Surely Sehun had always been a person who hummed. I probably just hadn't noticed.

"Isn't it time for morning coffee run?" I asked him, as he launched into the second round of a popular dance song, wordlessly. "You know how my mom gets without her caffeine."

He paused at the instrumentals. "I thought you'd want to do it. To see Kyungsoo. Don't you?"

I shifted in my seat, then realized I was literally squirming at his question and made myself still. "I'm kind of deep in these place cards right now."

He looked over from his own stack, equal in size to mine. "You are?"

"Well, yeah."

I tried to sound easy. It didn't work, a face made clear when he gave me his full attention. "Hold on. I thought you guys had a good time the other night."

"We did," I said, folding another card. The paper was thick and embossed, each name done by a professional calligrapher. Ruin it, you pay for it, had been Eomma's directive. Never before had paper made me nervous. "I'm just, you know . . ."

Usually, when you trail off, people just finish the sentence for you in their own heads. Sehun was clearly still full of beats, because he said, "You're what?"

"I'm busy," I told him. "And it's your job."

He leaned back. "Gosh. Okay. Sorry. I'll go now."

With that, he pushed out his chair and got to his feet, then headed to the back office, where Eomma and Wooyoung were discussing with the valet parking company about Jeon Somin's rehearsal dinner, whistling as he went. I was sure he'd never done that before.

So he was happy. No crime in that. And just because he'd had a great time with Tzuyu the night before - he hadn't said so exactly, but the music-making spoke a lot - didn't mean he was going to win our bet and me lose. I only had to keep going on dates, just like I'd done with Kyungsoo. I wasn't humming. But I'd done it.

I winced to myself as I thought about this. After Tzuyu and Sehun had left the night before, Kyungsoo and I had talked for another hour or so, mostly about his writing, the conversation interrupted occasionally by Gayeon, coming to complain that the party and she wanted to go home. Finally, around eleven, she bumped into some guy she knew from yet another food truck - the community was national - and decided to stay just as I was ready to leave. In the end, I got a ride with Kyungsoo on the back of his bicycle, where I felt every bump and rattle of the handful of miles back to my house.

Once there, I could tell he expected to be invited in by the way he kept glancing at the door. But Wooyoung's car was still there and I didn't feel like making introductions. In the end, we sat on the curb, the bike laying beside us. I was tired of talking, tired in general, and trying to come up with an excuse, but Kyungsoo was still going full speed about his writing.

"Really, it's all process," he explained to me. "You have to research, you know? Fiction is blood, sweat, and tears, man, all mixed together. Like a plant growing from the mud. If you nurture it, something beautiful comes."

I could admit this all sounded exotic and dramatic at one point. But that had been a few hours earlier, and I still didn't understand exactly what his book in progress was about. "That's cool," I said, a response I'd taken to alternating with a few others like "Wow," "Interesting," and, just for variety, "I never saw it like that." For someone so interested in words, he didn't seem to notice this repetition.

Now he smiled, like I was cute, before reaching out and rubbing his thumb along the side of my mouth, then down my chin. I was thinking maybe I had something on my face, and wondering for how long, when he suddenly moved in to kiss me. It was quick and sudden and took me by surprise, even before he leaned me back into the grass with one smooth movement. The sudden gesture wasn't exactly romantic and then his mouth was on mine, tongue wriggling.

Ugh. I let it go for a long enough period so as not to seem totally rude, then sat back up. "Well," I said, as he pulled back, his eyes sort of dazed, "I should go. It's late."

"Now?" He looked at the house again. "Really?"

"Yeah." I made an effort to look apologetic, like this was actually not my choice. "I have an early day, and all . . ."

"Yeah, okay, cool," he said, cutting me off. "I get it."

I stood up, aware of the dampness from the grass on my back. "I'll see you around work, I guess?'

"Sure."

I started walking to the door, relieved to finally wrap things up. I'd only taken a few steps, though, when he said. "It's the bet, right? Just dates, nothing more. FYI, I don't really want that either."

Pausing, I said, "Okay."

