▸　❛ lake

@❛ nahee k。 "med school?" he's clearly surprised by the news of her lifepath but it's not too big of a shock. he had always known of how smart she was so the career choice seemed like a perfect fit. "wow so you're officially smart smart now huh?" he teased. becoming a doctor was one of the jobs nahee had mentioned whenever they talked about their future together in the past, and it warmed his heart to know that at least one of them had made their dreams come true. obviously his dreams had to change with the times, but not something he would trade for anything else in the world.
her little wink brings back a small grin back onto his face as he continues to listen to the story of her current life, but he couldn't help but feel a bit downhearted. as much as he loved this reunion, they may have never needed one if he hadn't disappeared from her life. he could've been at all of those moments with her. her college acceptance, graduation, matching into a med school, the start of her love for art, and who knows what else he had missed. probably could've warded off the herd of boys who would've thrown themselves at her as well. "hmm" for a second he wondered if she had met anyone else while they were apart, but quickly erased the thought from his mind. didn't even want to think about it.
"adoration" the simple word left his tongue in a small whisper, a smile helplessly curling up on his face. "i wish i had something to show you how much i have missed you everyday since i left, but i guess all i can offer you are my words.." reaching out he carefully grasped onto her hand in his. "so i may not have a past to show you, but i will with the present and the future. don't really intend on letting you go miss N"

@❛ hanbin k。 upon witnessing his flustered reaction, all she can do is chuckle in amusement. with her leg supporting her elbow, she rests her chin in the palm of her hand as she observes him attempting to regain his composure. "as it should be. what else do you want to feel? i'll make it come true." it’s more of a tease than an actual question and it's evident in the way dulcet laughter leaves her rosy lips, a cheeky grin surfacing on her face shortly afterwards. she shakes her head at her own joke afterwards, giggling a few more times under her breath before she turns her focus back to him.

"you know my parents would never let me do that," she replies in reference to his question about her major. "i'm a medical student. sixth year, actually. i'm doing an internship at the hospital here in lavande. if it goes well, i might just take up a residency here. you know i'm more of a city girl, but i've recently found a reason to stay in this little town." she meets his gaze as she says that, even going as far to send a wink his way. "i've always like sketching. took up painting after an art class in college. thought it wasn't too bad, and experimented at home. but god knows my parents might faint in shock if they saw the things i painted. thought it'd be best to remain anonymous. i don't do it often. just when i have time and muse. i guess you could think of it as my definition of love and intimacy. and, before you ask, i did think of you when i sketched these out. not necessarily the intimate ones, of course. just... the feeling of adoration? it helped me create my artwork."

@❛ nahee k。 he felt a little guitly for accidentally uncovering her secret identity, but getting to know nahee all over again, both the old and the new, was exhilarating. it made him more excited to get to relearn who she was. kim nahee: the woman of his past, now present, and hopefully future. it was crazy. how did everything in their life line up so perfectly. the tattoo originally was inked on with the purpose of representing a future he would work up to. a future full of life and love. he couldn't help but think that this was a sign that they were really meant to be together. a fate approved by the heavens above. as she moved closer, he watched her casually trace her dainty finger over his skin, sending small jolts of shivers through his body.

"what?!" he coughs up the question in surprise, staring at nahee in bewilderment. "me?!" heat quickly moves up his face, turning it a soft shade of pink. "good god nahee, you're literally the only girl in this world that can make me feel this way. wholeheartedly in love one second, nervousely flustered the next. you put me through a rollercoaster emotions just by looking in my direction. you know that?" trying to shake things off, he covers his face with both of his hands before pushing them back into his hair, ruffling them back up. "okay but what got you started on all this? the art. the secret account. are you majoring in art in college? cause you're really good." taking one last look at her instagram, he turned off his phone to revert his attention back to her face. hundreds of questions swirled around his head, wondering what other unknown things hid behind those star filled eyes of hers.

