Myungsoo grumbled the whole way to the beach, still not understanding his best friend's reason for wanting to go there during the hottest day of the summer when they could stay indoors where there was air conditioning, and a blatant lack of mobs of sweaty, noisy people.

"I told you," Sungyeol repeated, one hand on the steering wheel, "the beach is a perfect place to go. Besides, there will be tons of girls there. Girls on beaches means bikinis, and how can I pass up an opportunity for that?" 

Myungsoo just rolled his eyes. "You're disgusting, you know that? And why are you dragging me along to this? I don't even like girls." The younger of the two muttered begrudgingly.

"There will be guys there too, . I'm sure there will be some hot ones in between all the overweight middle-aged men. Keep an eye out for six-packs." Sungyeol teased, and Myungsoo had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes again.

"Right, because I'm definitely after the ones where the only thing lower than their IQ is the SPF in their tanning oil." 

Sungyeol scoffed, "I didn't say you had to marry them. A little looking never hurt anyone."

"And I repeat: you're disgusting."

"All men are, Myungsoo. Better get used to it if you're going to end up with one." Sungyeol all but sang.

"If you're as good as it gets, I'd rather stay single." Myungsoo retaliated, flinching when the taller of the two reached over and smacked him playfully. 

"Fine, fine, you hold onto your Prince Charming fantasy, but you're not going to find him on a beach so you might as well enjoy the view for a while." Sungyeol concluded as the he pulled the car into the beach parking lot nearest to the pier that extended out into the water.

"Let's start here." The taller boy suggested, glancing out the window. Myungsoo followed his gaze and clicked his tongue as he saw what his friend was staring at. There was a large group of people at the end of the pier, laughing and jumping off the end, that consisted mainly of scantily-clad women. 

"Sungyeol, really?" Myungsoo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? They're hot. And a few of them look foreign. It gives me a good chance to try out my English skills." The older boy defended himself.

"What English skills?" Myungsoo retorted, "I'm pretty sure you don't know much past 'hello' and 'where's the bathroom?' and neither of those will get you anywhere with them."

"They will if you use them correctly." Sungyeol winked, and Myungsoo wrinkled his nose in pseudo distaste.

"You're-"

"Disgusting, I know. Now let's get going. There's guys over there too, maybe you'll get lucky." Sungyeol said before shutting off the car and stepping out, leaving Myungsoo to follow him. The younger boy grumbled bitterly as he did exactly that.

 

Walking alongside his friend, Myungsoo inspected the group that Sungyeol had pointed out. Most of the men there were busy flexing or checking to make sure that a girl was looking before they attempted to show off by doing a flip off the end of the pier.

"Too much testosterone to be gay." Myungsoo muttered under his breath, and Sungyeol laughed loudly.

"What, are flower boys your type?"

"No, but neither are egotistical s."

"Which explains why you have a crush on me, I'm perfect." Sungyeol stated, grinning.

"Oh please, I'd never lower my standards that far. You're ugly." Myungsoo teased in reply.

"We both know I'm hot. Don't deny you'd me if you could." Sungyeol laughed, and Myungsoo rolled his eyes again.

"You bet. I fantasize about it every night. Now take your heteroual asslessness and go find someone new to harass." 

Sungyeol opened his mouth to retort just as one of the girls from the larger group caught his eye and smiled, and with an "I'll catch you later, go have fun", he walked away from Myungsoo and towards the all too welcoming female.

The younger boy sighed inaudibly and walked over to one of the benches on the side of the pier, sitting down in the shade cast over it by a tree planted just beside the protruding extension of the land.

Wishing he had brought a book, or something else to curb his inevitable boredom, Myungsoo took to an old hobby of his - people watching. 

 

Though most of the people on the pier didn't hold his attention long, Myungsoo's gaze wandered to a group of three guys who seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. 

Myungsoo could only see the back of one's head, but he could see that the man was average height and quite built, though still fairly thin, and had dark brown hair. The next boy stood a little taller than the first, and he had a young, feminine face. He had light brown hair and pale, smooth skin so perfect he seemed to be almost surreal. The third boy was the shortest of the group, and Myungsoo could only assume that his hair was dyed because though it at first had seemed to be a plain black, every so often, the boy would turn his head and Myungsoo would catch a glimpse of a dark blue as the sun caught it. The boy's face seemed to be stuck in a permanent grin, and when he threw his head back, his playful laughter rang through all the other noise of the day. It lasted a good few seconds before he fell back into conversation with his friends, and Myungsoo found himself captivated by the animated manner in which the boy spoke. His hand gestures were exuberant and his facial expressions told a story all on their own. 

