VI.

how the are you having breakfast with bae joohyun and kang seulgi?!?!!

Seungwan chuckles out loud at Jisoo’s message.

Jisoo hadn’t believed her at first and honestly, Seungwan couldn’t blame her. Having breakfast with an almost-CEO and her famous multi-skilled wife wasn’t something that happened on a daily basis. So, using her almost-professional photographer skills, she’d managed to sneak a picture of their newly found cruise companions and sent it to Jisoo, awaiting for her reaction. She wasn’t disappointed.

is she as pretty as she looks in pictures?

you have no idea.

Seungwan wasn’t completely sure how it came to be either. One minute she was having a mental breakdown and the next, she’d ended up bonding with the other couple after that disastrous first game.

The next ones had been a little bit better. In the end though, the results had found Sooyoung and her in third place, much to the former’s dismay. Joohyun and Seulgi, on the other hand, had managed to climb up to number two. Seungwan congratulated them cheerfully and, surprisingly, the older girls had asked them to join in the bar for a few drinks.

Joohyun and Seulgi were so different from what she would’ve expected. For such a rich, powerful, talented couple, they were extremely humble and down to earth. They treated everyone kindly and were, both together and individually, very pleasant people to be around.

Seungwan hadn’t even known them for a day but she was starting to forget who they were supposed to be at all.

Sooyoung and her had unexpectedly run into them this morning at one of the ship’s restaurants. Not wanting to interrupt, they’d been aiming for a quick word of acknowledgement; however, the other couple seemed to have other plans, politely insisting they join them once again.

And that’s how she’d ended up having breakfast with Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi.

you’re living the life. ugh i wish i were sooyoung’s fake wife instead.
how’s that going, by the way?

Ah, that. Seungwan steals a look at the woman sitting next to her and can’t help the soft smile forming on her lips.

Sooyoung ate her food quietly, her attention focused on whatever Seulgi was talking about. Her posture was relaxed, as if the couple they were currently hanging with were her life long best friends and not someone they met yesterday. Seungwan clearly remembers how she’d always been good with people.

Seulgi says something funny, or maybe it was Joohyun, Seungwan doesn’t know because she never takes her eyes off the younger girl. Sooyoung laughs, loud and open, bringing her hand to , eyes twinkling under the light coming from the window beside them.

i’m doomed and it’s no one’s fault but my own.

“What do you think, Seungwan?”

She blinks, taken off guard since she wasn’t actually listening to the conversation.

“Um.” They’re all staring at her now. Might as well come clean. “I kinda blanked out for a bit, i’m sorry.”

“It’s understandable.” Joohyun looks between the two of them, her expression gentle, as if she had noticed her staring. Seungwan tries not to feel embarrassed. “Anyway, we were just talking about snorkeling. Apparently, the port we’re stopping at today is perfect for it.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good. I’ve never snorkled before.” She supplies, doing a piss poor job at nonchalance.

“We neither! That’s why we paid for an expedition. I’m so excited.” Seulgi smiles wides, eyes crinkling and barely noticeable. Seungwan can tell she doesn’t have a single bad bone in her body.

Her mind’s barely beginning to formulate a response when something makes Seungwan’s head whip.

“I’m sitting this one out. I can’t swim.”

“You can’t swim?” She’s looking at Sooyoung skeptically.

The younger girl shrugs. “No. Never learned how.”

Seungwan’s brows are completely furrowed now. “But we were in the pool the first day!”

“I mean, i can float if really needed i guess, but that’s it. I stayed on the kids’ side.” Sooyoung takes a sip from her coffee, apparently unbothered.

Joohyun tips her head slightly. If she’s wondering something, she doesn’t voice it.

Silence settles over the table, only the sound of cutlery and distant chatter filling the gap.

“What are you guys planning for today then?” Seulgi asks after a short while, wiping at with a napkin, her plate almost empty.

“Uh… i took some time to research last night.” Seungwan starts, wanting to contribute something of substance to the conversation this time. “There’s this place called La Laguna de los Siete Colores not so far from the dock. You can ride bikes or cannoe around the lake, plus the sight is beautiful, if the pictures are anything to go by.” She hopes she doesn’t sound like too much of a nerd for actually looking up the ship’s destinations on Google.

