🏘 — carménère park

@oleander on Subin pursed her lips together, the front of her teeth biting down on her bottom lip to keep herself from saying anything as she shook her head at the muffled words the other parent directed at her. At least the girl had her bear back now. "She's more than okay, she's clumsier than you think." Subin said as she leaned over to the other and covered the side of her face with her palm as if she was telling him a secret. Haemi was quick to interject, even thougth her shins and knees still had the faint pangs of pain going through them from her fall, the way her mom talked about her made the little girl protest in all seriousness. "No, I'm not!" Haemi quickly said, a faint smile etching itself back on her small face, the trail of tears dried up and staining her blushing cheeks as her small fist hit the ground beneath her. "See?" Subin pointed out to the stranger, a breathy laugh leaving her chest as she stood back up on her two feet. "If you're not clumsy, then why don't you stand up like a big girl?" Subin teasingly questioned Haemi. With a small grunt Haemi picked herself off the ground. She stood almost the same height of the man next to her on the ground. "I am a big girl." Haemi wrinkled her button nose and dusted whatever speckles of grass and dirt off of her before she turned to the stranger, her big brown eyes blinking at him. If there was anything about children they were going to be blunt and honest. Haemi lifted her arm up and pointed her finger at him before turning to Subin. "I don't think he's a big boy." Subin's smile froze in place at the words, and she started to laugh sheepishly. "Stop that." She snapped at her daughter who only put her hands behind her pocket and smiled innocently. "But are you okay?" Subin couldn't help but ask again. The way the other was hunched over on the ground seemed like it was more than a usual fall, and she didn't miss how he fell on the ground again the first time he tried to get back up. Subin reached her hand out, "I can help you if you need it."

@do subin oleander was taken aback. of all the responses they expected the little girl to make, that statement was not one of them. it brought a genuine smile to their face, amused at the reply, if only for a brief second. for the next moment, they could see the tears welling in her eyes and the flush colouring her cheeks. she looked ready to wail, and a wave of panic rose within their chest.

thankfully, their saviour emerged, in the form of what they could only assume was the little girl’s mother. as they watched the mother tending to her daughter, they were surprised by the sudden question directed at them. caught off guard, they managed to stutter a quick answer. “y-yeah, i’m okay.”

which turned out to be an absolute lie when they tried to push themselves to their feet. a flash of white hot pain shot straight to their head from their legs, and they were momentarily blinded with agony. they sat right back on the ground, deciding it was best to let the pain subside before moving. they silently cursed themselves for not bringing out their cane before leaving the house—now they were stuck letting the agony wash over them, however long that would take.

oleander watched as another parent approached, demanding for his own child’s toy. with great precision, the woman flung the teddy bear right into the father’s hands, which they couldn’t help but feel impressed by. the man seemed annoyed by the woman’s nonchalance though, looking ready to give a piece of his mind before he thought twice of his action. he breathed, muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like a jab at the woman’s manners, before walking away with his child.

oleander’s shoulders slumped, not even realising when they had tensed. they turned to the mother, an apologetic smile on their face as they mused, “sorry. i didn’t look where i was going, and i knocked into your kid.” even though it was the other way around. they had a soft spot for children after all. “is she okay?” they asked, worried they had hurt a child. she was still young, so pain might seem amplified for an age that small.

@oleander on It all was a nightmare that came to life, an embarrassing one at that. Subin was just /this/ close to Haemi, but even she couldn't see the person standing up and trying to leave the disaster right in front of her daughter, until Haemi's small body collided with their legs just a second later. "Haemi!" Subin yelled again, the anger that prickled at her skin was soothed away with worry as her daughter fell hard onto the grass, staining the knees of herwhite tights with grass and smears of wet dirt. "Owww." Haemi weakly whined as she laid on her side, her voice trembling with what Subin knew as soon to be tears. Haemi's face was flushed with hurt as she slowly sat up from the ground, the forgotten bear next to her, and the heated pulse of pain coming from her knees. Yet she still nodded her head at the stranger when they asked her if she was okay, but the words from her lips said something totally different. "I—I can't t—talk to strangers." Haemi's sweet voice said in between sniffles as she looked at herself. Before the little girl could tilt her head back and wail, Subin was right beside her, catching her breath as she roughly cupped Haemi's face in her hands as her beady eyes looked over her daughter for any other injuries. "Shh, Mimi, you're okay. I'm not mad at you." Subin gently soothed to her to stop the tears from coming. "I'm /so/ sorry about that, are you okay?" Subin asked the other as she looked over to them, a little surprised Haemi was able to knock them over like that. Subin could hear other heavy footsteps nearing them and she could only curse to herself, knowing it was the parent of the other child. "My daughter's toy." The father harshly demanded to Subin, and all she could do is let out a long sigh and fling it at them, not caring if it was rude, at least she was clearing them from this mess.

