Chapter Text
Summer break was at an all time high and the heat was getting to all the residents of Hyosan. Especially one Choi Namra who was lying down on the floor holding a small handheld fan to cool herself down.
She was surrounded by a bunch of clothes and an open suitcase. She was staring at the ceiling and dying from the heat before closing her eyes and thinking of what made her pack clothes. Is she going somewhere?
She is going somewhere and it’s the beach and Namra hates the beach.
She truly did.
It was hot, it made you sweaty, and most of all it gave you sunburn which she hated the most. However, she did love her boyfriend and her friends so she was currently packing to go with them to a beach house around Yeong-deok. The reason behind this trip was the fact that both the Nam and Lee families were unable to go to their usual family vacation together due to reasons concerning both business and work. Cheongsan’s parents said they were unable to close down the shop for some reason, which Cheong-san said something along the lines of “It’s summer so there’s probably an increase in customers…” and an increase in orders from their restaurant. Business matters. On the other hand, On-jo’s dad had a small team retreat in Busan. She didn’t mind since her dad was usually away for weeks at a time. The families both decided it should be canceled for the time being until they were available.
However, Cheong-san had the magnificent idea of bringing their friends instead and suggested it to his parents and On-jo’s dad to which they both agreed. Of course, they made a group chat for those they wanted to invite which consisted of the usual suspects.
For the boys, it was Gyeong-su, Woo-jin, Dae-su, Joon-yeong, and Suhyeok. For the girls, I-sak, Min-ji, Ji-min, Hyo-ryung, and herself. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first trip they’ve been on together if you count field trips. If you don’t count field trips then this is their first ever trip together outside of Hyosan all as a friend group.
It was a three day stay at the beach house where they would spend most of their time doing whatever and simply relaxing. Her phone started buzzing from a call and she slowly opened her eyes to get it. She saw it beside her suitcase and quickly grabbed it and checked who was calling.
She saw the caller’s name and smiled softly at it.
Incoming call from Suhyeok <3
She coughed a bit to clear her voice a bit since her voice might sound dry and quickly swiped on the “Accept” button on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Prez.” Suhyeok said in a deep tone.
“What’s up?” Namra replied with a smile on her face.
“Why? Can’t I just call my girlfriend?” Suhyeok teased.
“You can.”
“Good to know. I just felt like calling and checking up on you.”
“I’m okay, I’m still busy packing.” Namra said as she placed her shirts into her suitcase.
“I’m surprised your mom allowed you, I figured she’d ask who you were going with or what you were going to do. All those things.” Suhyeok said, tossing a stress ball into the air and swiftly catching it.
“Not really, she doesn’t really care what I do outside of school. I guess.” Namra said while placing her undergarments and shorts into the suitcase. She then reached to get some pants she placed on her bed
“I see.”
“What about you? Are you done packing already?” Namra asked, placing a pair of slippers inside a small pocket.
“Yup, I finished two hours ago but I had to clean and fix stuff in the condominium since grandma was outside buying ingredients for dinner today.”
“That sounds nice. What’s for dinner?”
“She’s in the mood for some bulgogi, kimbap and some kimchi. She said it’s a good day today since she got some pay from her job.”
“Shouldn’t she stop already? I mean she is already nearing 65.”
“She should but she keeps telling me to just relax and that’s what she wants. Besides, she told me she’ll only ever use the money my dad and mom left for me for college or other important matters. She also has a pension so I guess we both can live comfortably for now.”
“Mm…I guess you can never stop your grandma. She’s quite a stubborn but sweet person just like you.”
“She did raise me after all so it only makes sense.”
“Fair enough.”
“Do you want to come here and have some dinner? I can come pick you up.” Suhyeok said in an excited tone.
“It’s okay. I’ll just feel like I’m intruding besides I’m seeing you tomorrow so you can go bother me then.”
“Okay okay.”
“Grandma wouldn’t mind anyways, you know that.”
“Of course, I do. I just don’t feel like always going unannounced or something like that.”
“I know, I know. I just figured you’d eat dinner here since I know you’re probably gonna order out again.”
“Hey, I can cook!”
“Sure. The last time I was there I checked your fridge and there were more water bottles and fruits than actual meat.”
