day 12
7.04 pm
lee haru

night swims

"#7 let's get it!"
jeongguk jumps up in anticipation
and i can only frown

skinny dipping means a naked body
and my naked body means privacy

but with jeongguk around
there is no privacy

"how am i supposed to do it
if you're here"
i say hesitantly
the heat rising up to my cheeks

he's standing by the pond's edge
sticking a toe into the water
and flinching at contact
"aack it's cold!"

"of course it is dummy
it's nearly winter"

jeongguk hisses at the water
and drags his feet back to where
i'm standing under the tree

"now how are we going to do this?"
i raise an eyebrow

he cocks his head to a side, thinking
"mhm, i'll head inside while you do it then"
he panics when i open my mouth
and continues to say
"i won't peek! i promise"

"hey, it's no fun that way" i laugh
"i don't really have to follow all the
rules on that bucketlist
you know
after all, i made it
i'll wear something, it's freezing anyway"

"we'll just see if the water is transparent"
jeongguk goes back to the water's edge
he tilts his head down, furrowing his eyebrows
"it's dark
i don't think it'll be able to—"

splash!

i burst out into laughter
hands on my knees as i watch him
flaps around the water in shock
he gives me a look of disbelief
"yah! that's not what we planned!"

"exactly!"
i say between laughs
but when i feel a hand wrapping around my leg
i know i'm screwed

"payback!" jeongguk shouts out
and i let out a shriek as the chills rush up my body
i flinch as the cold water touches my skin

in an act of revenge and to satiate my pride
i pull him into a headlock
and he struggles to get out of my grip
but to no avail

"i bet you can't even swim!" he says
hands trying to pry mine off of him desperately

i splash the water against his face furiously
and he does it back at me

"yah i can swim!
look at me now"

jeongguk manages to escape from my grasps
he swims away to a safe distance from me
and says,
"don't kid me
the water here is just too shallow"

i get back at him when i attempt another headlock
but he ducks quickly
and i end up falling into the water
face first
the cycle repeats

despite the freezing waters
the hands and arms around me
as we jump off the waterfall's edge together
makes me feel warm inside and out

it
it almost feels like home

my bucketlist is long forgotten
we splash around the pond
like little 5 year olds
and if anyone sees us
they would think we were insane

but that's alright