"Why didn't you two change once you got to your rooms?" Uriel's question pissed Yoo Joonghyuk off so much.
While Kim Dokja had a casual, reasonable response to that question, Yoo Joonghyuk didn't and he suspected his secretary knew this and had voiced that question to make a fool out of him in front of Kim Dokja again.
"Ah, well, I just sat around," Kim Dokja had said, chuckling sheepishly. "Then I started reading and lost track of time. It isn't too hot for me though. . .I mean, we haven't gone outside yet, and the temperature's regulated inside. I left my jacket in my room too." Kim Dokja gestured vaguely at his usual white shirt and pants. "This works just fine."
"What's your excuse?" Uriel questioned, her eyes landing on the taller man.
Yoo Joonghyuk was going to push Uriel into the sea the first chance he got. Unfortunately, she knew how to swim, so he wouldn't be able to enjoy watching her drown, but she would end up accidentally ingesting a lot of seawater and Yoo Joonghyuk would be satisfied with that.
"Unpacking," Yoo Joonghyuk found an excuse. He really should have changed out of his suit, logically speaking. He would have too, but he was busy looking at the itinerary that Uriel had prepared and trying to see if he could squeeze in a few activities his secretary hadn't found good enough to make it into the list. He thought that spending time walking on the beach was a great idea, Uriel was of the opinion that it was boring and would rather go boating. They were going to be on a damn boat tons of times, what was wrong with a good, old, stroll by the sea?
In his preoccupation research to convince and outrule his secretary's words, he had forgotten about having to change out of the suit he had worn to the airport.
"What do you even have to unpack?" Uriel scoffed.
"Not hairdryers, that much I can assure you," Yoo Joonghyuk said tartly and Kim Dokja turned his head away to hide his grin.
"Your itinerary had lunch mentioned," Yoo Joonghyuk found another reason. "And nothing more. It seems you've already started lazing around, settled into your vacation mode, making such a blunder."
Uriel glared at him.
"We're on holiday, not a business trip," Uriel hissed. "It's fucking obvious that if there's a gap in the schedule it means a free slot to do whatever you want to do, not go back to your room for some nappy time."
Maybe if he dropped her in the middle of the ocean, she would drown. Once he tied a heavy stone around her or something.
Kim Dokja cleared his throat and Uriel tore her glare away from Yoo Joonghyuk, going back to babying her beloved Dokja.
"You should send that itinerary to me too, you know," Kim Dokja said slowly. "I don't really want to be left out."
Yoo Joonghyuk blinked. Was Kim Dokja sulking? . . .No, he was just pretending. Yoo Joonghyuk could tell that much from the rather amused glint in Kim Dokja's eyes. Kim Dokja sulked differently. When he was truly disappointed, he didn't pout like that but tended to close off from everything.
It tricked Uriel though.
"Oh, oh!" Uriel's hands fumbled with her purse to get her phone out immediately. "I'll send it to you right now, Dokja-yah. I'm not used to sending it to anyone but this guy. I didn't mean to leave you out or anything!"
"That's alright, Noona," Kim Dokja smiled. "I know you wouldn't have done it on purpose."
"Of course not!" Uriel cried. "I'd do it to this guy, most probably, but never to you."
On their way to the spa, with Uriel on the lead, Kim Dokja read through the trip itinerary schedule Uriel had just forwarded to him on his phone.
Kim Dokja said that it was very well organised and Uriel was practically on the moon, even saying that she would have loved it if Kim Dokja was the boss instead of Yoo Joonghyuk.
"No, thank you," Kim Dokja laughed. "That's way too much responsibility for me. Joonghyuk-ssi can handle it."
"I would have a much pleasanter experience if Dokja-ssi were my secretary too," Yoo Joonghyuk said coldly.
"Again," Kim Dokja piped in. "Too much for me to handle. Uriel Noona's best for that."
"Dokja-yah, if this asshole annoys you too much come to me, and we can hatch a murder plan together."
"Haha...?"
"Stop bothering him."
"You're bothering him. Shut up."
Next time, Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't going to take Uriel along. He was going to dump tons of work on her head in the least.
The resort's spa had quite the ambience. Kim Dokja seemed to find it mildly interesting. Yoo Joonghyuk was just regretting not remembering to get out of his suit. Damn it.
