ISN'T IT PRETTY TO THINK SO?
DISCLAIMER:
The following work(s) are fictitious in nature, including but not limited to characters and events. The content herein, coincidental or otherwise, is in no way a true reflection of the actual celebrities depicted, and is purely created for personal entertainment. No profit is being made. Any artwork is made by me unless otherwise stated.
isn't it pretty to think so?
yonghwa/seohyun ⌖ 2749w → pg-13
you and i are going to run. we're going to run, and we're never looking back.
[ ♫ isn't it pretty to think so? ]
01: thousands of seasons, in the time of stars . . . we can be in love once more
It's one of those moments.
The rain sounds like tiny, glass beads clattering against marble - a million drops that sound like clicks and chimes as they hit the concrete while they stand side-by-side beneath a bricked tunnel.
They are maybe-friends or could-be-lovers, building a bridge from the middle and moving out in opposite directions. Fighting, maybe, for a side - a safer end, or one more fulfilling, and if one of them could just get to the other side the fastest, then -
Feel like racing, Seohyun?
02: because you're a lullaby ... that's been romancing and keeping us asleep
One day, you're going to love and leave me.
What makes you think I'll do either?
You'll leave me for someone taller - but not Jungshin.
Huh. You ignored my question, and stop playing with my hair.
And then I'll find someone shorter, who comes up exactly to my shoulders.
What's wrong with being a little over-
Hush, Seo Juhyun, I'm telling a story. And you're gigantic.
Well, you're-
Handsome, I know. Listen, we'll find new people, and we'll date them - maybe get engaged and get married. Reporters will still tie us down to We Got Married, but we'll reply with something off-handed and say we're still friends, even though we've stopped talking to each other.
What the- I have nothing to say to that.
We've stopped talking to each other because you've convinced yourself that I don't need to be looked after anymore, but the real reason is that you don't know how I feel. The insecurity digs into you. I don't like talking about these things, you know, so it's understandable. You're not a book that's easy to crack, either.
And we've stopped talking to each other because you think you're not the type to ring others, but the real reason is that you were still figuring things out, not knowing what you wanted.
It's ugly, isn't it? The possibility that you might be forcing yourself to like someone, or thinking you like someone when it hits you that you really don't.
. . .
We'll go on with our lives. You'll be the representative of charity organizations, you'll inspire people, but all you really want to do is perform - play the piano and sing, because you love what music outreach can do. I might be in Paris or Rome, maybe in Seattle or New York City, learning to compose and write better when I see an article about you on Nate, but I won't have time to read it properly. I'll fly back to Seoul a month later because it's my turn to enlist; I won't see you for two-and-a-half years.
I wonder what it would be like to be normal again, living as a regular person. Sometimes I think I might be better off. People will forget about me when I'm twenty-eight, anyway.
No one will forget someone who looks like you.
Thank you.
After two years, I'll come to Busan. Everything is good, and everyone is happy. Life moves on. You're single again, and no one knows why, but everyone assumes it's because he loved you more; people think you have no feelings. You hate that, don't you? When people think you're not expressive or not expressive enough.
It's nothing.
You're lying.
It hurts. A little.
Yeah.
What happens next?
We're invited to a variety show, but we don't know the other person will be there. We end up sitting on opposite ends of each other when you see me first. You'll wave and say hello once before the airing, and I'll smile and nod at you. Everyone laughs and shares a story, except you. The host will ask about us, if there was anything between us at all while we were "married." I'll say that I did feel something on my end during the summer when I was on my Japanese tour. Everyone acts like they're surprised at my answer, but you genuinely are. The host will ask if you really didn't know and if you liked me back at all when you were once-twenty; you'll provide a response that pleases everyone - your fans, especially, who've grown up with you - even if it's not much of a confession.
You don't like that, do you? When I'm prepared. Like when you asked me about my ideal type, and I said I had none, and- ouch, don't pinch me!
What, that didn't even hu- ow! Really, this is no good, Seo Juhyun.
What isn't good?
You're becoming too-
- too much like you?
So you'll give everyone a standard answer, but everyone will nod their heads in understanding. Later, articles will praise you for your poise and unwavering grace, and everyone will gossip about what I'd said.
And what if I give an answer no one is expecting?
And what would that be? Even though I know you're thinking about it now, you're probably trying to wrack your brain for what you were feeling while we were on the show, right? I'm not even offended, Seo Juhyun. I've long accepted that that's just who you are.
You're annoyed. Look, look, it's showing! You're glaring at the wall, and you won't even look at me.
