🎶: 'Snow on the Beach (ft. Lana Del Rey)' by Taylor Swift
Kai spun around when he heard that sound.
He instantly became paranoid, especially when he unfortunately remembered what animals Indonesia is native to out in the wilderness.
Tigers, rhinos, oh god, what do I do?!
"Who's there?!" Kai exclaimed.
He instantly slapped his hand over his mouth, realizing that if there is indeed a wild animal hiding somewhere, he just drew more attention to himself.
Great, first I get lost, and now I might be mauled to death.
But then, Kai realized something.
If there was indeed an animal nearby, he would be hearing some kind of heavy breathing, growling or snarling.
And he was in a remotely quiet area aside from the occasional chitter from birds and the whirring hum of insects.
He heard nothing else aside from that.
Suddenly, he heard another twig snap.
This time even closer.
Before he could yell again, his eyes... met someone.
Kai stared at the person hiding behind the tree like he was starstruck.
He just couldn't take his eyes off him; it was like his sight was glued to him, like he was a magnet meeting its other end.
It was a young man around his age.
And he... he was gorgeous as hell.
Even his outfit was already pretty enough, simple, as it was mainly composed of a shirt and loose three-quarter length pants, but it fit his narrow shoulders, slim waist and lean legs so perfectly.
And his face.
Don't even get Kai started.
He had a perfect jawline with a pointed chin. His cheekbones were symmetrical to the crown of his head, his lips were thin but plush, his nose was uniquely angled, and his eyebrows arched perfectly above his eyes.
Oh his eyes.
They were so pretty and round, like they held a galaxy because they visibly sparkled all the way from here.
His face was accompanied with dark brown hair, a little long in the back of his head, and parted up front, exposing his forehead, and he also had milky, soft looking skin.
In short, Kai was completely blown away.
"Who are you?"
His voice was so calm and low, deeper than he imagined, but so... nice to listen to.
"Who are you?"
Kai finally snapped out of his daydream and awkwardly stuttered.
"U-Uh... w-what?"
"Who are you?" the stranger asked, staying behind the tree, holding onto its bark.
Kai lightly gasped.
Even though he spoke a foreign language, Kai perfectly understood it.
It was his mother tongue.
"Ohh, are you from Korea?" he responded in that language.
The male's mouth dropped open in amazement.
"Yes, I am," he replied.
"That's so cool! I'm Korean myself, well, ethnically at least, but I do have Korean citizenship, so that makes me a Korean too, right?"
Kai was just so excited to have met someone who came from his second home country, outside of the country, that he didn't care that he might look goofy, stumbling and babbling like a child.
But his excitement was... adorable, at least for the brunette, who slowly began to approach him.
"I suppose," he replied.
He eyed Kai's luggage.
"What brings you here?"
"Ohh..."
Kai awkwardly laughed and scratched his nape.
"I uh... got lost."
"Lost?"
"Mhm. So basically, what happened was that I arrived at the airport after flying for twelve hours from Hawaii, and then—"
"Hawaii?" he interrupted.
"Yeah, that's where I'm from."
The brunette's lips parted in realization.
"Wow... this is the first time I've met someone Wasain... I'm honored."
"Umm..."
Kai blushed darkly around his ears.
"Thank you?"
"No problem. Continue?"
"Right umm, so— yeah, after I landed and got my bags and such, I went to the motel my sister booked for me. I even double checked the address, no, even five times, to make sure I wasn't in the wrong place. And it turns out... there was no booked room for me, and all other rooms were unavailable."
"Oh..."
"The clerk at the front desk gave me an address to an inn in the woods, and I followed it on my GPS... buuuut then my car broke down, and I also took the wrong turn. So I'm stuck here."
Kai caught his breath after rambling for two minutes straight without properly inhaling and exhaling.
"You had an eventful day," the male commented.
"I did. And now I have no idea where to stay for tonight."
The brunette pursed his lips in thought.
He's a complete stranger and I have no idea whether he's... safe or not... but he does need somewhere to stay... at least for tonight.
"Come with me."
Kai stared at him flabbergasted.
"W-What?"
"Come with me, to where I'm staying. It's not too far away from here."
"Really?!"
"Yeah."
"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!!"
Kai almost hugged the male out of excitement and gratitude, but then controlled himself.
I literally just met him, geez.
"Should I help you with your bags?" he asked.
"Yes, please!"
Kai gave him the handle of his lighter bag, not wanting to burden him with a heavy weight load after already offering a place to stay.
"Let's go."
He was about to go when Kai gently grabbed his arm, almost making him flinch, but...
His grip... it's so tender.
"Oh, by the way, I didn't catch your name."
The male paused in his steps, and turned around to face Kai.
"Choi Beomgyu, yours?"
The ravenette smiled hearing the name come from his pretty lips.
"Beomgyu... what a pretty name!"
"Thanks."
"My name is Kai Huening!"
"Kai... I like it too."
Beomgyu walked in a straight line as they continued venturing through the forest.
