The Way You Make Me Melt - Sistar

Firsts

Once the garage door finally opened, Sehun started the engine of Aerin’s truck and drove it out onto the road in front of the house. Aerin pressed a button on her copy of the garage remote and, in no time, the door started lowering again. After making sure that it was closed, Aerin walked towards the passenger’s side of the truck and got in, not forgetting to buckle herself in with the seatbelt.

“Did you bring the camera?” Sehun asked, eyeing the small brown satchel that Aerin brought with her. Aerin nodded in response and patted her bag. “Good, I bought a few boxes of films too.” Buckling himself in as well, Sehun then gave Aerin a smile before stepping on the accelerator.

The truck started running and they were on their way moving across the rough roads of the Haeundae district. Seeing as the weather wasn’t that hot and the winds were fairly cooler than usual, Aerin decided to forego using the air conditioner and opened the windows. She and Sehun usually had a small argument on whether to open the windows or not: Aerin liked the air conditioner, while Sehun preferred to breathe in fresh air. Expectedly, Sehun would always give in to the girl’s wish, but seeing as the weather was towards her liking, Aerin thought it wouldn’t be too bad to give in for the meantime.

Her small action was well received, for an appreciative smile had managed to appear on Sehun's face. He had guessed that the girl was in a good mood and, much to his delight, he was indeed right. Not wanting to waste such a good moment, Sehun decided to make use of it. “Say Aerin, were there any other men besides your dad who drove for you before?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the road. However, he was only met with silence, and when the stoplight turned red, he turned to see the girl gnawing her bottom lip, deep in thought. Already knowing the answer, Sehun patted her head and smiled. “I guess there was one, huh?”

Aerin didn’t know whether to nod or shake her head. She couldn’t deny his assumption, but she also didn’t want to admit it. “Sehun…”

Stepping on the gas again, Sehun turned his sight to the road again. “It’s okay, I had already expected that much.”

He then turned the truck to a path that led to Haeundae beach. Aerin raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I thought we had somewhere to go to today?”

“We do have somewhere to go,” Sehun said, slowing the truck down in front of a clear area before coming to a complete stop. Unbuckling his seatbelt and grabbing the car keys, he then pointed towards the tall lighthouse located on the side of the beach. “We’re going to bungee jump.”

Sehun never really told Aerin his plan for the day; he just told her that they would be going somewhere without mentioning the exact place. The weather was nice, and it would have been such a waste to just stay inside the house, so he thought that it would be a good idea to go do something fun--something extreme. He had wanted to try different things with Aerin, and although that was mainly why he dragged her out to such an activity, there was another reason too. He wasn’t really that affected upon knowing that Aerin had been in a car together with a man before; he had already expected that. But he wanted to be part of more of her firsts. No matter how small or petty the things were, he wanted to be the one who would do such things with her.

He was actually worried about the activity since no matter how stoic Aerin was, she was still, in fact, a girl. Sehun was worried that Aerin may not want to do a stunt like that, but once he had pointed the lighthouse, the girl didn’t even take a minute to think and just simply nodded. “Sure, let’s do it together.”

It was a mindboggling moment for Sehun, to be honest, but he quickly snapped out of his trance and led the girl excitedly towards the site. There were other people there who were trying out bungee-jumping. Some took a long time to jump, while some just did it calmly as if they weren’t standing on 150-ft platform. It was a first for Sehun, and as they took the elevator up towards the top of the lighthouse, his excitement only doubled. “This is going to be so much fun!”

Albeit, once they reached the top, Sehun quickly ate his words. His once gleeful face turned pale and his once calm hands started to tremble. He wasn’t usually afraid of heights, but it may have been because of the sudden sight of the blue sea from a very high place that gave him a shock, completely draining his excitement and replacing it with fear.

On the other hand, Aerin was pleased to be in such a high place. Up on the high platform, she was able to see all of Busan's beautiful landscape. The sparkling waters of the sea, the colorful roofs of the houses, the green nature of the trees that surrounded the city, the fine sands of the beach. Everything felt so nostalgic, and it was very beautiful in her eyes. Aerin had always loved looking at such sights, and despite seeing it several times already, it still never ceased to amaze her.

Had she not noticed Sehun's trembling hands, her thoughts wouldn’t have been interrupted. They had finished wearing their safety gear and belts; all they needed to do was jump, but it was as if glue had decided to stick onto Sehun’s feet, firmly rooting him in his spot. “Sehun, are you okay?” Aerin asked in pure concern, only to get a small nod from the male. It was obvious that he was scared, and if he wasn't, he was definitely very nervous. It was something that Aerin didn’t expect, especially since he had been so excited just moments ago.

Aerin knew that he wouldn’t take comfort in being laughed at. However, the sight was too much for her to bear that she burst out laughing. The staff operators just snickered, having already seen many tough men cowering by the structure’s height. Aerin mentally thanked them for not making the situation more embarrassing for Sehun, but even if it was indeed humiliating, the male couldn’t care less at the moment. Heck, he couldn’t even hear anything anymore for his thoughts were already wandering.

However, all of the anxiety suddenly disappeared when he heard the girl speak. “Sorry.” Once Aerin had gotten over her laughter, she quickly apologized. She then turned to one of the operators with a small smile. “Sir, could you please buckle us together? You could do that, right?”

“Of course,” the man said, approaching both Aerin and Sehun as he started buckling their belts together, letting them come face to face one another. “I also think that this will be much better for your boyfriend, miss,” the operator snickered, earning him a chuckle from Aerin. “We’re letting you off at 'three', okay?”

Aerin nodded and Sehun just stared blankly at her. Grabbing both of his hands with hers, Aerin dragged Sehun towards the edge of the platform and gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,” she said, tightening her hold on him as he stared at her wide-eyed. “We’re in this together.”

And just as the operator told them, at the count of 'three', Aerin and Sehun found themselves falling from the top, being pulled by gravity as they plummeted towards the earth. The lukewarm winds slapped their faces, but despite the strong pressure, Sehun could still clearly hear Aerin's laughter. The smile on her face was visible, and their entwined hands were still clutching each other tightly.

Sehun lost all of his nervousness. It might sound unreasonable and even unbelievable, but it was as if Aerin herself was the magic Sehun needed to gain courage for overcoming his ordeal. Falling was still scary, and the thought of getting hurt never left him. But if it was for Aerin, if it was with Aerin, Sehun would not fear anything.

In no time, both of them had reached the end of their fall, dangling a couple of seconds more before being towed in and removed from their gear. Unlike before when Sehun was trembling and Aerin was the only one pleased, both of them were now laughing as they got back to shore on a small boat, courtesy of the bungee jump staff. The experience was both scary and fun, and although Sehun's unmanly behavior brought him shame, the memory of them jumping together was one of which they would never forget.

“So, Mr. Oh,” Aerin smirked, eyeing Sehun playfully. “Was it fun?”

Sehun frowned in response, causing for Aerin to chuckle. He didn’t mind her teasing him, and he wanted to hear her laughter again. “Honestly, it really was fun,” Sehun said, grinning from ear to ear. “Especially since it was my first time, and I even did it with you.” Taking a seat on the stone stairs on the beach, he then turned to Aerin. “Was it your first time too?”

Hearing his question, the smile on Aerin’s face quickly faded and was replaced by an uncertain expression. Sehun knew that look, and in a