“…I can’t.”

“Come on, hyung – you’ve made it this far.”

“Woohyun, I can’t.” Sunggyu took in a shaky breath, screwing his eyes shut. “This is impossible!”

“Hyung, it’s not impossible. Just… take another step towards me, okay?”

Sunggyu gripped onto Woohyun’s hands and bit his lip. “Woohyun, I can’t go any farther!”

Woohyun’s grip on his hands tightened for a moment before ultimately loosening and letting go. “Okay,” he murmured. “I think that’s enough for you today.”

Sunggyu let out a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. It was embarrassing, to say the least. He had tried so hard to face his fear today, but by the time he had walked into the pool for enough for the water to rise above his knees, he froze. Woohyun had held his hands the entire way, gently encouraging him to take a few more baby steps forward, but in the end he couldn’t even bring himself to do it. The cool water moved around legs and it should have felt nice, but instead he just felt uncomfortable and nauseous.

“Let’s go back up,” Woohyun said gently, coming closer to help him out of the pool.

Sunggyu was still frozen in his spot, but he nodded. Woohyun took his hands and led him out and up the pools steps quickly. He held onto Sunggyu’s arms, making sure that he wouldn’t be able to fall in (even though they were only in the two feet zone now).

It made him feel so pathetic and useless – not even being able to stand in the two feet zone. It was probably a waste of Woohyun’s time also, if he wasn’t even able to go deeper in the water to actually begin the swimming lesson. He was hopeless.

“Sorry,” he murmured embarrassedly. “We didn’t really have a swimming lesson.”

Woohyun smiled at him as led him over to one of the poolside chairs. He handed him a towel and Sunggyu dried off his legs before passing it back to Woohyun who dried off his body. “It’s alright,” he replied. “You weren’t ready for it. It’s completely okay – especially since you kind of fell into the tank earlier this week.”

Sunggyu smiled at him gently. “Yeah, I guess I still need some more time to recover from that. I’m just glad it was the dolphin tank and not the… whale tank.”

Woohyun sat down next to him, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. “I get it. The whales are bigger and more frightening than the dolphins, right?” Sunggyu nodded. “I used to think so too,” Woohyun said, chuckling. “I used to only want to train with the sea lions and dolphins but then… one day I gave the whales a try and…” A grin broke out onto his face and his eyes lit up. “Sunggyu, you wouldn’t believe it, but they’re amazing! They large but they’re so maternal and caring. Once you establish a relationship with them it’s impossible to leave them ever again.”

Sunggyu smiled at him. “You really love the whales, don’t you?”

“I love them so much. And that’s why I wanted to work here – to share and show people how to love them just as much as I do.”

“I wish I could share that with you but… I don’t think I can.”

“That’s alright. It’s not your fault.” Woohyun gave him a smile and pat his back gently. “I can’t force you to love something that I do.” He stood up and stretched his arms. “Well! I’ll get you into deeper waters eventually, but for now, let’s just get a snack or something. Anything at your apartment?”

Sunggyu laughed as he stood up. “Believe me, we have a lot of snacks. Neither of us can really cook for ourselves, so we eat snacks a lot of the time.”

Woohyun’s eyes widened as he paused in his tracks to stare at Sunggyu incredulously. “Neither of you can cook?! How do you survive?”

“Instant food, take-out, delivery food and Sungyeol.”

“You let Sungyeol cook for you two?”

“Yeah. Usually he cooks this mass amount of food and we just pack them into containers to reheat for later meals.”

“But… Sungyeol can’t make anything except for breakfast.”

Sunggyu shrugged as they stepped back into the building. “It usually beats whatever we usually have.”

“What do you usually have?” Woohyun asked, pressing the elevator’s button.

“Depends on what’s available. Last week Myungsoo and I ate instant oatmeal.”

“For breakfast?”

“No, dinner.”

