Chapter Text
This much matters: the breeze outside and the sky at night and a good place from which to see the world. A well salted meal. Water for drinking and water for swimming. The rest of everything else is optional.
High quality frozen dumplings are optional and low quality liquor is optional and airing bicycle tires is optional, too, though highly recommended. It’s much easier to get to the good place from which to see the world with a bike that isn’t deterred by a stone or two.
Seungmin’s bike is known for its bravery. The tires are never flat and the path he’s carved into Big Hill is proof of that.
Big Hill is nice to look at from across the city, but up close, it’s overgrown and intimidating. Not very dangerous, though, because Seungmin’s tires sculpted a little, winding way to the top. One he follows at least once a week. It’s a good place, after all, from which to see the world.
“Good morning, Haebyeon,” Seungmin says, greeting the modest, coastal city that spreads out before him. From the top of Big Hill, Haebyeon looks as insignificant as it is. It looks beautiful, too, though–slow and sleepy and getting warmer every day.
Seungmin dismounts from his bike, leans it against a tree, and sits criss-cross-apple-sauce in the little clearing Big Hill conveniently leaves for him. He takes a deep breath in, tastes the ocean salt on his tongue, lets a deep breath out.
“Are we going to behave today?” Seungmin asks Haebyeon. The city responds with chirping birds and crashing waves and faint music coming from somewhere. Probably the ice cream parlor. “Personally, I feel like causing problems. Will you support me?”
The beginning of June is a busy time for Haebyeon and, as such, for Seungmin as well. The local businesses are preparing for busy season, as tourists will soon flood the streets. Students at Haebyeon University are finishing up their finals in marine biology and oceanography and other such topics that are fitting for a small, coastal school like HU.
Once this week ends, they’ll be done. Once next week ends, they’ll have packed their things and returned home to wherever it is they came from. Most of HU’s student body isn’t local to Haebyeon like Seungmin is. Most of them came here by choice and will leave here by choice, too.
“We’ll have a few days of quiet once all the students skedaddle,” Seungmin says, informing Haebyeon of the schedule it’s already well aware of. “Then, the vacationers will come. The dumplings are on track for June, so we’re good there. I was considering getting ahead of schedule with dumplings for July–what do you think?”
Seungmin waits for an answer.
“Because of the meteor shower,” he continues. “I know that’s technically in August, but still. If I make the dumplings earlier for July, then I can make the dumplings earlier for August, too. And then I don’t have to worry about anything once the meteor shower comes. Seems like a good plan, don’t you think?”
Seungmin waits for an answer.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask,” he says. “Should I come up with a name for the meteor shower? Or, does it already have one? I just keep calling it the meteor shower. Does it need something better? I was thinking maybe only comets get names. But something more identifiable would be good for branding. Any suggestions?”
Seungmin extends his arm, pretending to hold a microphone out to Haebyeon so the response will be clearly heard. He gives it a few seconds before clicking his tongue and shaking his head. “Useless as always. A plague upon thee.”
Seungmin spends five more minutes on top of Big Hill, then fifteen more minutes getting back down. He makes it to the street without incident, as he always does.
“Good job, Seungmin,” he mumbles, then pats himself on top of his head.
Seungmin spends twenty minutes biking through his residential neighborhood, through the quaint shopping district, and to Haebyeon’s only bar at which Seungmin has the opening, 11am shift.
Bottlenose is neither outdated nor trendy. It is simply beach. The decor is beach and the music is beach and the customers are beach, too. Even the ones who aren’t full timers in Haebyeon. The moment you step into Bottlenose, you become beach.
“Hello, beaches,” Seungmin says from behind the bar. He wipes down the counter not because it’s dirty, but because bartenders are always wiping down the counter. “How nice it must feel to be so irresponsible.”
“What?” Chan says, sliding stools out for Felix and Lia before taking one for himself.
“Did you call us bitches?” Felix asks.
“We’re just sitting here,” Lia says. “What’s irresponsible about that?”
“You have finals to be studying for,” Seungmin says.
“Can't we take a break to say hello to our dear Seungminnie?” Felix asks, reaching out to pinch Seungmin’s cheek. Seungmin slaps his hand away, then threatens him with his alleged mind powers until Felix leans back enough that there is no more danger of cheek pinching.
“I finished my exams,” Chan says. He’s bragging, but he’s trying not to look like he’s bragging. It’s just a fact, you see. Grad school is different from undergrad, you see. Sometimes you’re done before everyone else.
“Ah,” Seungmin says, then grabs a few bottles from beneath the bar. He starts mixing something, moving too quickly for the others to get a good view of what exactly he’s doing, then slides a half-full glass over to Chan. “Then, here–on the house.”
