The car ride back to the hotel was quiet and awkward. Neither you nor Taemin spoke, though you were sure that you were both thinking about the same thing: the kiss, and the day that was just about to end. You kept your eyes straight on the road with your fingers hooked tightly around your rightful passport. You looked down at the legal document and flipped it open to your picture. You smirked a little seeing it; you hated posing with your hair tucked behind your ears, but it was a staple of passport photos.

Beside you, Taemin took a deep breath. You wondered how he was feeling at this moment. The transaction with the Jangs wasn’t nearly as awkward or difficult as either of you imagined it. They were a bit shocked being approached by two young people, one of them being famous idol, Lee Taemin. But they were understanding of the situation, and the passports were switched back easily. Now there was nothing left for you and Taemin to do but go back to the hotel.

And there was nothing more to keep you two together, either.

You blushed at the memory of his kiss. It still felt like a dream to you. Had his lips really been on yours just moments ago? Had his eyes really closed as he pressed his mouth to yours? Were your breaths and heartbeats really beating in sync at that magical moment? How did he really feel about you?

Taemin pulled into the hotel parking structure quietly. It was empty at this hour of the night, and he and you were able to walk back into the lobby safely. You were both in the elevator when you finally found the courage to speak up.

“Uh, Taemin?” you said, and you could see him becoming visibly uncomfortable. He probably already knew you were going to ask him. “About that kiss earlier…”

“Sorry,” he said quickly, and then shut his eyes in embarrassment. You widened your eyes at him.

“What do you mean?” you asked. “You can’t mean that you regret it, right?”

Taemin looked at you apologetically. “Of course not,” he said, and began to choose his words carefully. “Do… you regret it?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Do I regret kissing you?” you asked, and then smirked. “No.”

Taemin began to scratch his head. “I don’t regret it,” he said. “But now that I think of it, maybe it wasn’t the wisest thing to do.”

“Why not?” you asked.

“Well, because,” he said. “Because it was stupid of me to do that when we were so close to saying goodbye. And now everything will get harder.”

You took his words to heart. When you were dancing with him, it really felt like the moment would last forever: you in Taemin’s arms, spinning over the ocean on a moonlit night. But of course it had to end, and it was ending soon. He was right; Over the course of the day, your mission had been to find your passports. And you did find the passports. But you also found growing feelings along the way.

This was bad, you thought.

“How do you feel?” you suddenly asked, and Taemin widened his eyes in puzzlement. “About me, I mean. I know it’s embarrassing to answer, but I want to know that much about you before we really have to… say goodbye.”

Taemin gulped, finding himself unarmed and unprepared for such a question. But he looked at you and your curious eyes and there really was nothing else to say except the truth.

“While we were out, doing popular honeymoon activities and stuff, looking for the Jangs,” he said. “I started thinking about being an idol. Being famous, there’s a lot of people who would be willing to stand by me when I win awards or take my picture during events. But I don’t know many people like you who would come out and help me find something that I’ve lost.”

He put his hands into his pockets and continued: “I really think that it started right when we went to the botanical gardens. Being an idol for so long, it feels a lot like the line between who I am and who people want me to be is becoming blurred and I get lost in it. So while we were looking for my passport…”

He stopped and laughed a little. “It felt a lot like we were looking for me.” Taemin stopped and looked at you.

“That still doesn’t answer your question, does it?” he said. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that…”

He paused and blushed. “What I’m trying to say is that I like you… because I can be myself with you. When I’m with you, I can forget about everyone’s expectations and just be a boy.” He stopped and chuckled again. “Not exactly the flattering answer you were hoping for? In addition, you’re also incredibly pretty.”

You blushed deeply and looked away from him.

“But what now?” he asked, and your blush and smile diminished again. What now? That was the real question. What good was that kiss if you never thought of what would happen next? Kisses were no good by themselves. They must be given continuations or be left to dry out and disappear into the air. You guessed that perhaps those were your two options.

But what could you really hope for anyway? Taemin was idol and you were an ordinary girl and there was no way it could possibly work out and end well. Taemin was looking at you with a hopeful glint in his eyes and you took a deep breath. One of you would have to be the bigger person. So you chose to be it.