@❛ hanbin k。 with a hand still rubbing her nape and the same sheepish smile adorning her visage, all nahee can do is watch in slight horror as he connects the dots together. she thinks about all the care she took to hide behind an anonymous identity, all the years that passed as she posted painting after painting, and all the comments under her posts trying to figure out who "N." was. all down the drain in a matter of seconds. when he holds out his phone towards her and she sees her own promiscuous artwork, her pale cheeks are quickly tinted a shade of rouge and she throws her head back as she lets out a rather unattractive groan. "this wasn't how i wanted you to find out," she admits, although she thinks it might've also been better if he never did. turning back towards him once more, she bites down on her lip gently before she nods to acknowledge the inevitable truth. "yeah, that's me." watching him scroll through the account and look at each painting carefully has her flustered, her mind whizzing with trivial thoughts as adrenaline rushes through her bloodstream.

"this is intriguing," she starts off, scooting closer to him and gently tugging his shirt back up so she can look at the tattoo once more. with her lithe fingers tracing the lines of the ink making up the artwork, she asks with awe in her voice, "the fact that you inked my artwork onto your body permanently. it's quite astonishing to think about this little mark connected you and i years before we met again." the whole situation is quite bizarre, and all she can do is chuckle at the funny way in which life works. "i like it. i drew it while thinking about you," she admits, hand retracting from his skin as his shirt falls and hides the ink once more.

@❛ nahee k。 he finds her sudden bashfulness adorable, but his look of adoration quickly turns into confusion at her question. "/your/ art? you draw?" hanbin could only imagine that it was just a coincidence and pulled out his phone for clarification. logging onto his instagram, he pulled up the art account he had gotten inspiration and permission from a few years back. scrolling through the social media, he couldn't help but suddenly notice the small details of the account that clearly hinted towards nahee. the 'N' alias, the silhouette profile picture that could easily be her. the instagram page easily lacked specific details to keep her identity a secret, but had just enough info for him to connect the dots. "no way." his whispered under his breath. "this is you?!" directing his phone screen towards her, he scrolled his finger through the numerous scandalous yet delicately drawn art posts. this newfound information blew his mind and the boy barely knew where to start with his questions. the fact that he had one of her drawings permanently inked on his body or the fact that she was the artist behind the infamous instagram account. "guess little nahee also grew up huh?" he teased. returning his attention to his phone, he tapped through all of her posts once again, this time taking a more closer look. now that he knew that she was behind the drawings, he saw them in a different light prior to when he first saw them a while back. a light of curiosity, admirance, and more.

it was as if fate was rooting for them. no matter how far he had ran away, it seemed like the universe made sure to keep them connected through the small things in life. "again. i ask just because i'm..shocked? but in a good way i guess." a light chuckle slips out as he continues to scroll. "this is you?!"

@❛ hanbin k。 watching him eat the food she's worked hard to prepare makes her heart swell with pride, feeling content and full just from observing him. she scrunches her nose as she watches him wipe away sauce with his hand, grabbing some napkins she'd packed and handing it to him. "i guess not," she agrees as she takes in just how much he's really changed. "you look better. happier. it's attractive." she had noticed his lost baby fat and the tattoos on his arms when she had first walked into the flower shop, but she had never actually taken time to look at the intricate designs of the ink.

getting to learn about hanbin once again was fascinating. nahee looks up at him with adoration once more, the same fond smile etched onto her face as she watches him show off his ink, and she swears she can see the stars in his eyes. there are galaxies forming when they look at one another and there is stardust in his bright smile that makes him shine like no other. what a lucky girl she was to have him back in her life. the smile on her face drops and her eyes widen, hands immediately going up to cover her face as he tugs his shirt up. "w-what are you doing?" she asks timidly, but peeks to look at his bare skin through the gaps in her fingers. "wait a minute," she says, hands dropping from her face and eyebrows furrowed, "why is my art on your skin?" it takes a moment, but when she realizes what she's said, she looks at him with a sheepish smile. a hand rubbing her nape, she laughs nervously. "haha... surprise...?"

