A gentle ocean breeze ruffled the pages of the notebook – gently, at first, but soon blowing the entire collection of papers off the table, as if to try and drop the entirety off the ship’s deck and into the ocean.

 

A pair of rose colored heels clip-clopped upon the nearly empty deck, chasing the flying papers and poor binding that seemed ready to burst. The heels were soon kicked off, and milky, white skin took place of the heels in the race to catch the notebook.

 

Pale, clean hands managed to catch the runaway notebook, but not before a single sheet of paper slid out of the binding.

 

“I got it.” A deep voice said, and a hand shot out and caught the piece of paper just moments before it would have surely been beyond saving. Turning around, the speaker held out the paper with an amused, cocky, and yet, charming smile. “Here you are.” He told the girl as she took the paper out of his grip.

 

“T-thanks!” She hurriedly bowed her head after accepting the paper, only to allow the persistent breeze to sweep away her sun hat – if he hadn’t caught it first. “Do you lose everything, miss?” He looked down at her feet pointedly; a mocking smile upon his handsome features.

 

And yet, it felt almost endearing.

 

“Not everything.” She muttered, blushing. “I kicked off my shoes earlier when my notebook began flying and – uhm, thank you…?”

 

“Lee Jonghyun.” He replied, grinning. “And you are?”

 

“Seo Joohyun…” She murmured, beginning to fidget with the wayward locks of hair being blown around by the breeze.

 

Jonhyung reached forward and took her hand in his, pulling it up to his lips and bending down slightly to press his lips against the back of her hand. “Seo Joohyun.” He repeated, feeling her name come out almost like a joyous sigh. It tickled his throat, and he gazed up at her with curious eyes.

 

Something about the way those curious eyes looked at her made Joohyun’s heart seem to skip a beat. “Lee Jonghyun.” She replied, feeling his name roll off her tongue as if she had said it many times before.

 

And maybe she had – in her dreams, that was.

 

He chuckled. What an amusing response, that was. In fact, he found her amusing enough to ask, “Seo Joohyun, will you have dinner with me?”

 

---

There were many things Seo Joohyun had to admit.

 

One of them, being that she loved Jonghyun’s smile. Oh, how she loved the way his lips would curl up in a sort of smirk, and then burst into a wide, white-toothed smile that seemed to light up the entire proximity.

 

Another, being, she loved the way his hands fit in hers. She loved how it seemed to feel like a jigsaw puzzle being solved after years of a missing piece, how it felt like they would never let go.

 

But what she loved to admit was that she had absolutely, definitely, fallen in love with him. There was just no denying it, and even if she was trying to by saying she didn’t, her eyes would always prove the opposite of . She could not lie.

 

Seo Joohyun loved Lee Jonghyun.

 

Their first dinner had been an utter success, of course.

 

But then again, most dinners upon a cruise ship were romantic. It wasn’t quite that big of a deal…until their first breakfast, first walk, first lunch, first game, first movie, and second dinner.

 

They hit it off fantastically – Jonghyun, with his charming ways, wit, and clumsiness, and Joohyun with her innocence, kindness, and compassion. One could say that they suited each other perfectly – and that was likely true, considering how well Joohyun tied Jonghyun’s tie on the night the cruise ship held a more formal dinner party.

 

Each person had come onto the cruise ship looking for anything but romance – in fact, quite the opposite. Joohyun, harshly scorned by a former lover, wanted to drown her sorrows in the glittering, blue ocean and crab-stuffed dinners all by her lonesome. Jonghyun had come in hopes of finding scenic pictures to use the following year in his photography class, determined to beat the passionate woman he had mistakenly given chance to stealing his work and taking credit for it.

 

They were both trying to rid of love.

 

That ended in disaster.

 

Nonetheless, the two were more than happy to forget about their previous desires and find a new sort of desire with each other.

 

A desire to be together.

 

Jonghyun and Joohyun spent every waking moment together – even a few sleeping moments. When they weren’t strolling along the ship together, they were huddled over the other’s notebook and camera, appreciating the genius that was their loved one.

 

By chance, perhaps, or by destiny as they believed, they had both come alone, and had no need to steal moments together. However, most of the other cruise passengers grew accustomed to seeing the two in each other’s arms, sometimes doing nothing more than staring lovingly into each other’s eyes and whispering sweet nothings.

