of his hand.
She smiles in relief, without the worry that almost ate her alive this morning. She pushes all the bad thoughts to the back of her mind. It’s senseless to think about all of what if’s. She stops thinking about whether this is the last painting he’ll ever send her.
All that matters is that he’s here, in the form of his ever-glorious creations. He came, and he didn’t forget.
She keeps going.