Chapter 15 - Night after the Beach

Naksan Beach, Yangyang - 6:29PM

“Jiyong!” Taeyeon cried, rushing down the drenched man. Her dirtied black trainers hammered the thin grains of sand as she made her way over.

As she got closer she could see more of his figure - his clean white polo he had worn that day had become a sullen grey, and the blue jeans were now a soggy mess.

“I found it,” he said, grinning from ear to ear, as if his wet clothes weren't clinging to him desperately and stripping him of his warmth. His left hand held a necklace high, shimmering in the moonlight.

“I can't believe you!” cried Taeyeon, balling up her two fists as she collapsed into Jiyong's chest. Her nerves were fully stretched that afternoon, and they had finally been relieved of the built up tension. “You went missing all afternoon! I couldn’t even call you.”

“Sorry, it took me a while to find,” Jiyong sheepishly said, smiling at the woman with her head firmly pressed against his chest. “I saw it in the sea earlier so I knew where it was. I just had to search for it.”

“It's so cold, and you were missing for so long. I was really worried” she said, between her sobbing. “You didn't have to do all of this for me…”

Jiyong gently lifted her small wrists and looked at the wet faced woman.

“It's because it's you,” he stated, staring into her reddened eyes. His eyes glistened with conviction amongst the drops of salty seawater stuck to his cheeks. “It's because it is important to you that I did this.”

Taeyeon pulled away from him as she suddenly became aware of herself. “I mean, it's only a necklace. There's no need to risk your life in the sea just for that,” she said, blushing intensely towards Jiyong.

“It seemed like it was really important to you earlier,” explained Jiyong, releasing her frail hands. “If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me.”

“Thank you,” Taeyeon uttered shyly.

“You're making me blush! It's no big deal,” laughed Jiyong, walking away from the embarrassed woman. “Let's head back.”

Taeyeon followed soon after him and the two walked side by side until they reached the white parked Bentley that had remained vacant since morning.

“Can you drive?” asked Jiyong to Taeyeon's surprise.

“Yeah. I just don’t own a car.” confirmed Taeyeon. “Are you tired? Do you want me to drive?”

He nodded slightly as he clicked the button on his car keys, unlocking the doors. “Do you know the way back?” He lifted the keys up and twirled them around his index finger.

“I'll be fine,” said Taeyeon, taking the spinning keys. They both entered the car and she started the ignition. “Do you want to stay here? It's a long drive back and you're…” She gave Jiyong’s wet figure a glance quickly.

“It's fine, let's head back to Seoul,” insisted Jiyong, leaning back into the passenger seat.

“We can stay here for the night. We can get you a clean change of clothes and drive back in the morning,” she reasoned.

“I have an important meeting in the morning,” informed Jiyong, closing his eyes as he set the chair to recline backwards. “I’ll be fine; just let me just rest for a bit.”

“Okay.”

The car started moving and the white car cut through the blue streaks of the night. The two headlights shone brightly as they illuminated the way forward. It wasn't too long after until a gentle snoring could be heard in the car, coming from the exhausted man.

Taeyeon stifled a giggle as she looked over at the man, with his legs hunched over. She turned the heating up after she saw a slight shiver from the man as she smiled to herself.

He looked cute sleeping.

*

Jiyong’s Apartment, Seoul Galleria Forest - 8:54PM

Click

The door swung open to unveil his living space, looking grand as always. Taeyeon looked at the owner in front of her, who had looked a bit sluggish since they had exited the car.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked, taking her shoes off as she walked in.

“Yeah,” he muttered, as he continued to walk forwards. “I’ll be fine.”

As he approached the sofa he stumbled forward. Taeyeon quickly ran up to catch him and stop his fall. Her eyes widened when her fingers brushed his skin.

“You’re burning!” she cried, as she quickly seated the man down onto the black sofa.

“It’s nothing,” denied Jiyong, turning away from the frantic woman as he laid on the leather surface.

She placed one hand on Jiyong’s head before placing one on her own, in order to measure the temperature difference between the two.

“You’re ill,” Taeyeon stated. “You must’ve got a cold from spending all that time in the sea and wet clothes.”

“Just let me get some sleep,” mumbled Jiyong, tossing on the sofa. A small grumble then emitted from his stomach, alarming Taeyeon.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “You haven’t even eaten dinner yet have you? I’ll quickly go out and buy something.”

He reluctantly agreed as he watched the woman put on her shoes again. She was about to exit when she suddenly stopped.

“What’s your PIN code so I can enter later?” she asked.

“My PIN number? 100201,” he answered weakly, closing his eyes.

“I'll be back soon okay?” assured Taeyeon opening the door. “Get some rest in the meantime.”

As he heard her exit he complied to her request and drifted to sleep.

*

Jiyong's Apartment, Seoul Galleria Forest - 9:18PM

Taeyeon returned to the warmly lit apartment, clutching a large plastic bag.

“I'm back,” she announced, opening up what she had returned with. She retrieved a large bowl and looked in his drawers for any cooking utensils. “I brought back gomtang if that's okay with you. Sorry it took a bit long but…” She stopped after the lack of response and after taking out a metal spoon she walked over to stare at the snoring man.

His red hair was carefully splayed around his face, gracing his features softly. She brang one of her hands up to a loose strand of hair, and carefully lifted it up to reveal his face. His eyes were closed and mouth were pulled into a small smile. The soft heaving of his chest could be heard as he breathed in and out like a gentle lullaby.

She looked at him once more and then sighed as the scent of the sea filled her nose. She looked him over once more to see the state he was in. The clothes he had worn that morning hadn’t been taken off yet, although they had dried since. She guessed she could at least help him comfortably sleep by getting him ready for bed after all he had done for her today.

She reluctantly approached the end of the sofa and began to pull off the previously white socks off the man, trying to stifle her nose from inhaling any of the stench from his feet. Her scrunched up nose proved effective in minimising the damage to her sensory organ and reached over to the denim jacket he brang that day and took it off.

“Hey,” Jiyong said, his eyes flickering awake to see the alarmed woman beside his face. “Sorry, I must’ve fell asleep.”

The two stayed still for what seemed like an eternity. Their deep brown eyes mesmerized the other. masking their thoughts yet revealing their desires. The drawn breaths and slowly exhaled air mingled with each other, creating a small mist of warmth between the two.

“Oh yes,” said Taeyeon, quickly backing away after becoming aware of her proximity to the ill man. “I brought back some soup if you would like.”

“That sounds great,” said Jiyong thankfully, sitting up. From the corner of his eyes he caught his pair of socks strewn on the floor - clearly it was the work of the kind woman before him.

Taeyeon pounced around the kitchen, quickly preparing the meal for Jiyong. She placed the metal spoon under cold running water of the sink before taking a bowl and pouring some of the soup inside.

“When I’m ill I always find gomtang is really good,” explained Taeyeon, mixing around the broth containing beef rib, oxtail and brisket. She took some spoonfuls of the small bowl of rice nearby and mixed it in. “My mother is the best at cooking this.”

She came over with the meal and placed it on the clear coffee table in front of Jiyong and sat beside him.

“Your mother,” started Jiyong, taking the