Chapter 19
Complicated LoveKEY
"This is the last set, guys," Taemin challenged.
Just after everyone got their things unpacked and settled with their rooms, we came to the living room and talked for a while as we had our very late brunch. Of course, Taemin was the one who's excited the most as he kept asking me all sorts of questions - about my relationship with Jjong, that 'complicated' situation I've been trying to avoid yet somehow couldn't avoid and even made the whole room a bit awkward - and thankfully Minho was somehow able to crack a really lame joke that slightly fixed everything - and everything else that he wanted to know. Me, Jonghyun, Gwiboonnie, and Taeminnie sat by the table while Minho and Onew hyung sat by the kitchen island and even though I can tell that there was still a thick tension between Onew hyung and Jonghyun, the fact that I saw the two of them acknowledge each other really made me smile.
"Here," Taemin said, handing out three small pieces of paper to each of us after he finished eating. "Write down whatever you guys want to do for the next three days and then we'll take turns picking out. It doesn't matter if it's indoors or outdoors, a game or anything as long as we're doing something then that's fine. Oh! And write down any punishment you want for the loser, it's going to be fun. The more absurd it is the better."
And because of that we've played karaoke as pairs suggested by Jonghyun. We all decided to sing nursery rhymes sung in different genres to make it harder and well, Onew hyung and Gwiboon won after they got the highest score. Taemin and Minho lost so they had to eat lettuce wraps with two whole cloves of garlic and a slob of chilli paste inside - talk about gross. Next, we played 'Go stop' as pairs suggested by Onew hyung. For some reason, Minho and Taeminnie won thrice though the four of us believe that they cheated. Onew hyung and Gwiboon won twice and Jjong and I barely won that we decided to pick another game. Obviously we lost so we had to chug down a glass full of cola in one shot. That was probably the only time I've burped really loud and for so long.
Then we've played charades suggested by me. The game would've have lasted for only maybe half an hour but somehow it ended up lasting for two hours if it weren't for Minho who had a hard time acting out the ten words we've written down for him. Taemin almost lost his patience for almost every word that he was no other choice but to pass because he couldn't really figure it out. Thankfully, I'm good enough for Jonghyun to guess most of the words that we won. Once again, Taemin and Minho had to do the punishment which was to get flicked on the forehead by everyone. And now, we're playing volleyball barefooted despite the cold sand as suggested by Gwiboon. We're separated into halves - Taemin, Gwiboon and I in one team and the guys in one team. So far, we're winning with a score of 11:4 and with the last set, as long as Gwiboon makes another spike it's over. "Get ready 'cuz you're all going to do the punishment," she said.
"Yeah, right," Minho said playfully. "We're not the ones who're going to run into the freezing cold ocean and submerge for a minute from the neck down - in swim suits."
"Oh yeah? I think you've forgotten the current score right now, loser. 11:4, remember? One more spike from Gwiboon noona and it's over. To think that it's our turn now..." Taemin kept playing with the ball and even though it's just a friendly game, sometimes we cannot help but get really competitive against each other especially when a very absurd punishment is on the line. Seriously though. Who in their right mind would want to take a dip into the ocean when the weather's freezing cold? Apparently, I've forgotten that Gwiboon's idea of absurd punishment is beyond absurd.
"Boys, I think it's time to step up our game." Minho looked at Onew hyung on his right and exchanged a look that meant more than just a glance and then turned to look at Jjong on his left and gave him that same look. All of a sudden the three of them looked at us and there was that mischievous gleam in their eyes, the faintest of smirks on their faces and I already knew that they're planning something absolutely ridiculous.
"Jjongie," I mumbled nervously.
"What?" he mouthed playfully as he snickered. This cannot be good.
"Minho hyung," Taemin warned as he held the ball still. "I swear whatever you're planning you better not do it or else I'm gonna kill you."
"Oppa..?" Gwiboon said just as nervously as I was.
The three of us backed away when the guys began to move forward and I had a feeling that this simple game of volleyball will not end the way it's supposed to be.