Anxiety rises in her chest as soon as the words leave . What if Sooyoung doesn’t want to go cannoeing? She didn’t know that the younger girl can’t swim, what if she can’t ride a bike either? What if the whole thing just sounds too boring?

She turns to address her accomplice only to find that Sooyoung is already staring at her, the curves of turning up sightly. Her voice is fruity when she answers the question Seungwan doesn’t even get to ask. “I guess that’s where we’ll be going today, then.”

-

Her fingers are intertwined with Sooyoung’s as they bid their goodbyes to Joohyun and Seulgi, wishing them luck with the whole diving-into-the-deep-sea thing. The sun is harsh on their pale skin, just as you’d expect from the tropical Caribbean. The weather is humid, though, making Seungwan feel clammy under her cotton shirt.

The dock is full of people chatting happily while gazing at their surrounding or taking pictures. They do the same for a bit, white sand going over miles, the blue water so clear it sparkles under the morning light. Seungwan’s eyes catch on an elderly couple sitting under the shade of a tree, holding what she thinks it’s a raw coconut and drinking directly from it.

“Alright then, you’re the expert. Where to?” There’s palm hat adorning Sooyoung’s long black hair which is currently held up in a ponytail.

Seungwan isn’t really sure how anything works, despite having read a few comments about the place on tourist sites. “Well, the internet said there’s usually people offering you tours and stuff when you get off the ship. So maybe we should look around?”

“Okay!” Sooyoung doesn’t say anything else as she drags her towards a small wooden cabin, never releasing her hand.

When they get inside, there’s rows next to rows of what Seungwan can only describe as souvenirs. There’s classics, like keychains and magnets, and some more peculiar ones like ceramic plates with colorful patterns next to the port’s name. The whole place just feels vibrant, despite it only being illuminated by a small window and the slender light coming from the door.

They finally let go of each other as they browse through different parts of the store, Seungwan particularly amused by a shirt with a very-toned torso printed on it. After a while, she goes to look for Sooyoung, whose attention seems to be caught by something near the register.

“What is it?” Seungwan tries peeking over her shoulder, having to stand on her tip toes to do so.

“Chocolate.” Sooyoung replies, eyes focused on the box she’s currently holding. “But i think it’s spicy.”

“What do you mean? Chocolate’s supposed to be sweet.”

“I know, but unless my kindergarden-level spanish is failing me, it says chile right here. And that means spicy.” Sooyoung shrugs.

Seungwan picks up another one of the boxes from the counter and turns it around her fingers. She confirms what Sooyoung’s saying but the combination still seems too bizarre for her.

“That’s correct.” A foreign, thick-accented voice takes them by surprise. “It’s a national tradition to make every single thing we can spicy.”

They turn around to see a petite girl with caramel skin and dark eyes. It doesn’t look like she’s wearing an uniform and, if it weren’t for the fact that there’s a nametag pinned to her chest, Seungwan would’ve thought she was just another costumer.

“I’m not much of a spice person, to be honest. It just caught my attention because i’ve never seen anything like it before.” Sooyoung chuckles while putting the candy back on the shelf.

Seungwan’s eyes stop at a pink-colored box with green sparkly letters that read ‘tequila-flavored white chocolate’. Or at least, that’s what she believes it says. She reaches out and shifts towards the employee, who is still staring at them with a retail smile. “Does this say tequila flavored?”

She nods.

“Nice. I think i’ll get some of these for my friend back home.” Seungwan hands them over. She’s not sure if Jisoo’s much of a sweets person but she is sure that she’ll appreciate the irony of the apparent tequila flavor.

“Great!” Maria, which is the name on the girl’s tag, takes the chocolates and moves to the register. “Is there anything else you want to take with you?”

“I’m alright, thank you. What about you, Sooyoung?”

Sooyoung ponders, eyes scanning the shop again. “I want to get something for Juyeon and Momo but i don’t have anywhere to carry it right now.”

