“The sunrise in Pohang is famous as you know. No one wants to miss the spot where the sun rises first in Korea,” their bellboy informs them cheerily. “We provide a wake up call and transportation for guests who want to go to Homigot Plaza.”

Taemin is not in the mood to hear the hotel services being advertised but he knows the guy is only doing his job, so he nods along amiably, wishing the walk to their rooms could be done faster.

“We brought our own transportation thanks.” Kibum stated curtly.

They haven’t spoken since the conversation in the car, and Taemin is glad to leave it that way. He doesn’t trust himself to speak any sense, and Kibum has put up a hostile barrier around himself- sharp eyes flitting everywhere and movements skittish.

“We can still provide the wake up call if you want,” the bellboy is hesitant, earlier cheerfulness lost at Kibum’s lack of reciprocation. Taemin feels bad for him.

“Around what time would you call us?” He cuts in before Kibum can respond.

“Around five Sir, the sun rises at five thirty. Homigot is only fifteen minutes away”

“Great. Tomorrow is okay then.”

Kibum looks at him in poorly concealed surprise.

“Sure! We’ll be happy to. Here are your rooms.”

Taemin makes an inaudible sigh of relief as he finally slides the key card, the staff leaving them once Kibum tips him.

“Taemin.”

He halts.

“Are you sure about watching the sunrise? It’s quite early.”

Taemin swivels around to face him, “There is no point in coming here and not seeing the sunrise. It’s not even ten yet, we can sleep in enough,” he pauses. “And either way, tomorrow is your last full day of staying here. If we wait another day you’ll have to drive back after waking up too early. Unless you’d rather not watch it.”

Kibum purses his lips, “No it’s fine by me. Have a good night Taemin.”

“You too,” he replies tersely, finally shutting the door behind him.

It was obvious they were not going to meet up for dinner so Taemin takes the best advantage of the situation- quickly changing out of his clothes, ordering room service, and then making the long needed call to Jonghyun.

“Hey Taemin what’s up?”

His shoulders sag in relief at hearing a familiar voice.

“Jjong I missed you.”

He hears the other guffaw at his admission, “Damn I can’t believe you said that,” but his voice becomes serious as his laughter dies out, “Is everything alright?”

Taemin pouts. “Does something have to be wrong for me to express my love for you”

He imagines Jonghyun shaking his head at the other end of the line.

“No but something definitely is wrong. I can hear it in your voice.”

Taemin flops back on the bed and runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

“I don’t know. I might come back a day earlier or stay longer. I can’t decide.”

“Wait. Why?”

“The guy I’m with has to come back to Seoul a day early. I was thinking if I should leave with him or go back on my own later.”

“Okay but you still haven’t told me about this guy. I know he’s rich and I assume he’s not your sugar daddy. Considering we don’t run in circles where we can casually know people like him, you need to tell me what’s going on”

Taemin sighs and rolls over to smush his face on a pillow- might as well get over with it.

“Remember the time Minho was talking about me saving someone’s life?”

“Yeah and then you ran off because of your crush on him”

“Must you bring that up?”

“Ok sorry go on.”

“As I was saying,” he rolls his eyes, “This is the guy whose life I saved. He did give me his number but it was kind of like an express hotline to call in a favour if I needed. Well, that’s how we ended up here.”

Jonghyun takes a moment to take it in.

“And you used the favour to take a vacation?”

“I needed one and I couldn’t think of anything else to be honest. It’s not like he is a real genie.”

He hums, “Fair enough I guess. Do I want to ask what he does for a living for him to be able to act like a fake one for you at the drop of a hat?”

“I’d rather not answer that,” Taemin admits truthfully. Jonghyun had always been a bit more perceptive than the others.

He hears him sigh.

“Then I won’t. I trust you’re smart enough to stay safe.”

Taemin doesn’t really trust himself enough, but he’s managed for so long, “I will.”

“So I don’t see what your issue is? If he leaves then he leaves, you can stay, and I’m sure even longer than a week if you asked to right?”

“Yeah but-”

“But what?”

Taemin huffs, “Anyway, how are you? How are Minho and Jinki?”

“Okay Taemin, let's change the topic and avoid the problem. Yes we are fine. Actually, today Minho was asking me if I had heard from you. Haven’t you been replying to his texts?”

“I haven’t really been checking to be honest.”

“That’s weird.”

Taemin idly pats the soft bedding, “What is?”

“You’d never miss a text from Minho.”

“I’ve just been distracted. Besides that’s a good thing right? That I’m moving on?”

