When Joe had asked Jimbae to stay with him through the night and next day, he honestly wasn't expecting him to agree almost immediately. Considering that Jimbae just had a breakup not long ago, he wasn't expecting for Jimbae to let him in his life with ease.

Joe had always been the tryna be cool person. Because some people actually saw him as cool. But he always lost himself in the process. He'd be confused about his feelings and everything, he'd misunderstand things really easily, he wouldn't be able to tell apart if someone actually loved him or not. He honestly didn't care about his image much but others did. Quite so much that almost everyone he dated, even though he tried to give them his best, dated him for the image and to look good for the future.

Fah was kind of the only one who was different. Joe was popular in high school for his good looks and cool personality but when they started dating, both Joe and Fah were hated on because they apparently didn't look good together. Because Fah was popular in school for academic purposes, for being the ‘nerd’, for being smart. So it was just assumed that they weren't fit for each other.

For the first time, Joe tried to prioritize his feelings. He let himself free. He let his feelings roam and do whatever it wanted. And he let himself ask someone who made him happy to stay by his side. He didn't know in what way Jimbae took it, but for once, he didn't care enough to think about it. He just wanted to enjoy the moment.

* * * * *

Joe and Jimbae had stayed at a hotel near the beach they were on. Joe was obviously wealthy so even though Jimbae had insisted multiple times that he'd pay half the price of the booking, he refused.

At first, Jimbae didn't know about Joe's family's financial conditions. Because the fact that they met through the case when Joe would never do any of it if it wasn't for money was quite strange. If his family was stable, why would he need money? Later, Jimbae found out that at that time, Joe's relationship with his family wasn't quite great, so he decided to get money on his own to cover his own expenses but it was just that he got it in the wrong way. Who would've understood though? It was a mistake and he was a kid as well.

As Joe opened his eyes, his gaze immediately fell on the taller figure cradling and snuggling into his arm. His lips tilted up to form a smile full of happiness. It was a smile so genuine that he almost couldn't recognize himself.

Jimbae was laying on top of Joe's right arm, his tall body snuggling into the arm like a koala. Joe's arm was obviously sore but to think it through, it was worth it. When he attempted to snatch the arm, Jimbae shifted in the bed, gripping him even tighter.

“Jimbae…,” Joe murmured, tapping Jimbae's shoulder gently.

Jimbae roamed onto the bed, slightly frustrated as he opened his eyes slowly. He probably just hadn't gotten enough sleep. It took a while for Jimbae to realize that he wasn't in his bed, in his room and it wasn't his pa waking him up. He looked up at Joe for a few seconds, his big doe eyes and cute eyelashes fell rapidly as he blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes to the dim light and finally realizing.

Once he was fully conscious, he shied away and dug his head into a pillow nearby in embarrassment. “Sorry, phi Joe,” He murmured, the sentence barely audible with the weight on the pillow on his face and his ears red.

Being able to finally take his hand out, Joe got up from the bed. His smile got wider at the adorable sight of the shy Jimbae as he shook his head and walked away towards the balcony to open the blinds. As soon as the blinds were pulled open, sunlight shot directly onto the mattress, Jimbae's brunette hair almost seeming golden in the beautiful sunshine.

Jimbae looked around, trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness as he watched Joe walk back to the bed and sit next to him, Jimbae's face back to its usual color. “Good morning, little one,” Joe muttered in a teasing tone, leaning his elbow against the bed frame.

Jimbae yawned, struggling to keep his eyes open. He felt the tease Joe was trying to be but he was a bit tired to argue with it. Even though he hadn't taken any alcohol the other night, the sound of music and the sound of people talking in the bar was still ringing in his head, providing him with a horrible headache, if not a hangover. “Good morning,” Jimbae replied as he gripped a small bolster on the bed that he didn't even know was there the whole time.

Smiling from ear to ear, Joe's eyes roamed on the bedside table, a telephone shining at one corner of the table. He was too tired to cook. Besides, it was supposed to be a day to just enjoy together. He didn't want to waste even a single second of it by spending time on his own when he could spend time with Jimbae.

So Joe picked the telephone up and dialed the room service number. The cost wasn't an issue at all.

It didn't take long before the room service arrived. Joe was relaxed yet tense. After the food was served, as they both began eating, both of them seemed a bit distracted. Joe had been thinking about what he wanted to do next. The other night, with Jimbae in his arms, he was the best he had ever been and it was like a dream. He had no idea when he had begun to like Jimbae so much but it just happened.

