5 A.M. It's dreadful to have to wake up at that time, but it is one of Yerin's duties. People go swimming the moment the sky is less than black, so someone has to ensure their safety. 

At least she doesn't have to shower nor dress up. 

"Good morning, sunbaenim. I got you coffee." This guy is still in training, yet is obviously trying to pursue Yerin. He's not a douche in any way, Yerin just thinks it's improper. 

"Thank you. Again. But uh, I already had some on the way here. I'll save this for later," she says firmly. "Is Choi Yuna here yet?"

"Yes. She is fixing one of the flags outside as it came undone from the winds last night."

"Alright. Come on, we'll do our warm ups outside then." Coming out of the lifeguard tower, she finds Yuna up on one of the flag poles. Given the younger's hobby of pole dancing, Yerin was not surprised to see her ten feet in the air.

"Do you need help?" Yerin asks in a semi-yell.

"No, I got it!" With one last knot, Yuna slides down and lands right in front of the other. "Good morning, Yerin."

Covering up her fluster, she clears . "Good morning. Would you like to lead our stretches today?"

"Of course!"

As they stretch, the light spreads slowly through the sky, illuminating the ocean water and the sandy beach. Street lamps turn off one by one, the sound of cars and birds start to fill the air, and the temperature rises to a comfortable warmth. Waking up at 5 in the morning isn't so bad if Yerin gets to see this sight everyday.

A group of surfers arrive as the lifeguards prepare the jet skis, life vests, rescue tubes and floats, and radios. Now that autumn is approaching, the waters are wilder due to winds and temperature. One of Yerin's main duties is surveying the water for the day. Tide levels, riptides, and wave heights don't go unseen. 

Checking weather updates and monitoring with her binoculars, Yerin concludes the water is at a yellow condition: moderate currents. 

"Yellow today. Clear skies though," she tells the team. After preparations, they seperate and go to their assigned stations on the beach. 

Yerin watched the surfers with a careful eye for an hour. The group comes every week, so she knows they have experience and shouldn't be much of a worry. 

"Three girls arriving," she hears on her radio. Turning her head, she sees them drop their stuff a few meters in front of her chair. They look to be around her age. Two of them wave at her with big smiles. Of course she would return a smile from a lady. 

Yerin hears them ask each other, "Do you think the water is cold?" or "Is there a lot of rocks?" One question that catches her attention is, "how far out do you think we can swim?" Nothing good comes from that kind of curiousity. But even giving them the benefit of the doubt, she climbs down from her chair. The surfers were paddling back to shore anyway, she told herself.

Nothing much happens for a while. More people arrive, and the three girls swim to where water reaches mid-torso. One of them swims farther out, seemingly daring herself as the others are telling her to come back. 

That's when Yerin notices it— a riptide. It pulls the girl further out into the water, but she keeps paddling. Yerin runs while blowing her whistle, catching everyone's attention including the girl. When she stops to turn around, she realizes she can't touch the sand under her anymore and how far away she is from her friends.

As she panics and tries to keep herself afloat, the lifeguard is already paddling as fast as she can on her board. "HELP!" Yerin hears. "I'm coming! Hang in there!" Another wave, and the riptide pulls the girl farther away again. Yerin uses it to her advantage as it closes the distance between them. The girl is faltering in her panic, and Yerin is so close—

"Gotcha! It's okay! It's okay. I got you." Yerin had dived in to help get the girl's head out of the water. Coughing out saltwater, the girl was close to tears as she held on tightly to the lifeguard. Yerin flips the board, lifting the girl out of the water and onto the board. "It's alright. I'm gonna help you get back to shore." 

The only way to get out of a riptide is by swimming across it, not against it. The lifeguard quickly gets on the board, paddling with her arms. It was difficult, but that's why she trains and exercises. Once Yerin feels they are safe, she starts making her way to shore. She notices the girl's breathing has calmed, but she started crying. 

"What's your name?" Yerin asks.

"...Hwang Eunbi," she says with a sniffle.

"We're gonna be okay, Hwang Eunbi-ssi."

When the water gets shallow, Yerin lifts Eunbi off the board and carries her to where Yuna and Eunbi's friends were waiting. Once Eunbi is gently set down on the chair, she is wrapped in a towel and blanket— as well as hugs from her friends. 

They talk fast over each other in concern that Yerin has to break them up. "Ladies, sorry. We have to give her space to recover. Hwang Eunbi-ssi, are you alright?"

Eunbi slowly but surely meets Yerin's eyes. Yerin didn't want to look away. The other had these deep eyes that seemed to tell her all she was feeling. Eunbi gives a small nod after a moment, and Yerin takes it as her cue to stand up. "Rest a little." She gives a bow to each of them, then returns to her post. 

