THANK YOU // DEX ✔️

23.

"We should thank Enhypen," Siyoung laughed as she walked out of the airport with Jinyoung. Jeju was warmer than she had expected it to be. And even though she had been to Jeju before, it always felt like she was flying to a foreign country. Jeju was still part of South Korea, but it felt like a tropical paradise. Palm trees were everywhere, and there was a view of the sea from almost every corner. It was beautiful.

"I didn't know they'd be at the airport," Jinyoung laughed too. They had to be as quiet as possible during the last two hours on the plane to avoid drawing attention to themselves - no one needed to know that Siyoung, who officially had a hiatus, was flying to Jeju with the YouTuber Dex. That's why they were catching up now.

"But thanks to them, no one paid attention to us," Siyoung said, "so maybe it was crowded, but everyone was focused only on Enhypen." Siyoung had been quite nervous when they they got into the airport, but she calmed down when she saw the crowd of people waiting for their favorite idols. She wanted to shout that she could arrange a meeting with them and even hug them. She wanted to show off to the screaming fans, but she had to keep her identity a secret.

"Yeah," he nodded then he change topic, "my friend left his car here, and the keys to the house should be in it. He said everything is set up. The only thing we need to take care of is food."

"So, the first stop is shopping?" Siyoung asked.

"Yeah, we'll stop at a store first and buy some groceries," Jinyoung agreed with her. The car was newer; Siyoung could tell that, even though she wasn't interested in cars. It was a really nice car with plenty of space, and Jinyoung was sitting in it grinning like a little kid, trying to figure out all the functions on the touchpad. It took him three minutes. Three long minutes they spent in the car. Siyoung wanted to hit him to stop him from playing around, because he can figure everything out later, but he looked so content that she let him do whatever he wanted, while she scrolled through Instagram. She saw many fan pages reacting to her hiatus. Many people wished her a speedy recovery, some (drama queens) started to worry that she might not return at all and might even announce her departure from the world of idols (those were the drama queens who thought that if one idol did it, then everyone on hiatus would do it), and some accused her of doing it just for attention.

"Wait," Siyoung suddenly said. The car had finally started, driving through the streets. "Now I feel silly. I only cared about myself and my hiatus, but how do you even have this set up? Famous Dex, whose career is taking off, can afford a three-week break?"

"I don't have a three-week break," Jinyoung answered, "I have a few pre-recorded videos that will gradually be released on YouTube, and even the shows I'll be appearing on are scheduled to air during our stay here. So, if I regularly share them on Instagram, no one will notice anything," he explained. Siyoung felt terrible that Jinyoung had to go through all this because of her, but then she realized that it was actually his idea, and she would be happily sitting in the studio, working on the album, occasionally leaving to practice dance for KCON LA for a few hours. But Jeju was better than the black-brown walls of her studio. After a long time, she would absorb vitamin D from the sun for the entire year, because when she returns, no one will get her out again.

"I saw an interesting video," Siyoung began. Jinyoung listened attentively. "You were in it, and you said you prefer spending time at home. Why didn't you tell me? I still want to go places with you, because I thought you also enjoy being active."

"If I can choose, I'd rather be at home," Jinyoung nodded, "but when I'm with you, I'd prefer to travel the whole country, because I know it's your dream. And I really appreciate you watching the videos with me," he laughed.

"Don't act like a boyfriend when we're not together. Every person is their own master, and I don't want to disturb what you enjoy. You don't have to go on all those trips with me just to make me happy. I'll be happy even if I'm alone or even just watching a movie on the couch," she told him. It annoyed her that Jinyoung was adapting to her. He should do what he enjoys and forget about her.

---

They finished shopping quite quickly, even though they were fooling around the whole time and both wanted to buy almost everything. Both suddenly had a craving for something they wouldn't normally buy. They had masks and caps on, but despite that, Siyoung kept looking around to see if anyone was taking pictures of her. She was constantly on alert because she didn't want her photos from Jeju to suddenly appear on Twitter. She didn't want to lose all her fans just because she had lied to them a little – even though she deserved the hiatus after that night, but it could have been shorter. She mainly lied about it being due to her health.

"Welcome to our kingdom for the next three weeks," Jinyoung opened the front door and let Siyoung enter first. She immediately started jumping for joy when she saw how the house was furnished. It was very much designed in an American (Hawaiian) style. The furniture was mostly wooden, and the entire interior was airy, as one entire wall was made of windows with a magnificent view of the private beach and the sea. Siyoung couldn't believe that Jinyoung had a friend who owned this house. It was truly a beautiful house. "There are two bedrooms, one downstairs and one upstairs. Where do you want to sleep?" Jinyoung asked when he brought the suitcases inside. Now Siyoung wanted to hit herself for not helping him. She completely forgot that she left the suitcases in the car.

"Wherever you'll be," Siyoung answered without hesitation. Surprise appeared on the former soldier's face.

"What?" Jinyoung asked, making sure he heard correctly.

"Wherever you'll be. I don't want to be alone," she repeated. Jinyoung had to smile when Siyoung said that. He didn't expect the real Siyoung to be like this. He expected a rather shy girl who would blush with every flirt, but she was the complete opposite. She's not shy at all about saying what's on her mind, and she doesn't care if she says something a bit scandalous – though if her fans saw that, she probably wouldn't be a singer anymore.

"So, downstairs," Jinyoung didn't let on that her response caught him off guard.

"So, downstairs," Siyoung smiled, and this time she helped him carry the suitcases.