#we're both wearing hanboks

[thegeekcollective]

Kingdom fans learn to distinguish Korean and Chinese culture challenge (level: apparently impossible)

[baenxietydad]

Swynrpwrimo Task #5 -- Family Ties One-Shot

[tracker]

Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Date: October 9th, 2004

Scene: Nemo's first birthday celebration in the Daegu pixie hollow on Biseulsan (Biseul Mountain)

Feat.: Song So-yeon (Mu-yeol's wife, Nemo's mother), Bae Tae-il (Mu-yeol's father), Kim Sae-ron (Mu-yeol's mother), Bae Su-mi (Mu-yeol's sister), Bae Won-shik and Bae Jun-ha (Mu-yeol's twin brothers), Song Soon-ja (So-yeon's sister), other extended family mentioned

PSA: I know Koreans do a big 100 days celebration for babies, I'm not entirely sure if the first birthday is as big of a deal. But in Korean fairy culture in the world of this rp, they make a huge deal out of both 100 days and 1 year, and the 1 year celebration is for both the baby and their parents.

Here's Nemo's lil baby hanbok :3 the phoenix is very important! and his parents' matching set

Mu-yeol held his breath as he gingerly placed the flower crown on the baby's head. Mu-yeol's mother had made matching flower crowns from marigolds (for babies born in October), red spider lily (a beautiful red autumn flower), and mugunghwa (for human Koreans, it is the national flower; for Koran fairies, it is a flower with spiritual importance) for her grandson and his parents, but getting Nam-min to wear it...that was a problem for Mu-yeol and So-yeon to solve. Kim Sae-ron had wrestled flower crowns onto all four of her children, she'd done her time.

So-yeon and Soon-ja watched over Mu-yeol's shoulder, vision partially obscured by his nervously fluttering blue wings, their hands clasped together as the sisters waited to see if the child would start wailing again.

Nam-min only kicked his feet and let out a singular grunt, and his parents and imo let out the breath they'd been holding.

"Okay, it seems like the diaper change did the trick." Mu-yeol said, his shoulders relaxing.

"I told you. I know my baby so well, don't I?" So-yeon said, stepping forward to poke Nam-min's little cheek. She smiled at Soon-ja, he younger sister, and gestured to her son. "Doesn't he look regal?"

"That's one word for it." Soon-ja said, smirking. It was always so funny to see babies in full formal dress. "He's lovely. And cute. But I'm not saying I ever want one of those things."

So-yeon laughed and adjusted the decoration in her sister's hair. "And I'm not saying you should get one. But if you ever did, I'll give you all of Nam-min's things. We're not having another."

Pregnancy had been hard on So-yeon. She'd been terribly sick the first four months but when that finally stopped, food didn't taste quite right, her feet always hurt, she couldn't sleep or sit comfortably, and she always felt like she had to pee but couldn't seem to empty her bladder. She would not be doing that again. Mu-yeol was incredibly lucky to get one child from her seeing as neither of them were even sure they wanted kids until she got pregnant. Their Nam-min was perfect, he was everything to them, but his parents were decidedly one-and-done.

"You're not?" Bae Jun-ha asked. Not that he cared, he just couldn't imagine not having siblings.

"Ma! Bae Jun-ha, do you know how much So-yeon and our mother had to suffer giving birth?" Mu-yeol hissed, slipping an arm around So-yeon's waist.

Kim Sae-ron laughed as she brought over a plate of colorful songpyeon to set on the table.

"You've trained my son well, I see."

"Ani." So-yeon held up her hands and shook them. "That's all him, eomeonim. He's a good husband all on his own. All of my married friends are jealous."

Bae Tae-il looked around the Bae family's home, at his four children, his brothers and their children, and noticed two people conspicuously missing. "So-yeon-ah. Where are your parents?"

Her face fell as she leaned over Nam-min to make sure his flower crown didn't slip. "Ah...eomma had court today. Couldn't be rescheduled. We'll do something with them tomorrow so they can see Nam-min before we take the train back to Seoul. Anyway. It doesn't matter, there's plenty of people here. Omo- Su-mi-yah, do you want help with that?"