“I have instant ramen…”
She only got irritated at her boyfriend who laughed really hard after hearing that. She rolled her eyes but the smile on her face proved she was also amused by the situation she was in.
“Namra…you know you can come here and have dinner with us.”
“Shush, I’ll be okay. Besides, I can always eat something nice before we leave tomorrow.”
“But that’s tomorrow. I’m talking about later in the day.”
“I’ll be okay, Suhyeok. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay, princess.” Suhyeok said in an affectionate tone.
Namra just smiled while shaking her head sideways at the term of endearment.
“Any plans for later in the day?”
“I might just take a small nap after this call and then take a walk around the neighborhood as usual.”
“As usual.”
“Or maybe workout at the condominium’s gym to kill time and build up an appetite for dinner.”
“That sounds good, It makes the meal sound tastier.”
“What about you? What are you gonna do once you’re done packing?
“Same as you, I suppose. Turn on the aircon, take a shower, and take a nice little nap. I want to make my room really cold because the heat is killing me.”
“Sounds about right, the heat is a killer today. Are you almost done packing anyways?”
“Yup, I just need to get some stuff for my travel kit and I’m all finished.”
“Then get them now.”
“Way ahead of you.”
Namra stood up bringing her phone with her and went to one of her cabinets to find her travel kit. She went and got some extra body wash, conditioner, shampoo, and some facial wash from a cabinet in her room. She also went to get some facial care like face masks and other stuff like cleanser.
“Done.” Namra said as she took a seat again and placed everything she took into her white travel kit.
“Very good. Now, you can take your well deserved rest in a dark cold room.”
“I finally can.”
“Hey, do you want to…” Suhyeok shyly said.
“Yes?”
“Nap on call together?”
“I’d like that but my mom might just barge in my room at a moment’s notice so…sorry.” Namra pouted feeling bad for Suhyeok but felt quite warm from the sentiment.
“Right, I forgot your mom is home for the time being until Monday? She has to attend a small conference in Jindo the following day, right?”
“Yup.”
“It’s okay. We can always…” Suhyeok stopped talking and continued his sentence by saying ”nevermind.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Spit it out, Suhyeok. It’s okay.”
Suhyeok let out a sigh before shyly saying “We can always take a nap at the rest house? I mean if it’s not okay with you, that’s fine. I completely understand…”
Namra just smiled widely at the idea and stopped Suhyeok from ranting on and on about something by saying “Suhyeok, it’s okay. You’re right, we can.”
“Oh. I was worried for a bit there.”
“I know but as I said. It’s fine, Suhyeok.
“Good to know. Good to know…” Suhyeok said.
“Relax, Suhyeok. It’s just me.”
“I’m done packing already so I’m gonna go shower already.”
“Oh, okay. I'll go take a jog already.”
“Okay. Bye bye, Suhyeok.”
“Bye bye, Namra. Sleep well.”
“Wait, Suhyeok.”
“Yes?”
“I-” Namra started to say but the words got stuck in her throat. She closed her eyes and relented by saying.
“It’s nothing. I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay?
“Okay.”
“See you later.”
“See you later, Prez.” Suhyeok said warmly.
Suhyeok ends the call and Namra places her phone by her study table. She covers her face in complete embarrassment. Why can’t she just say the phrase “I love you” to Suhyeok, I mean she does love him that much is true but she can never fully verbally say it to him.
She closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath before opening them.
“I might as well shower. That’ll clear my head.” She stands up to walk to the shower.
Her shower was quick and brief. She didn’t really want to shower for too long since all she’s been doing the whole day is lying down and putting stuff into a suitcase. As soon as she got dressed in a comfy pair of pajamas and a baggy shirt, she wrapped a towel around her wet hair to dry it off slowly. She then made her way to her aircon which she turned on to max cool which slowly cooled the air in her room.
She took one last look at all her stuff inside the suitcase and took a mental note of everything inside. Shirts. Undergarments. Shorts. Pants. Everything is set and Namra closed up her suitcase, propped it up, and placed it right beside her study table. She grabbed her phone from her study table and checked if there were any messages. It was just the girls group chat which had I-sak messaging them about being extremely excited for tomorrow. The class group chat which had Joon-yeong inform the class of something important for summer classes or something around that she was too lazy to fully read the whole thing. Lastly, it was a message from Suhyeok which she opened and saw a simple but caring message.
