It had been years since Gyuri felt so agitated that she went to bed early due to the excitement and was even more relieved that it was a nightmare-free sleep. She even let out a tiny squeal at how energized and rested she felt as she got ready, and she was more than ready to go half an hour before the settled time. Gyuri was all geared up, almost giving tiny jumps of impatience around her house as she waited for Kyungsoo to arrive. She was too hopeful and thrilled for her parents to refuse the invitation. If she wasn't mistaken, they seemed quite relieved, even if that meant having her out of their sight for the entire weekend.

“Aren't you forgetting anything?” Her mother asked for the tenth time as she inspected her suitcase again.

"Nope, so if Baekhyun calls…?” Gyuri asked in return, and the question made her mother stop her inspection with a grimace.

“You’re out on a camping trip from work.” her mother replied.

“He won’t buy it,” her father added from the couch, “You have never gone to one, and he knows that.”

“I know,” Gyuri grumbled, knowing perfectly well that her father was right. 

Baekhyun knew her too well, or at least she wanted to believe he did. And it didn't matter how much she wanted to keep him away and oblivious to her situation. A tiny and hidden part of her wanted him to try harder, to be his usual stubborn self and bring the truth out of her. Even if she didn't like the sensation in her chest and it was a constant nuisance, she wanted Baekhyun next to her, aware of her pain and willing to comfort her. Gyuri figured the curse wouldn't hurt as much if she had his arms around her and his gentle words constantly reminding her that she was much stronger than she thought. Suddenly upset, Gyuri had to fight back the urge to grab her phone, call him and apologize for being such a crappy friend. However, her internal rambling stopped when she heard a car pulling over by her house right on time.

"He's here." She mumbled to herself, almost tripping over her suitcase as she ran to open the front door.

Gyuri was ready to greet the writer when her smile fell for a second. While packing the night before, she wondered if Kyungsoo would wear his thick-framed glasses or would wear the ugly khaki pants and more silly stuff like that. However, when she opened the door, Gyuri never imagined a luxury car parked outside her house, without any signs of him but an unknown woman in the passenger seat.

"Hello," the woman smiled as she jumped out of the car, "My name is Anna."

Gyuri recognized the name right away. Kyungsoo mentioned his closest hyung, Minseok hyung, the famous editor, would tag along with his fiance. She would have struggled not to make any sound if the notion of meeting the girlfriend of the most famous bachelor in the country did not feel like a wrench in the cogs of her brain. No one in the entire world knew about her existence, except maybe for their families, Kyungso, and now her. Gyuri just found herself so starstruck by the gorgeous couple that she only stared at them as they introduced themselves. She was not ready to have someone as famous as the notorious editor greeting her politely and reaching out to help her with her backpack. If she wasn't startled enough by the situation as it was, her parents' reaction added to her anxiousness. Her mother gasped the moment she saw the editor, probably recognizing him. Her father immediately took over putting her luggage in the car, much to Kyungsoo and Minseok's bafflement and making the atmosphere a thousand times more awkward and tense. Thankfully, her mother dragged her father back into the house, and in a matter of minutes, they were on their way to the weekend trip to the mountains.

Still too surprised by the new experience, Gyuri limited herself to sitting still in the back seat. She took in the atmosphere of a close circle of friends she wasn't part of in complete silence and wondered if she was ready to socialize like a normal and functional human being. She tried to be smooth about it, but her attention kept dragging to Kyungsoo sitting beside her. He looked as relaxed as she had ever seen him, and she couldn't help but stare at him as he chatted with the others. Gyuri thought he talked to her a lot but soon realized she was mistaken. Right next to her was a talkative Kyungsoo, recalling past road trips with a pleased smile as he looked outside the window. Minseok and his girlfriend added to the stories, making the writer laugh in amusement. When Gyuri wasn't puzzled by the writer, Anna was a complete mystery herself. She was talkative and had a strong character which made it easy for her to take charge of the conversation. Without realizing it, they were all chatting and singing along as Kim Minseok drove them out of the city.

They arrived at a small country town at the bottom of a mountain a few hours later. The editor drove through the narrow roads to reach the cabin in a small plane at the top of a hill. By the time he stopped the car, Gyuri wasn't sure if she was more mesmerized by the beautiful sight of nature or utterly drawn by Anna's charismatic personality. Gyuri liked her sense of humor and was low-key envious of how articulate and easy-going she could be. It only made sense that a Korean woman raised abroad could be so exceptional and confident that even the intimidating editor seemed softer and more agreeable next to her. As if pulled by a string of her brightness, Gyuri jumped out of the car, followed the woman to the cliff edge, and stood by her side as they admired the small town below them. 

