Work Text:
Considering that it was only mid-February - when it should still be bitterly cold in these parts of the country - the weather had been surprisingly mild in recent days; not warm, per say, but warm enough that Hakeun only felt the need to wrap a woollen shawl around her shoulders when she stepped out onto the manor grounds after dinner, instead of donning her thick winter coat like she had been for the past two months or so, which delighted her to no end. After all, although her winter coat kept her nice and cosy against the sharp winds, it was also extremely bulky and there was nothing worse than trudging through the garden in such a large and puffy thing.
And besides, as someone who had grown up in this particular part of the world, the weather may have taken her by slight surprise but she was positive that the shawl - a large, beautiful woven blanket that she had grown up seeing her mother use before it had been gifted to her as part of her trousseau - was certainly more than enough to keep away the chills, thank you very much.
Taekwoon, however, appeared to be very much against the very idea of his wife wandering around in the cold in nothing but her thick winter dress and a shawl, an opinion he did not so much express out loud as he did through his constant frowning.
And through his gestures, she found out one evening, when he insisted on accompanying her in her usual after-dinner strolls through the gardens.
The temperature had dipped somewhat during the day, making the evening just that bit colder than it had been in the last few days - but still not cold enough to warrant her coat. All the same, as soon as she stepped out of the back door, she couldn't stop the shiver that rippled through her body, and Taekwoon had immediately stopped them in their tracks to look at her.
"You are not dressed warm enough," he said, his quiet voice tinged with worry.
"Well, it is too late to ask for my coat," Hakeun huffed, lips turning down into a pout. "It would be such a hassle..."
Taekwoon's eyes turned towards the heavens for a few second or two, as if to ask for patience, before he sighed heavily and extracted his arm from Hakeun's grip. He quickly took off his outer coat, and then turned so he could drape the body-warmed garment over her shoulder.
"Oh," she gasped, fingers reaching up instinctively to curl around the lapels of the coat, "but..."
She knew that Taekwoon was unused to the weather in this part of the country, which was much colder than where he had been born and raised, and yet...
"Are you sure?" she asked, peering up at him with concern.
He said nothing in response, merely meeting her gaze with dark eyes. She, too, kept quiet for a few moments, doing nothing but attempting to read the meaning hidden in his eyes, before she nodded and looked away.
"Come," she said gently, guiding him away from the warmth of the manor house and towards the gardens, "let us go look at the stars."