Drowning In You

End

Warm waters, clear skies, gleaming sun. A perfect summer day. Jimin sits, focused, perched on her elevated lifeguard's chair, eyes continually scanning the horizon for possible danger. The school year just ended a week ago, and the summer is coming in full force. Consequently, masses of crowds are hitting up the beaches to cool down and relax under the prowess of the Los Angeles sun.

Jimin is for the most part a member of the quiet crowd, only really letting herself let loose with people she's completely comfortable with, like Ning, her best friend.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a group of guys and girls make their way towards the ocean, bare feet trudging through the sand. The golden locks of Kim Minjeong was relatively easy to spot; aside from her hair the girl was made to stand out in the crowd. Always been one of the most popular at their high school, Minjeong's aura was one that was almost impossible to ignore. Jimin unlike most, isn't head over heels in love with her at first sight, but damn, anyone with properly working vision will find it very hard to deny the fact that Minjeong just radiated beauty.

Minjeong's group finds a spot among the crowd, laying down beach towels and umbrellas for the day. At one point they all go out into the ocean together, and although Jimin finds herself quite comfortable where she is in the social ladder, she can't help but wonder what it would be like to be in the popular crowd, to always exude confidence seemingly without any effort. Unlike the tropes found in movies and novels, the popular crowd at her school were actually a genuinely nice bunch. They're not mean, nor bullies. A couple of them, Yeji and Jisu, actually already acknowledged Jimin as they passed the lifeguard station, waving and saying hi to her.

The group took a break from the water and had some lunch, then some plopped on the sand to tan, while others started setting up for a volleyball game. Out of the corner of her eye, Jimin sees Minjeong approach the water again, clad in her blue bikini. She goes into the water a few moments later, completely submerging herself before turning on her back, just floating in the water.

Jimin continuously scans the horizon, looking for any anomalies. Some children running around near the shoreline, several teens playing in water. Everything seems to be in place, but Jimin catches her breath, feels her heartbeat go into a sprint when her eyes scan the ocean once more, and she realizes the golden hair of Kim Minjeong was nowhere to be found. All of a sudden, she finally sees Minjeong, seemingly trashing in the water. Minjeong was much further out than where Jimin saw her floating earlier, and considering the distance and the risk at hand, Jimin immediately springs to action. People around them starts noticing that something might be wrong when Jimin jumps off the lifeguard's chair, before shouting towards the other lifeguards for help. One of them helps Jimin get the jet ski to the shore, before Jimin hops on, speeding towards Minjeong's direction.

"Holy shit! It's Minjeong, she's drowning!" At this point, a crowd starts to form. Minjeong's group of friends are sent into a panicked frenzy.

By the time Jimin gets to Minjeong the other girl was already unconscious, and Jimin had some difficulty getting her on the jet ski. She drives as fast as she can, the machine almost just skidding on top of the water. Jimin can hear her heartbeat drum in her ears, the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

"Minjeong, please." Jimin mutters under her breath. As she got to the shore, a lifeguard helps Jimin bring Minjeong to land, while another lifeguard shouts at the crowd to move out of the way. Minjeong's friends were in the front of the crowd that has formed, clearly afraid. Minjeong was incredibly pale, her lips missing the normally pink hue it usually has. Jimin gets right to work, starting with chest compressions followed by mouth-to-mouth resuscitations. If it was a different situation, Jimin would be absolutely shattered at the idea of her lips even coming anywhere near the other girl's, but right now, all she could think of is saving the other girl's life. Please, please, please.