"I wanted to take you out somewhere fancy," Kyungsoo says, breaking the silence that stretched between them after a few moments. 

They're huddled very close at the foot of the small stairs connecting Kyungsoo's room and the back garden. He has his arm wrapped around her waist while her head sits comfortably at the crook of his shoulder. 

Straight from the airport, Wendy had rushed to his house where a fancy dinner had welcomed her -  it's for two ocassions - her birthday and the end of a successful run of Red Velvet's North America and Canada tour. 

"I like it here just fine." Wendy replies, looking at Kyungsoo's barefoot state. It makes her giggle inwardly. Kyungsoo has such pretty feet, so dainty, so clean. He's dressed for the occasion too - sans shoes - foregoing his usual black shirt and jeans combo for a cream-colored turtleneck and a pair of brown trousers. "Your brother baked me a cake. Your mom hugs me like I'm her own child. Your dad makes me laugh. And your cooking is on a par with any top chef. I really couldn't have asked for a restaurant setting, oppa. You and your family are enough to me."

"Isn't my baby a little mushy?" Kyungsoo teases, kissing the crown of her head. "We love you."

Something warm seeps into her body at the thought of such good-natured people loving and caring for her. It makes her think of her own family back in Canada, the ache of reunion and separation still feels fresh, but she is in Kyungsoo's arms and that's all that matters right now.

"I'm thinking about where to go on my vacation." Wendy says, reaching for his free hand and interlocking her own with it. "SM's given us ten days."

"How does Kyoto sound?" 

"Kyoto? I've never been."

"Me, either. It's one place in Japan I've always wanted to go. I'm thinking, maybe we should go together."

"Go with you?" She straightens herself and looks at him in the eyes. "I'm going alone, oppa."

"You don't want to travel with me?" Kyungsoo asks, tone mild,  the skin behind her ear. "That hurts, kid."

Wendy rubs the spot where he's touched it. "You know that we can't be seen together. Did you forget that you were spotted with Chanyeol in Japan."

"You forget Chanyeol's practically a giraffe." he intones. "That dude couldn't hide himself even if his life depended on it."

"It's risky, oppa." She replies, slightly pouting.

Kyungsoo adjusts the bridge of his eyeglasses. "It's less risky than home. It's March, there are fewer tourists during this month than any time of the year in Kyoto."

"It's not about the number of people, oppa." she mutters. "One hundred or two, it doesn't matter. All it takes is one person to recognize either of us and it will be the end of the world."

Sadness creeps upon Kyungsoo's handsome face, visible enough, despite the only source of light is coming from his room. It's gone in a flash.

"I'm being silly," Wendy breathes out, feeling the slightest of guilt. Kyungsoo's never reckless, this was not something he thought of impulsively. "We should go together, oppa."

Kyungsoo peers into her face. "What changed your mind?"

"I thought that I've been lonely for so long, always the one who gets left behind at the dorm during the holidays - and now, I am not. I have you." She takes his hand, again, their fingers interlacing smoothly. "I am going to spend this vacation with you."

Kyungsoo closes the remaining gap between them and captures into a kiss.

Kyoto in March is captivating, though Wendy thinks it's lovely, just the same, all year round. She can see why Kyungsoo would love this place - it's peaceful and quiet, and the air smells of cherry blossoms. 

The ryokan they'll be staying at for the duration of their quick vacation is like the city itself - a mix of tradition and modernity. They opted for a traditional Japanese inn, mutually agreeing hotel is where they stay at all the time when they go overseas and work is the last thing they want to be reminded of. The ryokan they checked into is on the luxurious side - they get to have their private en suite bathroom instead of a communal onsen in traditional ryokans.

"I feel like I'm in a Japanese drama," Wendy remarks, picking a piece of daifuku among a tray of assorted Japanese sweets laid out on the table and popping it into her eager mouth. Mmm, delicious!

Kyungsoo takes one, too, before commenting, "It's very nice here, isn't it?"

She nods. "I think we're going to have a great time, oppa."

The smile Kyungsoo gives her is full of promise.

The end of winter has begun in Kyoto so the weather is just the right amount of cold, at least that's how she feels. Kyungsoo's tucked in his Uniqlo fleece jacket and a Nike sweatshirt underneath for good measure - all in black, of course. Meanwhile, she's dressed in a green cardigan she's bought in Canada.

Their first stop for today is Fushimi Inari Taisha, an ancient shrine which sits at the base of Mount Inari. It's one of the easily recognizable spots in Kyoto, as a matter of fact, in whole of Japan.

"It's incredible," Kyungsoo remarks beside her, removing his face mask momentarily to enjoy the view.

She does the same. "It's even better in person."

Kyungsoo reaches for her hand and they venture towards the torii-gate covered hiking trail leading to the wooded forest of the sacred mountain.

It's still very earling in the morning and the rays of the sun filtering through the gaps between the lined toriis don't hurt.

"Oppa, shouldn't you put your mask back on?" 

Kyungsoo's eyes widened before nodding. "Right, I forgot, though there are barely people around - wait, what about you?"

"Um, I don't think I have to. No would recognize me here unlike you."

Kyungsoo slows down his pace and turns to her. "What are you talking about?" he asks, lips all pouty.

Wendy suppresses a giggle. "Your drama just started airing here, didn't it, oppa?"

"You were on an arena tour all over Japan," he says, grabbing her chin and putting on her mask for her. 

Kyungsoo's face is locked in concentration--his hands ever so gentle--he looks achingly handome this close and it makes the butterflies in her stomach flair up. He meets her eyes briefly and drags down the front of her mask and tucking it under her chin before giving her a fu