“Yeah, yeah I guess so. Or maybe you finally found something that took your thoughts away from Minho long enough to break you out of your infatuation.”

“What does that mean?” Taemin sits up in confusion, “You mean to tell me I needed a vacation all along?”

“If that’s what you want to call it”

“Jonghyun you are too cryptic for me.”

“I’m a poet,” he playfully replies, “It comes with the territory.”

“Whatever. I still don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you just get through tomorrow and decide after?”

He mulls it over. It's true that it was not like he has to make a decision right away. Or take a decision at all for that matter.

“I guess….that’s not a bad idea.”

“I always have good ideas.”

“If that’s what you want to call it,” he mimics.

“I forgot how much of a brat you can be sometimes. But it’s nice, I missed this side of you. You sound good Taemin.”

He smiles, “Thank you. I am feeling better too.”

“Let’s get lunch when you come back. My treat.”

“Okay,” he snuggles on to his blankets, his whirring thoughts slowing down to a pleasant hum under his best friend’s comforting voice. “I’d like that,” he yawns, “Goodnight Jjong, I’m going to have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Taeminnie,” he wishes, using his old nickname and making Taemin smile again. At least for the night, sleep comes peacefully.

-

“Why is it so ing cold,” Taemin curses, “This is supposed to be peak summer”

Their spot on a rock facing the sea with a sweeping view of the famous hand sculpture jutting out of it definitely comes at a cost, which is both of them shivering in their cotton shirts and shorts- appropriate beach wear for later in the day, but out of place in the windy early morning . All the tourists around them have come better prepared and researched, frolicking around in their jackets and high end cameras in wait for the sunrise. Kibum has brought his own too but it lay slung around his neck idly while his hands are busy warming each other up.

"It's five a.m. and we are sitting fifty metres away from the coast, all things considered this is normal", Kibum tries to play it off coolly, but his chattering teeth completely ruin the effect.

Taemin snorts at his statement, huddling closer for warmth absentmindedly, only to realise his mistake when Kibum stiffens at the contact. Taemin is a cuddling sort of person, and thinking things through isn’t his strong suit. He makes a move to shift away, but is surprised when Kibum's hesitant arm wraps around him.

"It's quite chilly, we should keep ourselves warm," Kibum says softly, pointedly staring at the sea ahead.

"You’re right," Taemin mutters, a small smile forming on his lips and copies him and looks at the horizon, where the first tendrils of light had begun to emerge.

The sunrise is a thing of beauty, making it worth it to brave the weather and watch it from the shore rather than their hotel balconies. Witnessing the phenomenon itself isn’t anything new, but Taemin rarely left the city so this experience is far more different, and seeing the gentle rays of sunlight hitting the waves, making them glitter and basking them in golden light makes his heart soar. It looked so picturesque that even the sound of clicks from all the cameras around them couldn’t annoy him. He takes a long deep breath, curling in on himself for comfort. Taemin feels Kibum’s arm around him clutch tighter and he looks up at him in surprise, finding that he too was looking at the sunrise in awe. Taemin knows the moment is fleeting and the spell would break as soon as it is over, but he stares at Kibum’s profile nevertheless. He looks so unguarded and so young, almost like he could easily be a classmate from college, and they could just be people on a class trip. Taemin sighs to himself and sweeps his eyes back to the sea- the sun now high in the sky. Most people were walking away to the nearby park, but he wants to sit and savour this and hopes Kibum wouldn’t mind either.

"It's over so fast for something that took so much hassle to come for."

"Yeah," Kibum acknowledges, "But it's worth it."

Taemin hums in agreement, contemplating if it would be appropriate to rest his head on his shoulder.  it, he can't know if he doesn't do it.

This time Kibum doesn't freeze when he drops his head, in fact easing into the new position as if he was expecting it far sooner. Taemin hums happily- this felt nice.

"What are you thinking about?" He asks softly when Kibum doesn't speak for a while.

He takes a moment to answer.

"Thinking about how nice it is to be here. We are supposed to be here for you, but I feel like you've done me a favour once again."

"Does this mean I get another favour since this one doesn't count?" Taemin is being playful, but his heart sinks in his chest as he fully realises how fickle their relationship truly is- hinging on the results of past events, with no common ground to tether them.

"What more do you want?" Kibum jokes, glancing at him. They are so close, so extremely close, and Taemin can't find it in himself to move away.

He says the first thing that pops in his mind.

"For you to stay."

They stare at each other. A beat passes, maybe two. Taemin’s eyes wander to Kibum’s lips directly in his line of sight.

Kibum is the first one to look away.

