“Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

“What idea?”

They had arrived at the town of Jeonju, a promising province with many attractions to offer ― one of them being a market they happened to pass by. After driving around the place several times looking for somewhere to park, at last Doojoon managed to find an empty spot enough to squeeze the van in. Joohee was the first to jump out of the vehicle all excited, being the one to suggest that they should stop by and have a look around the place.

She chuckled at Minhyuk who had a frown on his face. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning anything weird,” she reassured him. “It’s packed here so let’s move in small groups to make it easier.”

“That’s a good idea, actually,” Hoya piped in, then glanced around to count. “How about 2-2-3?”

“Do we pick our partner?” asked Chorong.

“Well it’s no fun that way. Let’s go random.”

Deciding to use the traditional method as the easy way out, all seven of them gathered around and threw their hands into circle at the count of the chant, and repeated the process until they attained the result they wanted. Doojoon and Hoya did a high five, before noticing Joohee threw a rock as well.

“Why did you throw a rock?” the older boy scowled.

“Why did you throw a rock?”

“The actual question is why did I throw a rock,” Hoya rolled his eyes.

Minhyuk laughed and patted him on the back before doing a two-finger salute at the youngest of the pack. “Looks like it’s you and me today,” he beamed to Bomi who responded with a smile.

Hoya turned to look at Chorong who still had her hand held out, as if frozen there, before shifting his vision to the other boy. Woohyun cleared his throat as he shuffled slowly towards her. “That left the two of us then,” he shrugged.

Doojoon clapped his hands to get their attention. “Okay, let’s move! Meet up in two hours?”

“Two hours of hell with you,” Joohee grunted.

“Hey, you came up with the idea so no complaining.”

They made a lot of noise even when they were separating, especially with the eldest two’s endless bickering. Chorong gave her childhood friend a pouty look but the latter only smiled encouragingly before walking off with his partners. She could only stare at their disappearing figures, and Woohyun was the one to make the first move.

“Let’s go,” he said. “Where do you want to go?”

Shrugging, Chorong lowered her gaze. “Up to you. I don’t mind.”

Woohyun’s eyes wandered around to observe the place. “How about finding something to eat first? I don’t know much about Jeonju but I heard bibimbap here is famous.”

She only nodded and let him lead the way. She struggled to follow his pace especially with the throngs of people at the narrow pathway, and when he finally noticed that she was having a hard time pushing herself through with her small frame, he went back to her. “Sorry,” she murmured when she saw him.

“Let’s go somewhere less crowded,” he told her. Without prior notice he suddenly grabbed her hand and kept her behind him. “Just walk behind me.”

In that moment Chorong was glad and thankful that she could hide herself behind his back because she wouldn’t want him to see the blush colouring her face, and she prayed that the noise around them was loud enough to bury the sound of her heartbeat.

--

Doojoon frowned when Joohee suddenly came in between Hoya and him and linked her arms with theirs. There were bounces in her steps and a rather cunning smile gracing her lips. In unison the two boys stared at each other quizzically. “What do you want, Song?”

“Can’t we just be friendly, Yoon?”

“But your definition of being friendly is different from the actual definition of being friendly.”

She used her elbow to hit him on his waist and made a face at him afterwards while Hoya’s attempt to escape failed since she locked his arm tightly. “Let’s make a bet,” Joohee began.

“I knew you’re up to no good.”

“What bet?” asked Hoya.

“How long do you think Chorong and Woohyun will last today?”

“Song Joohee!”

“What? It’s not like none of us know what’s going on between them.”

Hoya could only manage a laugh while the older boy heaved a sigh. “Okay, I’m in.”

--

“So, Bomi.”

“So, Minhyuk-oppa.”

In unison the two sneaked a glance at each other and laughed when they saw that. The most unlikely pair, they were. Neither of them could actually point out when and how did they start hanging out together from being just mere acquaintances aside from having mutual friends, and they never had any chances to be alone like this ― not that they ever wished so; the thought of it never even crossed their mind.

“Well, this is awkward.”

Bomi burst out laughing again at Minhyuk’s remark while he joined along soon after because they both couldn’t agree more.

“Well then today is the perfect opportunity to… um, bond?”

--

Woohyun had let go of her hand as soon as they came to a quieter street with less people and kept his hands in his pockets ever since and was quiet all through their walk. His pace was fast, and most of the times Chorong struggled to match her footings with his. It felt like she was chasing after him, and she hated that feeling because she knew well that she was chasing after him.

“Um,” she hesitated. “Can you please―”

“Is this restaurant okay with you?” he suddenly interrupted and stopped on his track, giving her a scare when she nearly bumped into him.

She blinked at him several times cluelessly until she saw him pointing at the direction of the restaurant in front of them. “Oh,” she exhaled. “Okay.” They settled down at a table in the middle of the place, where it was not really that secluded nor was it any special. Chorong decided on her order but when Woohyun told the waitress he’d only have a glass of water, her forehead creased. “You’re not eating?” she questioned.

“I’m not that hungry,” he replied, shaking his head.

“We shouldn’t have come here then.”

“That’s okay. Didn’t you say you’re hungry earlier when we were in the car?”

