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If Renjun’s memory serves him right, the conversation went like this:
It was nearing 3 AM and Renjun was still perched on the island bar while the beach party was still in full swing. He’s here alone for a three-day vacation paid by his best friend, Donghyuck, after the latter lost a bet to him.
He didn’t know how long he and this hot stranger had been making out — nor how longer they’ve been talking before — but he very much was itching to the part where they get out of here and this guy fucks the life out of him.
Sorry, not sorry. It’s been too long since the last time he got laid. The only thing that’s been sucking his dick is the corporate world.
His lips were about to go down the stranger’s strong neck when the man broke off from their kiss.
“I’m sorry,” he panted. “I don’t do one night stands here.”
“Oh,” Renjun was dumbfounded for a while. “No, it’s — fine.”
He couldn’t help but feel greatly disappointed as he distanced himself from the stranger. The man was disgustingly handsome with his parted black hair, white long sleeves folded up to his elbows, and black slacks. He looked every bit the dashing business man here in the island for a work visit.
Renjun was about to make an awkward exit when the man spoke.
“I want to take you out on a date,” he says, eyes shining in the dim light of the bonfire. “Tomorrow? Or if you’ll be too hungover we can do it the next day.”
“Of course,” Renjun struck the iron while it’s hot. “Tomorrow’s fine but not in the morning, please.”
The man gave him a wide grin, “Great. I have to leave now. Where are you staying?”
“Just in the resort next to here.”
“I’ll walk you out,” he nodded and held Renjun’s arm gently.
“You didn’t bring a car?” Renjun couldn’t help but ask while they were walking in the middle of the cold night.
The man — Jaemin, as he introduced himself before they left — shrugged. One of his hands was in his pocket while the other, the one beside Renjun, was kept by his side, occasionally preventing Renjun from stumbling on his feet.
“Nah, I don’t know how to drive one.”
Renjun turned his head in disbelief. Jaemin didn’t look far from his age of 33, and Renjun expected everyone of his age to know how to drive by now. Even he, given his lack of sense of direction, knows how to drive.
He felt a little disappointed. He likes his men driving cars, sue him.
“You like guys who drive cars?” with one brow raised, Jaemin asked. Before Renjun could deny, the man gave him a knowing smirk, “How about guys who drive yachts?”
A fucking yacht. Renjun has never been in one.
Even more so, “I’ve never met one.”
Jaemin hummed and stopped once they were in front of the resort’s entrance. He gave Renjun a look that seemed to be asking him for an answer he wasn’t sure of.
“But we’ll see,” Renjun said with an air of fake nonchalance.
“Yeah,” Jaemin smirked. “Let’s see.”
Now, it’s the morning — afternoon, he realizes later — after and he sees a text on his phone sent an hour earlier.
Jaemin (from last night)
Hi, beautiful 💗 You’re probably still asleep but I just want to remind you of our date later 🥰
Looking forward to see your pretty face at the dock near last night’s party 😉
When he woke up, he was almost convinced Jaemin was just a figment of his imagination but the text told him otherwise. He doesn’t know how he managed to snag an impromptu date in his three-day vacation here in Jeju Island but this must be the ‘life works in mysterious ways’ people kept saying.
He spends the rest of the afternoon nursing a hangover and turning his luggage upside-down for an outfit later. Jaemin didn’t give him any more information other than the time and place where he’ll pick him up for their date.
In the end he settled for a plain white shirt underneath a plaid beige long sleeves and beige pants. Not the best outfit for a date but his choices are extremely limited.
He’s at the dock five minutes before 4:30, the time in Jaemin’s text. He didn’t have to wait long when he saw the man exiting one of the yachts stationed there wearing a plain white shirt and denim pants.
Seeing the man in casual clothes made Renjun feel… things. He couldn’t decide whether he likes him better with his formal expensive-looking slacks or his denim pants that made him look young.
Jaemin immediately smiled and waved at him to come closer.
“Hi. How was your sleep?”
“Good, though I woke up with a splitting headache,” Renjun admits.
Jaemin’s smiling face instantly turns into concern, “Are you okay now?”
Renjun nods and Jaemin lets go of his worries upon his approval. He guided Renjun into going inside the yacht, evidently personally owned by him judging by how small it is besides the other yachts stationed in the dock. By the looks of it, it was very well-maintained.
“I admit I really thought you weren’t serious when you said you can drive a yacht,” Renjun says while following Jaemin to the cockpit and looking around.
“Why?”
He hears the sound of the engine starting and sees Jaemin already seated behind the wheel. Jaemin taps the seat beside him, urging Renjun to sit on it.
“You said you can’t drive a car and I don’t think anyone would choose learning to drive a yacht over a car.”
