#igb

“Coming.” You could hear him moving around, a relief to your ears.

He’d had a show the night before and a few days off in Miami before he had to leave for the next city. You weren’t going to let him hide when the weather was this beautiful. 

Getting Jiyong to eat was another challenge. He’d spent so much time sleeping he hardly had an appetite these days. You sat a bowl of noodles in front of him and gave him a pointed look. He took a bite with a reluctant sigh and you smiled at him, turning back to your meal. 

“There’s a boat rental place not too far from here.” Jaeho took a sip of his coffee, his eyes landing on Jiyong’s.

“You want to get on a boat?” He snorted, taking a bite of his noodles. “Why?”

“Because it’s nice out, it’ll be fun.” Jaeho looked to you for help and you gulped. 

“Yeah, Ji! We should go. A day on the water is just what we all need.” You lied through your teeth. Truth was, you hated boats. And large bodies of water for that matter. 

“You want to have a boat day?” He raised a brow and you nodded. “Fine. Call them.” He leaned back in his seat.

All Jiyong wanted to do was go back to bed, but if you wanted to go out on a boat he wasn’t going to deny you that. Once the arrangements were in place, Jiyong paid for your meals and followed you out to the car. 

“Cheer up buttercup. It’s not going to be that bad.” You grinned, poking Jiyong on the cheek. 

He smiled at you but it didn’t quite reach his eyes and you let out a sigh as you sat back in your seat. It was hard to see him like this. You knew he was a perfectionist, but he’d never been so down and out on tour before. Besides, every show so far had been a success. There was really no need for him to be so down on himself. 

The boat dock wasn’t too far away and once Jiyong spotted the yacht you’d be spending the day on, he perked up a bit. His usual stage demeanor coming into play. It wasn’t his real personality but you’d take what you could get. You stood off to the side while he greeted the captain and the crew. Waved as he introduced you all to them. You took a shaky step onto the boat, praying to whatever gods existed that you wouldn’t get thrown overboard today. You couldn’t swim. You didn’t need this turning into a rescue mission. 

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

Jiyong seemed to relax back into the person you knew and loved as the day went on. He was drinking, sunbathing, calling himself the king of the world ala Titanic. You watched as Jaeho relaxed and had fun too. You’d opted for sunbathing on the boat deck, keeping a safe distance from the water for most of the day. Finding excuses to not drink because in reality you just didn’t want to risk falling overboard drunk. 

Jiyong spotted you and rolled his eyes through his sunglasses. He finished off his beer and grabbed another before walking over to you. Plopping down next to you, he rolled onto his side, his hand propping up his head.

“This your idea of fun then?” He slid his glasses down his face to get a good look at you. 

“Yeah.” You shrugged, arching your back slightly, your face held up towards the sky. “I needed a tan.” 

“You do look like a ghost.” He teased. You swatted at him and he laughed, moving out of your reach. “But come on, you’ve been a bump on a log since we got on this boat. I thought we were having fun today.” 

“We are.” You sighed, sitting up fully. “I just like it better over here.” 

“You’re not scared, are you?” 

“Ok. I’m going to tell you something but you can’t laugh.” You turned your head to him and he nodded. “I can’t swim.” Jiyong let out a snort, covering his mouth apologetically.

“You can’t swim and thought a boat day would be fun?” He used air quotes around the word fun and you rolled your eyes. 

“You needed to get out of your hotel, and you love the water. You’re basically a fish.” 

“Ok, we have to fix this. You’re in your twenties and you can’t swim, that’s embarrassing.” He stood up, sliding his glasses back on his face. “Meet me at the hotel pool when we get back. I’m gonna teach you to swim.” He waved and walked off. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Jiyong hanging with his crew, watching the coast come in and out of view. You couldn’t help but snap some pictures of him from the safety of where you sat. Only getting up once when Jiyong begged you to watch the sunset with him. His arm wrapped loosely around you as you stood at the edge of the boat. It was his way of saying he had you. 

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

“Are you sure it’s safe to be out here at night?”

Jiyong turned to face you and let out a laugh. You were covered in a tank top and shorts for swimming. No swim suit in sight. 

“The fuck are you wearing?” He asked between laughs. 

