The first time was nerve-wrecking, even though he's been told and reminded and advised not to feel the least bit nervous at all. But what else could he feel at that moment when he stood at the top of an eighty-foot cliff? He kept staring down below, at the churning crystal blue waters, and wondered why the world seemed to start tilting before him. That can't be good.    "Chickening out is not an option, little dude." says a voice behind him, he knows it's his cousin Taeil teasing him for taking so long from jumping off this damned cliff.   The view was pretty, the clear waters of Jeju-do stretched out beyond the horizon and the sky was just as clear and crystal, the breeze was warm and Taeyong's heart tried to steady itself as he thought of all these.   He had to do this, not just because of the bet he made with his imbecile friends (who he can't live without either way) but because he wants to do something that could set him free.    Cliff-diving has always been coined as an extreme sport, an activity best suited for adrenaline junkies and people who liked risks. Taeyong was none of the above as far as he was concerned, but he wanted to try something new. He wanted to let loose.    "Remember," says Taeil behind him. "Enjoy the air, when you near the water, keep your position tight. Breathe through your nose and don't think too much about drowning, mkay?" he pats him twice on the back. "Please jump before I push you myself, you're making us look bad in front of the girls."   Taeyong could only snort, not bothering to look back to see the long line and rows of cars and jeepneys parked a few feet away from the cliff, people all over the world just wanting to jump off and feel the air and ocean. He in a deep breath, wondered how his friend's were doing with their ends of the bet as he looked down once more, and before he knew it he was falling.   Down, down, down.    Taeyong thinks the fall is both evanescent and euphoric.    He closes his eyes and he spins once before landing feet-first on the blue tides.     Water surrounds him, and Taeyong breathes it all in.      > ; <     He doesn't know why, but the first thought that came to his mind when they asked him what it was like, confessing to Jisoo, was the feeling he got when he went cliff diving at Jeju island for the first time.   Seungcheol only laughs while Yuta shakes his head, a little disappointed at his answer. Taeyong could only stare at them and shrug. "It's the best description I have of the night."   "But why?" Yuta whines, and Taeyong is immediately reminded of Jisoo. The way she always asked him for reasons, because she believed everything had explanations and meanings and histories behind them. Truly the English major.    Taeyong just shrugs again, he can clearly see it ticks Yuta off. He snickers at his friend's reaction. "Oh come on, you just don't understand because you've never been cliff diving before, you chicken."    "True that," Seungcheol says, pointing an accusing finger towards Yuta's way. "I get what Taeyong is saying. It's kinda like a 'oh, screw it i don't care' situation. You just have to go for it. When you're up there, on that cliff and you're looking down at the waves and the tides and the sea, and you're enjoying the view and feeling the wind, you just throw yourself towards all of it and hope for the best. They had a moment and Taeyong told her everything he's ever kept and thought of her, and all he could do was wait and see if she felt the same way. He hoped for the best, and he got it." He closes his mouth and smiles.    Yuta stares at him while Taeyong has an amused yet grateful expression on because Seungcheol's explanation was just spot-on. "Okay, fine. Whatever. You like her, she likes you." Yuta rolls his eyes and dismisses them both with a wave of his hand. "Did you kiss though?"   The expression is wiped clean off his face. "What?" He feels himself go hot all over. He sees Yuta quirk an eyebrow and thinks they can sense the rise of temperature in him too. "Yuta, seriously -"   "You didn't?" this is Seungcheol. Sounding like he couldn't believe it. He looked like he couldn't believe it too. "Dude, you finally get some alone time, just you and her -"   "- and you're telling us -"   "- that you didn't even try -"   "- to kiss her?" they say in unison, looking at him with wide eyes, and Taeyong wants to slap away the looks they were giving him.   Taeyong tells them he's not that kind of a guy, and he wasn't even expecting much anyway. They still didn't know each other very well, but she still held onto his hand like she trusted him with all of the secrets she kept ("oh wow, what are you, first-graders?!") and looked at him like he discovered galaxies on his spare time. ("big deal, whoopie.")   Seungcheol shakes his head while Yuta looks at him, a funny smile on his face. "What did you say happened after that night? You met up for coffee? You don't even like coffee."   He smiles despite himself. "Yeah, but she does. And I guess coffee isn't so bad now."    Yuta gawks while Seungcheol laughs once more at his friend's answer. And when they exchange glances while Taeyong is too busy looking out the window with this stupid, serene expression on his features, Seungcheol jut shrugs and nudges Yuta, telling him to leave Taeyong alone for now because he's simply in love.      > ; <     This is how they start off: Taeyong asks her on dates and she pretends to think about it, when really she's already saying "yes" a million times in her head and he just doesn't know this so it makes him nervous but when she does say the word out loud, he'll exhale in relief and hold her hand because she's the most solid thing in his world right now.   Jisoo would work her back off studying and learning all the meanings behind the works of poets that have been dead for hundreds of years and he would accompany her, sitting quietly by her side and trying to study his book instead of her features (sometimes, the latter is what he concentrates on more.)   It's a steady start, but Taeyong wants more and he's sure Jisoo feels the same way.    So a month later, Jisoo says "yes" (the one word he loves oh so much, especially when it's coming from her lips) to Taeyong's question of "Will you be my girlfriend?"    He doesn't remember a time where his smile was this wide.      > ; <     He barely hears the soft pitter patter of the rain outside when she turns on the TV right after they've finally decided the movie they should watch. She sits down on the space beside him and he casually throws an arm over her shoulders, making her lean in. When hi