“Oh damn, you’re right.” All Seungwan was carrying was a small bag that contained her camera, but there was not enough space to carry the box and since the tour—that they still had not inquired about, she just realizes—is supposed to include hiking and some other activities of the sort, she can’t really afford to be holding them in her hands the entire time. “We were kind of looking for one of the adventure-like type of tours.” She hopes the employee gets the question in her voice.

“You came in the ship that just docked this morning, right?”

“Yes! We’re on our honeymoon.” Sooyoung answers first, words flowing easily despite the lie. Seungwan follows her statement with a firm nod just because.

“Congratulations. I hope you’ll live a happy life together.” Maria’s words are genuine. “If you’re looking for a tour, i have a friend who could help you out with that. And if you actually want to purchase something from here, i could keep it apart for you and you can just take it before you board the ship again.”

“That sounds great, thank you so much.” Seungwan replies sincerely, feeling glad that they won’t have to spend half of the day looking for someone to help them out.

In the end, Sooyoung ends up getting hand-embroidered tops for the three of them (when Seungwan raises an eyebrow in question, the younger girl just shrugs and says they sometimes like matching their clothes as a sign of friendship. Some type of inside joke). She also gets her parents two bags of organic coffee beans, Juyeon’s girlfriend a pair of earrings and a ceramic cup for her boss.

Seungwan tries not to feel lonesome as her singular gift is placed on a bag in one of the back shelves.

-

They waited around for a bit while the guy Maria knew arrived. She had other costumers to attend to but she directed them to a small sitting area outside of the cabin, offering them some coconut water just like the one that Seungwan had noticed a few tourists drinking earlier.

“It’s probably redundant to say it’s so fresh considering it’s straight out of the fruit but…” Sooyoung tips her head back as if taking a shot. “I love it.”

Seungwan doesn’t mean to stare at her long, uncovered neck, but there’s a little bit of liquid trailing down and it’s mesmerizing. God damn Sooyoung and her ability to make even messy drinking attractive.

“What?”

“Nothing. You’ve just…” She signals to her own neck awkwardly. “Got a little bit of…”

“Oh.” Sooyoung’s hand comes to wipe at it. “Thanks. It would’ve probably been neater to use a straw but. The turtles and all that.”

“Sure. Plus you wouldn’t get the full experience, i guess.” Seungwan had managed to drink out of her coconut without spilling, but she doesn’t think that’s an achievement worth noting.

“I wonder where Maria’s friend is. I really want to get going. I love nature.”

“Really? I was kinda scared that you’d find the whole thing boring.” She doesn’t mean for it to sound so pathetic. It does anyway.

“Are you kidding? I love animals so much. And plants. And breathing non-polluted oxygen.” Sooyoung takes a deep breath to emphasize her words. “Do—My ex and I, we agreed on a honeymoon cruise mostly because it was easy and neither of us had much time to plan every stop. But like you found out earlier i can’t really swim.” Her smile is self-deprecating. “So yeah. While i do like the beach and all that, i’m plenty happy that we’ll get to do something else.”

Seungwan tilts her head, a little taken aback by Sooyoung’s sudden spurt of words. “We really don’t know much about each other, do we?”

“Well, i know that you love singing.” Sooyoung crosses her arms defensively. “That hasn’t changed, has it?”

Seungwan really wishes the smile could reach her eyes. “No, it hasn’t.”

Sooyoung narrows her eyes at her like she suspects that she’s not being entirely truthful. In her defense, she isn’t. “Are you sure? Your eyes used to sparkle whenever you talked about it. I may not know you like i used to, Son Seungwan, but i can tell that there’s something you’re not telling me.”

She really doesn’t want to talk about it. One of the reasons she agreed to this trip was so that she could get away from her boring, mostly disappointing daily life. Then again, so was Sooyoung and yet she had been nothing but honest about her struggles so far. (Except for the whole this-is-my honeymoon-gift surprise, of course. Seungwan wishes she could hold it against her. She can’t). She contemplates telling her, everything that has been wearing her down and tugging at her heart for a while. She feels so lonely most of the time, maybe letting out some of it would do her good.

But before she can begin to explain, a voice she has never heard before interrupts them.

“Hello! My name is Pablo and i was sent here by Maria. I was told you were looking for an excursion-like type of tour.” A guy wearing an outfit similar to the girl they met earlier grins widely at them. Maybe she was wearing a uniform after all.

