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He had moved to Jeju Island because of work. Which made his friends have fits of laughter because Yoongi didn't like the sun. Or the sea, or actually any source of water deeper than his waist height. Especially if it moved. But Yoongi liked his job a lot. And he liked seafood.
Another positive point was that he had found a house - an actual house with a very small backyard, but still an open space - that he liked and could invest in, which was great for him and his little poodle.
The house was in Seogwipo City. It was small, but it had probably been built or remodeled by a foreigner because it had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, which was very uncommon in Korea in medium houses. Also, the backyard was fenced. This was a great point because he could free Holly there and doesn't worry over him running away or being hurt. So Yoongi moved and was happier than bothered by it.
Now it was spring, he had arrived home earlier and the sun was not very strong, so he decided it could be a good idea to take Holly for a walk by the shore. As soon as he asked his dog - yes, he talked with him - if he wanted to take a walk, Holly got all excited shaking his whole body with the force of his wagging tail. So Yoongi changed his work clothes for shorts and a light button-up shirt over UV protective pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, put a cap on, and put Holly on his leash, getting ready to leave the house.
Although he was someone that liked to avoid the sun under any circumstances, Yoongi had discovered something worth dealing with some exposition to it.
There was this guy that he would see almost every day on the beach with a bunch of kids. Yoongi had noticed him a few weeks ago when he was walking home after work. He had passed by the guy when he was putting some boards on the trunk of a car and talking with another guy Yoongi didn’t remember anything about now. When he passed by them, the guy suddenly laughed, startling Yoongi. Not in a bad way. It was just that his laugh was so… Precious . Yoongi was instantly endeared by his precious and bright laugh.
After that day, Yoongi would pay more attention to the part of the beach where he had seen the guy with the precious laugh. He didn’t see him every day, but he saw him constantly. Always with kids and boards and kites around him. Yoongi didn’t know what the guy used to do with all that but he was getting curious.
Today, he hadn’t seen him on the beach when he walked home, but Yoongi was early, so he was hoping the guy just hadn’t arrived yet. That was why he took Holly for a walk.
They walked on the dry sand for a while, the dog having a lot of fun trying to run to catch the small crabs that crossed their path. Yoongi was smiling at Holly - endeared by his antics - when he heard young voices approaching and looked up. There were kids running, jumping, and laughing. And behind them there he was. The guy, laughing as brightly as on the first day Yoongi had noticed him.
The kids passed by Yoongi. Some of the taller ones were carrying boards and kites with them. The guy was following them with more of those things. Holly was pulling on his leash, wanting to run to the kids, but Yoongi held him close. However, the little dog freed himself somehow and ran.
Yoongi immediately ran behind him, screaming his name. His attention changed so fast he didn’t notice the guy letting go of the things he was carrying to crouch and hold the dog. They weren’t so distant from each other, so Yoongi soon stopped in front of the guy, who was now holding his dog in his arms. He looked up and couldn’t say anything. Holly was yipping happily, making Yoongi look at him to see why. The guy was petting the dog under his ear, a spot Holly loved to have petted. The dog’s eyes looking at Yoongi made him recover his voice.
“Min Holly, why are you misbehaving today?”
The guy giggled.
“I get it is yours?”
Yoongi looked at the guy again, surprised by his cheerful voice. Which didn’t even make sense to be surprised about, when the guy had that bright energy exuding from him he should have a voice like that.
“Hmm, yeah. He is. I don’t know how he got free from the leash.”
“I’ll hold him for you to secure it back.” The guy smiled and Yoongi almost went blind because his smile was so brilliant.
He shook his head a little and secured Holly’s leash in place again. Then he carefully took the dog from the other’s arms and held him against his chest.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Holly is a cutie!” He giggled. “I’m Hoseok, by the way.”
“Hm, I’m Yoongi.” Yoongi bowed a little, awkwardly.
“Nice to meet you, Yoongi.” He looked back at him and bowed too. “I need to go and gather my kids now. And you don’t run away again, Holly.” Hoseok said, booping the dog’s nose.
“Nice to meet you too.”
Hoseok smiled brightly once again and gathered his things, walking away. Yoongi stood there, holding Holly in his arms and watching Hoseok walk, mesmerized by him. Then the kids’ shouting made him get out of his head, and he put Holly on the ground to walk some more.
