It was a Monday when Yeri found herself in the arms of Jung Jaehyun, one of the baristas in the cafe she frequents for her morning coffee, or an afternoon break (and perhaps a slice of cake to top the bitterness at the tip of her tongue), or occasionally for another shot of espresso at night so she can stay up to finish all the load of crap she had due for her course. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned as he held her soaked body against his. His grip around Yeri’s hips were firm, as if he was afraid the waves would take her from him any moment now.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and inched closer until her quivering lips were right against his ear. 

“Gotcha,” she breathes in a sultry voice, a devilish smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she quickly pulls away to see a visibly upset Jung Jaehyun. 

She stuck her tongue out before unlatching from his body then hurriedly flapping around towards the shore. 

They made a bet to see who could get out of the waters first, as childish as it may sound, and she wasn’t about to lose this one.

Her laughter echoed in his ears but he made no sound as he sat beside her on the cloth he had set over the sand. “Hey,” she started hesitantly, seeing how he was so quiet all of a sudden. “Are you mad? I’m sorry, if you could have only seen the face you made—“ and suddenly she was laughing all over again, never mind how Jaehyun was sulking right beside her. 

“That wasn’t nice.” He said, snorting as he reached over the plastic bag for a can of beer. “I was really worried, you know. Kim Yerim: found dead because Jaehyun left her to swim on her own.” He paused to take a sip of his beer. Deep inside there were more things he was actually worried about. And it was all about Kim Yerim. “What a headline.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. You clearly said the loser wouldn’t get to eat— I was so ready to risk it all.” She reasons out with a huff, looking through the bag only to find out there weren’t any more beer. “Hey! Where is mine?”

Jaehyun looks at her and sighs, looking like he was so done explaining so many things to Yeri very slowly and ever so often before she catches up. But nevertheless, he still spoke in his usual calming tone.” I asked you to pick whatever and you bagged in strawberry milk and a bag of Cheetos. Remember?” 

“Did I?” Yeri looks back at him with a sheepish smile before reaching out to snatch his can. “Well , give me some!” 

But Jaehyun was quick to pull away and instead, tossed her a box of strawberry milk, which she barely caught, earning a pout from the younger. “But strawberry milk at the beach with me half doesn’t exactly match.”

With that, Jaehyun unintentionally raked his eyes from her head to the tip of her toes and he instantly wished he didn’t. There she was, clad in her soaked white underwear (well you can guess how wet WHITE clothes would look on you) because they made an impromptu trip to the beach after her nth breakdown of the month. She looked all grown up, beautiful, delectable, irresistible. Absolutely everything he didn’t want to see— not now at least. Not now when holding himself back was the least thing he wanted to do in that very moment. 

It had only been about two months after her breakup and he obviously couldn’t expect her to get over it so quickly (especially not with how she was handling everything) so he had been making sure to... keep an eye on her. And so whenever she felt like the world beneath her feet would collapse any moment now, there he was, reaching a hand out to help her keep her together. He’d pick her up with one call and drive her home from the club after she spent the rest of her night getting wasted, he’d drop by with soup and her favorite fruits whenever she got sick because she overworked herself trying to get her mind off things, he’d make her laugh with his dad jokes whenever she was in a bad mood, and even sing her a lullaby on nights she broke down and cried for hours on end. Sometimes when he’s too busy and couldn’t come over, he’d stay on the phone with her until she fell asleep.

To Yeri, his kindness was light. It was warm and comforting. And it kept her together.

“Have you ever loved someone so much, your chest just... hurts?” Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He very subtly tried to cover the growing tent in his shorts with a... a bag of chips and thanked God Yeri wasn’t even looking his way until he threw his hoodie to her face, to which she hissed and gave him a dirty look.

“Wear it, you look cold.”

“You know, if only you weren’t so rude and prickly, i bet you’d have girls lining up for you already.” She says as she wore his oversized hoodie over her head. It was warm and comfy— and it smelled like Jaehyun.