“Nothing,” you said. “Nothing happens now.”

You saw the light in his eyes dying. The elevator bell rang as you both reached your floor and you both stepped out. Taemin placed a hand on your shoulder before you could leave.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “What do you mean ‘nothing’?”

You shrugged. “We’ve only spent a day together anyway,” you said. “Hardly enough for us to be in love or anything. And you didn’t really think anything could become of this, did you? You’re an idol!”

“I’m just like everyone else, too,” he said, his brows twisted in such a way that wrenched your heart. “Why should that make a difference?”

You shrugged again. “I just mean,” you said. “That it’s easier this way. If we just think of it as a one-day fling or something and then part ways as friends. I mean, what are the chances that we’ll see each other again anyway?”

Taemin frowned and you thought you’d have given anything to see him smile again. But you sighed and pushed his hand off your shoulder. You felt sorry for him, you really did. But the more time you spent with him now, the harder it would be to leave in the morning. You slowly began to walk backwards toward your hotel room.

“Taemin,” you said softly and he looked up at you. “Just let it go. It’s easier this way, okay?”

Taemin pursed his lips.

“If we went on this way,” you continued. “We’d both be unhappy. So just pretend it didn’t happen, okay?”

At the last word, you felt yourself starting to choke up. No matter how you convinced yourself that pursuing a relationship with Taemin wasn’t the best choice, you still couldn’t deny that you had feelings for him. Even if they were the mere beginnings of a crush or love or something more, it was still something. And hiding your feelings never did good for anybody who’d ever started to feel in love.

Taemin looked like he was going to follow you, but he swiped your card and opened your hotel room. You were about to step inside when he spoke up:

“Goodnight,” he said softly. “And goodbye.”

You nodded once and closed the door behind you without looking at him again. You regretted the decision as soon as the lock clicked into place. The darkness that engulfed you reminded you that you were completely alone once again. On an island where love and friendship thrived, you knew that you had probably just shut out your chances at anything of the sort. You went to bed without bothering to change. You regretted that you hadn’t said “goodbye” in return.

The next morning, you were awakened by your teacher, and she announced that your group was now moving out to a neighboring island. She instructed you to get dressed, pack your things, and meet the rest of the group in the lobby in half an hour. As you got up to stretch, the memories of last night rushed back to you. You felt giddy at first remembering Taemin’s kiss, but you frowned remembering the understanding that lay between you two. With your bag packed and clothes changed, you began to follow the trail of girls down to the lobby.

Your group was there waiting for you, and you joined them even though you weren’t much in the mood for socializing. They started to fill you in on their field trip to the botanical gardens, and you smirked knowing that you hadn’t missed much at all. Their high-pitched voices were just dull sounds in your brain as your thoughts drifted back to Taemin.

You wondered what he was doing now, or whether he was already on the plane back home. The elevator bell rang once more and when the doors opened, the young idol stepped out with him film crew behind him.

He was smiling and handsome, talking animatedly with the film crew while the cameraman filmed his actions. Your heart hurt slightly seeing him so happy. Sure, you were the one who suggested that you both just go separate ways and pretend the adventure never happened, but you didn’t know he’d take it so seriously. You stared at him and so did the other girls. They whispered about him and tried to take pictures with their camera phones. The sound of their giggling caught Taemin’s attention.

He turned and looked at them with a smile and a bow, but when his eyes found yours, you saw his bright smile falter for a bit. Despite the grin, his eyes turned sad. You offered a small smile to comfort him.

This was it, your heart told you. This was going to be the very last time you ever met in a circumstance like this. Then, everything would have to go back to normal, back to the way it was before you ever lost your passport. The look in Taemin’s eyes told you that he was thinking the same thing.

The producer nudged him onward, and Miss Hong came back to the group and began to usher the group out separate exits. You turned away from Taemin, mouthing the words “goodbye” to him. Once he was out of your sight, the world seemed bleaker.

