"You should really consider wearing dresses more often," Hyerin suggests. I shrug while I look at my reflection in the long mirror that hangs on our room door.
   "Something's missing," I hum. I have a bad habit of biting my nails when I'm thinking about something really deeply and it isn't a serious matter. Right now I'm trying to figure out why I feel so , and the nail on my ring finger is paying for it. 
   It's not like this dress isn't modest-- it's plain, black, and sleeveless. The collar comes up to my neck, and there's no cutout in the back. The skirt falls mid-thigh, and I'm thinking that maybe that's what I have an issue with. I don't get it, though. I didn't feel like this dress was too short at the store, and it isn't like I'm nervous about wearing a dress tonight. 
   "Worried that Sehun will fall head over heels in love with you after he sees you in a dress?" Hyerin teases, and I wave my hand at her in criticism.
   "No, it can't be that. I think it's just because I'm used to wearing my tracksuit to these things, and I'm sad that my image will be brought down by this dress," I explain, but I really don't think she's listening. It doesn't matter. I need to figure out what's missing.
   "Seriously?" She asks in disbelief. She's been in a half irritated- half proud of me mindset since I came back from my evening with Sehun. I won't tell her what we did and it's driving her crazy. At the same time, she likes my coyness. "I think the audience will deem you a total cutie."
   "I've got it!" I pretend to ignore her comment,  but I'm secretly flattered. I go into my closet, pull out my shortest pair of shorts (which are for bedtime ONLY) and slip them on under my dress. I don't want some sort of accident to happen and flash Sehun.

---

   "You're last again, Eunji," Eunsang says to me as we wait together. Today's shoot started mid afternoon and is supposed to last until it gets dark. Since this event is supposed to be more romantic, each girl gets 15-20 minutes with Sehun. Eunsang is wearing a cute light pink dress and has her hair in a bun, while mine is half up/half down.
   Eunsang should be excited about today, but for some reason she seems sad-- almost as if she's upset with me. I haven't told her about helping Sehun and Hyerin out with their project. Did she find out? Who would've told her? Hyerin wouldn't go that low, and I trust Sehun enough to believe he didn't say anything. Luhan hardly knows her.
   My position still stands. I'm not going to tell her. After seeing how worried she was when I joined the Sweetheart Search, I can't imagine what she'd go through if she found out I was spending time with him outside of this, regardless of the reason.
   Baekhyun isn't here today; he has a test to study for and he apologized for not being able to come. True to character, however, he told me to send him a selca of myself all dolled up.
   I pull my phone out, open the camera, make a peace sign, wink, and ever so slightly bite my tongue with a smile.
   "Who are you sending that to?" Sehun's voice asks behind me, and I turn to look at him with a frown.
   "None of your beesewax," I snap.
   "I stopped saying that in middle school."
   "Did you stop using your manners right after that?"
   "Ouch," he laughs. I shake my head in amusement and press Send. I look back up at him and he gives me a wink.
   There are certain actions that make attractive boys even more attractive, such as running or holding a baby. In Sehun's case (in this moment, at least,) it's his wink. By the way he so effortlessly utilized that wink to effectively communicate with me, I think he knows it looks good on him.
   "Eunsang," he cooes, and I see goosebumps form up and down my friend's arm. I even have goosebumps. The way he said her name, all two syllables of it, was deliciously smooth. Eunsang finally turns around in her seat and smiles up at him. He smiles back and extends his hand to her. "Let's go on our date, shall we?"
   I watch as the two walk off the porch of the vocation center (the place that turned me down for a job) and can't stop beaming. Cameras are currently recording the pair of girls fighting over Sehun, even though he isn't there, in the lobby of VC, so I take this time to enjoy being alone.
   "They're so cute together, " I mumble. "The way she smiled at him gave it away. She's totally crushing. And Sehun? The way he called out to her was adorable. He even helped her out of her seat! He's such a nice guy."
   I sit in my rocking chair and move back and forth. The more I think about it, the more holes I pick in the story. I cross my arms and legs.
   "Wait a minute. What does he think this is, the Oscars? I won't have him lead my friend on. I just want him to respect her feelings!" I argue. With myself. "But if he's being sincere... Why does he treat me like such dirt? 'You're bitter, Eunji,'" I make sure to mock his tone of voice, "He's such a pest. He better treat me nicely or...or... or I'll--"
   "Someone sounds really jealous right now," I unfortunately hear someone say, and I drop my face in my hands.
   "You wish, Luhan."
   "Nope. I just know," he responds and I glare at him. I can't glare at him long, though, because he's smiling down on me like an angel.  He sits down in the rocking chair that Eunsang was previously in and puts a hand on my shoulder.
   "You don't want to do that with the cameras around," I warn.
   "They don't edit it, though. We do. They're just paid to film. Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you."
   "A favor?"
   Luhan rarely asks for favors from me; he usually immediately goes to Hyerin.
   "Yeah. It's simple, and I'm sure you'd do it even if I didn't ask you to, but please go on a fun date with Sehun." 
   "It's not a date."
   "Whatever. The point is, this filming has been really boring. The most exciting thing that has happened has been Sehun teaching a girl how to skip rocks. The thing is, she wouldn't even pick up a rock. It was too dirty for her."
   "Wow."
   "I know," he sighs. "I'm begging you. We need 15,000 hits on Friday's episode, which is tonight's filming, or the school is going to start discussing if this is worth it. We only had 8,000 hits on the last one, so we've figured we need to release trailers. If you go have some fun with Sehun, I guarantee you'll be the main feature of the trailer."
   "And that's supposed to motivate me?" I scold lightheartedly. I look around, make sure there are no cameras (I don't care if Luhan edits the videos; cameras are dangerous,) and I hold out my open palm in front of Luhan's face. "20,000 won."
   "Excuse me?"
   "I mean, 20,000 won out of your wallet right now. I know exactly what to do, but it'll cost some money, which I don't have on me right now."
   Luhan shrivels up his nose and gives in. "Fine." He pulls out his wallet and quickly gives me the money that I securely tuck between my foot and my shoe. "You're disgusting."
   "But you're going to thank me~" I sing and pat his head. "Oh, and hold this. I wouldn't want to drop it in the water."
   "They're have been so many walks by the canal--" he begins to whine.
   "Who said I was going to do that?" I ask. I wink at him and for a second I imagine myself doing it as well as Sehun.
  
