The grocery shopping finished quite quickly. The new wall clock was nice, too. They just had to finish buying apples and snacks. Jinah was especially picky with apples. “This one?” Luhan asked for the thousandth time that day, and, for the thousandth time in response, Jinah shook her head no. Luhan picked up another apple, “And this one?”

           “It has to be red and round, without bruises. Fresh. Clean. We need about three of those, I’ll eat them all today, I swear. Another dozen that have hints of green so that it’ll ripen over time – no! That one is black on the side, look at it, Luhan!” Jinah exclaimed. She twisted the apple around so that Luhan could see.

           “That’s just a little bit!”

           “So? It’s still black!”

           Luhan selected another apple. “How about this one?”

           “No.”

           “Why? It’s perfectly fine!”

           “No! See look –” Jinah inspected the apple but couldn’t find anything wrong with it. She tossed it around with a frown on her face, making Luhan shift his weight and cross his arms. She searched for cuts or dents or bruises, but it was fine. It was ruby red, glossy, clean, and even had trails of green. “Okay, so maybe this one’s okay…”

           “Just ‘okay’? I don’t think this juicy apple is just ‘okay’.”

           “Good…”

           “Oh? Just ‘good’?” he went on, teasing her.

           “Fine! Ideal! Are you happy?” Jinah shoved the apple in the plastic bag as she began mumbling to herself. Luhan smirked. How he was thankful for Suho finding this girl in the midst all the other candidates… Sharp eyes, Suho.

           They finished picking their fifteen apples and purchased it. All that was left were some snacks for when their mouths were feeling lonely but their stomachs weren’t hungry. More or less, it was to fulfill Jinah’s tongue’s cravings. Occasionally, she’d have a sudden urge to eat sweets and when there was none, she was put in a bad mood. That was why she always carried lollipops in her bag, just in case. Luckily, candy doesn’t rot. And she always finished them within three months anyway…

           They walked out of the grocery store and headed for their next stop. And then Luhan’s phone buzzed. Jinah still hadn’t gotten used to the idea of a phone and contact without really talking to them in person, and it was just splendid. He checked his phone. He received a text from Lay: The kids are dying of hunger – come home soon!

           Luhan grinned mischievously. He texted him back: Sorry, we’re going to have to buy some snacks and clothes before we head back. Maybe in an hour or two? Keke, have fun dying from hunger with the kids.

           He put his phone away, but a text came almost instantly and his phone buzzed. We’re going to the Rave tonight. Do the clothing shopping later and get to the base!! Now!!

           Luhan frowned at the text. They were going to the Rave…tonight? But it was only Jinah’s second day! Weren’t they going a little too fast? She hadn’t even caught on the gang slang yet, her dwelling tongue rests in …could Lay be kidding around? He does that a lot…

           Another text came from Lay. It was as if Lay read his mind, but Lay just knew Luhan too well. No joke. Fang’s coming too, so there’s no way we can miss out. Apparently they released a Prix or something. It’d be a good experience for our Prix and I know you want to show our cute Jinnie off. Just get here already, won’t you? We’re deprived of food and dying.

           Luhan frowned at his phone, and Jinah noticed. She was going to ask what was wrong, but she didn’t. Why should she care? A different voice countered: Why should she not care? They were her gang now. She mentally rolled her eyes. Instead of speaking, she took a peek at the phone’s screen. She could only read the last line though. Stretching her neck further would be dangerous. The gang must be awake…and hungry, she thought. She looked at the convenience store they were close to reaching. Miss Kim had packed a bag of sweets with the kimchi stew package…they were in her knapsack back at the base…that should suffice…for now, at least.

           Jinah sighed. “Let’s go back to the base,” she said.

           Luhan looked at her, sort of surprised. “Didn’t you say you wanted sweets?”

           She shrugged as she lied defiantly, “I lost interest.”

          Luhan glanced at his phone screen once more before looking at Jinah. “Well, if you say so…” he pocketed his phone after texting back ‘OK’ and he turned around to head back for their car. He wondered what made Jinah change her mind, but he didn’t ask. She’d probably glare at him and tell him that it was none of his business, so he wouldn’t get an answer anyway. So why was she so cold? Luhan thought as he unlocked the car. What is she protecting herself from?

They arrived at the base in no time. They carried the plastic bags by hand because it wasn’t that much, and both have carried things heavier in the past. As soon as the gang heard the two walk in, they stood up from the couch and were reanimated. They had been staring at the TV, not really paying attention, and groaning in hunger, sleepy and lazy.

           “You’re here! Jack, finally!” Baekhyun said with relief as he hurried over to them to help with the plastic bags. Lay and Tao followed too, and they helped with the plastic bags, opening to see what was inside.

           Chanyeol sat down on the dining table. “You bought food?”

           “Yeah,” Luhan replied. “Cereal for breakfast.”

           “It’s been two years since we had that, wow!” Chen shot up from the couch and came to the dining table. Hearing the word ‘breakfast’, D.O came instantly. The rest followed lazily, still tired from their late-night video gaming.

