39

Lyorin yawned and stretched her arms and legs. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found herself on the bed back in her room. The sun was already up and she turned to see the time. It was nearly 9 in the morning. She recalled last night's event and immediately she started to blush thinking of the moment when they cuddled together. She could still feel his warm.

She got up from the bed and walked to the table where there was a note written for her.

"Good morning baby bear. I'll be going to town for a while to refill the truck's gas. It will take a short while and I promise to be back by 9.30am. I hope by then you're already awake. Get ready because we're going to do fun things today! Love, grumpy bear."

Seeing the word fun was enough to excite her. Anything with Kai would be fun to her. Even if it was just a casual stroll by the beach, it was still going to be fun. Quickly, she showered, wore a sleeveless top with denim shorts and headed down to the kitchen. She wanted to prepare a nice breakfast meal for Kai before he came back.

While she was tossing the sausages in the frying pan, a voice startled her. "Good morning ~"

She turned to see Kai leaning by the kitchen counter. He was wearing a plaid shirt over a white sleeveless top with tattered loose jeans. His sleeves were rolled up and his hair was spike up. He was so good looking as compared to her underdress outfit. He walked to her and stood behind, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What are you cooking? It smells good."

The intimacy was making her loose concentration. He was so close that she could smell his cologne. However, she put aside the nervousness and replied. "I'm preparing breakfast. Help me set the table. I'm almost done."

After breakfast, Lyorin waited patiently for Kai at the porch outside the house. The red truck was nicely parked at the front. She was still unsure what the plan was for today but she was all psyched up for it. She fiddled with the backpack that had spare fresh clothes in it which Kai had told her to bring. If he asked her to pack in clothes, the only place that came across her mind was the beach.

But this was the rural area.

"Have you packed already?" Kai asked, walking out with a bag in his hand. Lyorin nodded and showed him the big backpack. She pouted adorably. "Haha! Good ~ let's go!" He beamed and led her to the truck.

In the middle of the journey, Lyorin kept tugging Kai’s hand asking him where they were going. He could only chuckle and refuse to tell her where.

“Am I like underdress or something?” She asked after looking at the way he dressed as compared to hers.

He laughed and said. “Nope you’re not. You’re dressed perfectly. Besides, it’s going to get messy and dirty anyway.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “Messy and dirty? Where are we going, Kai?”

“Oh and it is said to have health benefits as well. It is good for your skin ~” He continued to further.

She folded her arms and pouted while trying to guess where they were heading to. After about an hour, the truck turned right and she read the sign board which says, “Mudbath – Please turn right.”

She turned her head to see him grinning mischievously. “Mudbath? You mean like mud, as in that black mud?” She asked.

“Haha! What other kind of mud there is, my dear?” He was amused seeing her surprised expression. Finally, he stopped the truck and pulled up the handbrake. He switched off the engine and quickly hopped out. She followed him closely behind, walking on a sandy path before her eyes landed on a pool of mud. A little hesitant, she took a step back and shook her head.

“Kai, are you serious?” She stared at him as he undressed himself right before her. He seemed to be really eager to jump in to the pool which was supposed to have good health benefits.

“Come on Lyorin, it’s going to be fun! The mud is warm and ~” He bent down and picked up a handful of the black mud in his hand. It was sticky and it looked really disgusting. He walked towards her, however she backed away instantly. He smirked and teased. “Don’t tell me you’re not going to try it out?” He walked nearer to her, looking like he was going for an attack.

She held out her hands protectively in front of her. “K-K-Kai, at least let me change first ~” She stuttered as he went closer. Slowly, she put down her backpack at the side. She was really doing it very slowly to buy the time. Actually, she didn’t need to change her clothes. She was already wearing the correct outfit. She was just a little hesitant to jump in to the dirty mud. Kai was waiting by the side, still clean only his hands were already dirtied. He kept giving her the naughty smirk which made her even more nervous. Once the bag was down, she turned around and slowly stepped forward. She gulped nervously and asked. “How are we supposed to clean ourselves later?”

“Shhh ~ listen.” He hushed her to be quiet and listened to the surrounding sound.

Lyorin perked up her ears to listen what he was referring to. Her ears picked up the sound of water splashing. Immediately, she said. “River; there is a river nearby?”

“Yes, we can go for a swim at the river with a low waterfall. It’s beautiful and the water is cold and fresh. Come on Lyorin, stop asking questions and jump in.” He told her.

Even after the plea, she was still standing awkwardly by the side with her legs fidgeting. Without breathing any words, he walked over to her and reached out his hand. He stepped in and then led her in. She was reluctant at first but because he was holding her hand, she felt relatively safe. She took a few steps and finally got herself in. At first she felt squeamish but after a while she got used to it. Kai was already soaked entirely and his body was covered with black mud. She started laughing. Suddenly, she felt her arm being tugged and her body fell in. In a blink of an eye, she was covered in mud. Now, it was Kai’s turn to laugh at her.

She pouted and wiped the mud that was on her face. “Ahh ~ you didn’t even warn me. Fine! THIS IS WAR!” She pretended to be angry and then grab a handful of mud and rubbed it on his face. Soon, both of them were attacking each other, frantically grabbing the mud and rubbing and throwing to one another. He would dodge at times, but most of the time he allowed her to attack him. She trudged towards him and was about to attack when suddenly she lost her balance and fell on him. He hugged her waist tightly while she struggled to break free.

As she was struggling to get away, thinking that he was going to attack her instead, Kai held her closely and smiled watching her antics. “Lyorin ~” He called.

“Let me go you big bad grumpy bear ~” She kept struggling.

“Lyorin ~” He called again. Without saying anything else, he embraced her, resting his chin on top of her head. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. He wrapped his arms and never let go.