Su-mi was struggling to light the fire, where they were to burn items that represented the challenges of the first year raising a child. That's part of why this celebration of a child's first year in pixie hollows was called a Phoenix Ceremony. The child's parents are, in a way, just beginning to rise from the ashes of a total upheaval (albeit a joyful one) of their lives that comes with a new baby, and the child was just beginning, nothing but a sapling in need of strength who would live to see a lot of joy but would eventually struggle too.

"Ma, noonaya! 만다꼬 (man-da-kko)?" Bae Won-shik said. "So-yeon noonim's sister is here. She's a fire fairy!"

Soon-ja giggled and joined Su-mi by the fire. Su-mi blushed, embarrassed she'd forgotten and was struggling in front of everybody.

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

After the extended family had cleared out of the Bae family home, Bae Tae-il scooped little Nam-min up and walked over to where Mu-yeol and So-yeon were sitting.

"Answer honestly. Everyone else is gone." Tae-il said, smiling down at Nam-min. "How has the first year been?"

So-yeon shook her head. "Not as bad as everyone said it would be. Not in most ways. We definitely do feel the lack of a Hollow community though, and that makes some things harder. But not impossible."

Mu-yeol nodded in agreement. "He's a good baby, abeoji. He was harder on her before he was born than he is now. He settled into a good sleep routine within three months except for when he's teething."

Tae-il was silent as he gently removed Nam-min's flower crown. "Will you return to the Hollow?"

Mu-yeol sighed, about to start an argument, but So-yeon answered first.

"We're not sure. Personally, I miss it. I miss Daegu. Seoul is too busy, too crowded, too loud and bright. But I-- I like being able to control how often my mother sees Nam-min. She always brings up his wing." So-yeon pouted. "He'll be old enough to understand what she's saying one day."

"That's very fair. I only ask because...well, he gets bigger every time we see him." Tae-il said, chuckling and adjusting the baby in his arms. "You know you can ask us to come from Daegu anytime you need us. Don't let Mu-yeol tell you I won't."

"You hate going into human cities." Mu-yeol countered.

"But I'll do it for you, to help with him. It's important for new parents to have their Hollow around them, but So-yeon has school...so I can always come to you."

"Abeonim, thank you." So-yeon said, reaching for Nam-min.

"Don't thank me, you're my kids." Tae-il said, setting Nam-min in her arms. "He's an adorable baby. He takes after his mother."

So-yeon stuck her tongue out at Mu-yeol. "That's what I'm always saying!"

[sapphonoticeme]

bias tag game

Rules: you're going to pick 10 of your biases (or as many biases as you have and then fill in the rest of the spots with idols you like) and number them 1-10, then answer the questions below. Try not to look at the questions before you make your list!

@skinzchoerim who tagged me (thank you!!!) put a very wise restriction of not putting more than two people from the same group on the list but i failed to do the same because apparently i don't listen to a very wide variety of groups (which is okay) and i didn't feel comfortable including anybody i didn't feel like i knew well enough. every person on the list is a ray of sunshine in my life❤️

absolutely zero pressure tag: @jukain4216 @qazastra

soyeon ((g)i-dle) obviously

eunchae (le sserafim)

kyubin (onlyoneof)

dami (dreamcatcher)

solar (mamamoo)

shuhua ((g)i-dle)

yoojung (onlyoneof)

moonbyul (mamamoo)

jiu (dreamcatcher)

miyeon ((g)i-dle)

Questions and answers below!

1. Between 7 and 5, who did you bias first?

definitely yoojung. i got into ooo way earlier than i got into mamamoo

2. Between 2 and 6, who are you more attached to?

OH DAMN. this wasn't on purpose but i have to choose between the two maknaes, huh. it's almost certainly shuhua, tho i love eunchae with my whole heart

3. If you were to spend the day with either 3 or 1, who would you choose and what would you do?

i would choose soyeon and i would probably spend several hours asking her questions about her art - her lyrics and the concepts and the motivations and the inspiration behind them; and whom she admires and what her relationship to that wall of brilliant women in her living room is and what her relationship to korean shamanism is, why she loves one piece, what she likes and hates about the industry, what she is watching these days. if i could do anything for this day, i would just talk to her

4. What is your favorite physical feature about 9?

not sure how physical it is but i love how soft her gaze and her smile are. her face usually looks quite stern and cold in concept photos and music videos (because the concept often calls for it) but she's actually a ray of sunshine outside of them