I'll break off my engagement with my fiancée. People will speculate. Our former fans will assume it's because I met you again, but that isn't the case. She won't be able to conceive; I won't love her any less for it, but the stress is what'll strain our relationship until there's nothing left. And then, of course, we'll start bumping into each other more often. It's all a coincidence, but people will see us in cafés or conversing on city streets or backstage during an event, and the rumors will start flying.
This is awfully detailed. You're either a very good psychic or you've thought about this before.
I'm a good storyteller.
Or maybe you're just hoping this could happen. You're controlling it right now, and you know the ending. You like the ending.
Remind me to tell your future boyfriend that you are a terrible listener.
If I have a boyfriend.
You'll have many.
I don't think I'm the type.
And what type are you?
That if I find someone I love, I'll find it impossible to be with anyone else.
Have you found someone yet?
So what about those rumors?
You're really something, you know that? What did I say about smiling like that? Don't ever smile at anyone like that.
Except you?
Some will think we planned this all along; others will think fate played a big part in it. But everyone is being ridiculous because life isn't based on aligned stars, and you're too pure and kind to sabotage anyone; in fact, the entire time we meet with each other, you're trying to get inside my head to repair the damage because you think my ex-fiancée and I looked great together. I looked happy, you'll say, but you won't realize that my mind is changing. Slowly but surely, and I'll start smiling more around you. How can anyone not?
Augh.
What?
Why do you say those things? My skin feels like it's curling.
It's a good thing.
Yes, but-
I know.
But thank you, anyway.
Mm-hm. So I'll start asking you about your life, how it's going and all of that, and you'll say that it's fine and that you're happy. Then, you'll remind me that even after all these years, your parents haven't formally met your once-husband, so we'll drive up to their house.
You still haven't, by the way. And I told you that they felt you were their son, too. You're such a-
We end up having dinner with them, and I'll pretend to be cool and collected, even though I feel sick from nervousness. You'll just laugh at me.
Payback.
Payback? Hey, you, I was supportive.
I did everything on my own.
Ah, I guess you're right.
Yep.
It'll occur to me that you still haven't met my dad, and I also extend an invitation to your parents to come down to Busan. You'll laugh nervously and ask me what I think I'm doing, and I'll just say I'm being nice. After we help clean and put things away, your dad will take me aside and tell me-
My dad won't tell you anything.
He'll tell me that I made you glow and that you talked about me a lot while we were "married."
What- no, I- that's-
Bingo.
Ooh, this person is so ...!
Heh. On our drive back to Seoul, I'll ask you about us. You'll get flustered, but I've anticipated it, so it's okay. And then I'll take your hand like this-
Like this? Oh, this is-
It's better, isn't it? Our fingers are locked together, so even if you tried to pull away-
If we just held hands the other way like we normally do, you could still keep me from doing that. You're stronger, anyway.
You're missing the point.
I know what the point is.
So I'll take your hand, right, and then I'll say ...
You'll say ...?
I don't know. You're right. I'm making up an ending that I like. What happens if it doesn't go that way?
At least you could see something.
You don't?
I don't like to think that far ahead. I could say I want something ten to fifteen years from now, but it'll probably be different when I get there. I have goals, and I'll eventually meet them, but it doesn't mean I won't be steered on a different course to get to the end.
I see. And where do you think we'll end up?
Us? Well, we're friends, right?
Right.
So ... I think that's good enough.
What? That's it? I just spent half an hour telling you a good story, which would've taken less time, by the way, if you stopped interrupting-
Yong.
Huh?
I like that we're friends. And I'm not friends with many, um, boys.
What are you saying?
That we should sleep. Your mom is expecting us early tomorrow morning.
Wait, what? She said we could be there in the afternoon.
It's your mother. The earlier we get there, the happier she'll be.
This is why she loves you, you know.
... what? Is there something on my face?
Go to sleep.
Okay.
I'm glad I met you, Seo Juhyun.
I'm just lucky.
. . .
Yong?
Yeah?
You'll call, right? Tomorrow, or a month, or a year from now?
It was just a story.
Will you?
I'll bother you, your sisters, and your parents if you don't. I'll be like Lee Joon, who leaves 147 messages when his texts go unanswered.
He's weird.
I know.
... Yong?
Yeah?
I'm really, really lucky.
I know, Seo Juhyun. So am I.
03
He's napping on the grassy hill, half asleep and half conscious. Her body is turned to him as she adorns his hair with miniature daisies and yellow flowers, brushing smaller strands of his hair away from his face. You're so pretty, Jung Yonghwa, she observes with child-like mirth.
Seohyun!
She looks at the bottom of the hill where Shin Hye is waving enthusiastically at her to come down. Near her, the boy with perfectly coiffed hair, in a loose blouse and fitted jeans, finishes setting up the picnic table.
