THIS IS A FUN CHAPTER YOU GUYS :D

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                About a week later, it was beginning to feel less like we were on vacation and more like everyday life. We all woke up at different times in the morning, Hyerin usually the first of the girls and Chanhee always the first of the boys, and the girls ate breakfast together. Sometimes the boys would come downstairs and eat with us, and once we went upstairs to eat with them. Though there were two and a half bathrooms per unit, one was connected to each master suite. That left only two other full bathrooms with showers. The other two were square, closet-like rooms without mirrors. Obviously we had originally designated the upstairs bathroom as the boys’ bathroom and the downstairs one as the girls’, but as time went on the lines between the two blurred together. Sometimes I’d run around the house looking for my toothbrush only to realize I left it in the upstairs bathroom last night. Basically, finding a free bathroom was better than hitting the lottery. Once you found one, you made sure you did whatever you had to do and more. Sometimes there was a grand race to a bathroom, and if it was won by the boy but he’d generally be chivalrous and let the girl go first. Sometimes, but not always. Chanhee loves to tease Min Neul mostly because she gets angry with him and Chanhee thinks it’s hilarious. He slams the door in her face sometimes. He usually gets scolded afterwards by either Minsoo or Byunghun to be nice, but Chanhee always assures them that he’s only kidding. We know Chanhee’s a good guy; he just likes pushing Min Neul’s buttons. Sometimes Byunghun and I will stand in front of the bathroom door for a good ten minutes, kindly telling each other to go first. So far, it’s happened twice. The first time I eventually gave in and went first. The second time, before either of us could even give in, Min Neul came flying down the hall and into the bathroom before calling “ for you, es!” over her shoulder and slamming the door.

                The boys had begun their English lessons as well. Uncle Sunho drove them to a learning center, where he had hired an English tutor to teach them. He even let Hyerin and Min Neul tag along, for they too wanted to learn English. I was pretty sure the sisters only wanted to go because it meant spending time with boyfriends and the rest of Teen Top that they otherwise wouldn’t have. Lessons were on Tuesdays and Thursdays from ten to one. During that time, Byunghun and I hung out together. We’d go in the pool and walk down to the beach and take walks around the neighborhood. The time alone with him was nice; I knew he had been concerned about being able to spend time just the two of us. Those lessons served as perfect three-hour breaks for Byunghun and me to enjoy each other’s company.

                One afternoon after English lessons were over, everyone was outside lounging around by the pool. Daniel, Changhyun, and Jonghyun were kicking a soccer ball back and forth on the grass. Byunghun, Chanhee, Min Neul and I were watching them. Minsoo and Hyerin were chatting away at the table on the porch. Everyone was perfectly content under the California sun, and brief conversation even floated among the nine of us every now and then.

                “I think it’s even hotter today than it was yesterday,” Changhyun noted, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

                “Sure is,” Minsoo agreed with a nod.

                “If it’s so hot, why isn’t anyone in the pool?” I asked.

                Byunghun brought a hand to his head and ran his fingers through his fluffy orange hair. “Because I just did my hair,” he answered. I laughed and smacked his arm in response.

                “We should go night swimming tonight,” Min Neul suggested.

                “Night swimming?” Chanhee repeated.

                Min Neul nodded. “Swimming at night. When it’s really dark. It’s really fun!”

                “That does sound like fun,” Byunghun smiled.

                “Can we do something tonight that doesn’t involve water?” Hyerin spoke up.

                “Why? So Minsoo-hyung can join us?” Chanhee asked.

                “Yes,” Hyerin said quietly, dropping her gaze.

                Minsoo pressed his lips together. He crossed his arms. “If you all want to go night swimming tonight, then fine. I’ll be one happy camper all by myself. On land.”

                Suddenly, I gasped. “Oh my God, that’s it!”

                “What?” Byunghun asked, snapping his neck to face me.

                “We should go camping tonight!” I exclaimed, flailing my arms excitedly.

                “Camping?” Min Neul repeated.

                “Where would we do it?” Chanhee asked, tilting his head to the side.