Sooyoung looks like she isn’t sure if she wants to thank him politely or tell him to go away. She takes one last glance at Seungwan and settles on the first one. “Yes, we are. We’d be really glad if you could help.”

“Absolutely. Follow me please.”

They’re walking a few paces behind Pablo, feet sinking in the soft sand below them, when Seungwan feels something tickle her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand. “Don’t think our conversation is over, miss Seungwan. I’ll get it out of you sooner or later.”

Sooyoung winks and fastens her step, leaving Seungwan to wonder just exactly how could she ever believe that this was not going to end without wanting the ground to swallow her whole.

-

Before them stood the place Seungwan had read about on the internet, the one that had piqued her interest in the first place. La Laguna de los Siete Colores was named like that because well, you could see different shades of blue shimmer throughout the whole body of water. Life was simple sometimes, Seungwan thought.

They’d been brought here in a track-van of sorts after being reunited with a few other couples that had also requested the excursion. The rest of it was on foot though, so they got off and followed as they listened to the tourist guide talk about the history of the places with the expertise only someone who has been doing this for a long time could.

The sight was beautiful. Seungwan had seen the pictures, but no matter how good a photography was, it never compared to the real thing. That’s one of the things she liked about it. You got the best of both worlds: the subjective memory that will probably evoke an emotion out of you when you think about it and the objective, timeless one that you can always turn to in case your mind plays tricks on you.

“Is your favorite color still blue?”

Sooyoung’s question was quiet, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear. It’d probably be a little unsettling not knowing your spouse’s favorite color.

She takes her eyes away from the scene before her to turn to the other girl, who doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the landscape, eyes focused on the older girl instead. Seungwan feels hot under her gaze, that could only be described as fond.

“Yeah. It still is.” Her voice comes out just as soft. “Is yours still green?”

“Yeah.”

Seungwan can’t hold her stare so she turns back to the lake.

“Maybe not that much has changed.”

Maybe my feelings never went away, she admits silently to herself.

She’s too grown to pretend she doesn’t know the biggest reason why she agreed to this whole trip. She’s too grown to pretend that, had it not been Sooyoung the one calling, she would’ve made up a excuse and hung up without even attempting five minutes of small talk.

“You still make jokes out of every situation ever.” Sooyoung’s also gazing into the clear water now.

“And you still run into things because you’re too focused taking in your surroundings to notice.”

That earns her a dramatic gasp from the younger girl. “I do not!”

Seungwan can’t help the laugh that escapes . “Yes, you do! I just saw you almost run into a tree earlier because you were too entranced watching some birds.”

She huffs indignantly, the soft, fragile atmosphere of the moment broken by the petulant pout on her face. “So i have long legs, sue me.”

“What has that got to do with anything?!”

“I don’t know, i just wanted to remind you that i’m taller than you.” Sooyoung sticks her tongue out. Like a child.

“I can’t believe you.”

“Eh, excuse me.” They both turn around at the same time. “I hope i’m not interrupting anything but we kinda have to keep moving.” The tourist guide, whose name Seungwan doesn’t really remember, signals to the rest of the group apologetically.

“Of course, sorry.” Sooyoung blinks sheepishly. If she weren’t a lawyer she would’ve made a damn good actress, Seungwan thinks. “Just a little discussion between an old married couple, right, darling?” There’s a glint in her eye, like she’s daring her to disagree.

And oh, Seungwan is not going to be left behind in her little game. If, for whatever reason, Sooyoung wants everyone to truly believe that they’re married, then so be it.

“We’re not old.” She turns to the taller girl and, with a sudden boldness she doesn’t even know where it came from, looks her right in the eye. “But we’ve been together for so long it’s starting to feel like it. Let’s go.”

She takes Sooyoung’s hand, the poor tourist guide probably thinking he does not get paid enough to deal with stuff like this.

-

Much, much later, Seungwan would come to realize that was the exact moment her real downfall began.

-

The humid temperature, the blinding sun and the fact that they’d been walking for the past half an hour were making Seungwan sweat horribly.