When they were going back home they passed by the spot Hoseok - his name was so nice - was and he was now on the water with the kids, helping them surf? Yoongi didn’t know exactly which sport was that where the board had a kite that resembled the ones from a boat. He didn’t even know if ‘kite’ was the right word for it.
Anyways, he stopped and watched Hoseok for a couple of minutes before going home. After he arrived, Yoongi cleaned the sand from Holly, set him free from his leash, and gave him water. He took a shower and fixed dinner. Then he sat on his couch, turned the TV on, and grabbed his laptop to do a little research.
During the next month or so, every time Yoongi walked by the beach - alone or with Holly - and Hoseok saw him, he would wave at him in greeting. The first time, Yoongi didn’t think the gesture was aimed at him and didn’t respond. But then it happened again and he waved shily, testing if it was with him. When Hoseok’s gesture got stronger at the response, he understood it was aimed at him and waved back from thereon.
Yoongi observed that the group of kids accompanying Hoseok would change according to the day, so he guessed that Hoseok was some kind of teacher or trainer. Yoongi wasn’t sure but he was more and more curious about the man with a smile as bright as the sun shining in the sky.
Today he was coming back from work and walking lazily by the shore, seeing the sun go down, when something, or rather, someone hit his legs, almost making Yoongi lose his balance.
“Hweseung, you need to be careful!”
It was Hoseok, coming after them and talking to the boy now looking up at Yoongi.
“I’m sorry, sir.” The boy said.
“It’s okay. We didn’t fall, so it’s okay.” Yoongi ruffled his hair.
“Hey, Yoongi.” Hoseok greeted him as he got close to them. “Sorry for Hweseung. He will be more careful from now on, right, Hweseung?”
“Yes, Hoseok hyung.”
“It’s all good.” Yoongi reassured both of them.
“Your clothes are wet, though.”
“Oh.” Yoongi looked down at himself, just noticing that. He also saw the boy’s lips quivering. “It’s fine, clothes dry. I was going to wash it anyway.”
Hoseok smiled at him, then something behind Yoongi caught his attention for a quick instant. He touched the boy’s shoulder.
“Your mother is waiting for you, Hweseung. You can go.”
“Oh, okay! Bye, Hoseok hyung! See you next week! Bye, sir!” He shouted running again.
Both adults waved at him and watched the boy go. After a little while, Hoseok turned to Yoongi again.
“Are you really fine, Yoongi?”
“Yes, don’t worry. It’s just water.” Yoongi shrugged. He glanced at Hoseok. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you some kind of teacher?”
“Oh.” Hoseok chuckled. “Yeah, I am. I’m a windsurf instructor. I teach mostly kids and teenagers.” He tilted his head, looking at Yoongi. “Are you interested?”
“Hm?” Yoongi gaped, surprised by the question.
“In learning how to windsurf. I don’t mind teaching adults.”
“Ah… I don’t… I don’t think so.” Yoongi scratched the back of his head. “I’m not a big fan of water or the sun.”
“Yet you live in Jeju.” Hoseok chuckled.
“Ah, yeah… Because of work. I mean…” Yoongi looked around so he didn’t need to look at Hoseok, feeling a little flustered. “The company I work for moved here and I like my job, so I had to follow.”
“So you don’t like living here?”
“I do, actually. I found a few reasons that made me like Jeju. So far, at least.” Yoongi shrugged.
“You should give windsurf a chance, then.” Hoseok smiled blindly. “It’s a big sport around here. Cherished by the people.”
“I’m not a sports person either.” Yoongi eyed Hoseok from the corner of his eyes.
“Just a trial class.” Hoseok insisted, giggling. “I’ll give it to you for free.”
“What?” He stared at the other.
“I am offering you one free class just so you can try windsurfing.” Hoseok turned to be face to face with Yoongi.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like I should. And I like to follow my instincts.” Hoseok let out a small smile and shrugged.
“I don’t know…” Yoongi was confused.
“Think about it. No pressure, Yoongi. The offer doesn’t expire. I won’t hold hard feelings if you never accept it either.” Hoseok smiled brightly. “I need to go now. See you around.”
