48 hours, a short story | chan & seungmin

seungmin ⚘ skinny love- bon iver

- Chapter 2 , the beach

"what else do you think i might need?" i ask into the phone.

i walk down the street, looking at all the pretty rose bushes lining this house. i like looking at the different flowers and trees that people have on their properties as i walk home. i live in a higher class neighborhood, so there are loads of pretty houses owned by people who pay fortunes to make them look nicer than the others.

gardening is like a competition to me. i love pretty plants, and love pretty houses even more. i like to judge the houses based off of the exterior, and try to imagine what the interior looks like.

"seungmin," his voice says. "are you even listening to a word i am saying?"

i come out of my little world, and try to give my attention back to my older brother who is pestering me with advice and suggestions for when i go to college.

i'm only nineteen, but i'm moving across the world in two days. forty-eight hours. it's terrifying to think how i graduated today, and am already leaving tomorrow. i will start college in september, but i want to get comfortable with the area before then.

"sorry." i say shamefully. "i was looking at the roses the house down the street has. they remind me of the ones at our old apartment."

jeongin sighs. "you still think about that place? even when you are moving to a new place in a couple days?"

"i do." i walk up the path of our home. "it was where i lived for sixteen years."

"but i worked so hard to get the house we have now." he says. "i feel bad thinking that we lived in a place like that for years. i wish i could have been better."

"hyung, it's fine." i say, unlocking the front door. "seriously. the house we have now is perfect, and i'm so sad i don't get to spend as much time in it."

"i'm sad i don't get to see you before you go." he says. "but america is fun, and i'm heading to new york tomorrow."

i take off my shoes and drop my backpack on the floor as he begins to talk about his job. i'm not going to lie, his work is so boring. however, it pays very well and he seems to like it. i walk across the house, heading to the kitchen.

"that's fun." i say as i pull out the strawberries from the fridge. "is it a charity event? like is the money going to someplace useful?"

"it is." jeongin says. "but anyways, i need to go. i want you to call me again later tonight, so i can actually talk to you about moving to the states. i need to tell you so much before you go, just so you can be prepared."

"you can just tell me when i get there." i say.

"just please call me." he sighs. "goodbye, talk to you later."

"yeah okay. goodbye hyung." i say, and hang up the phone.

i let out a sigh and bite into the strawberry i picked out. i immediately make a face, from the sourness of the red fruit. yuck. it just makes my mood even worse.

i hate that jeongin can't come home before i go. just thinking about it makes me sad. my own brother isn't even going to be able to say goodbye to me properly. sure, he can visit me later if he's in the states- but that won't be a proper goodbye.

i love that he got such a good job. i love that he can afford everything and anything we want because of his job. i love him and i'm so proud that he got this far, but i hate how he never is here. i would rather us be broke but together- just like we were in our old apartment.

i pick up another strawberry, hoping my luck with the flavor will be better this time. i walk to the window, looking out over the beach.

i love the beach. i love the water, and how calming it is to just look at the ocean. the ocean is so pretty. i want to be as pretty as the ocean, so breathtaking that you don't ever want to look away. it's so relaxing.

my eyes go a different direction, however. i watch as a man starts to walk across the beach, heading to the dock. i'm a nosy person, so i walk over to the living room- sliding open the glass door and stepping out onto the deck.

he walks up the stairs, and continues to walk all the way out. i'm going to be honest, he is kind of scary looking. he doesn't seem to have any emotion left in him as he walks. it's like watching a leaf blow in the wind, he's just following where the wind takes him.

he walks to the farthest end of the dock. there is a fencing around the dock, considering the ocean is at least thirty feet deep where he is standing. i want to walk out there and tell him to not lean on the fencing.

i shake my head no, and start to head back inside the house. however, he is kind of worrying me. the fencing is seriously unstable, and him leaning all his weight onto it might cause to break. i don't want this random guy to kill himself.

i sigh to myself, and toss my strawberry into the bush. i begin to walk over to him, keeping my eyes down on the sand. i try to plan out what to say in my head, but all my words vanish when i look back up.

he is now sitting on the fencing, looking down at the ocean. i begin to run from fear. what is this guy doing?!

"hey!" i yell out. "hey stop!"

he looks up, and turns back to look at me. i shake my head no. "what are you doing?" i run up the dock, but i stop when i'm only a few feet away from him.

he sighs, and jumps down off of the fencing. you can hear it creek at the loss of weight as he jumps off. i let out a relieved breath i didn't even know i was holding in. i look at him with curiosity, what was he trying to do?

he doesn't look at me, instead he totally ignores me and begins to walk off the dock. i spin around, in shock that he could just ignore me.

"hey!" i yell out again.

he keeps waking.

"what the hell we're you doing?!" i yell.

"mind your own business, kid." he yells back, still walking away.

"hey!" i yell, beginning to follow him. "i am not a kid!"

he doesn't say anything, and just keeps walking. i start to speed up, and go in front of him. he stops, and just stares at me. i let out a huff as i finally get his attention.

"what were you doing up there?" i ask. "who are you? are you lost? do you need help? i can call somebody." i start to suggest anything, just trying to understand what the hell he was doing.

he doesn't say anything, and just continues to stare at me. i don't say anything either, but my stomach starts to swirl. him just staring at me is making me uncomfortable, especially because he is kind of attractive and mysterious. it's kinda cool.

"could you please move?" he asks.

i look at him in disbelief. "what?"

"i asked if you could move.. you're kind of in the way and i want to leave." he says, looking at me with no expression. who the hell is this guy?

"do you need help or something? where are you going?" i ask.

he just continues to stare at me.

i huff. "you know, if you are just going to ignore me then fine! be an asshole! i'm just trying to help you! you were going to kill yourself, i didn't want to see that."

i begin to walk away angrily. i can't believe the nerve of this guy. i try to help him not die, and he has the nerve to act like an asshole. nobody wants to die in the ocean, he should be thanking me for looking out for him.

i whip back around, going to give this guy one last piece of my mind. "if you were nicer about it, i could have made you a sandwich or something nice like nice people do!"

i give him an angry look before just turning back around. i'm almost halfway to my house, before he yells something back at me.