Meet Me Here

Chapter 8: Last Summer

Ye Jin and Hyun Bin were currently in Hyun Bin's backyard since Ye Jin's family had been invited over for a barbeque session to celebrate the end of summer. The children from both sides would be camping overnight in the backyard after dinner for the sake of old times.

It was how they ended every summer; camping as a family.

The salty mix of grilled sausages and steak filled the air, covering up the smell of burnt charcoal as Hyun Bin's abeoji took charge of the grill. Ye Jin's abeoji was helping the marination while their wives were touring around the garden as Hyun Bin's eomeoni showed her best friend her newest flowers.

On the other side of the garden, Ye Jin's sister was seated on a chair, simply reading a book while Hyun Bin's brother was slouched against a wall, his fingers and thumbs rapidly tapping away on his phone. It would seem Ye Jin and Hyun Bin were the only ones truly embracing the last day of summer as they took a dip in the mini-pool in the backyard.

Their siblings remained in their own worlds, completely ignorant to what their siblings were doing in the pool – not that Ye Jin and Hyun Bin were doing anything apart from talking.

All in all, it would appear to be another chill end to yet another summer.

"So...what do you want to do for your birthday, Binnie?" Ye Jin asked as she paddled her feet gently in front of her, enjoying the feel of water pressing against her toes.

"Nothing much. As long as I get to spend it with you, I'll be happy." Hyun Bin grinned cheekily at her.

"Ya! Stop giving me textbook answers." Ye Jin nudged Hyun Bin playfully.

"Ani, I mean it." Hyun Bin jutted out his bottom lip.

"Arasseo. I believe you. But you know how I like to plan. You really don't have anything in mind?" Ye Jin cocked her head to the side cutely.

"Nope!" Hyun Bin said with a pop of the 'p'.

With that, the lovers fell silent with Ye Jin in deep thoughts over Hyun Bin's upcoming birthday celebration. Of course, Hyun Bin didn't like that. He wanted Ye Jin to have the best last day of summer and she couldn't do that when she was wracking her brain hard over his birthday.

"Incoming!" Hyun Bin shouted, splashing a load of water on Ye Jin right as she looked up.

With a squeal, Ye Jin felt the water hit her. Her hands instinctively came up to wipe the water away as she looked incredulously at her boyfriend.

"No more thinking! Summer's ending!" Hyun Bin said in a sing-song voice as he started swimming away from her.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ye Jin yanked him back, grabbing onto his leg to stop him from swimming away.

Hyun Bin struggled under her hold before he gave up and braved the splashes of attacks coming from his girlfriend. Bubbles of laughter filled the air as the couple had a water fight in the middle of the pool.

Some time into the fight, Hyun Bin ended up hoisting Ye Jin over his shoulder, carrying her back to the edge, far away from the water. His girlfriend smacked his back playfully, screaming at him to let her down. That was when she noticed something odd about Hyun Bin's back.

Hyun Bin was surprised when Ye Jin stopped struggling and he quickly placed her down so that he could check on her. His heart clenched when she looked at him with sad puppy eyes.

Whatever happened to his ray of sunshine? Was she hurt?

"What's wrong, Jinnie? Did you get hurt?" Hyun Bin checked on her frantically.

"Ani, you did. There are bruises on your back Hyun Bin. They are this big." Ye Jin used her thumb and index finger to show him how big the bruises she saw were.

Her sad puppy eyes worried him more than the bruises he mentioned as Hyun Bin sought to cheer his girlfriend up.

"There are?" Hyun Bin asked, clearly unaware of the bruises on his back.

"Ne. When did you get hurt? They look painful." Ye Jin worried.

"I have no idea. To be honest, I don't really feel it. I probably bumped into something hard." Hyun Bin reasoned.

"You should put some cream on that, Binnie." Ye Jin suggested.

"Of course. Don't worry. It'll heal." Hyun Bin assured Ye Jin gently, sneaking a kiss on her forehead.

Ye Jin was still frowning slightly after that but quickly got distracted by their parents' calls to them. Shaking off the worrisome thoughts and scenarios running through her head, Ye Jin sought solace from the fact that her boyfriend was happy. Taking her by the hand, they ran to the table where the plates of barbequed food were already set up.

Excited to dig into grilled meat, Ye Jin hurriedly pulled Hyun Bin down next to her as their mothers began to fuss over them.

For the rest of the night, the families conversed heartily, blessed to have concluded another summer on a light note. The air was warm with familiarity and love as they kept the light-hearted celebrations going. After dinner, the children dutifully helped with washing up before they started setting up the tents in the backyard.

"Isn't it crazy how we've spent all our summers together?" Hyun Bin grinned, peeking over at Ye Jin under the tent.

"It is but this is my favourite summer ever." Ye Jin smiled.

"Mine too." Hyun Bin's smile widened as he reached over to interlock their hands.

A soft glance was exchanged by the childhood sweethearts before they directed their gazes to the shining stars above them. Once again, summer was ending. Yet, neither of them regretted their summer. This would always remain as the most precious summer of their lives because it was when they took that leap of faith together.

Sometime into the night, Ye Jin and Hyun Bin finally decided to sleep. Their siblings were already fast asleep by then and the lovers tried their best to sneak in quietly. Crawling under their sleeping bags gingerly, the lovers exchanged some whispers of sweet nothings before snuggling up close to each other to keep warm.

Under the glimmering silver stars, Ye Jin and Hyun Bin fell asleep together. Under the stars, the childhood sweethearts knew nothing but blissful happiness and love. It was truly the perfect end to their summer.

But what adventures were ahead for them now?

☼ ☼ ☼

A/N

Hello lovelies! Here's the long overdue update for MMH! Thank you all for waiting and happy Vesak day to those celebrating🥰 Summer has sadly come to an end with this update but rest assured, our childhood sweethearts had an enjoyable one! For those having break soon, I do hope you'll have a restful time. Life has been pretty hectic on my side so I do hope I can come back with another update soon. For now, have a great week ahead and stay safe!