I LOVE YOU SO
Chapter Nineteen
❛ Finding Heaven in Hell. ❜

ANKLE DEEP IN a field of the finest of flowers, each patch of fresh grass was adorned with wild, blossoming plants. Running along the small area were four people, all living harmoniously together. Nothing sabotaged the tranquil feeling they all shared; they all rejoiced as a family. Nestled within the bony trees around the garden, were small birds that chirped merrily as they watched over the small family.

Young Hwang Aera tried to get away from young Jun-ho's thundering feet, she was almost hidden behind the long, tall blades of grass, making it hard for him to get her. Within Aera's hand was a hat, a woolly beanie their Ma made for Jun-ho, in case the harshest of winters dared to exist.

"Give it back you idiot," screeching after his little sister, who was in colourful dungarees and had a small butterfly hair clip on, Jun-ho wriggled his hands, demanding to have his beloved beanie back.

"Be nice to your sister Jun-ho," nearly toppling over as her daughter cowered behind her legs, feeling Aera's tiny fingers grip on to her trousers, their Omma chuckled softly as she fixed her daughter's small pigtails.

"But- but she just stole my hat-" Stammering with a hand gripping on his hair, a frustrated groan tumbled from young Jun-ho's lips as he childishly stomped his feet over towards Aera.

"How can our seven year old sister run faster than you?" Nibbling at a Dalgona biscuit, an expression of mockery reached In-ho's face as he laughed at the two.

"Shut up you moron!" Jun-ho spat back.

"Boys-"

Squealing and stumbling over towards the other side, patches of bright pink stained Aera's little cheeks as a tan began to paint her skin. Her pigtails bounced as her feet drummed against the pavement, her feet no longer buried beneath a sea of grass. Grinning wildly, Aera was so blinded by victory that she didn't realise that Jun-ho was creeping up behind her.

In one blink, they both toppled on to the floor. Seeing darkness for a few seconds, a blaring shriek ripped at Aera's vocal chords as she stayed face down on to the floor. The beanie was snatched away by Jun-ho, a jubilant grin played upon his lips, it fell slowly when his victory was disturbed by Aera's ear-splitting cries.

"Aera?" Jun-ho swallowed gingerly, a sprinkle of fear entered his eyes as they landed on Aera's slumped body.

The skin on her knee was burst open, the deep cut carved into her bone. The impact from the pavement was extremely damaging that crimson blood began to gush out of the cut. "MY LEG," clutching on to her knee, a rush of steam tears trickled down Aera's face.

Scrunching up his face, feeling bile arise in his throat, Jun-ho stumbled backwards, his limbs frozen and unable to move. "I'M- I'M SORRY," darting inside the house, a heavy ounce of guilt boiled within Jun-ho's veins for pushing his sister over accidentally.

With widened eyes, In-ho jolted upwards from where he was and grabbed a long sock that was clipped on to the washing line. Dashing over, a concentrated frown tugged at In-ho's lips as his forehead puckered, "look," trying to bring young Aera's attention away from the gaping hole in her knee, In-ho nodded in reassurance, "your big brother can make you feel all better."

"My knee hurts," still letting out thunderous wails, Aera's bottom lip quivered as she hugged her Ma who rushed over with open arms and anxious eyes.

Her Ma lowered her kind eyes and smeared away the tears that trailed down her daughter's face, "I know baby, but nothing difficult never made anyone stronger," placing a gentle kiss on the top of Aera's forehead, her Ma embraced her daughter tighter when Aera whimpered, "you're my strong girl."

"I'm really sorry Aera," peeking from behind the roughly painted door, it creaked against Jun-ho's weight as he trudged forwards reluctantly.

When she faced away from him with a deep scowl, Jun-ho trampled on to the grass and towards Aera, he crouched down next to her and extended his arm, one that had the knitted pink beanie in his hand.

Hesitating before grabbing the beanie again, a gleeful chortle escaped from young Aera's lips as she waved it around, "I win, I have your hat," shaking it in front of Jun-ho's face, she almost cackled at the sight of regret filling his pupils.

"You're all not winning yet idiots," taking the soft beanie from Aera's hands, In-ho created another fit of howls from his sister and a possible war with his brother. Almost skipping around the garden, a triumphant grin landed on In-ho's lips as he stood on his tippy-toes with the hat in his hand, knowing that he was the tallest so they all couldn't reach it.

Even though Aera was so young, she could remember the sweltering weather and how the golden rays caught on to the petals of the flowers. The jolly laughter from her brothers- and her within her Ma's arms. The colossal ball of gas in the sky casted a heavenly glow on the garden, creating a typical and innocent atmosphere for a childhood memory.

