Jae Joong smiled as he took a glance at his watch - exactly thirty minutes to twelve noon.

He was thirty minutes early, which was surprising as he was never a man of punctuality. He would be meeting Violette soon. Just the thought of her brought a smile to his face. Just a day before, they had had a wonderful time together and most importantly, Violette had promised to present him a poem in complement for his painting that he had done for her. He could not hide his happiness and excitement at the thought of it, as he found himself staring blankly into space and grinning like an idiot. But of course, what made his heart flutter most violently was the thought of spending yet another lovely day with her. She was nothing like those hypocrites who had fallen only for his looks and social status; she was the most genuine creature he had ever met. He dared to say he had even fallen for her, but did she feel the same way as he did? He did not know and dared not inquire.

"Hey Shin, sorry I'm late." The sight of a breathless Violette brought him out of his thoughts.

He took a second look at his watch - it was only a minute past twelve. Jae Joong chuckled at BoA's apologetic countenance, saying, "It's perfectly alright, you're only a minute late! Moreover, I understand that beauties need time to dress up too." He winked at her, at the same time stealing a glance at her simplistic yet ravishing outfit.

BoA blushed at his words. It was just so hard to resist his charm. Afraid that he would catch sight of her burning cheeks, she promptly looked away while she answered sheepishly, "Well, let's...get going then."

Jae Joong nodded with a smile. Picking his bag up from the couch, he casually swung it over his shoulder. "Where are we going today?" He asked curiously, catching up with BoA's hastened steps.

"You'll find out in no time." BoA answered teasingly, smiling to herself.

Soon they arrived at a small fishing village at the other side of the beach which they frequented. The site was crowded with people. There were many of the locals but few of the tourists as they had observed, as this place was not listed as part of the tourists' attractions.

"How did you find out about this place?" Jae Joong asked, his eyes scanning across the fishing village.

A playful smile sneaked up BoA's lips, "It's a secret."

"Why are you being so secretive?" he laughed, amused.

And she had only answered with a smile. Well, it was no great secret to be kept from him in actual fact - she had merely stumbled upon the fishing village during one of her night walks along the beach - it was the effect of it she was interested in. Being secretive was fun to her, and she hardly had chances on playing it so she would not miss this opportunity in being the Miss Secretive, especially in front of Shin.

"So we're gonna fish today I see?" Jae Joong's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yep," she replied cheerfully, "I've never tried this before so I thought it'd be cool to give it a try."

"This is my first time fishing too." He added on, while pointing at two fishing sticks to the boy behind the counter.

"Really?" BoA asked surprisingly, "I didn't expect that."

Jae Joong handed over to the counter boy some pennies for the rental fees of the fishing sticks and the baits. "Why? What's so surprising about me not fishing before?"

"Well," she began, "I've always thought that artists like to fish because it kinda trains their patience."

"That," he paused, "is some weird theory you have." He said, trying not to smile as he picked up the pail of fishing sticks and baits from the counter.

"Hey my theory makes sense!" BoA retorted.

Moving alongside the fishing bay, the duo exchanged words of bickering while they searched for a suitable spot to settle down. It took them just a few minutes before they soon found an empty spot, away from the crowd, and sat down comfortably. Taking the fishing sticks out of the pail, they started attaching the bails to the hooks.

Time flew and it was soon near evening. It had been a good number of hours while they were at fishing, but however, it was not to their realization that time had passed so fast until the sight of sunset caught their attention. Their enjoyment of one another's company had caused them both to lose track of time.

"Time sure flies," Jae Joong commented, getting up from his sitting posture.

BoA looked up at the sky, amazed at the rapid pass of time, "Wow, I didn't even know it's so late already."

Packing up, they picked up their pail of accomplishment (it had been a fruitful day indeed!) and returned the fishing sticks to the counter. Jae Joong was about to head towards the barbeque pit at the other side of the fishing village when BoA stopped him.

"Hey let's not eat these fishes."

Jae Joong turned back to see a frowning Violette, "Why not?"

