THANK YOU // DEX ✔️

25.

"What should we do today?" Siyoung asked. She was still lying in bed, stretching over both sides, as Jinyoung had already gotten up and started his morning routine. He was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth, when Siyoung asked.

"First, get your lazy ass up and do something with yourself," he laughed. Siyoung started laughing uncontrollably when she caught a glimpse of how Jinyoung looked—even though he had been in the bathroom for a while, his hair was still sticking in all directions, and now, because he was brushing his teeth, he had toothpaste around his mouth. He looked really cute, but also funny.

"And you're saying that, of all people," she laughed, but despite that, she got up to actually do something. She walked past Jinyoung into the bathroom and grabbed a comb. If he was brushing his teeth, she would first comb her hair and clean her teeth later. 

Even though it was a small bathroom, and neither of them could wait for the other to finish their morning routine, they were quite coordinated and finished everything quickly.

"Now you'll tell me what we're going to do today, right? Or if you don't have anything planned, we can sit down now and discuss it," both of them sat on the veranda and enjoyed the morning air, which was much cleaner on Jeju than in Seoul. It was around nine in the morning, but both were fully awake and eager to do something. "Or we can stay here and relax, especially since I'm on hiatus now."

"I thought we could first go somewhere for lunch, and then take a hike up the hill so that we can see the sunset. And we can also stay for the stars, because they're beautifully visible here," he shared his plan for the day with her.

"That sounds like the best plan," Siyoung smiled, "I haven't seen stars for a long time, and I don't know if you know this, but I love stargazing."

"I didn't know that," Jinyoung replied, "so you'll see so many stars here until you get tired of it."

"I'll never get tired of stars," Siyoung told him, "it's the most beautiful thing you can see in the world."

"I've seen prettier things than stars," Siyoung didn't know what to make of it because when Jinyoung said that, he looked at her with a gaze she wasn't sure if she wanted to see or not. She didn't know if she wanted it. Probably yes, but she still had a little fear inside.

---

For lunch, they decided to go to a restaurant near their home. It had good reviews online, and the food looked delicious too. The restaurant was run by an older couple who seemed not to recognize the young pair, for which Siyoung was grateful, as she didn't know how to explain to them what she was doing there, especially with him.

"We didn't order this," Siyoung pointed to the grilled octopus that the owner brought them and placed on the table. It looked really good, but the duo didn't want to take it since they hadn't ordered it.

"It's on the house for the newlyweds," she smiled and left. Both of them wanted to tell her they were just friends, but before they could, the owner had disappeared back into the kitchen. Siyoung looked at Jinyoung just as he looked at her, and they both burst out laughing at the same time. Siyoung couldn't understand how she could have thought they were newlyweds.

"Guess we really look like newlyweds," Jinyoung pointed to Siyoung's left hand. She looked at it in confusion, and then it hit her. In a rush, she had put the ring on her ring finger instead of her pinky, where she usually wore it. She had to facepalm. She blushed and wished she could bury herself in the ground. She wanted to wrap herself in a blanket now and never see the light of day again.

"Don't be embarrassed, my wife. At least we're getting free food," Jinyoung laughed.

"We should return it and explain that we're not a couple," Siyoung objected, but Jinyoung stopped her, saying it wouldn't help because the lady wouldn't believe it. Eventually, she let herself be persuaded and tried the octopus, and she had to admit that she was glad Jinyoung talked her into it because it was one of the best dishes she had ever tasted.

And where did they go after lunch? They drove to the hill they decided to hike up today. Or rather hills, because there were three hills connected to each other, and the whole hike was supposed to take about six hours, which was enough time to reach the top by sunset.

"Now that we're standing at the foot of the hill, I somehow don't feel like going on that walk," Siyoung turned to Jinyoung, who was putting a cap on his head as the sun had decided to start scorching, "wouldn't you rather go to the beach? We can see the sunset from there as well and even the stars."

"You're amazing too," Jinyoung laughed, "you spend all your free time at the gym, but suddenly a little hill bothers you."

"A little hill? There are three quite tall hills, and it's hot," Siyoung complained. Jinyoung had to laugh at her.

"You can handle it."

---

And they managed it. It took a long five and a half hours, but they eventually reached the top. And Siyoung definitely didn't regret it. The view was worth the effort and the liters of sweat she had shed. They sat on one of the fallen trees that were at the spot and just watched the beautiful sunset as it began to form.

"See, you did it," Jinyoung smiled, "and even faster than the average."

"Because you were chasing us as if we wouldn't make it otherwise."

"But you have to admit that the sunset is beautiful," Jinyoung quickly changed the subject and pointed to the horizon, which was turning orange. Siyoung just nodded and then rested her head on Jinyoung's shoulder.

As she gazed at the sunset like this, she suddenly felt calm. As if all the stress that had built up in her over the years had fallen away. All the nerves vanished all at once. Suddenly, she wasn't afraid of anything; she was just enjoying that beautiful moment, knowing it wouldn't last forever. So she tried to savor the feeling it gave her too. She enjoyed the peace she was feeling at the moment. And Jinyoung had to notice that.

"You look calm," he told her.

"I am," Siyoung smiled, "I haven't felt like this in a long time, and I have to say it's a wonderful feeling. I definitely needed this hiatus."

"I told you so," Jinyoung smiled, "all you needed was a vacation. Every idol deserves one like this because you're all just overworking yourselves and never take a break."

"There's no time for a break if you want to be the best, and everyone wants to be the best. Just take a week off, and your fame can wane, and it takes time to regain all those fans," Siyoung explained to him, "even taking a three-week hiatus, which means not posting anything for three long weeks, is quite risky. I'll probably lose a lot of fans."

"Can't you sometimes not care about how many fans you have and just enjoy what you're doing? I thought you enjoyed singing and dancing, which is why you do it, but listening to you now, it's like you're doing it just for fame and money."

"I do it because I enjoy it. The fame and money are just extras, like a bonus," she told him.

"I'll believe you because I want to believe it."