“...What is it?” Chan asks, sniffing the concoction nervously.
“My own special recipe,” Seungmin says.
Chan takes a hesitant sip, then immediately screws up his entire face. He coughs hard and loud, as if just a few drops of Seungmin’s drink is enough to kill him.
“Oh, God,” Chan retches. “This is…Seungmin, what’s in this?”
“Poison.”
“Fucking hell.”
“Can I try?” Felix asks, taking a drink before he can receive either warning or permission. “Oh. Oh, no.”
Felix doesn’t react as harshly as Chan because he’s always been a sweetheart. Chan isn’t so bad, either, but he has a habit of trapping Seungmin in bearhugs he wants no part of. That makes him at least somewhat evil and therefore more likely to respond poorly to Seungmin’s wonderful, free beverage.
“Hey,” Lia says, propping her elbows against the counter. She gestures for Seungmin to lean in. “Come here.”
“Are you going to kiss me?” Seungmin asks, doing as he’s told.
“No,” she grins. “Even better.”
“Lia,” Seungmin gasps. “In front of everyone?”
“Someone new moved into the PW,” she says, lowering her voice to a stage whisper.
“Please refer to Pussy Willow Luxury Apartments by its full government name,” Seungmin says.
“It’s a hot guy,” she continues. “And he’s young. Like, around our age.”
“Oh,” Seungmin says. He leans in even closer.
“And he’s gay looking.”
“Oh!”
“I’m talking long hair,” she says, checking each item off on her fingers. “Cool clothes. Nail polish. Tall. Lean.”
“Stop, I’ll cum,” Seungmin says, covering his ears.
“We were texting about him in the group chat,” Felix says, joining the conversation now that he’s recovered from Seungmin’s very kind, free drink. “Didn’t you see?”
“No,” Seungmin says. “I left the group chat.”
“What!” Felix gasps. “Why?”
“You guys don’t say anything I care about.”
“Not even true,” Lia says. “Because yesterday, we were talking about the hot new gay guy.”
“His name is Hyunjin,” Chan says. “I talked to him earlier and, honestly, I’m not convinced he’s gay.”
“No!” Seungmin exclaims, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Why!?”
“I don’t know,” Chan shrugs. “Seems like he could just be artsy.”
“Fug,” Seungmin sighs.
“What did you say?” Chan asks.
“I said fug.”
“What is fug?”
“It’s like if you pronounced ‘fuck’ a little bit wrong,” Seungmin says.
“Why not just say fuck?” Chan asks.
“You don’t value individuality,” Seungmin says, leveling a finger at Chan’s face. “And that’s why your girlfriend broke up with you.”
“What?” Chan blinks. “Sooyoung didn’t break up with me. What are you talking about?”
“She’s going to,” Seungmin says.
“What?” Chan says, his voice higher pitched than usual. He glances from Seungmin, to Lia, to Felix, back to Seungmin. “Why? Did she say something? Seungmin.”
“He might not be gay,” Lia says. “But he’s new and–I cannot emphasize this enough–he’s hot. It’s worth a shot.”
“I have to go,” Chan murmurs, sliding from his seat and leaving quickly through Bottlenose’s front door.
“Are Sooyoung and Chan really breaking up?” Felix asks, watching as he goes.
“I don’t know. I just say things sometimes,” Seungmin shrugs, then turns back to Lia. “Did Chan invite gay Hyunjin to the bonfire when they talked?”
“Not sure,” she says, pulling out her phone. “But I’ll text the group chat that everyone else is still part of and make sure someone does.”
“I always thought it would be Chan to end things between them,” Felix says, still staring at the door. “Not Sooyoung.”
“Say: if see hot guy, invite to bonfire,” Seungmin says, pointing at each letter on her screen.
“You don’t need to ghostwrite for me,” she says, shooing his hand away.
“Make sure they know Seungmin is aware and beyond desperate to meet him,” Seungmin says.
“Aye aye, captain,” Lia says, typing out the message.
“I’m going to go check on him,” Felix says, standing from his stool. “Breakups are tough.”
“Make sure they know Seungmin called dibs, too,” Seungmin says, pointing angrily at Lia’s phone. “There’s a bunch of hornballs in that chat.”
“I’m adding you back in,” she sighs.
“No!”
The opening shift is not Seungmin’s favorite. It only starts getting interesting by the time he’s set to leave, which is annoying. Especially when all he wants to do is talk about gay Hyunjin with his friends, but all of his friends are too busy studying for finals to stay long enough to satiate his fantasies.