It's time to eat!
Coming! Seohyun turns to her sleeping companion. Let's go.
Five more minutes. They won't miss us.
04: did you know the way you give me laughter is only by you?
She steals his hat and pulls it over her head.
He smirks, rests his elbow on the table and leans his cheek against his upturned palm.
Here, she says, and feeds him the rest of the food she can't finish.
You're trying to fatten me up, aren't you?
No, I'm making you healthy.
Thank you for taking care of me.
She pulls the rim of his hat over her eyes as she looks down at the table, but the smile forms on her face before she can cover it completely.
짜식.
The sun is shining through the café window, and he thinks about how nice it is to be out in public with her.
05: i love you every day . . . we'll never be apart
The sun is a prism, particles of late summer and autumn dust. She cycles around him as he fumbles awkwardly with his footing. The concrete path is lined with thin trees with their apple green leaves, and there are little birds dotting the walkway and couples with entwined hands and arms, and here he is floundering.
He scrunches his nose in mock frustration (oh, but he really is), and she asks if he knows how to ride a bicycle. He says he knows, and he thinks she might catch him in his lie but instead she shrugs and starts to ride away from him.
Seo-
She stops pedaling before he can finish calling out her name, and she looks back at him over her shoulder when a cheeky grin forms on her face. She comes wheeling back in his direction, peach blouse and tulle skirt fluttering in the warm breeze. She looks like spring and blooming flowers. You look pretty today, Seohyun.
Huh? She's getting off her bike and laying it gently on its side on the pavement.
He shakes his head. Nothing.
Not missing a beat, she comes up to him and holds the handlebars. Here, your balance is off.
He gets the hang of it in two minutes, and she's beaming at him. They ride for one hour and forty-six minutes, and when they finish they spend the remainder of the afternoon walking in the pale of the season with clasped hands and matching smiles.
06: i'll let you cross it, let you take every line i've got
Spines arched and shallow breaths, barely there kisses and desperate clings for fear of drowning. It's three in the morning, and the moon is pale blue and waning.
07: you didn't know what to say, it all came at you today
He opens one eye and finds her staring at him with reddened cheeks. She pulls the duvet over her head.
Seohyun?
What? Her voice is muffled by the fabric, but he can feel her exhalations against his bare skin.
When did you find the time to put on a shirt?
She sounds like she's torn between squealing in a fit of embarrassment or shrieking in a fit of anxiety. Instead, she steals more of the cover and wraps it tightly around herself. Yonghwa thinks she might suffocate, but if she's snug-
Seohyun? He shifts over, resting his weight over her curled form. He laughs when he hears her distinctly say something about him having to get off. She relents when he hugs her - or what he can of her.
She worms her way back out, her cheek pressed against the mattress as she inhales a big breath, and her hair is covering her face. Seo Juhyun looks like a monster.
Do you want breakfast?
An eager nod.
Then I'm going to need my shirt back.
08
Did you run all the way here?
Maybe. Look, I'm twenty-eight, impulsive, and I have no idea what I want. Do you?
I don't think about those things. Hurry up and come inside already, you're going to get si-
Seo Juhyun.
What?
I ran here. In the rain without an umbrella because I don't know how to think. And of all the places I could've run to, I ended up here.
... are you sure you're not lost?
Seohyun!
Kidding!
09: like the rising sun, i'll always be by your side
She sifts through her mail before her eye catches on an elaborately designed envelope with his and her name elegantly scripted into the seal. It even has gold embossment, and she laughs aloud. She knows what it is and picks up her phone to dial his number.
I wouldn't miss it for the world, she thinks.
10: at least once, i want to become a flower that blooms in your heart
Unexpected, at best, maybe opportunistic on his end. They've made it halfway across the street onto the island. There's a tree with twisted branches, loosely strung with fairy lights. She points at it and says, Wow, in an awed kind of whisper. She isn't one for extravagant exclamations.
It's how wonder is supposed to sound like. Quiet. And looking at her, he is. Stunned. And silent. His throat is dry.
There isn't a particular reason for doing it now, and it's not as though they've discussed the idea of them; it'd never occurred to either one to think about it. Jung Yonghwa and Seo Juhyun. Friends.
He can count his ideal women on two hands - if he had more, he'd fill those, too. If asked, he'll never say she's one of them. Imply her, perhaps, but she's not just an ideal.
This is just one of those moments.
Seohyun?
Yes?
Let's go for a walk.
---
note: i generally leave my author's notes where i advertise my stories, but in case you only follow this journal, each scene is a standalone (can be interpreted otherwise). also, you need the password for the mix if you want it; the only reason for this is because it's more than what i usually give out.