“David freaking Cook won last season. And who’s more famous? David ARCHULETA. Adam didn’t win. Kris did. Adam is HOT and single. Kris isn’t single and he lives in Arkansas. Let’s face it; if Kris didn’t win, he’d disappear into thin air! And so he had to win to remain on the face of the Earth. But win or lose, Adam will prevail.” Mitch has been blabbering about American Idol Season 8 for God knows how long. Not that I wasn’t happy to hear her voice— I was – I just wanted to talk about something else… like the countdown until I leave and break my heart and Yunho’s.

“Adam Lambert is gay, Mitch. Not that it wasn’t obvious. Sorry to burst your bubble.” I said. I was lying on my stomach as we were speaking via web cam. Thank God, Haeundae had Internet connection. I was comfortable this way. This bed was so freaking soft, I could die in it. I continued searching for Adam’s scandalous pictures. Four make-out pics and two drag queen shots. I sent the pictures to Mitch and watched her face’s transition.

“No ing way. !” She yelled.

“Sunmi, you okay?” Yunho called from inside the bathroom. Tonight was our first night at Haeundae. And as agreed upon, we roomed together.

“Yeah…” I replied.

“Ohmygod. Yunho’s there? Hang on. Where are you?” Mitch finally came back to the real world.

“Haeundae. The beach at Busan. And yes, I’m with Yunho.” I informed.

“O-M-effing-G. Update me please. I’m kinda lost here.” Her eyes blinked non-stop. This meant she was awed, astonished, amazed and totally freaked. Like that blonde chick judge on Britain’s Got Talent.

“He’s my boyfriend. I caught Jaejoong hooking up with Jooeun. Now we’re at Haeundae. Just to sum it all up.” I had to make this quick. I don’t want to give her a live broadcast of how Yunho and I are at night. A lot of bickering and make-ups.

“Sunmi yah. Who are you talking to?” Yunho came to my side with nothing but his jogging pants/pajamas on. “Heyyy! Is that Mitch?” He pointed at the laptop’s screen. “Cool. Hi, Mitch!” He waved at the camera.

“Hi…” Mitch waved back weakly.

“Mitch. Yunho. Yunho. Mitch.” I introduced them.

“Am I bothering you?” Mitch asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not really.” Yunho snuggled closer to me.

“Oookkay. You guys have had a hard day. It takes forever to get to Busan from Seoul. Uhmm. Night, you guys!” Mitch waved good-bye. “Sunny, you are one heck of hottie magnet. You have a ton of explaining to do. See yah! Have fun!” she spoke in English for Yunho not to understand then blew me a kiss.

‘Mitchie has signed out.’

“You scared her away.” I glared at Yunho.

“Is that bad?” He kissed my cheek.

“Ve--” I was cut short when he planted a kiss on my lips.

“She’s a sweet girl. I bet Junsu would like her.” Yunho followed.

“Mitch doesn’t like guys like Junsu: a male model, laughs weird and has a girl’s . Too intimidating.” I replied. “Changmin’s a good match though.”

“Changmin? That aual rock. Are you sure?” Yunho looked at me with confusion.

“Changmin has grown up. He’s the tallest on now. He’s not allergic to girls anymore. Just shut up and go to bed, okay?” I laughed.

“We’re already in bed.” He whined.

“Yes and I’m sleepy. Unless you want to sleep on the floor you’d do as I say.” I told him sternly. “And wear a shirt. It’s cold.” I was putting my laptop back in its case, leaving Yunho on the bed alone.

“We can always snuggle, you know.” He smiled and went to the right side of the bed. “I can stay here forever. I like this bed.” He hugged a pillow and squirmed like a kitten.

“Very cute.” I joined him under the sheets and turned the light off. He hugged me from behind with his arm right around my waist. “I think you turned the thermostat down just to get this close to me.”

“Nonsense. Why should I put an effort on something I can do effortlessly? It’s not like I try to get close to you, it just happens.” I could sense him smiling. I turned around to bury my face into his chest. I tried to smile when I just really wanted to cry. I’ll miss this… I’ll really miss this.

He held me closer and kissed the top of my head. I clung to his skin and inhaled every single bit of him. He lowered himself to meet my face. He smiled ever so slightly and touched my cheek.

It all came back to me…

That day I saw him at the airport. That handsome, annoying face that welcomed me to familiar grounds. That drunken, cloudy night. Those eyes that looked only at mine. That day at the gallery came back to me. That hug. That embrace that told me I was stupid for pushing him away. That day at the backroom. That kiss. That simple touch that sent me so high above the ground, I couldn’t come back down. That night at his apartment. That passion we shared with nobody else in our lives.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” He bid me with a kiss and closed his eyes.

