While I was entranced, staring at the sea rippling in the darkness, the door opened and Jaehyuk approached.
“Can we leave the car here?” he asked.
“Yeah. I told them we’d pick it up in the morning since it’s close by.”
It was true what they said about this place—a shop frequented by surfers that would keep your car and board if you’d been drinking.
“Good service.”
“Because I’m a regular.”
“Do you surf here often?”
“The waves are highest here. What about you?”
“I prefer the inner area. I don’t come here much because the surfers here are a bit rough.”
“You?”
Junghyun zipped up his jacket and retorted that there was no way he’d avoid a fight, contradicting Jaehyuk’s impression that he might back down from confrontation.
“No way. I got into so many fights while surfing that Seojun told me not to come to this area anymore. Said I’d end up in jail for real.”
“…That makes sense now that I hear it.”
“That guy struggled to keep me in check. Honestly, I’m a decent person now. My temper was way worse when I was younger.”
“Worse than now?”
“Yes. I was a real mad dog back then.”
“…I’m glad we didn’t meet then.”
Thinking he would have run away immediately if they’d met when Junghyun was younger, Jaehyuk grimaced and turned toward the sea. Junghyun quietly looked up at him.
As if he had something to say.
Feeling that peculiar gaze, Jaehyuk looked down at Junghyun again.
“What?”
“…Nothing. Just thinking you’re handsome. Want to walk along the beach?”
Though there was a paved path to the hotel, they were both slightly tipsy and wanted to cool off, so when Junghyun suggested taking the sandy route, Jaehyuk, who seemed eager to see the ocean, immediately strode toward the beach.
Then he muttered quietly, “It’s cold.”
“It’s the sea. And winter’s coming soon.”
“Right, winter’s almost here. Hope we can surf tomorrow.”
“Are you planning to surf all four days?”
“Of course. That’s why we came all this way.”
“Do you board in winter too?”
“I ski. You snowboard.”
“Why does this feel like I’ve entered a national team training center instead of getting married?”
“You have potential, so I’ll train you hard. You said you’ve done 12 meters? With effort, you could reach 18 meters.”
“No thanks. I won’t do it.”
“What if I buy you a pitcher?”
At the sudden deal, Junghyun stopped in his tracks and looked up at him. Then, cunningly, he immediately changed his attitude.
“Tell me what sport you want. There’s no sport I can’t do. I’ll even win a gold medal for you.”
At Junghyun’s expression that seemed to say ‘Please train me, master,’ Jaehyuk also stopped walking and frowned—quite unusually harshly.
“This is annoying.”
“What now?”
“I got excited for a moment hearing that.”
Disgusted with himself, Jaehyuk started walking again, and Junghyun followed beside him, laughing loudly.
“If you see me surfing, you’ll really want to marry me. Though we already did.”
“You’re that confident?”
“Probably. I’m pretty famous here too.”
“More like infamous.”
At his question full of amusement carried on the sea breeze, Junghyun pulled up his hood, hunched his shoulders, and answered frankly.
“I did get beaten up here quite a bit.”
As both of them hunched against a sudden gust of wind, Jaehyuk’s phone rang.
He must have turned it on briefly when paying the bill to call a driver.
“I need to take this call.”
When Junghyun told him to answer it, Jaehyuk pressed the call button and moved slightly away before answering quietly.
“Yes, hyung.”
Since he called him “hyung,” it must be his older brother this time. His tone was more relaxed when dealing with Suhyuk.
Come to think of it, he’d heard that the oldest, Junhyuk, and Suhyuk were only a few months apart. And Suhyuk and Jaehyuk were two years apart.
Even with their clear hierarchy, it was impressive that they got along well despite having gentle older brothers. As Junghyun was smiling at this thought, a strong wind suddenly blew.
Hunching against the wind and stopping to pull his hood tighter, the night sea came into full view.
While staring blankly at the high waves crashing in, he noticed something glittering on the wet sand.
As if entranced by that unique sparkle in the darkness, he moved toward it.
One step, two steps… The light grew stronger with each approach.
As he walked across the sinking sand toward the light buried in it, a sudden gust of wind blew in with a powerful wave.
The wind and spray made him stagger.
Perhaps because of the alcohol, just as he realized it might be dangerous, a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders.
“That’s dangerous.”
“Ah… there’s something shining over there…”
As he reached out his hand saying that, the light had disappeared, either washed away or buried by the incoming wave.
