29. The Late Autumn Breeze
“ I used to come here with my brother.” Wooju inhales as he savors the eighty-eighth timeline and its refreshing late autumn breeze wafting across the secluded beach.
Yunho’s head snaps to where Wooju stands. “You have a brother? I know this is a stupid question, but since when?”
“I do have an older brother,” says Wooju, his hold on his beach bag growing tighter. He flashes his best friend an apologetic smile. “I didn’t tell you about him, huh?”
When he was younger, Wooju’s brother often brought him to the beach to build sandcastles together. Sometimes, they would just stroll along the shore, counting their steps and gathering seashells while waiting for their dad to pick them up. They all seemed happy, until they weren’t.
“Now that you mention him,” says Yunho, clearing his throat. “Will I ever meet your brother?”
Wooju’s smile fades into a frown. Maybe it’s better not to talk about his brother. “Are your friends coming?”
Despite giving Wooju a skeptical look for changing the topic, Yunho proceeds to say, “Of course. You told me they had to come or you won’t. Did you know I had to lie about doing Sangheon’s homework for the rest of the school year just so he would come and bring Jihoon with him?”
Wooju laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and after one small hiccup, Yunho laughs along with him.
Shortly after, they meet Sangheon and Jihoon on the balcony of the cabin Yunho rented for the weekend.
The place is quaint but big enough for the four of them. It’s exactly as pictured online. The knotty pine walls are dark and rustic, half-filled with antique paintings of the stars, the moon, and the sunset by the beach. It also has a kitchen in the living room, a mini bathroom, and a bedroom with two bunk beds covered in red and black stripes.
Yunho wanted to spend some quality time with Wooju, but Wooju insisted he invite his friends, too. Or, more accurately, ‘friend’ with a plus one.
Sangheon seems more than happy to join and bring his tsundere guest, Jihoon, and probably happier to find out his friend finally mustered the courage to take Wooju out.
“The last time I saw you, you were kissing my friend and he dramatically pushed you away. How exactly did your relationship progress so fast without me knowing?” Sangheon prods, leaning in toward Wooju with curiosity. “Are you guys just friends, or are you dating?”
Wooju holds back a laugh as he playfully pushes Sangheon’s forehead with the tip of his finger. “I’m going to cook first. You guys should catch up,” he suggests.
“Catch up?” Yunho chimes in. “You and I are the ones who should catch up. Especially now that I remember how you suddenly kissed me at school. What was that for?”
Wooju simply veers toward the kitchen slash living room. Yunho scoffs and follows him there.
“Hey, Wooju,” he calls after the raven-haired boy.
“Hm?” Wooju asks, whirling to face him.
Yunho stops in his tracks, seemingly paralyzed by the way Wooju’s doe eyes bore into him and how the setting sun behind him lights up Wooju’s hair in brilliant hues.
“What is it, Yunho?”
Yunho wags his head to clear his mind. “Anyway, why do I feel like you want me to make more memories with my friends than with you?” he rasps.
“I just don’t want you to feel alone,” Wooju answers genuinely, “while I’m cooking.”
“What? How am I alone? I never feel alone when I’m with you,” Yunho says, hesitating for a moment as if a sudden realization struck him. “You know it’s still me, right? The Ri Yunho you call your best friend? The one who would rather be with you doing nothing than out drinking with his co-workers or going out with girls. It’s still me. So let’s stop avoiding each other.”
“Yunho,” Wooju croons softly, his forehead creasing with concern, “I’m not avoiding you.”
“You’re not?” Yunho flusters, his face turning beet red.
“Of course not, Yunho. I just want to be able to make you the best meal before the year ends.” Wooju smiles, then stands on his tiptoes as he mirthfully tousles Yunho’s hair. “Besides, I’ve never cooked for you. Can you let me do this first, please? I owe you at least two years’ worth of meals.”
As the sun descends toward the horizon, Sangheon and Yunho arrange the bowls and glasses on a wooden table on the porch. Meanwhile, Jihoon helps Wooju serve the marinated galbi and gimbap on a large platter.
Once everything is organized, the boys gather around the sun-bleached table, the sound of the waves soothing as they savor each flavorful bite and share meaningful stories to not only fill their bellies but also make this feast memorable. For Wooju, it feels like he’s been transported into a parallel universe instead of the past, with Yunho by his side, laughing and chattering along with their friends.
Wooju waits until he finishes his own bowl before reaching for his drawing pencil and spiral-bound sketchbook, eager to capture this very moment—a group of high school friends having a feast by the beach.
And so, Wooju commences drawing, but with each stroke of his pencil, his heart breaks little by little, without anyone knowing.
Can I stay here forever? he wonders.
Somehow, the idea sounds far-fetched.
As twilight falls, the autumn breeze becomes frigid.
“Sangheon just sent me a text. He said the water valve in the shower is not working,” Yunho says suddenly, staring at the mobile phone in his hand. “I’m gonna go check and see if I can fix it. You wanna come with me?”
“I’ll follow you in a bit,” Wooju replies, his gaze focused on the sea stretching out before them.
“Oh, okay. Don’t take too long. It’s getting colder out here.” Yunho rises and hurries back to the cabin.
Wooju sits alone by the seashore, lost in his thoughts, his sketchpad resting on his lap. After a few seconds, he dips his head and flips its pages until he reaches the second to last page. He pictures Yunho’s bulging muscles as the blond wrestles with the broken valve in the shower room, Yunho’s smile as beads of sweat trickle down his thick eyebrows, his amber eyes boring into Wooju’s own with intensity. This is why, despite the icy touch of the night’s autumn breeze, Yunho’s familiar warmth fills Wooju’s heart.
Wooju is about to lie down when he hears someone creeping up behind him, footsteps shuffling on the sand.
“Do you like Ri Yunho?” the male voice inquires.
Wooju cranes his neck to meet the brunette’s gaze and finds Jihoon’s fingers pointing at his unfinished sketch of the ponytailed blond. He curls his lips upward.
“Isn’t he handsome?”
“So you like him?”
“I think it’s more than that,” says Wooju, shifting his gaze back to the ocean as he searches for the right words to describe his feelings for Yunho. “I want to see him shine more than anything or anyone in this world.”
“Oh, wow.” Jihoon blinks, amused. “Does he know?”
Wooju chuckles heartily. “If you tell him about yours,” he suggests, “I might tell him.”
“Mine?”
“I’m sure future you will be proud of yourself if you tell Yunho what’s been bothering you lately. It would save you years of resentment and regret,” advises Wooju. “Like how he saved your life once, and because he forgot about it, you despised him so much that you ended up hurting him in the other timelines.”
Jihoon’s eyes widen in surprise, and his jaw drops as he processes the words he has just heard.
“Other timelines?” Jihoon’s throat bobs. “W-wait. How did you even know he saved me?”
Wooju halts, conjuring a conversation they would have in the future. “You confided your regrets to me in the far future,” he says rather calmly. “You said it took you a while to realize that just because someone hurt you, it doesn’t always mean you should hurt them back.”
“You? From the future?” Jihoon scoffs incredulously, but Wooju gives him a deadpan look, and he clams up.
“What if I really am? Will you help me save Yunho?”