“Let’s go on a stroll today!!”

I bursted out of our bedroom with my arms outstretched, as if I could spread my excitement with this open pose. Which I could!!

The younger half of the group was absent from the dorm to complete their own schedules, so the older six (yes, that included me) were the only ones here.

I had gotten ready specifically to walk around together, I even diligently kept track of the weather to ensure that we’d stay under blue skies rather than grey clouds.

Plus, my outfit was super duper cute!! I had on a pink pleated skirt, a nice white hoodie, and knee-high socks. I even put my hair into curly pigtails!!!

“Ah, Chuu, you look so adorable!” Kahei fawned, petting my head. “But we promised manager-unnie we’d tidy up today.”

I whined and cupped my hands together, channeling all the sad puppies across the world through my pout and watery eyes. “But please? It’ll be quick! Do it for me...?”

Jinsoul stared at me hard, and I could tell that she found me irresitable. The power of Chuu!! “Hmm...it would be a shame to put that outfit to waste...”

“And Jiwooming really wants to go...” Sooyoung said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Shouldn’t we clean?” Jungeun asked, but she was smiling at me. She’d join my side in a jiffy. My puppy pout was the best out of the group, in my opinion.

We all looked to Haseul for the final decision, and she grinned. “A brisk walk never hurt anyone, right?”

I squealed with joy and hopped over to the shoe rack, debating which ones would match best with my particularly cute getup. White would be the best fit. I hummed, twisting up my lips as I scoured my minimal options (for all the shopping I did, you’d think I’d buy more white shoes.)

“What’s up, Jiwoo?” I heard Jungeun ask curiously from behind me. “We’re all ready to go.”

“I know, I just...hm, I want this outfit to look perfect, so I want nice shoes to go with it...”

The now silver-locked girl glanced over my shoulder to peer at me. “Well, if it means that much to you, you can borrow my Converse.”

My eyes lit up. “Really???? Your new ones???”

She nodded. “Sure! Just don’t get them dirty.”

I squealed yet again, planting a kiss on the girl’s cheek as she straightened up, giggling at her noise of pseudo-repulse.

I scurried into the Odd Eye Circle room, reaching under Jungeun’s bed and pulling out the box that the pristine shoes resided in. I think I saw her wear these, like, four maybe five times. Yeesh, to think I’d be her special number six wearer!

An angel chorus rang out when I opened the box, pulled out the shoes and slipped my feet into them. They were a couple sizes bigger, but they fit! I wiggled my toes cased within the sheet-white fabric and skipped over to the entrance where Jungeun and the unnies were waiting.

“They suit you!” She said, and I linked arms with her and Jinsoul as we exited the dorm.

“Hehe~ thank you Kim Lippie. Want another kiss??”

She cringed and tilted her head away. “No, thank you.”

We walked where we usually did, near where the park and convenience store sat.

“It’s...surprisingly nice today,” Haseul commented wispily.

We all laughed at that. I dislodged my arms from the blondes and back-hugged our beloved leader. “Don’t worry, unnie! I checked the forecast a lot, to say the least. We’re in the clear, I promise.”

She didn’t say anything, but I could tell she was smiling. I felt Jinsoul ruffle my hair and I preened, absolutely elated with how the day was panning out so far.

”Woah, hey, it’s LOONA!” A girl called out, pointing at us frantically.

“Oh, my God!” Her friend gasped, gum falling out of . Wow, never seen that happen before. “They’re really right there!!”

We all froze for a second, not having expected that. We never really got recognized in public before, and when we did, it was mostly from them seeing us around before. But actual orbits seldom came up to us.

Today was a gem. I couldn’t wait to note this in my diary.

They were young, around Hyejoo and Yerim’s age, and they scuffled up to us, jittery and smiley.

“M-may we please have a photo with you?”

Kahei abashedly covered her face. “I-I’m not wearing much makeup...”

“Honestly, same,” Sooyoung admitted, grinning at them charmingly, “how did you cuties even recognize us?”

They swooned, and we all rolled our eyes. Yeesh, was she ever one for fanservice.

“We’d love to, of course,” Haseul said kindly, slapping a hand harshly onto Sooyoung’s shoulder, as if she was tugging on her reigns.

Jinsoul pointed to the grassy area, “let’s move off the sidewalk then.”

I started power marching there, “yay! Let’s g—“

Squish.

I halted right in my tracks, left foot still raised.

I stepped in her gum.

The girls passed by me, already making cute poses for the picture.

I stepped in her gum.