She blushed because she never mentioned it with words but it was her stomach that made a racket when everyone was sleeping in the car except Minhyuk who was driving. At least she thought everyone else was sleeping. “But I… uh, I eat slowly,” she protested.

“I can wait.”

“Still, eating alone is… not really, um, comfortable and―”

“Okay, okay,” he cut in with a sigh and ordered a plate of kimbab rolls. “Happy now?”

She cracked a smile and nodded. “Yes.”

--

“Can I ask you something?”

Hoya whirled around to face her, raising his eyebrows. “I sense a serious talk because you’re not usually this polite.”

“Hey!” Joohee elbowed him lightly. They laughed it off as she stretched her legs. They were sitting on a bench in the park not far from the public toilet which Doojoon left for. The weather was hot that day, so they were grateful for the shade provided by an ancient tree. “But really, in all seriousness, I have a question for you.”

“Okay, shoot.”

She hesitated for a bit before she went ahead. “Um, do you like Chorong?”

He almost choked on the cheese stick he was eating. “Why that, out of the blue?”

“Just answer me,” she shook her head.

Just like she did, Hoya took his time answering. “I do like her. I mean, she’s my friend after all.”

“Then how about as a woman?”

“I don’t see her as a woman,” he laughed. “It sounds harsh, but you know, we practically grew up together. We’ve seen each other at our worst, and also at our grossest. So I guess I can’t see as any more than family?”

She nodded in understanding, but later raised an eyebrow. “But I don’t see you two fighting like Bomi and Doojoon do?”

Again, he chuckled. “We can, more often than not, especially since Chorong’s quite a stronghead. But I choose not to since I don’t really fancy the whole process, like the not-talking period. I don’t want unnecessary headaches so I just end up giving up most of the time.”

Joohee smiled listening to him because she knew how stubborn their friend can be. “Makes sense to me.”

“Why did you ask, anyway?” he asked later. “Song Joohee, are you secretly in love with me?”

Hearing that, she burst out in a fit of giggles. “I hate to ruin your fantasies but unfortunately for you I’m not,” she tells him. “Do you have anyone in mind, though?” she inquired more after a moment.

“What’s with these endless questions?” he chortled then.

“Isn’t this supposed to be some sort of bonding time?”

Hoya didn’t answer her question right away but only stared at the distance. His thoughts were lost somewhere, and his heart cracked a little, because her question reminded him of something that he didn’t want to remember. He scrunched up the empty plastic wrap in his hand, aimed it at the dustbin, and stretched up a bit. He glanced at the direction of the public toilet and tilted his head. “Doojoon hyung sure is taking his time, isn’t he?”

He never answered the question.

--

Bomi stepped out from the small store carrying two ice-creams. She handed the one in her right hand to Minhyuk who waited for her outside, and the latter smiled receiving it.

“Hey, it’s my favourite,” he remarked as they both unwrapped the desserts.

“I know. Joohee unnie mentioned it before when we went to get ice-creams once,” she returned with a satisfied grin.

His brows quirked up slightly. “Oh, did she?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “It’s kinda weird though, knowing things about you but not exactly knowing you.”

“Hmm, I can relate,” he agreed, taking a large bite.

“She tells you about us too?”

“Nah, she gossips about you.”

When her facial expression changed, a playful smirk crept up on his face. He quickly shook his head as his eyes formed crescent-shaped slits. “I’m kidding. She doesn’t gossip about you, don’t worry,” he told her and flashed a grin.

The younger one punched his shoulder a little and laughed. “But the two of you spend a lot of time together, don’t you?”

“Yeah. At first we just decided to stick together just in case since we kinda had the same fate and went through the same thing, but then we just got used to each other and became best friends for real,” he explained. “Joohee never mentioned it?” he asked when he saw Bomi quirking her eyebrows confusedly. “Well, we both originally came from ICT. I was unhappy whereas it wasn’t her first choice. We met when we sat for the qualification exam to switch to Economics together.”

“Oh, I never knew that you came from a different course.”

“Yeah. That’s why we’re a semester behind compared to the kids in our original batch. And that’s also how we met Chorong,” he added. “How about you though?”

“Hmm I guess you can say mostly through Doojoon?” she recalled back her memories. “Hoya used to play soccer with him. Sometimes when I dropped by I’d see Chorong, and from there we all got close.”

“Hoya used to play soccer?” Minhyuk questioned because he was in the team but he’s never seen Hoya on the field.

She gave him a nod. “Not too long before you joined, if I remember it well. He hurt his leg pretty badly so the doctor forbid him from doing vigorous activities like sports.”

“What happened?”

“Accident on site. Honestly it was slightly Doojoon’s fault. You know how clumsy he can be. While trying to keep him from danger, Hoya hurt himself.”

“Wow, I never heard any of these before,” came as his reply. A soft chuckle quickly followed later as he aimed his ice-cream stick at a nearby bin. “I feel bad for Hoya, but somehow I can imagine Doojoon like that, it’s funny.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “And since we’re on this topic, I’m always curious about one thing. How did Woohyun come along? I mean, well, he’s the only one from Design like how I’m the only one from Communication.”

The boy laughed at her question. “You know, I wonder about that too. One day when I went to our table he was already there, and he was there every day ever since. I never really asked and no one really explained, so he’s always been a mystery to me.”