. . .Well, he could go for a massage and wrap a bathrobe around him once he got out of his suit. He wasn't a big fan of strangers touching him though, massage or not. But that was the only excuse he could use without looking like an idiot.
"Do you want to do that?" Uriel asked, getting the attention of Kim Dokja, who was looking around the separate building that the resort had, a mix between a spa and a sauna.
Yoo Joonghyuk had noticed Kim Dokja looking longingly towards the board that gave directions to the sauna and would have asked Uriel to consider it if it weren't for the fact that it was still afternoon. He might just end up dying of heatstroke. Besides, saunas were best at night, right before going to bed.
Uriel was nodding towards the section with the fish spa treatment and Kim Dokja had reeled back the second he saw it.
"Not really," the man said.
"It's not too bad!" Uriel said, dragging him towards the tanks with the fish. "I've done it before, it's really relaxing."
Kim Dokja had his lips pursed as he looked down into the open tanks with a school of dark garra fish.
"Yeah," Kim Dokja sighed out. "No, I don't think I'll find it relaxing."
He turned to look at Yoo Joonghyuk.
"I wouldn't either, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja's expression relaxed, relieved when Yoo Joonghyuk gave him his support.
"Aww, why?" Uriel pouted, tugging at Kim Dokja's arm.
"My feet could feel ticklish and I could end up squashing and killing a fish between my toes and then I'll be traumatised for life," Kim Dokja said rather simply and Yoo Joonghyuk thought it was a very disturbing, yet easily imaginable scenario. He could see himself doing that too.
Yeah, that was not relaxing at all. Yoo Joonghyuk's initial dislike of the fish spa treatment came with having to dip his feet into a tank with fish in, how was he to know if it was safe and sanitized? While it boasted therapeutic advantages or whatever all that nonsense on the board propped on the walls with large pictures meant, where was the proof to back all those claims? He didn't trust that thing at all.
And after he'd heard Kim Dokja's reasoning, he had another reason to not do that.
Uriel looked like she wouldn't give it up, so Yoo Joonghyuk tapped Kim Dokja's shoulder and said, "Let's look around further first."
Kim Dokja was only happy to go along with that plan.
"The sauna might have an ice room," Kim Dokja said.
"It's still afternoon, though," Uriel pointed out. "You'll just end up sleepy once you're out of there and we'll have to change our evening plans."
To hell with those stupid evening plans. A sauna and ice room it was if that's what Kim Dokja wanted.
"Mm, can't ruin those, can we?" Kim Dokja, unfortunately, nodded to Uriel's words.
"Dokja-ssi, don't mind the schedule," Yoo Joonghyuk said, levelling Uriel with a threatening gaze, warning her to keep her mouth shut. "It's a suggestion at best. The aim of a trip is to have fun, if following a rigid schedule only results in the opposite, it's not worth it."
"That's alright," Kim Dokja smiled sweetly. "I was looking forward to it too, actually. It's a really well-thought plan, I think we'll be pretty relaxed."
Uriel smirked widely because Kim Dokja had taken her side.
Yoo Joonghyuk would have done something about it, but Kim Dokja's eyes were on him and he was asking, "What would you like to do first, Joonghyuk-ssi? Should we go back?"
"I'm fine with anything, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk shrugged.
Kim Dokja's lips spread wider, curling upwards, the corners of his eyes crinkling a little.
"How about that mani-pedi Noona was talking about? You can pick the colour this time."
Oh, this cheeky little. . .
Uriel laughed heartily.
Rolling his eyes, Yoo Joonghyuk raised his hand. Kim Dokja immediately clamped the hand that wasn't in Uriel's clutches onto his face, covering his nose. So he knew what Yoo Joonghyuk was trying to do.
"Nice try," Yoo Joonghyuk said, grabbing Kim Dokja's wrist and easily peeling it away from his face. "Good luck next time."
Kim Dokja squeezed his eyes and turned his face away, his nose scrunching. Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't help but laugh as he changed course and flicked his head lightly.
"Ouch," Kim Dokja said in a monotone.
"Yeah, right," Yoo Joonghyuk said. Kim Dokja grumbled, punching his arm lightly when Yoo Joonghyuk let go.