                “In the backyard,” I answered, motioning to the grassy area where the soccer game was taking place.

                “But we don’t have tents,” Byunghun spoke up.

                “Well, then we can get some. Mom wanted to run to the store today anyway,” I insisted.

                Byunghun glanced at Chanhee. They shrugged. “That actually might be a lot of fun,” Byunghun said.

                “All nine of us in a tent in the backyard all night? With all the adults inside?” Min Neul clarified, raising an eyebrow.

                “Would we all fit in one tent?” Chanhee asked.

                I shrugged. “I’m sure they have gigantic tents at the store.”

                A pretty smile formed across Byunghun’s pink lips. “Do you think your parents would let us?”

                “I don’t see why not. If anything, we’d be doing them a favor by getting out of their hair all night,” I chuckled.

                “Go ask them!” Min Neul urged. “Now!”

                “Now?” I giggled.

                “Now!” Min Neul pointed towards the back door.

                I giggled as I stood up. “Okay, but I can’t make any promises.”

                “I’m sure they’ll say yes,” Byunghun assured me with a dazzling smile. I felt weak in the knees as I stood up, but his wide smile somehow gave me confidence.

                I strolled through the back door and into the kitchen. I found my parents sitting at the kitchen table, chatting. As I approached, I saw some colorful pamphlets on the table between them. My eyes lit up as I looked at them a little more carefully. I gasped. “Are those Disneyland pamphlets?”

                Quickly, Mom tried to conceal them. “No,” she answered slowly.

                “What are you talking about?” Dad asked with mock innocence. He crossed his arms and sat back.

                I knew they were just playing with me. “We’re going to Disneyland?” I blurted.

                “Never mind that,” my mom responded, trying to change the subject. “Do you need something, dear?”

                Focus, Kirin,I thought. You’re here on a mission. “Yeah…can I ask you a question?”

                “Sure,” Dad replied, uncrossing his arms. “What do you need?”

I took a deep breath. “Well, we’ve all been talking about some stuff we could do for fun, and we came up with this really fun idea to have a little campout in the backyard tonight.”

                “Campout?” Mom repeated.

                “Why?” Dad asked.

                “Because it’d be so much fun!” I exclaimed

                “You all have bedrooms,” Dad reasoned.

                I wasn’t afraid to whine. I dropped my shoulders and tried to look desperate. “Aw, Dad, please?” I turned to Mom; she was always easier to persuade “Please, Mom?”

                Mom thought a moment. Suddenly she looked over at my father. “Oh, let them have fun,” she said finally.

                My eyes lit up. “Really? You’ll let us camp out in the backyard?”

        Mom nodded. “I don’t see why not.” She turned to my father. “Well?”

                Dad’s dark eyes flashed between my mother and me. After a moment of contemplation he took a deep breath. “I will let you kids camp out in the backyard but only on one condition. Understand?”

                “Anything!” I cried.

                “I want a boys’ tent and a girls’ tent. Understood?”

        I had a feeling that was going to be my father’s request. My parents weren’t too keen on the idea of six boys and three girls spending the night together, as most parents would. But most likely, all nine of us weren’t going to fit in one tent anyway. We probably could if we tried hard enough, but it would be a tight squeeze. Mom and Dad wanted two tents? Fine.

                But when the sun, and my parents, turned in for the night, we lived by no rules but our own.

                “Hold Segment A right here...Now you hold Segment B right here…”

                “Do I snap these two together?
                “Wait a minute, Changhyun!”

“What do the directions say?”

                “I can’t read the directions, they’re in English!”

                “They must come in some other language…”

                “I don’t speak Spanish either!”

                “AHHH!”

                At that very second, the army-green nylon ceiling caved in on top of Chanhee, Jonghyun, Changhyun, and Minsoo. Changhyun shouted and threw his arms up, eager to crawl out. Chanhee grabbed his hand and followed Minsoo, who was groaning as he clawed at the deflated tent that had collapsed on them. This was the third attempt to set up the boys’ tent, and it had fallen yet again.

