“Why are you not telling me where we are going?” Naeun had been asking this question since they left the city, but Taemin was just raising her curiosity by joking around till now.

They were on the road for almost three hours, and she was restless unaware of even the place they were going to.

“I told you it’s a surprise” “Ah! This impatient girl” he chuckled, making her glare at him, as he ended up laughing at her, pissing her more.

“At least-” she was about to roast him for teasing her since a while, but her eyes fell on the sea coming through from the window on his side, as they were driving along the beachside now, which was parallel to the highway, as she gasped in excitement, looking back at him with an excited smile, guessing the possible surprise now.

“Well!” Naeun was totally a sea person, and her temper had completely calmed after seeing the blue landscape all over in front of her eyes looking so beautiful for the season of spring, “Just because I’m in a good mood today” “I’ll let this slide for now, Lee Taemin-ssi” she pouted cheekily, opening the window on her side of the car to enjoy the view more generously.

“Thank you Naeun-ssi” He bit his lips, watching her eager face with a satisfied smile, feeling the thrill himself for the plan he had for them, as he stepped on the accelerator then to increase the speed of the car now.

They had driven a few miles more, and suddenly the battery warning light was on, getting Taemin confused as he had to pull the car on the side then, suspecting that probably he missed something before planning for this long drive trip now.

He got out to check under the hood, but he wasn’t the expert and there was nothing he could figure out just by seeing the engine and wires, that looked unchanged & apparently fine to him.

Seeking nothing suspicious from the outer look, he was not sure what happened, till he remembered then that it had been a year and a half since he had done the last regular maintainence checkup of the car, and so there must be some major issue if the car is acting up suddenly. 

“Is there a major problem?” Naeun asked, getting out of the car, to walk to his side, as he was observing the system absentmindedly, “I think so” he sighed, reaching for his phone in the pocket, “We’ll need help for this”

It was already evening, and he was kind of getting anxious now because of this unexpected issue in the middle of nowhere.

They surely were not going to reach the destination in time now. And his dinner reservation, the late-night fireworks, everything was waiting on line.

From the location they were at, they would still need two hours to reach Yeosu, where he had booked a dinner reservation in this popular restaurant for their special date this time.

A friend had suggested this place to him, and they had a weekend coming up. They had not gone together on an exclusively outdoor trip since a while, so it was a good excuse to surprise her with this package, as he ended up planning a few more things to do along with the dinner then.

But because of his incomplete preparation, all of it was on the verge of failure, and they would have to stay in the middle of the road for a few more hours now.

He searched for the nearby car repair stations, and dialed one of the numbers, as upon explaining the situation they reported to him that it would take them probably atleast an hour to reach their location with the tow-truck.

“We have to wait here for a while” he informed Naeun, disconnecting the call, who was focused on the open hood of the car until now, observing the things inside to take a guess by herself, as she turned her gaze back to him.

Taemin looked quite disappointed, and she didn’t know what to say now seeing his remorsed face, as her eyes fell on the sea line visible behind him.

It was at a distance of a small walk, and she had an idea now, as she reached for his hand, pulling him with her to walk down the road, as he was watching her puzzled, following her steps.

“We can spend that time walking for a while” she replied, watching the sandy beach, “Not a bad idea at all” she was back with energy, as he smiled recognizing her attempt to distract him, seeing the beach in front of him, as they climbed down the short cliff, to walk closer to the sea.

As it was countryside, and in the middle of the nowhere, the beach was predictably quite empty, just the sound of wind and sea waves could be heard in the background, as they were walking on the sand now.

Her heels were definitely not helping her to walk as she removed them, holding them in her hand, as he removed his sneakers as well to match her, "Should we just leave them here?" he asked, making her nod with a smile, as they left their shoes on the sand to walk further.

Naeun had her eyes focused on the vast sea painted aquagreen, mesmerizing her mind with the shade of dusk enhancing its beauty, as she was walking ahead of him, lost in the ecstasy of the beautiful scenery.

Her hand was still holding his, as he gave it a gentle pull to get her turning back to face him, as her eyes were on him now, widened by the sudden tug.

She was puzzled about his purpose, as he flashed a gentle smile before spinning her around, guiding her movements with his hand in her hold, as she giggled now, following his suite though, making him smile wider in excitement.

Soon they were following some random freaky moves of very basic salsa, continuing to move ahead with the dancing steps, shifting their positions from one side to another in the act.

“What is happening here?” she chuckled, watching him through the twists & turns, as he had a joyful smile, watching her elated face, “We’re dancing?” he teased, blinking cutely at her, as she was adoring his happy face, feeling this surge of excitement suddenly.

He reached her other hand, trying to pull off some cooler moves, as he twisted their arms across each other,  making her laugh more by swirling her around now, as they were soon moving in circles, swirling around the entire space foolishly, weirdly dancing to the faint music of waves in the background.

