Recap Chapter 25: Sehun came up with a very interesting game. The dares made Suho feel embarrassed; brought Xiumin and Dara closer; brought Chanyeol and Kyungsoo physically close; tortured Luhan's heart and soul; made Xiumin's and Dara's hearts flutter; and lastly, made Baekhyun look like a wizard. 

Throughout the game, Chen started to wonder about Xiumin's feelings. He came to a conclusion that there's something there and he instantly became a XiuDara shipper.

It wasn't only Dara who had been thinking. Of course, Xiumin did too.

As he was lying down with eyes closed between Luhan and Chen, thinking about it—about everything that made him feel happy, about her in particular... a smile graced his lips. He didn't bother to hide it since it's dark anyway.

And then Chen just had to ruin his train of happy thoughts by whispering. "Hyung, when do you plan on confessing to Dara noona? And why didn't you tell me about it?"

Luhan, who heard the questions, stifled a chuckle. Poor Minseok-ah, Chen was onto him now. On a brighter side, at least it's only the loudmouth who noticed Xiumin's feelings. For now that is.

The happy boy pretended to be asleep while thinking if there was still a possible way out of this—out of Chen's questioning. But deep down, he knew he was caught. Chen knew him all too well.

How did he find out about it? Had Xiumin become so obvious or was Chen simply too observant?

"Hyung, are you there? Hello? I know you're still awake, smiling at the memory of Dara noona touching your face," he knowingly muttered under his breath and then he chuckled quietly.

Xiumin would have loved to sigh but that will only give Chen an invitation to question him again.

"Fine! Just so you know, I support you one hundred percent. And I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me. Trust me."

As much as Xiumin wanted to trust him, he was not comfortable having another soul know about his feelings. The more people who know, the more chances of it being found out. He wanted to confess to her first before any of the boys learn about it.

"Kim Jongdae, goodnight," Luhan shot back in a whisper.

"Fine. Good night hyungs," he returned to lying on his back with a pout.

Just when Xiumin thought the troll was asleep, he spoke in a whisper. "I feel like Dara noona is here with us. I wonder what perfume she uses." He suddenly hugged Xiumin. "Her jacket smells so nice."

That did it for Xiumin. "Ya! Go to sleep," he hissed while forcefully pushing the troll away.

"Aigo, Minseok needs to have his beauty sleep for noona," he teased.

Luhan chuckled quietly at this despite the fact that he felt sad about earlier.

With Chen on board, it'll definitely be hard for Minseok.

The next morning, Xiumin is surprised and at the same time glad that she's already awake while the others are still asleep.

After their exchange of good mornings, they look at each other without a word until Dara remembers she better hurry or she'll miss the sunrise. She rushes to the table, looking for a plastic cup. When she finds one, she makes her way to the faucet, noticing he is still rooted at the spot.

"Xiumin-ssi, any updates on that brave thing?" she brings up in a soft voice while she crouches to fill the cup. She starts brushing her teeth, ensuring she does it quickly and efficiently. She knows he's still standing on the same spot and she does not want to keep him long.

"Uhm, no developments yet," he says, sounding disappointed in himself.

She throws a glance at him, the toothbrush in , to signal that he wait a moment.

Once she finished brushing, she looks back at him. "Aigo, what can noona do to help? Is there anything I can do?" she asks then turns back to retrieving a facial soap from her pouch. Before she starts washing her face, she pulls the sleeves of the jacket up to her elbows.

It seems the jacket is giving her a hard time because it is after all a size, or maybe twice, bigger than her usual jackets. Xiumin notices the struggle while trying to cover up his surprise at her sincere offer to help him.

If she only knew, her returning the same feelings, that will be the greatest help she can give him.

He chuckles away the nervousness before answering confidently. "Don't worry noona, I can definitely do it before the year ends." Now where did that confidence come from?

The unsuspecting two does not realize that someone is eavesdropping to their quiet conversation. 

This someone happens to be Chen who woke up after realizing Minseok is gone. It's kind of difficult to crouch by the tents and stay hidden but he really wants to see them interact. It seems like they have a secret or something. Whatever that brave thing is all about, he'll file it in the back of his mind for future use. He returns back to the tent before they catch him. He hates to be the one to ruin their moment.