                Hyerin stuck her head out of the matching yellow tent besides them. She glanced down at the heap of green nylon in the grass beside her and let out a laugh. “That’s your tent?”

                Min Neul ped the flap that served as a tent door even further, poking her head out beside her sister’s. “How’s it going out here?” she teased.

                “Terrible, Jonghyun replied, running his fingers through his light brown hair.

                “This ing tent won’t stay up,” Minsoo huffed, scowling at the heap of deflated tent at his feet.

                “Are you following the directions?” Hyerin asked.

                “They’re in English!” Changhyun exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

                “Well, there are pictures,” Min Neul rolled her eyes. “Just follow the pictures.”

                Minsoo narrowed his eyes as he glanced away from the directions, which lay crinkled on the grass. “We’ll just wait for Byunghun or Kirin to get out here.”

                Hyerin sighed and rolled her eyes. She ped the rest of the flap and crawled out of the yellow tent, the designated girls’ tent. Before she straightened up, she snatched the directions up off the grass. She stuck the tip of her tongue between lips as she stared at the diagrams and pictures on the crumpled sheet of paper.

                Min Neul crawled out after her. “Hyerin and I put up the tent all by ourselves,” she bragged with a smug smile.

                Jonghyun sourly stuck his tongue out at her in response. Min Neul replied by laughing and playfully slapping his muscular bicep.

                The maknae couple’s flirty fighting came to an end when Daniel slid open the back door with his free hand. He carried four blankets and two pillows in his gaunt arms, and he could barely see over the top of them. Following closely behind him were Byunghun and me, both carrying armloads of pillows and blankets as well.

                Daniel frowned as he saw the heap of green tent on the grass and the perfectly built yellow tent beside it. “What’s wrong with our tent?” he asked.

                “Everything,” Chanhee scoffed, crossing his arms.

                “It fell on us!” Changhyun exclaimed.

                “We can’t seem to make it stay up,” Jonghyun added.

                Byunghun dumped his armload of pillows in the grass. “Let me see those directions.”

                “Hey!” Chanhee cried as he dove for the pillows Byunghun had carelessly dropped on the ground. Byunghun ignored him. He glanced at the directions in Hyerin’s hands.

                “See? The directions are in English!” Minsoo cried as he noticed Byunghun look them over.

                Byunghun shrugged as he took the crumbled paper from Hyerin. “Just follow the pictures.”

                “HAH!” Hyerin threw her hands up. “That’s what I said!”

                Byunghun chuckled. “Looks like all you have to do is string these poles through these little pockets here, and the tent should stand up.”

                “You make it sound so easy,” Changhyun pouted, adding an eye roll for affect.

                “Did you two set up this tent all by yourselves?” I asked Hyerin and Min Neul.

                Min Neul nodded. “It wasn’t hard.”

                “Then help us set up ours!” Changhyun exclaimed, kneeling beside the heap of tent on the grass. Min Neul and I knelt beside him. Daniel and Minsoo were the next to join. Shortly afterwards, Byunghun was busy dictating the instructions and we were busy following them. In no time we had all the poles snapped together and strung through the pockets. With nine people, it was quite easy to assemble the tent. In no time the green tent stood beside its identical yellow counterpart. When we has finished, I had noticed the sky had since turned a darker shade of orange in the distance.

                Byunghun put his hands on his hips and smiled at the tents. “Job well done!”

                Minsoo scoffed. “No thanks to you.”

                “Yah, I read the directions to you!”

                “I don’t think anyone was listening,” Hyerin giggled.

                Byunghun rolled his eyes, flipping his perfect, orange hair. He loved picking on the other boys, but he hated betting picked on himself.

                I giggled as I touched his arm lightly. “I was listening,” I said.

                Byunghun cracked a smile. “I knew someone was.”

                At that moment, the back door slid open. Out slipped Mom and Dad. They stood on the porch, looking over us.

                “You got the tents up!” Mom said with a smile.

                “It wasn’t easy,” said Minsoo.

                “Actually, it was,” Min Neul replied with a shrug. Minsoo glared playfully at her, and she giggled in reply.

