THANK YOU // DEX ✔️

15.

Siyoung woke up in her bed. It was six in the morning – the photoshoot was scheduled for the afternoon. She couldn't remember how she got there, but she realized it had something to do with Jinyoung, who had been with her on the couch in the evening. She must have fallen asleep again from exhaustion after a long crying session. She wanted to slap herself for behaving like this in front of Jinyoung. Besides Jiwon, no one had ever seen her in such states, and even Jiwon had only seen her like that twice, and that was because she always appeared by chance. She didn't want to seem weak. Like someone who couldn't get her own life together. She didn't want to be a burden.

And now she felt like that. Especially when she walked into the living room and saw Jinyoung sleeping on the couch. Without a proper pillow, without a blanket. He just lay there, his head on a small green cushion, peacefully breathing. He looked so innocent, but Siyoung knew that there was a possibility that if she approached him, he might react suddenly. Isn't that what soldiers learn? They're always on alert, even while sleeping. Despite that, she took the risk. She grabbed a blanket from the closet near the entrance and slowly and quietly draped it over Jinyoung. He immediately grabbed one corner and curled up under it. If she didn't leave her phone on the bed, she would've probably taken a picture of him.

Then she let him be. She took a quick shower, lasting about three minutes because she couldn't stand long showers. Dressed, with a turban on her head to dry her wet hair, she tried to prepare breakfast as quietly as possible in the kitchen.

If someone had seen her like this just a few hours after her breakdown, they might have thought they were seeing things. But this was exactly how Siyoung was behaving. She had always been like this. She would have breakdown in the evening, and the next day, she would function as if nothing had happened. And now, she was embarrassed because someone had truly seen her like that. And that someone was even sleeping on her couch now. So she tried to do anything to forget about it.

If Namgil walked into her apartment right now, he'd probably be surprised to find a guy on the couch. Namgil knew her as a loner who even kicked Jiwon out of her apartment because she didn't like anyone sleeping over. But now, someone had spent the night here, and that someone was even a guy, which was twice as strange.

"Feeling better now?" a voice asked from behind her. Siyoung jumped a little because she didn't expect the brunette to wake up so quickly. She turned to see the visitor's face, but she shouldn't have done that, because she wasn't prepared for such a cute sight. Jinyoung, with his half-asleep eyes, sat on the couch and observed the singer. His longer hair was all over the place, mostly falling over his face. But it was that sleepy face that made him look so adorable. Siyoung couldn't help but smile when she looked at him.

"Yes, and it's all thanks to you. Thank you," she expressed her gratitude and returned to the omelet, which was almost done on the stove. Before Jinyoung woke up, she managed to toast six slices of bread, make one omelet, and now she was preparing the second.

"You don't have to thank me, I told you I'll be here for you," Siyoung could feel Jinyoung's smile. She put the omelet on a plate where the rest of the food was already prepared and took it to the dining table. She turned to Jinyoung to ask if he wanted some vegetables, but she had to quickly turn back, or she would have stared at him. He was just running his hands through his hair, and he looked really good doing it – not to mention the muscles on his arm that were visible during the motion.

"I'll chop some vegetables, and then we can dig in," she informed him and decided to head to the fridge. She didn't know what was happening to her. She had never acted like this before. She hadn't even behaved like this with Seojun. Seriously, what was Jinyoung doing to her?

---

After breakfast, Jinyoung quickly went to take a shower, but before that, he ordered Siyoung to call her manager and cancel today's plans because after what happened yesterday, she shouldn't be going anywhere. She hesitated because she knew she had a photoshoot scheduled, but after some convincing (Jinyoung was quite unyielding about this), she dialed Namgil's number. He picked up immediately.

"Hi, Siyoung. Do you need something?" he asked right away.

"Last night wasn't the best for me mentally. Could I take the day off today? I know there's a photoshoot, but honestly, it's not that crucial. Could we move it to tomorrow morning when I have some free time?" she told him honestly. She didn't want to lie to her manager. She knew that if they went out anywhere, they would probably take a photo, and she would want to post it on Instagram. So, it was best to tell him that she wasn't in the best mental state.

"That won't be a problem," Namgil replied, "the main thing is you're health. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I am," Siyoung answered, "I'll go somewhere into nature today, and tomorrow, I'll be like a new person."

"Alright. I'll reschedule the photoshoot and let you know when we've moved it to. Your health is the priority, so take it easy."

"Thank you very much."

---

Siyoung was surprised when she realized that Jinyoung ran over yesterday. They had walked outside the building, and only then did she realize that they had to take a taxi to his place for him to change clothes and get his car. She felt like crying again because she didn't expect someone to run such a distance for her. And she also felt like hitting him because he was an idiot for not taking his motorcycle. And she did it. She punch him to the arm and told him he is the idiot.

And when they arrived at the place that Jinyoung had planned, she felt like crying again. She hated him for stirring up these emotions in her. With Seojun, she wanted to cry because he would hit her and emotionally blackmail her. With Jinyoung, she wanted to cry because she was happy.

The car stopped in a parking lot near a village that Siyoung knew very well. She didn't expect him to bring her here. It was the village where her grandmother used to live. Exactly the village she had told him about. The hills that surrounded them were the ones where Siyoung had spent her childhood. The hills for which she once skipped school and got in trouble with her parents.

She looked at Jinyoung with a sparklers in her eyes. She didn't expect him to remember. She thought he was just pretending to listen, that his thoughts were elsewhere. But he was listening and probably absorbing every word, because he remembered this as well.

"You said you liked these hills," Jinyoung smiled, "so I thought you could clear your mind here."

"I feel like kissing you," Siyoung blurted out happily.

"I won't resist that," Jinyoung playfully pursed his lips. Siyoung giggled, rolled her eyes, and dashed towards a forest path that led up the hill.