DATED : Thursday, October 28, 2010
TITLED: The Four Seasons Of Love
TIMED: 1:55 AM
Hello, everyone! I'm back with another one-shot! This time, it's Clarissa and dun dun dun dun...Sungmin from Super Junior! Hence, it's dedicated to Clarissa~Please enjoy!*************************************************************************************
Clarissa~
Sungmin(OMG SO CUTE)~
Different seasons mark changing times in a year. With each season, special gifts are brought with them.
With spring, the world will be once more filled with the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers and a gentle breeze. Wherever spring is, warmth and hope will follow.
With summer comes the full dazzling glare of the sun, coupled with heat that will make you want to sleep. Summer brings about heat and passion.
Autumn is mysterious yet melancholic at the same time. The colours of autumn form a painting palette, haphazardly yet beautifully painting out a wonderful masterpiece of a wide array of colours.
Winter embraces the world thoroughly with its wide arms, clothing the earth is a comforting, white blanket of snow. It is a season that is cold, yet joyous and festive simultaneously.
For Clarissa, each season brought about a new chapter to her love life...
The beauty of autumn lies in the fact that although skies are turning grey and the chilly winter wind is on the horizon, the gentle falling of leaves and richly coloured surroundings make up for it all.
"Thank goodness that's the last pile, my back is going to break if I have to rake up anymore leaves," Clarissa hissed under her breath as she dropped her rake on the floor with a loud crash and straightened her spine, which had been bending over for the past half an hour due to the fact that her mother had dictated her to rake up the falling leaves before her house's front porch was completely blanketed under them.
"Aish...I'm going to take a swig of water. That work was laborious! I hate autumn!" Clarissa muttered under her breath as she trudged back into her home wearily to hydrate herself.
As she exited her house again to keep the rake, her eyes fell on the pile of leaves she had painstakingly raked up just then...and a pile of children jumping on it.
"Yah! You little brats! I just raked up those leaves! What the freak are you doing?" Clarissa screeched, her eyes growing as wide as dinner plates. She dashed forward frantically, attempting in vain to yank the children back.
"Aww...she's back! We'd better run, run, run, run..." One of the boys stuck his tongue out at her and scrambled back to her nieghbour's house, the other children hot on his heels, giggling hysterically.
"Those stupid kids! Dang it, I have to redo it all over again! I REALLY HATE autumn!" She rolled her eyes in exasperation and cussed in a low tone.
Little did she know how soon she would take her words back.
With her hands firmly planted across her chest, she stomped right up to her neighbour's house, anger bumbling like a kettle of bot water on a fire beneath her seemingly cool exterior.
Pressing the doorbell with much unneeded force, she tapped her foot on the sidewalk impatiently. "This family is going to get it from me! After destroying my precious pile of leaves, they still have the cheek to make me wait for them! What a pain in the neck!"
Heavy panting could be heard from the other side of the door, and it was finally yanked open by a male with much force. Clarissa sucked in a deep breath and-
"FINALLY! IT'S ABOUT FREAKING TIME YOU OPENED THAT DAMNED DOOR! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR KIDS DID? THEY WENT TO JUMP ON THE PILE OF LEAVES I HAD RAKED UP WITH MUCH SWEAT, LETTING ALL MY HARD WORK AND EFFORT GO TO WASTE! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO RAKE THE LEAVES? AND YOU STILL DARE TO MAKE ME WAIT! WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THIS?" Clarissa shrieked in ascending tones of C-sharp, letting all her irritation and anger spill out all at once, like lava flowing mercilessly down a volcano. Taking a deep breath after making such a din, she threw an indifferent glance at the person who had opened the door. And her eyes snapped back.
In front of her, stood a male of around eighteen years old. His adorable, child-like face was framed with long, luscious, ash-brown locks which fell gently around his face. His perfectly oval-shaped face was desired by many, while his large, chocolate, baby doll-ish bright peepers had in them sprig of fresh cuteness and a bright spark. His nose was sharp and complemented his features like how black hides the plumpness of individuals. However, the most disarming thing about him was his beautiful smile. His lips full lips were tinted a soft cherry pink and looked eminently kissable. His teeth were all straight and white. The man's shy yet confused smile would appeal to even the coldest of hearts. There wasn't a single imperfection about him, not even a single blemish...
