I wake up the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing.

And naturally, in the disoriented state I'm in, floating in the realms of my subconsciousness, the first thought I have is –

Namjoon's calling me.

So I blindly reach out for my phone, sliding the screen and bringing it up to my ear. "Namjoon?"

"Who's Namjoon?"

Oh crap.

"Dad?"

"Hwarin, honey, did you just wake up? I'm sorry, I thought you'd be awake already. Should I call later?"

"Oh no, it's okay, I was just getting up." I sit up, rubbing my eyes and yawning. It's five to nine, and I have a class in an hour. "I have class though."

"Well, I just wanted to check up on you, since you must be settled in by now, yeah?"

"Yeah, Hawaii's beautiful. I love it here."

"You must have made lots of new friends already, haven't you? Such as this Namjoon guy."

"Oh, yeah, Namjoon, he's...yeah, I've made lots of friends. It's great," I wonder out of the bedroom, noticing that Cammie has already left, leaving nothing but a sticky note for me that says that she went to the gym. Damn, girl, so fit.

"Well, I won't keep you long. I'm at work but I just thought I'd give you a quick call. Your mother will call you later when she gets home."

"How about Jaehwa? Has she been enjoying the fact that I'm not there?"

My father laughs. "Your sister sleeps in your room sometimes, actually."

"Of course she does," I sigh. She'll probably even move into my room completely by the time I get back. "Anyways, I have to go take a shower and get ready. It was nice hearing your voice again, Dad. I miss you and everyone."

"We miss you too, honey. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself there. I'm not going to tell you to eat because your mum will do plenty of that later, so for now I hope you have a good day."

"You too, Dad. Goodbye."

I hang up with a heavy heart, missing him already. The past three days have been hectic, what with Cammie showing me around and going to my first classes and meeting new people – meeting Namjoon. But talking to Dad now makes me realize that I am so far away from home, and that I am surrounded by strangers, not that it scares me but...I miss my family.

Hi! This is Namjoon. Are you free any time today?

I'm just about to leave the dorm when my phone lights up with a message from the first person I thought of this morning. The person I've been eager to see again.

Hey Namjoon 😊 Yeah I'm free after 5pm.

I close the door and anxiously wait for his response as I make my way down the hallway, and once I reach the stairs he texts, Great, we can meet at the beach if that's okay with you?

I smile. The beach sounds perfect. I'll see you there! 😊

I head to my first class with a bounce in my step, and greet Kira as soon as I enter.

"Someone looks happy," she notices my bright appearance, and I bite back my smile sheepishly, glancing at my phone as I receive one last text from him.

See you 😊

"Who're you texting?" she peeks over with a sly grin, and instinctively I move my phone away from her view.

"Nobody."

She gives me a look. "Come on, I saw the name. It's Namjoon, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we're meeting up today, at the beach," I fill her in on the details from last night, and her reactions are priceless.

"Ugh, I'm so jealous. Look at you, living the life of a girl in a summer romance movie, meeting the man of her dreams in Hawaii. Can I be so lucky?" she sighs dramatically as Captain Dave walks into the room, greeting the class.

"Morning everyone! Are you ready for today's adventure?"

"Adventure?" I mouth to Kira, who just giggles.

"Today we will be heading over to the aquarium for some more hands-on work, but first – roll call!"

"Oh my god, I love the aquarium," Kira whisper squeals in excitement while my grin only grows wider.

Can this day get any better?

🌻

"Better?"

I let out a groan. "Yeah..."

It's the first time I'm getting a proper massage from a professional and I'm in heaven. I should definitely do this more often. Much...more...often...

I walk out of there feeling like a new person and head for the sauna, where the guys I met at the hotel bar sit. After a game of beer pong and a round of shots, we all became friends, going to the Polynesian Culture Centre for dinner last night and now to the hotel spa.

"Hey! How was it?" Peter asks me as I step in, draping a towel around my shoulders.

"The best. I feel so relaxed," I say as I sit down between him and Diego, while Adam and Kai sit on the other side.

