A fresh start, also knows as another chance after wiping out old offenses or debts. My twentieth-second summer was going to be a trip to rehabilitation, just to cure all the sustained scars that I got from this college year and to forget all the fumbles at once. 

And if I did. 

Breaking up unworthy friendships, jealous relatives that kept on judging my life choices or even escaping one committed relationship with my one-and-off boyfriend. I had to get away from that busy life somehow, stuffing my overloaded luggage is how I got myself on the first plane to Malta International Airport. 

Without any certain plans whatsoever, nor a definitive place to pursue work yet, getting out of my Airbnb was the only thing I could do. The bus transportation was honestly horrible, not even speaking about how riding a taxi was not a decent option either. 

My sleepy legs gave up trying their hardest, until I found a promising job offer online. A parttime receptionist at the Golden Bay for Aquamarine Watersports, an organization with the slogan that they are the "home" to those sea activities. 

It literally sounded like a golden opportunity, wasting no time as I called them with the question if the post was still available. Luck must be in hanging in the air at that time, hiring me with one call interview.

Here I am in full presence, a whole month later and still no plans were made for school or life. 

This mesmerizing beach was the only aspect that needed to be a liability. Being genuinely honest, I fell deeply in love with these clear beautiful waters, the feeling of the fresh Mediterranean sea air hitting your face and cooling you down in one go got me luring for it more.

The work team was splendid too, most of them were also from other countries and in the same age range. There was one guy who really did ride on the same boat as me, Boo Seungkwan from South Korea. He had a rather sassy and impudent attitude that clashed with my vibe a lot. 

Our co-workers always felt delightful while seeing us in our umpteenth discussion about who the bigger Beyonce fan was. Or when we blamed each other for not checking if the backdoor was closed up because last night a couple of gears were stolen from the lockup. 

Standing in front of our supervisor was frightening itself, preparing for the lecture we would get in a minute or so. 'Who did not do their task yesterday? I surely told you all to close up.'

Seungkwan and I met eye, rolling them at the same rhythm as if we rehearsed this dance. We had to come up with a better excuse than discussing who knew the adlibs to SHINee's Everybody more correctly. I had myself dived into K-pop knowledge years prior, but this smartass suggested that I could not compare to a native of that country unlike him. 

Simple quarreling got us into this major problem, which costs a fortunate for the company. I shyly turned my gaze away from the outraged man, whose hands and eyes turned redder in anger. 

Shutting my eyes tightly, they opened at instant as I heard the guy next to me confess openly. 'It was me, Brian. You can fire me for whatever it takes.'

This guy got some nerves, doesn't he? My view diverted straight to Seungkwan who felt no remorse while he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. The reality hit me in the brains, could it be that he was only doing this revelation to appear cool? 

And if I was going to let this slide, never in a million years baby. 'No Brian, it was me. Just give me the bill and I will compensate it somehow.'

From that moment on, Seungkwan stayed silence throughout the whole talk with our softened supervisor. Brian grew indulgent of me for this past month, treating me like his little sister so letting go of this for one time was the only thing he was compelled to do. 

Relieve filled my heart, grabbing my stuff to head to my temporary house until someone decided to stop this from happening. 'Yah, you did not have to lie! I seriously hate you man.'

This guy is vigorously looking for a fight. I threw my cotton tote bag with graffiti cartoons on the wooden bench, turning sideways while I put my hands on the waist. 'Why would you hate me for taking the blame for something that you are clearly in fault for? What do you have to say on that Boo? If you cannot act nicely, at least be no coward but you somehow showed your true colors.'

His sassy look showed up on his offended face, pointing his index finger towards me. 'Yah, do not call me a coward.'

My urge to fight back expanded increasingly more while I yielded back to his side. 'That is what you are Boo. Coward, coward, coward!

Seungkwan came closer to my frame while dropping his wholesome demeanor, acting like a parent who was lecturing his child for breaking a vase. 'Do not you dare to call me a coward, prick.'