@do subin olly had a dream. it was a beautiful dream.

they saw their lover, smiling and active. they were in a different world, where dragons and mages roamed. they had been a knight, and their lover a ruler. there was a calamity, and both of them joined forces to defend against it.

when their eyes opened, they had all but ten seconds to feel light and pleasant.

and then, reality sank in, and a bitter taste filled their mouth.

still, the adventure of their dream stuck like glue. olly quickly wrote what they saw in the notes application of their phone. when they were done typing, a sudden wave of motivation hit them. in a blink of an eye, they were out of bed and bathing.

their breakfast was simple—rice balls and scrambled egg topped with cheese. afterwards, they grabbed their work bag, which was filled with their writing equipment, and got dressed for the cold. once they were prepared, they left their apartment and made their leisure way to the local park.

surrounded by the chirps of songbirds and the hollers of excited children, olly got to work writing. laptop opened, they managed to type five pages worth of details. they were expanding upon the dream, adding extra information and random trivia that could help in building the story and world.

they were focused, eyes never leaving the screen as they typed away.

the only thing that managed to pierce through their rapt attention was the shriek of a child.

their head snapped up, pinpointing the source. they visibly relaxed when they saw two girls fighting over a teddy bear. they had thought something terrible transpired.

as a woman approached the two girls, olly turned back to their laptop. they managed to type two more lines before hitting a block. whatever concentration they had was broken from the earlier scream. they sighed, but was not disappointed. they managed to write quite a bit. perhaps they could work on a story structure with the current details.

closing their laptop, they shoved it into their work bag and stood up. this was probably their cue to return home, or grab lunch. they would see if they felt like cooking later.

olly managed a few steps, pace slow due to their limp. they could not, at all, foresee the child that came barreling into the side of their legs.

by right, a full grown adult would not fall from the simple collision, especially from a small culprit. however, the accident had messed up their joints and bones terribly. so, not only did the child fall to their , olly also collapsed to the ground with a yell of surprise.

besides the throbbing in their legs from the impact and a scratch on their palm from trying to soften their landing, they were relatively fine. they turned to the child, worry immediately overshadowing their own pain as they moved closer.

ignoring the protest of their limbs, they asked the little girl. "are you alright? are you hurt anywhere?"

@jeon jungkook a pristine layer of snow blanketed the park, each branch tenderly dusted with soft and marvelous powder. the chilly air, crisp and biting, was interrupted by the faint chirping of birds at a distance, mayhaps seeking shelter.

the celestial, daylight star overhead was a feeble imitation of the bygone summar glory, permeated through the wooden skeleton of the trees casting gaunt shadows across the freshly shovelled path.

the frozen pond was an impeccable mirror reflecting mottled grey skies, heavenward.

upon a lone bench, worn and weathered, stood sentinel at the edge was occupied by a solitary visitor. the restless sound of camera shutters punctuated the state of tranquility that once befell on the park, hopefully he could capture the exquisite painting created by nature's masterly hand.

his face was covered by his treasured leica q, his most treasure vintage beauty. he still vividly recalled the pure elation he'd experienced when his beloved old friend had decided to sell it on a cheaper price. till now, he remembers to show his gratitude, on occasions when that friend called.

he man adorned a long, black coat that had endured at least two winters. a thick scarf, the color of dried blood wrapped tightly around his neck leaving his flushed nose and a tamed raven mane. the film camera dropped back on his lap from his calloused hands (indicating early life of labor) quickly tucked in the pockets of his coat searching for warmth of his own body.

life had never been easy as a son of a humble farmer, where every meal had to be 'earned'— serving as a testament of withstand cycle of life.

until, by a of pure luck, he'd been recruited by a talent agency that had been holding auditions nationwide. seong wonjae had been the only one selected from his hometown. thereafter, his life was filled with glitz and glamour. however, it seems like heavens was playing an elaborate practical joke. a very cruel one at that which ended with wonjae exiting the stage (the sole reason that kept him feeling alive).

