Date 11: Picnic Day

Dara’s fingers breezed over the soft petal of one of the dozens of lilies that now flooded Ji’s living room. She marveled at the mix of pink and white, effortless in its elegance. It was beautiful and she smiled remembering the look on Ji’s face when she walked in to find his surprise and the feeling that burst through her chest when she found dozens and dozens of her favorite flowers lying in wait for her.

Surprise her, he did. Every day they spent together.

She plucked a petal off, breathless as the delicate mix of magenta and white softly popped off its stem and into her hand. She used the play the He loves me, He loves me not game in her mother’s garden when she was young and she smiled at the memory. But she knew she didn’t need to pluck any more for this one.

“He loves me,” she murmured to herself and flipped the petal around her different fingers. “He loves me… he loves me… he loves me-“

“Talking you yourself?” Jiyong walked into the room with a smirk on, clad in dark washed jeans, a tight black shirt, maroon hoodie, and aged black leather jacket.

“I had to pass the time somehow, mister. You’ve been taking forever to get ready!” She tossed the petal at him and it hit him right in the middle of his forehead.

He loves me. She chuckled to herself.

“Well, let’s get going then!” He clapped his hands and gestured toward the door. “Took you long enough to get ready, geez!” He muttered as she walked past him, earning a hard slap to the side.




“So where are we heading?” She smiled as she tucked her seat belt in and adjusted her sunglasses.

“Nam San Park,” He smiled back as he reversed out of the driveway.

“Oooh! Exciting. Where’s the picnic basket?”

“In the trunk.”

“When did you get it in there?” She asked while craning her neck toward the back of the car as if it would give her X-RAY vision into the trunk.

“Earlier.”

“Earlier? But I was sitting in the living room for hou- What do you have planned, Mr. Kwon?” She eyed him suspiciously, poking his cheek with her index finger.

“Just what the index card said! A picnic!” He widened his eyes at her innocently.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, that’s on you, Ms. Park.”

“You’re going to try to feed me aphrodisiacs again?” She cocked a childish eyebrow at him.

“Nooo.” He said slowly, eyes fixed on the road but a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“You’re going to… ravish me so I can’t say no?”

“No… Well, not today.”

She squinted her eyes at him. “Just a date then?”

“Just a date.”

“Romantic?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“Things.”

She stared at him for a few moments then sighed.

“You’re impossible, Ji.”

“Yeah, well that’s why you love me.”




They pulled into the parking lot soon after, the familiar Nam San Tower greeting them from above. Dara eyed the tall edifice and grasped at Jiyong’s hand, excited for the day to come. She didn’t know what he had planned, but she knew it was going to be amazing.



“Here?” He asked as they found a spot near the top of a grassy hill, overlooking a sweeping view of the bustling city below – much like the spot he’d shown her before.

“Perfect.”

He fluffed out the yellow and pink checkered picnic blanket and laid it as best he could to fit both of them and placed the large brown basket down. Dara eagerly plopped down and flipped the opening to the wicker up to dive into the contents.

Three rolls of kimbap, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, croissants, doekbokki, brownies… her eyes squinted at him at the last items she pulled out – strawberries and nutella. She cocked an eyebrow at him for the second time. He only shrugged.

“It’s not honey, is it?”

“Kimbap for Korean, PB&J for American, Croissants for French, and strawberries for-“

“You. My favorite place to explore,” He murmured to her a he placed a searing kiss on her lips, lingering to stare into her eyes before he pulled back.

“PB&J? But we haven’t gone to America?”

“Foresight, my dear.”

“You think I would spoil you like that?”

He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but smile back. “Who ever said I couldn’t be the one to take you there?” He said as he pulled out the drinks.

“I’ll look forward to it then.”

He winked at her and shrugged. “Or maybe I just like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You ever think of that?”


They dug into the kimbap first and she almost moaned at the familiar taste. She thought she’d had her fill of her Korean craving, but Jiyong’s kimbap was second to none and she had to control herself as to not eat all three rolls.

He picked up a PB&J sandwich and tore it in half, giving a part to her and smiling.

“Madame.”

“Thank you,” She took the piece into right from his hand before leaning back to stare up at the sky.

“It’s very pretty out today,” she said quietly, watching out of the corner of her eye as Ji popped the last of the sandwich into his mouth to lean back with her.

