Night 

Seulgi’s eyes shot open at the sound of a person knocking repeatedly at her door.

She sat up and stumbled her way towards the door, feeling disoriented. She glanced out to the window briefly, she saw the moon against the dark sky.

When she opened the door, she was met with a cool breeze, and an impatient-looking petite girl at her door.

“There you are!” Irene sighed. “Krystal told me you guys played all kinds of stuff this afternoon, so I figured you must be exhausted and fell asleep.”

Seulgi rubbed her eyes. “What time is it now?” She glanced around her. It was dark now, save for the moonlight and the lamps at the beach in certain spots. A few people were still playing at the beach.

“Seven,” Irene giggled at Seulgi’s confused state. “Come on, let’s go. Max’s party, remember?”

After freshening up for ten minutes, Seulgi was ready to go. Her steps felt light on the sand. The wind was blowing and she took in the scent of the sea. She noticed the waves were slightly bigger at night and took in the sound of them crashing against the sand.

“A little birdie told me you’re their favorite guest now,” Irene said. Seulgi could hear a smile in the older girl’s voice. “Why is that?”

“So why am I the favorite?” Seulgi flopped down on the sand next to Joy. Both girls were panting after running along the shoreline.

“Because,” Joy let out a smile. “You make my sister smile.”

“Oh, that,” Seulgi grinned. She contemplated for a bit. “It’s nothing.”

Irene rolled her eyes. “It can’t be nothing, they all seem to really like you. They don’t always do this with the guests, you know.” She chuckled.

“Maybe I’m just that likable? That’s why they like me,” Seulgi joked.

Irene laughed. They were nearing Local Cosmos right now. Seulgi could see there were more people inside compared to when she was there that afternoon. She heard electronic music playing from the inside.

“Do you, though?” Seulgi inquired. They were nearing the steps at the entrance of Local Cosmos. The music was getting louder to them now.

“Do I what?” Irene said, her voice had a hint of teasing in it.

“Like me?”

Seulgi managed to catch a small “Yes.” from the older girl right before they fully entered Local Cosmos. Any more conversation they wanted to have from this point would have to be shouted because electronic music was blaring quite loudly through the speakers.

“This is too much,” Irene shouted so Seulgi could hear her. “You go on ahead, I’ll turn the music down a little.” She disappeared so quickly after that, leaving her friend alone.

Seulgi looked around her. Local Cosmos seemed to look different at night. The lights were now, they were purple. The bar and the tables were crowded by the people; guests and locals. Seulgi spotted the birthday guy sitting at the large table in the corner with a lot of people, some of whom she recognized.

“Welcome to Local Cosmos!” Wendy seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of Seulgi, holding two glasses of cocktails. “Come on, I’ll get you to Max’s table, Joy saved you a spot.”

They walked together. “You sure are ready to get hammered,” Seulgi glanced at the glasses Wendy was holding.

Wendy laughed. “Not yet, silly! These are for Max and the others, I’m still on the clock.”

When they approached the table, Joy and the others who recognized Seulgi greeted her. She took a seat next to Joy. Suddenly the  music was turned down a little, some of them groaned in disappointment, but the guests at the other tables looked relieved.

“You know neither Irene or I would mind at all if you slack off tonight, right?” Joy informed Wendy as she put the glasses on the table. “Come sit with us!”

“You and Irene wouldn’t, but my mother would!” Wendy sighed, but then her voice turned cheerful again. “Just one more hour until shift change, though.”

As Wendy walked away, Seulgi saw Irene approaching their table. Everyone in the table hollered at her cheerfully, which startled her into laughter.

“Okay, why is everybody so loud tonight? What did Wendy put in their drinks?” Irene laughed as she took a seat next to Seulgi. The younger girl felt her thigh brushed against Irene’s.

“Maybe it’s because you’re glowing tonight,” Joy sister.

“Why would I be glowing? It’s not my birthday,” Irene replied.

Joy shrugged, and looked down at the menu Seulgi was holding to hide her smile.