“Sleep well, Namra ❤”
Namra smiled in response and sent a small heart back at him and said “see you later.”
Namra went to close her open curtains which brought in so much sunlight. After she did so, her room was fully submerged in darkness with not a single bit of sunlight seen across the room. She closed her phone and slowly crawled over her bed to lay down. She opened her phone to check the time and it said it was 3:12 PM. She closed her phone once again and quickly placed her phone by her bedside and grabbed her covers to cover herself.
She faces herself towards the ceiling and stares at the darkness and she doesn’t think at all but is simply getting comfy. The air was very cold after 5 minutes to the point she could slowly feel herself sink deeper into her bed. After a while, her eyes gave out and sleep took her very peacefully.
She woke up feeling somewhat well rested and somewhat exhausted. She took a look around to see what time it was and was answered only by darkness. She shouldn’t be surprised since she did close the curtains before she slept so she resorted to slowly patting around her bedside table to grab her phone.
She checked the time and saw it was 7:04 PM and she decided to set her phone down and close her eyes once again.
“I slept way too long.” She thought to herself before slowly rising from her bed with eyes closed. She turned to take a step on the floor which was really cold so she recoiled for a bit before setting it down again and walking slowly to the bathroom door. She turned on the light to see very messy hair going all over the place and some rheum or “eye boogers” on her eyes in the mirror. She wiped her eyes first and grabbed a comb to comb out the hair that was sticking out. She left her comb hanging on her hair to wet her face with some water to look somewhat fresh.
She then closed the lights and continued combing her hair while walking around the dark apartment. She didn’t want to turn on the lights since she enjoyed the view the city gave at night so she went to the upper cabinets to grab some shin ramen and placed it on the countertop. She got a kettle and poured some water inside to heat her ramen. She set it back and placed the timer around 5 minutes.
She walked to the window and took some time to admire the view she had from her condominium unit. She saw the cars from the bridge driving slowly, the little people on the street in front of her condominium, and the stars that were somehow out today. She went back to the kitchen to check on her water and saw a little bit of time left so she opened her ramen and got some scissors to open the other packets inside, pouring it inside. Once she heard a ding from her kettle, she unplugged it and poured the hot water on her ramen. She grabbed some chopsticks and went to her room to consume her meal.
She placed her meal on her study table and cleared some space by her built-in couch by the window. As soon as she set her pillows aside, she went back to grab her food and quickly sat down and started eating her meal. She would eat slowly while looking at the view and listen to the ambience of the busy city streets and the occasional car honks and engines blaring in the distance.
The sound of buzzing notifications came from her bedside table and she slowly made her way to get her phone and bring it back to her own self-made dining area. She opened it and slowly opened to see what messages were blasting on her phone.
To be honest, Namra still isn’t used to having people talking to her through the phone. When a notification buzzed, she always just expected it to be her mother to bother her with something like groceries or other boring things. Now that she had a lot of friends, she was now happy that her phone seemed to have some use other than being a glorified radio where she listened to music from and her only contact seemed to be her mom.
She quickly browsed through the messages and saw the many group chats she was in and private conversations which she all had notifications for.
On-jo was asking her for her opinion on a cute little sundress she bought recently for tomorrow. Namra simply replied “It looks really cute! You should pack it and wear it while we’re at the beach!” after she was done with that she went on to the next.
Cheong-san was asking for her address so that they could pick her up tomorrow with the van they rented for the next three days. Namra quickly typed it in and went to the next conversation.
It was their group chat they were using for tomorrow’s trip and it was just a meme Gyeong-su sent which had over 5 laughing reactions but Namra gave it a laugh reaction without really laughing. As she finished her ramen, she went to her last conversation which was with Suhyeok.
He sent a few videos of him walking around his neighborhood and pictures of things he found cute. A playground, a bunch of flowers, a dog, and the view from the top of a very long staircase in some neighborhood around Hyosan. She smiled at the little pictures and went to text him to see if he was okay.
“hey, where are you?” She quickly typed in.
