First off, sorry I took so long to update. I have finals starting in 2 days!! OMG.

Second, THANK YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH to everyone who's commented and subscribed. I really appreciate it! Please continute to support this fic ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

I hope this chapter is to your liking!

“Sungyeol-hyung!” Sungyeol recognizes Sungjong’s voice. He stops in the middle of the hallway and waits for the younger to approach.

Sungjong is still wearing his apron from breakfast service when he rushes up to Sungyeol, hair falling messily in his face.

“I got you a map of the beach town. I thought it’d be useful, so you can figure out where you’re going to go today,” he says, passing the leaflet to Sungyeol and bowing. It feels like another peace offering.

Sungyeol accepts it and stares at the glossy paper for a few beats before slowly saying, “I don’t think I’ll be going out much. Not today. But, thanks, Sungjong-ah.”

Sungyeol vaguely expects Sungjong to look disappointed before walking away, or maybe have no reaction at all, but instead Sungjong frowns in what looks like irritation.

“Hyung, you said last night you would go,” he says firmly.

This, in turn, sparks Sungyeol’s nerves.

“Look, kid. I’m here on vacation and I can do whatever I want. I don’t need you to play travel guide or whatever,” he says hotly.

Sungjong is completely unfazed by the older boy’s sharpness.

“How about we make a deal, then?” Sungjong says, flipping the hair out of this face with determination.

Deal?

“What deal?” Sungyeol asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Come with me to the beach,” the younger offers. “If you hate it, then I’ll buy you an ice cream cone and I won’t bother you for the rest of your vacation. But if it helps you, then you have to go out a bit more.”

Sungyeol tells himself that he agrees to Sungjong’s deal simply because he is 100% positive that he’s getting a free ice cream cone.

Sungjong breaks into a large grin.

“My shift ends at 2,” he informs Sungyeol. “I’ll wait for you on the front porch.”

“Just make sure you bring small change for my ice cream,” Sungyeol mutters gruffly, and stalks back to his room.

--

Truthfully, Sungyeol is not completely opposed to seeing the beach with Sungjong, especially since there isn't actually anything for him to do. His useless friends didn't pack a single book, and Sungyeol doesn't quite feel like choosing a movie from Sunggyu's visually impressive collection just yet. So he reluctantly concedes, that maybe, it might be a mildly decent idea to let Sungjong show him the sand or whatever for a few hours. Not that he'd ever admit it aloud, of course.

At 2:08, he decides that Sungjong's waited enough to doubt his showing up, so Sungyeol makes his way downstairs to meet the younger.

As promised, Sungjong is leaning against the front wall waiting for him, dressed in a stone-washed navy and white tee with blue board shorts to match.

"Let's go," he says happily and pushes himself off the wall, adjusting the straps of his backpack. "I have a really nice place to show you. I found it when I first started working for Sunggyu-hyung."

Sungjong continues to chat expressively as they leave Sunggyu's property, hair blowing about in the breeze. Sungyeol keeps his hands stuffed in his pockets, listening but not responding. He would be lying if he were to say he didn't feel a little awkward with Sungjong-- after all, they had just met. But something about the younger boy struck Sungyeol. He seemed to take everything in his stride; a quality that Sungyeol inwardly admired, especially since it wasn't (and had never been) one of his strengths. Sungyeol was not quite a fan of the whole process of "letting go". To him, it was a challenge that seemed nearly impossible to overcome.

However, the younger boy was acting as though they had never gotten on each other's nerves, talking to Sungyeol as though they were close friends.

He seems like a good kid, Woohyun had said over breakfast.

Yeah, Sungyeol thinks in agreement. Sungjong begins to tell him about the hardships of gardening without experience.

He seems like it.

--

Sungjong leads Sungyeol all the way to the end of the beach, where a small pier's been built. It's relatively empty since it's a little further out from all the resorts, but it’s nice Sungyeol feels almost tranquil. The salty sea breeze cards through his hair gently and Sungyeol lets out a soft sigh as Sungjong pulls a small mat out of his bag and tosses it at him.

"Figured you wouldn't want to dirty your shorts," he smiles teasingly.

Sungyeol sits down slowly and waits for Sungjong to ask him about his "problems" and whatnot. Instead, he smiles and says, "I came here a lot when I first started working for Gyu-hyung. It's always a little emptier than the rest of the beach. I can actually hear myself think here."

"I do this summer job thing to check on my little brother. He lives with our aunt so he goes to school here. I come back to make sure he's okay. He's just a kid, you know? Seventeen isn't all that big, and he's always been a little less confident when it comes to sticking up for himself."

A pause.

"My father… He was never the most responsible guy. He drank a lot. Beat up my mom quite a bit. She didn't want Sunkyu, that's my brother, and I to stick around. He got violent pretty easily, my father. So Sunkyu left. He was terrified of him. But my mom. How could I just leave her like that, all on her own with that guy?"

Sungjong sounds angry and for a moment, Sungyeol wonders if he should maybe reach out and pat the younger boy on the back. He feels bad, of course, since Sungjong's issues are genuine and serious but at the same time, he wonders why he's being trusted to hear them all.