Xiumin does not make a move until she is done washing her face. He sees how she gently pats it dry with a small blue towel she took from her pouch. She then turns to him, catching his eye on hers. 

"The others are still asleep?" she inquires while walking towards him.

"It seems like it," he replies, hesitating whether he should initiate the exchange of jackets.

"Are you really an early riser?" she asks, halting him from what he's about to do.

"Yes," he admits. "Another reason is I want to wait for the sunrise."

"Really!? Me too!" She says in a soft, almost inaudible voice, filled with excitement. "We better hurry because it's about to rise soon, I think." She places her pouch on the table and grabs Xiumin by the arm.

He lets himself be pulled towards the shore line, that's only a few feet away from the campsite.

Meanwhile, Chen who is not yet done with his stalking/observing/eavesdropping mission, is watching Dara and Xiumin from the tent. What a nice scene—they are moving towards the shore, her hand on his arm, pulling him.

Snap. Snap. Snap. He continuously takes photos of the two unsuspecting soon-to-be couple.

Luhan sees what the troll is doing from where he is still lying down, pretending to be asleep. Instead of reprimanding Chen, he lets him be. Maybe Chen knowing and probably interfering with Minseok's situation will be for the better.

Honestly, the waiting on Minseok to finally make his move is driving him crazy.

Chen smiles broadly at the shots he got. Minseok will thank him for the photos later since it'll be a long while before they get to see Dara noona again.

He continues to watch how they look like little kids in their apple hairs while searching for a good spot to sit on. They choose a spot that is safely distant from the waves. And what's making Chen feel giddy on behalf of his friend? They are sitting on the sand, a very small distance between them and they are still wearing each other's jackets.

Snap. Snap. Snap. He can work for Dispatch at the rate he is going. He can't help but wish he had a better camera other than his phone.

Side by side, Dara and Xiumin sit on the dry sand. She hugs her knees close to her chest while he uses his knees to support his arms.

Xiumin has completely forgotten about the jacket exchange.

As they sit in silence, eyes trained at the horizon, she suddenly asks. "What about the others, aren't they going to watch?" she gestures toward the sun that's barely visible. She almost forgets they are not the only ones there. How strange.

How is he supposed to tell her that he does not want to wake them up for the reason that he wants to spend time alone with her?

"And Tao-ssi, I know he'll be very excited about this," she continues when he does not answer at once. In the back of her mind, she is actually glad for the time alone with him.

Speaking of Tao, they hear a Tao-like squeal. "Waaaaahhh!!"

This prompts them to glance back at the tents where the cry is coming from. And sure enough, it is Tao who emerges from the tent, followed by Kai and Sehun, who are both clutching at their stomachs due to hysterical laughter.

Dara and Xiumin has no choice but to run back to the campsite.

"Omo." Dara can't help but remark while Xiumin is trying his best not to laugh.

One by one the boys (in their apple hairs) come out from their respective tents. The moment they see Tao's face—there's a circle drawn on each eye, same as Baekhyun's—they all laugh as hysterical as the two maknaes. 

But the difference of this from Baekhyun's is—

"Well hello there panda," Chen remarks before laughing once again.

—he looks like a panda because besides the marker, there's what seem to be a black eye shadow that fills the circle.

"Who did this?" the pouting panda inquires. He is supposed to take a selca when he saw what's on his face.

Chen snaps a photo but the panda could care less—all he wants to know is who did it.

"Yes, who did?" Baekhyun asks after he had his laugh, his marker-encircled eyes focuses on Sehun meaningfully. He wants to congratulate whoever did it, honestly. It beats Harry Potter.

The maknae raises a hand in admission, his shoulders still shaking from too much laughing, then points at Kai as if saying the other one is his accomplice. 

Kai does not deny it; instead, he keeps on laughing. 

"He's so fidgety, that's why," Sehun finally speaks after catching his breath. He always knew that Tao is that kind of sleeper so last night, he took a piece of burned wood and placed it just outside their tent.

Suho can only shake his head while trying not to laugh. "You better wash that off," he tells those who have marks on their faces.

Tao notices Suho's struggle, as well as Xiumin's. So he tells them, "Hyungs, it's okay, laugh it out. You too noona. Because you are never going to see this again," he tells them. The last sentence is b with swag.

Another round of laughter erupts, this time, everyone is laughing including Tao.

