Waiting [SeulRi] [1/3]

Trouvaille // A OneShot Collection

Prompt By: @SHINeeMe08

-Title: Waiting

-Ship: SeulRi

Characters: [MAIN] Yeri/Kim Yerim(Red Velvet), Seulgi/Kang Seulgi (Red Velvet) [SIDE] Wendy/Wendy Song (Red Velvet), Irene/Bae Joohyun (Red Velvet) 

Word Count: 3220

Warnings: N/A

Summary: In which Kang Seulgi wanted a divorce, even though it was Kim Yerim who had been wronged.

A/N: Based off of the lyrics for Younha's "Waiting". I don't own "Waiting"! Part 1/3.

 


 

Kim Yerim felt like she was always waiting around for her wife, Kang Seulgi.

She also felt like they had more problems in their marriage than they should’ve. She felt like they weren’t on the same page a while ago - they were on completely different books at this point.

Yerim and Seulgi had been together for a total of nine years. Four they had dated for, two they were engaged for, and three they had been married for.

It seemed they had problems all those years ago. First, it was small things. Bickering over outfits, how much was too matchy and what made them look good together. Where to go on dates, whether dinner and a movie were too redundant, or one of them whining, “But we went to that restaurant last time.”

It then snowballed from there, to debates over whose apartment they would move into, to whose name they would take when they married (neither of them ended up changing their name - Seulgi thought Kim was too common of a name to take, and Yeri hated Seul’s family and refused to take her name. They brought up the idea of hyphenating, but that was soon shot down as making their names too long).

There were bigger issues, too, ones still yet to be resolved. Yeri wanted to move away from the city, move to the countryside, where it was more peaceful. Seulgi didn’t want to leave the city, her job was there. Yeri wanted children, would even carry if it came down to it, but Seulgi found any process for the two of them too long and gruelling. “I don’t even really want kids that much, anyway.” Seulgi told her once.

And now, their newest issue, was Seulgi’s job.

Seulgi was a lawyer, and worked long, gruelling hours, and Yeri was used to waiting up for her, whether that meant having a late dinner at seven instead of five, or reading in bed for an extra hour. But the nights got later and later, and Yeri found herself falling asleep on the sofa before Seulgi was close to even leaving the office.

The day that Yeri would grow to hate started off normal.

She was always up before Seul, and always let Seul sleep as long as she could, as she was up late the night before. Yeri would try and fix breakfast, but wasn’t that good of a cook, and Seulgi often awoke to the smell of something burning, and she would grab the broom, swatting at the smoke while Yeri struggled to open the window.

Only once did they let the alarm go off long enough for a firefighter to come, but they quickly learned that the girls were just horrible cooks, and alarm calls to their house were something that could be overlooked.

Seul would poke fun at Yeri’s cooking, saying the toast was so burnt she wouldn’t be surprised if a phoenix emerged from the crumbly ash that was supposed to be toast.

This morning, though, after annoyedly swatting at smoke and breaking the window open for her wife, Seulgi didn’t console Yeri when she apologized for the smoke, and didn’t tell her her cooking wasn’t that bad. Even when Yeri offered her a plate of eggs, Seulgi refused, sitting at the kitchen table where she normally did.

“Come sit,” Seulgi told her, pushing Yeri’s chair out with her foot. “We need to talk.”

That struck a chord with Yeri, and she grabbed the plate of eggs and sat across from Seulgi, placing the eggs in front of her, only to have Seulgi push the plate away from her.

“I’m not hungry.” Seulgi said curtly, and Yeri found herself growing small. Seulgi never refused breakfast - that woman could eat and eat and never grow full.

“Seul?” Yeri squeaked, finding her wife’s behaviour odd.

“Let me talk, Yerim.” Seulgi never called her Yerim. Always Yeri.

“Sorry.”

“I’m going to be blunt with you - I want a divorce.”

Yeri gazed at Seulgi, shock etched deeply into her face. She expected a negative outcome of this conversation, but not one this drastic.

“Wha-what? Seul, please, what?” was all Yeri could stammer out among her panic and confusion. This wasn’t supposed to happen, this wasn’t the plan...

“I’ll explain,” Seulgi said calmly, her demeanour as calm and cold and stony as ever. “I want a divorce. I just don’t see any benefits to our marriage anymore. I feel it’s too much of a burden now, for both of us, and it’d be better for everyone if we just divorced and moved on.”

Seulgi’s words cut like knives, a machine gun on continuous fire, a sniper gun with the red focus laser trained right on Yeri’s chest.

