Mountains stretched far on the right side of the road, while the sea stretched on the left. Warm, dark green, dusty brown and yellow dominated the landscape, aside from the clear blue sky and the azure sea.

It was warm, there was no cloud in sight, but also no car in sight. They’d been driving for hours.

The relaxed spirit was kept in the backseat while in the front tension grew. While Taehyung and Somin sang along and admired the scenery, Jiwoo and Matthew kept bickering.

“Just admit that you have no idea where we’re going,” Jiwoo was saying.

“This is the only road around here so it has to be the right one!”

“Not if you took the wrong turn earlier!”

“I know what I’m doing,” Matthew insisted.

“You do not. Here’s what we’re gonna do – next time we’re passing by some town we’ll stop and find some place where there’s wifi. Then you’ll refresh your map and we’ll see where you went wrong.”

Matthew wanted to argue for himself, but at that point he was accepting defeat.

They came across a village on the side of a hill overlooking the sea. The road went straight through it.

It was small with narrow streets, tiny gift shops and hotels, vintage-looking restaurants and low square blue and white houses. It looked worn down yet lively. There was a beach and a few restaurants and cafes along it.

While Matthew and Jiwoo kept bickering about what to do, Taehyung and Somin took the stairs down to the beach to check it out. They really liked the calm atmosphere and the fact that despite the line of restaurants the beach didn’t look very cultivated. There weren’t many people either.

They went back to the car.

“Guys!” Somin raised her voice to get Jiwoo and Matthew’s attention.

When they turned towards the other two, she continued. “Tae and I were thinking; it’s already two p.m. It’s a nice place and it has everything we need. Why don’t we just stay here?”

That was the first time Jiwoo and Matthew even threw a glance around. When they did, they couldn’t help but agree.

“But I’m driving back,” Jiwoo said, opening the trunk to get their beach stuff.

Matthew rolled his eyes.

 

The moment they settled on their beach chairs, Jiwoo turned to Somin and said, “Race you to the sea!”

The two of them ran down the wooden path and soon there was a sound of splashing and their screeching.

Matthew sat on one of the beach beds, hugging his knees to sulk.

“You don’t wanna swim?” Taehyung asked while slipping his shirt off.

“I’ll watch over our stuff,” Matthew mumbled and threw a pebble in the sand.

Taehyung smiled and walked over, giving Matthew a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

As sulky as he still was, Matthew couldn’t be angry or unhappy after the kiss.

 

 As promised, Taehyung was back soon. He was smiling brightly, carrying something in his hand as he stumbled through the sand. He sat next to Matthew and opened his palm.

“Look! I dived it out, isn’t it pretty?”

Matthew leaned over to have a look. In Taehyung’s palm sat a shell, still whole but opened. It had a tiny hole at the top on each side. Taehyung lightly nudged it and the two halves easily broke.

He grinned. “Now all we need is some thread and we have matching necklaces.”

It was cheesy and Matthew wasn’t a cheesy man. But Taehyung was all smiles, brighter than the sun. How could he complain?

“I’d hug you but you’re wet,” Matthew said softly.

Taehyung smacked him. “How romantic. Kiss me at least.”

Matthew grinned like the he was. He lifted his sunglasses and leaned in to peck Taehyung’s cheek.

“We can hug when you dry off,” Matthew said dismissively and threw a towel over Taehyung’s head.

He pouted, but didn’t reject the idea.

Thankfully, despite the sun the day was quite windy so it wasn’t deadly hot. It got chilly at times. The weather wasn’t against their cuddling.

When he changed, Taehyung wiggled in between Matthew’s legs and lay back against him.

Taehyung turned his head to look at Matthew, who wrapped his arms around the older’s waist.

“Handsome,” Taehyung said.

“Beautiful,” Matthew said.

The kiss they shared was longer than the previous one, lazier also. When they parted Taehyung rested his head back on Matthew’s shoulder and he in turn rested his head on Taehyung’s.

That way, they fell asleep.

 

Chattering woke them up. Soon they were being splashed and Matthew whined while Taehyung stirred on top of him.

Jiwoo and Somin stood over them, giggling as they shook the water off of themselves onto the sleeping pair.

“Dummies. Wake up. Are you hungry?” Somin was saying.

“I’m tired,” Taehyung said.

“Yes, but are you hungry?” Jiwoo kept pushing.

“We are. We’ll order something, you’re free not to,” Somin finished.

Matthew wanted to keep cuddling, he really did, but he was also hungry. He had to have priorities.

The girls ate quickly, despite their earlier complaints. Afterwards they slowly sipped their drinks and put on sunscreen, worrying about each other’s pale skin.

Matthew was the only one who had no such problems. He was sprawled out on his and Taehyung’s sun bed, while the older still ate. Occasionally Matthew would lean in to press a kiss to his waist or thigh, knowing where Taehyung was most sensitive. Each time he’d jolt, jumping a bit from where he sat near Matthew. A few times he nearly spilled his drink, but he burst into giggles every time without fail.

And eventually Matthew got tired of waiting for him to be done eating and took matters into his own hands. He sat up and wrapped his arms around Taehyung’s waist, then pulled him down. The older struggled to break free.

“I want more fries!” He was saying. “Let go!”