“…Some people get enchanted by the sea at night. Especially when drunk.”
“No, there was something sparkling in the sand…”
Just as he was trying to insist there was definitely something shining, he saw it again.
“A smartwatch!”
Junghyun spotted what looked like someone’s lost smartwatch in the area the wave had just washed over, and as he pointed it out, Jaehyuk seemed to relax and smiled.
“Good eyes, Chihuahua.”
“It kept flashing like it was getting messages.”
“…I thought you were going to jump in…”
Surprised by his voice that sounded relieved but exhausted, Junghyun asked, “Me?”
As he turned around questioning why he would jump in there, his eyes met Jaehyuk’s, who was standing right behind him.
When their eyes met, there was a brief moment of silence. Then, as another gust of wind blew, Junghyun caught his scent beyond the sea breeze.
That very familiar smell suddenly gave him a nostalgic feeling.
A cool yet sweet and crisp scent that matched well with the sea.
The slight difference was that while that guy had a warmer, cozy feeling like spring sunshine, this person had a cool, cold feeling like winter morning frost.
As he stared at him, momentarily entranced by that familiar and nostalgic scent, another harsh wind blew.
And the next moment, a massive wave surged in.
Not over his feet, but over his shoulders.
* * *
“Cold!”
Having been drenched by the wave, Junghyun immediately kicked off his sneakers as soon as they entered their hotel room.
It was good that they sprinted back to the hotel quickly because it was so cold, but running while wet left his whole body shivering.
Thanks to the wave that reached up to his shoulders, his upper body was fine, but his lower body was completely soaked.
“I’ll use that bathroom. It’s so cold!”
Too cold to contain his frustration, Junghyun ran to the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and immediately stripped and got into the shower.
The main bathroom had a large whirlpool tub, and in the inner hall there was even a jacuzzi installed in front of a full window, but there was no time now to fill a bathtub.
After quickly warming his body with hot water, he hurriedly put on a bathrobe and came out to the welcome of warm air.
The temperature was so pleasant with no hint of the season outside that it made him think this was why expensive rooms were worth it. After drying his hair, he entered the bedroom. As he was heading to the dressing room to change into comfortable clothes, he heard the sound of a door from the bathroom area.
Reflexively looking in that direction, his eyes met with Jaehyuk, who was just coming out of the bathroom.
Drying his hair, he was wearing a bathrobe but hadn’t tied it at the waist, so his body was clearly visible.
Though Junghyun had seen plenty when they were swimming, it looked different under the indoor lighting.
“Wow, hyung, aren’t you being unfair?”
“What now?”
“You tried to seriously compete with a delicate Omega like me with that body?”
At his joking words, Jaehyuk threw a towel at him.
“Shut up, Megalodon. And just sleep in the bed tonight.”
“I thought you said you can’t sleep with someone next to you?”
“I can’t… No, I’m not inhumane enough to make you sleep on the sofa after getting drenched in seawater. Just stay warm and sleep in the bed, just in case.”
“If you insist.”
Saying he was fine with that, Junghyun went back to the guest bathroom to retrieve his wet clothes and phone.
Fortunately, his phone was okay, but his clothes were completely soaked with seawater. Jaehyuk’s clothes were in the same condition, so after hanging them up on hangers, Junghyun noticed a basket on the dining table and approached it.
Next to a basket full of flowers was a bottle of champagne.
Though he didn’t know what kind it was, it looked expensive. He took out the champagne, opener, and two glasses and went straight to the bedroom. Just as he popped the cork, Jaehyuk, who had changed into comfortable pajamas and was drying his hair in the powder room, put down the dryer and turned to look at him.
Seeing this, Junghyun held up the champagne bottle, and Jaehyuk laughed incredulously.
“We have to eat the free stuff.”
Saying it was a service, Junghyun poured champagne into a glass and handed it over. Jaehyuk took the glass as if he had no choice.
Since he didn’t seem to dislike it, Junghyun poured champagne into another glass and took a sip. The moderately cold and sweet liquid went down his throat.
But it was quite strong.
It felt almost like soju.
“It’s delicious.”
“What wouldn’t be?”
At the sarcastic comment asking if there was any alcohol he didn’t like, Junghyun readily admitted.
“You’re right. What I love is alcohol.”
Both were moderately drunk and had experienced a strange incident, so in the relaxed atmosphere, after taking another sip of his drink, Junghyun finally started checking his phone.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
