magnolia - daerin

8

(a/n - stream bewitched, and make sure to watch the mv too. laufey feeds my delulu :D)

june 4, 2024, 2nd day of haerin and danielle's vacation

haerin stared at the yellow tram in front of her.

wow... so cute...

"but i do have to warn you, haerin," rodrigo suddenly said,

"when we're getting on, please do keep your valuables close to you and wear your bag on the front. there are a lot of pickpockets that are on this route, so just be careful."

the two stepped onto the tram. rodrigo greeted the driver.

"boa tarde!"

he hands haerin a transportation card, and then scans his own. haerin holds her card up to the scanner but it does not go through. she looks at the driver, who is facing forward. then she looks at rodrigo.

"uhm... a little help?"

--

danielle, who was sitting in the back of the tram, watched as a tanned boy and the girl she was madly in love with made small talk. she could tell it was haerin just from her voice. she listened in to their conversation.

the tanned boy, who's name she learned was rodrigo, told haerin,

"so, we have to get off the tram soon and then reboard so we could travel the route backward. or, if you want to, we can just get off at there and i can treat you for some pasteis de nata."

danielle's heart wrenched as she saw haerin's eyes sparkle when rodrigo mentioned pasteis de nata.

fuck
that's supposed to be me
that's supposed to be me with haerin there
buying her food
going on cute dates with her on vacation
that's supposed to be me

--

"everybody off!" the tram driver called as they reached the tram's final stop. slowly but surely, everyone on the tram exited into the blazing portuguese sun. the final stop was at a roundabout with a statue of a saint in the middle.

haerin exited alongside rodrigo.

"you can go into the park over there," rodrigo pointed towards a small open green that featured a dog park, some outdoor fitness equipment, and a few benches for sitting. "someone is calling me, and because the queue back into the tram is a little long you can go over there for a while."

"okay! thanks, rodrigo."

she walked over to a bench, observing everything around her. there was a younger girl sitting on a metal fitness bike, minding her own business, eyes staring intently at her phone. she looked over to the dog park and saw a couple happily watching as their dog, a golden retriever, ran to go fetch a stick.

haerin was about to sit down on the bench when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"h- hey..."

immediately, she had an idea of who it was, but she still second-guessed herself.

danielle?
could it really be her?
but what are the chances it really IS her?
why would she be here, at this time?
well i mean, it is summer, and everyone is on vacation...
but seriously, the chances of it really being her...

haerin turned around, facing the source of the voice.

it really WAS danielle, wearing the cutest floral dress and looking as lovely as ever. she held one hand behind her back.

haerin, three-quarters shocked and one-quarter expecting it to be danielle, didn't know how to respond.

"h-hi... danielle..."

the two stood there for a second as they processed the moment.

danielle finally spoke up.

"listen, i..."

she stuck out the hand that was kept behind her back.

haerin looked down. it held a pink tulip.

a tulip..? 

danielle spoke again, cutting haerin's thoughts short.

"ever- ever since that one test in the middle of april... the one that we both failed because the teacher finally caught onto me for cheating off of you... also i'm sorry, by the way... i realized just how in love i was with you... the way you handled the situation and how- how good you looked while doing so..."

danielle smiled while looking at the ground.

"i- i love you, haerin. and i hope that you like me back... or something... or i could just runawayandwecouldpretendlikethisneverhappenedandwecouldnevertalkagainandilljustgocry-"

haerin took the tulip out of danielle's hand.

"danielle, i- i love you too."

danielle looked up, meeting haerin's eyes.

"since- since last year... actually.. i found you really pretty, but i tried to convince myself that it was just a little crush... but the more and more i tried to keep away from you, the more and more i fell for you."

the two stood silent once again as they felt a huge weight lifted off of their shoulders. they smiled at each other.

just then, danielle pulled haerin closer, tilted her head a little and leaned in...