I swallowed hard as soon as I saw her standing just about three feet away.

"Are you guys okay?"

I looked at Mark as he struggled to stand up. I suddenly felt guilty. His back must have hit the floor real bad. I attempted to help him but right then and there, Yumi got in the way and immediately guided him back up.

"Sorry. It was an accident." My voice was low yet calm. But it was as if no one heard me.

"Is your back okay?" I managed to ask Mark.

"I think. Uh, don't worry, I'm fine." He answered without looking up.

"Are you sure?" Yumi asked as he lightly touched his back. My eyes widened at the contact.

Ugh. They're childhood friends, Mia! What do you expect?!

"Yep." And then he forced a smile at her.

I then looked at his eyes as if waiting for him to look back at me. After a few moments, he did.

"Ya. Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"You sure?"

I nodded again.

"You could have been drowning by now if not because of me!" He attempted to lighten up the mood with a smirk.

And it made me smile. "Yeah. Thanks for saving my life then?" I chuckled and I took the courage to look at Yumi to see her reaction. But she just gave me a blank look. And after that, Nikki came, and Yumi and Mark left together.

---

"Whoaaaaaaaaa!!!" Nikki's eyes widened after I told her everything as we stayed seated at the edge of the wooden platform by the lake. "I'm really gonna strangle the life out of that b*tch. Oops. Sorry. Bad word." She playfully pursed her lips.

"Ya. Can you lower your voice a bit? Someone might hear us."

"Ya. Don't worry. They're probably up to some other fun things right now."

"But what if I'm really the one who's getting in the way? Maybe they really do love each other but they just couldn't risk their friendship? Or Mark is just waiting for the perfect time?"

"Ya. This is not Reply 1994 or 1997 or Love, Rosie where best friends eventually end up with each other, so don't go making conclusions yet, okay? Besides, there might be some twist of fate or something."

"Don't give me something to hope for." I pouted.

"But life's full of hopes and surprises, my friend!"

"Fine! By the way, how did you know I'm here?"

"I actually followed Yumi." She whispered. "I was sure she was looking for Mark. And I was sure Mark was with you."

"Ohhh. So, what are the others doing right now?" I asked. But before Nikki could respond, we suddenly heard Jackson's voice from a distance. "Nikkiyah!" We turned around but he was nowhere in sight.

"Ya. Wang Jackson must be looking for you." I told her.

"Aish." Nikki scratched her head. "You know what's funny? We were actually playing charades... about those things related to Korean culture, and I was paired up with Jackson. And guess what? We lost the game. So both of us had to do the dishes."

I laughed. "Of course you'll lose the game. You're both foreigners!"

"I know, right? I should've paired myself up with Jinyoung. But Jackson was bluffing again. He was saying to everyone that we're both so smart that we could win the game without being paired up with a Korean." She blabbered and I laughed. I could totally imagine Jackson saying and doing such things.

"Ya. Nikki. What are you doing here? We're supposed to wash the dishes together!" Even if he was already nagging, he still sounded funny to me.

"Arasseo! Arasseo!" Nikki stood up and dusted off his jeans. I followed her. "I'll help you guys." I offered.

"Jinjja noona?"

"Of course!" I beamed.

Washing the dishes would be way better than spending some awkward time alone at a corner while that Yumi and Mark are probably having the time of their lives. Ugh.

---

Another week of filming ended and the entire crew headed back north. The big bosses granted everyone a week-long break which would mean Nikki and I are free for an entire week! As soon as we arrived at our apartment in Gangwon-do, Nikki started plotting out her bucketlist for the week.

"Hey." I sat on her bed while she was sitting in front of her laptop, writing a new entry for her travel blog. "Hmmmm?" She said, eyes still focused on the screen.

"Jaehyun oppa asked me out for some sort of uh... friendly date."

"Omg. Really?!" She finally turned to me, excitement evident on her face.

"Yeah. But I haven't uh... replied to his message yet."

"Of course you should go out with him! It's just a friendly date. Duh." Nikki rolled her eyes and gave me a look. "Mia, Jaehyun oppa has it all --- brain, looks, nice personality, humor, wealth, great family background... What else do you need?!"

I don't need more. It's just too much. And I don't know why but I just can't get Mark Tuan off my freakin' mind!

"Hey. It's not that I'm telling you to go for Jaehyun oppa instead of that Mark Tuan. I swear, I ship you and Mark to death. But Mark's still a rising idol. Maybe, he does like you, but he totally can't date you for now. And we totally have no idea what's running inside Mark's mind at the moment. There's Yumi, and there's you. It's complicated. But Jaehyun oppa really likes you a lot. Just give the dude a chance." She raised her brows as if waiting for my reply. "But in the end, the decision is yours. I'm just thinking out loud here."

"How about you?" I asked and motioned at her red pocket notebook filled with bucketlist.

"Ya. Don't worry about me. I am still pushing through with my plans tomorrow. I can manage, dude." She assured me.

"Fine. I'll go out with him tomorrow then." I finally said. Nikki genuinely smiled. "It's just one day. Just one day."

But anything can happen in just one day.

---

We left for Seoul from Wonju at 10am on the dot on a sunny Sunday morning with Jaehyun oppa driving his black Audi R8 and me riding shotgun. "We'll have lunch at Gangnam first before we head to somewhere else. You like galbi, right? I know a good galbi place in Gangnam." He said.

"Galbi sounds great!" I grinned. But Gangnam... Well... Uh... No. Although JYP's building is in Gangnam, there's no way I'd bump into him again there. Gangnam, after all, is a big place.

At around 11AM, we finally arrived at the galbi restaurant that Jaehyun oppa had mentioned. It was a two-storey restaurant and we agreed to stay at the second floor. The weather was great and the ambiance was great. Everything at the moment unexpectedly seemed great. It was like a breath of f