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“Remind me why I let you talk me into this again?” Jiyoon groaned as she grabbed a really heavy cooler from out of the car trunk.
“Because you love us and you agree that you need to get outside of your little apartment every once in a while.” Jungeun deadpanned as she grabbed an umbrella that was twice her height, lifting it with ease.
“C’mon don’t be so scared! It’s going to be so much fun. When’s the last time the 4 of us all hung out together?” Mai encouraged as she grabbed half the bags, leaving Sarang to carry the other half.
"But why did we have to pick the beach? You all know I’m not a great swimmer," Jiyoon complained, though her friends, accustomed to her antics, continued to drag her onto the sand without any hesitation.
“We aren’t going to go that far into the ocean anyways. Help me set up this umbrella so we don’t all go home looking like fried octopus.” Jungeun urged.
“Why fried octopus?” Sarang asked curiously.
“Because there’s 4 of us, meaning there are 8 legs in total and we are close to the sea, so octopus. Maybe I’m also just a bit hungry so can we please set this up faster so we can pull out some of the fruit that Mai cut?”
Jiyoon laughed while the other two looked unimpressed, prompting Jungeun to high-five her and make a casual remark about how only Jiyoon appreciated her brilliant humour. After more bickering and being bribed with watermelon and ice cream Jiyoon finally gave in and went to change her bathing suit. Now Jiyoon will admit that one of her weakest traits was definitely her poor sense of direction. It took her a solid 5 minutes to loop outside of the main beach area and find the bathrooms and changing areas. She also clearly didn’t remember the way back to her friends, but she recalled that they had set up closer to the shore. So, she decided to walk along the edge of the water to find her way back to them.
Jiyoon’s feet sunk into the wet sand with each step. She was too nervous to go any deeper, but the cool water brushing against her feet made her feel more at ease. The gentle waves lapping at her ankles helped calm her nerves. Even though she was still anxious about swimming, the shallow water gave her a sense of comfort. As she wandered around keeping an eye out for her friends, she also noticed a group of tall female surfers who looked to be around her age. Jiyoon envied the surfers’ calm nature towards the water and wished that one day she would be less scared of the water as well. Jiyoon hadn’t really properly learned how to swim and by the time she entered high school she felt like there was little reason for her to start learning. When she had gotten into university she had started regretting the decision but with all of the school work piling up she never found the time to actually learn. Maybe in an alternate universe Jiyoon would be a professional surfer and she would be like those three girls, conquering waves and having fun in the water with no fear in the world.
She continued to watch the three girls laugh as they fell and cheered each other on as they performed cool tricks. While all three girls were pretty, skinny and tall, one specific girl caught her eye. She had a strikingly bright smile that never seemed to fade, and Jiyoon noticed how frequently this girl beamed with joy. Her face was framed by long, wavy, black hair that flowed effortlessly, and her eyes sparkled with a lively, engaging warmth. Even in her wetsuit, her vibrant personality and charm shone through, making her stand out in the best way. Jiyoon knew absolutely nothing about surfing yet she was mesmerised by the girl's fluid movements as she expertly guided the waves.
“Jiyoon there you are! We were starting to get worried about you. What took you so long?” Mai asked, snapping Jiyoon out of her trance. She made it back to her friends already? Was she zoned out for that long?
“Most likely got lost again. We should stop letting her go places alone. Chances are we won’t see her ever again.” Jungeun teased as she handed Jiyoon a slice of watermelon which the older gratefully took.
“Let’s go play some games in the water!” Sarang yelled excitedly as she took the watermelon rind from Jiyoon.
“If I drown I expect all of you to throw me a nice fancy funeral. Also tell my family I love them!”
“Alright let’s go you drama queen.” Jungeun agreed as she dragged Jiyoon into the water, only letting go when the water had reached Jiyoon’s waist.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Jiyoon questioned as she eyed the families surrounding them.
