“Why are we walking on such a hot day?” Yongji turned round to glare at Youngjae who lagged behind, sulking from having to walk under the cloudless afternoon heat that made his skin prickly.  He dragged his feet with every step, feeling the friction of gravel against his rubber soles. At this rate, he’d have to bug his mum for a new pair of converses by the end of the month.

They were heading for Jongrin’s – walking in a single file like a trio of ducklings – Daehyun taking the lead with his quick shuffles and Yongji ten paces behind, trying to keep up. Youngjae, who was obviously not trying was soon left out of sight as the two turned the corner at a breakneck, speed-walking velocity.

“Hurry up, Yoo Youngjae! And stop complaining like a wimp – a little sunbeam won’t hurt.” Youngjae could hear the sneering sarcasm that dripped off Daehyun’s tone even if he wasn’t visually in sight and in sheer annoyance, turned the corner to hurl an insult of his own, his walking speed exponentially increased. “Well, I wouldn’t want to turn out with a shade of brown similar to yours, Mr Aboriginal!”

Daehyun and Yongji sat squatting on the edge of the cemented curb under the leafy shade that an ancient oak tree provided. While waiting, they casually bit into green apples that the lady who ran the fruit store across the street had given them, watching a couple of kids play hopscotch when Youngjae came storming into view. They grinned at each other, amused, as he strode up to them, huffing out his complains – or insults – and looking rather flushed from the exertion.

“Damn it Daehyun, stop spitting your seeds at me! You’re disgusting!” Youngjae furiously wiped at his face with his sleeve and glowered down at the boy who merely flashed him a cheshire-like grin.

He wouldn’t admit it, but Daehyun secretly thought that an annoyed and frustrated Youngjae was extremely cute and Daehyun knew just all the wrong (or right?) buttons to push. And boy, did he pushed those buttons liberally. “That was for calling me names. And it’s Mr Native Korean to you. Learn your terminologies.”

Yongji stood up, throwing the apple she reserved for Youngjae at him and he fumbled a little before finding his grip on the shiny, waxed surface. “Come on guys, we don’t want Jongrin waiting for us. You know how she hates waiting. She’s probably tapping her foot impatiently outside her door right now.”

Youngjae grinned at that as he bit into his apple (red because the greens were too neon for him) and laughed a little in bliss when he felt the sweet, crunchy flesh coat his parched throat.

They walked past the ice-cream man who made his rounds in the neighbourhood every Saturday and Monday. He sat reclined in his portable chair, keeping himself cool with a plastic fan and a drink that looked orange flavoured, or mango – just one of those atrociously tinted yellow cordials – as he waited for business. He looked young; Jongrin had guessed that he was perhaps two or three years older than Yongguk. They gave him a little wave that he returned with a honk of his own.

“Where’s Jongrin?” He hollered out and Yongji yelled in return, “She was on an important mission! But it’s highly confidential!” So he waved in understanding and Yongji turned back to the guys. “And she’s probably gotten hold of the information we need,” she continued, latching her right arm around Daehyun’s neck, pulling him along into their street as his body started wandering off-tangent in the direction of the jingly ice-cream cart.

“And there she is,” Yongji let out a merry chortle as they passed Daehyun’s house and Jongrin’s perfectly manicured, green (very, very, very green in Youngjae’s opinion) lawn came into view. The trio took a moment to laugh at Jongrin who, as Yongji had predicted, was pacing impatiently across her tiled porch, hands on her hips and a scowl set on her face. Occasionally, she would glance at her watch before continuing her clockwork-like activity.

“What exactly was she up to?” Daehyun asked curiously as they left the sidewalk and stepped into her compound. Jongrin wasn’t usually this antsy; she would have waited in the air-conditioned comfort of her house instead of marching outside in the sweltering, humid temperature.