Yeri fumbled around for an argument, a plea, something to say, but the only thing that came up were tears. She felt like Alice in Wonderland, crying so much she’d start a flood, and her tears would just whisk her away, away from her problems, away to another world, where she could be happy forever, and no negativity would ever reach her, and she could eat all the sweets she wanted without getting fat, and she could have all she ever needed.

Seulgi made no attempt at consoling her, didn’t move from the chair, didn’t uncross her legs. She just sat there, across from Yeri, waiting for her to finish, waiting for her to cry all the tears she could.

For someone who didn’t drink a lot of water, Yeri sure cried a lot. Yeri was a coffee drinker, and she was a little surprised her tears weren’t dark, like the majority of the fluids in her body.

“I’ll get you the divorce papers for Tuesday,” Seulgi continued when Yeri calmed a little. Yeri looked up, swiping at her eyes, and choked a little, the overwhelming urge to bawl hitting her all over again. “I’ll be moved out by Thursday; you can have whatever you want.”

It sounded easy enough, and Yeri calmed a little more. It was a Sunday morning, and Tuesday was still a day away.

“Seul?”

“Mm?”

“Tomorrow...can we do something together? To celebrate our last day of marriage together?”

“If that’s what you want.”

The rest of the day was long and lonely and gloomy. Yeri shut herself in the room she shared with Seulgi and never worried about Seulgi barging in, no attempts to reconcile or comfort her. Seulgi stayed away, and when Yeri wandered back down to the kitchen for something to eat at around noon, Seulgi was gone.

Yeri thought nothing of it and returned to the room. As if she hadn’t cried enough, she still wanted to cry, and forced herself to by watching almost every sad movie she had access to - The Notebook, The Fault in Our Stars, Romeo and Juliet, Blue Valentine, My Girl. Even Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - the movie itself wasn’t sad, but Yeri found herself sobbing by the end every time anyways.

Seulgi returned home late that night, and she came into the room to a sobbing Yeri, surrounded by crumpled tissues and a discarded, lonely, microwave dinner.

At first, she meant to just grab her pillow, some clothes, and leave - she would sleep in the spare room that night - but she ended up ditching her things in the spare room and coming back into Yeri’s room with a bag, gathering all the trash into it.

“Have you been doing this all day?” Seulgi asked, exasperated.

Yeri sniffed and shook her head. “I took a shower.”

Seulgi sighed. Even in the divorce process, she still had to take care of Yeri, as if she were a small child. “Tomorrow we’re up and out of the house, okay? What do you want to do?”

“Do you remember our first date, Seul?”

Seulgi lowered herself lightly onto the bed, sitting near her soon-to-be ex-wife.

“Vaguely.”

“We went to the movies. The theatre. We saw Night At The Museum- the second one - and you were a little skeptical about going just us two because we seemed too old for children’s movies, but I wanted to see it, so you it up and came with me. Do you remember after that?”

“Yerim, that was nine years ago-”


“You were going to drive me home, but your car got stuck in the snow.”

Seulgi repressed a smile, ducking her head down, hiding her face from Yerim. “And we cuddled in the back seat while we waited for your brother to come get us. Under that horrible purple jacket that smelled like an old lady.”

Yerim laughed, and then sniffed again. “I knew you would remember.”

Seulgi’s smile faded as she sobered up, and she straightened her back, moving her hair from her face. “But why is that important, Yerim?” Seulgi questioned, but her tone and expression was one of a teacher or a parent, who already knew the answer, and wanted to make sure the child knew, too.

“Because that’s what I want to do tomorrow.”

“I’ll download it,” Seulgi told her, and then stood up. “Good night, Yerim.”

“Wait, Seul.” Yeri’s hand darted out, holding Seulgi back.

“Hm?”

“I don’t want to watch it here,” Yeri said softly, letting her hand drop into the blankets. “I want to go to the theatre and see it, and get stuck in the snow and cuddle under a purple jacket.”

Seulgi’s expression changed to one of pity, pity for the innocent, as someone would look at a child who knew no better.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Seulgi murmured. “Good night, Yerim.”

“Good night, Seul.”

No “I love you”, no giggles or jokes, no stories or playful hits, no curt “shut up” and “go to sleep”. No “you were out later than usual” or “did you remember that thing?”

Just a curt “good night” and the rustle of the bag as Seulgi picked it up off the floor, leaving Yeri in an empty room, the lonely rays from the paused television bouncing on her and the cold bedside.

A lonely night for a lonely day.

The next day, Yeri awoke to the smell of something burning. It was a familiar smell, yet strange - this wafted up the stairs, leaking through the floorboards, where the other was strong and in-your-face; blatantly present.

