A/N: Did I make you wait again? I'm so sorry... bad things are happening but I swear this story is already done. Thanks for subscribing y'all..

The rest of the day was less enjoyable as I would have preferred. After I wasted my time playing mini golf and fishing – yeah I'm that lame, I felt somewhat exhausted. It confused me because I did not tire myself physically from those ‘ultra-exciting’ activities. Instead, my brain was fried from thoughts of Sooyoung. How her body would look in a bikini, how awesome it would be to take walks with her on the beach while she envelops my hand with warmth by her own, and other stupid imagined scenarios involving her and I. By now, I self-diagnosed myself as clinically insane.

I spent the evening strolling around the resort, looking for other things to do tomorrow. Even if I could have just asked the concierge, or any other staff, I opted to walk.

An extra luxurious looking place caught my attention (I added the word extra because the resort was already luxurious), and later found out that it was the resort’s casino. I’ve never entered one and out of curiosity, I stepped inside. I did not have money on me so I settled on people watching.

Colorful noisy machines were lined up strategically to attract players; each offered a different game involving gambling. I passed by a Lucky 7 machine and it looked simple enough to operate, which was probably the reason why this old lady was continuously feeding the slot coins and yanking the lever.

There are people shouting around the Craps Table, which I only know because of this television show I watch but I had no idea how it actually works. With my hands behind my back, I continued to scout the place while wondering why these people in here would waste so much money gambling.

“I said let’s go!”

“Just another round, baby!”

I have heard those voices before and I wasn't mistaken when I saw Sooyoung and her boyfriend near the Russian roulette table.

“No. You’ve been in here the whole day! You’ve already spent so much!” Even from this distance, I could tell Sooyoung was trying her hardest not to drag her boyfriend out of the casino.

“So? This is my money and I’m gonna waste it if I want to. Go away, I'm winning… 34!! Wooh!” It’s as if Sooyoung did not exist after her boyfriend won the round. I saw Sooyoung leave and my feet automatically followed her.

I carefully walked behind her like a stalker and watch her order a drink from the bar a few feet away from the casino.

“Blood & Sand” The bartender immediately worked on Sooyoung’s drink as she sat on the bar stool. After a few seconds, the man returned with a drink in hand. Before he could place it in front of Sooyoung, the woman already snatched if off his hands, taking a long sip. I slowly sat on the next stool, where I made my presence known.

I sensed her looking at me which I returned. “The name of that drink sounds scary.” I commented. She scoffed and said, “I need something with scotch.”

“You do.” I replied, my tone condescending.

“You saw that huh.” I nodded and she took another sip of her drink. “Are you not gonna?” She gestured at the barman who was expectantly waiting for me to order.

 
“I have no reason to.” I said. “Also, if you plan to get wasted, I think I should be your designated driver. Sooyoung snickered at my lame joke.

“I’ll try not to be a burden.”

After that, the conversation went smoothly. We talked about what we did all day. She laughed at how I decided to fish, of all things. I learned she did go to the beach with her boyfriend who got bored easily, and decided that gambling and drinking was more fun than spending time with her. Sooyoung’s demeanor was not as lively while she was relaying the story to me so I decided to change the topic.

“You know, this is the first time in a long time I had a vacation.”

“Figures. You’re probably not used to it so you decided to go fishing.” She had this amused look on her face that I did not mind her making fun of me. I was actually honored, for some twisted reason.

“Hey! When are you gonna get over that?” I feigned hurt and she laughed. “I’m sorry because I could not picture you fishing at all.” She continued to mock me while downing the last of her third drink. I could see her face getting a little red, her words starting to slur. I felt really bad for her so I let her say whatever she wanted.

“Are you going to tell me why you decided to come here alone? Isn’t that sad?” She asked while staring at her fourth Blood & Sand. I could not read her expression because of the dimmed bar lights but judging by the tone of her voice, she was feeling gloomy.

“No, not really. I’m used to being alone.” I controlled my voice for it to not sound sad. I was telling her the truth though. I was not bothered that I’m alone.

“Really? What’s that like?” I’m guessing there’s more to this than she was letting me on. The curiosity was killing me, but I couldn’t possibly ask her that. “I really wanted to experience life by myself for years, just to know how it’s like.”

Honestly, I did not get what she was saying. But I stayed and listened to her rambling about random things that made her feel sad. None of which was her boyfriend. She didn’t even mention the guy at all. When I sat beside her, I readied myself to be ranted at how she was not happy with her relationship with him. That he had a gambling problem, or some sort of addiction. It’s as if she was not thinking about him at all.

After a good two and a half hours, Sooyoung could barely open her eyes. I lost count at how much she drank. She switched up her drinks to stronger ones which I forgot the names of. I had three shots of tequila (due to her insistence) and I already felt the heat.

