After an early morning ferry departing from Jeju Island, of which they spent most of their time asleep again, Baekhyun and Dae arrived in the coastal town of Mokpo. It was around midday when the boat entered the small harbour and their stomachs were growling. They had been doing so for a while too, especially because they had had a very early breakfast at the hotel before leaving.

Both of them were a tad grumpy, not saying much to each other as they got back in the car with Baekhyun behind the wheel as he knew where to drive them to next. Dae slumped in her seat, wrapping her hoodie around herself a little tighter as she shivered, still cold from sleep.

Things were alright, no fighting had happened, no mean words had been said, and yet she couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed by how her morning had gone so far. She had hoped that after last night, after how they had held hands while falling asleep, something would have changed between them, but it was nothing like that.

In the morning she had woken up to an empty bed. Baekhyun had been long gone too, because the spot next to her had been cold as she had run her hand over it. When she had found him in the bathroom, shaving cream on his upper lip, he had smiled at her and pretended like nothing had happened.

He had acted that way ever since. Not saying a word about the previous night, paying special attention to never touching her, and he never really looked at her either. Dae noticed that it had been an overall more quiet Baekhyun that had woken up that morning, and she worried it had to do with her. It was stupid, because she knew how with Baekhyun it could be a hundred different possible things, but still she felt it was because of her stupidity that he was this reserved.

And because Baekhyun had kept quiet, Dae had kept quiet too. It had helped that they had both fallen asleep again on the ferry, but even after that, back in the car, it was only Baekhyun’s playlist that brought any liveliness to the atmosphere during the short drive to the parking place they were heading for.

Dae stared out of the window the full fifteen minutes it took to get to Mokpo’s train station, where they would park their car and continue on foot for a while. It was how she noticed that slowly the small streets with local shops made room for large office buildings and busier roads. As if the world was growing bigger and bigger the farther they drove.

Baekhyun didn’t speak up at all, not until he had parked the car, but once he did he sounded like he hadn’t just spent hours pretty much ignoring his best friend, “make sure to bring your sunglasses, it is said to get quite warm today.”

He sounded excited, like everything was perfectly fine, and that was bizarre. Dae watched her crush fling their backpack across his shoulder before he shut the door of the car behind him, creating a barrier between them.

She stared at the window for a bit, could see Baekhyun through it as he fixed the straps and looked around. How could he be this way? What did he expect her to do? Act like nothing had happened as well and just move on? Apparently.

Sighing to herself, Dae picked up her sunglasses and put them on her face, knowing she needed them to keep some space from Baekhyun and not let him see the disappointment in her eyes. She’d most definitely need some time to adjust.

The car was locked even before Dae reached her best friend’s side, and Baekhyun didn’t really look at her before he started walking. “It’s this way, only a few minutes’ walk. It’s renowned for its sea food,” Baekhyun commented as he turned them right onto a pretty busy street. Plenty of cars were driving by, continuing on where they had stopped to park, and Dae followed wherever he led her.

They walked past smaller shops, past a bank of Korea with beautifully shaped trees placed in its front gardens, and then they turned left at a corner where a statue of a mother with her child, sitting peacefully on her knee, guarded another office building.

The streets became smaller as they changed direction, as if they were heading deeper into the heart of the city, but it wasn’t any less busy. Baekhyun had made a smart choice parking the car in a parking lot, because it would have been pretty unlikely they would have been able to park it here.

They walked on, took the right at the second street, and ended up in front of a small looking place. Baekhyun had said the restaurant was renowned in this area, which could be seen from the shiny signs and the mentions of broadcasting stations on the front plaque, setting it apart from the rest. The front wall was tiled, giving the whole place a quirky and almost futuristic appearance, but more than anything it looked like a small local place.

Apart from the well-kept front, the only other thing giving away that this place was famous was the queue that had formed outside. A group of people stood to the right, all waiting patiently for fulfilled customers to come outside, signalling another few would get to enter.

Dae was glad she felt rested enough to stand outside and wait and she was extremely thankful that it wasn’t high-summer, because then they would have had the sun beating down on them mercilessly. It was doable this way, if not a little uncomfortable for Baekhyun was still acting so strange.

Dae stretched herself, giving herself some time to get rid of the stiffness and awkwardness in her body, and pretended to pay special attention to their surroundings. Not a word was said between them until two new people got to enter the restaurant, leaving only them and a group of four waiting before them waiting in line.

“Do you already know what you want to eat?” Baekhyun asked, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he was staring at what apparently was a menu, plastered to the wall outside. He looked as hungry as Dae felt, and she would have moved over to look over his shoulder if she didn’t still feel so out of place next to him.

“No, I guess I should order whatever they are known for, right? And some rice, I can’t not have some rice,” she sighed at the thought of food, hadn’t notice how a small and annoyed-sounding whine had left her lips until Baekhyun turned his head to look at her because of it.

