Stranger In The Sand || Yungi ✔️

8

12:03

I walk down the cement pathway to the beach, my converse crunching on the small pebbles and sand that were on top. I was three minutes away from reaching the beach. The trees around me shimmied in the gentle, warm wind.

When the cement began to turn into sand, I noticed a dim light outlining some of the trees. The closer I get, the brighter the sand is.

I slow my pace and stop in my tracks as I see a blanket laid out on the sand along with a couple lanterns placed beside it. It looked like someone was trying to set up a date.

"Boo!" Hands land on my shoulder, making me let out an awfully loud scream.

I spin around, loosing my balance and falling on my butt only to see Mingi laughing. I frown, "you're a dick."

He nods, taking in deep breaths and wiping his eyes, "sorry, I didn't plan on scaring you, but here we are. Nice to see you, stranger."

"Will you ever stop calling me that?" I question, accepting the help he offers when I go to stand.

"Probably not."

"Perfect," I say sarcastically, crossing my arms and raising one eyebrow. "Did you set this up or are we crashing someone's proposal?"

He looks behind me, "oh, I set it up."

A slight pit of nervousness grows in my stomach, "Why? You got a date?"

He laughs, but nods, "yeah, he just got here."

I pout, crossing my arms, "what's his name and address?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Because you're- because!"

"You're adorable. I set it up for us. Calm down," he laughs again, gently grasping my arm and leading me up to the area.

He placed it far enough away from the water, but close enough that you could feel the slight breeze atop it. I slip off my shoes, crawling onto the blanket.

"So, why did you set this up?" I question, oblivious to the entire thing.

He seems to grow nervous by the way he refuses eye contact and he keeps picking at his fingers.

"Well, uh... another date, I guess. I mean, if that's okay with you. We already discussed our feelings a-and I just thought it'd be nice to have a date."

I smile softly, taking his hand and smoothing it out onto my own, "of course that's okay with me. I like you, a lot. This little stunt is cute, and I appreciate it."

He beams at my words, his confidence growing with every sentence. The reassurance of everything was all it took to make it better.

"Let's look at the stars," he mentions, leaning forward to turn off each lantern.

The sky flashes before us. Instead of being black, it was a deep blue that the moon helped create. Each star twinkled at different times, making it look like they were winking at us.

"You know," Mingi begins, "I always talk about the constellations and how pretty they are, but the shiniest and most beautiful stars are the ones I see in your eyes."

My lips part, my eyes gazing at him in shock and embarrassment. I take a second to let his statement sink in, and once it does, my face lights on fire.

"Y-you're mean!" I stutter out, hitting his shoulder a few times, but not hard. "Making me get all flustered!"

He chuckles, stopping my hand from hitting him and instead pulling it close to his face and kissing the middle knuckle.

I blush further, "agh, you're too cheesy."

"You love it."

"I hate you."

"Nah."

"Don't nah me!" I shout, taking my hand back. "But... thank you. I've never gotten such a strong compliment before."

"You'll be getting a lot more later on, so get used to it, stranger."

I shake my head, shooting over and resting my head on his shoulder, "you're a romantic, hm?"

"I try."

"You've done well, Gi," I praise, closing my eyes and enjoying my surroundings. "Did you know most fish represent love? A lot of people say that about fish, and they're right. Especially the Koi fish."

"Hm, yeah, my other grandma used to say that all the time. Fish are such beautiful creatures, no wonder they represent something special."

I nod, saying nothing further. I let him say whatever he needs to say, because I can tell he's holding something back.

"It's the eighth day of knowing each other. At the bench, we first saw each other. You introduced yourself and we went on from there. You have no idea how happy I am that you came and talked to me. This week has been one of the best weeks of my life. It's crazy to develop such strong feelings about someone in just under a week. People would call us crazy. They'd especially call you crazy because you could've easily been kidnapped."

I roll my eyes, continuing to listen.

"Anyway, we still have a good two months before school starts, and I'd really like to spend it with you. I just don't know how long I can wait until I can ask you. So I'll do it now."

I sit up, confused. He observes my face before saying the words that have been hard to think about.

"Yunho, will you be my boyfriend?"

My heart pounds against my chest as I nod and smile like a lunatic, "I will! Oh my god, I will!" I tackle him in a hug, sending us both flat to the sand instead of on the blanket.

"You really caught me off guard there," I giggle, "but! Can I... get that kiss now?"

He connects our eyes, nodding. We sit up, his hand resting on my chin as my hands grasp his arms. He takes my face in both of his hands before leaning forward. He teases me again, kissing my forehead and going down to my nose. But he doesn't stop.

Our noses brush against each other, our heads tilted just in the slightest. I feel his hot breath fanning over my lips, sending shivers up my spine.

He places his lips on mine, and heat grows on my face without missing a beat. They were much softer than I had anticipated, but they were warm and inviting as well.

He pulls away first, biting his lip, "thank you for everything. Thank you for saying hi. Thank you for telling me your story. Thank you for just being there when I had no one. Thank you for being Jeong Yunho."

I smile and bow my head, "it was nothing."

"No," he states sternly, lifting up my chin to meet my eyes, "it was my everything."

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- Author's note coming soon -