"The party of the century, hardly." Rose scoffs as we walk into Jackson's house. "There's only like a hundred people here."

"Only?" I turn to my best friend with a raised brow.

"Yeah." She shrugs as we make our way further into the house."

"To constitute as a good party there has to be a least three hundred people." Jiwon rolls his eyes. "Rose's rule."

"You know you look extra gay when you do that right?" Rose asks our friend with a serious look on her face.

"No." Jiwon lips twitches. He hates when Jiwon says that.

"Whatever you say." Rose shrugs, brushing past Jiwon, disappearing into the crowd.

"Why does she always do that?" Jiwon thumbs in the direction Rose just disappeared.

"I wish you two would just get together already." I roll my eyes, following Rose's actions.

"Seriously!" I hear Jiwon yell to my back.

"Mom I'm headed over to The Row, I think I'm gonna stop by Mr. and Mrs. Kim's first though." I yell into the kitchen from the foyer, grabbing my jacket from the rack.

"I was just cooking lunch, Lisa." My mom says, emerging from the kitchen. "It's your favorite." She adds for good measure.

"Chicken and Rice?" I question.

"Yes, unless you have a new favorite. Was there something else you wanted me to cook because I can whip something up it's really not a-"

"Mom." I cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's still my favorite mom, trust me. Can you save me a plate? I just made plans with a friend. I don't really wanna be late."

"A friend?"

"Yes mom, her name's Jisoo." I answer with a playful eye roll. "I am capable of making friends mom."

"I know honey I wasn't..." She pauses shaking her head. Oh no, I made her feel bad I didn't mean to.

"I was just jo-"

"Have fun baby." She leans forward, kissing me on the cheek. "I'll have you a plate in the microwave."

"Mom I-"

"I know." She nods and gives me a small smile. Nice going Lisa! I mentally berate myself for being such an idiot. My mom is only trying to help and I know the subject of my friends isn't something she really likes to joke around with. The thing is... I haven't really talked to anyone or gone anywhere in four years. After the accident, I got my GED, joined the army and haven't really looked back. I feel bad that the only time I came home to visit in the past four years was two years ago when my dad was in the hospital for a work related injury. The army has given me tons of leave I just never take it. I didn't see the point. And if it was mandatory to take it, I would just go somewhere like Alaska or something. Anywhere but here.

Being here hurts too much.

Reminds me of what's missing.

"I love you mom." I tell her as she turns to walk back into the kitchen.

She stops, turning to face me with a smile replies, "I know darling, I love you too." She gives me another quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying off into the kitchen. I sigh, turning to grab my keys off the table. I hate how stupid I can be sometimes.

I can count on one hand the amount of times I've seen the Kim's since the accident. I wouldn't know what to say. I lived and their son didn't. It isn't far. Jiwon was a far better person than me. If anyone deserved to live it was him and Rose. Neither of them deserved this.

I've been sitting in my car for over an hour now, I don't think I have the guts to go in, to confront them. The last time I saw them was at the funeral and even then I had nothing to say. What can I say? 'I'm sorry that I'm still here when your son is dead' 'I'm sorry for your loss' No words will bring him back and nothing can ease the pain of losing a child, I know this. I close my eyes tightly, trying to push everything from my mind. Trying to gather up the courage to do what I know needs to be done. To tell them how heroic their son was in the last moments of his life. I need to...

But I can't.

I sigh as I turn the key in the ignition to start the car. I take one more glance at Kim's home as I pull away. In the upstairs window I swear I see a silhouette looking out the window of Jiwon's room. I drop my head against my seat.

'I'm sorry Jiwon.' I whisper as I drive down the street.

"You made it." Jisoo smiles as she approaches me on the beach. I'm not too sure if I'm up for this anymore.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I just came to tell you that I can't make it."

She arches a brow at me. "You drove all the way out here just to tell me that you couldn't come?" She questions, scrunching her brows.

I narrow my eyes, realizing how retarded that must have sounded. "Essentially," I reply.

"Okay." She nods, grabbing my hand. "Come with me." She says as she pulls me further down the beach.

"Jisoo where are we going?" I ask as we walk further from the group gathered on the beach. It's a little after four now so the sun is starting to set. I forgot how beautiful the beach could be at night. It's been forever since I've been here. Since I've been anywhere really.

"It's just a little further down." Is all she says as she continues to pull me even further from the group.

"You're not trying to take me to a secluded area to kill me are you?" I question, half serious. I mean I did only meet this girl yesterday. I don't know anything about her.

She stops walking, turning to face me. "Yeah." She smiles and turns around, pulling me again.

What!

"What?"

"We're here." She drops my hand. I turn, taking in my surroundings.

"Where is here exactly?" I question, arching my brow.

