"You know," Sehun began, "there's a question that I've been dying to know the answer to for a very long time."

"Oh? What's that?" asked Kai from beside him.

The EXO members were gathered around the sofa in the living room while I was busy clearing up the dishes. It was the following morning and we had just finished eating breakfast.

He looked across from me and then to Baekhyun. "You know how you did hapkido, hyung?"

"Yeah?" Baekhyun answered.

"And you know how Little Umma did judo?"

I glanced up at him from the sink.

"Well, who do you think would win in a competition?" Sehun asked the others. "Little Umma or Baekhyun-hyung?"

"Well, it's obviously gonna be me" Baekhyun answered confidently. "I've been doing it for a long time."

Chanyeol scoffed, "You shouldn't underestimate Nami-ah, she's really strong."

Baekhyun grinned at him as he muttered, "Or maybe you're just really weak."

"Yah! I heard that!" Chanyeol shouted as he threw a cushion at Baekhyun's face.

"I think that Little Umma can take you on, Baekhyun-hyung" Kai stated. "I mean, she managed to beat you in an arm wrestle last night."

"She beat all of us" Suho added.

"I think it'd be interesting to find out" Chen mentioned. He turned to my direction and shouted, "What do you say, Nami-ah? Do you wanna compete with Baekhyun in a match?"

I gaped at him and saw that Xiumin was looking back at me with his lips set in a hard line. He didn't look too pleased with what Chen was suggesting. "Um, well. I'm not so sure. I haven't done judo in a while" I told him.

"And it could be dangerous too," Xiumin said, finally speaking up. "Why would you want to do judo with Nami-ah? She could get hurt."

I felt my jaw clench. "On second thought, I'll do it" I declared, changing my mind.

Xiumin's eyes darted in my direction. He looked bewildered, "What? Why?"

I eyed him evenly. "I'm not a little girl, Xiumin-oppa. I'll be fine. You don't need to protect me."

Xiumin's eyes flickered at my words. He looked hurt.

"Then it's settled!" Baekhyun said. "We'll do a mock judo match."

"Wait, are you guys really going to do this?" Chanyeol asked. "I mean, are you really going to throw each other around?"

"Well, that's what you do in judo" Baekhyun replied offhandedly and then he smiled as he realised something. "What's the matter? Are you worried about me touching Little Umma?"

Chanyeol scorned at him, "No!"

Baekhyun smiled at him slyly. "Oooh" he teased, "looks like someone's getting protective."

"Of course he'd be protective" Sehun chimed from the back. "He's whipped!"

"For the last time, I'm not whipped!"

While Chanyeol argued with Sehun and Baekhyun, D.O approached me from the sofas. He looked concerned, "Are you okay, Nami-ah?"

"Me? Yeah, of course" I quickly answered. "Why do you ask?"

"It's because you've been acting strange since last night. It's like something's eating you up."

If only you knew... I thought. "I'm fine, D.O-ah," I told him with a weak smile. But the truth was, I wasn't.

I wasn't fine at all.

Last night...

D.O and Chanyeol were busy fluffing the pillows on the sofas while I unfolded the futon on the floor. They had decided to sleep separately this evening after they realised the previous night's mistake.

"Oh. There's something here" D.O pointed out as he lifted a cushion from his sofa. It was something silver.

"Isn't that Xiumin-hyung's watch?" Chanyeol asked, peering at it from afar. "He must have taken it off when we were wrestling earlier."

"We should return it to him" D.O suggested.

"I can bring it up to him" I offered.

He handed me the watch and I made my way upstairs. It was already late in the evening and most of the EXO members were probably asleep. As I reached the top, I decided to tip-toe across the corridor to avoid making too much noise. The floorboards let out a sigh as I shifted my weight across them until I was finally in front of Xiumin and Chen's door. I was about to knock when I suddenly overheard their conversation.

"So she's just a sister to you now, then? Nothing more?" I heard Chen say.

"Yes, Chen." It was Xiumin's voice. "Nami-ah's just a sister to me now. And I don't think I'll see her as anything but a sister from now onwards."

I stopped.

Did I hear right? Xiumin... only thought of me as a sister?

I hesitated in front of their door as I tried to process what I just heard. I don't think I'll see her as anything but a sister from now onwards. Xiumin's words repeated in my mind like a broken record.

Sister.

Sister.

Sister.

Such an innocent word yet, I felt as though I had been stabbed in the chest each time I heard his voice say it in my mind.

Xiumin only thought of me as a sister.

I felt a painful squeeze in my chest as I realised what his words meant. If he only thought of me as a sister then, our feelings weren't mutual. It was only ever me who felt like there was something more between us; something pure and precious and true; something... like love. But in the end, it was all one-sided.