Thankfully, the guide seemed to come to a stop in a place next to the lake that looked like a layoff. She could also make out a small dock in the distance.

“Well, we’re finally here. You can pick your poison: if it’s the lake, you can pick canoeing, snorkeling or you can simply get in it as long as you stay near the shore. This side of it is pretty shallow so it should be no big deal.” He turns around and signals towards a wooden cabin, more open than the one where they’d bought the souvenirs in. It was more like a desk, actually. “We can also provide bikes or special hiking trips for those of you that feel particularly adventurous. And over there,” His hand points to another wooden cabin, much bigger than the first. “There’s a restaurant in case you get hungry. It has bathroom, showers and what not, in case you need them.”

“So. What are we going now, my dear?” Sooyoung sing-songs.

Seungwan rolls her eyes. “Why should I pick? I already picked going on this tour. It’s your turn.”

Sooyoung looks like she wants to argue but she keeps quiet instead. After a few seconds she says, “Alright, then. Let’s canoe.”

“Really?” Seungwan doesn’t know why she feels surprised she picked that. She supposes that after the whole ‘i can’t swim’ debacle, Sooyoung would’ve picked something that doesn’t directly involve water.

“I know what you’re thinking. But it’s not like i’m gonna fall into the lake, am i?” Her smile turns mischievous. “And if i do, well. Guess you’ll have to jump in and rescue me.”

Seungwan fake-sighs. “You’re right. Worst case scenario both of us end up drowning. On our honeymoon. Not even Shakespeare went that far, but at least we’ll make the local papers.”

“What are we waiting for, then?”

After making their request at the wooden desk (and after yet another married-like discussion because when they were asked if they both knew how to swim as a safety precaution, Sooyoung lied about it which made Seungwan worry. They argued for five minutes before the employee intervened, saying it was okay if either of them didn’t because they would be wearing life vests anyway. Just that they’d have to be more careful) they were led to the small dock Seungwan had seen earlier, where they were given some really ugly, bright orange life vests.

Sooyoung frowned at them. Seungwan tried not to laugh.

“Not your style, huh?”

“Stop laughing. I’m very serious about the aesthetic.” Her voice was whiny, like it really did pain her to use something so un-fashion.

“Well, for the record, i still think you look good in it.”

Oops. She didn’t exactly mean for that thought to materialize itself in the form of words but oh well.

Sooyoung shrugged the life vest on. “You better. I’m your wife.”

Seungwan rolled her eyes again. She was starting to believe Sooyoung really liked to call herself someone’s wife.

Of course, stupid. She was getting married.

“Miss, are you ready to ride?”

A boy who looked much younger than them addressed her, a small white boat at his side. Seungwan isn’t sure where it came from, she could’ve sworn it wasn’t there a minute ago.

She was going to start running into things too if she didn’t get it together soon.

“Yeah, of course.”

She went in first, just incase Sooyoung needed help from the inside of the canoe. She may have been joking earlier about both of then drowning but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t a small worry in the back of her mind. Except Sooyoung didn’t need help because despite her long limbs, like she’d said earlier, she wasn’t that clumsy.

Sooyoung was at the front and she was at the back, which gave her a first row view of how her luscious ponytail shimmered under the sunlight. God, she was so thankful Jisoo couldn’t catch her fawning over hair. How embarrassing.

“You ladies know how to do this?”

It was the boy’s voice again.

“Not really.” Sooyoung said nonchalantly. “But we’ll figure it out.”

He shrugged like that was enough of an answer, giving them the basic instructions.

“There’s barely any current here, so unless you paddle, you won’t go far. You’ll see some signs that limit the canoeing area. Any point inside of that should be fair ground.” He blinks. “Or water, more like.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“We need you to be back here before 5pm so we can take you to the port where your ship is.”

“Noted.”

Seungwan returned the bow he politely gave her, and they were off.

-

“You know, we’re actually not so bad at this.”

Seungwan couldn’t tell if Sooyoung was being sarcastic or not, because it sounded like she wasn’t, but at the same time, they’d moved what Seungwan guesses was around ten meters in the past hour.

“Sooyoung. We’ve barely moved.”

“But we’ve moved, and that’s something good.”