"Now!" Minho called and before we could even process what was really going on, Taemin, Gwiboon and I were all being carried into the ocean.
Loud scream echoed as the three of us were thrown into the freezing cold waters. We're all just wearing shirts and shorts but it didn't make anything any better because it's already the frigging end of October and the weather's already cold. Even though the water wasn't deep, with my body becoming numb and the strong waves whipping my back pushing me back down it took me a while before I could find my balance and stagger towards the shore. I felt a pair of arms encircle around my torso, helping me out. For some reason, Jonghyun's touch felt hot even though he was also soaking wet and the wind was practically turning us into ice.
"Yah!" Taemin screamed as he flapped his arms around trying to get out of the water. "What the hell, Minho hyung?!"
Like an idiot, Minho only laughed at him before pulling him out and in return, received a smack at the back of his head. Taemin was frowning at him but nevertheless wrapped his arms around him. I didn't notice Onew hyung and Gwiboonnie getting out of the water before us and by the time we got to the picnic table where our towels were, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was shivering even when her towel and Onew hyung's towel was covering her whole body, her lips already turning pale.
"I c-can't believe... Y-you, actually d-did th-that," she stuttered, hugging the towels closer to her.
"Hey, it was your idea," Onew hyung defended as he rose his hands up, a smile still on his face. "And besides, it was fun. You shouldn't have gotten so confident about winning, you know. I think you forgot that us guys always find something to turn things around. In this case, we chose the lose-lose situation: we lost the game but we're all doing the punishment."
Instead of answering, Gwiboon glared at him as best as she could despite her body being racked by tremors.
"You guys are such cheaters!" Taemin complained, hurriedly drying himself with his towel and wrapped himself with it afterwards. "We were completely winning and you just had to ruin everything. You three are prideful sore losers incapable of accepting that sometimes, we're just better at things that you aren't good at."
"Alright, alright. We got it. Let's go in already and wash up, I don't us to get sick or something." Minho pushed him through the glass door and all of us followed soon after.
"You ing jerk!"
Jjong and I were lying on the bed, all washed and dried up. Even when I'm already wearing a shirt underneath a hoodie, sweatpants, socks, and the blanket completely covering me, I could still feel as though I'm still soaking wet and my still freezing. He was lying beside me with that amused smile on his face and if I weren't feeling so cold I would've let my hand come out of the blanket just for a second and slap him.
"Oh, come on," he said, pulling me closer into his arms. It felt weird with how I can only roll because of the blanket but it sure did make me feel warmer. "That was just for fun. Isn't that what you wanted though? Fun?"
"It is!" I cried and looked up at him. "But throwing us into the water like that was not fun, you know? It felt terrible. I could've sworn my toes almost fell off while I was trying to find my balance because it was freezing! Aren't you even cold?"
"No, not really. Do you want me to turn the heater up?"
"Nah, it's fine. I'm feeling warmer now, just keep hugging me though. It feels nice."
"Whatever my baby wants, my baby gets."
The two of us spent the next couple of hours inside the room just snuggling and talking. Eventually, we ended up sharing the blanker and me getting rid of the hoodie as well as my socks when I started to feel stuffy and beads of sweat began to form on my back. I was sure that somehow he and I fell asleep I mean, we did woke up pretty early today after all those things we just did we're pretty much dead beat. So, when I opened my eyes and the whole room was dark, I sure felt refreshed.
"Hey, you guys! Time to wake up!" I heard Taemin call and a knock on our door soon came.
Jonghyun groaned beside me and pulled me closer with his eyes still closed. "Five more minutes," he mumbled. Pabo.
"Yah," I whispered as I shook him. "Wake up, it's already night."
"Exactly," he said. "We should be sleeping because it's already night. Why do we need to wake up?"