“It’s a weekend so of course there’s going to be a lot of kids and families here. Just ignore them and play some volleyball with us!”
“Why are we playing volleyball in the water? Volleyball is played with two feet on dry land. Even beach volleyball takes place on the sand. Not in the water.”
“Playing in water makes it more fun! Don’t let the beach ball hit the water!” Sarang exclaimed as she proceeded to hit the ball at Jiyoon.
After the 4 hit the ball around a couple times and felt more comfortable with the game, they moved further out to sea until the water now reached up to Jiyoon’s shoulders. The water around her body actually felt quite nice and relaxing and the game helped take her mind off the potential of drowning.
“Hey Jiyoon, that's completely your fault you didn’t get it. You’re getting that ball.” Sarang grumbled after Jiyoon failed to return the ball.
Jiyoon accepted her fate as she moved to grab the ball. As she reached for the ball she felt someone bump into her from behind, causing her to lose her footing and fall into the water. She was still able to stand up and take a deep breath before a wave came crashing over her, dragging her out further to see. At this point Jiyoon was completely thrashing around in the water, trying desperately to stay afloat. She sank down and reached the sea floor before pushing up with all her might and taking another deep breath. If this went on Jiyoon might actually die. She already felt her legs giving up on her as she continued to push up higher and higher as the waves pushed her outwards. Jiyoon started to swallow some water by accident as she continued to gasp for air. She slowly felt herself running out of energy before she was suddenly pulled up from under the water by some really buff arms. She was laid down flat on her back on what felt like a surfboard and she coughed up all the water she had swallowed and gasped for air.
“Hey take some deep breaths, it’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re okay.” A somewhat deep female voice said. Jiyoon didn’t have the energy to look up and thank her saviour as she focused on getting air into her lungs.
After she caught her breath she finally turned to take a look at her surroundings. To say her life flashed before her eyes was an understatement. The waves had pulled her really far out and she could barely see the beach towels and umbrella that their group had set up. She then turned to thank her rescuer, but as she made eye contact, she felt that same intense shock. It was the surfer girl she had admired earlier, effortlessly floating on the water and steadying her board as the waves crashed towards the shore. Behind her, the surfer’s friends looked on with concern, quickly checking to make sure she hadn't swallowed too much water.
“Hey are you alright? How are you feeling? You drifted pretty far out.” The girl asked, her voice laced with concern.
Jiyoon started to respond but ended up sitting there with her mouth open, lost in thought for an entirely different reason. The girl had let her hair down, framing her face perfectly, and her smile had completely captivated Jiyoon. Overwhelmed, she accidentally choked on her own saliva and fell into a coughing fit. The girl quickly steadied her on the board and gently patted her back, helping her cough out the water she had swallowed by mistake.
“Here let’s get you back to shore so you don’t accidentally fall in again.” The girl offered as the three of them started making their way back to the beach.
“Jiyoon, are you okay?” Jungeun immediately asked as Jiyoon collapsed onto the sand, happy to be on dry land.
“I told you I was going to die and you didn’t believe me! I actually saw my life flash before my eyes!” Jiyoon complained, still lying on the warm, dry sand that now enveloped her. “Who thought it was a good idea to drag a university student who hardly ever leaves their dorm and has never learned how to swim to the beach?”
“Sorry, we thought it would be a good experience for you to leave your comfort zone. Plus you technically didn’t die so we don’t have to host an expensive funeral for you, you didn’t die single and we don’t have to tell your family you love them!” Sarang said cheerfully, quickly getting shot down by glares from both Mai and Jiyoon.
“How are you feeling? Any pain anywhere? Should we go to the hospital in case you ingested too much water? I heard a lot more people die of secondary drowning as well.” Mai quickly asked.
“I think I coughed out most of the water. Thanks for actually caring about me unlike these guys over here.” Jiyoon thanked the girl nicely before turning and glaring at the other two girls once again. “These three surfers saved my life and they pulled me out pretty quick.”