Woohyun’s face was shocked and disbelieving as the elevator’s doors opened with a ding. “So, you’re saying that you just eat whatever’s lying around?”

“Unless it’s expired,” Sunggyu responded, pressing his floor number. The elevator doors closed. “But that’s only a last resort when Sungyeol can’t cook for us. And Sungyeol hasn’t been able to make us food in a while, so we’re just scraping up whatever is in our apartment.” He chuckled at Woohyun’s stunned face. “Yeah, we don’t have much. We were unemployed for a few months before Sungyeol contacted us.”

“How do you live?” Woohyun asked, shaking his head. “Do you really not have enough money to maintain a stable diet?”

“I don’t really think money is the issue. It’s more of the fact that Myungsoo and I can’t cook at all.”

“How bad–”

“He cut himself making ice.”

“Ice?!”

“Ice.”

“How do you cut yourself making ice?”

“My point, exactly.”

Woohyun shook his head again. “You two are impossible. You probably need Sungyeol to move in with you if you plan on living properly.”

“We tried that once.” Sunggyu laughed at the memory. “It didn’t really work out – mostly for me.”

“Why not?”

“They were too noisy.”

Woohyun stared at him with wide eyes and turned pink.  He whipped his head away to stare at the elevator doors in front of him, twiddling his fingers. “Oh,” he said simply.

Sunggyu laughed, reaching over to ruffle the other’s hair. “Yeah. Disturbing, I know. I couldn’t even stay in the apartment at night. I would go out and come back when I assumed they were done. Sometimes they weren’t.”

Woohyun made a face and shivered. “Oh man, I really don’t need those thoughts in my head right now.” His red in his cheeks spread to his nose and his ears. “That’s so gross. Ew, Sungyeol, ew.”

The doors opened and they walked out together. “Yeah, so I put an end to that arrangement as soon as I got the chance,” Sunggyu said. “Myungsoo got pretty upset, but he was fine eventually.”

Woohyun shrugged. “I expected as much.” They walked down the hall with a few moments of silence before stopping in front of Sunggyu’s door.

“Want to come in?” Sunggyu asked, unlocking the door. “I could find a snack or something if you still want one.”

Woohyun shook his head. “Nah, I should probably head over to the park now, anyways. I need to get the babies prepared an hour or so before show time.”

The subject of the marine water park left a sudden tension in the air. It wasn’t thick, but it settled on their shoulders like a thin layer of dust.

“So… what are you going to do about working at the park?”

Sunggyu bit back a sigh. “I’m not too keen on going back, to be honest. But I have to eventually.”

Woohyun nodded quietly, shuffling in front of his door. “I understand. I wouldn’t want you to be uneasy either.”

Sunggyu opened the door to his apartment, the door creaking gently. “Maybe if there was some alternative without water while still working at the park… I would do that.”

Woohyun’s eyes lit up in surprise. “You would?”

Sunggyu nodded. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I? It’s still my job, after all.”

“So, if I found you some alternative where you wouldn’t have to be around water – you would come back?”

Sunggyu nodded, smiling softly. “Of course I would.”

Woohyun broke into a grin. “That’s… great! I’ll see what I can find and inform you as soon as I do!”

Sunggyu slipped inside his apartment. “I’d be happy to come back, too.”

Woohyun grinned brightly, his face looking happy and thrilled. “I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay,” Sunggyu agreed, a little endeared by how excited the other looked. “I’ll talk to you later?”

Woohyun nodded. “Later!”

Sunggyu smiled as Woohyun waved and closed the door with a soft click. He turned around with a smile, nearly jumping out of his skin in surprise as he found Myungsoo staring at him from the couch.

“So,” Myungsoo began, his arms crossed. “What was that all about?”

Sunggyu shrugged, walking to the kitchen to grab some milk from the fridge. “What was what?” he asked.

“That! Don’t tell me that you can’t tell!”

“Tell what?” He screwed the cap off the milk carton. He sniffed it. “Wait, is this bad?”