 

However, there was a catch. In one month’s time, they would have to leave each other, and part ways to return home and away from the dream of a cruise they were on. The topic was brought up, now and then, but neither person wanted to discuss it. They wanted to enjoy every moment they had together.

 

Until one night, as they danced alone on the sky deck, Joohyun’s head resting upon Jonghyun’s chest and his arms wrapped firmly around her thin body, Joohyun was hit with the sad thought, that that dance would be the last time they danced together. “I’m going to miss you…” She muttered softly, after telling Jonghyun about the thought of them sharing a last dance.

 

Jonghyun nodded softly and reached up to her hair. “I’m never going to get to hold you again…”

 

Joohyun froze, momentarily, stumbled by his words. “N-never?” She pulled her head off of his chest and looked up at him, her expression concerned and slightly upset. “Won’t we keep in touch…?”

 

It was only a slip of a tongue, a small doubt and fear hidden inside Jonghyun’s mind, but somehow, it slid out before anything else. “Long-distance relationships usually don’t work out.”

 

And at that, Joohyun pulled herself straight out of his embrace, and clenched the skirt of her white dress with knuckles just as white. She bit her lip as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. There it was. The words she was afraid of hearing. He would not want to try to keep their relationship. “S-so, that’s it? You’re not going to try? I see how it is – “ And like him before her, her inner fears and thoughts came pouring out before she could stop them. “I’m just a fling for you to enjoy on this cruise, aren’t I? The moment we step off this ship – you’re done with me? I… I thought you loved me!” The tears began to fall, and Joohyun looked down at her bare feet. “I love you…”

 

“You think that I don’t love you?!” Jonghyun retorted incredulously. He couldn’t see her face, because now he was staring up at the suddenly bleak, gray sky, blinking back hurt tears.

 

“Do you?!”

 

“Do I?!”

 

Joohyun took a step back and put her hands up to her eyes, catching the beads of salt water as they fell onto her soft, shaking hands. “…I see. Then… I’ll go now. Good-bye, Lee Jonghyun.”

 

---

The next morning, Joohyun pulled her suitcase down the ramp from the ship to the dock – alone. Her shoes made no sound today, as she walked across the wooden dock and pulled her suitcase behind her, blinking back tears. In one, lonely moment, she turned around to look up at the ship again – and suddenly, it seemed so large and looming, like a storm cloud looking for a place to strike.

 

It was on that storm cloud that Joohyun had found love.

 

A tear ran down her cheek as she turned away, and hurriedly ran from the dock.

 

Atop the ship, staring over the side of the sky deck, Jonghyun took a few last pictures of the scenic ship he had come to love and hate. In one fleeting moment, he turned towards the dock, and thought he saw a familiar sun hat and instantly lifted his camera to snap a picture of the wind caressed lady.

 

Only, when he looked down at the picture he had captured, he found that the sun hat and its owner had gone.

 

Maybe it was just his imagination.

 

Maybe the entire love was just a dream he’d spun out of hurt over a broken heart.

 

Maybe the dream was real.

 

Jonghyun would never know.

 

---

"Settle down, settle down." Jonghyun sighed with agitation as he stepped into the class, setting down his camera on his temporary desk and casting a cursory glance over the class to make sure everyone was there. It had been a year since he had gone on that fateful cruise ship, and had since finished his photography class and moved on to find jobs as a photography teacher in, well, any place he could find. The current place being a college for the creative arts. It wasn't dull, but wasn't exciting -- he found that there was nothing that excited him anymore, not since he and Joohyun had parted ways. He'd dreamed of her coming back, but alas -- dreams were dreams, and she wasn't coming back.

"One person absent." He marked down the name on a sheet and cast it aside to pick up a stack of other papers, rifling through them with something that couldn't be anything but boredom. "Right, well... we have a new assistant teacher. Such little years of experience in photography, and a full-time teacher in English composition... who are they giving me, honestly. Someone open the door and let her in-- " He perked up as he read the name scrawled on the paper, and stood up instantly to watch as a pair of rose colored heels clip-clopped across the floor of the room. "It can't be..."

 

A shutter clicked, and Jonghyun blinked, surprised that the lady had taken a picture of him. She lowered the camera, and Jonghyun found himself gripping the desk so as not to fall over at the shock of seeing such a familiar smile. 

 

"Lee Jonghyun." Joohyun said softly, keeping up her smile as tears welled in her eyes. "Do short-distance relationships usually work?"