"That's literally the worst outfit you could have worn today," Kai glared at Baekhyun who was sitting in the plastic fold-out chair next to him.

"Lies, I could have worn a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt and sandals," the blonde lowered his sunglasses to address the younger.  

"That would have at least made you looked middle aged," he wasn't done, he had real concerns about the quality of this clothing, "but in this you look like you're twelve."

"And how would you go about fixing that?" Baekhyun pushed the ray bans back up the bridge of his nose. This was his way of trying to seem superior to Jongin without having to move and it almost worked if the younger hadn't seen right through it.

"Take the shirt off," this was sounding much more awkward than it was intended, "it's making you look stupid ... and if you're not careful, you're going to get a strange sunburn."

At that the blonde finally lost it and threw his glasses on the ground in indignation while he sat up straight, "Sunburn?? Sunburn!?? Do you see this beautiful face? Do you see this flawless skin? You think someone like me can sunburn? Live for this skin, live for all of this, because I tan like a grecian god."

He finished his spiel and leaned his head back, letting the sun rain down on his face, neck, and hair. It was so obnoxious, but Kai couldn't help but be amused ... there was something just so terribly hilarious about his barbie-narcissism.

It was a few moments later that the blonde actually listened to him and took the thin white t off and revealed even more of himself to the smoldering sun. Jongin was secretly relieved because it meant he wasn't alone in exposure anymore.

Sure, there were a lot of people on the beach with them in an identical manner to his own, but he felt more comfortable having the one person still with him on the shore be like this. It was a weird train of thought to follow, but it floated his boat right now and he was pretty sure that was the point.

"See, it feels better doesn't it?" Kai poked Baek's arm, "and you no longer look like pedo-bait ... well actually, you look more like pedo-bait ... I feel like I haven't fixed anything actually ..."

He started laughing and he felt the blonde's fist impact his shoulder which only made him more entertained.

"I don't know why people talk to you," Baekhyun retrieved his ray bans, "you're unpleasant and disrespectful to your hyungs ... it makes me ill."

"Mianhae, mianhae," but even this he couldn't take seriously.

The blonde 'uggg-ed' loudly and tried to get comfortable again with his chest and torso, "Chanyeol shouldn't have even invited you."

Kai didn't respond ... not that the blonde was expecting something in the first place, but even if he was, the younger had nothing to say. Because he had thought the exact same thing.

Three weeks since he'd moved out. Three weeks and he thought that maybe he'd completely won and gotten the giant out of his relationship.

For a week after he'd left, he'd come over every once in a while, would get physical with Soo and then leave. That would usually happen at really strange times and he later realized that this was to hide what was happening from Baekhyun further.

But the weeks following that, the giant hadn't come at all.

And things started to settle ... things started to look really bright. At first the older was disappointed in the giant's disappearance, but it didn't take long for him to adjust to it. He visibly seemed happier without Chanyeol's pressure on him and he was even eating more which was a big deal.

But as soon as they'd gotten the offer to go to the beach with the couple, the older jumped at the chance; sure, the distance was working for him to adapt, but he wasn't done with things entirely.

Kai looked out at the water and saw the two splashing around and clearly having a good time being wet.

Personally, this was not something Kai enjoyed ... ever ... he ing hated the beach and pools and anything else that soiled his skin and left him pruney and shivering.

He didn't mind the sunning part; he loved getting even more tan than he already was and he adored the attention his body got while he was here. He was sculpted and attractive, a natural side-benefit of his career choice as a dancer, and it was nice having people appreciate that.

Maybe it was a gay cliche to be a dance instructor, but he loved dance and he always had. Dance and music were perfect and it gave him these little extra's like great taste and a nice body, so he was happy.

But that didn't mean that Jongin was particularly sporty; besides basketball, he wasn't a big fan of any others. Anything that required him to be rolling around in the grass or dying because of the abusive sun held no particular interest for him.

All of this culminated in his reasoning for hating the beach, even if he looked like he belonged here. This just wasn't his place to be, with it's thick, moist, salty air beating against his being and the strange smells it produced.

There was a reason that trip to Jeju so long ago wasn't really all that great.

He should have sooner realized that Kyungsoo would be very different ... from the way he reacted to the sea shell to the revelation that he'd never even been to the beach. Jongin had acted excited to go with his best friend just to make the older happy, but the truth was he dreaded this. It was nice having Baekhyun here to hang out with and pick on because otherwise this was just going to continue .

Guilt hit him when he thought more about how he was making this important moment for Kyungsoo about himself. The older finally got to go to the beach, something so simple, and yet the happiness he received from it should have been worth it.

And it was. It's just that ... Kai couldn't help being so damned jealous. Also, he hated his surroundings and the sun hurt him more than it helped.

Soo looked so happy out there just messing around in the water with Yeol ... the older had beautiful pale skin that would catch the sun's rays and almost glint them off. Certainly the collar, still tight around his neck, was reflecting the light a little and sprinkling bits over the water and the older's chest. The true sparkle though came from that radiant smile he wa