After a dance practice with IOI, Yoojung and Doyeon reluctantly had the rest of the night and the next morning off. Obviously, it would be best for the two to catch up on some sleep, but they had other things in mind.

It starts like this.

“Wanna grab some ice cream at the store?” Yoojung cutely tugs on Doyeon’s oversized shirt.

The younger one smiles mischievously and nods. They pull on the first jacket they see (they've been sharing clothing for such a long time that they don't even know who's clothes belong to who anymore) and prepare to leave.

Doyeon opens the door to check if anyone was in the common room. As a rookie group and as a minor, the only way of going to their favorite getaway could only be done so through the art of sneaking out. Although she and Yoojung had snuck out multiple times, not all excursions end so cleanly. The Stone Leader had caught them multiple times and although her scoldings are terrifying, the two hoodlums have learned they preferred to ask for forgiveness than permission. Yoojung was always one to cover the CCTV before they sneak out so no one from the management had caught them either. They were thankful their Leader-nim never threw them under the bus to their managers (well, some ice cream bribery may have caused that). Once, Chunga was in charge because both Pledis Girlz and gugudan were preparing for their own debut. Despite the early schedule the day after, Yoojung and Doyeon took advantage of the opportunity to escape since Chungha was just an innocent, sweet mother.

It was nice.

These were memories they wouldn't forget as friends. Even after they debuted, even when IOI would meet again after 10, 15 years, they would remember this.

Considering the time of day (rather the time of night), they knew their Stone Leader was probably passed out. Chunga was probably just as out as Nayoung. Chaeyeon was busy with DIA activities so she wasn’t in the dorm. Their only concerns were the other beagles who were, once in a while, possibly awake and fully thriving if Nayoung hadn't shut them up already. Quite honestly, they were the culprits who turn in Dodaeng for sneaking off.

“The coast is clear,” Doyeon whispers louder than normal.

The two scurry to the door and put on their shoes.

Maybe this was the 20th time they've done this, but both still hold their breaths as they hurriedly tie their shoelaces and try to calm their beating hearts.

It's not until the door closes behind them that they can breathe.

It was exhilarating. It was dangerous.

It was slightly… romantic.

Yoojung grasps Doyeon’s hand and ran away from the entrance of their dorm. Doyeon hates it when Yoojung pulls on her so she always runs faster show off her long legs, causing the older one to complain about her small stature.

It's about a 10-minute walk to the convenience store. A block away, there's this intersection that potentially diverts the path to their destination. The left path is more open to the main road and it seems like they just follow one path. The right path is where all the side streets are and it seems like the route is longer because of all the streets they have to cross and turns to take, but it does seem noticeably shorter. In the end, they both lead to different entrances of the convenience store, which is all that really matters, so the two just usually pick the path that has a green light when they appear. Today, they’re taking the right route.

“Do you ever wonder which way is quicker?” Yoojung innocently asks.

Doyeon shrugs, not really considering the significance. “Both ways lead to the convenience store. Who cares?”

“But what if we get noticed one day? Shouldn't we run the shortest way home?” The two cross the street. Doyeon thinks it’s a stupid thought because they were so experienced with sneaking off, but she knows Yoojung has a point. We should really know our options. Lost in thought, she mindlessly walks her typically pace instead of the slow pace she has around the shorter members, causing Yoojung to walk double time in order to catch up with her taller friend.

“Maybe we should check one day.” Doyeon finally considers. All in all, it wouldn't matter what route they took. It seemed that the time difference was not substantial. Still, it’s nice to know in case of emergency or conveniency. “We can't really do that now since we're already walking the same path and we’re almost there.” They maneuver around the sidewalks that contained trash to be picked up within a few hours and delivery boxes. “Next time, let's pick the two paths we know we always use and race to see which is faster.”

“That’s not fair. Your legs are too long!@ Yoojung complains.

“Ani. Ani. I promise to walk my Yoojung pace.” Doyeong nonchalantly tries to compromise.

“Yah! What is that supposed to mean?” Yoojung stops in her spot.

Doyeon turns around. “If you win, I’ll carry you home. If I win, you have to buy whatever I want.” She gives a mischevious smile.

Although Yoojung was wearing a face mask as her disguise, her eye smile was very much visible. She knows how much Doyeon hated it when anyone koala-ed or clung onto her, so the idea enticed her. She knew the idea was stupid and this wasn’t a race, but the idea of Doyeon carrying her home was enticing. “Call~ and we should use that route for the rest of the time we're here.”

“When we get to that intersection, we should start timing ourselves. We get to choose what route we round after kai bai bo.” Doyeon further explains their challenge.

“None of us are allowed to research which way is faster! Arasso!” Yoojung sounds too excited, but that’s just how the beagles were.

Doyeon rolls her eyes but offers her pinky, which Yoojung gladly seals the deal. “It doesn’t really matter. This side has more cross walks so you’d have to consider possible waiting time. Looking it up on the Internet wouldn’t help”

“Then you better hope you don’t lose at kai bai bo next time.” Yoojung winks.

Mini Jun Jihyun was growing tired so she didn't initiate more conversation. At the moment, Doyeong was listening to Yoojung, who was telling a funny story about their maknae when they had a photoshoot together. Doyeon was very much interested, but once they saw the entrance of their favorite convenience store, Yoojung cut her story short.

It was always like this. Whenever they went to a public space—a coffee shop, the convenience store, a restaurant—the members of IOI made a habit of not talking about each other. They always ate out in secret and wanted to act like normal people. Talking about vocal rehearsal or Somi goofing off during a photo shoot was far from normal.

Nonetheless, Doyeon wanted to hear the real Yoojung talk. Whenever Yoojung went to her “regular citizen” self, she became slightly… mundane. She'd talk about the weather or the news. It was like a switch. She'd go from hyper beagle to solemn ahjumma.

The two got ice cream, per usual. They stay by the window and talked about their parents. They didn't take longer than 20 minutes since it was risky for them to be out for so long.

When they exited the store, Doyeon asked Yoojung about what happened during the photoshoot, but Yoojung became drained and couldn't finish her story with the same excitement she started with.

The two walked home in mostly silence. When it came to the fork in the road, they went with the other path since it had a green light at the time they were there. Doyeon had a feeling that path was possibly longer, but she thought it was only that way because she was tired.

The two quietly walk and luckily for them, their excursion came out to be successful and with no casualties. The two tiptoe to their room to change into sleepwear and catch some Zs.

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A/N: Thank you guys for waiting patiently! Hope you like this first chapter! I think this may be around 3 or 4 chapters depending on what direction this is going to go. I'm in the middle of a project crunch and finals are coming up soon for me, so I can't promise much (in terms of uploading) for the time being, but I hope you like it!