Myungsoo hadn't realized he was staring until the boy he was looking at caught his eye. He froze, nervous as to how the stranger would react, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the cheerful boy merely flashed him a quick grin and returned to his conversation.

 

Myungsoo decided then to pick something else to focus on, though admittedly he'd glance back at the smiling boy every so often, just to check if that grin of his ever left his face. 

It didn't.

Myungsoo kept watching carefully for a few minutes until he had effectively zoned out, stuck thinking on random nothingness for a few minutes until he snapped back into the present by a ringing peal of the unmistakeable sound of the boy's laughter. Myungsoo blinked a few times, focusing his vision and glancing around only to find that the trio had moved elsewhere, though with the shortest's laughter still loud and clear, Myungsoo found it wasn't difficult to locate them again. The boy whose back had been turned to Myungsoo previously was now facing him, and Myungsoo noted that his features were sharp, angular, and his teeth, exposed by a smile, were perfect. He was quite attractive, but upon thought, Myungsoo concluded that all three of the boys there together were attractive in different ways. The tallest one was inarguably, well...pretty. There was no other way to put it. He was tall and his features were soft and feminine, and he was almost alarmingly thin. The middle one was what Myungsoo rationed to be the stereotypical good looking, with sharp features and a handsome face, not to mention a muscular, toned body. The shortest boy, the smiling one, had a sort of...innocence to him, which rooted from his ever present smile and the playful glint in his eyes. He was also muscular, though not as much as the other boy, but regardless, his arms were toned and the subtle ridges of well-built abs were clear in the sunlight. He had a sharp jawline, and his collarbones were defined, though not in any way that looked unhealthy- 

Myungsoo hadn't realized that he was staring again until the boy caught his eye again, and he had just enough time to catch another smile flashed in his direction before he looked away, embarrassed. He'd been caught staring twice now; the boy probably thought he was some kind of stalker.

 

Myungsoo made sure not to so much as blink in their direction for a while, until finally, he got bored of averting his eyes and he finally looked over to see that the one with the dark brown hair had climbed up onto the ledge of the pier and was preparing to jump. As both of the other boys were focused on their friend, Myungsoo felt it was safe to watch now. The boy looked over at his friends before diving gracefully into the water, but something seemed off to Myungsoo. The boy had dove awfully close to the edge of the pier, and all the other divers seemed to have been aiming out more. 

Myungsoo's suspicions were confirmed when the boy broke from the surface of the water and he was biting his lip. He seemed as if he was trying to keep a straight face, but pain was written all over his features.

Myungsoo felt his stomach clench when the boy began to climb up the ladder back up to the top of the pier and his left leg was painted scarlet from the blood oozing out of a deep cut.

Myungsoo watched as the two of his friends noticed the injury too, and they ran over to help pull him to the top.

The injured boy insisted that he was fine, but the other two wouldn't hear it, and they quickly went to go sit him down.

 

By the time they had gotten him back up, however, most of the other people on the pier had noticed the wound on the boy, and they all quickly gathered around, flocking in the strange way people usually did whenever there was something to look at. Myungsoo had stayed back, seeing no need to crowd the boy unless he needed help, but he seemed fine in the care of his two friends. The feminine one was sitting next to him on the bench two over from Myungsoo, making sure he was alright, and the shortest boy had disappeared.

Wondering where he could be, Myungsoo glanced around for the defining smile. In the throng of people swarming the injured boy, there was a quick flash of that deep blue, and Myungsoo's eyes followed it to where the sun was hitting the boy's hair. He seemed to be trying to make his way back to his friend, but the crowd was inadvertently pushing him away. 

With people all pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of the injury, the smiling boy was moved around easily, and in order to try and get back to his friends, he climbed up onto the ledge of the pier and began walking precariously back towards them. Myungsoo caught the boy's eye for a mere half second before the group of people all shifted again, and the boy was pushed over the edge of the pier. 

It was only then that Myungsoo got up, concerned now. What if he had fallen too close to the edge, and hit the rocks at the bottom the same way his friend did? 

