The next morning found the boys trudging through the village looking for odd jobs after stuffing themselves with whatever leftover food they had left from the city. The villagers looked on with great curiosity especially when the village was a small, tightly-knitted community with rare visitors.

The boys felt as if they were being closely scrutinized like laboratory rats, shifting slightly with discomfort. They knew that every single person was bursting with curiosity to ask about them but no one dared to come near them.

Sunmi gazed out at the hills that were dotted with tea plantation and wondered if they could get a job or even a proper place to stay. Tents and sleeping bags were fun but for the long term welfare of their backs, it was still better to look for a mattress.

The boys entered a small cosy eatery and the customers present stared at the new-comers eagerly. Sehun couldn't help but try hide his face for fear that someone would recognize him from the papers even if he knew it was highly unlikely.

Suho approached the ahjumma at the counter with slight hesitance as the rest followed behind like little chicks tagging behind a mother hen. The Ahjumma gave a warm smile but couldn't help the curiosity that glimmered in her eyes.

"May I help you?" she asked carefully.

Suho cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. "Uhm we're here to look for some jobs. Do you think you can reccommend us some? We don't mind helping with waitressing or cleaning in the kitchen, or picking tea leaves or any of the physically-draining tasks."

The Ahjumma eyed them. "We do need some help in the kitchen and I'm aware that Uncle Jin next door needs more helpers out on the hills. However, the pay isn't going to be a lot since our village is small. Are you boys going to be okay with that?"

Suho nodded eagerly. "We're okay, we can start work immediately!"

"Great." the Ahjumma beamed. "Then let's get to work."

------

"I regret my choice. I TOTALLY regret it." Chanyeol groaned.

Sehun shook his head and wrinkled his nose at Sunmi who did the same while rolling her eyes. The three of them were behind the eatery, helping with the used dishes and working as fast as they could. The used hot plates were coming in non-stop and they were horrifyingly difficult to wash as the bits of sauce and ingredients stuck on the plates like they were glued on.

Chanyeol was still scrubbing his first hot plate while the couple had already done quite a few. Chanyeol sulked and pouted his lips. "I should have chosen to go out to the fields to pick the tea leaves. How fun is that? Why did I want the kitchen job, why?" he whined.

The rest of the boys were referred over to Uncle Jin who gladly took them under his wing as he needed more helpers in the hills. The village was one that thrived on the green tea business and produced many iconic products involving the little green leaves.

Green tea drinks, green tea ice cream, green tea buckwheat noodles, greentea whatever. It was a real greentea heaven in there.

The ahjumma's initial wariness wore off pretty quickly and Sunmi was grateful for the warm welcome she had later bestowed upon them, even finding the initiative to look for a hut they could rent the gang so they didn't have to sleep in tents.

The nicest thing about the ahjumma was that she didn't ask questions. Sunmi could see that she was burning to ask about their backgrounds and reasons for being there, and Sunmi didn't want to lie to someone that was so geniune and sincere in her reception.

She seeemed to know that these kids had things to hide and it was better not to probe, even if she really really wanted to know.

Sehun nudged Sunmi with his elbow and passed her another one of the hot, heavy, metal plates which he had scrubbed. Sunmi took it from him and wiped it clean with a towel, placing it on the growing stack of washed plates.

"I beg to differ, I think this is quite fun." Sehun murmured with a hint of smile as he passed another plate to Sunmi. Sunmi raised her brows at him questioningly and he grinned. "Don't you think this feels like married life where we do the dishes together?"

Sunmi burst into laughter as pink tints made their way to her cheeks. "Oh Sehun!"

Chanyeol's face was exactly like the emoticon with three dashes. -_- "Another reason why I should have chosen the picking leaf job." he grumbled to himself. "Have you ever seen such a tall lightbulb as me, really?"

The couple ignored his comment blatantly as they were too caught up with each other to care. Sehun flicked water at Sunmi, causing the latter to giggle uncharacteristically. Chanyeol rolled his eyes so much that he thought it might really go 360 degrees.

Sunmi dipped her hands into the bucket of water and flicked water at Sehun as well, with a few drips landing themselves on Chanyeol. Chanyeol howled in annoyance and made a face. "If you two continue with this, I'll leave alright?" he threatened, wrinkling his nose.

Sehun ignored his hyung and tackled Sunmi against the wall, flicking more watter onto her face. Sunmi squealed and ducked to avoid the water, laughing merrily the entire time.

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes into slits and snorted loudly. "Would you look at that? Alright I get it, poor Chanyeol is unwanted and unloved." he grumbled as he got up with much effort on his part. "Better leave before I look even more stupid. Where's my Baekkie?" he scratched his head as he left.

