“Ji Eun! Come on in!”

I followed Luhan into the house where he and Chen were staying. He led me to the living room. “You can sit down. Chen’s probably in the kitchen again.” He walked over to another doorway. “Chen, get over here. Ji Eun is here!” he called.

Now Luhan can be energetic, but Chen was even worse than him. I should expect the worst...

“Ji Eun! It’s been a while. You look really different now!” Chen walked out of the kitchen and walked over to me.

Two things surprised me. First of all, Chen had grown a lot. He used to be a lot shorter than me, but now he was a bit taller.

And the second one was even more shocking: he was completely and utterly calm. To be honest it’s kind of freaking me out.

“Who are you and what have you done with Chen?” I asked suspiciously.

Chen smiled. “I knew you’d be surprised. It’s me.”

“But you used to be more...crazy.” I said. “What happened?”

Chen shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just like this now.”

“It took me awhile to realize it.” Luhan told me. “But he really has matured.”

I looked at Chen warily. “I keep expecting him to suddenly start yelling and jumping around.”

Chen laughed lightly. “Nope. I haven’t done that in a while. Anyways, are you hungry? I made lunch if you want any.”

My eyes widened. “Chen cooks as well?” I gasped. He laughed again and nodded. “You really have changed a lot.”

As Chen was serving lunch, Luhan said, “So, do you have any plans for summer break yet? I really want the three of us to hang out and catch up! There’s so much stuff I want to see in Seoul too! The Seoul Tower, Myeongdong...And Chen wants to see some boring old palace-”

“It’s not boring!” Chen protested. “Changdeokgung is where Korea’s last emperor, Sunjong, passed away in 1926. It’s been very influential on architecture, gardening, and landscaping ever since! And it helps to give insight on the end of the Joseon period-”

“Yeah. Just like I said. Boring.” Luhan rolled his eyes. “But putting that aside, we can still have lots of fun!”

“Well... the thing is....I’ve already made plans for summer break.” I said awkwardly.

Both of their smiles disappeared. “Oh...” Luhan looked down. “But we were really looking forward to spending time with you.”

“I know. I want to hang out with you guys as well...” But I already agreed to go to the beach. I could cancel, but I really want to go!

“What plans do you have?” Chen asked.

“I’m going to the beach with my friends. We’ll be staying there for a few days.”

“The beach?!” Luhan jumped up excitedly. “I want to go too!”

“Come on Luhan, if Ji Eun wants to be with her friends, then we shouldn’t get in her way.” Chen told him. Luhan sat back down and pouted.

If only there was some way I could bring them along or something...

Wait...that’s it!

Haemi said she had...how many rooms free? Three. That’s right. She has three extra rooms. Maybe I can ask her if Chen and Luhan can come with us? That way I can spend time with everyone!

“Let me call my friend and see what I can do.” I took out my phone and quickly called Haemi.

“Ji Eun! What’s up?”

“Hi Haemi. Two of my friends have come to visit me, and I really wanted to spend some time with them over summer break. So do you think you could let them come with us to your beach house? You said you have extra rooms.”

“Omo! Two more people? Awesome! I’ll make sure the rooms are prepared. It’s no problem at all!”

“Really? Thanks Haemi!”

“Don’t worry about it. I can’t wait to meet these friends of yours! I guess I’ll just pick them up with you then?”

“Yeah that would be perfect. I’ll see you then!”

“Alright. Bye Ji Eun!”

I put my phone away. Luhan was sitting on the edge of the couch, practically bouncing with anxiety.

“So? Can we go?”

I smiled. “Yeah. You can come with us.”

“WOOHOO!” He jumped off of the couch and tackled me. “Thank you thank you thank you so much!”

Chen grabbed him and pulled him off of me. “Aish, grow up Lu.”

Luhan pouted. “Why? So I can end up as a boring old person like you?”

“I’m not old. I’m the same age as you.” Chen retorted.

“Yeah, but you act like an old man.”

“And you act like a 5-year old.”

“Ajusshi.”

“Choding.”

They both glared at each other for a second, and then they both started laughing.

“I take back what I said before. You haven’t changed at all. You still argue like an old married couple.” I told them.

“Like I would ever marry this immature kid.” Chen said.

“I wouldn’t marry you either. I’d rather marry Ji Eun!” Luhan ran over and hugged me, sticking his tongue out at Chen.