Myungsoo walked to the edge of the pier now, away from the crowd but close to where the smiling boy went in, and his concern grew. The boy hadn't come up yet.

 

Shouting broke out from the crowd of people, and Myungsoo turned around to see the source of the noise. The injured boy and the feminine looking one seemed frantic, and they had stood up and were glancing around wildly.

Myungsoo made out the shouted words "where's Dongwoo?" that were being repeated over and over again. Was Dongwoo the smiling boy? Myungsoo could only assume so. 

A split second passed before he looked over at the injured boy, and both him and the feminine boy followed Myungsoo's gaze to shift back over the edge if the pier.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion now as a head emerged from the surface of the water, ignored by most of the crowd.

It was the smiling boy, only he wasn't smiling anymore. 

Panic contorted his face, and he glanced up, meeting eyes with Myungsoo for a half second before disappearing under the water.

The reality clicked in Myungsoo's head at the same second that the injured boy shouted from inside the throng of confused people.

 

He can't swim.

 

Myungsoo blinked, and everything shifted back into normal speed. Before he could even think what to do, he had taken his shirt off and dove off the edge of the pier, careful to avoid the rocks as he hit the water. 

Myungsoo broke the surface quickly, glancing around for the frantic boy, but he hadn't come back up again. Feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency, Myungsoo scanned the water around him, feeling his heart skip a beat when he saw a flash of pale skin a few feet below the surface a little over a metre away from him. 

Taking a deep breath, Myungsoo dove and kicked hard, hands extended until they closed around the jerking arms of the submerged boy. Myungsoo kicked upwards now, aiming for the surface, dragging the deadweight of Dongwoo with him.

It wasn't easy, as the other boy was still in panic mode, kicking and wiggling, desperate to get to the surface, unaware that he was being aided.

Myungsoo's lungs were screaming for breath as he swam as hard as he could back towards the surface, but he was getting no where. The other boy was still panicking, moving wildly as he tried to save himself. Myungsoo felt the smaller boy's attempts growing weaker now, though, and he knew he didn't have much time left to get him above the water.

Summoning all the strength he possibly could, Myungsoo kicked towards the surface, determined not to let this stranger go. What felt like minutes but was only seconds passed, and finally, they broke the surface, and Myungsoo quickly looped an arm around the waist of Dongwoo, who seemed even smaller than before now that he was next to him.

"Hold still, it's okay, I've got you," Myungsoo said, trying to keep his voice calm as he kicked his feet, trying to keep the two of them above the water, "I've got you, you're safe." Myungsoo assured him, and he looked over at him, locking eyes with the boy's wild ones, alive with panic though his body was limp.

Time slowed down again as their eyes stayed connected as seconds ticked by, and eventually, the smaller boy stopped struggling. Myungsoo managed to swim them both back to the pier, where the boy immediately reached out and grabbed onto the first rung of the ladder. 

"You're okay now, I'm not gonna let you drown." Myungsoo said, keeping his voice low and steady.

Dongwoo nodded slowly as he tried to catch his breath, and Myungsoo swam in spot next to him, ready to help him again if needed. 

 

Slowly, the boy's frantic, desperate breaths returned to a normal pace, and he closed his eyes for a second before opening them, though now the panic was gone and they were friendly again.

"Th-thank you.."

"Myungsoo." The taller boy filled in, and the other boy nodded.

"Thank you Myungsoo. I'm Dongwoo..and you just saved my life."

"It was nothing, Dongwoo." Myungsoo replied, not noticing that the rest of the world hadn't faded away as he looked into the eyes of the boy whose smile had returned, though more subdued this now.

"I'd've drowned if it weren't for you..thank you." Dongwoo repeated.

"You're welcome, and, uh...sorry for staring earlier. I wasn't trying to be weird or anything, I just-"

"It's okay," Dongwoo cut him off with a breathless laugh, "I think you're cute, too."

Myungsoo froze as he let Dongwoo's words sink in.

"Y-you do?" He stammered, and Dongwoo grinned. Had his smile always been this dazzling, or was it just more so up close?

"Yeah." Dongwoo confirmed with a warm smile, and Myungsoo couldn't not smile back. 

 

Suddenly, Myungsoo realized that Sungyeol might have been right after all. Maybe going to the beach that day was a good idea.