BGM: BoA - The Lights of Seoul

"Can we please eat now?"  

Lunch was ready. The food that you prepared this morning has been carefully set on the picnic blanket. The cans of Chilsung cider were all taken out of the portable cooler brought by Joonmyun. Every single one of you were already holding a pair of chopsticks and Yixing was more than ready to start eating, but Zitao was still busy taking pictures of everything.

credit to zenkimchi, sheknows, kaianuada, maangchi, sgs3319, and alkaitis

"Why are you taking pictures, anyway? Are you going to post those on Weibo?" Yixing asked in Korean, obviously forgetting that Zitao's proficiency in the language isn't up to par yet.

Kevin pulled the stay-on-tab from his can of carbonated drink. "Zitao, enough with the pictures," he ordered. "Come on, let's start eating,"

As soon as the last syllable of 'Jal Meokkeseumnida' rolled out of your tongues, everything turned into complete chaos. The lacquered bamboo chopsticks that Kyungsoo especially chose for lunch were transformed from basic eating utensils to essential battle weapons: each pair recklessly invading the plastic lock boxes of food as if there was a time limit on how long you're allowed to pick a piece. 

Jongin and Moonkyu even had a little chopstick-fencing match over that huge piece of beef in the japchae, only to be disappointed when Zitao the wushu master successfully snatched it away from them.

Ever the clever maknae, Sehun hoarded an insanely large piece of kimchijeon that barely fit inside his bowl. He then sliced it into tiny pieces and exchanged them for a piece of yubu chobap from Yixing, two spoonfuls of japchae from Joonmyun, and three slices of kiwi from Kyungsoo.

"Sehun-ah, this piece is too small!" Kyungsoo complained. "Give me the one with the large strip of cabbage!" he demanded, but Sehun insisted he would only hand it over in exchange for two balls of kkul tteok - a request that was instantly fulfilled by Kevin.

For someone who grew up in a household composed of only three people, you have never witnessed such an intense fight over food. In fact, you were so shocked about all the chopstick-fights and food trade that if Yixing didn't put bits and pieces of food in your bowl, you probably wouldn't be able to sample your own cooking.

"Geez. Slow down," you suggested. "I made plenty of food for everyone,"

"Instead of complaining, I suggest you start eating," Luhan said, putting a piece of kimbap in your bowl before shoving another one into his mouth.

"Oh, don't worry about me. You're the one who needs to start eating," you retorted. "I mean, look at you! You're stick thin!"

Luhan took a sip of Chilsung Cider. "In case you didn't notice, I eat just as much as everyone else," he pointed out, before successfully fencing Chanyeol's chopsticks away from your bowl. "Go on, eat! Chanyeol nearly stole the mushrooms from your japchae,"

Yixing found your little 'You eat - No, you eat' moment with Luhan so amusing that he started giggling like a kid. When you noticed the Forgetful One spazzing over his beloved HanJae pairing, you mistook it for teasing towards your mother-like nagging, so you decided to reprimand him about his figure as well.

"Hey, don't laugh! You're not very healthy-looking either!" you pointed out. "In fact, every single one of you looks like he's been charged with a temporary restraining order against the refrigerator! Well, except maybe for Baozi-"

"Minseok is not fat!" Jihye quickly retorted, causing Minseok to pause from having another bite of kimchijeon. "You just assume that he is because he's got chubby cheeks, but if you look at his body, he looks pretty thin as well," she explained, before taking a sip of Chilsung Cider.

With a cheeky grin plastered on his face, Minseok decided to tease your best friend. "I didn't know you were checking out my body," he joked, causing Jihye to throw a piece of yellow kkul tteok at him. Little Baozi was about to throw a slice of orange back at her when you and Kevin suddenly chorused:

"YA! STOP PLAYING WITH THE FOOD!"

Thanks to the boys' healthy appetites, lunch ended sooner than you expected. Every single one of the plastic lock boxes that you brought today were wiped clean - as if they never contained any food in the first place. Since it was never advisable to embark on any form of vigorous physical activity after having a meal, all thirteen of you decided to relax around the picnic area before playing again.

"Ah~ that was delicious!" Minseok exclaimed, rubbing his obviously-satisfied tummy.

"Yeah," Yixing agreed. "Thanks for the food, Jaemi," he said, and Jihye and the rest of the boys proceeded to thank you for the sumptuous lunch as well.

"Look at Kevin hyung!" Chanyeol said. "He definitely looks like Totoro right now!" he said, pointing to the napping Kevin Li sprawled out beside you on the enormous picnic blanket.

Looking at your stretched out legs, you realized something. "Geez. His arms are longer than my legs!" you noticed, making the others laugh at your discovery.

"That's why Kyuwan hyung never stands beside him," Joonmyun recalled. "He said that even though he's pretty confident with his height, he looks like a grade schooler compared to Kevin hyung," 

"How come that Kyuwan guy never hangs out with you?" Jihye asked.

"He does, actually, but not as often," Luhan responded. "He is a bit older than most of us are, anyway, so he usually hangs out with the trainees who are around his age,"

"And now that he has a girlfriend..." Kyungsoo contemplated, while playing with the grass. "Well, let's just say that he prefers her company than ours,"

When Kyungsoo mentioned Kyuwan's girlfriend, Moonkyu realized that he hasn't met her yet. In fact, he doesn't even know what her name is. "Speaking of Kyuwan hyung's girlfriend-" Moonkyu started, but it was Jongin who finished what he was going to ask. "Has anybody met her yet?" 

