Chapter Text
They were supposed to enjoy this trip to Australia to rest a little. After the harrowing school year, a vacation is what they all needed. And when Changbin told them his dad could fly them out with him to Sydney since he had a few business meetings there, they all immediately jumped on the occasion. Which is why they were here, on their first day off, supposed to be enjoying the fabulous Bondi beach and playing in the waves. But no, of course that couldn’t happen so simply, not with their chaotic group of friends, Jisung thought exasperatedly.
Their day had started nicely, it really had. With Changbin and Minho resting on the beach under the big umbrella, Jisung and Jeongin going to buy some ice pops from a beach vendor and Hyunjin and Seungmin diving straight for the ocean, trying to see who could swim the farthest.
“Man, look at them, how can they be so handsome?”
Minho’s exclamation immediately caught Jisung’s attention as he and Jeongin made their way back to the towels, ice pops in hand.
“Who’s handsome?” asked Jeongin curiously, looking around them.
“I am, obviously”, retorted Changbin with a straight face, not looking back up from his book.
Jisung snorted at that answer but his eyes followed the tip of Minho’s finger, where his friend was pointing out exactly who he was talking about. The Korean was met with a blond, pale and very ripped boy, sporting the iconic black swim trunks with the word Lifeguard etched on the back. He seemed to be about their age, and was standing next to a buggy, megaphone in hand, calling out instructions to swimmers to guide them to a safer swimming zone.
“Damn, even his accent is hot” Minho was still giving out compliments, obviously thirsting after the boy.
“Seriously hyung? Just yesterday you kept ranting about how the Australian accent was impossible to understand” Jeongin called his older friend out, looking unimpressed. Though with the pop in his mouth, it made him look more like an annoyed kitten than a disappointed teenager.
“Yeah, but that was before I heard him talking” Minho said, matter-of-factly.
Jisung got distracted from their bickering when the lifeguard in question started talking in the megaphone once more.
“Oi mate, that’s a dangerous spot you’re in. Swim back over to the beach please, you gotta stay in between the red and yellow flags”
Okay, Jisung had to agree that that voice was pretty sexy, the thick accent only adding to the overall gorgeous appearance of the boy.
“But wait, you said they look handsome earlier, did you spot more lifeguards?” Jisung asked his friend, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah, you missed the second one. He was totally adorable, all small and cute and shining as bright as the sun”. This time it was Changbin who spoke, deigning to finally look up from his book and over at his friends. “They were laughing together, and then he went back inside the lifeguard tower while this one stayed out” he pointed at the lifeguard on the shore. “But yeah, looks like we found the prime spot for lifeguard-observation” he adds nonchalantly, eyes swiping the beach around them to see if he could spot any other sexy life savior on duty.
Damn, if Changbin approved Minho’s choice in men, it must mean that the other lifeguard was at least as handsome, if not more, than the one that was standing near them right now.
A shriek resonates from the mouth of the youngest of the group as a very wet and very cold Hyunjin flopped over Minho’s lap and Changbin’s legs, pulling out groans of disgust from the older two.
“What are you guys conspiring about? You should come swim with me and Minnie, the water is so nice!” Hyunjin almost shouted at them, excited from his time in the sea, long hair dripping everywhere.
“Watch out I’ve got a book!” Changbin protested loudly, pushing Hyunjin over and into the sand, trying to put the biggest distance in between the overexcited puppy and his precious book.
Seungmin walked up to them a little more calmly, but with a wide smile on his face. “Seriously guys, you should come, it’s really nice. There are some little waves, nothing too big but they’re pretty fun to jump in! And the water is getting all warm from the sun, it’s really relaxing”.
“I’m not in the mood to go swimming” Changbin quickly said, eyes going back to his book.
“I haven’t finished my ice pop yet” whined Jeongin, words mumbled by the sugary treat in his mouth.
“I prefer watching the hot lifeguard” said Minho unashamedly, gaze fixed on the blond boy that was now chatting with a mother and her kids, ruffling their hair and allowing them into the buggy.