5. What is your favorite part of 6's personality?

the unapologeticalness!! she isn't ashamed of being herself one bit, she doesn't play the game of not accepting compliments to be polite (not that it's a bad thing - i just find her not doing that very refreshing because this is really pushed on women as the most appropriate response to being praised), she isn't afraid to be openly pissed or to show a lot of affection; she seems very honest and very fierce with her feelings and emotions and i love her for that

6. If you were to tell 8 anything you wanted, what would you tell them?

i would probably thank her for 'shutdown'

7. Between 1 and 2, whose closet would you raid?

oh soyeon absolutely!!! she wears modernized hanbok outside of work and i LOVE historical fashion and modernized historical fashion

8. What is a style that you want to see 3 try?

a dogboy

this is a hard one. i know that i really like him in leather. maybe something matrix-esque? oh, maybe something full on goth. i think about really dark colors for him for some reason. and lots of metallic details

9. Between 5 and 4, who are you closer to in height?

.....apparently they're the same height and i'm just a tiny bit taller than them both :3

10. Between 10 and 9, whose music do you like the best?

if we're talking groups, it has to be miyeon. i-dle are just THE group. if i'm comparing miyeon's solo things to dreamcatcher music, they're probably equally (and very) dear to me

[lenniharrisonsims]

Traditional Sunsei Ceremony for Feng Mian & Rene

Later in the evening, after the traditional Shenguo Tea Ceremony, the families of Rt. Hon. Miss Feng Mian Dias and Lord René Yang rested, and then changed for their Sunsei ceremony.

Lord René's grandparents, on both his mother and father's side, emigrated to Brindleton Bay from Sunsei before his parents were born, and he, and his brothers, have always held that heritage in high regard. So in order to honor all sides of the family, René and Feng Mian also held a Sunsei ceremony.

The ceremony was private just for the immediate families once again, but they did share these portrait photos after the fact so we could share in the celebrations.

Once again in attendance was Mrs. Zheng and her two sons, Mr. Qian and Mr. Haoyu Zheng, and once again, Miss Yue Dias was also not in the photo with her birth mother and half brothers.

Miss Dias looked stunning again in her bridal Hanbok of course, but it was Lord René who became the talk of these photos, after it was shared that the wedding attire he was wearing was originally worn by his father, the late Viscount Jean-Paul Yang, to Viscountess Camille Yang.

The stunning details of Miss Feng Mian's wedding outfit.

Our congratulations to the happy couple, and we're so excited to see the great big, star-studded, royal wedding next week where these two will officially tie the knot!

[bexria]

chuseok 2024

"we're together again"

...

she’s sitting at the couch watching tv, an old episode of running man, she loves the show, would like to join one day, but properly never will, she’d need to be a celebrity for that, and that seems unlikely. then the doorbell rings, and mango looks at her for a split second before they’re both out of the couch and running towards the door. her mother has gotten there before them, properly closer to the door than they were, she’s opened it and her brother walks in, he drops his things at the door and ria runs into a hug, mango seeming equally as excited as he barks and jumps around. ria usually sees her brother quite often, but he’s been busy with something lately.

“mom? does he know it yet?” she turns to her mother “know what?” she asks, “the stuff you’ve made” ria asks and her mother’s eyes light up a bit, and then she vanishes, “will i just be sleeping in my old room?” he asks, “properly” ria returns as she shrugs “perhaps we can have a sleepover in the living room like we used to though” she smiles. noel goes to his room to drop off his things and ria has returned to the living room along mango. her brother arrives into the living room and shortly does their mom too. she holds up two hanboks “i handmade you some new hanboks!” she says with a bright smile, “the old ones were getting… old! and i wanted to make some clothes again”. “we’ll wear new hanboks, then i can do your hair and you can braid mine like you used to” she leans up against her brother, “i missed you”.

[hyunsuks-beanie]

Running Away With You

*Image Credits to rightful owners*

Bang Chan x reader; non idol AU; established relationship; fluff; midly suggestive at places

Word Count: 4.25k

A/N: A huge thank you to @youn9racha, for this super cute request. I am as much a sucker for road trips as I am for Chan, so I really enjoyed writing this!! I hope you like it as much as I did.