“Yes, it is.”

“We haven’t had a quiet day like this in a while.”

“Have we ever had a quiet day like this?” He said quietly, though the melancholic wonder in his voice was not lost on her.

She to her side to face him and ran a hand down his cheek. He closed his eyes, moving to meet her touch and sighed quietly.

She didn’t need to say anything. That was enough.

“Thank you for this,” he murmured, eyes still shut.

“But you set up this picnic?”

“No, I mean these dates – the bowls and the ideas.” He opened his eyes to look at her, the warmth in them spreading into her and making her stomach clench. “These past few days have been amazing. Some of the best of my life.”

“Me too,” she muttered as she leaned down to give him a small kiss. “Definitely the best of my life.”

He smiled as their lips parted and bit his lip softly. “So what would you like to do now, Dara?”

“Can’t we stay like this?” She asked as she nuzzled into him, her head on his chest.

“Like this?”

“Just like this,” she sighed as she closed her eyes and Jiyong pulled her closer. Just like this.





After about an hour lying in each other’s arms and basking in the warm sunlight, Jiyong heaved a sigh and moved to get up.

“Let’s take a walk, D.” He reached his hand out for hers with a smile. She clutched it and got up, shooting him another suspicious glare. What did he have planned…

“We just leave this here?” She gestured around her at the blanket and basket.

“We won’t be gone long.”

He pulled her away from the picnic site with a grin.

Hand in hand, they walked along the length of the park watching the myriad of birds fly around them, children with their families, couples like them walking in each other’s arms, and smiled at the peace of it all.

Dara gripped Jiyong’s hand tighter as the reality of what they’d been through only a few weeks before flitted through her memory. They’d gone through hell and now here they were, hand in hand in peace, the world falling aside for them.

“I like it here,” she whispered as they took a seat on a bench.

“Me too,” he moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“You know Nam San tower is right over there, right?”

“I sure do.” He said with a nod.

She stared at his face, eyes squinting for the umpteenth time. “And you brought a lock?”

He furrowed his eyebrows at her with a pout then smiled slowly as he reached into his pocket. “Why Ms. Park, I think I did.” He pulled out a gold lock adorned with two ribbons – one yellow, one pink.

“You really don’t disappoint, do you?” She murmured as she took it from him.

“We should head over there. It’s kind of a long walk,” He winked as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up.



After hiking for a few minutes, climbing some pretty arduous steps, and pushing (sometimes rougher than they should have) through some dense crowds, they finally found themselves at the top of Nam San Tower. Again, the view nearly took their breath away.

“Want to write your message first?” Jiyong asked as he offered up a black marker, now standing at one of the few empty spots left near the chainlink fence. She nodded and turned away from him.

“Trying to hide from me?” His deep voice rumbled against her ear and she chuckled.

“Behave and go wait over there until I’m done! You’ll have your turn soon,” She placed a small kiss on his cheek, noticing them go pink as he walked away to sit on a nearby bench.

She uncapped the marker and took a deep breath. She had so much to say, so much to thank him for, so much to promise him but it definitely wouldn’t all fit. She pondered for a few minutes, looking around to see what the couples around her were doing before her eyebrows perked and she began writing.


Jagi Jiyong,
Thank you for saving me.
Let’s stay just like we are today, okay? Just like this.
I love you! And always will!

D.

She waved him over when she was done and handed him the lock and marker, making sure he didn’t peak at her message before she turned toward the view and waited for him to finish writing his.

When he was done, she took the lock into her hands, anticipation coursing through her stronger than she’d expected.


My goddess D,

I’m lucky. And I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe in my arms… forever.
I love you! And I always will.

Ji.



She smiled at him, her eyes watering slightly. They were so in sync even their last lines were identical. And the promise of forever. Again, the promise of endless tomorrows with Jiyong…

She threw her arms around him to take him into a kiss, the world around them melting away as she opened up to him, urging him to take everything she had. He embraced her, hot breath stinging her lips as they parted and smiled.

“Hold on a second, I have to read yours,” He murmured as he raised the lock. She watched as his eyes roamed over it and lit up with each word he read.

“Just like this,” he whispered as he held her tighter, placing another soft kiss on her lips. “In my arms, just like this.”