"I like this place so much." She mumbled to herself after taking a deep breath and then turned to Gyuri, taking her by surprise. "But I love that you're here."

"What?" Gyuri asked out of pure confusion that someone could find her discreet presence that enjoyable so fast.

"Kyungsoo bought this place long ago but doesn't bring anyone." She explained, "I'm glad he decided to bring you so I won't be the only woman again."

Gyuri couldn't add anything to that observation because Anna draped an arm around her shoulders to steer her away and into the cabin as the guys sorted themselves with their belongings in the trunk. Not wanting to be a nuisance as the youngest of the group, Gyuri focused on staying out of anyone's way and following every instruction thrown around. She helped Kyungsoo carry the suitcases through the narrow hallway that took them to the back of the cabin and froze when they arrived at the small resting area that connected the three big rooms and the bathroom. When he asked her to pick a room it was the moment Gyuri realized just how big the place was and wondered if it could even be considered a cabin.

"Minseok hyung and Anna usually stay here," Kyungsoo explained when they came to the main room that almost consisted of all the back of the cabin.

Gyuri panicked for a second when she observed the king-sized bed in the middle of the room and wanted to facepalm herself because of her naivety. For some dumb reason, and due to her lack of social experience, she thought she would be sleeping with Anna but was suddenly brought back to the reality that they were all grown adults spending the weekend together.

"I usually take the room with the balcony," Kyungsoo said as he left to show it to her across the resting area, "so I don't have to listen to them at night."

Quite baffled by that information, Gyuri walked in, looked around the room, and enjoyed the sunlight shining through the sliding doors that led to a small balcony facing the green hills. The view was beyond beautiful, and as if he could read her mind, Kyungsoo opened the balcony doors and let her out. The sound of nature surrounded her instantly, welcoming her to its arms. She felt the morning breeze on her skin, and her ears caught on the soft and lively chirping of birds. Everything was accompanied by a weird and peaceful silence she had never experienced before.

"You can take this room," Kyungsoo said after a while, startling her off her absorption.

Gyuri refused and apologized, ready to leave in the search for the remaining room no one wanted but Kyungsoo stopped her by grabbing her suitcase and placing it on the bed. He opened the closet and showed her a set of clean towels, sleepers, and various toiletries, as he explained that she was free to use anything she found there.

"You really don't want to hear them at night." He said with a small smile, and she noticed no hints of shyness on his face as if whatever they did at night was a common occurrence, "I'll take the one right across."

"You don't have to."

"You're my guest now," Kyungsoo said, finally setting everything down on the bed to look at her, "of course I do."

Feeling her cheeks blushing, Gyuri blurted something out and bolted out of the room to bring the rest of the suitcases and place them in their respective rooms. Not knowing what could make her feel so flustered around the writer, Gyuri pretended to be solely focused on the task and prayed that Kyungsoo wouldn't look at her like that again. Unfortunately, she was done too soon and hesitated to join the others as they chatted in the kitchen. She heard the editor laugh, and it reminded her that this was a completely new setting for her. That instantly made her feel her energy plunge and her anxiety skyrocket. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to walk to the kitchen, and once there, almost made her body feel like she had walked for hours.

“This is exhausting,” Gyuri said under her breath as she sat on the couch.

“Why don’t you take a nap?” Anna suggested, snapping Gyuri out of her reverie, “It will be a while until we all freshen up and prepare lunch.”

"I'm fine," Gyuri said, standing up, ashamed of herself for saying that out loud and letting an unnie manage everything alone.

"Lies," Anna said with a snort as she pulled some veggies out of their bags.

"Don't try to argue," Minseok added with a defeated pout, and his girlfriend handed him the veggies, "you won't win, Gyuri."

Gyuri did not know what to do. She looked at Kyungsoo seated in the living room, but he wasn't even paying attention to what was happening as he scrolled through his phone. Fighting the anxiousness crawling up , Gyuri just stood there, paralyzed.

"Don't sweat about it," Anna said, and Gyuri found the woman looking at her with a kind smile, "You look tired. Go ahead and rest a little."