Seulgi felt the place and the people came more alive as the next few hours passed by. As Max’s crowd had more food and drinks and the cottage guests were lessening, they started scattering away from their table in the corner and talking (and doing various kinds of drunk activities) in groups. Seulgi had moved from group to group, enjoyed talking and laughing with everyone. She was now cornered by a Joy and a bunch of her friends.

“You know, I’d totally be cool if my sister stays at your place tonight,” Joy slurred her words. All her friends snickered at what she just said.

Seulgi felt her face flushed. “Really? I won’t get kicked out?” She was probably the most sober person in that place, because she only allowed herself one glass of cocktail, despite protests from her new friends.

“I’ll tell daddy she’s staying at Wendy’s,” Joy suggested. Then her drunken smile softened. “I’ve never seen her this cheerful in a while.” Her eyes were fixed at her sister. “Not since…well…” She trailed off, and took another sip of her drink.

Seulgi followed her gaze. Irene was talking animatedly with a few friends at the bar. The way the older girl smiled and laughed now was different compared to when she saw her this afternoon. This time, her eyes seemed to twinkle for every smile and laugh she produced. Seulgi tried very hard to stop looking at her to look at Joy again.

“Not since when?” Seulgi asked. “What?”

Joy seemed hesitant, so her friend Jessica spoke, “Not since she broke up with Max and went away to the city.” She blurted out.

“Ah,” Seulgi nodded slowly. For some reason she had a feeling Max and Irene were a thing, but her heart still skipped a beat at the revelation. “But they’re cool with each other now, right?"

“I don’t think it’s the thing with Max that ruined her," Jessica said.

"Working in the city has exhausted her, I think,” Wendy said. She was off the clock now.

Joy jabbed Jessica in the rib. “My sister is not ruined,” she frowned. “Jaded, yeah. This is why she doesn’t want me to go anywhere.”

“But you’ll stay here, right?” Krystal slurred her words, looking at Joy directly. Seulgi noted the sudden intensity in her words. “If not her, then it’s you."

“Look, I’ll go and I’ll come back,” Joy said patiently. “When the time comes. But until then, I want to do my own thing. She gets to do it, I want to do it too.” Seulgi was amazed by how sane Joy sounded even while drunk.

“Uh…what's this about?” Seulgi felt confused.

“This whole business,” Wendy answered. “Most of the people here wanted Irene or Joy to take over someday, because we don’t want the investors from the city to handle everything and eventually take over the whole business. I don't know, can they even do that?”

“Well, in any case, my sister did say she didn’t want to take over. And it broke her heart when some of the people here turned against her for doing so,” Joy chuckled darkly.

“It was a mistake on their part. We all love her,” Wendy sighed and shook her head.

“Me too, Wendy. So I just want her to be happy. I’ll let her decide for herself. Besides—”

Not wanting to listen anymore, Seulgi walked away. She searched for an empty corner and found a lone small table near the entrance. She sat there, their words and all the new information were ringing in her head. She began contemplating to might as well get completely hammered tonight, when someone sat in front of her.

“Hey,” Irene smiled at her. “Enjoying the night?”

Seulgi looked around the place. “I’m dizzy, but happy. This place really came alive tonight.” She noted how perfect Irene still looked. Her hair was still in place, her thin layer of make up still accentuated her facial features. “You’re not drunk.”

“Not really,” Irene observed Seulgi briefly. “How are you feeling?"

Seulgi chuckled. “Just a little buzzed. I’m always scared I might do something really stupid and suicidal if I get really drunk at a beach, like drowning myself.”

“I will take care of you, you know,” Irene laughed. “I’ll make sure you get to your cottage safely.”

Then Joy’s words rang in Seulgi’s head again. She decided to take the chance. “I heard some things,” she began carefully. “About you. And Max. And about taking over the business. I probably shouldn’t have.”

Irene rolled her eyes and laughed. “Gee, who talked now? Joy?”

