Someone once said that the essence of love lies in the push and pull.

A love that only pushes is exhausting, and a love that only pulls is bound to be boring. Therefore, the two must be well-balanced.

"Bullshit."

Ahyeon muttered as she stood in front of Taeyang’s door.

Whoever said that must not know true love, which is why they spouted such nonsense. True love doesn’t concern itself with such things.

It had been over ten years since their relationship began, even before they understood the concept of dating. Ahyeon and Taeyang had never felt tired or bored in their relationship.

Of course, there had been a few crises, but they were all due to Ahyeon’s petty jealousy or immaturity, not Taeyang or their relationship.

"Phew..."

She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

Every day was more fresh and enjoyable than the last, but today was especially thrilling and anticipated.

Ahyeon checked the time again.

11:59 PM. She straightened her clothes one last time.

Truthfully, Taeyang would prefer her to be naked, but that would be problematic if Moonbyul or other apartment residents saw her.

She checked again to make sure the rose she had hidden behind her back wasn’t sticking out, then took out her phone and pressed the call button.

[Hello?]

Even though he tried to act casual, his voice was slightly groggy. Were you about to sleep? Not happening. In one minute, it will be tomorrow. Every second counts on a date.

"Yeah, Taeyang!"

She grinned and shouted.

"Were you sleeping?"

*

Creeeak-

Taeyang, dressed in pajamas, opened the door. He looked surprised but chuckled when he saw Ahyeon standing there.

She had her usual twin-tailed hair and was wearing a blue windbreaker with tight span pants.

"Um..."

Before Taeyang could say anything, Ahyeon beat him to it. She presented the bouquet she had been hiding behind her back.

"Ta-da!"

Ahyeon said, along with the rose bouquet.

"A gift~"

On the surface, she seemed nonchalant, but Ahyeon was more nervous than she had been in a long time.

Unlike other men, Taeyang’s tastes were extremely feminine.

Sticker photos, cute snacks, a bit of show-off on SNS—nothing seemed to please him. Flowers were a gamble as a gift.

Taeyang made a strange sound, taken aback by the unexpected gift.

"...No. Um."

Taeyang stared intently at the rose in front of him. Then he looked past it to see Ahyeon’s nervous expression and smirked.

"It’s pretty. Thank you."

If you asked if a rose bouquet was a good gift, the answer would be a resounding no. But if it was a gift from Ahyeon, it was different.

He accepted the rose bouquet from Ahyeon.

"Ten roses?"

"Yeah! I wanted to say there are 99 roses and the last one is you, but that seemed too much. Ten roses are just right to hide behind my back!"

He bowed his head to smell the flowers. The sweet scent filled his nostrils. Of course, even a truckload of these flowers couldn’t compare to Ahyeon’s natural scent.

"You’re right. One rose is too little, and a hundred is too much. This is just right."

He couldn’t just leave the fresh flowers to die, so he thought about getting a vase.

"Are we leaving right away?"

"Yeah! Hurry up and get ready!"

Taeyang nodded, holding the bouquet.

"Wait just a moment. I’ll change and be right out."

"Okay, okay!"

Taeyang went back into his room, and Moonbyul peeked her head out from behind the door. She had been awake and watching the whole time since she heard the doorbell.

"Hello..."

"Yeah, long time no see! How have you been?"

Their eyes met, and they exchanged brief greetings, more like probing each other. Despite knowing each other for nearly ten years, they could never be close.

To Moonbyul, Ahyeon was the one who stole her brother’s attention from a young age. To Ahyeon, Moonbyul was the one who prevented her from having sex in Taeyang’s room.

Moonbyul struck first. She glanced over Ahyeon’s outfit and said,

"Even so, a date at this hour? Isn’t that a bit... inconsiderate? And your clothes... they’re a bit much."

"Is it?"

Ahyeon smiled smugly and crossed her arms, intentionally emphasizing her chest.

Compared to Moonbyul, who was going through puberty, Ahyeon was already fully developed. She wouldn’t let her best asset go to waste.

"Taeyang seems to like it. No, I misspoke. He does like it."

"Our oppa is just too nice."

"You seem surprisingly possessive of men. A man-obsessed woman... not very popular."

Ahyeon grinned.

"Taeyang doesn’t like that either."

"Why are you bringing oppa into this?"

Moonbyul snapped.