He was my one-sided love.

I smiled at myself bitterly. "No wonder he said those things earlier" I murmured under my breath. "He was telling me that he wasn't interested."

Without realising it, I suddenly heard a small tap as I accidentally dropped Xiumin's watch on the floor. I was about to pick it up when I suddenly heard the sound of shuffling footsteps approaching from the other side. With reflexes like a cat, I quickly traced my steps and hid behind the wall which overlooked the stairs. I covered my mouth as I heard Chen's murmurs of confusion when he discovered Xiumin's watch. Once he was gone, I was able to breathe easily again. But that feeling of relief was only temporary as the painful squeezing in my chest returned.

~*~

Chanyeol frowned. They were outside on the beach and the sun was glaring at them from above. It was a warm day and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky but, in spite of the great weather, Chanyeol couldn't help frowning.

"Relax, hyung" Sehun told him from his side. "Baekhyun-hyung won't make a move on your woman."

Chanyeol glared at him, "This is all your fault."

"Moi?" Sehun made a surprised face. "I was only stating a theoretical situation."

Chanyeol continued to lour at him.

"Okay, okay, my bad" he admitted. "But don't you want to see how this match ends?"

"You should be worrying about how you'll end up if Nami-ah gets hurt" Chanyeol sneered.

Sehun backed away. "Chill, hyung. It's not like Baekhyun-hyung will really try to floor her."

Chanyeol muttered, "He better not."

Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun and Nami prepared for their match. It was a straightforward competition. The first one to floor the other and score a point would be declared the winner. He observed how Nami was dressed. She was wearing a loose shirt and yoga pants with some sort of twisted cloth on top which, Baekhyun would use to gain a grip on Nami when he goes in to floor her. Like Nami, Baekhyun was wearing something similar. The other members gathered around in a circle as they spectated the match.

Chen acted as referee. Once he was sure that both contestants were ready, Chen dropped his raised hand and shouted, "Begin!"

The EXO members chanted both Nami and Baekhyun's name as they engaged in their mock judo fight. Chanyeol watched on worriedly as Baekhyun went in for a tackle. Even though he knew that Nami was strong, he couldn't help worrying about her. And why wouldn't he worry about her? She was his girlfriend, right? And his girlfriend was out wrestling with Baekhyun and touching him in places that he didn't want her to. Not to mention the fact that Baekhyun would be doing the same thing to her.

"C'mon, Nami-ah!" he cheered. "Floor Baekhyun's !"

Chanyeol watched as Nami concentrated her sights on Baekhyun. They were circling each other, calculating what the other might try to do next. Baekhyun was taller than Nami and, heavier too so, he had the bigger advantage when it came to throws. But, Nami was agile. Her light frame meant that she was able to move quickly and if she was quick enough, she could score a point against Baekhyun by tossing him over before he was able to do the same thing to her.

With bated breath, the EXO members watched intently as Nami attempted to floor Baekhyun. Nami launched herself from a safe distance and approached Baekhyun with increasing velocity. Baekhyun braced himself as Nami took hold of his twisted fabric and tried to hurl him over. But, it was no use. Baekhyun had tricked Nami and now she was caught up in his hold. He struggled to pin her down as she stood firmly planted on the sand.

"Aish, you're tough!" he grunted. "I thought Hercules was a man, not a woman!"

She smirked at him. "Well, you thought wrong."

"Or did I?" Baekhyun grinned as he changed his grip so that he was holding Nami more firmly.

He swept her over, intending to pin her down in a standard judo hold when Nami suddenly changed position so that he was no longer in his grasp. The sound of tearing fabric was heard as Baekhyun toppled to the floor and Nami straddled on top of him.

The EXO members' eyes widened at the sight.

"Everyone look the other way!" Suho immediately ordered, his face burning a bright red.

Nami saw that Baekhyun was peering up at her from below with eyes as wide as saucers. "Um, L-little Umma..." he managed to say.

Nami looked at what he was pointing at and immediately understood why Suho had shouted what he did. As she looked down at her shirt, she saw that there was a huge rip across her front, showcasing her exposed, but thankfully covered, chest. Baekhyun had a perfect view of her bra from below.

Nami felt her face colour. "Don't look!" she screamed at him as she let him go to cover her chest.

Chanyeol rushed over to her and in a few seconds, Nami felt something warm being draped over her shoulders.

Chanyeol had taken off his hoodie and was acting as a shield between her and the others as she hastily zipped his hoodie on while Sehun helped Baekhyun.

"For goodness sake, Nami-ah!" Chanyeol shouted. "You should be more careful!"

"Is everyone okay?" Suho asked as he approached Nami and Baekhyun.