"Do you ever just want to pack your bags and run away in the night, without telling anyone?," you ask your boyfriend, Chan, as you both lay in bed one night. "That's an interesting question," he says, playing with your hair, "Though first I'd like to know what made you think of that." "Pfft. It's nothing too complex, Christopher. It's just a random thought that popped into my head," you say, while rolling your eyes at his inquisitive nature.

"Y/N, I know you, and I can sense that you've got something bothering that pretty head of yours, and making you want to run away. So tell me, what is it?," Chan speaks in a soothing tone, making you snuggle into his chest even more, while letting out a sigh. "It's just, work has been so crazy these past few days, and the pressures of the real world are getting to me. You remember when we were back in college? Whenever things got too hard, we used to go on road trips to clear our heads. Even a couple days away from the harsh real life were enough to rejuvenate us. I guess I just miss those times, now that real life responsibilities are wearing us down."

Once you're done with your little rant, Chan pulls your head up a little, making you look at him. He softly says, "Aww baby, I'm so sorry I didn't realize you've been struggling these past few days. I guess I've been too busy with my own work tonoticee. I know we're no longer in college, but I promise to you, that whenever the going gets tough, I'll do everything in my ability to help your through." "I know Channie, I know. I have you, and it's more than enough."

You give in to sleep after a while, and so, you fail to notice that Chan takes a little longer to fall asleep that night. He keeps thinking back on what you said earlier, carrying out an internal debate with himself. "Y/N is right. Work and responsibilities have taken a toll on us, and a road trip may be just what we need. But can we really afford to just 'run away?' There are too many projects, too many commitments. And we owe it to our colleagues to tell them that we will be away for a few days," he thinks to himself, before slowly drifting off to dreamland.

The next morning brings with itself a fresh hustle, but your face doesn't betray any sign of the frustrations you let come to the surface last night. But Chan knows better, and, seeing his reflection while getting ready for work, he realizes that his own expression mirrors yours. A thin veil to hide the fact that it's getting too much. At his office that day, he can't seem to focus on his work, since his mind keeps drifting back to your words. By the time the evening rolls around, he has made up his mind. He's going to run away with you, for a week anyway.

But a road trip needs some planning, and Chan wants this vacation to be the perfect little surprise for you. So, on his way home, he stops by at the convenience store to buy some essentials. Instant noodles, a few bottles of beer, disposable utensils, rental DVDs, he collects quite a few things, being reminded of your college days with each item he adds to his cart. In a moment of impulse, he even purchases a tent fit for two, and once he's done shopping, he hides everything in the boot of his car. You don't need to know of his plan, yet.

The following day, he leaves his office early, calling in a week's leave of absence due to some made-up reason. Instead of going home, he first drops by at your office. Not to meet you, but to get a similar application for leave approved on your behalf.

He finally heads back home to pack and ready a couple of things for your trip. "Y/N wanted to run away in the middle of the night, and that is what we'll do," he smiles to himself. When you come home, he remains tight-lipped about his little surprise for you, even though his excitement is trying to get the best of him.

Once the clock strikes twelve, he brings you out to his car, without telling you the reason. "Just please, come on! Don't you trust me?," he says, pouting. On his way out of the house, he picks up your phone from the couch, along the house keys. You don't notice this, however, as you're busy pestering him with questions. "Chan, why are we going out so late at night? What's going on? Tell me!" "You wanted to run away, right? Well, how about running away...... to the convenience store?," he smiles cheekily, making you giggle. "Gosh you're such a cheesy idiot," you say, getting into the car, still blissfully unaware of his intentions.

"Yeah, but I'm your cheesy idiot," he laughs, pressing his foot on the accelerator.

It doesn't take you long to realize that instead of driving over to the 24/7 close to your house, Chan has pulled onto the highway. You turn to look at him, only to see him smiling brightly, his eyes trained ahead. "Chan, what are you doing?," you ask, though feel like you already know the answer. "Running away with you," he says, taking your hand in his his, and bringing it up to his lips.

