----Chapter Twenty-Five----

Chaeyoung feels like a child, hopping around the living room with excitement.

Like the time when her parents agreed to pay for her guitar lessons.

Like that time it was announced that she won first place at the audition.

Like that time they told the four of them they would finally debut, together.

It's one of those moments.

Maybe not as life-changing, but just as consequential.

Jimin had texted her yesterday morning to announce that he'd finally finished planning their real first date. He even checked beforehand with her members to see if they had any schedule, and had arranged a whole weekend away without her ever suspecting anything.

He's rented a chalet away from Seoul, just for the two of them, with outdoor activities for them to enjoy, and a billiards table. He specified the last part with various emojis that easily brought a smile out of her, remembering his promise to beat the hell out of her at the game back in The Philippines.

He remembered too.

It's a dream come true.

So she carefully packed her clothes taking into consideration any type of weather that could inexplicably fall on them, along with all of the possible cosmetics and feminine necessities she would need. In the midst of adding bandaids and sunscreen, Jisoo shoved her a first aid kit to add to her luggage just in case.

His manager would drive them, leave them there, and come pick them up two days later.

That's so kind of him, Chaeyoung had told him, awed at his dedication.

I'm bribing him with floor tickets for the upcoming Red Velvet concert, he answered with a winking emoji.

He planned it all perfectly, and Chaeyoung has been an impatient mess ever since he told her.

How could she not? They barely saw each other in the past two weeks, and when they found the time, it had been limited.

It frustrated the both of them, but they knew their reality wouldn't make this easy.

Besides, on the positive side, their little get-away will only be sweeter from their recent lack of meetings.

She's just waiting for Jimin's text that will announce his arrival, and while she's usually patient, today is an exception. She's pacing around the living room, feeling like a dog in a cage, checking out the window every time she passes by. As if she could recognize his manager's personal car.

Her members are waiting with her, slightly distracting her from counting down the seconds, but half of her is already far away.

Fifteen minutes since she last checked the time according to her phone lock screen.

When she looks up, her three members are staring at her with amusement.

"You do know that time won't move faster if you check it more often, right?" Lisa snickers.

"You have the cover story all worked up?" Chaeyoung asks instead, ignoring Lisa's jab.

"Yup. I'm going to my parents and we're saying that you're tagging along in case any manager asks where we are," Jisoo offers with a grin. "My dad is coming to pick me up in approximately an hour, so everything should be fine."

"Ahhh, I wanna go away for the weekend too," Lisa confesses with a long, suffering sigh. "Maybe more at the beach than in the middle of the forest though."

"I know, right? Who rents a luxury chalet for two days when they've only been dating for like... three months and some?" Jennie adds with raised brows.

"It's true love," Lisa chimes, hands clapped over her heart.

Chaeyoung glares at them which induce giggles out of the three of them. "Fine. Laugh at me. But I'm still the one who's going on a two-days date."

"Hence why I'm jealous," Jisoo admits, slouching deeper on the couch, her eyes on the ceiling as she seems lost in thoughts.

Before Chaeyoung can muse further on Jisoo's mood, her phone vibrates in her hand and she squeals in delight, forgetting immediately about the oldest's sudden sombre look. "I'm off! Have fun without me!"

"Don't forget to use protection!" Lisa screams at her as she leaves, her bags in hand.

Chaeyoung sticks her tongue out at her friend before closing the door and sprinting downstairs. She carefully looks around before stepping outside and rushing to the black van waiting for her. Inside, Jimin greets her with an eye wink which stupidly makes her blush, and he beckons her with his finger to take the seat beside him. She does, after politely greeting his manager and thanking him for the ride.

She grins at him as she sits. "Are you going to tell me now when you started planning this little trip?"

"I've been thinking about it since we got back from The Philippines. I did say that our date would only be postponed."

Her heart flutters at the thought of him working hard to plan this since back then, while he was also exhausted by his group comeback. One more thing to add to her growing list of Reasons Why Park Jimin Is Adorable.

It's almost a three hours drive, so Chaeyoung puts on her playlist, and since she's been too excited yesterday to sleep, it doesn't take her long for her head to fall on Jimin's shoulder and fall asleep.

He awakes her when they arrive. She's a bit disappointed to have missed the scenery, but when she steps out of the car, she forgets about it.

The view surrounding her from every side is breathtaking enough that she forgets everything for a moment. Who she is, why she's here.

The little light brown wooden two-floor chalet stands in a small clearing, surrounded by trees. Trees as far as the eye can see, with a beautiful lake behind. Its red sloping roof gleams under the sun, and two huge bay windows decorate each side of the door giving view in the direction of the lake, and she can already imagine them eating breakfast there tomorrow morning. There's a patio on the other side of the chalet, linking with a long wooden dock that leads past the shore of the lake.

The closest neighbord is a good five kilometres away too, which gives them plenty of privacy. 

Their little corner of paradise for two days.

Her bags in hand, she runs toward the lake, the scenery reminding her so much of Australia. Her eyes sparkle like the water as she stands just before the water meets the rocky ground.

The temperature is too cold to swim, but there's a canoe accosted, so maybe they'll be able to go for a ride.

She inhales deeply the fresh air before turning away from the lake and running to the other side of the huge backyard when she notices an outside firepit built with white bricks and a two-places swing in front of it.

"You're like a little kid at Christmas," Jimin says fondly as he follows her around while she runs from one side to the other in complete glee.

"It's awesome! I love it! Yah, it better not rain while we're here! There's so much to do!"

"Slow down, the sky should be clear all weekend, I checked. Come on, let's drop this inside. You'll have plenty of time to explore later," he says as he grabs her bags from her hands.

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