“See you.” Yoongi said and observed Hoseok go away.
He stood frozen on the beach for a few seconds, astonished by such an invitation. Then, Yoongi shook his head, dismissing it, and went home. He had no wish to do something that would involve him going into deeper water than he was comfortable with.
Although his resolve about that was strong, Yoongi found himself observing Hoseok’s classes from afar more attentively in the next few weeks. He didn’t approach, but he watched. Until he was walking Holly again one day and he let the dog take him closer.
Hoseok was in the shallow water, helping a couple of kids. Another 3 were a little further, apparently managing the sail - Yoongi had done a little search and learned how to correctly name that equipment at least - well enough.
Minutes later, one of the kids Hoseok was helping, a girl, said she was too tired, and Hoseok helped her carry the sail out of the water. That was when he saw Yoongi and Holly there and greeted them.
“You can sit and rest, Dawon.” He accommodated the girl before turning his attention. “Hey, Yoongi. Holly, I would pet you if I wasn’t dripping wet.” He chuckled.
The dog looked at him, wagging his tail, and tried to get close to him, but Yoongi held his leash tighter.
“Holly, you don’t like when I have to use the hairdryer on you.”
Hoseok laughed lightly and Yoongi chuckled. The dog sat and continued to wait for a petting.
“How are you doing, Yoongi?”
“Fine.” The tips of his ears were starting to feel hot. “You?”
“I’m great.” Hoseok tilted his head a little. “Are you here because of my offer?”
“Holly brought me here… But I’ve been thinking about it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I… Did a little bit of research too, because I’m kinda curious.” He passed his free hand on his neck, touching his ear.
“But?” Hoseok asked.
“Don’t you have to supervise your students?” Yoongi tried to change the topic.
Hoseok took a few steps to the side and turned slightly to the sea.
“I trust their abilities and that they won’t risk too much, but you’re right. Now, what is that ‘but’?”
“I don’t go on deep water. I don’t get into water that goes deeper than my waist, actually. Especially if it moves on its own.” Yoongi said firmly.
“You don’t need to venture in deep water to do windsurfing. In the beginning, you barely go into the water. If you want to try once I can promise you won’t go much further than knee-deep.”
Hoseok didn’t ask why and that made Yoongi feel more comfortable instantly. He didn’t like to explain his reasons to anyone. Holly, that had laid down in the sand when he understood they wouldn’t walk nor he would be petted, got up and started to scrap Yoongi’s ankles, making the man remember they were outside for a long time now.
“I’ll think more about it, but I need to go back home now.” Yoongi said, looking at Hoseok.
“Okay, Yoongi. Take your time.” Hoseok smiled at him. “I need to take my kids out of the water. See you another day?”
“See you.”
Yoongi greeted and left with Holly walking happily.
His mind couldn’t stop thinking about Hoseok and his offer. Yoongi wasn’t sure if it was only because of the guy he was crushing on - it was a stupid term but he had accepted that it was the best term for what he had been feeling - or if he was really curious about windsurfing despite everything that involved.
Trying to decide what to do, Yoongi talked with his best friend Namjoon. He knew he could trust his opinion and Namjoon knew his reasons to not try it. However, he said Yoongi should try. That caught him off guard and made him complain, but Namjoon had read Yoongi just right and insisted he should try, that just one class wouldn’t hurt.
It took him a week, but he finally had made his mind on it and, on that Friday afternoon, he walked home paying attention to the shore to see if Hoseok was on the beach. And the instructor was there. Yoongi walked toward him calmly. He was instructing kids in the sand at the moment, so Yoongi stood quiet, a few steps away, observing.
After a few moments, Hoseok looked behind himself - probably sensing Yoongi’s presence - and saw him there. He smiled and waved in greeting. Hoseok focused back on instructing his class. Minutes later he told the kids to warm up in the water and called Yoongi closer.
“Hi, Hoseok.” He said as he approached.
“Hey, Yoongi. How are you?” Hoseok smiled brightly.
“I’m fine.” Yoongi scratched the back of his head. “I’m here to talk to you about that offer, actually.”
“Oh, yeah? What about it?” Hoseok averted his eyes to look at the kids in the water.
“I accept it.” Yoongi blurted out.