He grinned this time, his eyes bright as he properly stared at her for the first time that day, and Dae wondered why he was. Clearly he was up to no good, that much she could tell, but Baekhyun pursed his lips and very stubbornly turned away again after he had read the question she was sending him with her eyes.

She watched him bounce back and forth on the balls of his feet until more people filed out of the restaurant, a large group this time, which made it that only a minute later both the group of four that had been in line before them, as well as the two of them, were allowed inside.

Baekhyun and Dae were guided to a table for two, and they bowed politely before they sat down on the floor, folding their legs so they were sitting cross-legged facing each other. Immediately one of the waitresses came over to set their table properly and to hand them their menus, which she did while blushing furiously.

Baekhyun didn’t seem to notice, but Dae did, and she narrowed her eyes at the girl as she bounced off to get them something to drink. After the girl had disappeared from view she turned her head back to Baekhyun, watching him and wondering if he really hadn’t noticed or whether he was just pretending not to. He seemed to truly be scanning the menu, though, and so Dae didn’t say anything.

Instead, she went to look at the rice dishes on her menu, quickly picking what she wanted to eat, and then she put down the card and rested her head on her hands, waiting for the flirty girl to return. It didn’t take long for her to return, and Dae gritted her teeth together as she watched the girl walk with poise as she came back over, her head held a little higher as she carried a tray with drinks.

When she paused to put down their beveraged, her eyes went to Baekhyun almost expectantly, but the idiot Dae called her best friend was still engrossed in his menu. She almost felt bad for the girl now, for even though she felt annoyed with how someone else was flirting with the one she liked, clearly she was hitting the same wall that Dae had been walking into for so long already. Not being noticed by Baekhyun that way, she knew it all too well.

It was why she got out of her positing and stretched her leg so she could kick Baekhyun’s knee underneath the table. He looked up, meeting her eyes at first, and then when Dae nudged her head sideways he turned to look at the girl who was putting down their drinks, her eyes still on Baekhyun.

As their eyes met, the girl looked away instantly, her cheeks tinting bright red again, and she cleared before she straightened herself again. She looked a little uncertain then, as she stood there next to their table. It was as if she knew she had to continue with her work, but something was holding her back.

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at her as if to ask her what was wrong, and that was enough to make the girl giggle. It was strange, but she full on giggled, and although she was hiding her smile behind her hand now, they could still see her full, round cheeks above it. She was probably quite a bit younger than Baekhyun, but that didn’t seem to stop her.

She stopped her giggling quite quickly, as if she caught herself being improper, and then leaned down a little closer to Baekhyun, as if she didn’t want others to hear her speak, and asked him, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to ask and be a bother, but- are- are you an idol by chance? I- I’m asking because I’ve seen plenty around here and you look just like one.”

Dae blinked, looking just as shell-shocked as Baekhyun was, and then, as she realised it was simply admiration and curiosity that had moved this girl, she relaxed. Her shoulders slumped and a smile appeared on her face as she watched Baekhyun desperately look for words to explain himself.

He didn’t have to, because before he could speak, the girl was pointing at a wall nearby. It was a wall filled with picture frames, taking up so much space the wallpaper was hardly visible anymore, “I met Taemin and Key from SHINee here once. It’s kind of a tradion that we take pictures when celebrities drop by, so I was only wondering if maybe you were…?”

By now it was hard for Dae to hold back her laughter. Baekhyun, an idol? The idea was quite hilarious to her. Sure, Baekhyun was a great singer, he could make that work, but she had seen him dance and honestly, if he had wanted to be an idol he would have had to work and invest a lot in his skills in that department. It would fit him, she thought, the life of an idol, but as things were, he was anything but a celebrity.

Baekhyun shook his head, holding up his hands in apology, and his smile was cute and sincere as he talked to her. “Ah, sorry, no. I’m not an idol,” he apologised, “although if you want a picture, I wouldn’t mind to be put on the wall next to SHINee.”

The girl looked a tad surprised, as if she had been sure that he had been an idol, and her cheeks were red again but this time for a different reason. She bowed deeply, as far as she could with the tray in hand, and apologised for her assumptions, “I’m terribly sorry. You’re just very beautiful and dressed like an idol and- nevermind. I will leave you to choose your food.”

She was off before Baekhyun could reply to her again, and as they were alone again, Baekhyun stared at Dae in confusion, his shoulders raised as if he was asking ‘did that just happen?’ Dae only shrugged in return, not saying anything because she was already expecting what was to come.

Because, of course, this whole encounter had activated cocky Baekhyun, and when she looked back at him she saw his grin was bright and playful as he turned to Dae and said, “well, guess the people of the south agree with my beauty just as much as the people up north in Seoul.”

Dae rolled her eyes at him, “sure thing, oppa.” She used the word often used for older idols, making Baekhyun huff and stick his tongue out at her, but it helped improve the mood immensely. The girl had unknowingly made things lighter than they had been, and as Dae looked at Baekhyun this time, she smiled.

