His fingers sank into the silky sand, making a squelching sound as he pulled it out of the ground. Carefully, Ryeowook placed his handful of silt in path of the approaching tide. In its rush, the speeding water tripped over and onto his fingers, pulling back with the black sand in its grasp. After a couple more waves, the result was a handful of clean, miniscule shells.

Satisfied, Ryeowook sat back and began to count his findings. Each shell was like the kind you could find on any beach only smaller. About the size of his fingernail.

He was scrutinizing a conical spiral when a shadow fell over him. Ryeowook’s chest tightened when he saw who it was.

“Hey, Kyuhyun.”

The taller eyed him closely before responding.

“Hey,” he finally said, “Find anything good?”

Ryeowook shrugged, turning away. He wasn’t really up to talking right now. Not after he’d essentially been rejected on the ferry. Some friend Kyu was. And it wasn’t like Ryeowook was upset or anything. At least he hadn’t humiliated himself this time.

Kyuhyun plopped down next to him (well, more like slowly kneeled because his back still hurt) and adjusted so he was facing Ryeowook.

“What do you have there?” He asked, motioning towards Ryeowook’s closed hand.

“Oh, um…” he glanced at his hand in panic, “…shells.” He replied, momentarily forgetting what they were called.

“Really? I didn’t know there were ones under the sand.”

“Oh, well … yeah.” Ryeowook smiled weakly. He felt like an idiot.

Kyuhyun’s critical expression was only making things worse. He wasn’t sure if the other was waiting to see if he would break down or if he was trying to make him break down. Either way, it was uncomfortable.

“So, have you found any shells?” Ryeowook inquired, desperately hoping to redirect some of the attention he was receiving.

“A couple,” Kyuhyun shrugged, finally blinking, “I’ve never shell-searched before so I wasn’t really sure where to start.”

 “The beach is a good place to start.”

Kyuhyun laughed. The sound startled Ryeowook. It was just a chuckle, but it was a reminder that for all the veils he could put up, Kyuhyun was still a dork underneath.

“Well, no wonder these things were never lying around in Seoul.” He said glancing at his own hand which probably held his shells.

Ryeowook smiled, “That’s why you came here right? To find yourself some dollar store seashells?”

“Of course!” the taller replied without hesitation, “Why would I go to the dollar store when I can handpick my shells halfway across the world? I love customization!”

Ryeowook hurriedly covered his mouth, but a laugh slipped out regardless. Glancing up, he saw that Kyuhyun was looking at him with a sparkle in his eyes. And he knew, whatever strangeness that had taken over the last few days, was long behind them.

****

“This one’s kind of pretty.” Kyuhyun held up the shell to the sun. It was a soft pinkish color, so thin the light could nearly shine through it.

Seohyun considered it for a moment. Then she shook her head.

“No, too fragile. Let’s look at these spiral ones, instead.”

Kyuhyun sighed and placed the shell back into its designated pile.

There were about ten of them, all neatly lined up on the beach towel. Spiraled, ridged, clam-like; they had obsessively organized them all. It was an impressive classification, considering neither of them knew anything about seashells. Kyuhyun almost felt proud.

“Here. How about this one?” Seohyun handed him a large smooth shell from the looks-like-a cartoon pile.

“Well…” he rubbed his finger over it, “It’s nice. Pretty.”

“But…?”

“It’s kind of plain,” he admitted, “I mean, the brown is fine but common don’t you think?”

“Point taken.” Seohyun returned the shell and began searching the other piles.

It was all in good fun.

Earlier, about an hour into their beach time, Ryeowook had realized the couple wasn’t having any and had suggested a silly competition to see who could find the best seashells. He probably didn’t mean “scour the beach for an hour, find all eligible shells, clean them of sand, and then critique each one based on size, shape, and texture” but then again, he didn’t say not to do that. And they’d had fun doing that. Kyuhyun had had fun doing that. In fact, organizing seashells by a dichotomous key? It was the most fun he’d had all week.

Well, with Seohyun anyhow.

Perhaps some part of him was troubled by how much better they worked as business partners compared to romantic partners. It seemed very backwards. But he didn’t ponder it too much. No, there was too much fun to be had.

****

“Okay,” Ryeowook laughed; the initial awkwardness between them finally gone, “Come on. Let’s see your shells.”

Suddenly, Kyuhyun’s expression dropped. He suddenly looked dead serious, almost angry, and Ryeowook panicked thinking he’d said something wrong. Kyuhyun spoke: “Show me yours first.”

It took a second for him to react. “What?” he said incredulously, “Why would I show you mine first?”

“Because I said so.”

Ryeowook narrowed his eyes, “This isn’t a competition, Kyuhyun.”

“Actually,” the taller injected, “It is. Best shells get free lunch, right? Or were you just saying that?”

 “Showing me what you have isn’t going to diminish the quality of either of our shells now open your hand.”

“No.”

“Kyuhyun…”

“I asked first.”

“No you didn’t!”

“Yes, I did,” Kyuhyun insisted, “I said ‘What do you have there?’ and you said ‘Shells’ but then you didn’t show them to me.”

“That’s not asking me to show you my shells!”

