Water Does You Good
Mr. Perfect
Warning: Lots of weirdness ahead. Read at your own discretion.
-The next day-
“Oi, Myungsoo!” a girly voice called behind him.
“Oh, hi, Viktorie,” Myungsoo greeted the girl as he turned around. “How was your first weekend in Korea?”
“Eet vos gud, zanks for asking!” the foreigner grinned at him. “Are yoo reddy for ze race?”
“Not really,” Myungsoo gave her a weak smile. “You?”
“Oh, I’m not dooing eet!” she shook her head. “I vill bee ze MC toodey!”
“Really?” Myungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I zought zat peeple vudnt andrestand mee, but ze teecher said eet vud bee fine,” Viktorie shrugged. “I haf too go now; I’ll cee yoo later!”
“Uh, sure,” Myungsoo blinked, but the blonde had already run away. He wasn’t sure if he was really looking forward to the commentary, but he supposed it could be fun.
“Yah, Kim Myungsoo!” This time, it was a male’s voice. “Don’t just stand around; help me get this box over to the lake!”
Myungsoo almost forgot about that. Apparently, the principal deemed the school’s swimming pool too small for the competition, and so the race was taking place at a nearby lake.
“It’s not that heavy; carry it by yourself!” Myungsoo yelled back at a certain tall boy.
“Why would I?” Sungyeol snapped. “It’s your creation, so why don’t you carry it then?”
“Well, since you didn’t help with building it at all, I thought that maybe you would want to help out by at least this much,” Myungsoo retorted without meeting the other’s gaze.
“For what?” Sungyeol spat. “You’re making it sound as if we had any chance of winning with this piece of junk!”
“You’re completely right,” Sungjong appeared out of nowhere, butting in. “Are you sure you can all fit into this box?”
“Mind your own business,” Sungyeol growled at the idol.
“Why, are you scared, cousin?” Sungjong mocked him. “Of course, how could you possibly win with this thing?”
“Oh yeah?” Sungyeol sounded more and more irritated by the moment. Myungsoo thought that it’d be better for him to stay out of the cousins’ argument, and instead just watched the two’s exchange.
“It would actually surprise me if you floated at all,” Sungjong sneered.
“And what about you?” Sungyeol glared at him. “You’re making it sound as if you’re going to win.”
“Oh, of course I am,” Sungjong shrugged with a contempt smile. “See that?”
Myungsoo glanced at the direction Sungjong pointed at and gasped. Dongho and Dongjun, Sungjong’s teammates, were carrying the most magnificent cardboard boat Myungsoo had ever seen in his life. But the word boat didn’t seem to do the vessel any justice; Myungsoo thought he was looking at a medieval warship. It was at least four meters long and two meters wide. It was intricately decorated and shaped. The design heavily reminded Myungsoo of a Korean turtle ship without its top cover. And perhaps the most shocking feature of the ship was the ship’s sail—a gigantic poster of Sungjong occupied the mast.
“My fans built it over the weekend,” Sungjong commented when he saw the reactions he was getting. “You know, nothing beats hardworking fans.”
“You didn’t even lift a finger!” Sungyeol protested. “How can you race with something you didn’t even lay a finger on?”
“There was nothing like that on the rules,” Sungjong smirked. “And if I heard correctly, you didn’t either. Too bad, but I guess I’m winning this, my dear cousin. Now excuse me, I have to go thank my fans.”
“You-you-” Sungyeol stuttered, but Sungjong was already gone. Myungsoo watched as Sungyeol’s face grew more purplish by the moment. It seemed like he would explode at any moment. Suddenly, his hand reached for their boat.
“No!” Myungsoo protested, fearing the worst.
“I’m just taking it to the lake,” Sungyeol growled under his breath. “Win? We’ll see about that.”
And to Myungsoo’s great surprise, Sungyeol lifted the boat with no complains, all by himself, and headed quickly down to the lake.
“See,” Sunggyu appeared by Myungsoo’s side, patting the younger on his shoulder. “I told you he’s competitive.”
* * *
“What the hell is that?” Myungsoo asked, pointing at the very heavy-looking bag in Sungyeol’s hands.
“This is how we win,” the taller boy responded ambiguously. “OK, here’s the plan. Sunggyu-hyung, you take the back. I’ll be in the middle, and you take the front. Since only two of us are allowed to paddle, you two do it. I’ll coordinate us.”
“I think you’d be better at paddling,” Sunggyu argued.
“We won’t win if I paddle,” Sungyeol dismissed. “Trust me; I have a plan.”
“Involving that bag?” Myungsoo raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “It’d better not be something stupid.”
“Less talking, more working,” Sungyeol said, making Myungsoo roll his eyes. Oh, the irony. “Let’s get into the boat.”
