together again
INEVITABLEjoohyun couldn't believe what she's seeing.
there was this immediate relief that washed over her when she finally got a glimpse of her soulmate after three weeks.
three long weeks.
seulgi looks brighter, but a bit skinnier. joohyun couldn't believe it herself--thought it was a mirage at first--but seulgi's right there in front of her, scratching her nape out of embarrassment.
"uh... hey..." seulgi is the first one to speak. "how's it?"
joohyun's mouth remains open. she didn't realize she's still staring at seulgi, unblinking.
"are you... are you still mad at me?" seulgi asks.
joohyun lets out a dry half-laugh.
mad at her? what is seulgi thinking?
but what she didn't expect is how that dry laugh can cause the floodgates to finally open.
"mad at you? are you really that stupid?" she asks, tears welling in her eyes. "are you seriously asking me that, seulgi?"
"i... i just thought that maybe..."
"stupid... you're so stupid..." joohyun covers her face this time as tears are finally flowing down her cheek. "i hate you... i really hate you..."
she hears a soft chuckle, then footsteps. after that, she felt seulgi's presence beside her, arms embracing her.
"yes... yes... i am stupid..." seulgi pulls her closer, tapping her back. "i'm sorry for being stupid..."
"i hate you..." joohyun's hand grasps seulgi's coat this time as she buries her face in the taller's shoulder. "how dare you disappear like that for three weeks? how dare you make me wait this long?"
"i know... i know..." seulgi kisses the top of her head. "i'm sorry. i just thought you need more time. i wasn't really well that night. a lot of things happened. i was at my worst. i couldn't face you in that condition."
seulgi presses their bodies closer. for whatever reason, joohyun feels like everything is okay again, like the world is full of bright colors again.
"do you feel that?" seulgi whispers in her ears. smile is evident in her tone. "the spirits are happy that we are together again."
joohyun hums, closing her eyes and burying her face further into seulgi's neck. "is this real?"
"it is," seulgi says, and it's a piece of sweet music to joohyun's ear. "i'm not going away anymore, joohyun. there's no more leaving or going home. we'll be together now always."
joohyun couldn't put it into words. but seulgi's right. it's like the spirits are celebrating above the stars for their reunion. joohyun feels light, like every fiber in her body is rejoicing, delighted that they are finally together again.
"please tell me i'm not dreaming," she whispers.
"you're not dreaming." seulgi cups the back of joohyun's head. "i am here. i am not leaving. this is my home now, joohyun. you are my home now."
---
"what! you volunteered in the monastery?" seungwan asks, eyes wide.
"yup. lived with the monks for three whole weeks." seulgi scoops rice and some meat into .
"i bet you missed eating these, huh?" sooyoung points at their meal with her chopsticks. "those monks are vegetarians."
seungwan looks at sooyoung, looking more horrified. "what! seriously? no meat? damn. it must be hard."
"you bet it is." seulgi chuckles. "couldn't eat well for the first three days. but yeah, i got used to it. but nothing beats a freshly cooked meat."
seeing how her soulmate has missed the food, joohyun adds more meat into seulgi's bowl.
"no wonder you got skinny," she says. "finish all of these, okay?"
"yes, ma'am!"
"it's nice to see some life coming back into you, joohyun unnie," sooyoung comments. "you finally have color now after being pale for weeks."
"what are you saying, sooyoung..." joohyun feels her cheeks blushing. she hugs seulgi's arm and leans her head on her soulmate's shoulder.
"what? are you still going to deny it?" sooyoung chuckles. "you were lifeless for weeks, unnie. i can see it even if you're trying to hide it."
"that's her usual expressions when she's feeling shy," seungwan teases. she rearranges her face and mimics joohyun's voice, "'what are you saying, seungwan' or 'what are you saying, sooyoung'?"
sooyoung and seulgi laugh.
"ish. i hate you." joohyun hides her face behind seulgi's shoulder blades.