“Thank you so much you guys. We actually would have lost the life of one of our best friends if it weren’t for you. None of us are good swimmers so we really wanted to go save her but we couldn’t.” Mai turned around, swiftly bowing at the tall girls.
“No, no please don’t bow at us. It was really all Jeemin. She saw your friend go under and splash around so she quickly paddled over to her. I don’t think I’ve seen her move so fast! I’m Koko by the way. It’s nice to meet you guys!” The tallest of the three girls introduced.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t come out to save your friend. If you had, we’d have had to rescue two people instead of just one, which would have been a lot more difficult,” the girl Jiyoon had admired most said. “I’m Jeemin, by the way. What’s your name?”
Jiyoon registered the name “Jeemin” with a smile before realising everyone was waiting for her response.
“Jiyoon, Yoon Jiyoon. My name is Jiyoon.” Jiyoon quickly stumbled out, earning a teasing glance from Sarang which she promptly ignored.
“Jiyoon, huh? Nice name!” Jeemin said with a bright smile, making Jiyoon bury her face in her arms as she felt her cheeks flush. She couldn’t tell if the warmth was from the sun or from the surfer’s sunshine-like smile.
“I’m Saebi!” A loud voice cut in. Jiyoon silently thanked her for turning the attention away and she looked up to see the last of the three surfers introducing herself. “It’s so nice to meet you guys!”
“Nice to meet you Koko, Saebi and Jeemin. I’m Mai and these two are Sarang and Jungeun. Would you like some fruit, drinks, or ice cream? We packed way too much and it’s really the least we could do to thank you for saving Jiyoon’s life.” Mai offered as Jungeun started nodding profusely and showing the three surfers the way to their umbrella.
“Ice cream!! Can we please!! Jeemin, Koko please!!” Saebi pleaded as she shot the cutest expression towards the other girls. Koko was clearly the most affected and turned to look at Jeemin before she too also conceded and thanked Mai for her generous offer.
“What fruits would you guys like? We have grapes, watermelon, apples, oranges, mangos and strawberries.” Jungeun asked as she opened the cooler for the girls to choose.
“Ooh I’ll take watermelon. Those are my favourite fruits!” Jeemin said enthusiastically as she grabbed a slice of watermelon. Jiyoon watched as the girl's eyes lit up in excitement as she commented on how good and refreshing the fruit was.
“Good choice! Jiyoon’s favourite fruit is also watermelon.” Sarang exclaimed as she promptly ignored Jiyoon’s gaze. Jiyoon knew that Sarang had picked up on her not so subtle crush on the surfer and she knew she was going to be teased for a while because of it.
“Finally someone who understands the superiority of watermelons! Saebi has an obsession over apples for some reason and I’m just like why? Watermelons are the best! Girl you’ve got some good taste!” Jeemin said as she walked over for a high five. Jiyoon could only give her a weak nod as she accepted the high five. Jeemin didn’t seem to notice as she continued to converse with Sarang about different types of fruits.
“Jeemin, they have green tea and yoghurt flavoured ice cream!” Koko screamed as Jiyoon watched Jeemin immediately run over to the cooler.
“No way! Please, you guys are the absolute best. Can we be friends forever!” Jeemin exclaimed excitedly as she hugged Mai and jumped up and down with Saebi out of excitement.
“Wait, how old are you guys? I’m 16!” Saebi asked as Koko had to physically hold her back from jumping around too much and getting sand on the towels.
“Jungeun and I are 17! Mai is the oldest out of all of us, she’s 21 and Jiyoon is 20.” Sarang replied as she hugged her same aged friend.
“Oh we are all pretty similar in age range then! Jeemin is also 20 and I’m 18.” Koko replied as she finally let go of the very energetic ball of sunshine that was Saebi.
“Yay I’m the youngest!” Saebi exclaimed as she reattached herself to Koko, embracing her in a back hug.