“Clothes.” You shrugged. “I don’t own a suit, I don’t swim.” 

“Come on, you weirdo.” Jiyong rolled his eyes and walked towards the edge of the pool. “And yes, it’s safe.” 

You sighed and walked over to Jiyong, he took your hand and you squeezed it tightly as you followed him onto the pool steps. He led you all the way into the water and you glad to see you could stand in the shallow end. At least you wouldn’t freak out yet. 

“Not so bad, is it?” He moved to let go of your hand and you squeezed it with a look of desperation in your eyes. “Ow, damn. Ok. I won't let go.” 

“Sorry.” You eased your grip on his hand and relaxed as you stood in the water. 

“Ok. Let’s try and float.” 

Jiyong carefully tilted you backwards until your back was in the water. He let go of your hand, his hands moving to rest on your back. Your arms floating out to your side as you tried to relax against the feel of the water. It was kind of nice, having Jiyong’s attention like this, even if you were terrified. 

Jiyong walked you out to deeper water before gently letting you go. He stayed by your side as you floated around in the water. Your eyes closing for a second, the feel of the water nice against your skin. 

“Not so bad, is it?” 

“It’s peaceful. I get the appeal.” Your eyes popped open, meeting his and you smiled at him. 

Jiyong grinned, a real one and you heart fluttered. It was nice to see him look so happy, especially with how not happy he’d been earlier in the day. He looked at you, raising a brow as his hand reached out to you. Your hand caught his and he pulled you to him. 

“What?” His brows stayed raised as you found your footing in the water. 

“I like seeing you happy. You’ve got a nice smile.” He rolled his eyes, ducking away from your gaze. 

“Stop being weird.” 

“Oh I’m sorry. I think the word you were looking for there was nice.” You smirked.

“Shut up.” 

“Make me.” 

Jiyong raised a brow, his eyes locking on yours. He did love a good challenge. He leaned in, his lips ghosting over yours softly, and your eyes widened. 

“What are you doing?” You whispered, frozen in place. 

“Shutting you up.” 

His lips brushed against yours again and your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer as you parted your lips. His hands ran down your sides to your thighs and he lifted you up gently, your legs wrapping around him as he swam to the edge of the pool. He backed you up, your back hitting the pool wall with a light thud. 

His hand trailed up your body, feeling the fabric of your tank top and he let out a snort. His forehead resting against your as he broke the kiss. His eyes opened slowly as he panted for breath in between laughs. 

“This would be so much better if you weren’t dressed like it’s the 1920s.” He teased, placing a light peck on your lips. 

“I didn’t know this would be included in learning how to swim!” Your face flushed. 

Jiyong smirked, his grip tightening around you as he moved to get out of the water. Your legs stayed wrapped around him as he carried you out of the pool. Not bothering to set you down, he grabbed his towel and wrapped it around you both. 

You shivered as the cool night air hit your wet body and snuggled in closer to Jiyong’s body, his hands rubbing up and down your back through the towel. He gently let you go, your feet touching the ground. 

“We can finish your lessons tomorrow, we’ll go buy you a more appropriate outfit first.” He eyed your outfit again, shaking his head. 

“Leave my granny outfit alone.” You wrapped the towel tightly around your body and Jiyong laughed. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” He reached his hand out for yours and you took it happily. “Let’s order room service and watch a movie in my room.” 

You nodded in agreement, letting Jiyong lead you back inside the hotel. The rest of the night was spent with junk food and all of Jiyong’s favorite movies that you’d watched a thousand times. You didn’t mind though, whatever made him happy and right now was the most relaxed you’d seen him in weeks. Plus he’d already made plans to leave his room the next day. 

If the motivation he needed to get out of his room was to make out with you, you’d happily do that every day for the rest of his tour. Whatever it took to give him a little bit of normalcy on the tour. 

Jiyong pulled you towards him after clearing the junk food from his bed. His lips brushed against the top of your head and you smiled as you rested your head on the crook of his neck. He was grateful for you, he always would be. You were the only thing keeping him sane on this tour. He knew he needed to make it up to you for how long he’d stayed hidden away, and he promised himself he was done hiding. Whatever you wanted to do on his free days, he was game.