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The bright rays hit Areum’s face and she scrunched her face, turning away to hit her head against something firm. She opened her eyes the slightest bit only to see the face of her best friend, Shin Wonho. She turned her head inwards to his chest, cuddling for warmth and he placed his arm on her waist to bring her in closer. “We have to get up you know,” she said.

 

Chills went down Areum’s spine at the hound of Wonho’s husky voice as he said, “No we don’t,” She answered, opening her eyes to look at Wonho. His face was tired and he was on the verge of falling asleep again. “We’re here for two weeks alone, no parents or obligations or responsibilities to bother us, and our parents told us to have fun. We can literally have fun today by sleeping,”

 

“As great as that sounds, we can’t do that,” she sighed.

 

“But you’re not getting up either,” Wonho commented. He gave her a look, knowing that he was going to win, and she sighed, giving into him. “You’re the best,” Wonho said, pressing a kiss against her cheek before shoving his face in the crook of her shoulder, hiding from the sun, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Good night, babe,” he added moments before his snoring was heard again.

 

“Good night, Wonho,” she chuckled, playing with his soft hair as she reached for her phone on the bedside table. She was scrolling through her Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr mindlessly for two hours before she decided to fall asleep once again as well. She moved down on the bed to much more comfortable position next to the still sleeping Wonho, her back pressed against his chest, the bottom half of his face lost somewhere in the midst of her hair.

 

Hours later, Areum awoke to breathing and bright light on her neck and face. She squinted her eyes to see Wonho’s face inches away from her own as he was on his own phone. “Good morning,” she said softly.

 

“Good night, really,” Wonho replied, clicking his phone away. “It’s almost 8 PM,”

 

“What?!” Areum got up with a start. “How long have you been awake?”

 

“An hour or two,”

 

“I slept for like ten hours straight and you didn’t make me up, Wonho!” Areum shouted, getting out of the queen sized bed trying to gather her hair together as she slipped into a pair of flip flops. She looked out the window to see the sun setting and she turned around to look at Wonho.

 

“You looked so calm and pretty and adorable, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up,” he smiled cheekily.

 

“Oh, don’t give me that bull,” she said, her cheeks slightly blushing as she threw one his hoodies lying around at him. “Go take a shower while I make us something to eat,” she gave him a look as she walked out of the room.

 

Areum didn’t have time to explore the summer house that Wonho’s aunt had let them stay in when she first arrived, so it took her a few moments to locate the kitchen. When she finally entered the airy room, she was too captivated by the scenery displayed by the big ceiling to floor windows to look for food. She reached for her phone in her pocket, opening the camera app and started taking pictures of the beach. She didn’t realize how long she had spent until he felt a droplet of water land on her arm. She look up to the side to see Wonho drying his hair with a towel, dressed in basketball shorts and a muscle tank. “What are you doing?” he asked.

 

“I was taking pictures of the beach,” Areum said, looking at the collection on her phone. “I may have accidentally forgotten about making the food…” she softly added, looking at the boy forming a small pout, hoping he wouldn’t mind.

 

“It’s fine,” he said. “Go shower and I’ll find some food for us,” she nodded to what he said, and walked back to the room where her suitcase was. They two teenagers had arrived late afternoon, tired from the early morning drive here, and their stuff was in a messy pile. It took her a few moments to get her bag out from the pile, but when she managed to do so, she pulled out her belonging that she would need, along with a pair of shorts and a crop top. She stepped into the shower, feeling the cold water drip down her shoulders. She didn’t realize how long she was in shower until she noticed her fingers were beginning to resemble plums. She dried herself, slipping into her clothes, stepping out of the bathroom to the sound of pans clashing together. She threw the towel on the couch in the living room, and walked to the kitchen where she saw Wonho on the floor, pans everywhere.

 

“There is no ramyun here to eat. My aunt left us here to starve. Areum, we are going to die,” he said, looking at the girl with lifeless eyes. Areum stared down at his body, scoffing slightly as she kicked his torso with her left foot.