"what's the use of crying over spilled milk?" wonjae chuckled bitterly, dark mahogany eyes downcasted.

with certain resilience, he stood up from his seat, camera hanging infront of his chest by a thick strap around his neck. a long breath of exhale materialized as wispy white clouds dissipating almost instantly in the frigid air. narrowed eyes gravitating towards another approaching silhouette of a person.

and wonjae couldn't shrug off a sense of familiarity radiating off the figure.

Under Jungkook's arm was his current obsession well to be correct the book that he was currently reading however he was very enthralled in the story. He found it quite nice being able to have the time to sit down to read something peacefully it was an activity he wasn't really able to do with his busy schedule. From running to his next schedule or waiting for call times the life Jungkook led in Seoul was definitely busy sometimes he felt he didn't have time to read. Though being able to do something he loved for a living was something Jungkook couldn't complain about seeing not everyone was lucky enough to say exactly that.

He smiled to himself while taking a seat on an occupied bench, his eyes wandering around the beautiful scenery that the park had to offer. He brought one of his legs to cross over the other as he now brought his attention to the book he had been holding under his arms. Carefully bringing it out in front of him to open it up to where he had last left off as his eyes skimmed over the pages making sure this was where he had left off. A few minutes went by as Jungkook read from the book he held open in his lap his gaze however left the page as he felt the rather familiar breeze, it was definitely going to rain. Jungkook didn't give it much thought as he closed the book while standing up from the seat on the bench however he stopped as he felt a droplet then another until it became countless. "What a bad time to not bring an umbrella.." he muttered to himself truth be told Jungkook wasn't the type to really check the weather on his phone thinking everyday would be one of sunshine.

Subin sat on the bench a few feet away from the playground structure where Haemi played, the woman looked up every now and then, her brown eyes searching for her daughter until she heard Haemi's loud laughter, or her small frame came into her line of vision. With a snort she tilted her head back down to the book she was reading, Legends & Lattes, a short fantastical read that kept Subin on her toes with every turn of the page, but she was growing bored now—and cold. Subin dogeared the page she was on, and put the book down on the empty spot next to her before adjusting the black peacoat over her turtleneck and the matching scarf wrapped around her neck. The soft waves of her brown hair were topped with a beanie, and she crossed her dark wash jean covered legs, the heels of her rubber Chanel boots shaking as she tried to get feeling back into her feet.

Subin didn't know how other parents did it, or if Haemi gained a bionic power that allowed her to last hours in the cold. Even the other children's stanima were short-lived after 30 minutes of being chased, climbing monkey bars, and repeatedly going down the slide. Subin finally stood up from the wooden bench, a quiet groan leaving her lips as she stretched her arms out in front of her, but the sudden sound of a scream piercing the air made her stop midway and her feet automatically marched to the sound of where it was coming from. She ducked her head as she walked underneath the hanging bars and other objects of play until she heard Haemi angrily huff from a "cave" that was underneath the slide. The sight of her daughter's small fist clenching the arm of a stuffed bear that clearly wasn't hers made Subin's eyes go wide.

"Haemi, no!" She started to scold the girl. The other little girl held the opposite arm of the bear, clearly the owner of the precious toy, was pouting so hard her puffed up cheeks looked like they had been countlessly pricked, and her big eyes were holding back a river of tears and loud wails. "She said I couldn't have it." Whined Haemi, shocking her mother even further, Subin never had this problem with her daughter before. "That's because it's her toy, you have plenty of bears at home." Subin tried to gently explain to Haemi and grab her daughter's arm to let go of the stuffed animal, but the words of "But I want this one too" made the other girl burst out into loud cries. Instead of Haemi letting go of the toy, she saw her chance. The child gripped the arm of the bear even harder and snatched it from the girl before she scampered away as fast as she could in her little Mary Janes. Subin was /pissed/, she swore her daughter was angel on earth at times, but this moment soured the cake. The other child was left once Subin tore after Haemi, leaving her things on the bench, and the pages of her book flying in the wind.