“I really think we won’t fit,” Sunggyu scratched his head. “Can’t you leave the bag behind?”
“Absolutely not,” Sungyeol shook his head. “We’ll manage. Just get in already.”
Myungsoo took a last look around. They were on the lake shore, surrounded by twenty-three other boats, all loaded with their three-member teams. Around them stood a huge crowd of students, teachers, and family members, all there to cheer for the racers. Myungsoo felt a little sad that his sister didn’t make it; but he also felt slightly relieved that she wouldn’t see the embarrassment that was about to befall him.
“Hai evreewon!” Viktorie shouted in her megaphone. “Velkom too toodey’s bout race! I vill bee yor MC for toodey! Pleese taeek care of mee!”
The crowd roared in laughter. Myungsoo felt slightly sorry for the foreign girl, but she seemed completely oblivious to the crowd’s sneers. She kept rumbling on and on about the race, and the crowd cheered and laughed after every remark she made.
“Soo, finallie, toodey’s racers!” she announced. “Een lein won, vee have Lee Taemin, Jun Hyosung, and Son Naeun!”
The crowd erupted in cheers. Myungsoo sat down at the front of the boat.
“Lein too ees Hwang Kwanghee, Lee Joon, and Han Seonhwa!”
More cheers. Sungyeol sat down as well. He put his bag in Myungsoo’s lap.
“Lein tree ees Park Gyuri, Goo Hara, and Yang Seungho!”
Myungsoo spaced out. His breathing was becoming more rapid by the second. Because of how little space there was in the ship, the three of them had to squeeze together to fit in. Unfortunately for Myungsoo, that meant that Sungyeol’s long legs posed a slight problem. A problem that the taller boy solved by wrapping them around Myungsoo’s waist. That, combined with the fact that he could literally feel the other’s warm breath on his neck, made Myungsoo very relieved that no one was sitting on his laps as well.
“And finallie, lein tventee-foor ees Milk Caramel!” Viktorie yelled, and the crowd went frenzy. Myungsoo suspected that half of the girls in the crowd were actually Pandoras in disguise—his school definitely didn’t have that many crazy fangirls.
“Why are they called Milk Caramel again?” Myungsoo asked.
“Last year’s end-of-school’s performance,” Sunggyu explained. “They performed Orange Caramel’s Magic Girl.”
“Racers, are yoo reddy?” Viktorie asked, and Myungsoo had to cover his ears to prevent his eardrums from exploding as everyone around him started shouting wildly. “Alright! Tree, too, won, go!”
What happened next was a blur for Myungsoo. He only focused on paddling, and completely zoned out from everything else. It wasn’t until they were fifty meters in that he finally started paying attention to his surroundings once again.
“Ze leed ees taken wonce egein by Lee Sungjong!” Viktorie commented excitedly as she ran along the shore to get the best look at the race, closely followed by the rest of the crowd. “Or not, zey are overtaken by Taemin’s alliance!”
Myungsoo felt Sungyeol’s hands reaching down into the bag. A very disturbing mental image started to form in his mind, and he had to slap himself mentally to get rid of it. He would not have erted images invading his mind in such an important moment.
“Oh, Lee Sungyeol ees dooing somezing, but wot?”
Myungsoo spotted something rather large leaving Sungyeol’s hands, flying very fast in an arc away from them. Moments later, he heard a loud shriek coming from the front.
“Ship number seven ees down!” Viktorie yelled into the megaphone. “Zey vere hit by a colored vaterbomb! Is Lee Sungyeol behind zees?”
Another object, now identified as water bomb with dye, left their ship, and again, another loud shriek was heard.
“Uh, ship number sixteen ees down too! Siwan vos hit right in his hed! I sey zat ees cheeting, cheeting! Vee shud diskwa-AAAAH!”
Viktorie spoke no more. Myungsoo didn’t risk a glance in her direction—he only focused on paddling more and more. Sungyeol’s plan seemed to have worked; a lot of other ships started evasive maneuvers, thinking that they were the target of the bombing. As a result, most of the ships started slowing down.
“Ms. Jung here,” a new voice filled the air through the power of the megaphone. “Unfortunately, our MC Viktorie has been hit by a stray water bomb, and she seems unable to continue her duties. I will be taking over as the MC. About the water bombs; as they are not life-threatening weapons, they do not break any rules of this competition! I repeat, Lee Sungyeol has not broken any rules!”
Myungsoo could hear Sungyeol laughing hysterically behind him. He reached into the bag again, and another shriek followed shortly after.
“Twenty-one is down!” Ms. Jung excitedly. “The water bomb hit the ship right into the side, and Lee Kiseop has toppled over! Wow, would you believe a student has such well-defined chocolola—uh, I mean, poor him! The water must be freezing!”