           Sehun took out the thirteen bowls from the cabinets helpfully while Jinah took out thirteen spoons. She ripped open the cereal package, unscrewed the milk’s cap, and set them both on the counter. “Take as much as you want – don’t pour too much milk and be careful with it,” she told the gang. They nodded or gave her a small ‘okay’ in response. Luckily, they managed without spilling the milk on the ground.

           They didn’t really eat at the dining table. Some of them held the bowl in their hands as they ate while talking, standing. Others went over to the couch to eat and watch TV. Jinah stayed in the kitchen, sitting on top of the counter, bending her head a bit so that it didn’t hit the microwave shelf. She liked being off the ground – not too far off the ground though.

           Lay was the first to finish. He put his empty bowl and spoon in the sink. “So are you ready for the Rave, Jinah?”

           Jinah put a mouthful of cereal in . She tried talking but it’d be rude and gross, so she simply frowned and shook her head as she hastily chewed and tried to swallow as quickly as possible. Lay glanced at Luhan, who suddenly seemed really interested in the color and pattern of his cereal. Lay sighed as he turned to Jinah again. “The Rave. It’s where gangs meet up, like a social event, only completely spontaneous and unplanned. You kind of boast about yourself, your gang, your Prix…things like that.”

           She pushed the rest of the food down . “Like a festival?” She thought of hoodies and jeans or sweats and –

           “More like a club, actually,” Chanyeol said. He finished drinking the leftover milk from his bowl and placed it in the sink, along with his spoon. “We should have cereal more often from now on,” he said, looking satisfied as he went towards the living room area.

           Jinah groaned. Every time a book character went into a club, it ended up as a disaster, and the journey through it was just as terrible. People got drunk with a substance called alcohol that made them queasy and subconscious of their actions, or they got drugged with who-knows-what, people threw up, dirty-danced, hooked up in the most unsanitary places possible like the bathroom, and so on. The music would be disturbingly loud, the lights flashing annoyingly in the dark, crammed place. The characters always wore ty clothes, and they would get themselves into trouble. Not good. “No thanks,” she said.

           “It’s not a request, it’s a command,” Xiumin growled as he scooped up the last bits of cereal. “Stop being such a princess.”

           “You seemed to enjoy the food I went to go get,” Jinah snapped. She was liking him less and less by the second. “Juck,” she muttered.

           Lay and Luhan looked at each other, and they nodded. “Unfortunately, it’s as Xiumin said,” Lay told her, “we can’t really go to the Rave without our Prix. We’re a Top gang, so our attendance or absence is always noticed. If we don’t bring our new Prix…it won’t look too good, you know? Reputations are reputations. So…will you come?”

           Jinah scoffed. She didn’t have a choice. She had to go. They could beat her until she did too. That’s what gangs did – beat people up. Why would they hesitate on a stranger like her? Taking her silence as an act of submission, Lay continued. “We should change your slang first. Change juck to prick.”

           “P-Prick?” Jinah said. The word felt sharp, like a thorn on a rose. A needle. She had heard Chanyeol say it yesterday at the face-off. “Prick,” she repeated, a little more firmly this time. “It sounds weird.”

           Lay laughed. “Can you imagine how ‘juck’ sounds to us? Anyways, next is fetch. Fetch doesn’t make sense at all to us – what does it mean?” Lay asked. He wasn’t mocking, he was genuinely asking. “You said it about the infirmary.”

           Jinah thought about it. How did she explain fetch? “It means like…well, I thought the infirmary behind the wall thing was really cool. I guess you could say it means ‘cool’…?”

           “Change it to sick.”

           Jinah frowned again. “Sick? But it sounds like I’m saying it has a disease or something…”

           “To us, fetch sounds like a dog. You know, dogs fetch twigs and balls and stuff, right?”

           Jinah nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

           Lay smiled kindly. “Try it a few times. Let’s hope you don’t run into a prick or you see something fetch at the Rave. You probably won’t, but just in case.”

           “Because you’re teaching me slang ‘just in case’, then I’m guessing it’s safe to assume that I have to talk, right?” Jinah said, not liking where this was going.

           Lay’s kind smile turned a bit sad. “Don’t worry, it won’t be too bad.”

           “So it’ll still be somewhat bad then?”

           Lay grinned at her shrewdness. She was sharp. “You can be the judge of that.”

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Haha, dwelling and gang slang~ Btw, "jack" is like "". I just kind of felt uncomfortable constantly dropping the f-bomb.. heh > < & Aw, I'm glad that you liked the LuNah/JinHan moment last chapter!~ Even more when you guys say you love this story in general, and Luhan's and Jinah's relationship hardly developed, and this story is dreadfully slow-paced.. >3< Hehe, thank ya!~~

The first Rated chapter is coming up in a bit, I think..or maybe much later..idek I have it written but idk LOL. no just saying. It'll be rated for..well, I'll state what the reason is (very shortly) before the chapter. Mature content, but no . Yeah, just a heads up ^^ And, whether it's right before, at, or after the rated chapter, the main antagonists will be making their entrance! Haha :3

-Seohee