Namjoon and I have been good friends since he studied in New Zealand. He and my brother had gone to the same school in Christchurch and we had hit it off immediately. We had lost touch when he went back to Korea and my family and I went back to the Philippines. But only recently, he was able to get in contact with my brother and we've been catching up with each other's lives whenever we had the chance. He told me a few weeks ago that after such a busy year, Bang PD-nim finally decided to grant them a well deserved break. Provided that they spend the holiday together, they could go anywhere they wanted to. Suga just wanted to stay home and sleep the whole holiday. V didn't know what he wanted to do. Jimin wanted to just waste time at an amusement park. Kookie said he wanted to just stay with his Suga hyung and play video games. JHope wanted to go home to Gwangju. Jin wanted to go to a Super Mario convention in Germany. But Namjoon wanted to be able to spend the holidays with everyone just like their president wanted so he asked for my opinion. That's when I suggested why not go on a retreat somewhere in the Philippines. I guess he spoke to the other boys and they agreed on it. Because the next thing I knew, I was put in charge of their travel details. Everything was to be kept hush hush so that they wouldn't be ambushed by excited fans. I thought it would be just for the seven of them, but Namjoon insisted that my brother, a few of my friends and I should come along too. The more the merrier he said. And so, that's how we ended up squished up inside a big SUV with our bags squeezed under the seats and the boys' manager at the wheel. When everyone had been introduced, we were finally on our way. The destination - a remote barrio in Quezon province where my relatives had a small cottage we could use. It's actually a relief that my friends and I are Armys because that way no-one would feel left out. My brother was riding shotgun so he could help the driver with directions and Namjoon was up front with him. I had wanted to sit by the window behind the driver but Hoseok wanted to sit there too, so Namjoon had made us flip for it. Hoseok won. So I ended up sitting between Hoseok and Yoongi. It was a little awkward at first since we had only just met a few hours earlier. I didn't really know how to act. I mean how do you act when you find yourself sitting between two of your idols!? After thirty minutes, the cityscape started to thin out giving way to the sprawling fields of rice paddies and the occasional carabao. I wanted to say something to ease the tensed atmosphere, but Hoseok had fallen asleep against the window and Yoongi had his earphones plugged in. Roxy, Den and Berry were seated behind me and I think they were a bit jealous -let's just say they weren't happy with the seating arrangements-because I was between Yoongi and Hoseok. Karla, looking like a kid at Christmas with a silly grin on her face, was seated between Seokjin and Taehyung. Behind them was Jam and Chris who had Jimin sandwiched in the middle. I was nervous in the beginning about how they would get along, but there was no need to worry. The two of them had Jimin laughing to their stories and vice versa. Meanne was at the very back with some of the luggage and had Kookie all to herself, but they both looked a little awkward and both had their earphones plugged in. Yoongi was humming something a an hour or so into the drive that sounded alot like CCR's Tombstone Shadow. I couldn't help myself, I tapped him on the arm to get his attention. He pulled out his left side earphone and looked at me inquiringly. I suddenly lost my voice, but he was about to put the earphone back in so I just went straight to the point. I asked him what he was listening to. My guess was right and a few minutes later we were in a deep conversation about music and there was no stopping us. Yoongi's English had greatly improved since their debut and we were conversing freely, all discomfort forgotten. We must have been a bit noisy because Hoseok woke up. But instead of getting annoyed at us, he joined in the conversation and a few minutes later we were arguing about how ACDC is alot better than Led Zeppelin in terms of melody and whatnot. I could feel Rox, Den and Berry boring holes into my head from behind me, but I didn't care, I was enjoying talking to the two too much. It takes almost four hours to drive from the city to our destination, so two hours into the drive my brother directed the driver to a roadside rest stop so we could all get out and stretch our legs while the van refilled. Once everyone had gotten off, the driver left to refill the van's gas tank and we all trooped to the nearby McDonald's to get a dose of much needed fries. Hoseok and I continued our conversation as we walked and Yoongi went ahead to join Paul (my brother), and Namjoon. We were almost at the entrance when Hoseok said something about how I must be tone deaf if I thought that Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' music