“She loves you, Irene. Everyone here loves you,” Seulgi didn’t exactly know why this was the first thing she said. Maybe because she felt Irene didn’t know it.

Irene smiled. “I know. Probably too late, but I know now.”

“I’m sorry, it’s probably none of my business,” Seulgi bit her lip.

“I really don't mind,” Irene said. “What else did you hear? That I was supposed to get engaged to Max?”

Seulgi’s stomach lurched. “Engaged?” She got a little dizzier now. “Wow, this is a lot to take in.”

Irene took a deep breath and released it. “Max and I were together for quite some time in our teenage years,” Irene threw a glance at Max, who was playing fight with Kai on the floor near the bar right now. “My dad and everybody here basically wanted us to get married and take over the business here someday.”

Seulgi only stayed quiet. So Irene continued, “I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted. I wanted to go out to do my own thing and see the world, you know? And I couldn’t do that if my future was already set for me here, I felt like I couldn’t bear it. So I told my dad I wanted to go to college in the city and find a job there, just like he had done before he came back built all of this.”

“So you left…and he stayed?” Seulgi asked. “Max, I mean.”

Irene smiled. “Max’s whole life was always here. Like all of us here, our families work here. He wanted to just stay, which is okay. My dad had planned for us to get engaged when I became of age, but Max and I agreed to end things amicably shortly before I went, because we wanted different things in life,” Irene smiled sadly. “My dad understood my desire, so I went to the city to study. And for some time everyone here was upset with me because I outrightly said I didn’t want to take over this business.”

“So now they all look to Joy? Does she want to take over if you don’t want to?”

Irene thought for a moment. “Joy wants to follow me, to do her own thing. But she also promised she would always come back and manage this business someday. I’m proud of her, you know?”

Seulgi suddenly understood. “But you’re worried for her.”

“I am very protective of her, everyone knows that,” she chuckled. “I don’t know if this is what Joy really wants. Maybe she’s doing this because she doesn’t want everyone to turn against her like they did me, or maybe she really does love this place and everyone so much. I just want her to be happy with her choices later.”

“Do you?” Seulgi asked. “Love this place?"

Irene smiled softly. “This is my home,” she looked around fondly. “Everyone here is my family. That’s why I was upset when they were upset with me for saying that I didn’t want to manage this business. I thought it was kind of selfish of them…but then I realized I was the selfish one.”

Neither said anything for a few seconds. Seulgi remembered how everyone praised her and was grateful that Irene seemed happier. It made her wonder just how gloomy and stressed Irene seemed to be lately. Seulgi saw nothing but care and love for the older girl in everyone she met here.

“It’s not exactly selfish, this is your life after all,” she said quietly. “Your friends are also worried about you, you know? They care about you. I’m sure they’re thinking of their families too,” Seulgi spoke. “But I do think they genuinely want you here because they care about you, not because you’re supposed to inherit the business.”

Irene smiled softly at her. Seulgi would like to believe that she had convinced the older girl.

Seulgi spoke again after a few seconds of silence, “So what happened after you left?”

“Joy, Wendy, Max, and a few others stood by me,” Irene said. “They understood me. They defended me, and persuaded everyone who was upset with me to see things my way.” Irene sighed. “I will always be thankful for them. I don’t know if there is still resentment from some people here, probably yes, but over the years, even very recently, people apologized to me and began treating me kindly again. And I began to see it, you know,” she grinned. “I began to see how much they genuinely cared for me.”

“Do you still think taking over would be so bad?” Seulgi asked.

“Not really,” Irene smiled. “Actually, now I think it wouldn’t be so bad. I love what I do in the city. I’ve always wanted to be an interior designer, and I like with my job. But lately I feel the need to come home more often and just…stay. For a little longer than my boss permits.” Her voice became smaller. “And lately I started thinking and imagining what could have been, if I hadn’t made the choice to pursue a career in the city.”

“You’ve become jaded in just a few years," Seulgi said in a small voice, but Irene heard her anyway.

