Sunggyu sat at the edge of their soft hotel bed and held up the hideous T-shirt that his boyfriend had so lovingly made for him. They had checked in the night before, but didn’t even bother unpacking due to the sheer exhaustion caused by jet lag. He focused on the garment a little more carefully. It was originally a plain white T-shirt, a little on the large side, but there was nothing wrong with that. Sunggyu tended to wear his clothes a little looser anyway. It was what Dongwoo had written on the front that was so appalling.

“If lost please return to Dongwoo.” He read out loud, squinting to read the awful sharpie and glitter covered garment. “Do I really have to wear this?” He called to his boyfriend in the bathroom. Dongwoo emerged, a mischievous smile in place, wearing a similar shirt. However, his said “I am Dongwoo,” signifying that he would be the one Sunggyu needed to be returned to.

“They’re cute and I worked hard on them.” Dongwoo retorted, smile never leaving his face. “Besides, what if you get lost at the beach in this big foreign land?” Dongwoo pleaded and went up to hug the disgruntled hamster.

“If I get lost, you better hope the poor American who finds me can read Korean then.” Sunggyu shot back. It was clear that Dongwoo hadn’t thought about that, a pensive look before snatching the t-shirt out of the older boy’s hands and running over to his laptop which sat untouched on the hotel desk. 

Sunggyu looked outside at the clear blue skies of Santa Monica. Their concert was in downtown LA, but their beachside hotel was a nice change of pace. They could use the day to relax by the beach at their leisure, earning some much needed down time. Dongwoo couldn’t wait to get down to the beach, even though Sunggyu complained that all he wanted to do was sleep all day. 

When Dongwoo threw the shirt back to the older boy, the first thing he noticed was the shaky English letters written underneath the original Korean. “Just in case,” Dongwoo smiled, motioning to the English on his own shirt as well. “I used the translator so I hope it sounds alright.” He laughed, causing Sunggyu to laugh as well. Dongwoo’s laugh was infectious after all. Maybe their day at the beach wouldn’t be so bad, Sunggyu thought to himself. 

They packed a small bag for the beach, holding all of their necessities: a couple towels, some cash, sunscreen, and sunglasses. Sunggyu even thought ahead and packed an umbrella as well. Both boys made sure that they had their cell phones and hotel keys before finally leaving their hotel room. 

As they arrived at the beach, Sunggyu’s previous worries were confirmed. The beach was packed with people, a mass of bodies floated on the water leaving very little space to actually swim. They thought that if they came early enough, there wouldn’t be as many people, but they were wrong. The pier was in full swing bright and early in the morning, people screaming with joy as they rode the roller coaster near the water.  Dongwoo pointed at the Ferris wheel with sheer excitement lighting up his face. Even Sunggyu had to admit, it did look pretty fun. If it meant that he didn’t have to get in the water, then he’d ride the Ferris wheel a thousand times.

 It was nice though, Sunggyu realized after he had gotten past the shock of how many people were there.  They played in the arcade for a little while and rode the Ferris wheel a couple times around, each time Dongwoo was ecstatic when they stopped at the top. The looked out over the endless expanse of blue ocean before them with awe. The still rising sun reflected brightly off of it, not a cloud in the sky to hinder their gaze. One more time around the Ferris wheel and Dongwoo planted a sweet peck on the leader’s cheek. They were up high enough that no one could see their special moment. It was a rare moment that they could enjoy for themselves for once.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Dongwoo blurted out suddenly as they began their descent back to the pier, “I know you just wanted to rest today.” He smiled and Sunggyu had to admit that it had been nice to get out of their hotel room for once. After they stepped off of the ride, Dongwoo and Sunggyu decided to buy some breakfast at the pier, a coffee place catching their eyes, before heading down to the packed beach. 

They found a spot that was relatively clear before sitting down to drink their coffee and eat their muffins. “So you’re going to go swim, right?” Dongwoo asked, a mischievous smile in place. Sunggyu shook his head. There was no way that he was getting in that. He watched as wave after wave crashed into the beach and made its way up the sand towards them. Sure, he was learning how to swim, but this was the ocean. This was dangerous.

“Come on, it’s not that bad.” Dongwoo pouted, “You’re just going to sit up here on the sand and burn?” Yes, that’s exactly what Sunggyu intended to do, minus the burning part. Sunggyu unpacked the sunblock from their bag and shooed the other away. Dongwoo begrudgingly headed down to the water as Sunggyu watched from a distance. 

The moment that Dongwoo’s feet touched the water, it seemed that all of his worried went away. That million dollar smile returned and he was joyfully playing in the ocean without a care in the world. Sunggyu busied himself with the tasks of putting on sunscreen and planting the umbrella in the ground to protect himself from the sun’s harsh rays. Part of him felt bad for letting Dongwoo play in the ocean by himself, but Dongwoo started playing with some other children in the water, it seemed that he could have cared less that his boyfriend didn’t join him. 

The leader pulled out his phone and headphones and laid down on the towel they put out. If he couldn’t sleep at the hotel, he might as well take a nap there. So he did, the music playing from his headphones and the warm sand underneath him put him to sleep almost instant. He didn’t know how long he fell asleep, but he was rudely awakened by a cold bucket of water on his warm face. He sat up, shock written all over his face and clothes drenched.