Meanwhile, Kai was looking around even more at the scenery. He was already so amazed by the scenery that thousands and thousands of adjectives started pouring into his head, and he itched to put them to paper.
What was even more incredible was... the more they walked, the more Kai could hear the ocean waves from far away; they were that loud.
Are we close to the beach?!
Suddenly, Beomgyu stopped walking and because Kai wasn't paying attention, he stumbled and bumped into him.
"WOAH!" they yelled at once.
Thank God that Beomgyu had a strong core, otherwise they would have crashed to the ground, and maybe gotten bitten by a spider.
Once they collected themselves, the brown haired male cleared his throat.
"We're here," he said.
Kai glanced up and his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.
"Wow. What a luxury in the forest."
It was a little modern white house. From the outside, it appeared to have a few rooms upstairs, judging from the many windows. There also was a front porch, which looked out towards the west, probably to watch the sunsets.
And even better, there were solar panels attached to the roof, meaning it had plenty of electricity to go around.
"You can go to the room next to the bathroom upstairs. It's available," Beomgyu explained, clicking the suitcase's lever handle and sliding it down.
"Okay!"
Beomgyu lifted the bag and walked up the porch stairs, Kai following him close with his second suitcase and backpack.
He opened the door, a wave of cold air from the installed AC greeting them, and glanced back at Kai, giving him a shy smile.
"Make yourself home."
Kai looked around with an agape expression.
"Woahhh..."
The living room was so spacious and airy. It had a TV, a couple couches made of wicker branches and pillows, and a coffee table made out of wood in the center.
The dining area, which consisted of a table and a few chairs made of wicker and wood, was connected to the kitchen, which had the usual things a kitchen would have, and a staircase went right up to the second floor.
"Do you own this place?" Kai asked.
"No, I rented it."
"Where did you find it?"
"My friend found the owner on Instagram; she built this house last year but then she moved countries. So it's a vacation house now."
"Oh... it's really nice."
"I agree."
Beomgyu tilted his head towards the stairs, beckoning for Kai to follow him.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room."
The two males walked up the stairs, heaving the suitcases up, and wheeling them towards the end of the hallway.
Beomgyu opened the door and brought the luggage in.
"I thought you'd like a view of the ocean, you seemed rather drawn to the ocean wave sounds."
Kai gasped when he saw his room.
"Wow..."
The room was painted a pale blue, almost white, and had a large window facing the ocean. He could see the clear turquoise water perfectly, the way it rolled against the shores, foaming up with bubbles.
"It's relaxing to listen to at night," Beomgyu added.
"I can imagine."
Aside from the window, there was a wooden closet tucked in the corner, a small desk against the front wall closest to the door, and then a queen sized bed pushed against the back wall.
Multiple paintings and sea shell decoration adorned the walls, and there was a salty misty fragrance lingering in the air.
"My room is two doors down your right. And your bathroom is next to your room," Beomgyu added.
"I have my own bathroom here?"
"Yep."
"Nice..."
Kai held his hand out to Beomgyu, who eyed it skeptically.
"Thanks for letting me stay here, even if it's just for one night."
"Oh..."
Beomgyu placed his hand on top of Kai's and shook it.
"You're welcome..."
Kai's heart beat faster in his chest upon holding his hand.
It was smaller than his, as Beomgyu was roughly an inch shorter than him, but so soft and smooth, fitting perfectly in his bigger palm.
Holding his hand... gave him butterflies.
Beomgyu felt the tips of his ears turn a bit rosy, and let go of his hand.
"Umm, I can also give you the WiFi password if you like. So you can call anyone you want."
"That would be nice, thanks."
Beomgyu quickly exited and entered Kai's room again, handing him a slip of paper that had the network name and password written on it.
"Here."
"Thanks."
Kai smiled at him.
"You saved me here."
Beomgyu flushed pink again.
"No problem..."
He turned around, but glanced back.
"I'll be in the living room; you can unpack if you want to."
"I'm only here for one night though."
"Right... it slipped my mind. But... you're welcome to stay longer."
Kai's eyes widened partially.
Beomgyu felt shy, so he exited the room and went down the stairs.
Kai meanwhile just flopped backwards onto the bed, letting out a yelp of surprise upon feeling how soft it was. Fluffy like a cloud, and maybe not-so-coarse sand too.
"Dang... maybe I do wanna stay here."
He exhaled and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling.
"Today's been a long day."
It was indeed one of the most eventful days of his life.
From leaving Hawaii on his own, driving through the woods alone without considering the possible dangers around him, to... meeting Beomgyu.
He smiled.
"I'm glad to be here."
—+x+—
A/N: Fun little fact about Snow Blossom. This song was what inspired me to write it. I would've used Snow On The Beach as the background music for the story's trailer, but Taylor is kinda stingy with copyright 🥲
Anyways I'm gonna spend the day crying in my room doing work instead of seeing TXT live in London. Last thing before I go, this story will have an official every-three-day upload schedule. See you lovelies ✨