[TABLE]: sender touches receiver's thigh under the table at a restaurant or a dinner party // daehyun x danbi
it had been quite some time since danbi found herself in the company of so many people gathered not out of obligation or urgency, but simply to sit, to eat, to drink good wine, and to share the stories that made up their lives, or even just the small, mundane rhythms of the everyday. it had been even longer since such scenes felt natural to her. life hadn’t been particularly lively in a while. invitations still came, of course, but she couldn’t attend every event or gathering. there were the children to think of and honestly idea of standing for more than thirty minutes in shoes that pinched was, more often than not, enough to keep her home. she much preferred quiet moments like this, surrounded by people whose lives, like hers, had taken on a slower, softer shape. where stories about diaper changes turned into laughter, and forgetting a lunchbox had the weight of a midweek tragedy. she could see herself in those stories, in those lives, reflected back across the dinner table. and yet, a question lingered—why, among all this familiarity, did she still feel like she didn’t quite belong?
it wasn’t about her being shy, or even about her former life on television. many of the mothers admired her and made a point of including her in everything they organized. they were proud to have danbi as a guest. they were kind, thoughtful, and open. there was a quiet camaraderie between them, a shared attentiveness born from that deep, universal desire to do right by their children. danbi, too, took pride in these small parental rituals. she liked staying informed about the school, the community, the subtle pulse of neighborhood life. it was all so different from the life she’d lived before—and yet, as with most things she tried her hand at, she navigated it with grace and competence.
still, for all her effort, and all the appreciation directed her way, something within her hesitated to fully inhabit the role. not because it was wrong. there was nothing inherently difficult in becoming what others expected her to be. after all, she had been playing roles—gracefully, convincingly—for most of her life. and yet. even when other mothers looked at her with wide eyes and said, “wow, i don’t know how you do it,” danbi could only offer a soft smile, a small pause, and the most honest answer she had “neither do i.”
it only took a glance for daehyun to know exactly what she was thinking and feeling. it was something not every couple had, but time and everything they had been through together had given them that quiet, mutual power. and when her gaze drifted far away, distant, detached from reality in a way she herself couldn't comprehend, that was when he would find her. with his radiant presence, his comforting smile, and his soul-deep touch of someone who knew her inside out.
this feeling came when she felt his hand find her leg under the table. there was no need for words, just a gentle glance, a shared smile, ordinary and unremarkable on the surface but meaningful for them. suddenly, it was as if color returned to her world. her head, once lost in the clouds, was back in the present, wherever that present was, as long as it was with him. his quiet reassurance was all she needed. like in the arkam song, i don't wanna be okay without you. there was no point in having a life if not shared between them. and deep down, the understanding that she didn’t need to be anything more, or anyone else, so long as she was herself and things would work out as they always did. the danbi he knew and loved was the one worthy of it all, he had told her that more than once in many different ways. which made her certain that this life they had built together was for them and their children only and anything else telling otherwise was just background noise.