“You and Woohyun! Stop hanging around him, hyung, he nearly drowned you!”

“Actually, he kind of saved my life after you disappeared to do obscene things to Sungyeol.” He swirled the milk around in the carton and stared at it. “It can’t be that bad, right? It’s still drinkable.”

“But it’s his fault! And he wouldn’t have to save you if he was watching over you properly! I should have never left you alone with him,” he grumbled.

“What are you, my mother? Chill out, Myungsoo – he’s just trying to help. Where’s the expiration date on this thing?”

Myungsoo scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Did he try to drown you in the pool, too? I should have come supervised, or something.”

“You don’t need to treat me like I’m a nine year old, Myungsoo, I’m older than you. We barely got into the pool. I didn’t want to go deeper, so he helped me out. No big deal.” He turned the carton around, squinting at the fine print. “I swear the expiration date should be here somewhere.”

Myungsoo frowned. “I still don’t like him. He didn’t take care of you.”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”

“Yes.”

Sunggyu turned back to give him a judgmental glance. “And you’re sure that this has nothing to do with his relationship with Sungyeol?”

Myungsoo pursed his lips, glaring down at the coffee table in front of him. “…Maybe.”

“You’re so immature.”

“It’s not my fault! They’re always so touchy and happy! I swear, there used to be something between them and every time I ask Woohyun, he just gives me a weird look and changes the subject! He’s such a face!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Myungsoo. You and Sungyeol only have eyes for each other. He and Woohyun are just friends.”

Myungsoo stood up from the couch with a huff, walking away briskly. “I’m going to take a nap.”

“Yeah, yeah, do whatever. Don’t be so harsh to Woohyun, okay? He just wants to help me out.” He took a swig from the milk carton and spit it back out in disgust. “Ugh, nope – that’s definitely expired.”

“Myungsoo, I’m bored.”

“How is that my fault?”

“It’s not, but I still want you to do something about it.”

“Hyung, stop being a lazy and get off the couch.”

“There’s literally nothing to do.”

“Well, yeah, cause you just stay home. You’ve stayed home for a week – don’t you think you should get up and do something? It doesn’t even have to be at the park.”

Sunggyu sat up from his lying position on the couch, casting Myungsoo a glance. “There’s nothing to do,” he reiterated. “And it’s not like I can work at the park until some sort of arrangement has been worked out.”

Myungsoo gave a sigh and sat down on a stool, the sides of his camera. “This job is really difficult for you, huh? Maybe we shouldn’t have taken it in the first place.”

“Don’t be silly, Myungsoo. It was a little rough at first but things will work out – they always do.”

“But are you going to come back to park anytime soon? It’s only been a week, and I would hate for you to be in any uncomfortable position.”

“Yeah, it’s a little hard…” Sunggyu admitted sheepishly, smiling. “But I should be able to get back by next week. I don’t want to suddenly push all this work on you.”

Myungsoo rolled his eyes. “I’m still only taking pictures and stuff – it’s your job to do the actual ads and merchandise.”

“Hey, we had a deal – you would do ads and slogans and I would deal with merchandise and pamphlets.”

Myungsoo shrugged. “Whatever works. If that’s the case then I’ll start on the advertisements and maybe I’ll call a billboard company later.”

Sunggyu nodded his head. “That’s more like it. See, this is why you need me to organize you – you would have completely forgotten otherwise.”

“Maybe I would have. But oh well!”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes and smiled. “You’re so weird.”

Myungsoo smiled cheekily, a dimple adorning his cheek. “I call it a gift.”

With a loud sigh, Sunggyu flopped back on to the couch and stared at the ceiling. “You know, it’s weird – I actually want to go back to the park. It might have nearly killed me, but I really miss it.”

“You haven’t even worked there that long.”

“I know, I’m surprised that I miss it, also. I don’t really miss the water that much, but I definitely miss the people. I was just getting to know everybody, too.”