~*~*~

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to take a shower as soon as woke up. I was in high hopes of cleansing myself of all consciousness of time. Today is a brand new day and not a day closer to your departure. No, Park Sunmi. Today is I-don’t-give-a--about-time Day. It’s a Hawaiian holiday minus the hula.

The shower was making weird, gurgling noises. I turned the heat up so high, I could boil myself. The glass was completely covered in steam and I was sure the mirrors were too. The bathroom was turning into a sauna the longer I stayed in there. I was still not feeling cleansed at all.

I’m not one who looks into the future. I live in the present and make the most of it but, when it comes to my stupid, woman heart I just lose it. Why do I have to be such a freaking baby?! College awaits me in the States: one step closer to The Real World. I can’t remain immature. I have to grow up and handle this like an adult.

I felt a pair of warm arms embrace me.

Yunho.

He kissed my shoulder. His hair was slowly getting wet as we shared the water above us. I could feel his bare body so close to mine, I could melt. “Up so early?” he whispered as he continued kissing me.

“I just had to get things off my head…” I uttered.

“Don’t tell me.” he made me face him and kiss my lips like he knew they only belonged to him.

“It’s just--” I broke the kiss but he claimed me again.

“When will you ever learn to just relax?” He backed me up against the marble walls and lifted me off the floor for me to wrap my legs around his waist. “Everything’s going to fine… don’t worry so much.” He whispered, leaving soft kisses all over me.

“Yeah… sure.” I managed to say despite the intensity of the moment. Damn it. He gets me… he gets me all the time. He knows what to do and when to do it for me to just let time do its thing: freeze, speed up or slow down. To me… right now… time just stopped.

I kissed him back, wishing time never moves ever again. I held onto him like my life depended on it. Where we were totally slipped my mind. Everything just seemed to fade away except him… except us.

“I told you I’d see you in the morning.” he said in the middle of a kiss.

“I kind of forgot. Thanks for reminding me.” I replied.

Screw it. I love him. He loves me. I couldn’t care less about anything other than this. I captured his lips with mine. He tastes like the sweetest sin. He is who is he and I love him for that. If he changes as time passes, I wouldn’t mind… I’ll love him for he was, is and will be.

And as each kiss grew more intense… I heard a knock.

“Sunmi?! Yunho hyung?! You guys up?” a far-off voice said.

“Oh .” Yunho broke our kiss. “Junsu…”

I got on my feet to answer the door but Yunho held my shoulders. “I’ll get it.” He offered. He got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. I couldn’t help but follow as soon as I heard the door slam shut. I wrapped a towel around my body and squeezed the water from my hair. I caught Yunho peering though a gap in the door as he spoke with Junsu. Junsu caught sight of me so I waved hello. He waved back weakly.

“Got it. 9am, lobby, breakfast. Thank you!” with that said, Yunho slammed the door on Junsu’s face.

“Why’d you get out of the shower?” Yunho asked, pouting his lips.

“Just checking…” I replied. “I’m going back inside.” I pivoted on my heels to head back to the bathroom.

“Hang on! Me too!” Yunho whined and threw himself at me.

“Hyper much?” I teased as he closed the door and pulled me back into the shower.

~*~*~

“This place is perfect. Thank you, Jooeun!” Yoochun said as he kicked back in his recliner.

It was around one in the afternoon and the sun was high up in the sky. The shore was crowding with locals and foreigners alike. I imagined this place to be filled with Korean girls in one-piece swimsuits and Korean boys in loose board shorts. It seems that I was only right with the boy part. Girls here wear bikinis too, as I can see. So much for being the only one in a bikini, Jooeun was wearing a two piece too. The sound of waves crashing into rocks and reaching the shore, the sound of people talking and cheering, the sound of steps in the sand… paradise. I could hear all of these through my iPod. I wasn’t cranking up the volume. This place called for a playlist and so I was doing myself a favor.

“You’re very much welcome, Yoochun.” Jooeun smiled.

Yunho offered me a space between his knees as he was sitting on a recliner with his legs apart. Jaejoong and Jooeun shared a recliner as well. Jaejoong offered his arm to Jooeun as a pillow while she showcased her awesome body for the sun to tan. Yoochun, Junsu and Changmin had recliners all to themselves. They made it clear to each other that they needed their personal space and to maintain their cool. They weren’t really out to relax. They were out to hunt for girls.

“Whoa.” Junsu said as a bikini clad girl run in front of him.

“Damn.” Yoochun cursed, spotting the same girl.