“I’m hungry. Let’s ask the locals for a good place to get breakfast at this hour.”

Taemin blinks. And to think all this time he thought of himself as the master of deflection. He shrugs off Kibum’s arm indifferently.

“Okay. Let’s go then.”

They drive a bit more into the city for their search, stopping at a more populated area to park their car and ask around. The locals are really friendly, which is not a surprise considering Pohang's an industrial town with really hard workers, who generally tend to be much more hospitable. Taemin has already gotten his cheeks pinched a few times by the old ladies tending their shops and Kibum complimented on his politeness. He feels a bit lighter after being adored and fawned at for a while- their simple query for a place to eat turns into full conversations about the economy and the shipyard in the city bringing in business. They finally manage to free themselves and walk to the nearby Jukdo market by their suggestion, as it doubled as both an early morning fish bazaar and a place to get breakfast. With the promise of the highly recommended cheap Sashimi, Taemin skips ahead on the pavement running alongside the coast, trying to shake himself off the ache in his chest he had ever since they talked at the beach, which proves to be not too hard a task when the crisp breeze and soft sunlight is too good for him to be able to overthink.

“Taemin can I ask you something?”

He hums in response, slowing down to let Kibum catch up with him, who is lagging behind.

“Why did you ask me to accompany you on this vacation?”

Taemin’s heart beats erratically. He does not have an answer to this- he still doesn’t understand why he had. What he had initially assumed would be a no emotions attached fun trip, was clearly affecting him more than he’d like. It doesn’t help that Kibum was looking at him like he wants to know the answer but is afraid of it at the same time. His body language screams that he wants to escape, but his eyes are rooted on Taemin’s.

“All of a sudden?”

Kibum shrugs, “Humour me.”

"I don't know," he admits. Best to take the honest route when nothing else works. “As you said yourself that night,”why did it feel like ages ago when it had only been five days, “I guess I was just lonely and all my friends were busy. It would be miserable to take a trip alone. But I thought you already knew that.”

“I did say it that night but-” Kibum falters, as if he is finding it hard to articulate the words and shakes his head, “I’m just grateful you thought of me first then even though I am aware I have been bringing the mood down ever since we started.” He says quietly, eyes flitting away from his’ in embarrassment.

This Kibum is much softer. More vulnerable. Taemin vaguely remembers himself mentioning something about Kibum being a coconut. It couldn’t be that the shell was cracking already?

He takes a deep breath and attempts to quell the mild resentment he has been feeling towards him.

“Are you kidding? Trust me when I say this, but this is the most I have relaxed in my entire life,” he says lightly, grabbing Kibum’s hand and tugging on it eagerly- actions more exaggerated than usual but Taemin is quickly learning how much he hates seeing that look of misery on his face, “Weren’t you hungry? That’s probably why you feel down. We have a long day ahead. Let’s go.”

Jukdo market is bigger than he had anticipated, and they get lost in it's winding lanes till they give up and ask someone where they can get food, which turns out to be the central hall whose entrance they have already passed twice unknowingly. Kibum is in a better mood- taking pictures of the fresh fish market and the vendors who happily pose for him, laughing at a particularly feisty ahjumma who juts out her hip and strikes a finger heart when he clicks a photo in front of her stall. Belatedly Taemin realises Kibum had never taken a picture of the sunrise, the main attraction of Pohang, in lieu of wrapping his arms around him. Taemin’s face flushes red remembering the moment, making Kibum ask if he was feeling well. He nods and proceeds to hide his face behind his humongous bowl of Sashimi. The locals weren't kidding when they said it was cheap and fresh. Taemin doesn't have a benchmark to compare it to- it was obviously far better than the kind of joints he frequents, which is not really a surprise, but Kibum mentions that not even five star restaurants have Sashimi this good.

“Do you think I can take some back home for my friends?”

“Taemin your suitcase would stink.”

He shrugs, “Would be worth it. Maybe some of those exotic fish I saw. Jinki would probably be able to slice them into Sashimi.”

Kibum chuckles, “The best you can take home is dried fish but that could easily be found in Seoul anyway.”

Taemin whines, “But all of this is so cheap! It’d be a shame to not take anything home. I really want to get them things but I have no idea what to.”

“Well, we are going to the beach. Maybe you can get something from those touristy souvenir shops?”

He pouts, “I guess….”

“We can shop around here if you want to though.”

Taemin shakes his head, “No it’s fine. I’ve really been waiting to go to the beach. The last time I went was with my friends near Seoul but it was too crowded,” he makes a face of disgust, “At least Pohang has too many beaches for all of them to be packed.”