"What? But that was just a random rant! And what about work? We can't just disappear like that," you exclaim, to which, he only replies by giving you a knowing look. "Let me guess, you already informed our offices?" "Yes, and no," he quips. When you look at him quizzically, he elaborates, "I submitted applications for leave, making up some random excuse. So we have a whole week to ourselves." "But, what about essentials and supplies? We don't have anything to eat," you try to reason. He counters, "Babe, I've been planning this for two days, and I already stocked up on all our favourite snacks, drinks, and movies. I even got us a tent for days we want to sleep out in the open. I've got it all set, so don't you worry. The only thing I need you to do is to promise me that for the next seven days, you won't check your phone. I've already downloaded tons of songs and created at least 20 different playlists. You won't be getting any work-related messages, since I've taken care of that as well, and for directions, we'll take the traditional way, and ask around."

"Directions? Where exactly are we going anyway?," is your next question. To your surprise, he simply shrugs, before telling you that he doesn't have any specific place in mind. "Let's just wander away, going wherever the road takes us," he says, rather poetically, to which, you can't help but laugh. You then let out a soft sigh, making him look at you. "Sounds like a plan to me. Chan and Y/N, running away together, with no destination in mind," you smile, before reaching over and kissing his cheek.

"Let's play some music, shall we?," you ask, before hitting shuffle on the first playlist that pops up on your phone. You both settle in a comfortable silence, and soon enough, you begin to get drowsy. Chan notices this, and tells you to rest your eyes for a bit. "Promise to wake me up in like, two hours, so that I can take over the wheel," you yawn. "Okay fine bub, now sleep." Chan continues driving, occasionally stealing glances at your sleeping form. "How did I get so lucky?," he wonders, just like he does every day.

Morning finds you to be the one behind the wheel, as Chan naps contently in the passenger seat. The brightness of the sun finally wakes him up, and he realizes that you've left the highway, and are now driving through what appears to be the countryside. "I wonder where we're headed," he says while yawning. "Well, a signboard I saw earlier told me that we are somewhere in Jeonju," you reply. Instead of words, Chan's reply comes as a grumbling from his stomach. "Hungry," you quip, making him nod his head vigorously. You hit the breaks, before preparing some instant ramen for breakfast.

You eventually continue on your trip, and after a few hours, you find yourself in the midst of traditional Korean buildings, which seem to be from the Joseon dynasty. "Is this perhaps a tourist location?," wonders Chan loudly, making you reply, "Only one way to find out." You both get out of the car and do some asking around. You find out that the place where you houses the residences of the noblemen of old, and has now been converted into a shooting-cum-tourist spot. "Tourists can get traditional hanboks from that store, to complete the experience," an old woman tells you.

You turn to look at Chan, your eyes shining. Twenty minutes later, you exit the store, dresses from head to toe in a light blue hanbok. Chan's eyes nearly pop out when he sees you, and when he tells you the same, you can't help but blush.

You continue to hang around the place little while longer, and have dinner at a small eatery nearby.

"I feel like I'm 20 again. Thank you Channie," you say, holding his hand across the table. "Anything for you love," he winks.

Evening eventually comes around, and you guys hit the road once again. Around dinner time, you notice that you are crossing by a wood and supplies shop, and an idea strikes your mind. "Let's buy some wood and grill our meat!," you say excitedly, making Chan coo at how adorable you are. "Great idea babe. Let me park."

You quickly exit the car and visit the shop to buy some wood, then get started on your mini bonfire. It proves to be more difficult than you had thought, given how inexperienced the both of you are. In the end, you manage to get the fire going enough for the meat to be grilled, and turn around to ask Chan to bring in the eatables, when you see his face. It's completely covered in soot from his failed attempts at lighting the flame, making you double over in laughter. "You look so funny," you say while gasping for air. "Wouldn't be so funny if I got this soot on your face now, will it?," he retorts, coming after you. You try to run, but it's obviously in vain, as Chan grabs hold of you in under a minute. You both laugh harder than you have in months, and when you finally calm down, you give your boyfriend a tight hug. He hugs you back, and whispers, "I love you." "I love you too, Channie," you say, "Now go and get the meat, I'm hungry." "Way to ruin the moment, Y/N," he grumbles as you push him away.

After dinner, you walk up to the shop owner to thank him, and ask his permission to camp nearby. "It rained a few days ago, so the ground is still wet, and will be uncomfortable. But you can rent a room here for the night if you'd like," he offers. "That'll be great sir, thank you for the help." Chan says, coming up behind you. The shop owner gives you the keys to a room, and before leaving, says something that leaves you both red at the ears. "No funny business here, please. I know you both are young, and controlling yourself is hard. But I'd rather you didn't 'play around' unnecessarily on my bed."

