#yweunki

The friendly grin on his sharp features slowly turns to a sigh as he watches his secretary go on her break while he opted to stay in his office to finish off some paperwork. Minhyuk cranes his neck from side to side, flinching ever so slightly at the when he pulled a particularly stiff muscle. He should be used to this and truly he is, but sometimes he wishes he wasn’t. 

Following his secretary’s example, he picks up his phone to quickly type a message to Jiae asking how are her and the baby’s day is going. It reminds him that they are now a major reason for him to be working through lunch, so he could go home early to his family. Just as he was about to go back to work, the pleasant surprise from someone he was truly fond of decided to visit. 

“Hello Eunki-ah, how’s it going kid?” Minhyuk’s smile was genuine and more relaxed than it had been earlier. “You doing alright?”

･ﾟ✧  𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒊   wrapped tightly in a warm coat, but jiae can’t help but wonder if it’s still too cold for her.  this is the first time that she’s brought her daughter out so late at night, especially in the winter months.  but this festival is important, and she wants to bring nabi up in a world where she believes.  after all, jiae lost faith once and had to find her path back to the goddess.  she wants nabi to know the reason for everything.

that’s why the viewing of the winter star is so important  -  to her, and for nabi to see it for the first time, during her first year on this earth.  what seems like the entire town is out and about after a good meal; jiae can’t say that she’s surprised considering the importance of the event.  even if it’s a tradition that’s slowly dying, the town still celebrates.  

as always though, there are whispers.  jiae wears her smile anyway, walking briskly to escape the cold and to protect nabi from hearing things that she doesn’t want her to  -  only for her to bump into eunki gently.  allowing a sigh to escape her lips and shifting nabi on her hip, jiae smiles  -  it’s easier to ignore whispers if she’s locked in conversation of her own.  “ oh .. eunki  -  are you here for the viewing, too?”

@yweunki

she should have been a bit more attentive back then and tried not to ruin someone’s night as soon as it started. the past was in the past, of course, but the present felt just a tiny bit worse on her side of the story.

after spilling half a cup worth of grape juice on son daehyun’s white shirt (on accident), youngae politely offered her special winter coat to cover it all up. it was all out of a good heart, but now the girl can’t help but curse at her past self. the feast carried on until later into the night and, as the name suggested it, it was winter. the darker it was outside, the colder it’d get.

                    there's something just so satisfying about finishing the morning delivery run , something he never quite felt with his work in the labs . science is a fickle thing ; no matter the weeks , the months - even years he could spend working on the same project , there was always more work to be done , always more steps to climb . life here in yangwon is so much more simpler , more enjoyable .

                    it's all in the simple things , after all , right ?

                    the bell chimes its little song as han takes a step through the cafe doors , the warm air welcoming him with open arms . a small tingle runs through his body at the change in temperature , his skin still cold from the lingering morning's touch . he orders the house blend , black , the way he likes it ( or at the very least , the way he's grown used to ) , and just like that a cup is in his hand and he's taking a sip of its goodness . its warmth spreads throughout him , and for a second he's forgotten the winter outside . he's just about ready to leave the shop when , out of the corner of his eyes , he sees him - eunki sitting comfortably sitting at one of the tables , papers in front of him and pen in hand , focused on doing whatever it is he’s doing .

— IT WAS YET ANOTHER slow day at the center. with the holidays in full swing, many were either away or at home and didn’t need to use the daycare as often as they would otherwise. for taeho it meant some free time to socialize with eunki, but also missing out on seeing some of his favorite kids. it’s just around closing time, and the male is bored out of his mind awaiting the time he can leave. that is, until a familiar male entering the building catches his eye. he nearly falls over the toys as he scrambles to his feet, eyes lighting up as he approaches with a smile. “ i - hey ! ” he spits out, all the way doubting himself. “ do my reindeer antlers make me look stupid ? ” he asks himself, checking himself out in the reflection of the window. hastily, taeho adjusts his hair.

okay - so this was pathetic, and he knew it. taeho knew that for daehyun, he was nothing more than a friend, that guy who worked at the daycare he picked his friend’s kid up from. but to taeho ? his heart had, without warning, taken a liking to the older after his frequent visits, sometimes with cheonsa and sometimes alone. and god, was it embarrasing ! not that daehyun’s a guy, he’s accepted his sexuality for a while and it wasn’t quite a big deal anymore. but it was the fact that he knows daehyun never felt the same. he knows this, and yet, his mind reminds him of the same stupid fact everytime the other enters the room - he has a crush. it wasn’t all too uncommon for him - taeho fell for people after passing by them in a store - but his growing affections from seeing daehyun so much didn’t help at all. “ i mean - happy holidays ! haha, yeah. here to pick up ara ? you’ve gotta fill this out, but uh, i’m sure you’re used to it ! ” sliding the pick up sheet across the counter, he nearly zones out before a realization comes to him. “ oh ! i almost forgot. i uh ... ” rummaging through the desk he seems to find nothing, until triumphantly he pulls out a small box of cookies. “ i got this for you, but i didn’t know you’d be coming today ... so it’s not wrapped ! but i did make them myself. uh .... do you like cookies ? ” complete failure.

— AT THIS POINT, TAEHO’S used to the constant slipping and sliding up the hill. it certainly didn’t make each and every fall any less embarrassing, but knowing that eunki was the one to witness it took the sting off a little. after all, the boy was one of his closest friends in the small town, and it's always felt like they’ve known each other since they were babies. but the two hadn’t known each other longer than a couple years, and yet their similar lifestyles had brought them closer than taeho would have expected. now, per taeho’s request, they were hiking up the mountain, preparing to do one of his most anticipated activities - sledding.

it wasn’t exactly that taeho liked to sled - in fact, he didn’t know the first thing about it. instead, it’d been something he had always seen in the movies, and thought that was just what you were supposed to do in the snow. taeho’s nearly at the spot they’ll be starting at, confidence beginning to run through him, the male even claiming “ this is pretty easy ! ” to the male behind him as they approach the peak. everything seems fine until suddenly, the ground below him seems to give out. looking behind him, he gives his companion a look of worry, but before anything can be said his body begins to fall down the hill. he’s hoping something can slow him down, but all that’s around him is slippery snow - and it’s sending him straight in poor eunki’s direction. “ eunki ! duck ! duck ! ”

( @yweunki )

     the waitstaff fills up their mugs as the sun starts to set over yangwon’s fields and the cold weather begins to deliver frost to every surface of the small city. areum is thankful for the warmth of the diner and the chance to meet with a friend and fellow aspiring educator. there’s not many people who enjoy working with children enough to call it their career, so eunki is definitely someone she enjoys company from.