 

“Get up, you big baby,” she held out her arm to him, which he willing grabbed. They both felt the jolt of electricity when their hands met, but ignored it. They walked to the door together, Areum slipping into a pair of black Toms and Wonho into a pair of black high tops. He locked the door behind them before the two walked off into the Jeju Island sunset beach, hand in hand. “It’s so pretty,” Areum said, running to the ocean, letting go off Wonho’s had at which he slightly frowned. She took off her shoes, holding them in her hand, as she stepped towards the shore. She felt the water come onto her feet before retreating, pushing chills down her spine.

 

“Do you wanna stay here while I get some food?” she heard Wonho call. She turned her head to see the black haired boy not that far from her.

 

“If you don’t mind,” she smiled, flashing her pearly whites at him. He smiled back, and left in the opposite direction, probably to the nearest fast food chain to pick up some chicken sandwiches. Areum stood in the water for a few more moments before she decided to retreat back. She noticed a few empty chairs that had been abandoned and decided to claim them. She settled down in the beach chair, placing her shoes on the other one to save the chair for Wonho. She closed her eyes, breathing in the beach air she had loved so much.

 

“Excuse me?” she heard. She opened one eye to see a young man, clad in swimming trunks to show off his clearly well maintained body, indicating he must spend a few hours at the gym each week.

 

“Can I help you?” Areum asked, sitting up and looking at him normally.

 

“You see, my friends dared me to go up to the most beautiful girl I could see and give her this,” he held out two white roses in her direction, kissing her cheek softly. Her face pinked, not at the fact that he was indeed a handsome man who couldn’t have been that much older than her, but that a stranger had just done a romantic gesture.

 

“Excuse me, but what are you doing with my girlfriend?” a deep voice spoke behind them. Areum turned around, seeing Wonho with two bags in his hands.

 

“Wonho - “ Areum started off, but was cut off by the stranger.

 

“Hey, I’m Shownu,” he started. “My friends and I were playing truth or dare and they dared me to give these roses to the most beautiful girl here and kiss her. I didn’t know she was taken, I’m really sorry, man.” he explained.

 

“That’s an interesting and funny game you and your friends play.” Wonho answered, a blank expression on his face. Areum, noticing the tension building up, decided to step in.

 

“Well, Shownu, it was nice to meet you, and thank you for the roses,” she waved them in the air, “but we should get going now. Good night and have fun with your game!” she forced a smile, dragging Wonho away with her. Once they were far from their previous place on the beach, she turned to Wonho. “What the bloody hell was that? Your girlfriend?” she exploded.

 

“He was clearly trying to hit on you. I just saved you from that moment,” Wonho rolled his eyes. He stopped at the picnic table, setting the food out for them.

 

“He wasn’t hitting on me,” she defended the stranger. “Plus, I didn’t mind,” she looked at Wonho from the corner of her eye; he had paused whatever he was doing, slightly clenching his jaw.

 

“Didn’t mind the roses or the kiss?” he quietly asked, but Areum heard him.

 

“The fact that he thought I was the most beautiful girl on the beach,” she ignored his choices, grabbing her chicken sandwich and unwrapped it.

 

“I tell you all the time how cute and beautiful you are, why don’t you thank me?” he questioned her. Areum’s face turned pink, her heart racing. ‘How do I thank you without making it known that I’ve been in love with you, you idiot?’ she thought to herself. “Just eat your food, Wonho,” she said quietly. Wonho’s heart clenched a little bit when the girl ignored his question. ‘When will you ever realize that I actually mean these words so much, you silly girl?’ He had unwrapped his sandwich, looking at the girl from the corner of his eye, chuckling softly when he saw she had mayonnaise on her lips, but was too indulged in her at something else to notice. He grabbed a tissue and brought it to her lips, softly wiping it as it he were touching glass.

 

Areum, who had been busy staring at a couple not that far to the right, was caught off guard when she felt pressure on her lips. She moved her eyes away and they widened when she realized what Wonho was doing. “Why do your eyes widen every time I do this?” he asked, putting the napkin with their other garbage. ‘Because my heart does somersaults I wish I could control,’ she thought to herself. She didn’t answer his question, just looked down at her sandwich wrapper. “Are you done eating?” she heard the boy ask. She nodded and saw the wrapper disappear from her line of vision. She heard paper crumpling and figured Wonho was cleaning up. She looked up to confirm her assumptions and got up as well to help. Areum threw out the napkins on the table and the two walked away from the picnic table.

