We walked beside the sea, the sound of the waves following us.
The evening breeze felt cool against my face.
Suddenly, something caught my attention.
A small shell was lying near the edge of the water.
"Look..."
I walked toward it without thinking.
Sihoon noticed and followed me.
I crouched down and picked up the shell.
It was small, with a soft pattern across its surface.
"It's pretty."
Sihoon stood beside me and looked at it.
"You like shells?"
I smiled.
"I don't know. I just thought this one was beautiful."
He looked at the shell for a moment, then at me.
"Then keep it."
I looked up at him.
"Really?"
He nodded.
"You found it."
I smiled and carefully held the shell in my palm.
For some reason, such a small thing made me happy.
I held the shell up toward the sky.
The moonlight fell across it, shining softly through its edges.
I stared at it for a moment.
Under the moonlight, the little shell looked even more beautiful.
"It's gorgeous..."
I smiled without realizing it.
Sihoon stood beside me, quietly watching.
But I was too focused on the shell to notice.
Suddenly, I remembered that everyone was waiting for us.
I looked at Sihoon and noticed that his eyes were already on me.
When he saw me looking at him, he gave me a small smile.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked.
He nodded.
"Yeah, it is."
We started walking again.
When we were about to reach the fish market, Sihoon suddenly held my hand and led me toward a small shop nearby.
I looked around and immediately noticed that it was filled with the kind of shell-themed stationery I liked.
There were so many beautiful things—shell-shaped pens, notebooks, keychains, little decorations, and more.
"How did you know there was a shop like this here?" I asked.
He smiled a little.
"When I was little, I came here with my parents. I remember my mom liked these kinds of things. My dad used to bring my mom to this shop."
I smiled.
"Uncle was so romantic."
The moment I said it, I realized what I had just said.
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.
Sihoon looked at me for a moment.
"Yeah."
Then he glanced around the shop.
"He's still romantic."
I looked at him for a moment.
Then I quickly turned my attention back to the shelves.
"Look at what you like."
I started looking at all the beautiful things around the shop.
There were so many things I wanted to see.
But suddenly...
My eyes stopped at one particular item.
A small pendant.
My eyes stayed on the pendant.
It was made from a sea shell, with a simple design that looked beautiful under the shop's soft light.
I picked it up carefully and looked at it for a moment.
"I want to buy this…"
I checked the price.
My smile slowly faded.
I didn't have enough money.
I put it back where I found it and quietly looked at the other things instead.
After a minute, I said to Sihoon, "They must be waiting for us. We should buy something for dinner."
Sihoon nodded.
We walked into a nearby fish shop. There were so many different kinds of fish and seafood that we both stood there for a moment, not knowing what to choose.
Then my eyes stopped on the squid.
"Should we buy this?" I pointed at it. "They must like it."
Before Sihoon could answer, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "Your girlfriend is right. Our squid is really good. You should take it."
I froze for a second.
"I'm not his…"
The words almost came out.
But before I could finish, Sihoon calmly said,
"Okay. We'll take this."
I looked at him.
He didn't seem bothered at all.
I didn't know what to say, so I just looked away and quietly waited while the shopkeeper packed the squid.
Sihoon took the squid, and we started walking back beside the ocean.
The night had become quieter.
I looked out at the water. Under the moonlight, the ocean shimmered softly, and the stars above us made everything feel almost unreal.
I looked up at the sky.
Then suddenly, I saw a shooting star.
"Sihoon!" I said excitedly. "Look!"
He immediately looked up.
"Make a wish!"
I closed my eyes before he could say anything and quickly made my wish.
I smiled to myself, feeling strangely happy.
Then, still excited, I opened my eyes and turned toward him.
And stopped.
Sihoon wasn't looking at the sky anymore.
He was looking at me.
For a second, I forgot what I had been about to say.
The sound of the ocean suddenly seemed quieter than before.
He looked at me as if he wanted to tell me something.
But before he could say anything, we heard Minhu calling from behind.
"Hey, Jia! Sihoon! Why are you both standing there?"
Sihoon quickly looked away.
I did the same, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.
"Let's go," I said quietly.
We started walking toward Minhu.
But just before I moved, Sihoon reached out and gently brushed something from my hair.
I froze.
My heart suddenly started beating faster.
He held up a small leaf between his fingers.
"There was a leaf in your hair."
Then he tossed it aside and looked at me.
"You look really beautiful today."
For a moment, I couldn't say anything.
My heart beat even faster.
I looked away, trying to hide how nervous I suddenly felt.
"Let's go," I said again, much more quietly this time.
And we continued walking toward Minhu.
But his words stayed with me all the way back.
We finally reached the cottage.
Minhu came over as soon as he saw us.
"You guys got squid?" he asked, taking the bag from Sihoon.
"Yeah," I said. "I thought you all would like it."
"Of course we will. We can grill it for dinner."
I smiled. "See? I knew it."
"Nice choice, Jia," Minhu said. "Thanks."
"You're welcome
"You should freshen up," Yian said.
"Yeah," I said, still feeling a little tired.
Sihoon and I walked toward our room.
We opened the door and stepped inside together.
At first, everything seemed normal.
I took one step forward.
Then I stopped.
Sihoon stopped beside me too.
Neither of us said anything.
Something was different.
And somehow, neither of us had realized what was waiting for us until that moment.