“Well, I grew up here so a yacht is more preferable when you’re near the waters,” Jaemin explains, once in a while breaking his gaze from the sea in front to look at Renjun.
“Oh, you work here then? Or are you also on vacation?”
Jaemin smiles, seemingly amused by something Renjun isn’t privy to. Renjun couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. Jaemin’s hair is being blown by the wind yet the mess only added to the appeal of Jaemin’s beautifully sculpted face.
“I work here,” he finally says.
While Jaemin is driving the yacht to whichever part of the sea he plans on bringing Renjun, he explains how he’s driving the yacht and the controls he’s using. He even offered for Renjun to try driving it.
As much as Renjun is having fun with the educational course, he declines the offer. He’s already lucky he learned how to drive a car. And Renjun is too afraid of the idea of the boat sinking while he doesn’t know how to swim.
It feels like they were sailing for 15 minutes until Jaemin stopped. Renjun looks around and sees the miniscule shore behind them.
“Alright,” Jaemin stretches his arms. “Are you hungry?”
“A bit,” Renjun chuckles.
Jaemin stands up and offers him a hand, “Come, let’s eat then.”
They walk outside the dock where Jaemin removes the cover of the meals plated on the table in the middle. Renjun’s eyes widen at the amount of food ranging from seafood dishes to sliced fruits lying down on the small rectangular table.
“Where’d you order this?” he asks as he sits beside Jaemin.
“Oh, I cooked them.”
That is… incredibly sexy of him.
“Really?” Renjun looks at Jaemin in shock. The man is slowly ticking off everything in Renjun’s metaphorical list (except driving a car, Renjun is regretfully reminded).
“They look amazing, Jaemin. I bet they taste the same.”
“Thank you, babe,” Jaemin winks at him (!!!) and takes up a plate. “Here, try this first.”
Exquisite flavors burst in Renjun’s taste buds and he couldn’t help the delightful moan coming out of his occupied mouth. He covers it and looks at Jaemin sheepishly who’s amusement is proudly displayed on his face.
They enjoyed the food Jaemin prepared while the latter entertained Renjun’s questions about the food. Once Renjun didn’t have any questions left, Jaemin took the chance to ask Renjun about himself.
He asked Renjun where he lives (a quaint apartment in Seoul), his work (which turned into an hour-long rant about dreadful office politics and rotten capitalism), and his hobbies (lazing around at home when he’s not in his 9–5 job).
Renjun is just finishing his talk on his recent very adult purchase of a new box of scented candles when he realized that the man beside him has done nothing but listen to him. He turns around to meet Jaemin’s unwavering eyes that have been on him for the whole duration of his talk. His arm is on the back of their seat and his body is turned to lean toward Renjun without touching him.
“How about you?” Renjun shifts the spotlight to the man beside him. “What do you do, Mr. Yacht-over-a-car?”
“Oh, I’m the owner of this resort,” Jaemin casually says while wiping the sauce on his chin.
The smile on Renjun’s face instantly fades, “You’re what?”
“The CEO of Sea Paradise?” With that, Jaemin finally looks a bit shy. “My family passed it down to me. I just took charge in expanding it.”
Of course, the skill to drive a yacht should have been the first sign. Renjun should have seen this coming but when Renjun flew here for a vacation, the thing he anticipated the most was making up for the lost sleep, ordering room service, and the full body spa and massage the resort was offering.
The bar is so low Jaemin seemed as tall as Mount Everest.
“Okay,” Renjun says slowly as the thought of being on a date with a multibillionaire CEO is sinking in his head. “What do you do besides work?”
“Hm, I like photography so I take a lot of pictures whenever I’m traveling,” Jaemin starts to list down the places he’s been in mostly because of work. However, as he recalls the sites he visited, there’s a gleam in his eyes and Renjun is… enraptured.
“Oh! And recently I've been interested in interior design since I’m planning to have a pad in Seoul,” Jaemin finishes. “I think that’s all? Work doesn’t give me a lot of free time.”
Silence blanketed them as they finished their talk. They finally reached the point of emptying the tub of first-date-safe topics and now, they just basked in the late afternoon sun. The sky is a mix of golden hues with the navy blues of the night peeking. The colors are reflected on the moving water and Renjun gazes at the sight in awe.
“Wow,” Renjun softly breathes out.
He hears Jaemin hum beside him and when he turns toward the man, Jaemin is already looking at him.
“Hi,” Renjun says in surprise.
“Hi,” Jaemin greets back in amusement, only it sounded more like a question than a greeting. “Do you want to take pictures? We can go and I can take pictures of you.”
