Sounds Fake, but Okay | ✓

t w e n t y - f o u r

   Jae frowned and opened the car door, about to jump off, but the seat belt stopped him. He grunted, as if evaluating his life choices before he unbuckled and stepped out of the car, soon followed by Catalina.

   It was freezing outside, but at least the looming evergreens blocked the harsh winter winds. They stepped onto the gravel trail that led straight to the lake as the car beeped and flickered its headlights. Catalina draped a blanket over Jae's shoulder, seeing as he didn't have a jacket and she was worried that he'd probably get sick.

   It had yet to be the first snowfall of winter but that didn't mean Jae wasn't shivering. He bounced in his step a little, almost childishly as he got a little bit ahead of Catalina. He was humming a tune, one unfamiliar to Catalina as he began to sway a little in something of a sloppy dance.

   Catalina caught up eventually, just as the gravel path turned into the sandy beach of the lake.

   Jae stopped in his tracks, admiring the view before him.

   The water was calm, soft waves lapping silently against the sandy beach. Logs from fallen trees and driftwood scattered across the beach, small pebbles and rocks lining the lake's shore. What had Jae in a trance, however, was the endless reflection of the moon on the water and the bright flickering stars above them.

   "Woah," he mumbled under his breath.

   Catalina looked over at him before she took his hand and pulled him closer towards the water.

   He giggled and pulled her towards himself. Intertwining his fingers with hers, he placed his free hand on her waist, blanket slipping from his shoulders.

   "What are you doing?" She whispered, unsure why.

   He hushed her and began to sway, leading her along as he hummed again. His steps were soft and loose, and he tugged her around. His humming melted into the waves and whispering leaves.

   Catalina closed her eyes as she noticed he began mumbling the lyrics to the tune under his breath. She didn't understand most of it, it was in Korean, though there were a few sentences in English that he sang a few times and she couldn't help but blush. It was a cute song, even more so when they were dancing under the blanket of stars in the beginning of winter.

   "Your voice is beautiful, Jae," she murmured once he stopped singing.

   He gave a bashful laugh, pulling away from her and rubbing his palm. "It's not that great."

   "You're right," she nodded, "It's gorgeous."

   "I wanted to be an idol when I was young, so I practiced a lot but then I started to really like science and being an idol was...always going to be an unreachable dream. Like when kids want to be astronauts or something." He turned to the lake, amazed at how big it was, one would think it were the ocean.

   Catalina took his hand again and stared out at the lake too. "Well, you're amazingly talented."

   "Thank you." Jae looked down at her, happy to see her smiling.

   There were no birds, no insects, just the reflecting lake and the ever-beautiful silence of the city sleeping.

   "I used to write lyrics before." Jae admitted. "When I was really set on becoming an idol."

   Catalina's smile grew. "Really? I'd love to hear some."

   "Well, I'm not so good at coming up with the music behind it, so I guess they were really just poems..."

   "Can I hear one?" She asked, walking in front of him so she could face him. His eyes were half lidded; somewhere between drunkenness and sleepy.