"It is," he said, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. Ugh. At least he waited. "Okay, I mean."

Right, I thought. He was still there on the curb when I went inside.

So that was my night. Not totally terrible, just weird. It did not, however, leave me humming, whistling, and walking with a bounce, something I noticed as Sehun passed me, heading out for the coffees.

"You want anything?" he asked. "Maybe a nice melty donut?"

"No," I told him. Then, realizing I sounded sulky, I added, "Thanks, though."

He gave me a thumbs-up, the pushed out the door. Vivi, tied up to the nearby bench and wearing a orange bandana, got right to his feet, wagging happily. As Sehun bent over him, petting his head, I saw he was whistling again.

Just then, my phone rang. Enough time had passed that, sometimes, I didn't even notice my AOA ringtone anymore. Today, though, for whatever reason, the opening chords made my heart hurt in a way it had not in a while.

"Hey," Gayeon said, sounding like her cheerful self, considering it was morning and I knew she had all four kids with her for the day. "Happy Wednesday!"

"Is it?" I questioned, doing another card with a bit of extra force on the fold.

"Sure!" she answered. "It's hump day, sunny and beautiful, and we are on the way to get one of the best biscuits in town. It's perfect!"

I blinked. In the background, Jae spoke for me, saying, "You're weird today."

"Oh, hush. Can't a person be happy once in a while?" she asked. To me she said, "The Kogi BBQ Truck is actually right over near you. Can you take a break? I want you to meet Im Jaebum."

"Does he always go by his first and last names?"

"Im is different from 'I am,' " she corrected me, "and I think it's cute."

"This guy from the party last night?"

I met him there, yes," she replied. "But he's not just a guy from a party, if you know what I mean."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Just that, you know . . ." She lowered her voice. "I like him. A lot. Like, very much a lot."

I was about to tell her she'd only just met him, that it couldn't possibly be that serious. But I knew the tone of her voice, that giggle, the sudden glint the world got on a morning call after like this. Clearly, epic was going around. Too bad I'd already had my turn."

"That's great, Gayeon," I said. "I'm so happy for you."

"Well, I mean, it's early," she replied, sounding anything but under-confident. "But he's just . . . he's so nice, Suzy. And totally not my type! He had on a hoodie and has dark jet black hair. With an eye smile!"

I smiled. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Then come to the truck. Their biscuits are to die for."

"I wanted a muffin," Jae said.

"Me, too," said Kai and Kaytleen. "We hate biscuits."

"Be quiet," Gayeon sang out, hardly bothered. "Suzy?"

I looked back at the office, where Eomma was still on the phone. "I can't. We've got this huge rehearsal dinner and wedding this weekend. There's a lot to do."

"Oh. Okay." She sounded disappointed. For about two seconds. "But you will meet him, and soon, okay? We'll double date, you and the barista. Hey, how did that go, anyway? You looked like you were having fun."

"It was fine,"  I told her, as Sehun came back in with the coffees, then hummed his way past me, giving me smile. I tried not to react, probably failed. "I'll fill you in later."

"Do that. Or call if you do get a break. I'm in the car or the truck until at least five. Have a great day!"

"OKay," I said, not even trying to match her energy. I put down my phone, then picked up another card, folding it and adding it to the stack. As I reached for another one, a book suddenly dropped onto the table beside me. A slim paperback, the cover featured a horizon of a field, one bid flying overhead. HARVEST, it said on the cover. I looked at Sehun, who was taking his seat beside me. "What's this?"

"A loan from Kyungsoo," he answered, starting his own stack of cards. "He said to take your time with it."

I pulled the book cover, flipping it open. A NOVEL BY KIM JUNMYEON, said the title page. I turned another page, which had passages highlighted, notes scribbled in the margins, and read the first line.

In a world, in a field, a plow sits. Harvest has come.

"Oh, for goodness's sake," I said out loud, pushing it aside.

Sehun glanced at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, a bit too forcefully. "I just want . . . to work.

"Sure." He folded another card. "Let's work."

A moment later, he started humming again.