─── ·𖥸· ───

By five in the evening, Jeongguk's ready with Secretary Kim by his side waiting for Minhee to arrive. He isn't particularly pressed about arriving late to the event but by judging the number of texts his secretary has been receiving from their end, he's amused at how unprepared Minhee is this time.

It'll be fine, he reassures himself when a particular text asking the event's name was asked and Jeongguk decides to count the number of cars instead.

He's changed into more casual clothes, a black tee paired with the beige Bermudas and Secretary Kim still in his formal attire because the suit is actually Hawaiian print so he doesn't need to 'change'. Minhee arrives wearing a flowy summer dress with paired aviators and a hat. Jeongguk doesn't recognise the man she walks in with but Secretary Kim tells him it's one of the other secretaries she has.

Jeongguk finds it amusing.

The beachfront is just a few metres away so they decide to walk instead of taking the car. When they are almost there, Minhee's pulling Jeongguk by his hand, intertwining their fingers and ignoring the way her heart is beating crazily at the contact. It's the sick feeling in Minhee's stomach again which makes her want to throw up and she groans, praying that everything goes well.

The antsy feeling returns and Minhee puts her guards up when she feels the familiar calm before the storm.

The huge banner of 'Footprints of the future' welcomes them upon their arrival along with the hosts and photographers.

Jeongguk moves to take a seat in front of the stage but their names are called on the stage to give a short message to the crowd, who by the looks of it aren't really interested. They exchange pleasantries while Jeongguk initiates speaking about saving nature first. He can sense Minhee desperately searching for something to avoid talking on the mic and he doesn't understand why.

He ends his message asking about the host's message and the attention automatically diverts towards the event. They walk down the stage, hands still intertwined when they are listed as participants of the couple game as if they are obligated to.

And when they hear the rules of the game, Minhee wants to run away. The game starts with the couple being handed two bowls, one with pieces of tissues and the other empty. They have to transfer the tissues from one to the other but without using their hands. Instead, they need to use their mouths to do so.

Minhee freezes at the mental image of her playing the game with Jeongguk and stares blankly at her hands, feeling the lingering touch of Jeongguk. She continues to stare at them even when an empty bowl is placed on them, and she doesn't grip it, almost letting it fall over until Jeongguk catches it before it does.

Jeongguk doesn't say anything, turns to chat away with others while Minhee gets handed a few tissues and she is on autopilot when she passes them to Jeongguk who looks unperturbed. She isn't focusing on the game, rather all her concentration is on the erratic train of thought that includes every other event she's attended.

The thoughts are vexing to her ears and the whistle gets blown— the next moment Minhee is getting tugged closer by her arm towards Jeongguk. "Do the game."

And all Minhee could say was, "What?"

The bowls are placed on their sides on the tables, with Jeongguk's bowl being the one with tissues. Jeongguk fights the urge to roll his eyes but moves closer with a tissue paper in his hand. "Inhale harshly, suck the paper in when I let it go. Don't do it unless you are sure you will be able to catch..."

Jeongguk's words trail in the end into something unspoken. If the tissue falls, our lips touch.

Minhee licks her lips, nodding slowly before Jeongguk places the tissue on his lips, keeping it in place while creating a vacuum with his mouth. He leans down slightly, making Minhee place her hands on his shoulders to tiptoe and press her lips against the tissue to take it from him.

She manages to suck it in and hold it in place but when Jeongguk lets go, her eyes catch a tissue fall down and she exhales, thinking the tissue was torn. It is only when she sees two pieces of tissue down does she realise that Jeongguk is using two tissues at once. Jeongguk takes another two in his hand and mumbles. "Just get one across."

Minhee tries again, tip-toeing to get in the level of Jeongguk's mouth. His eyes are hooded, attention zeroed down to her lips and it makes her extremely conscious of her surroundings. The upbeat song in the background, the cheers and the continuous shutters of the cameras.

Her thoughts start floating, and she can feel the tissue slip in between them but before it could, Jeongguk leans down further, fumbling to get the tissue back in its place because he hates losing.

He sucks in harshly and Minhee can feel the pressure against her lips. She has the urge to dart her tongue out but before she could push the urge away, Jeongguk brings his hands to her waist, fingers digging through the fabric of her dress.

Her shoulders tense, the tissue seems to be falling in between them— already damp with their breaths. He pulls her closer— as if they weren't close enough. The clothes hardly do anything to keep Minhee from feeling the giddiness in her stomach, her hands itching to skin down his shoulders to his chest that is flushed against hers.

She takes the tissue the next moment and places it onto the empty bowl. She's onto Jeongguk the next moment, taking another tissue, this time easily passing it again.