As he closed the distance with each second, I did not whimper a single inch from where I was standing. 'Seungkwan is a coward, he is a coward...'

My mouth movements were not planning to stop, singing that line repeatedly with him trying to interrupt with constant failing. Seungkwan and I almost reached the closest distance that enemies could reach. 

I spit his designated label in his face, him bopping my head with his after a fierce staring battle and mentioning my subjective description of personality. 'You are such an attention seeker.'

A cluster of pain submerged from the place of impact while I eased the reddish skin with one hand. 'Hey, do not call me an attention seeker.'

This sentence came out as a silly but rather sulky whine, Seungkwan scoffing at how I interpreted that rebuttal accurately. 'Actually, you are right. In my opinion, you are not even a slight portion of a woman.'

My eyeballs were getting dry from centrifuging the whole time, setting the strand of hair that was bothering me behind my right ear. 'What does gender have to do with being a show-off? I can see one clear example who happens to be a male right in front of my face. Nevertheless, at least I am not like those stupid girls who you keep running after.'

Seungkwan's whole acting diva just sprung out, opening his French man immediately while overexaggerating just for the entertainer he is. 'Oh, excusez moi, I do not run after the pretty ladies. In fact, they run after me.'

This process was interplayed, my lips parting in fake surprise as I set my high pitch voice on rapid speed like a cartoon character. 'Oh wow! "Seungkwan is so cute. He is so sweet. How is he so handsome?"'

I gawked at Seungkwan, him not leaving any chance to argue against the mocking again. 'Yes, a bit less handsome than you are, right? Your moustache is a growing bigger.'

A mocking chuckle left my throat, clicking my tongue as I came closer to his frame again. 'This was a joke?'

The guy mimicked me while leaving a couple of centimeters between us. 'Yes, why?'

Finally, the patience erupted like a volcano as I bumped my forehead against his as a revenge, screeching my uttermost counterargument. 'I do not like jokes!'

Scrunching his nose acrimony, the raging bull screamed his seemingly honest opinion in my face. 'I do not like you!'

How should I describe this one interaction between us? The two of us looked like if we were going through our divorce settlement for which we had to fight for alimony. 

We parted dramatically fast, only to turn around while crying in unison. 'SHUT UP!'

The entire conversation was so teasingly annoying. From what I sincerely thought at first, nothing was that close to the real truth as this was showed true colors when Seungkwan decided to walk up to me one day. 

My reception duty was almost over, willingly helping a family of four, their children having pre-booked a jet ski appointment with much joy. The daughter was seemingly nervous as it was her first time after all. 

Telling her that she was well cared for, my conscious concentration drifted constantly towards the one who was staring at me like I was some kind of painting. After assisting our customers, I shot my gaze to the guy with folded arms. 'What do you want Boo?'

Rolling his large eyes, his hand went into his right pocket while fishing the navy covered phone out. Seungkwan held the device up, almost pushing the screen into my face while sternly saying. 'Number.'

It is not weird that days after that one incident, growing fond of my frenemy was the only outcome possible. Seungkwan was the only one who was on my mind nowadays and apparently, I was not the only one that felt that way. 

Without sparing him a singular look or letting him notice the red hues on my cheek and ears, I hastily grabbed his phone and pushed the numbers in a rapid speed. I could see him smirk, and that one action gave me a source of happiness.

Such a cool breeze, the wind, sounds of rocks clashing together with water waves and people experiencing their lives. Little kids are getting instructions on the seashore, dancing and following without worries. 

We were seated on the slight dewy sand, our white uniform shirts with dark blue letters were clinging onto our bodies while I paired it with white basketball shorts and him with beige ones. 

This was surprisingly the only sand beach that this Republic had on Malta, taking this one summer day to really appreciate the beauty that it gave, even though it was packed with sunbathing foreigners. The blazing sun had almost set its sleeping timer, gracefully and mindlessly working slow steps. 