Dongwoo stood, feigning innocence while hiding a small red bucket behind his back, a group of children pointing and laughing behind him. “I love you?” He tried, “At least I saved your phone first!” He yelled, ditching the bucket as Sunggyu ran after him, threatening to strangle him, drown him, whatever else he could think of.

It was a sight to see. Dongwoo ran along the beach, his shotgun laughter carried with him, as Sunggyu lagged behind him. The elder shouted after his boyfriend as a playful smile tugged at his lips. He wasn’t truly mad at Dongwoo, but he wasn’t about to let him off the hook either. That’s when Dongwoo made his escape into the water, betting that Sunggyu wouldn’t follow after him. He was right to think that, too. He dove under a wave and swam around for a little bit, knowing that he would lose Sunggyu within the miles of waves. When he emerged he peered back at the shore. He found Sunggyu squinting out through the mass of people in order to find him. With all of the people swimming, it would be difficult to find one person amongst the masses. 

Dongwoo dove once again, swimming in the direction of their things. Sunggyu would probably give up looking and then go back to their things so Dongwoo could find him later. The rapper did indeed make it back to their things before Sunggyu did. He sat down one the towel and peered down the beach to see if Sunggyu was walking back his direction. When he didn’t see the leader return he sat there for a little bit longer, but it didn’t seem that Sunggyu was going to come back.

The sun was glaring down on him, and he knew how easily Sunggyu burned. After five minutes, he decided that maybe he should go find Sunggyu since the older boy apparently decided to wait for him. He expected to see Sunggyu standing in the same place, but it was strangely vacant. Where did the leader go? It wasn’t like him to wander off.

He approached a couple who was sitting on the beach and motioned to his shirt, “You see this shirt?” He asked in very broken English. “My friend.” He tried again. The family seemed to be confused causing Dongwoo to frown, worry starting to take over.

What if Sunggyu had tried to swim out after him? Sure, Sunggyu was learning how to swim, but the waves were strong. He wasn’t strong enough to get himself out of the water if he were to go under. At this point Dongwoo was panicking. How could he lose Sunggyu? He stared out over the water, trying to pick Sunggyu out of the mass of floating people. He didn’t see him anywhere. Now he was really worried. What if their leader drowned and it was all his fault?

Just as Dongwoo thought he was going to have a meltdown, a small child came up and took the worried boy by the hand, tugging on it so that Dongwoo would follow him. He noticed the child was Korean as well and asked where he was taking him. “To your friend.” The kid replied, “You lost him, right?” Dongwoo couldn’t help but smile.

What an unlikely coincidence. Sunggyu just happened to be found by probably the only other group of Koreans in this area of the beach. Not only that, but they had found him because of the shirts he had made so diligently. 

Dongwoo thanked the family for finding Sunggyu and keeping him in one place, to which Sunggyu was definitely not happy about, but the irony of the situation was too much for Dongwoo to suppress his giggles. Walking along the beach to his stuff, Sunggyu would shoot an irritated glare every once and a while before he would let out an irritated sigh.

“Should I say it?” Dongwoo asked, clearly amused.

“Don’t you dare.” Sunggyu growled, as they arrived to their things which they were glad weren’t stolen while left unattended for so long. “Technically, I’m not even the one who wandered off. You ran away from me.” 

Sure, it was true, but Dongwoo didn’t know that Sunggyu was going to actually search for him. Seeing how worried he had made the leader, Dongwoo actually felt guilty. “Let, me make it up to you! Let’s ride the Ferris wheel one more time.” 

If there was one thing that was the most relaxing experience in Santa Monica, it was watching the sun set from the top of that Ferris wheel. “I’m sorry,” Dongwoo apologized and wrapped his arms around the still fuming leader. Just like that, all of Sunggyu’s anger melted away. He smiled and leaned into the warm embrace. 

“Yeah, well I guess you’re forgiven then.” Sunggyu replied, turning to his loving boyfriend who was overjoyed to be forgiven so easily. “I’m never wearing this dumb shirt again though.” He laughed, but secretly, he like the couple shirts. He knew that any time he wore it, it would bring him back to the one that he loves. 

They gazed at the sunset, a sky painted in orange and pink, from atop the Ferris wheel. The sound of crashing ocean waves, screaming children, and seagulls were drowned out in that moment. They had each other and that was enough. 

They returned to the hotel room, a little too sunburnt for their liking, but they still had one more day before the concert for it to fade away. “Tomorrow, we’re sleeping all day.” Sunggyu groaned, dropping the bag as the entered their room. 

“I guess that’s fair.” Dongwoo agreed. 

“It was fun though.” Sunggyu finally admitted, and he was glad that he did as a bright smile lit up the rapper’s face. As they laid in bed that evening, Sunggyu ran through the memories of the day through his mind. Yes, it had been a good day despite getting lost.

“I love you,” Sunggyu sighs as Dongwoo snuggles closer to him. 

“I love you too,” Dongwoo reciprocates, and the two drift off into a blissful sleep.

That was adorable! Just the way I like my DongGyu! Hehe. Have a lovely Christmas, Blue Kitten! 

~ ibreathe-flames