----Chapter Twenty-Six----

The next day, Chaeyoung wakes up freshly rested and the first thing she does after kissing Jimin’s forehead and smiling at his peaceful face is run across the room to open the curtains. She squeals at the cloudless sky and bright sun.

Another beautiful day.

Perfect.

As silently as possible, she gathers clean clothes and heads to the bathroom for a brisk shower, humming happily under her breath.

A quick look back into the bedroom lets her know that Jimin is still asleep by the time she’s finished cleaning up so she heads down to the kitchen and proceeds to cook them a healthy breakfast.

While preparing the food, she can’t help stealing glances toward the staircase, praying that Jimin would wake up soon so they could enjoy the beautiful weather as much as possible.

As soon as the thought enters her mind, she regrets it. They did stay up late last night, and he planned this whole trip amid his busy schedule. Maybe it’s a rare opportunity for him to sleep in.

Don’t be too selfish.

It’s as if her initial wish reached him though since he comes down a moment later, all freshen up and well-rested. The latter quashes the guilt that was starting to spread in her heart.

He drops a kiss on the top of her head and gets the plates out of the cupboard while she turns the eggs around.

“You could’ve woken me up,” he pouts as she distributes the fruits she cut earlier equally between both plates.

“You looked too peaceful. Besides I was too excited, I would’ve been annoyingly chirpy.”

“Such a kid,” he says fondly.

They forgo the table and head for the window sill to eat once the eggs are done since neither of them has yet grown tired of the heavenly picturesque view outside.

She gulps down her food at the speed of light, too excited for the day to masticate which earns her reprimands from Jimin to be careful not to choke.

Chaeyoung looks at him apologetically. How mortifying, he might feel like he's scolding a child with the way she’s acting. She's too hyper however, she can't control herself though she does try to eat slower since she'll have to wait for him to finish anyway.

The list of possible activities to do is still long, but they quickly agree on a morning hike, both eager to see more of their surroundings.

They go back upstairs to dress accordingly, Jimin opting for sweatpants and a simple white t-shirt with a baseball cap on his head while Chaeyoung chooses jeans shorts and a black t-shirt. Sunscreen is also mandatory with how strong the rays of the suns are. They put the bottle in Jimin’s backpack along with Jisoo’s first aid kit, just in case.

Chaeyoung can hear Jisoo’s voice in her head saying those words to her the previous day and she smiles as she fetches two water bottles from the fridge. She hopes the oldest is having a good time with her family. She’s been so unlike herself lately, maybe hanging out with them will do some good to her morale.

“Ready?”

She nods, handing him the bottles to add to his backpack.

“Let’s go.”

The trail starts close to the chalet, only a small distance away on the driveway that led them here. At first, the way escorts them deep into the forest, and they amuse themselves by trying to spot the singing birds they hear along the way, rather unsuccessfully. Trees surround them on every side, an abundant number of them, as far as the eye can see, and the heavy foliage hides the small birds easily. But the different melodies they hear makes their little game worthwhile.

Then the trail goes around the lake and up a hill that gives a breath-taking view of the lake and its surroundings.

They stop there to eat a light lunch they packed before following the trail back to the chalet.

With the humid weather, the sun's harsh rays, and the day's exercise all combine, it’s no wonder Chaeyoung ends up all sweaty, causing her clothes to disgustingly stick to her skin by the time the chalet comes into view.

Still, it doesn’t stop her from running toward the dock with a sudden burst of energy, stopping at the end to simply bask into the peacefulness around her, reasserting how paradisaical this place is.

"That jacuzzi sure sounds like heaven right about now," she breathes, already imagining herself in its hot and bubbly water.

With a grin, she turns to ask Jimin if he wants to join her but the smirk on his face stops her.

"Growing up in Australia, in a city near water, you must know how to swim, right?"

"Huh? Sure, but isn't it a little too co-" She shrieks as she suddenly feels the cold water of the lake surrounding her from all sides. The shock freezes her for a moment before her body remembers what it needs to do. She resurfaces soon after, spurting, her hands trying to free her face from the veil of hair that's currently covering it.

She must've swallowed a gallon or two of water and as she blinks the water away from her eyes, her vision clears and the first thing she sees is Jimin bend in two, laughing at her from the safety of the dock.

"Yah! Park Jimin!" she yells between coughs, which only makes him laugh harder. With a huff, she tries to comb her hair in place. It’s sticking everywhere, and how can he take her glaring seriously when she probably looks like a drowned porcupine.

"But you looked so hot..." He says with a sly grin, looking at her soaked form below him.

That sly grin is becoming her weakness, Chaeyoung thinks. And Jimin probably figured that out way before her since he keeps using it as a weapon against her.

Well, two could play the game. She lowers herself into the water down to her nose, ignoring her shivering body, and gets to work. Thankfully the water is dark enough that he can't see what she's doing, not to mention that he’s still too busy laughing at her.

It takes dexterous manoeuvring and careful planning, but Chaeyoung is determined to take her revenge. After some struggle, she throws her bra toward him with a playful laugh, silently cheering when it lands perfectly at his feet.

That stops his laughter short as she hoped.

His eyes move down from the bra then back up to Chaeyoung's grinning face. Without breaking eye contact, he bends down to pick it up, letting the strap dangle from his middle finger. "If you're trying to get me to get down there, it'll take more than this," he challenges, his eyes dark with mischief.

Chaeyoung puffs her cheek, but her determination can reach ambitious levels. She shrugs under the water and soon, she sends her shorts flying, landing a moment later on the very spot her bra first landed, just in front of Jimin’s shoes.

Wow, if only my aim had been this good when we were playing billiards, she thinks before letting her body float on the water. Her eyes lock on Jimin, and she can see how his eyes are running up and down her legs which are on full display, along with her black and her black shirt that's showing a good portion of her stomach.

She doesn't want to go topless outside even if there's no one else around, so she really hopes he'll take the bait this time.

Seducing men is not one of her skills, no matter what her on-stage persona might project a certain iness and confidence. Jimin looks at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world, but she knows she's far from perfect. Her cheeks are too puffy, her legs aren't as well proportioned as Lisa's and her s are too small.

Before meeting Jimin, she would've never acted this way, take off pieces of her clothing to lure a man into joining her in freezing water. In broad daylight.

Not any man though. Only Jimin.

He makes her feel better about herself, and she hop-

The sudden touch of s her out of her daydreaming with a shriek, her eyes snapping upward to find her boyfriend’s face smirking at her.hands on her waist bring

Chaeyoung smiles at him as he tugs her closer into her arms, her hands softly combing wet strands of hair. "You came."

Jimin snorts at her. "Only a blind man could've stayed up there."

And he moves in, his lips diving for hers.

The kiss is slow and sensual as they let the water sway them while they devour each other's mouths. His arm across her back presses her closer to him while his other hand supports the back of her neck as he moves his mouth like a starved man who finally found food.

The water is freezing, but her body is on fire as she clings to him like a lifeline. She wraps her legs around his waist, desperate to get closer, and one of his hands immediately lands on her to steady her.

He squeezes teasingly, his tongue hers at the same time. She moans, embarrassingly loud, hands grabbing the back of his neck to angle his head to give him better access.

They’re both breathless by the time her back hits a hard surface. Chaeyoung breaks off the kiss, disoriented.

She hasn’t even realized he's moved them closer to the wooden ladder leading back to the dock. "We should get out of the water before we catch a cold," he explains while one of his fingers brushes against her cheek.

Chaeyoung playfully hits the water with her hand, directing an array of droplets in his face. "Yah! You're the one who pushed me!"

He laughs it