"I'll take a shower," Baekhyun said, heading to the shower.

"Yeah, take your time." Ara replied, finally taking a rest on the bed. She heard water splashing from the shower room and there was nothing else she could think of except the walk she had with Baekhyun right after they landed in Jeju.

It was a mess. It was awfully obvious that she kept a distance from him on purpose. There were times when Baekhyun wanted to hold her hands, she got the hint but she cannot bring herself to hold hands with her brother-in-law. 

Heaving a deep sigh, Ara pushed all thoughts aside and stared at the ceiling. She had the sudden urge to do something.

Ara got up from the bed and headed out to the balcony. Opening a small pack that contained white sticks, Ara fumbled with her lighter before finally lighting up her cigarette. She used to be so familiar at this.

Smoking used to be a favourite past time of Ara's, after being led astray by a group of friends she met in school. It was only during the year of graduation that her sister found out her habit and forced her to quit. Ara wasn't aware that she would start smoking again today.

It was a good thing she managed to sneak away from Baekhyun and got the pack of cigarettes.

She took another puff and fully embraced the feeling of toxic gas fuelling inside her lungs. The feeling of nicotine intruding her body excited her. She could feel her pulse going faster. The cigarette provided her with temporary relief, and comfort. Finally, she felt like she wasn't alone.

Ara stared at the shining stars, trying to appreciate the beautiful night view. Despite with the help of the cigarettes, she did not feel any better than how she felt during the wedding.

All seemed like happiness was too short-lived because Baekhyun had stepped out of the shower.

"Areum!" he called out, drying his hair. To much relief, Baekhyun's sight was blocked by his towel.

Ara quickly disposed the cigarette and went back in. "You called?"

Baekhyun hung his towel in the wardrobe, with the doors open. "You should shower now, it has been a tiring day."

Ara nodded, quickly walking past Baekhyun as she headed towards the shower. She was well aware on the fact that she smelt like cigarettes, despite only having few puffs. All she could do was to pray hard that Baekhyun did not have a sensitive nose that could sniff out the smell that Ara was carrying.

To double check, Ara sniffed her outerwear, making sure that the scent was faint, not heavy enough to alert Baekhyun.

Ara was busy cleaning herself up when it dawned on her what was waiting for her after she is finished with her shower.

She felt the need to gag. There's no way she's going to do it with her brother-in-law.

Shutting off the water, she stood in the shower for the longest time possible, trying to think of a way to let herself out safely from the situation.

Time passed quickly while Ara was in the shower. Her being in the shower definitely showed Baekhyun something, and he thought he understood fully what she meant.

There was a knock on the door, breaking Ara's train of thoughts. "Areum, I guess we'll call it a night. We don't have to rush anything, I'll sleep on the couch sleep on the bed. Goodnight," Baekhyun said, with his warm and light voice.

Ara gasped, was she really that obvious in displaying her dislike for him? "Everything will be fine," she muttered to herself, resuming her shower.

Climbing onto the bed, opposite her was Baekhyun, who was resting on the couch and fast asleep. It only has a short period of time and yet Baekhyun looked like he has been asleep for months and days.

Ara felt like her insides were being chewed on, seeing Baekhyun asleep on the couch. It was wrong of her to let her brother-in-law sleep on the couch but what could she do? She couldn't possibly invite him to share the bed. Ara lay down on the bed, eyes still on Baekhyun with sympathy

It was then, when she realised, like anyone and everyone, Baekhyun had fine laugh lines and slight wrinkles that might form anytime. She concluded that he was probably under immense pressure being the CEO of the company, and being the one who led his own wedding plans, knowing her sister's heart had already been occupied by someone else and she would barely have the time to plan for the wedding.

Eyes still on Baekhyun, Ara that actually thought that Baekhyun seemed to have fierce looking eyes but as she observed longer, she realised he actually owned a pair of warm and passionate eyes.

Weariness soon caught up with Ara and her eyelids began feeling heavier each blink. It was more like mission impossible to stay awake.

Giving up to stay awake, she shut her eyes and drifted off to dreamland.

Morning came slightly too quickly, the sun rose like usual, with Baekhyun gone from his usual spot. The sun shone on Ara, dragging her back to the miserable reality.

Ara saw a male in a white dress shirt. It was then she realised, she was still in Jeju, for the honeymoon.