@❛ nahee k。 "just like old times" the excitement is clear in his voice as his attention is averted to the hamburger. for quite some time now, he had been craving home cooked food, but that hunger immediately disappeared as he took a bite into the nostalgic burger in his hands. perhaps it wasn't the home cooking he had been missing. without him even realizing, he had been hungering for her love for the past years all this time. the way she always looked out for him, pushed him in the right direction, making sure he took care of himself. she was his guardian angel.

chuckling at her comment he wiped off a bit of sauce from his mouth with his thumb before continuing on. "well not so little anymore, i grew at least five inches after moving away." for added bonus, he pulled up his shirt sleeve in a comedic attempt to show off his biceps. "not your scrawny teenager anymore am i right?" rotating his arm around to give a better full view of his art, he pointed out some of the ones he did himself. "well to be honest, neither did i! but the flower thing started for the money then all the free time i had working at the flower shop got me interested in drawing the flora and this really cool tattooist that worked nearby took me in. guess fate works in funny ways." a soft grin stretching out onto his face, he continued to point out the different art he had gotten done over his life. "not all of them are done by me though, like this one." pulling up his shirt just enough to show off the ones on his side, he remarked on their history. "the lily i got for my mom, and this one of the couple i got done by a friend, but the art was inspired by this artist i follow on instagram. neat huh?"

@❛ hanbin k。 the blatant nervousness evident in his tone makes her chuckle under her breath, but she doesn't say anything to about it. instead, she takes his arm and lets him lead them over to the spot he had picked out earlier. she listens attentively as he rambles about what he made, taking the quilt he'd prepared and throwing it over her bare legs so she can sit however she'd like without worrying about a wardrobe malfunction. upon sensing his eyes on her, she turns her head to look at him and return the favor. there's a shy smile on her face when their gazes meet, but the adoration in her eyes remain steady. "

it's not much," she tries to deny, leaning over to open the basket and show him. "just a few things you used to enjoy back then. hopefully you still do." with that, she takes out all she's prepared: sliced kimbap, egg rolls, cut fruit, fresh strawberry milk, and a hamburger. "the hamburger's just for you," she clarifies, pushing the said dish towards him. "it's your favorite, right? you'd never admit it, but i know you looked forward to your meets because i always packed them for you to eat afterwards." memories of their years in middle school and high school were always bittersweet in her mind, but perhaps that would change with his presence in her life once more. she looks at him once more, a grin immediately surfacing on her lips, before she reaches over to pat his cheek. "stop staring at me and eat up. we have so much to catch up on! who knew our little hanbin would grow up one day to become a florist? a tattooist? or both? not me, that's for sure."

@❛ nahee k。 the sudden and unforseen kiss on his cheek brightens his face up immediately which causes him to turn away simultaneously. he felt like he was back in his teenage years all over again; the nostalgic feeling of excited nervousness growing in his stomach. "y-yEAH!" the agreement comes out a little louder than he anticipated. offering his arm, he then reaches over for the basket. "here, let me carry that. i found us a really nice spot to watch the sun set together. thought it would be pretty view while we catch up." leading her to the small area by the lake where he had set up a quaint picnic area, he set down her basket next to the rest of the belongings. "i packed some fruit sandwiches, and ham and cheese ones as well. didn't know how your palate would have changed after seven years so thought i'd make both" he stated nervously as he sat down on the blanket. hanbin quickly reached inside his own basket of goods to also pull out a smaller quilt for his date. "just in case you get cold. you look beautiful by the way," he pauses for a quick second to take in her beauty once again "but just didn't want you getting chilly."

leaning his elbow on his leg, he then rested his chin on top. for hours, he could have sat there just wanting to watch nahee smile and laugh in his direction. for his heart to squeeze a little tighter everytime her nose scrunched up in glee or to want to leave a kiss everytime her dimple reappeared on her face. not breaking his gaze, he reached over to bring forward nahee's own basket. "you didn't have to bring anything, but thank you. actually it's probably good you did cause i don't know how good my cooking really is" he jokes.

@❛ hanbin k。 nahee turns around upon hearing the melodious sound of her voice, dulcet laughter leaving her lips and her eyes crinkling into crescents as she faces the very boy who her mind's been wrapped around ever since their fateful reunion. there is sweetness on the tip of her tongue and a playful smile on her lips as she greets him, "hey you." and although it is not her first time seeing him once again, a horde of butterflies erupt within her stomach as she meets his gaze. she takes this moment to admire his features; her eyes wandering from the curvature of his jawline to the plumpness of his lips to his cute little nose, and finally to his eyes that could outshine the stars in the night sky. among all the other factors that they faced in this moment, one thing is for sure — she is in love with kim hanbin.

her love-stricken trance is broken when he speaks once more and a bashful smile makes its way onto her lips as she looks at the bouquet he prepares. her hand reaches out to take it from his grasp, bringing the flowers up to her nose and taking a sniff before she hums in delight. "they are. and they're beautiful. thank you, bin." she glances up at him once more, debating on what to do next, before she musters up the courage to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. face flushed, she turns away right after and clears before she gestures to the picnic basket. "shall we?"

