It was a nice day so Wonwoo’s mother had decided to go to the beach with Wonwoo and his little sister. Even though Wonwoo didn’t want to go, he didn’t have a choice as his mom stated it was good for him to see some sunlight. So here he was, with sand in between his toes and a bad mood. His mother had left with his sister to buy ice cream so he was alone. Being done with sitting around in the sand doing nothing he decided to go swimming. Looking back at where his mother was walking towards their place again he ran up to her.

 

“I'm going swimming for a bit okay?” Not really waiting for an answer he went to the sea. The water felt cold on his feet, but also refreshing in the warm sun. He slowly walked further until he was completely soaked. He let his feet leave the ground and started floating away. There was almost no wind, which meant the waves from the sea were small and he could easily swim through them. He swam for a long time not noticing how far he was getting from his family on the beach. When he looked up he only saw blue around him and no other people. Feeling a slight panic rising inside of him he turned around to swim back to shore. But he had no idea which direction he came from. Deciding on a side he started moving again, hoping he would soon see the yellow of the beach on the horizon. For what felt like ages he kept swimming but the shore was still nowhere in sight. Soon he felt himself grow tired and started struggling to keep afloat. He managed for about five more minutes before he was completely worn out and started getting cramps everywhere. Is this how he was going to die? On his own somewhere at sea, where it might take weeks before someone would find his body? If only he had started doing sports this summer like his mom wanted. Then maybe he would've been able to keep swimming until shore. With that last thought crossing his mind he accidentally swallowed a big gulp of water and started sinking to the bottom of the sea. Not long after he lost consciousness.

When Wonwoo came to he was half lying between the benches on a small boat. On the other side of the boat someone Wonwoo has never seen before was wringing out his shirt. The stranger had brown hair and even while sitting seemed like he was taller than Wonwoo himself. The guy had quite the handsome face and his body wasn't bad either if Wonwoo was being honest with himself. Sensing he was staring he quickly looked around and saw… well blue like before. But wait how had he ended up in a boat? Wasn't he like drowning a minute ago?

 

“Wha-” his voice cracked immediately because of the water he inhaled, so he coughed to clear it. “What happened?”

 

The stranger looked up surprised to see the other awake. He quickly put his shirt back on before answering the other. “Well I think you were swimming but then you started drowning so I jumped in to save your life.” The handsome stranger gave Wonwoo a bright smile. “My name’s Mingyu by the way.”

 

“Uhm thank you a lot I guess... My name is Wonwoo.” He smiled back.

 

“Were you swimming alone or were there others I didn't save with you?” Mingyu looked a little distressed at the thought of having let other people drown.

 

“No, don't worry I was alone. My mother and sister are back at the beach. They’re probably worried about me, especially my mom.” Wonwoo looked around the sea. “Do you know which way we need to row to get back at the beach?”

 

“I think I have an idea if we just follow the waves then it should work. Wait I’m just going to get the- oh yeah, right…” He let out an embarrassed laugh while scratching the back of his head.

 

“What’s wrong?” Wonwoo asked concerned.

 

“I kind of lost my paddles while saving you…”

 

“Oh… But don't you have an extra pair or something?”

 

“Yeah but I always leave them at home. I didn’t think I would ever need them” For some reason Mingyu didn't seem that bothered by it.

 

“So that means we’re stuck.” Wonwoo stated defeated. Mingyu nodded anyway and sighed. “Guess we’ll have to wait then.”

 

“I guess so” They both sighed again and it became silent. The silence didn't last very long though, as Mingyu spoke up again.

 

“Hey, did you know that my favorite color is red?” Surprised, Wonwoo looked up at the words.

 

“We just met, of course I wouldn't know that.” Had his rescuer accidently swallowed too much salt water or something? Would he have to deal with this randomness until they had finally drifted to shore?

 

“Well you know now!” Mingyu yelled enthusiastically not bothered by Wonwoo’s bewildered look at him. He shrugged. “We're stuck here now anyway, let's use the time to get to know each other better. It's not like we have anything else to do.”

 

It stayed silent for a moment before Wonwoo softly spoke up again. “My favorite is blue.”

 

“That’s nice! Blue’s my second favorite! And what’s your favorite animal?” Mingyu asked excitedly.

 

“A cat.”