“Really? That’s great!” The windsurfer beamed.
“I don’t know if I’ll do more than the free class you offered, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“I won’t. If you finish the trial class and don’t want to do it ever again, I’ll accept that. But I’m happy you will try.” Hoseok smiled like the sun was in his face and turned back to the kids to tell them to come and grab their sails. Then, his attention was back on Yoongi. “When do you want to do it?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Or you will lose the courage?” Hoseok smirked.
“Yes.” Yoongi huffed.
“I have a beginner group tomorrow, 4 p.m. Can you make it?” He wasn’t looking at Yoongi now, focused on watching his current group in the water.
Yoongi took a minute to think about it.
“Yes, I can. Do I need to bring anything?”
“Just yourself in swimming clothes.” Hoseok giggled. “I’ll bring the equipment for you. Oh, and I wouldn’t bring Holly along - although I would love to play with him -, because we need to focus elsewhere.” He smiled looking at Yoongi.
“Ah.” He giggled. He actually, really giggled. “Don’t worry. He will be fine at home.”
“So I’ll wait for you tomorrow.”
“I’ll come.”
“I need to go to the kids now. You can stay and watch if you want.” Hoseok said, already walking to the water.
Yoongi stayed for a little while, watching how Hoseok instructed in a light manner, but noticing how focused and firm he was, even when he was smiling. He had this energy flowing from him that made you trust him, Yoongi was starting to notice.
On the next day, Yoongi got ready to face Hoseok and the water. He put on his clothes with UV protection - long pants and a long-sleeved shirt -, a pair of swimming shorts and a t-shirt over it. A cap on the head. And a whole lot of sunscreen.
He walked to the beach and saw Hoseok with 3 kids. He approached as the windsurfer was talking with the smallest of them, apparently trying to calm the kid down, and another kid spotted him. The kid kept staring at him until he was close enough.
“Hi?” Yoongi said to the boy, uncertain.
“Hi.” The boy kept staring. “How old are you?”
Hoseok snapped up and turned around hearing that.
“Jaehyun! It’s not polite to ask such a thing.” He looked apologetically at Yoongi. “I’m sorry, Yoongi.”
“It’s okay, Hoseok. I don’t really mind the question.” Yoongi shrugged. It could also be an opportunity to know more about Hoseok, so he would take it. “I’m 29.” He said, looking at the boy. “And you, kid?”
“I’m 9.”
“Are you sure you exist?” He tilted his head.
“I’m in front of you, hyung.” Jaehyun blinked rapidly, trying to understand. “You old people are weird.”
“Jaehyun!” Hoseok screamed. “Okay, that’s it. Let’s start stretching.” He looked back at the other kids. “Byul, start the routine, please.” He asked the kid that looked older.
The tall girl started showing what the other two should do. Hoseok took a step away from the children and tilted his head, calling Yoongi.
“I’m really sorry about Jaehyun. He is a good kid, but he has no filter whatsoever.”
“I already said it’s okay. If that had bothered me I would have said or not answered him.” Yoongi looked at the children. “Should I be doing that too?”
“Ah. Yeah. Yeah, you should… Hyung.”
Yoongi started to follow the girl’s movements and smirked at Hoseok.
“So you’re younger.”
“One year. Do you mind if I call you ‘hyung’?”
“No, I don’t.”
Hoseok smiled and motioned for them to get closer to the kids, assuming the stretching session.
He proceeded with the class, instructing them in the basics of windsurfing outside of the water. Yoongi was a little self-conscious about being an adult in a class for kids now that it was happening, but neither the kids nor Hoseok appeared to care about it, so he tried to shrug it off.
Byul and Jaehyun had had two classes before, but Hoseok went back to teaching how to call every part of the sail and their uses in favor of Yoongi and Dongsung - the other kid, who he had been calming down when Yoongi arrived. Then, the windsurfer taught them how to stand and all movements they could do to move the sail correctly. He took his time doing that.
Yoongi was starting to think he wouldn’t need to go in the water because the time was passing but as two parents arrived, Hoseok suggested for the class to go in the water one at a time, accompanied by him.