The two darted each other looks of rage through their sunglasses. Junsu charged forward to chase the girl who was already quite a distance away followed by Yoochun. Changmin shrugged it off, got off his recliner and approached a girl who seemed to be lost. I smiled. He’s always been wise.

I felt Yunho take an earphone off my ear. “You having fun?” he whispered. I looked over my shoulder to give him a nod. He planted a kiss on my lips then smiled. “Me too.” He replied.

We were three recliners away from Jaejoong and Jooeun. I had to admit the atmosphere was still pretty awkward with them. It wasn’t a pain nor was it pleasure to be around them. There was just this heavy air of discomfort and uneasiness. As much as I wanted to ignore it and strike up a conversation, I couldn’t. I was never a meter near them and I glued Yunho to my side since we got here.

“See anything worth immortalizing?” Yunho said as he placed the earphone back into my ear. I knew that by ‘immortalizing’ he meant ‘to take a picture of’. See what I mean? He gets me, I get him.

“That little boy over there.” I pointed at distance.

“Junsu?” Yunho joked.

“Not him!” I laughed. “That one over there. The one making a sandcastle with a red shovel.” I said.

“Oh. That one.” He leaned back to reach for his camera. He placed his elbows on his knees and held out his camera in front of me. The small LCD screen showed us the boy. Yunho zoomed in just right then took the shot.

“That was really cool.” I said.

He smiled, leaned back on the recliner and took a picture of me.

“I wasn’t ready!” I covered the lens with my hand. Click. Click. Click. Every single move I made, he caught.

“Let’s see how you like it.” I grabbed the camera from him and straddled him between my knees. I took a shot and got a perfect smile from him. He pulled me to lie on his side and took the camera from me. We laughed like there was no tomorrow. He raised the camera above our heads.

“1, 2, 3” he counted followed by a click.

We just went on taking pictures and didn’t notice time fly. It was already sunset. Jaejoong and Jooeun seemed to have disappeared. Changmin, Junsu and Yoochun haven’t gotten back. People had come and gone with out our care and knowledge. I wonder how many of them stared at us and thought we were stupid and how many of them were jealous. The thought made me love this moment even more. It meant that what we feel for each other isn’t just real to the both of us but to everybody in this world… Busan at least.

As we watched the sun set and the sky turn navy blue, he continued to take pictures. Of us, of other people, of the beach and of the sky.

“Are you working right now?” I asked as he gave his camera a quick break.

“The thing about being a photographer is that you’re always working and you’re always playing. So the answer to that is yes and no.” he replied.

“What’s your favorite subject? Like what do you love to take pictures of?” I asked.

“It used to be the sunset. But now I’ve found something better.” He replied and held his camera in front of us. “You.” He kissed my cheek, I closed my eyes and smiled. Click.

He just made this moment last forever.

“Come on.” Yunho got up and kept his camera in his bag. “Let’s get in the water before we leave.” He pulled me off the recliner and across the sand. After walking a few meters, I felt the water greet my feet. I looked down at them and stared. Wow. I haven’t been to the beach since I was twelve. And I was with Yoochun and my parents. It’s been a while since I swam in salty water.

“Sunmi?! You coming?!” Yunho called from a distance. His entire lower body was underwater. He wants us to go into the deeper, farther part of the sea. That scares me. “Come on!” he called again. Okay. I trust him.

I pushed my way through the waves until I met Yunho. A wave pushed him towards me and I almost toppled over. He held my arms as he laughed. “Let’s go further.” He offered. He took my hand and guided me. We pushed our way further until it got to the part where I had to stand on tiptoes. He picked me up and gave me a piggy back ride to the part where the water met his shoulders. He bent down slightly, taking both of us underwater. We laughed so joyously seeing each other soaking wet. I got off his back and clung back to him, wrapping my legs around his waist. I stared at him for a while as he stared back at me. He seemed to glow under the dimming sunlight. I looked deep into his eyes until I saw my reflection... until I saw his soul. I kissed him.

Long have I pictured this movie moment. But this wasn’t a movie… this was for real. And for the first time ever, I loved reality.

“I love you.” I said. And I meant it with my whole heart. I don’t say that often to him. I’m afraid it will lose its touch if I do. People are afraid of professing their love for two reasons: they’re afraid of rejection or they’re afraid it’s not enough to sum up exactly how they feel for that person.

“I love you too.” Yunho replied as he broke the kiss. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and captured my lips with his. I will never get tired of this. I can spend eternity in everything for as long as Jung Yunho is right there by my side. I knew deep down that I had to let this moment go sometime. So I’m holding on to this now, taking in every detail, spending each second as if it were my last.