                Mom chucked. “We actually came out here to see if you needed any help putting the tents up,” she glanced beyond us and towards the tents again, “but I can see you don’t need our help after all!”

                “Do you need anything else while we’re out here?” Dad asked.

                “Food!” Changhyun cried.

                “Changhyun,” Chanhee hissed.

                Mom chuckled. “We can bring out some snacks if you’d like.”

                “Thank you!” Changhyun chirped, his eyes smiling.

                Dad turned to me. “I’m assuming the yellow tent is the girls’ tent and the green tent is the boys’ tent?”

                “Yes,” I answered politely. “We’re all going to hang out in one tent until it’s time to go to sleep, okay?”

                “That’s fine,” Dad answered with a small nod.

                “I’ll bring out some snacks shortly, alright?” said Mom.

                I nodded. “Thanks Mom!” I smiled.

                “You’re welcome,” she said, turning to leave.

                “I’ll be coming out to check on you a few times,” Dad warned before he left.

                “Yes, Daddy,” I answered sweetly, suppressing an eye roll.

                After my parents left, I my heels to face everyone. “My dad’s going to come check on us every now and then, alright?”

                “Check on us?” Chanhee repeated.

                I nodded. “To make sure we’re staying in separate tents.”

                “Oh.” Min Neul gazed at Jonghyun out of the corner of her eye.

                “He said we can still hang out in one tent for right now, though,” I said. Byunghun nodded in confirmation.

                “Well that’s good,” Hyerin said with a smile. “We’ll just stay up really late, then.”

                “Then let’s get this party started!” Daniel cried, diving into the tent.

                “PAJAMA PARTY!” Changhyun cried happily as he dove inside the green tent after Daniel. After him, Byunghun and I headed inside, and we were followed by the maknae couple.

                “How are we all going to fit in here?” Chanhee asked, surveying the floor space inside the tent.

                “The box said this tent fits six,” I replied with a shrug, sitting close to Byunghun.

                “But there’s nine of us,” Chanhee answered with a chuckle, taking the seat on the other side of Byunghun.

                “Aw, we only need room for eight,” Min Neul replied.

                Hyerin raised an eyebrow. “Eight?”

                “Sure,” her sister answered. She glanced down at Jonghyun, who was seated with his legs folded underneath him. Without warning, she plopped herself down on Jonghyun’s lap. He didn’t protest; he didn’t mind one bit, actually. He smiled sweetly and wrapped his arms around her waist, as if he was protecting her from falling off.

                It was a tight squeeze, but everyone managed to fit. My legs were pressed right up against Byunghun’s, but I didn’t mind. Daniel stretched out his long legs, and Minsoo stretched his over them. Hyerin stretched her’s over Minsoo’s. Everyone was fairly comfortable; talking, whispering, giggling. There were about four different conversations going on, at once, but no one seemed to care. About ten minutes later, Mom stopped by and dropped off some popcorn and soda. We thanked her, but no one thanked her louder than Changhyun did. He smiled with his eyes as he shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

                “Take it easy, Changhyun,” Chanhee teased, touching his dongsaeng lightly on the back.

                Changhyun swallowed hard. “I can’t help it. I love food.”

                “We know,” Minsoo laughed. “You eat the most out of all of us.”

                “You eat a lot too, hyung,” Changhyun protested.

                “I know I do,” Minsoo said.

                “I think we all eat a lot,” Daniel shrugged.

                “You wouldn’t know it by looking at you,” Hyerin giggled, tucking hair behind her ear.

                “That’s because we dance and work out all the time,” Byunghun said, wrapping his arms around his skinny knees. “I lost so much weight when I became an idol.”

                “And you thought you were going to grow taller,” Jonghyun giggled

                Byunghun smirked. “I still have time to grow taller!”

                Changhyun chuckled childishly. “Whatever you say, hyung.”

                Byunghun scowled at Changhyun. He opened his mouth to say something back to him, but he stopped himself. “I can’t fight with Changhyun,” Byunghun declared with a smirk. “He’s too cute.”

