She always loved going to the beach after getting off work.
The salty air, the slow rhythm of the waves crashing on the shore and the orangeness that spread on the surface of the sea like paint on a canvas when the sun was setting.
She even liked those freaking seagulls who scared the out of her.
What really made her crave that place like no others though, was the sand; the sensation of it under her palms, the texture of it through her fingers and how at that time in the evening it would still feel warm on her skin.
She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and letting go of all the stress she had piled up during the day.
She could hear the faint noises of the cars that sped in the street behind her, but somehow, immersed in that peaceful atmosphere, those sounds didn't bother her but actually blended in the background pretty well.
Throwing her head back she opened her eyes, looking at the sky above; it was still too early for stargazing, but the moon was already out and she found herself wishing for the night to come soon while laying on her back, hands behind her head and blonde hair fading with the sand.
It had already been one year since she had moved to Busan from Seoul and still, that was her favourite place, the only place that made her feel like she belonged there even when everything else screamed the opposite.
With time she had slowly become an introvert, she liked the comfortable environment of what she had always known and the familiar surroundings of her childhood home back in Seoul; she feared changes as well as challenges, because she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't enough, like she could never succeed.
She sighed and brought her right arm to cover her eyes before whispering softly to herself "Yah... such depressing thoughts Kim Yongsun".
Still laying in the same position, the blonde was almost about to doze off, lulled by the light breeze and her own thoughts, when two voices in the distance interrupted the silence. Two people were approching, probably two girls, even though one of the voices was pretty deep.
Yongsun raised her arm to look at her watch and brought herself up to sit straight, stretching her limbs; it was already 7 pm and that meant that she could take out the tteokbokki she had in her warming bag.
It had become a habit of hers to often go there after her 9 to 5 job, and she had the time to develope a routine that consisted in going home right after work to prepare something to eat, change into comfortable clothes and grab a beach towel with a book or something to pass the time.
She didn't go everyday of course, but it was the beginning of summer and the weather was nice, not too hot nor cold. The nights were still chilly, especially on the beach where the wind was stronger, and that's why that evening she had decided to wear an oversized grey sweather and a pair of light blue jeans cut over the knees, her vans placed neatly next to the towel.
"Wheein-ahhh, Wheein-ah, Wheein-ahhhh, why do you ignore me, Wheein-ah!" the deep voice whined and it sounded closer than expected, Yongsun thought, looking in the direction of the voice and realizing that indeed, they weren't that close but approximately 30 m away.
"Because you're being ridiculous unnie, now sit down and eat" the other girl said, opening a pizza box and letting the smell travel with the breeze right inside Yongsun's nostrils, who felt her stomach grumble impatient.
The blonde straightened her back and started to pull up her hair in a bun, grabbing the hair-tie with her teeth before turning slightly to recover her beloved tteokbokki from the bag.
Unconsciously she looked briefly in the direction of the girls and noticed the one with the deep voice turning away like she had just seen a ghost: she had long black hair and she could make out her slender frame even if she was sitting. She didn't see much else due to the increasing darkness and the fugacity of her glance, but she smiled nonetheless before starting to overthink every little detail of the scene in her head and mentally slapping herself.
She shook her head annoyed at her own thoughts and finally opened the lid of the box, smiling brightly at the sight: she loved food in general, but she had to admit she had a soft spot for tteokbokki.
She took her chopsticks, but before she could eat, a light bulb inside her head and she rummaged through her bag to find the tin of kimchi she always brought with her, beaming this time and ignoring the nagging feeling of being observed.
Yongsun crossed her legs and stared at the sea while eating, watching the sun disappear over the horizon but secretely glancing at the two girls on her left.
She thought that two could play at that game, if one of them was looking at her, why couldn't she?
Sometimes she caught the dark-haired girl's gaze, but most of the time she just stared at the interactions between her and her friend: the other girl, who's name was Wheein she probably assumed, had short blonde hair and she seemed to be drowning in her clothes, but Yongsun could tell from afar that they fit her perfectly.
She raised an eyebrow and noticed that the two girls had some kind of aura around them, she couldn't pinpoint what that was exactly, but their style, their attitude, their everything screamed 'Not ordinary'.
- Maybe they're idols - she thought, looking back at her almost empty box and hearing laughter coming from her left.
She smiled to herself, but her thoughts were bittersweet.
She could feel how close those girls were, and she missed that feeling, she missed having that kind of friendship and she knew she had only herself to blame.
She had become someone so different from her past self, sometimes she even barely recognized herself: she used to be so carefree, living everyday to the fullest, optimistic, hopeful, messy but happy at the end of the day.
Then she received her first big disappointments and she was forced to keep her feet on the ground, something she really wasn't used to; she started working for a company in Seoul and then was transferred to Busan, where she didn't have any friends and didn't have anyone to rely on.
"Unnie I told you, it's not possible, get that out of your mind" that sentence pulled her out of her thoughts and she started to put away the empty box in her hands, eavesdropping the conversation and feeling less guilty than she probably should've.
"But why though" the dark-haired girl pressed, "We have a month and a half of vacation and Seulgi said we could spend some nights at her house in Mokpo, we could go to Jeju from there. Plus, I already bought a van, you're the only thing that's missing" she said matter of factly.
- A month and a half of vacation? - Yongsun's eyes widened and she was sure now that the two girls didn't have ordinary jobs.
She continued to pack her stuff while listening to the other two bickering, and after she was done she checked her watch; it was 8.17 pm and the sun had already left the entirety of the sky to the moon.
Now that she was done eating she left her short hair fall back, retrieving her hair-tie and placing it around her wrist, looking up at the stars right after: sometimes she wondered if everything was exactly where it was supposed to be, if her current state was everything she could expect from life and if she was ok with that.
She sighed heavily, getting up and shaking her beach towel before letting her backpack hang on one shoulder and hooking her vans with two fingers.
A pair of eyes was boring holes on the side of her head and she turned around to face the dark-haired girl, who held her gaze for quite some time, enough to make her wonder if she could really see something despite the beach being almost completely dark now.
Yongsun was the one who broke the eye contact, blushing slightly and making her way towards the sidewalk to put her sneakers on, looking at the sea again one last time before finally heading home, unknown eyes still following her.

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Hi!

This is the first story that I actually want to publish, usually I'm too self-conscious and I end up deleting everything ahahahah I hope that you'll enjoy this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it :) 

I'm planning for this story to be pretty long and to be a slowburn, just a little warning if you're more into fast paced stories. Also english is not my first language so sorry in advance if I get something wrong, please tell me if I make any mistakes, this way I will correct them.

Thank you and have a good read!

- Red