Jihyun woke up to unfamiliar smells and sounds. The fishy smell of the pirate ship was gone, replaced by a musky forest scent. There were no shouts, chains, or crashes of the waves against the ship that rocked her. It was almost silent, except for the birds and critters waking up around her.
Her first thought was that she must’ve been kidnapped. Her second thought confirmed it. It was of Taemin. Jihyun shot up from where she had been sleeping and bumped her head on something hard.
“Oww,” she groaned, rubbing her forehead. He looked up. She had hit her head on a branch. Her memories quickly came back to her. She looked down. She was about twenty feet high, in a tree. She smiled, amazed.
“Noona, you’re awake?” a small voice asked.
Jihyun looked to see Luhan climbing up to where she sat. Boards had been nailed up here to construct a mini treehouse of some sort, which is where she had fallen asleep.
Jihyun nodded to Luhan. He grinned and came to sit next to her.
“Will you be staying here?” he asked.
Jihyun shrugged. She was surprised the kid was so comfortable with her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, touching a deep scratch on his forehead gingerly.
Luhan hissed in pain, automatically recoiling.
“I’m sorry,” Jihyun apologized. “Maybe I can find some herbs to apply on that and make it heal faster.”
Luhan just sighed. He suddenly stood up and faced her.
“By the way, my name is Luhan,” he said, reaching out a hand for her to shake.
Jihyun laughed in amusement, taking his hand.
“Jihyun.”
Luhan’s big eyes sparkled.
“That’s a beautiful name,” he smirked.
Jihyun grinned. The kid was so cute. He was speaking very formally, and it was so adorable, she wanted to squeeze him in a hug.
“Why are you being so friendly, Lu?”
They both looked down to see Taemin flying up toward them. He landed in between the two of them.
“You were so mean to the other girl,” Taemin said, eyeing Jihyun. Her long hair was tousled from a night on the hard surface of the treehouse, but her milky caramel eyes only showed happiness.
“Hyung.” Luhan motioned for Taemin to move closer. Taemin leaned down, and Luhan spoke into his ear, “she’s my style. Cute.”
Taemin burst out in laughter, pushing Luhan away.
“Go wake your brothers up,” he laughed. Luhan winked at them before turning away.
Jihyun watched Luhan leave then asked, “What? Why are you laughing?”
He was still grinning. She found it cute.
“Luhan said you’re cute.”
“And that’s funny, how?” Jihyun asked, slightly insulted.
Okay, very insulted. She knew she was beautiful, but it still hurt to have the guy she liked laugh at her like that. She regretted ever thinking he was cute.
Taemin was speechless. He hadn’t expected her to get mad.
“Don’t be… so serious,” he said, looking away.
Jihyun smiled at how flustered he looked. He actually looked apologetic. He turned back around, and their eyes suddenly locked. It was so intense, and Jihyun could feel her face heat up. Still, she didn’t look away. She wanted to cherish this moment. He was so handsome in her eyes. He had cute cheeks, especially noticeable when he smiled. His pretty eyes had a natural playful curve.