                Changhyun giggled and bobbed his head back and forth. He hugged his blue fleece blanket tightly around his arms. “Am I really that cute?”

                “Yes,” everyone answered collectively.

                That brought a smile to Changhyun’s face. “I always knew I was the cutest one here.”

                “You sure about that?” Min Neul challenged, raising an arched eyebrow.

                “Positive.” Changhyun pointed to his round face and chubby, child-like cheeks. “Take a look at this face! You can’t find aegyo like this anywhere else!”

                “I don’t know, Changhyun,” Chanhee teased, “Minsoo-hyung has pretty good aegyo too.”

                All eyes fell on Minsoo. Shyly, a beautiful smile blossomed on his face and his narrow eyes became little arches. “Ah, I’m not that cute,” he shrugged, giggling.

                “See!” Chanhee cried excitedly, pointing a finger at his hyung. “He does it without trying!”

                Everyone was laughing now. Minsoo even covered his red face with his hands, further proving his cuteness.

                Changhyun was the only one who wasn’t laughing until tears were streaming down his cheeks. He narrowed his dark eyes and scoffed. “You think that’s cute? Take a look at this!” He simply raised an eyebrow, cocked his head to the side, and let his eyes grow four times their size. His oval eyes were now perfect circles, sparkling with innocence and full of mischief. With his hands, he absentmindedly the strings on his lime green hoodie like a child. Instantly, the eight spectators stopped laughing and stared at him in awe. Instantly, everyone marveled as his aegyo and clapped wildly. Loving the praise, Changhyun broke the act and started giggling, beaming cutely. His aegyo act was truly never ending.

                “Aegyo battle! Aegyo battle!” Chanhee declared.

                “How are you going to top that, Minsoo-hyung?” Daniel asked, clutching onto Minsoo’s muscular arm in excitement.

                “Ah, I don’t know,” Minsoo whined adorably, smiling his charming smile and letting his gaze drop to the floor. “I’m….I don’t…I’m not that cute…”

                Truthfully, Minsoo was being utterly adorable and he knew it. He had that sort of underhanded  aegyo that wasn’t as blatantly obvious as his dongsaeng’s was. Minsoo ran his fingers through his brown hair and giggled a little, further proving that just because he was the eldest didn’t mean he couldn’t also have killer aegyo.

                “Oppa, your aegyo is good too,” I giggled as I tugged on Byunghun’s arm much like Daniel had done to Minsoo.

                “Ah,” Byunghun nervously reached up to touch his orange hair. “Aegyo’s not really my thing though,” he said cutely. He too even caused sparks of excitement with his adorable tone of voice. Byunghun always went for the cool, chic vibe instead of the cute one. Personally, I thought he was somewhat like Minsoo; naturally cute without really trying.

                “None of your aegyo is anywhere near as good as mine,” Min Neul declared confidently.

                “You?” Hyerin raised an eyebrow.

                “That’s right,” Min Neul said defiantly. “I’m the real maknae here, and my aegyo will knock the socks off all of yours.”

                Changhyun childishly put his hands on his hips. “Bring it on!” he commanded.

                “I’d be glad to,” Min Neul answered fiercely. She slid off Jonghyun’s lap and paused for a moment to compose herself. She took a deep breath and tilted her chin down, getting into character. Finally, she snapped her neck up, puffed out her lips into a plump, flirty pout, made bunny ears with both hands, and mashed them against her cheeks. Her almond-shaped eyes were round and bright, making her look much like a deer in headlights but not in a frightened way. In a sweet way. An innocent way.  She blinked quickly, letting her long eyelashes flutter prettily.

                The applause she earned was nearly twice as loud as it had been for her oppas. Changhyun’s jaw dropped. Jonghyun’s eyes bulged out of his skull and his lips twisted into a smile. He was obviously impressed. Just when everyone thought Min Neul had reached her peak, she parted her lips ad sweetly whined, “Oppa,” in a perfect baby voice.