You get changed and climb into the bed, snuggling up to each other. "First day down, babe," you smile with your eyes closed. When Chan doesn't reply, you open them, only to find your man staring at you with love in his eyes. "This is pure healing for me, thank you for suggesting this trip, love," he says. You talk about anything and everything for a while, and then suddenly, you feel Chan's soft lips pressing against yours. He gives you a sweet kiss, and pulling away, says, "About what the old man said earlier.....," while smirking. You shove his chest, saying, "We shouldn't," making him pout. "Although, making out doesn't count as 'funny business,' does it?" And that's enough to make him press his lips back to yours, moving so as to hover over you.

You wrap your arms around his back, pulling you closer to him. He licks your lower lip, making you part your lips and allowing his tongue to enter. After a while, you break away, only to grab his T-shirt and take it off his body, before wrapping your hands around his bare back. Needless to say, the two of you didn't get much time to sleep that night.

You get started on your way again the next day, and around mid-day, you see a milestone telling you that you are entering Iksan. The small town seems a lifetime away from your hectic lives in Seoul, and you spend the day going from shop to shop, buying small trinkets and stuff that are reminiscent of the country life. The residents welcome you with open arms, and more than once, you find an old couple telling you how cute you look together.

"He's a keeper, that one. Don't let him go," a lady says to you, pointing at Chan, who can be seen playing with some kids. "I won't," you smile.

That night, you stay over at a family's house, who were nice enough to allow you to sleep on their futon. You have dinner with them, during which the kid's ask Chan, "Are you two married?," making him choke on his food. "I'm sorry for that, they are learning about families and marriage in school these days," says their mother. "It's all right," you smile, "But no, we aren't married." "But do you plan on getting married soon?," the kids persist.

You and Chan look at each other and smile, before saying in unison, "Yes. One day."

The next morning you take the wheel from Chan, and the both of you drive of in silence, as High School Musical plays on your dashboard screen. After a while, you say, "What is it, Channie? You've been staring at me," "It's just that, you seem way too quiet. You've been like that since last night, after dinner," he replies, "What's the matter? Are you okay?" "I'm fine, just been thinking." "About?" "About us," you begin, elaborating when you see him looking at you expectantly. "When those kids asked us if we were married, it got me thinking.....I love being with you, I love waking up next to you. We live together any way, and share all the burdens that come with it too. So I guess...getting married to you wouldn't be so bad after all," you say softly.

"Is this your way of proposing to me?," giggles your boyfriend. "What? No! I mean, I did say it would be nice to get married, but I don't have a ring right now. And I meant it when I said 'one day,' but it's not today," you hurriedly say. Chan bursts out laughing at this, "I know love, I'm not ready yet either. But yes, if I have to get married, I'd rather marry you than anyone else."

Around noon, you decide to set up camp in a forest clearing. It takes you a few hours to get the tent up and ready, as you keep getting delayed because you can't stop fooling around. Amid Chan getting himself wrapped with the tent instead of unwrapping it, and you assembling the rods the wrong way up, you spend some not-so-productive, but enjoyable quality time in each other's presence, something you didn't know you had been craving for.

Evening rolls by, and you have a light dinner with ramen, some roasted chicken, and beer, following which, you lay down on a picnic mat, with your head on Chan's arm. "The stars look so beautiful, don't they Channie?," you softly ask. "Not as beautiful as you," he says cheesily, making you hide your face into his side. "But yeah, you're right. I really wanted to go stargazing with you, but we never got the time," he sighs. "I'm so happy we came on this trip, love." You open your mouth to speak, but just then, you notice a star shooting across the sky. "Channie! Channie get up, it's a shooting star!," you squeal, before closing your eyes and praying. Once you open them, you notice Chan looking at you with a gaze full of love. "Didn't you wish for something?," you ask. "I did," he smiles. "But what about you? What did you wish for?"

"Come closer Mr. Bang, I'm not about to announce my wish to the whole world," you whisper slyly. He leans in closer to you, only to have you say, "You don't tell others what you wished for," before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. He smiles into the kiss, before breaking away and hugging you tight.

