~𝟰𝟳~

The next morning I woke up with the sun shining in my eyes through my window. I slowly sat up and stretched, yawning. Then it hit me. What had happened the previous night. My cheeks turned red, a smile growing on my lips. Butterflies erupted in my stomach, a giggle working its way up my throat. When the giggle passed, my thoughts started running through what happened the night before.

My skin tingled in all the places Lee Know had touched me. My hands. My cheek. My scalp where his hand had rested. And I realised that for the first time in what felt like forever, I hadn't flinched away from a man's touch. Not even slightly. At the thought, my heart started beating faster, but not because I was scared. Rather because I felt like I had a breakthrough. A smile grew on my lips, and I looked out of the window, the day seeming even brighter than before.

"Good morning, Ava," I heard someone say, looking over at my door to find Hyunjin there.

"Good morning," I said as another yawn took over me.

"Seems like you didn't get much sleep last night. Might I ask why?"

"No reason in particular. Just couldn't sleep," I lied, fidgeting with my fingers underneath the blankets. A smile crept up onto my lips, but I forced it away.

"Okay. Well, sounds like Chan's almost finished with breakfast if you want to join us," he said before leaving.

I quickly threw on a hoodie over my oversized shirt and sweatpants I slept in before going downstairs. I greeted Han and Felix along the way, going into the kitchen to make me some coffee. It was almost as if I could feel Lee Know's presence coming down the stairs, making me look his way. We barely made eye contact when we both snapped our gazes away. I was afraid I would start blushing if I looked at him any longer. As he moved past me, I could feel my heart skip a beat at the close proximity. I almost didn't register when he said good morning to me.

"Morning," I mumbled, not making eye contact.

I finished up my coffee and went to sit outside where some of the other boys had gathered, taking a seat on the edge of the deck. I took a small sip of my coffee as I looked at the sun shimmering on the blue water. It reminded me of the moon shimmering on the water the previous night. And me watching it. And Lee Know. And how close we were and-

I shook my head to stop the runaway train of thoughts in my mind. I heard the boys talking behind me, turning myself around to include myself in the conversation.

"We should play a game. How about truth or dare?" Han suggested. The others all agreed. A sour spot grew on my stomach. This isn't going to go well.

We played for a while before Lee Know joined us. I kept stealing glances at him, but most of the time he would already be looking at me. It set butterflies off in my body.

"Lee Know Hyung, truth or dare?" Seungmin asked.

"Truth," Lee Know responded sceptically.

"Is there anyone you are interested in at the moment?"

My stomach made a summersault at the question. I saw his eyes flick towards me for a split second before settling on Seungmin again. He hesitated for a moment.

"Yes. There is."

All the boys' eyes went wide, and I just hoped my face wasn't turning red. The boys all started asking rapid-fire questions. After a while they started quieting down again and I heard Jeongin ask,

"Who is it, Hyung?"

"It's too soon to tell."

He sent a smirk my way at that, making me look away and bite my lip. I'm going to have to pull myself together, I thought. I kept my eyes on the water from then on, but every now and then, I would sense someone watching me, making me smile to myself. I wonder what Lee Know is thinking about.

(Third person, Hyunjin's perspective)

Hyunjin watched Ava's reaction when Seungmin asked Lee Know his truth. He saw the look that the two shared and it bugged him. He saw the smirk Lee Know sent her way and her reaction to it. He didn't know why, but it annoyed him. Or at least that's what it felt like to him. He heard Chan calling them all inside for breakfast, following the rest of the boys in.

He noticed Lee Know taking Ava's hand in his, pulling her away from the sliding door. He went to stand at the kitchen island, watching them. They talked for a while before Lee Know smiled at her, making her blush and look away. She pulled away from him and walked inside, a foolish grin on her lips. Hyunjin saw the way Lee Know looked at her, and it made his insides churn. When Lee Know came inside and walked past him, he gave him a glare. All through breakfast, he watched as Ava kept stealing glances at Lee Know, him doing the same. I'm going to have to talk to Lee Know after breakfast, he thought to himself.

...

"Lee Know Hyung, could I talk to you outside?" Hyunjin asked after breakfast. Lee Know nodded at him, following him outside. Hyunjin closed the sliding door turning to his Hyung.

"What's going on between you and Ava?" Hyunjin asked.

Lee Know looked at him with furrowed brows.

"I saw the way you two were looking at each other this morning, Hyung."

"There's nothing there. You're seeing things."

Hyunjin glared at Lee Know, Lee Know giving him a smirk in return.

"Are you jealous?"

"Jealous of what? Is there something to be jealous of?" Hyunjin retorted.

"You're right, there isn't something to be jealous of. It just seems weird to me how whenever I get closer with a girl, you seem to get defensive. You acted exactly like this with Geneviève. Doesn't that seem strange to you?"

Hyunjin shut his mouth at the mention of Geneviève. He can't know. Not yet, he thought to himself.

Both the boys looked over their shoulders when they heard the sliding door open, finding Ava standing there, tilting her head, and smiling slightly at them.

"And what are you two doing out here?"

"Just talking," Hyunjin said, his voice sounding unsure. He cleared his throat and looked at the ocean when he saw Lee Know smirking at him.

"Hyunjin was just asking me something. But we'll sort it out later. You want to go walk on the beach?" Lee Know asked, looking down at Ava who came to stand next to him.

"Sure. Can I ask the rest if they want to come with us?"