"Ouch," Yoo Joonghyuk said blithely, imitating Kim Dokja's tone.
"You had it coming," Kim Dokja huffed.
"Weren't you making fun of me though?" Yoo Joonghyuk pointed out.
"You don't see me doing that when you tease me, do you?" Kim Dokja was testily.
"When have I ever teased you?"
"Hah! Of course, you wouldn't remember, would you?"
"I'm being serious. When have I ever done that?"
"When? When haven't you? Remember that time when you said you'd have the vacuum ready outside to suck me back into reality just in case I got sucked into my phone while I was reading a novel. And that time when you threatened to give me more stuff to study because you got mad that I wasn't coming to you for help. Oh, and what about that time when you said you were going to mix watered-down tomato juice into cranberry and feed it to me? Want me to continue? I can go on for ages, I remember all of it."
. . .He did say all of that. He vaguely remembered saying all of that too.
"What the fuck have you even been doing to Dokja, you heathen?" Uriel snarled, pulling Kim Dokja away from him.
"I was joking," Yoo Joonghyuk stressed.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Kim Dokja rolled his eyes.
He wriggled his wrist that was in Yoo Joonghyuk's hold and Yoo Joonghyuk let go. However, before his arm could drop back to his side, Kim Dokja's fingers curled around his hand.
"Let's go, Noona," he declared. "We're doing the mani-pedi thing and painting his nails a hot pink."
"Yeaaah! That's what I'm talking about," Uriel cheered. "You're the best, Dokja-yah. Let's do it!"
Kim Dokja held his hand and pulled him along with them. Yoo Joonghyuk was not looking forward to having his poor nails slathered in pink nail enamel, and Kim Dokja's grip on his hand wasn't tight either, but he couldn't find it in himself to pull away. So he let himself get dragged to wherever it was that they were going.
Kim Dokja seemed to have second thoughts once they were at their destination.
No way he was going to let that happen. Yoo Joonghyuk pushed Uriel off Kim Dokja, ignored the scandalised gasp the woman had given and with their hands still in each other's grasp, pulled Kim Dokja off towards the dressing rooms.
"Uriel will handle it," he told him. "We should change. It's not going to be very comfortable to get pedicures in jeans."
"Or business formals, I'm sure," Kim Dokja said without missing a beat.
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed lightly. "You're getting a hot pink too, if that's what I'm getting," he warned.
"What? No," Kim Dokja cried. "How about we mix and match? I'll choose for you, you choose for Noona and Noona can choose for me."
"Absolutely not. D'you think I won't notice that you're trying to take advantage of Uriel's favouritism towards you?"
"Now, you've got to use all the resources at hand to get ahead in life, no?" Kim Dokja shrugged, a tiny smirk dancing on his lips.
"Is that so?" Yoo Joonghyuk said languidly. "What if I offer Uriel a salary increment to do as I say?"
"Hey, come on! You can't do that."
"Why not? All resources at hand, didn't you say?"
"Touché. . .Well, humans don't always act reasonably. And nail polish removes exist for a reason. Hit me with the nastiest shade you can think of. I'll face anything head-on."
"You're still getting hot pink," Kim Dokja made sure to say before closing the door to the changing room he had just entered with a navy blue bathrobe in his arms.
"Like I said, if I am, then so are you," Yoo Joonghyuk called, heading to the empty room adjacent to the one Kim Dokja was using.
Glad to be rid of those stuffy clothes, Yoo Joonghyuk walked out of the changing room to find Kim Dokja waiting for him on a bench nearby, eyes on his phone, navy blue bathrobe wrapped around him carefully.
"It doesn't have to be tied that tightly."
Kim Dokja looked up from his phone at his voice.
"I don't want it falling off, I'm not an exhibitionist," Kim Dokja sighed, placing his hands on his knees and getting up. "It's not that tight anyway."
"As long as you are comfortable with it," Yoo Joonghyuk shrugged.
"I like that it has pockets," Kim Dokja told him cheerfully on their way out of the changing rooms. "That's handy."
"Don't forget to take your phone out of the pocket before returning the robe."
