Jihoon, Soonyoung and Wonwoo are standing in front of Jerry’s surf shop, facing the ocean; the cool late afternoon breeze countering the heat from the sun. The skies are blue, so is the sea and Wonwoo’s expression.

“Why am I here?” Wonwoo wonders out loud, with a miserable tone. Soonyoung’s really good at persuading; if he’d applied himself more, Jihoon thinks that his best friend could become a lawyer – but Soonyoung wouldn’t be Soonyoung if he worked in a stuffy suit from nine to five, defending petty criminals. Earlier, Soonyoung had coaxed the video editor to join them at the beach, and he couldn’t get a word in between. In fact, Soonyoung wouldn’t let Wonwoo leave, telling him that he ‘needed to experience the magic first-hand’. To which Wonwoo had countered - filming isn’t magic, it's tiring; being experienced in the film industry.

Jihoon had watched the two bicker about going to the beach in the middle of the living room, sensing an interesting dynamic, as he munched on chips. Soonyoung had eased into Wonwoo’s company, transitioning from nervous silence to treating him like they’d known each other forever, with little puns and lame jokes. They hadn’t finished scouring the mountain of footage – in fact, Soonyoung kept rewinding them, giggling at the little details – so they still had more work to do. Wonwoo wanted to stay in, but in the end, Soonyoung had won, so here they are, standing right on the golden sand: a jaded small blond, an excited man-child, and a cranky cinematographer.

Jerry joins the trio on the beach, with the biggest grin on his face. “What are we looking at?”

“The sea, and beyond.” Soonyoung says dramatically, gazing into the distance. “For our destiny awaits…somewhere out there.”

Jihoon facepalms, while Wonwoo mutters something about having better things to do. The seagulls caw above, but Soonyoung’s unperturbed by the lack of reaction, continuing his little monologue.

“We’re like the surfing Avengers, waiting for Nick Fury to come. That would be Cheol-hyung, by the way. I’m gonna be Iron Man.” Soonyoung poses like the superhero.

“I don’t even surf.” Wonwoo’s definitely out of place, in his old jeans and jacket; while Jihoon and Soonyoung are both decked out in their surf gear. “Why do you need me here again?”

“Please help me film today. I’ll buy you steak.” Soonyoung immediately falls to his knees and begs.

Wonwoo contemplates Soonyoung’s request, rubbing his chin. It’s food – he does like steak – but he’s not getting paid. What a decision to make. Apart from food, he’s not gaining anything from this; and Wonwoo berates himself for agreeing to the whole thing in the first place – but there’s something about Soonyoung that stops him from saying no.

“Wanna go get your boards?” Jerry turns to Jihoon. The blond nods, and follows Jerry into his little shop, leaving the other two outside, for Wonwoo to either accept or reject Soonyoung’s desperate proposal.

“Welcome to Jerry’s Surf Shop!” A teenager, standing behind the counter, greets the both of them as they enter. His voice is so loud, that even Soonyoung and Wonwoo can hear him from outside.

“That’s the new kid. Tom.” Jerry says to Jihoon.

“It’s Thomas.” The kid insists, pouting.

“Fine. Thomas.” Jerry rolls his eyes; as the boy smiles, his chubby cheeks puffing out – reminding Jihoon of that kids’ show Thomas the Tank Engine. “This is Jihoon. He’s a regular – he keeps his board in the backroom.”

Thomas nods enthusiastically and jots something in a little notebook. “Right, boss. Are you from Korea, Mr Jihoon sir?” Thomas chirps, looking at Jihoon with bright eyes.

Jihoon’s not too open for conversation, so he simply nods.

“Wow! My mom’s from Jeju!” Thomas emphasises the last word excitedly.

“Good for her.” Jihoon mutters.

The three of them enter the backroom, where Jihoon and Soonyoung’s boards are leaning on a rack, ready for use.

“Do you need help, boss?” Thomas asks, watching Jerry take Soonyoung’s board from the rack.

“Nah, just go wait at the counter. We’ll be fine.” Jerry shoos the teen away, and Thomas scurries back out. “He’s a good kid. Sings too much, though. And it’s only his first day.” Jihoon simply nods, unsure of how to respond; as he helps Jerry extricate his board from the rack.

Soonyoung’s entered the shop, so Thomas greets him – again, louder than necessary. The kid’s practically a walking loudspeaker; a bundle of excited energy. Soonyoung, of course, being the friendly guy that he is, jokes around with Thomas before popping his head into the backroom to find Jihoon.

“Hoonie! Great news! Wonwoo’s agreed to film us today!” Soonyoung smiles as bright as the sun, excited that the bespectacled man would get to experience their adventures firsthand.

“Joy.” Jihoon says lifelessly, clutching onto his board. If only the surf lesson can start as soon as possible, so that he doesn’t have to lose his brain cells talking to these people.

“You still need to wax the boards, yeah?” Jerry reminds the pair, as they navigate their way out of the shack. Soonyoung, who’s forgotten how huge his board is, almost knocks into a rack of wetsuits. The vlogger apologises profusely, but Jerry simply brushes it off.

“Sorry that my shop’s too small. No harm done, anyway.” Jerry hands some board wax over to Jihoon. “Have fun out there, water looks good.”

Soonyoung and Jihoon sit on the sand, waxing their boards. Wonwoo’s gone off to grab Soonyoung’s camera at home; Soonyoung fully entrusting him with the house keys.

“You trust people too easily.” Jihoon comments. What if Wonwoo decides to ransack their house – maybe he doesn’t look the part, but the unsuspecting ones are usually the masterminds!

“Well, you don’t trust people at all.” Soonyoung counters, vigorously rubbing his board. “Wonwoo’s a reaaaaaaaally nice guy. You were the one who introduced us, anyway.”

“Fine.”

Soonyoung starts singing some Japanese pop song as he does his work; with Jihoon providing the harmonies at certain intervals. It’s soothing, listening to the ocean waves crash onto the shore while waxi