“I'm not so sure about that. Did you see all those people in Homigot? I definitely saw someone actually wading in the water to take a shot,” Kibum waves his hand around, talking animatedly, “These people are crazy!” He exclaims in English.

Taemin’s jaw hangs open, “Wait. You sound so fluent. Did you live abroad? Where did you learn it?”

He will not admit that it was insanely attractive to hear.

Kibum splutters, cheeks turning red. “I watch a lot of American shows.”

“Woah, that’s really impressive.”

“Thank you,” he still looks embarrassed but Taemin notices his little pleased smile. Seeing it should not have made Taemin as happy as it did but it makes him feel proud to be the cause behind it.

The walk out of the market is just as confusing as the entry, but thankfully this time they are not too proud to ask for help, making it out in ten minutes instead of the thirty it took them to reach the centre. Their next stop is Guryongpo Beach, a fifteen minute drive, which they spend in companionable silence. According to plan they would have gone on a hiking trail to a nearby monastery but as it stood with Kibum’s early departure, they will only roam around the city today, which is honestly, not much to see. He is still conflicted in that regard- there really is no point in staying in Pohang all alone, but then again there are far more merits in being lonely in a five star hotel with a spa at his disposal than at his threadbare apartment working his minimum wage job- even if it was only for a few more days.

Funnily enough, the beach does not seem to be crowded with the exception of a few couples seeking privacy and some families with young children, but that is possibly only because of the fact that it is more of a rocky beach with smaller waves than a proper sandy one with water deep enough to swim in. But Taemin doesn’t mind- it is peaceful. The sun is just right and the water is gentle enough to dip their feet in without having to run away to avoid being splashed. Kibum had the foresight of buying a blanket from the market when they left, along with water bottles, a couple of cans of beer and boxes of Sashimi because Taemin seems to love it so much. They can easily make a picnic out of this.

“I should have researched better. I really thought we would be able to swim in here”, Kibum says, sounding genuinely forlorn at the prospect of letting Taemin down.

“It’s completely fine,” Taemin reassures, “Let’s set up the blanket and the drinks. The weather is too nice to waste the opportunity”

“I’m sorry still,” he apologises once again when they sit down.

Taemin rolls his eyes, opening a can of beer and offering it to him, “You can loosen up a bit you know? I won’t storm off just because something did not go right our way.”

Kibum takes the offered can, sipping from it immediately. Taemin tries hard not to stare at his Adam's apple but fails, rapidly looking away to the sea when Kibum catches his eye.

“I can’t help but feel bad since I planned it. Maybe I should have let you pick the cities, I did let my personal biases cloud my judgement.”

They both know he is referring to Daegu. Taemin doesn’t hold that against him- after all at the end of the day Kibum is funding this trip, it's much better on his conscience if Kibum is getting something out of all this too.

Taemin shakes his head quickly, “I either overthink or don’t think at all. If you had told me to pick we wouldn’t have ended up going anywhere at all,” he chuckles, “And I enjoyed everything. Though we could do with less sight seeing- just simply sitting on a beach is good enough for me.”

Kibum raises an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips, “You didn’t like the amusement park? You looked like you were enjoying yourself on the carousel.”

Taemin groans, “That was not my best moment. I really did think amusement parks were fun,” he insists, “But now I guess I am too old for it. It’s so sad.”

Kibum hums teasingly, “Oh for sure you definitely looked much more at home at the nightclub that was very clear.”

Taemin blushes up from his neck in embarrassment, hands going forward to lightly shove him, “Stop making fun of me!”

Kibum lets himself be pushed back, laughing when the beer spills into the sand the moment his back hits the blanket. He stretches out his legs and balances himself on his elbows, taking a sip from the mostly empty can. This is the most relaxed Taemin has ever seen him- his smile doesn’t even disappear behind his mask of neutrality even after a minute passes. Taemin follows his example and stretches out too, resting on his belly instead so he can still face Kibum.

“You won’t be facing the view if you sit this way.”

Taemin eyes Kibum with his wind ruffled hair and mint green shirt. He wouldn’t call that not facing the view. Usually he'd hold his tongue, but today he is feeling bolder.

He shrugs and looks at him pointedly, “I think the view from here is great too.”

Kibum turns crimson and chokes on his beer.

“You don’t have to tease me back,” he rolls his eyes while fanning himself with his hand daintily, looking flustered still.

“I wasn’t,” Taemin replies sincerely.

Kibum stares at him in disbelief, “Alright casanova, enough flirting. Talk about something else or I will take a nap.”

