After spending most of the afternoon at the hospital, Yoongi and Soo Jin finally left. “My grandma is so embarrassing!” Soo Jin wailed as they drove back towards the beach. Yoongi chuckled. “I don’t know, I think it’s quite interesting that you were on the swim team and the chess team.” He teased. Soo Jin sank down further in her seat. “Shut up.” she groaned. Yoongi laughed, enjoying teasing her. The whole time they had been at the hospital, her grandmother had boasted about all of her achievements growing up, much to Soo Jin’s embarrassment. She had asked Yoongi a lot of questions about his life and from what Yoongi could tell, she was intent on playing matchmaker between the two of them. He could only imagine what it would be like if her mother and grandmother got together, it was clear to see that they were related.

Yoongi pulled over at a relatively quiet part of the beach and they both got out of his car, both of them heading directly out to the sand. They walked along the beach, both pointing out the interesting shells they came across, Soo Jin able to identify the different types of shells having grown up so close to the ocean. “Do you miss it here?” he asked, watching her as she crouched down on the sand, the waves almost touching her shoes. “Sometimes.” She admitted as she stretched her fingers out in front of her, letting the froth from the waves brush against her fingertips.

“I miss my family a lot but… I dunno. There was just something about being in such a small place… it was suffocating.” She admitted. Yoongi crouched down beside her as she continued. “My school was tiny, basically everyone knew everyone. You couldn’t do anything without someone knowing about it. The first time I ever drank alcohol, my parents knew about it before I even got home. It was tiring always having people knowing your business.” She admitted as a particularly hard wave washed up the shore, covering their shoes, but neither of them moved. “It got a bit much for me, that’s why I moved to Seoul.”

“I needed to get away, to find myself.” She laughed. “Cheesy, right?” she said with an embarrassed grin. Yoongi shook his head. “It’s not cheesy at all. There's nothing wrong with choosing a different path for yourself. This is your life, no one else’s, and you only get one chance at it. You need to make the choices that you want to make. You need to do the things that make you happy.” She gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I think I needed to hear that.”

Yoongi smiled at her as they stayed on the beach until the sun set, the sky glowing with deep yellows, vibrant oranges, and strong reds. They barely talked, once again just comfortable being with each other without the need to fill the silence with meaningless chat. When it started to get cold, they made their way back to her parent’s restaurant. Her mother greeted them at the doorway. “There you are! We were beginning to think you had gotten lost!” she joked. “We’ve left food for you two to eat.” She said pointing towards the kitchen. “We’ve set up the spare bed in your room as well.” She said with a mischievous grin. “Spare what?” Soo Jin said, caught off guard by her mother’s words.

“Well you weren’t planning on going back tonight, were you?” she asked. “We need a chance to get a proper catch up and I know your grandma would like to see you for a little longer. Plus, it’s way too late for you to drive back, it’s practically the middle of the night!” she said even though it wasn’t much later than dinnertime. Her dad appeared by the doorway, a bag of food in his hand. “Why are we all standing by the doorway?” he asked. “You two should go eat before the food gets cold.” He said. “We’re heading out to the hospital, we’ll see you both when we get back.” He said, ushering his wife out the door before Soo Jin could protest.

“Those two.” She said with a laugh as her parents each grabbed a bicycle and took off in the direction of the hospital. Yoongi chuckled, “Well I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to say no to some more of your parent’s cooking.” He said. She chuckled, “Looks like you don’t have any choice.” She said as she led him into the restaurant. He followed her through to the kitchen, helping her bring all of the food through to the table that they had been sitting at that morning.

Yoongi let out a content sigh as they started to eat. “I could get used to this.” He said as he continued to eat. “I’m not as good as my parents but I could make some of these dishes for you.” She said. “You can cook?” Yoongi asked, his eyebrows shooting upwards. “Why do you sound so surprised?” she asked as she nudged him with her elbow. He chuckled, “Sorry.” He said, giving her a grin. She smiled back at him before returning to her food.

They sat on the terrace long after they had finished eating, looking out at the ocean which was illuminated by the moon. “It’s so peaceful here.” Yoongi said as he closed his eyes, letting the cool, sea breeze caress his face. Soo Jin hummed in response as she looked out over the ocean. They both turned around at the sound of voices from behind them, both of them smiling at her parents as they came out to the terrace.

“Did you enjoy the food?” her father asked as he sat down beside them. “Yeah, it was amazing.” Yoongi said. Her father beamed at him, happy for the praise. Her mother appeared a while later. “That’s your room all set up.” she said with a smile as she sat down with a tired sigh. “Are you okay?” Soo Jin asked as she took her mother’s hand into her own. Her mother smiled at her. “I’m fine sweetheart. Just a little tired.” He said as she patted her hand. She turned to face Yoongi, “My mother is quite enamoured with you!” he said making Yoongi chuckle in embarrassment.

