“Two days.” The young boy bathed himself in the summer’s sun and soaked in every ray. If anything, his tanned skin would be a reminder of his newly found freedom and a promise that he’d do anything he could to follow his dreams. He was lying out in the sand letting his appendages sink into the grainy soil. The ambient sounds of tourists amused him, that was apparent as his lips curled into a slight smile.

“What’s so funny?”

The voice seemed closer but he just grinned.

“Are you crazy or something?”

The words pressed against his cheek and he realized that he was shaded from the sun. Trying to remain calm was easier said than done. His thin eyes winced but remained shut. “Are you by chance...talking to me?”

There was a soft choke, as if the onlooker couldn’t believe his gall. “Who else on the beach is smiling like a fool?”

When he let his lids lift, he had to adjust to the light but could see the long hair that dangled inches above his face. He gulped folding his lips inward before wetting them lightly. Her face was slightly oval with a creamy complexion, barely tinted by the sun. She took a breath in letting her upper lip pout over the bottom as she sighed. “Well, what’s so funny?”

His eyes remained on hers but widened once he noticed that she was only in a bikini. It must have looked strange to onlookers. Were these two a couple, quarreling? Friends or possibly siblings? Highly unlikely to be strangers. Right?

From every angle, it would appear as if they had a close relationship, except for the angle of the girl. She could see how uncomfortable he was and how he struggled to keep his eyes on hers. His lips parted revealing his teeth as a deep ‘um’ vibrated in his throat. She blinked. What kind of boy would only look at her face and not glance down? Her chest was full and she was all too aware. Was he gay?

Her finger moved her hair into her face and she bent down until she was nose to nose with him. “Put your hand on my face and pretend you’re kissing me. ...Kiss me and die.”

He did as he was told and she giggled into his cheek. It was louder than needed and searching for attention. “There are some boys that’ve been checking me out for a while now. They’re becoming bothersome.”

She took a step back and sat down next to him. Her fingertips ran across his mouth as if to wipe away the kiss that hadn’t happened. “It’s more like stalking. I hope you don’t mind.”

It was in that moment that he realized just how beautiful she was. Her eyes had depth to them though the color of ink. Her lips were a light shade of rose and were full, not unlike his own. He lifted himself up without much thought and pressed his palm to her cheek, mouth inches from her. “You need it to look real? Girls don’t usually make the first move.”

It was only about thirty seconds of silence, but a faint shudder crossed her lips. He was unbelievably close and his scent was, well it was nice.

“Are they gone?” His bassy voice would take time getting used to, but it was more or less comforting.

“Neh, one of them. The other is still there.”

Without warning he looped his arms around her waist and swung her into his lap. “If we look like a couple then he’ll leave you alone, right?” The boy didn’t even glance at her but he hooked his chin around her shoulder. “Sorry to be so, well so forward. I would hate for your previous efforts to be in vain.”

The waves rolled up to the shore, pristine blue liquid crashing into a white foam. It was a repetitive, beautiful site.

“Do you come to the beach often?” Her words were breathy and lacked pitch, possibly because the two of them were being watched and she didn’t want to draw unneeded attention.

“I grew up here, you?” His deep voice was soothing and the vibrations she felt from his throat to her shoulder made her tremble.

“Just here for summer vacation. I’m from Seoul.” Her dark eyes glanced down at his hands that were knotted around her waist. Seemed appropriate if they were pretending to be a couple.

“Why are those guys following you? Do they know you or something?”

She let out a sigh and rested a hand across his. “Why do boys chase girls? I don’t know them nor do I care to. They’ve been hitting on me all day and I find it annoying.” She let out a gasp with a sudden realization. “I’m sorry if I’m spoiling your afternoon.”

Just then the clasp of his embrace unhooked her and motioned for her to get up. “Let’s go. I want to show you the island.”

Her feet sunk into the sand and she stood up taking his soft, warm hand. “Show me around the island? So you are from here? ..But your accent is weird.” She seemed honestly curious about the boy. He was quiet and a touch shy but he didn’t skip a beat while protecting her.

He ran his thumb over the knuckle of her hand and then brought their hold to the center of his body. A hint of blush dusted his cheeks as he did so, but she didn’t seem to mind so he tried not to make a big deal about it. “I was born here, but I live in Seoul.”

She nodded understandingly and let out a small sigh. Her fingers tightened around his and with a playful rhythm began swinging their arms back and forth. “I see, I was born in Busan but my father was transferred to Seoul. Do you come here often?” She covered to muffle the laughter that bubbled up inside her. “I’m sorry. It feels like I keep hitting on you. I’m not usually this forward.”

He placed his other hand on top of their two laced ones before letting out an airy chuckle. “I honestly don’t know what to make of it, so don’t worry. And I come back nearly every summer.”

She looked at him, examining his boyish smile but somehow soft expression and body language. It was evident that he was typically shy, but the way he was acting and how easily he took the lead hinted at something else. “Would you, I mean...are you attracted to me?” Maybe he wasn’t gay at all.

Her bluntness took his breath away. He wasn’t expecting this and it felt like a blow to the gut, painful but cleared his mind of anything else. “Come again?”

She blinked. “You heard me.”

His second hand retracted back to his side and he fidgeted soundlessly. “Well, I’d be lying if I said you were unattractive.” He ruffled his hair slightly. “To be honest, I’ve never really been around girls, not this closely at least...and other than my nuna.” He emitted a noisily sigh and rubbed his face with his free hand. “I know, I’m a joke...okay?”

Without looking, he could feel her become serious as her lips formed a horizontal line. “You’re in no way a joke. If anything, I’m being totally unreasonable.” She swallowed and started swinging their hands again. “I’ll be totally honest, that was the best first kiss I’ve ever had..fake or not.”