"Great job, sunbaenim!" she hears on her radio, causing her to roll her eyes. She's really got to do something about that boy. 

The rest of the day is uneventful. During her lunch break, she rinsed off the dried salt and sand on her body then went to the nearby chicken place she frequents at least once a week. To her surprise, the three friends from the beach were there too. She thought they had gone home since it's been over an hour since she last saw them.

"Jung Yerin-ssi!" one greets brightly. "Ahjumma, I'll pay for her food! She saved my friend here from drowning."

"N-no, it's nothing—"

"This lifeguard?" the owner says. "She has saved so many people. Life-saving comes natural to her."

"Imo..."

"Ever since she saved my granddaughter, I give her free kimchi and cola whenever she comes." The owner pinches Yerin's cheeks and tells her to take a seat.

"Would you like to sit with us, Yerin-ssi?" The girl that asks had such sincere eyes and a button nose that Yerin couldn't get herself to refuse the offer.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I got your names." 

"I'm Jung Eunha," the bright one, "this is Kim Yewon," the sincere one, "and Hwang Eunbi, who you've already met."

Eunbi barely acknowledged her since she stepped in the shop. It makes the lifeguard wonder if she was able to recover properly. As they eat, Eunha and Yewon ask questions to get to know Yerin like how old she is, where she's from, and how she became a lifeguard. Throughout the conversations, Yerin notices Eunbi's glances. Maybe the girl is just tired and wasn't in the mood to converse.

"The other two lifeguards today, have they been doing this for a while?" Yewon asks.

"Choi Yuna has been doing it as long as I have, but she moved here from another city about eight or nine months ago. The boy's only been here a month."

"She's cute," Eunha says. Yewon agrees with her.

Yerin grins. "Yuna? Yes, she is."

"Are you two dating?" Eunha asks, curious of Yerin's smile.

Yerin is glad she wasn't eating or drinking anything at that moment. "N-no no. We're friends. Good friends."

When the food is gone and the ice in their drinks have melted halfway into water, Yerin hears her radio click. "1,2 Jung Yerin 1,2 where are you." Yuna always says her calls in a tune, claiming it catches Yerin's attention better.

"Ah... I should get back. 1,2 Yuna 1,2 I hear you. I'm headed back now." She bows to the girls one more time and thanks them for the food. "Imo, thank you!" 

Not even ten steps out the door, someone calls her name. "Yerin-ssi, wait."

"Hm? Oh, Eunbi-ssi. Hello."

"I uh... What time does your shift finish?"

"Oh. I finish at five."

Eunbi stares blankly, and Yerin wonders if she should say something or walk away. But before the latter could decide, Eunbi mutters, "Would you want to have dinner with me later? I want to... thank you properly. For saving me."

Yerin puts on a polite smile. "That would be great."

Here's the thing. 

The imo at the store didn't lie. Yerin has saved a lot of people from drowning. 

After saving their life however, they somehow are suddenly extremely attracted to Yerin. There's something about life-or-death situations that changes the brain. Firefighters can attest to that.

So in her career of being a lifeguard, she has been asked on several dates by people she has saved. She accepts each one because what if they genuinely wanted to thank her? Then again, they could always just give her food or a gift. But then again, Yerin doesn't mind meeting new people. 

So, she finishes her shift and waits for Hwang Eunbi. Yerin wishes these dates ended in some romance, but after the first three with strangers turned strangers, she turned to making it clear and rejecting any advances by the end of the date. Most times, the other snaps out of their trance and moves on.

"Hello."

Yerin turns around and sees Eunbi holding a bag of food in one arm and a rolled mat in the other. 

"Hi, Eunbi-ssi." I guess we're eating on the beach, she thinks. Eunbi has a brighter aura now, so Yerin figures she is feeling better. Rather than right by the shore, they set the mat down in an area where grass meets the sand. 

"I hope you like jajjangmyeon. I also got some shrimp fritters. Do you drink?" Eunbi shyly but politely asks while unpacking the food.

"Well, that depends," the other teases. When she sees the beer can, she happily accepts it.

"Did you have a good rest of your shift?"

"I did. Normal shift. The winds got lighter towards the end."

"During lunch, you said you've been a lifeguard for three years now?" 

Yerin finishes chewing before she answers. "Yeah. I've been surfing since I was a kid, so I thought it would be great to put my skills to use." She's recited this answer too many times it flows out of easily. The usual response she would get is 'wow surfing is so cool' or some fl