"M-miss, are you alright?" The male looked at Clarissa worriedly, concern evident in his eyes.
Clarissa, who had spaced out to drink in every detail of the handsome youngster, was brought back down to earth. "What?" she squawked, in shock.
"E-erm, you're ok now. Hello, nice to meet you. You see, these kids aren't my children, my mother just pleaded with me to look after them while she and the kids' parents go shopping..." Sungmin continued, his voice like pure, sweet honey.
Even his VOICE was music to her ears. "Snap out of it, Clarissa!" she instructed her brain firmly. She shook her head, trying to clear it. It was only until Sungmin rearranged his features into a baffled expression did she realise that she had said the last sentence out loud.
"O-oh, erm, it's ok, never mind ab-bout the l-leaves...Sorry for bothering you, I'll j-just g-go now!" Clarissa blurted out without much thinking and spun around, making a beeline for her own house. Face palming herself mentally, she sighed,"You just embarrassed yourself back there! Aish...such a cute guy too! Omo? What it this? Stop thinking about him!" Clarissa felt her cheeks burn and turn as red as a tomato.
"Ok..."Sungmin barely had time to register what the girl said in his mind before she ran away. Grinning to himself, Sungmin chuckled,"She's cute."
Snow cascades down from the heavens during the coldest season, transforming the whole place into a winter wonderland full of ice crystals and snow. The snow flakes that float down gently are mesmerising in their own right, for no two flakes are the same, just like no two couples will trod on identical paths of love.
"Clarissa~Come ski with us!" Clarissa's sister, Amanda, tried to drag her out of the lobby of the ski lodge and out to the slopes.
Slapping her hands away without much force, Clarissa hugged the cushion of the lobby's sofa and whined,"I don't want to. I don't like to ski, I'll just stay here and listen to songs on my iPod."
Throwing her hands up in defeat, Amanda declared,"Up to you," and stalked out of the lobby.
"Thanks, Jie." Clarissa arranged herself into a more comfortable position on the sofa and started listening to random songs on her iPod.
"The fire here is so warm, and the sofa is so comfortable, I just want to sleep," Clarissa yawned and closed her eyes. Pretty soon, she fell into deep, black nothingness, sleeping away on the couch.
"Sungmin, let's go back to our room now! I'm really tired!" A guy named Eunhyuk called out to his friend, Sungmin.
"Wait a while, I have to retrieve something from the sofa over at the lobby!" Sungmin shouted over his shoulder as he sprinted towards to the sofa.
When he got there, he found a girl around his age already claiming the sofa as her own. "Doesn't she look really familiar?" he wondered aloud, eyebrows arched. A sudden thought then flew into his mind, and the pieces of the puzzle finally fitted together.
*Flashback*
"FINALLY! IT'S ABOUT FREAKING TIME YOU OPENED THAT DAMNED DOOR! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR KIDS DID? THEY WENT TO JUMP ON THE PILE OF LEAVES I HAD RAKED UP WITH MUCH SWEAT, LETTING ALL MY HARD WORK AND EFFORT GO TO WASTE! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO RAKE THE LEAVES? AND YOU STILL DARE TO MAKE ME WAIT! WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THIS?" A girl stood in front of him, yelling her head off, chest heaving up and down in anger. Her eyes had a crazy spark in them. Sungmin made a mental note to be cautious.
*End Of Flashback*
He snorted to himself,"So it's her, the first girl to berate me, Lee Sungmin. Such a small world, isn't it?"
Sungmin bent down to take a proper look at her. He was instantly drawn towards her sleeping form. A sweet smile had settled on her face and she looked vulnerable yet indifferent to others' thinking.
"She must be dreaming of something good,"he mused, chortling at the cute image in front of him. Sungmin took off his coat and covered the sleeping girl with it. After writing a few words down on a notepad and taking what he needed, Sungmin turned to leave, but unexpectedly jogged back to Clarissa's side.
"Sleep tight, my feisty yet cool little chili..."Sungmin brushed a few strands of stray hair out of her face and leaned in. His lips gently brushed against her forehead...
When Clarissa woke up, the man was long gone. She cracked open one eye, then the other, only to see herself tucked in cosily under a coat.
"Some kind soul must have left this on me. I wonder how he or she expects me to pass it back to them?"