Yeri wandered downstairs to find Seulgi waving the broom around, trying to push the smoke out the open window.

“Not as easy as it looks, huh?” Yerim poked fun at her, her arms crossed sleepily over her chest.

Seulgi turned to face her, smiling shyly, a hint of shame underlying. “I’m sorry I make fun of you every day for it.” she muttered.

“I sort of deserve it. You think that after all these years, I’d learn.”

“You think I would’ve learned, too.”

“What’d you make?”

“It’s just something small,” Seulgi said, propping the broom up against the wall. She crossed the small kitchen, fiddling around. “Nothing special, but I wanted to make something for you. Something for our last day of marriage. Sit down; I’ll bring it to you.”

Yerim did as she was told, and sat where she usually did, back to the kitchen. She let Seulgi reach over from behind, and place a plate of toast (smothered in peanut butter and honey, just the way Yeri liked it), two sausages, and two eggs (over medium, but quickly turned into a messy over hard as both girls were horrible cooks).

“Thank you,” Yeri whispered as Seulgi slid into her usual seat across from her. “Are you not going to eat anything?”

Seul shook her head. “I already ate. I do have the plan for today, though.”

“And what may that be?”

“My friend Wendy Son is able to get us into the theatre for two fifteen later today. It’s just us, and she can play whatever. I have some options for you. Jennifer’s Body, The Proposal-

Night at the Museum,” Yeri interjected stubbornly. “I want to see Night at the Museum.”

“The second one?”

“Mhm.”

“Thought so,” Seulgi laughed. “Thought I’d bring up other options just in case. It’s unfortunately too early in the year for snow, but I can pull us over somewhere. Or, we could do it all at the drive-in.”

“Can we still see Night at the Museum at the drive-in?”

“Mhm. It’ll be later in the day, though. Obviously. Drive-ins are at night.”

“I like the idea of the drive-in.”

Seulgi stood up, pushing her chair in. “Drive-in it is. Be ready for five thirty; we’ll go for dinner at that fancy place downtown beforehand. Our screening is for seven twenty, but we’ll want to be there earlier.”

Yeri smiled through her eggs - perhaps Seulgi cared more than she thought.

 

~

 

That night was nothing like their first date. There was no spark, no magic, no excited nervousness. There was a dull, bored buzz, a tired, redundant atmosphere.

The restaurant they went to, the fancy one downtown, was where they had eaten before Yeri had proposed, in the quiet recess of their cozy living room. Tonight’s dinner was nothing like that night five years ago - no overwhelming feeling of love or jitters as the night progressed, knowing what Yeri had in store for her unsuspecting lover later on.

The drive-in was better than dinner, partially because it required little to no conversation. They both sat in the trunk of Seulgi’s car, the trunk popped open and used as a canopy, a barrier against the cool night air. Both girls failed to find the purple jacket, but Seulgi had gone out earlier that day and bought Yeri a purple blanket, a way to make up for the lost jacket, the broken relationship.

“A ‘sorry I’m divorcing you’ present.” Seulgi presented it as. Yerim took it begrudgingly. As much as she loved Seulgi, as time passed and settled, she began to harbour harsh feelings towards Seulgi - all the blame, all the hurt that Yerim felt, was dumped onto Seulgi. This was all her fault, and Yerim owed her nothing.

The drive-in was calm, and unlike their first date, there was no close cuddling, no thoughts of how many layers were between their hands and their skin. Yerim managed to lean her head on Seulgi’s shoulder for a few minutes, but quickly found it uncomfortable and lifted it off. Seulgi propped herself up on one arm, which she reached behind Yerim, the closest she got to putting her arm around her.

They returned home in silence that night, the only words uttered were Seulgi’s “Did you enjoy it?” in the car, and Yeri’s small hum of a reply. The small “Good night” exchange, with nothing else attached to it. No “I love you” or “Sleep well”. Just “Good night”.

 

The next morning, on Tuesday, Yerim carefully signed her name on the bottom of the divorce papers. She sat at the kitchen table, the sunlight streaming in through the thin, white curtains. Seulgi sat across from her, her back to the kitchen, silently taking the papers from her when she was finished, and whisking them and their relationship away.

Two days later, on Thursday, Yerim stood at the foot of the stairs, watching as Seulgi taped shut her last box - thirteen boxes for three years of marriage, thirteen boxes for nine years of their lives, all crowded in the front foyer.

The evening was tight, the air stretched thin, and Yerim felt her lungs go taut; small, shallow breaths. They barely spoke, their last interaction Seulgi shaking her head abruptly to move the hair from her face as she scooped up her last box.