It's the last piece of tissue, and Jeongguk hesitates before folding it in half and placing it on his lips again. Minhee tiptoes, gripping Jeongguk's shoulders tightly. She loses her balance a little, almost making the tissue fall and Jeongguk's hands are holding her up the next moment. Jeongguk tilts his head slightly, eyes zoned out on Minhee's lips.

He fights back a groan when he feels Minhee dig her nails on her shoulder.

Minhee has to clear her train of thought to keep herself from feeling too excited. The external noises seemed to have been blocked out to her and all she can focus on is Jeongguk's breath fanning against her face which was only fluttery before when they had two full-sized tissues between them.

But a folded tissue makes her realise that his breath is heavy, hot even and her lips are actually touching his cupid's bow because of the angle. She curls her fingers on his tee, digs her nails more because she is almost kissing him— before Jeongguk lets go of the tissue.

Minhee fumbles, sucking in immediately before passing it to her bowl.

The whistle is blown again, they are the winners.

The crowd claps, Jeongguk does too before he looks over at her, expression calm and eyes slightly cold. He gives her a side hug when she realises how ragged his breath is, feeling his chest heaving up and down against her forearm, fabric of his tee straining to make the shapes visible.

Minhee looks away worried that Jeongguk might see what's reflected in her eyes, nerves soaring not only because of the rush of victory.

She's losing it.

...

Once the event was over, the dynamics had shifted.

Jeongguk walks away as soon as Minhee's secretary comes jogging up to her, leaving her alone. She doesn't understand the sudden shift in mood. Jeongguk's eyes are distant, thoughts elsewhere and it is for the first time she has seen Jeongguk so out of it. She wonders what caused him to be this way and hopes it is not something she did.

She walks away with her secretary, Ha-min, who's not more than a nineteen-year-old boy forced to do this job. Minhee feels the awkward air in between them, sees the sparkle in his eyes when he walks across a few eateries and pubs and decides to let him go, enjoy the night.

Ha-min hesitates but is jumping his way to the pub when Minhee insists on it. Now, she's left in the middle of a busy street with a wallet full of credit cards and no cash. She doesn't even know how the countryside works, what the island is famous for or what tomorrow's festival holds significance in.

Dahyun would have briefed her about it but she wasn't in charge of anything related to the itinerary. Unfortunately, not everyone is as meticulous as her.

Minhee fishes out her phone to try to search on the net about the place when she keeps bumping into people who give her a piercing look. The stalls are traditional, she can see a few firework shops as well.

She's hungry but has no cash and she is sure no stall here takes online or card payments. She somehow ends up reaching the beachfront again, this time in a more secluded area. It's not well lit up, a little eerie in fact.

"Scared?"

Minhee almost falls, hearing someone speak and she is absolutely sure of who it is.

"Jeon Jeongguk! Can you freaking stop sneaking up on people!?" she yells, heart racing because of the shock.

The man laughs. "I didn't." He steps forward and stands beside Minhee. "You would have said the same thing if I had called your name or threw a stone at the back of your head to get your attention."

Minhee scowls, shoving her middle finger in his face. Jeongguk pretends to bite it, surprising Minhee with his reaction. "Leave me alone, Jeongguk."

He shoves his hands in his pants pockets and starts walking closer to the shore while saying. "Planned to do so."

Strange. Minhee thinks. She doesn't get it. Why is the guy who is always ready to put up an equal fight with her, so quiet and away when they are alone? Even the day she had met him at that restaurant, he didn't say anything, casually bought her an ice cream just because she said so.

What does...he feel about me? What does he see me as?

Minhee sees Jeongguk sit down near the shore, just before the water meets the sand. It's half-moon so the night is dark, she can't see properly. Curiosity takes the best of her and she walks to him.

If Jeongguk can sense her walking towards her, he doesn't say anything but takes out his jacket and places it on his side at some distance. Minhee sits down on it, after contemplating whether or not she should ruin his jacket.

Jeongguk still doesn't say anything and Minhee can't bear the silence.

"So.."

Minhee stops to clear her throat. Damn it, why is her voice sounding so hoarse?

Jeongguk flickers his eyes away from the sea towards her, humming. Minhee almost melts on how soft it sounds. It's welcoming, so rare to feel that way with Jeongguk.

"Tomorrow's Miracle Sea Parting festival.." Minhee pauses after each word, raising her voice to make it sound like a grand event. "Is it like Moses? Or Moana? Like what—"

Jeongguk laughs. It's broken. Minhee thinks he is forcing himself not to.

"Yeah, it's like Moana. Go, Moana, the daughter of Chief Tui, cross the oceans and restore the heart of Te fiti—" Jeongguk announces, voice loud and grave on purpose before he starts laughing again. "—Wait, I think you look more like Maui."