Just then, a hastily-scribbled note caught her attention. Leaning over to pick it up, it read,"Hi! Nice to meet you again, I'm Lee Sungmin. You can keep my coat, kekeke."
"Again? What does he mean?" Clarissa was bewildered. Sniffing the coat, she detected something which smelt distinctly like sweet strawberry shampoo.
Clarissa beamed. "Nice to meet you too, Strawberry Shampoo guy Lee Sungmin."
The blooming of flowers mark the start of the season of hope-Spring. Spring represents three things: rebirth, regrowth and renewal. When love and spring are placed together, it could mean the rebirth of a old love once slipped away, a regrowth of a relationship gone stale or a renewal of vows to love each other no matter what comes along. Or spring could let one hope, hope that the love of their life will be at the next corner...
"Clarissa Jie Jie! Let's play tag! You can catch me first!" Little Soo Min clamoured for attention.
Clarissa worked as a volunteer at an orphanage nearby to her house, and regularly brought some of the orphanage's children out to play, especially during the beautiful spring season.
"Fine, I'll count to ten while you find someplace to hide, ok? One, two, three, four, five..."Clarissa consented blithely and started counting, while Soo Min felicitously darted off into the middle of the enthralling field full of multi-coloured flowers, crouching down and concealing herself amongst the tall stalks.
"...Nine, ten! Time's up! I'm coming!" Clarissa proclaimed loudly and spun around on her heels. Her eyes flicked from left to right, trying to find her little charge, and spotted vivacious girl hiding amongst some tulips.
Beaming, Clarissa charged towards the girl's direction without thinking twice, but-
"Crash!" Clarissa's eyes widened as she it dawned on her that she was falling backwards onto the ground...while grabbing on to some random guy she had knocked into accidentally. The two crashed onto the ground, with the considerate male placing his hand under her head to prevent her head from being hit by the hard ground.
"Owww..."The guy winced as he rubbed his back, which had been hurt by the fall. He queried, concern evident in his tone,"You ok?"
"I..yeah..."It suddenly hit Clarissa that the male was on top of her, due to the fact that his palm was still under her head, and she sat up impetuously.
Unfortunately, as she was trying to sit upright, her forehead banged against the guy's. Hard.
"Ouch!" he squealed, clutching his forehead, face screwed up in a painful expression.
Massaging her own forehead, Clarissa apologised in a fluster,"I'm so sorry! I forgot that you were on top of me! Are you alright?"
Grabbing the hand which Clarissa had offered him, he spoke,"Yeah...I'm fine...OH MY SHISUS!"
Hearing his startled cry, Clarissa panicked. "What?"
"Argh! I'd been taking photos of the flowers the whole morning, but when you bumped into me, I accidentally pressed the wrong button and the film came out! Now all my precious pictures are destroyed!" The guy* wailed desperately, gaping at his camera and the ejected film, horrified that his hard work had come to naught.
*Please note that this "Guy" is Sungmin.
Clarissa's mouth dropped open in shock and mortification. Aish, why was she so careless?!
"Omo, I'm so sorry, I'll do anything to make up for it!" She gave a sincere, ninety degree bow.
"Hmm...pose with the flowers so I can take some more pictures to make up for those I had lost."
"W-what?"
"You heard me. I want to take some pictures of you. Just go to some random flowers and pretend to smell them."
"Oh ok..."Clarissa was flabbergasted. Nevertheless, she plodded towards some dandelions. Holding them up to her face, she scrunched up her nose and pretended to take a great whiff of them. "Like this?"
"Yeah, you look really pretty..."The guy scratched his head and smiled bashfully as he blurted out that comment. Clarissa pretended to be indifferent, but inside, she was secretly elated.
"Say 'Dandelion'!" he raised his camera to his face and snapped a shot. Clarissa rolled her eyes but kept a 'dazzling' smile on her face.
After requesting a few more shots of her, he declared that he was done and bade Clarissa goodbye. Clarissa waved back, and then went back to 'capturing' Soo Min. The two left for the orphanage as Soo Min had to attend an art class.
*Sungmin's Point Of View*
She looks really familiar, did I see her before this? Hey wait, wasn't she the girl who yelled at me and slept at the lobby of the ski lodge? Yes, that's it! Aish...I can't believe I missed another chance at being her acquaintance! I have got to rush back!
