The Ice Cream Conundrum

By Eiryia

Seungyoon sighed as he peeked through the blinds of his bedroom window. The sun was already rising and he could tell through the mist that it would be another burning day.

Putting on his shorts and the mandatory ice cream shop t-shirt he made for the kitchen while rubbing on sunscreen on every piece of skin sticking out from his work attire. He weren't sure why he bothered, it wasn’t as if he would leave the shop before the sun was low on the sky anyway. It had become a habit he guessed.

Riding his bike down the turning roads he soon reached the long stretch of pavement by the beach leading to the tiny ice cream shop. He had worked there every summer since his early teens and it had earned him a good heap of pocket money. This year he had planned on just visiting his mom and staying in Seoul for the rest of the holiday, but that had changed when the old wife of the shop owner had called him. The owner who he used to help needed a hip replacement and could not work that summer.

So there he was, working the shop on his own all summer as a favor more than anything else. How he was supposed to do it all on his own caused him more than a little worry, but he liked a challenge and knew the routines well so he was willing to give it a try.

It was about two weeks into the holiday when he had begun doubting how he was supposed to keep this up for the rest of the summer. The amount of customers had increased drastically from the previous years and he often ended up working late into the night to make sure he had enough homemade ice cream for the next day.

There was only one thing that kept him going, or to be more exact, one person.

This person had showed up in the shop looking slightly bewildered and had slumped down on a chair close to one of the fans. The unfamiliar customer had caught Seungyoon’s eye right away because of his stunning looks and when the guy smiled had he silently made a prayer this person would stop by again soon. Seungyoon had learned during the short hour the stranger spent there that he was new in the neighborhood and that his sense of direction weren’t all that good. Now he couldn't find the right street home and his phone was dead. Seungyoon had offered the strange to charge his phone, but it was too crowded in the shop for him to talk to him any further that day.

His prayer was answered quickly because the next day had the same stranger stopped by, mainly to thank him for the help, but also because he loved ice cream. Over the next couple of weeks did the same guy stop by every day buying a different kind of ice cream each time while asking questions about the area whenever there was a quiet moment in the shop.

Seungyoon had to admit that he spent a good time each day sneaking glances at his new regular customer. The guy had this aura about him that drew him in and his stomach made a jump each time he caught a glimpse of that beaming smile. He wished he could get an opportunity to speak with him soon, just to find out more about him. A name would be nice, but he never got the time to sit down to ask.

The next day was the first overcast day by the sea since he had returned to the shop. He feared that his favorite customer wouldn't stop by that day, but he did even so. It was slightly calmer in the shop and Seungyoon was happy to see him hovering hesitantly by the counter waiting for him to have a customer free moment.

          "I was wondering if I could ask you something" he asked Seungyoon while taking a big scoop of his mint ice cream.

          "Ask away!" Seungyoon replied happily and wiped his hands on his pink apron. He waited while the guy ate another bite of his ice cream.

          "I’ve been trying to look for a part time job while i’m here, just to fill the days, but it seems it’s too late in the season. Do you happen to know about anywhere they need help?" he asked while looking into his ice cream, prodding it with his spoon. Seungyoon knew about a couple of places, but he already got a better idea.

          "Well, this place has been crazy busy this summer, I sure could do with some help, but I need to talk with the boss first" he began and looked at the guy who seemed happy at the prospect he was suggesting.

           "Do you have some kind of card or cv I can bring along to the boss?" he asked after mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with this on the spot.

          "I’m Jinwoo, Kim Jinwoo" the guy said and stretched out his hand. Seungyoon grabbed it before even thinking and tried to contain his excitement as he let it go to take the card. It only had Jinwoo’s name, number and email on it, but that would do.

          "I’ll try to get hold of my boss tonight or tomorrow. I’ll let you know" he told Jinwoo happily before putting the card safely into his pocket. Jinwoo smiled then and he smiled back. Seungyoon had a feeling his summer was just about to get a lot better.

He had gotten hold of the bosses wife the same evening. She had been hesitant, but agreed to stop by the shop the next day to see exactly how busy it was. Seungyoon knew his chances was good because it had been pure chaos since opening and she would be stopping by around lunch time when it was the busiest.