“evening, prez. am still outside.”
She let out a sigh in relief and quickly typed in something to follow up his reply.
“are you on the way home?”
“nah, i’m still enjoying the air. it’s pretty cold out tonight.”
“isn’t it way past dinner time? your grandma might get worried.”
“i texted her where i am, prez. i’ll be okay. i already ate too so am fine.”
“okay.”
“how was your nap? you slept pretty long y'know.”
“it was okay. i can sleep again right after my meal with how good the nap was.”
“walk around, lazy 😂”
“am not lazy. im diverting my energy to conserving more energy.”
“smartass”
She chuckled a bit, laughing at her own joke. She continued to type to continue their conversation.
“i’m a funny person, aren't i.”
“I want to squeeze your cheeks just because of how funny you are.”
“you’re no fun bleh”
“hehe”
“hey, is your mom home?”
“no, she won’t be home till later at night.”
“oh good, come down to the lobby. i have something to give you.”
Namra just rolled her eyes with a smile because this isn’t even the first time Suhyeok has done this sort of thing, coming here unannounced as if he lived here. She didn’t mind at all since she was always happy seeing him and holding him. She quickly went to get Suhyeok’s black hoodie which he gave her from her cabinet and quickly put it on.
She grabbed her keys and phone, slipped on some slippers, and locked her door as she slowly made her way to the elevator. She stared at the ceiling of the elevator as the occasional ding of every floor she passes, tapping her feet with it in sync, accompanies her down the many floors of the condominium. As she reaches the ground floor and the doors of the elevator open, she is greeted by the cold air of the lobby and the barely audible chatter of the guards and her boyfriend.
“You know you should just live here with how much you come and stay here nowadays.”
“I know but I don’t have any money to even buy a unit here. I know the rent is crazy.”
“It is but you’ll get to see your darling girlfriend everyday.”
“That does sound tempting.” Suhyeok says with a chuckle.
“Speak of the devil.” As a guard points at her.
Suhyeok turns around and gives her that boyish and charming smile that she loved so much and she couldn’t help but smile warmly and wave at him. He was wearing a plain white tee which was fitted and showed his muscles quite well, baggy gray sweatpants, and his iconic white Converse which we always wore. In his hands were his phone and a plastic filled with food. “Of course, he’d go out of his way to feed me properly.” Namra thought
As she reached him, she grabbed his hand and slowly brought him to the elevators. She quickly made a small thanks to the guards which they smiled and nodded in response. She dragged him to the elevator and as they entered, she quickly tapped in her floor number and closed the doors immediately. She turned to him and gave him a warm and slow kiss as the elevator started moving.
Suhyeok, stunned by this for a few seconds, quickly reciprocated the kiss and cupped her cheek to further deepen the kiss. As they pulled away the first time, they kissed again and again until Namra’s hands slowly tangled itself around Suhyeok’s neck and Suhyeok wrapped an arm around her waist. They stopped when Namra, finally ran out of breath, pulled away and gave him one last peck before simply looking up at him in adoration.
“Not even a hi?” Suhyeok joked which made Namra laugh a bit.
“Hey.” Namra said with an amused smile on her face.
“Hey, Namra.” Suhyeok said slowly rubbing her cheeks with his thumb. Namra’s cheeks turned rosy after hearing her own name.The way he says it though makes it all the more different to her than how other people call her by her official nickname at school which is “prez”.
“I brought you food.” Suhyeok raised a hand showing a plastic with probably some of the food he mentioned earlier that his grandma wanted to have for dinner.
“I see that.” Namra said with an amused tone.
“I figured you wouldn’t be full on the ramen you ate so I decided to bring you just a little bit of food.”
“Thank you. You didn’t have to, you know.”
“I know but I also wanted to see you so it’s fine, really.”
“I know you won’t be able to eat all of it right now so just save it for breakfast tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.” Namra replied as she took the plastic of his hands and held it. As the elevator reached her floor, Suhyeok intertwined their hands and Namra slowly brought them out of the elevator leading the way to her room.
“Come on.” Namra said.
“What time is your mom coming home by the way?” Suhyeok asked,
“Late around 11, She’s at a party right now so I guess it’s okay for you to rest here for a bit.”
