A gentle voice greeted Chorong when she woke up, along with the sunshine and the cries of seagulls. She opened her eyes, and, taken aback by the sight of pristine blue sea with its surface sparkling underneath the dazzling sun, she pondered for a moment where she was until she saw her best friend next to her.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Hoya said lazily. He had his feet up on the dashboard, his cap loosely covering most part of his face as a shield against the sun. He checked his watched and added, “Or should I say, good afternoon?”

Instead of replying, she turned around only to find the backseats empty. “Where are the others?”

“Gone.”

“Sorry?” she frowned.

He darted his eyes at her with a smirk plastered across his face. “Gone,” he repeated. “They’ve been eliminated and there’s just you and me now. Welcome to The Hunger Game and may the odds be ev― ow!”

“That’s what you get for messing around with me.”

“Can’t I tell jokes?” he winced, rubbing his torso where she hit him.

“The problem is you always attempt them at the wrong time.”

“Which is all the time with you.” Hoya adjusted his position and sat straight while Chorong stifled a yawn. “They’re at the restaurant down there. They didn’t want to wake you up because you were so deep in sleep and told me to wait until you wake up on your own. But really, I thought I was going to die starving.”

“You should’ve just woke me up,” she said, checking her reflection in the mirror.

“You should’ve heard yourself snoring,” he retorted, ready for another attack on his ribs but Chorong just chuckled in returned.

“Let’s go. They must be waiting for us,” she said as she climbed out of the van. Hoya looked at her for a moment while they walk and pursed his lips. “What?”

“Are you upset?”

“About what?”

“Woohyun.”

She stared back before looking away. The sea breeze came and caught her long hair, and she gathered them to her side. “Your question is vague.”

“Are you upset that he’s joining this trip?” he rephrased his question.

“No, not really,” she shook her head slightly and shrugged. “Though I don’t think I can be all that comfortable with him around, it’s alright,” she added, then turned to him. “But I’m more upset that you didn’t inform me earlier.”

“I’m sorry,” was all he could mumble back, but he knew that she didn’t really take the matter to heart. “Hey,” he called when she was about to return her gaze forward. “You got some drool stain near your chin.”

--

Bomi had her gaze fixed outside the window, watching as Hoya helped Chorong wiping something off her face with his thumb. She knew that she shouldn’t feel jealous, that the two were just friends who grew up together and nothing more, but she couldn’t help but worry sometimes that maybe, just maybe…

“Hey kiddo!”

She nearly jumped at the sudden voice near her ear. When she glanced back, Joohee was only inches away, her eyes twinkled and there was a knowing look on her face complete with a huge grin. “Stop calling me that,” Bomi protested.

Joohee laughed and it sounded like tinkling bells to Bomi’s ears. She pushed her long hair back as her eyes followed Bomi’s gaze before the younger looked down at her untouched plate. “What were you staring at that made you seem so deep in thoughts?” she asked, pretending to be oblivious.

“Nothing.”

“You know, when people say nothing it always means something.”

Bomi didn’t answer and eyed Joohee hesitantly, thinking. Voices of Doojoon and Minhyuk talking, discussing some matter she didn’t understand and wasn’t really interested to know better faded into the background along with her own thoughts. She heard the waiters greeting new customers in but it sounded like miles away. Across the table right in front of her, Hoya slipped into one of the empty seats while Chorong settled next to Joohee. She watched as Hoya studied the menu with his forehead creased, lips pursed into a straight line as if he was choosing something that would affect his life forever. She chuckled a bit, remembering how Hoya takes everything seriously. He had his elbow on the table and thumb his bottom lip as a habit, and when Bomi glanced at Chorong on the other side of the table, she was doing the same.

Bomi sighed and looked at Joohee, shrugging. “Nothing.”

For an instance, Joohee contemplated on asking further just to get the truth out of even though Joohee had already known the answer, but sensing Bomi’s reluctance to open up, she decided to let this slide. Maybe someday Bomi would speak on her own will. “If you say so.”

--

“Oh, Woohyun.”

Chorong flinched at the name and had her eyes darted at Doojoon almost automatically. She edged closer to him and craned her neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the suave voice on the other end of the line while trying to not make her action seem evident, but unfortunately the music playing in the background of the convenience store they were in made it impossible to listen in.

“Are you done with your work?” Doojoon asked, his eyes on the contents of the refrigerators.

She noticed Hoya’s eyes on her, looking both concerned and amused at the same time. She took a step away and pretended to be browsing the snacks on the shelf in front of her. Bomi and Joohee were choosing ice-creams on the side of the store while Minhyuk was just waiting at the door.

“Mm-hmm,” Doojoon murmured, nodding his head a little as Chorong stole a glance at him. He picked a bottle of apple juice at last and turned to Hoya. ‘Want one?’, he mouthed, to which Hoya replied a nod along with a smile. “We’re in Boryeong now, and we’re heading to Daecheon beach. Maybe we can spend the night there,” he continued as he took another bottle before closing the door of the fridge. “Oh, so you’re― okay. Just give me a call once you get there. ‘right, bye.”

“What did he say?” Hoya asked.

“He’s settled things but he needs to go back to his room to pack his stuff, so he’ll probably arrive later in the evening.”

Hoya caught Chorong’s curious gaze as he followed Doojoon to the cashier and gave her a knowing look, a smirk tugging his lips when she only rolled her eyes. “Go on make fun of me as much as you want,” she muttered.

“I will, and trust me it’s fun.”

“Ha ha.” She smacked his chest and slammed the bags of chips and biscuits and buns she was holding at him. “You pay.”