After Baekhyun ordered food for them, including ‘the chef’s speciality’ which made him beam like crazy, he turned to his backpack. “So, it’s been real fun getting these presents from you all the time, but now I have a present for you,” her crush said teasingly, his hand scrambling around in his bag to look for something.

To say Dae was susprised would be an understatement. To her knowledge Baekhyun could not have gotten her a present right under her nose, so it had to have been planned, which meant it wasn’t as much of a repaying for her presents as it was a thing Baekhyun would have done regardless of those. And that meant that it was likely to result in Dae’s humiliation.

Nevertheless, she let Baekhyun put the wrapped gift in front of her, knowing that if she didn’t, the chances of things turning uneasy between them again were big. Or at least bigger than she wanted them to be. Besides, she knew it would make Baekhyun smile if she were to follow his plan and make a fool of herself, it had happened often enough for Dae to know.

She wanted him to smile now, she wanted him to look at her without having to remember the night before and how weird things had been between them since the moment she had changed everything by taking his hand in hers. It had been her fault, so whatever was about to happen would be well-deserved.

“Open it,” Baekhyun told her, nudging his head in the direction of the gift, and Dae sighed loudly before she picked it up between her hands. The package was thin and what was inside was soft and shaped like a-

“God, you shouldn’t have,” Dae spoke, sounding a little sarcastic as she started opening the wrapping paper, “I mean, my presents were birthday presents, but this one… it’s not even close to being my birthday.”

Baekhyun’s mouth quivered as he was trying to hold back his child-like laughter. He was having so much fun watching her open this that he completely forgot to answer her, instead his eyes were burning on her face as she finally peeled the paper away and revealed the sleeping mask inside. Or blindfold, whatever you wanted to see it as.

“Uhm, why?” Dae dared to ask, realising that it was completely fair of her to ask why on earth Baekhyun had gotten her a sleeping mask, and moreover, why he was giving it to her at this restaurant, for everyone to see.

Baekhyun bounced up, leaning over the table to take the thing from Dae’s grip and started picking at the plastic cover as he spoke, “it has to be used as a blindfold. Before our food comes, I want you to put it on, alright?”

Dae raised one eyebrow and quickly looked around them to see if anyone had caught on to their conversation. She wasn’t sure exactly what weird kink Baekhyun was about to describe, but for now they seemed safe as no one was paying attention to them.

"Baek, you’ve got to be kidding me right? Why? Everyone will stare? What could be the purpose of it, for god’s sake?” she demanded, refusing to take back the blindfold, which Baekhyun was holding out for her to take.

He sighed, as if she was being an idiot for asking, but it really made no sense to her, “just humour me, okay? I will feed you the chef’s speciality. This way it will be more memorable. I already know what it is, so to me it won’t be a surprise, but it will be to you.”

He begged then, his hands folded together with the blindfold still hanging from his fingers. “Pleeeeeeaaaase, Dae? Pretty please? It won’t be long, I promise. You can take it off again straight after,” he reassured her, blinking his innocent eyes her way.

She was a hundred percent certain now that this would end with her making a fool of herself, but she couldn’t resist Baekhyun’s eyes and the way he was staring at her. It was almost unfair, he could make her do so many stupid things if he wanted to, but Dae had long ago given up on getting control of herself in those situations.

This time too, she reached over and took the mask from Baekhyun’s outstretched hand. She placed it in front of her and grumbled warningly, “I’m not putting it on until the food arrives, though, and I’m taking it off straight after. Oh, and don’t you dare take pictures because I swear I will kill not only you but everyone you love as well.”

Baekhyun opened his mouth, ready to shoot something back at her, but then he caught himself. His mouth plopped shut within an instant, as if he had wanted to say something he shouldn’t have, and instead he nodded and pretended to cross his heart in a promise. Dae didn’t trust him one bit.

The time that passed until their food arrived was mostly filled with anticipation and few words. Dae watched the way Baekhyun kept fidgeting, looking over at the direction of the kitchen as he was anxious for the food to arrive. Sure, they were hungry too, but Dae figured it had to do with the blindfold issue.

Then, just as her stomach growled again, Baekhyun’s eyes widened slightly and he waved his hands in Dae’s direction, pointing at the mask, “put it on. Now, Dae, put it on, you can’t see!” he was being loud, voice filled with this excitement she couldn’t make sense of yet. What was she about to eat? Because it sure made Baekhyun thrilled enough to actually feed her.

The dish had to be disgusting or something like it, because one thing she knew for certain was that this mask hadn’t been presented to her for romantic purposes. He did not want to feed her things she would love to eat and whisper sweet nothings to her, that much was clear. Whatever it was, Dae would just have to wait and see.