Taemin huffs, “You’re such a bore. Why don’t you talk about something else instead?”

He expects Kibum to brush it off just like any other time, but he seemed like he was actually considering it.

“Well what do you want to know?”

“You’re offering to talk about yourself?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I’m feeling generous,” Kibum retorts haughtily, but Taemin knows him well enough at this point to see through his act. He can tell that he is genuinely attempting to be more considerate of Taemin and trying not to always push the onus of conversation on to him. He really appreciates the sentiment.

It's hard to think of something to ask. Taemin is really curious about his life, but he doesn't want to bring down the mood by making him uncomfortable in any way, so he poses the first thing that pops into his mind.

“How did you get into fashion?”

If Kibum is surprised, he doesn’t express it. He mulls the question, probably in recollection, before answering.

“My grandmother used to work for the whole day, so there was not much for a kid to do at home, especially the days I didn’t have school. That’s when I started watching western shows, pretty much all day on the tv. And they were so pretty- I loved their outfits. You know we didn’t have all that in Korea, at least not back then.”

Taemin nods, when they were kids having the best of luxury in their country sounded like a dream.

“So I grew really fascinated and tried to recreate them on my own with whatever I could thrift,” Kibum has a reminiscent expression on his face, “It didn’t really work out but it was a lot of fun.”

“That sounds so nice.”

Kibum moves his head in agreement, “Now I can buy all those outfits myself, but it doesn’t bring me joy,” he says bitterly, “Not that I don’t appreciate being able to buy things-” he quickly corrects himself, “It’s just not as nice.”

“When I was in my second year of college, I almost gave up on dancing. There were too many showcases and competitions, too many opportunities I didn’t want to give up, so I did all of them but it burned me out. I was so overwhelmed I almost wrote down my letter for dropping out and it wasn’t until I started going easy on myself that I found my love for dancing again. Sometimes too much of a thing can really destroy the passion for it. Maybe it’s the same for you? Since you can easily get them now, you don’t have to be that creative anymore?”

Kibum smiles, “You’re too kind to compare your actual career with something that is only a hobby for me.”

“It doesn’t sound like it is just a hobby for you.”

He sighs, “Does it even matter anymore?”

“It can if you want it to.”

“That was really poetic, but I am not sure how to answer that.”

Taemin turns around to look up at the sky, pillowing his head on his hands.

“Guess my best friend is just rubbing off on me. He’s a composer and writes the most beautiful lyrics. Only downside is he sometimes uses us as his test subjects, I feel like half of the things he says actually make it onto his next songs.”

“Are all your friends also in artistic fields?”

Taemin nods, “One is a dancer like me, the other is a composer, my first friend in college- the one gave me that battery pack you saw-” he adds as an afterthought, “is a product designer and his boyfriend is a vocalist, and a really good one at that. I know he’s going to make it big someday”

"His boyfriend?"

Taemin tilts his face to glance at Kibum quizzically, "It might come as a surprise but not all my friends are loners like me."

Kibum shakes his head, "It's not that. It's just the way you spoke about him that day, it felt like something was going on-"

"It seemed like I liked him didn't I?" He sighs, "Either I'm too transparent, or you're good at reading people. Maybe it's a mix of both. But yes, you're right. And yeah, he has a boyfriend."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude like that."

Taemin tuts, "Don't worry. It's all water under the bridge now anyway. Being able to talk about it openly is a pretty good sign that I'm moving on. What about you?"

Kibum knits his eyebrows. "What about me?"

"Friends? Boyfriend?" He asks, ignoring the sour taste on his tongue at the last question. He stores the thought away for later examination.

"Oh. Friends? Yes. Boyfriend? No."

Taemin moves his head back to look at the sky again, taking a breath he didn't know he has been holding. It was a bright day with just enough clouds to not hurt his eyes.

"Friends from Seoul?"

Taemin hears him open another can of beer.

"Yeah. A few friends I made in University. No one I particularly miss."

He hums in reply, not wanting to question him further when it is apparent there was finality to Kibum’s answer. Taemin yawns, the early morning excursion is catching up to him.

“I think I’m going to fall asleep,” he mumbles, wriggling around to get comfortable.

“Go ahead. I might join you in a bit.”

Taemin sighs, and falls into a hazy sleep.

He must have been knocked out for a few hours at least because Taemin wakes up hungry, parched, and with Kibum nowhere to be seen. Mild panic bubbles up in his throat, and he whips his head around in search, considering screaming his name when he sees Kibum running across the shore towards their spot, hands scooped in carrying something- seashells, Taemin notices when he is closer to his line of sight.