Momentarily, Lyorin stopped trying to escape from him when he kept still and hugged her instead. She buried her face on him and slowly wrapped her arms around his body. Even though both of them were so dirty, they couldn’t be bothered by it. She leaned closer and similarly enjoyed the moment. They remained in the position for a while before he slowly let go off her and lifted her chin. Their eyes met and both of them laughed seeing how dirty their faces had turned to.

They spent nearly two hours before they headed to the river which was just a 10minutes walk from the mud place. Holding hands, they dragged their dirty selves and eventually reached the river where there was also a short waterfall. The water looked really refreshing that Kai immediately dived in. When he was back up, he was already cleaned as the water washed the mud off him. Seeing how cleaned he became, Lyorin jumped in to the river.

Kai swam nearer to the waterfall. Lyorin followed and waddled her way towards the waterfall. True to his words, the river and the waterfall were really beautiful. Kai stood up and let the waterfall hit his back. Amazed, Lyorin followed and let the strong gush of water fell on her back. It was somehow therapeutic as the waterfall acted like a natural body massage. When she had enough of it, she swam away and just dipped in the water, while watching Kai who was still letting the water hit his back.

She turned her back at him and was in her own world when suddenly she felt hands grabbing her from the back. Instantly, she was lifted up and her feet could not feel the ground. She let out a scream but stopped when she realised it was only Kai carrying her in his arms while still in the water.

He smirked and said. “Don’t be scared, it’s just me.”

“You scared me.” She muttered and then wrapped her arms around his neck.

“So, how is it? Do you like it?” He asked.

Still in his arms, she replied. “I love it! The mudbath was really fun. We can do it again!”

“I’m glad that you love it ~” He rubbed his nose against hers cheekily.

“Hmm Kai, you can put me down.” She pouted.

He shook his hand and said. “I don’t want to. I like having you in my arms.” He chuckled.

After dipping for quite some time, they finally got out of the water. They were wet and slightly shivering from the cold. Kai immediately took out the towel in his bag and went up to Lyorin. Without saying anything, he took control by drying her hair with the towel and then wrapped it around her. She mumbled thanks and went on to get her bag for a new set of clothes. Kai didn’t need the changing room. He took out the sleeveless top he was wearing and exposed his nice bare body right in front of her. She gulped nervously watching his toned and muscular body.

He saw that she was blushing and began to further by flexing his muscles on purpose. She saw and turned even redder. Quickly, she turned around unable to face him when she could no longer stand ogling at him.

“I-I-I’ll g-go g-get c-change.” She stuttered embarrassingly.

“You can always do it here ~” He teased.

She shot him a look and retorted. “No ~”

Timidly, she walked away and headed for the changing room located nearby. She felt extremely self-conscious knowing how nice his body was as compared to hers. But then again, he was a guy why should she be worried? Probably because he was too hot and handsome that this somehow threatened her position, in his heart.

Little did they realise that they had spent almost the entire day outside and was heading back for dinner. Hungry and famished, they cooked something simple and ate it quickly. After dinner, they sat in the living room with the TV on. Lyorin could feel the tiredness in her body yet she was happy and satisfied with the activities that were planned for her. She yawned and stretched her arms.

“Go and sleep if you’re tired.” Kai said.

She shook her head and crawled closer to him. “I don’t want to ~” She snuggled in his arms and continued. “This is going to be the last night. I want to spend it fruitfully.”

Yes, tomorrow they would have to leave the place and head back to EXO’s mansion. It was a short weekend getaway after all. Thus, she didn’t want to spend the last night just sleeping.

“But you’re tired, aren’t you?” He asked when he saw that she kept yawning and her eyelids were slowly drooping.

“It’s okay.”

“So, what do you want to do for the night?” He asked, playing with her hair.

“Kai, are you afraid of the future?” She posed a question out of a sudden.

He tilted his head and stared at her eyes. “Why are you asking me this?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want to know what my future is but I don’t think I have a future.”

Surprised by her words, Kai sat up and then held her shoulders. “Why are you being like this?” He turned serious when he realised this was more than just a mere question.

She looked down, unable to gaze his eyes. “As days passed, I’m actually very afraid of what my future is. Sometimes, I think they have gotten the wrong person. They shouldn’t have chosen me as the Star. I can’t even ~”

He pulled her for an embrace. “You’re the perfect person, Lyorin. There is no one more capable than you.” He assured.

“But I can’t even understand the message my father left for me. I’m really useless. Maybe, dad shouldn’t have put high hopes on me.”

Kai knew of the dream she was having. She told him about the same dream which she guessed could have been a message from her dad. Yet, she could not quite get what he was trying to convey and because of that she felt really helpless, especially when everyone was waiting for her to uncover the mystery.

“Shh ~ don’t give up okay? I’m sure you’ll able to figure it out.” He coaxed and gently patted her back.

“Kai, if anything happens to me ~”

“Kim Lyorin, you promised me last night that you won’t ever leave me.” He reminded.

“B-but ~”

He cut her again. “Please don’t. I don’t think I can live without you.” He begged.

She smiled and cupped his face affectionately. “Kai, you are one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. In fact, meeting EXO was the best part of my life. I wish to stay with you for as long as I can.”

“Then, please don’t think negatively.” He said. “I will promise nothing; absolutely nothing will happen to you.”

She smiled and replied. “Thank you for everything.”

After the brief conversation, they were back to being quiet. The quiet was enough to put away their insecurities. Just like the previous night, they were side by side, leaning and wrapping their arms around each other. It was the only moment they wished time could stop and allowed them to enjoy it forever.

“Kim Lyorin, you are the only future I’m sure of ~” He silently thought.

(To be continued)