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"ugh, how much longer?" you groan, scorching rays of sunlight directly hitting your eyes in spite of the back of your hand trying to shield yourself.
jisung has never been athletic, but he loved being outdoors and enjoying nature; even when it meant that he would be subjecting himself to the sweltering august heat with you, his whiny girlfriend. although he didn't mind all of your complaints, he felt bad for you. it was worth it though. what brought true value to him? never mind the view, whether that was a vast stretch of mountains from the view of a hanging bridge or the rolling waves of the ocean. he only dragged you along on these hikes to see that smile of yours and it brought an indescribable feeling of accomplishment seeing your eyes turn into nothing but creases.
but that final moment of sweet, sweet victory was nowhere in sight for now.
he shakes his head, grimacing to himself with his back turned from you. "just hold on baby, we're almost at the top, look!"
it had been just shy of an hour since he had convinced you to scale this cliff after observing it from below on the beach. you were minding your own business, striped beach towel splayed out on the sand, parasol covering just the left side of your face with the rest of your body exposed to the sun above. by the time your skin had begun to bronze, jisung laid down beside you and soon enough, he dropped very obvious hints that he was in the mood to go for a walk.
between the begging tone in his voice and the glimmer of citron yellow twinkling in his eyes, it was so easy to admire him and easier to give in. he had just gotten his hair dyed for work, a deep cherry red that looked so charming and so cute and so hot, and it was wet after he had splashed about near the shore, too scared to go further out since he was, again, not the most athletic. the deepest body of water that this man had put his body into was the hot tub of the hotel you stayed in for your first anniversary so it was not to your total surprise.
if you weren't already boiling enough, the humidity as you got further up only began to worsen, your bathing suit sticking to your skin like it had been glued on. on top of that, you left your water next to your book back on the ground and you were pretty sure that your phone was buzzing to alert you that you should reapply your sunscreen right about now. just those thoughts alone made you regret even coming up here. there was only really one thing that swayed your rational thinking and that was your goofball boyfriend. in two days, you would be headed back to korea and his schedule would pick back up again, meaning that you wouldn't see him as much as you'd like to for at least another few months. sure, you could wait a million years to feel his embrace again, probably could cross the river styx and return back to the earth after walking through the infernal hellfire of the underworld, but nothing could really warm you up or dethaw your frigid grumpiness like cuddling han jisung.
after being persuaded by chan to begin going to the gym during the sleepless nights of their tour, his arms had been carved into hulking biceps and visible veins that, honest to god, you thought about sinking your teeth in to most of the time. it was hard to focus whenever they were in sight: it did not matter if it was the mere silhouette of his muscles through a body-fit compression shirt or like now, on full display along with his abs and his tattoo trailing down his chest and ending in line with his navel. seeing jisung shirtless made you feel borderline religious. maybe it was the thought of seeing a side to him that many others could only dream of seeing once in their lifetime, or maybe it was the fact that you could ogle him freely without the fear of him shooting you a nasty, judgemental look because you knew he was fully capable of that, but, ultimately, it came down to this huge softie having the exterior of a greek deity that really got your heart racing.
exhibit a: you stumbled weakly behind him, knees landing on the white-hot gravel beneath you.
you yelped out of surprise but you didn't really get hurt, so you quickly dusted yourself off and got back up to your feet or at least tried to. however, after unsuccessfully hauling yourself into a standing position, jisung turned around and hurriedly rushed to your side, squatting down with his hand automatically flying to your knee with his eyes meeting yours; he was obviously trying to check if you would wince under his touch but played it off as steadying himself.
"babe! babe, are you okay?"
all you could do was nod, wriggling back and supporting yourself up by your palms. he moved to adjust to your new position.
"i'm not too sure of that." jisung's lips pursed together while his fingers kneaded the side of your kneecap, carefully examining the superficial indents that the impact of the stumble had imprinted.
in response, you shake your head. "ji, i'm fine, yeah?"
like magic, his gentle touch turned into a sting that you could not contain in your expression with your legs jerking up in pain as well.
his eyes narrow playfully. "now, i know you're not one to lie usually, but you don't have to worry about apologising about it today, nor do you have to even hide in the first place. here, c'mon, piggyback time."
"ji-"
it's too late. he has turned his back and is holding his arms out behind him. "get on."
at first, it sounds more like a suggestion than a command but, when jisung clears his throat and opens and closes his hands, it's crystal clear that he won't nag any further nor will he be accepting no for an answer. so, reluctantly, you hug him, barely fitting your arms around his own and he moves back to scoop you up. with one swift push forward and a guttural grunt forcing itself out of his mouth, you're now straddling his lower back, legs wrapping around his torso with ease. more than anything, you're shocked that he can even stand to carry you on his back underneath the scorching post-midday heat, let alone continue to speak.
"so, let me give you all of the drama from the group chat. apparently, hyunjin-"
he momentarily swivels his head to check on you, chin resting on his shoulder but promptly moving back to allow for his full mobility. you attempt to hide your nervousness about being this high up while he's giving you a piggyback, but, as jisung always does, he sees right through you. "jisungie's got you, i've got you, 'kay?"
even the slightest reassurance sounds like an endless choir of angels to your ears, as though he was building you pillars of stability while you rested upon his shoulders. you couldn't even feel the penetrating sunlight upon your skin anymore. for the entire time you were on his shoulders, it felt like you were saddled upon one of those palanquins that pharaohs were carried about on. the incline was not that steep and your boyfriend was good at hiding his own discomfort if it was for your sake: on top of all of that, he kept speaking to you, even if all you could manage was a couple mhm's and oh really's every now and again.
soon enough, you had reached the very top. thankfully, for both you and jisung, the sun had just begun to begin its descent, the sky tearing apart into fragments of aquamarine and turquoise, separating at arbitrary points and splitting open into bursts of champagne and marigold. it was like no early evening sky that you had ever seen before.
"beautiful, right babe? damn, look at that view."
your hands gripped on tighter to him as your gaze took in all of the beauty in front of you. the ocean was still calm as ever, looking even more blue than it did when you were closer to it. with your fingers tracing his collarbone and drawing a line from the base of his neck to behind his ear, you dug your chin deeper into his shoulder meanwhile your fingertips drifted into his hair, damp from his shallow-end swim from earlier. tilting your head to look at him, your eyes met his, already looking at you with such contentedness and softness, your heart melted. the bright flecks of hazel and daffodil were still present and his plump lips drew you in for a passionate kiss, eyes flying right back open after closing them for a second.
desperate to evict the butterflies from your stomach, you remark, "ugh, how much longer?"
jisung just scoffs in amusement and bends his knees, making sure you stay put behind him. when he's done and you look back forward to appreciate the landscape in front of you both, he pecks you once more and sighs with a wholesome quality in his voice.