Holiday Romance

France - Time Together

//Minseok//

Thankfully, my sunstroke didn't last too long and thanks to Jongdae's nursing, I got better a lot quicker than expected.
Now, Mom doesn't let me out in the sun for more than half an hour at a time for fear of me catching it again. She's too overprotective sometimes, I swear.
I've been spending more and more time with Jongdae to escape her, and honestly I don't regret a bit of it.
I'm actually at Jongdae's now, and he's just been called away by his mom to talk about something.
"Minnie!" He calls, almost stumbling on the dry ground in his hurry to get back to me. I chuckle at his surprised expression, it's adorable.
Jongdae bends over, panting. "Minnie." He gasps.
I raise an eyebrow. "Yes?"
Jongdae finally catches his breath. "God, I'm so unfit. Anyway, there's a dance being held in the main building tonight and we've been invited. God knows why, but we have. Something to do with my mum, I guess."
I nod. "Sounds like fun."
"Yeah. D'you wanna come?"  He asks, smiling hopefully.
"I don't know... dancing isn't really my thing." I frown, unsure. Jongdae gets on his knees in front of where I'm sat, almost begging.
"I will use my aeygo." He threatens, the same way I did at the beach a while ago. I raise my eyebrows expectantly, and Jongdae shrugs. "Fine then."
To be honest, it works. He keeps it up as well, with the cute big begging eyes and everything. I have to give in. "Alright, I'll come."
"Yay!" Jongdae leaps up and jumps on me to squeeze me into a hug. "Thanks, Minnie."
"Ugh, get off."
I act like I'm being strangled by him, but secretly I love the hug. And the nickname. No one has actually called me Minnie since I was about five, and normally I would kill someone if they called me Minnie, but I don't seem to mind when it comes from Jongdae. I don't know why, it just sounds right coming from his mouth.
Suddenly, a thought strikes me. "Jongdae, what's the dress code?"
He climbs off me, breaking the hug. After sliding himself in the chair next to me, he replies. "I guess coats and tails or whatever they call it." He shrugs.
"I don't have them. Who the hell would bring suits on holiday?" I snort.
Jongdae laughs. "I don't know. Not us, anyway. I think the people supply them for us. We have to get them later."
"Oh, okay."
I pull my legs up in the chair and rest my chin on my knees. "So what are we gonna do until then?" I wonder aloud.
Jongdae hums, deep in thought. "Would you like me to teach you to swim?" He suggests.
I bite my lip nervously. "In the sea?" I mumble.
Jongdae shakes his head. "No, if it makes you uncomfortable. I think it'd be harder there anyway. No, I'll teach you in the pool."
I smile. "In that case, sure."
Jongdae grins brightly. "Go and get your swimming stuff then!" He says, leaping off of his chair towards the tent again. Only this time, he actually does fall over. But after a loud yell of "shit!" he does a forward roll and just seems to get straight back up again. I watch, mouth hanging open in awe. That was pretty badass to be honest.
I run back to my own tent and grab my swimming shorts and a towel, before joining Jongdae again and we head up to the pool.
I slip into a changing room to put them on. Jongdae had put his on before he cam here, which was quite sensible really. When I emerge from the cubicle, he's taken his shirt off and is floating around in the pool. It's surprisingly empty apart from Jongdae, although that means less people to see me fail at swimming.
"Minnie!" Jongdae waves me over. There goes that nickname again, I laugh quietly to myself.
I walk over to the edge of the pool, and I can actually feel my legs shaking. I make it to the edge of the pool without slipping, and sit down on the edge, legs pulled up under my chin again.
"Are you not gonna get in?" Jongdae swims slowly over to me.
I shake my head, pouting. "It's too deep." I mumble, nervously looking over the edge of the pool and seeing Jongdae floating. As if to prove me wrong, Jongdae stands up and almost reaches my face when he does. He rests his wet hands gently on the tops of my feet.
"This is the shallow end, Minnie. You'll be able to stand up." He assures me. I don't move, still nervous. Jongdae rolls his eyes.
"Do you want me to hold your hand?" He says sarcastically. I know he doesn't mean it, but by the way his eyes widen when I nod shows he's really beginning to understand how afraid I am.
"Okay. Come over to these steps here. I'll hold your hand as you get in."
True to his word, he grasps my hands tightly and murmurs reassuring wors as I take each step down into the warm water. It comes up to about my waist, and I manage to breath out.
"You okay?" Jongdae asks, coming closer to me. I nod.
"Yeah, that was just quite nerve-wracking. I thought I was gonna fall backwards and drown in the water or something." I try to laugh it off, but Jongdae frowns.
"As long as you're with me, you won't drown. I will not let anything happen to you." He promises.
I nod shyly. "Okay." It makes me a little bit more confident, but the fear is still there. I'm still afraid of putting my head under the water.
Jongdae takes hold of both my hands and walks me out a bit further into the pool. I can feel it getting deeper with each step I take, and I can feel the water level rising up my chest slowly, and shiver when it hits my nipples.
This makes me hyperaware how close the water is to my face, and I freeze suddenly. "I'm not going any further, don't make me go any deeper, Dae." I stutter, my grip on Jongdae's hands tightening. He links our fingers playfully, swinging our hands, and I enjoy the feeling it gives me. It gives me a sense of security, and it makes me feel warm inside.
"Okay. I was just testing how far you could go comfortably." Jongdae smiles. "Want to go back a bit?"
I nod, and he leads me back a bit. "I want to teach you to float and support your own body weight in water, alright?" He tells me.
I just watch him, silently waiting for instructions. I don't trust myself to not say something stupid or childishly pathetic. Jongdae smiles reassuringly at me. "Remember what I said, okay? Nothing will happen to you."
I don't reply, not fully convinced. Jongdae chuckles. "If it makes you feel any better, once I finished taking swimming lessons, I did a lifeguard course. I'm technically trained to be a proper lifeguard, Minnie. I can do all the things they can. You're safe."
To be fair, that helps. Also, it's kind of a surprise he can do that - he didn't seem the type, really, although now I think about it he wouldn't have offered to teach me to swim otherwise. I hope.
"Okay, do you think you can lie down in the water on your own for me?" Jongdae asks.
I shake my head. Hell no. "What if I sink?" I say, and I can hear the evident terror in my voice.
Jongdae chuckles. "You won't. I'll hold your back for you to 100% make sure you don't, okay?"
I feel him place a warm hand in the centre of my back. "Just lean back whenever you feel like it." Jongdae gives me the go ahead, and I nervously start leaning back. "Pick up your feet as well." He reminds me. Tentatively, I raise each foot up until I'm lying on my back, staring at the cloudless blue sky above me.
Jongdae cheers. "Look, you're doing it, Minnie!"
"Am I? Am I really?" I squeal excitedly. If it wasn't for Jongdae holding my back up then, I think I would've sunk a bit.
"Yes, look! I'm not even supporting you anymore." True enough, Jongdae is fully stood up over me. But that makes me flail around.
"Dae! Why'd you let go?" I cry, getting a mouthful of water in the process. I choke, splashing around. Shit, this is exactly what I was afraid of. Losing control of myself and letting my fear take over. Now all I can think is oh god, this is it, this is the end.
Somewhere in my worried hazy brain I feel strong arms lift me up and I'm raised above the deadly water. I close my eyes, suddenly exhausted, and lean my head against a hard surface to rest.