but sometimes ;; haobin

two

The docks were slightly emptier by the time Hanbin decided to take a walk on his own. He made sure to bow to all the people he came across — his grandfather had said that everyone knew everyone, so if you were rude to one person, everyone would assume you're rude. Hanbin stood at the end of the harbour, staring out at the vast ocean. It was slightly gloomy out, but that didn't bother Hanbin.

"Did you just move in?"

Hanbin glanced at the boat floating precariously on the water not too far from where he stood — on the deck was the brunette boy. "Zhang Hao."

"Hm. You already know my name. No fair — I don't know yours."

Hanbin smiled as the boy got off the deck, walking down the path to stand not too far from him. "Sung Hanbin."

"Ah. Aunt Bubu speaks about you," the boy smiled, walking past Hanbin. "Come sit with me. We can talk here."

"You're awfully eloquent."

"Haha — not really," Zhang Hao smiled as he waited for Hanbin to catch up with him. "I'm a romantic nuthead — I like being comfortable with people."

"Still, you have more confidence than me," Hanbin muttered, walking up the staircase to the benches on the boardwalk. "Did you grow up here?"

The two sat on a bench, staring out at the lonely ocean. "My whole life was spent beside this sea. I don't know any other place apart from this. What about you, city slicker?"

Hanbin laughed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "No, just... some family. My mum's side."

Zhang Hao turned to face Hanbin, lifting his legs to hug them. "So why'd you come, then?"

Hanbin smiled slightly as he let out a laugh. "Wow, you're very straightforward, huh? Bitna said that she was scared of you."

"I wonder why — I'm just a guy that helps his grandfather with fishing," Zhang Hao smiled softly. Hanbin glanced down, somehow finding himself to be smiling as well. "Tell me your story, Hanbin. I know you won't be here long, in any case."

Hanbin leaned back, meeting eyes with the pink-haired boy. "I broke up recently, and I'm just taking a break from everything to calm down. Dated him for two years, so it hurts a little."

"Just a little...?"

"Okay, a lot."

Zhang Hao smiled, releasing his legs with a sigh. "Lucky you — you got to fall in love. I've never been in love before." He then met Hanbin's eyes, and the two just stared at each other in silence. "You know, Hanbin-ssi... I'm not important to your story. I should be easy to forget, right. So do me a favour."

"I'll do my best to help."

"Show me what love is."

•

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

Hanbin nodded after swallowing his food. "The dock was renovated, hm? It didn't look like that before."

"Happened around the time Hyeseol was born — maybe 8 years back," his aunt informed him. "Made any friends?" Hanbin nodded, and she gasped excitedly. "Already? Goodness! Who?"

Hanbin ate more egg and looked up. "I'm dating Zhang Hao now."

The table fell silent but Hanbin continued eating, chewing absentmindedly as he tried not to think about their response — but the silence was far too loud. He looked at his aunt's shocked expression and smiled. "Hanbin, you just got here."

"It's only for two weeks, anyways," Hanbin said. "We'll pretend we're dating for the next two weeks."

"B-but... but why?"

"Zhang Hao wants love, and I want to be distracted," Hanbin answered. "I don't mind, in any case. It's all pretend, and we're not in love. He just... wants to feel what it's like to be in a relationship. I'm okay with giving him that short experience."

"Zhang Hao's not a bad kid, I suppose," his aunt sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever you can do to cope, I suppose, my dear. As long as you don't end up hurting yourself. Zhang Hao is... a little strange. If you can figure him out, that would be lovely."

"Strange? In what sense?"

His aunt simply smiled. "How about you help out at the restaurant tonight? Minhwa can show you the ropes and how to do things — we won't give you big tasks."

"As long as I'm being kept busy, I'm fine," Hanbin shrugged, biting on the end of his metal chopstick. "Lunch was lovely, aunt. I've eaten well."

She smiled brightly as she nodded. "Your mom ate so well when we were younger, too. Ah, my dear sister... is she doing well, Hanbin? Jaehoon barely talks these days..."

Hanbin nodded, but his enthusiastic nod turned into a shrug. "She's very absent-minded these days. There's nothing wrong, but maybe I have to take her to the doctor when I get back."

"I hope my sister fares well," she sighed, shaking her head. "Regardless, I can't believe you agreed to... date Zhang Hao. He's a lovely boy, I must say — helps the elderly and he always has a smile on his face. Truly, he's such a sweetheart. Perhaps you can take him with you to Seoul after these two weeks."

"He clearly loves being here, so I doubt it," he denied immediately. "Besides, it's all pretend — we're not really dating. I'll just hold his hand and stuff, kiss his cheek, and whatnot — nothing too serious. Just... a holiday love."

His aunt smiled softly. "Perhaps Zhang Hao has always been a little lonely." Her smile flashed brighter immediately. "Well, we're done eating! How about you run some errands with me after we clean up here, hm?"

"Oh — can I bring Hao with?"