Every year when the leaves turned from green to a burnt orange, Ryeowook headed out of the cramped city of Seoul where his university was situated and into the outer countryside. It took a good chunk of his weekend, but to him the three hour drive into the rolling hillsides worth it to find just exactly what he was searching for.

It wasn't until he passed the third small farm along the roadside, rich in the oranges and browns of late autumn that he finally decided to stop. Quickly turning to pull into the small parking lot beside the farm Ryeowook got out of his seat, locking the door to his sports car tightly and began to crunch along the gravel road as he made his way into the small farmyard.

He walked carefully through the rows of orange, inspecting every vegetable meticulously, until he finally spotted what he'd been searching for. Just beside the back corner sat the perfect pumpkin – round and the brightest shade of orange sitting among some of the smaller pumpkins in the patch. Relief flooded through Ryeowook, his search over earlier than usual this year as he climbed through the rest of the patch to reach his dream pumpkin.

Reaching where it sat Ryeowook leant down to grab the round vegetable when another pair of hands came into his view, barely brushing against his own hands as they both grabbed either side of the pumpkin. Startled Ryeowook tightened his grip while the pumpkin was lifted into the air, standing back up straight to come face to face with another young man. He was slightly taller than him, dark auburn hair falling just into his wide eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before the other frowned, eyeing Ryeowook carefully before tugging the pumpkin towards him.

 “You should probably make this easier for the both of us and just let go of my pumpkin so I can go my merry way.”

“Your pumpkin!?” Ryeowook exclaimed. “I reached the thing first – if anyone should let go its you!”

The other boy let out an unamused chuckle. “Sorry to disappoint city boy but as stuck up as you appear to be you're not in the big city of Seoul anymore, you're not going to get your way just because you say so.”

Ryeowook tugged the pumpkin back towards him harshly, anger boiling as he glared at the boy who was a lot rougher than he looked. “Like I would choose to take orders from some deranged country hick! So why don't you just off and leave me alone pretty boy.”

The boys eyes narrowed. “Yeah thats a good insult for someone as dainty as you to use. I better be careful you don't break at the next gust of wind.”

The pair continued to glare at each other, spitting out insults as they continued to tug the pumpkin between them before there was a crunching of gravel coming towards them. The footsteps halted just beside the arguing pair, until someone eventually sighed loudly beside them.

“Sungmin you can't be serious right now, you're not at this again...”

“Not now.” The other man – Sungmin – growled, refusing to look away. 

“C'mon man this is the third time you've done this how do you get into these arguments every single time!?”

“Shut it Youngwoon, it's a matter of pride.”

Rolling his eyes the other man gave Ryeowook a sympathetic smile, patting Sungmin's shoulder gently.

“Right, whatever you say... Siwon and I are going to go wait out at the truck for whenever you're done with your pissing contest with cutie here.”

Mouthing sorry to a bewildered Ryeowook the larger man turned and walked away from the pair with a shake of his head. Quickly his bewilderment make way for frustration, one particularly sharp tug on the pumpkin pulling him forward, Ryeowook stumbling so harshly that he had to let go of the pumpkin, hands flying out to steady himself against the fence so he wouldn't fall on his face.

Head snapping back up he found a now triumphant Sungmin grinning down at him, pumpkin nestled in his arms. At the sight Ryeowook snapped, letting out a low growl he stepped forward away from the fence, moving to give Sungmin's shoulders a hard shove.

“Are you happy now!? Poor little farm boy has his pumpkin from the big bad city boy. What a horrible person I am, hunting for the perfect pumpkin just so I could make the perfect jack-o-lantern with my little brother. But no, you're a way better person than me, how dare I.”

Eyes now filled with angry tears Ryeowook continued to glare at the now wide-eyed brunette. Looking down to quickly wipe his eyes before the tears could spill over he then stomped past the other, ignoring the faint calls for him to stop coming from over his shoulder.  Marching out over the gravel he returned to the car, flinging the door open and throwing himself into the front seat, letting out a deep breath as he slumped against the steering wheel.

He knew better than to get worked up over a pumpkin of all things, but he'd taken this endeavour so seriously he'd let his emotions get the better of him. He continued to try and calm his anger when he heard the passenger door suddenly open. His head immediately shot up to see the other man settling awkwardly in the passenger seat beside him, pumpkin now resting in his lap.

“Wha-- why the hell are you in my car?”

The brunette was silent for a moment before he mumbled out a rush of words, refusing to meet a frustrated Ryeowook's eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“...I'm sorry.” Sungmin choked out, now looking across at the other. “The way I acted towards you was way out of line. I just get... competitive? It's a problem I'm trying to work on it.”

Ryeowook let out a loud bark of laughter, looking at the other incredulously. “You don't say!”

The pair fell back into silence, Ryeowook unsure of what exactly the other man wanted with him, let alone how to get him out of his car so he could leave and continue his pumpkin search.

“What's his name.”

Ryeowook looked back at the other, confused. “his?”

“Your – uhh – your brother. You said you wanted the pumpkin for him right?”

“...Hyungsik.” he breathed out, turning away to look back at the steering wheel. “Now that I've started university full time this is one of the few times I can actually take a break and spend with him and my parents. Carving pumpkins has always been Sik's favourite part of Halloween.”

At the end of Ryeowook's explanation Sungmin let out a long sigh, head falling back to rest on the back of the seat. “I'm such a .”

“Yeah... you are.”

Sungmin gave him a small grin, eyes twinkling with amusement before he lifted the pumpkin from his lap, holding it out to the other. “Here, you and your brother deserve it more than me. I can easily get another one around here... it was for a stupid university party anyway.”

Ryeowook looked at him over the orange vegetable, eyeing him skeptically. 

“Ar-are you sure?”

Sungmin just nodded, placing the pumpkin gently in the others lap when he made no movements to grab it himself. “Yeep! So long as you carve something cool in it, this pumpkin deserves nothing but the best!”

Ryeowook gave a small smile, uncrossing his arms from the steering wheel to touch the pumpkin gently. “...Thank you. I'm sorry for calling you a country hick.”

The other boy let out a laugh, leaning forward in amusement. “Well then I'm sorry for calling you a stuck up city boy. No hard feelings?”

“No hard feelings.” Ryeowook said as he took the brunettes outstretched hand, smiling gently. Giving the other a bright smile of his own Sungmin let go of his hand, turning to open the passenger door to get back out of the car.

“You know... our town is also pretty well known for their christmas trees, they're said to be some of the best in Korea.”

Ryeowook gave him a smirk. “Well then I look forward to battling it out with you for the best tree in December.”

Standing just outside the car Sungmin grinned back at him, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Bring it on city boy.”

He closed the door, giving Ryeowook a small wave as he walked towards the old red pickup truck on the other side of the parking lot, where a couple of boys – including the one who had called him cute back in the pumpkin patch – stood waiting for him.

Sighing Ryeowook moved the pumpkin off his lap into the now vacant passenger seat with a small smile when a small slip of paper fell from below it. Eyebrows creased in confusion he leant down to grab the paper now on the floor of his car, light blush adorning his face as he looked down at the row of digits scribbled on the top of the paper, just above the words 'delusional country hick Sungmin ;)'.