“She probably just needs some time,” Sungmin said over breakfast two days later, “I mean, I would probably react the same way if something like this would happen to me,” he finished thoughtfully, sipping his coffee. Ryeowook just shrugged, rolling his next words around his mouth. Sungmin noticed that the boy was holding back something and leaned forward, out of Donghae’s earshot, “What’s going on Wookie-ah?” 

The eternal maknae looked around, making sure no one was listening. Henry was busy with Eunhyuk and Donghae, who were pestering him about something. The managers were out on the beach, enjoying one of their last free days, and the rest of the band was still sound asleep, safe for Kangin, who had said he was going out for the day, without disclosing on where.

“Hyung,” Ryeowook began, playing with his food, “What if…I mean…”

“Just spill it, Wook, I want to go swimming before the sun sets tonight,” Sungmin teased, but he could feel that there was something serious going on. Ryeowook look him straight in the eyes.

“What if…what if I wished for that rumor to be true, hyung?” 

Sungmin set his mug down a little harder than he intended to, spilling the contents over the table. Henry jumped up to help him clean it up, eyeing the two hyungs suspiciously. Ryeowook waved him away and looked expectantly at Sungmin.

“Let’s go for a walk, Wook,” he said, walking towards the front door.

Once they were at the beach, Sungmin didn’t know what to say. He waited for his dongsaeng to speak first, but he looked like he wasn’t going to say anything.

“Come on, spill the beans, Wookie-ah,” he finally said after half an hour had passed in silence. They sat down on the warm sand under a tree, and the younger one kept chewing his tongue.

“The thing is…I don’t even know, hyung,” Ryeowook sighed, playing with the sand and not looking up, “Remember that night when I got drunk and told her some really mean things?”

Sungmin cringed at the memory of the manager storming out of the apartment, as if she had been set on fire, “I think everyone clearly remembers that night, it is quite hard to forget something like that, hun,” 

Ryeowook stared into the distance, still avoiding Min’s eyes who were glued to him, “The thing you don’t know is what happened the next day,” he started, his eyes cloudy, “after she took me home when I got really sick.”

Sungmin gaped. He knew something must have happened, because the manager was suddenly much nicer to all of them, but he never paid any attention to it, he just thought she was finally warming up to them, “Did something…happen?” he asked.

The eternal maknae finally looked at his hyung, “Not what you think, Minnie…we sort of fell asleep together on my bed,” he smiled at the memory.

It had been early in the afternoon when he had woken up, feeling hot. He didn’t remember how he had gotten back to the dorms, but random scenes played before his eyes – nearly fainting at the studio and someone small, but surprisingly strong catching him and taking his back home. The smell of orchids hung in the air and he smiled, attempting to get out of bed when he felt an arm slung over his chest. Carefully turning around, he saw Jemma lying there sound asleep. Her long brown hair had escaped the tight bun and was spilled over the pillow. She was sleeping on her side, her chest slowly rising and falling. For a second, shock seeped through him, before releasing its hold on him, and he relaxed. Careful not to wake her up, he wiggled out of her grasp and quietly changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of comfortable cotton pants. Very gently, he got back into bed, this time facing the sleeping girl. He felt a lot better than he did the morning and suddenly everything came back to him. She had helped him get back home and made sure he was tucked in safely. Ryeowook had asked her to stay for a little while and somehow she ended up falling asleep beside him.

He studied her face. The long eyelashes were resting on her lightly flushed cheeks. Her breathing was calm, quiet. There was a small crease on her forehead, as if she was frowning, and Ryeowook gently pulled up his hand, touching her forehead. The frown disappeared, replaced by an expression of peace. The eternal maknae let his eyes wander over the flawless face, filing away everything about it. He noticed the dark circles covered by concealer, a couple of freckles splattered on her pointy nose. His eyes lingered on her lips, plump and inviting, tinted in a warm color. He couldn’t figure out whether it was lip tint, or if they were naturally colored this way. He gently traced his finger on her cheekbones, noting their height and sharpness. 

Ryeowook knew this was a bad idea, but maybe…just maybe…

Jemma stirred in her sleep, scooting closer to him and wrapping her arm around his waist once more. His nose was suddenly buried deep into her hair and he inhaled the sweet scent of orchids mixed with something that was uniquely Jemma. He closed his eyes, basking in the closeness of another...he knew this was a very bad idea, but maybe just for a few blissful hours, he would allow himself to be close to her. The scent of orchids tickled his nose. He smiled and placed a small kiss on top of her head. Just this once, he told himself. Just this once.

Ryeowook knew nothing would ever come of this. 

And still, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift back to sleep.

Sungmin stared speechlessly at Ryeowook, while he told him what happened. He didn’t dare interrupt, afraid that the younger one will stop talking altogether. After the tale of what had happened came to an end, Sungmin cleared his throat.

“Wookie-ah…are you…are you perhaps…?” he couldn’t find the words

“In love with her? I don’t know, hyung,” the boy shrugged, “She is something different. She is fascinating and I think I want to get to know her…for better or for worse, I think she is definitely someone that I really want to know,” he finished with a sigh, looking at the ocean again. The sun was shining brightly, the rays reflecting off the sparkly surface. The clear waters reminded him of Jemma’s eyes. How they changed color with the weather, with her mood. They said that the eyes are a window to a person’s soul, and Ryeowook had realised this to be very true about the American girl.

“I really don’t know what to say, Wook,” Sungmin said, noting the dopey expression on his friend’s face, “From what you’re telling me, it sounds like you might really like her…and I am not sure whether this is a good idea.”

The petite man just nodded, his eyes sad. He knew nothing would come of it, but still felt good sharing it with someone. The memory of this afternoon had haunted him for too long.

“I don’t think I will tell her,” he added, almost as an afterthought, “But I still got her this,” he pulled out his phone and showed Sungmin a photo of the dress he had bought, “She was looking at it the other day when we went shopping – her expression changed completely when she saw that dress and she somehow started to glow…if that makes sense,”

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