Though he tried to act as normal as possible, heat was rising to his face. And his heart was beating a bit faster than usual.
Jaehyuk knew what these faster heartbeats meant.
And it made him extremely displeased.
A sigh escaped him.
“Why of all people…”
* * *
“Want to have another dinner bet today?”
Despite complaining throughout the meal about skipping it just for today, once they actually got to the ocean, Junghyun was brimming with enthusiasm.
As soon as they arrived, he warmed up with some light surfing and seemed to be in high spirits.
Of course, he seemed more interested in the bet than the surfing itself, but either way, Junghyun was determined to do his best to challenge Jaehyuk today.
“Do you have more money to spend?”
“I have another card. Besides, I think hyung will be paying today.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“I’m really good. I have no fear.”
“I’ve never been called a coward either.”
“Then, highest wave? Longest ride?”
“Longest ride. From the moment you catch the wave until you come down.”
“We’ll need some wave luck then. But don’t we need someone to judge?”
Given the season, surfers were everywhere. With the high waves today, quite a few had gathered.
Having passed by so many times, there were some familiar faces and occasional acquaintances among the surfers, so finding a judge would be easy.
Honestly, even complete strangers would jump at an event like this. It’s not every day you get such entertaining spectacles.
Looking around for just about anyone, Jaehyuk spotted a nearby surfer and nodded at him. From the way he handled his board and moved, he seemed to be a surfing instructor.
Having identified an ideal candidate, Jaehyuk approached him and greeted him naturally.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it really has been a long time. You must have been busy this summer.”
“Yes. I had a lot of work.”
“Everyone seems busy these days. But who’s this person next to you…?”
When the man noticed Junghyun standing beside Jaehyuk, Jaehyuk naturally introduced him.
“My partner.”
“Ah~ I see. Your partner surfs too?”
“Yes. We’ve made a dinner bet, could you time us?”
“Of course, no problem.”
At the man’s easy agreement, Jaehyuk turned away first, holding his board.
“I’ll go first then.”
“We’ll measure down to the frame.”
The key to surfing was catching large waves quickly.
But since the waves in this area were almost the same size, the riding time would be similar anyway, so when Junghyun said he’d time it down to the frame rather than just seconds, Jaehyuk waved his hand as if that was exactly what he wanted and headed straight for the waves.
Watching this, the man immediately turned on his phone and started the stopwatch.
For such a serious bet, Junghyun stood leaning against his shortboard. After waiting briefly, Jaehyuk began riding a high incoming wave.
Though the waves were high today, Jaehyuk entered into a particularly rare scene of waves nearly 4 meters high, nimbly and gracefully turning as he rode up on the wave.
A man with perfect proportions elegantly riding the waves looked like a scene from a movie, but unfortunately, Junghyun was in no mood to admire it.
“Damn…”
His luck is disgustingly good.
To catch a wave like that.
99% of these bets were determined by luck, but why did this guy have such perfect timing? While Junghyun was muttering to himself, Jaehyuk quickly caught the wave, matched its speed, and began riding the barrel.
Not only was it rare to see a large barrel, but surfers at the level to ride barrels were also uncommon, so the excited instructor let out a genuine exclamation.
“Wow, amazing.”
It truly was amazing.
It had been a long time since seeing a barrel that big.
“This won’t be easy…”
While Junghyun was sighing about how his credit card bill shouldn’t get any bigger, Jaehyuk emerged from the large, long barrel, immediately turned, and stopped.
Then he headed straight for the beach.
Meanwhile, the surfer checking the time excitedly shouted.
“Wow, 28.03 seconds!”
“…I’m screwed.”
Even if Junghyun regretted not breaking the nose of that person’s board on the way, it was already too late.
All he could do was wait and hope for the luck of an even bigger wave. While Junghyun was sulking, Jaehyuk, already confident in his victory, majestically emerged from the sea and began walking toward them.
With the brilliantly clear blue sea as a backdrop under the dazzling sun, even the sight of him approaching with wet hair pushed back and holding a large board looked like something from a magazine spread.
It was a sight that could make anyone fall for him, and Junghyun was caught in a strange sentiment.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen him walking out of the sea toward him like this.
Three times? Or four. No, maybe five times.
