a happy birth day.
@560am with jb & minzy ( so so so soso so so late. )
“trust me, you only need two little things for this trip.” “two things. two. things. for. a. trip. are you crazy, that’s not happening im jaebum.”
she might be looking at him like he’s planning something as devilish as lucifer himself had when he’d whispered sweet nothings to eve, but jb’s not dropping the smile, or his gaze and he’s not budging on this.
“seriously.” he repeats, adamant, a nod, a quick lick of his lips. “stop it.” she exclaims, looking ready to possibly throw him out of his own apartment if he doesn’t shut up or agree with her--or stop messing with her. which is what she must think he’s doing.
“come on, i said to trust me.” this time, he keeps himself from smiling. it must be that, that’s making it hard for her to believe him. he can tell when her shoulders relax and her eyes fill with something else, something closer to curiosity than seeing him and his words as ridiculous. that’s when jb reaches his hands and she holds up hers. he wonders if she’s aware of it for a second, but then doesn’t linger on it as he tugs on the hold he’s got on her hands and bumps his forehead to hers.
“two things, trust me.” her gaze’s up at him, eyes searching, eyes wondering and jb loves that look on her. when he puts it there and he knows what it means. all the surprises that he could spring on her and she’d still look like that and tel a million stories with how she stops fidgeting and goes lax against him.
words are mere accessory in moments like these. where her arms sneaking around him is an answer before she’s sighing--as if it almost kills her to admit that she’s willing to just let it be. trust me, he says, and trust him she does as he kisses her.
that’s not before hearing her, “okay.”
“how long is this supposed to last?” this is’t her first question. jb’s been driving and for all of it, she’s been nothing but verbal. her feet up the front of his car and sunglasses on. sometimes she’ll open a window and catch some wind before closing it again. she’s fidgeting and it’s so unlike her that it’s given him been more of an urge to keep the secret just that. a secret.
“you have to say at least one thing!” it’s come to her sounding almost like a child. it’s made jb think of how she must have been. quiet as she looks, but not so much when she’s at ease as she is. minzy’s such a contrast when it’s a first and when it’s now, a hundredth, a thousands of times of seeing her. touching her. kissing and tucking her against his side. he’s done that enough times to repeat and make more than a hundred movies with the seconds he’s had doing that.
it’s a bit surreal to think about it. so much time spent with someone and still, none of it feeling like enough. feeling like there’ll never be enough. in fact, jb’s now thinking of the times where he wasn’t there, where she was still this little minzy but much more than that. a part of her that jb will never know and the same goes for him. a part of him she’ll never find as well.
it’s things like these that make two people finding themselves in path line more of a miracle than romance. this isn’t romance. this isn’t fate. it’s simply a wonder. they exist and minzy’s palm is outside the window, the wind strong--passing, making her hair float. blonde curls atop of her head, not just flowing but blowing and he’s had to at least let his fingers in them once during the drive.
“it’s been hours.”
when her voice goes quiet he glances furtively, wouldn’t want to be distracted and she’s always a big one. whether she’s cheerful and demanding, whether she’s reprimanding, upset. or whether she’s happy and content. or the sight she’s given him just now, cheek against her palm, sunglasses off, cheeks flushed from all the shifting around in the passenger seat.
not just that though. but that shes only clad in what he’s told her to bring. two things. a swimsuit and him or a two piece bikini. well, it did earn him a red spot somewhere on a part of his body but that’s worth it when he knows she’s got the same, lighter though--down her neck and shoulders and jb--jb needs to keep his eyes on the road.
with a frown and a tight grip on the wheel, he nods. the space within the car feels small and minzy’s soft laugh makes it warmer, softer.
“we’ll be there soon enough, then you’ll stop laughing.” until then though, her laughter doubles and jb soaks in the sound without complaining. the rest of the ride is quiet until he can hear nothing and when he turns on a curve, slows down. his gaze catches the bent of her neck and the slow rise of her chest. fast asleep, minzy like that. that’s something that’ll never feel like he’s seen it before.
she woke up with a husky tone to her voice, the kind that cracks with each sentence she wanted to let out. the kind that rubs against jb’s shoulder now as she leans against him. she isn’t quite awake yet, he can tell because of how she seems to want him to completely carry her. it’s tempting. what was even more tempting was to not only let her sleep in the car but push her chair down and settle down next to her so he could also shut his eyes and take himself in to a place that only peeks by when she’s wrapped tight within his arms.
it exists, one might think that sleep is just sleep, dreams are just dreams. but one must live it, experience it, before understanding that some things just aren’t just that.
just like how there’s much more to minzy than the way she’s sleepily mumbling against his shoulder and quietly holding a conversation with him. about what? mundane things. little things that happened to her this week and how this place is warm for a january and how she’s kind of missed the feeling of the beach and how--how she’s now catching up to where exactly they are and she’s pushing away from him with found vivacity.
“where is this place though? we’re in winter.” “we are.”
seconds of silence and then she’s turning around. there’s the flow of the wrap around her waist, covering her thighs but not hiding her skin from sight. it’s a flowery design against them, orange and green swimming across her skin. her feet are bare, tongs in her hands as she holds her arms up. the sun is warm and jb knows she’ll lose the bright white of her skin if thy stay under its ray for longer.
he intends to do just that. let her soak in everything.
then as usual, she stops time, makes it her own. makes his attention hers, makes his whole existence only hers to be lived and she smiles when she turns around. her footsteps are light in the sand. but they still leave a trail. one that jb quickly loses no time in following in.
first because of the words, “last to the sea never gets to take this bikini off!” second because he just can’t not. wherever minzy goes, jb will follow.
they swim, more than enough. enough that their skin stays damp even minutes after they walk out. they swim until the sea feels raw on their skin and the idea of finally leaving the waves feels like a dream more than a wish for it to become as such. they swim until they’ve swallowed enough sea water. from jb splashing her, from jb reaching for hr, from jb not being able to keep himself away and from a lot of other things.
mainly because it kept her laughing and as she laughed she would go down and she’d go down she would swallow. then cough, then accuse him of it when he’s a distance away and trying to not lunge towards her. he tried. they swim, he tries. they swim, she falls quiet again.
they swim until minzy’s now chin dipped in the water, arms floating and she’s watching him do lazy strokes towards her without budging. limbs might be tired, mind might just be numb from how warm the water is. the sun has done all it could to keep it that way but now it is time to set and let the night cool down the surface of it.
maybe that is why she’s fallen silent. looking instead of grinning and swimming away when he tries to get close. there’s no flinching, no retracting and when jb finally really gets his hands on her, he swears he feels her sigh before he catches it against his mouth. chapped and with more than a hint of sea salt.
it shouldn’t be this good, but it is. it’s even better than all the other times.
“you made it last to the beach.” “i did.”
minzy’s smile is felt with the cheek that curves against his chest. she hasn’t moved from this position the moment they fell in the car.
“maybe next time you will make it first.” jb hums. her tone’s getting lost with her mind, he’s sure. ready to drift off.
“thank you.” “for making it last?” her fingers lightly tap at his side. it’s a tickle more than a slap. “stop it.” “okay.”
he expects her to be quiet until tomorrow. expects her weights to grow heavier and then for her breath to get steadier. so before it all gets to that and he loses her to a land that she deserves, he tightens his arms, presses his mouth to the top of her head.
it’s important, “happy birthday.” it’s important and the way she slides up when he holds her tighter. slides up and hums and presses a kiss of her own against the arm that finds her mouth. they make jb happy that, at least, some birthdays might just always be happy.







