Gayoung and Soojung had fallen asleep hours ago, but Eunbin couldn’t find herself to plunge deep into her dreamland like them.

It probably had to do with Baekhyun.

She dragged both of her palms across her face. It wasn’t just Baekhyun as a person had rattled her, but that he called her by her first name tonight.

Eunbin had been shocked. They didn’t even engage in any conversation, so she couldn’t think that she had done anything which made the man had to call her by her first name, and not ‘Park’. She bristled that Baekhyun still had his power on her, but habit died hard when it had been more than a century.

Baekhyun started to call her ‘Park’ since he was seven while Eunbin was five. He picked that up when he saw his father called his best friend like that, so he wanted to do the same with Eunbin too. For a few occasions, like when she was being too naughty or did something wrong, he would call her by her first name, indicating that he was being serious and would want her to start listen to him properly.

It stuck since then. Her mind and body would shut off instantly and only focused at Baekhyun when he called her ‘Eunbin’ rather than ‘Park’.

But Baekhyun was being so casual just now when he called her. It was like he was just calling her because, well, that was her name. He had been quiet with her for the dinner, and only started to try to get her attention after he asked her to pass the coke.

Every single time, he didn’t forget to call her name. Every single time, Eunbin would suppress the shudder which threatened to come up.

When he bid goodbye to everyone, it was just simply ‘bye’ with them. But when his eyes stopped at her, it was, “Goodbye, Eunbin.”

Curse you, Byun Baekhyun.

Gradually, her eyelids got heavier. The last thought before she finally fell asleep—she was relieved that Baekhyun had asked Chanyeol to carry drunk Jennie home instead of him. She was so sure that it would be his task later, but she was glad that she was wrong.

Despite being the last person who fell asleep, Eunbin was the first person who awoke. Several times she tried to close her eyes and drift back to the dreamland, but her mind wouldn’t reach there. She grabbed her phone and squinted at her screen.

It was just six freaking o’clock in the morning.

She pushed her body up with her palm against the mattress and looked out at the window. The sky looked lovely enough that she climbed off her bed. Eunbin didn’t forget her jacket as she left the room. Sagwa had awoken too and quickly came next to her at her appearance. She smiled and greeted the girl a scratch at the head.

Eunbin descended from the stairs and found the first floor had no signs of the living. She figured because it was still so damn early. She came out from the house. She took a couple of steps before inhaling the clear air without the pollution of the city deep. She yawned but it wasn’t like she wanted to crawl back into her bed.

She looked far to the horizon. At the place where it seemed like the sky met the sea, sun broke out from there. It brought out its mighty red and orange glow, afterwards it was the color of green and blue. Came the sun and the darkness cowered from the shine and disappeared in a slow blink. It was so beautiful that it took Eunbin’s breath away. Indeed, she had seen tons of this in pictures, paintings, screens, but it could never beat the real deal.

“Enjoy the view?”

Eunbin whipped her head toward where Baekhyun was standing on Jennie’s beach house’s porch. He also looked like just fresh out of the bed with his unkempt hair and wrinkle t-shirt, but a cup of coffee was already in his hand.

How long had he been standing there?

Baekhyun turned to her way and flashed her a smile way too bright for the morning even though she had just witnessed a sunrise.

“Morning, Eunbin,” he greeted.

Eunbin’s body vibrated and she swore it wasn’t because of the chilly air.

Baekhyun seemed to wait for something. He chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her. He said, “What? I don’t get a greeting back?” He twisted his face into a sad frown and pouted as his free hand came up to his chest. “I’m hurt, Eunbin,” he finished.

She wanted to comment that he was touching his right chest when his heart was on the left side, but instead this came out of , “Why?”

A fake sad frown turned into a confused one now.

“Why what?”

“You keep calling me by my first name. Why? Did I do something?” she said through gritted teeth.

Something glinted across his eyes. An easy smile splayed across his face. “You did nothing,” he simply answered.

“Then stop calling me by my first name.” She didn’t even realize that her tone was pleading.

Baekhyun turned and his whole body was facing her right now. He stepped forward until the railing touched his stomach. He carefully put down his mug before his eyes focused back on Eunbin.

He said, “Your name is Eunbin. I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

Eunbin also stepped over until the railing stopped her from getting closer. A good few feet put a distance between them. Her hold on the wood tightened.

“I know my name is Eunbin, but you call me ‘Park’, not ‘Eunbin’. Never that, unless…” she didn’t bother to continue. She let it hang in the air as she knew the two understood it without the need for her to finish the sentence.

When they first met again, she had loathed how Baekhyun called her by his usual nickname for her. But now that he called her not by that nickname, she had goosebumps.

“Do you still remember why I call you ‘Park’?” Baekhyun threw a question at her instead of answering.

At her nodded head, he continued, “Park… is the nickname I gave you because you were my best friend. Park is the nickname I gave to five-year-old Park Eunbin who wouldn’t stop bothering me and was my little sister. Park was my girlfriend when I was still in high school.”

Eunbin took note of the past tense he used. Her grips tightened more until her knuckles went white.

Gently, his bangs went left and right from the motion of his shaking head. His voice was soft yet clear, “But you’re not ‘Park’ anymore, Eunbin. I’ve noticed that from the first time I saw you back at the gathering, but I hung on stupidly because... it’s easier to talk to you when I still insist to let myself see you as that little girl back at Bucheon.”