"Ah, right, that's a thing to keep in mind. . .Can you remind me in case I end up forgetting about that, please?"
"Of course."
Kim Dokja was a sly trickster.
"I can't, sorry," he said silkily once they met up with Uriel by the massage chairs, slipping away from the responsibility because he didn't want to be doing it.
"I'm supposed to be sick, remember? Imagine what it would look like if I went to work on Monday with suddenly perfect nails while I was supposed to be ill over the weekend?"
Yoo Joonghyuk's unimpressed stare was brushed off easily by the younger man.
"What about a facial then?" Uriel said.
"Again, Noona, sick man," Kim Dokja pointed at himself. "I'm already planning on soaking myself in sunscreen so that I don't end up tanning."
"No one is going to see your toes," Yoo Joonghyuk caught the man who was clearly trying to escape. "Take responsibility, Kim Dokja-ssi."
"Now, come on, Joonghyuk-ssi, there are better things we can do," Kim Dokja said.
Look at this sleazy guy.
"Elaborate," Yoo Joonghyuk would humour him.
"We'll just get massages done while Noona finishes her mani-pedi," Kim Dokja said blithely. "It'll help relax. I'm sure you have a lot of things to be stressed about. A good massage is the solution."
"I don't like strangers touching me," Yoo Joonghyuk said as Uriel sighed heavily.
"I don't either," Kim Dokja grinned up at him. "No one needs to touch anybody."
Yoo Joonghyuk raised an eyebrow.
"Joonghyuk-ssi, it's the twenty-first century," Kim Dokja said, a little exasperated, a little amused. "Electric massage chairs are a thing, you know?"
Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't excited about getting a pedicure, if anything it was Uriel who was eager to get her beauty treatment done. Kim Dokja, unfortunately, got caught up in all that and it was clear to see that he was regretting it now.
He would have pushed Kim Dokja to see this thing through whether he liked it or not, but Kim Dokja was pleading with his eyes for Yoo Joonghyuk to take his side.
"Alright," Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja's grin shifted into something more genuine.
It wasn't a big change, it was something almost unnoticeable. The corners of his lips had fallen a little into something more relaxed.
Uriel wasn't very pleased with Kim Dokja leaving her to keep Yoo Joonghyuk company. Let her pout and whine all she wanted; Yoo Joonghyuk caught Kim Dokja's shoulder and steered him away from the woman.
Yoo Joonghyuk thought the massage chairs were completely pointless. He didn't have a high opinion about them, he would have a better time taking a power nap on his own bed. It was just a vibrating armchair at best. . .Okay. . .He might have been a little hasty, judging massage chairs. He sort of saw it now. It wasn't half as bad.
"I could live here forever," he heard Kim Dokja's satisfied groan from the chair beside him.
It wasn't that good though. Perhaps it was different for Kim Dokja who rarely ever exercised. He really should though, it would only do him good. The walk from the station to his house could hardly be considered exercise. It was a relief that he was at least eating properly now.
Uriel was still getting her facial when they were satisfied with their massage. Kim Dokja took some time, getting out of the chair, reluctant to move.
"I feel like jelly," he had said. "But the good kind of jelly, you know?"
"Not really."
"I like being this kind of jelly. It's nice."
Yoo Joonghyuk still had no clue what that was supposed to be, but the chair did loosen up a few muscles and despite his initial disdain, he would say it was pretty relaxing.
They waited for Uriel, chatting for a while, and then Kim Dokja proposed a game.
He found a little notepad and pen that the resort had around and made a Climb the Ladder game so that they could pick the shape, colour and decorations for Uriel's nails.
It wasn't a game Yoo Joonghyuk had played before and Kim Dokja had to explain the rules to him. It was nothing rigid, he just had to choose one of the bottom lines and then follow it up the ladder, and whatever option it ended on would be the one Uriel went for.
"I don't trust that fucker at all," Uriel made sure to growl, her eyes closed because of the towel she had on her face. "Keep an eye on him. He'll cheat just to spite me."
"Can you even cheat in this game?" Kim Dokja chuckled lightly.
Yoo Joonghyuk was sure he could find a way to cheat if he really wanted to. He tried harder to figure out which route would lead him up to the long stiletto nails. They were going to be at the beach and that was the most impractical thing to have. He'd like to see Uriel suffer a little.
