The sun shone brightly through the veranda, hitting my eyes. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, trying to shield my eyes from the sun. Last night, I had only slept a couple hours until I woke up again from a sudden chill. I didn’t realize I had left the balcony doors opened and groggily went over to close them. As I closed the doors, I caught a faint whiff of the ocean below. I tossed and turned in my bed, willing myself to sleep, but I couldn’t seem to. I could hear the ocean breaking in my head. Slinking out of my bed, I pulled on my bikini and quietly crept out of the house. I made a mad dash down the sand towards the shack to grab my surfboard in the back. Unlocking the rack where Boram and I kept our boards, my eyes fell upon the white swallowtail with a sky blue detailing. I gingerly picked the board up and the deck. “I’ve missed you beautiful,” I murmured. I rushed out onto the shore, excitement building. Watching the waves break, I waited for the right time. Somewhere far away, I saw the ground swell; my perfect wave. Charging the wave fully, I almost giggled with glee when I hit the water. The wave grew bigger with every I took to paddle towards it. The familiar sense of adrenaline took over me and I dove underneath the wave. The moment I caught air, a swell of exhilaration took over my body. I spent hours on the waves, carving the water with my board, and loving the feel. I only stopped when my knees buckled underneath me from sheer exhaustion. I dried off my board before placing it back in the rack. I petted it softly, whispering promises of returning the next morning, before I trudged back to the house. I had barely managed to change into clean clothes before I passed out on my bed in a blissful sleep.

The sounds of laughter poured into my room, finally bringing me to my feet. Rubbing my eyes, I walked outside and leaned against the balcony rail, watching adults and kids alike run on the sand or play in the water. Desire to be where the action was made me break away from the view and rush to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. I returned to my bedroom to slip on my bikini and a pair of jean shorts and a denim vest and headed out. But before I left, I peeked into my old room where Mr. Lee was staying. The door was left wide open, and no one was in the room. “Mr. Lee?” I called, walking downstairs. I was met with silence. “He must have already left to go back into the city,” I murmured. I popped a piece of bread into the toaster and rummaged through the fridge to grab a jar of chocolate spread and milk. I ate breakfast standing over the sink; it was faster than sitting down and it was one less plate for me to wash. I finished up and did the dishes before grabbing my keys from the kitchen counter and headed for the shack.

“Ji, you’re here!” Boram squealed when I walked through the entrance. Boram stood behind the counter, helping check out a smiling couple. I bowed to the couple before walking behind the counter and taking the bracelets Boram was about to ring up.

“I’ll do this for you. Don’t you have a lesson to teach?” I added up the total and told the couple the price. They handed me the cash and thanked me as I walked them to the door.

“Not yet. I have one in about half an hour.” Boram looked at my face with concerned. “You’re usually up before me. Did you sleep okay last night?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah. I was a little confused about where I was sleeping so I stayed in the second guest room. Is that okay?”

Boram looked at me with horror and smacked her forehead. “Oh my god I totally forgot to tell you someone was staying in your room! I’m so sorry!”

I laughed at her initial panic. “Chill Borammie it’s fine! I actually like the second guest room better. I get to see the sea.” Boram calmed down a bit before giving me a sheepish smile.

“Oh okay. Sorry for freaking out.”

I poked her forehead and grinned, deciding to more. “But you know, it would have been nice of you to wake me up before your father left so I could at least say ‘Hi.’”

A look of confusion crossed her face. “Appa? He wasn’t here last night. He dropped by a couple days ago to stock up the house.”

I let my hand fall, feeling totally lost. “He wasn’t here? Then who was staying in my room?”

Boram’s face turned a bright red. She turned away to try to hide a small smile. I raised my eyebrow and looked at her. “Lee Boram, who’s staying in my room?”

“Oh, that’s my-” A giggle escaped her lips. “It’s my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend!” I said incredulously. “Since when did you have a boyfriend?”

“For almost a year,” she admitted. Boram smiled softly as she recalled the moment. “It was right after you left last year. Remember when you had to leave early because your grandmother passed away? I was really upset that day I couldn’t go with you to support you, so I closed up shop and wandered around Busan. When it became darker, I was walking along the street when some drove by and splashed water all over me. I was completely soaked, and I almost started crying. But then, he came. He asked me if I was okay before taking off his jacket and taking me back to my house. When I came down from my shower, I found him cooking me food! Can you imagine that? He was just incredibly sweet. I found out he was on vacation and was visiting until school started even then, he visited me every day to make sure I was okay. Then, the day before he left, he asked me to be his girlfriend!”

“Aww, he sounds like your Prince Charming,” I said jokingly.

Boram sighed dreamily. “I hope he is. We kept in touch throughout the year and I convinced him to come work here for the summer.” She suddenly jerked up. “Oh Ji, you should meet him! He’s outside waxing and sorting stacking the surfboards! Go introduce yourself to him!”

Just then another woman came in. Boram shooed me out back while she scurried over to assist the customer. I poked my head out back to see if anyone was outside. Sure enough, I spotted a figure hunched over a surfboard; meticulously waxing its deck. “So that must be Borammie’s boyfriend,” I murmured, secretly appreciating his looks. His back was facing me, but I could see his bronzed skin and his thin figure. “He’s probably really cute.” Boram’s boyfriend straightened up and went to stack the board he had finished waxing. I could make out his side profile from there. He wore an ed faded collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. ”He’s really attractive,” I thought, eyeing his toned abs from where I was. My eyes trailed up to his face, and I gasped. “No. it couldn’t be.” I took a step closer, trying to get a clearer look at his face. He noticed me approaching him from the corner of his eye and turned to look at me. A light of recognition flashed through his eyes and his shocked expression matched mine.

“Kim Jongin?”

__________________________________________________________________

Jongin and I stared at each other, lost for words.

“Ji Yeon?” I spun around to see Boram appear from the shack, watching us curiously. She saw Jongin and quickly skipped over here. “I see you’ve met my boyfriend.”

Boyfriend. The word snapped me out of my trance. I plastered on a smile and bowed formally to him. “It’s nice to see you.”

Jongin smiled back warmly at me. “It’s nice to see you too. How has school been for you? Still getting lost in the hallways?”

He remembers me. I blushed and smiled guiltily. “Only when I’m tired.”

Boram looked between of us, completely confused. “You two know each other?”

“We go to the same school,” he admitted.

Boram clapped her hands in excitement. “You should have told me! This is so awesome! I was a bit nervous about the two of you working together, but now that I know you know each other, everything should be fine!” Squeals could be heard from inside the shack and three kids burst through the door. “Oh that’s my 12:30! Jongin, Ji, can you two man the front for me?”

 Jongin nodded and I gave her a feeble thumbs up. Boram smiled and hugged me before giving Jongin a quick peck on the lips. “Thanks you too, love you bye!” she said quickly before running off to entertain the children, leaving Jongin and me alone.

“She’s a handful, isn’t she?” I murmured. “Boram’s like a talking whirlwind.”

“Yeah,” Jongin answered softly. “She is.” The two of us headed back towards the shop without a word. I quietly trailed behind him, trying to erase the soft smile he showed me earlier. My heart ached to think he was already so head over heels for her, but the gentle look in his eyes could only prove my point. The subtle nagging in the back of my mind couldn't help but point out how good they looked together.

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A/N:

And enter the main character. 

What do you think so far? Feel free to leave comments or upvote or reccomend this to others ;) Hopefully I can crank out another chapter soon, but I'm going to take the SAT again this week so I have to do well! >~<

 But until then, thanks for all the support! <3

- Li Niao x