"Wow," Mikyung breathed out, looking around the garden. Snow was covering the ground and resting on the trees, and it was simply magical. "It's beautiful," she whispered.
"Yeah," Haknyeon said, looking at her briefly before turning his gaze to the picture-perfect scene in front of them. "It's beautiful," he agreed. "Maybe we should take pictures under this tree?" he suggested, walking over to a willow tree. With the snow and the frozen branches, it looked beautiful.
"This is perfect," she murmured, mostly to herself. "A willow tree," she said softly. "How sad. A perfect representation."
"Of you?" he questioned, setting up the tripod so they could take pictures.
She flinched, not expecting him to have heard her. "Yeah," she said, chuckling and trying to act like it was all a joke. But she couldn't and she felt tears well in her eyes. She turned away from him.
"Mikyung," he said gently, taking one of her hands and turning her to face him, slipping both of his hands into hers.
"Yeah?" she whispered, unable to look at him and also unable to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.
"You deserve to be happy," he said softly, pulling her into his arms and embracing her. "I don't know what's making you so sad, but I hope that one day you can be truly happy. You deserve that. And... if you ever need any support, if you ever need anyone to talk to... I'm here. Okay?" he said gently, rubbing her back.
She hid her face in her hands and he held her to his chest, holding her tightly while she cried. She was grateful that he didn't ask what was wrong. She was grateful that he didn't pry because, despite everything, she didn't feel ready to talk to him about it. She didn't feel ready to admit how scared she was about everything.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, wiping at her tears and pulling away. "This is supposed to be a happy day, right? I'm ruining everything," she joked.
"You make me happy," he said softly, absentmindedly reaching out and brushing away her tears with the pad of his thumbs.
Mikyung gave him a small smile. "You're right," she said after a moment, gesturing to the willow tree. "This is a beautiful place to take pictures. What kind of poses should we do..."
They spent the rest of the day in the garden, taking pictures and walking side by side in the snow. They didn't talk much, but something about that was calming and perfect.
Because with him, the silence never felt awkward.
Just being in his presence was comforting.