@❛ nahee k。 second chances were like once in a lifetime opportunities, and hanbin had no intent on messing this one up. 16 year old him was dumb enough to sabotoge his love life once, but he was sixteen no more. after texting nahee to come meet him out at the lake, he had immediately spent every second of the following hour planning the perfect picnic for the two of them. sandwiches, fruits, dessert. wasn't gourmet, but he tried his best. thankfully, all the years of having to cook for his younger siblings had turned him into a quite mediocre chef. he then tripped out his apartment in casual light blue dress shirt with black slacks to match about a little more than an hour early in hopes to find a perfect spot for their first date by the lake before her arrival. and thankfully, everything fell right into place. on the side of the lake, only a small walk away from the busy roads, he had found the perfect patch of grass which they could look out onto the lake from.

after setting everything up, he picked up a gift he had put together at the shop on his way here, and made his way towards the entrace of the lake's park where he assumed she would be waiting. and there she was. as angelic as ever, her hair softly flowing along with the willow leaves she stood under. sneaking up from behind the tree, he then stepped out next to her in an attempt at a surprise entrace.

"hi."

seeing her face once again after so many years felt like reliving a fairy tale. "um, i got these for you." he says he bashful glee. from behind him, he brings out the bouqet of pink orchids for her. "orchids. i hope they're still your favorite."

[] didn't mean for it to get so long all of a sudden sldkfj

@❛ hanbin k。 the moment nahee had received his text, today had suddenly felt much slower than any other day. her usual calm demeanor had been replaced with an anxious one, and she had run around her apartment doing trivial things as she thought about hanbin. her sweet hanbin, with the umber orbs and dimples to die for, who would be waiting for her by the lake at five thirty. after hour upon hour of ransacking her wardrobe and making a mess out of her kitchen, she was finally ready. with a picnic basket full of homemade goods in one hand and a blue dress on her frame, she waits patiently under the large willow tree near the lake.

@❛ ten l。 in all honesty, jaemin is content with the moment of his solitary lonesome, sandwich still tasting fresh on his tongue. since his sudden and abrupt move, he has yet to dedicate time to simply exploring the area of his new home. yet now, relishing in the cool musky air of the nearby lake and the elating warmth from the cerulean firmament above him, jaemin finds that he quite enjoys nature. it's peaceful. then, suddenly it's not. a voice interrupts his thoughts, and as much as he could wager that the person could be calling out to another, this is highly doubtful. "rough is an understatement." this is his simple reply. turning his head to face the direction of the voice, he's surprised to see a man, likely not too much older than him, feeding the ducks that rest on the pond. "isn't that stuff like, bad for them?"

@❛ jaemin n。 Deep in thought, Ten mindlessly tossed torn up bread pieces into the lake, watching as they floated up to the surface before being gobbled down by the ducks swimming near the bank. It was break time but instead of lounging at the parlour, he opted to get some fresh air, take a walk to clear his mind and buy something to eat. He ended up making a stop by the lake to feed the ducks, not wanting to return just yet. He noticed someone taking a spot some metres down the bank, glancing over curiously while still feeding the ducks. “You seem lonely,” remarked Ten conversationally, resting his arm on a knee. “Had a rough day?”

@❛ ten l。 after the conclusion of his midday lecture, jaemin finds himself unwilling to return home so quickly, to a cold and barren apartment which he has yet to furnish nor embellish. for now, it remains an empty and unattractive burrow in which he only lives in to sleep and study. it's nearing lunch time, and rather than spend it in his dull apartment, jaemin finds himself on the outskirts of the city nearing the lake. it's rather uncharacteristic of him to yearn for the free air of nature, but today the blue-haired boy knows himself, he needs the quiet. so, he props himself down upon a rock a decent distance away from the shore and unwraps the plastic branding of his pre-packed sandwich, taking in the quiet cool air and the presence of a few ducks down the shore.