The loud sound of his alarm woke him up from a very nice sleep. It wasn't like they have classes left, but he just didn't want to make it hard for Hayeon to wake him up. He knows she's just as tired as he is, maybe more. It wouldn't hurt to actually be conscious when she comes barging in sooner or later.

He grabbed his phone, looking if there were any messages or notifications and found none. His phone screen was clear of any pop ups therefore giving him a clear view of his homescreen. Eunji's smiling face made him smile, too. They had managed to talk properly last night. She had apologized sincerely over and over again. And he had forgiven her, while also apologizing for even fighting with her.

Truthfully, it wasn't her fault that her family failed to inform her of the sudden changes of plans. It was just that Taekwoon was upset. She had promised to at least see their performance before she had to spend the entire vacation away from the country. And the sudden departure, without even a personal goodbye had upset him a lot. He would miss her, and not being able to at least send her away before a two month separation took a negative form that lead him into getting into a little fight with her over the phone.

But they're okay now. They had said good night to each other with light hearts and Taekwoon managed to sleep peacefully.

He heard the sound of the door unlocking and knew who it was before he even saw. There was only one person who can waltz in his room with their own key and without knocking. Still, he remained unmoving from where he laid.

"This giant oaf, really." she said under her breath, unaware that Taekwoon was already awake because of the darkness of the room. He couldn't see her but he can imagine her shaking her head in exasperation. She was like a chiding mother sometimes. It made Taekwoon smile.

When she reached out her arms to shake him, Taekwoon pulled her down, and she came crashing on him with a surprised yelp. He took the opportunity to rearrange her, trapping her in his arms and just lying there afterwards.

"You were awake." she accused, bumping and grinding her head on his chest, but made no move to struggle out of his hold.

In turn, he just snuggled at her more. She's so soft and warm, not to mention the lavender scent that has always brought him so much comfort was thick on the top of her head.

"Don't fall asleep again." she murmured.

"I won't. I'm already awake." he answered, even though he was fairly sure he can sleep again without any problem.

"We need to get up and start moving." she complained.

Taekwoon just swung his leg and hugged her more. "Just another minute." It was comfortable, having someone next to him, even if he was used to sleeping alone. Hayeon sighed, but allowed the minute to tick by.

"Are you and--- Are you okay now?" she asked in an almost whisper. Taekwoon knew what the original question was supposed to be, even if she changed it halfway. He did tell her about the issue last night, within the confines of Hayeon's room. She had been understanding as always, but had reminded him to understand Eunji's side as well. She had told him the things he was forgetting to consider and it had helped when he and Eunji talked afterwards. He was calmer and a lot more understanding of the situation.

"Eunji and I are okay now." he answered and he felt her shoulders sag in relief. "Sorry for worrying you." he added and Hayeon shook her head a little.

"Your minute is up. Let's get moving now." After staying still to cater to Taekwoon's request for an extended time on bed, Hayeon finally made a move to stand up. She went ahead and flicked the light switch on, which had Taekwoon groaning in bed.

"Why are we up so early anyway?" he grumbled, blocking the light with an arm over his eyes. Actually, he knew, but still felt the need to complain about it anyways. Hayeon is such a morning person, it actually doesn't feel right not to complain about the abundance of life and energy in her.

"Because, Mr. Grumpy Pants didn't fix his things for the summer vacation." 

Taekwoon can't see her but knew fairly well that she's already starting to pick up the random things still scattered in his room. "What time is your dad coming?" he asked after rolling to his side to watch her move around, picking up the books and scripts on his desk and filing them away to the small shelf next to it. She wore a fairly old shirt and shorts, fully prepared to sweat and be a little messy from the cleaning.

"Probably in the afternoon." she answered as she placed the pens and highlighters back in the pen holder. "Go and start packing your bags, Taek." She also grabbed one of the red hair ties still present on the top of the table and pulled her hair to tie it in a high ponytail.

He yawned one more time and got to his feet. He does need to get ready to go home. They're all going home today.

~*~

"Knock, knock!" 

Taekwoon turned around and found Hyoyeon and Minhyuk at his door, together with another girl that wasn't familiar at all.

"Sooyoung!" Hayeon exclaimed. She was in the middle of removing the bedsheets when the visitors came, but now she had abandoned her current chore in favor of welcoming their friends. "Ah, I probably shouldn't hug you. I'm sweaty." she said, putting her hands defensively in front of her.

The unknown visitor - Sooyoung - ignored Hayeon's excuse and went ahead and hugged her. Taekwoon noticed then that she's easily as tall as Hayeon, such a rare sight.

He approached the group, wiping his face with the towel hanging from Hayeon's shoulder.

He didn't need to verbally ask, Hayeon was introducing Sooyoung after sensing his presence behind her.

"Taek, this is Sooyoung. She's..." She stopped then and looked at the others. 

Hyoyeon smiled, a bit guarded, "She's my girlfriend." she said with a tone of nervousness Taekwoon wasn't used to hearing. But it was clear that she was hyper aware of his expression and then he understood what Hayeon's pause earlier meant.

Taekwoon smiled and offered his hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Taekwoon." and Hyoyeon almost deflated on her spot, relief washing off her. Hayeon gave him a wide proud smile.

~*~

"I'm glad you got to meet Sooyoung." Hayeon said while she was staring at the ceiling, sprawled out on the mattress on the bed. The bedsheet was off and was stashed away in a bag that they would be taking to the cleaners later.

