“Carnival days are so boring,” Sungmin sighs, burying his face into his ice cream cone. “A jumping castle isn’t exactly invigorating for seventeen and eighteen year olds.”

“Have you looked into the jumping castle?” Hyukjae asks, managing to look incredulous even as he devours his strawberry ice cream. “The only ones in there are seventeen. Babies.”

“It’s still a stupid fundraiser,” Sungmin grumbles as he leads them around the school. “And it’s on a Saturday. A Saturday! We could be at home sleeping at this very moment!”

“We’d also be without ice cream,” Hyukjae points out reasonably. “Besides, it’s not so bad.”

“You’re cheerful today,” Sungmin says slowly, narrowing his eyes at his best friend. “Especially considering your soulmate’s face at a kissing booth.”

“He’s not my soulmate,” Hyukjae hisses, shoving at Sungmin’s shoulders while his ears turn red. “And he’s just giving pecks, okay? It’s not like there’s full making out.”

Sungmin snickers in amusement, recognising the slight pout to Hyukjae’s lips. “Must be hard liking the school’s second best swimmer.”

“Must be hard liking the school’s biggest theatre nerd,” Hyukjae retorts, already stepping away before Sungmin can hit him with one of his infamous taekwondo moves. “Hyoyeon told me you may not completely have your arse kicked if you ask Saeun out. Sounds like the green light to me.”

“We do not speak of the magnificent being who has step-on-the-box-kicked my heart,” Sungmin laments, placing a hand on his chest and not noticing Hyukjae smirk at the ice cream stain he leaves behind. “I am not worthy!”

“Are too,” Hyukjae rolls his eyes and yanks Sungmin by the arm. “Come on, let’s go see her.”

“No!” Sungmin nearly wails, squatting on the ground to make Hyukjae drag him. “I cannot bask in her presence.”

“Theatre club’s doing a maid café where the guys are in dresses and the girls are in suits,” Hyukjae says, finishing off his cone with a satisfying crunch. “They’ve got pancakes.” He blinks with surprise when Sungmin stands and abruptly walks ahead, now dragging Hyukjae with him.

“What are we waiting for?” Sungmin asks, looking over his shoulders with excited eyes. “Pancakes! And Saeun in a suit. But pancakes!”

Hyukjae shakes his head with a smile and lets himself be dragged to the art wing.

“One caramel milkshake and one scary surprise!” Saeun smiles cheerfully, her pink lipstick making her teeth gleam whiter. “Whose is whose?”

“The caramel one is for the wimpy loser,” Hyukjae says seriously while Sungmin struggles to pull himself out of a daze.

“That doesn’t help me here,” Saeun replies gravely, her stoic demeanour crumbling when Hyukjae smacks her arm playfully. “Okay but seriously, if I have to choose then…” she narrows her eyes and waits for a tense few seconds before placing the caramel drink before Sungmin. His lips jut out into a dejected pout while Hyukjae cackles with glee. Saeun places the other drink before Hyukjae and pulls out a notepad. “Don’t worry Min, I like wimpy losers,” she winks.

“Not a wimpy loser,” Sungmin grumbles, reaching out for his drink and sipping moodily. “Hyukjae stop smirking at me and drink your beverage from hell.”

Hyukjae pulls the glass towards him and tries not to be put off by the brown colour. “What are the rules again?”

Saeun’s lips curve into a wicked smile. “You’ve gotta guess all the ingredients. If you get them all right with no mistakes, you win a prize and we change the recipe. There is one hint and one hint only – there are seven ingredients other than milk.”

Hyukjae hums and sniffs at his drink. “Peppermint, for one. And… is that fish?” Screwing his face up, he takes a quick sip and nearly spits it out. “Oh my god you put tuna in this. Tuna!”

“Two correct so far,” Saeun grins, her eyebrows waggling. “Five to go.”

“You’re evil,” Sungmin says dreamily. “And dashing in a suit. Will you go out with me?”

“I was worried you’d never ask!” Saeun beams. “Of course! Now make Hyukjae drink it again, he’s pushing it away.”

Sungmin narrows his eyes and slowly pushes the milkshake back to Hyukjae. “Drink it, .”

“Traitor,” Hyukjae gasps, beginning to lean back on his chair but stopping when Saeun kicks it. “Hey!”

“Still got more to go,” she cackles and takes a seat.

“You’re both evil,” Hyukjae glares.

“That’s not evil,” Sungmin blinks, “evil is daring you to kiss Donghae after this.”

Hyukjae gapes while Saeun stares at him with wide eyes. “Normally that’d be a no way, but double no way after this ing drink. It has fish!”

“I like this dare,” Saeun says slowly, her eyes glimmering with dark amusement. “I dare you too.”

“Or what,” Hyukjae scowls, crossing his arms defiantly.

“If you do, I’ll let you choose our movies for the next two months,” Sungmin says boldly, fully aware his horror movie craze isn’t shared with Hyukjae. “If you don’t, I’ll show Donghae photos from your My Little Pony phase. From when he was a kid,” he adds for Saeun’s benefit.

“This school is doomed if you two really become a couple,” Hyukjae glowers. “Fine. It’s just a peck anyway.”

Saeun goes for a high-five with Sungmin and picks up her notepad. “Great! Now, next ingredient!”

His stomach curling uncomfortably, Hyukjae takes another sip. “Lemon, gross.” Grimacing as his tongue begins to burn, he adds, “chilli.”

“Both correct,” Saeun says cheerfully. “On to a good start! Your dare will be slightly easier if you do win the prize, by the way.”

Hyukjae hums contemplatively, stirring the brown drink with the straw. Figuring the colour had to come from somewhere, he forces himself to take a long sip. “Chocolate?”

“What kind of chocolate?” Saeun asks gleefully.

“Dark,” Hyukjae answers easily, the bitter taste familiar even with the lemon. Stirring absentmindedly, he frowns when he feels some resistance against his straw. Fishing around, he uses his straw to scoop up a small cube. Praying for his stomach, he sips it into his mouth. One crunch is all he needs. “Oh my god this is raw onion.”

“Nearly there!” Sungmin grins before peeking at the notepad and grimacing. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Saeun cackles. “ the bottom of the straw!”

His belly turning cold with dread, Hyukjae lifts the straw out of the drink and notices a large black lump clinging to the tube. “The is this.”

“You tell me,” Saeun grins broadly, leaning forward in anticipation.

“This is nuclear, isn’t it,” Hyukjae says uneasily. “It didn’t even dissolve!”

“Just it Hyukjae,” Sungmin says, sipping at his own sweet drink without hesitation.

“I hate you both,” Hyukjae grumbles before taking half of the black glob into his mouth. He on it for a moment before spitting it out right into the drink. “Vegemite,” he hisses, stealing Sungmin’s drink and taking large gulps to block out the taste.

Sungmin protests while Saeun claps happily. “Seven for seven! I’ll go get your prize.”

Hyukjae only stops drinking when half of the milkshake is left. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“You owe me another drink,” Sungmin says pointedly. “You ordered the hell one.”<