“I guess I will always be a beach girl at heart,” Irene laughed. “I don’t know. When I’m in the city, one minute I’m happy and relaxed, next minute I felt anxious and stressed, even when I had free time. It was suffocating sometimes. Maybe I just don't really fit in, and I'm not meant to be there."

“Don’t regret it though,” Seulgi said all of a sudden. “You had the chance to do your own thing, because you wanted to. Now, if you feel like you can’t keep on doing it, then you’re lucky because you have this place to fall back on.” Seulgi looked around, and saw Joy arm-wrestling with Amber. Irene followed her gaze and shook her head, chuckling.

“You and Joy can manage this business together someday, how about that?” Seulgi said.

“Then I’m going to have to eat my own words if I ever decide to do that,” Irene laughed. “My refusal was made public here.”

“It’ll make everyone happy. Isn't that what they wanted in the first place?” Seulgi smiled. “It might make you happy too. This is your home after all.”

Irene only smiled at that. They sat in silence for a few minutes after that. Seulgi noticed the music had gradually turned louder by the minute, and was glad they had finished talking about the heavy stuff. It would have been really bad if they were shouting about it.

“You’re really not that drunk, are you?” Irene questioned, leaning forward to look at Seulgi’s face.

“I’m functioning just fine, aren’t I?” Seulgi chuckled. “Why? What do you have in mind?”

She stood up, “Wait here, I need to take care of some things.”

Seulgi watched as Irene approached a very drunk Max on the floor near the bar. The older girl had to shout her words and shook his shoulders lightly to make sure Max understood what she was saying, but Seulgi couldn’t hear her from where she was sitting. She saw Max nod and said something. Irene said something in return, most likely thanking him, Seulgi realized.

Next, Irene approached Joy, who was in a losing battle of arm-wrestling against Amber. She waited until her sister lost (Seulgi laughed when Joy groaned loudly in disappointment) and then spoke to her, and then Wendy. After that, Irene returned to Seulgi.

“I’m surprised you even let your sister drink,” Seulgi joked. “She’s such a cute drunk, by the way.”

Irene laughed. “Only when Wendy is with her. I just told her to keep an eye on that little rascal.” Irene smirked at her, “Come with me, I want to show you something.”

Before Seulgi could get on her feet, Irene pulled her at her arm. The older girl linked their arms together and led Seulgi out of the restaurant, practically dragging her. Seulgi’s skin tingled when their skin touched.

“Where are we going?” Seulgi questioned. They were walking on the sand again, the night breeze felt cold on her face. She positioned herself closer to Irene for warmth.

Irene only grinned at her. The electronic music faded away from their hearing, as they walked further away from Local Cosmos, to a slightly secluded corner of the beach. Seulgi saw an outline of a lone jet ski on the sand, a few meters from the shoreline.

It was a purple jet ski, Seulgi noticed when they were right beside it. Irene released her arm to inspect it closely. She grumbled about Max not cleaning it and not putting it right by the shore like she requested. Two life jackets were lying on its seat, and Seulgi knew what was coming.

“It’s purple,” Seulgi giggled. “Your favorite color? How cute.”

Seulgi noticed Irene’s face go red under the light from a nearby lamp. “It was a seventeenth birthday present from my dad. Max helped with the paint job,” she caressed the watercraft fondly.

“I rented one this afternoon like you suggested,” Seulgi said. “I chose to ride with Max because I was too scared to ride it alone."

"Yeah? Was he speeding? Did you guys tip over?"

"Almost. Your ex-boyfriend is crazy, I thought I was going to die."

“Well, you’re not going to die on my watch. Put this on,” Irene said as she handed Seulgi one of the life jackets, and then put on her own. “Let’s go have some fun.”

“Are we really going out to the sea at this time? Isn’t it dangerous at night?” Seulgi took the life jacket hesitantly and put it on. She looked at the sea, the waves were slightly calmer than a few hours ago when she came out of her cottage. The moonlight was reflected on the surface of the sea. Seulgi noted how eerily beautiful the sea was that night.