Taekwoon was seated next to the bed with a water bottle in hand. He let his head fall on the mattress, staring at Hayeon. "You met her when Hyoyeon and Minhyuk were trying to cheer you up, right?" He can remember Eunji mentioning another person that kept Hayeon company that day, but his girlfriend didn't elaborate on the person's identity. It seems fair that neither Hayeon nor Eunji mentioned anything. Hyoyeon seems to be holding it as a sensitive topic after all.

"Yeah." Hayeon answered.

Their visitors left after saying goodbye. They won't be seeing Hyoyeon until next term but Minhyuk had agreed to join them at the camp he and Hayeon volunteers in every summer. Minah, Hayeon's oldest sister, always appreciates the extra hand in helping handle the little kids that are left to their care for the summer camp.

"Should we go grab lunch while we're out?" he asked with his chin perched on the bed, his finger poking Hayeon's arm.

"We probably should." she answered. But instead of getting up, she just rolled over to face Taekwoon. Compared to a few hours ago, her hair is now a complete mess, and her energy was turned down by a notch. They had been tidying up his room for most of the morning so that's understandable. She chuckled then, swiping his nose with her finger. "You have dust there." and for a moment she just lied there, staring at him with such a soft look in her eyes.

It's almost scary how pretty she looked despite the unruly hair and the total lack of make up. She's also not in any stylish clothes, or anything to show her figure that had developed nicely over the past few years. But still, there was something in her that makes the plain old shirt hug her body at all the right places, showing curves and lines that shouldn't be obvious through her current clothes. Hayeon, in no way, dresses inappropriately, and yet Taekwoon hears from here and there how people that have seen her couldn't stop commenting how... y she looked. It was fine when they admire her for it, but the few chances that he overheard them fantasizing over his best friend in inappropriate ways, it had made his blood boil and it's a good thing he hasn't lost control... yet.

The neck of her shirt opened just a tad bit when she moved, revealing more of her collarbones and shoulder, and Taekwoon can't help but think how careless she is sometimes. She probably don't even know how people sees her, or what effect she has on them. Or maybe her guard is just really down around him.

He tugged the cloth back up to cover her, "You really should be more careful." he murmured, which was answered with a confused look from Hayeon. He didn't elaborate further. He'll tell her when he needs to.

She was still looking at him in question, but Taekwoon just pinched her arm and the hit that followed was totally expected. The hit stings, but all he could give Hayeon was a fond look even as she scowled at him while rubbing her arm.

~*~

"The kids go at the back." Yerin said as she poked her head through the passenger's seat window. She's now sporting flame red hair instead of the blue color she had last Christmas.

Taekwoon gave a curt nod to Hayeon's father who was looking at them from the driver's seat.

"Yo! Taekwoon~" Yerin greeted with a little wave. 

They both filed in the back of the car after putting their things at the trunk. Even though they had the entire backseat to themselves, Hayeon still snuggled up to him, yawning a little after pillowing her head against the side of Taekwoon's arm.

"l thought..." she paused mid-sentence because of another yawn. "...that your finals week is next week." Hayeon finished, her eyes were slow to open again.

Hayeon's older sister by two years turned from her seat and beamed at them. She has the same smile as Hayeon, but Yerin has rounder eyes and fair skin. She's also shorter, often getting mistaken as the youngest instead of Hayeon. "I reached the exemption mark for all my subjects~" she singsonged.

Hayeon's weight on him was increasing and Taekwoon just knows she'll fall asleep in the next minute. He eased the arm Hayeon was leaning on around her, pulling her closer by the waist. She adjusted, letting her head settle on Taekwoon's chest instead and allowed him to tuck her more comfortably to his side.

Yerin smiled at Taekwoon before settling back in her seat. She also turned down the volume of the music playing in the car. 

In another minute, the car had settled into a comfortable silence and Hayeon had completely fallen asleep. A few strands of hair had fallen in front of her face and Taekwoon had gently combed them back and tucked it behind her ear. She feels so small in his arms. He can't believe he can wrap his arm around her like this. It's so easy to envelope her.

He leaned his face to the top of her head, her hair tickling his nose. She smelled so sweet and she feels so warm. "She's so precious." he thought absently.

~*~

Yerin had accidentally directed her eyes at the rearview mirror just as Taekwoon leaned his face into Hayeon's hair. Somehow, the look in his eyes was different. She can't put her finger on it, she just knows something was different from before. 

He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek to the top of Hayeon's head, looking comfortable and at peace. He wasn't asleep, but he remained in that position. He wasn't fully hugging Hayeon but it almost feels like he's enveloping her, keeping her in his arms, like she's someone... precious. 

Yerin knows Hayeon is. She's the youngest of the family, her precious little sister. She's also Taekwoon's best friend. He had expressed in the past how much she means to him. But this scene right here, it was different, it was... more.

When Taekwoon opened his eyes again, she doesn't know why she averted her gaze. There was just something in that moment. Like she wasn't supposed to be watching, or caught watching in this case. It felt too personal, even if she's Hayeon's older sister. It felt like the moment belonged to Taekwoon and Hayeon alone. It was almost like... like they were in l--

She shook her head, slapping her hands to her face, which caught the attention of their father. He gave her a quick questioning look, not letting his eyes stray from the road for more than a second. She shook her head as an answer and thankfully their dad let it go.

She let her eyes wander to the mirror again. Taekwoon has his eyes closed again, head leaning on Hayeon's, and this scene, this is familiar. This is how they usually are, comfortable and just them being them. 

Yerin almost convinced herself that she had imagined what happened earlier. That it was just her mind playing with her. But then she saw Hayeon open her eyes, snuggle closer to Taekwoon before burying her face to his chest and suddenly, the moment was there again.

This time she knows something had changed. She just doesn't know if they know. For some reason, she thinks they don't.