A/N: Hello Everyone this is going to be a fic about older married couple seulrene and them spending time with their grandchildren who want to know how their grandparents met. As you read on you’ll see there’s more to the story than that, please enjoy. Happy Seulrene day everyone :)

 

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Kang Seulgi wakes up early on Saturday morning and turns to see the sleeping form of her wife and partner of the last 40 years Joohyun. Seulgi gently pushes her dark locks away from her face. It always amazes Seulgi how the woman never seems to age, with not one trace of gray in her hair, or wrinkle in her skin, well perhaps there are a few traces of gray in her hair, but none that are very noticeable. Joohyun still looks every bit the gorgeous woman she laid eyes on all those years ago with soft and pale features that always made her look like a regal lady.

 

“She is truly a goddess.” Seulgi thinks as she leans over to kiss her cheek, and it’s the kiss against her cheek wakes Joohyun up and she turns to look first at monolid eyes. It’s the same monolid eyes that she’s been waking up to for the past 40 years, and it makes Joohyun smile, before reaching up to run her fingers through the dark brown hair of her other half. Lastly, Joohyun takes in the teddy bear-like face of the woman next to her. After all these years of being married to this woman, Kang Seulgi still has that teddy bear-like face that has never gone away. Joohyun likes to think if nothing else she could always recall the teddy-bear like features of her wife.

 

“Good morning, Seul.”

 

Seulgi sighs in relief. Today might be a good morning for Joohyun after all. She hopes it will be so anyway.

 

“Morning, Hyunnie. How are you feeling?” Seulgi wonders with a soft kiss to her cheek.

 

“I feel fine, sweetheart.” Joohyun gives a bit of a nod.

 

“I’m glad,” she takes one of her hands and gives it a squeeze before asking another question. “Are you excited for today?”

 

“Today?”

 

Seulgi can see from the look in her eyes Joohyun doesn’t remember about today. It’s to be expected as her wife has been struggling a lot these days. There are times Joohyun can recall much of their life together with vivid memory and talk. Then there are the days where Joohyun wakes to an unfamiliar house and a wife she can’t remember.

 

“The kids are coming over today.” Seulgi gently reminds her about their grandchildren. Joohyun looks slightly confused at the mention of kids. They have only one kid and she isn’t a kid any longer.

 

“Yerim isn’t a kid.” The raven sits up then with an even more confused look on her face. She knows that their daughter is a grown woman, and they only have her. She and Seulgi don’t have other kids, and now she doesn’t understand what’s going on.

 

“No, honey, our grandkids.” Seulgi gently reminds her. “Do you remember the twins at all?”

 

“Twins?” 

 

Joohyun looks more confused and in that confusion, Seulgi knows will be upset, and when her wife gets too upset sometimes she will get angry, and when Joohyun gets angry it can be hard to calm her down because she is hurting deep down. Seulgi hate how much Joohyun is suffering, and wishes to be able to do more.

 

“It’s okay, honey.” The slightly taller woman speaks and wraps her arms around her wife. Joohyun remains frozen in the strong but gentle arms of her wife of so long, as she tries to process what has just been said to her. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Joohyun whispers back softly. 

 

“No, don’t apologize. We should get up now, are you up for some breakfast? I’ll make something good, I promise.”

 

Joohyun smiles a little but also looks hesitant. “As long as you promise not to try and burn our house down, you’re not the best cook, honey.”

 

Seulgi smiles. She doesn’t know if she should be offended or not, since she’s glad her wife can at least remember that at one point she had been a terrible cook, or upset that of all things, Joohyun is focusing on that.

 

“Of all the things you chose to focus on, it’s that?” Seulgi chuckles in amusement and kisses the top of her forehead.

 

“Somethings I still remember.” Joohyun says it in a soft tone of voice that means more to Seulgi in that moment than even her wife could possibly realize. Everyday that Joohyun can wake up and say she remembers something, is a day that Kang Seulgi always cherishes.

 

“Let’s go downstairs and have breakfast now, sound good?”

 

“Yes, that sounds good.”

 

Seulgi gets up first and walks over to her wife’s side of the bed. The monolid woman reaches for her hand and leaves a kiss against her skin, and smiles. 

 

“Okay, love of my life, time to get some breakfast.”

 

“You’ve been doing this everyday we’ve been married, you know?”

 

Seulgi smiles brighter when Joohyun says this, because it always feels nice when Joohyun remembers on her own, and makes the moments where she doesn’t a little more tolerable.

