Radiant Short Story Collection

[Chanyeon] Picnic Surprise

The morning sunlight that softly seeped through the gap between the window curtains was tinting the bedroom in warm gold. The moment I slowly opened my eyes, I felt a pleasant heaviness pressing me down on the mattress. Chanyeon was sound asleep right beside me. He had his large arms wrapped tightly around my body, pulling me close into his broad embrace. As I carefully tried to slip out of his hold and sneak out of bed, Chanyeon let out a soft, sleepy groan. I could see his lips pouting as his arms groped the air for the empty space.

Smiling, I tugged the curtain open a little and looked outside. The weather was perfectly clear and sunny. It felt like there could be no better day for a picnic by the river.

Deciding to let Chanyeon sleep a little longer, I quietly left the room. For an hour, I busied myself in the kitchen preparing all our favorite foods, packing them neatly into the picnic basket, and gathering the things we needed.

Once everything was perfectly ready, I let out a proud, satisfied sigh and put both hands on my hips.

At last I turned to wake my favorite passionate man, but the moment I crossed the threshold, I met Chanyeon’s eyes—already open and sitting up in bed. The instant our eyes met, his trademark bright, sunlit smile spread across his face.

"Oppa, did I wake you?" I asked.

"Nope, well, I woke up because I heard your footsteps pounding around in the kitchen," Chanyeon replied with a low, playful chuckle. My heart dropped dangerously at that meltingly tender voice. Stretching hugely, he went on. "But it’s fine. What were you doing?"

"I was thinking we could have a picnic by the river." I nodded slightly and smiled brightly. "The weather’s ridiculously nice today. What do you think?"

"Honestly, I wanted to stay in bed and hug you even tighter and just roll around with you." Chanyeon murmured softly. So much tenderness dripped from the way he looked at me that I almost lost my composure. Chanyeon got out of bed and walked right up to me, as if invading my personal space. "But seeing that you already packed everything and are this excited... I guess we should go. Let’s go!"

Thankfully, the roads out of the city were completely clear, and we quickly found a quiet, perfect spot near the river with soft grass and spread out a large picnic blanket. The picnic was truly fantastic. Warm sunlight, a gentle summer breeze, and, above all, the most perfect love of my life right beside me—everything was perfect.

While watching the gently rippling river, I slowly rested my head on Chanyeon’s shoulder. Without hesitating even a second, Chanyeon turned and wrapped his big, warm arms firmly around my waist, pulling me close to him.

But our perfect sunshine didn’t last long. Huge rain clouds quickly blanketed the valley, swallowing the blue sky whole. Just as I was about to look up at the horizon, now turned gray, and say, "Oppa, it looks like it might rain," an enormous downpour began pounding the park mercilessly.

We screamed and burst out laughing, scrambling in a chaotic panic to pack up the picnic basket and sprint across the grass toward the car. By the time we slammed the car door shut, raindrops were already hammering the windshield. Looking at each other’s hair and clothes, now completely soaked, we soon broke into helpless, happy laughter.

"The weather sure is spectacular." I panted, wiping away the raindrops running down my forehead.

"We should get home and change before we catch a cold," Chanyeon said softly and sweetly, starting the car.

After showering and changing into clean, fluffy, warm clothes, the apartment was filled with a cozy, snug atmosphere. While standing beside the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room and watching the heavy rain streaming down the glass, suddenly two firm arms wrapped around me from behind.

Chanyeon hugged my whole body from behind and gently buried his face at the nape of my neck. After leaving a warm, deep kiss on my hair, he rested his chin lightly on my shoulder. Chanyeon’s large hands held my waist securely, and the warmth of his palms at my hips was comforting. Then, in time with the steady sound of rain, Chanyeon began gently, rhythmically swaying my body from side to side. Protected perfectly from the storm outside the window, we stood together in a moment that felt like a flash of eternity.

"Can’t we lie down now? My feet hurt because we ran so much earlier." Chanyeon whispered in my ear. His puppy-like, spoiled complaint made laughter spill out of me before I could stop it.

"Okay, let’s go," I replied playfully.

We crawled into the middle of the bed and lay facing each other on the soft mattress. For several minutes, we simply smiled at each other in sweet silence. When a laugh I couldn’t hold back slipped out between my lips, Chanyeon’s smile deepened too, the corners of his eyes gathering with a profound tenderness like honey dripping down.

With a gentle touch, Chanyeon wrapped his arms around my lower back and lightly drew my body against his broad chest. He looped his long legs around mine, and under the thick blanket our bodies tangled together perfectly without a single gap. A happy, satisfied sigh that rumbled deep in his chest traveled straight through my ribs, and then a soft kiss lingered on the top of my head for a long time.

Breathing in the faint, clean scent of Chanyeon’s perfume and feeling his warm body temperature melt into the softness of the bed, my eyelids slowly grew heavy. Drifting off to the sound of his steady, calm breathing, with his heartbeat as the perfect lullaby, was pure bliss. Even as Chanyeon sank into peaceful sleep, the hand around my waist never loosened for even a second. Held in his sturdy, safe embrace, I too quickly drifted into a beautiful world of dreams.