“Oh you’re awake. Good. I was almost about to wake you anyway,” Kibum pants, dropping the heap of seashells on their picnic blanket.

Taemin, still drowsy and inattentive, just stares at him in stunned silence.

Kibum laughs, “Hello? Are you even awake?”

He nods slowly in reply, “Where did you go?”

“After you fell asleep I tried to sleep too but I couldn’t and got bored and started exploring the area. I found a small restaurant like fifty metres upshore and also a souvenir shop you can buy things for your friends from. But it was quite tacky,” he wrinkles his nose, “Most of them were seashell keychains and then I thought I could just pick some up myself. So I went seashell hunting and got these.”

“What if I got kidnapped while you were gone,” Taemin blurts out.

Kibum starts cackling, “You would not get kidnapped first of all. Second of all I was still within watching distance. You’d be surprised at how far you can walk around a beach and still see all of it because it is flat.”

Taemin ducks his head to hide his heated cheeks and pokes around the pile, “These are really pretty.”

Kibum beams, “Thank you. I had to walk in the sea quite a bit for some of these.”

He smiles back. Kibum’s happiness is addictive.

“I want to go seashell hunting too,” he whines, “but first can we eat? I’m starving.”

Kibum nods, “I’ll just get our food from the car, give me five minutes.”

Taemin sorts the shells while he waits for him to get back. Kibum has found some really good ones, even a few conches. He holds up one to his ear, delighted to find that he could definitely hear the ocean waves sound from it.

“Can you hear the sea from it?” Kibum asks, plopping down beside him with their takeout.

“Mhm. Jonghyun will love this so much, bet he’ll make a new song from this itself.”

“Composer friend?” Kibum guessed, taking out the cartons one by one.

“Yup,” he replies and helps him open them. Sashimi, crab, rice cakes and-

“Sweets?” Taemin exclaims in excitement, “When did you even buy this?”

“While you were picking the fish for the sashimi I saw a shop a few counters down selling chapssaltteok and remembered how much you like sweets- so I bought a plate,” he says sheepishly, not meeting Taemin’s eyes.

Taemin is overwhelmed. First the seashells, now the sweets- he feels so cared for. Kibum is unbelievably thoughtful.

“Thank you so much,” he mumbles softly in gratitude.

“It’s nothing,” Kibum waves him away bashfully and picks up his chopsticks.

They eat in comfortable silence, only occasionally asking the other to pass something. The sun is now much dimmer as it got closer to late afternoon, and the breeze is picking up. Kibum discards all the cartons except for a particularly sturdy one to store all the shells in, and they wrap up their blanket and leftover drinks to the car and set out to go seashell hunting as promised. Kibum excitedly shows him the places where he found the shells from, and Taemin takes a few minutes just to admire how joyful he looks before joining him in picking up some of the nice ones. The water is cool and getting chilly, tickling Taemin's feet as they wade deeper in search. He bends down to roll up his knee length shorts when he gets splashed by a giggling Kibum.

"Hey that was not fair!" Taemin pouts, his hair dripping with water. He fills his pockets with the shells he collected and splashes Kibum back, who shrieks and takes revenge by splashing him even more. They go back and forth until they're both laughing and out of breath, completely drenched from head to toe.

“That was fun,” Taemin admits, dropping down to sit on the sea bed. He is going to feel so gross with his clothes sticking to him once he got out of the water, but at the moment he can’t care less.

Kibum sits beside him, his hands playing with the water idly. It's cute. He wants to hold them.

Taemin shakes himself out of it. What is he thinking?

“Are you cold?” Kibum asks in concern, mistaking it for a shiver.

“Oh no no I’m fine,” he mutters, “It’s really nice to be in the water like this,” he adds quickly.

“Yeah,” Kibum agrees. “Except for the fact that we don’t have spare clothes- or towels. So we will definitely not be allowed at a restaurant.”

Taemin shrugs, “We can go back to the hotel and change clothes and then eat there maybe? Sorry about your car seats though.”

He chuckles, “Yeah I’ll worry about that later.”

They lounge for a while, lazily talking about the weather, the birds flying above them- just meaningless small talk with no end, which for once Taemin does not mind. It’s not until Kibum starts shivering from the chill setting in so close to sunset that he realises they have spent hours like this.

“Let’s go back,” he suggests. Taemin was right about feeling worse out of the water- his clothes felt like they were glued on to him once he stood up.

