Love in the Air

Chapter 7

My phone starts buzzing and I groan and I roll over to grab it. "Hello," I answer groggily.
"Get your things together, we'll be over in half an hour to get you," Hyuk says.
"Okay. I'm hanging up now," I reply. I sigh as I think about everything that happened last night and how I'm going I have to deal with them all day and pretend I don't feel awkward. I still want to know who the heck left that note. I assume it's Hongbin or Hyuk but I can't be sure and I'm so confused.
I put on my bathing suit and put one of my beach dresses I bought when I was back in San Diego one summer. It's a cute, short white dress with blue flowery designs. I pack a towel and some extra clothes, put on my sandals and walk outside. As I step out I see Wonsik pulling their big, black SUV out. He parks it between our houses and steps out of the car. "Good morning Rigi!" he shouts.
"Morning sunbae," I reply.
"Come, let's put your things in the car," he motions me towards him. "Give that to me," he takes my bag and puts it in the back of the car that already has a few other bags in it. "Come inside, you can wait for us in there while we put the last of the stuff in the car," he says.
"Okay," I reply. We step inside and almost as if he detected me on his radar, Jaehwan's head snaps toward us.
"Rigi!" He begins to lean forward as though he was about to run towards me but then he stops and says, "it's nice to see you again." He smiles and grabs his bag, he pats my shoulder as he walks past me still smiling and walks toward the car.
What the heck was that? I think. That kid usually has way too much energy but I kind of like it when he attacks me... That's how I know I'm welcome...
Wonsik seems to notice my confusion and sudden gloominess. He smiles, wraps his arm around my shoulder and starts walking me towards the living room. I look at his hand hanging on my shoulder and then at him, not quite sure what to do. I look up at him and take a moment to look at his beautiful features, God why does he smell so good? I think. I look down and sigh, I don't want things to get awkward with any of these guys.
"Sit down," he motions toward the couch, "I'm going to go grab the last of the stuff and put it in the car."
"Do you need any help?" I ask.
"I got it, thanks," he jumps out of the room and I slump in my seat and look around awkwardly for something to do. I look towards the hallway and see the boys running back and forth, carrying things, laughing and hitting each other. I get a text so I check it and it's my mom telling me to have fun. I look back up again toward the hallway and see Taekwoon standing there looking down at me.
"Oh hi sunbae," I say.
"Hello," he says in almost a whisper.
"So... Are excited for the beach?" I ask, searching for something to talk about.
"Yes," he replies. He walks into the room and sits beside me. "You're dress is pretty."
"Thanks, I got it by a beach in California."
"Did you go to the beach a lot when you lived there?" he asks.
"Yeah, I lived in a pretty small beach town so I went with my friends pretty often," I say.
"We live pretty close to beaches here," he says.
"Mom told me we were moving to Busan but I didn't know how close we were to the beaches. I haven't really had much time or people to go to the beach with so I'm happy we're going, it'll be like back home," I say.
"You're not comfortable here then?" he says looking concerned.
"I'm fine, I'm just not used to it yet and I miss my friends."
"Oh... Well at least you've made some friends here, we'll do everything we can to make you feel more comfortable here" he says. He smiles at me and I smile back happy to know I have people who genuinely care about me here.
"Oh you're here?" Hyuk says as he walks into the room. I jump a little bit since his booming voice surprised me and turn towards him.
"Yes, Wonsik let me in," I reply once I've regained my composure.
"That's everything! Everyone get in the car!" Hakyeon yells.
"Let's go," Hyuk says motioning me to follow him. I stand up and he wraps his arm around my shoulders and we start for the door.
What the heck is with everyone wrapping their arms around me? I ask myself.
Jaehyuk and Hongbin get in the very back of the car and Hongbin motions me to get in the back with them but before I can do anything, Hyuk puts the seats up so I can't get back there. I give a Hongbin an awkward face as if to apologize but he just gives me a toothy smile and nods his head. I get in the car and sit in between Taekwoon and Hyuk while Hakyeon drives and Wonsik takes shotgun.
"Are you guys ready?!" Hakyeon yells excitedly. We all yell in affirmation and Hakyeon takes off. We scream sing music most of the way but my voice doesn't fit in at all with their angelic voices.
"Rigi what do you want to listen to?" Wonsik asks as he flips through his phone.
"I want to hear one of your songs sunbae," I reply.
"Why don't we listen to one of my songs instead," Jaehwan says with a smirk on his face.
"Because I can't sing and I don't think I know any of your songs," I reply honestly.
"You said you like 'Where Should I Go' right?" Wonsik asks.