“…uhm, I could have, sort of, got her to perhaps hack into Yongguk’s phone?”  The two boys weren’t given enough time to react to this piece of information when they heard Jongrin screaming at them, frantically motioning to the pathway of rock slabs that s their way across the pristinely kept garden. “Get off the grass, guys! Damn it! What took you so long to get here anyways?!”

Two fingers pointed to Youngjae who gave a startled countenance with his half-eaten apple in one hand and the Happy Meal carton in the other. “Figures,” Jongrin sighed as Youngjae waved his arms in protest, bringing her attention to the wildly coloured box, “–what’s…in that? Oh, no. You didn’t! Did you guys just – oh my god, I can’t believe you guys went to McD without me.”

The three friends stood there guiltily on the porch sweating the afternoon heat away with an unamused Jongrin glaring at them for the betrayal; while she was busy sticking her neck out and wading in dangerous waters, they were having fun feasting on beef patties. The second eldest, quicker on the uptake, flung his arm over her hunched shoulders and patted them in a coaxing manner. Breaking into a smile that she harrumphed at, he turned her round, guiding her towards the front door and motioned for the other two to follow.

 “‘Sup?” He had to lean in further to whisper that into her ear, an action that took her by surprise and she made a face, struggling to break away from the sudden proximity. He knew she felt uncomfortable with this level of contact but he held on firmly to her shoulders, determined to clear the air, “I bought you this week’s McD collectible.”

“You did?” the shorter girl gaped up at him, no longer resisting his hold. Fishing the mini plushie out of his back pocket, he let the blue string it was attached to dangle from his fingers; the fourth installation of the limited edition Olympic Snoopy set that she had been collecting.

“You didn’t actually think we’d forget about you huh, Rin?” Giving her shoulder a final squeeze he let her go, giving her room to admire the jersey clad Snoopy that was posed mid-jump – it was the Long Jump Snoopy.

She sniffled and he smirked at the success when she slugged him in the arm, taking him by surprise. Damn, the girl packs a punch.

“Thanks, Jung Daehyun.” His heart swelled up with emotions and a genuine smile found its way to replace the usual smirk.

He loved the Four Musketeers.

Meanwhile, Yongji who had developed an itch on her back while under Jongrin’s accusing glare, struggled to reach it and Youngjae, who noticed her futile efforts merely watched. Unsure if she wanted his help, he stood by humming into the air but at her wave for help, quickly positioned himself behind her searching for the right spot.

And that was how Daehyun and Jongrin found the two when they looked back; Youngjae busy scratching to Yongji’s instructions as she moaned in relief.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys :D

I swear this is the fastest I've ever updated anything of mine /dead/

First off, just to make it clear that I have nothing against skin colour or indigenous people. However, Daehyun's skin tone screams joke fodder. He has mentioned about his darker skin before and I can assure you I love brown!daehyun lol.

Secondly, if you've noticed I've added a co-author :D Wheee! Let us welcome crestrisen who is an awesome, awesome writer. She's currently working on a Youngjae fic featuring coffee so do check that out! The reason why I've enlisted her is because *drum rolls* she'll be contributing the next drabble update for the Adventures and so for convenience sake and as an encouragement for more contributions she is now le friendly neighbourhood co-author! :D

Don't you guys love that gif of Youngjae 'hurrying' his up? Yes, it's a 'graphical oxymoron'(?) to Youngjae's true self in the Adventures: Slow Poke Jae. Weird sense of humor, I know.

And Long Jump, for the love of all things sane Daehyun why can't you do a sport with a recognizable Snoopy mascot? Like Junhong's archery, so Snoopy can hold a bow and arrow.

Well, do leave your comments because I love reading them and I hope you've enjoyed this update.

Love, Lynn

Replies:

opparteeth_ : Boss u/n what even? I love you <3

crestrisen : ((pre-pubescent teen)) I have my ways hah. It is not a crush, babes and you can have my share of pickles. /SHOVES A JONGRIN IN YO FES/