She turned back to Soo Jin, “If you don’t start dating him then I think your grandma will try her luck!” she teased. All of them burst out laughing at her words. “Mum~” Soo Jin whined. “Don’t be like that!” she said with a laugh. Her mother chuckled before yawning. “Well, I think that’s enough hilarity for me for one day.” She said, giving them all a tired smile. Her father stood up, “We’ll head to bed, we need to be up early to get to the market.”

Soo Jin jumped up and hugged them both, her mother leaning down to hug Yoongi as well, catching him by surprise. “Goodnight you two!” she said as they both went to their room above the restaurant. Soo Jin laughed at Yoongi’s flustered expression. “Sorry about that, my mum is a hugger. I should have warned you in advance.” She said apologetically. Yoongi shook his head, “It’s okay.” he said, giving her a reassuring smile as he pushed his hair away from his face.

Soo Jin stretched, a yawn escaping her. “Tired?” Yoongi asked. She nodded, “Kinda, yeah. I haven’t been sleeping well lately but I don’t know if it’s the sea air or something but I’m exhausted.” She admitted. “Maybe we should get some sleep? That way you’ll be up for visiting your grandma tomorrow.” He suggested. She nodded, “Yeah, good plan.”

They tidied away their things from dinner and made sure the restaurant was locked up before they headed up to her bedroom, where her mother had rolled out spare blankets for Yoongi. “Are you sure you’ll be okay sleeping here? Do you want me to see if I can find you a pair of sweatpants or something” she asked. He shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’m good. I can sleep anywhere.” He said. She nodded before grabbing her pyjamas, “I’ll be right back.” She said as she slipped out of the room. Yoongi pulled off his hoodie, laying it over her desk chair as he looked around her room. The room just looked like another version of her apartment. There was lots of photos of her and her family all over the room. A few posters were dotted around the room as well. Small Knick knacks littered the shelves, he was sure that each of them had their own story.

When she came back into the room he was examining her bookshelf. She stayed by the doorway, watching him as he looked through the books she had on display. She had noticed that he was handsome, but she had never had the chance to properly take in his features before. He was a little taller than her, but not by much. His hair had been left un-styled, most likely due to their early start that morning, the dark locks highlighted with green still sitting perfectly. He was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a plain white t-shirt, he was dressed so casually but she couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t look out of place on a catwalk. He was just so effortlessly good looking that it made her nervous.

As if sensing her intense stare, he turned to face her, a small smile on his face which made her heart skip a beat. “Interesting collection you have here.” He said, indicating her books. Her lips twitched up in a smile as she tried to ignore the irregular beating of her heart. “Thanks.” She said as she headed towards her bed, slipping under the covers, but remaining sitting up. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” He said. She watched him as he left, a small sigh making her way out of as the door slipped shut. She put a hand over her chest and took a couple of deep breaths. “Calm down.” She whispered to herself.

By the time he came back into the room, she was already lying down under the covers. He settled himself under his blankets, using his hand to support his head as he looked up at her. She her side to look at him, the gentle light from her bedside lamp casting a warm glow over the pair. “Is it weird being back in your own room?” he asked. She nodded. “Yeah, kinda.” She said with a laugh. “I haven’t been here much since I moved to Seoul.” She said, her eyes roaming over her old room.

“Thanks for letting me come with you. It was nice to see this part of your life.” Yoongi said, his voice quiet. “Your family are amazing.” He added. She smiled brightly at his words. “They seem to like you.” She said with a laugh. “I’m sorry for everything they’ve said, they like to tease.” She said with an embarrassed laugh. He shook his head, “It’s okay.” he said. Soo Jin yawned at Yoongi fought back a chuckle at the cute action. “Get some sleep, you must be exhausted.” She nodded sleepily. “Night.” She said as she turned over. “Night.” Yoongi said up to her.

He lay awake for a while after Soo Jin had fallen asleep. He had listened as her breathing had evened out, signalling that she was finally asleep. He looked up at her as she turned back over, her face just visible from behind her covers. He sat up to get a better look at her, the soft light from the lamp making her skin almost glow. He reached out to move her hair away from her face, but stopped just before he touched her. His fingers hovered over her for a few seconds before he pulled his hand back with a sigh. He lay back down, putting his back to her before forcing his eyes closed, willing sleep to come as the mark on his wrist started to throb, almost in time with the beating of his heart.