“It was implied.”

“I’m not giving in based on an implication, Kyuhyun.”

“A sufficient answer would have required you to show me ‘what you have there.’”

“But I asked you straightforward to show me!” Ryeowook complained, “I asked first!”

Kyuhyun smirked, obviously relishing in his reaction, “You realize I’m a lawyer, right? I could run circles around your arguments all day.”

Finally, Ryeowook relented. This conversation, though completely pointless, just proved that despite everything, they were back to normal. Ryeowook was willing to settle for that much. He liked their normal.

Sighing, he held out his hand revealing the handful of tiny shells he’d collected. Kyuhyun leaned closer to get a better look. After scrutinizing the pieces for a moment, he peered up at his friend.

“That’s it?”

Ryeowook flicked him.

*****

“How do you think sea shells are formed?”

“Don’t crabs and stuff find them to live in?”

Seohyun sighed, “Yes, hermit crabs do that. But where do the original shells come from?”

Kyuhyun frowned, “Clams?”

“I think they grow them.” Seohyun stuck in her opinion seeing as her boyfriend was completely useless.

“What, clams?”

“Mollusks.”

“What are mollusks?”

“Things that grow shells.”

“Wait, clams grow mollusks?”

“Clams grow shells!”

“So clams are mollusks?”

“I guess so!”

“Well, if you know that mollusks grow the shells and clams are mollusks then what was the point of your question?”

“I don’t know! Conversation?”

They fell silent.

“That was a lousy conversation.”

“Oh, forget it Kyuhyun.”

“I’m just saying, if you’re going to ask a question then you probably shouldn't know the answer-”

“I said forget it!”

Silence.

“If hermit crabs need shells, why didn’t they evolve them?”

“Kyuhyun, that’s like asking why humans didn’t evolve fur instead of clothing.”

“How is my question anything like that?”

“Because, just like humans and clothing, hermit crabs will grow using one shell but when they grow too big they will get a bigger shell. Like a new outfit.”

“They change everything then?”

“When it doesn't fit them anymore, yes.”

“That’s interesting.”

“It is.”

…

“See, that’s how you start a conversation.”

“Kyuhyun…!”

*****

“Do you want to hear me sing?”

“What?” Ryeowook looked over at his friend. Kyuhyun was supposed to be finding more shells for Seohyun, but instead he was sitting in the sand, doodling, while Ryeowook rinsed out more mini shells by the sea.

“I haven’t sung in a while,” he said without looking up, “Do you want to hear what I sound like?”

Ryeowook blinked at him for a moment, “Um, yeah. Sure, why not? Given that you’ve listened to me perform multiple times without permission it’s only fair you sing for me.”

He saw the other’s lips quirk up in a smile. “Have any preferences?” He asked.

Ryeowook thought for a moment. “How about ‘Goose’s Dream’?”

“Aw, really? That is so overdone.”

“But I like that song. And you probably know all the lyrics.”

“Every singer in Seoul knows all the lyrics.”

“Well, then sing it singer.”

Kyuhyun peered up at him, a twinge of annoyance on his face. Ryeowook just smiled and sat cross-legged, like a good little audience. Straightening himself, the handsome male hummed a few notes, took a deep breath, and began to sing. A warm, textured voice poured out swiftly capturing all of Ryeowook’s attention. The richness of Kyuhyun’s voice was something unlike any he’d ever heard.

The other wasn’t singing very loudly and Ryeowook found himself edging closer for more of that voice. Kyuhyun had his eyes closed in concentration, but the way his voice flowed out, you would have thought it effortless.

Halfway through the song, he stopped. Coughing slightly, he looked at Ryeowook sadly. “Sorry, I haven’t been practicing lately. My stamina’s weak.”

Ryeowook blinked. He opened his mouth then closed it. “Kyuhyun…” he breathed.

“You don’t have to say anything,” the taller smiled at the sand, “I felt the same thing about your voice.”

Then he turned back to his sand drawings, leaving Ryeowook sitting there, stunned. 

That was the first time Kyuhyun had sung for anyone in eight years, but he had no way of knwoing that.

*****

 “You know what I just realized?” Seohyun spoke interrupting his shell sorting, “There are only two endgames for any relationship: You either get married or you break-up.”

Kyuhyun thought about that. “You could die.”

“Everyone dies.”

“I suppose that's true," he looked up to see Seohyun still counting her mussel shells. “Why do you bring this up?” He asked, suddenly curious.

Seohyun frowned at the ground, “We’re not dying. At least, not rapidly. We’re not married. And I’m still not planning to. So where does that leave us?”

Kyuhyun didn’t say anything for a moment. When he realized Seohyun wasn’t going to look up at him, he turned back to his own shells. “It leaves us where we’ve always been. Waiting.”

It took a second before he heard reply. “Yes,” her voice steady but unsure, “but we aren't the patient type now are we...”

*****

“That’s a rock.”

Ryeowook rolled his eyes at him, “Really? I didn’t realize.”

“We’re looking for seashells. Why are you showing me rock?” Kyuhyun said with a smirk, “You aren’t trying to distract me to get an upper hand are you?”