---

   Sehun is standing in front of me, obviously worn out from a long day of escorting women, and is raking his hands through his hair like he's ready to stop filming the Sweetheart Search for good. I don't blame him. He's wearing a polo shirt and full length khakis; I can't imagine how overheated he must feel. Fortunately, autumn nights are crisp and cool, and it's around 8 o'clock right now.
   "I'm going to get some water, and then we can go," he pants. I nod and wait for him to return. When he does, he at least looks a bit more rejuvenated.
   "Ready?" I ask.
   "Sure," he sighs. I grab his arm and start pulling him in the direction of the canal. "Please let go of my arm," he complains. He wriggles out of my grip, but I pay no attention to it.
   "Keep up with me; we only have fifteen minutes, and it takes five minutes to get there if we walk briskly." I hear him mumble something under his breath and smile. "Trust me. It'll be worth it."
   And, ladies and gentlemen, it is. The water is just perfect. I knock on the door of a house, and I can feel Sehun's eyes asking me so many questions. I want to wink at him so badly, but I'm not bold enough. A little old man opens the front door, and he seems delighted to see us.
   "Back for another spin?"
   "You know it, Mr. Kim. Here's ₩20,000," I say while pulling it out of my shoe, and he takes it after kissing my hand.
   This little old man is so sweet. He used to own a park with a large pond, and kids would pay him ₩1,000 to use his paddleboats and go explore the water. I was one of those kids. When he sold the park, it was because his wife had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and he felt he needed to take care of her at home. She's still around and still loves him dearly, but the only thing she can actively remember (other than all of the... shall we say, "heated" moments with her husband) is watching the kids use their paddleboats on the pond. So, Mr. Kim kept a single paddleboat for use in the canal. When the good kids, like me, come and pay him ₩20,000, he lets us play on the water as long as we want-- even if it's all day. The one requirement is that we stay close enough to his house so that his wife can happily watch from the window. The money goes to his wife's medication, and he has a permit to legally collect our money, so it's all worth it.
   Sehun and I walk through his back yard and step down into the ditch that drops off into the canal.

a/n: music for the mood!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5K5HPlAbPY