When she arrived the next day was it not only more crowded than usual, but the thermometer on the shop window told them it was one of the warmest days so far that summer.

He was struggling to tend to the customers like usual when she stepped in and struggled her way through the crowd. She didn't say anything, she just stepped behind the counter and picked up the extra apron and began helping out.

          "Why didn't you tell us it was this bad?" she said a bit accusingly while fanning herself with a couple of napkins. Seungyoon was about to explain when he recognized a familiar face approach the counter.

          "This is the guy I told you about last night, the one asking for a job" he explained as Jinwoo stopped before them. She only gave him a quick look and when he smiled at her was she just as sold as Seungyoon had been.

          "There is no doubt you need help" she began and pulled the apron up over her head. She then walked out from behind the counter and stopped before Jinwoo. "

You got the job, I’d say Seungyoon needs all the help he can get so work as much as you can and send in your hours at the end of each week" She then handed him the apron and walked towards the door. She stopped and looked at Seungyoon for a moment and mouthed something that looked like He is cute! before giving Seungyoon a wink and then she was gone.

Hoping Jinwoo didn't see that Seungyoon turned to Jinwoo. He wondered if it would be rude to ask Jinwoo to start working right away, but he didn't need to ask because Jinwoo was already making his way behind the counter.

If Seungyoon was to be completely honest didn't Jinwoo joining him behind the counter help at all. He did his best, Seungyoon didn't doubt that, but he kept making mistakes. That alone was embarrassing enough when he kept giving mint ice creams to people asking for pistachio ice creams.

          "Pistachio is green" he mumbled to Jinwoo after the fourth mix up. The customers seemed really forgiving of this however and one of the older women who stopped by regularly had even said that mint ice cream now was her new favorite, even if she had eaten pistachio ice cream every week for three years now.

Another thing that didn't help the situation in the shop was how they kept bumping into each other and their hands brushing as they both reached for the same ice scoop ever so often. There was almost always that moment of hesitation and it didn't go unseen by the customers.

When their first week of working together was over and the sun setting on the horizon in the evening had Seungyoon walked over to the entrance door, turned the open sign over to show closed before dropping down on the nearest chair. 

          "Ice cream?" Jinwoo asked holding up a scoop. Seungyoon shook his head.

          "I would much rather have a proper dinner, it has been a while" he sighed and wondered if his mother would be up to cooking him something when he got home.

          "How about I buy you dinner? As a thank you for getting me this job?" Jinwoo suggested and pulled his apron over his head. Seungyoon liked this idea a lot and they were soon out the door heading for the closest bbq place.

Energized by their dinner Seungyoon practically bounced down the pavement. He had hoped to get answers to some of his questions about Jinwoo while eating, but it had simply been too crowded and smoke filled. Now however they were out in the cool evening air walking by the beach.

          "How come you decided to move out here?" he asked casually while wiggling his toes in his sandals to get rid of some sand that got stuck. They had found an unoccupied bench and were now sitting side by side watching the sea at a distance.

          "Oh it’s just for the summer, I needed to get away from everything back in Seoul for a while" Jinwoo explained while taking off his shoes and socks only to shove his feet deep into the sand in front of them.

Seungyoon too would be returning to Seoul and his mind was quickly playing out all kinds of possible scenarios allowing for them to meet up back in the capital. He explained that he too was only in Busan for the summer, staying with his mother and helping out in the shop as a favor.

          "That’s really nice of you, and thank you for helping me get this job" Jinwoo began. Seungyoon just waved his hand as to say don't mention it.

          "I know I weren't of too much help this week, with the pistachio and all that" Jinwoo continued.

          "You will learn quickly enough I’m sure" Seungyoon replied, but he weren't so sure. Jinwoo seemed a little dense at times, as if his mind was somewhere else.

          "We will figure out a routine that works for us eventually" he added and thought maybe it was better to put Jinwoo with the registry while he did the ice scooping.

Seungyoon watched as Jinwoo got to his feet and began walking towards the sea. He soon took of his sandals and followed after him. Jinwoo seemed a bit lost in thought as he walked ahead of him and only stopped when his toes touched the water.

