# Chapter 107
When the water reached thigh-deep, Kwon Dojin stopped first. As I stopped with him, he took the inner tube from his shoulder and put it around me. Suddenly trapped in the tube, I looked at Dojin questioningly.
“I’ll hold it for you, get on.”
“Okay, then.”
I gripped the tube tightly and eyed Dojin suspiciously before lifting my body.
“You won’t play any tricks, right?”
“Of course not.”
“You have to hold the tube tight.”
“Have I not earned that much trust from you, Habin? That’s a little sad.”
“Nooo, it’s not that—”
I mumbled softly while avoiding Dojin’s gaze. It’s not that I don’t trust him, but based on past experience, I’ve been flipped over more than once after trusting someone to hold the tube, so I was just being cautious.
Above all, Dojin sometimes plays tricks only on me, so I was worried he might do it this time too. Anyway, there was no point in continuing this standoff, so I used my arms to lift myself up.
“Ah—!”
“Careful—”
My hands slipped because of the water, and I almost fell over, but I managed to avoid it by grabbing onto Dojin for support. With my back arched backward, most of my unprotected field of vision was consumed by the sunlight.
When I could vaguely make out shapes in the bleached-white world, I thought hazily: Today, I might cross the line in some way.
“…Help me up.”
“Should I?”
When I stretched out both arms to Dojin, he immediately wrapped his hands around my waist and exerted strength. Following his lead, I successfully got onto the inner tube and exhaled deeply.
I had experienced Dojin’s strength many times before, but each time felt new. Maybe he could even lift me up with ease. I naturally imagined him picking me up in his arms before shaking my head vigorously to clear the thought.
“Just a moment, let me lower my arms.”
“Okay.”
After nodding, I covered my eyes with my hand to create a shadow against the strong sunlight. My vision was limited, but I was satisfied that I could block the sun to some extent.
I enjoyed splashing water droplets by gently kicking my feet in the sea. Meanwhile, Dojin, who had rolled up his sleeves, tapped the bridge of my nose with his wet hand.
“Shall we go deeper?”
“Do whatever you want. Anything is fine.”
Since I had already achieved what I wanted, it didn’t matter either way. Besides, he wouldn’t put me in danger.
Dojin seemed to contemplate for a moment, looking into the distance, but eventually grabbed the tube and moved forward. The tube wobbled with the gently rippling waves, but thanks to Dojin holding it firmly, I didn’t fall over.
“I feel drowsy. Like I’m detached from the world.”
“You know you can’t fall asleep, right?”
“As if I would.”
We exchanged idle conversation with small smiles. Dojin walked inward until the seawater reached his waist and then stopped. Standing at the head of my tube and looking down at me, I tilted my head back to meet his gaze.
His clothes were soaked up to his chest due to the rippling seawater. Dojin’s clothes, which had been a light sky blue, had darkened from absorbing water. They clung tightly to his skin, revealing his body without filter, naturally drawing my gaze.
As I didn’t bother hiding my gaze, Dojin covered my eyes with his palm.
“Why—”
His hand, radiating warmth, completely blocked my view. I dragged out the end of my word, whining at Dojin who had blocked my enjoyable view.
“I’m embarrassed.”
“If you have such a good body, most people would be showing it off everywhere.”
“Well, I’m not that type of person.”
I nodded as it was completely true. Dojin’s hand followed my movement. Now, with my vision blocked and becoming uncomfortable, I grabbed his wrist with both hands and removed it.
Whether he was deliberately not helping or not, his arm was so heavy when I tried to lift it with both hands that it was difficult to put down. When I finally removed his arm, Dojin was watching me with laughter in his eyes.
There are scenes that you strangely want to preserve. Moments where you feel if you miss the opportunity, you can never capture the same experience again.
Because the sunlight is too perfect, because the temperature feels just right, because the scenery I’m looking at now, or perhaps the person I’m with—
Because it’s good.
“Habin.”
I relaxed my body at his soft whisper. Since the air around us spoke volumes, I closed my eyes instead of putting words in my mouth.
The light penetrating my eyelids had a crimson tint. That color gradually darkened, and I felt something casting a shadow over my head.
I had the illusion that time had stopped, but the rippling waves told me otherwise. I let out a faint laugh as the touch caressing my cheek felt both gentle and ticklish.