Dae could hear it as trays were put down on the table, the smell of food wafting her way and making her stomach churn loudly once more. She tried to stop it, as much as she tried to stop the embarrassment she felt as well, but as she heard the smile in Baekhyun’s voice when he thanked the waitress, she relaxed some more.

She was doing this for him, not for herself. For his smile, his happiness, and the memories this would leave them with. So far it had been a trip full of changes, of dares and new adventures, so what could go wrong? At most she would spit out the food, not liking it, and Baekhyun would have a laugh and would probably finish the rest of the dish. He’d make fun of her for the rest of time, but he’d be smiling.

The thought made her smile too, which probably looked weird for others considering she couldn’t see anything at all with the blindfold on. Baekhyun didn’t comment on it, though, for he was clearly reorganising things on the table. She could hear his chopsticks tap against the dishes, and she waited patiently for any further instructions.

“Alright,” she heard soon after, “open your mouth. And don’t spit it out, okay? You’ll only make a bigger fool of yourself if you do.” He was clearly amused already, Dae could hear it in his voice, but she didn’t question him and only did as she was asked.

With her lips parted she waited, her hands curling around the edge of the table in order to hold on to something. It made her nervous, not knowing when Baekhyun’s chopsticks would reach her lips, but luckily he understood that and he told her, “okay, here goes,” before he brought the food to .

As she felt the chopsticks against her lower lip, she closed around whatever was caught between it. Once she had, Baekhyun retreated his sticks as fast as lightning, leaving Dae to come to her senses as to what was in . And that was when she felt it.

Instantly, she knew what it was that he had made her eat, and she paled in disgust. The wriggling of the octopus’ tentacle against her tongue made her lose it completely and she was close to spitting it out, the feeling of the tentacle against the roof of enough to make her gag too, but she held it in.

She whined loudly to show how much she hated it, hearing Baekhyun’s laughter ring clear in her ears, but right then she hated him. She hated him because Baekhyun knew that she didn’t like nakji tangtangi, she hated the feeling of the live octopus in , but he had still made her eat it. It wasn’t the taste, if that was it she wouldn’t have ordered the nakji bibimbap for herself, it was simply the feeling.

Yet she chewed, she chewed because she knew that if she spit it out, Baekhyun would win, and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Besides, it would surely look like an insult to the chef. There were few things Dae hated, but being rude was one of them, so spitting wasn’t an option.

She swallowed quickly, her whole body shivering as she felt it go down , but then it was over and done with. Baekhyun was still laughing, clapping his hands even when Dae groaned and told him, “Byun Baekhyun, you will pay for this, I swear you will.”

Then, because she wanted to see him smile, she tore off the blindfold and squeezed it in her fist. Across from her, Baekhyun was shaking with laughter, his smile radiant and his eyes filled with a layer of wetness that lingered there due to the inability to breathe properly.

He looked beautiful like that, so alive that Dae almost forgot how angry she was. Almost, because she still managed to huff and throw the blindfold his way before she picked up her own chopsticks and stuffed her face with some rice, needing to get rid of the feeling of something moving that creepily inside .

“This was too good, oh my… it was so worth whatever punishment you’ll come up with,” Baekhyun wiped at his eyes before he picked up his own chopsticks too, defiantly picking up a piece of the live octopus to stick it in his own mouth.

Dae scrunched up her nose in disgust as Baekhyun smiled wide while he chewed. She averted her gaze soon after, focusing on her food again in order to act as calm and collected as she needed to. She’d get him back, without a doubt, and he’d regret this then.

Her voice was slightly chilly as she spoke again, successfully planting a seed of worry in Baekhyun’s eyes, “right, just wait and see. The road to Seoul is long,” and she felt victorious as she saw her crush’s smirk fade a little, his eyes dropping down to his plate.

He didn’t any more after that.

~

After dinner they stopped by a small local supermarket to buy soju, two bottles of it, before they rushed back to their hotel. They didn't go inside, neither of them tired yet, instead they walked past the entrance and moved on, finding the shore of Mokpo beach.

The beach wasn't much of anything, it definitely was not as big as Dae expected a beach to be like.  She knew there were much better ones, bigger ones, on the islands surrounding Mokpo, the ones they had seen from the top of Yudal mountain, but they didn’t have time to go there. Mokpo beach was small, but it served its purpose.

As they reached the sand, they sat secluded from view, as far away from the water as possible while still sitting in the sand. It wasn’t a smart idea to get closer to the water considering they had alcohol on them and didn't want to be in full sight, but Dae didn’t mind because now, the bushes behind them covered them slightly from the chilly wind.

It had been nice out that day, she had needed her sunglasses, true to Baekhyun’s word, but with the sun setting it was getting colder and Dae was really glad she was wearing her coat now.

"Ah, it's so beautiful out here," Baekhyun said as he flopped down in the sand, putting the bottles of Soju down between them before he wiped the grains off his hands. Then, satisfied with it all, he pulled his knees up so he could wrap his arms around them as he looked out at the sea before them.

