A thick layer of sweat made Hyukjae’s shirt felt thicker than it actually was. The sun was on the verge of making its appearance in the morning sky and the sensation felt peaceful and wholly comforting. The jog around the small village of Sinan was relaxing yet a bit monotonous if it wasn’t for the few farmers who were already stretching bones in the field.

The moment he arrived at the dock, Hyukjae took in the beautiful scenery. Several fisher folks were already preparing to sail out and they greeted him with a pleasant morning upon noticing his presence. He obviously greeted back, this time with less force and more legitimacy. He bowed and bid them a safe sail. It was only his third day and the second morning in Sinan yet he felt as if he belonged there in the first place. He couldn’t entirely match the villagers’ names to their faces but it seemed as if it didn’t matter at all. He settled on calling everyone “uncle”, “auntie”, “hyung”, “noona”, “dongsaeng”, “halmeoni”, “halabeoji”, and that appeared to be more than enough.

He roamed his eyes around and halted to a stop when he saw a familiar back wearing a familiar white shirt but this time, the outfit was matched with knee-length khaki shorts. As if his body was on autopilot, he jogged towards the figure.

“Good morning, Donghae-ssi,” he greeted with a smile on his face. He noticed how the other stiffened on his place, arms frozen while holding two fishes—carps if he was not mistaken.

The younger guy looked at him for a moment, eyes briefly widening before returning to what he was initially doing.

“Good morning to you too, Hyukjae-ssi.”

“You’re early today. Preparing to sail out?”

Hyukjae broke the silence, leaning his back against the younger’s boat. He observed what Donghae was doing but as much as he ransacked his brain, he really couldn’t put a name to the activity. The younger was tying the fishes using a bamboo straw, hanging them on top of two bamboo poles intertwined together.

Donghae nodded with caution, eyes not leaving the knot he was making. Hyukjae might as well be considered a fool if he still hadn’t realized that the young angler was not much of a talker. Thankfully, he already grasped that fact and also realized that he didn’t mind that much. He could talk all day for both of them. Only if Donghae allowed him, of course.

There was this vibe of tranquility that Donghae had with him that Hyukjae could barely understand yet he craved that vibe as weird as it may have sounded. All he knew was that he wanted to get closer to the younger as fast as he could. That being friends with the other would truly be worth it.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing?” He asked and Donghae probably noticed the genuine curiosity in his voice which made the latter turn to him with a small frown.

“Drying the fishes. They taste better this way,” was the answer before he let the younger go back to what he was doing.

Drying the fishes, huh? Interesting. Hyukjae was not even aware you could dry fishes. Just how many more things was he unaware of before setting foot into this place?

Maybe Sinan wasn’t that bad after all.

Hyukjae’s eyes then traveled to the ground, specifically to his running shoes, and could not help but compare them to Donghae’s battered rubber slippers. Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing to walk around the village in his full designer brand glories that he considered borrowing some clothing from Ryeowook, Siwon, or Sungmin. Something that would help him fit in more. Donghae probably noticed that he was staring at the ground—his feet, to be exact—as he scrambled to hide them behind the pails. Hyukjae internally chuckled. Cute. Donghae was legitimately the cutest human being in the world—hands down!

Just staring at nothing and Donghae in particular, he soon realized that he must have been disturbing the young angler with his presence from his chores and was about to go back to jogging when he thought of something. Something brilliant and certainly un-Hyukjae like.

“Say, do you mind if I tag along on your boat? I want to learn a thing or two about fishing if I want to survive in here, right? Feel free to say no, of course. It’s just that I want to pay the villagers back since they have been nothing but hospitable, welcoming, and generous—”

“Okay.” The younger’s response was easy to miss but hello! This was Donghae.

“Really?” He couldn’t help but raise his voice in excitement. Maybe he needed to learn to tone it down a notch especially since the younger seemed bothered by his presence alone.

“Only if you promise to pay back the villagers.”

Hyukjae grinned, “Call.”

Screw toning it down a notch. This is Donghae for heaven’s sake.

Donghae then looked at him, still with a blank expression on his face. “Are you sure you want to go fishing in those clothes?”

Hyukjae looked down at what he was wearing: a Balenciaga tracksuit, a pair of Joe’s sweatpants, and the latest Nike running shoes.

“Yeah. I think I’m good.”

It was totally embarrassing how Hyukjae was leaning over the boat too much. He was just trying to get a signal so he could send pictures to his cousin, Leeteuk, who was residing in Seoul. He had promised the older one he would give him updates but his phone won’t even connect.

“You’re in the middle of the sea, Hyukjae-ssi. Do you see any towers around?”

“How do you guys survive here without any mobile devices or something? My phone is basically useless here,” he answered, not really expecting any response from the other but Donghae truly had his ways of surprising him.

“There are more things here in Sinan that we focus on other than those expensive mobile phones. Food and survival, for example.”

With a pout forming on his face, he slumped back to his original position beside the young angler. The latter immediately sprang to work as soon as he positioned the boat a few yards away from the dock. Hyukjae watched in amusement and interest as Donghae attached what appeared like weights on four fishing nets before casting them on the sea, two nets on each side of the boat.

Leaning over the left side, Hyukjae turned to look at Donghae.

“What are the weights for?” he asked, lifting the net a bit which earned him a slight glare from the younger. He immediately let go and playfully raised his hands in surrender. Donghae could be pretty strict and sensitive, Hyukjae noted.

“Those are fishing sinkers. They increase the net’s rate of sinking and casting distance,” Donghae answered, this time taking out two fishing rods. He cautiously offered one to him and Hyukjae instantly accepted it. “If you want to learn how to fish, you have to learn the basics first.”

Hyukjae grinned, twisting the knob of the rod in a bouncy manner. “If you’re the teacher, then I’m more than willing to learn even the most complex thing about fishing.”

Smooth, Hyukjae. You really have no shame, aren’t you? Don’t be surprised if Donghae murder you in the middle of the sea.

His words made the black-haired fisher blush profusely which in turn elicited blush from Hyukjae himself. Silence soon followed the two and was broken only by Donghae’s coughs.

“You—you have to attach a bait on the hook. You can choose from either one of these baits,” and Donghae opened three small containers containing different kinds of baits.

Hyukjae frowned and tried to stop himself from grimacing as he took in the sight of the disgusting creatures inside the containers. He almost gagged when Donghae nonchalantly and effortlessly took three wiggly creatures and attached them at the end of his hook.

“W—what are tho—those?” he asked, hands shaking in repugnance.

“Worms, leeches, and minnows,” Donghae looked at him and shrugged. “Don’t worry, Hyukjae-ssi. They don’t bite,” and the angler gave him an encouraging nod.

With a slight frown on his face, he tried to lift up one minnow since it looked the most harmless and less disgusting among the three and attached the little creature at the tip of his hook. Seeing how he accomplished the task, he flashed Donghae a bright smile.

“Hey! That wasn’t so bad! Not bad for a first-timer huh?”

And the two of them cast their lines on opposite sides of Donghae’s boat. Silence filled the atmosphere but it was the type of silence that Hyukjae preferred. It was comfortable and just peaceful in general. Silence like this one was a rare thing in Seoul, Hyukjae was sure.

His gaze landed on the distance towards the dock where he could see more boats sailing in and out and more people occupying the once barren berth. A smile made its way on his face as he took in the scenery. Children were laughing happily as they tried to tag each other on the backs. Village women were drying their fishes on separate bamboo poles just like what Donghae was doing earlier. Village men wer