"He's gone now, though. Detained for abuse. My mom and I live with her brother in Gwangsan, and I start college soon, but since my brother's got less than a year left of high school, he's just staying here until he's done. It gets tough sometimes. The beach," Sungjong says, motioning to their surroundings, "always listens to me when I make a fuss about things and kind of makes me feel like it's okay to have emotions and be human and all that other stuff," he finishes, eyes trained on the ocean.

Sungyeol is silent for a few moments, before he shifts slightly to face Sungjong and voices his thoughts from before.

"You're a good kid," he says quietly.

Sungjong looks up in surprise at the older’s words.

"I probably wouldn't do it, you know. Spend my summer checking up on my younger brother. I'd probably whine about it and end up not doing it," Sungyeol says with a rueful smile.

Sungjong snorts.

"You know, I hardly know you but that seems like a spot-on description of what I'd picture you doing if you were thrown into my situation," he teases.

Sungyeol stretches his left leg out to kick softly at the younger boy's ankle.

"Yah, you brat, I happen to be a wonderful hyung," he defends himself. Daeyeol should be proud, he thinks.

"Okay, hyung," Sungjong laughs mockingly.

Sungyeol kicks some sand at the younger boy. The atmosphere is significantly less tense now but Sungyeol decides to risk messing it up again when he carefully asks, "Why did you take me here?"

Sungjong looks straight into his eyes then, and Sungyeol is a little taken aback by how clear they are.

"I did it because I don’t want to spend your vacation feeling completely miserable. Yesterday, you looked wrecked. I hated it, even though you were kind of a ," he shrugs.

“Yah, you weren’t exactly great last night either,” Sungyeol retorts as kicks more sand at the younger boy, cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

They sit in silence for a while and Sungyeol takes some time to really look at the beach. It’s a beautiful place, he realises, and there’s something about the air that makes the heavy feeling in his chest subside a little. After hearing Sungjong’s story, part of Sungyeol thinks that maybe being here, away from the noise and the burden that follows him constantly back in Seoul, could be helpful. The beach is peaceful and Sungjong is right. Here, Sungyeol can actually hear himself think.

"Thank you,” he says to Sungjong, barely audible.

Sungyeol isn’t looking at him, but he thinks he can hear the smile in Sungjong’s voice when he says, “It’s nothing.”

They stay for almost another hour or so, looking out at the sea and doodling in the sand before Sungjong gets up and reaches a hand out to the older boy.

"Come on, hyung. I'll get you that ice cream cone," he says with a soft smile.

Sungyeol hesitates for a second before taking hold of Sungjong's wrist, but instead of pulling himself up, he says, "Wait. I didn’t--"

Sungjong laughs, hair blowing into his eyes. Again, Sungyeol itches to tell him to push it away.

“It’s fine, hyung. I’ll buy you one anyway.”

--

They sit on the porch of a small café. Sungjong buys Sungyeol a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a scoop of vanilla for himself. Sungyeol asks little questions (Do you stay with your aunt during the summer? Is your brother okay?) and Sungjong answers each one without hesitation (I did the first summer here. But now I just stay with Sunggyu-hyung. My brother’s fine. Struggling with math, but that’s normal.)

Talking to Sungjong, Sungyeol finds, is easy. The younger doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t check if he’s “okay”; doesn’t suffocate him with pitiful glances and sympathetic smiles. Around Sungjong, Sungyeol feels normal.

By the time they start to make their way back, it’s nearing five in the evening. As they walk up the path leading to the beach house, Sungyeol stops in his tracks.

Sungjong turns around, puzzled. “Hyung, what’s wrong?“

It starts here, or it never ends, Sungyeol decides. Running his tongue over his cracked lips, he stares at the ground for a few seconds before he says, "His name was Myungsoo."

Sungyeol fidgets, suddenly regretting his choice to open his mouth. He’s rooted to the spot, unwilling to go on.

“Sorry,” he tells Sungjong. “I can’t…”

"It's okay," Sungjong soothes, putting a hand on the older boy’s shoulder. "You don't have to talk about it now. This stuff takes time. You tried, didn't you? You tried."

Sungyeol nods.

"Let's go," Sungjong says, lightly taking hold of Sungyeol’s wrist.

--

Woohyun and Howon are in the front hall when they get back.

“Oh my god, you left the house. Did you have fun? Are you sick?” Woohyun ambushes his friend, flinging his arms round Sungyeol’s neck.

Pushing him off, Sungyeol grumbles, “I’m fine, idiot. It was okay.”

Howon grabs hold of Woohyun before he jumps on Sungyeol again.

“He’s safe, you’ve seen him. Come on, let’s leave him alone.”

Woohyun frowns, but follows Howon up the stairs to their room when his boyfriend sends him his stop interfering with people’s lives glare.

“Thank you for today,” Sungyeol says, turning to face Sungjong when his friends have gone. “I like the beach.”

He means it.

“Tell me if you want to do it again,” the younger answers, lips curving upwards.

With that, he heads off to where Sungyeol guesses is his own room, giving the older a small wave.

“Yeah,” Sungyeol says to the empty hallway, feeling a lot less on edge than he was before coming to Busan.

“I just might.”

Isn't he beautiful?

Also, Myungsoo? (●´⌓`●) 

The next time I update will be in November because of finals. (◞‸◟；)

I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you so much for reading!

xxx