JiAh didn't think he was serious when he said he would take her to a meadow. But here they were. Sitting underneath the midnight blue sky. A fire was heavily lit in front of her as she watched the orange flames lit up the darkness. 

The cars were parked a few meters from the area, and a group of four tents stood in between the cars and them. Hoya said it would be a camping trip. She had never been camping before. 

All the guys were there. She wasn't sure why they all insisted on coming, but she had decided that it was nice having them there. There was a lot of randomness and silly moments. 

Right now they had stolen Kyungsan from her and dragged him into another game of theirs. She wasn't exactly sure how to play, but she knew Kyungsan was winning. Sungyeol's complaints were enough to confirm her of that. 

The scent of cooking meat flowed through the air as Woohyun worked his way with dinner. Apparently he was quite the chef. She could had never guessed this, but Sunggyu had warned her this was one of Woohyun's methods to getting girls. 

"Are you cold?" Hoya asked as he stepped next to her. He sat down on the chair that was beside her. He brought up the small blanket he had grabbed from the car just now and wrapped it around her.

"I'm fine." She assured, but it didn't matter what she said, he still wrapped the blanket tighter around her. He then settled into his chair. 

"Its nice here, isn't it." He stated. She nodded as she took in the beautiful scenery. It was so quiet here, so peaceful. She could see all the stars in the sky tonight, something she missed seeing. 

"Its beautiful." She replied as she tried warming up her hands. She brushed them closer to the flames. 

"Here." He exclaimed grabbing her hands and holding them in his palms. He brought her hands up and blew air into them while rubbing them, to keep them warm. 

"Why do you care so much." The words unconsciously fell off her tongue. JiAh bit back her tongue, not understanding why she said that. Her words came out harsh and cold. Hoya looked taken back for a second before a grin appeared on his face. 

"I just do, okay. I just care. You can't pick the people you care about, just like how you can't pick the people you love." 

JiAh furrowed her brows, confused, "But you don't love me." She stated, letting her eyes meet his. For a few short seconds she was captivated by his eyes. They were soft and warm, and welcoming. They were laced with care and tenderness. And the way he was looking at her was the kind that caused sparks to fly and fireworks to explode. And it clicked. 

"Oh." That was her response as she stared at him with widen eyes. She awkwardly looked away, letting her eyes wonder around the darkness. 

"Noona, come play." Kyungsan called towards them, breaking the thick tension that had grown between the two of them.

Using the given opportunity, JiAh leaped out of her seat and ran towards the group. Here was her dilemma; was she reading him wrong, or was the look in his eyes true.

"Yah, Lee Hoya are you going to help me or not!" Woohyun shouted, annoyed he got stuck cooking with no help.

--

"Noona, are you alright?" Kyungsan asked while they we're getting their things out of the car. The two of them were going to share a tent while the other boys separated themselves into the other tents.

"I'm fine." JiAh replied and realized that she had just lied to Kyungsan. Clearly she was not okay.

"Liar." He sneered towards her.

Changing the topic, she instructed him to go back. He obeyed her orders and carried some items back to their tent. A few extra blankets to keep them warm and an extra set of batteries for the flashlights.

JiAh closed the car door, her legs gave away causing her to slid down against the car. Curling around into a ball she held on to her knees tightly. She closed her eyes and let her head sink into her lap. Hoya's words replaying in her mind. Maybe she had just misinterpreted things, maybe she was looking to deeply into it. But judging from the look in his eyes, she doubted it.

She didn't realized how long she had been in that position until she felt a pair of arms caress her.

"JiAh, what's wrong." Hoya asked wearily as his arms tighten around her. She didn't look up, she didn't dare look at him.

"Nothing." She stated, her head still muffled in her arms. She felt Hoya shift, moving so he was sitting beside her. The two sat in the dark, their backs against the car.

"You know I never really wanted to be in this position again." Hoya commented after a long moment of silence.

JiAh brought her head up and stared at him, curiously, not understanding what he was talking about.

"It was at the orphanage, when the old Caretaker had just died. And there you were, drench in the coldness of winter in that red dress." He stated, he turned his head to face her and with a sad frown, he continued. "And the thing I remember most about that night were those eight words." He added. She stared at him, trying to recollect that memory.

Realization had finally doned upon her after staring at him for a good minute or so. "I don't think I can do this anymore." She repeated those eight words. Back then she didn't know the magnitude of her words and how much it could had impacted him.

"You were right. You can't do this." He stated, and his words silently tore her chest open.

He shifted, moving closer until he was inches from her face. She could feel his breath on her skin and feel his eyes pierce her. "But we can do this. Together." He affirmed. And somehow in the depths of the night, she realized he was correct.

"Together." She repeated. JiAh nibbled her lower lip, glad that he was with her.

--

When the two returned, no one else from the group noticed. They were too immense in whatever random conversation had been brought up. Even Kyungsan, she was toasting marshmallows, didn't notice.

They sat in the corner, away from every one else, but close enough to feel the warmth from the lit fire.

JiAh slowly leaned her head on his shoulder as a smile plaster itself on her face. She felt a flutter deep in her heart. A swirling of emotions that made her feel like she could explode in sunshine. She felt content feeling like this.

"About earlier...did you mean it?" She asked softly so only he could hear. Both knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Yes." He answered with no hesitation.

Hoya wasn't going to lie to her, he didn't want to. He just wanted her to know how he felt for her. Hoya had a difficult time telling people how he felt. JiAh was the same way, maybe this was why they fit together.

Sure, it was easy to say those three words to her, but it would mean nothing. Sometimes just saying it doesn't prove anything, showing it means a whole lot more. And he did. He redeemed himself in ways most people could never think was possible.

JiAh knew this, she knew about everything he had done, everything he had mended back together. And right now, all she knew was that she wanted to stay with him. She wanted to be with him. He was where she belong

"JiAh," He called her name.

"Yes."

"Are you happy?" He asked. This was his original promise from the beginning. The promise he never thought he could achieve.

She lifted her head from his shoulders and looked towards him, her eyes were like melted chocolate and he thought about how beautiful she was. She smiled at him before resting her head back down on his shoulder.

"I'm happy. I'm so happy I think my heart will burst open."

And that was all he needed to know, and so much more.









One more chapter left. Honestly I had a hard time ending this story, its just that feeling you get when you know the story is coming to a close. Thank you to all the readers and for the support.