 

“And I’ll always do this for you,” Seulgi promises and the couple head down the stairs. Seulgi holds her hand the entire walk down, and it’s something they’ve always done. These days sometimes Seulgi doesn't want to let Joohyun’s hand go. Once downstairs the raven sits down at the kitchen table and looks around. Today so far has been a good start, she woke up to a wife that she remembers, and is about to have breakfast with the only woman she has ever loved. Joohyun loves and appreciates this beautiful woman, so much, even if at times she can’t fully express it. Some days she doesn’t remember, but there are times Joohyun can go back in her mind, and recall the first time that something was wrong indeed. She can recall the first time she woke up didn’t recognize Seulgi.

 

(Flashback)

 

The morning should have been like any other morning. Joohyun should have woken up, kissed her wife, and perhaps even cuddle in bed with her before getting up, but things haven’t been normal in some time. Joohyun has been struggling lately, and this morning was the breaking point. The dark-haired woman woke up in a state of panic when she looked around at a bedroom she didn’t remember, and a monolid woman laying beside her that she can’t recall. Things have been blurry for her, she has been having memory gaps, but nothing to the point of this yet.

 

“W-Who are you?” Joohyun speaks in a scared tone of voice that makes Seulgi right away alert, because this is the first time she’s hearing fear like this. Her wife has been seeming to have some memory troubles, but not once had she forgotten about her, and now new worries are in place.

 

“Hyun?” Seulgi whispers softly and tries to touch her, there is nothing like having the woman you love back away from you like you’re going to hurt her. 

 

“I don’t know you.”

 

“Hyunnie.” Seulgi doesn't try to touch her again, in case Joohyun should become further afraid.

 

“I’m your wife, Hyunnie?” Seulgi smiles with eyes forming crescent shapes, and hopes that Joohyun can remember that about her smile. “I’m your wife.” She repeats again.

 

“W-Wife?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me, Seulgi. Your teddy bear, remember? Look into my eyes, Hyunnie.” She gently urges Joohyun to look into her eyes, because it’s the same eyes she’s been looking into for years. Seulgi is hopeful when Joohyun does look a little less afraid and seems to calm down.

 

“Seul?”

 

“Yes, honey, it’s me.”

 

“Oh, Seul, I’m so sorry.” Joohyun leans over and throws her arms around her wife in a hug. “I’m so sorry.” She repeats in a whisper. Seulgi wasn’t fully prepared for what that morning would mean for other days to come.

 

(End)

 

It was terrifying for Joohyun when she realized that the memory gaps where not getting better but worse. She hated waking up sometimes to not realizing who the love of her life was. Joohyun hated what her illness was doing to her family as well, and would give anything to make it so things were normal for all of them. She watches as Seulgi is moving about in the kitchen and making breakfast for them. Her wife has taken to doing more around the house, whether it’s cooking, cleaning, or other small chores on the days she’s not well. Seulgi has been her rock through this difficult time and Joohyun couldn’t love this woman more if she tried.

 

“Do you want any soup?” Seulgi wonders.

 

“Yes, that sounds good.”

 

“Yerim will be here with the kids this afternoon, so we do have time before they come. Um, do you need me to show you some pictures?”

 

“No, it’s okay. I remember the twins now, will Sooyoung be coming too?”

 

Sooyoung is Yerim’s wife and there’s an inside family joke that the only reason Joohyun remembers her is because she never got along with her when she was Yerim’s girlfriend only. But there are times where Joohyun doesn’t remember Sooyoung, or her grandkids, or even Yerim either. Those are some of the worst times when Joohyun can’t remember Yerim and looks at her own daughter as if she’s a stranger. Yerim tries to be strong about it, but Seulgi knows it hurts her too.

 

“Sooyoung is out of town for work, but I think she’ll come along to come pick the twins up. It’ll be nice to see the grandkids, we haven’t seen them in awhile.” Seulgi mentions.

 

Joohyun isn’t sure but she gets the feeling that there is a reason why they probably haven’t seen their grandkids. She knows Seulgi won’t tell her if she asks, and that it could very well be because of something that she had done, even if it was unintentional. Soon enough her wife is placing several dishes down at their breakfast table for them and they sit down to eat.

 

“Oh, let me get some tea. I’ll be right back, Hyun.”

 

Seulgi gets up to make tea and while she’s doing that her phone rings. The monolid woman steps away to answer it and finds that it’s their daughter. 

 

“Hi, Yerimie.” Seulgi answers with a warm smile in her voice.

 

“Hi, Mom. How are things, is Momma doing alright?”

 

In other words, is Joohyun feeling well enough for a visit. Seulgi doesn’t blame Yerim for being concerned, since she is not only a daughter worried about her sick mother, she is also a mother herself thinking about her children. One of the last times their grandkids came to visit they had witnessed one of Joohyun’s moments. They had never seen their normally sweet and wonderful grandmother agitated and frightened in such a way before. Seulgi remembered trying to assure the twins that Gran was fine, and didn’t mean to scare them. It’s always a bit of a worry that something could happen when the grandchildren come over, but Seulgi remains hopeful.

