Of course, the first location on our agenda is the beach. It's a magical place, isn't it? Where ice-cream stalls run from afternoon to early dawn, where dogs lounge freely in the sun. It's a public area, where anyone can bathe in the clear, blue water. But not this beach. This is far, far better. I guess you could call it a lagoon. The scorching heat is inevitable, but is blocked by the shade of the trees. Rays of light peak through the leaves, shining with a delightful pattern.

The water is murky, but still clean. It's secluded--a private beach entirely for us. We stare with open mouths at the gift that Mr. Lee has given us. Eight boys in board shorts and a girl in a melon pink one-piece. Woohyun makes the first move. It starts off with a shy splatter; a little flick of his hand. But then it turns into something else entirely, and all of a sudden we're knee deep in the water, kicking and flailing about. The innocence is beautiful.

Nana's spins around delicately, her long hair sticking to her body. She laughs, splashing water onto me. I look down, expecting her to shy away or pout. But instead, she's shooting me her eye-smile, wetting my chest and upper body. I gently send a wave of water towards her, but it barely hits her arms. Nana giggles, and sprays around a litre of ice cold water all over my face. I gasp, but this only makes her more entertained.

"You asked for it," I say, smirking. I give her a little splash, before wrapping my arms around her waist and dragging her head-first into the water. I pull her up before either of us can start to panic, but when she rises, she giggles as if there's laughing gas around. Nana stares into my eyes, with water droplets glistening around her eyes. She blinks them away, and gives me a little smile, before pushing my arms off her. "Friends," she says quietly. "For now."

Friends. Hmph. Youngmin steals her away at that moment, diving into the water while carrying Nana in his arms. I watch them jealously, shooting rays with my eyes. Nana looks as cunning and divine as a mermaid princess, who swims away before I can even catch a glimpse of her.


"Scissors, paper, rock!" We each open our palms, close our fists, or make a slight 'V' with two fingers. Hoya, Sungjong and Youngmin win, doing small victory dances on the spot. Slowly, the rest of them are out, until it's only Sungyeol, Nana and I left. I pray silently in my head that Sungyeol or Nana loses this game. I can't bare the thought of them together alone.

"Scissors, paper, rock!" we all shout. Scissors, paper, paper. I groan, burrying my face in my hands. Sungyeol shrugs happily, and wraps his arms around Nana. "We'll go shopping then. Meet you guys back at the house!" 

"Wait!" I cry. Several heads turn to face me, curiously. "I--um...I want a watermelon," I say lamely. 

"Dude, we'll get you a watermelon," Sungyeol says, rolling his eyes.

"No! I want a...specific kind. I have to go with you!" The tall boy rolls his eyes, but motions me to walk alongside them. I hastily wave to the remaining guys, before rushing to catch up. Almost immediately, I stick my head through Nana and Sungyeol."Hi," she mumbles. "So what kind of watermelon did you want?"

"Um...the big kind! The really, really big kind. It's difficult to find in Korea," I lie, as Sungyeol shakes his head. "The market's just down there, you go get your watermelon and Nana and I'll go shop for the things they asked for."

I pout. "Why? Why can't Nana come with me?"

"Nana do you want to go with him?" he says, looking directly at her. She fumbles slightly, and I can almost envision her palms beginning to sweat. Her palms always sweat. "I'd feel more comfortable if I went alone," she says in an almost-whisper. Sungyeol looks at me with plotting eyes. "I'll help you carry things," he says turning towards her.

We reach the shopping area, which is a large market. There are shops and stalls in every corner, coffee shops and cinemas. It's seems like your average surf town. Nana holds out a little list that the staff members provided her with. "Hmm. Dongwoo wants cake. Sungjong wants Pepero..." Suddenly her cheeks turn incredibly crimson, as much as she tries to hide her blush. "And Sunggyu Oppa...Oppa wants alcohol."

I immediately snigger, Nana blushes more, and Sungyeol shrugs. "I'll buy it," he says, showing a set of pearly white teeth in his smile. He holds up a card. "Fake ID. Never know when you might need it. You two go buy the stuff, but no holding hands, no kissing and no blushing!"

The already red-cheeked Nana skips off down the lane as Sungyeol heads off to find a bar of some sort. I jog slightly to catch up with her, who seems to be extremely jumpy today. "So, what's up?" I say, awkwardly. I sneak a glance at her while she's looking away. After we all got dreadfully soaked, Nana changed into a white blouse with minty green shorts. Does she always dress so...classy? "I--"

"Do you like me?" Nana snaps around to face me, her hair flicking with her twirl. The look on her face is of pure determination, as if I'm the world's largest mystery that is impossible to decipher. Which, in her mind, I probably am.

"Well..." I mumble, looking down.

"See? You can't even admit it," she says, biting hard on her lip and looking down at the ground. "Am I that embarrassing? That you can't even admit that you have feelings for me?"

I reach out to grab her arm, but she recoils immediately. "At least Sungyeol makes me feel...loved." Nana runs forwards, and even when I lunge to pull her towards me, she steps out of my grasp. With a slight groan, my jog turns into a run, as I sprint after the wispy girl in front of me.

"You're being a bit bi-polar," I say, huffing, as I catch up to her. "I mean, didn't you just say we were friends?"

"And you were okay with that?" she says, a hurt frown souring her angelic face.

"No, I wasn't, I just--"

"You just thought I'd come running back to you..." she mumbles quietly. "Did you really think I'd stick by you forever? That I'll be the second option for our entire lives?" The blinding sun shines over our heads. It shines over Nana, who looks like a pissed off angel, and probably over me too. But even in this scorching heat, I'm still the same heartless kid. You can't change that. I gulp, my throat burning as I conceal tears threatening to burst out.

"One day,  you'll wake up and realise that I was there that whole time. And you never looked at me twice." She runs off, but this time, I don't have the energy to follow her. Instead, I watch her run away, and the cold dawns upon me. As if my sunshine has disappeared.

It's crazy how many things remind me of her. A baby's laugh. Wool. A musty old library. I pass all kinds of crazy stores, just looking around. I remember the harsh lesson of life that my father taught me when I was only five years old, 'Don't get attatched'.

Some things in life are simple, easy to control. But a few times it's inconvenient being human, having to face all these uncontrollable feelings. Is love, that is as warm as a Summer morning, possible for a wintry soul?

next chapter will be good! swear on le bear <3