21 Always on my mind

Snowy Day at the Bakery
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Genre: Angst, Fluff, Tragedy

Summary: Chaewon is painfully reminded of an unfortunate event with her lover, Hitomi. About her daily routine, she is unable to help but feel disturbed by her recollection of that one moment - forever etched in her mind.

Word Count: 2537

Hashtag: #SSBB_AlwaysOnMyMind

 

Always on my mind

 

“Next stop  – SongJeong station.” 

Chaewon held up head, realising that she had unknowingly fallen into a mindless daze on the train. She darted a glance at the map. It seemed that she had missed her stop – and by a long shot. Shaking her head, she attempted to break away from the painful longing of her beloved. She gets off. Headed out to a street, a throw of a hand, and she finds herself in a cab to her workplace. With the scent of lavender freshener in the car assaulting her sense of smell, she could not help but think about her again. That one moment was still so freshly imprinted in her memory. Her gaze cast into the distant rumbling of the thundery skies, as a shallow shower began to descend upon them. How could she forget? How painful it had been, that she will remember it for what will seem to be an eternity. 

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Dawn breaks. The first rays of the morning sun lightened up the eastern sky. The outside was blowing a cold, billowing breeze – adequately balanced by the heat of the fiery orb appearing beyond the horizon. Willing her eyes to open, Chaewon awakens, seeing Hitomi eyeing her surreptitiously as she slept. Their eyes meet, as Hitomi averted her gaze sheepishly, having been caught in the act. Unable to hold back an adorable laughter, Chaewon threw her arms around Hitomi, drawing her close into her embrace. Behind her, the sunlight bathed her skin in a glistening glow, creating a pseudo-halo that accentuated her godly presence. Yet, it was nothing compared to the warmth of her body as she nestled in her arms, resting her head against her thumping heartbeat. She was here. Hitomi was too. And that was all that mattered. 

“Good morning love.” Chaewon greeted, breathing against Hitomi’s arm as she sniffed her comforting smell. 

“Ready for another day of Hokkaido?” Hitomi asked. Her hand lightly brushed Chaewon’s head of caramel-brown long hair, even drawing out a few strands that slipped past her lips. In response, Chaewon whined a little, like a spoilt child not getting what they wanted. “Just a few more minutes…” Where she laid within Hitomi’s reach, it was so cosy and comfortable, with the softness of the bed beneath her fuelling her reluctance to get up. 

“Alright. Take your time, babe.” Hitomi extricated herself deftly from Chaewon’s unforgiving grasp, sliding out of the bed. Rousing from her quasi-slumber, Chaewon realised that Hitomi had already gotten up, going about her daily routine of washing up. Her lips curled downwards as she paddled her feet up and down, bouncing up and down on the mattress where she laid. Turning to her side, she propped herself up on an elbow. Right before her eyes was the snow-capped peak. A palette of greys, deep-blues and silver-whites blended together to colour the side of the mountain. From her angle, a few brave mountaineers were seen beginning their long, arduous trek up the mountain, appearing as though nothing but miniscule ants to Chaewon. The scenery right outside their hotel room was a sight to behold. And this, was on their personal itinerary for the day. The newly wedded couple had been painstakingly saving up their earnings to purchase their home-to-be. Seeing that it had been a great ordeal for the two partners, Hitomi decided that it was time that they allowed themselves a reward. A reward to a vacation destination that they both wanted to visit – Hokkaido. It was a place of great memories for Hitomi – having made a trip to the snowy island with her extended family when she was a small child. Home to the superior quality of seafood one can get nowhere else, Chaewon immediately jumped on the bandwagon and agreed to visiting the place. 

Gathering her willpower, Chaewon rolled herself off the magnetic pull of the bed, dragging her feet to the bathroom to wash up. Entering, she sees Hitomi brushing her teeth diligently. She flashed her immaculate rows of teeth, holding a brush to provide ample care to each and everyone of her pearly whites. It was no surprise to Chaewon that she always wore such a beautiful smile. 

“Must we really climb that mountain today?” Chaewon tucked her head into the curvature of Hitomi’s neck, wrapping her arms around her waist. The familiar aroma of her lavender body wash engulfed her senses – a rich, alluring aura emanating from her being. Her eyes were directed at the reflection of Hitomi in the wide mirrors of the bathroom, making the decently small bathroom seem like it was double in size. 

“My parents didn’t bring me up Asahi-dake when I was four. But I’ve always wanted to do it.” Hitomi shared openly, her voice muffled a little as she was still busily cleaning her teeth. “It’ll be fun, I promise.” Hitomi rubbed her cheek affectionately against Chaewon’s cheekbone, feeling the warmth of her face in addition to the friction created. Chaewon instinctively closed her nearer eye, letting the girl do as she wished. 

