The distant sound of splashing water and laughter woke her up. She opened her eyes, trying to remember where she was when she saw the ceiling of the unfamiliar room. When she remember that she was on a trip with her friends, she glanced to the bed next to hers. It was empty, so Sara was already awake.
 

She got up from her bed, yawning and stretching her body, still feeling a bit groggy. She wore her jacket over her pajama, and opened the door to the balcony to find the source of the laughter she heard. She looked down to the small pool below and see her friends swimming and playing and chatting, enjoying the hot water in the pool.
 

"Hey, sleepy head. Come down here and enjoy the hot water." Sara shouted at her when she saw her on the balcony above.

"I didn't bring any swimwear." Aerri said.

"I brought an extra, so you can wear mine. It's in the closet." Sara said again.

Aerri went back to her room and search inside the closet. After a little bit of searching, she found a yellow stringy bikini in the corner of the closet. She chuckled as she took the bikini in her hands, staring at the tiny little thing in amazement. That thing was so revealing that it would make her catch a cold even in the summer. So she went back to the balcony with the bikini in her hands.

"Did you find it?" Sara shouted at her again.

"I'm not wearing this." Aerri answered, holding up the strings of the bikini with the tip of her fingers.

Teasing shouts and whistles were what she got from the boys. But she only gave them a chuckle as she said, "Shout and whistle all you like, boys. But I'm not going to freeze to my second death just because of this thing."

"Oh come on, Aerri. You won't be cold. The water's hot." Sara laughed.

"Nuh-uh." Aerri answered back before going back inside her room. She put the bikini back to the closet then left the room to go to the pool, still in her jacket and pajama.

She went downstairs and got out through the backdoor of the cabin that would lead her to the small pool. Then she took a seat on one of the poolside lounge chair. As she watched her friends play in the pool, she couldn't help but chuckle in disbelieve at how good her friends look. With how they look and the beautiful surroundings, this could be a scene of a drama or a photoshoot. If that was the case, then she would be the ahjumma that just woke up, still in her so uny sleeping attire and straight from sleep face. She chuckled softly again at the thought of how misplaced she was.

She never really pay attention to the fact at how good her friends look. She knew they're attractive, even in casual attire. But when their clothes are off, their attractiveness were so 'in your face'. Sara was tall and slim and lean that it was cute how she was a bit taller compared to her boyfriend. While both Youngbae and Daesung got y packed fit muscles to go along with their bright smile that would make girls be ready to drag them to bed.

But Seunghyun.. In the spirit of equality for mankind, to create a level playing field for everybody, a man with Seunghyun's face shouldn't have been allowed to have that body. At that moment, Aerri could only see his head above the hot water of the pool, cause the rest of his body was submerged under the water. But she saw glimpses of his body when he was playing around with the others. And what she saw was enough. Broad shoulders, lean chiseled body, and just the right amount of defined abs. God damn it, even his neck was y. And suddenly Aerri remembered that moment when Seunghyun went in her bathroom with no shirt on because he forgot that he fell asleep in her room. He quickly put his shirt on again when realized his mistake, but Aerri got a glimpse of his perfect body pretty up close. And the way his pajama pants hang low on his hips that day...

"Oh boy.. you better stop thinking about him and his perfection, Aerri." she muttered as she took her glance off Seunghyun. She chuckled as she looked up to the sky as she sat comfortably on the lounge chair, trying hard not to ogle at the boy and wishing silently that her cheeks would still be free from embarrassing blush.

"And to think that I once slept with that hot guy when I was alive. I probably couldn't resist him even if I didn't love him and even if i wasn't slightly drunk." she scoffed in her thought. The memory of her diary entry dampened her mood a bit. She could imagine how horrible she must have felt when she realized her mistake with Seunghyun, especially when she saw him kissing his girlfriend a few days after.

And just when she was thinking about it, the image of Seunghyun kissing a girl appeared in her mind, just for a second. If she wasn't mistaken, the image had appeared in her mind before, when she got jealous when she first heard about Ai. And just like before, the image disappeared just as quickly as it first appeared.

She got up from her laid back position in surprise, torn between trying to remember that image again and trying to forget it and never remember about it again. The clench of her heart when the image appeared gave her a tiny glimpse of how she felt when she saw them in person. She still remember how she wrote in her diary how much she wanted to forget what she saw. In a way, death granted her wish, and she forgot about this matter. But glimpses of it kept sneaking its way in to her mind, like a disease in her brain that can not be cured.

