Holding On to You ||| Hwang Hyunjin

Ch. 13

As soon as we made it to the others, we dropped our stuff, and set them up.

"Hey Chaeryoung! Race you to the water, last one is a rotten egg!", Changbin suddenly said , running towards the water while Chaeryoung was behind him.

"Hey that's not fair!", she yelled as they both ran, while the rest of us were laughing.

Then the other guys decided to go play volleyball, while Yuna and Yeji were tanning and Lia and Ryujin went to play in the water with Chaeryoung.

I was just sitting and admiring the scenery, then I opened my book and started reading.

"Watcha reading?", Yuna asked, turning to me, as I lowered the book.

"Oh it's called Twisted Hate", I replied

"What's it about?"

"Oh it's just a best friends brother trope"

"Well I guess this is fate", Yeji suddenly said lowering her sunglasses and winking, making me roll my eyes playfully.

Yeah right.

I chuckled, shaking my head at Yeji's playful teasing. She always knew how to get a reaction out of me, especially when it came to Hyunjin.

"Very funny," I said, flipping a page in my book, though it was hard to focus with her smirking at me.

"You know, maybe you're just manifesting something," Yuna teased, sitting up on her towel. "All these books you read, it's like you're living in one."

I rolled my eyes again, but a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "Please, it's just fiction. Real life doesn't work like that."

Yeji raised an eyebrow, her expression still mischievous. "Oh, I don't know. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction."

Before I could respond, Hyunjin jogged over from the volleyball court, his hair tousled from the breeze and his shirt slightly damp with sweat. "What are you guys talking about?" he asked, dropping onto the sand beside me.

"Oh, just Nari's new book," Yuna said innocently, though the glint in her eyes suggested otherwise.

Hyunjin glanced at me, then at the book in my hands. "Another romance?" he asked, his tone teasing.

I felt my cheeks warm up, but I played it off. "Just a light read," I said, trying to sound casual.

Hyunjin leaned back on his elbows, casting a casual glance at Yeji and Yuna. "You guys know she's always been into these," he said, his voice light but with just the right amount of affection to sell our act.

"Yeah, and I wonder why," Yeji said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Maybe she's picking up tips for real life?"

"Oh, absolutely," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm taking notes."

Hyunjin laughed, and then, without warning, he reached over and took my hand in his, lacing our fingers together.

The gesture was so smooth, so natural, that it caught me off guard. But I knew better than to react. We were supposed to look like a real couple, after all.

"See? She's already practicing," Hyunjin said, looking at Yeji with a grin.

Yuna sighed dramatically. "Ugh, you two are too much sometimes. It's like watching a K-drama unfold in real life."

I glanced at Hyunjin, who gave me a small, almost imperceptible wink. My heart did a little flip, but I quickly reminded myself that this was all part of the plan—just a show for our friends.

"Well, we aim to please," Hyunjin said, still holding my hand.

We sat there for a while, the sun warming our skin as we chatted and joked with the others.

I could feel the weight of Hyunjin's hand in mine, a constant reminder of the role we were playing.

It was easy to forget, in moments like these, that it was all pretend.

Then he suddenly got up and took off his button up, making my breath hitch at the scene in front of me.

Full on six pack abs with sweat gliding down his stomach and back, and his muscles flexing as he stretched.

He then turned to look at me, making me look at quickly at him, but he just chuckled.

"Wanna take a swim?", he asked. I actually did want to, so I nodded.

"What? Cat got your tongue?"

"Shut up", I mumbled causing him to laugh as I got up as well and slowly took off my dress that was covering the bikini.

When I turned to look at him, i saw his eyes traveling down my body and I swear I caught him gulping, as he clenched his jaw and cleared his throat.

"What? Cat got your tongue?", I mimicked his words, and he just rolled his eyes and walked towards the water.

I followed behind admiring his toned back and his hair sticking to his neck from the sweat.

When we made it to the water, I took a deep breath and relaxed as the waves moved with the soft breeze.

Enjoying my moment, suddenly water was splashed on my face, and I turned to look at none other than Hyunjin.

"Asshole!", I screamed as I chased him through the water, but he just kept laughing.

Then I splashed him harder, making him wipe his face with his arms then turn to me causing me to gulp.

I fucked up.

Then I tried running but he caught me just in time.

"You think you could run away huh?", he said as he wrapped both his arms around my waist.

"Hey! Stop!", I said then he started tickling me while I was laughing but trying to run free, but his grip was too strong.

Then when he stopped, we both didn't notice how close our bodies and faces were to each other.

Then he leaned closer closing his eyes.

Oh god.

Is he gonna..?

I closed my eyes as well, and as I felt his breath on my face we suddenly her a voice.

"Hey guys! Come and set the fire up!", seungmin suddenly yelled from the shore.

Then Hyunjin quietly cursed and let me go.