"Fuck off Jeongguk."

Jeongguk continues laughing, his eyes disappearing behind the stretch of his lips, his bunny teeth showing. Minhee fights a smile appearing on her lips.

Jeongguk gasps for air before leaning back his weight on his hands propped on the sand behind him. "Wait, I actually imagine your father as Chief Tui—"

Minhee hits him before he can even describe in detail and has Minhee imagine her father as Tui. "You're awful."

Jeongguk breathes, chest rising up and down. "But on a serious note, to answer your question." he points towards a stream of lights at some distance. "Do you see the land in the middle of the sea?"

Minhee peaks behind him, spotting the lights and the visible ground due to it. She nods and pinches her eyebrows. "It wasn't there before right? We have pictures with that area in our background from the event..."

Jeongguk nods. "That is the land that surfaces after the tides become low. It's called something like tidal harmonics, read about it. It's interesting." Then he looks at Minhee again. "We are attending on the second day when the land is almost fully seen and it connects to island Modo. It usually lasts for four days or so, but can't guarantee it. Humans fucked up the environment."

Minhee snorts, looking towards the sea. She doesn't realise when she speaks, it was meant to be a statement but maybe it's the night that it comes out as a soft whisper.

"How fascinating..."

"It indeed is," Jeongguk says. It's so strange, unfamiliar that Jeongguk instincts are crawling up to him to follow up with a witty remark or insult but he doesn't get a chance.

"It really sounds like a miracle, doesn't it?" Minhee amuses. Jeongguk can't help but scoff.

"Yeah, call it a miracle or call it a simple science."

"How unromantic of you Jeongguk."

"You seem to be the type to turn the world upside down for your love."

Jeongguk closes his eyes. "It's not unromantic but reality. It's a circle of life, when tides are low, land surfaces until the sea covers it again. Just like us. If we put more significance to things that could be explained by science, we start calling it a miracle."

Jeongguk hisses internally. He didn't mean to go so deep in conversation with Minhee. He wants to run away and he's sure he made Minhee uncomfortable too.

"Or you can simply call such science, a miracle," Minhee says, looking back at him. "After all we can't control it but only influence it right?"

Jeongguk gazes into her eyes, hearing the unspoken. Just like fate, we can't change it but we can only influence it by our decisions.

"No wonder you have a degree in science...you fail to look at the beauty of the world with your logic. The ignorant and hazy world..."

Probably, Jeongguk never realised but Minhee's voice has a hoarse tone in it. It's only heard when she is speaking like this, in whispers.

"People are just different, Minhee," Jeongguk says, tone levelling down like Minhee's. "Neither I nor you have to be right."

"Of course, Mr Jeon."

The presence of tension is thick enough for Jeongguk to notice.

"Look at you," Minhee coos, gazing dark and intense as she stares at Jeongguk. Her lips curve up, the night is dark but the light from the distance is enough to carve Minhee's inherent features. He's sure he can't be seen but seeing Minhee this way, it's making him weak in his knees. "Being all philosophical."

There's underlying tiredness in her eyes, but they still look fierce with softer edges. The blonde streaks in her hair look golden and when she licks her lips, the shine looks inviting.

Then, he's already reaching a hand out towards her, lightly cupping the side of her face with a murmur of, "I think I like it more when you're not in your Regina George character.'"

He expects his hand to be hit away, an insulting remark to be returned but there's silence.

Minhee can only hear his breathing and the maddening beating of her heart. Jeongguk feels nice, too nice, that she closes her eyes just to experience more. She's leaning against Jeongguk's touch.

"Don't do that," Jeongguk's voice is soft, and Minhee melts a little bit more at the sound.

"Don't do what?" she whispers.

"Closing your eyes..." Jeongguk trails off, unsure, but curious. "You look like you want something from me."

"I don't," Minhee says, a bit breathless. "I don't want anything from you."

When she opens her eyes, she's surprised at how close they are. Jeongguk's staring at her lips just like he did before, eyes half-lidded, stare weighted, heady and full of something else.

"I don't like you," Minhee says, edging closer. "But I think you're decent."

"You don't have to like me," he replies, and he sees Minhee revelling in the way he runs his thumb on her cheek. "There isn't any rule that requires you to do that."

"Smart," Minhee lightly quips, mirth evident in her tone. "I like it. You catch on quick."

Unsure of what to do or say next, the moment stills. It's not until Jeongguk's phone rings loudly is when they part before Jeongguk is stumbling across the shore, walking back towards the hotel, leaving Minhee alone again.

Minhee is really fucked.

─── ·𖥸· ───

*clears throat* told ya