First Snow
Fragments of Memories
Title: First Snow
Characters: IU, Baekhyun
Genre: romance, sliceoflife
Inspired by the jolly ol' Christmas spirit? LOL
It was already the twenty fifth of December, Christmas Day. As it always was around this time of the year in South Korea, the weather was harsh and merciless. Wind swept around like sharp knives, howling at anything standing in its way. The skies were usually pretty dark; it was probably because the sun, too, felt cold and wanted to shelter itself behind the protection of the clouds.
And by then, one would think that it would snow.
But no such thing happened.
“No romance,” Lee Jieun blurted out. She glanced up above her towards the sky before burying her face back down into her pure white, wool scarf and shoving her reddened hands into the pockets of her parka jacket. “This season lacks every bit of anything romantic. As if I need to be reminded about the lack of romance in my relationship...” Grumbling, she trudged her way to an open plaza; she was supposed to meet her boyfriend Byun Baekhyun in about ten minutes there.
She sighed and looked around. There were couples everywhere—and by everywhere, it meant everywhere her eyes could possibly reach. Before, she had thought that it was just an exaggerated figure of speech told by singles envious of the “season’s love” they were missing out on. But, Jieun came to realize that Christmas really was the day for couples.
Impatiently, Jieun crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she waited for Baekhyun. “Any minute now,” she murmured to herself, looking around. She was standing right by an enormous Christmas tree covered in numerous lights and decorations of various colors and sizes. The tree seemed to be pouring out happiness to anyone that set their gaze upon it, but for some reason, the pretty flickering lights just made Jieun sadder and more upset.
She and her boyfriend shared a relationship that could be referred to as “unstable”, or maybe more precisely “uncertain”. The two had interest in each other, that was for sure. But not one of them was sure—or brave—enough to admit it. It wasn’t that they were shy. In fact, they were far from the types of couples to be blushing around each other every second they were together and stammering all the time. Jieun and Baekhyun, in a third perspective, appeared to be going round and round the “friendzone.”
Then again, this uncertain relationship couldn’t be helped. They were the prime case of the infamous “friends-became-lovers.” There were no confessions, no rings, and no promises of love. There was only a text message—“I think I want to be something more than friends with you”—between them, and what they had now was the result of it. Frankly, by then, Jieun was beginning to regret taking the other’s offer. What they were holding onto was fragile and weak. In a matter of time, it would break, and all that would remain is nothing. They wouldn’t be able to be friends, either.
Finally, Jieun arrived at the final conclusion. It would be best that they end their relationship. She had been beating around the bushes for as long as she could, but it was now to her understanding that this was inevitable. If he wasn’t going to do it this day (which sadly and unfortunately happened to be Christmas), she would.
So, using the last bit of patience she had left, she stood in the cold night air, waiting.
Then, suddenly, something cold landed on the tip of Jieun’s nose. When her eyes had focused on the object, she saw that it was snow. She looked up in surprise, and to her disbelief, snow began to fall gently from the clouds to the streets and everything above them.
She let out a deep breath. White steam filled the air, only to disappear within seconds. Meanwhile, white particles from the sky fell continuously and began to slowly pile on the ground. The sudden snow made her feel uneasy about things, and she didn’t know why. “You’re just getting emotional,” she said out loud. “It’s the effect of the holidays. Don’t overthink it.”
Jieun was taken by surprise once more when an arm pulled her from the back, securely fastening around her waist. It was those of Byun Baekhyun’s. Holding her closely, he rested his chin on her shoulder and kissed her hair.
“First snow of the year,” he whispered into her ear. She felt him smile. “What does it feel like to see it with me?”
She answered in all honesty. “Strange.” She shortly added with a frown, “Unsure.”
Baekhyun breathed in, inhaling Jieun’s faint scent of lilacs. “I know, baby.” He loosened his grip on her and gently turned her around by the shoulders to face him. “And I know what you’ve been thinking the entire time you were waiting for me.”
“Do you?”
He nodded. “But before you say it, listen to me first.” Shoving his right hand into his pocket, he continued, “It was hard for me to figure out what we really were. Everything was so blurry between us that I couldn’t distinguish what was what. I thought to myself that maybe we just weren’t meant to be a couple. I didn’t want to lead you on, nor did I want to be lead on. I wanted to be sure.”
Jieun set her intent gaze on the other’s, listening quietly. He gave her a small smile in response.
“I thought about it over and over and over again before and during I was coming here. But, the more I thought about it, the surer I became.” Baekhyun then pulled out his other arm—his left one, which he had been hiding behind his back—and held a single, red rose in his hand. “I love you, Lee Jieun. You aren’t a friend. I see you as a woman, the woman I love. Maybe I’m being rash and a bit too quick in using the word “love,” but I know I mean it.” He brought the flower closer to her, prompting her to accept it. “Jieun, please be by my side. I’m sorry it took me this long to finally organize my thoughts. But I promise you. I promise that I will return all the time you’ve spent waiting for me in double, if not more.”
Reaching out her hand, Jieun brushed her fingertips against the petals of the rose before taking it. The sound of a small chuckle resonated around Baekhyun’s ears. “You didn’t have to prepare such a long speech,” she murmured. “No matter what I was thinking before, you’d always manage to shake me up with mere words.”
At last, a wide grin spread across his face. “You,” he breathed out. He then pulled her closer to his embrace for a kiss, their very first (but definitely not their last). They exchanged warmth with one another, and it was only after Baekhyun had flushed red from the lack of air that he pulled away from her.
Keeping Jieun right beside him, Baekhyun began to walk ahead. He enveloped her hand with his, intertwining their fingers together, and put their hands in his coat pocket. When a sly thought crept into his mind, he smirked a little. “Hey, did you know?”
She blinked, looking up at him. “What?”
“You taste like mint. Peppermint.”
Blushing furiously, Jieun yanked her hand away from him, bent down, and scrapped up bits of snow from the floor. She rolled it tightly in her fist and threw it at him, which missed the side of his face by just centimeters. “You idiot!” she exclaimed, huffing.
Baekhyun jogged away, trying to escape any calamities that might come his way if he said anything else. “I’m sorry! I was just kidding!”
At his childishness, she chuckled a little. “You’re lucky I love you,” she said quietly, rolling her eyes.
“What was that?”
Jieun caught up to him and hooked her arms with his, smiling. “I said it was really romantic. Seeing the first snow with you, I mean.”
i walked to the market earlier this evening and they had this christmas wreath thing hanging below the sign...and strangely that gave me motivation to write LOL and this is kinda my getaway after writing my history essay... i still have reading and other stuff to do D;
i actually have another christmas oneshot in mind! so watch out for another update sooner or later~ ahaha
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