“Hmmph, you’re all just a bunch of cowards!” Hyunjin crossed his arms, pouting at his friend’s rejection. His eyes opened wide a fraction of a second later though, as a genius idea struck him. Elbowing Seungmin, he pointed to their friends and whispered-yelled “Do the thing! Come on Minnie, I want them to swim with us!”
Seungmin did want his friends to come with them, so he complied pretty easily. “Guys…. please?” he said in such a pretty voice that all of their heads turned to him as if hypnotized. And that was their fatal mistake, since as soon as their gazes were on him, Seungmin pulled the biggest, widest, cutest puppy eyes he ever did. It was his ultimate weapon, and he knew none of them could refuse him anything when he pulled them off.
A collective groan was heard from their group, as well as a few cooing noises, and Jisung couldn’t help himself as he pinched Seungmin’s cheeks in his fingers. “Aigoo, how are you so cute Seungminnie? Alright, alright, we’ll go. Right guys?” Jisung added in an almost threatening tone, daring their friends to make their second youngest sad.
A chorus of approval sounded, nobody having the heart to say no to Seungmin or to suffer Jisung’s wrath. Satisfied with that answer, Jisung stood up, brushing some sand away from his legs before following Hyunjin and Seungmin who were already running back to the water, weaving in between tourists and beachgoers tanning on their towels. Looking back, he made sure that the rest of their group was following, rolling his eyes as he surprised Minho sending a wink to the lifeguard as they passed him. The blond Aussie seemed surprised for a second, before grinning, revealing a dimpled smile and winking back at Minho.
Fake gagging at the obvious flirting, Jisung decided to forget about them and focus on racing Seungmin to the water.
Felix laughed as Chris recounted his most recent rescue, involving a kangaroo floater and two very drunk girls.
“Oh my god mate, really? She puked on the board?” he asked with wide eyes, holding his belly from having laughed too much.
“Yeah, she sure did! I had to clean it up after, it was horrible” his blond friend made a disgusted face, as they both trekked over the beach and to the central lifeguard tower. They were both sporting the black swim trunks and the light blue shirts, both etched with the words Lifeguard on it. Felix brought a hand up over his forehead to hide his eyes from the glare of the midday sun.
“I’m glad I wasn’t there to see that” he laughs good-heartedly at his friend, as they pass by a few groups of people resting under their umbrellas.
Chris smiled back but seemed distracted as he looked back for a brief moment. Intrigued, Felix looked back as well, only to see two guys staring straight at them from their lounging place on their towels. Lifting an eyebrow, he glanced back at Chris and mouthed the word cute to him. This time it was Chris’ turn to laugh, though he did agree to the statement with a cheeky nod of the head.
They walked a bit farther, out of earshot, before Chris leaned into Felix’s side. “I wouldn’t mind saving one of those two” he wiggled his eyebrows. Felix’s deep laugh echoed around them once more as he elbowed his friend in the ribs.
“How unprofessional of you! Our relationship with the people of Bondi must strictly remain work-related Chris, as you once told me when I arrived on my first day: “we’re not here to ogle pretty ladies or drool at handsome guys, we’re here to be heroes”” Felix said in his best imitation of his older friend’s voice.
“Oi, brat!” Chris took a hazardous swing at Felix’s head, who dodged quickly, cackling maniacally while running the rest of the way back to the foot of the lifeguard tower.
He waited for his colleague at the bottom of the flight of stairs, smirking devilishly. Chris took his time joining him, taking his shirt off on the way and throwing it at Felix’s face as soon as he was in reach, gaining a noise of protest from the younger.
“Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t think the same thing about those guys back there” Chris lifted an eyebrow, pointing behind them at where the two cute guys were still lounging on their towels.
“Maybe, but I didn’t say it out loud” Felix said cockily, swinging Chris’ shirt around teasingly.
