Summer just isn’t what it used to be, or so Sana repeats to herself when perched upon the lifeguard chair. It isn’t that she doesn’t love the beach or that it’s a particularly rough job by any means, but the season is halfway over, and she worries that maybe she has wasted it all away upon the sand and sea salt. The summer has just been so tragically uneventful; not much excites her these days.

Well, except one thing.

“Sana!” A voice calls from below, and Sana can’t help but grin at the familiar sound. She peeks over the edge of her seat, her eyes falling upon a figure standing on the sand.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure?” Sana asks cheekily, relishing in the immediate eyeroll of the girl looking up at her with a small beach bag in hand.

“Your stomach,” the girl responds flatly, shaking her bag gently. “Lunch?”

Sana smirks. “This is a pretty romantic gesture given that you’re the type of girl with her heart in her stomach, Momo.”

“Every day,” Momo grumbles to herself, ignoring Sana’s question and climbing her way up to occupy the small space beside her on the seat. “Can you ever come up with new lines?”

“Can you ever bring something different for lunch?”

Momo’s feigned expression of irritation immediately leaves her, her hand stopping midway through the bag as though caught red-handed.

“I’ll take that as a no?” Sana giggles, though she quickly feels a part of her resolve breaking when Momo turns to her with saddened puppy eyes.

“I thought you liked jokbal!” It’s a whine that Sana has become all too accustomed to.  

Sana scoffs, though her brow betrays her guilt. “Do you think I’m serious? Really? You know I like what you bring!”

“Are you getting bored of it?”

“No, I’m not! Relax, let’s eat this delicious meal,” Sana says, rubbing Momo’s back and feeling a wave of relief rush over her when Momo smiles happily at the prospect of digging into their lunch. The latter places a small takeout box between them, opening the lid and revealing the meat and veggies inside. Momo doesn’t waste a second at opening the sauces in the little cups, which are most definitely just for her.

Despite the teasing, this has been the best part of the summer so far. Somewhere along the way, Momo became a part of Sana’s life after washing up onto shore. Literally.
 

“Clear the way, please!” Sana fell onto her knees, her brows furrowed as she quickly checked to make sure that the girl was still alive. No breathing, no pulse.

She had expected the possibility of a child needing help today given how rough the waves were being since morning, but she couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight of a young adult woman. Had she hit her head against something? Did she faint while swimming? Sana couldn’t be sure, but the thought didn’t matter. She blew her whistle, alerting other lifeguards, and immediately brought her hands down to the woman’s chest.

Keeping count in her head, Sana applied the chest compressions swiftly and dipped her head to apply the necessary breaths. Despite being trained, this was her first time performing CPR on a real person, and a massive part of her was struggling to suppress the nerves that threatened to overwhelm her. She needed to save a life, not freak out.

Just as she was dipping her head down again, she froze when the girl’s mouth twitched. The victim’s eyes opened partially for a moment, snapping open when seemingly registering Sana’s smile just a few inches above her face.

“Are you –”

Sana’s concern was cut off quickly when the girl beneath her immediately coughed up water, some of it propelling right onto Sana’s face. Despite that, Sana felt relieved and help to sit the girl up and get any remaining water out of her system.

“Are you okay? Do you feel any pain in your chest? Nausea?” Sana asked, making a second attempt to check on the girl after other lifeguards came to steer the surrounding crowd away.

“I’m fine but,” the girl coughed again, “I’m sorry I spat in your face.”

“It’s fine,” Sana assured with a soft laugh. “Are you here with anyone?”

“No.”

“Then let’s get you back to the tower and I’ll give you some water.”

It hadn’t taken long to get to the lifeguard tower. Although the cough was still rearing its ugly head every other minute, the girl did not seem injured in any way. Upon entering, Sana made sure the girl sat down before offering a bottle of water from a nearby cooler.

“What’s your name?” Sana asked, leaning against a small shelf. She made sure to offer a bright smile whenever the girl looked up at her. Being friendly was very important.

“Momo.”

“That’s a pretty name! Mine is Sana.”

Momo smiled. “That’s also a pretty name. Thank you for saving my life, Sana.”

On the way over to the tower, Sana had already surmised that the girl was around the same age as her. Therefore, she didn’t feel too guilty about the subtle warmth that dusted her cheeks.

“So, how did you end up like that? Do you remember anything?”

Momo shrugged, though a sheepish aversion of eye contact piqued Sana’s curiosity instantly. “I was trying to learn how to swim…”

In hindsight, Sana was considerably lucky that Momo took her sudden burst of laughter as well as she had. It could have easily been interpreted as insensitive or completely unprofessional given the circumstances, but Momo merely pouted until she also cracked into a fit of giggles.

“I realize it sounds pretty dumb when I say it out loud.”

“Absolutely.”
 

Momo had no idea how to swim and yet she had always visited the beach frequently. Originally, she had only been coming a few times a week. It’s reasonable, though, given that they live in a small town along the shore. However, a few times a week quickly turned into an everyday practice since they met, and Sana can easily admit that it’s been a great improvement to her personal work days. The small size of the town and shore is very convenient, and so emergencies rarely occur. But Sana is required to remain vigilant, along with her coworkers, and so having Momo around to pass the time makes her very happy.

Momo eventually learned how to do a proper doggy paddle over time with Sana’s help, but she hasn’t tried to swim on her own ever since the incident. Momo doesn’t seem to mind that fact, and neither does Sana. They don’t need to swim to have a fun time at the beach when they have one another’s company.