The couple didn't notice the tall dude's absence as they panted in laughter, finally calming down after a few moments. Sehun had Sunmi's wrists pinned above her head as they smiled goofily at each other, looking like a bunch of insane people. Perhaps they really were insane.

Sehun grinned and swooped down to peck Sunmi's lips, making her blush prettily, before letting her go and looking around for a clean cloth. "We're acting really stupid." Sunmi chuckled softly while wiping the water off her face with her fingers.

Sehun stopped her by grabbing her hands and dabbed her cheek gently with the cloth instead. "Nah, I reckon your mental age was around this level."

Sunmi huffed and gave him a look. "But you still love me." she harrumphed.

Smiling brightly, Sehun snuck another kiss against her temple. "Yes, yes I do."

The gang met up again later in the day after the long hours of work. The boys that had been working out in the hills picking tea leaves were groaning non stop about their sore backs and pricked fingers, wanting nothing more than a warm satisfying meal and some rest.

Of course even if they were at the maximum of their fatigue, they were still quarrelling and arguing about something. It seemed as though they wouldn't be normal if they weren't just arguing about something. It was just the way they worked.

"I picked the most leaves, as usual." Kai muttered to Sunmi. "The laziest of all was Baekhyun hyung. He kept taking breaks once in a while, finding a tree and resting under it claiming that his feet were too sore to walk. Meh."

Baekhyun heard the comment and scowled deeply. "Hey." He wrinkled his nose. "You didn't pick the most leaves alright? It was Suho hyung."

"It was?" D.O. asked with wide eyes. "But Jong In's basket was the most full out of all of us at the end of the day."

Kai nodded triumphantly while Baekhyun just rolled his eyes. "That's because you stole some from Suho hyung's basket didn't you!" he wagged his finger. "I saw."

D.O.'s jaw dropped while Kai cleared his throat sheepishly, suddenly interested in a flower he accidentally stepped on. Suho just shrugged in his forgiving manner, not really bothered by their childish notions. "No wonder his basket was so full!" D.O. complained. "And to think I was trying so hard to beat him."

Kai raised his hands up in defeat. "Alright alright I cheated a little alright? It's not as if there's a punishment for this."

"There is." Chanyeol harrumphed while crossing his arms. "Since you cheated, why don't you run down to the foot of the mountain to get us some chilled soda drinks since all of us are tired out and thirsty."

Kai's eyes widened. "Down to the foot of the mountain? Are you mad?" he spat. "That's fuc-"

"Jong In." Suho warned.

"-I mean, really far." Kai corrected, wrinkling his nose. "Even if I cheated a little, I did pick out most leaves. I'm physically drained as well, can't you send someone else for the job?" he puffed his cheeks.

"No-" Chanyeol started, when Sehun cut in. "I can get the drinks." he volunteered. Kai's face lit up while the Baekyeol couple frowned unhappily since their ultimate motive was to make Kai suffer. "Sunmi and I were helping out in the eatery the entire day so we aren't as drained as the rest of you. I can run down to get the drinks before night falls."

"But Sehun ah." Sunmi shot up from her seat, her brows knitted in worry. "Your position is the most dangerous out of all of us. You're supposed to be in hiding-"

"It's just a short run. 30 minutes max." Sehun assured, intertwining their fingers together and giving her hand a little squeeze. Nothing will happen."

"But-" Sunmi bit her lip, still not liking the idea.

Baekhyun thought about it for a bit. "Well, I AM thirsty."

Suho dug into his pockets and pulled out a few crumpled notes; their wages for the day. "You sure you'll be alright?" he raised his brows at Sehun. The maknae nodded excitedly and grabbed the notes, spinning on the spot and darting off towards the convenience store at the foot of the hill. "I'll be back soon!"

Sunmi took a step forward to follow him but was stopped when Suho grabbed her hand. She looked back at him and saw him shake his head at her. "Let him go."

Sunmi frowned. "But you do understand that it's dangerous-"

"It is." Suho agreed. "But what are the odds of him getting caught in a 30 minute run?" he reasoned. "And besides," he let out a small sigh while looking in the direction where Sehun had gone. "He's still guilty for trapping all of us here in this world. He still thinks this is his fault."

Sunmi gazed up at Suho and he shrugged. "So let him do a little something for us because you and I both know he needs to find release."

Sunmi nodded and blew a raspberry. She knew she was becoming an awful worry wart, but there was no way of stopping herself from worrying.