Soon, lips softly approached and landed on my cheek. It wasn’t like I had been waiting for this, but I slightly turned my head and met his lips at an angle. Then Dojin lifted his head a little and properly pressed his lips against mine.
Perhaps it was because we were in the sea, but I tasted salt on his lips. It wasn’t the most romantic taste, but it was fine in its own way.
At the soft feel of his lips, which felt hotter than the blazing sunlight, I stretched out my arms and embraced him as he came closer.
Ah—I’ve done something bad to Dojin.
* * *
The atmosphere didn’t change just because we kissed once, nor did the situation change. We simply continued our water play as if nothing had happened.
Like a person of leisure, I floated around the sea on the inner tube that Dojin held, and when my body got cold, I would sit blankly on the beach watching the waves roll in.
“Want some water?”
“Is it ice water?”
“Yeah.”
I stretched out both arms towards Dojin, who was standing with the water. He placed the water in my right hand and interlaced fingers with my other hand as he sat down next to me. I stared blankly at my hand, now naturally caught in his, and the water bottle with its lid still closed.
Was I supposed to open it with my teeth? Unable to do that, I vigorously shook my hand that was held by Dojin. When he looked at me puzzled, I pointedly held out the water bottle.
Without showing any sign of confusion, Dojin opened the cap with his free hand. If he hadn’t been holding my hand, I could have opened it myself; it was an inefficient solution, but I just pouted once.
At least now I could drink the water.
After wetting my throat, I handed the bottle back to Dojin, and he closed the cap as if he had been waiting. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake the question of why we had to do it this way, but I decided to go along with it.
“It’s hot. Your skin is turning red.”
My forearm, which suddenly caught my eye, was clearly flushed even at a glance. Dojin carefully held my forearm with a serious expression.
“Let’s put some burn ointment on. Your skin might peel otherwise.”
“Is that necessary?”
“I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
Although my comment was meaningless, Dojin took it seriously. It was somewhat embarrassing, but I wasn’t twisted enough to dislike his concern.
He rummaged through the bag to get the ointment and poured drinking water on my arm. When I let out a small sigh, feeling it was a waste, Dojin, perhaps hearing it, informed me that there was more water.
“Habin, shall we head back early?”
“What time is it now?”
“It’s past five.”
“Hmm…”
I had no attachment to the sea since we had already played enough, but I was bothered that I hadn’t seen the sunset. Dojin, who was carefully applying the ointment so gently it felt ticklish, lifted his head and met my eyes.
“The sunset looks beautiful from the backyard too. Or we can wash up and come back.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
I thought if we went back, I might not want to come out again, but it was hard to refuse with him staring at me with such concern.
In the end, I got up as Dojin wanted and packed our things to return to the villa. Since there were only a few of us, we hadn’t brought much, so the packing was quickly done.
Somehow, I felt reluctant to leave, and my feet wouldn’t move easily. Perhaps sensing my feelings, Dojin gently pushed my back.
“I’ll take care of the rest. How about dipping your feet in for a moment?”
“…Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
He nodded without hesitation, smiling faintly. Instead, he draped a large towel over my shoulders, so I held onto him tightly as we headed to the boundary between the sea and the beach.
I looked down at the waves as they came all the way in and then retreated. I extended my toes to dip them in the water as the waves came in. The seawater that invaded my sandals along with the sand felt refreshing.
I wasn’t particularly fond of the beach, but now that it was time to leave, why did I feel so reluctant? The strong, distinctive smell of the seaside, the salty water, the sand digging into my shoes.
I didn’t particularly like any of it. I had no feelings for it either. To be precise, I neither liked nor disliked it. But why did I feel so reluctant to leave now? I laughed emptily, not understanding my own heart.
“Let’s go back, Habin.”
Dojin, who had approached from behind, whispered. After blankly staring at the still blue shining sea, I turned around.
When I met Dojin’s gaze, only then did I realize. Yes. The reason I didn’t want to leave this place was because of you.
“Habin?”
“…Yeah, let’s go.”
I shook my head at the puzzled Dojin to indicate it was nothing. Then I stepped forward to stand next to him. Together with Dojin, we headed back to the villa along the path we had taken to the beach.
The farther we got from the sea, the more the absolution given by the place faded away, and that was the reason for my reluctance.