Elbows on her knees, hands covering her face, she groaned softly as she sat on her lounge chair, desperate of how those thoughts kept finding a way to pop up in her mind. Sometimes, not knowing is better. In some ways, she still disagree with Seunghyun who prefers to know nothing about his life. Aerri was glad she found out about her family. But unfortunately she couldn't do anything about the bad memories that came along with that knowledge. Some memories were meant to be forgotten.

"Are you ok?" his voice startled her.

She looked up to see him standing in front of her, covered in a large bath robe, his face and neck were still glistening with water before he dried them with his towel. He was looking at her with a slight worry on his face.

"Yes. Why?" she asked him back.

"You seemed.. distressed." he answered, taking a seat on the lounge chair next to her.

"No. I'm fine." she answered. She wasn't lying. At least she hoped she was fine. No need to be upset at things that have happened, right? It's not like she could do anything about it. All she needed to do was just to get it off her mind and completely forget it, just like she was supposed to. "I'm just cursing myself for not bringing any swimwear." she said.

"Then why not wear Sara's... bikini or whatever it is that thing you were holding. I could only see yellow strings from down here." he chuckled.

"Exactly! That thing was 90% made of strings. I think that explains why I'm not wearing it." she said as he laughed at her words. "And you? Why are you here and not joining the others?" she asked him.

"I'm.. not comfortable taking my shirt off." he explained rather shyly.

"What? Why?" she laughed.

"I just am. I don't know why. It just feels weird. So a few refreshing minutes in the hot pool is enough."

"Does that mean you shower with your clothes on? Or you don't shower at all?" she asked, still giggling, while he just chuckle along with her.

As they chat by the pool, Aerri realized that she had always feel comfortable talking and chatting with Seunghyun since she met him when she first got to the dorm. She always felt like she had known him for years. She now know that it was because of their close relationship when they were alive. She just wondered if he felt that way too with her. He once told her that he never felt any familiarity to anyone since he dies. That means he doesn't feel familiar with her, right? But does he feel comfortable with her the way she does with him? Does their close relation when they were still alive left any mark in him that made him somehow feel related to her in any way? Or was she just another person in his life that got wiped away along with his memories, not leaving any trace at all? Was she merely unimportant and forgettable?

It would be nice to know that somehow he connected with her, just as if he still have his memories. She knew he doesn't have any romantic feeling for her, but it would be nice if somehow he remembered her, even if only in the form of their chemistry as friends. It doesn't matter much. It's not like it would make him love her. But at least she would feel like she meant something to him to be remembered.

But she suppose it was just wishful thinking. There was no way she could ever know anyway. How was she supposed to ask him about it? Besides, she was kinda afraid to hear his answer. What if he told her that he never felt any connection to her at all? Not only he didn't feel familiar to her, but he also only consider her no different than his other friends at the dorm that he met after he died.

So that thought would be just another thing that she tucked away to the corner of her mind as she tried to constantly remind herself to not have any more wishful thinking. She already got the most part of her life circulating around her love for Seunghyun. How pathetic would it be if she'd still be hung up on him even in death?

So Aerri spent the rest of the day in fun and laughter with her friends. She enjoyed her chat with Seunghyun and stopped only when the others were done fooling around in the pool. Then, all of them had breakfast together before getting ready to enjoy some play time in the snow. They went snowboarding, ice skating on the small lake near the lodge, and more. They even enjoyed a hilarious snow ball fight along the way. And even though throughout the day she had to remind herself to keep her feelings to stay platonic whenever she interact with Seunghyun, Aerri managed to enjoy her time, free of haunting thoughts of her life as she managed to keep them on the back of her mind. Deep inside she wished that those thoughts wouldn't haunt her ever again, so somehow she would just get over Seunghyun and feel nothing but friendly feelings to him. Being in love with him . But she loved being friends with him.

The day flew by quickly, and suddenly it was already half past 5 in the evening. They were getting ready for the gathering at the hall of the lodge that was going to start at 7. Aerri was sitting in the living room, fresh from the shower but still in her jeans and t-shirt, as Sara was still getting herself ready in their room. She didn't let Aerri to see the dress that she chose for her yet, cause she said that she was still trying to decide which dress she was going to choose for Aerri. Aerri was actually a bit worried to see the dress. But Sara wouldn't choose anything weird for her, right?