   "We're going paddle boating?" Sehun asks, surprised. In my head, I hear Luhan applauding me.
   "Yep. I call the left side," I claim while I knock my heels onto the boat. I'm technically not supposed to be wearing those. The right heel is taped on between the sole and the heel, but no one has to know that.
   I board like a pro, but Sehun is a bit more apprehensive. Finally,  after handing his phone to a camerman, he's on board and starts to paddle away.
   "Hey! We have to stay near this house," I scold before I realize he doesn't know the reason. He isn't angry, though. He simply asks why. "So his wife can watch. It's her favorite thing to watch," I shortly explain. We have ten minutes left, and our conversation needs to feel like it's action packed.
   "Thank goodness for these bug lights," he laughs. "The last thing I want after a long day is a bunch of bug bites."
   "I'm just thankful Mr. Kim has the porch light on so we can see where we're going."
   "Yeah. So, how did you know about this?"
   "I've known the guy since I was little. He used to do this at a park, for a lot cheaper. But his wife became sick, so he decided to stay at home with her. He lets kids use this in his backyard because it helps pay for the medicine. And it makes Mrs. Kim happy."
   "What was she diagnosed with?"
   "Early Alzheimer's," I say in a low tone,  because I don't think it's right for the camera men to hear. There's a brief silence between Sehun and I, and then I feel a handful of cold water droplets pound my face.  "Did you just splash me?" I'm incredulous.
   "Yeah," he nonchalantly answers and splashes me again. I dip my hand in the water and start flinging water at him, too. "Hey, stop it," he giggles like a child being tickled. I keep blasting him with splashes.   
   "You started it!" I yell in lighthearted fury. A grin forms on my face as I begin to cup water in my hand and splash him.
   "And I'll finish it!" He shouts and rapidly throws perfectly handcrafted balls of mega-soaking water. I brush my hair out of my face, which was clinging to my forehead because it's wet, and bend down to get a big scoop of water. When I come up to throw it on him, he's dipping his arms into the water.
   Paddleboats are small, therefore tipping them at their center of balance is no difficult task. Sehun weighs more than me and he's exerting force down on his side, while I'm exerting an upward force and slightly coming off of my seat.
   Needless to say, the paddleboat flips. I fall onto Sehun and we both plunge into the water.  When we come up, I'm (a) very glad I wore water proof mascara and (b) watching Sehun's face, wary of him unleashing a stormlike fury.
   Sehun stares at me blankly, and worry envelopes my face. I puppy dog paddle closer to him to make sure he's alright.
   And the jerk splashes me again.
   And I splash back.
   And for a moment we're laughing, splashing, and enjoying ourselves. Then, we end our battle honorably (Sehun admits defeat) and we flip the paddleboat over, my shoes nowhere to be found. We pull the boat ashore, thank Mr. Kim who laughs hysterically at us and offers us towels to keep, and head back towards campus because our filming time slot is over.
   "We should do that again. On our own time," Sehun says, and I nod into my towel. "How often do you come here?"
  "Whenever I don't want to study," I shamelessly admit, and he takes my towel and drapes in over my head.
   "Sorry about your shoes."
   "It's fine. They were handed down to me by someone I'm not that fond of. And they were taped together. They won't be missed," I laugh.
   "I'm glad," he warmly tells me, and I feel like hugging him so badly.
   Out of friendship, of course.
   He keeps looking down at my feet. "What's wrong?"
   "You're not walking back to campus like that, are you?" He states, more than asks. He walks around me and crouches in front of me. "Get on."
   "Excuse me?"
   "I'll piggy back you to the vocation center. It's only five minutes," he offers. I'm hesitant, and I can tell it's really making him upset. "Unless you're scared of flashing the camera because of your short skirt."
   "I'll have you know that I'm wearing shorts underneath."
   "Why?"
   "Precisely so I won't flash anyone."
The camera men turn their cameras back on, as if desperate for more footage, and I remember Luhan's plea.
   I kind of want to do it for myself, too.
   So, I get on his back and we continue forward.
   "Thank you, Sehun," I say in a hushed voice. He just nods his head and keeps on walking.
   "No, thank you. That's been my favorite date since this whole thing started."
   "It isn't a--"
   "Not in front of the camera," he whispers. He's warning me. I guess he cares if I make my money or not.
   "It isn't a problem," I rephrase. "Since you had so much fun, I won't be last on the list next time, will I?"
   "You will be," he says promptly. I lightly slap his back and he winces. "You have a slapping problem."
   "Why am I always last? Don't you control the order of the list?"
   "Yes."
   "And we're friends, so why are you deliberately making me wait--"
   "I have my reasons," he snaps. The atmosphere is silent, other than the sound of frogs talking to each other. Sehun takes a deep breath and sighs, and I automatically feel sorry for asking him about it.
   "I'm sorry, Sehun," I apologize sincerely and gently.
   "No, it's okay. You want to know, and I should tell you. You see... For these first three episodes, I've always had you last as a sort of punishment. But now, after all the fun we had tonight... I think I'm going to put you last so that I can have something to look forward to at the end of the day."
   Just like that, I'm in a trance. That's so sweet. I can't let him know I'm touched,  though.
   "That's a little selfish,  but I'll accept that reason," I tease. I can see his ears and cheeks move back, so I assume he's grinning.
   I am, too. And I'm blushing really hard.
   

  a/n: sorry for the late update today guys! but guess what?  i got a part time job to fill up my summer!  i was really busy today, but i wasn't going to go the whole day without posting.  i added a song in there just to make up for it and set a good mood haha.  hope you're enjoying the story so far!  
another a/n: OMGOODNESS SPELLING ERRORS GALORE I went back and changed as many as I could find.  Sorry to the people who read this before I fixed it; i promise i'm fluent in english ;A;