The gods of luck seemed to be smiling upon the woman though, because they ended up landing on reasonable choices. Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't the happiest, but he supposed he could let it go this once.
"Beauty treatments sure take a while," Kim Dokja muttered when even after an hour, Uriel was busy. Well, they weren't particularly cramped for time so she could take all the time she wanted.
Yoo Joonghyuk got to sit around and talk with Kim Dokja so he didn't have a huge problem with it either.
". . .I was never great at things like that."
"What about your degree though?"
"I powered through that shit on caffeine, convenience store ramyeon and zero will-to-live," Kim Dokja chuckled and Yoo Joonghyuk smiled faintly
"How was college for you?" Kim Dokja shifted the attention off from him.
". . .Busy," Yoo Joonghyuk said after giving it a thought.
"Oh, right, you were starting your company back then, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"It's really impressive how you did all of that," Kim Dokja flipped his phone over in his hand, clicked it on, checked the time and then turned it off again. "When did Noona start working for you?"
"Right from the start, you could say," Yoo Joonghyuk replied. "We met in college. She was looking for an easy opportunity to gain experience so that she could spice up her CV."
"And you got along?"
Yoo Joonghyuk laughed. "We have a professional understanding, that's all. I don't think we've ever gotten along well."
"Ah, Noona was always like that?" Kim Dokja said, a pitying look in his eyes for Yoo Joonghyuk.
"To me, yes," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "If you ask her, she'll tell you I tricked her into working for me."
"Did you?" Kim Dokja grinned.
"I didn't. . .She assumed strange things. I wouldn't say it was my fault."
The sun had slipped from the top of the sky and towards the horizon when Uriel was finally finished with her beauty treatments and showed off her new, shiny nails.
"Honestly," Kim Dokja said. "I don't see a lot of difference. You were just as beautiful before the facial, Noona."
"Oh, you," Uriel giggled, waving a hand.
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed incredulously. Ridiculous.
"What a sweet talker," Yoo Joonghyuk said icily causing Kim Dokja to look up at him.
"What's there to sweet talk? It's the truth, isn't it?" he said casually and Uriel's giggling intensified.
"Stop," Yoo Joonghyuk sighed. "She's going to end up with an inflated ego if you keep doing that."
Uriel gave him a dirty look and stuck her tongue out at him.
According to their itinerary, they had special plans after dinner.
Yoo Joonghyuk thought it would just be the two of them looking after a drunk Uriel. She was a lightweight through and through and the other two of their group didn't prefer drinking.
Kim Dokja was only eager to follow Uriel however and Yoo Joonghyuk had no choice but to go along.
Yoo Joonghyuk was proved right in less than half an hour.
Uriel was soon knocked out and snoozing on Kim Dokja's shoulder. If Kim Dokja wasn't a nice person, Yoo Joonghyuk would have kicked Uriel off the man himself.
Kim Dokja had tilted his head to make it more comfortable for Uriel and sat, unmoving, letting the woman rest. Kim Dokja's shoulder and back were going to end up aching at this rate.
He was probably like this for all his friends. Unreasonable considerate.
No one was asking him to be. They weren't babies, they were all adults, they could handle the consequences of their actions on their own, he didn't have to be there to soften the blow.
"Why're you frowning so much?" Kim Dokja smiled from across the table and Yoo Joonghyuk moved his eyes to Uriel's limp figure. Kim Dokja chuckled softly.
"It's alright," Kim Dokja waved it away. "Let's take her back to her room after this," he nodded at the martini in his left hand. Yoo Joonghyuk knew it wasn't Kim Dokja's dominant hand, but his right hand was busy being Uriel's pillow, so he was forced to hold out his elbow at an awkward angle to bring his glass to his lips. The martini wasn't Kim Dokja's drink of choice either, he ordered it because Uriel had asked him to give it a try.
"Finish it quickly, your arm will fall asleep," Yoo Joonghyuk sighed.
"I don't want to get drunk that fast," Kim Dokja hummed dismissively.
"It's not enough to get you drunk," Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed.
"Noona isn't good at drinking, is she?" Kim Dokja changed the subject. "How did she manage so long here? Especially with our drinking culture."
