Portrait of a Swallow

Charcoal black

The winter air endured through the days, the icy air mirroring the atmosphere in the Ri household. Seri had been cordial, caring, and kind, but even still it wasn't the Seri that Jeong Hyeok was accustomed to. It had only been three days since the night when he seared his intentions into her flesh, murmuring against her skin the promises he wished to uphold for the rest of his days. But Sang ah had reminded Seri of her occupation, debasing the aid she gave in the home, rendering herself merely an employee in her mind.

In those three days, Jeong Hyeok had tried to pull her out of the emotional turmoil she had brought upon herself, finding moments during the day when she was alone to stroke upon her cheek, hoping to pull out any emotion from her vibrant eyes. But it was for naught, for she sought to busy herself even further with chores, shrinking from his touch as if the moment they had shared in the still hours of his bedroom had vanished, as if it were only a figment of his cruel imagination.

That's how he found her, in the chill of the winter air, leaning against the crooked tree she loved so dearly. Jeong Hyeok tried to keep his foot steps light marveling at her smaller footsteps printed in the snow against his larger ones, but the crunch of the ice beneath his feet gave him away, and Seri turned to him in surprise.

"Jeong Hyeok-ssi!" Seri exclaimed "you'll get so cold here, go back inside!"

But he dare not move, not an inch, and with his hands clasped behind him, he simply gazed at her, the warmth of his eyes igniting an inferno deep within her heart, nullifying any remnants of cold that plagued her body.

"What?" She questions, her voice thick with emotions that begin to bubble through her chest, salty tears misting her eyes as they threaten to fall down her wind bitten cheeks. "Why are you looking at me like that ?"

"I thought I had made my intentions clear, Yoon Seri, but perhaps they truly weren't," Jeong Hyeok admits, bowing his head towards the earth as his boots kick the snow at his feet. Meeting her gaze once more his eyes fix upon her as he declares "but I will assure you, for all my days that I will take care of you, that we will pass through our lives standing by each other sides as equals. That is my vow to you," with so much resolution, that Seri feels childish for doubting him altogether, that her painter who had been known to be quiet and taciturn was strong in his convictions for her.

And so, she runs to him through the short distance of snow, until she intertwines her hands around his neck, a ragged sob raging through her throat as she crumbles within his embrace. His hands wrap around her waist immediately, relishing the warm press of her body against his, the way her breath hitches as he pulls her close against his chest, all the while inhaling the floral aroma emanating from her locks.

When she pulls back to stare at him, there are tears glistening in her eyes and she tells him she's sorry, sorry for the not believing him, for not trusting his intentions, for doubting his love for her.

"I promise to hold you forever, not in secret, or in the dark shadows of the earth, but in the light of the day that shines upon your face, my eternal muse," he solemnly promises her, his eyes boring straight into hers, before he interlocks his lips with hers, the sweet caresses of her tongue upon his enlivening him.

He carries her back into the home, where the day is ending, where the shadows of the setting sun cast patterns along the wooden floor of the Ri household. Seri holds onto his neck, peppering light kisses upon his cheek, whispering her love to him as the tips of his ears tinge a shade of pink. The color on his face only spurs on her statements, and she murmurs salacious comments against his neck as he brings her up the stairs, the blush spilling down his chest now as he huffs incredulously. But he indulges her, sees through the corners of his vision that her eyes have curled into the crescent moon he missed so dearly, her voice ringing in laughter, vibrating through his tanned skin.