actually made sense. I don't know what I was thinking because I automatically punched him in the arm (one of my reflex reactions when I'm shocked at what someone says), not realizing that he was teasing me. He gasped in surprise and I looked at him in horror, regretting what I had done. He was probably thinking that we weren't that close that I would dare to actually punch him. I was trying to stutter an apology when he burst into one of his crazy, infectious belly laughs. I ended up laughing along with him and we walked into the resto the best of friends. The others stared at us as we walked in and Hoseok and I just laughed even harder at the looks on their faces. Taehyung looked at us, he couldn't contain his curiosity and walked over to ask us what was so funny, that just started me and Hoseok off on another bout of laughter. We were so out of it that Taehyung also started laughing even though he had no idea why. We must have been ridiculous because by the time we had ordered and left the store, everyone was in good spirits and smiling, even Meanne and Kookie who were so awkward at the beginning. Once everyone was back in the van, I put my phone on speaker and started playing BTS songs. Soon my friends and I were singing along, forgetting that the actual group was in the car with us. We suddenly stopped singing when we realized that the boys were staring at us. 'What!?' Meanne, Karla, Jam and I burst out in unison and started laughing when the boys continued to stare. 'We didn't know you guys were Armys' Jin said in bewilderment. Namjoon turned to look at us from his seat upfront. 'Didn't I mention it?' He asked the boys innocently and flashed his dimples at us. Hoseok pulled off his travel pillow and whacked Namjoon on the back of the head. 'No you didn't Namjoon!' Namjoon just laughed, 'Well, now you know' and turned back to his conversation with Paul. No one spoke, the boys still had shocked looks on their faces. My phone was still playing and Danger had come on. Berry, who never cares who's around as long as she's enjoying herself, just stared out the window and started singing along. When it was time for the rap part I looked over at Yoongi, I think he was expecting Berry to stop singing at the rap, was he in for a surprise. Berry just kept going and Yoongi looked around at her in surprise, Berry just stared back, shrugged, grinned and continued rapping. That was enough to break the boys' silence and soon everyone was singing along, including the boys. Berry and Yoongi even ended up giving us a rap battle. It was already dark when we turned to a small road off the highway. We were fenced in on both sides by a thick forest and the only light to be seen was the van's headlights. A few bumpy miles later we came out of the forest to find ourselves in the middle of a small town. The buildings were all closed up for the night and only a few locals could be seen. The cottage we would be staying at was at the other end of town. Only when we were at the end of the road did we realize that we would have to walk the rest of the way to the cottage as the path was too narrow for the van. Luckily, Paul and I had thought to bring flashlights. The manager parked the van on the side of the road. Everyone got out of the van and we grabbed everything we could carry. Paul, Namjoon, and the manager led the way as we walked along the path in the forest to the cottage. There was an eeriness to the woods that I couldn't quite place. It seemed way too quiet. There wasn't even the sound of crickets, just the wind rustling through the trees. No one spoke, but we all automatically huddled together in the middle of the path. I was at the very back and goosebumps were starting to rise on the back of my neck. I didn't notice it at first, but Taehyung and Hoseok had hooked their arms through mine on either side and were staying close. Kookie was carrying both his and Meanne's bag and had an arm around her shoulders, making sure to keep her in the middle of the path while he looked around warily. The other girls were in the middle with Seokjin and Jimin as their 'guards'. There was an audible sigh of relief when we finally broke through the thicket of trees and found ourselves in front of a little cottage. The lights were on and as we approached someone came out of the front door with a lantern in her hands. It was the owner, mine and Paul's aunt. she must have been waiting for us to arrive. Paul and I ran up to give her a hug. After introducing everyone, she showed us where we would sleep and left to go home. The cottage had a kitchen and living room, but had only two bedrooms, and a communal bathroom. So, the girls had one bedroom while the boys had the other. It was nearing ten o'clock when everyone had finally settled in. I desperately needed a shower, so I unpacked my towel and toiletries and let the girls know where I was going. I could hear the boys talking in their room - Taehyung's voice especially. I didn't think there would be anyone in the bathroom