Seungcheol pulls up in front of Jihoon and Soonyoung’s rented beach house five minutes before nine o’ clock. He takes a deep breath, unsure of himself – did Jihoon even read his message? He’d only managed to wrangle Jihoon’s number from Soonyoung late last night, right after his meeting with Joshua in downtown LA. Seungcheol had texted Soonyoung for Jihoon’s number to set his plan in motion. It had been a long wait until the vlogger had finally replied – Seungcheol managed to drop Joshua off at his dorm at UCLA driving back to Malibu when his phone had vibrated with a text notification from Soonyoung, giving him Jihoon’s contact.

Now he sits in his jeep, wondering if he’d made a rash decision. The house looks quiet – the two best friends are probably still asleep, or already out and about somewhere else. Three more minutes until nine AM; and Seungcheol tells himself that he’ll go and knock on the front door at nine on the dot. His heart’s thumping; still doubting his judgement, though he knows what he’s doing is right. It’s only that he doesn’t really know Jihoon as a person, only as a hardworking surf student who apparently can’t swim. Seungcheol remembers the time he invited Jihoon to that party held by one of his friends from college, but he couldn’t even talk to Jihoon properly, swept into a sea of people he barely knew from college. He only found a drunk Jihoon in a corner then took him home when he’d fainted, letting him sleep in his apartment for almost a whole day. And even then, he still didn’t get to know Jihoon better – they’re still practically strangers.

Well, he’s going to fix that.

Yesterday was eventful – Seungcheol’s CPR skills were needed on an unconscious Jihoon. But he didn’t want to take advantage of Jihoon that way, so he’d tried for their lips to touch as minimally as possible; and focused on saving Jihoon’s life, breathing in air into his lungs.

The most important thing was for Jihoon to be safe. Getting intimate with Jihoon can come later.

Seungcheol remembers that Soonyoung’s friend Wonwoo had filmed the whole episode – from the moment Jihoon had disappeared into the wave, then he’d dove underwater when Soonyoung started shouting frantically from the shore. It took him a second to find Jihoon, eyes closed, with his foot still attached to his surfboard; so Seungcheol had to swim over and take off his leash before he grabbed the unconscious Jihoon to resurface.

Seungcheol didn’t know when Jerry had joined him, helping him to heave Jihoon onto his own surfboard, then towing it back to shore.

At that point, Seungcheol was already panicking inside, though he managed to keep a cool exterior. He’s responsible for Jihoon, being his surf instructor – and when they finally reached the shore, Soonyoung rushed over, trying to shake some consciousness into his best friend.

“He’s not breathing.” Jerry remarked, panting, as he threw Jihoon’s surfboard that he managed to salvage onto the sand.

“HOONIE, WAKE UP!” Soonyoung shouted dramatically, shaking Jihoon’s shoulders as hard as he could. Wonwoo was silently filming the whole time, easily ignored in the face of an emergency.

Jerry calmly took Soonyoung aside. “Soonyoung, that’s not helping. Jihoon needs CPR, like right now.”

Seungcheol can hear blood rushing in his ears, as he gently held on to Jihoon’s wrist to check for his pulse. It’s weak, almost barely there. Suddenly, that first aid course that he’d attended with Joshua in his junior year of college turned out to be useful – for some reason, he clearly remembered the segment on CPR.

“I’ll try to do it,” Seungcheol said, not recognizing his own voice; looking at the almost lifeless Jihoon lying on the hot sand. His heart was pumping in overdrive, adrenaline in his veins after rescuing Jihoon from the strong waves. But there was no time to lose – this was a matter between life and death; so Seungcheol threw away his thoughts and quickly applied what he’d learnt. Soon enough, Jihoon regained consciousness, choking on the salty seawater he’d swallowed.

Jihoon’s safe now. That’s all that matters.

The surfer never had the chance to properly reflect yesterday’s events – he’d rushed all the way to downtown Los Angeles to meet up with Joshua, and then when he’d gotten back to his little apartment in Malibu, he had been too tired, falling asleep on the couch, clutching the blue blanket patterned with stars to his chest.

Now, thinking back with emotions attached – Joshua’s always said that you have to compartmentalize your emotions when saving lives, especially in the emergency room, because emotions interfere with rationalization – Seungcheol tries to justify his actions, despite his underlying wants. Sure, he wants to know Jihoon better; but he’d saved Jihoon as his surf instructor, since he was the one liable for his student. He’s battling himself – trying to keep the relationship strictly professional as possible; but there’s this nagging little voice at the back of his mind that keeps telling him that Jihoon is special; and Seungcheol wants to know what makes him so.

Jihoon’s pink lips invade his mind: soft and salty from the sea water. Little rosebuds.

Someone taps on his car window, breaking him out of his thoughts. It’s Soonyoung, wearing a worried expression.

Seungcheol rolls down the car window. “Is Jihoon fine?”

“He won’t talk to me. I think he’s sad. When he’s sad, I’m sad, too.” Soonyoung pouts.

This alarms Seungcheol even more, making him doubt his decisions. Maybe it’s too soon to execute what he’d planned, especially after all that trauma – he should’ve asked if Joshua knew a psychiatrist!

“Soonie, move aside.” Jihoon says from behind Soonyoung. He’s too small, hidden by his own best friend – Seungcheol didn’t even see him coming. The blond’s wearing a simple white T-shirt and shorts, layered with his wetsuit underneath.

Soonyoung immediately grabs his best friend, squishing his cheeks. “Hoonie! Are you okay? I haven’t seen you since last night!”

“Yeah, yeah. Go look at your footage, you still have a lot to go through.” Jihoon mutters uncomfortably, since Soonyoung is still holding his face. “Now let my face go.”

Soonyoung complies immediately, gaping at his best friend, who nonchalantly enters Seungcheol’s jeep. “Hello, Seungcheol.” Jihoon simply nods at the surfer.