Jinsoul quirked a brow at me, smile weakening as she was the one who had to hold the phone up high to accommodate our group and the teens. “Uhhh, Jiwoo? My arm is already getting tired, c’mon over.”

I stepped in her gum.

I just knew that if I lifted my foot, the sticky substance would still connect the shoe to the ground with strings. She had to have been chewing at least four pieces.

“Jiwoo?”

I literally jumped at Jungeun’s concerned voice, knowing that I had to get over there somehow.

I crouched down into a squat and did the twist, laughing awkwardly as I pepper-shaked my way over. I tentatively glanced back at the damage, and, to my dismay, the sidewalk was completely clean.

The entire thing was now plastered to the bottom of Jungeun’s white shoe.

Good, great, grand, exactly what I wanted.

They looked at me oddly as I stumbled onto the green grass. “What...the hell was that?” Sooyoung asked, chuckling at the absurdity of my actions.

“I’m just hyper is all!” I lied through my grinning teeth, automatically resting my chin on one of the fans’ shoulder. She seemed flustered, but I wasn’t in the mood to move or about it.

Jinsoul ‘hmph’d at me. “Okay...say cheese!”

I began formulating plans in my head as she snapped the photos.

I can clean them off in the dorms!

Wait, no, we have to get right back to tidying up the place. Haseul-unnie will definitely keep us on task, and I’ll get no opportunity.

I can rush to the bathroom right now and wash it out!

And walk back home with wet shoes?? I’m pretty sure they’ll notice.

I can try and pry it off on the sidewalk!

And risk scuffing up the bottoms? They’re brand new!!

My mind drew a blank.

...Jungeun’s gonna kill me and smear gum all over my grave.

My stomach churned, a deplorable sinking feeling making me almost nauseous.

“—Jiwoo!”

I blinked, head lifting with a dumb, “huh?”

“Get off the poor kid already, jeez, we finished, like a minute ago!” Sooyoung said, looking at me as if I was inflicted with some kinda sickness.

The teen I was resting my chin on timidly slipped away, bowing at us profusely. “Th-thank you for the p-pictures, you unnies are so, so pretty, really! Monthly Girls fighting!”

She was blushing hard and her friend appeared to be pretty envious, but I couldn’t really revel over my impact on them; after all, this might be the last time anyone will see my adorable face again.

After they traipsed out of sight, Jinsoul nudged me. “Hey, that was pretty bold of you. You might be trending tomorrow.”

I forced a laugh, and it was so uncharacteristically lacklustre that I wasn’t even surprised that they picked up on it.

“Chuu, honey, you’re white as a sheet, are you okay?”

Kahei’s angelic voice comforted me a bit, and I cracked a tiny, listless smile before nodding.

“Are you sure?” Haseul asked, mom-meter cranked to the max. “You were so energetic just a few minutes ago and now it’s like you had a sugar crash.”

“I’m completely fine!” I yipped, bouncing up and down a bit to try and convince them faster.

Jungeun curled an arm around me and I stiffened up. She pulled back a bit. “Woah, are you mad at me?” She asked, offended. “What’d I do?”

It’s what I did.

I didn’t say that, of course. “Nothing!” I squeaked, holding back tears. “You just scared me, is all! Let’s go home now?”

“So soon?” Sooyoung questioned, “don’t we usually get to the next bridge—“

“Yep! But we should probably get back to cleaning, right?”

Jinsoul pursed her lips, “c’mon, you were my excuse to get out, let’s walk further. Don’t you want to flaunt your outfit a bit more? You look so cute!”

I almost whined. I could feel the uncomfortable clump of gum under my foot flatten, adhere tighter to the soles, and I just prayed that it wasn’t nearly as horrible as my brain depicted it.

Jungeun slinked me in closer and smiled fondly at me. My heart pulsed with guilt and fear. I saw how scary Jungeun could be when angered. But never has she ever directed her rage at me before. And today could change that.

“If you’re worried about the shoes, honey, don’t be,” she said softly, “I trust you won’t ruin them, you’ve gotten better with that stuff lately.”

I wanted to bawl my eyes out.

...

We returned to the dorms around ten minutes later, prolonging the break to properly treat ourselves on this brisk, infrequent break. The gum was still there, of course, most likely melded to the intricate design in the soles by now.

I’ve long ago accepted my inevitable fate of death, just relishing the final wee moments of happy, Jungeun-still-loves-me time.

Still, I didn’t think I’d be so scared as Haseul gripped the doorknob and twisted it, the motion much more deliberate and slow than I remembered it being.

We poured in, the girls chittering amongst themselves and slipping out of their own shoes.

