Notes From The Sea ✓

2

The smell of fresh pressed coffee hit Jeongguk's nostrils once he opened the glass door from the cafe. The familiar bell jingled, indicating that someone had entered, causing some people to glance up for a second or two.

Eyes darting around the place to find a likeable spot to sit down at, he made his way over to a small table in the corner, next to the window.

He sat down on the chair while getting out of his coat, hanging it on the seat next to him whilst looking outside.

It wasn't a busy day. A few people entered the shop every now and then, but apart from a small group of teenagers who sat laughing at their jokes, Jeongguk was the only other customer in the room.

"Excuse me, sir, can I get you something?" Averting his gaze from the outside to his right, a waitress stood next to him with a friendly smile.

He shook his head,
"No, thank you. I'm waiting for a friend, I'll order when he arrives."

The girl nodded in understanding and walked away, heading towards the high schoolers around the other table.

Jeongguk sighed, clasping his hands together. His eyes had already found their way back outside again, as the cafe was just around the corner of the street, giving him a view of the sea.

An instant smile crept up on his lips.

That's when the bell jingled and soon enough a voice spoke up.

"Jeongguk-ah, it's been a while since we've met in person." His smile widened at the sight of his best friend. He immediately jumped up to hug him.

"Seokjin-hyung! Indeed, it's been a while. I'm happy to see you again!" Seokjin grinned while sitting down.

"Same here, I'm glad to see you're doing okay. What did you want to talk about? Is there something on your mind?"

Nodding, the younger sunk back into his chair.

"Yeah, there is. You see, like I was telling you before, I got a call." He glanced at his hero who nodded, as a sign for him to continue.

"I didn't look at the caller ID and it turned out to be my mom.. And she, um─ said some things.." Jeongguk had to gulp the forming lump in his throat away, staring at the oak table in front of him.

A loud groan was heard from across of him, Jin already knew what he was trying to say. He got a soft hold on the younger's hand and squeezed it a little, trying to reassure him.

"Jeongguk, you mustn't let her and her words get to you. You know that every single thing she said, isn't true, right? You're the kindest and sweetest guy ever, you don't deserve to be treated that way. You're perfect just the way you are."

He smiled, the look on Jin's face easing him and his troublesome thoughts.

"Thank you. Really. I seriously don't know what I'd do without you."

Seokjin flipped his imaginary long hair back, resting his head on the palm of his hand shortly after. "I know right, I'm sure that if I wouldn't have helped you that day, you would still be standing on the road."

Jeongguk chuckled, shaking his head.
"Let's order, I need something sweet."

A little while later, they found themselves enjoying a piece of chocolate cake. Seokjin had a cappuccino while Jeongguk gulped the last bits of his caramel macchiato down.

"So, how did the online exam go?" Jin asked curiously, already stabbing another piece of cake onto his fork.

The other shrugged, a smile on his lips.
"It went well, I guess. I had a good feeling about it. I want the result back before I decide whether it went good or not."

The elder chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "I don't think you need the result, though. You seriously never had a 'B' before."

"I did, and I'm still mad about it." He huffed, putting down his fork and crossing his arms. Jin laughed, "That was on the third test, you were just beginning to learn!"

"That might be true, but that doesn't make up for the fact that I'm mad about it. Do you know how ugly that 'B' looks in the row of 'A's?!"

Seokjin pointed his chocolate covered fork at him. "Nerd."

Gasping, the younger's hands found their way to his chest dramatically. "Nerd?! I'm not a nerd! That's called professionalism."

"Sure," Jin snickered, "Mr. Professional, you need to get yourself one of those divers-job's soon. How's that site from those tests called?"

Jeongguk bit his lip, thinking. "I'm not sure, I'll send you the link later if you want. The company who created that site has a lot of professional divers in service. Some of them teach in real life."

Seokjin dropped his fork, "Dude! You should've thought about that sooner! You can try to contact them. Since they have an overview of your grades, perhaps you'll get yourself a job there!"

His eyes widened, "That's not a bad idea, actually! Contacting them shouldn't be difficult, but I need to get my last result back first."

Seokjin hummed, knowing he wanted that last 'A' to complete the row.

Jeongguk glanced back outside. The previously bright blue sky had turned grey instead, signalling it was about to rain for a while.

Wind gushed past the window and the waves of the sea slowly began getting rougher, aggressively slamming against the rocks and splashing backwards.
As time passed, the weather only became worse and worse.

In the meantime Seokjin was laughing at his own joke, however Jeongguk couldn't help but feel drawn to the waters.
He felt a strange feeling throughout his body, like something was pulling him closer towards it.

"Hey, Gguk, you okay? You've been staring outside for a long time now.." Seokjin gently shook his best friend's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh─ yeah, I'm fine. It's just─" He glanced back at the depths, his brown orbs widening at what he caught a glimpse of. He swore he could see the tail again, disappearing back under the surface.

"─Nevermind, it's nothing. Hey, I should go. I still need to do a few things." He quickly stood up, hastily put his coat back on and grabbed some money out of his pocket, leaving it on the table in front of him.

"What's with the sudden rush?" Jin raised his brow.

"No time to explain, but you don't have to worry! It was really nice seeing you again hyung, we definitely need to do this again sometime soon!"

With that he nearly ran out of the cafe, causing some people to frown and look at his disappearing figure wierdly.

Seokjin shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Whenever you say I don't have to worry, that's exactly when I must."