“Hyung, I swear, if you spout out a sentimental monologue right now, I will leave.”

Sunggyu laughed. “No, I won’t monologue.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Myungsoo sighed in mock relief. “But hasn’t the water thing been getting better? With Woohyun coming over to teach you to swim and all?”

“Myungsoo, we did that twice, and the second time I almost cried when Woohyun let go of my hands. The water thing isn’t getting better by much.”

“So now what – you and Woohyun just call it quits while you lounge around your home like a couch potato.”

“I am not a potato, thank you very much! I prefer beet.”

Myungsoo snorted. “Potato, beet – same difference. The point is your just milling about doing nothing.”

“Believe me, I would definitely rather be at the park than here. Woohyun said that he’d let me near the water again once I had learned how to float.”

“So, you’re just going to lay here until you learn how to float? Can beets even float to begin with?”

“I don’t know – I think it has to do with individual density.”

“I thought all vegetables could float.”

“Not potatoes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so…? I’ll just look it up later.”

“Potatoes aren’t even technically vegetables, though. They’re spuds.”

Sunggyu shook his head rapidly. “Well, either way, Woohyun basically won’t let me near the tanks unless I can swim. It’s a nice gesture and all, but it’s just so boring. I need to get over there and interview people and write about them so that this place can be successful.”

Myungsoo smiled, standing up as he headed towards the door. “Wow – since when did you get so passionate about the park?”

Shrugging, Sunggyu replied, “I don’t know. The people that work there are so passionate about the animals – I figured I should help them spread that passion to other people.”

Myungsoo grinned at him as he slipped his shoes on and opened the door. “I’m sure you’ll be back at the park in no time with that attitude. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Sunggyu smiled at him, waving as he shut the door. “Okay – see you later.”

As soon as the door clicked shut, Sunggyu let out a groan. Myungsoo had only been gone for three seconds and he already felt bored out of his mind. The first few days were relaxing at first, but after a week, the boredom and silence were practically driving him mad. He had tried doing some work to keep himself busy, but after a day, he realized he lacked enough information to actually continue. Now all he could do was lounge around and either wait for Woohyun to show up on the weekend for their swimming lessons and interview him, or wait to get back to the park and interview other trainers and people. He had tried phone interviews, but no one at the park had enough free time to sit down through a thorough interview.

He watched the news for a while but figured he should stop after his eyes glazed over. He tried to cook himself a lunch, but that only resulted in him burning the last of their legitimate food. He couldn’t read a book, because he had already finished all the ones in the apartment and had reread each one almost three times. The excitement had died from books.

He desperately needed someone to talk to. He found his mind wandering to Woohyun and thought of how much fun and entertaining it would be to talk to the whale trainer at the moment. Of course, he was probably working, so actually talking to him was out of the picture. Everyone was working, so talking to anyone was out of the picture.

After a few hours, he had decided to go to his room and take a nap. Naps had seemed to be a great way to kill time nowadays, especially since he was alone in the lazy afternoon haze.

So after a meager lunch of some dry cereal, he shuffled to his bedroom, wriggled under his blankets, closed the blinds and went to sleep.

He wasn’t sure how long he slept for, but he woke up to the sound of Orange Caramel ringing through the empty air. His mind was still groggy, but he reached a hand out from under his blanket and d around his bedside table for his phone. After a few seconds of incessant high-pitched singing, he found the device and brought it back under the covers with him, holding it to his ear.

“Hello?” he murmured, his head still hazy with sleep.

“Sunggyu-hyung? It’s me!”

Sunggyu flew up from under his covers. “Oh, Woohyun! What are you calling me for?”

“So, Myungsoo told me about how upset you were that you couldn’t come to the park, right? Well, I figured out an arrangement for you!”

“…Huh?!”

“Yeah! Instead of interviewing the trainers and being up close with the animals, I thought you could hang around our other facilities wit Hoya or something. He’ll be inside all day today, since we’ve got a sick dolphin coming in.”