She says it so sincerely, like a kid showing off their first drawing that no one but themselves understand, yet they deem it a masterpiece, that Seungwan doesn’t think she could take it away from her if it killed her.

“Okay. Let’s keep rowing, then.”

They do, and again, they’re barely moving, but at least the landscape is different now. There’s beautiful green all around them, the sounds of the forest filling the silence comfortably.

She watches Sooyoung let go of her paddles for a while, just taking in the scene. She closes her eyes, seemingly at peace with nature.

Seungwan suddenly wished she hadn’t left her camera back at the lockers inside the cabin, too afraid it would get messed up if water got on it. This was a moment she wanted to capture.

Her memory would have to suffice this time.

Sooyoung opens one of her eyes and Seungwan looks away, cheeks flaming at being caught staring.

“Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies. Have you seen it?”

Seungwan blinks, not expecting such a random question.

“Is that the rapunzel one where her mom is an evil witch?”

“That one.” Sooyoung’s eyes are still closed. “It may sound stupid and childish but… i picked canoeing because i just really, really love the scene with the lights. This is as close to it as i’m going to get.”

Seungwan could physically feel her heart melting in her chest. No, she did not care that wasn’t possible. She could feel it anyway.

“I—um.” Very coherent. Excellent choice of words. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” She leaves it at that, too afraid anything else will just crack a open a dam of everything she has always wanted to say.

There was no point now.

“Thank you, Seungwan. For being here with me.”

Sooyoung had turned her whole body around now, her lips were turned up just slightly, head bowed sheepishly. They were at arms-length distance yet Seungwan really wanted to reach out.

She settled for squeezing Sooyoung’s hand since any other type of movement would probably have them toppling over.

“I missed you, Sooyoung. I’m glad we get to meet each other again.”

They stay like that, hands linked together for a short while, both seemingly lost in their own minds, quietly enjoying the scene around them.

“We should get going.” Seungwan announces, looking at her wrist watch. “At the pace we move, there’ll barely be enough time for us to make it. As nice as this place is, Jisoo will kill me if i just leave her alone in Korea.”

“We barely moved, didn’t we?” Sooyoung finally admits, taking her paddle again.

“Well, at least it won’t be such a long way back.”

-

They make it to the small dock in one piece, much to the employee’s delight. They probably hated it when they had to clean up after the mess some of their clients left. Seungwan knows she would.

They had sometime left to have a quick snack before the van-bus-whatever came to get them. Apparently, the on-foot part of the trail was only while getting there. They would be driven back to the main dock from here.

“Now that’s what i call a pleasant surprise. I’m actually starting to feel so tired.” Sooyoung stretches her limbs as if to prove her point.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be able to rest soon enough.” Seungwan replies, feeling a bit tired as well. Who knew she was so out of shape?

Their transportation finally arrives and they board along the other couples that had paid for this trip. They ride on the open part of the bus, the speed making the wind chill on Seungwan’s skin. As the sun went down, so did the temperature, making for the whole thing much more pleasant.

Seungwan could feel Sooyoung beginning to doze off on her shoulder, and she tried to sit as upright as she could so the younger girl wouldn’t be in such an uncomfortable position.

Soon enough, she could feel the entire weight of Sooyoung’s body on her, meaning she had actually fallen asleep. Seungwan sighed. Today had been tiring both physically and emotionally. She couldn’t wait to have a shower and go to bed in the very comfy mattress awaiting in the fancy ship room.

Her eyes were stating to droop too when out of nowhere, a voice snapped her awake. “Hey, could i, uh, have your camera?”

If she hadn’t been so aware of the fact that she had a whole sleeping woman leaning on her, she probably would’ve whipped her entire body out of surprise. But that was not the case, so all she did was carefully move enough to address the person talking to her without disturbing Sooyoung. “Excuse me?”

The man who’d asked the question was currently scratching the back of her neck, probably out of embarrassment. He was young, a bit younger than her maybe and he had light brown hair. She had seem him before. He was sitting next to another man who was looking at him with amusement in his eyes and who, Seungwan assumed, was his husband.