Of course, he hadn’t approached Junghyun specifically; Junghyun had just happened to be there by chance, but despite encountering him so many times, the man hadn’t remembered him.
Yet Junghyun remembered him.
Perhaps he hadn’t made enough of an impression on him, or he was someone not worth remembering.
Actually, it didn’t matter.
No, honestly, he was rather grateful not to be remembered, but it still felt strange.
The fact that someone who had treated him like an invisible person for over 7 years was now approaching him.
It was an odd feeling—somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, yet also a bit happy.
“What’s the time?”
When he approached and picked up the towel beside him, the surfer standing next to them immediately showed him the time.
“You got 28 seconds. You caught that wave really well, didn’t you?”
At the praise from the surfer, who seemed even more excited than Jaehyuk, Jaehyuk calmly nodded.
His face showed that this was satisfactory.
“I got lucky. Are you going next?”
At Jaehyuk’s suggestion to finish the match quickly, Junghyun picked up the shortboard he had been leaning against.
“Yeah, whatever. Let’s just go. It’s all about luck anyway.”
“You seem confident in your luck?”
“No. My luck is disgustingly bad. So I have to trust my intuition.”
“Looking forward to it.”
“By all means.”
Since the result would come in an instant anyway, Junghyun approached the ocean without hesitation, quickly entered the water, and soon took his position standing on the board. He seemed to be choosing a wave while floating gently, then as he spotted a high wave coming in, he immediately rode up on the wave’s surface.
Catching the wave instantly, he rode up on the high surging wave and sped across it with incredible velocity before making a bold turn. Jaehyuk, who had been drying his hair and wetsuit with a towel, found himself staring at him as if entranced.
Strangely, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Junghyun.
He had expected it since watching him exercise yesterday, and from his glances while warming up—clearly, he was a good surfer.
No, not just good.
As he had claimed, at that level, with just a bit more professional training, he could become a pro.
But somehow, he seemed precarious. More precisely, on the edge.
He clearly had excellent technique, athletic ability, and balance. And he was bold.
Too bold, in fact. To the point of recklessness.
As he had said, he had no fear.
But that fearlessness felt less like courage and more like a destructive recklessness, as if he didn’t care if he died.
To be honest, Jaehyuk felt like Junghyun might disappear into those waves at any moment.
He didn’t know why, but he had that feeling.
Just like when he saw him staggering toward the seawater on the beach last night.
He knew he wasn’t that kind of person, and Junghyun himself didn’t seem to have any such intention, but that was just the feeling he got.
That he might disappear at any moment.
“Wow, he’s really good. That’s professional level.”
The surfer checking the time made a genuine exclamation of admiration, and Jaehyuk naturally responded.
“He did say so himself.”
“But why don’t I remember seeing him? I couldn’t forget someone who surfs that well. Does he mostly surf overseas? Or is he actually a professional?”
“No, it’s a hobby. He says he’s surfed mostly in Korea…”
Meanwhile, Junghyun dismounted from the huge wave he had been riding. The man who stopped the stopwatch on his phone shouted in surprise.
“29.02 seconds!”
It was a narrow margin, but Junghyun had won. He not only surfed well but caught the wave quickly.
“I thought you said you had bad luck.”
“Indeed. But it’s rare to find someone who surfs that well, you’re lucky to have met him. Now you two can go together.”
“We should. He says he snowboards in winter too.”
“Then I might see you both there as well.”
While they were having a friendly conversation, with the man mentioning he also snowboarded, Junghyun emerged from the sea and came running toward them with his board.
For once, he looked less like a mad dog and more like a cute puppy. Jaehyuk quickly grabbed a fresh towel and threw it to Junghyun.
“You really are a megalodon.”
This time calling him that name with genuine praise, Junghyun put down his board and wrapped himself in the towel before asking.
“What was my time?”
At that question, the man immediately showed him his phone, and Junghyun’s eyes lit up.
“Yes! I won!”
“You surf well.”
“I told you I did.”
“Annoyingly so.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, hyung.”
Junghyun patted Jaehyuk’s shoulder, telling him not to be disappointed as he was just slightly less skilled in comparison, which made Jaehyuk laugh incredulously.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
I love them sm 😭😭😭