“Here?” she was giggling, still surprised by his funny, unexpected energy, “Suddenly?” she added, making him smirk then, as her eyes were scanning the empty beach when she saw an old couple behind him, approaching closer to them, as she nudged his hand in hers, “Oppa?” she whispered, indicating him to look in the direction of the couple, as he turned to see them, giving a soft smile back, as they were quite near now.

He turned back to her only to swirl her around once again, “What?” he shrugged laughing, noticing her jaw-dropped face, making her scoff then. 

“You don’t want to dance with me?” he asked mocking her more, pulling her closer to wrap her into a back hug, as she ended up blushing more, squirmed firmly in his arms, as he had held his hands interlinked with her in front of them, holding her against his chest tight, as they continued walking being in that position now.

“What got into you suddenly?” she was unable to control the clench in her stomach from the rising butterflies even after being together for five years with him acting this way.

They heard the couple laughing, as they had crossed their side,

“Such a cute couple!” the old lady commented in her weak voice, giving both of them an eye-smile, making the old man nod on her side with a gentle smile too.

 Taemin responded to them with a bright grin on his face, bowing slightly with his head only, as he was holding Naeun in front of him, “Thank you!” he addressed them, making the couple send back a warm smile in return instinctively, and Naeun blush more then.

The couple went ahead, but Naeun was dying with embarrassment, as she tried breaking his hold to slip out, but he tightened his grip then, “Didn’t you hear what they said?” he teased, hearing her soft giggle in return, as she gave up, leaning back in his cozy arms, making him loosen his grip to hold her better.

They were walking with slow steps together, staying in the back hug, as she turned her neck to take a look at his glistening face, making him look down in her eyes then, “Is it uncomfortable?” he asked, halting the walk, as she shook her head in denial, “This is as comfortable as it could be” her lips were pressed into a big smile, as she looked ahead again, getting them moving forward.

“Pstt!” she heard him clicking his tongue, “We should have reached in time” he complained, making her scoff remembering about the surprise again,

“What was the so secret plan though?” she now, making him groan in disappointment, “Just this and that” he replied with the sad tone coming up again.

He started swaying from side to side with her in his arms, as their legs were hitting each other making them lose balance while walking now, and they ended up tripping, but had held each other from falling in time, as both of them were laughing at their silliness, continuing to walk ahead some more, side to side this time, their hands in each other.

Their eyes were stuck on the panoramic view of the sunset over the sea now, mesmerized, it was indeed nice & romantic to watch the sunset at the beachside, unplanned like this.

“How did that old couple come at a place like this?’ she recalled, taking his attention again, “I know right!” he exclaimed in surprise too, as they looked ahead in the direction where the couple had disappeared a few minutes ago.

It was calm there, as they kept walking, lost on the count of how far they had come from the spot they had started. 

“Should we sit for a while here?” he asked, spotting a dry area on the sand farther from the water, as she agreed, getting them to walk there to sit down, letting their legs relax in front of them, as they faced the sea.

She was watching him dust the sand off his hands beside her, as she rested back on her palms, relaxing, as she finally had his attention again, “What?” he asked, seeing her eyes smiling softly towards him, as her lips curled higher then, giggling effortlesly, making him blush in surprise.

“I think this is so good!” she replied, as he blinked, turning back to the sunset again, as she turned her eyes on the horizon too. 

“I don’t know what you had planned for today but I like this” she added, making him scoff at her words, but he nodded in return, “Agree!” “I like this too” he smiled, making her nod back in bliss, as they shared a satisfied glance.

“But-” “I’m kind of hungry” he pouted, making her laugh out loud the very next second, as he joined in laughing himself, “Ah, Really!” he urged, trying to be serious, making her laugh louder then.

He was all blushed now with her laughter ringing in his ears, liking the way he was feeling just by hearing her happiness.

“What should we do?” she clicked her tongue, as he watched her waiting for her words ahead, “I don’t see anything edible here” she joked, looking around the empty beach with nothing but sand and water everywhere, except for a few dried seaweeds and shells here and there,

“We should bring something to eat next time” she added, turning her eyes back to him with a serious face, but he knew she was just teasing him more, getting a sulking pout from him then, “Whatever!” he whined, staring at the sand again. 

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing, “Cutie!” she complimented between the giggles, watching his face flush by her words.

He raised his eyes to find hers adoring him, as they were caught into a staring contest now for a minute or two.

She was certainly glowing with the joy, looking so beautiful in that perfect subtle smile on her lips, staring in his eyes endlessly now, and he just couldn’t hold himself back, when he leaned forward touching her lips with his.

Her lips parted in reflex, as if she was waiting for him, kissing him back without even a hitch. 

He raised his hand to hold her face, keeping the other on the sand for support, as she had her eyes closed now, feeling his soft lips embrace hers readily in the flow.

The ocean waves were crashing the shore being noisy, and the strong wind was messing up their hair too, but none of this mattered when their thudding hearts inside them were silencing the chaotic world outside.

He shifted closer to deepen the kiss, and she sat up reaching to grab his shoulder, till they felt water drops falling on their cheeks suddenly, making both of them shift apart, opening their eyes confused to notice that the drops were falling from the sky.