"Yup," I say. The song starts and I rap the whole song to Taekwoon as he sits there without moving.
"Rigi, you know the whole song?" Hongbin says from behind me.
"Yeah, I listened to it one morning before school because I was bored and I really liked it," I say.
"You rap well," Taekwoon says.
"Yeah you even rap better than Wonsik," Jaehwan says. "Let's replace him!"
"Hey!" Wonsik yells.
"Okay no I cannot rap as well as he does," I say.
"Actually it was really good," Wonsik says. Suddenly he turns to look at me and says excitedly, "we should do a collab!"
I scoff and nod my head but Hakyeon takes this moment to teach life lesson, "Rigi you should have more confidence. I'm sure you're a great dancer and you rapped well. You should collab with Wonsik and you should help me choreograph sometime."
"It'd be fun," Wonsik says.
"Mmmhhh.... I'll think about it," I say hesitantly.
"You still owe me a dance," Hongbin whispers in my ear. I turn to look at him and smile.
"There's the beach!" Jaehwan yells suddenly. Both Hongbin and I jump back in shock but we laugh and everyone looks towards the ocean. It's been a long time since I'd been to the beach and it seemed so familiar and beautiful. After driving for a little longer we stop at a remote beach and jump out of the car. I help Wonsik grab some towels and we all take off toward the water.
Jaehwan and Hyuk lead the way as they rip off their shirts and kick off their shoes while they run towards the water.
Oh crap... I didn't even think about how they'd all be shirtless.... Please don't have abs please don't have abs, I pray wishfully.
"Come on Rigi!" Hongbin calls. I look toward him and I drop the towels on the sand.
Of course he has abs.... I think to myself. "Hold on," I spread out some of the towels and put my stuff down on mine. I take a deep breath and start walking toward the water with my dress still on. I let the water submerge my feet and feel them start sinking into the sand as the tide pulls out.
Hyuk, Jaehwan and Hakyeon are all playing and splashing around in the water already. Wonsik is getting himself ready where we set up and Taekwoon is kicking sand into the water.
Hongbin walks up behind me and asks, "are you going to get in the water?"
I feel a little embarrassed because I didn't think about how hot these guys were all going to be shirtless. "Umm... Yeah in a little bit," I say.
"The tide isn't too strong here so we can swim out pretty far too if you want," he says.
I guess if we're really deep in they won't really be able to see me anyway... I think. I muster up the courage and walk back to the stuff. I slip the dress off so that I'm just in my bathing suit. I look up and Wonsik seems to have stiffened a little bit. I blush and walk back toward the water. I smile awkwardly at Hongbin as I pass him and go far enough into the water so that it's up to my stomach.
Hongbin follows and when he's close enough to me again he says he likes my bathing suit.
"Thanks," I say sort of awkwardly. Just then Jaehwan comes out of no where and jumps on Hongbin's back. They wrestle and laugh while I cover myself from their splashing and back away laughing. I bump into someone and I jump suddenly and turn around to find a shirtless Taekwoon looking down at me.
"Sorry sunbae, I didn't see you," I apologize.
"Does this beach remind you of California?" he asks.
"Yes. I'm glad you guys brought me here, this is fun," I say.
"They're loud aren't they," he says looking at the boys as they wrestle in the water.
"Yes," I laugh, "but it's fun to have some loud friends sometimes. You and I are both fairly quiet and so having someone loud can liven up the mood."
He tilts his head then smiles, "do you want to swim out a little bit?"
"Sure," I say. We start swimming out until we're pretty far from the land but not too far from it or the boys. We swim around and talk a little bit more. After a while I feel something touch my foot and I shriek.
"You okay?" Taekwoon says, very alarmed.
"Something touched my foot!" I say as I swim towards him. I grab onto his arm and he puts his arm around me. "Let's go back to everyone else," I say trying to regain my composure. As we start swimming forward I feel my calf start cramping. No no no not now, I think so myself. I groan and suddenly can't swim anymore because of the intense pain in my leg. I yell a little bit and Taekwoon turns to look at me and sees my pained expression.
"Are you okay?!" he exclaims.
"Cramp," I utter. He puts my arm around his shoulder and starts swimming as fast as he can towards the beach. When we finally get there, the pain has eased a bit but Wonsik comes running toward us.
"Rigi are you okay?!" he turn to Taekwoon and asks, "what happened?!"
"She got a cramp when we started swimming back," he says.
"I'm okay now. Sorry I scared you guys. It just hurt really bad for a little bit. Thank you Taekwoon," I say. Just then everyone else huddles around me.
"Are you okay?!" they all yell in unison.
