I Still Remain (Completed)

V - Four Minutes and a Second

Tradition.

Shen Yue's mind suddenly flew to all the traditions that she and Wang He Di (mostly her) have established when they were still together. It all started when she watched an episode of the American TV series 'How I Met Your Mother' where two of the characters reflected on the significance of traditions in their relationship.

In the episode 'Three Days of Snow', married couple Marshall and Lily decided to discontinue their tradition of the latter bringing a six-pack beer when the former would pick her up from the airport. They initially maintained that it wasn't necessary anymore after many years of being together saying, "as we mature, the relationship also matures." However, it was later revealed that they both actually cherished these romantic rituals and that they would defy odds just to be able to abide by it.

When Shen Yue first watched it, she didn't really understand the gravity of what the episode meant. Sure, she found it sweet and victorious, but it wasn't until she entered a relationship herself that she realized what those seemingly-corny customs symbolized.

It's not that she thought so highly of romantic routines and entirely based her assessment of "how well" they were doing as a couple on those things, but she liked the consistency. She liked that they had to video call each other at the end of the day (even if sometimes the other person would just watch the other sleep); she adored how they would buy each other little-somethings from their individual trips (she still has with her the Gentle Monster sunglasses he bought for her when he went to South Korea for the first time); and she loved that Saturdays were their day.

She treasured those moments where they were both voluntarily practicing cheesy habits that in retrospect, made their relationship stronger. Lots of things get lost and forgotten in her daily life, so regularly having something to look forward to like those sentimental "rules" felt like home to her. She felt like they were these porcelain wares that needed to be kept in the best condition, so as to prevent it from disintegrating.

And today is a good day for traditions. After all, it wasn't only a Saturday, it was also her birthday.

Didi suggested for them to take a walk somewhere near so they can "catch-up" (his term) before he dropped her home. She steadfastly refused, but he was adamant. "I don't want you to hail or book a cab on your way home," he reasoned out. She was exhausted and just conceded.

It was already nighttime but they were walking on a busy street still crowded with people. At first, she was afraid that strangers would recognize them and spread rumors about their little get-together (God, she could just imagine the tacky headlines!) but she stopped herself. Their bodies subconsciously maintained a few inches of distance from each other and they weren't even talking. The best headline they could probably come up with if worse comes to worst would be:

"Shen Yue and Wang He Di spotted walking side-by-side; seemed cold and distant with each other"

Wouldn't that be interesting? She chuckled to herself.

But she was abruptly thrust back to reality when she heard Didi mutter, "Four minutes and a second, I always forget how long this song is."

Yueyue looked around and saw that they've reached a relatively quiet park. There were park lights interspersed within the vicinity, but as far as she could tell, it was just the two of them in the area. She quietly watched as Didi hurriedly untangled a pair of earphones which he disorderly kept in the pocket of his jacket. When he finished at what seemed to be an impossible task, he looked at his watch which read 11:54pm. With that, he handed over the left earphone to her. Realizing what that offer entailed and shivering from the winter cold, she paused and took a deep, shuddering breath.