He started with Dongsung since his father had arrived already, and the boy was more nervous and younger. Despite being very nervous, Dongsung was able to windsurf a little bit, and Yoongi couldn’t explain, but he felt proud of the little boy somehow. Then, Hoseok accompanied Byul and Jaehyun.
When it was time for Yoongi to go on the water the children had left with their parents, so it was only Yoongi and Hoseok.
“It’s your turn, hyung.” The windsurfer said, smiling.
Yoongi got up from where he was sitting on the sand and approached Hoseok and the sail. He was starting to feel nervous about going in the water and tried to hide that.
“We are only going knee-deep in the water, just to have the feel of it.” Hoseok said, pulling the sail while he walked into the water, demonstrating again how to do it.
Yoongi followed him. That depth was usually fine to him, but he was feeling more and more nervous with each step into the water. And when Hoseok motioned for him to climb on the board he froze.
“Hyung?” Hoseok looked back at him.
Yoongi tried to convince himself of stepping in the board, pep-talking himself to not show his fear in front of the gorgeous sunshine guy, but apparently, his fear was in full gear now that it was time for him to actually be in the water on top of a board with a sail that could take him to the deep sea with a gust of wind.
Hoseok turned a little bit more to him, concern showing in his face.
“Hyung? Are you okay?”
“I can’t do it.” He said and stepped back, going back to the sand.
Hoseok followed him. Yoongi was starting to feel shivers go down his arms and his breathing was getting labored. He sat down in the sand when he reached the kids’ sails. Hoseok was close behind him, disposing of the equipment he was carrying properly before he sat down by Yoongi’s side.
Yoongi had his knees up and his head resting in them, trying to steady his breath. Hoseok gently put a hand on his back and passed it lightly up and down. He didn’t ask anything, he was just there, quietly giving Yoongi some comfort even though they barely knew each other.
“I’m sorry.” Yoongi said after a while.
“There is no need to be sorry, hyung.” Hoseok dismissed it. “You did warn me you don’t like water or the sun, or sports, for that matter.” The windsurfer tried to lighten up the mood.
“I’m just lazy about sports. And my skin suffers from the sun. The water…” Yoongi sighed. He didn’t know why he was talking about it, but Hoseok made him feel comfortable. “That is another matter.”
“You don’t need to explain or talk about something you don’t want, Yoongi. It’s okay. You tried, as you said you would.”
“Somehow, I feel like you wouldn't judge me.” Hoseok kept quiet, looking at the sea instead of Yoongi, who raised his head a little bit to peek at him. Yoongi sighed and continued speaking. “My class in high school had a field trip once that included a boat trip. I don't remember well what happened but we were adrift for hours. I was scared to death that we would be lost forever. Ever since I have a problem with water, especially in the sea or in deep water.”
A minute or two passed in which none of them said anything.
“Why would I judge you for having a valid reason to be afraid?” Hoseok asked and Yoongi could listen to the sincere astonishment in his voice.
“Some people to whom I explained it before think I'm silly and that I should have gotten over it already.” Yoongi shrugged, looking at the waves.
“Well, I think these people are the silly ones. It is a dangerous and very stressful situation.” Hoseok said, looking at him this time. “You could have cut me off as soon as I suggested windsurf, hyung, and it would have been fine. I was a stranger saying you should do something you didn't want to. You should have told me to go to hell at that moment.” He chuckled and Yoongi chuckled lightly too.
“It was a chance - a reason - to talk to you again, more, and I wanted that.” Yoongi decided to be honest since he was already opening up to his sunshine guy.
“Hmm?” Hoseok tilted his head, clueless.
Yoongi blinked at his reaction. After a minute he chuckled again. It looked like he would need to be completely blunt.
“You are a nice guy, Hoseok. You’re also gorgeous. And I’m interested in you.”
“Oh… Oh!” Hoseok’s cheeks blushed cutely, showing he was flustered.
“Did I make you uncomfortable?” Yoongi’s ears were warming up with him starting to feel embarrassed.
“No! No. I’m just surprised.” Hoseok fidgeted with the hem of his swimming shorts. “I… Hmm… You’re very attractive too, hyung. Hmm… I wanted more chances to talk to you too, that’s one of the reasons I invited you for a class.”
“One of the reasons? Do you have more?”
“Well, I really like to windsurf and my gut feeling made me invite you?”