“Oh looks like we are the same age! I assume Jiyoon and Mai are attending university as well then?” Jeemin inquired as she made her way back to where Jiyoon was sitting.
“Yeah, the two of us go to the same university and Jungeun and Sarang are going to apply there as well. We were friends in high school and we all wanted to stick together. What about you guys? I notice that you are really close with Koko and Saebi.” Mai replied, noticing that Jiyoon was in a state of inner turmoil.
“Yeah, Saebi and I are cousins so we’ve practically grown up together. Koko and Saebi went to school together so they were super close. After Saebi learned that Koko was a really good surfer that truly solidified our friendship. She’s a really sweet girl and she knows how to control Saebi’s wild antics so I really love her for it.”
“Yeah Sarang and Jungeun practically entertain themselves so it works out in our favour. All of us are introverts though so sometimes it gets really quiet.” Mai laughed as she looked back at the 4 younger girls getting to know each other.
“Honestly I wish I had more introverted friends. It’s good because I don’t have to speak most of the time but both Saebi and Koko are extreme extroverts and it gets to be a lot to handle when there’s only one of me and two of them.” Jeemin smiled fondly.
“Yeah I can tell. I think all of us were super shocked at how energetic and talkative those two are. I kinda expected Koko to be an introvert though because she hasn’t talked as much and just keeps watch of Saebi.” Jiyoon finally contributed to the conversation.
“Yeah Koko seems really mellow around Saebi but yet again Saebi makes everyone else look super introverted and antisocial.”
“Mai come over here! Koko is also Japanese so maybe you guys can interact with someone who actually can speak fluent Japanese!” Sarang shouted as they waved the eldest girl over, leaving Jeemin and Jiyoon alone together.
As Mai left Jeemin sat down on the sand next to the chair Jiyoon was currently occupying.
“Hey you know you can sit on the towels right? Sitting on the sand must be really uncomfortable.” Jiyoon offered.
“Nah it’s okay. I’m all wet and I don’t want to get any of the towels dirty. Anyways, how are you feeling? Got all the salt water out of your system?”
“Yeah thank you so much for saving my life out there. I should probably learn how to swim.”
“Why haven’t you learned how to swim before? I think my parents taught me how to float in water before I learned how to walk.”
“I lived in the countryside before I moved to the city so there wasn’t much water to begin with. When high school rolled around and I realised it was probably a life’s necessity I couldn’t find the time to actually learn.”
“What’s stopping you from learning now then? I know university is super stressful but you should take time off and explore some other hobbies every once in a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what happened today. Technically did not go the way anyone was expecting though.” Jiyoon awkwardly laughed as she gestured towards herself nearly drowning, causing Jeemin to throw her head back laughing. Jiyoon smiled softly as the two sat in a comfortable silence looking out at the waves that crashed at the beach.
“You know I could teach you how to swim if you want.” Jeemin quietly offered after a small silence.
“Huh?” Of all the things Jiyoon expected Jeemin to say, that was not it.
“I technically am a qualified swim coach and lifeguard so I won’t let you die on me. If you don’t trust me I understand that as well it’s probably better to learn from a trained professional who teaches for a living. But I also have a pretty flexible schedule and I would love to get to know you better as well! With the way Saebi is bonding with your friends over there I would assume we are going to see each other a lot either way.” Jeemin rambled on.
“I’d love to learn how to swim from you. Plus it would save me the embarrassment of finding a teacher who only teaches kids and embarrassing myself in a pool probably also filled with kids half my size.” Jiyoon replied as casually as she could, trying hard not to show how nervous she truly was.
“Alright! What days are you free? When do you want to start?” Jeemin quickly fired questions at her.
“Uhh I have singing lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays. My classes on Tuesday run pretty late so maybe Thursday or Friday?”
“Friday works for me! Where do you want to meet? For learning, going to a regular pool would be more ideal to be honest.”