It took them a few minutes to find an open spot on the fence, but they found one right by a large green lock and they both slung the tiny metal arm around the fence and clicked it in place. Jiyong raised the key between them both and kissed it and she did the same. He offered the key to her and she took it with a small smile, turning to the sweeping view of Seoul laid out in front of her.

She took a deep breath and tossed the key down, watching as it grew tinier and tinier, soon blending into oblivion marking the promise of the love lock – together forever, bound to each other for each tomorrow to come.

She turned back to him to find his eyes studying her face closely.

“C’mon. Let’s head back, someone might have stolen our blanket and basket,” he said with a laugh as they both headed to the entrance of the tower.








A nap waited the two when they got back to the picnic spot. After hiking down, pushing through crowds, and walking the length of the park again, the two fell onto the blanket and into a light slumber in each other’s arms.


“Hey,” Dara’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of Jiyong’s voice.

“Hmmm?” She moved onto her elbows as she watched Jiyong start to put things back into the wicker basket, the sky now turning a deep orange with the setting sun. “Wow… we must have slept a while.”

“Yeah, I think your snoring scared some kids off earlier,” he flashed her a playful smile.

“Alright, I’ll get you back for that one...” She yawned as she stood and began to fold the blanket and stuff it into the basket as well. “Are we heading home?”

“Not yet,” He wrapped his arm around her as they headed back to the parking lot.

“What do you have planned, Ji?”

“Nothing, D. I swear…” But his smile said otherwise.



Jiyong began driving around the parking lot, but instead of leaving he moved to a spot closer to the tower, now almost empty of people as the sky turned a deep blue as the sun settled back under the earth.

“C’mon.” He said as he opened the door for her.

“Huh? But we’ve already been up there?”

He only smiled and offered up his hand.



At the top, Dara couldn’t help but smile at the familiar sight of night time Seoul. From her living room, from Jiyong’s spot… it was such a familiar sight. One that made her happy beyond reason and one that she irrevocably linked with Jiyong from the moment he first took her to the place in the woods.

“C’mon,” he said again as he guided her to a spot at the farthest point of the tower, overlooking an even wider expanse of the city.

He moved in behind, his arms encircling her, his head on her shoulder as she leaned into him with a sigh.

“Why are we here, Jiyong?”

“Will you count down with me?” He whispered.

“Huh?”

“Count with me, okay?”

She nodded, still confused, but mirrored Jiyong’s words as he began from ten.

“5…. 4…. 3… 2…” they said together.

“1.” Jiyong sounded almost breathless.


And then there were lights, explosions – what looked like fiery yellow and pink flowers exploded into the black sky, then green and blue, purple and red… flashing and burning across the dark expanse in front of them, dwarfing the twinkling lights of the city below.

Dara gasped as new bursts of colors exploded, each greater, louder, brighter than the last.

“Oh my god…” She breathed and Jiyong watched the love of his life take in the show he’d planned for her, her luminescent skin and bright eyes lit up like the rainbow as one color after another streaked through the air.

Just for her.

Bombast and color flooding the sky– she couldn’t believe it. An entire fireworks show… Standing with Jiyong above the city, larger than life, watching the sky light up as if they were the only two in the world.

“I can’t believe you did this,” she murmured in disbelief, her hands clutching Jiyong’s arms around her, her eyes unmoving from the beautiful show still unfolding in front of them.

“Anything for you, D.”



As the show wound down, Dara shouting in joy at each new burst and boom, Jiyong pulled her close and reveled in the sounds of her laughter.

She turned to him as the sky and city quieted, her eyes twinkling as if the light show was still on.

“How did you do all that?”

“Friend of mine works in the business.”

And their lips met, moving against each other in a natural rhythm, tongues easily sliding in to explore, bodies fitting perfectly into each other’s hold. Slow and burning.

“You’re amazing, Ji.” She said as they parted.

“You deserve it all, D.”






As they stumbled back into Jiyong’s apartment, laughing and clinging to each other, Dara trying her best to stop the melting ice cream in her hand from ruining her coat, Jiyong picked up the green bowl and offered it up to her again. She slurped up the creamy vanilla at the corner of and plucked up an index card.

“Korean sauna,” she said with a mouth half full.

“Now that has possibilities.” He replied with a grin.

----written by dolcevittaa---