After the picture, I detach myself, and the three of us make our way the shore, which is lined with soft lights. I trail behind the two, who talk about soccer and math and singing and guy talk. Like, sports on television and stuff, I suppose. It ends on a surprisingly good note, seeing as how odd it felt before.  

I join a group, laughing at Minseok's jokes (“Yah, Luhan! What do you call a deer without eyes?” “What.” “No idea! (pronounced: no eye-dee-ah)”), Jongdae's stories (“And then she was all, oh my god Jongdae, I think I’m in love with you, and I’m all like, I know right?”), and Kris' wry comments (“Yeah right, Jongdae. Dream on.”).

I then sit down beside Yixing by the waterline, dragging Tao and Hana down to sit with me, to build a sand castle. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Myungsoo laughing with his buddies, the lights cascading over his perfect silhouette. I look away, unconsciously searching for another figure. My one and only best friend, Luhan. When I do spot him though, he is talking rapidly to Minseok with agitated hand gestures, and they look serious, so I force down the urge to join him.

And then I see Kyungsoo-oppa with his uni friends. There were six of them in total, including him, and they were all complete dorks. (Unbelievably good looking dorks, that is).

When my brother meets my eyes, he breaks into the familiar wide, heart-shaped smile and hurries over, friends in tow. I don't want them near our gorgeous castle, so I get up to meet them halfway. The tall one dashes over and hugs me immediately.

"Remi!" he exclaims affectionately in his very low, very unfitting voice, and I laugh.

"Park Chanyeol," my brother admonishes instantly, and they all chuckle.

"You remember us?" Another one asks expectantly, and I bite my lip, trying to place his puppy-like, black guyliner-rimmed eyes and stylish, sandy brown hair. Kyungsoo-oppa rolls his eyes.

"Get in a line," he orders, and they all give him the stink-eye before complying reluctantly.

"This is Joonmyun," he starts. He pauses, while the others stifle laughs.

"Hyung!" he adds on hastily, looking apologetic. "Joonmyun-hyung is the oldest," he amends. "This is Baekhyun, this is Chanyeol, this is Jongin, and this is Sehunnie," he says, and they bow. By this time, Luhan and my circle have gathered as well.

"Hyungs," they exclaim excitedly, and I realize they are all already acquainted. Oppa turns to me, whacking my arm. I step on his foot heavily in return, and we both laugh wistfully.

"So, how's school?" he starts, and I find myself shrugging. "Everything's fine."

"What's your average?" he asks dubiously.

"Ninety-four," I shoot back smugly.

He nods, looking satisfied, and then he smirks. I cringe, not looking forward to his next question.

"Did you get a boyfriend yet? Maybe I should introduce you to one of my dorm mates. They seemed pretty interested…"

I shudder. They were all incredibly handsome, that was for sure, but we have enough eye candy in our town for me. And I preferred more… sane guys.

"No, oppa, just no. Shouldn’t I be asking if you have a girlfriend?" I turn the tables deliberately and give him my own creeper smirk, which I know looks eerily similar to his. He flushes, and I squeal.

"I have to meet her," I laugh, and he shrugs uncomfortably, cheeks still pink. Looking up at the rapidly darkening sky, he hums a bit of an unfamiliar tune, and I hum along randomly. We walk in a comfortable, reminiscing silence, and finally he opens his mouth and speaks.

"I heard a lot about your daily lives from Luhan," he starts, smiling, and I glance at him questioningly.