Myungsoo spaced out once again. As the only not-evading ship in the competition, they made their way past their competitors quite fast. He could occasionally hear screams of fallen students that were close by, but he chose to ignore them. He just wanted to reach the finishing line as soon as possible so he could get out of the compromising position he was in.
“There are only five boats left floating!” Ms. Jung sounded ecstatic. “And Lee Sungyeol’s firing again—number one is down! Yah, Son Naeun, stop groping that boy in the water! We can all see—oh, number twelve is down too! Damn, AJ, you still on your chicken chest diet? Anyway, that leaves only three ships standing! Or floating, I should say. And here it is—Lee Sungyeol is firing again! It’s flying right at ship twenty-four—aw, what a shame! Lee Sungjong has deflected the bomb with his sail!”
“Damn!” Sungyeol exclaimed, his legs tightening around Myungsoo’s waist. Myungsoo gulped nervously and started paddling even more fervently.
“Sungjong’s ship is changing its direction—they’re on collision course with Sungyeol’s ship! Will they hit?”
The answer came moments later. The impact of the two ships sent Myungsoo flying over the front of the ship. Sungyeol had fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how one views it) managed to untangle his legs at the last moment. The moment Myungsoo’s skin came in contact with the cold lake water, he screamed in surprise—not a very bright idea, one might add, as water came rushing into his mouth. Luckily for him, he managed to overcome his initial shock, and emerged above the water surface a couple of seconds later, coughing out lake water.
“All six men down!” Ms. Jung was saying just at that moment. “I bet Sungjong wasn’t expecting that! Look at that! Six very-well developed adolescents, completely soaked in water—ladies, remember that I came up with this idea! You should all thank—ouch, what was that for?! Who just hit—uh-oh, I didn’t know you were here, Onew, I swear!”
Myungsoo was about to head to the shore when a pair of hands wrapped around his neck. Moments later, a warm body attached itself to Myungsoo, and to his utter shock, a pair of warm lips pressed themselves against the back of his neck.
“Sorry!” the owner of the lips apologized immediately, and Myungsoo recognized Lee Sungjong. “I-I can’t swim!”
“Shouldn’t you be wearing a life vest then?” Myungsoo gulped, recovering from the shock Sungjong’s sudden action caused.
“I-I didn’t want to em-embarrass myself in front of fans,” the idol stuttered.
“And you clinging onto me like this isn’t embarrassing?” Myungsoo grunted.
“Well, the-they think we’re best frie-friends, so they’ll just think it’s cu-cute,” Sungjong coughed. “Can we just get to the shore, please?”
“Sure,” Myungsoo nodded and started swimming. He silently wondered what he had done in his past life to deserve something like this. First he had to deal with Sungyeol’s legs, and now he had to deal with this? The world wasn’t fair to him at all.
“The winning alliance is the last boat standing!” Ms. Jung shouted into the megaphone. “Congratulations to Lee Joon, Hwang Kwanghee, and Han Seonhwa!”
Myungsoo couldn’t care less about the result. His only wish was to get rid of the package on his back as soon as possible. The weird sensation growing just below his stomach only made him swim faster.
I've said this many times before; don't take this fic completely seriously. That's not what this is about. I'm trying to write a romcom with light crack, so not everything in the fic is supposed to make perfect sense. Just sit back and enjoy! :)
And, finally, Myungsoo's male hormones are emerging xD From this chapter on, Myungsoo's inner dialogues will contain a lot more ually-themed stuff. But I don't think that it's bad enough for me to change the rating--I'm not writing , and all my references are rather vague--you either get it or you don't. If you're too young and innocent, you'll have absolutely no idea what it all is about. If you're more mature, I hope I'll get a chuckle or two from you ;)
In the next update, which will probably come on May 25th, Myungsoo will have to deal with the growing tension between him and YeolJong. And the class will start preparing for their Jeju-do trip... So stay tuned!
One more last announcement: I am planning to write a very loose sequel to this story once it ends. By very loose, I mean that the story will follow a completely different character (one that will probably appear only toward the end of this story and for a very brief moment). But it's still based in this fictional universe, and a lot of characters from this story will make a cameo in that story. Some of them will be main characters as well, but Myungsoo probably won't. However, it will be a completely different genre from this--it's definitely not going to be a romcom. While there will be a couple of comedic situations in there, it's going to be a quite angst-dark rated story. Most probably will contain as well. But it's all still quite far-ahead; the content might change before I start working on it.
Thanks for supporting this story! Please subscribe, comment, and upvote if you liked it! More upvotes and comments make me happier, and the happier I am, the more motivated to write I am ;)
Karma~
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