WORDS UNSPOKEN

Haeundae in summer. The sun is shining, the sand beneath his feet feels soft and almost scorching hot, and there is a nice breeze coming from the sea. Hundreds and thousands of people are mingling at the beach – from groups of friends, to couples, to families. Everywhere he looks, Sehun finds smiling and laughing faces. He should be one of those gleeful people, too, enjoying the few weeks of summer vacation he has before his senior year of high school – known as the most exhausting and crucial of all years – starts but he’s busily running from one table to the other instead, serving ice cream and drinks and occasionally flirting with the ladies. He’s doing it only for the money though, because the girls are easy on him – a few nice words, a blinding smile, and all the females (especially the older college girls seem to like him) would be more generous, slipping another one or two thousand Won bills into his hand, along with a small note that contains their phone numbers.

Sehun doesn’t like that job, as it requires him to be all sunshine and rainbows. His cheeks are hurting from the fake smile on his face, and he’s one of the few people at the beach who’s still wearing a shirt. For one, it’s part of his uniform, and two, since he has to spend longer times outside waiting tables, he needs all the protection from the sun that he can possibly get. Having a creamy white complexion that makes even females envy him might be nice in winter, but when summer draws near, the chance of getting sunburnt grows. So far, he has been lucky and spared, but that might be because he stays in the shades as much as possible and applies another layer of sunscreen every few hours.

On second thought, Sehun doesn’t actually need this job. His parents ensured him they are well off, enough to pay college fees for Sehun as well, not for his older brother only, but when his uncle asked him if he wanted to help out during summer and earn some cash, Sehun had agreed immediately. Saving up a sum couldn’t hurt, after all, Sehun isn’t one hundred percent sure if he would be able to get a scholarship like his brother did, and he didn’t want to be a too great financial burden on his parents either.

So here he is, hundreds of miles away from home, in Busan, to help out in his uncle’s restaurant and bar (though of course his uncle doesn’t let him get anywhere close to the liquor since he’s still a minor).

“You’re popular with the customers,” his aunt says and smiles, and Sehun thinks that he was only asked because of his face – because he’s good-looking enough to be an ulzzang. He’s not necessarily the most efficient worker though he has gotten used to the job by now (he would like to think that he’s faster in serving foods and drinks than he was on his first day), but his skills as a waiter in terms of quality can still not measure up to the skills of a veteran like his aunt.




 

✉

It would be more fun with Jongin around, he thinks later at night when he’s in bed, on the brink of falling asleep. He’s been too exhausted the first few days, unfamiliar with almost sixteen hours of physical labor, but it gets easier with every day. He’s not drifting off to sleep immediately once his head hits the pillows tonight.

Jongin, he thinks. He hasn’t heard of his best friend for days, which is odd. They used to see each other every day, at school on weekdays, and at either the Kim’s or the Oh’s house on the weekends for gaming nights and movie marathons, occasionally to cram for midterms and finals, too. Their families often spend holidays together as well, so being apart from each other is new. He can’t even remember the last time he was unable to see Jongin. Was it first year of middle school?




 

✉

Hi Sehun,

I hope you’re not mad! Apparently, our seniors weren’t joking when they said our electronic devices would be taken, so I had no chance to call you or skype with you. Not that I could skype, we don’t even have WiFi here. It , but I guess the coaches have their reasons for being this strict.

I’m just glad I didn’t forget to pack the note with your uncle’s address! This is gonna be a real pain in the , writing letters and cards and such, but it’s also kind of cool. Vintage is in now, right? lol

Anyways, the weather here is nice and training is going well. The coach says if I keep up with this I might get recruited and contracted for one of the big names later. I really do hope that FC Seoul will recruit me!!! >.< I just need to do well in the national high school soccer tournament. The coach said there will be people watching the later matches, so I need to perform well. Hopefully our team gets past the qualification rounds and into the finals!!!

How are you doing though? Any fun stories to tell? I would say I’m dying out of boredom but that’s not true. The first days were hard and I knocked out the moment I laid down in bed. My muscles were a bit sore, too :( It should get better though, so no worries! I’ll be able to write and send letters more quickly I think!

Hope to hear from you soon!!!

Jongin

P.S.: Please don’t be lazy and write back okay?!?

