ITZY Translated Fanfics Compilation

Thank you for the Sky by Iywyct - chaerlia

Chaeryeong x Lia

Source: Archive Of Our Own

Summary: Her eyes shine brighter than a thousand stars when she talks about this clearing, and Lia thinks she's never heard a better story in her life. She was drawn to this mysterious, quiet place she'd never seen before.

" Will you show me?" she asks, and Chaeryeong smiles shyly, embarrassed, and takes her hand. Chaeryeong's palm is warm and her grip is firm. That's all Lia thinks about as they walk through the grass into the forest.

Chaeryeong has dark red hair, a warm laugh, and a soft smile that she is a little shy about. She wears charming dresses in delicate colors and straps a large picnic basket to her bike. She always buys strawberry lollies and raspberry jam after school.

Lia knows this because she puts them aside for her every morning. The sweets sell out very quickly - hers is still the only one in their town - but Chaeryeong never leaves empty-handed.

She is always polite, never forgets to say hello and goodbye. Her cute image is not spoilt by her disheveled appearance - it only adds to her charm.

Lia thinks Chaeryeong has escaped from a fairy tale.

They see and chat friend to friend all the time, but Lia thinks that every day is too little. She misses their short conversations, but Chaeryeong is too shy to linger longer.

Everything changes when Chaeryeong graduates from high school and takes a job at the flower shop across the street.

She's been picking small, delicate bouquets since the wee hours of the morning. She's always liked wildflowers a little better, but actually she likes all the flowers in the world. She has a bookmark made of laminated rose petals, and a charming hairpin - a forget-me-not that often peeks out from under her lush ponytail.

Sometimes Chaeryeong picks the flowers herself. She gets up at dawn, goes outside at dusk, grabs her bicycle and rides into the field while no one is around.

The sky lights up with sunshine and Leah's pastry shop is lit up by the arrival of Cheren.

She's a little out of breath, her cheeks have turned pink and her light-colored blouse is a little tousled. A bicycle with a full basket of flowers is parked outside, it's untethered, but that doesn't bother Chaeryeong. She takes the cupcakes with delicate blue frosting and coffee, but she doesn't leave, and begins to talk about her trip today without her usual shyness.

"There's such a sky!" Chaeryeong exclaims, wiping the frosting off her cheeks. "And the forest! What a forest! It's thick and green, and the trees are so tall, it's like they're hiding you from all the light! You should have seen it..."

Her eyes shine brighter than a thousand stars when she talks about that clearing, and Lia thinks she's never heard a better story in her life. She is drawn to this mysterious, quiet place she has never seen before.

"Will you show me?" she asks, and Chaeryeong smiles shyly, embarrassed, and takes her hand.

"Of course I will!"

Not many people come in in the morning anyway, Lia reassures herself when the door to the patisserie is locked. Chaeryeong takes the already-picked flowers into the shop and locks the doors as well. They take their bikes and ride out of town towards the forest.

Lia thinks she likes the idea of running away to another town sometime with Chaeryeong.

The wide city road is replaced by a narrow, potholed path. It's almost empty, only the sand crunching under the wheels and the dust flying in his face. The forest is still just around the corner, and the town is now as plain as the eye can see. The carved shutters of the outermost houses and the flat roofs of the distant ones, the neat flowerbeds in the courtyards - Chaeryeong can name almost every flower that grows there because she's the one who sold them - the clean streets that will soon be flooded with warm sunlight - a charming pastoral picture. Lia loves this city with all her soul. It may not be perfect, it may be small (and shrinking every year), but this place is home.

Chaeryeong, on the other hand, is in love with this city without any reservations. She loves the gentle slopes of the low-water river, the dilapidated buildings with peeling tiles, and even in the abandoned barracks she finds a special charm. Perhaps only she can fall in love like that.

The girls turn into the forest - Lia rides a little behind, making sure that some small animal doesn't jump under Chaeryeong's wheels. The thick crowns of trees close over their heads, and Chaeryeong feels as if Leah is breathing down her neck, even though they're riding a meter apart. The perceived closeness beckons, and for a second Chaeryeong thinks she might as well not go anywhere. Stop right here, on the overgrown path, get down on the ground, right into the grass (it's still damp, and there's obviously someone living there, but it doesn't matter), hug Lia tightly and hold her, trying to capture this moment as clearly as possible.

But the obsession soon wears off, and they drive on.

The narrow path widens gradually, the trees parting before them. Chaeryeong climbs down to the ground and puts the bike on a stanchion. Lia does the same and holds out her hand.

Chaeryeong's palm is warm and her grip is firm. It's all Leah thinks about as they walk through the grass into the forest. Cheren squeezes her hand a little harder and steps aside.

"We're here," she says embarrassed. She wouldn't have let herself take someone into the woods like this before - in truth, she's still a little ashamed of the impulse. But this clearing seemed so beautiful that she couldn't resist.

Lia stood beside her, shoulder to shoulder, and sighed in admiration.

The clearing was, at first glance, very ordinary: the tall grass was bright green, and the rare flowers - Lia didn't know what they were called - peered out timidly, like fireflies in the early twilight. There seemed to be a forest of such glades, quiet, untamed thickets, but Lia fell in love with this one.

Chaeryeong waits for her answer, barely breathing, and Lia's lips spread into a smile against her will. She wants to say that it's wonderful here, that she loves it here; that Chaeryeong looks great in her pale green blouse, but she only gets out:

"Thank you," with all the admiration, all the tenderness, and warmth of which Leah is capable.

"For what? - Chaeryeong smiled shyly, squinting, hiding her gaze from the sun that shone brighter than before.

For everything, Lia wants to say. For the glade, for the flowers, for the glances, for the years, for the short but dear conversations, for love, for happiness, for the fact that all this does not end, but....

"To the sky," Lia answered.