I lingered at the entranceway even as they moved to different parts of the dorm to get the cleaning supplies.

“Jiwoo-ah, aren’t you gonna help?” Sooyoung called me, swinging the chord of the vacuum cleaner around.

“Don’t do that, you’ll hit someone,” Haseul commanded as she rolled up her sleeves and washed the dishes. “Jiwoo, can you come help unnie dry these please?”

I hummed, but still didn’t move, heart nearly hammering out of my chest when Jungeun came out into the living room.

Jinsoul crossed her arms and looked at me skeptically. “Alright, what’s up with you? You’re being weird. You wanted to go on a walk, then not even halfway through you wanted to come home, and now it looks like you want to leave again!”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Now that I think of it, why did I want to come home so soon? I pretty much had it in my power to keep us out all day.

“Jiwoo, bring my shoes over I need to put them back in the box.”

I went still as a statue, staring wide-eyed at Jungeun.

“...Jiwoo? The shoes...?”

I remained mum.

“See? Told you she’s acting funny,” Jinsoul repeated.

Don’t make this worse, Jiwoo, I told myself. Just get it over with.

I laughed nervously, slipping my feet out of her shoes, picking them up (without looking at the damage, I was far too scared) and scuttling over.

I grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the bedroom, immediately dropping to my knees and slamming my forehead to the ground.

Jungeun was just so confused. “J-Jiwoo?? Why are you grovelling??? Get up right this instant!! What the hell is up with you?!”

I felt her hand rub my head affectionately, and my heart burst with all the guilt it’d been teeming with. I lifted my head and began to sob uncontrollably.

“Jung...eun...ieee...”

Heavy concern marred her features. “Woah, why are you crying?! Jiwoo?”

I shakily pointed at her shoes.

She wasn’t following, grappling onto my forearms and staring at me with big, worried eyes. “What about them, honey? Please, please don’t cry...”

“I...I ruined them.....” I sniffled, using the entirety of my arm to wipe away the steady flow of tears.

She went quiet for a moment as I hiccuped and cried. “Wait, what? What do you mean you ruined them, they look fine to me!”

“On the bottom...”

I bowed my head, chills travelling up and down my spine and ribcage constricting painfully.

“Jiwoo...”

“I stepped in her gum. I understand I-if you hate me,” I said, voice terribly shaky, “if you want to h-hurt me or scream at me go ahead.”

“Jiwoo—“

“I deserve it after all. I sullied your brand-new shoes, and they were expensive and—“

“Jiwoo!”

I snapped my head up. Jungeun was sporting a small, incredulous smile. She flipped the shoe over and I unconsciously flinched, shutting my eyes.

Jungeun snorted, “open your eyes, please.”

“I can’t.”

“Jiwoo, open your eyes.”

I hesitantly did so, jaw dropping instantly.

A tiny, coin-sized piece of gum was attached to the rubber bottom, not even wedged within the design. I was gobsmacked. How was that possible?

“B-but, it felt so much bigger...”

She scoffed. “Okay, first off, that’s what she said,” I glared lightly at her, and she digressed, “and you probably convinced yourself that it was a huge chunk of gum. How many times did you say to yourself that it was some hubba bubba jaw-breaker?”

I blushed. I repeated that terrifying mantra in my head at least thirty times. “I...”

Jungeun rolled her eyes and pried it off, tossing it into the trash before relegating her shoes to their box. She grinned at me and ruffled my hair. “Well, it’s over now isn’t it? Wipe that look off your face, that’s not the Chuu I know.”

For the first time in what felt like hours, I smiled a genuine smile, relief washing over me blissfully. “I love you, Jungeuniee!!!”

“Ah, jeez, stop that, would you?” She cringed jokingly. “You know I can’t get mad at you. Now, come on, we have to help the others.”

She exited the room as Jinsoul’s demands for us to help increased in volume, and I stood up, ready to follow her.

That was, until I made a horrifying realization.

She was looking at the left shoe, when I swore I stepped in gum in the right.

I could barely breathe when I dropped down again and pulled out the right shoe. Sure enough, an ugly clump of pink gum was plastered against the sole, dirt and grime mixed within it and stuck within every crevice of the pattern.

Did she see this? If she was so nonchalant about it, then she probably didn’t. What the hell were the chances of me stepping in two separate pieces of gum in each shoe??

I in a much needed breath, carefully placed the shoe beside its twin, closed the lid over the box, and slid it under Jungeun’s bed.

For another day, I thought.

A/N: oof. Sorry for the wait. This immediately came to mind after reading their profiles and seeing that Chuu liked to go on strolls with the members.