Seungyoon hesitated, watching Jinwoo’s back and noticed a slight change in his posture as the minutes flew by. As if he was sinking a bit into the sand where he stood watching the dark ocean.

Deciding it was time to break the silence he walked up to Jinwoo and shivered as he felt the cold ocean waters wash over his feet too. It was Jinwoo who spoke up first however; turning slightly towards him he smiled one of those incredible smiles of his and said: 

          "I’m so glad I came out here, let’s make the best of what’s left of the summer while working hard at the shop!"

The sudden change in the mood took Seungyoon by surprise and so he needed a moment to come up with his reply:

          "To the best summer yet" He said, although he weren't quite sure what that meant to him. Jinwoo being there seemed to up how he rated the summer considerably so it definitely weren't something he had doubts about. He knew Jinwoo would make all the difference in the world, even if he couldn't quite explain why he was so certain of this.

Over the next couple of weeks had they established a routine that seemed to work decently for both of them. Seungyoon had re-labeled all the ice creams and Jinwoo had slowly learned the systems for both the store and the storage.

Jinwoo had gone missing one time a couple of days into the second week, but Seungyoon had found him after half an hour. Jinwoo had managed to lock himself into the cold storage, fearing that Jinwoo would catch a cold after that he sent him home early. It didn't take long before Seungyoon missed having him around in the shop and that settled everything in his mind, chaos and stumbling over each other was well worth the struggle as long as he got to keep Jinwoo around.

They had kept up their weekly dinner outings as well, switching turns in who was buying and picking where to to eat. Their latest trip had been to a seafood restaurant where both of them had slurped their way through countless dishes.

He had learned a lot about Jinwoo over the weeks, that he was originally from Imjado, how he had worked many different jobs but that he had been discovered as a model a couple of years ago. It sounded to Seungyoon as if Jinwoo didn't really need the money, so why he needed the job at the ice cream shop was still a mystery to him.

Another mystery was why Jinwoo had needed to leave Seoul so much. Jinwoo had explained that he had just wrapped up shooting for several commercials that would be airing through the up coming autumn and that it had gone well. So Seungyoon didn't think it was work that pushed Jinwoo into fleeing the capital.

          "So.. I’ll be staying behind after work tonight" he said during one of their more quiet moments. They had just served a bunch of American tourists insisting on testing their Korean creating more trouble than necessary. Jinwoo looked up from organizing the straws and napkins at the edge of the counter.

          "Why? Is there anything I can do?" he asked and Seungyoon smiled. He couldn't ask Jinwoo to work overtime for this, but he figured he might as well tell him what he was up to.

          "The summer beach festival is coming up, it is tradition for the shop to make an unique ice cream each year to celebrate. I want to keep up the tradition even though the old guy isn't here to do the tastings this year" Jinwoo moved around the counter and stopped right beside him, appearing to be thinking hard.

          "You will be making a brand new type of ice cream?" he asked excitement obvious on his face now. Seungyoon weren't that excited about it himself, but felt his mood rising just watching Jinwoo’s enthusiasm for it.

          "Yes, yes I will try" he replied smiling, watching Jinwoo’s face light up more and more for each moment.

          "Naming it and everything?" Jinwoo asked next. 

          "Yep!" he replied, they usually just named it after what they put in the ice cream, but he didn't tell Jinwoo that.

          "You will let me join right? Can’t hurt with some help?" They both looked at each other in silence for a moment before they both burst out laughing.

          "If you disappear again do I know where to look" he teased and Jinwoo scratched his neck pretending to have no idea what he was talking about.

It turned out that Jinwoo was a rather creative guy and so they only spent a good hour after work creating the shopping list for the ingredients they would be needing. The beach festival started on Friday the same week so they would have to hurry out and get the ingredients the following day.

          "Why do we have mango on our list but not any kind of melon?" Jinwoo said and held up two different kinds of melons. They had closed the store early that day to be able to catch the markets before they shut down for the evening.

          "If you got some more ideas feel free to pick up what you need" he replied and it didn't take Jinwoo long before he was bouncing along the rows picking up all kinds of ingredients. Amused he felt a surge of inspiration as well and followed along picking up a few extra things himself.