"Uriel's not a pushover," Yoo Joonghyuk assured him. "She rarely ever drinks at work-related events. It's her ironclad rule. No means no and she won't hear anything more."
Kim Dokja was impressed with just that much.
"And it's better for me if my secretary remains sober."
"I don't think others would have liked it very much," Kim Dokja said.
"They didn't," Yoo Joonghyuk told him. "We were both young, both too stubborn. We garnered quite the attention, most of it wasn't the good kind. Arrogant youngsters, in their eyes. . .I don't regret it though. And I'm sure she doesn't either."
"Well, it's good to stand your ground. Even if it ends up pissing off a few oldies. . .And I don't think you were the kind to care about other's opinions, especially if they felt kiss up, kick down was the way to go."
Yoo Joonghyuk smirked behind his glass. "I'm not," he agreed.
Yoo Joonghyuk would never have carried Uriel on his back, but the other option was letting Kim Dokja do it. The poor man might just crumple like twigs if he did that, Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't very confident about his strength, even Kim Dokja said he could carry someone as light and small as Uriel.
It wasn't exactly a short walk to their rooms either.
Yoo Joonghyuk would have loved to just hold the woman by the scruff of her neck and pull her back to the rooms, but if he did that, Kim Dokja would give himself up as a sacrifice again. So, Uriel was getting a piggyback ride from her boss. It was going to be the first and last time, honestly.
Yoo Joonghyuk dumped her on her bed when they got into her room and Kim Dokja tucked her in neatly. Unnecessary, Yoo Joonghyuk felt; he couldn't dissuade Kim Dokja even if he tried.
Their goodbyes were quick. Wishing each other goodnight, after confirming the time they would meet up in the morning, they retired to their rooms for the night.
Friday dawned sooner than expected. Yoo Joonghyuk didn't get enough sleep. He went to bed at a reasonable hour, but he wasn't able to actually fall asleep until four in the morning.
He called Uriel, just to make sure that she was awake and not oversleeping. He wasn't aversive to leaving her behind and going off by himself to get Kim Dokja and head to breakfast, then tour the island.
She was awake however and gave him a snarky reminder to not come out in a suit again.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked Kim Dokja up and down when they met.
"Yesterday was a one-time thing because I was too lazy to change," Kim Dokja rolled his eyes. "I know how to dress appropriately."
"I didn't say anything," Yoo Joonghyuk said blithely.
"You implied it with that look."
"What look?"
"Oh, shut up."
He hadn't meant to gawk. Kim Dokja wearing shorts had just taken him aback a little.
"Why do you smell like that?" Yoo Joonghyuk said tentatively. There was a very strange, unfamiliar scent Kim Dokja was exuding all of a sudden. It hadn't been there the previous day. Or ever. Yoo Joonghyuk knew for a fact that the shower products provided did not smell like that either.
"Sunscreen," Kim Dokja said brightly and it clicked. So that's what the smell was. It wasn't ghastly, but it was a little strange and synthetic and what threw him off was that it came from Kim Dokja who normally didn't smell much like anything. Even the deodorant he used was somewhat muted.
"I even have a cap, but I'll put it on when I go outside," Kim Dokja was saying.
"You don't have to go that far," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"No, I do," Kim Dokja was firm. "I'm a sick man, you know? People might not see you often, but I work with my team every single day. They'll notice if I go back to work with a nice tan after I took a few days off because I was ill. Not to mention, I am the team leader. If I get caught, it's going to leave a horrible impact on the reputation I've managed to build so far."
Kim Dokja was passionate about the oddest things. Whatever he wanted, he supposed; Yoo Joonghyuk let it go.
"Won't you be hot though?" Kim Dokja said and following his gaze Yoo Joonghyuk noticed that he was talking about his long pants.
"No, not really," Yoo Joonghyuk replied. "We're mostly going to be in a car today anyway."
"Ah, are we?"
"Yes. . .Mostly might have been an exaggeration. They're just plenty of tourist attractions to visit."
"Hmm. . .Well, I don't think it really matters," Kim Dokja shrugged.
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded along. Of course, it wasn't a big deal.
