before the sunrise.

five.

i know i said i wouldn't finish this in my author's note, but i have decided to give this an ending it deserves. ehe. it won't be done too soon, as i am still working on chapters for this (and homerun and the rest...) but i can assure you this will be a story i hope to give justice to. thank you!

and oh, slight smut alert at the end. teehee. 

—•—•—•—

a week passes. not fast but not slow, either. it's an odd yet comfortable pace: relaxing. still too hot, though, and jaebum finds salty water irritable when he did venture in the shallow shore of the pacific ocean. beautiful, of course but like how a painting is beautiful. only to look at, to gaze and marvel at without experiencing. all his disputable opinion, of course.

the plastic slap of flip-flops on sandy bare feet trail, progressively louder as someone nears. lain on a beach chair, protecting his skin from getting burnt by the shadow of a large yellow and white beach umbrella sponsored by the hotel, jaebum doesn't toss his head in acknowledgment, doesn't lower his sunglasses to look. he knows who.

"bummie—" the voice is a tone similar to his but raspier, plagued by countless nicotine.

definitively a smaller man with a farmer tan and green-blue aloha shirt, he stood before jaebum with hands tucked into deep pockets of tan cargo shorts, visage obstructed by a pair of dark brown aviator sunglasses.

"appa, i'm too old for you to keep calling me that." despite the protest, jaebum's softer whine disputed the content of his words.

his dad, face wrinkled with laugh lines, chuckled. "you'll always be my child. that means i'll always call you that."

arguing has always been futile with his parents, so jaebum surrenders without so much of a roll of eyes. no longer was he a rebellious teenager.

"enjoying the beach?" his dad continues, gaze set on the horizon. noon, the golden yellow sun burns brightly in the blue sky.

arms folded behind his head, jaebum tries for a shrug. "i guess? still not my scene."

"you've always been city." kicking sand onto the feet of the beach chair, his dad acknowledged. "i'm surprised you have been here as long as you have."

"well, sometimes i need a break." too much pollution, too many people and not even privacy. the essentials, all jaebum subjected himself to to become a singer.

listening, absorbing the light complaints of his son, a fatherly smile materialized, wind blowing through pepper hair. "by the way, some of my associates will like an autograph. their children are huge fans." then he waved somewhere else.

curious, jaebum sat up to peak and noticed a group of employees in matching hawaiian tops and wicket hats. "associates or your employees?"

"both," his dad admitted with a laugh, patting jaebum's leg.

as a resort entrepreneur and owner of the hotel they currently vacationed at (along with many scattered around the world), im jaeho is a formidable and intelligent business man. he knows when to make deals, when to invest, how to differentiate greed from logic: the tricks and the trades to maintain a powerful empire. jaebum admires his dad, his diligence and gusto, and he's more or less the same with his career and music.

hence, the break, extracting himself from a hectic situation he can't stomach any longer.

"i'll give them to you later. how long are you staying here?"

his dad places his sight back on the calm waves. "until the end of the week. then i'll be flying to thailand to take care of business there. let's have dinner before i go—unless you're too busy not getting a tan." a cheeky jab.