Her eyes started to become blurry and more flashes of memories came rushing through her own eyes. The best yet sad moments she ever had have retorted in a blink as a familiar stature of the person she misses the most appeared in her peripheral vision. She turned herself around again to look intently with her clouded vision. She scrunched her eyebrows together so she could get a better look of whoever it is and reassure if she's seeing the girl right, as if furrowing would work in making her sight clearer.
She knew she might just be hallucinating and imagining things again, or it is just her mind playing tricks, but she still tried to smile and wave her hand in an attempt to get the attention of the girl from across the street, completely ignoring the fact that she's believing her mind again and not the reality.
In hopes to see her again after a kinda long time – a really long time – she didn't care if people find her weird, and she still shouted her name, "MINA!"
She wants Mina to be breathing the fresh air and sharing the same warm air beside her again. She wants Mina smiling because of her silly dad jokes, losing her eyes in laughing – may it be because of Chaeyoung's corny jests or childish plays – the way she used to. She wants Mina talking and sharing about her day while she listens attentively...
Chaeyoung smiled, her eyes becoming heavier and wet with the tears that started forming, "hey Mina–" but in the middle of her supposed to be yell, she felt a warm hand slide inside her sweater's pocket, grabbing and caressing her cold hand in the process.
She flinched away. Then turned her head on her other side to see the culprit savoring her bewilderment. Same as the criminal's usual approach to scare her, it was smiling slyly, like someone who won a game between life and death by wit, while looking and giggling at Chaeyoung's shocked face.
Chaeyoung wiped her tears in an impulse, unwillingly to be seen crying like a weak child and a crybaby she knows she still is.
"You seem too startled, aren't you Chaeyoung?" the girl beside her giggles, brushing off the thought of seeing a shiny liquid on Chaeyoung's eyes earlier. She knew those were tears but she set it aside as well as the thought of asking the reason why Chaeyoung seems near to crying if she didn't approach in time.
Why would she mind and ask though? She's sure that Chaeyoung wouldn't give any answer, or maybe she doesn't want to talk about it and would divert the topic to a safer one, into something more comfortable to avoid further queries.
Besides, she is just a stranger. They were both strangers to each other. They don't have the right to demand for an explanation on something any one of them doesn't want to speak about. And if they want to, they would tell each other and even ask the other one about it... but in this case, Chaeyoung seems to have decided to keep it for herself. The girl can sense it, and she respects that.
"Hey..." she said again, grinning from ear to ear, trying to cheer Chaeyoung up using her gummy smile for she can't find any word to suit and lift up the situation. And she isn't that good at using words for comfort...
Once again, she laughed at Chaeyoung's face. The sound of her soft voice and laugh which lingers inside Chaeyoung's ears were like a beautiful and soulful melody Chaeyoung has always wanted to hear and would never get tired of hearing and playing inside her head again and again even after months or for as long as some couple of years.
"Hey, Mina..."
Mina's voice always heal Chaeyoung's invisible wounds inside and out, her soothing words which were coming out like whisper whenever she speak using her soft voice will always be Chaeyoung's own definition of an angel's voice singing her to sleep.
Mina's smile looks the same, the same sweet gummy smile which makes Chaeyoung's world stop to stare in awe of the most beautiful wonder of Earth one could ever witness.
The familiar warmth of Mina's presence will always be Chaeyoung's comfort zone and place of relaxation to calm herself, her mind, heart and soul. Mina's hands touching hers will always be the safest sanctuary and shelter for her to recharge and rest.
With Chaeyoung's face still shocked- as if what she's seeing is impossible and unreal, she stared at Mina with mouth widely open, and if her jaw can reach the ground, there's no way it wouldn't be down there.
"You could have just called me first or say something before approaching, Mina. I was shocked, what if it's a pervert or a snatcher huh?" Chaeyoung said, pouting her lips and shoving Mina's hand away her pocket. Pretending to be mad but to no avail as she giggled like a kid almost immediately after some seconds.
"Sorry. Sorry." Mina apologized, laughing at Chaeyoung's face as she put a hand inside the latter's pocket once again.
They are used to this. Mina finds comfort everytime she hold and caress Chaeyoung's hand while they walk side by side, when they were completely oblivious and lost from the people around them and the whole place as they were too occupied by each other and focused on looking up at the blue sky and falling leaves.
"You look cute and pretty, Chaeyoung... as always." Mina complimented her, focusing and darting her eyes down the latter's face, seeing her perfect side profile, not really minding if she was already staring and admiring Chaeyoung's whole being specially her gorgeous features that went sharper and sharper as years pass by.
She was once a complete cutie, with big brown orbs, long eyelashes, pouty plump lips and sharp nose, her face was so soft like a kid and you won't even assume or expect she would look a lot better with sharper and more matured features.
Every autumn, every year, Chaeyoung looked better, better, even the best on Mina's eyes, the most gorgeous of them all, and Mina's even afraid she might look like a potato next to a person as dazzling and attractive as fuck like Chaeyoung- not fully aware that Chaeyoung thinks the same about her, that Chaeyoung also thinks she looks ugly next to Mina, that Chaeyoung also thinks that Mina was the most beautiful person she ever met in her whole life.
With a comforting and warm silence, they continued to walk, looking around because that is what they can only do at the moment, they were both afraid to speak and break the comfortable silence they had in between, just letting the low murmurs, the low sounds of car horns with some shoutings from afar, and the soothing whisper of wind with the sound coming from trees and leaves falling off the ground as they dance together with the wind in an imaginary rhythm.
This is comfortable. This is my place, my own place, my safe haven and I'll risk everything just so I can have this moment repeating forever...
"Am I supposed to say thanks or you're waiting for me to compliment you back??"
"You're welcome," Mina said as she raised and held up her free hand to feel the air hit her body and run some chills down her spine while smiling ever so prettily and examining the whole place for the nth time with all the people walking and talking softly, their voices seem incoherent from a distance.
"Thanks then," Chaeyoung said and let out a cute chuckle, sending butterflies on the pit of Mina's stomach just by hearing her cute sounds.
Oblivious on the effects she was giving on Mina's poor body, Chaeyoung pulled Mina closer, their skins will obviously be touching if they happened to not wear any clothes due to the proximity and suddenness of the action, their bodies sharing heat through the coldness of the afternoon.
Chaeyoung brought their hands out of her pocket and held on Mina's hand tighter than before. "It's cold you know," Mina snorted and winced at the sudden coldness that surrounds their connected and intertwined fingers. She then held Chaeyoung's hand tighter, feeling the heat and warmth of her skin pressed against her own palm, caressing her hand in a loving way as if she's something made of porcelain while marvelling her eyes around, trying to hide her idiotic smile.
Chaeyoung swung their intertwined hands forward and backwards like literal kids. Mina giggled. "It'll be warmer inside your pocket, Chae..."
"They're looking at us, I just wanna show them how lucky I am because I'm the only one who can hold this hand."
YOU ARE READING
Autumn Leaves
Novela Juvenil[ MiChaeng AU ] An unsaid agreement was made between two strangers. Now, they literally JUST meet at that exact same street during autumn, as uncos, individuals who have no right to judge. Into the fortress of their souls bounded to tangle, entwine...