The other patrons–retirees, mostly–don’t seem interested in talking about gay Hyunjin, either, which should be grounds for the death penalty as far as Seungmin’s concerned. What’s the point of being old if you don’t listen to all the town gossip?
It’s around 7:30pm by the time Seungmin bikes back to his little home in his little neighborhood. Almost everyone in Haebyeon lives in condos or apartments, but there are a handful of houses for the lucky few residents who own them.
Inside, there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the dimensions of the house are suitable for about half of that space. It’s cramped, but with just Seungmin living there by himself, it’s perfectly fine.
There’s no lawn, but that’s okay because Seungmin doesn’t know how to maintain grass. There’s a garage for cars that Seungmin doesn’t have, but that’s okay because he uses it as a storage closet instead. There’s a fireplace that can’t properly ventilate, but that’s okay because Seungmin uses it to store two simple, lidded jars. They’re coated with a beautiful, glittery glaze that reflects the light in shimmering bursts when positioned just right. Seungmin always likens their visage to cosmic fireworks. His friends always ask what cosmic fireworks even are. Seungmin always likens his friends to blockhead chumps who need to go outside more.
The first thing he does is shower, then get dressed in his favorite summertime pajama set–blue satin with seashells. It’s technically designed for women, but they didn’t fit Lily when they arrived in the mail and returning packages is such a hassle at the university, so she gifted them to Seungmin instead. Who is he to turn down something so thoughtful, even if the neckline is very deep on him?
The second thing he does is pull out leftover kimchi-jjigae from the fridge, heat it in the microwave, and tie his hair out of his face. It sticks straight up on the top of his head–a singular antenna ready and willing to accept signals from outer space, though no one calls to him.
The third thing he does is settle onto the couch with his bowl and turn on the TV. He watches a single episode of his current drama–the one about a young man who starts his life over in a brand new city–then washes the dishes, climbs into bed, finishes two chapters in the book he’s been reading, and turns in for the night.
It’s still early, but Seungmin wants to be well rested for the bonfire tomorrow evening. And, specifically and without shame, he wants to be properly energized to meet gay Hyunjin.
Another morning, another trip up Big Hill, another opening shift at Bottlenose. It passes by in a blur and the journey back home passes by in a blur and suddenly, it’s 9pm and Seungmin is on the beach and all of his friends are on the beach and they’re drinking off-brand soda and laughing at bad jokes and having a wonderful time already.
The bonfire is a city sanctioned event, which means three things: one, everybody has to clear out by midnight and two, anyone of any age is allowed to show up which means that three, no alcohol is allowed. However, only the students ever go. And Seungmin, of course. And hopefully gay Hyunjin.
“Bet you can’t eat that in one bite,” Seungmin says, pointing to Chan’s freshly constructed s’more.
“I totally can,” Chan says. “Bet you can’t.”
“Oh, yeah?” Seungmin asks, raising an eyebrow at the same time he raises his own s’more to his lips. “Three, two, one, go!”
Chan shoves the s’more into his mouth at once, dripping melty chocolate and gooey marshmallow all over his chin, fingers, and neck. He looks at Seungmin with light in his eyes, but only for the moment it takes for him to realize.
Seungmin clicks his tongue and shakes his head, disapproving. His s’more remains intact and completely uneaten.
“I can’t believe you,” Seungmin says. “That’s so dangerous. Such a choking hazard. You’re too reckless, Chan.”
Chan tries to protest, but his mouth is too full of a choking hazard to allow it. Seungmin slinks away, moving from group to group so he can avoid Chan’s retribution for as long as possible. He’ll probably throw Seungmin into the ocean if past shenanigans are anything to go by, which Seungmin can’t have. He styled his hair for this. He wore a cute outfit for this. There’s glitter on his cheeks, courtesy of Sana. He can’t let Chan throw him into the ocean before gay Hyunjin shows up and gay Hyunjin sees the glitter on his cheeks and gay Hyunjin falls in love with him for it.
After thirty minutes, Seungmin starts to think gay Hyunjin isn’t coming. After thirty more minutes, Seungmin starts to think going into the ocean wouldn’t be so bad, actually, especially if he never resurfaces.
Soon, the bonfire will be shut down and soon, his friends will go back to studying and back to finals and back to their real homes for the summer and soon it’ll just be Seungmin left in Haebyeon.
After thirty more minutes, the most beautiful man Seungmin has ever seen in his life steps onto the sand.
“Oh,” Seungmin says to no one in particular. “That has to be him. Please, God, let that be gay Hyunjin.”