LIGHTHOUSE ° you . kth

two

ʽ CHARM ʼ ˑ ₂
━━━━━ 〈 二 〉 ━
「 a week ago ▴ sunny 」

THERE seemed to be an underlying assumption that teens in the city saw too much gray in their everyday life. It was as if the onslaught of urban architecture and vehicular pollution was an incurable disease, and the only remedy was a dose of fresh countryside air to prevent youthful souls from combusting into a ball of flames (which would inexplicably occur before exam season.)

Therefore, as they did the years before (and the ones before that, and so on and so forth) the school had mandated a trip to the sandy beaches of Pohang in the chilly month of September, as a way to unwind and relax. Because god forbid children visit a beach during the summer. Skin exposure amongst teenagers was not something teachers wanted to deal with.

Amongst the upperclassmen, this trip was godsent. That break they desperately needed to pull themselves away from their studies and the upcoming stress of adulthood. It may as well have been a trip to the Bahamas, with how giddy young men and women became when the words 'beach' and 'lighthouse' drifted into earshot.

Though you weren't the most studious of your peers and pressure never strangled you as it did others, you just welcomed any opportunity to avoid academics. And that included a trip to the countryside. (Of course, Pohang really couldn't be considered the country.)

"Seonhwa, are you going to buy that?" Minah asked, gesturing to a fragile silver necklace threaded through a glass seashell. Every year she would ask, and every year you would decline using the same excuse of not wanting to spoil friendships with selfishness.

It was a myth fabricated by teenage romantics, a story spun from hearsay and young delusions. This particular pendant was a love charm. Something students would give to their significant others as a gift - a silent confession. One would simply have to present the necklace to another, and the implication was obvious.

"I'm in love with you."

And you held the biggest crush on your friend and local heartthrob for the longest time. But you also knew - you were the unlucky passenger in the metaphorical bus headed straight for the dreaded friendzone. (If you hadn't already been parked there for the past few years.)

"It's your last year in this school, and our last trip to the beach." The frivolous girl whined, waving the plastic packet in front of you as she tempted you with all the power of a meddling wingwoman.

"It's now or never." She finished, batting thick eyelashes, as she presented you with an ultimatum you couldn't refute.

A stubborn scoff was what you gave her when you snatched the accessory from her wriggling fingers and finally capitulated to the request she had been pushing onto you for the past five years of your high school career.

That night, wrapped in the radiant veil of twilight stood two quiet teenagers by the oceanside. Only the soothing sounds of waves crashing against shale filled the dry autumn air, effectively drowning out the rhythmic beating of your chest and trembling sighs escaping frozen lips.

As the clock ticked to the odd hour of eleven, you would drum up all your courage and shove the necklace into oblivious hands of Taehyung.

No words were needed, and you were certain the furious flush burning against your cheeks was all he needed to confirm that this was exactly what he thought it was.

Taehyung stammered, his face now resembling the exact shade of red painting your flesh. You swore he had never seemed cuter than he did standing there - with bleached blonde wisps blowing past shaky dark eyes, and windswept whorls whipping against fair skin that rarely greeted the sun.

"W-when we get back home, you'll know my answer." He gulped, averting his eyes until they locked onto the pair of tattered leather brogues sinking into wet sand.

Maybe it had been your delusions clouding your judgment, or perhaps it was the faint glow of the moon that played with your sight, but you had seen it - the slight curve of his lips, the boyish grin he tried so hard to suppress.

That night seven days ago, you intertwined slender fingers together in prayer, desperately hoping that the smile you had seen growing on his lips reciprocated the feelings you harboured for him.

▃ ▃ ▃
AUTHOR'S NOTE

flashback chapter!
aldjs its a bit slow moving
but it gets slightly more interesting
at like...ch 5? lol thats what i said in
summer daze and you all know what
i did there hoho! jkjk i promise there
won't be any trucks involved.

♡