“Alright. I think you had enough. Let’s get you to your room.” I hoisted one of her arms on my shoulders and slowly guided her out of the bar stool. It was an arduous task due to her height, but somehow, I managed to drag us to the elevator. It dinged a few moments which caught Sooyoung’s attention.

“I don’t want to go to my room.” She slurred. She stopped walking and I did so too.

“Where do you want to go?” I asked.

“To yours.” My heart skipped a beat for a second then it doubled its speed after Sooyoung uttered those words.

“A-are you sure? You barely even know me.” I was trying to diffuse my thoughts so I could fight this feeling off. Surely, she’s just drunk and maybe hated her boyfriend for his actions today that’s why she wants to stay with me.

“Just don’t let me go to my room.” She quietly begged and that was it.

“Okay.” We went pass her room and went in to mine.

It was difficult to sleep.

Knowing that Sooyoung was on my bed, whimpering a little after she passed out, was enough for me to stay bothered the whole night. How on earth did this happen? Just this morning I was wondering how she would look like when she’s asleep and which side of the bed she sleeps on. And now, I got the answers and more.

Sooyoung was still beautiful while sleeping. She looked so peaceful, with slightly open, her breathing even. She slept on the left side of the bed which was good because I sleep on the right –  where I was now, leaning on the headboard, watching her like a creep.

I was afraid to fall asleep because I did not want her to wake up and freak out. I hoped she would remember that she was the one who insisted that I take her to my room and not the other way around. She would probably have a killer hangover so I already prepared some medicine for her to take, in case she'll wake up ahead of me.

My thoughts also flew to her boyfriend. Was he not wondering where his Sooyoung was right now? I shrugged in disgust at the afterthought that Sooyoung was his. He probably did not deserve her. But who was I to vilify him and their relationship?

I sighed at the thought while the sleeping girl beside me stirred, and within seconds, her hand was on my waist. I kept my breathing under control because my room suddenly felt hot that I could suffocate. But not in the bad way.

I kept perfectly still to not wake her up but I’m pretty sure she would if she feels my heart rate. I have never felt this way for another human being before. It’s insane how fast I was falling for this stranger. It has only been two days for god’s sake. Before I could overthink myself to death, I too passed out.

Although I slept late last night, I still managed to wake up at 5. Stupid body clock. I found myself alone on my bed, which lead me into thinking that Sooyoung sleeping here was just a very vivid dream. Until I saw the untouched medicine and water on my nightstand.

Great. I knew she would freak out. She’s probably mad at me.

I buried myself on my bed, having no intention to get up.

So I didn’t.

I felt ridiculously over rejuvenated after staying in yesterday. The room service was great and the resort’s selection of movies and TV channels did not disappoint. I could say that the day was not wasted during my shut-in time. Now, I’m at the hotel’s lobby looking for activities to do outside to get rid of this excess energy.

“I’m so glad I woke up early today.” I glanced at the person who sat beside me and saw Jisoo smiling brightly as the sun.

“Good morning.” I greeted, returning the smile.

“Good morning indeed.” He said. “So, you looking for something to do today?”

“Yeah. But I can’t decide what.” I replied while scrolling through the list of activities online. “Know any?”

“Well, I wanted to try the extremes today.” He confidently said, pointing at the pictures on the resort’s webpage. “Wanna come with me?”

“Extremes?” I inquired, a bit frightened just by looking at the photos. Yes, I do enjoy some death defying activities once in a while but I’m not really a fan. I decided to ride the scariest attraction in Ever Land once due to peer pressure, but afterwards, I couldn’t remember why I did it.

“You okay? We could totally do something else.” Jisoo was already under the impression that we’re gonna do something today. It’s not like he was one of the people who tried to peer pressure me but I did not want this trip to be boring and less eventful than it already was. Besides, I want to take my mind off of someone who was trying to make this trip all about them without their knowledge.

“No, no. It’s totally fine. Let’s go.” I said.

Before I knew it, I was standing on a platform towering over a forest and a scary cliff. The wind was blustery at this height; I could barely make out the instructions the guide was telling me. I mean c’mon, how hard can it be? I’m just simply gonna jump from god knows how high, with a cord tied around my ankle, with some guy I barely know, and wait for death.

“You can do this Taeyeon!!” I heard Jisoo cheer somewhere near me despite the howling wind. He was so pumped and excited; I couldn’t back out. I gulped as I stared at the ocean below, two boats circling around, in case I fall to my inevitable demise. What was I doing?

“When I count to three, we’re gonna jump together alright? Miss?” The guide snapped me out of my trance to realize that this was actually happening. My head nodded robotically and I’m pretty sure I was just running in adrenaline. I was not on my right mind.

I felt the man wrap his arms securely around my waist, double checking the harness before we do the deadly deed. Suddenly, he was saying, “Ready? One. Two. Three!!”