But Matthew wasn’t having it. He pushed Taehyung down and swiftly climbed on top of him. This was something Taehyung could never resist – whenever Matthew managed to get the upper hand and pin him down, all struggling stopped. The only thing Taehyung did after that was slowly unwind, lift his arms above his head and slightly open his legs – just to accommodate their position, nothing more.

“Ew,” Jiwoo chanted from the sun bed next to theirs which she shared with Somin.

“Get a room,” Somin added and threw an ice cube from her glass at them.

Matthew chuckled as he pulled Taehyung close to protect him from Somin’s projectile.

“If you’re going to do something inappropriate, do it in the sea where people can’t see it,” Jiwoo added and winked when the two looked her way.

Matthew and Taehyung looked at each other. Then the younger stood and picked Taehyung up.

“See you later,” he chimed and waved as Matthew carried him to the water.

Somin looked after them with her nose scrunched up in distaste. “Gross. You helped them out!”

Jiwoo focused back on her book, reaching out to mindlessly play with Somin’s hair. “Let them have their fun. Boys are gross, that’s no news, but you have to let them loose from time to time.”

Somin pouted. She didn’t seem convinced.

Jiwoo threw her a glance over the rim of her sunglasses. “Besides, we’re alone now, aren’t we?”

This was when Somin decided that Jiwoo’s aid wasn’t such a bad thing after all. She wiggled under the book Jiwoo was holding and rested her head on her chest.

Jiwoo grinned and cradled Somin’s head. “Sink into the s,” she hummed.

Somin whined and lightly smacked Jiwoo’s arm but it only made her laugh. Jiwoo made this sort of comment every time they cuddled because Somin always rested her head the same way. And even though Jiwoo had said it many times, it never failed to make Somin incredibly flustered.

But that time Somin did something unexpected – she started to get up.

Jiwoo put her book down and took Somin’s wrist. “Nooo, no I was joking, come on!” She whined, still smiling.

Somin was pouting, not even looking at her. Jiwoo wrapped her arms around Somin’s waist and pulled her back down.

“Forgive me?” Jiwoo said, making her voice whiny and high-pitched.

Somin tilted her head as if thinking.

Jiwoo kissed her cheek.

Somin smiled. “Maybe.”

After this, they resumed the cuddling. Somin once again settled on top of Jiwoo, head rested where it had been before.

But then Somin reached behind Jiwoo and pulled on the strap of her swimsuit.

Jiwoo yelped, pressing her palm to the front of her chest, trying to hold her bra in place.

“Somin!” Jiwoo squealed.

She was giggling, pressing herself close to Jiwoo. That way if either of them moved too much Jiwoo would be exposed.

“That’s for teasing me,” Somin hummed.

“I’m sorry!” Jiwoo tried, clinging onto the other to take cover. “Come on, you know I only do it because you’re adorable when you blush!”

At this, Somin got a bit bashful and decided that Jiwoo had been punished enough. She tied the thread again and Jiwoo was saved.

And afterwards, they both laughed at how silly it all had been. No one was even looking.

And because no one was looking, they used that opportunity for some shameless making out. Somin was more timid, more worried that they’d be looked at but Jiwoo had no such concerns. She rested one hand on Somin's , and traced her waist up and down with the other.

 

The sun had started to set and neither Jiwoo nor Matthew wanted to drive.

“I don’t like driving during the night,” Matthew was complaining.

“Me neither,” Jiwoo agreed.

Somin popped up from behind Jiwoo's shoulder. “Why don’t we sleep here and leave in the morning?”

“The rooms should be cheap,” Taehyung agreed.

“Aren’t you two full of great ideas today?” Matthew hummed and pressed a kiss to Taehyung’s cheek.

“Someone had to save the day,” Somin said with a shrug.

Matthew pouted and got even sulkier when Taehyung didn’t protect him and giggled instead.

“You did get us lost,” Taehyung defended himself.

“No more kisses for you,” Matthew said.

“You two better stop before this becomes gross again,” Somin warned.

“You are sitting in Jiwoo’s lap,” Matthew accused.

“But we aren’t being gross!” Somin said and pressed her cheek to Jiwoo’s, who was just giggling.

“We’re getting separate rooms,” Matthew said bitterly.

They did end up getting separate rooms in the end, but in the same apartment, which was in one of the small villas on the hill.

Not that they went to sleep immediately. They bought local snacks and pastries from a bakery down the street for dinner. Somin and Jiwoo dragged blankets and pillows onto the terrace so they had a mini picnic.

As they ate, Somin suddenly gasped and pointed at the sky. The others left their conversation hanging in order to follow her gaze.

“Is that..?” Taehyung asked in disbelief.

“The Milky Way!” Somin said, her voice melting.

“I’ve never seen it,” Jiwoo said, scooting over to wrap her arms around Somin’s waist. The older seemed to be on the verge of tears and Jiwoo wanted to hold her.

It was no use trying to take a picture, none of their phones could possibly capture the night sky as it was. Littered with stars, with one elongated cloud of stardust in the middle of it all. They hardly even talked after. All of them held a sort of heaviness in their chest, overwhelmed by the beautiful sight.

They sang, but didn’t talk.