The old yellow stone buildings made you feel like you traveled back in time. Montalcino was a beautiful town. The rough stones tickled the pads of your fingers as you walked. And you liked the feeling it was giving you—as if it was making you realize that everything was not a dream. The sound of soft chatter and footsteps echoed around the narrow paved street you were walking on. You felt serene and wanted the moment to last a little longer.

It had been three days since you left Cologne and made a short stop in Paris. Seung Hyun invited his whole team to a five-day vacation in Paris and Italy. He said it would be his treat for taking good care of him. The group consisted of you, Seung Hyun, Hong Il and the two female stylists. Chris wasn’t able to come since he already had a planned trip with his family. 

Going on a trip wasn’t something you expected.

It was due to the fact that you spent the last few days of filming torturing yourself. It was difficult to come to terms that you had to say goodbye to the man you somehow formed a friendship with. Time flew by so quickly that it was hard to actually process everything. The feeling of helplessness kicked in and you knew it was your greatest enemy. He was bound to leave and you would probably never see him again. Realizing how much your friendship had grown especially in the past few weeks, you wanted to prolong his stay and to get to know him more. It was as if the time you had spent with each other was not enough. It was not enough for you to suddenly let him go. You wanted to see him laugh more, to hear his thoughts more, and to look into his eyes more… You wanted more. And you knew it was simply not possible.

You were starting to become selfish. 

And you didn’t like it.

“Let’s take a picture here.” Min Hee, the hair stylist, said as she pulled out her phone and gave it to Hyo Jung. 

A quaint alley which was slightly going upwards was on your right side and the view was charming. The two stylists took pictures of each other as you and Hong Il watched them. Seung Hyun had been busy taking pictures of the main street and some random objects since you started your stroll. He looked satisfied when he took a picture of the top of the old buildings contrasting with the bright blue sky.

“Y/N-ah.’’ He called. “Stand there. I’ll take a picture.”

He pointed at the narrow alley where the stylists just finished taking pictures in and you simply did as you were told without saying anything. Once you turned back to face the others, Seung Hyun told you to pose and you laughed because he seemed so serious about it. You had no idea how to pose so you just stood there and smiled at the camera.

“Twirl a little.” Seung Hyun told you and you frowned. 

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

And so you did. Your skirt billowed and you hoped he was able to take a good shot because there was no way you would twirl again. You saw Seung Hyun pocket his phone and you half-ran to him. 

“Can I see?”

“Later.” He smirked and then started walking. 

The afternoon was spent in visiting two wineries and you were already feeling a slight buzz from all the tasting you did. It was an interesting experience though. You had never been to a wine-tasting and you definitely learned a lot. You never knew that wines should be tasted in order according to their color… and that wines have specific sets of meals. It was amusing how you felt extremely cultured all of a sudden. The stylists had gone off on their own after the first stop, stating that they would rather go sightseeing and shopping than be tipsy. Hong Il was worse. He was complaining that he felt too tired and wanted to sleep. And so Seung Hyun gave him the two crates of wine he bought to bring back to the hotel. It was a good thing that the driver of the van was always on-call.

And so you found yourself alone with Seung Hyun outside a small café overlooking the slightly crowded piazza. You were enjoying your cup of strawberry gelato as Seung Hyun simply observed the people walking by. You took the opportunity to appreciate how good he looked in his white button-up and shades. Out of nowhere, you had a sudden urge to run your hand through his hair. 

I’m going to miss him a lot. 

You were broken out of your reverie when you noticed how Seung Hyun’s head slightly moved and his covered gaze was focused on someone or something on your right. You turned your head and saw an extremely attractive woman eyeing Seung Hyun and your ears instantly felt numb. She had a small smile on her lips and that… flirtatious look that everyone knew. Turning back to face Seung Hyun, you saw that his head was already lowered—as if he didn’t like the attention.

“She’s gorgeous.” You stated and his attention went to you. “Do you want to talk to her?”

“No.” He replied calmly that you didn’t know if he was being defensive or just honest.

In the corner of your eyes, you could see that the woman was still at it. And that feeling of protectiveness (more like jealousy) rushed to you. How dare she look at Seung Hyun that way? Scooping your gelato, you put your spoon in front of him and ordered, “Eat.”

“Why? You used that spoon.” It should sound offensive but you only laughed.

Thinking about how bossy he was earlier that day, you couldn’t help but mirror what he said. “Just do it.” 

You felt incredibly proud when he did and as if you suddenly became a doting aunt, you reached out to pat his head with your other hand. “Aigoo… you’re such a good boy.”

Seung Hyun was quiet for a moment and then he smiled. You looked at the direction of the woman and saw her retreating back.

“Now she’s gone.” You told Seung Hyun and he didn’t even care the slightest to look.

“Tastes good.” He pointed at your gelato and you offered it to him.

“You like?” You said that famous catchphrase of his and he chuckled. “You want the rest?”

“Just one more.” 

You gave him the cup and he scooped a huge chunk of gelato and quickly ate it. 

“Yah!” You hit him on his forearm. He had his mouth full of your precious gelato as he smiled sheepishly. Laughing, you scooped what remained of your dessert and ate it. And the realization hit you too late. You just shared a spoon and it was hilariously intimate that you started laughing again.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

As childish as it sounded… there was no way you would point out to him that you just indirectly kissed.

It was a couple of hours before dusk. You and Seung Hyun were enjoying the breathtaking view of Montalcino and the surrounding countryside from the famous fortress built in the 14th century. You had spent the past half hour exploring the walls and watchtowers. And you had been enjoying the view from the highest point of the town in relative peace until you started talking about rubbish.

“I feel like I’m in Game of Thrones.” 

Seung Hyun glanced at you and chuckled. “You watch that?”

“I’m the lady of this castle and my soldiers are just taking a nap inside so you can’t see them.” You pointed at the courtyard where a few people were milling about and you stood straight—jutting your chin out and speaking in a richer and authoritative voice, “Ser Seung Hyun, bring me their heads.”

Seung Hyun suddenly bowed. He had a small smirk on his lips as he looked at you from his lashes.

“As you wish.” He replied in such a seductive voice that you were taken aback. 

Laughing it off was the only possible option you had—because your heart seemed like it would burst from your chest. You focused your gaze back to the scenery before you and felt that you had to share something.

“I’ve been to a lot of countries but I’ve never been to Italy.” You started as you reminisced about your past as a daughter of parents who moved a lot because of their work. “I’ve been around Asia, the UK and the US, and France. And I spent the past few years in Germany… but one of my dreams is to go backpack around Europe with my desire to learn and explore.”

“I would love to travel as well.” Seung Hyun said and you turned your attention to him. He looked relaxed and the sun shining on his face made him look even more ethereal. But then there was a sudden wistful look on his face that tugged at your chest. “But it’s impossible with my work and schedule.”

“Have you ever traveled by yourself?” You asked bravely.

Seung Hyun glanced at you and smiled a little. It was a sad smile and it reflected on his voice as well. “I haven’t done that since I debuted. The members and I are always surrounded by our managers and team. When we’re doing solo projects, it’s the same. We always talk about going on a vacation by ourselves… no managers, no team, no schedules… just us five enjoying a much deserved vacation. It would be a great opportunity for us to really be with each other outside work. But management and conflicting time prevent that.”

“Maybe soon… in the near future?” You said as if that would lessen his sadness a little.

“Not sure about that with me going off to the military first.” 

The sudden shift to his enlistment made your chest feel heavy. You were not expecting for him to bring it up. It was always a dreaded topic but he bluntly opened it up and you felt your throat tighten.