 

“Cats are nice but I prefer dogs.”

 

“I’m… I’m actually afraid of dogs.” Wonwoo admitted sheepishly.

 

“How can you be afraid of dogs? They’re so cute and cuddly!”

 

“Yeah, but their teeth aren't.”

 

“And you aren’t afraid of cats’ claws then?” Mingyu retorted sounding a little offended.

 

“No, why would I be?” Wonwoo asked confused.

 

“Well they can hurt you and- urgh nevermind, what’s your favorite music group?”

 

“Well my sister listens to that new group Seventeen a lot and I guess I kinda like them as well.” He answered with a shrug.

 

“I like Seventeen too! But now it’s your turn to ask something!”

 

“Alright uhhh, how old are you?” Wonwoo asked realizing he didn't know the age of his savior. Judging by looks he was probably the same age as him or maybe a little younger.

 

“Oops I haven’t even asked you that! I’m eighteen, you?”

 

“Oh, that means I’m your hyung, I’m nineteen.” They continued asking each other questions for the next hour. By now Wonwoo felt like he knew more about Mingyu than about the friends he had known his whole life! Wonwoo was also surprised at how comfortable he felt talking with the other, normally he was quite awkward with people he had just met. But with Mingyu he felt like he had already known the other for all his life. By now they had already asked all the standard questions, some not so standard questions, had horribly off-key sung around four Seventeen songs during which they found out they both were more enthusiastic about rapping than singing and ate all the snacks Mingyu had stored in the boat. Right now Mingyu had started asking about his love life. He had already asked if Wonwoo had a girlfriend right now. Which the answer to was of course no, since Wonwoo wasn't interested in girls (not that he had a boyfriend either), but you don't just tell that to someone you met only moments before.

 

“So,” Mingyu asked “How many girlfriends have you had?”

 

“None actually.” Wonwoo answered honestly. He had had three boyfriends though.

 

“So you've been single your whole life.” Mingyu said in disbelief. “With your face I have trouble believing that.”

 

Wonwoo was having serious doubts about what he should tell Mingyu. He wanted to tell him the truth. The other seemed like someone who wouldn't judge him over something like this and he didn't want to lie to him either. BUT they were stuck in a small space with no escaping each other. If Mingyu was bothered by him being gay then the next hour(s) was/were going to be really tough to get through. In the end he decided to not react to the statement at all, but instead ask a question himself. “What about you?”

 

“Three girlfriends and a boyfriend.” Mingyu answered looking a bit embarrassed but confident about his decision to admit it to Wonwoo. “I hope you don't mind.”

 

“I don't, actually I’ve had a few boyfriends myself.” Wonwoo replied with a small smile. What are the chances he’d manage to get stuck with someone who liked boys as well? He’d already have been satisfied if Mingyu had just been okay with him. But to think Mingyu was the same... maybe this meant he would stand a chance with the other.

 

“I knew I was right that you couldn't have been single all your life! Did you really think I would’ve minded?” Mingyu asked him a little offended. “Well I guess that’s actually pretty logical but nevermind. It’s okay, we haven’t known each other for a very long time yet. But you should know by now that I wouldn't judge you or anything”

 

“That's what I thought, but it never hurts to be careful you know. Especially if you're stuck together in a small boat for god knows how long.” Wonwoo chuckled and instantly felt comfortable again.

 

“But you spoke the truth when I asked you if you were single right?”

 

“Yes of course, why would I lie about something like that?” Wonwoo was a bit confused, why was Mingyu so interested in that? Did it mean Mingyu was attracted to him as well? “Are you? Single I mean.”

 

“Yes, otherwise I would have told you.” Mingyu said. After some thought he added. “Do you maybe want to go out with me some time? After we reach the shore again of course.”

 

“Yeah I would like that!” Wonwoo blushed, the last time he had been asked on a date had been quite a while ago. To be honest he was quite excited to go on a date with Mingyu. “But it will take some time to reach the others I guess.”

 

“Wanna make out?” Mingyu suggested waggling his eyebrows. Wonwoo blushed even harder and hit the other on his shoulder.

 

“No! You idiot, think of something else.”

 

“Hahaha well it’s your turn then, I already suggested something”

 

“We could play ‘would you rather’ I guess.” Wonwoo suggested. “I'll start, would you rather be stuck on a dangerous island or stuck in a desert?”