and walked right in without knocking. Only to find Seokjin stepping out of the shower, dripping wet and with nothing on but a fluffy blue towel around his waist. He looked at me blankly and my eyes wandered from his broad shoulders down his chest to his well toned, lean stomach. My hands itched to trace my fingers along his abs. My thoughts were beginning to tread dangerous waters and I forced myself to look back up at his face. I just found myself even more distracted. His hair was dripping and my eyes involuntarily followed the droplets as they rolled down his neck to see where they would lead. Before I could let my thoughts carry me away again, I bit my lip, shook my head and forced myself to keep my eyes on his face. He was grinning down at me and I could feel my cheeks starting to get hot and I knew my face was turning red. I looked down at the floor, mumbled an apology, and walked out, shutting the door behind me. I wanted to run back to the room and hide in embarrassment, but I wasn't going to let him know how much he affected me. I stood outside the bathroom and waited for him to finish and leave. When he came out, I kept my eyes on the floor and apologized again. He just chuckled - a deep, y chuckle - ruffled my hair and left. I heaved a sigh of relief and went in to have my shower. After my bath, I fell into a restless sleep and awoke the next day feeling very cranky. And feeling even crankier when I found I was the last to get up and there was nothing to eat. I wish I'd remembered to pack extra knowing how much the boys loved to eat. I growled to myself in frustration and walked to the living room where I could hear voices. 'Paul, we need to go to the market for supplies,' I said as I walked in. But Paul was nowhere in sight. Yoongi and Berry were sprawled out on the floor poring over a notebook that Yoongi was writing in. Jam, Chris, Den, Rox and Jimin were absorbed in a game of monopoly while Taehyung watched them play. Seokjin was on the couch doing something on his phone, he was the only one who looked up when I walked in. He smiled up at me but I ignored him and directed my question to the others. 'Anyone seen Paul?' Seems I couldn't ignore him forever since he was the only one who answered my question. 'He's out back with the others.' I mumbled a hesitant 'Thanks' and went to look for Paul. I found them in the backyard, puttering over a small, slightly broken down gazebo. I paused for a while and watched them work. Manager-nim was dozing under a nearby tree. Hoseok was handing tools to the other two. He was dressed in khaki shorts, flipflops and a black tank top. He wiped sweat off his forehead and I admired how his well toned arm muscles moved in the sun. Namjoon was up on the roof of the gazebo with Paul. They both had their shirts off and were using them as improvized caps to ward off the heat. I had to force myself to stop staring at Namjoon's lean arms and chest and abs...ok stop right there! I chastised myself and went back to the kitchen to see if there were any cold drinks I could bring the 'maintenance' team. I was lucky to score some packets of Tang pineapple in the cupboards and made the boys a cold drink. The boys were resting when I went out to bring them their juice. I told Paul about having to go to the market, but he didn't want to come and insisted that they needed to finish the gazebo. Namjoon must have seen the look on my face because he suggested sending one of the other boys with. I beamed at him and agreed to it all the while hoping he would call Yoongi or Taehyung. My smile disappeared when he yelled out Seokjin's name. I couldn't back out of it, especially when Seokjin agreed to accompany me. I grabbed my wallet and we were on our way. I led the way and ignored Jin as much as I could, the memory of last night's embarrassing situation still etched in my mind. I tried to enjoy the walk through the forest. It was a beautiful day and the forest didn't seem as scary as it did at night. We were almost halfway out of the forest when I felt a strange tingling on the back of my neck. I reached back to swat it away but a few seconds later it was back. I smacked at it thinking it was a mosquito. But a few seconds later it was back again. When I swatted it away I looked behind me at Jin, he had his hands behind his back and was looking at me innocently. I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion and turned back to path ahead of me. Before the tingling could come back, I jumped around and caught Seokjin in the act. He was mid pout with a surprised look on his face. He quickly released the air in his cheeks, gulped, and backed away slowly. 'Ah ha!' I exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly. 'What?' He asked innocently and bit down on his lower lip. I grumbled at him and poked him in the side. He practically leaped away. Seokjin was ticklish! Oh ho ho ho! I gave him an evil smile and followed him. 'No. No. No!' He said walking backwards his arms around his waist to protect his sides.