FIFTH FLOOR .. lhc（✓）

DAY 21

splash!

bubbles emerged rapidly around the short-haired girl as she pushed herself to the surface. her instincts brought her up without thinking, and she sputtered out salty water as she rubbed her eyes.

sucking in a deep breath, sua's wide eyes met the wider ones belonging to donghyuck.

now, sua wasn't very shameful when it came to walking around her house in nothing but a towel, but she hadn't known the boys that long. it made her awkward to the extent that she brought a separate shirt to wear over her bikini top. plus, she was still a little traumatized from the whole 'meeting her idols in her underwear' thing; she didn't want them to see her in her bra as well.

embarrassment turned her face red as she desperately tried to cover her chest before the others could notice, but it didn't stay that way long.

without a second thought, hyuck jumped up and grabbed the girl. he wrapped his arms tightly around her biceps, his fingers meeting above her back. sua froze in shock, mouth falling open and closed due to her lack of response. 

the heat that haechan provided her with was enough to cause the noirette's heart to accelerate. the boy tilted his face so that his lips hovered over her ear. "beau, are you okay?"

sua could hear the worrisome tremor in his voice, but she couldn't pull her mind from the way his warm breath hit her neck.

finally snapping out of her flustered trance, the girl nodded against his shoulder. "i-y-yeah. i'm fine."

sua's arms mindlessly clung to the soaked fabric of the boy's shirt, her chest aching at the pure humiliation of the situation. assuring that his body was shielding her smaller frame, donghyuck pulled away from the noirette just enough to fully see her face.

the girl refused to meet his eyes, hands still gripping his shirt. haechan tried to fight back the urge to push a dripping piece of her short hair behind her ear, but he couldn't help himself. 

sua stilled when she felt the soft touch on her cheek, and her skin burned where the idol's finger had grazed. despite her initial thought, donghyuck kept his hand on her cheek, fingers unintentionally tangling themselves in her dark hair. "don't worry, i don't think anyone saw..."

"but you did,"

sua felt the boy's hand stiffen against her face, but only for a second. "yeah, well, i'm the exception." he added a slight chuckle to the end of his words, forcing a light pink to dust the girl's cheeks.

a second passed between the pair, and it was as if they were alone. like the other nine splashed each other playfully in the background didn't exist.

sua found herself giggling sheepishly—another one of her nervous habits, hyuck noted. "of course you are." though the words may have sounded harsh, there was a soft shyness in the noirette's voice that made the idol smile. 

"uh, hyuck?" the girl asked again, loosening her hands from his shirt. "how are we gonna get out of here?"

donghyuck understood instantly. the others were playing around them, but they'd surely notice if the two suddenly got out. besides them, the four who vouched to stay out of the water (aphrodite, dobunny, queen won, and hui) and would also notice the two getting out. plus, they couldn't be too suspicious or they would be questioned.

haechan suddenly snapped his fingers, grabbing sua's attention. "i got an idea."

the next few minutes passed quickly as hyuck convinced the noirette that his plan was foolproof.

sua paused, fiddling with her fingers, which were underwater. "and you're sure this will work?"

"absolutely. you know i'd never lie to you~"

the girl tipped her head to the side playfully, "but is it lying if your plan unintentionally fails?" haechan opened his mouth to protest, but sua sighed instead. "never mind. i trust you." 

the two nodded to each other and they both knelt until the water covered sua's chest. "okay," she whispered to herself, stepping closer to the boy.

"ready?" hyuck asked, and sua nodded. as quickly as planned, sua wrapped her arms and legs around the idol and donghyuck gripped her thighs securely beneath his arms. he stood, successfully piggybacking the noirette.

"johnny~" sua heard hyeseon call when she saw her roommate getting a piggyback ride from haechan, wanting one from the big friendly giant.

distraction success.

the younger twin getting on the american's shoulders set off a chain reaction of everyone pairing up in an extreme game of chicken. while they began their battle, hyuck and sua managed to get back on the sand and get all the way to the girl's bag.

seeing as no one seemed to be looking, donghyuck carefully placed the noirette back on her feet and she made her way over to her bag. the boy watched silently as she rummaged to find her dark shirt.

"hey, hyuck?" she called after some time, earning a small hum from the boy. "can you please hold this up for me?" she held up a rather large towel, causing donghyuck to let out a little laugh. "of course, beau."

haechan held the towel up, respectfully facing his feet as the girl changed on the other side. only a few seconds passed before there was a small tug on the towel, and hyuck lowered the shield enough for sua to appear when she stood on her tippy toes. though he could only see her eyes, he knew she was smiling by the way her dark eyes squinted.

"done?" he asked before giving his mind to think of other responses. the girl pulled the towel down with a large smile.

"race you to the water?"

"hm, i'm not really—last one there doesn't get ice cream!" and then he sprinted, giving sua a second to process what was happening.

she realized too late that she was going to lose, but the small girl still ran with all her might, shouting curses at the laughing boy in front of her the entire time.

i really don't deserve you guys <3
the last chapter links up with this one, so please make sure you've read it <33