Rest before the race.

As soon as they exited the main gates of the Chambers, Ae Sook threw her hands around D.O’s shoulders.

Honestly, it felt like she had lost ten years in there.

D.O turned his head in surprise. “What is this sudden affection?”

“Listen, I just wanna go home and sleep all this stress off. I don’t wanna hear the word werewolf for a long time.”

D.O stopped in place, and as he turned towards Ae Sook, her hands wrapped around his neck. D.O placed his arms around her hips. A little butterfly fluttered in her heart.

“Home?” He raised his eyebrow. “We’re going to the hospital.”

Ae Sook was settling herself against his chest when she heard this. Eyes wide, she jerked back. “What? Hospital? For what?”

D.O flicked her forehead. “You dropped like a rock out of nowhere. That’s not normal.”

A pang of fear stabbed her in her gut, because she’s wasn’t quite sure why she collapsed either, but she dismissed it quickly. “It was just fatigue,” she rolled her eyes. “I don’t wanna be wasting a doctor’s time on something so stupid when people are dying.”

D.O opened his mouth to protest but Ae Sook lifted a finger to his lips. Leaning in, Ae Sook repeated, “Dying”.

He sighed. “Why do you make everything so difficult?”

Ae Sook looked up at him with a mischievous smile and then shrugged. “What fun would it be if I didn’t?”

D.O threw her a look, but she just grinned back radiantly. Stepping out of his embrace, she took his hand in hers and began to drag him towards the car. “Let’s go do something!”

“Do what?” He dug his heels in the ground. “It’s dark!”

Ae Sook looked up to the sky in surprise. Dusted in pink with wisps of yellow, the dark was creeping up on the horizon like kudzu on a fence. “Oh, , you’re right.”

“Let’s just go home,” D.O yawned. “I thought you said you wanted to sleep anyways.”

“Well, yes, 5 minutes ago, but now, I wanna go out. See the world. Enjoy life. Frolick about the streets.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the hospital?”

Ae Sook smacked his arm. “Shut up,” she muttered with a glare. Then, in the very next moment, Ae Sook’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, no,” D.O said as he noticed the change. “I don’t like that look.”

“Well, I just had one of the very best ideas.”

D.O appraised her nervously. “Care to share?”

She shook her head. “I want it to be a surprise.” She held her hand out expectantly.

Realizing what she wanted, D.O stepped back. “Oh hell no. Not again.”

She crossed her arms. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Not when you’re like this. Frankly, you’re unpredictable.”

“Wow, that’s gold coming from the person who called me predictable not too long ago,” she scoffed.

“Can’t you just tell me the directions?”

Ae Sook let out a heavy breath and let her shoulders sag. “Fine,” she relented at first. But then, as D.O began to walk towards the driver’s seat, she said under her breath, “Sae Ryun would have let me drive.”

D.O skidded to a stop. He stood there for a moment before turning around quickly and throwing the keys at Ae Sook.

She stumbled backwards to catch it. When she looked up, he had a sour look on his face. “You really know how to play me.”

<> <> <> <> <> <>

As Sook pulled up to their “destination”, and D.O blanched. “The special place you wanted to take me to was the gas station?”

Ae Sook whipped her hand to the side to press a finger against D.O’s lips. “You're so impatient, just wait.”

Pulling up into a parking spot, Ae Sook parked and then dashed out the door towards the gas station before D.O could even blink.

He quickly rolled down the window, and leaned outside. “Where are you going?” He yelled.

Waving a hand behind her, Ae Sook didn't even turn around to say, “Just sit tight! I gotta run in and get something.” In the next second, she was through the door and gone from sight.

As soon as she disappeared, D.O slumped back against the car seat and began to sulk with his arms crossed.

Her mind always ran too fast for him to catch up with, and sometimes, it irritated him that he couldn't do anything to get on her page.

Sighing deeply, he looked around the car and something caught his eye. Around the mirror, a small silver chain was wrapped around it, its charm barely visible. D.O leaned in to take a look at it, and familiarity struck him in that second.

Ae Sook’s necklace.

D.O had noticed that Ae Sook wore two around her neck, and he had never seen her take them off.

This one, a small black pendant, twinkled under the light leaking from the gas station.

Although it was peculiar, something warmed in D.O. He looked around and found her sunglasses in the cup holder, her agenda in the dashboard, and then her coffee mug on the side of the door. Her things, so haphazardly spread across his car, actually had made themselves at home here. It made him think that maybe, maybe, she would stay.

The sound of the car door opening startled D.O out of his thoughts, and he almost jumped in his seat.

Suddenly, the Elders’ words of his weak senses around Ae Sook came to mind, but he shook his head, ignoring it.

As Ae Sook slid into the seat, she threw something at D.O.

He looked down in his lap to find a bag of candy. “What is this?”

Ae Sook reached behind her to throw another bag in the back seat. When D.O tried to look back, she put a finger to his forehead to force him to look forward. “Not yet,” she first chastised before saying, “Eat some. Maybe it'll make you feel less grumpy.”

D.O rips apart the seal with an attitude, but once he sees what they are, he stops. It's his favorite Chinese candy. Usually, he would have to introduce it to people and not once has someone known about them when he asked.

“How do you know about these?” D.O asked in awe.

