Suzy breathed in the familiar scent of the ocean as she let the sand squeeze through her toes. In her hands were her bag and her flats. There was just something about the water that made her feel completely at home, at peace. She smiled as she closed her eyes and let the sound of the waves fill her senses. So serene here, she mused, even with the faint sounds of children playing in the ocean meters away from where they were.

"You really like the ocean, don't you?" Seungri watched her idly from behind. He was sitting on a large log, his legs stretched out in a relaxed fashion.

She nodded. "I feel at peace here. I don't know why."

As he scanned the scenery, he was reminded of Hara. The fact that he didn't go back to Jeiju since the work trip haunted him. He knew it was time to find that letter. It was the only way to really move on from everything. But even after months, the same excuses and reasons always stopped him. He just couldn't muster up the courage to look for it and face it head-on. What it would be like after reading it was what he was afraid of. Would he turn back to that depressed, isolated person that he had become for that first year after she died?

Studying the searching look on his face, Suzy longed to know where it was coming from. The more she learned about him and spent more time with him, the more she began to care. It had made her wonder what it was, or who it was, that made him look this sad. She put her bag and shoes down on the sand, and stood about an arm's length in front of him. He looked over at her inquisitively.

"I forgive you." She said firmly.

His brow rose. "What'd I do?"

"For kissing me earlier." Suzy shrugged her shoulders quickly. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen and you're beating yourself up over it right now, so I forgive you. That means, you don't have to be sad anymore! Otherwise, I might just have to beat you into a pulp. I don't let men touch me that easily, you know?" Suzy smiled cheekily when he continued to stare quietly at her. It was the only way she thought could make him feel better. "And you're not that special, so don't start thinking you can get cozy with me, pal."

Suddenly Seungri broke into a smile. Suzy had some kind of warped sense of humour that always seemed to amuse him. Every time he would get into one of these moods, she was always there to pull him out of it. "You think I'm sorry for kissing you?"

She blinked. A little thrown off, her mind went blank for a moment.

Catching herself before she could stutter, Suzy looked away and pretended to study the people at the beach. "W-why else would you be sad with me around? Don't you know when I was in high school, I was voted by practically the whole school as the most enjoyable person to be with? Heck, even my first boyfriend cheered for me and we had a miserable time together."

Seungri glanced down at the sand then back up at her. "Really now."

"Yes." When he continued to send her that 'I-don't-believe-you' look, she laughed. "No. But don't you think I'm fun to be with?"

He merely nodded in agreement, biting back the sudden urge to pull her into his arms. He did enough touching for today. For Suzy, all these things were new and seemingly unlike what she'd experienced before. Keeping this in mind, Seungri knew he had to step back. Besides, he reminded himself, wasn't this little outing to get her out of his system? Not put her deeper into it? At that, he decided to ignore his gut feeling and physically distanced himself.

"You're getting a little too full of yourself, Suzy." Seungri got up and swiped at the back of his pants. "Hey, let's do a competition. First one's a race to that sand castle that kid's making." It was about 50 metres away. "Second one…let's see. Whoever can find the biggest shell outside of the water. It's got to be clean and can't have anything inside it."

"Ooh let's build something with sand too. Even though we don't have any tools, we could still use our hands." She suggested, immediately growing excited. It had been too long since she actually played at the beach like this.

"Fine. Best two out of three. Loser has to go buy ice cream and dinner." Seungri grinned, b with ego. "I'm winning this one, baby."

"You haven't seen me at my best, Seungri, but you're about to see it now." She challenged, taking off her cardigan and throwing it to the side.

He followed suit and left only the white form-fitting tanktop. Suzy couldn't help herself. Her eyes remained fixed on his nicely toned arms. The man must be regularly lifting weights. The perfect beach bod, she concluded with part dismay and part awe. As hard as she tried, exercise was not her forte, and she'd gone with a dress that day to hide the little bump of fat on her tummy. But he ....definitely was a thing to look at.

"Stop flexing those arms," she said with a glint in her eyes. "I want to get this competition started."

Surprised that she called him out, he looked over at her and caught that impatient stance. Glad that she looked happy and was having fun, he let himself relax. He couldn't remember the last time he let all his worries and problems go and just enjoyed life. This was the prime time to do it. "Oh you're really asking for it now, Suzy. Let's start here."