“Wait, so… I can actually go to the park? And I can still do my job? While not being around the water?”

“That’s right! You don’t even have to look at the water until you’re ready.”

“Woohyun, that’s amazing! Thank you so much!”

“It’s not a problem. When can you make it?”

Sunggyu glanced over at his digital clock, realizing that it was only two in the afternoon. “Actually, I should be able to catch the next bus there as soon as I’m done getting ready. How does two-thirty sound to you?”

“Sounds great! I’ll see you then!”

“Alright – see you then.”

“Hyung!” Woohyun waved enthusiastically at Sunggyu from the front gate, his mouth widening into a grin. “Over here!”

Sunggyu walked toward him briskly, also smiling largely. “Woohyun!”

Woohyun smiled at him brightly as they met. “Are you ready to get back to work?”

Sunggyu nodded. “Definitely! Where will I be working?”

“Just follow me. I’ll take you through our special ‘trainer maze’ as we call it, so that you won’t have to go near the water tanks.”

Sunggyu chuckled, trailing behind closely as Woohyun walked into the park. “I’m not that fragile you know – I can handle the sight of water.”

“Not going to risk it,” Woohyun replied, turning sharply to the right and straight into a chain-link fence. He unlocked the padlock quickly, opening the tall gate with a screech for Sunggyu to enter before closing it and locking it once again.

“What is this?” Sunggyu questioned, looking up at the tall fences surrounding them in wonder.

“Our trainer maze. Really, it’s just a locked path that goes around the edges of the park in case of emergencies or something. We just call it our maze for fun.”

“Wow,” Sunggyu mused. “Impressive.” They walked forward together, bumping elbows lightly.

Woohyun shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, keeping his pace light and moderate. “Well, it’s nothing too special. Lots of parks have it – they just disguise it better than we do.”

“Still – I’m probably going to write a little blurb about this. It’s really cool.”

Woohyun smiled, his ears turning pink softly. “It is, isn’t it? Trainers usually use it to get to different tanks and stuff. You know, instead of trying to get through the crowds. I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into some.”

“That’s seriously awesome.”

Woohyun shrugged. “I guess…”

Sunggyu cast him a glance and playfully pushed his shoulder. “You don’t have to be so modest, you know. I think it’s really cool! You have such a cool job, Woohyun. From what I know, you get to experience something new everyday, and you’re clearly passionate about it. Something like a ‘trainer maze’ is just as cool and absolutely adds to your career – Woohyun, are you blushing?”

Woohyun threw his hands on his face, covering it completely. “No!” he exclaimed.

Sunggyu laughed at him, spying the bright pink tips of his ears. “Aw,” he cooed, pinching the other’s arm, “were my compliments that good? Did you like them that much?”

“Would you shut up?!” Woohyun exclaimed, shying into his hands. “I’m not flattered, I’m embarrassed! You don’t have to act like it’s something cute, okay?!”

The taller continuing laughing and teasing him with pokes and prods. “Aw, come on Woohyun, what’s so embarrassing – you’re totally cute. Look at how red you are!”

“Why are you so difficult, hyung?!”

Sunggyu laughed happily as they walked along, Woohyun still with his face in his hands. They had gotten much closer recently. Ever since they had begun texting, it slowly grew from small meaningless things to more detailed conversations. Especially now, since that Woohyun was teaching him how to swim, they spoke to each other more often. It was a mutual attraction that grew, and they were both proud to call each other friends.

“Anyways, we’re here now,” Woohyun muttered, bringing his hands down from his face to reach for the keys in his pocket. He unlocked a different gate and led him out.

Sunggyu looked around in curiosity – he had never been to this part of the park before. Instead of usual crowds and tank stadiums, there were small muted buildings. A few people milled about, but the place was mostly deserted. It reminded Sunggyu of a parking lot.

