When Kyungha wakes, her neck is stiff. She feels tiny hairs tickle the top of her forehead, and when she tilts her head up, she realizes Sehun is asleep.

The sky is still blue, and she also realizes that Jongin has switched with Baekhyun. She sneezes, which catches the attention of Haeeun who turns around to smile at her.

“Are you hungry? You slept through lunch, but you looked really exhausted so I didn’t want to wake ya’.” Now that she mentioned it, Kyungha was hungry. She felt her stomach rumble lowly. Haeeun chuckles. “Of course, you’d be. We picked up some chicken nuggets.” Kyungha sits up, letting Sehun’s head fall on her shoulders. She stretches her neck in the meantime.

Haeeun finishes rummaging through some bags and she hands over a box of twenty-piece nuggets.

Jungkook is conked out on the window, his DS opened. Kyungha smiles to herself, shutting off the device and safely putting it away in his bag. She pulls one of her plush throws from the back, tucking him under it.

Then, she settles into her box of little greasy but tasty morsels. To her dismay, she only gets a bite before it disappears from her hand. Kyungha’s jaw drops when she turns to see the man next to her munching on her stolen nugget. “,” she hisses.

Sehun chokes on a laugh. “Why can’t we share?”

“I didn’t say we couldn’t share. You almost bit off my finger!” Well, maybe she was exaggerating a bit, but the brush of his lips on her fingers was just as offensive. Plain disrespectful. Her thumb still tingles from the memory.

He holds a finger over his lips, shushing her. He points to a sleeping Jungkook. She shuts glumly. Ignoring him, she plucks another nugget, but again, it goes into his stomach.

Kyungha was this close from smacking him across the head. “Is there any sauce?” Sehun asks with a pristine look—as if he hadn’t been committing the most heinous crime AKA stealing her food.

“I don’t know, Oh Sehun. Why don’t you look for some if you aren’t too lazy about using your own hands?”

He ignores her sass. “Were you planning to eat chicken nuggets without sauce? What kind of person are you—a psychopath?”

She rolls her eyes, grabbing another nugget. And yep, he steals that one too. “You’re the ambassador of immaturity. God, you’re even worse than Taeyong,” she huffs. “At least he doesn’t steal my food,” she mutters under her breath.

What they didn’t realize was that Haeeun was watching their exchange the entire time. “Hoonie, let her eat for ’s sakes. My fist is itching to punch you right now. If Bae did that, he’d be dead in the back of my trunk.”

Sehun bats his eyelashes. “It’s tastier this way.”

Kyungha elbows him in the rib, and he jerks away from her, writhing in pain and shock from her betrayal. “That’s better,” she comments, dusting her hands. Then, she finally eats a whole nugget to herself.

Fireworks go off in . How delicious. Especially when some wasn’t eating all of it.

Eventually, she and Sehun hold a temporary truce as they share the box. She snorts in distaste when he gets ranch on his lips. Kyungha, without even thinking anymore, lifts her thumb to smear it away. She casually it off to Haeeun’s dismay.

“Did I really just witness that?” Haeeun asks her voice bordering on disbelief.

Sehun and Kyungha blink, having no idea what she was talking about.

Haeeun lets out an incredulous gargled noise. “She picked off the sauce on your lips and ate it. Like it was nothing.”

Sehun tilts his head. “Um—yeah?”

“That’s because he’s absolutely disgusting when he eats,” Kyungha reasons, not really getting why it was such a big deal. Sehun sends her a look, but she ignores him.

Haeeun scrunches her face. “I don’t know—I just think it’s kinda weird. Geez, how close have you both gotten? It’s like every time I see you both, you act more and more like a married couple.”

Soleil pops her head up next to her mom. “That’s because they are!” She squeals.

Kyungha chokes on her spit. “No, that’s never been the case,” she affirms.

Soleil shakes her head. “I just woke up from the best dream ever. Hoonie and Kyungie were married, and I got to play with their daughter. It was so fun!”

Her seemingly innocent reply is less amusing to Kyungha because for them to have a child, it meant ual . Her face reddens.

Sehun leans in closer. “Really? Was she pretty?”

Haeeun raises her eyebrows. “Was she pretty—who are you even kidding right now? You’re like 6 feet tall, and Kyungha’s—um—5’10? Your daughter would be a skyscraper.”

The man beside her chuckles. “You sound a little jealous there, buddy.”

“Of course! I’d kill to have longer legs.”

Soleil hums, “I don’t really remember, Hoonie. It’s a little fuzzy in my head.”

Kyungha shoots him an exasperated look. “Why do you even care?”

Sehun throws his hands up. “It was just a question, sweetheart. No need to get so defensive.”