"Where are you going?" Ara questioned, sitting up on the bed.

Baekhyun turned back, busy fixing his tie. "The company called me for urgent matters, I need to be down." he replied apologetically. Ara shook her head, revealing a rare understanding smile. "It's okay, you can go. It must have been extremely important to have them call you down,"

Still fixing his tie, "I am incredibly sorry babe, I'll make it up to you when I come back."

"Come over, I'll fix your tie for you." 

Ara held her breathe, as she tied the tie around Baekhyun's neck. "There you go,"

Baekhyun stole a kiss on Ara's forehead before pulling apart. Ara froze in place, just when she was on her lowest state of defence, Baekhyun decided to take action. 

"See you tonight," he said, heading towards the door.

"Y-yeah, see you." Ara stuttered, still in shock. "Areum," Baekhyun turned.

Ara gulped, trying her best to not flush red. "Yeah?"

"I love you," he declared with a playful grin before exiting the room. Ara blinked a few times, gasping for air as her face turned incredibly red.

Ara scoffed in disbelief, believing the situation she was in made it impossible for her mind to have any extra space for other thoughts. However, whatever happened to her just now proved her wrong. 

She was not even into her brother-in-law, and will probably never be into him since he was rightfully her sister's. There was never a thought whereby she would end up with Baekhyun. 

Perhaps it was just the element of surprise playing on her. She was definitely taken aback by Baekhyun's out of the blue kiss and mushy declaration of love towards her sister.

It took her an hour to convince herself that her mind was definitely playing tricks, took another hour to cool herself down in the shower from the small actions that Baekhyun did. Ara was more than grateful to have an entire day to herself to reflect.

-

"What would you like to eat?" Jaehyun asked, freshly out of the shower.

The real Areum, sat up on the bed, stretching. "Pancakes sound so good right now,"

"Pancakes it shall be," Jaehyun smiled, bringing out the necessary ingredients. Areum strolled behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, head resting on his back. "Don't you have work? I heard you saying that it's an emergency meeting,"

Jaehyun turned to her, arms around her neck. "Nothing is more important than spending quality time with my girlfriend,"

"Knowing Baekhyun, he would blow up at you being late." she frowned. "It doesn't matter, I'll find another job if that disturbs you so much," he assured.

"Jaehyun, you need to take your work seriously." Areum sighed.

"I know," came the reply. The answer was always the same.

In the first few months, it felt good to have Jaehyun place her on top of his priority list but the longer he behaved like this, the more Areum felt that he was being unrealistic in life. But isn't this what she yearned for? For her other half to always place her on top on their priority list.

She used to beg Baekhyun to not report to work, but being the CEO of the company, it was impossible for Baekhyun to skip on a meeting because of his girlfriend.

"You know what, Jaehyun we can have dinner when you come back from work. I'll sleep in for today so you head to work now," Areum pushed him into the bathroom. Instead, Jaehyun carried her in bridal style, to the bed and placed her on the bed delicately.

"I promise to be back early," Jaehyun said, giving Areum a deep kiss that sent her heart beating furiously.

Looking at Jaehyun's masculine back as he slowly walked to the bathroom, Areum forgot all the negative feelings she felt earlier and wondered if she could handle Jaehyun being this loving every moment together with her. She beamed in joy, grateful that she had him.

Ara suddenly came to mind, the smile on her face faltered. She had forgotten her promise with her younger sister. Areum grabbed her phone and dialled her sister's number.

-

Ara looked into the mirror, satisfied with her outfit of the day. She took one more look into the mirror to make sure it was appropriate to wear outside. She wore a white off-shoulder dress with a straw hat. She was ready for another stroll along the beach, this time alone.

She was about to head out when her phone rang. Ara picked up the call, wishing it was a cold call so that she could hang up on the caller immediately.

"This is Areum," the caller announced. "And?" Ara replied nonchalantly. 

"I'm so sorry for making you do this, I really am." Areum apologised. "Get to the main point, I need a break, you need a break, everyone needs one."

"I'm going to compile everything and send it to you. So make sure you memorise it."

Ara rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, "Thanks, I'll hang up now."

The phone call with her sister had irritated her. Ara didn't feel like she wanted to take a stroll outside anymore. Groaning loudly, she headed to the bathroom to change into something comfortable before heading to the PC rooms nearby the hotel to check on the email that her sister sent.