"Omo!" Dara suddenly exclaims, putting an end to the laughter. She checks the time, the sun will be rising in a few minutes. But there's probably still enough time for the three to wash off the marks from their faces. She turns to Xiumin. "The sunrise." 

Dara hurries towards Tao and takes him by the wrist. He looks surprised at first, clueless as to where she is taking him.

The others watch in wonder as she picks her pouch and guides the dazed panda to sit on the log. She sits beside him and retrieves a pack of wet wipes from the pouch that's big enough to contain who knows what else. 

"Close your eyes," she instructs Tao, who's clearly enjoying all the attention.

Gently but quickly, Dara holds his chin and wipes off the smudge of burnt wood around one eye after the other.

Tao is having the time of his life, the boys can tell. Dara noona is touching his face and he cannot contain the delight and happiness. He can't just keep his eyes close when her face is only inches away. 

"Close your eyes. It might get irritated," she reminds Tao who keeps taking a peek at her through one eye and sometimes both.

Meanwhile, Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun, mouth agape. "Tell me how to be Tao."

"Go to Sehun and Kai," Baekhyun replies with a smirk.

To Dara's relief, the smudge comes off easily. 

Tao feels it's safe to open his eyes so he did. Dara noona looks like an angel. He cannot help but conclude as he intently stares at her.

She is now putting some force in wiping off the marker. Aigo, those maknaes really, how naughty. Remembering the other two, she glances at the boys, who are watching wordlessly. "Sehun-ssi and Baekhyun-ssi, aren't you going to clean that off?" she calls out, momentarily halting what she's doing. She lets go of Tao's chin and offers them the wet wipes that's on her lap.

The two boys, who just realized about the marks on their faces, rush to sit beside her. Baekhyun takes the wipes.

Dara resumes taking care of the marks on Tao's face, not failing to notice the bright smile that lights up his face. He really has sharp but beautiful eyes; it reminds her of Kang Don Won.

When she's done, she hands him an unopened small lemon-scented facial soap, tells him to wash his face before it gets irritated and that he must do it quick or he'll miss the sunrise.

Tao can't help but stare dreamily at her though, not moving an inch. Thanks to Chen, who shakes him gently by the shoulder to pull him out of his dazed state, the panda manages to say 'thank you' to the the very thoughtful, caring and beautiful noona.

Meanwhile, the two are simply sitting on the log, not making a move at all to clean their faces.

"Ya, what are you two waiting for?" Suho exclaims. He has a slight idea what those two are up to. But they simply ignored him. Xiumin pats him on the shoulder sympathetically.

Baekhyun, in an attempt to annoy Chanyeol, hopes Dara noona will clean the marks for him. And he succeeds, since Dara is on a cleaning-spree. 

When she sees they haven't cleaned their faces yet, she sits between them and turns to Baekhyun first, who watches with slight wide eyes how she concentrates with gentleness and care on her task.

He can now completely understand why Chanyeol had been crazy about her. Or maybe he should not be using past tense when talking about the rapper's feelings. Clearly, there's still something left in there. 

Anyway, Dara noona isn't a visual for nothing—her bare face is absolutely beautiful. He can't see at least one pimple. Moreover, she looks younger than her age. Her skin looks smooth that he wants to touch her face to check if his observation is right.

At the thought, he clears his throat. He's openly admiring her face that's less than a foot away, and he's even entertaining the idea of touching her face!

"All done," she says happily while handing him an unopened soap she has retrieved from her pouch. "Please wash your face."

Still dazed, he manages to say thank you.

On the other hand, as for Sehun's reason, he just wants to know how it feels like to have a noona shower him with attention. Not just any noona, but the pretty Dara noona.

She turns to Sehun after pulling out a new sheet of wipes. Comfortably, she wipes at the mark around his chin.

"You look a little like my brother," she remarks.

"Does that mean I'm good-looking?" Sehun blurts out without thinking.

"Aigo. Of course! Both of you are more than just good-looking," she answers without hesitation. "There you go. Wash up."

Sehun holds his palm up.

Good thing she brings a lot when travelling. She retrieves another small soap and places it on his palm.

The used wipes, she picks it all and throws it on the garbage bag under the table.

Dara returns to Xiumin's side. She smiles at the boy beside her before taking off the jacket.

Regretfully, Xiumin does the same. 

The time has already been up since a long while ago.