“Hey, in case you forgot, I have a boyfriend!” I exclaimed, trying to push Luhan away.

“What?” Chen’s eyes widened. “You have a boyfriend?”

Luhan let go of me. “Oh right, that guy I met last time. The scary one.”

“He’s not scary!”

“He kept glaring at me!”

“Only because he didn’t know you. Don’t worry, he’s nicer once you get to know him.”

Luhan pouted and turned away.

“Yah, don’t be like that Luhan. I’m sure he’s not that bad. Ji Eun wouldn’t date him if he was.” said Chen. “Do I get to meet him too?”

“Yeah. He’s coming to the beach as well, do you can see him there.”

“Wah! the beach is going to be so much fun!” Luhan exclaimed. “Remember the last time we all went to the beach?”

“Yeah. You kept crying just because I splashed you in the face with a bit of water.” Chen said.

“Not true!”

“It is. And then you ran to Ji Eun so that she would protect you.”

Chen and I laughed as Luhan blushed.

“But.....Well that was when I was a kid!” He turned away and sulked.

“Aw, sorry Lu. We’re just having some fun.” I gave him a small pat on the back. “You still have to tell me how everyone back at home is doing. What about Kyuhyun and Hyorin? I haven’t seen those two in a while.”

Luhan turned back excitedly. “Oh! Kyuhyun is still the same as always. Always stuck to his laptop, playing starcraft or something. Just a few weeks ago he-”

I smiled as I continued listening to him talk. It’s easy to get Luhan’s mind off of something. That boy has the attention span of a goldfish.

~

And finally, the day of the beach trip arrived.

I grabbed my bag and ran outside to meet Kris.

“Morning.” He immediately hugged me and spun me around. “Ready to go to the beach?”

I nodded. “Well we have to wait for Luhan and Chen first.”

He scowled, but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t exactly...pleased... when I told him that Luhan and Chen were coming along with us. But after a bit of pleading (and some aegyo), he was alright with it.

“If they don’t get here in time, we could always leave them behind.” he muttered.

And just at that moment, I heard a yell from down the street.

“JI EUN!”

Luhan started running towards us, while Chen walked slowly behind him.

Luhan almost jumped on me, but I narrowly dodged it. “I can tell that you’re excited.” I said. He nodded happily before turning to Kris.

“Hi Kris!”

“...Hey.”

Chen finally made it over as well. “He’s been like this since 8am. It’s been driving me nuts.” He looked over at Kris. “Is this your boyfriend?”

“Yeah. Kris, this is my friend Chen. Chen, this is my boyfriend, Kris.”

They shook hands. “Nice to meet you.” Kris said. He seemed a bit more comfortable around Chen than he was with Luhan.

“So when is your friend coming to pick us up?” Luhan asked impatiently.

I checked the time on my phone. “She should be here any minute now.”

Luhan peered over my shoulder. “Is that her?”

I looked behind me, and gasped.

A huge van was making its way down the street. It was easily one of the biggest vehicles I had ever seen. It came to a stop right in front of our group.

The front passenger door opened, and Haemi jumped out.

“Hi everyone!” she exclaimed.

Everyone but Luhan was too shocked by the van to answer back.

“Hi! You must be Haemi. I’m Ji Eun’s friend Luhan.” he said. “And this is Chen.”

“Ah, nice to meet you both.” She smiled at the two of them. Then she ran over to me and tugged on my hand. “Come on, what are you waiting for? Let’s go! The beach is waiting for us!”

“I didn’t even know that a van like this existed.”

“Oh, my dad had it specially imported. It’s a new model. Seats ten.”

“...Wow...” Now I could tell how rich she was.

We all started to file into the van. Everyone else was already inside: Chanyeol, Xiumin, Suho, and Kyungsoo.

“Ji Eun! Kris!” Chanyeol yelled when we entered.

After everyone was settled, I introduced Luhan and Chen. Everyone greeted them happily.

Haemi got back in and slammed the door shut. “Alright. Now that everyone’s here, we can finally get going. Next stop: the beach!”

Chanyeol, Xiumin and Luhan both started cheering loudly. I started grinning. I could already tell that this was going to be an awesome trip.

_________________

yay beach trip :D

ps. probably gonna be busy over the next few days (birthday stuffs >w<)

but I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as I can!

btw, I feel like i have so many silent readers ._. I like reading your comments, so feel free to speak up! :D