Unable to refuse, Gyuri excused herself and left the kitchen. She was walking through the hallway when she noticed just how exhausted she was. Her back started hurting again, and her eyelids felt heavier with every step. Fighting the sudden wave of sleepiness, she came into the room and observed the bed for a second, but too tired to do anything else, she crawled up to it and pretty much passed out.

The absolute silence woke her up. There were no laughing or animated voices chatting, not even music playing. Suddenly scared, Gyuri sat up, feeling groggy and out of place. She looked around the room, observed the green scenery out of the balcony doors, and gathered her bearings. However, confused by the lack of voices, she checked her phone, and a sense of embarrassment made her jump out the bed. It had been a few hours since they arrived, and she slept it through without a care. Still rubbing the tiredness of her eyes, she wobbled through the hallway as she thought of an explanation for her rudeness and a way to make up for it.

She walked into the living room to find Kyungsoo in there. She greeted him, partly embarrassed that she slept through the day but noticed him calling a hyung over the phone that he had pressed over his ear. Kyungsoo flinched in surprise at her sudden appearance, and mirroring the surprise in his expression, Gyuri apologized as she made signs for him to continue with his call. However, he put the phone down and hung up, although the person on the other side of the line was already speaking.

"Did you rest well?" He asked, and the phone in his hand started buzzing.

"I'm sorry," Gyuri said, embarrassment taking over, "I should've set an alarm clock or something."

"It's better that way," Kyungsoo added, fumbling with his phone to reject the call, "Minseok hyung would have dragged you out for a hike otherwise."

Gyuri made a face. Just imagining herself walking up the mountain trail made her skin crawl and her knees protest. Said reaction didn't get missed by the writer. Kyungsoo chuckled, finally leaving his phone on the coffee table and making a sign for her to follow as the device started buzzing again.

"Wanna see the garden?" He asked.

"Your phone…" She said, pointing at the vibrating cell phone, but Kyungsoo was already nudging her out of the cabin.

Giving up, Gyuri followed him to the front yard. She noticed dozens of clay jars on the floor. Kyungsoo explained the agreement with the closest neighbor to keep an eye on his property in exchange for lending some unused space in his yard to store the jars of fermenting kimchi and other pastes. Gyuri found the story interesting. She hadn't thought about Kyungsoo as a particularly social person and found it hard to picture him interacting with the neighbors, but at the same time, it made an awful lot of sense as they walked through the jars until they reached a wooden fence. 

Kyungsoo sled the weathered latch to a side and pushed the gate open to let her in. Gyuri gasped, surprised at the small yet well-designed garden beside the cabin, and wandered in, delighted to find herself surrounded by so much green. She couldn't tell just how many different types of shrubs, bushes, and herbs the writer was growing in such a place. Gyuri even let out a sound of absolute wonder when she found a small tomato plant in a corner. She also noticed the lack of flowers, but Kyungsoo didn't say a word about it, and she wouldn't ask either. She understood the reason better than anyone. 

Suddenly, everything was perfect. Gyuri couldn’t ask for better weather conditions to be out in nature to stretch her legs and fill her lungs with fresh air. At least that was what she hoped for, but she was just too tired to do anything else, and thankfully, Kyungsoo didn’t seem to mind. He even looked thrilled to stay behind with her and keep each other company as they walked around the garden.

"There's more?" Gyuri gasped again, "Just how big is this place?"

She stood there stunned when she reached what looked like the end of the garden, only to discover a small passageway hidden by unruly crawling plants that led to what she guessed was another garden. Looking over her shoulder to get an explanation from the owner, Kyungsoo simply shrugged and resumed whatever he was doing to one of the plants. Chuckling to herself, Gyuri followed the winding path made of flat stones and entered what felt like a secret garden with a small pond by the corner on her left, a wooden deck at the other side, and a couple of rocking chairs placed exactly under the shade of a tree that still had many years to see the best of it.

“What are you going to do?” She asked when Kyungsoo joined her, pulling a pair of gardening gloves on, “I’ve never seen you as an outdoorsy kind of guy.”

Gyuri couldn’t get an answer when a gust of wind swept around the enclosed garden, and the unmistakable scent made her stop and almost recoil. Kyungsoo seemed to pause for a moment as well. With his eyes closed, he took in the fragrance around them, and she saw the change in his features.

“I guess you can smell it too.” Kyungsoo pointed out.

"What is that smell?" She asked as chills ran down her spine. 

However, as afraid as Gyuri suddenly was, something compelled her to move and follow the writer. He wal