It was raining. With the big drops increasing in numbers slowly.

The pour was getting thicker in no time, as they stood up on their place, stumped by this sudden attack, third-wheeling their building romance.

“Why is it raining?” she screamed, trying to cover her head with her small hand, though half-drenched in water already, as she looked at him who was no different.

He reached her hand to hold, “Let’s go back to the car” he walked ahead, making her follow him, as they soon were running back to the direction they had came from.

They had come too far, and had to run all that distance back, as they were completely drenched in the quick yet heavy shower till they reached the place where they had removed the shoes, getting those in their hands.

They were laughing, standing in the rain with their shoes in their hands, catching their breaths, getting the gist of these ridiculous incidences happening one after other, as they turned in the direction of road where the car was visible at the side of the road.

He stepped up to walk ahead but felt a tug on his hand, as he turned around, only to get surprised by her abrupt attack on his lips this time.

She had her hands wrapping around his neck pulling him closer, her heels were lying mercilessly on the sand near her feet, as he lost his grip on sneakers, reaching for her waist. 

The rain continued to fall, and they were all wet from head to toe now, kissing on an isolated beach, like the world was gonna end in few seconds.

------------------

The mechanic took 20 mins more, and they were at the car station with the car getting towed there further, as it had got darker with time.

There was a small cafe near the station, where they met the old couple again to find out that they were the owner who had their residency on that beachside, and as routine they were out for the walk in the evening today as well, as their presence made sense now.

They ended up having coffee with the couple in the meanwhile, sharing a nice, cozy conversation in that short time, with the couple being warm and friendly. 

It took one more hour to get the car working fine again, and then two hours of drive to reach Yeosu, so the clock was ticking 10pm when they arrived at their hotel, and had to grab the dinner in the hotel room itself at that late hour.

But as it was already an eventful day, both were really tired, so they decided to end it with a bottle of their favorite wine to wrap it up finally.

Many unexpected things had happened today, but they had achieved the time they needed with each other somehow. 

"Are you still sad?" she asked, searching his expression, making him chuckle, "We can have that dinner tomorrow!" he confirmed, looking relax now, making her nod, feeling relieved knowing that he was fine.

He was watching her flushed cheeks turning red slowly because of the wine acting on her skin, and he was lost admiring her looking adorably cute in no time, as she looked up to check, when he had been silent for a while.

"Ah! Right!" he remembered, finding her eyes on him, as he turned back to get his coat from the arm of the sofa they were settled on, reaching it's pocket to get out a small box, as she was observing his actions carefully.

"I wanted to give it to you today" he said extending the box in front of her, as she took it, baffled by the appearance of that surprise gift now, "What is it?" she murmured, taken aback, staring at the small box in her hand, with a gush of thoughts now.

She was having all kind of assumptions building up, watching that tiny box in her hand, giving her ideas, as she shook her head instinctively, shrugging away all the fantasy, before looking up at him, as the wine had lost it's effect on her completely. 

She was watching him still flustered a lot to open it herself, as he smirked, reading her expression, "It's not what you're thinking right now" his announcement had stunned her more, melting in embarrassment, as he reached to take the box in his hand, opening it to show the necklace inside.

He got it out to put aside the box on table, as he moved closer to her on the sofa, raising it to her neck, as she was just embarrassed enough to say anything in return now, when he leaned forward to fix the hook on her nape, "But if you're ready, I don't mind giving that gift someday soon" he whispered near her ear, and she felt a wave of current passing down her spine in that brief moment.

While he was taking his time in fixing the hook, she was busy feeling flushed and hot, trying to calm herself down, before he could catch her face again, making another dangerous comment.

He went back to face her, reaching for the pendant to adjust it properly in the center, as she couldn't stop herself from staring at his calm expression, too overwhelmed to speak anything in words. 

"I love you a lot than you know" he confessed, before looking up in her eyes, which had turned softer affected by his words, as she ended up smiling, when she saw his head tilting cutely to his side, making him look adorable, skipping her heartbeat, as blush took over her cheeks again.

He was watching her with loving eyes, as she pursed her lips together, lost for words with his gaze emptying her head, as she went ahead to hug him instead,

"I am really happy" The only thought she had then was out in words, "With oppa, I'm always happy"

She pulled back to see him again, " And I do want to be happy in future with you" she took his hand in hers, as he gave a quick nod, blinking in agreement, "Let's do that" his answer got her smiling quickly, as she nodded along with him again, making them burst into a satisfied giggle together then.

A/N :

This was a soft romance one, with touch of some excitement in between^^

I like this song a lot, and it was a fulfilling experience to write this story. Hope you all liked it too. 

I want to write some crazy romance now so maybe a hate-love romance next week? hehe!

This update was delayed a bit, so sorry for that. I'll make sure to update on the day as diligently as possible. Shinee is keeping me busy addition to my personal work life these days, so it's hard to concentrate on writing as also it is motivating on the other hand with the excitement of Taemin's discharge approaching nearer. Can't wait to see him sing and perform again!!