The night passed by without any further commotion or unexpected accidents. By the time Baekhyun had woken up following the food coma from the previous day, he was welcomed by the pleasant silence and peace of his new home. Stretching out his limbs, Baekhyun kicked the covers off of himself and jumped out of his bed, feeling weirdly energetic and content with life.

Checking his phone, Baekhyun was surprised to see that he had woken up uncharacteristically early. Usually, if left to his own devices, he would most definitely sleep in until late and end up wasting a good part of the morning. However, as it was now, Naesae had not opened for business yet, meaning that Chinsun was most likely still at home, possibly curled up in her bed trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep.

With that image in mind, an adoring smile graced Baekhyun’s face, a strong sense of comfort welling up inside of him at the thought of having a dear one living just on the other side of the wall.

Suddenly, Baekhyun was reminded that there should be yet another human being residing within his home at the moment. Tiptoeing out of his room, Baekhyun craned his neck, expecting the comical sight of Sehun sleeping on a sofa that was way too small for him, only to find no hint of the male. Instead, the pillow and blanket that Chinsun had lent Sehun — since Baekhyun had no spare — were folded neatly and all creases on the sofa smoothened. Laying on top of the pillow was a small clay pot with a note tucked underneath.

Left at the crack of dawn to catch my flight to Japan.

I considered waking you up to say goodbye but couldn’t bring myself to.

Your sleeping face was just too adorable. ;p

From Sehun

P.S. You drooled.

Reading the note, Baekhyun instinctively wiped his mouth only to realise that it was pointless since the drool would have dried up by now. Then, eyeing the sealed jar, Baekhyun lightly poked it with his finger, confused as to what it might be. The only thing that he could be sure of was that it was left behind by Sehun, however the male had left no indication as to what the jar was for or what it may contain.

Deciding that just staring and poking at it was not going to get anything done, Baekhyun picked up the jar and twisted the lid open. Keeping the jar at an arm’s distance, Baekhyun waited anxiously for something to happen, but nothing did. Thus slowly bringing it closer to himself, he glanced inside to see if it was actually empty.

Suddenly, something popped out, almost knocking straight into Baekhyun’s eye. Jumping back in surprise, Baekhyun let out an ear-splitting scream while whacking the ‘thing’ away with his other hand. He had no idea what the ‘thing’ was and whether it was dangerous, but he was pretty certain that he could not afford another random attack on his eye.

The walls of the flat were pretty sturdy and good at blocking out noise, however Baekhyun’s scream was so intense that it had managed to travel through it all. Within moments, Chinsun had burst inside — as she knew the code to the flat — while wearing an apron and with a spatula in hand, signalling that she was in the middle of making breakfast.

Baekhyun did not dare say anything and simply pointed an accusing finger at the ‘thing’ that was now slithering on the ground without actually moving from its spot. Chinsun sighed in relief upon knowing that there was no evil spirit attacking the poor male. Carefully stepping closer towards the unidentified invader, Chinsun carefully poked at it with her spatula. Upon closer inspection, Baekhyun realised that it had the appearance of a sea cucumber, although its indigo glow indicated that it was not something that belonged to the human world.

“Where did this come from?” Chinsun asked suspiciously.

“It was in this sealed jar that Sehun left behind,” Baekhyun replied. “Along with this note.”

As Baekhyun was passing the note to Chinsun, he realised that there was something written on the other side and immediately pulled it back towards himself.

“By the way, I also found this little thing while I was in Busan. It’s definitely a spirit and since it looks like a sea cucumber I thought it might belong in Jeju. I’m sure Chinsun or Jongin will know what to do with it,” Baekhyun read out loud before looking up at Chinsun.

“Did you touch it?” Chinsun questioned while keeping her eyes on the sea cucumber.

“I whacked it away from me when it jumped out of the jar.”

A scary thought crossed Baekhyun’s mind in that moment. What if it was poisonous and Baekhyun had just bought a ticket to early death? However, Chinsun’s expression remained neutral, showing no signs of distress, so Baekhyun felt reassured that it probably was nothing too dangerous or life threatening.

“Maybe I should ban Sehun from visiting Busan ever again,” Chinsun mumbled to herself. “Or just ban him from coming to Jeju again. He just brings trouble.”

Baekhyun stifled a chuckle, though he mentally agreed. He was certain that if Jongin had been present, the grumpy male would have threatened to curse Sehun if he attempted to step one foot onto the island again.

“Give me the jar,” Chinsun sighed.

Using her spatula, Chinsun lifted the sea cucumber and slid it back inside jar, sealing it tightly so that it had no means of escaping. Shaking it around to confirm that there was no leakage, Chinsun stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans before turning her attention back to Baekhyun, a casual smile painted on her face.

“Let’s have breakfast, I’m making pancakes,” Chinsun hummed while tilting her head. “After we’ll go to the seafood market, but maybe you want to first…”

Her words faded as she waved her hands around area. Touching his own face, Baekhyun dashed towards the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Ignoring the horrible bed-head, Baekhyun’s eyes doubled in size upon seeing the stains of dry saliva decorating his lower jaw. Dropping down onto his knees, Baekhyun bumped his head against the sink, mumbling silent curses of embarrassment at being seen by Chinsun in such a state.

Hearing a soft giggle coming from the living room, Baekhyun the water faucet to drown out both Chinsun’s giggling and his own groans of frustration.

・・・

“I thought we were going to the sea food market?” Baekhyun frowned, noticing how Chinsun was taking a detour and leading him towards an isolated beach behind the cliffs.

“Got to return this little guy to the sea first,” Chinsun chirped, waving the jar around.

Careful to not step into the water, Chinsun lowered herself into a crouching position and unsealed the jar, tilting it so that the sea cucumber would slide right into the incoming wave. The sea cucumber fell in with a soft ‘plop’ sound and it squiggled around gleefully as it found itself back in its natural habit.

Baekhyun followed the glow of the sea cucumber as it swam further and further away from them, enchanted by how it danced around under the glistening sea water. It was a magical sight and if he did not know any better, he would have thought that there was fairy playing hide and seek with the waves.

Stuffing the jar back inside her pocket, Chinsun turned around with a satisfied smile. Stretching her back, she patted Baekhyun’s shoulders as she walked past him, heading straight for the lively sea food market located further down th