"I'm fine. It was just a cramp," I reply. I start to get up but stumble and Taekwoon catches me. "Thanks oppa."
.... Wait.... Did I just call him oppa, I think. "Oh I mean sunbae," I say quickly.
"It's okay, Rigi, you can call me oppa," he says softly. I look into his intense eyes, I see he isn't kidding and I don't quite know how to respond. I blush and stop leaning on him and look down and my feet in the sand.
"I told Rigi she could call me oppa a long time ago..." Jaehwan says thoughtfully. "She never did," he pouts.
Wonsik comes to my rescue once more and says, "come on Rigi, let's go sit down for a little bit so you can rest your leg."
"Okay," I say as he leads me towards the stuff.
"Do you guys just want to eat now?" Hyuk asks.
"Yes! Let's go get the food from the car," Hakyeon says. The two of them head towards the car and the rest of us sit in a circle waiting for them to come back. When they finally come back they set piles of boxes in the middle of all of us and we dig in. As I pick up a piece of kimbap, I look at the boys and try to figure out how they manage to be so skinny but eat so much.
Despite all the awkwardness I've been through with these 6 boys, I feel very at home and love them all very much. I smile as I look from face to face before I go back to eating. When we finish the food we groan and lay down on our towels so the food can settle a bit.
I lay on my stomach and let the sun bathe my back. I cross my arms and lay my head in them. I'm laying on the end so I can see everyone as they get comfortable.
Okay so Hyuk and Hongbin like me? I ask myself as I try to figure everything out. Who left the note then? It has to be one of them right? Maybe if I can get a hold of some of their handwriting I'll be able to tell. Once some time has passed we decide to go back in the water for a little bit since I don't have to be home for another two hours. This time, despite my constant reassurance, they all stay very close to me. We swam around and played games in the water.
Hongbin is chosen to be it in a game of tag. He swims around trying to tag anyone to no avail until he singles me out. He starts swimming toward me but having basically grown up in the water I easily dodge him. Suddenly I stop and he's no where to be seen.
"Where'd he go?!" I call out to everyone else.
"Watch out Rigi!" Wonsik calls I look down and see Hongbin swimming up from under the water. I shriek as he lifts me and puts me over his shoulder.
"Rigi's it!" he says, still carrying me. I lift my head to look at the other boys with pursed lips then let myself hang limply over his shoulder in defeat.
"Wait what time is it?" I say suddenly remembering Jisang.
"I'll go check," Wonsik says. He swims out to shore and runs to where we have all our stuff. He looks at our phone and yells," it's 5:30! We should get going!"
"Oh crap," I mutter. Without bothering to put me down, Hongbin makes it to the shore and starts walking to our stuff.
"Hongbin you can put me down now," I say.
"Nah, I like having you to myself," he says s he continues walking. He kneels to grab our things without stopping, throws it in the car and sets me in the very back seat with him.
Jaehwan comes running and throws his stuff in the back recklessly and jumps on the other side of me. "Rigi's sitting back here with us?!" He hugs me tightly and I feel uncomfortable with so much of our skin touching.
"Okay Jaehwan you can let go now," I mutter. Once he lets me go I turn around and reach for my bag and pull out my dress. I slip it on quickly and slump a little in my seat, feeling more comfortable now.
Hongbin looks down at his bare torso then back up at me. "Sorry, does this make you uncomfortable," he starts to reach for his stuff when I tell him it's okay and not necessary.
"Oh yeah, no girl would ever want Hongbin to put on a shirt," Jaehwan says. Hongbin reaches over and smacks the back of his head "hey!" he yells as he give Hongbin a dirty looks.
Every one packs into the car, Hyuk and Taekwoon both look surprised to see me in the back with Hongbin now but they don't say anything and sit down. We start driving home and this time we entertain ourselves by asking Jaehwan do animal impressions. We finally get home and I jump out of the car as soon as Hyuk pulls down the seat so we can get out. I grab my things and thank the boys again for taking care of me and taking me to the beach.
"No problem Rigi, it was a lot of fun. We should do it again soon," Hakyeon says.
"See you soon," says Wonsik. He, Hakyeon and Jaehwan start grabbing the rest of the stuff and carry it into the house.
"Rigi can I ask you something in private?" Hyuk asks.
"Oh... Umm actually I should probably start getting ready to meet Jisang and Aetae. Call me tonight?" I say feeling slightly afraid of what he might ask.
"Can I get your phone number too?" Hongbin asks.
"Me too," Taekwoon says.
"Oh yeah," I hold out my hand for their phones and quickly enter my number. "I gotta go guys, see you later." I say as I run away from the awkwardness.