“Okay then.”
Namra fished her keys out of her pockets and made her way to unlocking the door. Suhyeok leaned against the wall while waiting and admired Namra’s side profile before brushing a bit of hair behind her ear which garnered the attention of Namra.
“Why? Is there something on my face?”
“Nope, I wanted to see you better.”
Namra’s cheeks turned a bit rosy and turned towards the door. Suhyeok smiled at this cute action and just looked down the hallway. As she unlocked the door, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the unit.
Namra removed her slippers and quickly rushed to turn on some lights due to how dark it was inside the unit but Suhyeok said “It’s okay, leave them off. I know you don’t like the lights being on too much.” to which she just stopped in the action and walked slowly to him. Suhyeok took off his shoes and to her surprise he was wearing socks.
Suhyeok quickly placed the food down and walked up to her and they both embraced one another tightly. Despite how dark it was, they really enjoyed one another’s warmth. Namra buried herself as usual into Suhyeok’s chest while he had his arms wrapped around her waist and his nose was buried into her hair. They stayed like this for a minute and Suhyeok decided to start a conversation.
“You’re still full?”
Namra nodded into his chest.
“Do you wanna sit down and talk?”
Namra looked up and nodded enthusiastically with a cute smile on her face.
“Okay.” Suhyeok said with a chuckle.
Namra then pulled away from the embrace and pulled him to their room where they can sit by her built-in couch by the window. As they made it inside the room, she gestured with her free hand for him to sit there with her. Suhyeok just sat down occupying most of the space on the couch. Namra followed and sat in the space between his legs to which Suhyeok stretched a bit more to make her comfy.
She leaned back into his chest and Suhyeok wrapped his arms around her waist. They just sat there for a bit with Suhyeok closing his eyes and resting for a moment. Namra turned to look at the view until she saw the socks Suhyeok was wearing.
“Socks?”
“Yeah, socks.”
“What made you wear them today?”
“I walked really far besides I wouldn’t want my feet to be too smelly , especially around you, dummy.” Suhyeok replied with a joke.
Namra just gave a small snort and smiled at the comment.
“Are you excited for tomorrow?”
“A bit and at the same time not at all.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t been to the beach in a while.”
“When was the last time you went to one?”
“A long time ago.”
“You don’t remember?”
Namra just shook her head in response.
“I see. Well, it’ll be fun. You have me and all your friends there.”
“We can do all sorts of things there so we can make the most of our small trip.”
“Yeah…” Namra said softly.
“It’ll be fun, okay?” Suhyeok shook her a bit to make her look at him. Namra adjusted herself to look at him more easily.
“Okay.” Namra said with a warm tone as she looked up at him.
Suhyeok kissed her forehead and pulled her using his hands to sit on his lap. Namra just sat down facing him and placed her head in the crook of his neck. She took a quick whiff of him and commented on it.
“You smell good.”
“I showered before I got here so I’m sort of surprised I don’t really smell at all.”
“You always smell good.” Namra said as she started burying herself deeper into his neck.
Suhyeok didn’t comment and just made a small noise of understanding. He slowly rubbed her back which made her sleepier.
“Are you sleepy?” Suhyeok asked.
“Yeah…” Namra said softly.
“You just woke up.”
“I know…but it’s really comfy here.”
“Do you mean “on” me?” Suhyeok asked sarcastically.
“Yup.” Namra said quietly like her voice was drifting.
“Pfft.”
“Do you want to sleep?” Suhyeok asked.
“Not yet, not while you’re here.”
“Do you want me to tuck you into bed, baby?” Suhyeok asked teasingly.
“Shut up.”
Suhyeok just laughed at the comment, he knew it held no malice.
“You look really cute right now.”
Her eyes were closed but she smiled at the small compliment. Suhyeok felt her smile on his neck and he just smiled as well while looking at the view. He checked the time and it said 9:05.
“Hey…”
Namra gave him a sleepy “mm” as a response.
“What time does your mom go home?”
“Really late.” Namra replied with her eyes closed and her tone sleepy.
“That’s very vague of you, prez. What time does she really come home.”
“1-2 AM-ish. If she feels bored…” Namra said with a sleepy tone before disentangling herself from him and sitting upright on his lap.