“Whatever brat, I’m taking a buggy and going down to the north side. You better get your ass up there and keep me updated on the situation in the water” Chris’ on-duty tone reappeared as he went to one of the buggies parked at the foot of the stairs, pulling the keys out and climbing in it. “And don’t you dare get distracted by “pretty things” on the beach” he warns in a playful tone, lifting an eyebrow at Felix before starting the buggy and rolling down towards the shoreline.
Felix’s laugh accompanied his friend, the pink haired Aussie climbing up the stairs and chucking his friend’s shirt on a chair as soon as he entered the lifeguard office. Greeting his other colleague that was working at the tower that day, Felix settled down at his side of the desk in front of the big window, taking out the binoculars and surveying the water with practiced ease. He truly loved his job, and the sense of usefulness and pride he got after every successful rescue or injury treated. He also couldn’t argue about enjoying certain “distractions on the beach” like Chris liked to call them.
He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he managed to find the two guys from earlier through his binoculars, though this time there were more boys present under the umbrella. One in particular, with his cheeks puffed out from eating an ice pop, was quite to Felix’s taste.
He enjoyed watching the scene of the boys seeming to play around with each other for a few more seconds before mentally scolding himself, sharp eyes going back to scan the water and occasionally direct the lifeguards on the beach to people that needed assistance.
Jisung enjoyed swimming as much as the next guy. The water at Bondi was warm, and there was a nice current that made small waves form, giving the boys a lot of opportunities to play in the surf and splash each other around. But of course, any outing involving the six of them could not just go as planned, that would simply be too easy.
That’s why the brunette was keeping an eye around him, trying to see what would be going wrong today, for surely something would. In particular, he kept an eye on Minho, as he knew his friend just couldn’t swim to save his life. Which begged the question as to why he even was in the water in the first place, but no one could resist Seungmin’s puppy eyes, okay? Plus, they were staying relatively close to the shore, in places where their feet still touched the sandy bottom. Sure, there were some currents and other swimmers that tended to back them up further into the water, but they made sure to check in with Minho every now and then if he was still fine.
They were truly having a great time, Hyunjin and Jeongin competing in a swimming race further out into the water, while Seungmin was sitting atop Changbin, and Jisung supported Minho on his own shoulders, the four of them being in the middle of an epic chicken fight. Seungmin was currently pushing them back, using all his strength against Minho who was just clinging onto Jisung for dear life, powerful thighs wrapping almost painfully around Jisung’s neck.
“Hey, stop strangling me to death!” he yelled up at his partner, lifting his head to look at the other browned haired boy. That was a fatal mistake though, as it made Minho’s weight shift backwards and made him lose his balance completely, falling back and tugging Jisung fully under the water with him.
He was kind of expecting it, so the boy didn’t really mind, but another splash resounded right on top of him as it seemed Seungmin had also been pulled in by Minho, now floating right above Jisung. The brunette puffed his cheeks out, holding his breath for a little longer and swimming backwards slightly to finally be able to emerge and take in a much-needed gulp of air.
“Jeez are you all trying to kill me?” he shouted playfully at his friends, glaring at them. Changbin could only laugh from where he stood, as he took in Jisung’s mop of hair that fell half-haphazardly in his face like a bird’s nest. Seungmin was also smiling, but his amusement fell quickly and was replaced with panic in a mere moment.
“Guys, where’s Minho?” he asked breathlessly, spinning on himself to try and spot their missing friend.
Hearing this, Jisung’s blood ran cold and he turned around as well, wiping his head left and right to try and spot the dancer, breath quickening in fear.
“GUYS!” all three of them heard the scream for help clear as day, turning in unison to the deeper part of the water, where the clear sandy bottom disappeared, and the water turned from a light blue to an ominous dark one. There, fighting to stay afloat, Minho was seemingly going further back, more and more out of their reach with each passing second.
Not even thinking twice, Jisung dove straight for him, arms working on overtime to reach his friend that was trying to keep his head up and out of the water, failing miserably. He didn’t know if it was the adrenalin, but he made it to where Minho was in just a few seconds, arms wrapping themselves securely around the drowning boy’s waist to support him as he floated on his back to keep them both up.