Sana’s initial laughter when discovering why Momo had almost died that fateful day is a primary factor in what inevitably set the tone for their relationship. It was easy for Sana to find that it’s easy to tease and bother Momo, and Momo was quick to discover small ways to get Sana riled up even on a good day. Mostly, though, they eat lunch together and talk about whatever comes to mind, sometimes learning more and more about one another’s lives. But today is a little more casual.

“Your outfit today is really good,” Sana comments after taking a swig from her water bottle. A light, white sleeveless hoodie accentuates Momo’s toned arms in a lot of the right ways, Sana thinks.

“Yours, too,” Momo says, almost absentmindedly, while stuffing her face with more jokbal.

Sana’s reaction is a mix between a scoff and a laugh. “I literally wear the same thing every day for work, you lazy bum. Think of your own compliments.”

“I don’t see your point,” Momo says while swallowing. “I think you look really good every day.”

Sana nudges Momo’s arm at the sound of a smug snicker that follows. “You think you’re more charming than me, one-upping my compliments like that?”

“I don’t think it, I know it.”

“You say that and yet you’ve never had a girlfriend.”

Momo snorts. “I have high standards.”

Halfway through a bite, Sana struggles not to laugh. “How high could your standards possibly be? You’d swim through mud if someone offered you a single chicken leg.”

It hasn’t taken too long for Sana to realize that she enjoys Momo thoroughly. They click in a comfortable and conversational way, and the small push and pull has always been a refreshing part of their relationship. Sana has always been a bit of a tease with people she cares about, but Momo fits like a perfect mold; easy and indulgent enough to tease yet never faltering against fighting back, be it a glare or a jab or a whine. They may have only been seeing one another daily for a month and a half, but Momo enjoys putting on a sometimes-disgruntled front despite being one of the most generous and considerate people that Sana has ever met.

“As high as this chair!” Momo answers, but not without adding defensively, “I don’t appreciate the way that you implied that a chicken leg isn’t worth it.”

Sana sighs. “You’re hopeless.”

“I’m not! I’ve already got a girl wrapped around my finger,” Momo smugly says, sticking her tongue out.

There’s a small pang in Sana’s chest that she doesn’t quite recognize. A part of her is shocked at the idea that Momo has somehow found a girl amidst the last month or so given how often they spend time together, and the other part of her is certain that she doesn’t like it. She isn’t sure that she likes this feeling, whatever it is, which is definitely not jealousy if you ask her directly because she would absolutely refuse.

Sana feigns a laugh, as though in disbelief. “And what kind of girl would want to be in that position?”

“The kind who kisses you before a first date, duh.”

“Are you just speaking in riddles now?” Sana snickers, though the warmth of her cheeks is suddenly becoming less of a sun kissed effect and more of an anticipatory mechanism. It’s not like she’s an idiot, it’s not like she can’t tell where this is potentially going, but she also doesn’t want to feel like a fool for hoping even just a little. But then she remembers the face of a girl who could have died at a young age, and suddenly fear feels just a little bit smaller. So, she plays. “She sounds like a real piece of work. Kissing before the first date? Shameless.”

Momo’s grin stretches a little when Sana begins to smile. “I don’t know, I heard she saved a life once. She’s kind of a big deal, the local hero type. She’s not exactly humble, though.”

“And what does that mean?!”

Momo shrugs with a smirk. “She struts around looking all pretty; she knows what she’s doing. Smiling at people right after they become conscious, like some earthen angel after you’re being resurrected? She’s got some nerve but, don’t worry, I’m straightening her out.”

Sana can’t seem to remember if she’s already said how good Momo’s arms look right now. “I mean, don’t make her too straight. That would defeat the purpose of the whole ‘girlfriend’ thing, wouldn’t it?”

“Good point,” Momo giggles, grabbing another piece of pork.

“You know,” Sana flicks her tongue for a moment, pretending to be in deep thought, “I saved a life once. Yours, even. What a crazy coincidence. You’re just a magnet for heroic babes.”

Momo laughs. “Heroic babes who are not humble.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I ooze ‘humble.’”

Momo rolls her eyes, choosing to ignore it. “So, when you say I’m a magnet for heroic babes, you’re basically telling me that you’re attracted to me, right? That’s how the science of magnets work, something like that?” The smirk doesn’t fail to appear again.

Sana grins. “That is a basic principle, I think.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Playing along is fun; always has been, for the two of them. “And why is that?”

“Because the first person you ever saved sort of wants you to be her first girlfriend,” Momo says nonchalantly with another blatant shrug, returning to the last piece of meat in the container.

Sana whines, “How are you going to ask me that so casually and then just go back to your food without my answer first?!”

Momo giggles, holding the meat up to Sana’s mouth. “Unless you plan on saying no, I fully plan on giving my girlfriend the last bite of our lunch.”

“That’s a first. You always want the last bite,” Sana comments softly, maybe even bashfully by some standards. She wonders if the power of a bright and sunny day is enough to hide the pink glow that is certainly on her cheeks.

“There are a bunch of firsts between us, I think,” Momo grins as Sana accepts the food happily, “I wouldn’t mind having a lot more.”

Sana beams once she’s done swallowing, and she’s quick to lean in and press a kiss against Momo’s cheek. “I wouldn’t mind having you, either.”

“I mean, we already had our first kiss, so it’s too late to mind me at this point.”

“It was not a kiss and you weren’t even conscious yet!”

It isn’t long before they burst into a fit of laughter at that, and Sana thinks that maybe the rest of the summer – perhaps the rest of her life – will be more eventful than she expected.