Renjun feels as if his head is underwater as he listens to Jaemin. In all honesty, he feels like he’s floating on a dream for the whole duration of this date. He couldn’t believe this is real, that the man beside him exists and everything Jaemin did has managed to reduce him into his high school-self, giddy and over excited on the thought of someone liking him.
It’s been a long time since he felt like this that Renjun couldn’t even remember when the last time was anymore. Ever since he hit his thirties, he has long given up on finding that slow love everyone was dreaming of when he was a teen. His thirties consisted of either people that were still enjoying their freedom or those that felt like their time was running out that they skip the whole getting-to-know stage and marry the first person they found decent enough to settle with.
And Renjun… Well, despite participating in the hook-up culture, he never felt like he belonged in that category. He definitely enjoys his freedom but during the nights where it gets colder, his bed seemingly bigger, and he craves for someone to listen to the little stories he has of life, he couldn’t help but want to look for that person.
But he didn’t want to settle for someone who’s just decent enough, who has shown him the attention he craves. He doesn’t want someone to just be with him for convenience’s sake. He deserves better than that, someone who will want him for him.
He wants something that is real, someone who is genuine. Something that is lasting.
Maybe it’s his hopeless romantic teenage self talking. Maybe it’s the boy who used to daydream about boys sweeping him off his feet and professing their secret love to him. Maybe he never really got over that phase in his life that 15 years later, he’s still here searching for that kind of love.
But is it really ridiculous to try and hope for something like that?
Renjun couldn’t help but chuckle softly at his train of thoughts.
“Hm? Do you want to?” Jaemin asks, ever-attuned to Renjun’s little actions ever since he stepped on his yacht.
Renjun leans back on his seat and watches as the wind blows the dark strands of Jaemin’s unstyled hair. He feels Jaemin’s hand on the top of his seat move to let him lean comfortably, the hand grazing the bare skin of his nape and leaving goosebumps in its wake.
“Maybe later. Let’s just enjoy the view for now.”
Maybe it really is his hopeless romantic heart doing the talk.
But here, away from the shore, in front of the falling sun, and in Jaemin’s little yacht above the vast ocean and below the endless sky, Renjun thought otherwise.
As he gets drunk in Jaemin’s warm eyes, he thinks that maybe... It isn't hopeless after all.
“You’re here for a three-day stay, right?” Jaemin asks while they walk side-by-side back to Renjun’s room. It’s already dark and the way back to the hotel is illuminated by the bright golden fairy lights hung on the lampposts.
“Yup, it’s my second day today.”
“Are you planning on going for a swim for the last time tomorrow?”
“No, I’d rather go walk around,” Renjun shakes his head and grins. “Besides, I’m not great at swimming. I swim by staying in the same place.”
“You do know you’re in a resort, right?” Jaemin raises an eyebrow and grins back. Renjun playfully rolls his eyes at him.
“Why, are you swimming tomorrow?”
It’s Jaemin’s turn to shake his head, “I have a meeting. I’ve had enough water that I already hate getting wet.”
“You do know you own a resort, right?” Renjun smirks as he returns Jaemin’s remark earlier.
At that, Jaemin lets out a booming laugh that they have to pause mid-walk while the man laughs his heart out. Renjun is caught victim by its contagiousness that it isn’t long until they were both laughing without minding the bewildered guests passing by them.
What Renjun wouldn’t give to see the expression on their faces when they find out that the man laughing his ass out beside him is the owner of this hotel-resort and its three other branches across the country.
“Alright,” Jaemin says when he calms down, “when’s your next vacation?”
“I don’t know yet. I think I already used up all my leaves.” Renjun sadly admits.
“Okay,” Jaemin nodded at the guards and hotel staff who automatically greeted him when they entered. “I guess I have to decide on a pad to buy immediately.”
Renjun looks at the man beside him in wonder. He doesn’t want to assume but he can’t help the hopeful feeling blooming in his chest. He breathes in and asks in a shaky breath.
“In Seoul?”
Jaemin gives him a knowing look and smiles, “In Seoul.”
Renjun feels like all the air left his lungs. However, instead of being out of breath, he feels full of something, overflowing within him and threatening to burst.
“Can I take you out on a date there?” a pause and then, “I don’t know how to drive a yacht but I do know how to drive a car.”
Jaemin rewards him with a beatific smile and Renjun feels his insides turn molten.
Dear God. He’s not going to fuck this up. He will definitely do everything to not fuck this up.
“It’s a date then,” Jaemin nods, “I’ll tell you the soonest I can go to Seoul.”
Renjun smiles brightly, “I’ll be waiting.”
“Trust me,” Jaemin says, the hint of a promise glinting in his eyes, “you won’t be waiting for long.”