but she survived | sae-byeok x ji-yeong

when your daughter is in love, you notice

"A party?"

Cheol's eyes were twinkling with amazement at his sister's words. Not only did he get his mother home, but he also got to throw a party for her? 

"Yes, a party, Cheol," His sister confirmed, strolling down yet another aisle with the boy trying his hardest to keep up with her long steps. To him, the store seemed nearly endless, always a new aisle coming into sight when he thought they had gotten to the end, making the only thing he could do follow his sister and not leave her side. "It's not going to be anything big, we just want to welcome her with some good food and such."

Three months had passed. Sae-byeok didn't want to say already, because it hadn't already passed. But the months hadn't felt long either. They had felt like three months precisely, and Sae-byeok didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. But who cares now that they're over? Now that the crisp spring air and blooming everything had turned into hot days filled with an unnatural amount of sunscreen and piña colada ice cream, which was Ji-yeong's favorite. 'The classics are just so boring', she had stated moments before chocolate was announced to be her girlfriend's number one. 

"When is she coming again?" Cheol asked, grasping out for her hand in an attempt to keep up with her extremely fast pace. 

"We have to go home with the groceries, and then you and I will pick her up." Sae-byeok's eyes were squinting, face filled with frustration as she looked down at the shopping list her girlfriend had made for her. Even though the taller girl admired practically everything about Ji-yeong, her handwriting wasn't exactly the best. "What the fuck does that say?" Sae-byeok muttered under her breath, trying her hardest to just read the messy words scribbled on the paper. 

At some point though, she gave up, heading towards whatever she thought could possibly be what her girlfriend had written, the uncertainty still sitting sternly in her chest. She wanted the party to be perfect. For her mother's arrival home to be perfect. For all of it to be. She had never been satisfied with good enough, and she never would. Her mother deserved the best, and Sae-byeok would give her that exactly. 

When they had returned home with the groceries, they put them on the kitchen counter, Ji-yeong receiving a loving peck from her girlfriend in the process before they yet again were out the door and on their way to get their mother. Sae-byeok could feel her heart beating. She knew it would always be there, pumping the blood through her veins till the day she died, but there was just something about feeling it. She didn't appreciate the feeling though, and she couldn't help the slight fear of it being visible through her shirt. She wanted her mother home more than anything, but the nervousness wouldn't vanish, no matter how hard she tried to force it. 

Sae-byeok had the day before cleaned her mother's and brother's house once again, not much of a difference coming out of it since it had stood empty and unused, each piece of furniture standing as they put it the last time. She had also visited her mother on one of her single trips, where they had decided Cheol would continue living with his sister and Ji-yeong for just a little while after their mother moved into her new house. It wouldn't be for too long, she just needed her time to adjust and that would be easier without a child to take care of. But only in the beginning, of course. 

The sun was still hanging high on the cloudless sky, even when the afternoon was starting to pass by, evening slowly being welcomed by the mild wind that immediately caught Sae-byeok's short locks making her brush them away with a bit of difficulty. It was a perfect day. She could feel her body getting lightly jerked to the side with every excited step her brother took. Or not step, jump would probably be the better word for what he was doing. "When will I live with her?" She hadn't expected the boy's question in that peaceful moment. She had in every other scenario, almost waited for it, but not now.