Furiously swiping away at her tears, Aera found herself staring at the large plastic container that held the answer to everyone's greed. The piggy bank. The yellow glow from the lights was close enough to resembling the sun. Oh how she missed drowning in the warm Seoul sun rays, she missed the sun, a lot.

When she got that call from her brother, Jun-ho, some part of her was relieved. She was relieved that she could soak in the balmy, welcoming sun rays, and fill her lungs the precious air that floated around in Seoul. It was torture being contained within a concealed facility- right within Seoul.

It was torture thinking that she finally got the chance to be home again, yet she felt even more far away from home than she felt in New York.

Tearing her eyes away from the piggy bank tiredly, fatigue tried to close Aera's eyes as she fiddled with the blanket that sat on her feet. Snatching her attention away from the thoughts that swarmed in her mind, Sae-byeok dragged the soft blanket higher up both their shoulders, since it was riding down.

Fiddling with a strand of Aera's hair, Sae-byeok scanned the deep marks under Aera's eyes, a sign of fatigue, "what are you thinking of," the large blanket held them close, making their warm breaths meld and dissipate into the air together.

"My brothers, and how they're such idiots," shaking her head with moistened eyes, Aera brought her head down into her knees for a few moments before bringing them back up again, resulting the sides of her hair to be tousled, "but they're family so, I guess that makes me an idiot too," she chuckled lightly to herself.

"Yeah, it must run in the family." This earned her a light slap on the shoulder, in which Sae-byeok cowered away tinily with a tiny grin. Exhaling whilst playing around with the label on the blanket, a faint tug on the corner of Sae-byeok's soft lips could be seen, "to be honest . . . you're the only idiot I tolerate," she blurted out and scrunched her nose up right after at the way she delivered that statement.

"God you're so corny." Inwardly, Aera's chest swelled, reaching over and clasping a semi-cold palm on top of Sae-byeok's warm ones, a glisten of tears coated Aera's pretty eyes. "And . . . I say the same to you," just scanning her dainty features, it was enough to set Aera's mind at ease. Placing her forehead against Sae-byeok's, feeling Sae-byeok's rough fringe against her skin, a tiny grin morphed on to Aera's lips, "how's your brother? The last time I saw Cheol, he was seven, does he still want to be a pilot?"

"He misses you," playing with Aera's locket that dangled to and fro from her neck, Sae-byeok chuckled softly, "and I haven't really asked that, maybe he does. But I do know that he misses playing Statues with you." The innocent view around the game was long damaged since Sae-byeok got muddled into this mess, but she didn't have the heart to tell Aera this, "sometimes he gets mad about it and throws a tantrum, so I tell him that if I see you, I'll give you a big slap."

"I do deserve that though," Aera's minty breath wafted calmly against the tip of Sae-byeok's nose as she fluttered her eyes shut.

Reminiscing over the bike rides they used to have after school, the fresh winds would glide through their hair as they cycled to the orphanage. Aera remembered the tiny, sandy area with a large shelter that held hopeful children. She couldn't help but see the hope drain from their eyes, when they realised that it wasn't their parents or people looking to adopt when both her and Sae-byeok arrived at the place. The sight wrenched at her heartstrings.

A young boy with raven hair, would always run towards the two with a precious smile upon his face, he'd wait in front of the colourful fences with sparkling eyes, waiting for his sister and her friend. Cheol would extend his arms, ready for Aera to swing him around and give him a large embrace, before tugging on her sleeves, begging her to play Statues with him. Both Sae-byeok and Aera would chuckle gaily, as the warm sun showered them with its golden rays.

Tearing her mind away from the fond memories, a comfortable silence fell upon them. Aera's pulse pounded within her ears as she let her fingers walk against Sae-byeok's bare arm. Sae-byeok had tossed her jacket to the side a while ago from how warm it was getting, Aera fiddled with it with her free hand. Watching carefully through tired eyes and an unfocused mind, Sae-byeok almost shivered from Aera's tender touch.

Gulping, Aera dragged her eyes upwards almost suffocated from the lack of oxygen she was getting. The rise and fall of Aera's chest began to stagger as she kept her dumbfounded eyes on Sae-byeok's graceful eyes, they had twinkling lights reflected on the surface of them, from the piggy bank.

At that moment it seemed as if Aera's emotions were being put on a tranquilliser, they steadied as her eyes repetitively darted from Sae-byeok's intense pupils to her cherry colour stained lips.

Thump, thump, thump.

Their hearts were the only things that moved alongside their racing thoughts- yet they stayed rooted to the spot.

The ecstatic emotions they used to have, had been trapped in a cork bottle for numerous of years, but right then, it just washed up to the shore. The cork ripped open, and out tumbled the blissful feelings. Iridescent colours filled the air- colours that made them unsure of whether or not to show them to the world.