A small smile plays at her lips as she sits down on a rock. "My brother used to bring me here everyday when I was a kid. We'd play in that cave." She points behind me. "He'd try to teach me to surf and when I kept failing over and over he'd show me how it's done. Mostly just trying to impress the girls that were watching though. And at the end of every night we would watch the sunset together. We did basically the same thing every summer for almost six years and yet everyday was still a brand new adventure." I study her face as she talks about her brother, they were obviously really close.

"Jisoo I'm not sure what-"

"This is our place, his and mine." She turns to me and says. "And no one can change that. This is where I come when I'm having my worst days. I see him here. I can feel him here. When I sit on this rock, look out into this part of the ocean I know he's here with me, out there surfing the waves or sitting right here next to me watching the sunset." She averts her gaze back to the ocean. "Here I don't feel so...empty." She finishes and I get what she's doing, what she's saying. "You just have to find your place and maybe it'll hurt just a little less." She turns back to me, smiling. "I promise it does get easier."

"Thank you." I reply sincerely.

"No problem." She shrugs, standing up from the rock. "We should head back." She tosses her head in the direction of the party.

"I think we should stay a few more minutes." I point towards the sky. The sun is setting and it really is beautiful. "It's beautiful." I take a couple steps forward to stand next to her.

She smiles, letting a short breathy chuckle, "Isn't it?" A sigh escapes her, I turn to face her as she closes her eyes; taking in the moment.

"Not if I see you first." I hear her whisper. I step back, knowing she's having a moment with her brother right now. "I love you, Jin." She whispers a little louder than before.

"There you are Jisoo!" A shorter girl appears from out of no where. Seriously, where did she even just come from? I was looking in the direction of the party and I did not see her walking towards us.

"I was just talking to Jin." Jisoo replies nonchalantly. I guess she does this often cause her friend didn't press on after that.

"You're missing the party, you know. I think John and Wendy are gonna perform in a bit. Who's this?" The girl turns and looks at me. "Oh and Hana's looking for you." She turns back to Jisoo and says before Jisoo can get a single word in.

"Ugh!" Jisoo throws her hands up, groaning. "Next time lead with Hana, k Jen?" Jisoo says to her friend as they start walking back towards the party. "You coming?" Jisoo stops, turning back to me. I nod and jog a little to catch up with them. "Lisa this is my best friend Jennie, Jennie this is Lisa, my..." She trails off, looking back to me for an answer.

Hell I don't know either.

"Friend..." I offer with a shrug.

"My friend Lisa." Jisoo turns back to her friend and says.

"Cute friend." Jennie leans back to look around Jisoo at me. "Very nice, Jis."

What?

"Jen!" Jisoo slaps her friend on the arm.

"So you really are..." I trail off.

"Gay?" Jisoo pops a brow. I swallow the lemon in my throat and nod. Jisoo shrugs and smiles, glancing over at Jennie then back to me. "I guess you can say that." They both chuckle. I guess I'm missing the joke.

"Hana's her stalker ex." Jennie says.

"Yeah, we broke up months ago and for some reason I can't shake her now." Jisoo pops her shoulders up once, turning to me. "You good?"

"Mhm." I nod as we reach the party.

"Cool." She smiles. " I should probably make my rounds. I mean this is kinda my party."

"Your party?" I ask confusion in my voice.

"It's my birthday."

"You should have told me I would've have-"

"What?" She cuts me off, "Gotten me a present. It's not necessary." She waves me off. "I got enough things. Plus I didn't want you to feel pressured to get me anything." She shrugs, shaking her head.

"You're different." I quirk a brow. She's not the same shy, stuttering girl from yesterday.

"For some reason you make me nervous.." Her eyes go wide a little like she's said too much. I can't help but smile. "I mean... I was just a bit caught off guard. That's all. I'm gonna..." She trails off, thumbing behind her. "Will you be okay for a bit?"

"Yeah." I nod. I think I might just be alright.

"Well who might you be?" A tall blonde slides up next to me.

"Lisa." I take a sip of my drink, glancing from the girl to the cup.

A smirk appears at her lips. "I'm intrigued." She holds out her hand for me to shake. I pop a brow, glancing down at her hand. Really?

"Well intrigued..." I start, putting my free hand into my pocket to let her know I wouldn't be shaking hers. "I'm actually just waiting for someone so I'm not-"

"ing seriously, Hana!" I hear a familiar voice shout. I look up and see Jisoo headed towards me and the blonde.

"Uh oh." The blonde next to me says, moving away from me.

"I was just talking to this nice girl baby, I wasn't-"

"First of all..." Jisoo starts, hitting the girl on the shoulder. "I'm not your baby anymore." She adds matter of factly. "And secondly, I could have sworn I uninvited you to this party months ago." She finishes with a hand on her hip.

"This is a public beach, Jisoo. You can't keep me from coming here." Hana shrugs, taking a big gulp of her drink. "Plus, you know you want me here. I don't know why you're even joking."

"No one wants you here, Hana!" Jennie comes up from behind Jisoo. I have to stifle a laugh.