She heard scuffles from the top of the stairwell. The boys needed less than 20 minutes to get ready, so they were already heading downstairs, ready for the event. They were wearing casual suits, looking even more stunning than usual. Dae was wearing dark grey plaid shirt with dark blue elbow patch, while Bae was wearing dark blue blazer over white shirt. They both looked awesome.

But Aerri's eyes went straight to Seunghyun who looked dashing in light grey dress shirt, dark grey vest that fit his upper body snugly, and dark colored jeans. He didn't even styled his hair much, but he looked God damn perfect.

She directed her stare towards the other two boys, afraid that the effect of Seunghyun's presence on her would be noticed by the boys. So as usual, she distract herself by teasing them.

"Wow.. not bad at all, guys. You look great." she grinned.

"Thanks, Aerri." Bae laughed as he flump himself on the couch next to Aerri.

"So everybody's really dressing up for the gathering, huh?" Aerri asked.

"Well, if it was up to me, I'd only be wearing my shirt and jeans."

"Let me guess. Queen Sara made you wear that?" Aerri chuckled.

"And your answer is correct!" Bae said, imitating the tone of a gameshow host, making Aerri laugh in delight.

"And them? Why are they so dapper tonight?" Aerri smiled at Dae and Seunghyun.

"Dae's dressing up for his first official date with his new girlfriend..."

"O my God yaaaayy!!! Finally!!! The Cupid's in love!!" Aerri gasped and clapped her hand as she cheered at Dae who was grinning.

"And him.. well, I don't know why he's so dressed up tonight." Bae said, continuing his sentence as he smiled at Seunghyun.

"Just feeling like it. I don't want to be the odd one out if I'm not dressed up." Seunghyun smiled shyly.

"He probably just wants to impress his new fan girls." Dae , causing Seunghyun to hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"He doesn't need to do much to impress them. All he needed to do was to lift a bag and they would go 'o my Goooddd.. my oppa is so handsome and stroongg!!'" Bae said, imitating the high pitched voice of a girl.

Everyone's laughter got even louder when Seunghyun's just covered his ears with his hands while rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"And you? You're wearing this? Not that I mind, cause you look good anyway, Aerri. But Sara wouldn't let you out the door with that." Bae asked her after they were done teasing Seunghyun.

"To tell you the truth, I don't mind staying here and not going to the gathering anyway. But Queen Sara will put me in a dress that is chosen by Her Highness herself and she will drag me to the gathering. For I am nothing but her humble servant." Aerri joked.

"Will you just stop it and come up here? I'm done getting ready and you can see the dress I've picked for you. Come now, you slave! Queen Sara has summoned you." Sara called Aerri from the top of the stairs, grinning from ear to ear.

The boys chuckled at a groaning Aerri as she got up from the couch and climbed the stairs slowly. When she got upstairs, Sara pushed her gently to their room as she smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to make you wear anything inappropriate."

As she entered their room, Aerri saw a dark blue and hot pink plaid strapless dress with handkerchief hem on her bed.

"Sara, this is beautiful. And it's just my size. How did you get this dress? Did you bring it from the dorm?"

"Yes. I brought some dresses for you to wear at the gathering because I suspect you would choose comfort over formality on your dress. I imagine it in my closet yesterday after we went shopping, when you went back to your room to pack some clothes. At first I wasn't sure how to convince you to choose one of those dresses. Thankfully, somehow I found a way." Sara said, ending her sentences with a teasing wink towards Aerri.

"Yes. I've fallen into your trap." Aerri chuckled.

"Hey. I didn't make the trap. It just appeared right before me. It's a shame if I didn't use it." she said. "Now go change." Sara said as she pushed Aerri towards the bathroom to change.

Aerri took a minute to change before she got out of the bathroom and ask for Sara's help with the zipper of the dress.

"Are you sure I don't look like a handkerchief hanger in this dress?" Aerri asked as she looked in the full body mirror while Sara stood behind her, pulling up her zipper.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sara laughed out loud.

"Well, the dress is gorgeous. But with the plaid and the handkerchief hem, it could make a short person like me look like a handkerchief hanger. Or a troll in a designer made tablecloth."

"You don't look like a handkerchief hanger or a troll in a tablecloth." Sara laughed.

"I just hope the boning on the bodice is good enough. I don't want to spend the night pulling this dress up my chest."

