a day on the beach [dated to 2/9]

[caughtinalie]

It's really not warm enough for a beach trip, but maybe that's why they're doing it. It's an impractical trip, a flight of fancy that hadn't been planned or anticipated, a spare afternoon where none of them have other plans, or at least no plans that can't be changed. They have a free few hours and Jin's truck and nothing in the world sounds better than spending a few stupid hours together.

The hyungs all pile into the cab, Jin hyung and Joonie hyung up front, the other two just behind them while Jimin and Taehyung and Jungkook make themselves comfortable in the bed. Or at least as comfortable as they can with a few blankets, their cheeks turning a frigid pink as the wind whips at their skin. It's next to impossible to carry on any conversation back there, but that hardly stops them from trying, the three of them screaming and laughing into the wind, rejoicing in the opportunity to just be away from the rest of the world, to exist in just this exact moment with nothing else weighing them down.

Jimin's ears are ringing by the time hyung pulls onto the familiar stretch of beach, body buzzing from the vibration of the truck on the road as he hops out.

It's even colder here than it'd been in the city, the wind rushing off the water, chilling Jimin to the bone despite his big, puffy coat. But it feels amazing, the sand soft under his shoes as he runs up ahead, glancing back at his friends as he comes dangerously close to the edge of the water, hands still stuffed in the pockets of his coat. The dulled sunlight glints off the truck, a little blink as the sun is enveloped in another blanket of clouds.

They've only just got here, still have hours to spend doing just about whatever they want and yet, some part of Jimin is already dreading when it all ends.

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[caughtinalie]

Somehow, it's not Yoongi's he's expecting to find, but his smile widens all the more for that as he brings his hand close to his chest, trying to protect the little crab from falling off and tumbling back into the water.

"Just wanted to see if I could find one of these," he admits, smiling down at his hand. "And it's nice to get some air too."

He doesn't mention why it might be necessary, how the sign they'd passed on the way here had made his breath catch and his vision start to go dark. The fresh air is nice, being away where he can breathe is even better.

At the same time, he's glad hyung is here with him.

[likedriedflowerpetals]

"It's cute," Yoongi says, leaning close to peer at the tiny creature in Jimin's hand. It's so strange to consider how small these creatures are, how big the world must seem to them. If they think much of such things, anyway.

There's an aura of quiet around Jimin now that he wasn't expecting, something just a hint withdrawn. Yoongi would have thought he'd be running up and down the beach, shouting, with Taehyung and Jungkook. If he needs some space, though, Yoongi can't fault him for that. With school and parents, life back home gets so fucking claustrophobic sometimes.

"It feels easier to get air out here, doesn't it?" he asks. "Out of the city."

[caughtinalie]

It is cute and Jimin is already looking forward to showing it off to Namjoon later, once he's had a little more time to collect himself. And assuming he doesn't lose the little thing to gravity in the meantime.

He keeps his hand held close to his chest, moving onto make sure it won't crawl off the edge before he looks back up at Yoongi again.

"Yeah," he says, glancing out across the water then, squinting against the glare the muted sun casts off the waves. "And like.... I don't know. Like it might actually be possible to get away someday. Is that weird?" he asks with a grimace when he looks back to Yoongi again.

[likedriedflowerpetals]

Yoongi shakes his head. "I don't think it's weird," he says. There's a lot to be said for Seoul, of course. It's a city teeming with possibilities, and he knows he'll be staying a while longer for school. But it can be a stifling place to live, weighed down by what their parents and society expect of them. It's impossible not to dream of escaping all of that and settling somewhere none of that is left on their shoulders.

"It is possible," he adds. "We just have to survive school first." And then they can go anywhere they want. At least, that's what he lets himself pretend sometimes.