The sand was warm beneath your hands, clinging softly to your fingertips like powdered gold. The breeze was humid, salty, and filled with the kind of silence only oceans know how to hum. You sat quietly on your towel, legs tucked to your chest, chin resting gently on your knees as your eyes followed the figure out in the water. Soonyoung, your Soonyoung, wading waist-deep into the turquoise waves with his arms outstretched like he was greeting the whole world.

He laughed, loud and free—as a small wave hit him harder than expected, soaking his tank top and making him slip. “Yah!” he shouted at the ocean, sputtering, and you couldn’t help the small smile tugging at your lips. He splashed at the water like a kid, grinning, running fingers through his wet hair, then turning to you, squinting through the sun.

“You’re just gonna sit there?” he called out. “The sea feels like a bath!”

You only waved lazily back, not answering—because watching him like this, golden under the sun, eyes crinkled with joy, was more than enough. He always lit up near water, like his spirit matched the tide’s energy, forever in motion, forever gleaming.

He let it go. That was something you adored about Soonyoung. He never pushed you to match his rhythm. He simply existed beside you, loud and glowing, until you felt like joining in. And if you didn’t, he’d still shine anyway, hoping some of that light would find its way into you.

He threw himself into a wave then, disappearing for a beat, and your heart kicked up a little in reflex. But a second later, he popped up, soaked head to toe, triumphant. You could hear him laughing from across the beach.

He looked so at peace, so alive, and somehow—even from this far away, so in love with you. Every now and then, his gaze would drift back toward you. No words. Just a smile that said, I’m having fun—but I haven’t forgotten you’re right there.

You breathed in slowly. The ocean. Him. This moment. Maybe this was what forever looked like.