off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ fifty three

The sun had set minutes ago on Sokcho, as a group of friends brought back a total of seven tents to their camping spot on the beach. The sky was a deep blue, splattered with a thousand silver stars they never would have been able to see, were they back in Seoul. Haewon chuckled to herself, as her shoulder bumped against Hao's.

"I can't believe you insisted on buying a tent just for you and me," she murmured to him, half embarrassed, half amused. "Six tents would have been more than enough for all of us."

In response, Hao gave her a small pout. "Can you blame me? I agreed to spend the whole day with our friends, but... I wanted some time with you. Is that so wrong?"

"Of course not... A sleepover, hmm? It'll be like the old times."

It hadn’t happened often during their youth, but a few times, Mrs Zhang had invited Haewon over to sleep at their house. She could always remember how they'd set up air mattresses on the floor, and talk about everything and nothing until the sun would rise again. She very much wasn’t against living this again. Things were just a little different, now that they were adults and dating.

"Hao hyung, Jiwoong hyung," Hanbin called after them, "would you help me set up the tents?"

Jiwoong walked to him right away, while Hao left a soft peck on Haewon's cheek before leaving her side. She sighed gently, her heart swelling in her chest. This morning, she never would have expected their beach trip to turn into a camping adventure.

"Yanmei?" she said to the girl that had been standing a few meters back. "Shall we go buy food for tonight?"

She nodded, taking a step towards her. "Sure. I don't have anything to do anyway."

"Thank you." Then, she turned back to the rest of their friends. "You guys can do what you want while those three are setting up camp. We'll call you when the food's ready!"

With that, the two women went on their way to the streets, walking side by side.

Jaewook had a bit of an idea of what she wanted to do. During the day, she'd gone into the water for a bit, but she'd mostly gotten a bit of tanning done, taking advantage of the unfiltered sun of Sokcho. But a midnight swim always seemed a lot more fun than a midday one. Especially when the stars were reflected so beautifully on the shimmering sea.

But swimming alone was hardly any fun, was it? Her jaw clenched, she slowly made her way towards Matthew, who was having a chat with Taerae. They hadn’t really spoken since their rather... Tense last meeting. She wasn’t sure how to approach him, she didn't know if he was still angry, or whatever the hell the emotion he was feeling was. But she certainly didn’t want something like her past relationship to get in the way of their bond. And if she needed to make the first move, then so be it. It wasn't her first time doing so, anyway.

"Matthew?" she spoke up, and he lifted his head to look at her. "I'm going to swim a little, do you... Wanna come with me?"

His eyes were wide and round as he stayed silent for a second. "Yes!" he finally replied, rising from the sand.

Well, at least he hadn’t rejected her. Matthew gestured to Taerae, then followed her towards the water, his eyes avoiding hers. She had expected it to be a little awkward, but a silent Matthew was always a weird thing to witness. All she wanted was to hear his voice, to hear him talk about whatever was going through his mind, just to know he didn’t resent her or anything. She wanted to see him smile.

As her feet dipped into the water, Jaewook shivered. She grabbed at her arm, trying to cover her body and keep it warm, but goosebumps were running all over her legs. The others had changed already, but she'd kept the swimsuit, looking forward to a nightly swim. She was starting to regret her choices.