Staring at each other they both laughed in unison like they had so many times lately. In their excitement had they picked up way too much stuff, forgetting that they actually would have to carry it home afterwards. Jinwoo was stronger than he looked, but even he was struggling. In the end had they asked a local supermarket if they could borrow a cart to bring stuff back to the store which the young girl had happily agreed too after being exposed to their charming selves.

          "I didn’t know you could be that charming" Jinwoo mused as they struggled with the cart, trying to pull it up on the sidewalk.

          "I could say the same thing" Seungyoon replied, attempting to lift the other side of the cart. Their eyes met then and there was this strange mood hanging in the air around them unlike all the other times when they had just laughed. Suddenly feeling embarrassed he looked away before giving a little the cart one more push. That did the trick, but it also bumped the watermelon out of the cart and it was now rolling down the pavement.

          "Better catch that" he mumbled catching a glimpse of Jinwoo’s now curious expression.

The melon got a good head start on him and he had to sprint to catch up with it. When he grabbed it was it only seconds before it would have hit the wall smashing into tiny pieces. Huffing for breath he stood and watched Jinwoo follow down the hill after him with the cart. 

          "Nice catch" Jinwoo praised and Seungyoon couldn't help but to smile. It was rare for him to get praise for his athletic abilities.

He continued to carry the watermelon back while Jinwoo dealt with the cart. It was a nice summer evening and the breeze coming in from the ocean made the walk even more pleasant. They kept chatting as they walked, neither wanted to reveal their new ice cream ideas suddenly and by the time they had arrived back at the shop had it turned into a full on competition.

Seungyoon had already taught Jinwoo the basics of making ice cream as they had been re-stocking the storage the previous week. They were now setting up each their own work space preparing for a long evening at work.

Standing with their back to each other it was hard to sneak glances, but Seungyoon was more than a little worried about trying the ice creams later after having spotted something that looked like soy sauce once. They both worked hard in silence and when they were done did they have both have 12 new contenders fighting for the spot as this year’s winner.

Having placed all the ice creams in the freezer they began cleaning up neither saying a word, but like usual was it Jinwoo who broke the silence.

          "Let’s make it a tasting competition tomorrow, whoever guesses the others ice creams right gets the final say in which ice cream wins this year" he said and Seungyoon agreed to this right away. After all, he was the one with several years of experience.

          "Tomorrow it will be settled then" he said as the two of them left the shop. Jinwoo nodded with a serious expression. Seungyoon could only hope that at least one of them turned out well, he had gone a bit overboard in the heat of the moment.

Saying goodbye they headed home in each their own direction. Seungyoon didn't know about Jinwoo, but he was filled with anticipation and excitement. He kept thinking back to that moment by the store as he biked home. The way they had looked at each other then, it had never happened before. It was almost as if they accused the other for flirting, but it weren't really anything wrong with that now was it? His mind told him it was nothing, but he felt strange about it.

His mother gave him a closer look than usual when he got home, she even asked if something happened. He told her it was the pressure of the ice cream project that probably got to him. She just shook her head, she had already made a point earlier by asking why he would bother with it when there was so much else to keep on top of at the shop that summer.

Jinwoo studied his appearance in the mirror one last time. He was the happiest he had been in months, even though the job he was doing now was a way more demanding physically than his usual modeling jobs. Yet still the days flew by and as his agent kept reminding him; he only got two weeks left.

Two weeks before he had to return to what was his old hectic miserable life. Back to the superficial people, the unreasonable demands, the endless loneliness and the many nights laying awake thinking. These last few weeks had the physical exhaustion alone been enough to put him to sleep and the prospects of a new day was enough to get him up in the morning. He would do anything to make this summer last forever, but the seasons changed and with them came new obligations. He knew he would have to go back, but he just weren't ready yet.

His phone went of as he stepped out of the front door of his rented studio apartment, it was his agent and he had no intentions of speaking with her that day either. Turning off his phone completely he started on the short walk down to the beach. If he was the reason she got her first gray hairs then so be it. Today would not be ruined by her unstoppable calling and messaging.

