Mina’s POV~ 

The next day, Baekhyun and I decided to spend our day separately. He wanted to spend our last day alone, together, as I did too since it was Christmas Day. So, for the day, I decided to relax at the hot springs with Seolhyun. 

My legs were still sore from skiing and thanks for Baekhyun’s thoughtfulness, I stuck on some pain relief patches to my legs last night, so it didn’t hurt too much today. 

“Unnie, you ready to head out?” Seolhyun asked, coming out of the bathroom with her hair up into a tight bun. 

“Yep, let me just grab our room key,” I said and grabbed the plastic card, sticking it into my tiny bag. Once I made sure to have everything, we headed down to the springs. 

There was an large indoor hot tub and an outdoor springs that was opened for both men and women. But, you had to wear a special cloth to cover the body, which was understandable when being with the opposite gender. This same rule applied for the indoor hot tubs too. 

Seolhyun and I decided to stay in the female-only hot tub indoor first. It wasn’t anything special really, but it was massive. It was simple, but elegant the longer you looked at it. 

We locked up our belongings in a locker in the corner and headed to the hot tub. There were a few women already in it, but we managed to find a open area and soaked ourselves in. 

It felt good. My mind was clear and my body was relaxed. It really was nice. 

“I could fall asleep in this,” I said and closed my eyes, sinking in just a little deeper. 

“Tell me about it, but it wouldn’t be good for the skin,” Seolhyun giggled and I did too. “Ahh~ this feels so good.”

I hummed in agreement and we sat there, enjoying out time. 

“Unnie,” Seolhyun spoke, breaking the silence. I hummed again in response. “How do you feel about my brother?”

My eyes shot open and I looked at her as her eyes were still closed. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous. 

“Well...what do you think of him? How do you feel when you’re around him?” she asked. “Like, do you feel happy when you see him? Something like that.”

I leaned against the edge of the hot tub and tilted my head a little, having it rest on the edge. 

“Do you hate him?” she quietly asked and I shook my head like she’d see it. 

“I don’t hate him,” I said while staring up at the ceiling. 

“Then...do you love him?” she asked and my heart skipped a bit. I didn’t say anything. There was a long pause and she shifted as the water splashed around us. She looked at me with expectant, yet sad eyes. She may be younger than Baekhyun, but she cared for him. She wanted him to be happy. 

Seeing her look at me like that, I turned away and pulled my knees up to my chest. I knew the answer very clearly, but to tell others was hard...telling him was hard. What if I was to tell him and realize it was all a dream? What if my love meant nothing?

“You don’t hate him...but...you don’t love him either, do you?” she asked and I shook my head. 

“It’s not like that,” I quietly said and she drew a little closer. “You know what I’ve been through...it’s not easy for me to say such words.”

Silence. 

“Are you happy with him?”

I nod. 

“Does your heart flutter with him?”

I nod. 

“Is it lonely without him?”

I nod again. 

“Would it sadden you if he left you?”

I pause, then slowly nod. 

“Then...do you love him?”

I pause a little longer and nod. She gave a sigh of relief and smiled. She closed the gap between us and hugged me. Our almost bare bodies pressed against each other was bit uncomfortable, but it wasn’t all that bad. 

“If you love him, then there’s no need to feel anxious,” she softly said. “He loves you a lot, more than one can imagine.”

I swallowed hard and looked at her. 

“Why are you suddenly asking me this?” I asked, curious. She pulled away and shrugged. 

“One, this is girl talk, so it’s natural to talk about one’s love life,” she said. “Two, I just want the best for my brother and for you. I could see how much you two care for one another, but I couldn’t tell if you were serious or not. Honestly, I was a bit worried if you loved him back.”

I gave a faint smile. Did I appear that way? Is that how Baekhyun feels too? Is he worried that I wouldn’t love him and leave him?

“But, that’s so cute now that I know,” she squealed and I told her, “Please don’t tell him. When I’m ready, I want to tell him myself.”

She smiled, proudly, “Of course.”

Baekhyun’s POV~

Jinyoung and I were skiing earlier and tired ourselves out. We returned to the room to nap and now we’re playing card games at the recreation room. Every card game we played, I won. Loser had to take a finger flick and by now, Jinyoung’s forehead was red, but his fringes were long enough to cover his lose. 

“This is my win!” I shouted in victory and threw my card on the table with my arms up. He groaned and covered her forehead. 

“You could’ve at least gone easy on me this last round,” he said and I shook my head. 

“I can’t ruin your pride like that,” I said and readied my fingers. “Bring your head over, I’ll give it some extra love.”

