The rest of the date flew by in a blur. Taemin enjoyed himself and followed his instincts. Being gentlemanly and considerate of Naeun’s feelings he made many silly jokes that he was surprised that she actually found funny. None of the other hyungs ever sincerely laughed at his jokes. He felt more and more comfortable as time passed. And when they arrived at the beach, with the moon dazzling, and the weather nice, he felt a little romantic walking side by side with Naeun.

“I’m kind of shy to say this..” he starts.
She looks at him curiously.

“It feels nice walking side by side with you... um. It’s actually my first time.”
“Me too.” they both laugh in embarrassment.
They continue walking down the beach, feeling the sea breeze on their skin, and the moon’s light on their faces. 

Taemin decides to stop and sit with her for a while, fetching a towel from the building nearby, and gently gestures her to sit on the towel to not get any sand on her. She sits first, and without thinking, he sits right next to her. The sudden proximity makes him smile. Being so close to a girl is a new thing for him. He quickly notices a few things he couldn’t see before. He inhaled her sweet rose scented perfume, a scent fitting for a girl as feminine as her, he notes. The way her long lashes flutter when she blinks, the way she twists and twists her ring on her index finger. She’s embarrassed too, he thinks.

“Did you enjoy our date today?”

“Yes, I had a lot of fun. What about you? What was your favorite part?” she asks.

“Wait...” he starts laughing “I thought you said something else..”

“What..?”  she says in confusion.

“I thought you said ‘did you want to hug me?’” 

She hits him playfully.
“What is that!?” she laughs.

“You asked me so suddenly, I was shocked!” he teases.

“No!! I said, ‘what was your favorite part’.”

“Oh~~ Well, I guess just being with you has been enjoyable.” He smiles.

They burst out laughing. These things Taemin says to Naeun would normally make Naeun squirm but when he says it...
“No but honestly. I like how friendly we are with each other now. We’ve laughed a lot today. I like this moment right now the best.”
Naeun blushes at this confession. She too is enjoying him right now. She sneaks a glance over at him and notices his smile. It’s full of joy and sincerity. He really means these words, she thinks.
He suddenly gets up.
“Let’s run into the ocean!”
They both run toward the ocean, but he stops short of the water, allowing Naeun to be the only one getting splashed. When she realizes she’s the only one who got wet, she pushes him into the water. Now they both stand in wet shoes, laughing and play-fighting with each other, even throwing bits of sand at one another. They take their shoes off and walk along the beach together, for a moment forgetting about the camera and the crew and enjoying each other.
After a while the producers snap them out of their little dream and tell them to head back to shore, disappointing the both of them.
Worried about ruining the ambiance, Taemin pulls out his phone and plays a mid-tempo song and lightheartedly sings along to Naeun. Naeun feels her heart skip for a second. Was this real? Or was this for the cameras?

“Okay guys, that’s it for today.” one of the producers says, interrupting Naeun’s train of thought.
She quickly gets up and without looking at Taemin says,
“Good job today. See you in two weeks.”
“Oh. Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. See you in two weeks.”

This emotionless good-bye startles him. After this entire day... not even a handshake? A high-five? The high he was on from the date, suddenly deflates. 

They part and head into different cars. He quickly takes his phone out and finds 19 text messages from all of the hyungs.