ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡
─◌✰್ 𝗐𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗇𝖾－𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐𝗌

catdad_lee okay wtf does that mean
> matchatess it means what u think it means 😘
> catdad_lee @matchatess damn and i even caught you a fish and everything

mymymy YOU'RE SO PRETTY OMGG
> huats.up yass that's my bestiee
> sk8ter.jj @matchatess a bestie who should've given me photo creds tsk

ryerye can't believe i actually caught something it was terrifying
> ramenoodlaska yeah u threw the fish at me ewe
> bin.there.done.that @ryerye @ramenoodlaska would've made good sushi if you two hadn't thrown it so far we couldn't find it 🙄

Hooooly crap.

Your breath stopped in your chest, and for a moment, you forgot how to speak, how to think.

"Th-thank you, Se Ri. I should go." Before your boss could say anything else, you hung up, your hands dropping to your sides as you stood, frozen.

God, this could not be happening. Even in your craziest dreams, when you were spiraling over the worst possible outcomes, no one showing up wasn't even on the list.

Where the hell were all of your clients? Why had every single one of them canceled, not to mention at the last minute?

They hadn't even called you. They'd all contacted Se Ri. Like they didn't want you to find out from them. Any other time, you would just assume that they were super busy, and didn't want to bother you.

But this wasn't any other time. This was after the Work Debacle. And while you assumed that only a select few clients had been privy to your horrendous mistake, it was very possible that wasn't true.

Not that it mattered, right? Who cared why they'd canceled? You knew Se Ri would work it out, she was a genius. This would all be okay.

Maybe you should check, just in case. You know, in case there was something you were doing wrong, outside of the Work Debacle. That was completely plausible, right?

You turned your phone on and searched your company's website, Park and Paws veterinary office, and scrolled to the reviews.

And there they were.

Kim Jiwoo
★☆☆☆☆
Heard about one vet here doing a terrible job, and they were right! Awful customer service, and I didn't feel safe leaving my pet there. Wouldn't recommend!

Hong Mi Cha
★☆☆☆☆
All these bad reviews were right. Felt so uncomfortable the whole time! Don't go to Park and Paws.

Ahn Min Joon
★☆☆☆☆

Oh god, you couldn't read anymore. Not that review. You closed the tab, squeezing your eyes shut. All those horrible reviews, and all because of you. Now, Park and Paws, which used to have a 4.8 /5 on Google, was tanking at 2.1. Clearly, word had gotten out about your mistake, and all of your clients knew about it. That had to be the reason why they canceled.

Se Ri, along with all your co-workers, had been so excited about this event. It had taken months to plan, and everyone wanted you to go. They thought you deserved it, and at the time, you thought so too.

But even they had been talking behind your back after the Work Debacle. They were pissed off that you were getting to go on a month-long vacation when you couldn't even do your job properly back at home. At first, you'd convinced yourself that they were wrong, that you would prove yourself, and kill this event.

But now, it was obvious that they were right. You didn't deserve to be on this trip. In fact, it should have been literally anyone else. It was a miracle that Se Ri had allowed you to go anyway. And now, because of you, the event wasn't even going to happen. How could it, without any clients?

You'd really fucked up this time. What were you supposed to do now?

You had to tell your friends. If the event was canceled, then you didn't want to waste any more of their time.

Exiting the cabin, you headed towards the group that was around the campfire. Changbin, Jeongin, and Chan were cutting wood, while Tessa, Minho, JJ, and Robin were cleaning up around the campfire.

"Hey Hua!" Tessa called out to you as she swept ash off the ground. "When we're all done and the clients are settled in, wanna go with us to the lake? Minho claims he can teach us how to fish or something. I'm not so sure."

"Excuse you, I fish all the time!" Minho protested. "You've seen it!"

"Yeah, when we were five," Tessa shot back. "You have yet to prove yourself as a grown man."

"I have nothing to prove to any of you," Minho glowered, but said nothing more.

"Ah, yeah sure, that sounds good," you said weakly, not fully processing what your friend was saying.

"Hua, watch this!" Changbin shouted as he wielded the ax, bringing it up over his head and smashing it down onto a huge log. It broke cleanly in half, and Jeongin and Chan cheered.

"My turn!" Jeongin exclaimed, reaching for the ax eagerly.

"Noo, I just started!" Changbin protested, pulling away from the younger man's grip. "Right Chan? I only cut two pieces!"