Based on the clueless looks on the boys' face, you figured that none of the boys actually knew who Han Kyuwan was dating. This assumption was confirmed when the boys started shaking their heads.

"Maybe he's dating someone from SNSD or something," Jihye guessed, but the moment she mentioned 'dating' and 'SNSD' in the same sentence, your best friend knew that she was in for some teasing.

"Do you want to know who's dating someone from So Nyeo Si Dae?" Chanyeol teased, a creepy smile formed on his lips.

Obviously aware that Chanyeol's going to again with the information about Choi Siwon's supposed girlfriend from Super Junior's sister group, Jihye covered her ears while repeating the words "I DON"T WANT TO HEAR IT!" in an attempt to block him off.

"Seems like internal dating is acceptable in your company, huh?" you asked.

"It'th actually preferred," Sehun admitted, leaning back to finally lie on the grass. "They say they'd rather have us date someone from the company, so it would be easier to control the situation in case rumors come out," Minseok added.

"So, who's real then?" Jihye asked, suddenly interested in the course of discussion. "YoonHae? TaeLli? SeoKyu? MinStal? LuNew? HyoHyuk?"

"Nice try, Ji, but I don't think they're going to confirm any of those couples,"

KAWI-BAWI-BO!

For the next round of activities, Moonkyu forced all of you to play an improvised game of tag. He asked each one of you to tie handkerchiefs onto your wrists, which will serve as you lifeline in the game. Instead of just touching the other players in order to tage them, Moonkyu insisted that it would be more fun if the It needs to pull off the handkerchiefs to kick the rest of you out of the game.

Since there were thirteen of you, Minseok suggested to pick two Its instead of just one, and after several rounds of rock-paper-scissors, Sehun and Zitao were finally chosen as the pair of Its for the first round of games.

Luhan, who was the fastest runner of the group, managed to go around the park as freely as he could without being caught by the pair of maknaes. By creating a double-teamed diversion, the pseudo-twins were also able to escape Sehun and Zitao's radar.

While running away from Sehun and Zitao, respectively, Kyungsoo and Jihye accidentally bumped into each other. Upon realizing that they collided again, the two of them instantly pulled away and awkwardly apologized to each other, giving the maknaes just enough time to kick both of them out of the game.

"Oh here, let me help you," Jihye offered, taking off the handkerchief that Zitao was having a hard time untying off her wrist. "I'd rather sit, anyway,"

After successfully pulling the handkerchief off Kyungsoo's wrist, Sehun immediately moved on to his next target: you. The maknae knew that it wouldn't be so hard to tag you out of the game, since it was common knowledge that you're not the biggest fan of running.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

As soon as you saw Sehun running towards you, you ran as fast as you could just to avoid him. Out of panic and desperation, you suddenly stood on a park bench - clearly oblivious of the fact that standing on an elevated space does not immune you from being tagged. Before Sehun could reach you, though, you saw Kevin approaching you first.

"JAEMI, QUICK!" he shouted, gesturing you to jump on his back. Without thinking twice, you accepted his offer of a piggyback ride by enveloping your arms on his neck as Kevin carried you off the park bench by wrapping your legs around his torso.

"HEY, THAT'TH CHEATING!" Sehun complained, but you just taunted him even further by sticking out your tongue, Mehrong-style, as Kevin quickly ran away to avoid getting caught.

"Jaemi, you're light as a feather!" Kevin noticed, but you insisted that he only feels that way because compared to his Totoro-stature, you're definitely considered pocket-sized. He was about to debunk your "I'm pocket-sized' statement when you both spotted Zitao and Sehun running towards you from opposite directions, obviously in an attempt to set up a trap.

"RUN, TOTORO, RUN!!!"

After being tagged out of the game, Jihye just went back to the picnic area to rest for a while. Running isn't really her thing, anyway, and after what happened in the convenience store earlier, she figured it would be nice to have some time alone to think.

Like almost any other girl, Jihye wanted her first kiss to be something special - not necessarily with an orchestral accompaniment or a fireworks display, but she wanted it to be at least with someone she likes. Jihye likes Kyungsoo, alright, but not romantically.

"Jihye, about what hap-"

When Kyungsoo found Jihye sitting all by her lonesome, he took it as the perfect opportunity to finally discuss their accidental kiss. Ever since it happened, he's been feeling guilty of unintentionally 'stealing' what he suspected was your best friend's first kiss. He was about to apologize when Jihye decided to cut him off.

"Let's just forget about it, okay? It's not like we wanted it to happen, anyway," she insisted.

Kyungsoo let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, we both know that it was an accident, right? I mean, no offense, but you're not really my type,"

"It's not like you're my type, either!" Jihye snapped back, folding her arms across her chest.

Kyungsoo laughed. "I know," he agreed, taking a seat on the grass beside your best friend. "You now prefer a fair-skinned, but somehow vertically-challenged Choi Siwon look-a-like, am I right?"

Jihye's eyes widen. She was about to deny your sunbae's claim when Kyungsoo said, "Oh, c'mon Jihye. You didn't think anybody else would notice? I know you've been checking him out more than Kevin hyung nowadays and don't even try to deny it!"

"Has anybody told you how gossipy you are?" Jihye joked.

"I see it as being observant, not gossipy," Kyungsoo clarified. "Besides, you're being too obvious, just like Luhan hyung and his little crush on Jaemi,"

"Oooh~ you noticed it, too?" Jihye asked.

Kyungsoo took a bottle of water from the cooler. He asked Jihye if she wanted one as well, but your best friend politely shook her head. "Oh, please! Everybody knows that!" he said, referring to Luhan's supposed crush on you.