"I always go for a massage every week after the gym. Gotta keep these muscles lucid," Kai says, slapping his abdomen.

"Lucid?" I frown.

"Yeah, as in loosened up," Kai rotates his shoulders.

"That's not what lucid means," I chuckle.

"Really? Cause it sounds like it means that," Kai shrugs, while Diego slaps my back from beside me.

"Namjoon's a smart guy. We can't get anything past him."

"Wait, aren't you doing like a PhD this year or something?" Adam asks.

"Actually, I'm doing my master's degree. Arts," I clarify.

"Damn, man, you must be a genius or something," Peter whistles, impressed. "I dropped out."

"Same," Kai laughs. "College just wasn't for me, ya know? So instead I'm travelling."

I listen to their stories of college and how much they hated it, feeling out of place. Unlike most people, I actually enjoy education, and learning new things. These guys are not the type to want to hear my opinions on politics or social dynamics, the things I wrote numerous essays in during my major, but if I want to talk about working out or my favourite types of alcohol, they would be all ears.

Suddenly, I miss Yoongi, because he would gladly listen to me rant about anything and everything while he lies on the sofa, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth, half asleep but I know he's listening, and every now and then he'd mutter his own opinion in his drunken way of talking.

"Namjoon? You coming?"

I snap up from my thoughts to see everyone leaving the sauna, shaking my head. "I think I'll stay a little longer," I answer Peter's question, and he nods before closing the door.

After a few minutes I step out, taking a shower and getting dressed. Everyone's gone, but I get a text from Peter telling me that they went to a certain restaurant for lunch and I can join them if I want.

I decide to go off on my own, because there's somewhere I want to go alone, somewhere that I've been obsessed with since I was a kid.

The aquarium.

🌻

The aquarium is filled with people from all ages, and as Kira and I wave at the cute little kids we pass as we follow Dave to the learning center where we will be getting a talk from one of the aquarium owners. It's almost like a high school biology excursion instead of university level coursework, but I'm not complaining.

"Okay, kiddos, I'll let you explore for about half an hour and then we'll come back here for discussion," Dave sets us free after handing us all booklets to fill out, and me and Kira cannot contain our excitement as we head off together.

"What should we see first? The sharks?" Kira leads the way to the shark enclosure, and as soon as we get there, I place a hand on the glass, staring up at the long sleek grey bodies of the large predatorial fish.

"Beautiful," I breathe, because they are, even if they can be a little...terrifying.

"I wish we could swim with them today," Kira pouts. "I've only swam with dolphins, but it'd be cool to swim with sharks."

"But what if they eat you?" I joke.

"Why? Because I'm a snack?" she flicks her hair conceitedly, and I laugh, flipping through the booklet.

"Okay, what do we need to fill out?"

We go around to each species like that, observing them, filling in the required information, but mostly just observing. And then we get to the last creature on the list – the crab.

"Crabs are creepy," Kira wrinkles her nose, but I shake my head.

"No, crabs are cool," I take down the scientific name, leaning forward to get a closer look. "Look at the size of its pincers! And the complexity and colour of its exoskeleton is so –"

"Beautiful."

The voice that finishes my sentence isn't Kira's, so I whip my head to the side to find its owner, eyes travelling up to the familiar face as I reach my full height.

"Namjoon," I choke out in a half-laugh, unable to believe that he's...here. In the same place as me. Again.

His eyes appear blue from the fluorescent light of the tank as he regards me with a dimpled smile. "Hey."

"Hey," I clasp the booklet to my chest as we stare at each other for a moment, until I look away, licking my lips. "So, you really like crabs, huh?"

"They're fascinating creatures," he gestures to the crab that slowly scuttles across the floor, pincers opening and closing as its eyes scrutinize us. "Ever since I was little, when I'm at the beach, or anywhere with a rockpool, I'd catch them, especially the tiny cute ones, so I can get a closer look. I've seen so many different kinds of crabs and every one of them is unique and beautiful in their own way and – I'm sorry, I'm talking too much, aren't I?" he scrunches up his nose, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, and I shake my head avidly.