Minho took in a big gulp of air, coughing out some water as his hands dug painfully into Jisung’s skin, where he was holding onto him like his life depended on it. Which honestly, at this moment, it kind of did.
Swiveling his head around to try and get help from someone else, the brunette frowned as he saw his friends that were way farther from them than he first thought. They were trying to swim towards them, but it looked like they weren’t making any progress going forward or backwards, only drifting to the side instead. They were shouting for them, Hyujin and Jeongin now also aware of the situation and desperately trying to help them, but it seemed that the invisible force that was pulling Jisung and Minho inexorably deeper into the ocean was also pulling their friends away from them.
The exhausted dancer was trembling and gasping in his arms, and his own muscles were starting to cramp as he kicked his legs under them to stay afloat. He knew something had to go wrong today; he just knew it! But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight to make it go right again. If Jisung was one thing, it was stubborn. And it was not some mysterious sea-force pulling them away and trying to drown them that was gonna ruin this trip for them, oh no sir!
So, he kept on paddling, kept on moving his legs and holding Minho up, arms shaking as his head kept slipping more and more under the water, his only purpose right now being his friend’s safety, until either a miracle happened, or he just couldn’t hold on anymore.
Jisung was determined to hold on until that miracle.
Felix had just finished treating a little kid’s scratched knee, giving the boy a bright yellow plaster and a well-deserved lollipop, before ruffling his hair and sending him back to his mother, the kid already having forgotten everything about being hurt. The Aussie smiled at the pure innocence of the child, admiring his braveness and resilience in the face of adversity.
Going back to his post, his binoculars found their usual place over his eyes, quickly scanning the water to see if he missed anything. His scan ended abruptly on a group of familiar faces in the water, his walkie talkie coming up to his lips almost unconsciously. After a few more seconds of staring to analyze the situation, he quickly opened the channel that was linked to Chris’ walkie talkie.
“Mate, I think your wish is about to come true” he said quickly, eyes never leaving the group of boys that he spotted in the water, off to the north side of the beach.
His radio crackled to life, as his friend answer back. “What do you mean?”
“Remember those two guys on the beach earlier? Well, they got a bunch of friends, and it looks like they’re all swimming off the north side, a bit to your left. See them? They’re getting caught in a rip, all six of them. There’s two of them at the back that I’m particularly worried about, they don’t seem in too good of a shape” Felix’s worried but professional tone came through, making sure Chris had all the information he needed to make the judgment call to go down there or not.
There was a moment of silence, in which Felix knew his blond friend was scanning the water, trying to analyze the situation and how he would go about this if he needed to make a rescue. Then, the walkie talkie lit up once more.
“Yeah, I’m going in. At least two of them need help and I’m not sure about the others yet. I’m gonna need back up down here mate” Chris quickly answered, before his line cut off as Felix knew he was taking his board off the buggy and paddling out to sea.
Felix looked at his colleague, knowing he followed their exchange and silently asking for permission to leave his lookout post and go help Chris out. There was a free buggy right in front of the tower and if he took it now, he would be the first to arrive to the scene and be able to bring the much-needed help. His fellow lifeguard nodded at him, telling him he would take care of surveying the water, and that was all the pink haired boy needed to know before he was dashing downstairs and jumping in the cart, racing to the north side of the beach.
Weaving in between families building sandcastles, joggers, and sunbathing tourists, Felix managed to make it in under two minutes to the spot where Chris left his own buggy. He looked out to the sea with his binoculars once more, wanting to see if anyone else of the group was in imminent danger of drowning. What he saw at first reassured him, as at least four out of the six boys that he had spotted were on their way to the beach, without much difficulty. His blood ran cold though, when he spotted Chris paddling as hard as he could back to shore, with two boys on his board.