I zoomed back like a shooting star, but the girl was no longer there. Another chance gone...Fate really likes to make a fool out of me! Cupid, help me!
Summer symbolises the prime of life. It is the emblem of happiness, of passion, of peace and of delight, for the warm gaze of the sun brightens the whole way up. Summer is the season when lovers bond the best-from jogging together in the dewy morning to taking in the salty sea breeze, there are countless things to do in summer. Perhaphs, summer also represents the best part of love-meeting your destined one and falling head over heels in love with them.
"Eh? How come there are no fireflies here tonight? Usually this place is full of them..." Clarissa muttered, perplexed. It was a glorious midsummer's night, and it was the best time to catch fireflies. However, on this particular night, the fireflies seemed to have evaporated into thin air, not a faintest clue of where they might have flew to left behind.
As she trudged through the field, taking care not to make a din, she kept her eyes glued to the ground. She didn't even take note of where she was heading, as the fireflies were of utmost importance in her mind.
Ever since she was six, Clarissa had been captivated by the world of fireflies like iron being attracted to magnets involuntarily. Every summer night, she went faithfully to the field just to catch a glimpse of fireflies to fufil her fantasy.
"Bump!" Clarissa had unwittingly knocked another man down. In the still darkness of the night, she could make out a figure grabbing on wildly onto a tree to prevent himself from falling down. The man steadied himself and shifted his attention back to her. His eyes squinted, but whether because of annoyance or curiosity, Clarissa didn't know.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!"
"Woah...you again? Why do you knocking into me so much?" The male questioned, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Eh?" Clarissa was baffled. This guy sounded suspiciously familiar...
"You don't recognise me? We've met three times before this, two time when you were awake, once when you were asleep." He strode forward with an easy, loping grace, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Clarissa stared hard at him, racking her brains for an impression of him. The answer came to her abruptly.
"The good-looking guy at my neighbour's house...The name and the coat...The flowers and the photograph...Wait! You're Lee Sungmin aren't you?" Clarissa exclaimed, her astounded expression rearranged into an excited smile.
Sungmin laughed, his chuckle sounding like church bells. "Quite right, I am. Took you long enough though. I was beginning to despair whether we would cross paths again. I've wanted to ask you for a long time...What is your name?"
"I'm Clarissa...What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Looking for fireflies. I've loved them since I was a young boy," he stated with good humour.
"Oh really? I'm searching for fireflies too! But there seems to be nary a firefly tonight..."
Sungmin smiled warmly, reaching out for Clarissa's hand. "Let me show you something special..."
"Where're we going?"
"To a firefly wonderland..."
Clarissa remained silent as Sungmin lead her to the other end of the filed where the river was. Clarissa had never ventured so deep in before.
Stopping without warning, Sungmin knelt down in front of Clarissa with his back facing her. "Get on,"he said simply.
"What?"
"To get over to the other side, the only way is to step on the rocks. But the rocks are really dangerous to step on, so I'm going to piggy-back you there instead."
"Oh ok, thank you..."Clarissa thanked Sungmin softly. She wrapped her arms around Sungmin's neck, taking care to to grip on him too hard. Sungmin took hold of her legs and stood up slowly, for fear of alarming the girl on his back. Clarissa laid her head on his shoulder as he made his way cautiously to the meadow at the other side of the river.
Clarissa raised her head and accidentally took in the smell of Sungmin's hair. Strawberry shampoo...just like the sweet scent last time. Unexpectedly, her heart started to melt a little and her breath was caught in her throat...
"We're here!" Sungmin's sing-song voice penetrated through her mind, waking her up from her dream.
Clarissa shook her head to clear her thoughts and jumped down from Sungmin's back. Sungmin made a gesture for her to turn around. Clarissa shot a quizical look at him, only to whirl around and find-
A meadow full of bright green light emitted by fireflies! The fireflies flew around, surrounding the entire meadow, bathing the meadow in a gentle green glow. There was only one word to describe it-divine.
"It's splendid..."Clarissa breathed, staring in awe. Never had she seen so many fireflies before. Turning to Sungmin, she asked,"How did you find them?"