"But," Kim Dokja said slowly, scanning Yoo Joonghyuk with an appraising eye. "I was right, all colours look good on you, dark or light. I'm sure you could pull off a trashbag if it came to it."
Yoo Joonghyuk was pretty sure a trash bag was stretching it.
"I don't know why, I was expecting you to be in black or that navy blue again. I almost thought you were wearing white."
". . .It's grey."
"I can see that now," Kim Dokja said incredulously. "It looked a little like white from all the way there."
The white in Yoo Joonghyuk's wardrobe came from his formal shirts. . .Kim Dokja did say he would look good in white. He wasn't particularly fond of white articles of clothing. It got dirty too quickly and the stains never fully washed away, not to mention how they would start yellowing quickly.
"I mean, technically, isn't white the best choice when you're going outside in summer?"
"I haven't found a significant difference, to be honest," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "And white gets dirty easily."
"I guess?"
"Haven't you experienced it too?"
"Not sure. Maybe back when I was a kid? . . .I'm not particularly clumsy, so I don't get stuff on my clothes. But accidents do happen sometimes, nothing I can do about it."
Uriel joined them and Yoo Joonghyuk wondered if those two had agreed behind his back to wear shorts. Uriel wasn't in a flowy summer dress like the previous evening and was in a much more practical outfit of shorts and a green shirt.
Kim Dokja said her green shirt brought out her eyes and that the headband with little pink flowers was very pretty and went along well with her nails they'd done yesterday.
Then he asked her if she was alright after passing out last night and if she got a good night's rest.
Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't help but roll his eyes when Uriel beamed.
Kim Dokja sure was a charmer.
Yeah, he could see how Kim Dokja had more than enough dating experience. Kim Dokja could reveal that he was a womanizer and it wouldn't be surprising. If this was just some kind of casual chat with friendly compliments, what on earth was it when he was dating someone? He'd probably have people swooning.
"Are we done here?" Yoo Joonghyuk held up his wrist pointedly, tapping impatiently at his watch. "It's time for breakfast. We have things to do, a schedule to follow."
"Who was the one who said the schedule was just a suggestion?" Uriel sneered.
He should have just left her behind.
"Just admit it," Uriel drawled as they set off down the hallway finally, instead of standing there and talking. "You're just jealous I'm prettier than you and Dokja can compliment me easier than he can do for your scary face."
Yoo Joonghyuk scowled at the woman.
That was bullshit. He knew Kim Dokja didn't think his face was scary, in fact, Kim Dokja had told him himself, multiple times that he thought that Yoo Joonghyuk was very good-looking. He wasn't going to let Uriel provoke him into a childish squabble.
Kim Dokja's talents extended into photography, it seemed. However, he wasn't very keen on getting his photo taken. Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't either, so he stood back, watching Kim Dokja take photos of Uriel on the woman's phone.
It was a surprisingly tiring day. They went from one spot to the other, sightseeing, apparently. It was all the same in Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes. Next time, he'd plan some more before bringing Kim Dokja anywhere.
Kim Dokja didn't seem to mind the repetitive mountain-forest-sea scenery. He did say it was his first trip in years.
In a way, it was Yoo Joonghyuk's first trip in years as well. When was the last time he'd gone sightseeing? Probably when he was a child, he couldn't say for sure, he didn't remember.
Occasionally, especially when he was overlooking a rather nice scenery, the light in Kim Dokja's eyes would dim a little.
He soon figured out what that meant. Kim Dokja was feeling guilty about lying to his friends and was probably thinking something along the lines of enjoying good things all by himself.
Honestly, what was wrong with that? Everyone had things that were meant for themselves and themselves alone. Why couldn't Kim Dokja have his own guilty pleasures and secret adventures without his other friends knowing?
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't like it very much when Kim Dokja's thoughts strayed away to things that made him sad.
Yoo Joonghyuk proposed hiking up the mountain. It turned out to be more effective than he had expected, all thoughts of his friends went out of Kim Dokja's head in an instant once exercise was mentioned.
"I'm not that desperate for a view," Kim Dokja grumbled. "If I really want to see, I'll just find a pic on the internet. I'm not climbing shit. Especially not a damn mountain."
Uriel's itinerary involved going to the lively street markets after lunch.