 

“Your momma’s doing fine, we’re about to have breakfast, and you can still bring the kids over to spend time with us.”

 

“I know, I’m sorry. I just know some days are harder for her than others, but I know the kids want to see you both, and I really want to see my moms.”

 

“You can always come see us, sweetie. Don’t worry about a thing, I’m sure everything will be fine today.”

 

Seulgi doesn’t stay on the phone for a long time, and the moment she turns around to head back toward the kitchen area, she sees Joohyun standing there.

 

“Hyun?”

 

“Everyone is worried that something could happen with me, huh?” Joohyun whispers in a sad tone of voice that doesn’t go unnoticed by Seulgi. The taller woman right away wraps her arms around her wife.

 

“No, no one’s worried. Right now, we’re going to finish having our breakfast and get ready for our grandkids to come over. The tea hopefully hasn’t boiled over.”

 

“I took the tea off the stove already.”

 

Joohyun wishes that she could assure Seulgi that everything will be fine, just like she’s trying to be positive too. Her wife is usually always trying to be optimistic and hopeful. It was something about her wife’s personality that drew Joohyun to her in the first place, and it's one of the reasons she loves Seulgi so much.

 

“Let’s go have breakfast now.”

 

Joohyun follows her wife back toward the kitchen and they finally sit down to breakfast. She can’t help that her mind is still on hearing a bit of Seulgi’s conversation with Yerim, and thinking about how worried Yerim must be about her makes her sad. 

 

“Maybe one day my family won’t be as worried about me as they are now.”

 

Seulgi notices as they eat Joohyun is focused on her food but not eating much. Sometimes, her wife doesn’t have a lot of appetite, Seulgi just hopes this isn’t one of those times.

 

“You don’t want to eat, Hyun? This is your favorite breakfast. I even made the soup you like.”

 

“Is it my favorite breakfast?” Joohyun sounds confused by it. Seulgi nods and gives her hand a little squeeze.

 

“The first time we ever had this soup was on our honeymoon. Do you remember?” She asks hopefully. Joohyun shakes her head in the negative that she doesn’t.

 

“I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

 

“Would you like me to tell you about the first time we had this soup together?”

 

The dark-haired woman looks up from her food with a soft look. She wants to hear about it, in hopes that it could spark a memory.

 

“Yes, tell me.”

 

“It was our honeymoon.” Seulgi begins with a smile.

 

(Flashback)

 

They were spending their honeymoon in Europe, a place they had both talked about going for the whole time they were dating, and decided it would be the place to spend their honeymoon. The newlyweds had just woken up from a night of intense love making celebrating their marriage and life together. 

 

“Good morning, Mrs. Kang.” Seulgi greets her with a kiss. The beautiful dark-haired woman looks up at her wife with a warm smile on her face. She touches Seulgi’s cheek and leans up into her kiss.

 

“Good morning, Mrs. Kang. I hope I didn’t wear you out too much.” 

 

“You wore me out just enough.” Seulgi grins and as she leans in for a kiss she hears Joohyun’s stomach grumble. The shorter woman looks embarrassed for a moment but they both laugh it off.

 

“Let’s get my wife something to eat, should we order in, or take a look around the city and see what we can find?”

 

“Let’s take a look around and see what we can find.” Joohyun likes the sound of a quick tour. The couple get dressed and head out together. The dark-haired woman right away grabs her wife’s arm and as tempting as it is to take some photos, the main goal is to find a place to eat.

 

“Hey look, a Korean place.” Joohyun notices the small shop that’s out of the way and could have easily been missed if one wasn’t paying attention.

 

“Want to take a look, Hyun?”
 

“Yes, let’s take a look at the menu.”

 

The pair head inside and are pleasantly surprised at the authenticity of the restaurant, and are almost reminded of being right at home, aside from being in Europe of course. They decide they will have breakfast here and Joohyun orders a spicy seafood soup. Seulgi looks at her wife’s expression and worries for a moment that it doesn’t taste as good as home.

 

“Hey, do you not like it? It’s not too late for us to order something else, or go somewhere else, Hyunnie?”

 

“No, it’s delicious, actually. Do you want any, honey?”

 

(End)

 

Joohyun listens carefully as Seulgi brightly recalls the story for her, how they ate one of the best meals at that restaurant, and how Seulgi would try to replicate that soup for her for years until finally getting it right. Joohyun smiles sadly since she can’t remember that story at all. To the raven it’s sort of like hearing someone else’s life and the last thing she wants to do is tell Seulgi she can’t remember. 

