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Eight years old Yoongi and seven years old Jimin are neighbors and best friends. They enjoy spending the summer afternoons competing to see who can go higher on Jimin’s backyard swing, or rolling down their street as fast as a rocket on Yoongi’s skateboard and other adventures Jimin’s mother swears are going to be the cause of her hair turning gray. Yoongi loves these little moments with Jimin, they help him forget the harsh words exchanged behind closed doors, his father’s ever empty seat at dinner time, or the nights his mother has spent beside the living room window wondering if her husband would come back.
One day, whilst the pair is playing cards, Jimin notices how his best friend is especially quiet and crestfallen, and inquires what could be making Yoongi sad when they have all the watermelon popsicles they could imagine and finally have managed to ride their bicycles without training wheels. With puffy cheeks and eyes glistening with unshed tears, Yoongi blurts out about his parents' constant arguments, he explains to his best friend how he’s stopped leaving his legos all over the living room, how he’s started sleeping with his night light off even though he’s scared of ghosts, how he’s stopped losing his crayons, how he’s been trying to be a good boy just so his parents could stop fighting, but his efforts were to no avail.
Jimin feels heavy-hearted noticing the dejected look on Yoongi’s face so he prompts himself to find a way to cheer him up again. Deep in thought and considering his options, the little boy recalls whenever he has felt like that his mother would take him for a day at the beach in Busan and that would always make him feel happier and lighter by the end of the day.
Thus with that goal in mind, the two best friends find themselves leaving to the bus station on a lazy Saturday morning, with their backpacks full of homemade chocolate chips cookies, potato chips, Jimins’ favorite Hot Wheels, and Holly, Yoongi’s stuffed dog. It was the perfect plan, Jimin mused. Not only would Yoongi be happy again, but the younger boy would be able to play with the seagulls as well. He was worried that his little friends would have forgotten about him after so many months without showing up.
Although the journey to the bus station was uneventful, the two boys have found themselves struggling to read the destination of all the buses at the station. Yoongi had learned to read a couple of months ago and Jimin only knew the vowels of his name, he was not a big fan of the letter M since he always draws the wrong number of stems, the little boy mused scrunching his nose.
The duo was so caught up in this seemingly huge set back they didn't even notice Yoongi’s parents storming to them. As his mother crouched down in front of them to check if they were hurt, Yoongi notices her pretty and delicate face was puffy and tear-stained, and how his father, who was standing a couple of feet behind, seemed to have worn his shirt on inside out and his hair resembled the small bird's nest that Yoongi could see on the nearest branch to his bedroom window.
After making sure the boys aren’t hurt and giving them an earful about how worried they have made them, Yoongi's parents call Jimin's mother to let her know that they have found the two runaways and they would be back home in half an hour. The ride back home is dead quiet, Yoongi looks gloomy once again, the complete opposite of the bubbly and excited boy Jimin picked up early in the morning and the younger couldn’t let that happen! With that thought in mind, he squeezes Yoongi’s hand, in a silent promise that if it were up to him Yoongi wouldn’t be sad anymore.
Once back at home, Jimin’s mother scolds and grounds him, not allowing the little boy to watch anime nor ride his bike for the rest of the summer. He deems his punishment unfair but complies, knowing better than to upset his mom when she is already angry. However, what she imposes right after he wouldn’t have it, not without trying to reason at least.
Jimin's mother forbids the little boy to hang out with Yoongi for the next two weeks as a punishment for breaking her trust. The boy explains, eyes brimming with tears, that he only did that to make his friend happy again because he experienced first hand that a day at the beach was the best way to lift someone's spirit, and Yoongi has been so gloomy because of all of his parents' arguments.
Yoongi’s parents, who are quietly paying attention to the discussion, are surprised to hear what led the children to run away since they believed their son was way too young to understand such a complicated matter. Feeling bad for their son’s distress, the couple asks if that was true, and Yoongi nods, eyes downcast, not daring to see the look of disappointment on their faces. Yoongi explains that he thought if he was well behaved they would work things out again, but his efforts weren’t enough to make things right. They leave the Park’s residence feeling embarrassed and a little speechless, but promise their son they would try to sort things out once at home.
Jimin hasn't heard from Yoongi for a week. The younger’s mother eventually allowed him to hang out with his best friend again, but Yoongi didn’t show up at the swing, not even once. Jimin was starting to feel forgotten when he heard a knock on the door. Dashing to answer the door, he comes face to face with the Mins. Upon closer inspection, Jimin notices Yoongi is looking less gloomy, the boy even has a faint blush on his cheeks.
Jimin is so engrossed in the excitement of being reunited with his friend again that he doesn’t hear his mother apologizing for his bad manners and inviting them to come inside. Once at the house, Yoongi and Jimin sit on the floor, while the grown-ups chat on the coffee table. Jimin proceeds to show his latest drawings, the two of them on his swing, then the two of them at the beach playing with the seagulls. He’s in the middle of his babbling about how they’d collect all kinds of shells for his little collection if only they had made it to the beach when he hears Yoongi’s dad apologizing for what had happened to the boys and for his behavior. He explains that he and Yoongi’s mom talked about their marriage and personal struggles, then decided that everyone should start to see a therapist, Yoongi had even had his first session.
Jimin doesn’t understand half of the things the man has said, but he judges as a good thing considering Yoongi is smiling again while telling Jimin, if he wanted, they could go to Busan next weekend. The younger boy nods enthusiastically, pleased to know that, in the end, he had managed to make his friend happy again.