Dara and the boys stand by the shore in a line. She's in between Xiumin and Tao. They wait in anticipation for the sun to finally show itself.

With phones on the ready to snap a photo of the first view of the sun's rays peeking from the horizon up to its fullness, she is more than relieved that they get to see it.

They watch in silence but Tao's girl-like gush can be heard a few times. And Chen wonders how many photos had the panda taken already— if it has surpassed the number of his selcas.

After the sunrise, Dara shyly makes a request about taking a photo of the boys while facing the sea.

"You only want a photo of our backs noona?" Chen asks teasingly.

"Uhm..."

"Whatever pose noona, we'll do it." The panda is still very happy about how she took care of him earlier.

"Really?!" her eyes wide, she looks at Tao and then at the rest of course, for their approval.

Suho, who had been embarrassed last night, thinks her request is such a small thing compared to the dare. It's not as though she will post the photos publicly. With a warm smile, he agrees.

"You mean I can also take photos of you one by one?" She is only half-kidding when she says that.

"Sure!" they answer.

Oh my, how she wishes she has a high definition camera.

After the fun-filled picture taking by Ssan-photographer, the boys request for either a group or couple picture with her.

Chanyeol would have loved a photo with her but for the sake of his slightly wavering heart, he satisfies himself with a group picture instead. EXO-M has their opportunity as well. But Chen is busily and discreetly stealing shots of Dara and Xiumin's interactions every now and then. This, the leader notices, but decides not to point out.

Luhan, for the sake of keeping his sanity opts to just have a group photo with her. His heart might not be able to take it if they'll have a photo together saved on his phone.

To his utter surprise, she approaches him. "Luhan-ssi, will it be okay if I snap a photo of you? My friend really really really likes you," she explains.

"S-Sure noona." Still in a state of unpreparedness, he starts to pose cutely.

"Aigo, how cute! Jisoo-ya will be very happy to see this. Don't worry, I'll tell her not to post it publicly. Thanks Luhan-ssi," she exclaims.

"You're welcome noona," he answers softly and then watches her go after Chen.

He observes their interaction with a bit of envy, wishing he can act as natural as the troll does. But he knows that is impossible since he is nursing such feelings towards her; it prevents him from completely enjoying her company and have a conversation with her. He sighs and starts to capture photos of the surroundings.

Those who gets a couple picture with Dara are:

Tao—the obvious fanboy— his smile is brighter than the sun ^____^ ever since Dara cleaned the smudges on his face

Xiumin—the one with the hidden feelings (not from Luhan though, and Chen, soon enough he'll know)— his smile is bright as well >.<

Chen—the one with a hidden agenda— he's got a lot of moves up his sleeve ^o^ but first he must make Minseok admit to him his feelings

Sehun—the cutest maknae— who's already planning on extorting a free bubble tea from Tao, after all, it's all thanks to his naughtiness that lead to Dara noona cleaning the panda's face ^w^

Kyungsoo—his smile is quite infectious O____O

Lay—that dimples of his is charming (.^_^)

Suho—who's internally hoping the outcome will not be a derp photo (^_*)

Kai—who's about to try doing aegyo but then he catches himself (^.^)

After eating breakfast cooked by, of course, none other D.O. (with the assistance of Chen and Lay), they sit on the sand under the shade of a tree nearby the tents, enjoying the fresh and salty scent of seawater brought by the breeze. They are eating watermelon, which tastes sweet.

For half an hour, she listens to the boys talk about the busy schedule ahead. Again, the keyword COMEBACK peaks her interest. She herself is missing the stage, missing the performance she and the girls had to prepare and practice for. But looking at the boys' faces, she knows they're a bit sad at the thought of going back to work after a fun vacation.

"Anyone wants to swim?" Dara asks even though she has no plans. She just wants to know if they want, they better take advantage of the sun's mild rays.

The boys look at each other, undecided.

But the maknae line stands and starts taking off their slippers, their jackets and then their—

"Ya! Ya! Ya!" Suho's scandalized reaction halts them from continuing to take off their track pants.

"Relax hyung, we are not stripping okay." Kai smirks ily. He glances briefly at Dara noona who's the least bit scandalized, but her wide eyes show she is shocked.

Dara finds herself blushing at the mention of 'stripping' though. She's relieved to see that as the three con