          "Good morning!" he greeted Seungyoon as he walked in. Seungyoon was sipping on a coffee from the coffee shop next door and indicated that the one standing on the counter was for him. Taking a sip he found it to be just as he liked it.

          "We are going to need that extra energy today, first we need to run the store all day, then we have to pick a winner of the ice cream challenge before spending the evening making more of the winning batch for the festival" Seungyoon said before taking another big sip of his coffee. Jinwoo had noticed a small glint of something in Seungyoon’s eyes as he mentioned their competition, but he didn't comment on it.

          "Should be fun!" he said instead, trying to keep his voice light. He sure was excited about it and he was confident that he would win in the end.

The hours spent tending to the shop flew by like usual. The weather was warmer than ever and with each entering customer did the room get filled with a new wave of the scorching air outside. The store was really busy as to be expected with the festival starting the next day and he felt as if he couldn't move fast enough because the queue lining up by the counter appeared unending.

He and Seungyoon kept bumping into each other all day, the stress was obviously getting to him as well, causing them both to be less cautious.

At one point had they crashed chest to chest, noses bumping into the others. Slightly dumbstruck by the situation they both froze earning them the attention from the entire store.

It took his heart a good ten minutes to calm down after that. It felt as if where they had touched in that moment had made a permanent mark. Rubbing his nose he couldn't help but to smile, crashing into people weren't usually something that made him happy, but this was different. A part of him only wanted that; to be as close to Seungyoon as possible.

There was several almost crashes throughout the afternoon and their hands seemed to brush the others even more often than before. Every time it happened his skin felt tingly and his heart beat faster. The realization of what this meant to him made him anxious beyond words, yet he couldn't help but to enjoy each moment to the fullest.

When the last customer left for the day did they both slump down in each their chair with a big sigh.

          "Today was hectic" he said, knowing perfectly well he was stating the obvious. Seungyoon nodded and leaned forward as if actually heaving for breath. Instead he said:

          "Tell me about it" before getting to his feet. Jinwoo watched him from his seat by the door. His eyes moving from his dark fluffy hair, to his broad shoulders all the way down to his narrow back. His thoughts about the almost non-existent was interrupted by Seungyoon saying:  

          "I think we need some cooling down and we got 12 different kinds of ice creams to taste" Seungyoon was standing by the door to the backroom of the shop looking straight at him. Jinwoo’s exhaustion from moments before vanished in that exact moment and he bounced to his feet, following after Seungyoon into the backroom.

          "So I figured to make things even harder we wear these while trying the others ice cream" Seungyoon said and held up two towels used to drying of dishes. It took Jinwoo a moment to grasp what he was suggesting, but he didn't protest. Instead he asked who was to go first. After several rounds of rock, paper, scissors was it decided that he was the one to go first.

Hearing Seungyoon’s rolling laughter as he tied the dish cloth over his eyes he suddenly felt anxious. What if Seungyoon had made the nastiest ice creams to get back at him for screwing up so many times that summer. No he wouldn't do that. Would he?

          "Open up" he heard and felt a spoon hit his lips before he could react. Jolting in surprise the spoon bopped up into his nose before smearing his cheek with ice cream.

          "Pay attention will you?" he heard Seungyoon say, but the way he said it told him Seungyoon was highly amused by the situation. He was about to wipe his face with the back of his hand when he felt a warm thumb brush against his lips and nose. Letting his hand hang mid air he waited as Seungyoon wiped the ice cream gently of his face.

          "This one really didn't turn out too bad" Seungyoon said and Jinwoo guessed he had tasted the ice that had just been wiped of his face. Heart beating faster he tried to get his voice in control before speaking.

          "Enough with showing the ice up my nose, I want to taste it too!" he said trying to sound cheeky, but feared his slightly trembling voice gave him away.

Seungyoon had been right, it was a good one. It tasted a mix between nutty and chocolatey and he had guessed some kind of nougat. The tasting of the other five had gone smoother. Only once had he been left with ice cream dripping of his chin which Seungyoon had wiped away the same way as the other times. He thought he must at least have guessed half of them right so his chances weren't that bad. He was relieved when he could take of the blindfold and have a look at the ice creams.