The next day turns out to be the last before you have to turn back homeward, and so, Chan suggests you make the best of it. "From what I know about the country's geography, we should be close to a beach somewhere here," he says, making you look at him with your eyes shining. "Too bad we're not going to get help from the GPS, but I'm really enjoying the phone detox," you smirk. "Who needs GPS when we've got people? Look there, we're gonna enter a city soon, so let's ask our way around," he replies. An hour and a half later, you come across a milestone that tells you the beach is a mile away. Once there, you look for a deserted spread of sand, keen on not getting stuck in an unnecessary crowd. "We face enough of that in the city, I just want to be alone with you," you whisper, taking his hand in his.

When you finally succeed in finding such a place, Chan giggles, "Good thing I packed our swimming gear as well, right?" "You did well sweetie," you say, booping his nose softly. After getting changed, you spend the next few hours playing in the water. Suddenly, Chan pulls you flush into his chest, and whispers in your ear, "You look so hot wearing that, and with water dripping down your body, I'm really finding it hard to stay away." "Then don't," you say, biting your lip. One thing leads to another, and you're thankful for the changing shack nearby.

By the time the sun starts to set, Chan has pulled you out of the water, and is making you dance with him on the sand, after bringing your phones and portable speaker from the car. Waltzing to the music, you shyly say, "I love you Channie," making him blush and reply with an "I love you too, my cute baby."

After dinner you climb atop the roof of your car, talking about your younger days. "You remember when we got into a huge fight once, back in college? And I was about to break up with you, only to have you whisk me away on a road trip, just like you did this time," you say, laying your head on his shoulder. "It did get you to stick around with me though," he replies, laying his chin on your head. "And you remember how we first met? You spilled your latte all over my T-shirt, and then took me to the infirmary to check for any burns," he reminds you, making you throw your head back in laughter. "You kept whining for a year over how you missed out on being the 'campus heartthrob' because of that incident, when in reality, you still were the most popular freshman," you jab a finger at his chest, smiling.

"Okay, I've got a secret. I wasn't actually sad about the campus heartthrob thing, since I already knew everyone was head over heels for me," he grins, making you punch his arm. "Hey! Let me finish first. I knew everyone loved me, but I only had eyes for you. And whining was just a tactic to get you to feel sorry for me and go on a date with me." You fake gasp at this, exclaiming, "Treachery! And here I thought you were genuinely sulky about that. do you have any idea how guilty I felt that whole year?!" When he simply states at you, unamused, you add through a pout, "I'm planning on revoking your cuddle privileges."

All of a sudden, you realize that Chan is moving over to lay on top of you, trapping you between him and the roof. "You know you can't resist me, babe. So don't even try," he says. "You are right about that," you say, pulling him for a kiss.

You both end up remaining awake till dawn the next day, and decide to start on your journey home around mid-way, after having napped inside the car for a few hours. You get started on your way just after noon, with Chan behind the wheel, and you eating (and feeding him) from a packet of gummy bears in the passenger seat. You re-enter the city you had seen earlier the previous day, and decide to spend some time roaming around. It's a fairly big city, but still much quieter and more peaceful than Seoul. You pass on visiting the mall, reasoning that you do so too frequently back home.

Soon enough though, you come across a store that displays a signboard saying, "Free wine tasting session for couples." You both look at each other, and with a smirk, Chan says what is on your mind. "Can't pass up on sophisticated wine for free now, can we?" You giggle and say, "Nope, absolutely not." And so, in you go. The session proves to be equal parts fun and educational. From the Chardonnay to the Pinot Noir, you go through with the tasting of at least 20 different types of wines. While you actually stick to the literal meaning of the word "tasting," drinking no more than a sip per drink, Chan goes all out, and not too long after, he's totally drunk. "Hey there beautiful, mind telling me your name?," he tries to act smooth with you, making you facepalm as you say, "I still get surprised about how low your alcohol tolerance is for your size," you shake your head.

Once you leave the tasting, half dragging, half carrying a wasted Chan who continuously tries to flirt with you, you decide to take the wheel and hit the road to the outskirts of the city, and cover the remainder of the trip once you're fully sober. When you cross over the city's borders and re-enter the road in the wilderness, you hit the brakes. You let Chan sleep, knowing that waking him up will only give him a hangover. Getting out of the car, you get yourself something to eat from the boot, and once you're full, you snuggle up to him, throwing a blanket over the both of you.