 

“Can we get some ice cream? There’s a stand over there,” she pointed to a cart not that far away and Wonho held her hand, leading the way. Areum ignored the rapid beating of her heart (which probably wasn’t healthy at the age of 18) as she looked into the cart, before finally deciding on the chocolate chip cone. Wonho pulled out a strawberry cone for himself and was pulling out his wallet when the vendor stopped him. “It’s on the house for the cute couple,” the old man smiled, waving his hand as if it were no problem.

 

Before Wonho could correct him, Areum held onto his hand even tighter, and smiled at him. “Thank you so much, my boyfriend and I will enjoy them!” she waved at him, before dragging him away.

 

“What was that for?” he asked.

 

“I just saved you like five bucks, you’re welcome Mr. Shin,” Areum said, giving him a side look.

 

“Oh Ms. Kang, I can be your boyfriend when you want free ice cream, but not when protecting you from strangers hitting on you?” he gave her a look, taking a bite of his cone.

 

“Oh don’t give me that talk. I didn’t ask you for help, and I clearly was handling the whole situation perfectly fine,”

 

“If by perfectly fine you mean turning into a tomato as you let the strange man kiss you, then I guess you’re right.” he retorted at the girl, walking away from her, back to the house.

 

“Well excuse me,” Areum shouted after him. Her ice cream was long forgotten, melting away in her hand. “UGH!” she screamed at him. When she realized he wasn’t going to to stop, she decided she wasn’t going to follow him. She turned around, going in the opposite direction, back to the beach. She checked her phone, and it was nearly 11 PM so it was no doubt that the beach was nearly empty, but Areum didn’t mind - it gave her time to think without anything disturbing her.

 

Meanwhile, Wonho, in his full anger, went back to the house without checking if Areum was with him. He entered the house, heading straight to the room where the two were napping earlier in the day. He wasn’t mad at Areum, he couldn’t completely blame her for what happened, but rather himself for the words that he said to Areum. He looked at the flower vase on the bedside table, instantly reminded of the white roses, and he couldn’t control himself as he picked it up and chucked it across the room. He was breathing heavy in the dark room before he realized what he had done. He stood in silence for a few moments before he walked over the the mess, slowly picking up with the pieces. He hissed when he accidentally cut himself. He knew it was a deep cut that he should clean up right away, but was too tired to do so. He threw out the pieces, and collapsed on the bed, closing his eyes as sleep slowly came to him.

 

Areum checked her phone, her screen telling her it was nearing 1 AM. She decided that she should head home soon, but she didn’t want to see Wonho. She was walking around mindlessly when she accidentally ran into someone. “I’m so - hey! It’s you!” she heard a deep masculine voice exclaim, and she looked up to see Shownu, the boy from the beach earlier today. “Where’s your boyfriend?” he asked, looking nearby as if Wonho would appear out of nowhere like before.

 

“He was tired, so I told him to go back to the place we’re staying,” she lied. She had just met Shownu today, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and she didn’t have the heart to tell him they were fighting because of him.

 

“And he let you stay out here alone?” he asked, surprised. The girl’s boyfriend seemed slightly overprotective for that. “Why don’t I walk you home?”

 

“No, no!” Areum shook her hands. “It’s really close from here, don’t worry,” she her heels, away from the boy. “It was nice meeting you, Shownu!” she shouted behind her shoulders as she made her way between the crowd. She walked for about five minutes until she finally saw the beach house, and her anger towards Wonho was slowly coming back to her as she stomped up the stairs.

 

Wonho woke up with a start. It was dark all around, and he saw his phone screen indicating that it was nearing 1 AM, and he didn’t see or hear Areum. ‘Is she not home yet? What if something happened to her?’ Wonho’s mind went crazy thinking something could’ve happened to the girl. He immediately ran out the room, hissing slightly when his injured hand made contact with the wall. He made a mental note to himself to disinfect and wrap it up later once he found Areum. He opened the door, ready to run out when he was saw Areum a few feet away, mumbling to herself. He closed the door behind him, not locking it, and ran to the girl, tightly embracing her, breathing heavy.

 

Areum, who had been too busy thinking out loud how to make Wonho regret his words, was suddenly startled by the hug. It only took her a few seconds to realize that it was Wonho hugging her, one arm around her waist, the other one lost in her hair.