“Your gut feeling?”
“Yeah… I felt like I should invite you. I don’t know how to explain it. And now I think this doesn’t even make sense, since you fear it.” Hoseok shrugged. “I’m usually good at seeing if the person is really interested or not.”
“But I got really curious. When you said I wouldn’t need to go deep in the water, and I saw the kids staying close to the shallow water, I thought I would be able to do it. But then it was time to try and I panicked.” Yoongi scratched the back of his head.
“I won’t judge you because of it, you even explained why when you didn’t need to, hyung.”
“I appreciate it, but a part of me wishes that I would be brave like the kids you teach.”
“I have had my share of scared kids. Some I could help get over it and some I couldn’t.” Hoseok smiled fondly. “One thing I learned with time was that usually, the scared ones need privacy and undivided attention. As long as they really want to try and are not being forced by their parents.”
Yoongi chuckled.
“That makes sense.”
“I’m serious when I say you don’t need to force yourself, Yoongi. We can think of other things to do now that we both know we want to meet more.” Hoseok looked at him.
Yoongi tried to hold his stare, although he usually felt shy locking eyes with other people.
“I don’t want to give up completely without trying to actually stand up on the board in the water.” He said, certain of it.
“Then let’s set another day to do it. I think today would be too much. We can do it in another day, only the two of us, so I can give you all of my attention and the kids won’t be here to say anything.” Hoseok suggested, trusting that Yoongi knew what he wanted.
“Okay, Hoseok.”
Then they fell quiet and both looked at the sea for a while. Yoongi helped Hoseok take the sails back to his car after a while and they exchanged their phone numbers before going separate ways.
When Yoongi arrived home, he took a long shower, then he sat on his couch, pulled Holly into his lap to pet him, and talked to his dog about what had happened. That helped him clear his head.
Later, he was surprised when Hoseok texted to check on him. They ended up exchanging messages for more than an hour that night.
They settled for Yoongi’s next try at windsurfing to be on the following Sunday, so he had a whole week to convince himself he was going to be safe.
During the week, Yoongi and Hoseok talked more times, messaging each other through the days. They didn’t go into deep conversations, but they started to discover things they had in common with each other, like the liking of hip hop and rap songs, and the love for dogs - Hoseok sent Yoongi a picture of his family’s dog one day and they went on talking about their favorite toys and snacks for their four-legged friends.
On Sunday, Yoongi arrived at the beach much more relaxed than the last Saturday, happy that he was going to see Hoseok again because that week had been very busy in his office and he didn’t get to see the windsurfer from afar one single day, since he went home late every day. At least they had been talking.
Hoseok was already there, waiting for him. One set of equipment by his feet while he looked at the sea and the sunlight of the late afternoon created a halo around him. Yoongi almost forgot he was supposed to announce his presence, mesmerized by such a view.
“Hoseok?” He called.
The windsurfer turned to him and smiled brightly.
“Hi, Yoongi hyung! How are you feeling today?”
“Fine. You?” Yoongi stopped by his side.
“I’m great, it’s a beautiful day! Do you want to start stretching now or do you want to relax a bit first?”
“I can stretch now.”
“Okay!”
Hoseok clapped his hands and started the routine of exercises he did in all of his classes. After that, he went through the basics of windsurfing again. He made Yoongi train all the positions to navigate the sail in the sand until he was satisfied with Yoongi’s stances.
Yoongi was expecting them to take the sail to the water at that moment, but Hoseok surprised him saying they should walk a little bit before it. That threw Yoongi slightly off, but it also helped him relax again when he hadn’t even noticed he had been tensing up.
They walked by the water line talking about music. They didn’t walk for long, but it was effective. And when they came back to where the sail was, they walked in the shallow water, so Yoongi could feel it in the most controlled way he could with the sea.
“You wait here, hyung. I’ll bring the sail.” Hoseok said and skipped to grab the equipment.
Yoongi was once again enchanted by Hoseok. Not by one specific trait but the whole of him, his beauty, his voice, his smile - which he had noticed today looked like a heart -, the bright energy that flowed out of him, his confidence... Just... Hoseok.
