Chapter Text
seungcheol loved the sea.
he loved watching the waves build and roll over, gliding with the white foam on to the land, and then retreating back only to repeat the cycle. it was calming, therapeutic even. seungcheol also enjoyed the way the ocean tended to change colors. today it was a stunning baby blue, refreshing and energising
it was as lively as ever as seungcheol watched from the shore. he pulled his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms over them, resting his chin on his forearm. he blinked lazily as he dug his toes into the warm sand. seungcheol considered lying down and falling asleep right then and there when an odd shimmer in the water captured his attention. he lifted his head and squinted, trying to spot the shimmer again. the water always reflected the sunlight and created beautiful white effects among the blue, but this shimmer was different, linear in a way.
he blinked, and found himself standing and heading towards the ocean. he felt some kind of... pull; as if he was a wave flowing back into the sea. he entered the blue waves without hesitation, thankful he had worn his swim trunks today. the strange light he had seen was farther than he thought, as seungcheol found himself swimming all the way to the sand bar.
he trudged through the deeper parts and onto the shallow area, the water reaching his ankles. seungcheol scanned the water around him, eyes darting at every speck of light. he turned to face the horizon, admiring the vastness of the dazzling water. he wished his eyes could see farther, wished he could see the curve of the earth. seungcheol was pulled out of his thoughts, sensing eyes on him. he turned towards some rocks sticking out on the edge of the sandbar, almost not catching a head of lavender hair darting down behind the gray, jagged form.
he called out, “i saw you,” he angled his head trying to get a better look, “you can come out if you want.” seungcheol waited patiently, never taking his eyes off the rocks. he heard a huff of air and saw the lavender locks reappear, followed by the most breathtaking face he’s ever seen.
seungcheol stood there and continued to stare; he didn’t even notice until the breathtaking face began to turn a shade of pink. “oh uh,” he coughed, “sorry for staring, y-you’re just really attractive.” it was his turn to blush as the beautiful creature before him giggled and that was fucking adorable. seungcheol smiled and took a step towards the stranger, only to stop as the others smile dropped and backed away slightly.
he took two steps back and raised his hands up, “sorry! please don’t leave i- i just” seungcheol stuttered, trying to get words out, but the other returned back to their previous position and smiled softly at him. seungcheol smiled shyly and sat down in the water. he cleared his throat, “my name is seungcheol.”
the other rose slightly, still staying behind the rocks but exposing narrow shoulders and defined collarbones. the stranger swallowed before speaking “i’m jeonghan.” seungcheol grinned and jeonghan returned the expression. they spoke first “i see you out here a lot.”
seungcheol scratched the back of his neck,”yeah, i’ve always loved the ocean and beach, ever since i was a kid, i would make my parents bring me out here all the time.” another smile graced jeonghans face. it was weird, seungcheol has been to this beach countless times, but he’s never seen jeonghan before. he was sure he’d remember such a stunning face, but he racked through every memory he retained and couldn’t think of any time he would’ve seen them. he decided not to mention it though, fearing it may make the conversation awkward, well, more awkward; neither of them said anything, they just kind of stared, studying each other's faces.
jeonghan broke the silence, “what do you like most about it?” they gazed at him expectantly, seeming slightly eager for an answer. seungcheol stared out at the water in thought for a moment. “probably how peaceful it seems, despite everything going on. like how the waves look calm and flowing, even though it's being pulled back and forth constantly,” seungcheol looked back at jeonghan, and they were listening attentively, “and how on the surface there’s mostly only small waves and ripples, but below that, there’s tons of creatures and color, moving and full of life.” the two smiled almost simultaneously.
they sat there together, talking more about the ocean, to their favorite colors, to their favorite sea creature. time seemed to pass without them.
but reality was slowly sinking back to seungcheol, noticing his feet beginning to get pruney and hearing his phone ring loudly from where it sat on his towel way back on the shore. despite his own wishes, seungcheol thought it best to leave. “jeonghan, it’s been wonderful talking to you,” he stood, “do you think i could get your numb-” his words were cut short as he looked back at the rocks and found that jeonghan had disappeared. his eyes darted around, but there was no sign of him. “huh.”
he felt disappointed but most of all, confused.