“I’m sorry, i didn’t meant to sound so blunt.” He hadn’t, but Seungwan was too tired to discuss, so she just let him talk. “My name’s Mingyu. This is my husband, Minghao.” He gestured unnecessarily to the man next to him, who just nodded at Seungwan. “We’re in the same ship as you and your wife.”

She wasn’t a huge fan of small talk but she didn’t want to be rude either and these guys seemed nice enough. As good of a distraction as any. “Right, i’ve seen you before. I’m just not sure where. I’m Seungwan. The unresponsive one is Sooyoung.” She adds, smiling softly.

“The dumb couples competition Gyu signed us on.” The black haired guy, Minghao, shakes his head. “I think that’s where i’ve seen you.”

“Hey! It’s fun. And entertaining.”

“If you say so.” Minghao rolls his eyes but there’s fondness in his voice.

That's couples who are actually married.

“Anyway, as i was originally saying.” Mingyu addresses Seungwan again. “I asked you for your camera because i saw you taking some pictures earlier in the day. I’m guessing you’re a photographer, or you like photography, at least.”

She didn’t really understand where this was going, but alright. “Part-time photographer.”

“So are we.” Sooyoung chooses that exact moment to switch her position a bit but doesn’t actually wake. Mingyu looks relieved at that. Seungwan still doesn’t understand.

“I’d like to take a picture of you both. From where we’re standing—or sitting, more like—it makes for a beautiful sight. I know that, if it were me, i would like to cherish it.”

Her reaction fell somewhere between puzzled and moved. She guessed it was kinda cute. Extremely random and maybe a little weird but cute nonetheless.

“Alright.” She tries to maneuver her camera out of it’s bag. “Here you go.”

Seungwan probably shouldn’t be trusting something she treasures so much to complete strangers but honestly, neither of them look like they could hurt a fly, so. She’s not used to appear on pictures so she feels all kinds of awkward just sitting there, attempting her best smile while the couple in front of her discuss which photo settings to use.

After a little she ends up turning around to look out the window (or the place where a window should be, since this truck has no windows), the sky’s soft glow different shades of pink and orange, sun beginning to lay low in the horizon. The ocean gleams under the barely concealed light and the palm leaves dance slowly to the rhythm of the afternoon wind. Seungwan understands what Mingyu means by a beautiful sight then. She can’t help but let out a small chuckle, aware that she probably looks like one of those people who stare dramatically on car rides while a sad song plays on their earphones.

“What’s funny?”

If Sooyoung’s mouth wasn’t so close to her ear she probably wouldn’t have heard it, voice barely above a whisper.

Seungwan shakes her head slightly. She wonders if the younger girl really just woke up or if she had been listening all along. “Nothing. Just admiring the view is all.”

Sooyoung’s eyelashes flutter. “The landscape, or me?”

“Yes, you’re absolutely beautiful while drooling all over my shoulder.”

“First of all i do not drool.” Sooyoung finally sits upright. “And second, even if i did, you have to love me anyway because i’m supposed to be your wife.”

“Why wouldn’t i love you just because you drool?” Seungwan asks amusedly.

“I don’t know. But it could happen.” Her arms are crossed and her voice isn’t quite right. Like she’s trying to pretend it doesn’t matter but it actually does.

“Okay. You’re beautiful and i love you even when you’re getting saliva all over my shoulder.” She complies easily.

“Hmm.”

Sooyoung doesn’t seem satisfied with that and while Seungwan doesn’t really get why she seems bothered by something so mundane, she doesn’t want her to be affected by it, so she takes her hand and adds, “I really would love you no matter what, you know that.”

It’s not a lie. Not romantically maybe, but Sooyoung always had and always will have a special place in Seungwan’s heart.

Sooyoung sighs defeatedly. “Sorry, i’m just kinda tired.”

“I know. Just hold on a little longer. We’ll be there soon i think.”

They sit in silence for some time before someone calls her name again. “Seungwan?”

She turns to see the two men from earlier gazing at them with knowing smiles on their faces. “Oh right.”

“We didn’t want to interrupt.” Mingyu barely stretches his arms as he passes back her camera. “I hope you like the pictures.”

“I bet they’re lovely. Thank you.” She can sense Sooyoung’s confusion. “Sooyoung, this is Mingyu and Minghao. They’re in the cruise too and they’re photographers.”