I couldn't help but laugh at him because he does have a point. "True, but we haven't had dinner yet and we're only supposed to take a nap. Besides, don't you feel hungry? Because I am, listen." My stomach then growled as if to prove my point. He burst out laughing soon after and I felt a little bit embarrassed, pulling away from him and sat up. "You jerk, how dare you?" I hit him with a pillow and glared at him when I knew that he might not even see it because of the lack of light.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He was still chuckling when he sat up and pulled me into a hug. "It was just too funny, I'm sorry. Let's just go and feed whatever monster's living in your stomach before it eats me."
When we got downstairs, everyone was sitting around the living room. Onew hyung and Minho were too busy playing a video game while Gwiboon and Taemin were behind them by the couch watching. I sat beside them and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the huge bowl on Taemin's lap while Jonghyun sat on the arm rest beside me. "How was the nap?" Taemin asked teasingly and Gwiboon cracked a smile. "If I hadn't gone up there you guys would have slept the night away. Were you guys that tired?"
"I think so," I told him. "I mean, we were just cuddling up there because I was freezing and then... I guess we kind of fell asleep." Jonghyun opened his mouth and made me feed him popcorn, grinning at me like at little kid.
"Uh-huh, feel asleep. Oh, well. Whatever you guys did up there is totally out of our business. Yah, Minho hyung, Onew hyung. You've been playing for hours, aren't you guys tired?"
"Just a little bit more, Tae," Minho muttered, his eyes never leaving the TV screen for one second. "I just need to beat Onew hyung to the finish line."
"Ha, go ahead and try," Onew hyung challenged. Both of them were completely immersed in their car racing game that I wondered just how long have they been actually playing? And when Minho's loud cry of victory filled the room there was no question that their little competition was over. Hopefully and finally.
He stood up and jumped excitedly, laughing to his heart's content. "Take that!" he exclaimed.
"You just got lucky," Onew hyung replied as he, too, stood up and stretched his limbs, sounds of his bones cracking and a yawn leaving his mouth following afterwards. "I was totally winning, you know? My fingers just began cramping that's why I briefly let go of my console. I guess you could say that I let you win."
"I still won so I don't care..."
"Yeah, we don't care, too," Taemin interrupted as he stood up and placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of us, causing Minho to pout a little. "Alright, since you two are now done I guess we can finally prepare dinner. We're all starving."
"Okay," Gwiboon agreed as she clapped her hands together and straightened herself. "Are we doing the usual routine?"
"Of course, what else? That means Onew hyung and Key umma will be doing the cooking outside for the barbecue, Jonghyun hyung and Gwiboon noona will take care of the vegetables, and Minho hyung and I will set up the table and take care of everything else that needs to be done."
It felt weird hearing my name along with Onew hyung that I was only able to stare at particularly nothing. It's probably been months since the last he and I did something together, and well, it actually feels like as though it's been years. I glanced at Jonghyun beside me and he was just looking away, the expression on his face as blank as a piece of paper.
"So, the meat and vegetables are already in the fridge. We just need to take them out and prepare them and cook them..." Taemin went on and on about everything we had to do. When I looked back at them and I noticed that Onew hyung and Gwiboon were already gone.
"Where's Onew hyung and Gwiboonie?" I asked them.
"Onew hyung's already setting up the barbecue and Gwiboon's already in the kitchen prepping the vegetables," Minho replied.
I breathed out a sigh and stood up. "Let's go," I told Jonghyun, patting him on the leg before pulling him up on his feet. "Those vegetables and pork belly aren't going to move on their own. We gotta help them."
"Does it really have to be like that?" He asked and there was that grim look on his face. "I mean, why can't the two of them do something together while Key and I do the other? Are we not allowed to change places?"
"Jonghyun hyung," Taemin huffed and I already had a feeling that he was irritated. "As far as I was told, everything's already been fixed. Isn't it true? Because that's what Key umma told me. If it is then there shouldn't be any problem with you working with Gwiboon noona, right?"