From where they were seated they had a great view of the same bridge they had seen from the ferry on their way into the harbour, earlier that day. It was lit up now, small lights illuminating it in the quickly darkening night.

The water was calm, hitting the shore peacefully wave after wave, and Dae tilted her head upwards so the wind could cool it some. Food had left her full and satisfied, a little sleepy too, and she felt her bones grow heavier with every passing minute.

Yawning loudly she allowed herself to fall back, her head in the sand, and look up at the sky. Half her view was taken up by branches and leaves, which were softly blowing in the wind, and she hadn't felt this perfectly tranquil in a while. The sound of the waves in the background, the sight of the sky and the feeling of the sand underneath her, it was almost therapeutic.

"It is," she smiled and closed her eyes, answering belatedly as she took a moment to just breathe. She could feel the way Baekhyun was letting sand drip over her ankle, but she let him, deciding it wasn't worth breaking her calm for. Baekhyun, in turn, stayed quiet too.

For a while they sat in complete silence, even though there wasn't a hint of discomfort between the two of them at all, and it lasted until Baekhyun was done playing by himself. Done with the quietness, he whispered a soft, "Dae? You still awake?" as he apparently worried that her closed eyes meant she had drifted off.

She could have, easily too, but the lingering touch of Baekhyun's fingers against her skin whenever he moved the sand that had piled up around her ankle, had kept her awake. "Hmm," she hummed to show him she was, without having to open her eyes for it.

"Kay," he replied, referring to her being awake, and then he asked "want to play a game?"

Dae could hear him move around, could feel it too from the way the sand was pushed her way as he did, and slowly she blinked herself awake again so she could look at him.

Baekhyun was picking up the Soju, screwing the cap off it before he handed it to Dae, who by now was staring at him in confusion. As she took the bottle, Baekhyun chuckled, "it's a bit lame, but it’s a good way to get pretty drunk, pretty quickly." He raised his own bottle too then and told her, "never have I ever!"

Dae's eyebrows raised up high as she heard his suggestion, and then she chuckled. 'Never have I ever' was a game she had last played with Baekhyun and their other friends, years ago when they had first gotten to know each other, and it had been a disaster for her. Dae had quickly found out that she was very much a prude in comparison to the others, and so she had been left there pretty much sober while everyone around her had gotten rather drunk.

"You know I'm bad at this," she mumbled, taking a better hold of the soju, and then she laughed, "you want to get drunk before me so I can carry you back and drive your hungover around tomorrow, huh?"

Baekhyun started shaking his head, whining a loud, "noooo. It's just soju, I'll be fine." Which made Dae burst into laughter, so much she almost spilled her drink. The way Baekhyun was watching her with a pout was even more hilarious, and it took her a good minute to get herself back together before she got around to answering.

"Baek, honey," she touched his upper arm, smiling brightly at him, "you can get drunk on half a bottle of this. You do not take alcohol well," she reminded him. The fact that she had to remind him in the first place was incredible. Baekhyun was really good at fake-forgetting past mistakes, or maybe he didn't remember those times where he had gotten drunk at all.

He huffed and nudged Dae's arm away, "shut up. You'll just have to come up with smart things then so I don't have to drink."

Dae watched him in amusement as he took a tiny sip of the soju to get used to the taste, tipping her head to the side as she did, "you know, this game is kind of difficult with just two people. Are you sure you want to play?"

Baekhyun nodded and turned sideways so he could face her, "yes! We'll just have to cheat a little and think of interesting things to say, whether it means we have to drink ourselves or not. The whole point is to share things, right? So let's try it like that."

"But I've known you for years already, what more is there to know?" Dae argued, her voice whining as she spoke, for which she received a punch to her arm and a frown from Baekhyun.

"Don't ruin it! You don't know all about me, far from it, so try to think and shut your face," he waved a hand in her direction and then raised his soju while humming loudly, "I'll start. Get ready. Hmmm... never have I ever… not ditched class."

He hadn't even waited for Dae to agree with him, had just started the game without waiting, and Dae was left startled. Baekhyun was clearly hinting at Dae's reputation as a nerd, at the life they had had before meeting each other, and it was unfair because he knew how she'd have to drink now. In turn, Dae knew Baekhyun was far from taking his own sip on this one.

"You're being mean, already, but fine, if you want to play it like that," she paused to take a sip of soju and then threw back, after a moment's thought, "never have I ever been by one of my teachers."

Baekhyun took a sip, not looking fazed at all, but Dae knew he was only faking that. Part of him was probably surprised she knew, mostly because he hadn’t been the one to tell her. It had been Chanyeol who had shared with her that Baekhyun had had a crush on one of his teacher once, and she finally got to use that bit of knowledge now. Too bad it didn't seem to affect Baekhyun as much.