Leave it up to him to make everything so minuscule. Haeeun laughs, sneaking a glance at the two. “You guys are so adorable—so unproblematic, unlike my relationship. When I first dated Bae again—sheesh, our honeymoon period lasted like a day before we were teeth to teeth.”

“I hate him though,” she says without batting an eye. Sehun’s lips twitch as he catches her lie.

But Haeeun doesn’t look convinced either. “I hated Byun Baek too, but look where it lead me. I have two adorable kids and a erted husband.”

“I heard that!” Baekhyun shouts from the driver’s seat.

She giggles before her voice turns harsh. “Focus on driving, not eavesdropping. If we crash the car, I’ll bring you back to life just to kill you again.”

Kyungha and Sehun startle at her duality. She definitely had the pants in the relationship. It was kind of impressive.

“Are we there yet?” Taeyong’s squeaky voice drones.

Haeeun looks like she’s in an intense fight to prevent herself from sticking her fist down his throat. “Another hour, baby boy.”

Taeyong whines, “you already said that!”

“A minute ago,” she adds, tone wavering on self-constraint.

Kyungha moves from her seat, leaning closer to the two. “Tae, if you don’t stop asking—“

“Are we there yet?”

She grabs his chubby cheeks, pulling it apart relentlessly. He screams, and Sehun lets out a loud wow there as he scrambles to pull her away from the younger.

“You’re going to rip his tissues off,” he scolds. Her fingers, that he pulled away from Taeyong’s cheeks, were now interlaced with his.

Kyungha shoots Taeyong a glare. “Consider yourself extremely lucky, you brat. I would’ve skinned you alive if it wasn’t for—“

Sehun cuts in again, “sweetheart, be nice.”

She takes a deep breath before continuing, “Tae, I already hate kids. Don’t make me hate them anymore.”

Taeyong juts out his lips in a pout. “Are you saying you hate me?”

Kyungha says, “yes,” as Sehun says, “no.”

His lips begin to tremble, eyes growing ever the more watery. Haeeun sighs, palming her face. Kyungha begins to feel the tiniest bit of guilt. Maybe she was being too harsh. Even with his smart mouth, he was still only four.

Sehun squeezes her fingers, eyeing her while mouthing the word, apologize.

Kyungha turns her head in defiance, but he squeezes again. She groans, finally dropping her gaze to the little boy. “I’m sorry. That was mean. I don’t hate you, Tae.”

He sniffles as big droplets run down his splotchy cheeks. “Do you love me?”

“That’s stretching it a bit,” she asserts with little kindness.

Sehun clears his throat, and Kyungha, annoyed, tries to rip her fingers from his, but as always, he has a steel grip. She gives up.

“Okay, sure, whatever floats your boat.”

Taeyong’s face lightens. “I love you too, noona.” For a sly kid, he was acting pretty naive. But no matter, Kyungha wasn’t that annoyed anymore. He was cute.

Haeeun grins at them, face bright. She sighs happily.

Kyungha wrinkles her nose. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. Don’t mind me while I watch you both act like newlyweds.”

“But we’re not.”

“Honey, seeing you denying this is even more entertaining than any of my TV shows could ever.”

Sehun shrugs, waggling his eyebrows like the little troll he was, “what can I say? I’m powerful.”

With everyone finding it funny, Kyungha simply facepalms herself with her other hand, the one that wasn’t being suffocated by his.

To her relief, the car finally stops at her mom’s place, a two-story cottage style home with oxford red brick, stone, cream-colored stucco, and dark stained wooden trims. She’d always loved visiting her mom.

Before Jongin’s career blew up, her mom had worked as an RN to support her two children. When Kyungha was younger, her mom took mostly overnight shifts because she ‘wanted to see her little girl grow up.’

Kyungsoo had been wanting their mom to retire since the beginning of time after he got a job out of university. He’d insisted that he could take care of Kyungha.

And finally, after numerous arguments, their mom caved and finally retired to a quaint place in a serene area off of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

She’d said that she had preferred living in a private neighborhood than one of the fancy beach houses that Jongin offered to buy her. Kyungha liked her mom’s place.

It felt like an escape from the busy, bustling life she was used to. The air was cleaner, and most importantly, there were fewer people. In the summer, this place would be filled with tourists, which was to be expected. However, she liked the fall here. The leaves would turn different shades of ochre and red, and the streets would be empty. It was a beautiful place, and it still is.

When she gets out of the van, her whole body feels much lighter. Her exhaustion completely melts away as she takes in a deep breath. She let the smell of the salty ocean and conifer trees fill her lungs.