 

“I’m so so sorry,” Wonho said, too fast for her to understand at first, releasing her from the hug. “I shouldn’t have said those words but my anger just got the best of me, and I definitely should not have left you there alone. Oh my gosh, I’m so stupid,” he grunted, hitting his head with his hand. He groaned upon realizing that it was his injured hand and that it had started bleeding again. Areum noticed his hand bleeding, and all her anger had washed away.

 

“What the hell happened to your hand?!” she asked, grabbing his injured hand into hers. She carefully inspected, getting the blood onto herself. Wonho couldn’t think in that moment of time, for all he could notice was the girl in front of him. There was nothing special about her that made her stand out in a crowd of other girls, but that’s what made her special to him. Her hair was a light brown mess, her eyes the normal brown, but they made her stand out to him. She was just something so real yet just a dream. “Wonho? Are you okay? Wonho?” Areum was shaking his shoulder, getting his attention. He blinked, as if he had been brought into another dimension.

 

“Y-yeah,” he slowly said. He tried to tear his eyes away from her, but he couldn’t. He had been hopelessly (and quite obviously, as well) been in love with the girl for the past few years, and Areum was not much different. Their feelings had developed quite romantically around the same time as well.

 

It had been the summer before they entered ninth grade, a whooping 4 years ago, when Areum and Wonho were just practicing sparring in tae kwon do. It wasn’t anything special or unique, as they had been sparring each other like they normally did every Saturday class. But that day, there was something in Areum’s smile and laugh when she beat Wonho for the first time that summer that sparked something in his heart, those emotions that he wouldn’t be able to get rid for many years to come. He watched her smiling and laughing as loud as ever as everyone cheered for her as he sat up on the mat. She was bouncing up and down, her face slightly sweating with some of her loose hair sticking to her face and neck. He couldn’t help but laugh along with her and smile, his eyes never leaving her. Areum finally looked down at the defeated boy, smiling as wide as ever, helping him stand up. It was after they changed out of their uniforms and were walking home. “Congratulations,” he told her as they waited for the walk sign to appear. He ruffled her eye slightly, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek and smiled widely, witnessing her eyes go wide and cheeks turn pink as her heart went crazy for the first time, but certainly not the last, over her best friend.

 

“What are you thinking?” she asked Wonho. He hadn’t even realized that they walked back to the beach house until the light hit his eyes. She took him all the way to the room, making him sit down as she pulled the first aid kit out of her suitcase. “How did you even cut your hand?” she asked.

 

“I cut it while picking up the broken pieces of the vase,” he said, pointing to where the vase should’ve been.

 

“How did the vase break?”

 

“I was really angry and pissed off and the vase was one of the first things I saw,” Wonho quietly answered. Areum didn’t say anything, fully knowing why he was mad and they would only argue again if she mentioned it. She finished disinfecting and wrapping his hand minutes later and was putting the things back in the box. She placed it on the bedside table then, knowing that she would need to change his dressing in a few hours. She then walked to the other side of the bed and laid down, her back facing Wonho. She was still slightly mad at Wonho but she was too tired to look for another bedroom in this beach house and despite her nap earlier, she was wiped out from the events before. She muttered a good night to Wonho and closed her eyes. She felt Wonho lie down next to her on the bed, but he said nothing.

 

The waves of the ocean crashing could be heard, they said nothing. They could hear crickets chirping, yet they still said nothing. It went on for hours. They were tired yet sleep wasn’t coming to them. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore, and Areum walked outside the the deck accessible from the room she was supposed to be sleeping in. She closed her eyes, inhaling the beach scent.

 

“Areum,” a deep whisper was heard by the girl. She didn’t respond. “Areum,” she heard again, this time slightly louder.

 

“What?” she answered.

 

“I’m sorry,” Wonho said. It was silent for a few more moments yet Areum didn’t turn around to face him yet. He sighed, knowing it was his fault and this wouldn’t be easy. He wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his head on her shoulder.Both of their hearts were beating faster, and they couldn’t deny the fact that they could hear the other heart beating just as fast. “I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me, and should’ve let you explain what was happening instead of exploding. I was just so annoyed when I saw you with that stranger and I just…” he stopped, not knowing what would happened next if he confessed his true emotions to the girl.