"Yeah, Jjong." I made him turn and look at me and I could no longer read his expression. "There's nothing wrong with that, I mean, there's shouldn't be. You and Gwiboon have already made up, haven't you? Kim Jonghyun, this is how we've been doing things whenever the six of us go on a vacation. It's been like that from the very beginning and shouldn't this be a great for you and Gwiboonnie to spend some time together after you two broke up. You told me that you guys have made up so there shouldn't be any reason for you to, I don't know, avoid her or something. Unless you lied to me..."
"No, I didn't!" he exclaimed, obviously frustrated.
"I know you didn't. Because there's absolutely no reason for you to. I'm gonna go get my jacket so you better go to the kitchen and help Gwiboonnie out."
I left the room before he could even say anything back and headed towards where the closet is, took my jacket and headed down to where Onew hyung is. Somehow I couldn't help but feel that Jonghyun may have lied to me. I mean, why would he? Why would he do something that he knew would hurt me? He knows how much I want everything to be back the way they were, where all of us could hang out like we used to?
"Something happened back there?"
I looked up and saw Onew hyung still setting up the barbecue, fanning the coal to make it hotter. "Of course not," I told him and cleared my throat. I stepped out and looked for something that I can help with, wearing the gloves lying on the table. "Does it look like there's something wrong?"
He shook his head briefly, his gaze locked on the burning coal underneath the barbecue grill. "Just asking," he replied. "I kind of heard something so I thought there might be a ruckus. Good thing there's not."
I watched him straighten himself up setting the cardboard fan he was using for the grill on top of the table. With the way he was looking at somewhere else other me made me feel as though he was trying to avoid meeting my gaze. A very awkward silence following afterwards and somehow I thought that maybe Jonghyun was right about switching partners. But I can't do that, I mean, how would that make me look? Everything's supposed to okay between us and again, there's no more reason for me to avoid him. "Actually," I began and he looked up. It was the first time since the last time we saw each other that he and I are looking eye to eye, somehow making me think if I should be honest with him.
"Which one do you want to cook?" he asked and my train of thought disappeared just like that.
"Huh?"
"Do you want to cook the pork belly or the vegetables?"
I looked at the table where a plate of pork belly was waiting. "I'll take the vegetables," I told him and he nodded. "You're better at grilling meat anyway."
"That's true," he agreed, a proud smile appearing on his face. "I guess they're still washing and cutting the vegetables. Do you want to help me out for a bit? The sweet potatoes need someone to cook them as well."
"Sure, I'm already hungry anyway and they cook faster than the pork belly. If I cook them now we can eat them while the meat and vegetables are on the grill."
He took out the chicken wire above the grill and helped me place the foiled sweet potatoes above the coals, making sure that I won't get burnt while I place them properly. When it was set he placed the wire back on top and put the pork belly on it, the sizzling sound of it already making me salivate. The two of us waited for the vegetables to arrive and for the potatoes and the meat to cook, leaning against the edge of the table side by side. With the weather getting colder and the night getting deeper, it was becoming harder for me to prevent myself from shaking. I hugged myself closer and even with the hoodie of my jacket already over my head, it wasn't enough.
"Here," he said. I looked at him and he was holding a hot pack. "Take it, it'll lessen the cold. I'll make another fire for us to warm ourselves with, I know the hot packs aren't enough." But I hesitated even though a very obvious shiver went through my body. "Just take it, I already have one."
I took it, then, thanking him quietly. I placed it inside my jacket and felt it working almost immediately. Onew hyung got a tin can and filled it with coal, shredded a piece of newspaper, lit it with a lighter and threw it inside. It didn't take long for the fire to began and grow, a small heater for the two of us to use while we're out here cooking. The whole scene in front of me felt just like how it was before. It sure does feel that things are finally going back to how they were. Maybe Jjong was just being a bit childish earliier. And maybe, I was just being paranoid about nothing.
I can definitely see the next two days being a new start for all off us.
A/N:
sorry for the slow update you guys...
anywho... HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHICKEN LOVING, CLUMSY, DORKY, DUBU LEADER ONEW!!
you're older now which means you've gotten weaker (seriously, though) so you better take care of yourself more...
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