Kibum looks up at him and averts his eyes, and stands up facing the other way. It’s not until he is trying hard not to stare at Kibum’s shirt almost looking transparent on his chest that he figures out why he had averted his eyes- Taemin was sure he didn’t look any better either.

The walk back was awkward to say the least, both their eyes skittish, and laughs nervous. They drop all the shells they had collected inside the box, which was quite a lot.

“I think that’s more than enough for you to give to your friends,” Kibum says proudly.

“It is. Your idea was so good, but won’t you keep any yourself?”

“Nah. It’s fine.”

Taemin shakes his head and pores through the box to find the beautiful intact cockle he had found. It's grey with little bits of blue in it. Perfect.

“This one’s from me to you. Since you are my friend.”

He cuts in before Kibum can protest, “I know what you said about friendship. It’s fine if you don’t want that, but let me consider you as one. So here, take it.” He hands the shell to him and quickly gets inside the passenger seat before he can gauge his reaction.

It’s a few minutes until Kibum joins him, sliding the box in his hands and starting the car in silence.

Taemin notices the shell peeking through his front pocket and smiles to himself.

-

Taemin is going through a deja vu moment. Once again he has his luggage upturned in the search for a good outfit to find, which is not going very well considering he is really nervous. He is going on a date after all- okay, not really on a date but the closest to one he has come across in the past three years. A not-really-a-date-but-kind-of-a-date he will be running late to if he doesn’t stop standing with his hands on his hips in just a towel. Taemin knows as an absolute surety that Kibum will dress up, it is a given when he had asked him to dinner in an hour at the restaurant, an outdoor one with a gorgeous view of the hotel’s private share of the beach. Taemin is still battling with himself over what he is feeling, but after a forty minute scalding hot shower he feels much more prepared to face whatever awaits him outside his room- if only he could find a nice shirt to wear among the numerous tees and hoodies he has packed. In the end he has to concede with the light blue one he had worn on their first day in Daegu, trying to dress it up by adorning himself with jewellery, styling his hair up and adding a hint of makeup. He looks pretty handsome if he says so himself.

Kibum is waiting for him downstairs and just as he had thought, he looks enthralling in a patterned lavender silk shirt, and much to Taemin’s satisfaction, has his bangs styled away from his face, showing off his eyebrow scar. It is unique and attractive, just like him. Taemin smiles when he catches his eye, pleasantly surprised to receive a warm one in return.

“How are you?” Taemin asks once they are seated at their table, the beautiful sound of waves crashing against the shore providing ambient noise to their dinner.

“I’m good, just a little bit tired. You?”

“Same. Taking a shower after all that sitting in the water really made me sleepy. But I’m glad we met for dinner. This place is so pretty,” he gushes all at once, biting his lip when he realises he talked too much.

But Kibum looks endeared.

The waiter arrives with their menus just then, pouring them glasses of expensive wine no doubt Kibum had arranged beforehand. Taemin takes a sip of it after they order- steak for him, truffle spaghetti for Kibum, and finds the wine velvety and fruity, it is probably the most expensive thing he has ever tasted.

“Do you like it?” Kibum asks tentatively.

Taemin nods, “It’s so tasty. This is great.”

Kibum smiles like he is relieved, and Taemin feels like squealing. Even if it isn’t a date, it certainly feels like one, and his heart is palpitating just the same.

After that the wine flows smoothly and they talk all throughout dinner, Taemin tells him about dancing, about music, and Kibum offers his opinions, which are far more similar to his own than he had imagined. It's not until dessert that things start going wrong.

"Oh, there are some things I need to tell you before I forget."

"Okay?" Taemin asks in confusion.

"I'll check out at six a.m. I've instructed the hotel to send the bill to me, so you can stay as long as you need and just have to book the plane ticket through them."

The day has been going so well that Taemin completely forgot about Kibum's departure.

"Six a.m," he repeats slowly, trying to gulp down the piece of chocolate eclair on his tongue.

"It's early but it will take me a good six hours to reach Seoul so might as well start off sooner."

How is Kibum being this nonchalant?

"Right.", Taemin says coldly, his whole demeanour changing. Some little part of him had hoped Kibum would stay, or done something- anything.

"I'm sorry Taemin I wish I could've stayed," he says casually, but Taemin doesn't miss the slight shake of his hand, or the way he isn't meeting his eyes.

"Why don't you then?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Stay. Obviously."

"Because I can't."

"And why is that Kibum? What is this work you do that you can't break away from it? Even when you obviously hate it. You don't expect me to believe you're not smart enough to have anything else planned out?" Taemin's aware that his voice was getting louder and he’s thankful for the fact that the waves were noisy enough to mask the volume.

