My company had rented out an entire resort for my entire crew and staff. The first day passed by like a blur- we spent the entire day playing in the clear blue waters, building sandcastles, finding sea shells, and having water fights. At night we had a campfire to celebrate our hard work, complete with roasting smoores.

I woke up the next morning feeling lighter than ever. My whole body had relaxed, my mind was at peace, and I was completely relaxed after months of hard work. When I waltzed downstairs to the main hall to eat breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised by a delicious meal of simple pancakes, eggs, yogurt, and muffins. Simplicity was good.

Once everyone had gathered, my manager announced that we were going to play a scavenger game around the resort. The winner was awarded with lavish gift card provided by the president. The sheets were handed out and the instructions were simple- take a picture of everything on the list, and if it was an action, we had to record it.

“Be back at 1:00 sharp!” With that, we started.

I grabbed a map of the resort off the welcome table on my way out of the building. The first couple things were really random- find a mushroom, stand next to green paint, find a fake plant, find a resort worker, find a sandcastle, find a sea shell, find a sea creature…

The beach was my first destination. Three things checked off my list, and only fifteen minutes had passed. As I circled around the campus, checking things off, I ended up back at the starting point again. Right as I was leaving, a black van pulled up to the curb and stopped. No one got out. I pursed my lips together as I continued watching it, suspicion rising in me. I wasn’t going to leave unless it was a safe vehicle.

My manager hurried out of the main hotel and spoke with the driver. He noticed me and waved cheerfully, so I figured he had everything under control. I left to continue the game.

1:00 rolled around pretty fast and soon, once again, everyone was gathered in the lobby. My stylist and a backup dancer won the game, and they both received $500 gift cards.

“And lunch time!” My manager was super chipper. “While y’all were out, some helpers arrived and helped me prepare a yummy lunch! Please have a seat while we start serving the meal.”

The lunches began arriving on platters and were placed in front of everyone’s seat. Strangely the seat to my right was purposely empty, since my manager had given us seating arrangements. When everyone had been served, my manager returned to the front of the room and smiled. “Let me introduce our helpers! They just flew in from Korea, and are super happy to be here. Everybody, give it up for… UKISS!”

I froze and stared as the UKISS members filed into the room. My eyes lingered on the last member to enter the room. Where was Eli? I was so confused.

Finally he entered the room with a sheepish grin. “Hello!”

A huge smile formed on my face as I tackled him down in a tight hug. He returned the favor by lifting me up and spinning me around in a circle. I didn’t care about the others watching- everyone here knew that I was both Christina and Xina; I had informed the UKISS members about my other stage name before I left Korea.

I tugged him back to our seats with my hand entwined in his. Lunch finally started and everyone was happily chatting with each other. Eli and I participated in the lively conversation, having silently already decided to catch up in person later. His large, warm hand rested on my thigh as we devoured our food. Soon we were moving onto the next planned event.

Lee, which was the new name my manager insisted others calling him by, stood before the group with a pleased smirk plastered on his face. “Our next event is a couple game! We’ll be picking partners with a shirt shuffle. I made sure that there would be one man for every woman, but unfortunately we will end up with two men together. All men had been asked to prepare a shirt in the style they prefer and the girls will choose a shirt from the selection. The girl will partner with the man who provided the piece of stylish clothing, okay? Once you find your partner, the man will piggyback ride the girl to the car, and we will be transported to our next location about ten minutes away. From there keep your cell phones near you because I will be sending y’all the missions via texts. The first two couples to complete all missions wins a free plane ticket to the Bahamas and a free 7-day stay at one of their best beach resorts. This, again, has been provided to you by your wonderful president.”

He paused to make sure we were following him. “Now, ladies, please enter that room and choose the shirt that best suits your style.”

We followed his orders. When I saw the shirts, a frown formed on my face. None of them were specifically Eli’s style. Hmm… Did he purposely pick a neutral shirt to throw me off?

Well, two can play at this game. I eyed the last shirt in the row and Chris, one of my backup dancers, popped into my head. This was definitely his shirt. I held it out to Jennifer, another backup dancer, who was good friends with Chris. They totally have a thing for each other; they just needed that extra push. She accepted the shirt with a small blush spreading across her face as she also recognized the owner of the shirt. Slowly all the shirts were being claimed.

A simple white boyfriend shirt, made of a soft material, was sitting all by its lonesome self on the table. Holding it up with a smile on my face, I quickly changed in the restroom and returned to the previous meeting room where the guys were waiting with anxious hearts. I watched as a smile flitted across Eli’s face while Dongho’s mouth dropped open.

AJ nodded his head slowly and started clapping. “Congratulations. Y’all are meant to be.”

Eli took his time to stand up and even stretched a bit before striding over toward me. “Well, I can’t help that my girlfriend understands me so well. Yup, can’t help it. Let’s go!” He slipped his hand in mine and pulled me away. Even though everyone already knew Eli was my boyfriend, I couldn’t help but blush as I waved goodbye to the other girls. A warm feeling settled in me as I followed Eli’s lead- something about him taking charge by pulling me away was very attractive.

A white sedan was waiting for us and Eli, like a gentleman, graciously opened my door for me. I thanked him and slid into the leather seats while he shut my door and entered from the other side.

“Man, I want to eat pizza rice,” I pouted. “It’s so yummy!”

“I’ve never had it before,” Eli noted.

“I’ll make it for you one day!” I fiddled with my phone while thinking about cooking for my boyfriend. I was happy- being with Eli was such an amazing feeling.

“Y’all are a cute couple,” the driver noted.

“Really?” I asked eagerly.

Eli looked over at me. “We do,” he confirmed.

Soon we arrived at our first location. I gasped when I stepped out of the car.

Eli and I were greeted with a gorgeous sight of an endless field of tall grass, with a trail leading up to a hill that overlooked the surrounding area.

Hand in hand, we meandered up the trail, enjoying our date.

“It’s so beautiful here,” I breathed.

“Not as beautiful as you,” Eli winked. I laughed and swatted at him playfully.

Once we reached the top, both of our cell phones rang and we huddled together to watch the video that was to be our first mission. Nervous laughter tumbled out of us as we watched a famous clip from Secret Garden when the male lead hugs the female lead from the back and they walk together like that.

“Let’s do the mission while walking around the circle,” Eli suggested. I nodded in agreement.

We continued for a little while hand in hand, but soon Eli paused behind me and I felt his hands slowly wrap around me from behind.

Suddenly I felt his breath beside my ear and I froze. “I like this mission,” he said softly. “I even forgot that a staff was trailing us to check on our mission status.”

“You like this mission because you love skinship,” I rolled my eyes.

“You like this mission, too. Admit it.” He rested his chin on the top of my head.

I couldn’t argue against that.