The young woman before him now was almost like a whole other person he knew from his hometown. She wasn’t Park who was pure, bubbly, yet insecure and timid he knew anymore. He had understood this when they talked more that time they both went home for the Golden Week holiday, but he never fully accepted it.

Again and again, Eunbin herself had repeated that she was no longer the little sister he knew, but he wouldn’t get it inside his head. Baekhyun was too stubborn and a coward. He wanted a connection back with Eunbin so bad that he refused to see the beautifully-grown woman before him. He clung to the past as an excuse. He clung to Park, when Park was already no more.

He said he wanted Park back, but the girl was long gone already, which was why he would never get her back. But in reality, all this time, he had wanted Eunbin. He had realized it at that night when he confessed his true feelings to her. Eunbin fascinated him. Those deep and sharp big eyes rattled him. Her body and curves were like a sculpture Baekhyun would like to study. And the other thing he would like to study was her mind.

He knew how much more mature she had grown in the past few years. From her fashion style, the way she spoke and the crowd she let to surround her… All of this was Eunbin, and not Park.

After so tired thinking what Baekhyun should do to get close to her, he finally broke the wall he had been hiding behind. He couldn’t pursue Eunbin if he kept holding onto Park’s shadow. So, he let go of Park—his childhood, his past.

For a man who was pretty known to always look forward, Baekhyun was stuck with the past when it came to Park Eunbin. But he was also a man who was a great pretender, as Jongin ever once said…

Eunbin’s eyes flashed with confusion. She blinked as she went silent. Then she said, “I don’t understand…”

Because Baekhyun had said it as if Park and Eunbin were two different people, but she was she.

“You don’t have to. Just know that starting from now on, I’m calling you by your first name.” He smiled, showing his pearly white teeth. The calmness and cheeriness in his stance and tone unnerved Eunbin. “So, you better get used to it… Eunbin,” he ended.

Another shudder.

Chanyeol’s gruff shout for Baekhyun was heard to the both of them that they turned to the direction at the same time. Baekhyun took it as his cue to leave Eunbin. He was sure that the woman had to be so disoriented right now as she couldn’t grasp his meaning.

No matter. Eunbin was a smart woman. As time went by, she would understand and Baekhyun would be there to make her understand.

He wasn’t giving up. He had just fueled his tank and this was just the beginning.

“I’ll see you later, Eunbin.”

Baekhyun noticed the way Eunbin swallowed before he faced away from her.

As long as he still affected her, he still had chance.

Screw Baekhyun. Screw Jackson. Screw Jennie who had a beach house next to Jackson’s. Screw Jackson who thought it was a splendid idea to spend time together.

“The more, the merrier!” the man had cheered.

Screw Baekhyun again who looked illegally handsome in his pants, ed shirt, and sunglasses.

That annoying man truly had been working out. Eunbin almost dropped her jaw when she saw the muscles on his stomach. She didn’t, but Baekhyun still caught her staring and even flashed her a smirk.

Eunbin flinched back when she saw someone almost shove sunglasses into her face. She turned to fine it was actually Soojung and she looked amused.

“What is this?” She looked down at the sunglasses again.

“Thought you need this to hide that look,” Soojung said.

Eunbin scowled at her friend. “What look?”

Soojung chuckled before she answered, “That look as if you want to jump on Baekhyun.”

Eunbin could feel the heat rising from her neck to her face and to the end tips of her ears. Seeing her flushed face made Soojung literally laugh in her face.

Soojung loved the sun. Soojung loved to wear bikini. Soojung loved the sand under her feet. But she hated the water.

Her laugh abruptly changed into a shrilling squeal, “Park Eunbin! You ing let go of me now!”

Soojung was taken off guard when she was suddenly pulled, to her horror, to the sea. She saw the mischievous glint in Eunbin’s eyes as she stared to behind her shoulder while she struggled to let go of her grip. Soojung took a glimpse back and saw Jackson was running towards them with a wicked grin on.

“Jackson! I swear to—“ It was cut off and ended with her shout instead when Jackson slipped an arm around her shoulders while the other into the back of her knees.

Jackson’s free laugh ran wild on the air, running to the sea with Soojung in his arms. Eunbin followed closely behind him, grinning widely, totally forgetting about Baekhyun for the moment.

Baekhyun watched them and a smile unconsciously appeared adorning his face. Well, his eyes were more directing at Eunbin rather than her two other friends.

“Baekhyun, you coming?”

He turned to Jongin and saw that their other friends were already running to the water. At Jongin’s question, he shook his head and waved his hand to shoo him.

“Maybe later.”

Jongin shrugged. “Alright.”

Baekhyun caught Jongin was trying to shove his sunblock inside Jennie’s tote bag.

He shouted, “Hey, give me that.”

Jongin threw it to his way and Baekhyun gracefully caught the little bottle. After that, Jongin was already running to their friends too. As Baekhyun was busy applying sunblock in his body, he spotted Eunbin was already making her way to the spot where they laid their towels and stuffs.

Eunbin pointedly ignored his stare. She dropped her wet a couple of feet away from Baekhyun.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Done playing?”

The only respond he got from Eunbin was a grunt.

She took her towel and wiped the remaining droplets on her skin. When the fabric brushed against the outer part of her upper arm, it felt sting. Eunbin winced and hissed immediately, turning her arm to see what it was.

“Hey, you have a scratch,” said Baekhyun.

She startled. She didn’t even notice when the man moved and had already appeared kneeling next to her, gently touching her arm while examinin