          "4 out of 6, that’s pretty good! I still think I can guess all of yours though" Seungyoon said with a smug smile before putting on his own blindfold. Jinwoo could understand his confidence, but he himself was so caught up with the tingling sensation that was still lingering on his face that he could hardly think about the ice creams anymore.

Looking at Seungyoon’s confident pose, sitting on the kitchen bench next to him with feet slightly dangling in the air he struggled to shift his attention to the task ahead.

          "Okay, here comes the first one" he warned. His hand was shaking slightly and he was happy that Seungyoon was blindfolded so he couldn't see it. His eyes focusing on the plump lips now directly in front of him his hand began shaking even worse. By some miracle was Seungyoon’s nose saved from being filled with ice cream as the spoon found its destination.

          "This is gross!" Seungyoon exclaimed after tasting the ice cream for only a couple of seconds. This was the gummy fish/soy sauce one and he couldn't blame Seungyoon for thinking that, but it was to his favor now because Seungyoon guessed wrong. The first one had been his wild card and the others were safer options.

He had arrived at the last ice cream, a wild berry flavored pink one. Just the smell was refreshing and sweet, making him long to try it himself.

Instead he scooped up a spoonful and stepped towards Seungyoon.

          "Ok, here is the last one" he said and watched as the ice cream disappeared in between the pink lips. The others times had he stepped away to watch Seungyoon’s reaction. This time, instead, he took another step closer so that he was standing between Seungyoon’s still slightly dangling legs.

          "You got some ice cream there" he said, trying to sound casual, but instead of using his hand like Seungyoon had done, did he lean in. Lips fractions from Seungyoon’s he hesitated for a moment, before pushing his own lightly against Seungyoon’s.

A tingly chill went up his spine as their lips met and he realized in that moment exactly how much he had longed to do just this. A simple kiss, a stolen moment to heal what he had thought to be his numb heart. A heart that was now very much feeling everything and it blew him away. It was warm, sweet and so much more than any kiss he had shared with anyone in a long long time.  

There had been no ice cream on Seungyoon’s lips, yet they tasted sweet of wild berries. After the first kiss had he stopped for a moment, letting Seungyoon push him away if he had wanted to. Seungyoon had obviously wanted no such thing. One of Seungyoon’s hands had found his and he held it confidently in his own, fingers intertwined. The other soon found his nape, pulling him in closer.

His brain now felt like it had been replaced by a ball of fluff and with his heart beating what seemed dangerously fast he was wondering how he could still be alive. Staggering he removed the last bit of space between them so they were practically chest to chest. He wondered if Seungyoon could feel his heart as he was sure it soon would beat it self out of his chest leaving him for dead.

He was just about to pull away in need of air more than anything else when he felt teeth bite down carefully on his bottom lip. Opening his eyes he stared straight into Seungyoon’s. They were playful, but he thought he could see a hint of what he was feeling in them too. Letting go of his lip Seungyoon said:

          "I think we found the winner"

Smiling Jinwoo stepped away, needing a moment to collect his thoughts and to calm his roaring mind. This was not what he had expected to happen. In his mind he had kissed him, been rejected and gone home in certainty that there was nothing there. That this was simply a one sided crush, another heartbreak for him to suffer through before going back to being numb. Instead Seungyoon had kissed him back and not just in a curious or hesitant way.

Taking a spoonful of his berry ice cream he enjoyed the coolness of it but he was certain it would not help him calm down even a bit.

          "You are right" he said, still with his back to Seungyoon, holding up his empty spoon as to emphasis that he was talking about the ice cream. He then felt a hand grab his around the wrist carefully, lowering it to his side. Slowly turning around to face Seungyoon he whispered more than he spoke:

          "We found the winner"

It was past midnight when they finished making the ice cream and setting up the shop for the festival the next day. They were both so exhausted they were swaying on the spot after having locked up the shop for the night.

The sun had gone down hours ago and as they leaned on the shop wall could Jinwoo clearly hear the rush of waves beating in against the shore down on the beach. His mind was going over everything that had happened. Their kisses and then nothing, neither had dared bring up the subject of what now. 