 

“Easy, I would rather be stuck on a dangerous island because there would be adventure and those things.” Without either of them noticing time flew by. In what felt like seconds, but what was really close to two hours, they saw land on the horizon.

 

“Do you think that’s the beach?” Wonwoo asked while squinting his eyes to see better.

 

“I think so, I mean look at all the yellow!” Mingyu yelled excitedly and started using his hands to paddle. Suddenly Wonwoo heard a splash. Apparently Mingyu had decided pushing the boat to shore would be faster.

 

“Stupidhead we're still way too far from the beach to start pushing. You'll tire yourself out before we're even halfway there.” Wonwoo spoke while shaking his head at Mingyu’s stupidness.

 

“We aren’t too far from the shore, you can see it too right!?!” Mingyu was still very determined but soon realized they were indeed too far from the shore and that he was becoming tired. Stubbornly he continued swimming, but it didn’t take long before he had no choice but to crawl back into the boat.

 

“I told you that it was a stupid idea. You should’ve listened to your hyung.” Wonwoo looked amused at Mingyu who was struggling to regain his breath.

 

“Well we wouldn’t get any further if I hadn't done it.” Mingyu retorted offended. They lapsed into a comfortable silence while they slowly drifted to shore. Soon they got so close that they were around people again. Quickly they jumped out of the boat and started pushing it to the beach. It took five minutes until the boat touched the ground.

 

“Finally!” They yelled out at the same time as they let themselves fall to the sand. The other beachgoers looked at them a little weird but they didn't care.

 

“Maybe we should rest a little bit before trying to find my family.” Wonwoo said while looking over at Mingyu.

 

“Yeah.” Mingyu breathed out and so they lay still for a few minutes. When the third child tripped over Mingyu’s legs they decided it was time to move.

 

“Alright let’s get going!” Wonwoo said while standing up. He looked over at the other who was also getting up. “Should we take your boat with us?”

 

“I can pick it up later I guess. We should find your mother first.” Wonwoo nodded at him before looking around.

 

“I can see the restaurant over there I think.” Wonwoo pointed at a black spot on the horizon to their left. “If I remember correctly, we were seated at the other side of it.”

 

“Alright then, let’s go!” And so they went. After walking for a while Wonwoo started recognizing his surroundings.

 

“My family should be close to here.” The moment he said it they heard a woman's voice scream out Wonwoo’s name.

 

“Wonwoo! My baby! Finally, where have you been?! I was so worried, you were gone for three whole hours!” As soon as she was close enough she pulled Wonwoo into a suffocating hug.

 

“Mom I’m sorry I was kind of lost…” Embarrassed Wonwoo tried to get out of the hug. Behind him he could hear Mingyu try to keep in his laughter.

 

“Well, still, you almost gave me a heart attack! You should be more careful next time! Who knows what could’ve happened?” His mother scolded him while finally letting him go.

 

“Sorry…”

 

“I’ll go tell your sister you’ve been found.” His mom told him and turned around to go back to their towels. “Say goodbye to your friend and come to the car. We're going home!”

 

Before Wonwoo could even answer his mother she had already walked away. Wonwoo heard Mingyu let out the laugh he was holding in behind him so he turned around.

 

“Your mom really is something.”

 

“Yeah I know but I’m sure she does those things because she cares about me.” Wonwoo smiled shyly. For a while they just stood looking at each other a bit awkwardly. “I guess we should exchange phone numbers for our date.”

 

Mingyu was still staring at him before he realized the other said something. “Oh yeah I guess that is a great idea!” he smiled afterwards. After exchanging their numbers they got ready to say their goodbyes.

 

“Well I guess I should go follow my mom now, shouldn’t I?” Wonwoo asked, but didn't make any effort to actually walk away.

“Yeah probably.” Mingyu said while taking a step closer to the other. “But before you go…” He swung one arm around Wonwoo’s waist to pull him closer and used his other hand to caress his face. Even though there were still a few people around on the beach, Wonwoo didn’t mind and put his arms around Mingyu’s neck and leaned in. Softly their lips touched each other's. A warm feeling spread through Wonwoo’s chest and he sighed happily. The kiss didn't last very long, but it was enough for now. They gave each other one last hug before waving their goodbyes.