“I guess they’re still preparing supplies,” Woohyun murmured under his breath.

“Supplies for what?”

“You’ll see. It’s a special occasion – it’s the reason we were able to let you come here today.”

Instead of asking another question, he followed Woohyun who walked up to a man whose back was turned towards them. The man was checking some boxes and writing some information down on a clipboard in front of him.

“Hoya,” Woohyun called.

The man turned around and Sunggyu immediately recognized him as the veterinarian of the park. He smiled as they met each other’s eyes.

“Woohyun, Sunggyu!” Hoya replied with a friendly smile. “Glad to see you could get him here! It’s a really special day, you know.”

“So I’ve heard,” Sunggyu responded, nodding.

Woohyun turned back to Sunggyu with a smile. “You’ll be working around Hoya today. He doesn’t work directly with the animals in the tanks, so you’ll be absolutely fine. This area is also off boundaries for park visitors, so you won’t need to worry about anything.”

“Sounds good,” Sunggyu said. “It would be great to get some information on the medical staff of the park and this is a perfect opportunity.”

“Alright! I’ll be down at the orca tanks if you need me,” Woohyun said. “Otherwise, you’ll just hang around Hoya all day until Myungsoo comes over to take you home, okay?”

“Got it.” Sunggyu nodded. “I’ll see you later then?”

Woohyun giggled to himself. “Maybe, if I have the time to say bye. If not, I’ll text you!”

“Definitely! I’ll see you then!”

Woohyun walked back to the gate, entering the path. “Later!” he called with a wave.

Sunggyu returned the gesture before glancing to Hoya. “So,” he started, “what is the big occasion today?”

“Some people reported an injured dolphin near the shore today,” Hoya explained, walking towards one of the large building near the edge of the lot. “After some sorting, the dolphin will be headed here for some treatment!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Sunggyu exclaimed. “When is the dolphin coming?”

“You and Woohyun arrived just in time, actually, because the dolphin should be coming in right about now. We’re off to meet them at the back gate.”

Sunggyu arrived with Hoya to the back gate, where many other people were waiting. Hoya easily made his way to the front, his clipboard shaking in his hands nervously.

“Are there this many veterinarians here?” Sunggyu asked, gesturing to the small crowd.

“Oh, yes definitely. We need as many as possible. Most vets are assigned to a certain tank or animal. I’m the head vet, though, so I get to interact with all of them.”

Sunggyu nodded in astonishment, very impressed by how much care was put into their animals’ well being. It was silent for a few moments before he noticed Hoya’s fingers tapping excessively on his clipboard.

“Nervous?” he asked.

Hoya looked at him with a short smile and nodded. “Yeah – I’m really nervous. I really hope that the dolphin will be okay and that their situation isn’t too bad. I would hate for that.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound too good. Did the reports say anything?”

“It only said that the dolphin had gotten the injury from a boat, and I’m hoping for the best. At the same time, I have to expect the worst.”

“I’m sure they’re fine. Hopefully, the treatment won’t be too intense and you can add them to the dolphin tank in no time.”

“Dolphin tank?” Hoya repeated incredulously. “We don’t add injured dolphins to our show roster. As soon as they’re healed we send them back into the ocean.”

At that moment, a large truck pulled into the empty spot of the back gate. The doctors began to murmur amongst one another, all of them trying to see the dolphin and to see if it was all right.

The drivers hopped out of the truck and ran around to the back and Hoya ran over to join them. They pulled the doors of the back open wide, where a small, squeaking dolphin was revealed on a cot similar to a stretcher.

Hoya let out a small gasp as he stared at the small creature. It had large scratches along its side and one long gash across its tail. Hoya called for some other veterinarians to help and together they wrapped a damp cloth around the dolphin and carried it to the building next to them.

It was a large flurry of people, and for a moment Sunggyu wondered if he was just getting in their way. He met up with Hoya in the small rush and asked, “Would it be better if I sat out or something? I would hate to be a bother in a situation like this.”