"It's not that simple," Kibum says, voice starting to edge with frustration. Good. Taemin is tired of his cool and composed act.

"You're making it difficult."

Kibum sighs.

“No, for the past few days all I have seen is you sullen and miserable about it. I don’t even know anything of what you do but I understand why you would feel that way because you clearly do have a working moral compass. You surely don’t plan on staying like this for the rest of your life?”

“I don’t have anything else to do Taemin,” Kibum confesses, his composure breaking. “I have no one else to go to. I don’t do anything except sit around in meetings, sign paperwork, and make decisions whose implications even I am not fully aware of, yet just what I am part of makes me live this way. So tell me, why would I take the risk and calculation of removing myself from that without any reason.”

“You have me,” he says quietly. Taemin blurts that out without thinking, but now that it is out in the open, it feels clearer to him.

There is just silence for a few minutes.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”, Kibum says sharply, his face unreadable.

“I’m not. Look, I have a place to stay, somewhat at least- as long as I can make rent. I will maintain the fact that you have a friend in me, and if you decide to leave that life for good, I will be here to support you.”

“Taemin. I always planned on cutting off all ties with you the moment I leave this hotel. It’s for your own good. What you are proposing is unimaginable.”

He feels like screaming at him, for not even considering what he has to say, for treating him like a child who doesn’t know any better. Taemin takes a long sip of water, taking the time to calm himself enough to manage a response.

“Fine,” he says stoically, “I said what I had to say.” The chair scrapes against the flooring as he gets up brusquely, “Goodnight Kibum, thank you for dinner, it was lovely.”

“Taemin, wait-”

He pays him no heed, managing to walk away to his room as deftly as he can in his mood. Taemin is usually not a crier no matter how emotional he is but he feels hot tears of humiliation prickling his eyes the moment he closes the door behind him. He strips off his clothes angrily and throws himself onto the bed, burrowing inside the covers as if it will protect him somehow. Taemin likes him. Taemin likes Kibum. And it is probably obvious to everyone up until this point except for him. Jonghyun also had an inkling, if last night’s conversation was anything to go by. He hates this feeling, especially when it has him acting naive like this. He furiously wipes away the few tears that have escaped, trying to recall at what moment had he started having a crush on him- even the word crush felt wrong, too childish. He had a crush on Minho, he does not have a crush on Kibum. It's different. But it doesn't matter. Either way it is his heart that is being wrangled. Even if there is a chance Kibum has feelings for him back, and Taemin is not blind enough to not see the affection he is treated with, the tone in Kibum's voice screamed resignation, and Taemin is not going to try again. He has played his part, and he will have to deal with the consequences alone.

Taemin wakes up to loud knocking on his door. He blinks wearily, he had probably fallen asleep sometime last night between over analysing his every interaction with Kibum and doom scrolling on instagram cursing every couple he saw that were in normal relationships and not engaged in a stalemate with members of a crime syndicate.

He dons the fluffy hotel bathrobe which he has all plans of bringing back home in his luggage, padding away to open the door. As he expected, given the hour, Kibum is on the other side in a sharp black suit and slicked back hair. He already feels so distant from Taemin just by the way he looks alone.

"I wanted to say goodbye before I left. I'm sorry for the way dinner ended last night," he says, and Taemin can tell it took a lot for him to apologise. His mind is working much slower at his half awake state although, so he just nods along.

“I’m sorry too,” Taemin isn’t, but if this is their last meeting, no matter how hurt his ego is, he’d rather not end it on a bitter note.

Kibum doesn’t reply, just stares at him- almost tenderly, if he dare say.

“I had a really good time. Thank you Taemin.”, he admits after a few minutes pass.

“Me too. Thanks for everything Kibum.” Taemin nervously fidgets with the sleeves of his robe.

He shakes his head, “Thank you for saving my life in the first place.”

“Then make the most of it. Live the way you want to,” Taemin says, trying to get the words out before he loses the chance to, “You are a good person Kibum. Don’t let that go to waste.”

Kibum presses his lips together before sighing, “Everything will work out for you Taemin. Don’t lose hope. You have a long and beautiful career ahead of you.”

“Thank you,” Taemin mutters meekly, knowing arguing with Kibum was a lost cause.

“I have to get going now,” he says reluctantly.

“So this is it huh?”

“This is it.” Kibum nods, raising his hand forward to him but then ultimately giving a small wave. He tugs at his luggage, and Taemin watches his retreating figure down the hall before he disappears from sight, and then closes the door.