                “Hey!” Changhyun cried, disliking that Min Neul was stealing his thunder. “They don’t call me ‘Lovely’ for nothing!” He stuck his index fingers against his cheeks, innocently smiled with his eyes, and giggled softly. “Noona, buy me some food,” he giggled sweetly in a childish voice. His naturally chubby baby-face helped his cause. He honestly resembled a young child innocently begging for food. Once again, everyone “ooo-ed” and “ahhh-ed” for Lovely Ricky’s aegyo.

                “Oh, please!” Min Neul cried, waving a hand in Changhyun’s direction. “Check this out.” She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward towards Jonghyun. She batted her eyelashes again, and arched her eyebrows. She puckered her lips together in another sweet pout, both showing off to Jonghyun and daring him to kiss her at the same time.

                “Ooo,” the spectators marveled, watching intently as the scene unfolded.

                Jonghyun smiled like a prince. He looked pleasantly surprised. He blinked a few times at his adorable girlfriend before twisting his lips into a pout and planting a kiss on her lips. As the cheering crescendoed, Min Neul suddenly pulled away. She brought a finger to her pouted lip and giggled, adorably winking at Jonghyun. Then she turned to face everyone else, dropping the cute act. “Any of you es want to try to top that?”

                “I can top that any day!” Changhyun cried.

                “You had your chance!” Chanhee cried. He looked around. “Anyone else want to join?”

                Everyone’s head was shaking. No one wanted to attempt to top Min Neul’s act. Byunghun often told me I was pretty good at aegyo, but I owed that to my kid-like height and puffy cheeks. I could do aegyo sometimes, like when I was trying to persuade Byunghun. That always worked; all I had to do was bat my eyelashes and puff out my cheeks to make him give in. I was definitely no master of aegyo like Changhyun and, surprisingly, Min Neul.

                “Then who wins?” Daniel asked eagerly.

                “We’ll let the panel of judges decide,” Chanhee said, pointing to everyone who didn’t participate in the battle. He cleared his throat. “All in favor of Bang Minsoo-hyung, please cheer loudly!”

                Hyerin was the only one who clapped wildly, and after about two seconds of cheering alone, she slowed to a stop. Her cheeks were pink, and everyone laughed, even Minsoo. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead, thanking her for her support.

                “All in favor of Yoo Changhyun please cheer loudly!”

                Minsoo and Daniel cheered for him, and after a moment Hyerin joined in. The cheering and clapping was fairly encouraging, but Changhyun still hadn’t won the support of the majority. Byunghun and I dropped our gazes in embarrassment, unable to look Changhyun in the eyes.

                His jaw hung open. “WHAT? THAT’S ALL I GET?” he cried in horror.

                “All in favor of Park Min Neul, please cheer loudly!” Chanhee slurred. Instantly, Jonghyun, Byunghun, Chanhee and I started cheering the loudest yet. The maknae’s eyes glimmered as she gazed around at her admirers, basking in their glory. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes. Changhyun was staring bitterly at her. The cheering continued, as eventually everyone besides the visual maknae was clapping wildly for the real maknae.

                “Park Min Neul, I believe you are our winner!” Chanhee declared, holding out a flashlight for her as if it was a trophy.

                Min Neul snatched it from Chanhee’s grasp. “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all month!” she declared dramatically. She blew a kiss to the crowd before turning to Jonghyun, who was clapping the loudest. “I’d like to thank Jonghyun, the best boyfriend in the entire world!” she exclaimed before pecking his cheek. Still, the cheering persisted.

                Amidst the cheering, Changhyun made a move. He got to his knees and shuffled over to Min Neul, his eyes narrow. We all held our breath as we waited for Changhyun to make a move. His face was centimeters away from Min Neul’s, and he glared at her. Suddenly he stuck out his hand, indicating for Min Neul to shake it. She glanced down from his handsome face to his hand, then back to his handsome face. Slowly, Min Neul gripped his hand. They shook slowly, firmly. A smile of admiration crept onto Changhyun’s adorable face.

                “You know,” Changhyun said thoughtfully, “you’re not half bad at aegyo—for a maknae.”