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"Sae-Byeok~"
A rather sleepy Kang Sae-Byeok heard her name being called, albeit not fully awake yet.
"Yah! Sae-Byeok-a!” The voice grew a little louder, followed by the person lightly shaking her body.
Sae-Byeok groaned, slowly opening her eyes. Normally she’d make it the person’s problem that they disturbed her from sleeping, but when she slowly batted her eyes open to see those sparkly, excited brown eyes that belonged to her lover, how could she?
“Mmmh…. Okay, Ji-Yeong, I’m up. What?” The taller woman struggled to make her sleepy voice sound a little more conscious. Not that it bothered Ji-Yeong, anyway. She always had such a soft spot for Sae-Byeok’s sleepy voice.
“It’s snowing, love, it’s snowing~!” Ji-Yeong’s giggle echoed through their bedroom as she bounced up and down in place. Before Sae-Byeok even had the time to react, Ji-Yeong had already sprung off the bed, dashing for her coat and boots, and making her way outside.
The Northerner was never a morning person, let alone a snow and cold person. But she felt she had no reason to be grumpy right now. She understands that Ji-Yeong’s simply reliving the things she never got to experience when she was younger, and god, was it adorable to her. How dare she even feel the familiarity of misery when that hypnotic aura surrounded her girlfriend?
After waking herself up a little more, Sae-Byeok acquired her own winter apparel and followed the shorter girl outside. It didn’t take very long for Ji-Yeong to be completely and utterly invested in the world around her.
"Sae-Byeok-a! Hahah, look at all of this! Isn’t it so pretty?” Ji-Yeong’s laughter followed suit, taking a pile of snow in her hands and throwing it above her head.
The Southerner watched as her love spun around and enveloped herself in her environment, subconsciously nodding in response. If anything, the question had a double meaning to her. She felt like Ji-Yeong’s smile could be seen from miles away. Her teeth sparkled and shined from the little sunlight they saw, as her eyes twinkled from the pure bliss that was going on in her mind.
Sae-Byeok truly felt like she was falling in love with this girl all over again.
She watched as Ji-Yeong skipped around and trudged through the snowbanks, twirling and dancing around like no one was watching. Sae-Byeok was freezing just mere minutes ago, and now she felt such a surge of warmth consume her whole. She was drowning in it.
She thought about Ji-Yeong’s lack of childhood. How she had been through so much to get to where she is right now. How normally nobody else would get to see this side of her personality. It always made Sae-Byeok wonder what she could’ve possibly done to deserve that, let alone be loved by such an impeccable, incredible woman.
They had been together for about half a year now, and she still can’t seem to process it when Ji-Yeong compliments her or keep her badass and stoic composure when they touch each other, whether it’s intentional or not.
It felt like it was out of nowhere when she suddenly felt a hand around her wrist, nearly yanking her deeper into their backyard. She yelped, causing another giggle from Ji-Yeong.
“Haha! Sooorrryyy~ I didn’t mean to grab you so hard; I’m just excited, hehe." She apologized with a small, shy smile.
“I know you are, aein, it’s okay,” The taller woman reassured her, planting a kiss to Ji-Yeong’s mittened hand. Not even the typically emotionless Kang Sae-Byeok could suppress the smile that tugged at her lips.
Ji-Yeong’s happiness was so ridiculously contagious to her. It was impossible not to feel it, too. Mere seconds later, Ji-Yeong found herself giggling again, flopping over and making a snow angel on the ground. Sae-Byeok looked at her a little funny, unaware of the intention behind the movement Ji-Yeong was doing.
“…love, what are you doing?” Sae-Byeok asked her, tilting her head.
“Making a snow angellll~” she glanced back over at the northerner, eyeing the girl up and down, developing an idea in her head. “Hehe… I think you need to make one, too!”
The idea of lying down in the snow caused Sae-Byeok’s eyes to widen, her cheeks tinting a deep crimson color.
“A-Ah… I don’t know about that, Ji. I’m sure mine won’t look nearly as good as y-“
Before she had a chance to react, Sae-Byeok was already on the ground, flat on her back. Her limbs were sprawled out on the ground due to someone moving her body around for her.
“J-Ji-Yeong…!” She yelped, shivering from the shock of the cold snow on the back of her head. “Wh-What’re you doing…?”
"Teaching you how to have a little fun!” She replies, guiding Sae-Byeok’s limbs. “Now, just keep moving your body like that!”
Sae-Byeok hesitated before looking over at Ji-Yeong, who flopped back over where she was before and continued on her own snow angel. She mirrored the movements the best to her ability, albeit awkwardly.
It was within minutes where the cold was starting to get to her, so she stood up to look at the… rather interesting shape her body had left behind.
Her girlfriend soon followed suit, getting up next to her and looking at the prints left in the ground by them.
The northerner sighed, realizing once more why she felt inferior to her girl. Not only was Ji-Yeong unbothered by the cold, but she also could do something as silly as making an imprint on the ground better than she did.
It wasn’t her fault, though. Sae-Byeok also didn’t have much of a childhood, either. She hadn’t even heard of what these things are until now.
Even through her insecurities, Ji-Yeong still gave her one of those smiles that just made her heart melt instantly. It was like she could read Sae-Byeok’s mind, as always.
“You still did good, y'know... Don’t beat yourself up over something so trivial, okay?” Her girlfriend reassured her gently, resting her chin on the taller woman’s shoulder after giving it a kiss.
Sae-Byeok nodded, giving her a gentle smile as a thank you. She couldn’t seem to get the words out of her mouth, but that was okay for Ji-Yeong. She already knew what Sae-Byeok was trying to say without saying it. The shoulder kiss also gave her girlfriend the signal that she was shivering.
“Hey, I think I’ve had enough fun out here; you look like you’re freezing... Let’s go inside, okay?"
Another nod.
"Atta girl, thank you for not giving me the whole ‘but you’re having so much fun’, and ‘what about you’ protest,” she teased, taking Sae-Byeok’s hand and leading her inside.
After making their way inside, Ji-Yeong sat Sae-Byeok down by their fireplace, wrapping her in a warm blanket and handing her a hot chocolate she made for her lover.
Sae-Byeok accepted it with a sigh, finally being able to muster up a singular "sorry."
“Hey now, we talked about this,” The southern native shook her head, not accepting something she didn’t have to hear. “What have I been telling you about the apologizing?”
Sae-Byeok looked away sheepishly, cheeks tinting a slight pinkish shade. “…to not say sorry for being a human being."
“Exactly right,” She gave the other girl a smile, sitting down next to her.
"Thank you."
“But you-"
Sae-Byeok’s protest was cut short by Ji-Yeong’s lips locking onto hers. The kiss was chaste, gentle... full of nothing but pure love and adoration. After a minute, Ji-Yeong finally pulled away.
“But nothing. I love you, and I’m perfectly content and happy where I’m at right now. Do you understand that?"
The taller woman sat there, completely dumbfounded but clearly defeated. She chuckled softly, reaching out for Ji-Yeong’s hand.
"I love you too, sweet girl.”