Hello dear readers - it's been an absolute pleasure writing this FF and the comments and subscriptions have been heartening and very encouraging. I hope you continue to love and support this FF :) Thank you very much, from the heart. 

Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying..

She woke up feeling refreshed. It was pitch dark outside but she could hear the waves lashing against the shore. If she strained hard enough, she could hear loud party music wafting through from a distance.
Shin Hye made her way to the stairs, she vaguely remembered passing by the long open kitchen earlier in the day. She heard strains of a stringed instrument being played before she reached the landing of the staircase. It wasn't a guitar and that made her curious. She rushed down to the landing and the sight she was met with made her smile and shake her head. 

YongHwa was lying on the kitchen island wearing black from head to toe, playing a very small instrument. Does he live his life like a movie star ? She giggled to herself, before correcting herself, No he lived like a hero in a movie. Does that make her the heroine, she thought cheekily, this was the first time she felt like she was part of a movie. Apart from the love she received from the fans from time to time that made her feel special, she was the quintessential  worker bee going about her business, keeping her head down and working hard. She would love to be the heroine for a while, she thought, smiling. 

She walked towards the mysterious-instrument playing YongHwa and sat on one of the barstools listening to the melody. She would be the first to have heard the tune whenever he composes a song around it, she thought happily. He had however, noticed her by then and swung his foot to her side, keeping the instrument aside much to her disappointment. 

He gave her a smile which she returned automatically. 
"Did you sleep well?" 

"Ne.." She nodded smiling. 
(Yes)

"What instrument are you playing ?"
"I'll heat up the food for you.."

They spoke at the same time, then laughed together like they always did. 

"Ukulele" He said as he handed the small stringed instrument to her. She had seen slightly larger versions of an ukulele but this one was different. It looked like a child's toy with its nylon strings and plastic looking black exterior yet it produced the most wonderful sounds, she thought marveling at both the instrument and his skill. 
Meanwhile, he had slid down from the island slab and gotten busy heating up the bibimbap he had made when she was asleep. She was trying to pluck chords on the ukulele and was annoyed by how low the sound was. He saw her creased eyebrows and smiled to himself. She was excessively cute when annoyed and he loved watching that expression on her face as long as he was not the cause for it. 

YongHwa placed the heated Bibimbap in front of her along with some sides he had carried furtively from back home. ShinHye was still glaring playfully at the ukulele. 

"Eat" he said before he moved to the barstool next to her, taking the Ukulele to show her how to play it. 
She looked on with interest as he played tunes loudly, with ease. It's to do with how you pluck the strings he said seriously when she wanted to try playing it again. 

"Eat" he said again before adding "or do you want me to feed you?"

She giggled before pouting cutely when he held the ukulele away from her. Then she nodded. Surprised, he handed over the ukulele to her still wondering if he had understood it wrong. 

She tried to imitate his earlier style of handling the ukulele while simultaneously opening . His eyes widened but then he smiled as he took a spoonful of bibimbap and fed her. 
"Mmmm"she said, nodding her head approvingly. 
She kept naming the various side dishes she wanted after every spoonful. He found it both amusing and confusing, not to mention adorable. That he had to concentrate on her lips more than often made things a wee bit more difficult. 

He couldn't quite come to terms with the turn of events. He wasn't even sure she would come, now that she had, he didn't expect her to be so carefree. He, on the other hand felt worried that he would do or say something that would offend her. Strange, because she always understood him well yet here he was, feeling insecure. 

It was late by the time he finished doing the dishes while she perfected a single chord on the ukulele.

"Yonghwa ya.. Can we go out to the beach ?"
"Sure.." 
She had been a bundle of surprises ever since she arrived and this time he wasn't even surprised. 

Considering the house was situated right beside the sea, going to the beach meant walking out of the house. However, they decided to walk a bit further, along the shore. She found herself unsteady on the sand, so, quickly linked her arms with his and felt him stiffen just a little. 

"Yonghwa ya.."

"Hmmm"

"What's bothering you?"

"What?"

"Something is bothering you, isn't it ? Is it me being here with you like this ?"

"What no no no Shin Hye ya.."

"Then tell me what it is.."

"It's nothing"

"You can't lie to me Yonghwa Ya, I know you too well for that"

She let him take his time, she knew something was gnawing at him and didn't want to make him uncomfortable. They walked in silence hands still interlinked. 

"I don't want to do anything that will upset you"
He said, finally. 

That was not what she had expected him to say, so found herself at a loss of words. Of all the people she had met, of all those she had made friends with, he was the one who understood her the most and the one least likely to offend her in anyway. He was sensitive and understanding in general and even more so with her. She couldn't figure out what had led him to feel that way. She had to do something to break the ice that seemed to have formed again due to years spent apart. They were so close then, she thought feeling a slight sense of loss. 
Well, then she just had to regain that space, she decided brightly. Maybe it was the freedom of anonymity, maybe it was the sea breeze, she felt capable of capturing the moon. She pulled the cap out of his head and ran as far as she could taunting him. 

"Catch me if you can.. " she screamed from a distance, laughing before she took off running again. 
He stood stumped for a moment before his competitive streak kicked in and started to run towards her to regain his beloved 'Miami Heat' cap. 

She was very athletic but then so was he. When he reached near her, she tried to maneuver out of his way by ducking and changing direction. Not for nothing was he the Prince of Running Man, who has overpowered even the legendary Jong Kook. He caught her by her right wrist in which she had his cap safely secured. What he didn't bargain for was her resistance, she kicked him on his shin causing him to let go of her hand for a second which was enough for her to take off again. 

He winced in pain as he shouted 
 "Ya .. Shin hye ya that's cheating !"

Ignoring the pain, he took off running again. She was still running. Clearly, she was very fit. After a good few minutes of chasing her around, he finally caught her and held both her hands from behind. He took a step forward, put his head on her shoulder panting. She was slightly out of breath too so she let him be. She bent over just a little to catch her breath leading them to tumble over in the sand due to their awkward position. 

Shin Hye had fallen on Yong Hwa's outstretched right arm. Both were laughing hysterically at their moments of absolute madness. He slowly turned towards her, she was still laughing and he couldn't help thinking how lovable she looked. If this were a drama, he would've kissed her then, but it wasn't a drama and there was no way he would kiss her without knowing what she wanted. She noticed that he had stopped laughing and turned to look at him. 
Their eyes met, neither of them looked away willing the other to do so instead. After a few moments of silence, she took the cap that she was still holding on to and placed it on his head. He was still silently watching her, she smiled at him lovingly. He removed a dried weed that was entangled in her hair gently and continued to run his fingers through her hair for a few minutes before settling his hand on her waist. She blushed at his gentle touch but completed his action by putting her right hand around him. He smiled serenely. 

There they lay miles away from home, on the golden sands of a beach on an island, under the moonlight in a semi embrace without a name tag for their special relationship and not a care in the world.