“You know I’ll do anything for you, Hitomi.” Chaewon straightened as she declared, staring intentionally into Hitomi’s eyes. Hitomi returned a vicarious eye-smile, making Chaewon instantly recognise her look of unrestrained mirth. Slowly, she inched her face closer, and closer, towards Chaewon. Just before their lips touch, Chaewon pulled back in a violent jerk, causing their intimate moment to adjourn abruptly. 

“Ya! No kissing with toothpaste in your mouth!”

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In a matter of an hour, the two girls arrived at the foot of the 2000-meter-tall mountain. With all the forward planning done, they wasted no time in renting out the required trekking equipment to commence their climb. Gear properly donned, and items all accounted for, Chaewon gulped as she came face to face with the ginormous mountain. It loomed over them with an imaginative mockery, as it

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kalingling #1
Chapter 40: Rereading this and still got blown away. Time to time I thought about this fic. Thank you author-nim
Aciel257
#2
Chapter 40: This. Is. Beautiful. It's beyond words on how I can describe this feels, you know? 26k of words and I am amazed on how I am LITERALLY there just like Sakura stayed by Hitomi side, witnessing how out Hito grow out to finally become Hitomi again. Such a fine piece, I felt like crying (which I actually do, really). Constantly being remind about the war makes me anxious, afraid even when Hitomi need to risk her life for the sake of saving her country, which is in the war, due to personal grudge between the Lord's (screw the opposing King, really, screw them!) Thankfully, a breeze of spring came in the form of Chaewon who is firm with her feels, constantly remind about her preference until Hitomi revealed her secret. This story have everything that I wish I have as a writer and motivated me in doing better, so that I can achieve this level of satisfaction one day. Kudos to author-nim, thank you very much for this brilliant story. You really make my day brighter and better!
SapphireChou
#3
Chapter 40: Literally, I have no words for this story. I've finished it in one go even if I still needed to some things to attend to 😂 The way of writing of this story, I already know who wrote it. The way the story is well written and how it gives me certain feelings when I read their story, I already know the writer of this story. This was such an amazing ride. I thought having 25k+ words in a story would tire me out. Surprisingly, this story made me begging for more. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting what will happen next every time. Reading this made me remember Mulan of how similar it is, with the being girl part per se. Sorry for my reference since I don't know a lot of stories like this 😆 It was my first time reading a story under the action tag and it was a ssambbang story. How great is that! I've felt various emotions while reading this. I really thought Taewoon was gonna do something bad. I'm just glad he didn't hold a grudge for Hitomi even after being with Chaewon and not really being Hito. The parts where Chaewon and Hitomi were together really made my heart soft. Also, I was holding my tears the moment Chaewon told Hitomi that she has something to go back to now. Really, a remarkable work from you again author-nim. I'm really happy that you wrote this story, thank you so much. I hope to read more ssambbang stories from you in the future ^^ Oh and author-nim, you owe me a nap. I wasn't able to sleep because of this story >< Good work as always author-nim :))
Satanael
#4
Chapter 40: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/1468609/40'>Special OS: oh, we talked...</a></span>
This way of writing—we all know who this is. Man, 25k+ words and still able to hold my attention on every word. I just digested a chapter full of financial ratios, and yet I was able to fully digest this OS with an insane amount of words. From their first meeting, to the repeated—forced (from Hitomi’s side)—exchanges, I was hooked. I am glad that they were able to end up together because this normally doesn’t happen. The battle scenes were thankfully not that graphic, and let’s not forget that familiar yet delicious ache as we read and watched the couple get closer. I do hope the author had enough rest for after writing this wonderful spectacle. Thanks for the wonderful special OS... which is almost twice the amount for the maximum word limit—understandable, have a nice day. And oh, thanks for making me feel alive again. I hope this author is having a feast tonight.
Cheeeeeee
#5
Chapter 39: Congrats to all the winners! Deservedddd! 💙
SapphireChou
#6
Chapter 38: This story made me want to read the Hunger Games. I didn't understand it that much since I didn't know the story but this was a good story. Another dystopian fiction that I liked to read. They weren't really shipped in the story that's why it hurt 🤧 But I knew Hitomi did what she had to do to save her brother :,)
Aciel257
#7
Chapter 38: S-shut up! .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·. why oh why this must happen. Gosh, it is so beautiful. I can vividly sees them, through their struggles and all. Whoa, such idea, this is gold! Thank you very much for this story. Hunger Games really held a spot in my heart. Will we have something like a sequel next author-nim? Please please please flip off that vicious fate ( ≧Д≦)