You had to get a grip on yourself and on reality. You began to convince yourself again that idols don’t go out with ordinary Plain Janes like you. They were busier and had other things to do, prettier girls to date. You were never really destined for a glittering life anyway. And maybe Taemin didn’t even really like you. And maybe –

“__-AH!” Taemin’s voice resonated through the entire lobby, causing every guest to stop what they were doing and turn to him and, after seeing where he was headed, made them look at you, too. You turned around to find Taemin running through the lobby straight toward you. His film crew was in hysterics trying to get his to stick to the script or otherwise slow down so they could film everything. Your eyes widened.

“What in the world do you think you’re – ” you started to say, but Taemin slowed down to catch his breath put up a hand to stop you.

“Hold on,” he said. “Now remember how last night in the halls you told me that we should just ignore each other and pretend we didn’t just go on that Jeju adventure yesterday?”

You were stunned, and behind you the girls were wondering what he was talking about. The film crew was filming your face and Taemin’s and you couldn’t find any words to say. Taemin smiled.

“Well, I was thinking about it and you’re right! Maybe if we did do all those things you said to do, we’d avoid being unhappy in the future! Right?”

Confused, you just nodded. Taemin put his hands on his hips.

“But then it just occurred to me,” he said. “That I’m unhappy now! And I don’t give a damn about what happens to me later on because there are steps I can take to change that. But given the way things are right now, there isn’t much I can do without you, you know what I mean?”

You widened your eyes at him. “Umm,” I said. “I guess?”

“Exactly!” Taemin said, gripping your shoulders and causing both your group, the film crew, and the other guests to drop their jaws and gasp seeing how close he was getting. Taemin ignored them and your blushing cheeks, He laughed and then continued.

“What I’m saying is,” he said. “Your idea sounded pretty good last night, but now that I’m turning it over in my head, __-ah, it’s decidedly crap.”

You guffawed at him. “Excuse me?”

Taemin laughed again. “You said that ignoring each other would be better for us, but it’s not. All this is doing is setting us up for heartbreak even more and what’s worse is that we’re feeling this way before we even give each other a chance! So I came up with a plan. And it’s better than yours. Wait ‘til you hear it.”

“Taemin – ” you whined in protest but he put a finger to your lips to silence you.

“I say we should go out,” he said proudly, causing some girls in your group to gasp in surprise. Or perhaps in jealousy. You looked around seeing everyone’s shocked expression, but when you looked back at Taemin, there was only confidence and happiness in his eyes as he gazed straight at you.

“Look,” he said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed you last night. But damnit, I really wanted to. And this is something that I really want to do, too! I want to go out with you. I mean, we’ve already been a practically-honeymoon, so dating is just the next step isn’t it?”

You couldn’t believe that he was announcing the fact that you went on a practically-honeymoon to a lobby full of people. And while filming a broadcast as well. And he also confessed to everyone that he’d kissed you. Taemin squeezed your shoulders again and took a deep breath.

“__-ah,” he said. “I know that it was only one day. But when you’re with someone special, one day is more than enough. It was more than enough for me. Maybe it wasn’t enough to make us fall in love or anything, but there is something that I did realize. I want to fall in love with you. And that’s only possible when we’re together.”

Taemin smiled again. “Date me, __-ah,” he said. “’Cause Jeju Island is a great place for popular dating activities.”

You could just feel how tense everyone in the crowd had become, but the only person you were paying attention to now was Taemin. His confidence was so palpable. You could feel how much he wanted this. Your heart was beating like a motor as he awaited your answer. You shrugged in reply, and just before Taemin could take it as a negative answer you smiled. And his heart burst and he impulsively leaned forward and kissed you again.

Your eyes were wide open at first and you could hear a girl behind you scream. But the feeling of his lips on yours called you back to him. So you threw everyone else’s opinions to the wind and returned his kiss. With a smile against your lips, the same wish went through your own mind. Maybe a day of popular honeymoon activities wasn’t enough to get you to fall in love. But maybe someday, you would. 

THE END

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading, everyone! I've appreciated your comments, and have had so much writing for you! Your support and enthusiasm is a huge part of what keeps me motivated :) I hope you've enjoyed reading about Taemin and his honeymoond adventures! 

Please check out my other stories as well!