"Well no one asked you, did they Jen." Hana rolls her eyes at the girl before turning back to Jisoo. "I really need to talk to you Jisoo, I think us breaking up was a mistake. I don't think you meant all those things you said. Maybe if we could just-"

"I'm done talking to you Hana. You're manipulative, sneaky, and frankly a little bit of a  . I'm done with you!" Jisoo yells causing the whole beach to turn and watch the scene unfold.

"You don't mean-"

"The thing is," Jisoo moves closer to the girl. "I do. I really ing do."

"You forgot an adjective Jis."

"Which?" Jisoo turns to her friend and ask.

"." Jennie says coldly, her eyes now on the blonde.

"You're so right, Jen. How could I forget the most important one. Hana you're a and honestly I want you to just leave me the hell alone. Life's way too short to have people like you taking up precious time." Jisoo finishes. The blonde looks around at the crowd of people staring at her before dropping her drink and storming off towards the parking lot.

"Woo hoo, Jisoo!" A tall brunette boy yells, holding up his cup.

"Good riddance Hana!" Jisoo joins in, holding up her glass. Followed by Jennie and the rest of the crowd. All chanting Jisoo's words."Enough, now let's get back to this party!" Jisoo yells to her guest. Everyone shouts a 'yeah' and does. "Sorry about that." Jisoo shakes her head as she moves towards me.

"It's fine." I shrug and wave her off. "It happens to the best of us." I add. She smiles, glancing down at my cup.

"You're almost empty, want some more?"

"Sure." I nod.

"Be right back." She tells me, taking my cup from hand. I watch as she heads over to drink table.

"You like her, don't you?" Jennie appears next to me.

"You've got to stop doing that!" I tell her grabbing my chest. Really, I don't know where she appears from.

"Don't change the subject." She narrows her eyes at me. "Do you?"

"I barely know her. I only met her yesterday." I answer honestly.

"Love knows no time."

"What?" I turn to her, confusion written all over my face. How did we go from like to love?

"I'm just saying... if you like her you should go for it. Life is short. God knows Jisoo has been through more than most people go through in two lifetimes, in her twenty years. I'm just telling you that if you like her, you shouldn't wait, you should just go for it." She places a hand on my shoulder. "But just know that if you hurt her—in any way—I'm gonna have to kill you." Her eyes go wide as she stares intently into mine.

"Um...okay." I nod slowly, she nods with me. I think I'm genuinely scared right now.

"Glad we cleared that up." She says suddenly, breaking our staring match. I look away surreptitiously hoping to send some sort of distress signal to anyone nearby in case this girl decides to make due on her threat early. I don't know how she could sense any sort of affection coming from me towards Jisoo. For one thing I've known the girl for a total of forty minutes. For another I'm not in a position to be feeling anything for anyone. I don't even think i can, and if I could it wouldn't be right for her... or me. So no I can't like Jisoo.

"Here you go." Jisoo comes back, handing me my cup.

"You roofie that?" Jennie asks Jisoo just as I take a sip.

"You know it." I see Jisoo's eyes over her cup as she takes a sip of her drink.

"Good stuff." Jennie says before disappearing into the crowd again.

I look down into my cup, contemplating if she'd actually roofie my drink or not.

"She's kidding." Jisoo chuckles into her cup. I take another long look at my drink, then back at her before taking another sip.

"So that's the ex huh?" I ask as Jisoo and I walk towards the bonfire.

"Yeah, nothing special." She shrugs.

"Well she had to be a good person at some point to get a girl like you." I say and immediately regret it. That came out wrong. "I mean that you seem like the type of person that can judge someones character.

"Well I judged wrong with that one." We take a seat on a log, as we watch the fire dance in the light breeze.

"What happened with you two?" I turn to face her. "You know, if you don't mind me asking."

"I met Hana my sophomore year of high school. She was so charming and amazing really, but I was with someone and she respected that. When my brother died my Senior year, the girl I was with at the time couldn't really handle me so we broke up and Hana was there for me—in every way you could possibly imagine, she became the one person in my life that I could count on. As the years passed and I started to pull myself back together again, Hana started to change. She became this person I couldn't even recognize. It's like the better I got, the more she did to try and sink me again. I don't need someone like that in my life, so I broke up with her." Jisoo finishes with a shrug, turning more towards me. "What about you? Got any juicy love stories?"

"Not really no." I shake my head. "I don't get out much."

"You're kidding right?" She quirks a brow.

"No." I purse my lips, shaking my head.

"But you're so..." She trails off. I stare at her, waiting for her to finish.

"I'm so...?" I question.

"You know," She shrugs. "...you." She finishes and I chuckle.

"Thanks I guess."

"You're welcome." She says awkwardly taking another sip of her drink.

"For what it's worth," I start, turning to face her. "...Hana's an idiot."

"For what?" She looks at me.

"Disappointing a girl like you." She gives me a look before turning back to the fire, putting her cup up to her lips to try and hide her smile. But the light of the fire dancing off her cheeks give away the redness of her cheeks.