Sooyoung’s face flashed before my eyes. Really? Right at this moment?

I felt my body falling, my heart dropping to my stomach. Okay, hold up. Was I experiencing falling in love with a person by literally falling? Good God, I’m insane.

The rope rebounded more times than I could count before I was safely back on the ground. Well, not yet. I was still on a boat, waiting for Jisoo’s turn to jump. I heard him screaming his lungs out, having the time of his life. I didn’t even know if I screamed. Was I able to make a sound? I took a mental note to talk to the guide later.

Out of nowhere, Jisoo appeared in front of me, his smile bigger than earlier this morning. “That was awesome!!” I just returned his smile as I couldn’t speak due to my still shaken body. “Let’s try another one!” I felt my smile vanish from dread.

The next few activities we did was not as extreme as bungee jumping. Although, I gave Jisoo a hard time before he convinced me to go on the zip line (I actually enjoyed that one) and also beginner’s motocross. I would definitely do that again.

The day flew by and the adrenaline I had the whole day totally wore me out. Jisoo, being the gentleman he was, accompanied me to my floor.

“Today was great. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.” I said, signaling our parting of ways.

“Anytime. I do hope this happens again soon.” He bit his lip in anticipation.

“It probably would. Good night and thanks again.” Afterwards, we went our separate ways.

It was 6 AM when I looked at my clock. It seemed my body needed more time to rest due to my shenanigans yesterday. Or because I slept late wondering what was that I felt when I jumped from that platform. My heart was already beating fast that time so I blamed it on the adrenaline rush. It was just a coincidence that I thought about Sooyoung because of the ocean below me. No big deal right? [A/N: 수영 Sooyoung means swimming in Korean. But I know you already know that psh.]

I took my breakfast to-go from the breakfast buffet, avoiding Jisoo at all costs. Not that I didn’t enjoy yesterday. I know I told him I would be doing things with him again, but not today. Or tomorrow. Too soon. So, before he could see me, I was out of there.

I headed to the beach, thinking it best to stroll around before people started coming. The morning air was crisp and the smell of the ocean put my soul at ease. I removed my slippers and walked along the shore, enjoying the feel of the sand beneath my feet. I stopped walking for a moment to just breathe deep and enjoy the peacefulness the sound of the waves were making.

A sailboat passed by, which caught my attention long enough to not notice that I already have a companion.

“Hey stranger.” A soft voice beside me said. The calmness that the ocean brought disappeared and was replace by an erratic heart beat and laboring of breath – which happened so many times now this week that I’ve slowly grew accustomed to it.

“Hey yourself.” I did my best to sound normal as opposed to the chaos I was feeling inside me.

Sooyoung did not utter a word after. I was not sure if she was inviting me to talk or if she just wanted us to stare at the beautiful horizon silently. It broke after I tumbled backwards due to a strong wave. The giggle that came out of her was heavenly. She held my arm to prevent me from falling – but it was too late for that now, emotionally speaking.

“You okay?” I want to shout no, I’m not okay because you’re messing with my head. But I just bobbed my head up and down, still conscious that she was holding me. When her hand was gone, I sighed deeply in relief and disappointment. Now I’m feeling a bit bipolar.

Somehow, we ended up walking together by the shore. It’s funny that this was one of the things I was hoping would happen and now, it was. Is this resort a magical place that secretly grants wishes? Well, the answer to that was no, since I have been spending the last few minutes wishing that Sooyoung would hold my hand, but up until now, she’s selfishly keeping them clasped behind her back.

“I’m sorry about what happened last time.” Sooyoung suddenly spoke. Since my head was busy conjuring unlikely scenarios, I didn’t catch what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”

“I got drunk, slept in your room, and left without saying goodbye.” I could hear the remorse and embarrassment in her voice. So I replied that it was okay and she can forget about it. “No really, thank you.” She insisted.

“Any time.”

We continued walking along the shore and after a few minutes, Sooyoung spoke again. “I didn’t see you around much the other day and yesterday.” There was a wee bit of awkwardness surrounding us, which I was not aware of until now.

“Uhm, yeah. I was outside the whole day yesterday and I did not come out my room the day before that.” I was not sure why I was disclosing this information to her. Why would she care? And the more important question was, what was this feeling of guilt?

“What did you do outside?” Her question was not pressing but because of the unexplained guilt, I felt like she was grilling me.

“I went bungee jumping and some extreme activities.” I answered.

“By yourself?” She asked.

“No. I was with…” It took a while before I could say Jisoo’s name. When I was about to, Sooyoung already cut me off. “You know what, never mind. Sorry. It’s not really my business. I should have not asked.”

“It’s alright.” I said, trying to appease her.

“I have to go. Kyungho is probably already looking for me. See you around.” She turned to her heels and I watched as she went, leaving footprints on the sand behind.

~geumanhaeyo