CHAN THOUGHT that the bikers were being dramatic when they said that they weren't prepared, but when they arrived at the beach, he realized that they were actually correct.

for one, none of them had any swim clothes (minus jeongin, of course). they were all donned in black jeans, t-shirts, and leather jackets, and chan could see them sweltering under the midday sun. two, they had no towels either, meaning that they couldn't dry off to hide the fact that they had been to the beach. and three, they were bikers. if the fact that they agreed to come along wasn't baffling enough, it was that they actually meant it. here were four bikers looking miserably out of place on the golden sands of the shoreline, staring at the people in the water with wide eyes.

if he were being honest, chan never expected them to say yes to his offer. he had only said that to be polite since he felt the awkward tension in the air back in the café, but did he ever think in a million years that they would actually come along? nope. so during their walk to the beach, he had to figure out a plan for everyone— and quick.

"okay," he said, calling everyone's attention to him. "since some people don't have proper swim attire, i'm gonna need someone to go back to my house and grab some. seungmin, would you mind going?"

"not in the slightest!" he chirped, and chan wondered what had gotten into him (he seemed to be quite relieved when given his task, making chan wonder why he was so eager to break away from the group).

"take someone with you, alright?" chan said. "i don't want you to get, like, kidnapped or something." or run over by a motorcycle, he refrained from saying.

"okay. i'll take fe—"

"i'll go."

chan turned around to find hyunjin standing there with a smile that radiated innocence. aww! he must care for seungmin's well-being! chan thought, crying tears of happiness internally. who knew that the bikers could be so kind? "thank you, hyunjin, for volunteering. the two of you can go. be careful!"

seungmin's jaw dropped and he let out a noise of frustration, causing hyunjin's grin to grow even wider as he grabbed the surfer by the elbow and dragged him away. this confused chan— why was seungmin upset when hyunjin was just trying to be helpful?— but he didn't think too much about it as he turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"first off, does anyone not know how to swim?" he asked and cocked an eyebrow when he was met with silence. chan knew for a fact that there wasn't a single biker that had ever been remotely near the water before, so there wasn't a chance that any of them knew how to swim without flailing around and drowning. but, understanding that bikers had a strong sense of pride, he tried a different tactic to try and coax them into trusting him. "c'mon, guys. there's no shame in not knowing how to swim. jisung used to be deathly afraid of the water—"

"hey!"

"— but because he told us, we were able to help him conquer that fear. we can help you guys out, but you have to tell us if you need it."

again, no one said anything, and chan sighed in defeat. "fine then. i guess you're all perfectly comfortable with the water." he didn't miss the look of worry that flashed across jeongin's face, and his heart softened at the sight. "but i know— and none of you can argue with me on this— that none of you knows how to surf. so, i'll pair you up with one of my friends to help you out."

he thought for a brief moment. who would be best suited to go with each other? his goal was to get the two groups closer to each other so that they could hopefully form some friendships with people on the other side. he wanted to bridge the gap between the bikers and surfers since he really had no reason to hate them. he already knew who to pair up with minho (on their walk here, jisung had slipped him a twenty dollar bill and chan knew exactly what he wanted), but who should be with the other three?

seungmin's with hyunjin right now, so maybe i'll just keep them together— after all, i bet they're getting even closer right now! chan thought (not realizing that the exact opposite was happening at that moment). felix is really good at making people feel comfortable, so i think he'll be able to get changbin to let down his guard just a bit. and jeongin...

chan clapped his hands together. "okay, here's the plan," he said excitedly. "seungmin and hyunjin will be one pair since they're already together. jisung will help out minho and be his buddy. and felix can be partnered with changbin." he looked over at jeongin with a dimpled grin. "that means you're with me, kid."

jeongin flashed him a bright smile and chan couldn't tell if his aura was blinding him or if it was the sun reflecting off of his braces; either way, it made chan's grin grow even wider, and he ruffled the younger male's dark locks affectionately. what a pure soul. "so, when hyunjin and seungmin return, you can all get changed and we can get in the water!"

jisung and felix let out a hearty cheer while changbin and minho looked like they'd rather be anywhere but there, standing in the sand under the blazing sun. it was almost comical how the four of them seemed to be polar opposites, and chan had to bite back a small chuckle at the sight.

☀☀☀

"ch...chan?"

the silver-haired boy turned around slowly and had to stop himself from openly gaping at the sight before him. after hyunjin and seungmin's returned with the spare swim trunks (the former looking rather pleased and the latter looking rather done with life), chan had passed them out to the bikers who left for the bathrooms to change. he had already changed prior to their arrival and simply slipped off his t-shirt, tossing it onto the sand with the rest of their things. his group of friends had gone to rent surfboards, and he had volunteered to watch their stuff by himself. so he was rather surprised when he heard a small voice calling out his name, and even more surprised when he saw the owner of the voice.

it was jeongin, and he stood in front of chan timidly, a shy look on his face. he glanced at the older boy before quickly averting his eyes, his gaze darting everywhere but to the male in front of him. the way his arms were placed on his abdomen made it seem like he was trying to hide, although chan couldn't understand why: to him, the younger male looked really...well...

"cute," he breathed out, staring at jeongin's pale, milky skin. he unconsciously wondered if it were as smooth as it looked and nearly reached his hand out to see.

jeongin's head tilted up a bit. "did you say something?"

chan realized that he had spoken his thoughts out loud and turned away so that the younger wouldn't see how his red his ears were becoming. "nope. you must've heard something." jeongin hummed in response, and it was quiet between them for a few moments. the soothing splash of the waves against the shore and the faint laughs of the other beach-goers filled the silence, making it feel less awkward and more comfortable as time went by.

chan was lost in thought when jeongin began to speak. "you know, i've always loved the ocean," the biker said, causing the surfer to look at up him from where he sat on the sand. "ever since i was young, i had been fascinated by it. i never knew why. it's like it called out to me for some reason. and..." he hesitated for a moment before continuing. "and the more i realized that i couldn't have it, the louder the call became."

chan let the biker's words sink in for a bit. he wasn't expecting such a shocking confession out of the younger, so he didn't immediately have a response for him— however, he couldn't deny the happiness that bubbled up inside of his chest. not only was jeongin the softest, most adorable biker he had ever met, but they had more things in common than he had originally thought.

"jeongin, there's absolutely nothing bad about loving the sea," he began. "i know that the ways of the bikers can be a bit...restricting...but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you. if anything, it shows how brave you are."

jeongin sent him a confused look. "brave?"

chan nodded. "yeah. simply talking with me is dangerous in itself, seeing that your gang isn't very open-minded, but choosing to come with me and my friends to the beach?" he chuckled a bit. "you're insane, jeongin. some might even say foolish, since— despite everything— you continue to seek out the one thing you love with all your heart."

out of the corner of his eye, chan could see the younger boy wilt a bit at his words. but the next thing he said caused his eyes to widen.

"that's what i like about you the most, jeongin."

and as they sat on the warm sand that hot afternoon, waiting for their friends to return, chan couldn't resist the urge to smile when he felt the younger male subtly scoot closer and closer to them until their knees touched. jeongin froze, but after seeing the corner's of chan's lips twitch upwards, he relaxed against the older boy. it was quite a sight: a biker and a surfer sitting peacefully together, waves lapping at their feet, not a single inch of space between their sides. anyone seeing this might have called them insane, foolish, or absolutely mad; but nobody saw that. all anyone saw were two average people enjoying each other's company, and that's precisely what they were: two average people.

no floral shirts and sunburns.

no leather jackets and exhaust fumes.

just two people, wishing that that was all they were.