"Never have I ever," Baekhyun continued easily, pausing only to think about something good to finish with, "had surgery." Clearly he was following the rules he had made for this, because he raised the bottle to his own lips while watching Dae from the corner of his eyes as she did the same.

When she drank, he almost choked on his own sip, and he was quick to cough and bring out a strained, "you had surgery? You never told me." He was still hitting his own chest, clearly shocked by this piece of information, which made Dae smile.

She raised her left arm up in the air and moved her hand around, "I broke my wrist when I was six years old. Needed surgery to put it back in place. Nothing major. What happened to you, though?"

Baekhyun smiled sheepishly, looking down at the bottle in his hands as he cleared his throat once more, "appendix. I have a scar to remind me of it, which is annoying as hell, because it ruined my otherwise perfectly smooth stomach."

He let his hand roam across his clothed stomach, as if feeling around for the scar, and Dae rolled her eyes at him. She clicked her tongue against the roof of and told him, "ing hell, Baek, stop being so vain," which sparked some laughter on his side.

Dae loved making him laugh more than anything. Whenever she managed to do so, she felt the butterflies in her stomach as the sound filled her ears. It would make her feel high on life, a little more daring too, and that was exactly how she just blurted out her next suggestion without thinking, "never have I ever been in love."

If there was one way to be goddamn obvious about her feelings, more so than pointing a neon sign in her direction, then this was it. Goddamn fool she was, all because of those stupid butterflies too.

Dae looked away immediately, wanting to take it back but not knowing how to without causing a scene, but mostly she averted her eyes because she didn't want to see whether Baekhyun was drinking or not.

His voice made her look up, though, even without her brain giving her permission to, and she watched him tilt the bottle so he could drink. Once he had swallowed the soju he hissed, the burn of the alcohol a tad too strong for him, and he blinked at Dae's unmoving form. "What?" He asked as he innocently pointed her way, "aren't you going to drink?"

There was genuine confusion in his eyes, as if he knew her heart and was asking her why she wasn't being honest with him now.

Slowly, Dae raised the bottle to , taking a quick swig of it, almost as if it hadn't happened. She stayed quiet, not wanting to comment in fear of Baekhyun asking her questions about it. After all, she had never shared with him how she liked someone, because for a while now that person had been him.

Luckily, Baekhyun let it slip without an interrogation taking place. He went on, thinking out loud as his fingers tapped against the neck of his bottle, "let's see, what else can I hit you with..." he hummed, staring at his hands until he settled on an awkward sounding, "never have I ever done it in a public place."

When neither of them drank, Baekhyun frowned, regretting his choice, "aish, I don't know why I thought that was a good one. That would have worked with Chanyeol, not with you, I've never seen you out with anyone anyway."

He fell back into the sand, his bottle at his hip, and looked up at the sky as the sand tangled with his hair. Then, as he realised what he had said, he sat up again and looked at Dae in question, "why is that? Why do I never see you with anyone?”

His eyes flew across Dae’s face, as if he was taking her in, and when he went on he sounded almost as if he was simply thinking out loud, not aware of what he was saying at all. “You're beautiful and funny and thoughtful and- why aren't you taken already?"

He seemed genuinely surprised as he thought of this, and Dae was left speechless. She couldn't help watch him as he shook his head and mumbled to himself before he let himself fall back down, facing the sky once more.

"I- don't know," Dae mumbled before she took a sip of her drink without thinking about the game any longer. Her mind was on other things now, and evidently Baekhyun's was too, for he stayed silent as well.

Eventually Dae followed her crush's example as she lay back, thinking of a way to keep the game going. It was better than the slightly uncomfortable silence now that they had been talking about love, and so she changed it to something else, "never have I ever lied about my age."

Both she and Baekhyun raised their drinks at almost the same time, their heads lifted to drink from it, and Dae smiled. Instantly the mood had lightened too, as Baekhyun broke into a story of how he got into a club while being underage, even with the baby face he had had back then.

Then, once he was done, he hit them with a, "never have I ever walked into the wrong bathroom." Dae gaped at him, turning her head so she could hit his arm as hard as possible, and Baekhyun started laughing.

Earlier that day, at the café they had drank tea at, she had accidentally walked into the wrong bathroom. She had been in such a rush to get away from Baekhyun, a blush lighting her cheeks on fire, that she hadn't seen the signs. Not that they had been very clear anyway, so really it wasn’t just her fault, but she had. She had thought Baekhyun hadn't noticed it, because he hadn't said anything about it back then, but cleary he had seen her after all.

"Screw you," she groaned before raising her bottle and downing a few mouthfuls of soju. Baekhyun was still laughing, his chest shaking with it, and when Dae had swallowed she turned her head to hide her burning face against Baekhyun's shoulder.