✉

Sehun is glad to finally hear from Jongin after a week. It's odd not to know about his friend's day when usually, he knows the details, mostly because they spend so many hours of a day together and they talk about the missing hours in between, too. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about Jongin, he thinks, and nothing that he’s hidden from Jongin either. And although he is tired from work, Sehun decides to reply right away. He might forget to do so if he doesn't work on it now. Apart from that, if he writes his letter today, he could send it tomorrow morning during lunch break. He gets an hour long break, which is enough time to grab some food and jog over to the post office and back. Jongin will be able to read his letter the next day or the day after, so their reply intervals will be shorter - they will be able to hear from each other more often during their six long weeks of vacation, though it can’t compare to messaging and texting of course.

There is just one problem though – what to write? He's not used to write letters like this. The last time he wrote a letter – not counting formal letters – must have been during middle school when they were forced to write to a pen pal somewhere in the world. Was it China or Japan? They had to write it in English, too, which made it all the more difficult.

After starting with three or four different drafts, Sehun gives up. He decides to write down whatever comes to his mind, making it no different from his usual late night conversations with Jongin. They're best friends after all, so Jongin won't laugh at him, even if he comes up with the most hilarious and random thoughts.




 

✉

Hey there,

I honestly thought you died or maybe a bear ate you since you're somewhere in the forests??? I have no idea why your coach would think some place faaaaaaaaaaaaar away from civilization would be good training for you, as well as taking away your means of communication. Did he really though? Like... not even phones? What if there are emergencies? Can't you like... trick him and get your phone back? Don’t you get like thirty minutes to call family and friends a day?

As you know, my uncle asked me to help out in his restaurant so I'm waiting tables by the sea side. The sea breeze makes working under the sun more pleasant, but I still avoid staying outside for too long. Sun burns are nothing to joke with, we found that out together years ago, right?

Work is actually still hell. I have to run around all day carrying foods and drinks. The only good thing about this is the generous pay, mostly because the girls tip me well (flirting helps a lot!!! Though sadly I don't have the time to go out with any of them). My uncle is kinda stingy with the wage although I'm the one who brings in the customers because of my pretty face. Even my aunt admitted that!

But hey, one week is over, so there's only five more weeks to go. We'll see each other soon enough? Work hard towards your goal, Nini! I'll cheer you on from the sidelines!

Sehun

P.S.: I wasn't lazy, see? I wrote this the same day I received your letter! :P

✉

If Sehun is honest, he is a bit worried. It's the first time for him to send Jongin a letter. It shouldn't be too different from sending Jongin texts, right? Of course it is. It is a lot different. He doesn't get to see Jongin's reply immediately, so he doesn't know Jongin's reaction. He has to wait days until he can find out. Apart from that, his silliness and stupidity will be there, black on white, saved for the generations after if Jongin decides to keep and treasure them – which is a nice thought and gesture, but also horrifying if he’s keeping the letter only to taunt him for his horrible spelling or stupidly cheesy lines later.

It's days full of anticipation, as well as trepidation, as he awaits a response. What if he did sound stupid? It's not like he can erase it and make it undone. Jongin will have the proof, black ink on white, while Sehun doesn't quite remember what exactly it is that he wrote down. Did he spell check? He thinks he forgot, too tired that night.

While he is at work during day, Sehun forgets about the letter momentarily. There is no free minute for him. The restaurant is always rather full, girls lining up for a cup of ice cream or a glass of lemonade, just to have a chat with the young waiter.

At night is when he remembers Jongin's letter and the fact that he's sent a reply that hasn't been proofread although it had been written in one go. While for normal conversation it is okay to jump from one topic to another, he wonders how coherent that would be once written down. How coherent is he actually, when he speaks? Maybe he's always sounded dumb to Jongin, and Jongin telling him he's dumb wasn't jokingly said but actually full-heartedly meant?

It's been three nights and four days since Sehun has sent off his letter, and yet, Jongin has to reply. He hasn't received a word yet and wonders if maybe he had been too eager. What if Jongin doesn't feel the same? What if Jongin isn't that interested in his thoughts? What if Jongin doesn't think he's worth the effort to write a letter immediately after receiving a response?

It hurts Sehun's pride to imagine that Jongin might think that way, and he feels bad, too, for doubting their strong bond. But that would be the only solution, right? It doesn't take that long for a letter sent from Busan to arrive somewhere in Gyeonggi-do, two days at most. Unless... Unless the envelope got lost on the way, which is, in Sehun's eyes, almost impossible. Their mail service is fast and reliable after all. Though if he must choose between doubting Jongin's feelings and Korean Mail, then it surely would be the latter. Jongin is his best friend, and he is Jongin's best friend, that he is sure of. So should he write another letter and resend it? Probably.