"come on, guys. don't bully her," she hears seulgi says. seulgi reaches to ruffle her hair. "it's the same for me. i wasn't really okay these past few weeks either. i missed this woman so much."
"how is it, by the way? have you fixed it on the other side?" seungwan asks, talking about eunae.
joohyun pulls back slightly to look at seulgi, just wanting to see her face when she talks.
"yeah. yeah. the lawyer reached out to me and already sent back the information they need," seulgi explains. "i talked to my parents about it too before. i apologized to eunae's family for what i've done as well. i also spoke with eunae this morning to clear things up and to... you know... end things in good terms."
"i see. it seems things are falling now in the right places, huh?" seungwan asks.
"i told you before, the spirits will find a way to make sure joohyun unnie and seulgi unnie will be together again, for good," sooyoung says. "it was a rough road, but they've finally reached that part where it'll be just the two of them."
"i just hope eunae will find her happiness too soon," joohyun says, leaning on seulgi's shoulder again. "she's a nice person, and i still feel bad for taking away the love of her life from her."
seulgi tilts her head to look at joohyun and kisses her head.
"don't worry, unnie," sooyoung says. "i still believe this is the spirits' work. usually, if they step in, things won't make sense at first. as what the saying says, you can only connect the dots when you look back."
"which means?" seungwan follows up.
"she may not understand now why these things are happening," sooyoung explains. "but once she reaches a certain point in her life and looks back to this timeline, things would finally make sense. she would understand the higher purpose for all of these."
joohyun feels a little better hearing that. "but do you think she'll be able to find happiness too as we all did?"
"i'm sure of that, unnie." sooyoung gives an assuring smile. "the spirits may move in mysterious ways, but the results will always be worth the wait."
---
"i still wonder if we're supposed to meet even before the resort," joohyun voices out her thoughts when seulgi slips into the sheets beside her.
"you mean, before i got married?" seulgi spoons her.
"yeah. don't you ever wonder if our paths have already crossed--or close to crossing--before, but we just didn't realize it because we're both non-believers?"
"i think of that too sometimes. but then, we wouldn't know, right? it was until we met that ahjumma from the resort when we found out about each other."
"you're right." joohyun sighs. "i'm just wondering because if we had met and known before that we're soulmates, we could have saved eunae from all that heartbreak."
"hey. please stop blaming yourself with that." seulgi pulls her by the waist to turn her around, so they're facing each other. "it's not your fault, okay? and as sooyoung says, all of these are happening for a reason."
"but do you also feel bad about you and eunae?"
"i do, honestly. i feel bad for breaking her heart. but this is better than lying to her and leaving you in the dark, isn't it?"
joohyun nods. a sigh escapes her lips.
"hey. she'll be okay." seulgi pulls her closer this time and kisses her forehead. "the spirits will do their job to help her. what we need to do is to focus on this moment right here--us."
"i love you." joohyun snuggles closer, inhaling seulgi's scent. "i love you so much."
"i love you too." seulgi then hugs her tighter, kissing the crown of her head. "i'm excited to wake up every morning with you by my side..."
joohyun smiles.
"... seeing your messy hair, hearing your snore, and wiping the drool on your mouth..."
"yah!" joohyun slaps seulgi's arm. "i'm not like that!"
"oh, you wouldn't know." seulgi smirks. "i'm the one who sees you when you sleep."
joohyun rolls her eyes.
seulgi pulls joohyun closer again. "i'm also excited for all the kisses, the hugs, the fights..."
"... and the ..."
"yeah, of course, that one too."
joohyun giggles. "i'm so happy to have you here now."
"me too. and i won't be leaving anymore, so you better ready yourself to live with this really stupid person."
joohyun laughs. she cups seulgi's cheeks and gives a quick peck on the lips. "oh. i am looking forward to it."
checked the stats and i'm in awe of how chapter 23 got higher views from the others. and when i looked...
ooop! that's the rated m chap ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
ooop! that's the rated m chap ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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