"You should have seen your face, I wish I had a picture, it was hilarious," he wheezed, his shoulder shaking along with his boisterous laughter. Making fun of her was one of his favourite pastimes, and although Dae never felt like he meant them too seriously, it still made her feel entirely too embarrassed.

She didn't say anything, just kept her face pressed to his shoulder, and as Baekhyun's laughter slowly died down, things went quiet between them. The world seemed to stop for a moment, a moment in which Baekhyun let her stay close, but knowing it was Baekhyun she was leaning against, she knew it would never last.

Soon enough she felt him move, as if he was setting down his bottle, and he turned the tiniest bit so he could look at her. "Did you fall asleep?" His voice was soft and soothing, making her heart skip a beat, and part of her wanted to pretend just so she could see what he would do then, but she was too restless to fake it.

Dae tilted her head up, resting it on Baekhyun's arm, and only then did she realise how close they were now. Baekhyun was leaning her way, his face slightly above hers and his eyes intensely dark as he stared at her face. He wasn't as startled as her, and the look on his face held her captive from the moment she laid eyes on him.

She wanted so badly to duck away, to hide her face again for it was sure to be turning a perfect pink of shade right about now, but she was a prisoner of his gorgeous brown eyes. Holding her breath, she stared back into them, like a fly watching the spider crawl closer, her fate closing in.

Baekhyun stayed very still, in fact it was Dae who moved, her gaze on the single eyelash that rested on her crush's cheek. She stretched herself until she was almost on eye level with him, pouted her lips and then softly blew out the breath she had been holding in for a while now.

As she did, her eyes slipped shut on instinct, and it would have all been fine had Baekhyun stayed still the way he had done from the moment they had looked at each other. Except he didn't, he moved, and their noses bumped together just as Dae was pulling back again.

When her eyes opened, Baekhyun had pulled back as well and had averted his gaze, as if it hadn't happened at all, but it had. She knew it had, she could tell from the way Baekhyun looked as restless as he felt.

What had it been, though? She had moved in to help and blow the eyelash away, and she had leaned into his space, yes, but not enough to be the cause of their noses bumping together. Besides, if it was just her, then Baekhyun would have laughed rather than turn away from her.

Had they had been close to kissing? Was that what had happened? Had Baekhyun mistaken her moving in as an attempt to kiss him? Because if that was it, and it seemed the most likely explanation, then she had been close to feeling Baekhyun's lips against hers, but she had pulled away. If only she hadn't pulled away, maybe then she’d know what it would feel like to kiss him.

As she thought about this, Baekhyun cleared his throat and briefly looked up again, which was how Dae saw the eyelash was still there on his cheek. Her crush looked like he wanted to say or do something, but she stopped him from doing either by placing her hand against his cheek very lightly, demanding his attention, and he paused to watch her both questioningly and full of curiosity.

Her fingers touched his cheek, taking the eyelash from his skin, and she held it up on the back of her hand, "you- you had an eyelash on your cheek. I tried to blow it away, but you should do it instead. Make a wish, and all that..."

Baekhyun stared at the eyelash for so long that Dae worried he was losing it. Did he feel stupid for the almost kiss now that he knew she had only tried to help him? Did she have to say something about it to make clear how it wasn't that she didn't want to kiss him, but that he had surprised her with it? Had she just ruined her one chance, or had she possibly misread it all?

Finally, Baekhyun blew at her hand, making the eyelash disappear into the air. Dae was left staring at her empty hand, feeling like it very much represented her shot at kissing Baekhyun. God, what an idiot she was.

Slowly she lay back down again, wanting to hit her own head repeatedly for not having had her eyes open so she could have seen it happen. Had Baekhyun closed his own as he tried to meet her halfway? Or had she just gotten too close and startled him, making him move in surprise? She hated how she didn't know for sure, and Baekhyun obviously wasn't saying anything now.

He was playing with his bottle, chin pressed to his chest so he could watch it as he balanced it on his stomach. It was as if he was trying to pretend she was no longer there, and for a while it worked, until he couldn't hold back any longer.

Baekhyun snorted once, as if he felt as much an idiot as Dae did, and when she turned her head to look at him she caught him smiling at the bottle. He didn’t look at her even though he must have felt her gaze. Instead he seemed to be rushing through whatever was on his mind, as if he was afraid to lose his courage, as he softly murmured, "never have I ever wanted to kiss my best friend."

Then, like it was no big deal at all, he raised the bottle and drank.

His words successfully stopped Dae's heart for a full three seconds before it picked up with a speed matching that of an athlete running a marathon. She was too afraid to move and find he hadn't said it at all, or to see he was joking, and so she kept looking at him without saying a thing.

Baekhyun kept toying with his bottle, didn't apologise for his words, nothing of that. He was waiting, waiting for her to respons, and Dae felt herself grow more restless with every second passing by where she said nothing.