He sighed and lifted up his bangs, revealing his redden forehead. I smiled, evilly, and positioned my stance as he tightly shut his eyes. He looked like a little kid and I did feel bad for him, so I lightly tapped his forehead with my finger and looked at me surprised. 

“I don’t want to bruise you,” I said and gathered the cards into one deck. 

“I would’ve thought you’d hit me hard,” he said, letting his bangs fall down. 

“Should I have?” I asked and he was quick to shake his head. I chuckled and put the deck of cards back into his holder. “What should we play now?”

“I don’t know. Pull anything off the shelf,” Jinyoung said, uninterested. To be honest, I wasn’t interested either, but we only had each other left...well, I only had him left. He would be perfectly fine without me. 

“Should we check on this girls?” I then asked. 

“Why? Do you miss Mina?” he teased and I glared at him, then softened my face. 

“Yeah,” I sighed out the word and didn’t pick out a game. I went back to my seat and sat down, laying my head on the table. “I miss her.”

He laughed, “It’s only been a few hours. You saw her this morning during breakfast.”

“I know, but you wouldn’t understand,” I mumbled and pulled out my phone. Evening was nearing and she hadn’t called or messaged me the whole day. I wondered what she was doing right now. 

“I heard they were going to the hot springs, should we go check it out?” Jinyoung suggested and my head shot up. That’s right, she did tell me they were going to check out the hot springs. Maybe I’ll get a glimpse of her there. 

“That’s a good idea. Let’s god get ready,” I said eagerly and got out of my seat. 

I was quick to change and quick to get out to the hot springs. The outdoor hot springs was open for all genders, but we were required to wear specific clothes because...well you know. 

Jinyoung had followed after me shortly into the outdoor area and I was trying to look for Mina, but she wasn’t there. Was she indoors?

“Hyung, I get you want to see her, but slow down a bit will you? You’ll get her all day tomorrow, so there’s really no rush to see her right now,” he said as the water splashed. “You’re really clingy.”

“I know,” I admit a bit too quick. I sighed and took a seat at the edge of the springs, dunking my feet into the water. Jinyoung sat next to me and gently kicked his feet in the water. 

I had to admit, it was nice being out here. The weather was cold, but oddly enough, it was warm too. The steam from the springs must be keeping us warm. The air was fresh and crisp. The night sky was beautiful...too bad Mina wasn’t here. 

“You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?” Jinyoung chuckled and I smirked into a sheepish smile. “You must really love her.”

“I do,” I said, looking down at the water. “It’s hard not to love her.”

He didn’t say anything and listened. 

“You know, it’s weird...we didn’t get along at all in the beginning,” I started to randomly speak. “She hated my guts and she was a little violent.”

He nodded in agreement. 

“But, she was just protecting her heart,” I said and memories of our first few encounters flashed before my eyes. From our unfortunate meeting at the hotel, to the banquet, to being announced marriage partners, to living together. I remembered it all. 

“I don’t even know when it all began,” I quietly said and Jinyoung looked at me. “When did I start to love her? At first, it was all just fun and games. I liked the reactions she gave me when I .”

Seeing her angry face made me snicker. 

“You know, I was the one who proposed our marriage,” I said and Jinyoung widened his eyes. 

“Hyung did?”

“Yeah, but she didn’t like the idea of me marrying her,” I sighed and leaned back with my hands supporting me. “I was interested in her. I wanted to know more about her; what kind of person she was. But, she’d try to push me out of her life and I just kept coming in.”

“Wow,” he said amazed. “You really are clingy.”

“Yah, you,” I muttered and put in a headlock. I noticed we were out in public with many eyes staring at us, I released him and cleared my throat. 

“It’s not a bad thing,” Jinyoung said and smiled, sweetly. “I mean, look at where it got you two.”

I faintly smiled and looked up at the night sky. 

“You’re right,” I softly said. “Many things have changed between us.”

“She looks happier too,” he chimed in and I nodded. 

We really have come a long way. I unknowingly fell in love and wanted her close to me, despite the way she treated me. I couldn’t stand the idea of her leaving me one day for someone else. And, I had no plans to leave her side unless she left mine first. But, if I had left, would she be happy like she is now? Would she have found someone who could make her happy? I don’t even want to think about it. 

*****

The end came to an end and I didn’t get to see Mina at all. We didn’t meet during dinner nor have our nightly chats. But, I would have her all day tomorrow, so I should be patient til then. 

I was in the room staring at her two gifts on the table and wondered if she would like them. Maybe she would fine them too burdensome and she’d reject them. Or, she could happily accept her gifts with a smile. 

I wasn’t too worried about the bigger present, but the smaller one made me nervous. Was she ready for it? Only tomorrow’s reaction would tell.