“Why? Are you leaving already??” Namra asked with a soft tone.
“Yup, I have to walk pretty far. Best to start early.” Suhyeok said as he ruffled her hair. Namra let off a small pout before slowly getting off him so he could move now. Suhyeok saw this and smiled.
“Hey, did you just pout.”
“No.” Namra made her usual stone cold expression not wanting to admit she wanted to spend more time with him.
“Yes, you did. I saw.” Suhyeok said with his usual grin and a teasing tone.
“Then why did you ask if you already saw.”
“Nothing, I just like teasing you.” Suhyeok said with his boyish smile before cupping her on the cheek and kissing her. Namra looked as he turned his back and slowly made his way to the door where his shoes were. As soon as those were on, he turned to her with a smile on his face.
“I’m gonna go now, okay?” Suhyeok said with sparkling eyes and a grin on his face.
Namra took a few steps in front of him and tugged on one of his hands, looking at how veiny they were before looking up at him and saying. “Text me on the way home, okay? So I know you haven’t been kidnapped or anything.”
“I’ll be fine, prez. You know me.” Suhyeok cupped her cheek and kissed her again on the lips except Namra didn’t pull away. She kept kissing him until Namra pulled away and made a small offer to him.
“You know…” Namra said with closed eyes while bunching up his shirt with her fingers. “You can always stay a little bit longer…” as her breathless offer hits him as they are inches away from kissing again.
“That does sound tempting…” Suhyeok said with closed eyes and a smile on his face brushing his nose against hers. Suhyeok kissed her a few more times to
“Are you really sure I can’t convince you?” Namra said in between kisses with a quiet voice and a mischievous smile on her face looking directly into his eyes as her hands slowly wandered right by his stomach and slowly slipped a hand under his shirt.
Suhyeok could only groan with his eyes closed as he stopped her hand from traversing anywhere upwards and gave her one last kiss before pulling away. Not before Namra could bite his lip of course.
“You have me for three days. Calm down, princess.” Suhyeok said in a sweet and soft tone.
“But there’s people around.” Namra tracing her finger on his lips slowly.
“Hasn’t stopped us before.” Suhyeok retorted.
Namra’s cheeks flared up and she punched his chest while he laughed heartily.
“Ow. I’m kidding.” Suhyeok said with a smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist and Namra wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“Do you want me to bring you down as well?” Namra asked in a concerned tone.
“No, it’s okay. Just stay here and get ready for bed.” Suhyeok shook his head as he replied.
“Are you sure?” Namra asked again.
“Yes, I know you’re sleepy. It’s okay.”
Namra nodded in response and just looked at him. Suhyeok smiled at the small action.
“Remember to put the food inside the fridge so that you can eat it before we pick you up.” Suhyeok said before tucking some hair behind her ear and looking directly into her eyes.
Namra hummed in response while looking up at him with her obsidian eyes.
“You’ll see me in 9 hours, prez. You can be patient, right?” Suhyeok said in a teasing tone as he lifted her a little bit and swayed her body. Namra just smiled in amusement and nodded.
“Sleep as I leave, okay?” Suhyeok said as he placed her down and looked down at her with the warmest and most caring eyes someone can give to another human being.
“I will. Now go, dummy.” replied Namra who just smiled before poking his side.
Suhyeok just laughed before giving her one last tight squeeze and a quick peck before opening the door and going through it. He left the door open a little bit before waving a little bye-bye to Namra to which she waved back.
The lights were still off so she went to the table Suhyeok left the food his grandma cooked and carefully removed them all and placed them inside the refrigerator to eat tomorrow morning. She then went to get some water and drank it before going to the restroom to brush her teeth and went to bed again.
As she laid in bed, she placed her phone beside her and set an alarm for 5 AM. She waited for a notification sound to ring from her phone. She wanted to stay up a little bit more just to know that Suhyeok went home safe. It took awhile before she heard a ring and she raised her phone to check who it was.
From Suhyeok <3
Am home.
Goodnight, namra
See you later <3
She smiled at the text and quickly typed in a “goodnight.” and “see you later, suhyeok <3” before finally setting down her phone by the bedside table and going to sleep.