There's this little thing called anniversary where people commemorate, and took their precious time to celebrate certain events, whether it happened to be meaningful, melancholic or simply because they can and they wanted too. 

There's literally something about anniversary and how it triggers the tiniest spot in a person's heart, like how the calm wind would invite those priceless, redundant memories, and of those once broken smiles. 

Nicole Jung certainly knows a thing or two about anniversary. After crossing off 1826 days on the five worn out calendars, and now, counting exactly three more hours before she could finally have him all to herself. She counts her blessings, tomorrow would be her fifth anniversary with the man of her life, Kim Hyeongkon.

She met him on a rainy day, where they found themselves both stranded at an abandoned bus stop somewhere in a secluded street. He said the first 'hello' and she replied it with a warm smile (though she thought he was kind of creepy at first). Because the first meeting is always awkward, and because they were strangers to each other, who barely knew anything; the two had very little conversations. They exchanged names, but not much, and the silence was too loud, that they could almost hear the sound of the rain drops hitting the road. But maybe because it was Kim Hyeongkon, and his friendly nature, he made an effort to strike more conversations, which include some cheesy pick-up lines, giving her random compliments and making freakish eye-to-eye contacts with his ever so big, and full round eyes. He succeeded a few times in making her laugh, and he thought she looks the prettiest whenever she flashes her smiles. 

"Do you know that there are three beautiful things in the world?" He muttered slightly with a grin, darting his eyes at hers.

"Does your list includes rainbows?"

"Clever girl (nods) and I think stars are pretty too."

Silence.

"The third is the prettiest in my list though," He smirks a little, causing her to throw him a rather questioning look. And just when she looked away, he seized the moment to utter that one single word, "You."

And everything became history ever since then. 

They spent their first anniversary like every other normal couple would do. Because it was their first, it was typical. They had a romantic candle-light dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town, ordered the most expensive menu of the day, and being the cheesy Kim Hyeongkon, he ended the night by serenading Nicole on stage, with a guitar in his hand, a pluck in his finger, and a voice that roamed through the crowds. It was an embarrassing night for Nicole, but one that she would remember, because it was her first time to ever have someone who loves her, twice as much as she loves him to serenade her. 

She had the biggest laugh of her life when they decided to spent their second anniversary at a theme park nearby. He challenged her to go for a rollercoaster ride with him, and she said yes. Perhaps, he had underestimated her, but she rode the ride with excitement instead. In return, she challenged him to enter a ghost house, and much to her amusement, he screamed in a high-pitched tone every time the 'ghosts' poked him or when he happened to see one (insert the fact that he closed his eyes most of the times). That very night, she realized that the man that she loves wasn't all that tough as he would like to portray, but he is indeed as vulnerable as paperhearts. 

She remembered spending their third anniversary at an isolated army province. Because he decided to report for military service at an early age, and she couldn't exactly say much to go against his will. They were hundreds of young men reporting, but of course, she only had her eyes and heart for one. And perhaps because she is Nicole Jung, she collected herself together, and with a single brush of her thumb, she wiped the tears away that trickled down his cheeks and promised that she would wait for him, as long as he would wait for her too. She sent him off with a smile, but spent that whole night crying in her bed— alone and alone with the lullaby of the night.

And alone became her lullaby for hundreds of night, but it became particularly solemn, at the night of their fourth anniversary. Perhaps she has gotten used with the loneliness, she could only smile at his missing presence on the empty bed. It had been a year since he went to army. Perhaps, it is true that absence does make the heart grow fonder, that though they barely hear each other's voice in a month, he made sure to write a bunch of letters for her. That particular night, she received a three-pages of a long letter from him, filled with hearts' stickers and glitters (childish, she thinks), with three redundant lines of "I miss you", "I love you", "Don't cheat on me!" and "Happy anniversary." The last line caught her attention. 

"Do you know what's pretty?"

She chuckled at his messy handwritings— and of course his cheesiness. 

"You."

It only took her a single word to fall in love all over again. "You"

Nicole Jung certainly knows a thing or two about anniversary. After crossing off 1826 days on the five worn out calendars, and now, counting exactly three more hours before she could finally have him all to herself. She counts her blessings, tomorrow would be her fifth anniversary with the man of her life, Kim Hyeongkon.

Three hours have passed, and now she sees him standing right in front of her. He pulls her into his embrace, kisses her forehead, and whispers "Happy fifth anniversary, you."

hyeongkon/nicole ♥

i'm sorry if this isn't pretty enough :(