"Hmm...I can't bear to kill them. Let's get something else instead."

"Alright," Jae Joong shook his head in amusement, laughing, "your wish."

BoA grinned upon hearing his agreement. She grabbed his hand happily and led him to a nearby food centre, unaware of their intimacy. Jae Joong's heartbeat accelerated as he looked down towards their interlinked hands, feeling the touch of her hand. His lips curved up to a smile as he allowed himself to be directed by her.

*

It was night time when the pair had arrived at their favorite beach after their sumptuous dinner. Millions of stars glittered brightly in the night sky, illuminating the grey sea and the long black seashore. They strolled along the beach, watched as the startled little waves leaped at their feet. It was a romantic scene that was painted before them, and both wondered the same thing as they respectively stole a glance at their unlinked hands.

Feeling the awkward silence between them, Jae Joong began, "Uh...I've never knew the night scene of a beach can be this beautiful."

"Yeah..." BoA responded in agreement, feeling slightly embarrassed by their former silence, "it's lovely."

Silence fell upon them once again as Jae Joong knew not what else to say. He knocked himself mentally for not being able to continue the conversation between the two of them, and hoped for the other party to embark on a new topic. His wish was not fulfilled, however, and they both settled down and lied onto the soft sand after moments of walking.

A long silence persisted between the two before Jae Joong finally found courage to talk. "So...how did you end up in Bahamas?"

BoA was stunned at his question for a moment. She had not expected him to inquire about her past. It took her a few moments to answer him, as she struggled whether or not to tell him what really happened between Jung Hoon and her.

"I..." BoA finally replied after a short hesitation, "I was running away from...something."

Jae Joong's head immediately jerked towards her as he heard her answer. It was the exact same reason as his!

Shocked by the parity in their experience, Jae Joong exclaimed in disbelieve, "That was my reason for coming here too!"

BoA laughed in relief as she turned to face her company, "I can't believe we're here for the same reason."

Their heads soon turned back to face the glamorous night sky as they both had the intention to discontinue the topic. Suddenly hit by remembrance that Violette owed him a poem, Jae Joong promptly asked for it.

"By the way, I think you still owe me something." He said playfully, still facing the sky.

"Uh?" It took her a moment before she recalled their agreement. "Oh, the poem! Yes yes I'm ready with it, don't worry."

"Uh-huh...well...?"

"Okay okay, here it is." BoA paused as she cleared , her tone suddenly turned all serious as she recited her composition.

"Swirl of turbulent colors," She began, closing her eyes. "dying down into darkness."

Jae Joong slowly turned his head towards her as she indulged herself in her poem.

"Closure to an episode of life," her voice aloud in his ears, "yet a start of a new beginning."

She smiled gracefully as she finished off her poem. Jae Joong blinked; mesmerized by the breathtaking lady before him. Her smile...it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

"That was...perfect," Jae Joong whispered, marveling at her smile.

"Why, thank you." BoA replied gratefully as she reopened her eyes and turned towards him, "Thank you for your kind compliment for my composition."

Their eyes met for a moment but the eye-contact was soon broken off by Jae Joong in embarrassment of his prolonged stare at her face. Moments passed while the both of them were engaged in their own thoughts, too embarrassed to start a new conversation. Jae Joong had so badly wanted to tell her how he felt towards her, but kept mum about it in fear of her rejection towards his confession. It was long before he stole a glance at her face after several hours of silence and found that she was asleep.

He took a closer look at her sleeping face - one so peaceful and serene. She looked just like a fallen angel. Reaching out his hand, he gently brushed her fringe aside as he continued to admire her features. He was never this close to her...

Unknowingly, he found himself grew nearer and near towards her, his lips lowering on her forehead. He closed his eyes as his lips softly touched her forehead, imprinting on it a tender kiss. He swiftly removed himself from her as she stirred slightly in her sleep, but was soon relieved to find that she was not awakened.

He just wished time would stop at this instance.

Copyright Jen 2008-2011