❝B̶̗̗̕e̷͕̩̙̒͐w̴̔̓̇͜ä̸̛͉̩́r̵͚̺͆͛͝e̵̩̘̩̿̎ ̴̰̤̮͗̍͝p̶̟͕̬̀͌ḛ̴̠͓͂̃ȃ̷̫̃͋c̸̗͖̃̍͜ẽ̷̤̳͍̓f̷͈̈́̾u̶̒͋͜l̸͔̈̚ ̶̢̱͛̂w̶͍͔̆̊à̸̦̘̏͘v̸͊͜e̶͖̽͊̽s̶̼͔͒̄͑.̸̨͔̏̃͝ ̴̩͓̭̈Ţ̴̞̔h̴̗͖͕̋ḙ̵̌̇͋y̴̡̬̌͐ ̸̛̯̰̂͝c̷̡͉̺̋a̷͓͇̜͆ṅ̴͇͌͘ ̵̰̺̿̆q̶̢͈͋͝ų̶̂͐i̴̝͂̇͝c̶̡̖͊̈́̏k̵̡̠͛̔̒l̴̖͚̋y̴͉̥͂̌͛ ̶̗̲͊̀̓b̸̉ͅẹ̷̖̯̐c̶̬̓̚o̷̳̰͉͘͠m̷̘̬͔̃e̸̪̦͍͆͛ ̴̝̇̇t̷̹̅̅͗ͅs̷̨̳̼̅ǘ̵̲͂n̸̡̯̏a̶̜͍̍̍m̶̛̼i̷̯̭̱̓͛ṣ̵͛.̶̧̖͑͋͋❞
——

Park Soomi

The warm sand caressed the soles of my feet as the ocean greeted me kindly with gentle kisses. It was peaceful, only the light humming of the sea filling the air.

But gradually, a ringing sound drowned out the humming. It sounded like a phone, echoing from all directions. I didn't know where it was coming from, but before I could find out, the ringing ceased.

I winced, suddenly feeling a sharp pain to my head. As my hand moved to apply pressure to my forehead, the ocean's humming warped into faint whispers. The voices sounded muffled as if coming from the speakers of a phone. The waves became aggressive with their greetings, and the wind picked up speed, howling out words alongside the waves.

They sounded like warnings. I wanted to heed those warnings, to run, but the sand that once hugged gently around my feet now gripped tightly on my ankles and cemented them into the earth.

Those whispers became screams that matched the intensity of the wave advancing towards me.

"Beware peaceful waves. They can quickly become tsunamis."

Water consumed me. All I could do was struggle desperately for air—

I woke up in a light coughing fit, still feeling the sensation of water filling my throat.

"Happy birthday!"

Startled by the loud voice, I quickly sat up to the sight of Jimin, Jungkook, Hoseok, and Yoongi standing at the foot of my bed.

I can't believe I forgot my birthday.

I squinted my eyes in confusion, realizing they were all in swimwear.

"What's happening?"

"We're going to the beach for your birthday," Yoongi responded nonchalantly.

Snippets of my dream suddenly flashed before me: the tsunami advancing towards me, everything being consumed by water.

Don't be an idiot, Soomi. Things like that don't just happen out of nowhere.

I knew it was ridiculous, but the uncanny coincidence didn't sit well with me. It felt like a warning of something to come.

A scary thought popped into my head, one that hadn't crossed my preoccupied mind in a while.

What if that stalker shows up again? The one sending Dad death threats?

"I don't want to go," I said firmly.

"What? Why not? You love the beach!" Jimin exclaimed, clearly shocked by my response.

I bit my lip, debating whether or not to tell them about the dream.

I can't. They won't understand.

Even I didn't understand why I was reacting this strongly to a nightmare. There was just something about it. Something about the fear it evoked. Something I couldn't explain.

"Isn't it dangerous? I mean, with what's going on with Dad, shouldn't we avoid going out unless it's necessary?"

"Come on, Soomi, I'm sure that, whoever this guy is, he's only trying to scare us. They've been sending threats to Dad for what, a month or two now? And nothing's even happened."

"I guess you're probably right..."

"Trust me, there's nothing we should be afraid of. Right, Jungkook?"

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll all be there," Jungkook reassured, gesturing towards Yoongi and Hoseok. The two nodded in silent agreement.

Well, I really could use a relaxing beach day...

Oh, what the hell, what could possibly happen anyways?

"Alright, I'm in."