Joe never had a crush. In fact, he just didn't like the thought of having a crush or liking someone soulfully. Previously, whenever he liked someone, he'd distance himself from the person and slowly just forget that he ever liked that person. But with Jimbae, he couldn't stay away. It's like Jimbae had a magnet attached to him that made Joe want to stay with him and protect him like the star he was.

Jimbae, on the other hand, was confused. He liked the feeling of having Joe by his side. But he didn't know if it was because he just needed someone to stay by his side in that vulnerable state or because he had begun to like Joe. He also didn't know if Joe was liking him or just being nice because he was younger. He didn't know if he had made the right decision by agreeing to stay with someone he hadn't known for long.

As they both finished the food slowly, Joe decided that it was supposed to be a fun day so he had to stop caring about things and just enjoy. He got up, walking towards Jimbae's side of the table before grabbing Jimbae's wrist and dragging him out towards the balcony.

Jimbae really liked the atmosphere. So he didn't argue with Joe. It hadn't been long since Jimbae had realized that he was growing up, he was getting maturer. Always smiling wasn't possible for him anymore. He tried, he tried to stay who he was before but life had gotten harder. He wasn't the careless child he was back then anymore. He couldn't always be happy anymore. The world was crueler to him because he had grown up.

Joe and Jimbae stood still on the balcony. The scenery of the ocean in front of them was mesmerizingly beautiful as their hands landed on the railing of the balcony and they leaned against it. Taking a deep breath, the ocean suddenly seemed like the sky to Joe. The blue ocean represented the sky, sand sparkling in the middle of the ocean as if stars in the sky, the few seashells on the corner of the sky, glowing brightly like the moon. With the flow of the ocean, the seashell was brought closer to the bunch of sand glowing, it was like the world trying to bring them closer.

Joe turned to look towards Jimbae. The smile on Jimbae's face was the brightest Joe had seen, the gums of his teeth on full display. After looking around a bit in uncertainty, Joe scooted closer, wrapping his arm around Jimbae's waist.

Jimbae looked back at Joe, his smile not fading the slightest as his face gained a crimson pink color. His eyes lifted back at the ocean as he spoke up, “Phi Joe?” He called out.

“Hmm?”

“Let's play in the water.”

Joe chuckled. He hadn't thought that Jimbae would be the one to request it first but he was glad he was. “It's too early!” He whined.

Jimbae's smile wore off to a more pouty circle as he stared at Joe, making his eyes bigger on purpose before blinking innocently.

Joe stepped back, taken aback by the sight of the cute junior in front of him. Jimbae always seemed big and honestly a bit intimidating because of his height, when he wasn't smiling. Joe would've never known that a person as tall as him could appear to be so cute. He gulped, the big doe eyes staring down at him, threatening to melt his toughness and give in. His expression wore off, he couldn't help but melt like an ice cream at that sight, his eyes satisfied and lips almost unable to hold back the faltering smile. “Stop it!” He murmured, his tone too soft to appear serious. “Let's go horse riding instead. We can play in the water during the afternoon.”

Jimbae's face lit up like a tube light once again as he nodded excitedly, his smile falling back in place. “I didn't know we could go horse riding here or I wouldn't have had to put on that show,” Jimbae pressed, pressing his lips to a small pout again as if reminding the shorter of his previous act before going back to his smile.

Joe held out a hand towards Jimbae and he gladly grabbed the hand, letting Joe guide him towards the place. As they both rushed down the white tiled stairs of the hotel, the joy in their faces was evident, both of their hearts beating in sync.

Hand in hand, they walked towards the beach. Jimbae looked around the beach, the other night they couldn't really explore the place because of the darkness of the night but now, as Jimbae looked around, he realized how huge the beach area truly was. He had thought that it was just another simple, artificial beach at first but no, that certainly could not be artificial.

As Jimbae looked to his right, he finally noticed someone quite far apart yet still seen, walking with a big brown horse next to him. He tugged at Joe's arm, the hand of Joe he was holding slipping from his hand for a millisecond before he grabbed it again. As Joe turned towards the direction they both began walking towards the horseman.

As they both walked, they realized that the person there was further apart than they had thought. Stopping for a few seconds in the middle, they tried to catch their breath before beginning to walk again.

Finally, stopping towards the horse after walking for what felt like an eternity and catching their breaths, Joe walked closer to the horseman, starting to discuss the price of the horse ride. “Okay, you can get on,” The horseman said after not much bargaining from Joe.