Sungmin shrugged. "I came across them a few months before, quite by accident. You see, I was exploring the place and got intrigued, so I made my way here. And voila! I discovered for myself a firefly wonerland. It's been my secret sanctuary ever since then, I...I hope it'll be yours too. Come on, let's chase the fireflies!"
Sungmin started to sprint forward, into the vast sea of fireflies. Noticing Clarissa still standing at her original spot, he jogged back to the girl and Clarissa found herself being led forward by Sungmin's hand.
"It's the second time he's held my hand today..."Clarissa felt her heart beating slightly faster and her cheeks were tinged pink. Her stomach was doing back flips and Clarissa felt light-headed, her spirits suddenly lifted.
Clarissa was confused; why was she behaving this way with Sungmin? She had never felt this way before. She took extra note of small, minute details, like the way Sungmin laughed, or how soft his hands were...What was this beautiful feeling?
Perhaphs that night, the fireflies had helped Clarissa and Sungmin light up the flame of their love...
With a gentle blow of the wind, autumn once again arrives on cue. This time, the season is a the of gathering-gathering of a pair made in heaven.
Sungmin stood at the sidewalk outside Clarissa's house, holding a remote-controlled toy aeroplane in his hands. Placing it on the ground, he attached a message on it and took in a deep breath as he began to fly it towards Clarissa's room...
"So, x=...What's happening?" Clarissa was studying when a toy aeroplane flew into her room. Eyeing it with great interest, she reached out and unfolded the paper attached to it, which read "Look outside your window. From, Sungmin."
"What's he up to this time round?" Clarissa peered outside her window and sucked in her breath sharply.
On her lawn, there was a message. What was so unique about it was that this message was made out of leaves. The leaves that had fallen from the trees were raked up to form block letters, which when stringed together, read,
"Dear Clarissa, I love the dimple in your cheek when you smile, I love your feisty attitude, I love your humour, and most importantly, I love your everything. Please be with me."
A pair of arms snaked themselves around Clarissa's waist as someone hugged her from behind. Breathing in the scent of her hair, Sungmin whispered into her ear,"Do you know I've loved you since the first time we met?"
"Sungmin! When did you sneak up here?" Clarissa was startled but was rejoicing in her heart.
Sungmin chose to maintain his silence. Instead, he held up an adorable firefly soft toy in his arms. It was a in a pale, aqua green. On it's stomach were the words Clarissa+Sungmin=True Love.
Sungmin raised his arm to press a button on the top of the firefly's head, and Sungmin's voice drfited out of it.
"Feisty Chili, do you know that I had been waiting for you for so long? Everytime we crossed paths, I didn't have the chance to ask for your name, until that midsummer's night. Cupid was cruel, but he brought us back together all the same. When I'm with you, my mind just goes blank and no matter what you do, I can't help but fall prey to your charm. I can only think of one person, I can only think of that person, and that person is you. So now, all I want to do is to proclaim my love for you to the whole world. I love you."
"Sungmin..."Clarissa was speechless. Tears glittered like crystals in her eye. It was then that she noticed Sungmin's fingers were covered with plasters. She realised Sungmin was the one who had sewed the firefly plushie specially just for her and pricked his fingers. Clarissa felt her heart ache and tears escaped from her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Sungmin was anxious; had he done something to upset her? Was he not good enough?
"You're too nice...You spent labourious hours raking the leaves to form block letters and pricked yourself trying to sew a soft toy for me..."
"Hey, please don't...It wasn't difficult, I'd do anything for you. Don't cry, please..." Sungmin could only think of one way to stop Clarissa's tears. That was to take a leaf out of the book of the male characters in diol dramas.
He turned Clarissa to face him. Leaning in, he closed his eyes and planted a kiss on her lips. Her lips were softer than he could ever imagine...
Clarissa was taken aback, but her heart soared. She didn't see fireworks, unlike the claims of some people, and neither did she feel a burning passion in her. What she felt was pure, simple love-the best and the most precious kind of love.
Breaking the kiss for a moment, she leaned on his shoulder and murmured the four words Sungmin had been yearning to hear. "I love you too."
~The End~
*************************************************************************************
So, how did you guys find it? Personally, this is my favourite one-shot that I have written! I hope I've not disppointed anyone, especially Clarissa...Do leave comments! Thank you and God bless you!
Labels: Sungmin, The Four Seasons Of Love