“Nice to meet you.” She smiles politely. Then she seems to come to a realization. “Wait, you’re part of the couples’ competition too, aren’t you?”

“See, i told you it would be a nice way of making friends.” Mingyu tells his husband, sounding proud.

“Friends? Sooyoung here is out for blood. And she’s not the only one.” Seungwan snickers thinking about how competitive Joohyun is too.

“It’s just free dinner.” Minghao shrugs, his aura cool and collected, like nothing in the world could bother him. Then his lips turn up slightly. “But it is fun to win.”

Soon enough they arrive at the main dock, bidding their goodbyes with the knowledge that would most likely see each other the next day anyway.

“We have to go get the gifts from Maria’s store before boarding.”

Sooyoung let’s out a small whine. “Suddenly i have no friends. Or parents. Or a boss. I didn’t even go on this trip at all.”

Seungwan snorts.

“Come on you big baby, the quicker we are the faster we can finally get some rest.”

-

After picking up their souvenirs from the store, they finally returned to the ship and consequently, their now very tidy room, since someone had come to clean it up earlier. They’d fallen face first into their bed, reeling in the comfort of clean sheets and a soft mattress.

“Let’s order room some service so we don’t have to go out anymore.” Sooyoung’s eyes were closed and her voice was muffled by a pillow.

“Fine by me.”

She had showered first while they waited for the food to arrive. Now it was Sooyoung’s turn, Seungwan occupying herself by checking out the pictures of them that had been taken earlier.

They were beautiful indeed. She tried not to think too much about how she seemed genuinely at peace for a moment. She tried not to think too much about anything, really.

“Dowhan never let me sleep on his shoulder because he said it would ruin his clothes.”

Her head snaps up to look at Sooyoung, who was now standing in front of a mirror. The words were spoken nonchalantly, but Seungwan could see the way her hand was shaking where she held the towel she was drying her hair with.

“It’s stupid of me to get defensive over something like that. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Seungwan’s voice comes out harsher than she intends them, but it just makes her angry that Sooyoung would put herself down for something like that. That someone made her believe she had to put herself down for something like that.

“I know. But i can’t help it.” She opens a drawer and takes out a brush. “It comes to me in flashes. Everything i might have done wrong that he didn’t want to be with me anymore.”

Seungwan wants to argue, wants to lecture Sooyoung on how she most likely didn’t do anything wrong and her ex fiancé is just an . “How could something like that possibly compare to all the positives? It’s absurd.”

“Perhaps not to him.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. All of the sudden she seems exhausted, like a spark inside her has faded.

It slaps Seungwan in the face with the reality of a situation she keeps forgetting: that Sooyoung was going to get married, that Sooyoung was (is?) in love with someone else, that whatever she feels blooming in her chest sometimes must be stopped and buried if she has any sense of self-preservation.

She feels selfish, thinking about herself when Sooyoung is still hurting from what happened, when she’ll probably still be hurting for a long time. Seungwan needs to be there for her in the way Sooyoung expects her to be — her friend.

“You’ll be okay, Sooyoung. Right now it’s expected that you’re feeling like this, wondering the hows and the whys of everything. But it’ll pass, you’ll heal, and you will be okay.”

The younger girl sniffles a little but she’s not actually crying. Seungwan counts that as a win. “Sorry to end the day in such a tragic note.”

“If you keep apologizing for your feelings i’m gonna have to start one of those ‘put a dollar’ jars. I could really use a car or something.” Seungwan pokes her on the side.

“So—okay. I’ll try to stop.”

“I’m just saying. You can always talk to me, alright? No matter what.” She stares directly into her eyes. Sooyoung nods. “Good.”

Just in that moment there’s a knock on their door signaling that their food had finally arrived.

“Now let’s have dinner and then go to sleep. We have to be in our best shape.”

Sooyoung moves towards the door. “I think How Well Do You Know Your Spouse is tomorrow. We might flunk it.”

Considering she found out today about Sooyoung's not-swimming habits, yeah, they might.

“I believe in miracles.”

Seungwan dreams of long legs tripping over white sand that night.