Joe turned towards Jimbae. “Would you like to get on first?” He asked.

“I don't know,” Jimbae answered, the folds on his forehead shifting suddenly in uncertainty. “I'm scared. I've never been on a horse,” He answered.

Watching Jimbae's uncertainty, Joe nodded before walking a bit far away to discuss something with another horseman. In a while, the horseman with his horse and Joe walked towards Jimbae. “You get on. I'll hold your hand.” Jimbae's eyes widened a bit as he wasn't expecting that but he couldn't help but smile, his cheek gaining slight color once again.

After a few seconds of silence, Jimbae turned towards the horse, feeling brave enough to try now as he grabbed the cradle of the horse with the guidance of the horseman next to him, landed his leg on the foot paddle and flipped around get on the seat which was placed upon the horse’s back, smoother than he had expected to.

Joe followed after, getting on the other horse with ease. As both the horses began moving, Joe sat on it easily while Jimbae struggled to stabilize himself over the horse. Watching Jimbae, Joe reached out a hand towards him before Jimbae grabbed it a bit hesitantly. Both the horsemen walked beside the horses with them as they held their hands and the horses were brought together.

For quite a while, they roamed around the beach on their horses while holding hands. The horsemen gave them a bit of a weird look at first but then just let them be. They didn't really talk much the whole time except just a few comforting, it's okay, don't be scared, I'm here, from Joe.

As Joe and Jimbae both came down the horses, the ocean began to look even more beautiful under the lovely sunlight that was right above their head at the moment, indicating that it had almost become noon. They walked around the beach for some more time, taking selfies, photos and enjoying their time together until they were both hungry.

After eating and taking a small nap in the hotel, they finally decided that it was the perfect time to go play in the water. As they walked over the cold sand, and the breeze of fresh, cool air hit them, they looked around to notice that obviously the day had gotten a bit darker.

Not wanting to take their clothes off and expose themselves in front of so many people that were on the beach now, they decided to keep their clothes on. As they walked towards the water, slowly letting the water absorb into their legs and pulled-up pants, Joe was given no chance to adjust to the cold water before he was pushed into the water by Jimbae, the same known smile evident on his face with a teasy hint.

Joe hit his arm annoyingly as he attempted to get up from the water, his clothes almost completely wet already. “You're being mean to your senior. You'll pay for this,” He said before pushing Jimbae on the water too and splashing water on him, returning the same smile Jimbae had on.

As Jimbae stood up from the water, he brought out his tongue to tease the older. The older’s lips formed a little pout before they continued their little game of water, carelessness and happiness.

As their playing continued, the genuine happiness on their faces was mesmerizing, leaving a trace of how stressful could one's life be and how much a break actually meant, especially when it's with someone one's comfortable with. Maybe that's what love was, even though they didn't realize it or maybe they did, but were scared to admit.

The sun behind them began setting. The red sunlight glorying the sky slowly, the shadow behind began to prove the love between them, until they both paused. It was as if the magnet that was bringing them closer had suddenly gained extra power. Their eyes locked into each other's, filled with longing without having to utter a single word, Jimbae's smile faded out as he felt his heartbeat getting faster than even when he was on the horse. His lips parted out, trying to get air from the sudden tension. But he didn't drift his eyes away. He knew what was going to happen but he really wanted to just be careless about everything on the day.

Joe's face slowly leaned closer and closer and closer, Jimbae's eyes closed on their own when he felt Joe's nose touch his own. He felt a hand reach up to the back of his neck but he didn't stop it, until he felt a pair of soft lips, slowly moving and savoring his own. Jimbae picked his hand up to grab the fabric of the man's drenched shirt, his own lips trying to move with the rhythm of the older's. Getting lost in the sensation of feeling loved, he couldn't care less about the people that were around them, probably staring at them as if they had seen a ghost.

Joe continued his movements, placing his lips on the taller’s from different angles, until he felt like he was satisfied. Joe gently pulled away, the biggest smile evident on his lips as he watched Jimbae touch his lips for a few seconds in shock before going back to his usual breathing, his face still some shade of pink.

To Be Continued….

* * * * *

A/n: I didn't even realise how long this chapter was until I checked it. This is currently the story I'm enjoying to write the most so I didn't even pay attention to the length at all.

Also, they finally kissed!

Please vote and comment if you liked this chapter. It encourages me to continue on ❤️