"No, not at all. I love talking about crabs," I laugh, and that's when I notice that Kira has wandered off to look at the clownfish, interacting with some kids who exclaim, "That's nemo!"

"Are you...studying here?" he inquires while his eyes flit over to my booklet.

"Yeah, I'm a marine biologist," as soon as I say it his eyes flash, and then he breaks into a grin.

"That's awesome. Seriously, such a dream job."

"I know, right? I get to hang out in places like this all the time..."

🌻

Time slows down as I watch her explore the vibrant displays of fish with her eyes, drinking it in with the wonder of a child.

How did she get even more beautiful?

She's a marine biologist. She loves crabs just as much as me. And she's here, right in front of me, instead of thousands of miles away as she was before. It almost seems too good to be true.

"How long do you have?" I ask out of the blue, and she snaps her attention back to me with swirling dark eyes that hold the entire colour spectrum within them.

"I don't know. Ten minutes?" she checks her watch while I check her out. White sleeveless blouse tucked into denim shorts, her dark brown hair twisted into a braid that snakes onto her shoulder, a few loose strands framing her face. I have the urge to brush them back, but I restrain myself.

"Would you like to go for a walk with me? We can finish filling out your booklet too," I offer, and she considers it, glancing over her shoulder for a second before nodding, biting her lip.

"Let's go."

She leads the way, brushing back those loose strands with her pen, which she secures behind an ear, and I can't help but smile at the gesture. She looks cute.

"They're so cute!"

She giggles at the sight of the seahorses happily flapping their little fins to propel them through the water. Then she grabs her pen and scrawls something, saying, "I didn't get to write anything down last time because Kira wanted to go see the seals."

"Kira?"

I seem to have startled her for she looks up with a slight gasp. "Oh! Yeah, Kira. You met her...kind of...when we first bumped into each other."

I chuckle. "Oh, yes, the girl who called me Crab Dude. How could I forget?"

Hwarin's eyes sparkle as she laughs. "She can be a little...straight-forward."

"Straight-forward's good. But I wouldn't wanna be known as Crab Dude, even if I do really like crabs."

"Well, what do you want to be known as, Mr Kim Namjoon?" she regards me with her head tilted to the side, tapping her pen against her lips with one arm crossed over her diaphragm. I raise my eyebrows at her sudden Mr Kim Namjoon, but nevertheless I am captivated. So much so that I don't know how to answer.

"Uh...I don't know. Kim Namjoon is a good start," I reply, and she smiles.

"Kim Namjoon sounds good to me."

We share a moment, another moment where we don't look away, can't look away, because something keeps us there, something universal, magnetic, fateful –

"Rin! There you are!"

Kira pounces out of nowhere, grabbing Hwarin's arm and thus breaking the connection. "Rin, come on, we gotta go, it's been half an hour!" then she turns to me, exclaiming, "Crab Dude!"

"Yes, that's me," I let out a half-hearted laugh that falters at Hwarin's words.

"His name is Namjoon, Kira. Be nice," she shoots me a wink, and I feel my heart skip a beat. "Well, looks like I gotta go, but are we still on for later?"

"Of course. I'll see you at five," I wave, and she waves back as Kira drags her away, rocking on my heels as I stand there for a moment, feeling so...

🌻

Happy.

I can't stop smiling as we head back to the learning center, and Kira confronts me about this on the bus ride back to the college.

"It's fate, Kira. I saw him again, even after we made plans to meet somewhere else. I can't believe it," I laugh, because the whole thing is so funny, so crazy, with so many coincidences happening in succession, but it's making me happy. Giving me something to look forward to. Something outside of just studying here in Hawaii.

I try not to fuss over what to wear too much, since it's just the beach, but I know we'll have dinner too, and who knows where that'll take us.

🌻

Let's see where this evening takes us.