Maybe her chance hadn't slipped away, maybe she could still turn this around now that Baekhyun had been daring enough to utter those words. He had mentioned them with a reason, he had to have, and so Dae could flirt back. If only she dared herself to.

It was hard, so goddamn hard to push those words off her tongue and out of , but she fought and fought and then they were out, the same way Baekhyun’s had slipped out, rushed and unsure. "Well," she breathed, "do you want to find out what it's like?"

It was such a stupid thing to ask, but she noticed it made Baekhyun turn his head towards her. Maybe he hadn't expected it, maybe he had, but he was looking at her, and she looked back.

She was damn near ting herself, so ing nervous about this, but when she didn't see disgust in Baekhyun's expression she relaxed some, if only a little. His lips parted, breath passing, and Dae watched his tongue dart out to wet his lips, something which drew her attention, and it was how she saw his mouth move to shape the word, "yeah."

She heard it enter her conscience, but it didn't really register until seconds later, because what? Had he just really...? Oh god, holy ing . Dae was freaking out inside, her butterflies were violently trying to break through the walls of her stomach to consume her completely, and the thought of her now having permission to kiss the guy she was in love with, it was too much.

She was about to squeal, but the sheer fear and tension kept her locked down and composed. The outburst of happiness could wait until after, if she ever got to it before passing out completely, because that was another possibility.

The fact that this could be a one-time thing was made loud and clear in her mind as she set down her bottle of soju and turned sideways, facing Baekhyun now. He didn't look anywhere near as nervous as her, but he had to be in some way. He had been the one to initiate it, without mentioning his reasons as to why, but he had to be.

Dae didn't want to think about it, though, about whether there were feelings involved in this or not, whether this was just the soju and the fact that they had spent five days up close together. She just wanted to enjoy it, make it memorable, something to look back on and never regret.

As she pushed herself up on one arm, Baekhyun followed her with his eyes, never looking away from her face, and she wondered briefly what he saw there. Whether he could see her heart, the warmth she felt for him visible in her eyes, but she pushed it aside, focusing on getting a hand up to cup his cheek, and she couldn't hold back the smile then.

In all her daydreams, he had been the one to kiss her, no matter what situation they were in then. Every possible scenario had come by, from Baekhyun sweeping her off her feet like a princess to a simple, accidental slip up, she had dreamt up all. Never though, had she imagined this to be it.

That she would be the one to lean in, to bring their faces closer together until their noses touched like they had done for the first time only minutes before. It was softer this time, not a bump involved, and Dae took a short moment to look into Baekhyun's eyes this close up. It was closer than she had ever been to him, with mere centimetres between them, and she swallowed hard as they shared the air between them.

She could hear Baekhyun exhale slowly, watched him blink a little faster than usual, and it made her want to dip down and kiss him already, but before she did she wanted to remember every little detail of this. The look in his eyes, the feeling of his breath against her chin as he lay pliant underneath her, just waiting.

Dae softly trailed her fingers down Baekhyun's cheek, tracing his jawline, and she watched as his eyes fluttered shut before she took her chance.

As she tipped her chin up, it was only a matter of time before their lips met, slotting together like they fit just right. captured Baekhyun's lower lip, which she kissed almost sweetly, and all of her emotions were swirling through her body, as if they had been let out of their cage, sending sparks through her lips.

She tilted her head to the side and kissed him again, this time feeling how Baekhyun reciprocated the kiss. It took a few seconds but then he was kissing her back, lips moving against hers, and something inside of her was jumping for joy. She was kissing Baekhyun and Baekhyun was kissing her, and it was glorious.

It was more than she had imagined, more than she could have dreamt of, and she wished so badly for it to never stop. She wouldn’t mind for time to stop now, for this to be her final moment, as long as she got to feel him kissing her back she would be fine, but of course life was more cruel than that.

With a tease of his tongue against Dae's lip, Baekhyun broke the kiss, after which he fell back with one arm spread to the side. He sighed loudly, his eyes still closed, and Dae had no clue as to what it meant. Was that a good sign, bad? Was this where it ended? Her one moment in life where she had been able to feel what it would be like to be loved by Baekhyun the way she loved him?

Had he felt anything at all during that kiss or had Dae been alone in it? Had she made things harder for herself by kissing him? God, it left her with so many new questions and with feeling more intense than ever before.

Because she knew now, no matter whether Baekhyun felt it too or not, she loved him. She loved him with all of her heart, loved his jokes and the way he laughed and his kisses. She loved it all, even his flaws, and her heart was so full of it that she had to close her eyes in order to stop herself from crying.

And this time, when Baekhyun called out her name to check if she was still awake, she didn't reply. She lay there, unmoving, scared that once she did her fairy tale would come to an end and the dream would shatter.

She was gone, head over heels without a way to turn back. And now, more than ever, her heart was on the line.

~

A/N: I could have written a hundred more scenes for their day here but it was already much too long so I kept it to these, because I love them too much. ^^