“You can be first in line.” Jaehyun jokes, to which Yeri dismissed with a look of disgust and they both laughed together. “I don’t know about love, but I like someone.” 

Yeri’s eyes lit up and she tried to probe further. “You do? Who is it. Do I know her? Is she from my college?”

“I’m not sure if you do. But she’s kind, a little moody but nothing I can’t handle.” He smiles, seeing her being so attentive and curious. “She’s playful but daring and she surely knows how to keep a conversation going too.” He glances back at her when she said nothing and instead found her looking up at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to elaborate everything apart from the aforementioned nouns. “She has no idea she caught my attention, funnily enough. I’m just enjoying my time with her before someone can take her away because I don’t think it’s okay to tell her about how I feel just yet. I don’t want to burden her with that kind of information.” He mutters, playing with his now empty beer then turning his head to gaze at her.

“That’s a load of crap, Jaehyun! Why would you allow someone else to have the person you like?” Yeri exhaled in disbelief. “C...could it be Soojin? I mean you did say she was the only girl you were close with apart from me, and as far as I know, she’s about to have... kids,” her eyes started growing bigger at the aimless realization, looking like she was about to sob out of pity. “Oh, Jaehyun—!”

He suddenly chokes, coughing up before pushing himself up, a laugh leaving his lips.

“Of course not, you dimwit! She’s in love with her husband-to-be and I’ve never had feelings for her.” 
 

“But well, because I just started seeing this person in a different light and she might not feel the same way or— worst case scenario, she might’ve just been great at making friends and I stupidly allowed myself to be so infatuated.” He takes a look at the waters, taking into account how the sun is about to set.

“Still.” She took Jaehyun’s hand when he had offered to help her up and stood beside him, with her eyebrows furrowed in thought, still not fully understanding his reasons. “I don’t think such positive feelings will end up becoming a burden. For all we know, she might actually feel the same way. You should really give it a shot.”

“What about you and Lucas? Do you like him?” Jaehyun asked out of the blue. It came so sudden that it left Yeri speechless for awhile and in her moment of silence he took the chance to drag her towards the sea— to which she followed his lead without question anyway. 

He led them where the waves would reach their feet and walked along the shore. Yeri didn’t notice how Jaehyun didn’t let her hand go— and she held onto him casually as she pondered over his question. “I don’t... know. He’s not a bad person, that much I know, but everything is just so... overwhelming right now. I’m not used to getting so much attention but there he goes— getting me flowers, texting me all day, sending me songs, buying me snacks. He’d been honest with his feelings for me from the start, but I don’t understand how he just decided he likes me already. It hasn’t even been a month since we knew each other.” 

Jaehyun turns his head to look at the younger. She looked so lost in her thoughts as she played with the waves with the tip of her toes, her eyes downcast. “Look, Yerim.” He squeezed her hand gently and took a deep breath, his next words coming out in a murmur. “The sunset looks beautiful.” 

Yeri lifts her gaze towards the sea where the sky was in shades of orange and purple. She smiled in agreement and watched the sun set with her good friend Jung Jaehyun, completely unaware of the look of defeat on his features.

“Yeri, I like you a lot.” 

People in the Cafe started cheering and whistles of encouragement echoed in the small space. 

Kim Yerim, on the other hand, stood petrified in her spot. The attention they were getting was making her uncomfortable, but as soon as she met his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity, she immediately loosened up. 

A soft smile decorated her features as she gazes a second longer at the man who stood tall and proud before her, then to the flowers he offered. He held a bouquet of red tulips and his smile was as big as ever when he said, “Please be mine.”

Yeri took the flowers and the crowd hooted louder. Although she wasn’t exactly a big fan of public events like this, she can’t help but feel happy that someone was willing to go through cheesy things like this just to confess their feelings for her. 

Her new boyfriend, however, didn’t look ashamed in the slightest. Instead he looked super excited with all the cheering; even more so when Yeri bashfully nodded her head in response and covered her face with the bouquet in embarrassment. 
 

“Congrats, Lucas.” Jaehyun chirped from behind the counter.