𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 | 𝐊- 𝐏𝐎𝐏

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗌𝗂𝗑𝗍𝗒 𝖿𝗂𝗏𝖾

Chapter 46: Azaleas

She sniffles a little as she lifts her face to the chill of the air, her eyes closed tightly to fight the tears back.

'I'm sorry I didn't bring you back sooner. I just, I- didn't want to let go. I didn't want to be all alone.'

"You're not alone Hana." She is startled by a deep voice coming through the darkness. She squeezes her eyes tightly as every muscle in her body tenses at the sound. A long moment of silence passes, too long, it feels like an eternity. She finds a sliver of courage deep within her to open her eyes. She slowly turns her head, to see Taehyung standing in front of her, holding a small bundle of pink roses in his arms. He looks down at her cautiously, his eyes wide in the darkness. "You don't ever have to be alone again," he says softly, stepping closer. Her mind is flooded with thoughts.

"What are you doing here?" She remains frozen to the step, unable to move.

"I came to be with you. You told me I could come," he reminds her, drawing ever closer.

"But why now? Why today?" Her voice quivers as she speaks. She looks over at the urn next to her, and the photograph. Taehyung looks at the photograph too, a soft smile appearing.

"Because today is the day you are saying goodbye to your Grandfather." He steps closer still. She watches him approach, unsure what to think. He smiles at her, and waits, an agonizing moment, for her to speak, but she stares up at him, awestruck.

"How did you-?" She shakes her head in disbelief.

"You told me you would say goodbye at sunrise on his birthday. The sun will rise in a few minutes." She looks behind her to the sky, growing lighter on the horizon and stands up quickly to face the little urn. He stands beside her, quietly regarding the faded image. "I think my Grandmother would have wanted to be here. Let me be with you," he says in a gentle voice. She blinks hard, hearing the words she wanted so desperately to hear the day he walked out of her apartment, out of her life.

She looks back up to the sky and sees the orange and pink clouds rising in the distance and she knows the time has come. She looks down at the urn, at her Grandfather's remains. It feels unreal, standing beside Taehyung now, on this day, but here he is. She nods to him in quiet acquiescence. His presence, in whatever form, gives her the courage to face this moment. She picks up the urn, and he watches as she opens the lid, peering down into the dusty substance that once held the life most important to her.

She steps close to the Azalea bushes surrounding the pavilion. They are just coming into bloom and their delicate flowers are closed in the morning chill. She takes the urn and lowers it toward their roots, and she pauses. He takes one of the pink roses from his bouquet in hand, pulling all of the petals from it, and stands beside her, holding them.

"Grandpa, I will love you every day of my life." Her voice is strong and clear. "I will miss you everyday after until I can see you again. Thank you for making sure I wasn't alone. For making sure I knew what it felt like to be loved." Taehyung listens quietly to her words, letting a tear run down his cheek. She is taken by a sudden thought. "I'm not sure if you knew that I would come all the way to Seoul to bring you back, and meet the Grandson of the woman you loved." Taehyung looks over at her. She can feel his eyes on her, but she continues, "Maybe you did know. Maybe you're somewhere smiling down right now." She looks up at the sky, looking at the clouds glowing with fiery color. She smiles, finding her strength.

"I'm ready to let you go now, and to trust that there is a future for me, without you." She lowers down, and sprinkles the contents of the urn into the row of the flowering brush, stepping along the path to share him with each plant. Taehyung lifts his hand and let's the petals drop from it, tracing her path. He looks over at her, his eyes filling with tears. She rises up as she empties the urn, keeping her back to him. He watches her head drop as her shoulders begin to heave and he moves quickly behind her, to wrap his arms around her. She turns her body towards him, burying her face into his shirtfront as her tears flow. He rocks her body in his embrace, pulling her tightly to him, as he strokes her hair.

"Your Grandfather must have been an extraordinary person for my Grandmother to have loved him, and to have raised you to be the most caring, thoughtful, and beautiful girl in the world." She raises her head to look up into his eyes, looking so fragile, her eyes glistening with her tears. She is so beautiful, she almost glows in the orange light of the dawn. He turns with her in his arms and walks her back to the steps of the pavilion. He picks up the photograph, staring down at it. They sit down, close to each other, as the sky gets lighter with each passing second.

"Do you think they sat here together?" he asks, looking at the steps around them. "Do you think they're sitting with us now?" She smiles up at him, heartbroken, but yet, comforted by his words. She leans her body in to his as he wraps his arm around her.

"Today I realized something very important." He looks down at her, putting the picture aside and wiping a tear from her cheek lovingly. "I realized that my life makes sense with you in it." She looks up at him, as if in a daze. "We've been given a gift our grandparents didn't have, and I'm not going to waste it." He reaches down to take her hand in his. She feels something pressing against her skin and she looks down into his open palm, outstretched. A shimmer of gold encircled by the sparkle of gemstones. He lifts the ring closer to her as she studies it, confused at his intention. "I don't want to be without you for a second longer, I want to marry you, and make our own family."

She is overwhelmed with emotion. She throws her body into his embrace and feels him wrap his arms around her tightly. She presses her cheek to his, intermingling their tears. She pulls back to look into his eyes.

"You're sure? This is what you want?" she asks, almost unable to believe it.

"Since the first moment I saw you. I bought the ring the day I got your invitation to visit. I had it in my pocket as I sat beside you watching the children play in the garden." She smiles at him. "But Hana," he pauses looking very serious. "You haven't told me what you want." She thinks for a moment, and then nods quickly.

"I want marry you!" she says, laughing a little at her eager response. He stands abruptly, pulling her up with him, lifting her body off of the ground, leaving her feet dangling in the air. She pulls her head back and kisses him, forcefully, eagerly, tasting him again as if for the first time.