Evening // MiChaeng

The Empty Square

Mina's POV

Dry leaves with tints of red, gold, and orange crunched under our feet, which were in perfect sync. The repetition and consistency of the satisfying sound made a musical rhythm, in a perfect 2/4 time signature. The mid-morning light lit the pathway with a yellow hue. Like a spotlight, it guided our way warmly.

Chaeyoung had wrapped her arm around my own so we were locked together. As we walked through our small world we exchanged glances from time to time. At first, such an exchange was met with awkward laughter or a strange vibe being placed around us. But, after a while, it became comfortable. The awkward cool air was no longer there. Our warm glances were speaking on their own. Few actual words left our lips. Our expressions spoke enough.

Chae's eyes looked so beautiful with the sun hitting them the way it did. They looked like the color of  dark, glistening, honey. Truly hypnotic, I was stuck in them for quite a while. Her pink lips would turn in to a little smirk or grin when she saw me being unable to look away from her. Chaeyoung definitely knows what she's doing to me... smug little cub.

We walked to the sounds of birds singing sweeting for five minutes before we came across a clearing. It was a square, paved with concrete. Rustic looking wooden benches lined the edges of the square. Silver water fountains of varying heights were in the center. Large trees grew along the perimeter of the clearing where the concrete gave way to grass. From this section of the path there were paths that spread from every edge. A sweet little stop in our journey.

"Hm..." Chaeyoung hummed before she stood still.

I patted her head and gently asked, "What's wrong?"

"Eh?" Her head snapped to look at me, "Well nothing is wrong. It's just strange. Usually there's tons more people here. Kinda odd, huh?"

I smiled at her in a teasing manner, "Isn't that a good thing?"

Chae's ears turned red. She looked at me deeply. Our eyes locked. Timidly, she gave a nod while keeping eye contact. The corners of my mouth curved upward into a small grin. Slowly, her body turned towards one of the benches. Chaeyoung's legs let her gracefully glide to the seat. As she sat down she patted the open side of the chair to the right of her, signaling for me to join her.

I took her sign and made my way to her side. The dark wooden bench retained a cold temperature, giving me a shock when I first sat down. But there was a fire next to me that never failed to warm me up. I looked at Chaeyoung, my fire, my one desire. She stared off whimsically at the trees to her right, away from me. She watched carefully as each leaf fell and met the gray paved ground. I smiled seeing her be so entranced and attentive. Her eyes widened and sparkled with the golden sun. A smile peaked through her light pink lips which gave way to deep dimples.

A small sigh of wonder left my slightly parted lips. That... that was not meant to slip. And especially not that loud.

"Like what you see?" Chae giggled in a slightly seductive way. Her eyes were still glued to the nature parallel to me.

I laughed quietly from embarrassment, "Yes," I paused wondering what I should say to follow that up. Play dumb or be sincere? ...Just go for it, "You look absolutely stunning."

Her head turned towards mine. Eyes still wide and sparkling, dimples showing, and smile not breaking. She tucked her short hair behind her ear in an extremely pretty way. Her lips parted, "Well you aren't so bad yourself Miss Minari."

"Is that so?" I pouted, puffing our my bottom lip and looking down in a dejected manner, "Is that all you have to say..?" To top it all off I did some puppy dog eyes.

"Woe, being cute is my thing..." She responded with a laugh, "Well I suppose there is more to say." She lifted her hand up to my cheek and cupped my face with one hand. The other hand was used to play with my hair. Deeply, she looked into my eyes, as if to see right through me. I could see my face's reflection in her near black eyes. Her face came closer to my own, of course I had no intention to stop it. Instead, I snuggled my head into her hand, letting myself fall into her touch. I looked up at her with nothing but pure affection in my eyes. She reciprocated the warm gaze.

The closer her face came to mine the warmer I felt. I didn't say she was my fire, and I wasn't lying. I would do anything to just stay with her at all times. Is that odd? Is this an obsession? Passion? What is this type of love? So strange the feeling is. But I can't help but yearn for more.

Warm air whipped across my nose. As I was deep in thought she had already closed the gap and pulled me into a loving kiss. My body moved on its own, like it had done this before. Such a familiar feel yet I have no recollection of doing this before. The video was the only memory of that which I had. Odd... But that's not what matters right now.

Slowly she pulled away. Her arms were released from my hair and cheek as she laid them on her lap. The look of affection that reflected from her eyes never faded as she looked at me.

"C-Can we do that more often?" I asked with heavy hesitation lingering in my voice.

Surprised, Chaeyoung answered, "I mean yeah, that's, like, my whole goal here."

I patted the top of her head and combed my fingers through the back of her hair. Slowly, I stood up from our comfortable spot and reached my hand out to her. She took it with ease and confidence. In perfect sync we walked away from the concrete square and searched for a new path to call our own.