Safeway Pyongyang // Reader x Countryhumans

Flower Braids

    The sky was flaming red as they walked along the riverbank, back towards the high-rise. If it wasn't high summer, it would have been dark, but as it was, the clouds were stained in fire colours, and the river was reflecting them.

    To Y/N's surprise, she had actually had a nice day. North Korea hadn't scared her that much, which she took as a win. It had also been a very long time since she had had an interlap of a nice walk in the warm summer sun without security, and a walk where she hadn't been afraid to get jumped.

    "Oh!" she said, spotting a cluster of flowers on a small tree by the the riverbank. The white, eight-petalled flowers with dark red and yellow centers looked incredibly familiar. She pointed to them. "Aren't those the flowers on SH and the other provinces' flags?" she asked.

    North Korea nodded. "They're our national flower. Mountain magnolias."

    "They're really pretty." Her fingers itched to pick them, but she didn't know if there was a law against that. She knew that some countries prohibited the harvesting of their national flowers, so she just admired them from afar.

    Her feet ached from their long day of walking, but she didn't want to complain, since North Korea seemed unbothered. She searched for something to talk about to distract herself. "Your provinces call you Korea, so what do they call, um, your brother?" She hoped that this was a safe topic.

    "They call him South. They try not to refer to him at all, though."

    "So why don't they call you 'North?'" North Korea's answer hadn't seemed to contain too much bitterness, so she decided to push it.

    He shrugged a shoulder. "We'll be reunited someday. Then we'll just be 'Korea.'"

    Y/N frowned. She couldn't figure out how North Korea really felt about his brother. From news in the past, she had heard of him ranting about the Southern Korea angrily, but right now he just sounded slightly bitter, and... longing?

    "Do your provinces not like him?" she ventured, not quite brave enough to press North Korea himself on his feelings.

    His lip lifted in a grimace. "The bastard still pretends that he has claim to the Pyongans, the Hamgyongs and the Hwanghaes. They resent him more than the others. He even has a damn council to pretend to manage them, and he doesn't even recognise North Hwanghae and South Hwanghae as two separate provinces." His eye flashed with anger.

    "Oh." Y/N contemplated this. How did one claim some provinces but not the others? Why only them? Why would you go out of your way to claim North Hamgyong?

    She wanted to ask some of these questions, but didn't want to get snapped at, so she changed the subject. "Can I..." She sucked in a quick breath for bravery. "Can I call you North?"

    He narrowed his eye at her. "Why?"

    Y/N quickly raised her hands in defense. "N-Not because of any political reasons, it's just how I'm used to calling you in my head. You know, from the news..." She quickly backpedalled under his glare. "Nevermind, I don't need to. Sorry for asking."

    The Countryhuman contemplated her, eye narrowed. Then he rolled it. "Fine."

    "Hm?" Y/N was surprised.

    "You can call me North. I don't care."

    "Oh." She blinked. She hadn't actually expected him to say yes. "T-Thank you. I won't misuse this privilege."

    He gave her an odd look, probably trying to decide if she was being sarcastic or not (she wasn't, she had just not had better words).

    All of a sudden, she realised. "Hey! We've been speaking Korean!"