In not even five minutes, her mom bursts out of her house with a beam. Kyungha instinctively rushes toward her mom, throwing an arm around the older woman. She sighs in content, melting into her hug. “Oh baby, I missed you so, so much.”

“Me too, mom.”

Kyungsoo smiles cheekily. “I told you, mom. The reason why she never called you was because she was afraid to completely lose it in front of you.”

Kyungha throws him a glare. “I do not cry.”

Their mom laughs, releasing her daughter and bringing Kyungsoo in for another tight hug. “Are you all hungry?”

A chorus of yes echoes in the driveway. Kyungha watches her mom clasp her hands together with excitement. After all, this was exactly her element.

Inside, the nine additional members have taken residence of every single square inch of the house.

Kyungha silently watches the scene unfold with her mom by her side. “I missed you, kids, you know? It’s so lonely not hearing the laughter and voices.”

Her lips draw together before she complains, “that’s only because you don’t have to live with them every day. If I hear Kyungsoo lecture me again about how I should be ashamed for having worse culinary skills than his son, I will personally stab my eardrums.”

“Oh, boy. My son. Always the nagger.”

“He talks too much.”

“So, that boy, Sehun—was it? He’s gotten so much taller than the last time I’ve seen him,” her mom comments, nudging her head in the direction of Sehun who is currently helping Soleil with her bags.

Kyungha doesn’t really feel like contributing to this conversation, but since she hasn’t seen her mom in such a long time, she decides to humor her. “You saw him during Kyungsoo’s wedding,” she comments.

Her mom clucks her tongue. “He’s a very handsome boy, okay? Whenever I see him, it’s like seeing him for the first time.”

She sticks out her tongue childishly. “Maybe you should marry him then.” She pauses, pondering for a minute. “Speaking of that, have you been seeing anyone?”

“Not really.”

“Mom.”

“Sweetie.”

“You should settle down or have some fun—whatever’s your cup of tea.”

Her mom avoids her eyes. “You’re starting to sound like your older brother.”

“Well, we came out of the same womb. It was bound to happen.”

“You’re such a smart-, Kyungie. No wonder I don’t live with you anymore.”

“Mom!”

Kyungsoo, Haeeun, and her mom occupy the kitchen as they begin cooking a massive dinner. Kyungha is busily looking for her things amidst the mess of luggage in the middle of the living room.

She scans the pile, looking for her dark blue suitcase. After a few minutes, she manages to tug it from under her brother’s suitcase.

“Let me help you with that,” a voice chirps from above her.

Kyungha holds out a palm. “No thanks, I got it.”

She’s beginning to think that Sehun has a problem with listening because her luggage is now in his hand. He ignores her pointed glare, nodding toward the staircase. “Where are we headin’?”

With mild reluctance, she leads him to her mom’s room. Kyungha had her own room, of course, but due to the shortage of rooms, she decided to room with her mom.

Her mom’s place had five bedrooms, but with the couples sharing a room, that already deducted two rooms. Then, the kids were going to share a room as well so that was another. And with Sehun, there were no more rooms left after he took the last one.

Kyungha didn’t really mind either way. She’d missed her mom.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay in your room, sweetheart?” He asks her for the millionth time.

“Yes, I’m sure. There’s no need for you to sleep on the couch,” she insists.

He becomes silent, following her through the hallway. She points to the closet where he moves to drop off her things. Kyungha really only brought a few clothes and mainly toiletries. In the past summers, she’d always came to stay with her mom, so she left her clothes behind. With Jongin constantly spoiling the entire family with clothes and other items, her closet was always full. This way, it was more efficient to travel.

She feels the need to explain to him that she was going to be in and out of his room to avoid any “walking-in” situations.

Sehun tells her he doesn’t really care either way, but Kyungha was serious.

“You know what’s really surprising?” Sehun implores when she closes her mom’s bedroom door behind them.

She stops to tilt her head. “Hm?”

“In the beginning, I thought you were a really cranky teenager—kind of stuck up, but strangely endearing—“

“Is this going somewhere?”

The corner of his lips quirks up. “Yes, I’m getting there. Erm—where was I—ah, you’re like a coldhearted princess. So completely cold like a stiff block of ice, but—“ He pauses to send her a considerate smile, a smile that unfortunately plucks her heartstrings. “—in front of certain people, you’re so gentle that sometimes I think, ‘huh? Is this really the same girl?’”

Kyungha scoffs, squirming at his unexpected monologue, “and your point is?”

“My point is that there’s more to you than what’s on the outside. What you told me about boys not liking you—they’re complete idiots for not attempting to see this side of you.”

