autumn outside the post office | sunwon

five.

"I want to catch an octopus with my bare hands," Riki declared resolutely, banging his head getting out of the van almost immediately after. "Ow! But I will."

"We're not even here to fish," Heeseung laughed, but he let Riki go ahead and do whatever he wanted.

Jake and Sunghoon had called a beach trip earlier in the week, claiming no anime was complete without its beach episode, which ended up with the six of them taking a two-day getaway to the beach at the nearest coastal city. Riki and Jungwon took off running towards the shore without hesitation, leaving Heeseung to unload the supplies from the van like a parent of six children.

Sunoo stayed to help Heeseung spread out the picnic mats and lay out the snacks they'd brought for the day's activities. "Heeseung-hyung, do you remember where we first met?"

"Hm? It was a school competition, wasn't it? It's been a long time since then, all I can remember is that Jungwonie took first place," he laughed, sitting back on the sand in the shade of the tree they'd set up their mat under.

"It's been a long time," Sunoo agreed. It had been almost five years since the group was unofficially formed - they weren't the closest, but all of them remained good friends with each other over the years. "I wonder what it'll feel like to grow up."

"Don't look forward to it so much," Heeseung warned, groaning. "University applications were a pain. Thank goodness I got into SOPA, otherwise I wouldn't know what else to do with my life. You'll go through it yourself at some point, so worry about it when it comes. I'll be here to help you."

"Okay, promise?" Sunoo wasn't idealistic enough to believe he'd really make it to university applications or even high school graduation, but he was glad that Heeseung would be here to help Jungwon when the time came.

"Promise."

Riki broke into their conversation at this point, running back towards them from the ocean, all the while screaming like an absolute madman.

"I GOT ONE!!!!!!"

"I think he got hold of some poor octopus," Heeseung squinted into the distance to make out what was in the younger boy's hand. "Let's go take a look at what he's got."

The two of them headed off to join the others at the shoreline. Jungwon was busy kicking water at Jake and Sunghoon, unbothered by the screaming boy with the octopus in hand.

"Can we cook it?"

Jake gathered driftwood to start a beach fire and roasted the octopus over it as the others built sandcastles near the shore. He called them back when it was done, the six of them eating it fresh off the fire with soy sauce packets from the nearby convenience store. As the sun started to set, Sunghoon and Sunoo left the other members to watch over Riki asleep buried in the sand, settling themselves at the edge of the rock pools.

Tiny crabs and fish populated the rocky dips, bright splotches of color in the dimness of the evening waves. Sunoo dipped his hand into the rippling water to fish out an iridescent green shell, its color complementary to the stretch of cyan ocean in his periphery.

"What are you thinking?" Sunghoon asked suddenly, and Sunoo put down the shell.

"Hm? Nothing right now. But...it's been good with you guys."

"It's been good with you, Sunoo."

9. Go to the beach again
10. Bury someone in the sand
11. See a tide pool