 

✉

He waits. After sending a second letter in which he tells Jongin he sent one earlier, but maybe it got eaten by the mail sorting machines in the mail center it went through, there is still no reply after another three days. And now he is worried for real. There is another possibility he hasn't thought about before, and that might be an accident happening to Jongin that has therefore rendered him unable to reply (though in that case wouldn't Jongin's parents tell his parent and the news would be given on to him?), or maybe Jongin is too exhausted from all the practice to think about replying. Jongin said so in his first letter, right? That he was too tired to contact him the first few days, and maybe that exhaustion came back and multiplied. Whatever it is though, Sehun is getting more and more impatient and anxious as time passes without news from his best friend.




 

✉

Sehun swears he didn't count the days until he received Jongin's reply and he refuses to believe that it took Jongin exactly two weeks to have his letter put in his uncle's mailbox - Sehun is living at his uncle's place for the time being which explains his lover than average wage. His uncle deducts some money for water, electricity and food from it.

"What took him so long," Sehun grumbles that night when he opens the letter, but every word he reads brings a new tide of relief that washes through him, each one more intense than the other, so much he has to rub at the corners of his eyes, erasing any trace of moisture. He has completely forgotten his initial fury.




 

✉

Hi Sehun,

Sorry for the late reply. I got both your letters and I hope you didn't have to send a third one! I had no time to go to the post office in between since our room got punished. Taemin had sneaked in his PSP and got caught and the coach didn't believe us when we said we didn't know, thinking we were all covering him and then trying to save our own asses, so yeah... he made us work in the kitchen and doing the laundry (laundry stinks!!! :((( I'm honestly thankful my mom endures touching my sweaty sports clothes) and then he made us run extra laps as well. For one whole week!! A WEEK!!! We all died, and trust me, we'll continue to give Taemin hell for the rest of the year. You’re welcome to join us and give him hell as well ;D

Right now, I really wished I was with you instead, during all that time. Summer vacation when you can't spend some quality time with your best buddies. It also when you can't go to the beach and enjoy the water and the sun :(((

And I guess apart from that nothing really interesting happened. The punishment week is over now, so apart from replying as soon as possible, I’ll be resting. A lot. A very, very lot.

I hope you're doing better than I am. It's half time now, so there's another 3 weeks until training camp ends. Another 3 weeks until our senior year starts. And most importantly, another 3 weeks until we're both back in Seoul and able to hang out together.

Jongin

P.S.: Yeah yeah. I'm proud of you.

✉

Sehun is just glad that Jongin has received his letter, and no different from last time, he sits down right away to compose his reply. As he is in the midst of writing though, he halts in his motion, grimacing at the fat dot of ink on the paper. He puts down the pen and sighs.

He knows it's petty, but after waiting so long, he doesn't want to be the stupid one to always reply timely. He doesn't want to seem more eager than the other, knowing that his pride will be hurt if he was over-eager while Jongin isn’t. Tomorrow is as good as today, Sehun tells himself and goes to bed instead, leaving the letter to be written the next day.

And indeed, he's writing his reply to Jongin the following day. He woke up earlier than usual, his gaze automatically drawn to the bedside table where Jongin's letter is resting, so he decided to write then. Doing so after a good night's sleep is probably better because he can think more clearly now. His words don't sound accusing and disappointed as they would do if he'd written it right away - at least that's what Sehun thinks.




 

✉

Hi Jongin,

it you were punished for someone else's crime. I'll definitely join in and punish Taemin with you once we're back at school. Though I think you don't really miss me since you're working so hard towards your dreams. The only reason why you'd want to be in Haeundae with me would be the possibility of a passionate summer romance with a beautiful bikini queen. There are so many pretty girls around though, it's hard to tell who's the prettiest here. You'd only date the prettiest of the prettiest, right?

Anyways, work is easier on me now since I'm used to it. I think I make a fine waiter, so I might try finding some part-time job to do on the weekends later during college. Extra money is always good, even if you don't have an immediate use for it. I guess I'll save it for when I move out. That is if my parents let me move out once we graduate (they’ll only agree if both of us move into an apartment together I think).

The weather is still nice here. Sun, sand, and the sea breeze... the definition of summer vacation! I really do pity you being on soccer training camp in the woods (and I still don't understand why you're practicing soccer there??? No one plays soccer on top of the mountains!!!). Did they pump you empty of blood yet? lol

Sehun

✉

He's happy with the way he sounds on paper, hoping that his playful words will cheer Jongin up. Soccer camp must be harder than they both have expected despite Jongin being fit and showing a high rate of professionalism when it comes to training. Even without this kind of preparation Sehun is confident that Jongin will be able to snatch a contract with one of the better national soccer c