“It’s fine, as long as none of us are drunk. Well, heavily drunk,” Irene began pulling at the jet ski. “Help me get this thing to the shore.”

After getting the watercraft to the water, Irene stopped to check the fuel tank. Seulgi looked on as the other girl’s pale skin was slightly illuminated by the moonlight. She watched as her lithe hands tinkered with the control and started up the engine. A satisfied smile ghosted over her delicate face at the smooth roaring of the engine, as she hopped on the watercraft first.

Irene looked beautiful, and completely at home, Seulgi realized, this was where she belonged.

“What are you staring at?” Irene asked, grinning. “Hop on, city girl.”

Seulgi did as she was told and took a seat behind Irene. She hesitated for a bit before clumsily wrapping her arms around the tiny girl’s waist. Irene shivered at the touch, or maybe it was because of the cool breeze, Seulgi wasn’t sure.

They began riding out to the sea in moderate speed. Seulgi held her breath and held Irene a little tighter whenever they rode against the waves. She had no problem holding on to a shirtless Max earlier that day, but her heart was beating faster now at her proximity to Irene, combined with the exhilarating feeling of going against the night breeze.

Irene picked up the speed as they went further away from the beach. The startling acceleration brought out Seulgi’s excited laughter. She was pretty sure Max wasn’t speeding this much earlier that day.

“Isn’t this fun?” Irene shouted over the sounds of the engine, the waves, and the wind. She slightly turned her face to the girl behind her.

“It’s scary!” Seulgi shouted in between her laughter. “You’re fast!”

They began moving in a zig-zag pattern on the sea. At this point Seulgi was pretty sure Irene was messing with her. Irene did a sudden turn, scaring Seulgi into frantic shrieks. She held on to Irene tighter as she felt the older girl’s stomach rumble in laughter.

At some point, they slowed down and eventually came to a stop with the engine still on. Seulgi sighed in relief as she put her chin on Irene’s shoulder, arms still wrapped around her waist tightly. She felt the older girl lean back on her. They looked at the sea in silence for a few moments.

“You’re evil, do you know that?” Seulgi mumbled against Irene’s neck. “You could’ve killed me.”

Irene shivered. She turned off the engine, and then put her arms on top of Seulgi’s. “You're our favorite guest, I won't kill you,” She began drawing lines and circles on the younger girl’s arms.

“Oh yeah, about that,” Seulgi grinned. “Did they tell you why?” When Irene didn’t say anything, Seulgi continued. “They say I make you smile.”

“Then maybe I should just keep you here. How does that sound?” Irene said as she turned around in her seat, nearly tipping over the jetski, surprising Seulgi into loosening her arms around her.

Now they were sitting face to face. Seulgi was still recovering from her surprise when Irene wrapped her arms around her and put her lips on hers. The younger girl stiffened for a second, and immediately melted into the kiss.

Despite Irene’s initial boldness, the kiss started out shy on both parts. Seulgi cupped her face and opened slightly. Her tongue Irene’s lips, silently asking for permission. The older girl let out a soft mewl and opened , drawing Seulgi closer into the kiss.

Seulgi never thought a kiss could feel this intoxicating. She blamed it on Irene’s incredibly soft lips, the sea, the moonlight, the breeze, the way the jet ski rocked against the forming waves, and the one glass of fruity little drink Wendy had made her in Local Cosmos a couple of hours before. Everything about this place was altering her senses.

When they broke apart, arms still around each other, Seulgi stared deeply into Irene’s dark eyes. They both sighed contentedly. If she could, she could just stay out here out on the sea forever, with the moonlight illuminating them, kissing her endlessly. Seulgi felt happy and safe in her arms.

Except when she looked past the older girl, she saw a particularly large wave forming and rolling their way. Seulgi’s eyes widened at the sight.

“That one looks nasty,” Seulgi warned her. Irene turned her head to see the threatening wave coming their way. When she looked at Seulgi again, there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“You think we can go against that?” Irene grinned. She didn’t wait for an answer, and quickly turned around in her seat again to face forward.