Hoya shook his head. “No, no – don’t worry about it! It’s absolutely fine. You’re not getting in anybody’s way. The only thing we need to focus on right now is that little dolphin. She may have gotten scraped by a boat’s motor.”

“Scraped?” Sunggyu repeated. “That looked much more than a scrape to me.”

“Trust me, Sunggyu – if it were more than a scrape, she’d be dead. Let’s go in and help them out, okay?”

They hurried into the building, where many veterinarians had already put the dolphin on a small table and were checking up on it all over.

“Shouldn’t you put her in water so she can breathe?” Sunggyu asked, watching from the side.

“Oh, no – she’s a mammal. She can breathe perfectly fine.”

Sunggyu nodded in understanding, watching as the doctors cleaned up some dried blood off of the squeaking dolphin. Perhaps it was his imagination, but the dolphin’s eyes appeared hooded, as if it was passing out from pain and exhaustion and Sunggyu couldn’t help but feel bad.

“I hope she gets better soon,” he whispered to himself.

“I do too,” Hoya responded. “If she loses too much blood in her tail then there’s a chance that it will either fall off or we’ll need to amputate it.”

Sunggyu stared at him in horror and shock. “Amputate?!”

“It’s harsh, yes, but needs to be done will have to be done. If that happens then she’ll need a prosthetic one.”

At that moment, another veterinarian called Hoya over, asking for his assistance with something. Hoya nodded in their direction, responding to their call.

“I’ll be right there,” he said. He turned to Sunggyu and handed him his clipboard. “Would you hold this for me please?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.”

Hoya rolled up his white-button up’s sleeve and rushed to the other veterinarian’s side immediately, asking about the current situation.

Sunggyu looked at Hoya’s clipboard in curiosity, astounded by the information and statistics that he would never be able to recognize. He flipped through the first few pages, staring at a few charts and diagrams and paragraphs of notes.

He found a page on Jinnie, the sick sea lion he had seen a while back. He scanned it haphazardly, catching bits and pieces of information like dietary supplements and spoiled fish.

Sunggyu furrowed his eyebrows as he reread the small excerpt. “Spoiled fish?” he repeated to himself. “Why would Jinnie have eaten spoiled fish?”

The two words were circled twice in bright red ink with an arrow pointing to the right. Sunggyu assumed that it meant to turn the page. Hoya must not have been a very organized person, because instead the next page was on an orca named Tayla and the next was on an otter named Dalton. Frustrated by the lack of complete information, he lifted the papers up to reveal the last page instead to try and work backwards.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a hand came slamming down on the papers, flattening them to the clipboard. Sunggyu jumped in shock for a moment before looking up at the culprit with wide, surprised eyes.

“Hoya!” he exclaimed.

Hoya bit his lip nervously, his cheeks a pale red. “Did you… did you see what was on the last pages?”

“…No. Why?”

“No reason,” he said quickly, yanking the clipboard out of Sunggyu’s hands. He cleared his throat. “Uh, just don’t look back there again, please. It’s… personal information.”

Sunggyu stared at him with a raised brow, scrutinizing his face even though Hoya averted his attention and was focused on something elsewhere. But Sunggyu couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

Personal information?

( A/N ) ; ohohoho, what have we hereeee? 

you'll all find out soon enough haha

but honestly, i am so sorry that i haven't updated in the longest time! i was planning to, honestly, but then i was featured, so i had to thank my subscribers in some way, and then i made a new story ( woogyu myungyeol & yadong ) and it literally took my a month to write my oneshot on mermaid myungyeol otl everything just consumed so much time. anyways - hopefully, this chaapter makes up for it, sort of! >< hahah ^^ 

but thanks for reading, and upvote, subscribe and drop a comment if you'd like to :))) see you next update! i promise i'll try to be more dilligent!!

-- Quinnie