“FELIX! OXYGEN!” The pink haired boy heard his friend shout across the waves, and he dropped everything, rushing to the back of the buggy to the first aid kit that was stored there. He brought the big white box with him to the limit between the dry and the wet sand, right in front of where Chris was paddling furiously, ready to take over with the medical side of the rescue. He quickly rang the tower through his walkie talkie, telling them to call an ambulance for a possible double drowning.
The four other boys from the group of friends that had managed to get out of the rip on their own all arrived on shore at the same time, looking exhausted but most of all worried for their two missing ones. Chris landed his board on the sand at that moment, one boy stumbling off on his own into the surf, but the other one was limp as Chris hoisted him up, gripping under his armpits and dragging him to where Felix had the first kit open and the oxygen mask ready.
“I found him holding the other one up above the water, but his head was under and I think he swallowed a few mouthfuls”, the blond lifeguard hurried to explain as he laid their patient down on the sand, Felix turning him on his side so he could spit out the water he had no doubt taken in. He took the boy’s pulse while checking his chest for any sign of breathing, seeing a small rise and fall happening as the browned haired one took in small gasping intakes of air. Not wasting another minute, Felix slipped the oxygen mask over the round cheeks of the boy as Chris brought the second rescued boy over, wanting to make sure he was fine as well.
Quickly, the four friends formed a half-circle around Felix, Chris, the unconscious boy and the second drowning teenager that Chris had managed to sit down next to the first aid kit.
“Oi, mate, can you hear me?” Felix’s low voice called out to the passed-out kid, hands clapping his cheeks, trying to get a reaction out of him. “You gotta open your eyes for me mate, I need to check on you. Your friends are all here too, come on mate just open your eyes” he kept on calling to the boy, pinching his trapezius to try and wake him up.
“How’s he?” Chris asked worriedly, curls dripping wet over his face as he’s taking the pulse of the shocked boy sitting in front of him.
“He’s barely breathing, but his pulse is strong. I wouldn’t do CPR right now, but he might need help getting rid of all that water that he swallowed” Felix answered professionally, one hand staying in his patient’s neck to track his pulse.
“Jisung…” the shocked second rescued patient murmured in a raspy voice, looking over at his unconscious friend with pain in his eyes.
“Jisung? Is that his name?” Chris asked the sitting boy tentatively, getting a nod in response. “Okay, we’re gonna help Jisung, don’t worry. We’re gonna take care of him” he assured the haggard boy, wanting to calm him down a little.
“Please help our friend” another one of the boys came to kneel behind the sitting boy, speaking in an accented but clear English, as he wrapped his arms around his friend’s torso in a clear sign of comfort.
“Seungmin…” the boy looked at his friend, tears obvious in his eyes.
“Shhh….” the previously named Seungmin hushed his friend, speaking to him in a low voice, Chris only being able to hear the name of his patient being whispered, the brown-haired boy apparently being named Minho.
The Aussie looked on at the boys surrounding them, all with worry painted clear as day across their faces, fidgeting nervously, obviously wanting to help their comrades but not knowing how to do so. Wanting to lighten up the tense atmosphere slightly, Chris raises his voice so they can all hear him.
“It’s gonna be okay boys, me and Felix here, we’re gonna take care of your friends. You’ll see, everything’s gonna be okay, alright?”
He receives a few nods here and there, but his patient – Minho, he remembers – is still only focused on his unconscious friend, knuckles wrapped tightly around Seungmin’s hands to try and ground himself.
“Alright Jisung” Felix used the boy’s name, knowing patients usually responded better when their name was spoken out loud, “You might not like the next step, but I promise it’ll make you feel better”. Placing his small hands over the boy’s abdomen, he gave a few quick pushes into the flesh. The reaction was immediate as Jisung’s mouth opened and a trickle of water exited his mouth, making him cough out harshly, his friends wincing at how raspy his throat sounded.