Hyunjin looked at the pair out of the corner of his eye. He saw Lee Know's face fall slightly at Ava's question, but he hid it well, her not seeming to notice.

"Sounds like a plan. Hyunjin, you want to join us?" Lee Know asked.

Hyunjin looked at them fully at the question. Lee Know was still smirking at him, so he moved his gaze to Ava. She gave him a small smile.

"Fine, I'll go," he sighed. I'm going to regret this, he thought.

(First person, Ava's perspective)

I asked all the boys, but the only other person who wanted to go with us was Han. I put on my swimsuit underneath my T-shirt and shorts before going outside to meet the boys. They all had their swimsuits on along with T-shirts. I tied my hair up into a ponytail as I got to them.

"You ready to go?" Lee Know asked me. I nodded at him.

I stepped off the deck onto the sand, wriggling my toes into it before walking towards the water. I stopped walking when my feet touched the water, the sea foam running over my toes. I stared out at the open mass of blue, mesmerised.

"Ava, you coming?" I heard Han ask, making me turn towards his voice.

Him, Lee Know and Hyunjin stood a few steps away from me, all looking back at me. All with different emotions on their faces. Han; excitement. Lee Know; tenderness and care. And Hyunjin? His expression was unreadable. I walked over to them, falling into step when they started walking again. I kept walking with my feet in the water, it splashing up to my ankles.

Han and I eventually started casual conversation, splashing each other with the salty water every now and again. I would look over at Lee Know every few minutes, finding him either already looking at me, or picking up seashells. I noticed Hyunjin stayed quite far behind us. I remember thinking to myself that it must have had something to do with his talk with Lee Know. I wanted to go to him and ask what was wrong, but before I could, Lee Know came to walk next to me, smiling down at me.

"What did you and Hyunjin talk about earlier?" I asked, soft enough for Han not to hear.

"I don't really know. We didn't get to say much."

I frowned and pouted, trying to think of why Hyunjin was acting the way he was. Until Lee Know squeezed my cheeks.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You're so cute. I couldn't resist."

I pulled my face out of his hand, blushing and brushing my hair behind my ear. When I looked up at him again, he was smirking at me.

"You know, you're going to have to be more inconspicuous," I whispered.

He frowned slightly, before giving me an unsure smile. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but we both got distracted when Han splashed us with water.

"Come on, love birds. Have some fun," he yelled, running away from us.

Lee Know and I looked at each other with wide eyes before both looking the other way, me scratching the back of my neck. My face went red before I snapped out of my daze when another splash of water fell on my skin. I looked over at Lee Know, who was smirking at me.

"Oh, you're on."

"That sounds awfully familiar, don't you think?" he asked, smirk growing.

My memories started rushing in with my thoughts, but I shook it off.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said with a smirk. "But I do know that this won't end like it did last time."

I kicked the water up at him, running in the other direction. I went to stand behind Hyunjin, peeking out past his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking at me over his shoulder.

"Using you as a human shield. And if you don't want to get wet, I suggest you find someone to do the same with."

Unexpectedly he ran in behind me just as Lee Know kicked water my way, me getting drenched instead of the black-haired boy now standing behind me.

"Oh, I'm getting you back for that, Hyunjin."

He started running away from me, me running after him. I ran past Han, bending down and splashing some water up at him in the run. He gasped before running after me. As I tried running away from him while still trying to stay dry, I didn't realise Hyunjin had stopped running. I only realised once he splashed me from the front, making me stop in my tracks.

I started laughing as I ran away from him and Han. I managed to sidestep Hyunjin, making him fall in the water and making Han trip over him, joining him in the waves. I was laughing so much, I had to rest my hands on my knees just to stay steady.

I gave a surprised yelp followed by a squeal when someone tightened their arms around my waist, lifting me off the sand and walking towards the water. I was trying to squirm free from Lee Know's grip while laughing until my stomach hurt. I barely managed to breathe past the laughing, never mind telling him to put me down.

He kept walking until he was waist-deep in the waves, stopping. I kept squirming until I stopped, my laughing ceasing as well. Then he suddenly dunked me into the water, a yelp leaving my mouth. But not a yelp of fear or hurt. A yelp of pure surprise and happiness.

I came up out of the water, brushing my hair out of my face.

"You're going to pay for that."

"Oh, yeah? And what might you do?"

Without any warning, I leapt at Lee Know, knocking into his chest and throwing him off balance, dragging him into the water along with myself. The water rushed over me as I landed on his chest. I quickly got up to the surface again, taking his wrist and dragging him up with me. When he came up, he started laughing. It was one of the most soothing sounds I had ever heard. It was so calming and yet so infectious. I started laughing along with him.

Until a spontaneous wave swept me off balance and into Lee Know's chest. I looked up at him with wide eyes, our laughter gone. He looked down at me, hands clasped gently around my upper arms. Then he gave me an adorable smile, pulling me against himself, into a wet, shivering, salty-smelling hug that made me never want to leave. I clutched his shirt in my balled fists, pulling him as close to myself as I could. Close enough for me to hear his heartbeat. Which was beating perfectly in sync with mine.

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A/N

heyy guys!! the holidays are fast approaching and i was wondering how all of you are doing? my life is a bit of a mess at the moment, so i hope it's better for you guys:)

i hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! i wonder what Hyunjin doesn't want Lee Know to know about... and i wonder who will be the first to suspect something between Ava and Lee Know... let me know your thoughts in the comments ;P i'll see you guys in the next chapter <3