off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ fifty one

Taerae hadn’t seen Sokcho in years. Its warm summer sun, its trees as big as skyscrapers, its beaches shining and shimmering. He'd been so sad when they'd had to leave, saying goodbye to all of his friends and his comforting routine. But he'd had to act strong so Narae wouldn’t feel too anxious about the move, so he'd never really been able to express his feelings. How much he'd missed Sokcho, how much he wanted to go back there.

But now that he was here, all he could think about was Audrey, as she strolled next to him. Her honey hair was pulled into a loose braid, a vivid orange flower tucked in its strands. Her skin, glistening, caught the shine of the sun perfectly, and her brown eyes turned amber, as her long lashes cast shadows on her irises. Sokcho was great. Audrey in Sokcho was even greater.

"From what I understood, this is your hometown, right?" she asked, turning to him with an inquiring look. He nodded in response. "What beautiful beaches it has!"

He acquiesced, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Yes, it's a wonderful place."

"It's still quite busy, but nothing like the constant buzz of Seoul. Everyone seems relaxed," she observed, her eyes stopping on a bunch of kids playing in the water. "How was life here?"

He sighed softly, looking up at the bright blue sky enveloping them. To be frank, he rarely ever thought about his days in Sokcho. Rather, he tried not to. Compared to his life here, Seoul was... Complicated. Though he'd found plenty of good friends, he still struggled to find his place there. Everything was so much bigger than him. In Seoul, he felt like an ant, a speck of dust, like anyone could step on him without noticing. It was suffocating sometimes. Ironically, Narae had been the saddest about leaving Sokcho, but she'd been a lot better at adapting. Maybe it was her young age. Maybe it was her optimism.

"It was free," he finally concluded, his voice wistful. "There was no pressure, no worries. But maybe that's just because I was still a kid, then. It all felt a lot easier."

Audrey nodded, her gaze tender. "Oh, I know what it feels like. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to China, just for a bit. One day, maybe..."

Before he could empathize with her sentiment, Narae called after him. "Hey, Taerae! Can you come help?"

"I'm coming!" he exclaimed before turning back to Audrey. "Sorry, I'll be back in a second."

Reluctantly, he left Audrey by herself, as he left to attend to his sister's needs. Now alone, she took a towel out of her bag and laid it on the sand, before plopping herself down on it. She let the warmth wash over her, as she propped herself on her wrists, her face towards the sky. Going to the beach was always a good way to rid the body of its stress, to let herself decompress entirely.

She couldn’t rest for even a minute that large shadows were already hindering her view of the sky. Three guys stood before her, lopsided smiles on their wolfish faces.

"Hey girl, you alone?"

Of course, she couldn’t enjoy a bit of a relaxing moment without men coming to ruin it. "I'm here with my friends," she said firmly, avoiding their eyes.

But of course, not one of them seemed to get the hint. Or maybe they opted to ignore it. All three men crouched down to be at her eye level, apparently not ready to back down. Where had these men come from? Why didn’t they go back there?

"Oh, but you seem alone," one of them remarked. "Wanna go have fun with us?"

"Yeah, you're super cute, by the way," the other added. "Can I get your number?"

She shook her head, her lips pinched together. "Sorry, I'm not interested."

"Come on, we even have beers and hot dogs over there, if you wanna have a fun time."