You wake up around nine at night, and as you had predicted, you see Chan holding his head in agony. You nurse him for while, before putting him back to sleep, then continue down the road. You keep sneaking glances at his sleeping form, smiling to yourself when you notice how peaceful he seems, something he hasn't looked like in ages. "We really needed this. Thank you for always knowing what I need, and for always taking care of me. I love you," you thank him silently.

When he finally wakes the next morning, he sees you huddled up in the driver's seat, and he can feel his heart swell with love for you. He gets out of the car, then picks you up and softly places you on the backseat so that you can rest well. Looking at your expression, he can easily see how content and truly happy you are. You are his reason to keep going, and if this little getaway idea of his could help you find your reason to keep going (unbeknownst to him, he himself is your reason to endure too), his heart is at ease. Sure, your week off is going to end soon, but he's positive that you will have rejuvenated yourself and would have gathered enough beautiful memories to last you a while.

Sure, going back to Seoul would mean going back to the hustle and bustle of your lives, but hey, he knows that that you by his side, he'd be ready to run away from home again any day, because his home is with you. But even more than that, he knows that with you by his side, life will be just a tad bit easier. Because you will always be there to remind him of who he was back in college. You will keep the young, carefree boy who loved you to bits, alive in him. And he'll do the same for you. And with that thought, he drives off into the distance, back to where you started from, with a smile on his face.

Because at the end of the day, you both have each other, and that's all that matters.

[nighttimescribbles]

omg scribs hii sorry for being mia for so long i've been so busy with life that i've barely had the time to check your page for any updates but i saw those muffins you posted probably ages ago omg !!

they look amazing 🤭🤭 i can just imagine how much more beautiful they looked after they came out of the oven with a pretty golden crispy layer ahhh you're making me crave them once again.

looking at those muffins as well made me realise how much i miss baking, it really has been so long but i'm hoping i'll be able to find a time to bake sometime between now and before my holiday. i've been thinking about that earl grey cupcake with lavender frosting for so long that i have to make it now but that will require me getting edible lavender :')

i'll definitely update you with pics if i have any sudden impulsive expeditions on this baking adventure we're both in :)

🍬

HAPPY NEW YEAR 🍬 Nonnie!!! Thank you for being a part of my 2022 ❤️ i always look forward to hearing from you! If i remember right, this is the month of your sk trip, isn't it? Aaaaahhhhh!!!! Have a great vacay + food trip! And pls let me know if you get to try the touristy hanbok-wearing-castle picture-taking experience. I want to know what it's like to feel like a time travelling k drama princess/prince 😍😆

I completely forgot to post out of the oven pics! Here they are:

Those gosh-darned blueberries were handcarried from singapore. I was about to give up and wanted to settle for rehydrating dried blueberries when i happened upon them at the grocery store. Then i knew i just had to do justice to your recipe and have at least one try with proper blueberries. 😤

This batch was made with a bit more milk to make the batter runnier since i noticed from previous attempts that it made for moist-er muffins. They're so good out of the oven but have to be eaten fast cos they start to dry up once refrigerated. Still, i'm super super happy with how they turned out! The crisp sugar top is absolute *chefs kiss*

Did you get to make your earl grey-lavender cupcakes? You're making me want to try for them, too! Even if only the earl grey cupcake at least!

[spearbe]

you're so right 😫😫 people dont understand that Asian people are literally called ching chongs and people are literally racist af and some people dress "asian" and are called beautiful while if i do it its "cringy" and "we're in america dress like one"

exactly!! ch*ng ch*ng and ch*nk are BOTH extremely offensive slurs and are absolutely not okay for anyone to use!! it’s not funny if you use it and you’re not Cool if you use it. you’re being fucking racist and that’s the tea. AND ELL OHMYGOD THAT SO  VALID!!! like nonasians wearing traditional asian clothing (including kimonos and hanboks, etc.) are praised for being “cultured” and “exotic” while if we wear our OWN FUKCKIG CLOTHING we’re labeled as “too asian” or “cringy” literally What The Fuck