day 12
7.06 am
lee haru

new target

when i finally wake up
i find myself inside the car
with the air conditioning turned on
and also the engine coming alive

"rise and shine
sleeping beauty"

my first instinct is to jolt up and look around
making sure that i was in the right place
and sighing in relief when i find
that i'm not kidnapped

jeongguk sits at the
driver's seat beside me
smiling widely

"you're such a heavy sleeper"
he comments casually
and points to something
on the side of my lips
"you might want to wipe that off though"
he hands me a tissue with a laugh

i get his point and quickly dab at my mouth
looking away in embarrassment
"when did you get the gas?"

"an hour ago, walked there on foot
don't worry
i carried you in and locked the doors"

thank god i didn't suffocate

"i replaced the car's plate number
we're safe for now"

"how?" i ask in awe

"google"

"bro"

he begins to drive, and in no time
we're finally out into the highway again

"so, about that list"
jeongguk begins

"ah"
i take it out from my bag
and glance at the #7
this is going to be difficult

"skinny dipping"

"what?"

"skinny dipping" i repeat
feeling the heat rushing up to my cheeks
how awkward
what the hell was i thinking
it's nearly winter
where am i even going to
find a pool out here

and then jeongguk does
exactly what i expect him to
the bastard laughs

"hey, what's wrong with wanting to
appreciate myself?"
i blurt out
and immediately shut myself up with a hand

oh my god

"it's fine, really
you're right"
he says smugly
"in fact i know just the place for that"

"you do?"

"i know people"
he picks up his phone

"are you gonna refer to google again
because i don't think—"

"yeobuseyo?
ahjussi,it's me jeongguk"

my jaw falls

"i just wanted to ask you something
how do we get to that national park
you told me about?
i figured that it was about time i came by"

"what?"

jeongguk shuts me up
with a finger to his lips
and goes back to his conversation
in the phone
"ah alright, i understand
mhm
thank you so much
i'll be coming in awhile, see you soon"
and then he hangs up

i lean back impatiently
waiting for him to tell me what he's planning

"put your seatbelts on"
he says, turning on the car radio
as he gets comfortable in his own seat
"we're going for a ride"

"even with seatbelts
i doubt you have a proper licence"
i roll my eyes
to which he responds with a shrug

"i do
aced the thing 10/10
in case you're wondering"

i groan
"show off"
he winks at me in response
"so where are we going?"

"skinny dipping"
he says oh-so-casually
making me raise an eyebrow
"and maybe some camping
in the woods"

i think it over
camping? i've never done that before
jeongguk seems excited though
i lean back and nod
"sounds good"