During Chuseok, the island’s town and commercial center were what Chanyeol described as “dead”. There were barely any shops open and there was hardly anyone on the streets in the commercial area of the island at least.

Everyone was busy welcoming guests at their home or busy being the one who visited others instead.  Somehow, Chanyeol was roped into this by Kyungsoo and had gone to countless of houses of people Kyungsoo knew around the island. Chanyeol barely knew any of them.

Chanyeol ate and drank so much in the first few days of Chuseok out of obligation; until he began to look at his stomach in the mirror and worry that he was probably gaining weight from it. Chanyeol hadn’t been working out in over a year and now that he was getting older, he feared the day he would become the uncle with a pot belly or a beer gut.

It was hard to turn down the food and drinks he was served during the Chuseok celebration though, especially when it was so good and free to boot. Chanyeol didn’t complain about it either because he got to spend almost his entire day with Kyungsoo clinging onto him as they visited other people from house to house.

A week after Chuseok, the shops and businesses around the island opened up again. Chanyeol could see tourist buses occasionally passing by in front of the house again and Kyungsoo started going out to sea again after the break and farming stint he did before that.

After spending almost every day for a week with Kyungsoo, Chanyeol was alone again in the small two-bedroom house during the day.

It was still warm on the island in late-September but nowhere near as hot like it had been in the past two months when Chanyeol had been there. Nighttimes were also significantly cooler than previously.

Sitting with his hands between his legs on the front porch one afternoon, while he was taking a short break from composing some music, Chanyeol was scrolling through his phone’s image gallery when he came across the recent pictures he took from last week of the fish he had caught from the Chuseok eve night.

Chanyeol quickly posted the picture of the fish in his family’s group chat, bragging to them about what he had caught and the size of it. Chanyeol even considered posting it on Instagram to keep his followers updated about what he had been up to.

Chanyeol even thought of maybe hosting a live broadcast to tell that he was composing new and original music now, eager to release it soon in the future.

It was only over two months ago since Chanyeol’s plagiarizing scandal was unearthed and from the public criticizing him to making jokes of him and now barely even talking regarding the incident, it had seemed like a long time ago since then.

The media was reporting on a much bigger and deeper scandal when compared to Chanyeol’s. He had thought his career and life was over when he was exposed as a plagiarizer but looking back now, it didn’t seem that all too bad especially when compared to what was going on in the news these days.

It was an unexpected distraction but it didn’t change or absolve him of what he had done. Still feeling burdened by the guilt and remorse, Chanyeol decided against updating his Instagram for the first time in months, although he did spend a good time going through other people’s posts and profiles before he got bored of it.

Seeing the picture of the Pacific jack tuna fish he had caught and reminded of his promise to print it out for Kyungsoo, Chanyeol got dressed and grabbed a cap to wear on his head before leaving the house.

Chanyeol decided to take a walk down all the way to the commercial center of the town, where he knew there was a printing shop at.

Chanyeol walked on the side of the road because there wasn’t such a thing as a designated pedestrian path. He wasn’t really expecting much out of a rural island like this but there were hardly any vehicles on the road anyway.

The walk took almost twenty minutes at a brisk and relaxed pace, with Chanyeol stopping several times to adjust his cap and use it to fan himself while he rested for a while before continuing on his way. He wasn’t in a rush and didn’t mind taking it slow.

As Chanyeol was approaching the island’s commercial district which was just beside the sea and the port, he could feel the air rushing and getting windier.

Hence, it was cooler there and Chanyeol heaved a sigh of relief to feel the cool air against his perspiring skin. It was even better when he stepped into the air-conditioned printing shop to get the pictures printed, where he was greeted warmly by the father and daughter who ran the shop.

While Chanyeol was waiting for the pictures to be ready, he walked around the shop looking and observing the pictures and samples hung on the wall. Chanyeol chuckled to himself to see a picture of CBX and other artists he knew, used as a sample to show certain picture sizes.

Chanyeol also saw that the shop was offering the services to print transparent photo cards, similar to the ones that sometimes came together with albums, where one could hold it against a landscape and make it appear as if the idol in the pictures was right there with the landscape as the background.

Seeing that, Chanyeol had an idea and ordered for one to be made with a certain picture he had on his phone.

Chanyeol waited a day for the transparent photo card to be ready, returning the next day to pick it up from the shop.

Once he got it and made his payment, Chanyeol walked back and occasionally held it up against the view of the rice fields and the sea on his way home.

Smiling to himself, Chanyeol took pictures of how the photo card would look against each backdrop. He was excited to show it to Kyungsoo and see how the latter would react to it. Chanyeol was hoping that Kyungsoo would like it.

When Chanyeol was home again, he continued working with the photo card placed on his desk beside his computer. Occasionally, Chanyeol would look at it while he was working and smile to himself, feeling more than eager to show it to Kyungsoo now.

Chanyeol worked through the afternoon and into the evening, waiting for Kyungsoo to return home from the sea. However, Chanyeol began to feel tired just as it was about to get dark and decided to have a nap while he waited.

Chanyeol intended it to be just a nap and trusted that he would be awake when he heard Kyungsoo coming home. It didn’t really turn out as he planned though.

When Chanyeol woke up, the first thing he did was grab his phone lying next to him and gasped when he saw that it was past eleven at night.