“Good, that’s very good mate, just cough it out” Felix praised the Korean boy, patting his back slightly to help him, holding the oxygen mask away from his face so the boy could spit out the water on the sand. Once he seemed to have coughed out his lungs, the pink-haired lifeguard placed the mask back on his round face, tilting Jisung’s chin so he could look into his eyes.
“Hey there, are you with me now?” he tried, directing his brightest smile towards the boy, wanting to show him that he was safe. Jisung just seemed to stare blankly for a bit, blinking before mumbling something under the mask.
Neither of the lifeguards understood what was said but at least the answer pulled out a relieved laugh from most of his friends, who all seem to relax a little. Seungmin, still kneeling behind Minho and apparently acting as a translator for the day, looked at Felix with a sweet smile. “He asked if you were an angel”.
At that unexpected comment, Felix’s tan skin blushed bright red, eyes growing wide while Chris laughed heartily next to him. “Oh no no mate, I ain’t… I’m not…” the flustered boy tried to get his words out, looking down at the brunette still laying on the sand. Seeming to lose the battle with his words, Felix just shaked his head and leaned a little closer to Jisung, one hand going to his neck again to check his pulse. “I’m here to help you. You’re safe now.”
Jisung seemed to trust him, nodding, before letting his eyelids close, head slumping and sleep overtaking him, both his body and mind being exhausted.
“You can’t let him fall asleep Lix, he has to stay awake until the paramedics get to him” a worried Chris murmured next to him, from where he was listening to Minho’s chest with a stethoscope for any sign of water in his lungs.
“Oi, Jisung, stay with me please” the younger lifeguard gently pinched his patient’s cheek to rouse him back to consciousness. “I’m sorry, I know you’re tired but you gotta stay awake for just a little longer okay? Can you do that for me?”
Felix knew they were almost out of the woods; he could hear the ambulance’s sirens in the parking lot and knew it was just a matter of minutes until they were swarmed with professional healthcare workers. He just had to keep the boy awake for a little longer.
Fortunately, the tired boy seemed to listen to him, blinking his bleary eyes open, looking up at him once again. He mumbled something longer under his masks, voice broken and raspy, but his friends still seemed to be able to make out what he said. Instinctively turning to Seungmin, Felix awaited the translation.
“He said that you’re actually real, cause if you were an angel or a dream you would’ve disappeared by now”, Seungmin said from where he was now sitting in between his two rescued friends, another boy with long hair having taken his previous place hugging Minho, who now had a space blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
Taking the time to observe his surroundings for the first time since Chris dropped the boy at his feet, Felix saw that the last two boys of the group were still on their feet. One of them, with foxlike eyes, was actually jumping up and down and making big arm movements to attract the attention of the paramedics that were making their way on the beach with two stretchers. The second boy, on the smaller side and with a really sharp jaw and intimidating aura, was leaning over Jisung’s frame in a weird position, until Felix realized he was actually hiding his friend from the glare of the sun, protecting the weak boy in his shadow.
The Aussie couldn’t help but smile at that simple but sweet movement, seeing how all six of the boys were truly close and were there to help each other out, no matter what. It warmed his heart to see such a close bond, and he was honored to be part of it for an instant. Feeling bolder at that moment, for some unknown reason, Felix leaned over his patient with a heartbreaking smile.
“I can prove to you that I’m really real if you want”
He saw the cogs in the boy’s head turn, his tired brain probably trying to translate that sentence and make sense of it, but the lifeguard didn’t give him time to exhaust his mind more, pushing his oxygen mask aside for a second and kissing him square on one of his plump cheeks.
“There you go, now you have an undeniable proof that I’m not a dream and that you’re awake” he adds with a shit-eating grin, putting the mask back in place on a now flustered and clearly blushing brunette.
“Lix!” he heard Chris reprimand him, but there was no real fire to it, and he knew his best mate was just as amused as the other boys that were laughing at their poor friend.
Seeing the paramedics now just a few meters away, Felix couldn’t help but lean over the beautiful boy once more, saying in a sweeter and softer tone: “I hope I’ll see you again soon, Jisung”.