“I’m not really sure, I’ve never really….been to a pool before?” Jiyoon sheepishly admitted.
“In that case we can go to Saebi’s house. She has an outdoor pool.”
Jiyoon gaped at this information. “How rich are you guys?”
“Pretty average to be honest. It’s nothing extravagant and she doesn’t live anywhere near good schools or the downtown and metropolitan area so it’s not as expensive as you think.”
“Jeez now I really need to see where you guys live. I’m probably going to show up and walk into a huge mansion.”
“I can assure you she does not live in a huge mansion.” Jeemin laughed as the two comfortably continued their small banter. Jiyoon found that it was easy to converse with Jeemin despite both of them being introverts but she still had to ask the main question that had been bothering her.
“Why are you putting in so much effort? I don’t mean to be rude but it’s not really normal to save someone else, offer to teach them how to swim in their cousin’s house and offer to treat them out to dinner?”
“Uhh…well…I suppose you do deserve the truth.” Jeemin stuttered, her face flushing. “I think you’re really pretty and to be honest I love your frank personality. And we have so many things in common I just couldn't help but feel a sense of connection to you. You really don’t have to agree with anything I ask you to do, please don’t feel the need to agree because I saved your life.”
“No Jeemin please don’t take it the wrong way! I agreed to spend time with you because I also want to get to know you better. Plus I think you’re even prettier than I am. Please when you are surfing you look like an absolute goddess controlling those waves.”
“You saw me surfing? How? You were literally drowning?” Jeemin asked surprised as she turned to Jiyoon who bashfully looked away, knowing that she had just accidentally admitted to watching Jeemin surf earlier.
“I was walking along the beach earlier and I saw you Koko and Saebi surfing. I thought you looked super cool and really really pretty.” Jiyoon saw Jeemin’s eyes go wide before the two of them sat there in silence, equally flushed at the admission.
“Did you see me fall flat on my face…?”
“Umm. Yeah I did.”
“Well uhh that was because I saw you walking on the beach and thought you were pretty and I lost all focus. Why do you think I got to you so fast even though the three of us were surfing practically on the other side of the beach? I may or may not have been watching you guys play. Saebi assumed it was because I wanted to be friends with people older than me or more around my age.” Jeemin replied as she buried her face in her hands.
I’m too gay for this. Jiyoon thought.
“Huh?”
“Oh did I say that out loud…?”
“Yeah…” Jeemin laughed as Jiyoon groaned in her chair awkwardly. “If it makes you feel any better I’m also way to gay for this.”
“Oh my god just date already.” Saebi groaned from behind them as the two practically jumped and turned around in shock.
“Saebi, since when have you been behind us?”
“I’ve been here long enough to see both of you gay panicking. Just date already!!”
Jeemin shooed Saebi away and then sat back down on the sand after succeeding. “Sorry about her.”
“Nah it’s okay, I like how energetic she is.”
“Yeah.”
“How would you feel about…you know… dating?” Jiyoon started quietly. She didn’t even know if Jeemin had heard her or not but she was too scared to repeat it louder.
“Honestly, I would love to be your girlfriend but I feel like we need to go on a couple dates first and get to know each other better.” Jeemin replied thoughtfully. “Need to make sure you aren’t some serial killer!”
“I’m pretty sure serial killers wouldn’t be dumb enough to put themselves in a situation that could cost them their life.”
“Serial killers can drown too, don’t discriminate.”
“Am I going to regret this in the future?”
“I suppose that’s for you to find out, no?”
Jiyoon laughed as Jeemin stood up and dragged her over to the cooler to get some more ice cream, the rest of the girls welcoming them into the conversation. Jiyoon stayed quiet as Jeemin launched into telling an embarrassing story of Saebi while Saebi whined and the rest of the girls laughed. Surrounded by her old and new friends and enjoying the moment, Jiyoon couldn’t help but smile, knowing that she was exactly where she wanted to be.