Chanyeol knew Kyungsoo was never up this late but he quickly got up and left his room to check anyway.

He wasn’t too surprised to find the house quiet with the lights in the living room turned off and his now cold dinner waiting under a cover on the table.

Chanyeol walked up to the door of Kyungsoo’s room. He heard no sounds coming from Kyungsoo’s room and was safe to assume that Kyungsoo was fast asleep now.

Chanyeol was a bit disappointed but he decided he’d just wait until tomorrow because there would always be a next time for sure.

Chanyeol’s sleeping schedule had been thrown off with him waking up at eleven at night and finally feeling tired enough to go back to sleep at almost five in the morning. Therefore, Chanyeol missed Kyungsoo that morning too because he was still asleep.

When he woke up, it was almost noon. Kyungsoo was long gone and Chanyeol would just have to wait until that evening, determined to not fall asleep this time.

At almost six in the evening, Chanyeol heard the front door unlocking and the sounds of someone entering the house. Thinking it was Kyungsoo; Chanyeol left his room to greet the latter, only to find that it was Jongin. He was disappointed even though he didn't want to be.

“Hey,” Jongin greeted, taking off his shoes at the front door with a plastic bag in one hand.

“Oh, hi. Is it just you? Where’s Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asked when he didn’t see the truck outside or Kyungsoo around anywhere.

“He’s not coming back for a few days so mom told me to accompany you in case you needed anything,” Jongin replied, putting his shoes onto the rack and then sliding the front door shut.

“Why? Where did he go?” Chanyeol scrunched his nose, curious.

“Well, the harvest season is over now and there’s not much to do on the farm, so dad is going out to sea with Kyungsoo-hyung to help him make up for the few weeks where he didn’t go out to fish because of Chuseok and him helping out on the farm,” Jongin revealed.

“-and they’ll be going for how long?” Chanyeol placed his hands on his waist.

“-two to three days at least. There’s more fish to catch if he goes out further at sea but he can’t do that alone so now that dad is with him, they’re going to spend a few nights out there,” Jongin informed.

“I see,” Chanyeol nodded a bit, hiding his slight disappointment at not getting to see Kyungsoo for a few more days.

“So, anyway, I have our dinner,” Jongin announced, lifting up the plastic bag to show Chanyeol, “-and I’ll be staying here for a few days. Just let me know when you’re hungry or want to eat.”

“Cool, sure,” Chanyeol replied, missing Kyungsoo already.

It wasn’t that lonely with Jongin around although he was still alone in the house during the daytime, when Jongin would be in school. Not that it was much different than what he was used to while living on the island for over two months now.

The only thing different was that Kyungsoo had been swapped around with Jongin for the time being.

It had only been two days since Chanyeol had last seen Kyungsoo and he wouldn’t lie if he kept on counting the time until when they’d see each other again. Chanyeol was always checking his phone and had to remind himself that Kyungsoo didn’t have one to contact him with, not that he could anyway when he was out at sea.

Kyungsoo was always on Chanyeol’s mind, even as he was trying to come up with a new chord progression or when he was scribbling down lyrics on his notebook.

Chanyeol wasn’t bothered so much about Kyungsoo’s absence. Instead, he was more bothered when he realized that he didn’t have the opportunity to sit down and properly talk to Kyungsoo, not since that night on the boat on Chuseok eve.

They had been too busy with Chuseok celebration in the week after and now that the celebrations were over, Kyungsoo had to inconveniently spend several days out at sea, although Chanyeol understood that it was Kyungsoo's occupation and his source of livelihood.

Chanyeol even wondered if this was how it felt like to be in a relationship with a sailor who would be away for months at a time. Sure, Kyungsoo would be gone only for a few days and Chanyeol thought that he was a bit overreacting and acting a bit too greedy but he just couldn’t help himself.

There were just too many things Chanyeol wanted to talk to Kyungsoo about, which were left unsaid for now. And between constantly looking at the time, looking at his phone, at the photo card on his desk, Chanyeol desperately wanted to ask Kyungsoo about them and their relationship in particular.

When Kyungsoo had kissed him on the cheek on the boat and seemingly reciprocated his feelings of liking to be together, Chanyeol was over the moon to find out that Kyungsoo felt the same way he did. It was a normal thing to feel but Chanyeol still couldn't help but feel unsure of it.

Chanyeol liked Kyungsoo very much and he now desired to be more than just friends and roommates.

Now, he just wanted that confirmation and the words of reassurance before taking the step forward with Kyungsoo. But Kyungsoo had to be away at such a time when Chanyeol was still so high and giddy on his feelings, just desperately wanting to let it out but was unable to do so, not when the source of his feelings was literally unreachable out at sea in the middle of goodness knew where.

That morning on Kyungsoo’s third day straight out at sea, it began raining. The rainwater pattered onto the shingles of the rooftop, running down the incline into the roof gutters that later streamed down at the sides of the house.

Chanyeol didn’t feel like starting work just yet. Two and a half months into his stay on Jindo Island, he had finished composing three songs and was now slowly starting on a fourth.

There was still some time until the end of October when he was due to return to Seoul. Chanyeol had faith that what he had to bring home with him would be enough, although he had learned to not place too high of an expectation on it. At least he knew that he tried.

Chanyeol sat on the raised porch, under the shad