Her tone switched almost effortlessly between serious and humorous. It seemed to catch him off guard but it was somewhat charming. “That was your first kiss? Someone like you has never been kissed before?!”

She playfully bumped him to the side with one sharp swish of her hip. “Well I don’t know what you’re implying, but you’re correct. I’ve never been kissed before. Not until today.”

A short breath played on his lips that was uneasy to swallow. He wanted to ask her name, but he didn’t want the warm feeling to dissipate. It seemed that if she became concrete, she might vanish. “Happy to share my first kiss with you.” He laughed awkwardly, but what else was he to say?

“Same here.” A ring in her voice made the boy look up just as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Can I make a weird but completely serious request?”

An uncertain reply hung in his throat, but eventually he nodded.

“I’m leaving back for Seoul tomorrow, and I know this is really forward...but I’m comfortable with you.” She paused, whether it was for dramatic effect or because she was carefully choosing the words to be said, he didn’t know. “Do you think we could share our real first kiss?”

The boy wasn’t one hundred percent sure with how to respond to her. He wanted to kiss her, that much he knew, but he didn’t know why. Maybe it was the hormones that took over him or the summer heat, but whatever it was he agreed to it and they spent the day seeing all the local attractions. He showed her around and on several occasions they were close enough to kiss, but she’d dart off in another direction. Not once did they speak of their past. She had one day left on the island and he intended to make it her favorite.

“What should I call you?” He asked, but her answer was laugher.

“Don’t call me anything. If fate will have it, I’ll see you next year.” She grinned sweetly and he agreed to the meeting. “Same time, same beach. If it’s destiny, we don’t need to know names.”

She had a way of saying pretty little things that had a nice ring to them. She polished her words and made everything feel as wonderful as she thought they should be. Nothing was perfect, but in her eyes everything was beautiful in it’s own right.

“Thank you, for everything.” Her voice rang softly while letting her fingers slid down his wrist and to his palm until he held them snuggly between his.

They were pushing the morning hours when they reached her hotel room. “Next year on the beach, same time?” Her question was formed from statements and he found it cute and very much her.

“Three hundred and sixty-five days. That beach. That spot. Got it.” He smiled at her letting his thumb trace her knuckles once more. Would this really be the end? Would he really have to wait a whole year until the next time they met?

When she unlocked the door he took a step back as if an electric fence kept him out. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” her voice was somewhere between the two extremes of serious and well, not so serious.

He checked his pockets and looked at his feet. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’ll only let it slide because you’re too adorable.” She giggled softly before slipping her arms around his waist and digging her face into his neck. “You promised me something, remember?”

His eyes widened in disbelief. “I thought you were avoiding that. There were so many times I was going to, but you just...so I thought--”

Her lips pressed to his shoulder. “You wanted to kiss me, in public? You want to share your first kiss with the world?”

Actually, if they were being totally honest, their first kiss was a display on the beach to fend off the boys. At least this is what he told himself.

Clearing she started reasoning. “I don’t know what to do. Like with my hands, arms...how close do you stand--” She paused again, something he was growing fond of. “It’s all vulnerable. I’d like to just share it with you, is that wrong to think?”

Once again he was shocked. He hadn’t really thought about it. “No, not at all.”

She didn’t speak. Her silence spoke volumes almost echoing how honest her intentions. As one foot backed into the room, the boy followed suit bending over her to hit her nose against his. The two laughed and then she shut the door behind him.

“I had fun tonight.” His voice was smooth against her face.

She bit down on her lip and stared at his mouth. The two would go no further than kissing, that was predetermined, but something about the two innocent teens was sensual and somehow pure. He held her face in his hands, palms pressed to her jaw with bits of her long dark hair tangled between his fingers. His eyes were locked on the bow of her upper lip until he lowered his mouth onto hers. He kissed her lightly tasting a bit of her smile.

Her breath bounce off of him and he kissed her again, this time focusing on the scent of her skin. The beach had lingered on her and the sun had tinted her ever so slightly.

“I don’t think I’m doing this right.” He laughed between chaste kisses but she quickly stood on her toes to kiss him back. His fingers slid down her jaw to her neck and soon he was massaging her skin. The short, brief kisses were becoming deeper and more drawn out. With each touch of lips on lips, they craved it again. The kisses were cute and only slightly sloppy; the two didn’t know how to breathe between embraces.

They stumbled around the hotel room until the back of her legs hit the bed. “Ah, I think we should stop,” she huffed feeling a light dizziness. The palm of her hand pressed against his chest without much force. “I’ve got to get up early for the ride back.”

He lowered his head and tried holding her hands at their sides. “I see.”

A sweet, musing laugh was emitted from and she gave him one last kiss. Her lips folded onto each other as if sealing their promise to meet again. “Next year?”

He chuckled hugging her tightly and planting a smile between her brow. “One year. But if I see you in Seoul, you better say hello. Got it?”

Bang YongGuk never met the girl again. He’d gone back the next summer to lie in the warm sands of the beach. It was the summer after college that was his last. He waited for her one day out of the year but every girl in Seoul whose forehead could touch his lips, every girl whose hair hung down to her waist, every girl that reminded him of her made his heart skip a beat. It was that last summer that he made up his mind about an opportunity to make music in America. It’d been weighing down on him for a while but when she didn’t show up, he’d realized that enough was enough.

She slipped from his thoughts, but every now and then her laugh would ring in his ears. The sands of Cali weren’t anything like the white beach on the island, but the smell of sea salt and the sounds of crashing waves reminded him of her.

It was nearly ten years without the nameless girl.

So this is how she met YongGuk, any guessed to who she met next or why she didn't return?
Hope you enjoyed it! and I'll get started on the next chapter very soon~

-MeiMeng ♥