*

I stared off into the sea with a content sigh, taking in the calming atmosphere. I watched as Jungkook and Jimin played around in the water, while Yoongi and I laid in the shade of an umbrella. Hoseok, on the other hand, basked in the warm sun, eyes closed in complete relaxation.

I closed my eyes as well, ears tuned in to the sound of seagulls squawking and the ocean humming.

"How did your session go with Seokjin?" Yoongi asked, breaking the silence.

"It was alright. Oh, and thanks for finishing the lyrics."

"Well, I knew you wouldn't be up to it after..."

His words sparked a chain reaction of thoughts and reminders to emerge, and it all led back to that dreadful memory: the night at the bar.

I cringed internally.

"Umm, about what I said to you at the bar...you know none of that was true, right? I was really drunk."

"It's okay to not be over him. It takes time." Even though I didn't mention Taehyung's name, Yoongi caught on pretty quickly to what I was concerned about.

"How could I not be over that asshole! Seriously, it was just the alcohol talking."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say. Drunk words are sober thoughts."

My mouth gaped open. Damn, he didn't have to call me out like that.

"I'm over him," I continued in denial. "He can vanish off the face of the earth for all I care." Though I tried to speak confidently, the blatant uncertainty definitely showed through.

But Yoongi didn't say anything to acknowledge it.

"Well, umm, anyways," I said, changing the subject, "I got an email from a JYP producer. He liked my demos and wants to meet with me."

Yoongi blinked a few times in surprise before responding.

"Wow, Soomi, that's great!" he said, the smile on his face quickly growing.

There's that smile again.

Though it was still a rare occurrence, I noticed it had become more frequent since that night in my studio.

Wow, he really should smile more often.  There's just the cutest crinkle at the corners of his eyes...and he has the most attractive gummy smile I've ever seen—

"Soomi, Yoongi! You guys should join us!" Jimin's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see him and Jungkook walking towards us.

"Think fast!" Jungkook shouted while suddenly throwing the volleyball in his hands at me. I quickly reacted by hitting it back towards him. "Ooo good reflexes. Okay, you'll be on my team. Let's pummel these losers to the ground."

"Bold of you to assume you even have a chance against me and Yoongi here." Jimin retorted while putting his arm around Yoongi's shoulder.

"No touching." Jimin's arm was off quicker than Yoongi said the words.

"Care to make a bet out of it?" Jungkook challenged.

"Fine. Loser pays for Soomi's entire birthday dinner. Deal?"

"Deal." The two stared at each other with a burning fire in their eyes while I stared in wonder at their crazy competitiveness.

"Wait, what about Hoseok?" I asked. The four of us glanced back, seeing him fast asleep with his hat draped over his face.

"I think we should just leave him be," Yoongi said. I lightly laughed as we all took our places on opposite sides of the net.

"Okay, let the game begin!" Jimin shouted, and the ball was thrown into the air.

*

"Ha! That's out! In your faces!" Jungkook taunted. I cheerfully high-fived him. Surprisingly enough, I found myself just as engaged in the game as Jimin and Jungkook. "Only one more point and we win!"

I took my position as I served the ball. I couldn't even remember the last time I was like this: feeling completely stress-free and genuinely having fun.

Considering everything that was going on, it really was the best birthday I could've asked for—

The ringing of a phone suddenly filled the air. Just this simple sound triggered my whole body to freeze.

Why was it that the happiest moments ushered in the greatest of fears?

I frantically looked around, discovering it was Hoseok's phone. I watched as he woke from his sleep, answering the call.

"Ouch!" I winced from the sudden pain to my head. In my distracted state, I didn't notice the ball coming straight towards me.

"Soomi, are you all right?" Yoongi shouted. Jimin and Yoongi rushed towards me.

But my head was the least of my concerns as I continued staring at Hoseok's concerned face. He made eye contact with me as he hung up the phone.

I blocked out everything and everyone, their voices sounding distant and distorted. All I could focus on was Hoseok.

"Hoseok, what's wrong?"

"I think the suspect finally made a move...I got a call about your boyfriend."

My heart rate quickened, not even the slightest bit fazed that he referred to Taehyung as my boyfriend.

Everything became a blur.

Time seemingly slowed to a stop.

And though I knew very well a tsunami was about to hit, nothing in the world could have prepared me for what he said next.

"Taehyung's in the hospital. He got hurt in a hit and run."

——
{a/n}
Super excited that the dreams are finally playing a bigger role in the story! Please do let me know your thoughts!!

Also we just recently hit 1k reads!! Thank you all so much and remember that I always appreciate every single read, vote, and comment that you leave!🥺💗