 

“I’m…”

 

“It’s okay, Hyunnie.” Seulgi gently cuts her off. “Yerim and the kids will be here today, and that’s something we can look forward to.”

 

“I know but...I’m still sorry.”

 

She’s sorry that she can’t remember at times. She’s sorry that Seulgi can speak about their life together and there are times she has no recollection of what her wife is saying to her. Joohyun feels awful that Seulgi has to put on a brave smile like she’s not hurting inside.

 

“Don’t be sorry, Hyunnie. Do you want to rest a while before Yerim and the kids come?”

 

“Yeah, sure, honey.”

 

Joohyun leans over for a kiss and starts heading back to their bedroom. She isn’t necessarily tired, but doesn’t want to continue disappointing Seulgi for the moment. Things aren’t going to get better for her, and they both know that. Eventually, there’s going to come a point where she’ll forget completely and the thoughts of losing all of her beloved memories of her wife, their life together, and family are what scare Joohyun the most. The raven has been keeping a journal from the moment she first noticed that there was memory gaps and especially when she received her actual diagnosis.

 

Alzheimer’s.

 

It felt like a death sentence at the time hearing those words that meant she was having more than just a few moments of memory gaps. The words that told her she would continue to lose things of importance to her, like her wife, her daughter, her grandchildren. But, yet Seulgi remained by her side through it all, she couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Sometimes Joohyun reads her journal to try and refresh her memory, only to close the book in frustration when nothing comes back to her.

 

“I don’t remember this day,” she whispers. “I don’t remember being at this place with Seulgi.”

 

Joohyun wishes she could tell Seulgi she remembers the same events as her, and in her sadness she sinks down into bed, a part of her wondering if things would be easier if she weren’t Seulgi’s wife anymore, or if they had never married in the first place, that way the love of her life wouldn’t be in pain, no one would. But then Joohyun thinks about how empty life would be without the woman she loves, and knows one thing for sure. Her love for one Kang Seulgi was no accident and she was meant to be with her, even when the time comes she forgets everything about their life together, Joohyun has to believe that something as real and true as their love can never simply die and fade away. 

 

“I love Kang Seulgi and that will always be true.”

 

Seulgi watches her wife from the door of the bedroom, and sighs sadly. From the moment they had officially found out Joohyun’s diagnosis, the monolid woman had promised herself she would be of any support she could to the love of her life. After all, for better of worse and till death do us part mean everything to Seulgi, and she knows if the situation was reversed Joohyun would be by her side too. The brunette is about to turn to leave when she hears Joohyun call out to her in a small voice.

 

“Seul?” The raven whispers.

 

“Hi, honey.” Seulgi turns back with a smile. “Are you alright?”

 

“Come sit with me.”

 

Joohyun reaches out for Seulgi to come to sit with her. Seulgi walks over and sits down beside her, Joohyun leans into her embrace and the taller woman wraps an arm around her.

 

“How long before Yerim and the kids get here?”

 

“They’ll be here around 2, Hyun. There’s still time for you to get some rest if you need.”

 

Joohyun shakes her head that she is fine and doesn’t need to rest. She wants to simply sit with her wife and enjoy the moment for what it is, as there’s no telling what could happen from moment to moment. The next momentJoohyun might not know who she’s sitting with, and it’s important to cherish the times where she’s still here with the person she loves most.

 

“I’m sorry if I put too much pressure on you.” Seulgi says to her.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I talk about our life together a lot, sometimes in hopes that it’ll help you remember during the times you don’t, and I’m sorry. I don’t mean to put any pressure on you, Hyun, I’m here to support and love you.”

 

Joohyun looks up at the monolid woman with a smile that looks sad and apologetic. She touches her chin and leaves a soft kiss to her lips. She hadn’t once felt like Seulgi was putting pressure on her to remember. If anything, the raven feels that there are times when she puts pressure on herself to remember things when she forgets. Seulgi is always supportive and loving partner to her, and she hopes her wife doesn’t ever forget that.

 

“You never put any pressure on me, Seul. I am always grateful for you, even at times I can’t always show that I am. I hope you can know that.”

 

Seulgi gives a nod and leaned her forehead against her wife’s. Even at some of the worst moments Joohyun had, where she woke and couldn’t recall where she was, or who Seulgi was, or the times where she was angry and afraid before calming down, Seulgi holds onto the hope that Joohyun deep down is still there and will return to her. Their relationship never needed a lot of words for them to understand one another. The couple sit together in silence simply leaning into one another’s embrace until Seulgi notices that Joohyun has indeed fallen asleep. The monolid woman gets up and puts the covers