Seulgi gasped in disbelief as Irene started the engine again. “, are you crazy?” The jet ski began moving towards the wave. Seulgi held on really tight and shut her eyes. “No, no, no, this is not happening.”

There are three ways this could end, Seulgi thought. They could successfully go through or jump over the wave, or they could turn around and ride the wave like a surfer, or they could get hit by the wave and tip over.

Eyes still shut, she could hear the waves getting closer to them. She could feel Irene pick up the speed. Next thing she knew, she was hit by a sudden force of the water and rolled over, releasing her death grip on Irene, falling into the water.

She scrambled frantically, kicking and screaming, but her feet didn’t touch anything below. Her eyes were still shut, and her breathing became labored.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here,” she could hear Irene speaking to her. “Seulgi, you’re okay, you’re not drowning.” Her voice softened, and Seulgi could feel a pair of hands holding her frantic arms in place.

Seulgi opened her eyes. Irene was right in front of her, soaking wet, and floating along with her in the sea. Seulgi had forgotten they had life jackets on. Irene’s jet ski was right beside them, still upright with the engine on. Seulgi took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down.

“Now that—,” Seulgi gasped. She took another deep breath. “—could’ve killed me.”

“Okay, that one was my fault, I was reckless,” Irene admitted. She bit her lip, looking apologetic.

“Yeah,” Seulgi breathed out. “What,” she kissed Irene’s face, “—were you thinking?” She mumbled against her face and kissed her again.

Seulgi had never felt more alive.

“I wasn’t,” Irene shivered. She gulped as Seulgi started showering her face, and then her jaw, and neck with little kisses. “I wasn’t thinking, and it was kind of your fault.” Her hands reached out to grab a handful of Seulgi’s hair.

“How is any of this my fault? You’re the one that dragged me out here,” Seulgi pulled away to look at her, Irene whined at the loss of contact. Seulgi took in the sight of soaking wet Irene, illuminated by the moonlight. Beautiful.

She kissed her again, sloppier and more reckless than before but even more intoxicating.

“Let me make it up to you, then,” Irene mumbled in between their kisses. Her hand caressed Seulgi’s stomach and her legs wrapped around Seulgi’s waist in the water, and Seulgi felt a jolt of electricity tickling her in the stomach.

Seulgi got the message. “Not here, I’m officially traumatized,” Seulgi caressed Irene’s face. The older girl was looking at her with heavy-lidded eyes now. Seulgi gulped. "You sure you wanna do this with a guest? Won't they fire you? Wait, can they even do that?" She joked.

“Shut up," Irene kissed her again. They continued kissing for a few more minutes before breaking apart again.

"All right, we really gotta get out of here. I'm traumatized for real," Seulgi said. "Let's go."

They began moving towards the jetski. “My place or yours?” Irene said, giggling.

“My place, but this whole place is yours anyway,” Seulgi replied. She climbed onto the jet ski clumsily.

Irene smirked up at her as Seulgi helped her up. The older girl ended up sitting in the back, and Seulgi in front. “You want to try controlling this thing?” Irene reached out her hand to turn on the engine.

Seulgi put her hands on the handlebars and gripped them tightly. “Sure, maybe I can have a job too here. At least I don’t like to stupidly endanger a guest's life by speeding towards a huge wave."

Irene slapped her stomach playfully. Seulgi turned her head and kissed her once again before carefully steering the jet ski towards the shore, feeling more exhilarated than she had ever been in her life. There must be something in the water, or maybe for her it was all Irene. Irene’s whole being was like the smell of the sea, the sound of the waves, the warm sunlight, and the illuminating moonlight that Seulgi needed to soothe her heart.

A/N: Well, this is much longer than I intended it to be. I have no clue how to describe a beach so I just stick with what I know haha. I hope you guys like it :D

As for that unwritten scene, maybe you guys can just imagine it, maybe this song would help :p lmaooo (yes I did that y short cover)

Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think of the story! :D