Ryeowook snorted, “As if I need another hand on you. No, look,” he held out the stone, “It’s a heart.”

Kyuhyun leaned down a bit to observe the grey stone. It was about the size of a bottle cap and did indeed have a slightly misshapen heart of white drawn in the center.

 “You know,” he said, staring at the rock, “the commercial heart we use today was first imaged by the Greeks who based it on the shape of one of their goddesses bending over. It was literally a symbol for physical beauty, but today we use it as a symbol of love. It’s almost like we’re saying modern day love and lust are the same thing. Isn't that interesting?” He looked up to see Ryeowook staring at him with a rather disapproving look. "What?"

“I don’t think you could have found a more un-romantic way to respond.”

Kyuhyun laughed. “I don’t see why I would want use my wooing skills on you.”

He was pleased to see the shorter look downwards as his face turned red. “Well, I can sure see why Seohyun doesn’t want to marry you.” Ryeowook mumbled.

“Oh, ouch!” Kyuhyun covered his chest in fake hurt, “What a low blow.”

The shorter rolled his eyes again, though his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Kyuhyun realized he looked endearing that way. He'd have to embarass him more often.

“I was going to have you give it to Seohyun,” Ryeowook admitted, “but if you’ve ever told her that little fun fact maybe hearts aren’t the way to go.”

“Probably not,” Kyuhyun agreed, “Though she’d probably just be pissed off enough at me for giving her a something someone else threw away.”

Ryeowook crinkled his forehead, confused, “What do you mean? This rock wasn’t anyone else’s.”

Now Kyuhyun was confused, “Of course it was. Are you telling me someone just goes around painting rocks to leave on the beach?”

“This wasn’t painted.”

“There’s a white heart on it.”

Ryeowook didn’t say anything to that. Instead, he turned around and started walking up shore. Kyuhyun was startled for a second, but then quickly ran after him. They stopped when they got to a large spread of rocks.

Bending down, Ryeowook picked out several grey stones, each with splotches of white on them. He held them out for Kyuhyun to see.

“It’s not paint. It’s sea salt. Ocean tides run over these rocks and the salt starts accumulating over time. They usually just look like blobs but the salt on this one just happens to look like a heart.”

Kyuhyun blinked, feeling a new awe at seeing the same stone again. He was no romantic (he had proved that already) but with Ryeowook standing there holding a very different heart, something clicked. 

“Wow,” he said slowly, “That’s actually pretty unique.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Ryeowook smiled brightly, “You still want it?” He asked, holding out the grey rock, “You don’t have to give it Seohyun. You could just keep it as a souvenir.”

Hesitantly, Kyuhyun nodded, “Yeah, okay.” He tentatively reached out, fingers brushing the soft skin of Ryeowook’s palm, and gently lifted the stone from his hand.

He ran his fingers over it before looking at it. The surface was rough but the heart on it was almost smooth. Kyuhyun didn’t know why he thought it was paint when the white actually had little crystals of salt glimmering in it. The overtly simple stone was really, very interesting.

Kyuhyun looked up. Ryeowook was watching him, a sweet smile in his eyes. Suddenly, Kyuhyun felt embarrassed and silly, holding a rock like it was a little treasure. Closing his hand over the stone, he looked down.

“Well what do you know? I come looking for shells but you give me a rock instead.” He joked.

“You won’t always find what you look for.”

"What a comforting thought."

But his friend’s soft voice was alluring and smooth and Kyuhyun found himself locking eyes with the petite man again. An exciting buzz ran down his back and despite his pounding heart, he smiled. He liked this.

Seohyun and Kyuhyun won. Obviously. One does not simply beat a twenty shell classification system. Ryeowook didn’t seem to mind though. It might have helped that Seohyun was fascinated by the tiny shells he’d collected unlike Yoona.

He paid completely for lunch at a seafood house by the beach. Kyuhyun almost insisted they hunt down their own seafood after seeing the prices (seriously, the view wasn’t that great) but Ryeowook refused saying they’d earned a break.

It was a bit awkward at first. Seohyun and Yoona didn’t seem to be on the speaking terms they had been last night. In fact, they seemed to be the awkward ones this time around. However, Seohyun was acting much nicer to Ryeowook. Always dragging him into the conversation.

And Ryeowook was pliable that way. He blended into their conversation flawlessly, talking about skincare and desserts, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still reserve some attention for Kyuhyun. The two exchanged looks and banter mostly. Kyuhyun had the rock tucked into his pocket. He hadn’t even shown Seohyun yet and he didn’t want to. It was kind of like their secret.

After lunch, they headed back outside. They could wait by the docking area, right by the ferry. Ryeowook told them to stay as he and Yoona went to get tickets. Time to go back, unfortunately. Kyuhyun liked watching Ryeowook run. His hair would bounce with every step.

As he watched from the railing, Seohyun walked up beside him. He didn’t look her way, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear what she had to say.

“I want to break up.”

Props to anyone who understood the chapter title. My English teacher would be so proud. =) The scenes were mostly not in chronological order but does recount their morning at the beach. 

Hopefully I won't make you wait too long before the next update. As always, let me know what you thought because I love feedback!