“My cousins live in China. They got me addicted to them,” she answered as she pulled out of the parking lot. “You like them?”

“They're my favorite, actually.”

Ae Sook turns to look at him with wide eyes. “Woah, how do you know about them?”

“My parents travel to China a lot, remember?”

“Ah, yes. Are we still going to visit them?”

D.O had just popped a candy in his mouth when he choked. “Excuse me?”

“Ah, the sweet feel of karma,” Ae Sook laughed.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember, once upon a time when the sweet, innocent, newly orphaned Ae Sook sat with you in this very car and you asked me to visit your parents out of the blue?”

D.O narrowed his eyes. “What do you-,” he started before he cut off in the middle. “Ohhhhh.”

“Yeah, ohhh,” Ae Sook mimicked sarcastically. “Honestly, I hated you then. You made me so confused.”

He gave her a look. “Why?”

“Because you made all these suggestive comments and I had only just met you!” Ae Sook exclaimed in frustration as the car came to a stop in front of the traffic light.

This piped D.O’s interest.

Leaning in across the glove compartment, D.O looked up at Ae Sook right as she turned her face towards him.

Only mere inches were between them now.

“So,” he said in a low voice with a smile lingering on his lips, “you liked me before?”

Ae Sook gulped. “That's not what I said.”

His smile widened. “I do believe that's what you meant.”

“No,” Ae Sook said as she put a hand to his shoulder. “I was just frustrated by you, is all.”

“Mm, really?” D.O nudged closer.

“Yes,” Ae Sook laughed nervously.

“Okay, whatever you say,” D.O hummed, but his eyes were glowing an excited amber.

He tilted his head and his eyes flashed with mischief before he cupped Ae Sook’s elbow that was resting on the armrest and slid it in his direction. As a result, Ae Sook’s lips fell on his and he captured them in a kiss.

Ae Sook protested at first with a startled noise in the back of , but as the seconds passed, her hand slide up the back of D.O’s neck to pull him closer to her.

They continued to move their lips against each other's until, suddenly, a sharp honk sounded from behind them.

Startled, Ae Sook jumped and tore herself away from D.O. Although she was still a bit dazed, she slammed on the gas and sped through the yellow light.

She could hear D.O’s muffled laughs.

“Listen, this wasn't just my fault,” Ae Sook declared.

“I didn't say anything,” D.O claimed but she could see the smirk on his face.

Giving him the cold shoulder, she drove in silence for a minute before D.O leaned over again to say something. Too close for comfort.

Before he could say a single word, Ae Sook pushed him back to sit upright in his seat and then pointed a finger at him.

“Just ing stay on your side of the car until we get there.”

<> <> <> <> <> <>

“Okay, keep your eyes closed!” Ae Sook exclaimed as she waddled behind D.O, trying to make sure he didn't look. She hand her hands clasped around her eyes, but due to their height difference, Ae Sook was struggling a bit.

Actually, a lot.

She had driven them a whole hour and a half more to the ocean, and now that there was sand instead of solid ground, her feet kept slipping.

In the whole span of 200 steps to the ocean’s edge, Ae Sook had fell almost three times. Instead of keeping his eyes closed, D.O had to support his girlfriend instead, turning around every so often to make sure she didn’t end up on the floor on her face.

On the fourth time she slide and almost ended up doing the splits, D.O turned around to hoist her up.

“You know, I think this is more painful for you than it is funny for me.”

Ae Sook scrunched up her nose as she scowled. “Shut up, okay, and keep your eyes closed.”

“How am I supposed to do that when you keep falling?”

She tossed him a dirty look, but he just shrugged. “Just stating the facts.”

Ae Sook sat there, thinking for a second, but she saw D.O’s eyes begin to stray to the environment surrounding them. “D.O!” she chastised. Then, grabbing the sides of his face, she pulled him in close so that he could only see her. “You promised.”

He rolled his eyes. “I already know we’re at the beach. It’s kind of hard not to know.”

“Not that! There’s something special here!” Then she narrowed her eyes. “And you have to stop looking around because then, it won’t be a surprise.”

“Again, you keep slipping. You’re going to die if I don’t look out for you.”

Ae Sook sighed, but then a lightbulb appeared above her head.

Taking the scarf from around her neck, she tied it around D.O’s eyes.

“Okay, I look stupid now,” he complained.

“No one’s here now!” Ae Sook laughed as she took him by the hand, leading him down to the ocean’s edge. They walked by the water, on the smooth, even sand, for about 300 feet before Ae Sook let go of D.O’s hand.

“Just stay here for a bit, okay?”

“Where are you going?” D.O asked, his hands searching. He could hear her rapid footfalls on the sand increasing the distance between them.

She threw her voice back on the wind. “Stop being such a child! Give me 5!”

Ae Sook ran to her secret spot and threw her backpack on the floor, quickly pulling out a couple of things and setting them into place. Then, she ran back out to D.O with something in her hands.

“What were you doing?” he asked as soon as she came back to him.

“Can’t you be patient at all?”

“I usually am, but something around you makes me nervous.”

“Awww, how sweet,” she melted. “Love butterflies,” she said as she fluttered her fingers.

“No. I’m afraid you might burn something down or die.”

Ae Sook