[CONTENTID1]Chapter 26[/CONTENTID1] [CONTENTID2]Drowning in Denial[/CONTENTID2][CONTENTID3]

♫ You're like oxygen; when I drink you in, I can't breathe you out. Inside this intense agony, can't you see I'm dying away like this? ♫

Minah groaned and forced herself out of bed. The snooze button was calling out to her again, tempting her to press it for the third time, but she knew she had to get up.

She let her alarm continue as she changed into a white tee tucked into her high-waisted denim shorts, humming along with her alarm ringtone which was none other than SHINee's 'Love Like Oxygen'.

As she stuffed the last of her clothes into her suitcase, Taeyeon walked out of the washroom, fresh-faced and grinning. "Oh, you're finally awake!"

Minah stretched her arms up, trying to stay awake. "Yea, after three rounds of war between me and the snooze button."

Taeyeon laughed as she went over to her bed to fold the last of her clothes and pack them into her suitcase.

Even though Minah was half-awake, she noticed that for some reason Taeyeon seemed happier than usual. "Where did you go last night anyways?" Minah asked her. Yesterday, after Baekhyun walked her back to her cabin, she expected Taeyeon to be there already, but she wasn't. And Minah had fallen asleep before Taeyeon returned.

"Beachside," Taeyeon replied, easily zipping up her suitcase.

"Where did Sehun go then?" Minah asked, sitting on her own suitcase to force everything to fit.

"Beachside," Taeyeon smiled, dragging her bags to the door.

Minah nodded and exhaled as she succeeded in zipping up her suitcase.

Then it finally hit her.

Minah's eyes bulged and she screamed. "Wait, what!"

Taeyeon ignored her reaction as she stuffed all her makeup compacts into her purse. "Hey, did anything happen between you and Baekhyun?" she asked, changing the subject.

Minah was caught off guard by her question. She gulped as the memories of last night surfaced again.

***flashback***

Once they reached Minah's cabin, she turned to him and returned his blazer. "Thank you, oppa," she whispered, in case someone was sleeping inside.

"No problem," Baekhyun replied absentmindedly.

"Well..." Minah sent him a smile. "Goodnight, oppa."

However, as she turned to go in, Baekhyun called out to her again. "Wait, Minah."

She waited for him to speak, but instead, he walked right up to her and gently planted a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight."

With a shy smile, he turned around and jogged back down the path to go back to his own cabin.

Minah was left standing there in utter shock, wondering what just happened. She slowly turned around and after fumbling with the key for a while, she was able to unlock the door and go into her cabin.

She shut the door and leaned against it, staring at absolutely nothing. After a whole minute of silence, she lost it.

"AHHH! WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHAT...AND WHY DID HE...I MEAN—AHHH!"

Her heart was thumping like mad, so much that she could hear the blood pumping in her head. It was a good thing she was the only person in her cabin at the moment. "I must be dreaming."

***end of flashback***

"Uh..." Minah laughed awkwardly. "N-no."

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

Minah lied and nodded. "Why?"

Taeyeon merely smiled slyly and walked over to the washroom again. "Because Sehun confessed to me," she replied and shut the door.

"WHAT?" Minah jumped up from her seat, accidentally hitting her against the bottom of her bunk bed. "OWWW!"

Meanwhile, Baekhyun was freaking out about the kiss last night. He wanted to kill himself for doing it, but at the same time, a part of him was also happy that he finally mustered up the courage to do it. It was a bold move, and there was no way he could weasle out of it by brushing it off as a brotherly gesture.

He gained confidence because he believed that Minah really moved on from Luhan, but one side of him was still regretting his action from last night. He was worried Minah would feel awkward or burdened.

"Hyung, you've been sitting there murmuring to yourself for five minutes straight," Sehun spoke up, staring at his hyung peculiarly.

"And why are you so pink?" Chanyeol added, noticing the faint blush on Baekhyun's cheeks. "What the heck are you thinking about so early in the morning?"

"Ew, hyung!" Sehun cringed. "Don't tell me you're—"

"Yah!" Baekhyun exclaimed, embarrassed. "It's not like that, you erts."

"Then what is it?" Chanyeol asked. "And if you lie, we'll just go with our first assumption."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and looked away. "I...kissed...Minah..."

"WHAT?" the boys blurted.

C