#elizabeth 3rd

elvendara:

For@mysme-fictober2020prompt list

and

@juminweek2019Day 1:Birthday/Catsvs.Berries

5: Jack-O-Lantern

“Am I doing this correctly?” Jumin, the sleeves of his striped dress shirt rolled up over his elbows, his hair continuously falling over his eyes as he bent over the pumpkin on the kitchen table. MC laughed and got up from her seat quickly heading into the bedroom then back.

“Here, this might help.” She pushed a round silk headband over Jumin’s head then pushed it back to secure his hair away from his eyes. The lavender color looked good on him.

Jumin looked up at his wife and gave her a loving smile. Only she could do these things to him and he allow it. The look in her eyes gave him life, so he denied her nothing. It was to his great fortune that she in turn did not ask for the world, but only for him.

“Yes, I have at times wondered about the efficiency of Yoosung’s hair clips, however, it would not fit the aesthetic of a director of a large and affluent company.”

MC giggled at the image of Jumin wearing Yoosung’s hair clips. “No, I suppose nobody would take you seriously. Why not cut your hair shorter then?” she asked as she sat back down to attempt to carve out her own pumpkin. There was a table cloth on the table to catch all the pumpkin innards. When she had suggested they carve their own pumpkins Jumin had researched and researched before agreeing.

“I have often thought of it, but, I like this length most of the time, it suits me.” He scooped out the seeds of the pumpkin and scraped the inside until it was as smooth as the photo in the instructions he had printed out. The pumpkin was medium sized and almost perfectly round, there was a slight imperfection to the color but Jumin figured he would simply carve his design on the opposite side and no one need know. He had bought the best pumpkin carving tools he was able to find and now set about tracing the image he wanted onto the surface of the pumpkin.

Glancing towards his wife he noted how she furrowed her brow in concentration and thinned out her lips. Her cute little nose wrinkled quite pleasantly, he had to resist an urge to lean over and kiss the tip. He marveled at just how much his life hand changed in such a short period of time. Any other year and he would not have given this holiday a single thought. At this time he would surely have been in the office working on one thing or another. Now, he was elbow deep into the insides of a large squash and loving every minute of it.

Forcing himself to focus on his design and not on his lovely wife was difficult, but he did it. Once the outline was drawn onto the pumpkin, he held it out to look at it and make sure he had missed nothing. Perfection! Now came the difficult part. He picked up the small sawing tool and began to cut away what needed to be discarded. He regularly consulted the instructions so as not to make a mistake. In fact, he double checked he was about to make a correct cut before proceeding.

“How’s it going?” MC asked. Jumin looked up and couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped his throat. “What?” MC’s eyes were large and confused.

“Here.” Jumin set his pumpkin down and grabbed one of the clean towels on the table. He gently wiped away some pumpkin guts from his wife’s cheek. He leaned over and kissed the same area. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back down when he tried to move away, capturing his lips. He sighed and lingered on her lips, the soft feel like a balm on his entire life.

“I see what you are doing, trying to distract me. It will not work, I am almost finished.” He sat back down on his seat and MC pouted.

“Fine, I’m almost finished too.” She turned back to her work and Jumin grinned. She made him feel more alive than ever. Before her, he had been floating through life in a fog, and he might have continued that way, never knowing what life really meant, had she not pushed him out of it. He enjoyed his work, the company, loved his father and still gained much pride in what he did, but he was much more fulfilled than he had ever been. His heart was full like never before.

He hummed as he finished up his design, the sound coming naturally. He had often been told his singing voice was beautiful, yet he had never taken much enjoyment out of it. Now, he would sing for MC, or sing when he was alone and at peace, a sign of his happiness and contentment. Even Jaehee had commented that he often hummed under his breath while reading through his documents. He chuckled and MC gave him a soft knowing glance.

“Done.” He stated, setting his finished jack-o-lantern down and placing the cap on top. Perfect.

“Wait! You have to put the candle inside.” MC reminded him as she did the same to hers. They had purchased electric ones that didn’t need to be lit, as the building did not allow for real candles to be used.

“Right.” Jumin reached for the LED candle on his side, turned it on and placed it inside. “Ready?” he asked MC. Their respective newly carved jack-o-lanterns facing themselves ready to be revealed.

“Ready.” She answered.

“One…two…” they intoned together, “THREE.” They each turned their creations to each other, and MC gasped while Jumin tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. MC’s monstrosity was anything but perfect. The two almost triangular eyes were lopsided, one vastly larger than the other. There was a single gash in the center he could only assume was supposed to be a nose, and the too large mouth had dangling teeth that appeared to be one strong breath away from completely falling off. Not to mention she had done an abysmal job of clearing out the inside as there were orange strings visible inside.

“Well, it is certainly ghastly enough for Halloween.” Jumin chided his wife. MC rolled her eyes, her jaw tight.

“Is there anything that you’re bad at?” she asked, exasperated. Jumin had precisely recreated a photo of Elizabeth 3^rd.

“I had to make sure my precious, I mean, OUR precious Elizabeth 3^rd was accurately portrayed, anything less would have been an affront to her.” MC could only shake her head.

“Well, you did her justice my love.” She laughed and sat on her husband’s lap. “She would be proud to sit outside our door for all to see.” She kissed him, removing the headband and running her fingers through his thick dark hair. “Now, why don’t we go take a shower and clean up.” She suggested. He readily agreed.