Salt water brushed against their toes, covering the stubs in what seemed like a dark shadow which constantly came and went. They stood in darkness, feet planted firmly in the sand, fingers interlaced. Her eyes followed the foam as it washed over their feet, leaving small bubbles in-between and above each toe, her glossy lips slightly parted. The lace at the end of her dress fluttered in the wind, sometimes concealing the small sight she took so much pleasure in seeing. Often he would take glances at her just staring, the corners of his lips curving upwards slightly, and he would tighten the grip he had on her hand, watching as her lips would close into a smile, then part in curiosity again.

            They would stand in silence and just watch like this very often. Every night, to be precise.

            “I can see the stars,” Taeyeon whispered, her eyes fixated on the dark ocean expanded before them. “not in the sky, but in the water…”

            Jonghyun tilted his head upwards, smiling as they met a sea of bright silver lights. “They’re pretty bright today, aren’t they?”

            “Connecting them through the water is funny,” she giggled, and he turned his head to gaze at her. “Look, see? Orion’s constellation is all messed up!”

            He felt his smile form into a toothy grin, and he lifted his hand to her head, brushing a hair away from her face.

            “You are so beautiful,” he whispered. She didn’t look up, but he could tell she heard, and with the help of the moon, could see two very pink cheeks.

            “You… thank you…” her lips curved into a smile which mirrored his, and it was then that he realized why they were together.

            “Hey,” her honey-drizzled voice interrupted Jonghyun’s thoughts, and he turned his head to meet her hazel eyes, her perfect porcelain face which was tilted slightly to one side. “Do you prefer the day? Or the night?” The question was familiar; she had asked this many times before. He never questioned her, though, and answered the same thing everytime.

            “I like nighttime more. Why, Taeyeon?”

            “Oh… it’s because I love the daytime.” Taeyeon’s eyes moved to the open sky, and she smiled in glee, one of her feet taking a step forward into the cool water. “It’s so… beautiful, and bright.”

            “But I like when you count stars, Taeyeon.”

            A blue cotton dress with laced edges turned swiftly, a hand brought to the wearer’s face. “How do you know that’s what I love doing? We’ve just met, haven’t we, Jonghyun?”

            His smile turned sad, but he couldn’t stop. He had to smile for her, for them—“for us”.

            “No, I’ve known you since forever, Taeyeon. Forever, and a day.” She smiled in response and turned to face the sea again, humming in response.

            “They only say cheesy things like that in movies, like in that one movie, what’s it called…?”

            “Amelie?”

            “Yes! That one’s my—“

            “Favorite.”

            Taeyeon responded with a giggle again, tilting her head so that she was looking at Jonghyun over her shoulder. Then she moved another foot, dragging Jonghyun deeper into the water slightly. “Maybe you have known me forever, then.”

            She continued to drag the two deeper, until Jonghyun was at his knees and Taeyeon had the water lingering underneath her waist. There she sighed, hummed, then swiftly grabbed Jonghyun’s other hand, her nose almost touching his.

            “Jonghyun,” she whispered. “If I chose to fly one day, fly really high, so high that I had to live on a cloud, would you ever come and get me because I wouldn’t go down unless you did?”

            Her lips were almost touching his now, his bottom lip being grazed against slightly at every movement they made.

            “No,” Jonghyun said. “Because I know you love the sun. Besides, your eyes…”

            Another light touch.

            “Look so beautiful…”

            The next was deeper.

            “… in the sunlight.”

            Then their lips are pressed softly together, molding into each other as if they were made for that sole purpose only. A hand moved into her hair, lacing his fingers in between and around the jet black strands, throwing off the straw hat she wore into the wind. Slow arms wrapped around his waist, two hands interlocking when they met so as to chain them together.

            It was only for a moment.

            And yet, it seemed as if time had stopped altogether.

            Taeyeon stared at him when they parted. She simply stared, analyzing his features; how his nose was shaped, how his lips were incredibly full, and how his eyebrows seemed to slant downwards, giving him a handsome appearance. However, it was his eyes which captivated her the most. A pair of the biggest, most chocolate-colored eyes she had ever seen, gazing at her with what seemed like the definition of love itself.

            “Your eyes,” she said, bringing a hand to his cheek, directing his face at her. “They’re so large. So beautiful, and…”

            Her hand shifted to his chin, moving his face so that his eyes were now fixated on the sky.

            “… I can see the stars.” Taeyeon’s face lit up, and she let out a small breath, releasing a puff of warm air into the atmosphere. “I can count the stars in your eyes.” Then she began counting what she could see, one, two, three, four, five… the numbers echoed within her mind as she tilted Jonghyun’s face whenever she ran out of stars.

            “I could go on like this forever,” she whispered, not losing count of how many she had. “but…”

            “Forever may feel like too long when you’re doing only one thing, Taeyeon. Why don’t we…” Jonghyun lifted a hand and gently took her wrist, bringing it down from his face. “… go back inside?”

            “We can do this tomorrow, right?”

            “Everyday.”

            “Promise?” she held out a pinky, puffing her cheeks out slightly. He smiled back, and grabbed it with his own, pulling it down so that they were holding pinkies, and not hands.

            “Promise.”

            And as they walked away, sand tucked in between their toes, she said only one thing.

            “You know, Jonghyun, maybe we have known each other for forever…”

            The same thing happened every day afterwards. But he never got tired. Who could get tired of somebody, no matter how different, no matter how… ill, that they loved?

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a/n: And here ends my first ever published story! Please read and review me, I think I need all the help I can get. I hope you enjoyed this short, fluffy One Shot <3

Also, just in case you didn't get it (which I don't think many did...) Taeyeon suffers from a disease where she forgets every single day until 12 AM. Think Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates.