a/n: GUYS YOU BETTER GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER I'M FINALLY BACK AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL AEROUGHAOEUGHEUOH ok love you enjoy <3 

I actually make myself sort of cute today, in a military sort of way.  I’m wearing skinny cargo pants and a mud brown fitted shirt, a cardigan, and converse. This time I’m wearing a bikini, just in case we fall in the water again.  No, I don’t plan on revealing it; it’d just be nice to have waterproof underwear.  Sehun looks attractive per usual.  V-Neck t-shirts make him look hot, and I’m pretty sure he knows it. He’s wearing jeans and Sperry’s.  Those shoes scream ‘frat boy.’ 

   “Oh hey, you look nice dressed as a casual girl,” he compliments oddly.  I make a face.

   “I always look nice.  You told me I’m pretty without even trying, remember?  You even said it twice,” I tease.  He blushes!  Mission accomplished!  

   “Whatever.  Are you ready?”  

   “Of course.” 

   The walk to Mr. Kim’s house is slow-paced, unlike last time.  We comment on how randomly warm the weather is today, how we should get dinner after this, and we talk about the Halloween party.

   “Are you excited to have a bunch of random girls in your apartment?”  I ask.

   “Not really,” he sighs.  “All of the Sweethearts were invited.  Including Eunsang.”

   “Oh.”

   “I know.  Damn Luhan and his politeness,” he laughs.  “But you better come.  Don’t think about not coming because Eunsang will be there.” 

  “It wouldn’t cross my mind to do that,” I fib.  “Do we have to dress up?”

  “Yeah.  I can imagine a lot of girls are going to be half-dressed...  That’s sort of typical of college.  What about you?”

   “I can assure you, I will be fully dressed.  Sorry to let you down.”

   “No, I’m glad,” he laughs.  “I don’t want to see you in anything revealing.”

   “What’s that supposed to mean?”  I whine.  “I could pull off something revealing, if I had the right attitude!”  

   “I know you could,” he interrupts.  “I wouldn’t like it for the guys to stare at you in a suggestive way...  I couldn’t take it. Not even Baekhyun. He’s not yours, anyway.”

   “He’s going to be,” I comment.  I don’t reveal how touched I am that he’s protective of me.

   “I don’t know.  Eunsang came over last night and followed him to his room.  I thought it was really weird.”

   “Are you serious?”  I ask.  

   Now I don’t feel sorry at all for going on a ‘date’ with Sehun.  What is happening between Baekhyun and Eunsang?

   “I know, right?  I tried to listen in, but they were being incredibly quiet.  When she left, she looked really pissed.  I don’t know what’s going on with them.”

   “Well, thanks for telling me,” I mumble.  “I just hope that my first kiss was real, and not some antic of his.”  

   “Hey,” he says and grabs my hand.  I grab his back.  “I’m sure it was.  I’ve never heard of him kissing a girl like that.  If it wasn’t real, you let me know, and I’ll make sure to erase that first kiss from your head.”

   I laugh and nudge him with my side.  

   “How are you going to do that?”  

   “I don’t know.  I’ll come up with something,” he chuckles.

    We knock on Mr. Kim’s door with our fingers intertwined.  I don’t know why he suddenly had the urge to hold my hand, but I haven’t rejected it, so I can’t complain.  His hand feels so nice and warm; mine is all clammy and gross, but he hasn’t let go.  I’ll make sure to ask why he’s suddenly holding my hand so much when we’re out on the canal.

   “Welcome back!”  Mr. Kim cheers.  “Sehun, you did like I told you to do!”

   “Yep!  Here she is, in the flesh; Miss Choi Eunji!”  He laughs.  Mr. Kim smiles and gives me a pat on the shoulder.  

   “You’ve got a very nice boyfriend,” he tells me.  I blush.

   “He’s not--”

   “I’m not going to disappoint you,” Sehun intrudes the conversation.  “Here’s our money.”

   “Today you can go for free; my wife and I like to watch young couples like you two,” Mr. Kim responds.  

   “Thank you,” Sehun says.  He bows, then he drags me behind the house and to the paddle boat.  

   “What was that all about?”  I ask him.  

   “Don’t be too affected by it; Mr. Kim just likes young love.  He told me to bring you today and hold your hand.  He said ladies like it when you hold their hand, and that I needed to prove to you that I like you.”  

   “Do you really?”  I ask, already aware of the answer.  Sehun just wanted a free day on the paddle boat.  

   “Of course not.  It makes him happy, and it gives us free fun.  Come on, let’s get on together.” 

   We settle in our seats and start paddling up, down, and across the canal. 

   “If you held my hand just to make him think you like me, then why did you grab it all the way back there?”  

   He shrugs and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

   “Sometimes it just feels like the right thing to do when someone is sad.  Don’t get too heartbroken about Baekhyun; he’s a nice guy, but I’ve known him to be indecisive with the girls he dates.” 

   “What are you doing with your arm around me?”  I ask, ignoring his comment about Baekhyun.  I don’t want to think about that guy right now.  Sehun smiles and puts his lips to my ear.  The first time he did it I was angry, but now I know he’s just being playful. 

   “Mr. Kim is watching,” he whispers. 

   Mr. Kim is sitting outside today, with his wife beside him.  They are obviously talking about something, but we can’t hear them just like they can’t hear us.  Mrs. Kim looks so happy to see us on the canal.  

   Sehun is right.  This is perfect.  I’m surprised he was nice enough to follow through with it.  

   “By the way, what’s this string on the back of your neck?  Part of a bathing suit?” He questions.

   “Yeah.  Just in case.  It’d be nice to have dry underwear on if we fell in again.”

   “Trust me, I am not letting that happen.  I have jeans on, and the amount of chaffing I would suffer through would be too much.”

   I laugh at him and he smiles right back at me. 

   Eye contact.  It’s magical.  If it’s with the right person, you can see right through them.  I can read Sehun like an open book right now, and I know he’s happy here, with me.  I don’t know if it’s a romantic attachment, but I’ve at least done my job in being a good friend.  Relieved, I put my head on his shoulder.  

   “Hey--”

   “Mr. Kim is watching,” I silence him.  I can feel him smile against the top of my head and rest his head there.  

   “Excuse copier,” he laughs.

   This is so much more romantic than anything I’ve ever done with Baekhyun.  No music.  No fancy food.  No smooth talking in the car.  Just me being myself, and Sehun being his self, and the quiet of the canal.  

   After saying our goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Kim, we walk to the closest restaurant.  It’s a noodle restaurant, and I eat noodles like it’s my job.  

   “I’d like the mac n’ cheese,” Sehun orders at the register.  “With a bottled water.”

   “I’d like the pad thai special, please.  Also with bottled water.” 

   “That’ll be 9,500 Won,” the worker says.  I pull out my wallet to pay for mine and Sehun pushes it away. 

   “I’ve got it.”

   “Sehun, I--”

   “It’s me paying you back for giving me a free paddle boat ride today,” he concludes.  I tuck my wallet back in my pocket and zip it securely.  

   “Thanks,” I laugh.  

   Our table is really small.  When Sehun and I sit across from each other, our knees bump. 

   “Gosh, why are you so tall,” I tease as I try to fold my legs up.

   “Ladies like it,” he answers and I snort.  

   “I’m starting to think everything you do is for the ladies.”

   “Almost,” he jokes.  He leans back in his seat and I can feel his knee barely touching my heel, which is now successfully resting on my seat.  “Relax.  Put your legs through mine.  It’s not like I’m going to pull them off.”

   “But you might run away with them, with your super long legs!”  I exclaim.  He smiles and jerks his knee up so that it hits my ankle and makes it hit the table.  “Ouch!”

   “That’s why you should relax!”  He argues.  I inhale deeply, exhale loudly, and unfold my legs.  

   Relax.  I just need to relax.  I’m having a great day with Sehun, and nothing wrong is going to happen.  Just trust that everything is okay.