“Thank you.” Seulgi told her quietly.  

“I'll miss you.” was Yeri’s staunch reply.

 

A week later, Yeri sat again at a table, crying for yet another girl.

“I can’t believe you actually invited Seulgi,” Bae Joohyun sighed, twirling the stir stick in her coffee. “Isn’t the point of this to get over her? You’re so attached to her.”

“It’s hard, Joo,” Yerim whined, sitting across from Joohyun at a local café. “She’s my everything.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t feel the same about you,” Joohyun pointed out. “Pull a Passenger and Let Her Go.”

“Now I’m going to go home and listen to that song and cry,” Yeri sniffed, wiping at her eyes. “That hurts.”

“This whole thing is going to hurt. I get that. But one day, it won’t hurt as much, and you’ll see it’s okay. It’s a process, Yerim, and you gotta start somewhere.”

“I miss her,” Yeri lamented, pausing for a moment. “I feel like if I try to move on, though, I’ll grow to hate her. And I don’t think I can do that.”

“No one ever said you had to hate her. Just not be so in love with her. Seulgi’s a reasonable woman - she’s not going to completely shut you out forever. There is such a thing as being on good - or even just okay - terms. That’s how she filed the divorce, no?”

"Yeah, I guess. But we’ve put so much into this. Nine years, Joo; that’s almost a decade. An almost decade she’s willing to throw away. An almost decade I want to hold onto.”

“And that’s an almost decade you can hold onto all you want,” Joohyun reassured. “But it’s also an almost decade that’s coming to an end. Think of it like a book - The Great Gatsby, if you will - some stories end quicker than others. Some stories don’t end the way we want, and we don’t always get the happy ending we want. But you and Seul are more than Gatsby and Daisy, Jack and Rose, Romeo and Juliet-”

“You’re just naming DiCap movies now.” Yeri sighed.

“You get my point, though. All those movies ended tragically for poor Leo. Don’t be a Leo. Don’t be a Kate, don’t be a Claire. Be a Carey - break a ’s heart and then run off with hardass who you secretly hate.”

“That’s strangely more comforting than it should be.”

“Or you could be Rosaline.”

“Rosaline?”

“Seulgi, our Romeo, falls in love with you, our Rosaline, but you don’t love Romeo back. So Romeo moves on to Juliet, and you survive the play peacefully.”

“Are you saying Seul’s cheating on me?” Yeri demanded, the tears welling up, all the sadness and sorrow she felt come rushing back,

“No, no!” Joohyun jumped up, waving her hands, trying to prevent Yeri from crying again. “What I’m trying to say is that you need to forget about Seulgi, Romeo, Leo, whoever, whatever, and survive. You’re going to be fine, Yerim. Just like Rosaline. Like Becky.”

“How do you know so much about DiCap movies?”

“I’m an English Literature teacher, Yerim. And What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a bop.”

“That’s not how you use that, Joo.”

“That doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to say, Yerim, is that there’s no use waiting around for someone who isn’t going to come. It’s time to move on. We’ll start small. Want to catch a movie?”

“We can watch Romeo and Juliet back at my place,” Yeri said softly. “The DiCap version, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Joohyun rolled her eyes, and then stood up. She held her hand out for Yeri, who took it and helped her up.

Yerim left the coffee shop with another girl, hand-in-hand.

 

FIN

Part 2: [Stupid Cupid]

Part 3: [Speak Now]

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dieukyungsoo
i'm sorry to announce that i will no longer be updating this. if you have an unwritten request, i am willing to compensate with karma points or something else you see fit. please contact me. thank you all, and please see this (https://www.asianfanfics.com/blog/view/1283732) blog post for more info.

Comments

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Locksmith_13
#1
Can't wait for some yerene content! Stay safe and healthy author <3
sushi_pilsuk
#2
Chapter 18: aw I'm sad jieun & jk had to break up but I don't really understand the last part when Jieun saw Jk with his phone wearing the same windbreaker...did he come back from Yangsan? well they're just 15? I hope they will meet again with better circumstances in the future...a sequel please?haha
poplarbear #3
Chapter 3: Love the Sehun Sejeong one! Fuc***g cute!
sehune94
#4
Chapter 4: I love it
sehune94
#5
Chapter 4: I love it
SHINeeMe08
#6
Chapter 30: ohhh this is so nice, i thought jisoo doesnt like joohyun but ye its the exact opposite...thank u for this :)
CallMeABadger
#7
Chapter 30: Can I marry you
CallMeABadger
#8
Chapter 30: Word count: sEvEn ThoUsaNd