Silence filled the car while Y/N struggled to hold back her tears. She was looking out the window when the snow started to gently fall from the sky and her heart skipped a beat at the realization. It was the first snow of the year, and she was with Jay.
When she turned to him, he was staring at her with soft eyes before he reached and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "It's the first snow, you know what that means."
Y/N cried even harder. She never thought she would spend the first snow with Jay, that it would be a moment filled with pain and misunderstanding. Yet, here they were, in a car, while he laid bare his soul for her again. "I'm so sorry, Jay."
"I don't want you to be sorry, Y/N, I want you to be happy," Jay said, his voice gentle. "I want us to find a way to be in each other's lives without it causing us pain. And I will give you time, as much time as you need, just promise me that at the end of it all, you'll let me love you again."
She sniffled, wiping away a few remaining tears with the back of her hand. A small, fragile smile graced her lips as she looked deeply into his eyes. "I think I can promise you that." The snowflakes outside seemed to fall with a purpose as if they were blessings showering upon the two souls finding their way back to each other.
Jay's grip on the steering wheel relaxed, and he let out a contented sigh before driving to their destination. Y/N didn't know how she was going to meet their client after such an emotional exchange, but she somehow did and the meeting went smoother than she expected. When they were done, Jay held the door open for her before they stepped out of the building. He made her feel safe. He made crossing the road feel like an adventure; with his hand on the small of her back.
"Come here," He said and she stepped closer to him while he looked up for something inside the car. "Here." Then he would take out a scarf and wrap it around her neck, his fingers brushing gently against her skin as he secured it in place. The scarf was warm and cozy, and it smelled faintly of his cologne. Y/N couldn't help but feel comfort wash over her.
"Thank you." She whispered, feeling a rush of warmth in her chest. It was a simple gesture, but it meant the world to her because she knew it was a silent promise of his care and affection.
"Would you like to take a walk? The two of us?" Her eyes softened when she recalled the memories of their walks in Busan and she nodded, letting him know that she would like to.
As they walked, side by side, through the snow-covered streets, the world around them seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of them in their own little bubble. Jay's hand gently slipped into hers, their fingers intertwining naturally as if they were picking up where they had left off, and she let him. The feeling of his warm hand in hers kept making her heart miss beats and for a moment, she forgot about everything else in the world.
Y/N never thought she could move on from loving Jay. He was so easy to love and made her feel like she was the person he had been waiting for. And maybe he indeed had been waiting for her all this time.
"Seoul feels different," He spoke softly as they walked together, the snow crunching softly beneath their feet. "I've been here for two weeks now and I already miss Busan."
She smiled a little when he squeezed her hand ever so slightly. "I miss it too. This city always breaks your heart somehow. Every corner of this place reminds me that I'm very, very tired. Busan feels like a breath of fresh air... it fixes your heart. But now I ruined Busan for you... and I'm very sorry about that. I never wanted to hurt you or make you feel like I didn't love you. I did. I really did. I just felt like I needed to figure things out so I pushed you away, not realizing that I'd regret that so much later on."
"No, I'm sorry." Their footprints in the snow left a trail behind them as they continued to walk. "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you and I should have understood you more. I'm sorry, Sunshine. I'm sorry for being mean to you at some point and I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me. When I couldn't call or text you anymore, I felt like I had lost a piece of myself. I wanted to drive all the way to Seoul and find you and... just hug you in my arms and tell you how much I love you, but I couldn't bring myself to meet you, knowing that you might have moved on... that perhaps our love could only happen in summer and when Autumn arrived, it was time to let go."
"No..." She shook her head, staring down at their intertwined hands. "I'm sorry for making you think that way."
"And I'm sorry for making you believe that I can move one." The two of them stopped next to a tree, its branches covered in a thin layer of ice that sparkled in the soft glow of the streetlights. "I was trying... I was trying so hard to move on, sunshine. To not think about you. To not love you. My life would have been so much easier if I could move on, but I knew I couldn't. And even if you moved on, I knew I'd still love you. But when I realized that you haven't moved on... that you used my birthday for your home password, it shattered the last bit of doubt in my heart."
His thumb traced a slow path across her cheekbone, catching a glistening tear that had escaped her widened eyes. "How did you..."
"It wasn't a dream," He smiled faintly and stroked her cheek gently. "Last night, at your home, it was real. I drove you home when you were drunk. I was there, Y/N, holding you, kissing you. And I haven't slept for the last twenty-four hours, replaying every moment in my mind, aching with the realization that you don't remember it."
"I'm sorry..." She choked out, realization knocking the breath out of her. "I'm so sorry, Jay. I thought it was just a dream, and... it broke my heart to think that you could never be real in that way again. But you were there... you were really there with me." She cried in his arms and he held her, listening to her soft sobs the way he listened to her words.
Y/N wanted to tell him that he wasn't just a summer love, that he was her all-season love, but instead, she just held onto him tightly, her head resting against his chest. And it was enough for both of them to understand.
