Love is Stronger than Blood (Snowdrop Oneshots)

65- three seconds

Lee Kangmu rubbed his temples as he walked through the streets of the brightly-illuminated Seoul the night of National Liberation Day. The usual day street market was still abuzz with activity far into the evening. A warm late summer breeze blew through his messy black hair as he did his best to drown out the sounds of fireworks and people laughing, shouting, and talking.

In honor of the holiday, he'd had the day off from work, but he didn't feel any less stressed or emotionally weighed down. A few snippets of the conversation he'd had with Jang Hanna the last time he'd seen her a couple months ago kept replaying in his mind.

"I would like to come back home," he'd said, locking eyes with her across his desk. "Would it be all right with you if I stayed here?"

"It would be fine by me," Hanna had replied. "But would anything be different if you did?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You, know..." she'd trailed off, seemingly struggling for the right words. "Any personal relations...?"

He'd immediately known what she was trying to get at.

"I don't know... I was never good at maintaining good relationships."

The look she'd sent him made him want to both laugh and hide at the same time. He retained his composure, and Hanna had slowly gone to exit the office.

"How about you think on it for a bit, timjangnim? Let me know once you've decided."

With that, she was gone.

Kangmu had just returned from his old ANSP assignment in Berlin, having had settled his affairs there and brought everything else back to Seoul. He hadn't seen Hanna since he'd gotten back. He didn't even know if she knew he had returned again.

He exited the noisy street market and was heading for his apartment building when on a whim he decided to pass through one of the small public parks at the outskirts of the city near his complex. The grassy flat was full of people picnicking and watching the fireworks being sent up from the heart of Seoul, but he made his way through to a far corner on a hill shaded by a couple trees. Not many people came around that way, but he knew there was a small gazebo there where he could rest for a bit before continuing his walk.

He wasn't expecting someone to already be there. He expected even less to know the person.

"Hanna-ya," he called quietly, not wanting to startle her as she sat alone, watching the fireworks. "Is that you?"

She turned her head, seeing him by the entrance to the gazebo.

"Timjangnim?"

He nodded. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead," she said dismissively, turning back just as a blue explosion lit up the sky.

"I can't believe I missed six years of Liberation Day," he mused, sitting next to her and leaning his head on one of the wooden beams holding the structure up. "They don't celebrate it in Europe."

"Unsurprisingly," Hanna commented. She turned to look at him. "Why didn't you tell me you were back?"

"I just got back yesterday evening," Kangmu said.

"So?" She asked. "You're staying?"

"I'm staying," he said with a soft smile he pretended not to direct at her.

"That's good to hear," Hanna said as she looked back up towards the sky.

Kangmu hummed in agreement, and his hand unconsciously reached across to hers resting on the bench. He gently intertwined her fingers with his, and instead of pulling away, Hanna merely cast him a mildly confused expression.