And there it is. His appreciation. It’s everywhere. In his eyes, in a certain way he smiles at her, in his—everything, everywhere. An appreciation dedicated to her. She’d only seen it once, but every time, he’d made her feel weightless. Different. Appreciated. Special.

They may seem like pretty words to an outsider, but if she were to compare them to gems, they were on the same pedestal as ores. A hundred percent pure and a hundred percent priceless.

Her cheeks flush, pulse tripping in her veins. “Are you high?” It was the only thing she knew how to say without safely revealing her inner turmoil. Hell, it was the only way she knew how to retaliate. If it wasn’t for her wit, she didn’t know where she would be. Probably wrapped under Sehun’s proverbial heart. She shudders.

Sehun shakes his head with his usual amused expression. “No, but I am starving.”

Kyungha points to the stairs. “Ladies first.”

He struts ahead, giving her an eyeful of shaking that she certainly didn’t ask for. The hint of a smile falls on her lips.

Cute.

But then, she’s suddenly horrified by that notion.

After eating, everyone decides to settle in the living room with ice cream sundaes and even a banana split at the persistence of Taeyong.

Her mom had retired to bed, telling them that she had grown quite tired already.

Now, Kyungha was sandwiched between Jungkook and Sehun with Soleil on his lap. On the far end of the couch, Jongin was lying on her older brother’s lap. Next, Haeeun and Baekhyun were curled up on her mom’s oversized armchair. Taeyong was currently standing in the middle of all of them.

They had pushed the coffee table aside to make space for a game of charades.

Taeyong had drawn his lips tight together to prevent himself from making a tiny slip of noise. Soleil keeps spouting out random answers, overshadowing Kyungsoo who is attempting to make actual, intelligible guesses.

Kyungha squints her eyes, watching Taeyong roll his eyes in exasperation as he mouths for his older sister to shut up.

Jungkook finally says, “you’re a horse!”

Taeyong jumps a few inches off the ground with energy. “Oh, finally! I thought I was going to be stuck here forever.”

Soleil whines, “I said unicorn earlier! I was pretty close, Tae.”

He proceeds to mock his sister, throwing in, “well, did you see any horns? No, I think not. Now talk to the hand.”

Haeeun shoots her son a warning look as Baekhyun scolds, “yah, if you make your sister cry, your is going to stay glued to this place. No beach for you.”

Taeyong throws his hands up. “Come on! Why are you always so mean to me? I’m the baby here!”

Kyungha’s eyes gleam with opportunity. “Why, because you’re the biggest brat out of everyone here? It’s a good guess, don’t you think?”

Sehun elbows her. “Don’t listen to her, Tae. You’re perfectly fine the way you are.”

Soleil turns her face in distaste. “Hoonie, your opinion doesn’t count.”

He gasps theatrically, “what? Why not?”

Kyungha chides, “because you pretty much think every child in the world is a saint.”

Kyungsoo ponders, “but they are. Little Tae, here, is rough around the edges, but I think he’s the cutest.” Taeyong bounces on heels over to her older brother. She watches him sidle close to the couple who gladly put their arms around him.

Sehun leans into Kyungha’s ear when Jungkook jumps off of the couch to stand in the center for his turn, “same goes for you, sweetheart. Your presence is immaculate.”

She objects to his pretty words, “will you stop it?”

“What? I’m just saying.”

“And there’s really no reason for you to keep ‘saying,’ is there?”

“As long as you’re around, my lips will remain open.”

“Then, I’ll just have to shut you up.”

He pauses tentatively. “And how will you do that?” His eyes unabashedly flit to her lips, and she rolls her eyes in response. With her fingers, she pinches his lips close, tugging them away from his face.

“ert,” she surmises, watching as he bends over a clueless Soleil, still shouting out random answers, with pained movements.

Sehun regains his composure and moves even closer to her. “You want ert? I’ll give you ert.” Kyungha suddenly has a bad feeling where this was going. “Oh, sweetheart.” His breath grows heavy when it blows past the shell of her ears. “I love how rough you’re being with me. Really gets my blood flowing, if you know what I mean.”

Kyungha chokes on her spit, gathering the concerned eyes of innocent individuals. “Are you okay, Kyungie? Do you want some water?” Kyungsoo questions.

She shakes her head, holding out a hand. “F-fine. I’m fine.”

Sehun laughs quietly, and then says again in a hushed tone, “you sure about that? You’re looking a little red there,” so only she could hear.

She shivers at his wet, sticky words, hoping he couldn’t hear how thunderously loud he’d just made her heart beat against her ribs. But it wasn’t the confusion that bothered her the most. It was the fact that she’d considered it that terrified her because, in the end, Kyungha wanted him too.