Breakfast smells fill the dining room – the rich aroma of brewing coffee, with a hint of grease from eggs and bacon, added with a touch of wheat and flour from toasted bread. Soonyoung and Jihoon are up early today, ready for another day of exploring Los Angeles. Soonyoung’s telling Jihoon about the dream he had about marshmallows as they walk downstairs to the dining room, when they’re greeted with the mouth-watering breakfast scents, and Soonyoung immediately shuts up. The two friends don’t say a word as they separate to the breakfast buffet for their first fill of food for the day. Jihoon’s content with a bowl of cereal and pancakes, but adventurous foodie Soonyoung goes wild and takes a little of everything.

They settle at a booth by the window. Soonyoung tries to balance his laden plates on his arms to save a few trips from the buffet; and Jihoon hopes that no accidents would happen. He internally releases a quiet sigh when Soonyoung gently lays his plates onto the table with an excited grin on his face, at the prospect of food. Jihoon barely recognises some of the dishes Soonyoung has picked - only because he’d been introduced to them in a breakfast crash course just yesterday morning – but today it seems like a completely different menu.

“Thank you for the food!” Soonyoung exclaims in Japanese, clasping his hands (even though they’re nowhere near the land of the rising sun) and immediately digs in without hesitating.

Jihoon calmly eats his own share of food, nursing his steaming mug. “Coffee.” His second favourite thing in the world, after sleep.

“Milk!” Soonyoung attacks his cold glass of chocolate milk. He takes a drink, and there’s a prominent chocolate moustache on his upper lip when he sets the glass down. He’s practically an overgrown man-child, Jihoon thinks – it’s a miracle that he survived on his own in his travels. Soonyoung practically inhales his food, like he’s been starved for days, thoroughly savouring every bite.

Jihoon simply sips his coffee, watching Soonyoung’s antics. He feels re-energized, as the caffeine rushes through his bloodstream, plus, he’d gotten twelve hours of sleep. For once, he feels relaxed, calmly enjoying his breakfast, ah, this is the life, with nothing to rush to.

“Soonie, don’t you dare your plate.” Jihoon warns. Despite the huge amount of food he’d ingested, Soonyoung finishes every crumb; and is short of his plate clean when Jihoon gives him a death glare. Soonyoung slowly puts his plate down, looking guilty; but unceremoniously releases a burp out of nowhere.

They’re sated when they leave the dining hall, and Jihoon notices (with a thankful sigh) that Soonyoung was too absorbed in breakfast to remember to film the start of their day. Soonyoung only switches on his fully charged camera in the lobby before they leave the lodgings for their plans for the day. He burps again as the camera starts recording, then laughs freely.

“Day 3! Soonie and Hoonie’s LA adventure!” Soonyoung grins into the camera, and Jihoon follows suit.  “Hoonie, you’re today’s camera fairy.” He bestows the camera attached to the selfie stick to Jihoon, who accepts it hesitantly.

“Oh.” Jihoon weighs the selfie stick in his hands; it feels kind of heavy.

“You can’t say no; I’ve already declared you the camera fairy.” Soonyoung says.

“Fine.” Jihoon pouts into the camera.

“Don’t act cute, it’s weird. And don’t hog the camera, it’s SOONIE and Hoonie’s LA adventure for a reason.” Soonyoung commands, emphasising his name in their joint adventure.

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Okay. So you’re gonna look into the camera looking lost like you did yesterday, then you ask ‘where are we going today?’; then I’m gonna pop into the frame and say, ‘we’re going to the beach!’” Soonyoung directs.

“Our outfits are already giving it away.” Jihoon points out. They’re both already decked out in shorts and flip-flops – Soonyoung’s even wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt.

“Don’t make this difficult. Ready, action!”  Soonyoung scurries out of frame.

Jihoon sighs once (why does Soonyoung have to be so extra?) and complies with his directing, putting on his best ‘I’m lost’ expression. “Hmmmm, where are we going today?”

“We’re going to the beach!” Soonyoung literally jumps into the camera view, grinning excitedly. Jihoon bends over, laughing madly, because it’s too ridiculous, and ends up filming the lobby floor.

“Make sure you keep the camera level!” Soonyoung grabs the selfie stick and corrects the view. “I don’t want any weird shots of your feet.”

Jihoon quickly calms himself down, but a smile still sticks onto his face. “Yeah, yeah, sure. Can we go now?”

“Let’s go!” The two of them leave the hotel lobby, and Soonyoung’s gabbing about how amazed he is that they did that scene in one shot (Jihoon’s glad that they didn’t have to repeat it). The blue Audi that Soonyoung drives is waiting for them in the adjacent parking lot. Soonyoung stuffs his omnipresent backpack into the car boot, as Jihoon carefully buckles himself into the passenger seat.

“Santa Monica’s a tourist trap,” Soonyoung starts to narrate as he navigates out of the carpark. “But it’s classic; you can’t miss out on it when you visit Los Angeles.”

“I’m pretty sure there are other beaches too.” Jihoon comments.

“There are, but when you think of LA beaches, surely you’ll think of the Santa Monica pier!” Soonyoung starts listing all the activities that can be done at Santa Monica, like he’s a seasoned tourist guide. “So many things to do on the boardwalk – we’ve got to have ice-cream, and we’re going to go biking; apparently it’s a good way to explore the place!”

“Sounds…interesting.” Jihoon says unenthusiastically, looking out the window at the palm trees lining the avenue. The number of palm trees in Los Angeles astounds him; it seems like there is one every few metres. That’s the charm of LA, and he finds