SIXTEEN

Joy absorbed at the view outside the car. Their cab advanced slowly as Seulgi had asked from the start.

Without realizing it, she breathed heavy sigh. A hunch that something bad might happen had eaten her mind.
 

Something real bad.

The hunch electrified through her body and she seemed to feel a storm slowly approaching her. Approaching her existence little by little, till she’d finally,

 

…disappear.

 

Joy gasped as warmth touched her hand. Intertwined with fingers of the person next to her.

“What's the matter?” Seulgi asked softly, “Something bothering you?”

 

Joy turned to look at her. A smile that felt as warm as her touch, seen on Seulgi’s face.

“Nothing.” she replied.
 

“Why are you breathing heavily?”

 

“Then should I just stop breathing? Haha.” Joy laughed at her own plain joke.
 

Opposite to Seulgi who stiffened as the joke wasn’t funny to her. Seulgi fell silent following by the change on her face. Joy was aware of her mistake,

“I'm sorry.”

 

Her head shrunk for the nth time.

She let her stupidity lead her since yesterday. For no apparent reason that stupidity continued to flow through which was just as stupid as her brain.

 

A gasp escaped her lips for the second time. This time, together with her thumping heart.

 

As Seulgi reached out for the blonde’s head and brought it to her shoulder. The touch soon turned into cuddle.

“Why do you keep apologizing? There's nothing to apologize.”  Seulgi then continued very quietly, “Nothing more.”

Joy didn’t hear any of that as she was too busy taking control of her dancing chest. Seulgi's hug was out of the blue. Seulgi's hug tickled her lips to say those stupid words again.

Just one more time,

Do you love me?
 

However, Joy wouldn’t go into the same hole. The one in heart alone was already hard for her to cover. She wouldn’t let her whole soul got trapped into a different one.

 

Cause she knew the answer.

 

Cause she knew her fate.

Hence she swallowed the stupid words in one thorny gulp. Dipping herself deeper into Seulgi’s neck to cover up her shattered soul.

Since Seulgi was a disaster to her.

Since Seulgi was a storm to her.

 

And everyone knew the safest place was to hide inside the storm itself.

 

The storm that would never love her.

***
 

Their cab stopped in front of tourist spot. Joy saw bunch of colorful boats under a bridge, boarded by chirpy couples who were grinning to each other.

The unchanged warmth grasped her fingers once more,
 

As Seulgi’s holding hers to the ticket booth.

 

As Seulgi attaching a life vest on her.

As Seulgi helping her to get on the boat.

“I can’t!” Joy got panicked.

Seulgi's hand was still stretched for her but Joy had frozen up.

 

She noticed Seulgi's brows that were connected showed dejection from her refusal.

“I can’t...” The blonde tried to explain, “I can’t swim.” she drown in embarrassment.

Seulgi's face instantly softened, “But you’re a Sooyoung!” Seulgi chuckled, “A Sooyoung who can’t swim is bit of a contradiction, isn’t it?”

Blondie pouted cutely, causing Seulgi to laugh even louder.

“Should’ve named yourself Sulyoung, a drunken. Yup, sounds more fitting!” The older squinting her eyes hard

 

A slap hit Seulgi's shoulder.

“You... I hate you!” Joy's face had already reddened with anger. To be more precise, she was completely embarrassed of the fact that she, a sooyoung, couldn’t swim.

Only once did she have the courage to do that, only when a pretty boy was by her side, giving her the courage she didn’t even know she had.

She stared meaningfully at Seulgi then soundlessly snorted in sorrow before ducking her head.

What an irony.

 

Warm,

That familiar feeling penetrated into the pores on her cheek, embodied in the form of a gentle rub. Then the warmth doubled rapidly when Seulgi said,

“Sooyoung-ah, I am here with you.”

Hypnotized, Joy trailed down Seulgi's orbs. Their eyes tied in rhythmic waltz,

“Don’t be afraid, okay?”

To hell with all, she gave up. Maybe she's a fool- nope,

Maybe it was Seulgi who turned her into a fool.

Nodding to Seulgi as she stretched out her hand and unconsciously boarded the boat.

For a short while, she couldn’t be able to take her eyes off Seulgi's brown orbs. Only after they advanced further did she realized where she was thus her panic reappeared.

Their boat rocking crazily to left and right cause Joy couldn’t stay still.

“Hey, hey, Joy, easy!” Seulgi half-squatted.

“Joy, hey!”

 

“Joy!!”

The panic was still consuming her consciousness, causing Seulgi to stop her paddling to calm the younger one.

“Sooyoung-ah...”

That call never failed to stop what she was doing. Her eyes straight into Seulgi’s.

“Sooyoung-ah, I told you I'm here. There's nothing to worry about.”

Seulgi's comforted words not only calmed her heart, but also her whole being. She picked up the paddles on either side, clutching them tightly.

“Let's just enjoy paddling this thing together. We’ll eventually grasp the feeling.”

A wink was sent straight up to Joy,

 

And that panic went back electrifying her all over again.

At this point, the boat wasn’t the actual issue anymore.

***
 

Done enjoying couple boat, Seulgi fetched Joy to a garden with thousands of tulips adorned it. There were rocks aligned in footpath which split the pond in half.
 

“One! Two! Three! Four!-”

The blonde jumped happily from stone to stone with Seulgi following close behind.

“Where did you get all that energy, Ms. Park?”

Joy laughed at the mention of her name. Reminded her when they were just strangers.

 

“Your fault Ms. Kang!” she replied with the similar forge of formalities, “You put too much sugar in my drink!”

“Oh now this is my fault?” orange-haired stated as if she was hurt, “How dare you!”

 

“Aaargh!”

 

Joy's scream echoed around as Seulgi chased after her. She ran straight up to the end of that large pond. Soon after passing it, she stopped abruptly,

“Wow!”

 

“Caught you!” Seulgi bumped onto her from behind, satisfied that she had blondie trapped.

Seeing Joy captivated on what lies ahead, Seulgi lifted her head.

 

At once, zillionth white sands shimmered right in front of them. The sand was so white it could literally blind one’s eyes. Twinkling like diamond with the waves of blue ocean roaring around.

Sky that reflected the sun sparkling before it sunk into the depth of ocean in less than two hours.

Joy stood still to admire the beautiful masterpiece ahead.

Before Seulgi captured her hand yet again.
 

Spreading the same warmth, but it somehow felt different.

It was different.

Different, when Seulgi started to walk fast –almost dragging her-