          "I wonder if biking home in this condition would count as drunk cyckling" Seungyoon mumbled and took a couple of steps towards the alley where his bike was parked.

 Jinwoo heard the bike fall over with a loud ruckus and that settled it in his mind. He would have no Seungyoon getting splatted against the pavement due to exhaustion on his watch.

          "I live right up this street you know, you could just crash there tonight. It would allow you to sleep in longer tomorrow as well" he suggested while peeking into the alley where Seungyoon was just staring at his bike.

Seungyoon didn’t reply, instead he locked up his bike again and walked out of the alley. They began on the short walk, picking up some cup ramen at a convenience store on the way. When they were about half way there had he tripped over his feet, but Seungyoon had grabbed him by the arm last minute saving him from a very unpleasant meeting with the asphalt. Mumbling his thanks he felt as Seungyoon’s hand loosened its grip of his arm, but instead of letting go completely had it slowly moved down to his wrist before grabbing his hand.

He gave the hand a little squeeze after holding it for a moment, but he didn’t dare to check Seungyoon’s expression. They walked like that, in half darkness to the sound of insects and the occasional car, hand in hand all the way up to his apartment. Regardless of his exhaustion was his feelings in high gear, trying to understand and slowly building up hope that this all could lead to something more. That the end of the summer weren’t the end for them.

Jinwoo worried for a moment that he had left his keys back at the shop, but found it in the last pocket he checked.

          "It’s just a studio I’m renting for the summer" He explained as he pushed the door open. Seungyoon followed after him, looking around curiously. Everything was white except some blue pillows and curtains. Above the living space was a small mezzanine with a double mattress, but he had already offered that he could take the sofa for the night.

          "Do you have a stain remover?" Seungyoon asked suddenly and Jinwoo looked at him surprised.

          "I don’t have an extra shirt and this one got ice cream on it" he explained while pointing to the ice cream stains. Jinwoo had no such thing, but he had a washer and dryer so within moments were both their work shirts swirling in the washer.

There was a moment where they both just looked at the others shirtless body, but neither said a word about it. Instead Seungyoon pointed to the mezzanine before asking if he got spare shirts up there. Nodding he watched as Seungyoon struggled to climb up the ladder.

          "I’ll boil us some water then" he said more to himself than Seungyoon after having watched him climb safely to the top. He fetched the noodles they had left in the small hall and begun setting up while the water boiled. After he was done and the food was ready for serving had he called up to Seungyoon, but he got no answer.

Climbing up the ladder he saw a pair of feet sticking out from the mattress.

          "Seungyoon?" he asked while he kept climbing. There was no reply. Did he really fall asleep? Jinwoo wondered and crawled around to the other side.  

There he was, already sound asleep on his back. Jinwoo shook his head at the sight, but enjoyed it all the same: The pale skin with the slight tan line where his shirt ended on the neck and arms, the way he was well built for his skinny frame and the smooth skin that called out for him to reach out a hand to touch it. What light they had up there came from the city lights shining through the roof window above them along with the moon and it only added to the mood. Seungyoon seemed almost glowing against the dark blue bed sheets.

          “Who needs food anyway” Jinwoo sighed and dropped down on the mattress beside Seungyoon. Laying on his side he watched him sleep for a long while taking the opportunity to study his every feature. From his cute rounded nose and slightly puckered pink lips to his sharp jawline. How someone could have a face that round and still a jaw like that.. Mind boggled with all kinds of thoughts about the person laying next to him he dropped down onto his back. 

Staring up through the roof window he could barely see the moon against the neighboring roofs. Seungyoon mumbled something beside him and stirred a little. Jinwoo felt the warmth of a hand brush against his own and turning only slightly he found it and grabbed it lightly.

          “Let this be our beginning” he mumbled into the night sky as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

I wanted to write something summery situated in Busan. This was the result. Did you like it? I added the last part as a gift to those who I know have already read this as an unfinished draft. The fact that people come back to re-read my stories baffles me, but thank you! If my story made you smile today then my goal is achieved! 

Thank you for reading ❤️