   The last time I did that, things didn’t turn out so pretty.  However, Sehun is a different person than he was the day we went over to the loft.  I’ve gotten just a little bit closer to him, and I really like it.  

   “Okay.  I’m relaxed.  Happy?”

   “Very,” he answers.  Everything this guy does is so sarcastic, but I secretly love it.  

   A waiter brings us our noodles and I drink in the smell of the beautiful dish of pad thai placed before me.  

   “You can’t judge me while I eat,” I tell him. 

   “Why would I do that?”  He asks.

   “Because.  I don’t just eat my food when I like it.  I consume it.”

   Sure enough, I’m done within 5 minutes.  Sehun is grinning the whole time while simultaneously eating his macaroni.  He looks more ridiculous than I do; he’ll laugh at me while cheese is stretching from his plate to his mouth.  I start laughing at him and we finally have to agree to not laugh at each other while he finishes.  When he does, he places his chin on his fist.  

   “You know, it makes sense that you’d be such an avid eater,” he cooes.  “You’re always so ambitious; why should eating be any different?”

   “Exactly,” I answer.  “Finally.  Someone understands.”

   “That’s why I’m here,” he laughs.  “Eunji, I’m going to tell you something and I don’t want you to freak out, okay?  We’re having a good day and I don’t want to upset you.”

   “Uh oh,” I mumble.  I knew there would be a catch to this perfect scene.  

   “You...”  He pauses.  He looks like he’s having difficulty saying it, whatever it is.  I’m really scared, then he speaks up.  “You are the cutest girl I’ve ever met.” 

   I choke on my water while swallowing it.  It flows all over my chin and I try to cover it with my hand. 

   “I told you not to freak out!”  He says as he grabs some napkins and hands them to me.  Despite his tone, there’s a smile on his face.  “Because...”

   “Because what?”  I manage to say.

   “Because it makes you even cuter,” he mumbles, and he’s red.  His entire face is the color that mine usually is.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that we’re both the same shade of pinkish red right now.  

   “What brought this on?”  I softly ask.  He shrugs and looks back at me.  

   “I just figured you needed to know.  In case you’re still sad about Baekhyun.”

   I ignore that last part.  Sehun called me cute because he thought he needed to, and that’s all I need to know.  I clench one of his legs between mine and lean forward.

   “Fine.  I have to be fair and tell you something, too.  Don’t freak out, okay?” I sheepishly advise.  No matter how pathetic I sound, I’m going for it.

   “Okay.”

   “What we’ve done today has been better than anything I’ve ever done with Baekhyun,” I slowly, softly, and gently admit.  He takes a few moments to absorb what I’ve said, then he looks at me with a grin. 

   “But it wasn’t a date,” he lies.  I know he’s lying, and I know that he knows I know he’s lying.  Talk about playing hard to get.  I can do that too, Sehun.  

   “Of course not,” I gingerly agree and ruffle his hair.  “Just friends.”  

   “Who hold hands.” 

   “And occasionally  kiss each other on the cheek.”

   “Yeah.  Just friends,” he repeats.  We smile at each other for what feels like forever, then we walk back to campus.  He takes me all the way to my dorm.

   We hold hands the entire time, and he kisses my forehead before he leaves.  

   I don’t know what got into me today, but I think I made it clear to Sehun how I feel about him.  I’m not telling Hyerin, but I’m a little less confused now; especially since there’s some shady business going on between Eunsang and Baekhyun.  

    Me:  Let’s not go out tomorrow.  I just realized I have a lot of homework to do. 

    Baekhyun: Okay... see you Monday.

a/n: THANKS FOR STICKING AROUND, GUYS! :D Sorry I got back so late/posted so late, but here it is!  I reaaaaaaaally hope you anticipate the next few chapters to come, because things get even more flirtatious! wah! oriaoroaira i love you guys! 
ps- the service trip was so much fun and i'm so blessed to have had the opportunity to go on it <3