"We're giving us another chance right?" Sae-byeok ran a hand, tenderly, on to each healing bruise that littered Aera's neck, ones that were caused by Deok-su, she frowned at them, her veins almost bursting as fury boiled through them. But just gazing into Aera's pure eyes, it decreased that rage within her.

Sae-byeok's hushed tone rang through Aera's ears, Aera was only just about to depict Sae-byeok's voice, as she fixed her eyes on to Sae-byeok's angelic features, "I hope so."

The stairs they were on, creaked slightly as the both of them leaned in. Their delicate noses grazed against each other, "I'm willing to," Sae-byeok tucked a tendril of hair behind Aera's ears, "if you are," Sae-byeok repeated as her pupils expanded ever so, and they only increased as she gazed into Aera's eyes.

Their soft breaths fanned gently against both their flushed cheeks. Sae-byeok's hand trailed away from Aera's jawline and combed into the back of Aera's unkempt hair.

Sighing peacefully, making Sae-byeok's loose strands of hair to fly gently, Aera began, "when I went to New York, I didn't just go because I thought it'd benefit my future and my family. I did it because it'd get me away from you," swallowing thickly, Aera's tone trembled slightly, "I was just . . . I was scared, I thought it would be the solution to it all."

Watching as Sae-byeok shut her eyes tightly, Aera hurried, desperate to make them open again, "but I realised that I was wrong. I've been trying so hard to create a future dedicated to help my family, that I was beginning to lose myself. I was wondering why it all slipped through my hands, so quickly. I thought, by living out my dreams in New York- that, that would be it. But I began to lose myself. I . . . I genuinely lost myself. I was trying to build this fake future, when in reality," catching the tiny tear that dared to trail down Sae-byeok's cheek, Aera caught it with the tip of her finger, "that's not what I want."

"Then what do you want?"

"Myself back," cupping a side of Sae-byeok's freckle decorated cheeks, it felt warm against her skin, dragging her thumb across, a flitter of fluttery feelings to commenced within Aera's stomach as she leaned in closer, "but ever since I arrived in this hellhole, it's been the first time I felt like myself in . . . years. It's been so long since I felt how freeing it is, I forgot what that- what that felt like."

Softly smiling through blurry tears, at last a sincere chuckle illuminated Sae-byeok's features. For so long, she didn't realise how much she wanted to hear those words come out of Aera's pink lips. She chose to believe that Aera's words were true, for she had nothing else that was good within that darned facility. Finding the light within such a cruel place, was arduous, but with Aera right in front of her, it wasn't at all hard.

Sealing the little space between them, "is this what you want too?" Sae-byeok darted her eyes all over Aera's elegantly structured face, before fitting her parted lips gently onto the surface of Aera's strawberry pink lips, causing Aera's soft gasp to be suppressed.

Freezing for a few milliseconds, an uncontrollable deep sigh flew out of Aera's lips, "mhm," she felt as though the wind was being knocked out of her lungs, at her own pace, she sunk into the delicate kiss, her mind swarmed with nothing but amorous emotions and the raven haired girl before her.

"This . . ," gliding her top lip down towards the surface of Aera's bruised neck, a burst of colours danced within Aera's chest as her exhales grew quiet and rapid. Sae-byeok let her parted lips peck each individual purple bruise with such care, that they almost healed for a millisecond, her soft lips were almost like an ointment to mend each bruise.

Grazing the side of her thumb against Aera's shiny cheek, with her fingers woven into Aera's disarranged hair, with half closed eyes, Sae-byeok's light peck on Aera's cheek caused the area to tingle, "this?"

Lowering her tender mouth on to the very tip of Aera's chin, Sae-byeok smoothly pecked it once more, "and this?"

"Mhm . . ." Aera dragged her own lips downwards, ones with cracks from biting down on the so much, due to apprehension, back on to Sae-byeok's cherry tinted lips, they pieced together once more, a trigger to the set the fluttery feelings within their stomachs to run wild. "All of it," elevating her chin so that it pointed towards the ceiling as Sae-byeok skimmed her hand across the surface of Aera's leg, she felt Sae-byeok's tender lips plant more affectionate kisses along her neck.

Just for a moment, they were back at the riverside, in Seoul, with their picnic baskets and a soft blanket beneath them. The shining waters glistened before the two, as the stars shone with purpose, listening intently at the girl's sweet nothings. The night breeze combing through their wavy hair, everything was carefree.

When the two pulled away from each other with ragged breaths, and a slither of a soft smile upon their faces, they were back inside the cruel facility again- with the intimate moment running circles within their heads.

( 2823 words )

DEAR ALL,

Found this on Pinterest here you go🤲💓💞💗💖💕

See you in the next one hehe

WITH LOVE, SYLVIA