Today Yoongi was able to step on the board. He held the sail as Hoseok had instructed him and the windsurfer stayed close helping him control it so he wouldn’t drift away. But in case anything unexpected happened, Hoseok had brought him a life jacket to be the safest they could.
After around ten to fifteen minutes that felt like an hour if you would ask Yoongi, they got out of the water and finished the class. Yoongi was feeling muscle pains he had never thought he could feel. He was also exhausted from the tension. But it had been interesting.
“How was it, hyung?” Hoseok asked after they put the equipment on the sand and sat by its side.
“Tiring.” Hoseok giggled. “Kinda scary.” Yoongi chuckled. “But interesting and nice.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I won’t say I like it, that is going too far, but I think I can see the appeal.” Yoongi was honest.
“I’m very proud of you, hyung! You’re so brave!” Hoseok beamed.
“I am not.”
“You are! You faced your fear!”
“We were barely knee-deep and you held the sail all the time. I was also wearing the life jacket in the shallow water. That is not being brave.”
Yoongi tried to dismiss what Hoseok was saying but he wasn’t going to have that.
“Of course it is! The life jacket is a safe measure I actually should use with all of my kids. I'll think about how to organize it from now on. And you tried. You went against the comfortable path of letting it go and tried. That is being brave in my book!”
“We will have to agree to disagree. But would you agree to have dinner with me?”
“Hm?” Hoseok busted a laugh when he understood the question. “You are very smooth, Yoongi hyung. Yes, I would love to have dinner with you.”
🌊 Epilogue 🌊
It was the end of the summer and Yoongi was dating Hoseok now for a couple of months. After that first diner, they had many more dates, they walked Holly on the beach at least once a week, and they also had more private windsurfing lessons.
Today, the sun was starting its way to set and they were once again on the beach, only the two of them, with two sails on the sand.
“I am not doing this.” Yoongi said, in disbelief with himself.
“You promised, hyung.” Hoseok giggled.
“How did I let you convince me to do it?” Yoongi squinted his eyes at his boyfriend.
“You l- like me, hyung.” The windsurfer beamed.
“I do. Very much.” Yoongi nipped on his bottom lip. “But I’m not so certain about it anymore.”
Hoseok let go of his sail and hugged Yoongi, smiling his heart-shaped smile at him.
“We trained all these months together, you can handle your sail alone. We are also both going to use life jackets. And I’ll make sure to stay on the deeper trail so you can follow me on the shallower part. We will also not sail for long. You can do it, Yoongi.” He continued smiling. “But if you want to give up; if you really feel you’re not ready, we don’t need to do it.”
Yoongi looked into Hoseok’s eyes and saw there the confidence and the trust he wished he could have in himself. He had gotten better about his fear. Not because of Hoseok, but because of himself. The slow exposure to the sea was helping. Also, he had decided to talk to someone about it and other issues he had. Yoongi had been improving. Some situations were just harder than others.
“What if I go in and want to give up in the middle of the route you chose?”
“Point to the shore like we have trained and you will make it to the sand. I’ll be right behind you.”
Yoongi took a deep breath.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
“Are you a hundred percent sure, Yoongi?” Hoseok tilted his head.
“I am.” Yoongi smiled at him, showing his gummies.
Hoseok adored that smile and couldn’t resist kissing Yoongi on the lips. They kissed for a while, getting lost in each other.
“Okay, let’s go before the sun sets completely.”
They sailed for around half an hour and when they were back at the starting point - which somehow Hoseok knew exactly where it was, while Yoongi wouldn’t have found it again after their time in the water -, the sun was touching the sea, almost halfway to the setting completely.
The couple put their equipment down, took off the life jackets, and sat down to watch the sun go away. Hoseok intertwined his hand with Yoongi’s, having learned quickly that he loved to hold hands. He also leaned his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.
“You know, hyung, the sunset has become very special to me.”
“Why is that, Seokie?” Yoongi asked lazily - going into the water always tired him.
“Because it was in the late afternoon when I first met you, so now the setting sun makes me think of you.” Hoseok answered dreamily.
“The sun always makes me think of you, Sunshine. But I agree that the sunset is special.”
“It’s bright and warm.” Hoseok raised his head and turned to look at Yoongi, smiling.
“It’s brighter because of you.” Yoongi said, looking at him too, and kissed his lips.