"Will you stop whining and worrying? You look great. Now just tie your hair in a ponytail and put on some make up. I'll be waiting downstairs." Sara said as she flicked Aerri's forehead. Then she left Aerri alone in their room.

Aerri huffed as she tied her hair in a small ponytail. Then she put on some light make up and lipstick. No heavy eye make-up but a little eyeliner cause she at eye make-up. It took her only a few minutes before she was ready.

She looked in the mirror to asses herself. "Well, at least I don't look as bad as I thought I would be in this dress." she muttered. She put on the black pumps that Sara put near her bed and a silver bangles that she liked to wear occasionally. Then she left the room and went downstairs.

"Let's go before we're late!" Aerri said, motioning her friends who were still sitting on the couch to get moving.

Sara looked at Aerri and squeal. "My baby looks great!" Then she turned to Bae and Dae who were sitting next to her. "You! Boyfriend! Stop ogling at my best friend and only look at me." she said to Bae. "And you, you're in a new relationship. Don't start it by cheating on your girlfriend." she said to Dae who was giving Aerri a thumbs up.

Aerri chuckled and said, "You're exaggerating, Sara. If it's too much then you sound like you're mocking me."

"But I'm not mocking you." Sara pout at Aerri as she took her purse on the table.

"She's not mocking you, Aerri. You do look great." Bae smiled. Then he quickly turned to Sara while putting his hands up in defense, "I'm looking at you.. See? I'm only looking at you."

Aerri just chuckled, shaking her head as she turn around to head towards the door. As she tried to convince herself that the night was going to be fun, she shoved the tiny voice in her head who whispered to her, asking her why Seunghyun didn't give any comment about her. But Aerri just scoffed mentally, laughing at herself who pathetically waiting and expecting his compliments.

She took her coat from the hanger and opened the front door. The others quickly followed behind her. The walk to the hall was short, and soon they found themselves entering the bright and vast hall. The place was pretty crowded, filled with Cupids and Reapers having fun, talking loudly to each other. There were tables on all sides of the hall, with the dance floor in the middle already filled with some couples dancing. There was also a band on the small stage on the other side of the room playing some music.

Sara approached a guy sitting behind a small table in front of the door and gave him their cabin number. Then the guy motioned them to follow him to a table on one side of the room.

"This is your table. Food and beverages are on those table over there and you can have them as much as you like. The games are about to start, so hope you guys will have a wonderful night." the hotel staff said before leaving them on their table.

"Games?" Aerri asked Sara.

"Just some games to help you get to know new people." she answered.

That night, they had fun with good food and drinks, great friends and conversations, and silly games. Dae disappeared to hang out with his girl, while Sara and Bae left the table occasionally to join the games or to just chat with some other Cupids and Reapers. Most of the time, Aerri stayed at her table, as she was not in the mood to awkwardly introduce herself to someone new. She only left the table every once in a while to get some food or drink. But even though she didn't meet any new people, she still had a great time with her friends.

"You're not dancing?" Seunghyun asked Aerri, motioning his head to the dance floor.

"Not in the mood. Just gonna enjoy the delicious food as much as this dress would allow me before it bursts at the seams." Aerri grinned. "And you? Why are you not dancing or chatting with your fan girls or some other girl?" she asked him back.

"I'm chatting with you now. Aren't you a girl?" he grinned.

"That's not what I meant, silly." she chuckled.

"I'd rather stay here with you, just in case you pass out from over eating." he said again teasingly.

She just laughed along with him, while once more remind herself silently that he was just teasing her and that he didn't mean to flirt with her. Why would he?

Suddenly a hotel staff appeared on the stage where the band was playing. He took the mic and made an announcement. "Attention, please. Thank you so much for everyone that gathered here tonight. Hope you had fun so far." he smiled. "And now we've come to the last game of the night. A game that is specifically made to encourage you to meet new people. The participants of the game are boys and girls randomly selected from tonight's guests. Some of you who have join us in the gathering at this lodge probably already knew about this game, as the game had always been held in our gatherings. Our staffs called the game as a hybrid of mixer dance and a game of spin the bottle."

"What? What kind of game is that?" Aerri asked Seunghyun, who just gave her a shrug as an answer.

"Now we will call the participants of this game that we have randomly selected." the hotel staff said as he took a note from his suit pocket. Then he proceeds to call out some names from the list. But Aerri didn't pay attention to the names much, because Sara and Bae appeared and took a seat at their table again.

As Aerri chat with Seunghyun a