My head that laid on Seungkwan's left shoulder straightened up, complaining while complimenting the considerable effort. 'Look, those kids are having so much fun! But why is that man screaming so damn loud?'

Seungkwan chuckled at my way of phrasing, folding his legs right up as he hugged them. 'Well, someone needs to entertain them, speaking of...'

I knew exactly which direction this was going, stopping the one who had already set his feet into a sprint. 'Are you nuts, Seungkwan?'

Letting his bum hit the sandy ground again, he quickly leaned in for a small kiss on my right cheek while ruffling my knitted hair. 'A chestnut yes.'

The scoff left my lips as I let my head rest on his comforting shoulder again, peeking at the exquisite sight that I was going to miss the most. 

To every far-fetched story comes an end eventually, mine due to next week while I had no clue how I was going to manage a long-distance relationship. I certainly did not want to leave the brown-haired guy with chubby cheeks that I could squeeze till he would get irritated. 

My voice suited the soothing sea breeze, mumbling the obvious played-out display. 'The sea is so calming when it is almost dawn, isn't it?'

Sipping on his staple drink, the infamous Decaf Iced Americano, Seungkwan sighed freely upon hearing my words. 'You are absolutely right.'

Sometimes you need to let out your worries right away, sharing this with your loved ones is the best solution. 'Seungkwan, are we going to be okay? I mean...'

I felt the side of his head on mine, staring at the waves that became timidly slower. 'Of course, we will. Calling, texting and nowadays plane tickets are getting more affordable as we exisst in a world where we cannot live without it anymore. By the way, I am feeling gloomy to go back to the city. Seoul is a bit too hectic.'

The hum of agreement from my end engulfed us, Seungkwan stating something that was on my mind the whole workcation long. 'Is it obvious if I say that I think that you like a more remoted life?'

I got my head of his shoulder again, looking him straight in the eyes while his face was lit up by the twilight in the soft colored sky. 'I know, but what about the people that we need to please? They expect something from you and my stamina is not going to hold it any longer.'

Seungkwan grabbed my right hand, rubbing the handmade bracelet with blue stones that I got in the capital city Valetta while he clicked his head to the right. 'The sole reason why this is called a vacation, to bring back the jumping child in you which is...'

And without further ado, my whole body was dragged into the sea as the waters drenched my clothes at instant. Eyes were grown into large circles, darting a death sentence to my ongoing summer fling in one swift while he just laughed at my disoriented state. 'HEY, YOU IDIOT! I seriously hate you.'

He slapped the clean water in my direction, hitting my face with several tries as Seungkwan could not stop his snickers and squealing. 'Yah, I know you already love me, so do not lie.'

Seeing that I was not amused by his childish yet youthful behavior, he grabbed both of my hands again to pull me closer. I set my hands on his chest to question my past actions. 'Why did I say yes to your confession again?'

Our clothes were getting even more soaked, yet we should not care less as the nature surrounding us serenaded the most beautiful thing on earth. 

Seungkwan got my eye contact by chuckling again, leaning in for a lingering kiss on my forehead after. 'Because you could not resist me. Nor could you throw away the chance to meet the one who was going to make your life better than ever.'

Here you can feel free to love.

Whoever you want to love,

To dress in anyway that

Let's you express yourself

And be whoever you want to be

Here you will always

Find a smile, never a judgement

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Awh, I find this imagine a bit too sweet. I wrote this story while sitting on the beach of Malta and this was honestly amazing. I loved that country so much that I am willing to go back whenever I will get the chance to do so.

The poem at last is found at the front of the Golden Bay, crafted onto a wooden pile.

The way the mc and Seungkwan met, it happened right in front of my eyes which was honestly so cute. 

And a little "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (Bollywood Movie) scene in there could not do any harm right? I can imagine myself fighting without any reason with this guy haha.

Seungkwan, you made me smile in my most sorrowful moments <3

Ps. I feel so bad for asking but voting will help me get higher rankings so please feel free to do so <3333

Love,

dahliainjeolmi01