"Yeah, home is with my family, with you two, but you know what I mean. It's different for me." Jackson reasoned.

Youra nodded before moving away from him and a bit closer to the waves.

"You remember that movie I made you guys watch with me, the one where one of the main characters gets robbed by someone pretending to be Swedish?" She asked as she spotted a fishing boat in the far distance.

They chuckled before humming in affirmation.

"Do you agree with what that guy's friend said in the movie? That even though the three guys were best friends, there would come a time where we'll drift apart like those fishing boats, a time where it would be hard to see each other even once in 10 years?"

They walked to her and immediately wrapped their arms around her. Hugging always seemed like a natural reflex for them.

"Would it make a difference? If we agreed with him or not? We'll still love each other just as much. Besides, Jackson," Mark called out. "You promised to spoil my children rotten, remember? You can’t do that if you see them only once in 10 years."

Jackson chuckled as he tried to blink back a tear. "Of course, man. How could I forget? I’m going to be their favourite uncle."

"Hey, what about mine?" Youra whined, trying to bite back her own tears.

Jackson looked at Mark and smiled. "Don't worry, if things go to plan, then your children will be just as spoilt."

Mark shook his head before resting his head on Youra's, trying to hide his obvious smile.

They stood there like that for a while before Jackson moved away, making them look at him questioningly.

He pointed to the steps that led down to the beach. "I think I saw a small ice cream stall while we were walking down. I'll go get us some."

They didn't say anything. They merely nodded, knowing he probably just needed a second alone.

The two of them turned back to the ocean after watching Jackson walk away, seemingly calling someone, and Youra sighed.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just that the ocean is oddly relaxing to watch, isn't it?"

He turned his head to look at her. "Yeah it is, isn't it?"

She nodded and they stood there for a while before she grabbed his arm and pulled him away, to the dry sand where she sat down. He sat down besides her. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the ocean, not noticing that the boy next to her's stare was on her.

He looked at his hand and at hers before grabbing it and intertwining their fingers together.

Youra looked up at him expectantly and he sighed. "It wasn't easy, you know, staying away from you this whole week."

"Really?"

"Yeah, not seeing you every day and hearing you talk was pretty hard."

"Jen da?"

Mark chuckled. "You just said the same thing in another language."

"Oh."

Youra had this weird habit of assigning languages to her emotions. If she was shocked or feeling playful, she would switch to Mandarin. If she was annoyed and felt like ranting, she would speak in English. The rest she used Korean for, considering that was the language she had to use the most often.

"But that's okay. It’s endearing. It’s one of the things I like about you.”

"Xa ma*?" Youra's eyes widened and she snapped her head up to look at him.

"I um well," He scratched the back of his neck. "This isn’t exactly how I planned to tell you but yeah, I like you, a lot, as more than just a friend."

Youra blinked at him, trying to discern if she was dreaming or not.

"This is normally the point where you say something, you know."

"Oh, right. I'm just surprised."

"A good surprise or a bad surprise? Youra, you're killing me here."

She chuckled. "A good one, a pleasant one. Because," She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "I like you too, a lot."

It was his turn to blink at her, wondering if he was dreaming or not.

She squeezed his hand and he could feel his heart soften.

This was real, she liked him. She really liked him.

"Can I kiss you?" Mark asked softly.

"Please."

He smiled and moved closer, slowly connecting their lips. He could feel her chuckle against his lips and his eyes immediately shut.

People say that when one of your senses stop working, the others sharpen.

Mark understood why they said that now.

As he closed his eyes, he could feel her chuckle echo through his mind, sounding even more enchanting than it usually did.

Her scent seemed to overwhelm even more than usual, wrapping around him, threatening to never let him forget what she smelt like.

Her hands on his shoulders, moving towards his neck and then through his hair were driving him crazy, it was like his sense of touch had sharpened ten-fold, leaving him more sensitive to the way she touched him.

She was it.

She was his everything.

Because he knew.

He knew that no one else would ever manage to make him feel this way.

-

He liked her, he really liked her.

I like you, a lot.

The words echoed through her mind, like her mind needed a constant reminder that the guy she liked, her best friend, liked her back.

She had a feeling she would never be able to forget this moment, for the rest of her life.

As his hands moved down her shoulders and his arms gently wrapped themselves around her waist, she knew this was it.

There was only one person who could make her heart soften like this.

There was only one person who would hold her with the utmost care and make her feel like she was valuable, in a way that made her feel like she was worth something.

And there was only one person in the whole world who could make her heart beat this fast.

And his name was Mark Tuan.

-

Youra traced the side of Mark's jaw with the back of her fingers, giving him goose bumps that she could feel on his cheeks. She smiled and pulled apart, lingering near his mouth, so their lips brushed together.

He groaned at the sensation.

"What are you doing to me?" He whispered breathlessly.

"The same thing you're doing to me, making you breathless."

He slammed her lips against his in an instant. He tightened his hold on her and brought her closer.

The self-control he had was slowly deteriorating.

He couldn't wait any more.

He bit on her bottom lip, making her gasp and giving way for his tongue to trace the inside of her.

She slowly traced his lips with her tongue and he almost moaned at how good it felt. She ran her hands through his hair before breaking apart for air.

“Couldn’t wait?” Youra teased, smiling playfully at him.

“Oh, you have no idea how long I’ve waited.” He replied, his warm breath tickling her as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. “God, I finally feel like I have you.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just that, ever since the day of the match, I feel like things haven’t been the same between the two of us. I don’t know, it just felt like we were walking on eggshells around each other.” He looked up and smiled at her. “But now, it feels like everything can go back to normal.”

“Well, I don’t know how normal things are going to be if you can’t keep your hands off me, Tuan.” Youra quipped.

His mouth dropped open as he stared at her. “What did you just say?”

“The truth?” She said sounding unsure, slowly edging away as he approached her. She was about to get up and break into a run when he grabbed her and started tickling her.

She burst out into giggles as she tried to put her arms and protect herself, but to no avail, Mark knew just how to avoid her. Probably because of the years of experience Jackson and him had in torturing her.

“You’re only further proving my point, you know.” Youra managed to say through her giggles, making Mark stop.

He threw his hands in the air and shook his head. “I give up.”

He moved away and Youra chuckled. She looped her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder before moving in closer when he wrapped his arm around her.

“But I get what you mean, I did feel like things weren’t exactly the same anymore after the match. And now, well things are different but at the same time, it’s weirdly enough like we’re getting back to normal. It feels like this is our normal.”

“Yeah, it’s weird.” He kissed her cheek, making her smile. “But I think we can work with this.”

She sighed and looked at him. “Yeah, and it probably helps that we know each other too well.”

“Point.”

“I always have a point, for your information.” Youra joked, making Mark poke her in the stomach. She pinched his cheeks in retaliation before the two of them chuckled and ended up kissing again.

“I went to go get ice cream to give you two time to admit that you like each other, not face.” Jackson quirked as he stood behind them, trying to look serious but failing miserably when the smile on his f