"Isn’t unni the same? Waking a sleeping man for a date at this hour? You’ll be cursed out if word gets around."

"Ah, that’s fine. Even if every man in the world hates me, as long as Taeyang loves me, that’s enough."

"I don’t care about popularity either."

As the atmosphere heated up, Taeyang, who had quickly changed, emerged with a wry smile.

"Were you fighting?"

"Fighting? I’m not a kid."

"Yeah! Moonbyul and I are close!"

They both forced awkward smiles and shrugged.

He heard everything, come on.

Taeyang placed his hand on Moonbyul’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Take care of the house."

"Tch, bring something good when you come back."

There was no point in trying to stop them. Might as well send them off coolly.

Moonbyul added,

"Don’t forget your promise."

"Of course."

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do now. She just waved slightly as Taeyang disappeared down the hallway.

Click- Beep-

The door locked, and Moonbyul turned away bitterly.

This was originally a place where the two of them lived together. But now, just because Taeyang wasn’t here, it felt so vast and lonely.

"Just hold on until next week..."

She muttered and went back to her room.

No, she came back out and cautiously entered Taeyang’s room, then immediately jumped onto his bed.

"Oppa, oppa, oppa, oppa."

Moonbyul’s longing sighs echoed through the night.

*

Honestly, I had high expectations. If she was taking someone out on a date starting at midnight, there must be something incredible planned.

Sure enough,

"Um..."

Something far beyond my expectations awaited us. Ahyeon proudly presented it.

"Ta-da!"

"Ta-da, my ass."

I was speechless.

A motorcycle?

She wasn’t satisfied with ordinary car sex and now wanted motorcycle sex? Maybe if we were going to a distant countryside, but not in our apartment complex.

"By the way, where did you get this?"

"I borrowed it from a friend."

She confidently handed me a helmet.

"You want me to wear this?"

"Yeah! Of course!"

So, motorcycle sex wasn’t the goal after all.

"Hurry up and get on!"

"Uh... suddenly my head hurts."

"Huh? Do you have a headache? Let’s go to the hospital!"

"It’s because of this!"

I finally calmed down and asked the most important question.

"Do you have a license?"

Ahyeon proudly showed me her license from her wallet.

"Ta-da~ I actually got it a while ago!"

Okay, so she has a license. But still...

"Where are we going?"

If it’s nearby, we could just take a taxi, so there’s no need for a motorcycle. If it’s far, I’d be crazy to take a motorcycle. Either way, I had no intention of riding a motorcycle.

"Donghae!"

Smack!

I couldn’t help but smack her back. Ahyeon yelped in pain.

"Ouch!"

"You reckless kid. Stop talking nonsense and call a taxi."

I was willing to go along with almost anything for today’s date, but this was too much.

Ahyeon muttered dejectedly,

"The taxi fare will be huge..."

"It’s fine. Even with the surcharge, it won’t be more than 200,000 won. Where exactly in Donghae?"

"Sokcho!"

"You were going to ride a motorcycle all the way there?"

"Why? Isn’t it fun?"

After getting smacked again, Ahyeon pouted and called a taxi using an app.

After a three-hour taxi ride, we finally arrived in Gangwon-do.

"Phew, thank you!"

We got out of the taxi and soon heard the sound of the waves as we stepped onto the sandy beach.

The pitch-black night sea was eerily quiet, with no signs of life. It was too dark to call it a scenic view.

"I never thought I’d be taking a taxi at midnight to go to the beach."

Ahyeon gently took my hand.

"I wanted to show you the sunrise. We’ve never watched the sunrise together like this before."

The process was a bit ridiculous, but her intentions were always for me. I felt the warmth of her hand and replied briefly.

"...That’s actually quite touching."

"And..."

Ahyeon smiled mischievously and slowly unzipped her windbreaker down to her chest.

The zipper stopped around her solar plexus, and she opened her jacket wide. Beneath it, her white skin and breasts were fully exposed. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath, not even a bra.

"I also wanted to try it once. Sunrise sex on the beach. Isn’t it romantic?"

"I don’t know about romantic, but..."

"Kyaa!"

I reached in and firmly grasped her breast.

"This is definitely arousing. You wouldn’t want to do it right here, so I assume you’ve scouted a spot?"

"Of course. Come on, let’s go."

Ahyeon took my hand and gently led me away.