You arrived at a cafe a while later and Hongbin got out of the car first. He waited for you to get out before putting his hand on the car door, about to close it. But as you were not used to someone doing these things for you, you also went to shut it. You ended up shutting it together and you swirled around, sending him a look that said: Did I not just tell you that you don't have to? He simply flashed his dimpled smile. "Let's go inside."

 

You sighed and headed for the door, you could faintly hear him snicker as you passed. You pulled the door open, only to feel it leave your hand when Hongbin grabbed it from behind you, holding it open for you. That's probably not going to change anytime soon. You thought with a frown as you stepped inside, only to be greeted by the shouts of your members as well as the rest of the VIXX members. "You're late~!" They were seated along some tables in pairs, presumably from the first selection. They all laughed at your and Hongbin's obvious confusion. Hakyeon spoke up to clarify with a wide grin on his face: "The PDs told us that if you're late to the rendezvous, you're automatically picked to go shopping and fix some food when we get to Jeju." Eunmi sat next to him and you realised as you looked at her that the smile she was wearing wasn't entirely genuine. There was something in the way that she glanced between you and Hongbin. A harshness that told you she would happily change places with you.

 

"But they didn't tell us that!" Hongbin protested.

 

That's when the PD intervened. "Another randomly selected couple will join you as well." Hongbin's shoulders slumped, defeated "Fine." and you went to take your seats. You glanced at the other pairs. Next to Hakyeon and Eunmi sat Sanghyuk and Jimin, then came Taekwoon and Yejin, Jaehwan with Chaeyoung and finally, Wonshik on the end. He didn’t look as happy as the others for some reason.

 

"Okay, we'll draw lots on the seating arrangement for the trip now." The PD announced. "What do you mean? We're pairing up with new people?" Wonshik asked, suddenly perking up a bit. "Precisely. We want you to get to know as many as possible." An assistant brought out a bowl with some folded paper slips inside.

 

"First name is... N-ssi" Everyone at the table turned their gaze to Hakyeon for his reaction to his new partner. "His partner is... Jimin-ssi" Hakyeon seemed more embarrassed than anything and Jimin was in shock over the fact that she had gone from the youngest VIXX member straight to the oldest.

 

"Next couple is... Ravi-ssi and... Eunmi-ssi" They looked at each other and smiled politely, Wonshik’s turning into an embarrassed grin. "Next is... Hongbin-ssi and... Yejin-ssi" They turned towards each other and bowed slightly. "Next is... Chaeyoung-ssi and... Leo-ssi. And the final couple is Riah-ssi and Hyuk-ssi." You groaned inwardly. The one guy who's younger than me... You met eyes with him and smiled nonetheless, bowing. “But what about me?” Jaehwan almost shouted. His name had not been called.

 

“Oh, yes maybe we didn’t tell you...” The PD began. “What?” “What is it?” “Tell us!” Jaehwan, Chaeyoung, Sanghyuk, Hongbin and Eunmi spoke over each other, they were so eager. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are six boys but only five girls. This means, that for every date, one boy will not be able to participate.” A brief silence followed. “What?” “But that’s so mean...” Jimin said with a cute pout.

 

Wonshik raised his voice then and told the others, “That’s what happened to me earlier! I waited and waited but nobody showed up!” Hongbin, Jimin, Eunmi, Sanghyuk, Chaeyoung and Hakyeon along with Jaehwan burst out laughing. “Jinjja?!” Hongbin managed between laughs, his expression a mix of disbelief and incredible amusement. “Yeah...” Wonshik pouted, sending Hongbin into a new fit of laughter.

 

Yejin – being her calm self as always – said in her soft voice, “But this won’t happen to the girls, right?”, her eyes fixed at the PDs. The laughing quieted down at her question and all of you turned to the filming crew for their response. “That’s right.” Eventually coming to terms with this unexpected rule, the PD decided to move on.

 

“So Hyuk-ssi and Yejin-ssi will go with Hongbin-ssi and Riah-ssi to shop for food.” “What?!” Sanghyuk exclaimed as the rest cheered, except for Taekwoon. He was more displeased over not being able to go and pick out the food, thinking about Hongbin's and Sanghyuk's cheap tastebuds with a frown that only showed in his eyes.

 

Though Hakyeon could read him like a book, of course, and called him out on it as he leaned over to get a good look at his face. “Our Taekwoon is upset that he can't get the food he wants!” Everyone laughed and Taekwoon's face turned scarlet before he dropped his head, revealing his crown.

 

Aigoo, he's kinda cute... You thought to yourself as you watched him fan himself.

 

-

 

The next day – afternoon

“Noona, let me take that for you.” Sanghyuk said when he walked up beside you, reaching for your suitcase as you crossed the vast floor of the airport. You faltered in your steps and looked down at his hand. “Oh? It's fine, thank you. I can handle it.” You looked up at him and smiled a little. Carrying only a backpack, also pulling a suitcase behind you was no problem at all. It feels so awkward when he tries to assume the 'oppa' role...

 

You were trying hard to see Sanghyuk in a more romantic light, but it had quickly become clear that he was not your type, and you had a feeling that you weren't his either. All in all, the both of you were acting to the best of your abilities in front of the cameras.

As you threw a glance over your shoulder you realized that you had subconsciously pulled ahead and left the others of the group quite a few steps behind you.

 

You watched them for a moment, observing as Chaeyoung made the others crack up, Jaehwan quickly catching on and almost bringing tears to their eyes. Hongbin caught your attention when he completely came to a stop, eyes turned into crescents and a wide grin on his face as he laughed. A small grin made its way to your lips as you admired his carefree expression.

 

 

Then you let your gaze drift to Taekwoon. He had also separated himself from the group but was a little ways behind them, silent. Remembering that his new partner was Chaeyoung, you giggled quietly to yourself. They were complete opposites. This is the beauty of chance.

 

You felt a wave of jealousy sweep over you when you heard the gang howl with laughter at Chaeyoung's words once again. Sometimes you wished that you were that person, the one who could make others laugh with a single sentence. The one who had the power to make strangers feel comfortable in their presence. I will probably never be that person. I just have to accept that. You let out a small sigh.

 

“Noona?” You turned back ahead at the sound of Sanghyuk's voice. You had stopped without noticing and the rest of the group had nearly caught up with you. You quickly got a hold of yourself and set off again towards the security checkpoint, acting like nothing had happened.

 

Another thing you hadn't noticed was that Hongbin had stolen glances at you every so often and worry had flashed across his face when he saw your solemn expression as you watched the group. Your first encounter had been a bit awkward, but he was intrigued by your personality and wanted to see what was beneath the tough exterior of the leader. He wanted to know what had been going through your head while you wore that expression.

 

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