 

“Just what?” Areum spoke up. “Why were you so annoyed? We’re just best friends, you’re not actually my boyfriend,” she muttered, yet he heard her, sparking the emotions in his heart to come out.

 

“No, I’m not your boyfriend, but maybe I want to be!” he exploded once again at the girl, walking closer so she couldn’t ignore him. “I have liked you, no, been in love with you since the freaking ninth grade! It was so obvious, I tried to hide it, but everyone knew!” he continued shouting, walking closer and closer towards the girl, who would just continue walking back. “I have tried so many times to stop these feelings, thinking that if you ever found out, you would never talk to me again. You never realized my feelings for you, and I was always there next to you! I was there when you dated that Jooheon guy, I was there when that Kihyun dumped you, and when you caught Minhyuk cheating on you!” Areum’s heart cringed at the sounds of the boys she previously dated. She never really felt anything for them but she believed that if she was with someone not Wonho, her emotions for him would stop. That, obviously, didn’t go as planned. “You always claimed you loved them, even when they hurt you!” he stopped, his breathing was heavy. “What about me?” his face was only inches away from her. Their hearts were beating too fast, and too loud. Areum didn’t have any words to say as she realized Wonho’s face was getting closer to hers. She closed her eyes as her lips met Wonho’s soft ones. Her barefeet toes curled against the deck, her hands going towards his chest where they lay there flat and one of Wonho’s arms s around her waist, the other cupping her face, bringing her in closer. They felt the electricity between them spark and they felt any second, fire work would explode. Moments later, when they could no longer take it no more, they pulled away.

 

“It was never them…” she said, looking into Wonho’s eyes. “It was always you - “

 

“I don’t want to be a rebound,” he stopped her. “I don’t want you to just be saying this just because we kissed each other. I don’t want to be like the guys you - “ Wonho’s words were cut off by Areum’s lips. She leaned in too much as Wonho took a slight step back, yet he didn’t pull back. He kissed her back, bringing her in closer as she tip toed to reach his height perfectly. The ocean waves continued to crash behind them, but it was just Areum and Wonho, Wonho and Areum in that moment of time.

 

“You are not a rebound,” she said. “If anything, those guys were the rebound. I always thought that I dated someone not you, if I was with someone not you, my feelings would go away, but…” she paused, suddenly too shy to look at him in the eye, “my feeling for you just got stronger over time. There’s no one I would rather be with than you.I can’t fall asleep at night unless I’m in your arms. When I’m upset, it’s your hugs that make everything seem right. When I’m happy or excited, you’re the first person I want to tell. A day can pass by without us talking, and it’ll feel like a lifetime. You’re the first person I fell in love with,” she paused, daring to look into Wonho’s bright eyes that were looking straight into her eyes, “and hopefully the last person,” she finished.

 

“So,” Wonho stated, “you’re saying that all this time, we could’ve been together? I cut my hand and broke my aunt’s vase for nothing?” he asked in disbelief. Areum chuckled at his comment, knowing that he too, was very much relieved that their feelings had been mutual.

 

“You still have to apologize to Shownu, you know,” she pointed out.

 

“Oh my, would you look at the time?” Wonho pointed to an imaginary watch on his hand. “It’s getting late, we should head to bed,” he pulled Areum with him, who didn’t object his pull, as she crawled into bed with him.

 

“You can’t avoid this forever, Wonho,” she said as she lay down as Wonho’s hands, automatically out of habit, wrapped around her waist as her back was pressed against his chest. She felt his warm breath hit her neck, his deep voice vibrating against his chest, his heart still beating loud against his rib cage, yet she didn’t mind. She smiled as she turned her head, pressing her lips against his cheek. “I’ve waited so long to be able to do that,”

 

“We always kissed each other before,” Wonho pointed out, opening one eye at her.

 

“Yeah, but now we don’t have to lie about our feelings,” she said, closing her eyes in content. “Good night, Wonho,” she whispered.

 

Wonho chuckled at her answer and smiled in agreement. “Good night, babe,” he whispered back. To anyone that had seen this scene before, it was the same routine they always had before fall asleep together. However, to Areum and Wonho, it was finally moving on in their future together as a happy couple.