"You guys are literal children!" Robin shouted at them, smirking.

"We are not!" Jeongin yelled back, still reaching for the ax.

"Geez, stop it!" Chan snatched the ax away from Changbin. "Maybe we should give the girls a try, if you're gonna be immature about it." Turning around to the firepit, Chan called, "JJ, you wanna chop some wood?"

JJ wrinkled her nose, but shrugged, setting her soot brush down and walking over. "Eh, yeah sure, why not? But don't laugh if I fuck up, or I'll have to cut you."

All three boys raised their hands in surrender, as they watched JJ swing the ax over her head once, twice, three times, cutting the wood cleanly in four pieces.

"Holy shit!" Jeongin shouted, pointing at the cuts in awe. "You lied to us!"

"No I didn't," JJ frowned. "I told you not to laugh at me. Which you were kind enough not to, so thanks."

"You have to cut the rest of the wood!" Changbin insisted. "You're way better than us!"

JJ shook her head. "No, that was more than enough, my arms already hurt. If you want a camping girl, get Tessa. Besides, Mr. Lumberjack, you were killing it." And she headed back to her spot by the fire pit.

Everyone continued having fun as they worked, Minho and Tessa making a mess as they continued to push each other over into the fire ash.

You opened your mouth to tell everyone, admit your unforgivable mistake. That you were a huge fuckup, and they could go home. That they were wrong to trust and believe in you, that you were the complete opposite of what they thought you were.

But you couldn't get the words out. You couldn't face the prospect of disappointing your friends.

"I-I'm gonna go get some more firewood," you managed to say, before hurrying away, and into the woods on the far side of the camp.

Right when you were out of sight from them, you found the first fallen log nearby, and took a seat, not even looking to see if there were spiders or dirt. There was probably both, but for once, you didn't care. Tears pricked at your eyes, but you held them back. It was embarrassing, but you had been so excited about this. And now it was all wrong.

"Hua? Hua, are you out there?"

A voice echoed through the woods, shortly followed by the muscular form of Changbin. You glanced up at him, forcing a smile.

"What are you doing?" Changbin asked, brows creased in concern. "Are you okay? You just booked it out of the clearing, saying something about firewood. You would never collect firewood even if your life depended on it."

"I-I'm fine," you lied, although you knew it was a lost cause. "It's nothing, don't worry about me Bin. Go back out there."

Changbin sat down next to you on the log, watching you the all the while. "Not only would you not collect firewood, you also wouldn't willingly sit on this log. What's going on, Hua? Clearly something's really wrong."

You shook your head, eyes watering again. "No, I promise I'm fine."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad. We can help." Changbin prodded again. "I can help."

You laughed dryly, ignoring his last words. "Oh, it's bad. It's really bad."

"Tell me," Changbin said gently, reaching out to take your hand.

You sighed, keeping your fist tightly balled. "So you know how the clients are supposed to arrive in the next few minutes?"

Changbin nodded. "Yeah, we've been preparing."

"Well, they're not coming," you forced out all in one breath. "None of them are coming. They all fucking canceled on me - on us - at the last minute! And they didn't even tell me, they told my boss. And that's not even the worst part."

"What's the worst part?" Changbin asked, when it was clear you weren't going to keep talking unless he interrupted.

Swallowing, you steeled yourself to admit everything that you'd been holding in for the past week, for the first time.

"Well, I was at work last week, taking care of one of my clients' dogs," you began, feeling almost out of body as you spoke. "He's a little white dog, named Snowball. He's a really sickly dog, so he's in all the time. But he's so fast, he loves to escape out of the exam room. But we always catch him, it's sort of a little game we like to play with him. But that day..." you trailed off, your throat closing as you thought about the events that had followed.

Changbin didn't say anything, but he reached out and squeezed your wrist. It was that small action that pushed you to continue.

"Well, while I was taking care of Snowball, of course he escaped the room, like always. I went chasing after him, but since he always got out, I kind of took my time. Again, it was a little game with him. But... I couldn't find him. I looked all through the other three exam rooms next door, and nothing. But when I came out to the waiting room, I saw that the door was cracked a few feet open. I don't know why, but I knew he'd escaped." You held your head in your hands, unable to look at Changbin.

"And... did you find him?" Changbin questioned. "Was he okay?"

You nodded quickly. "Yes, I found him," you started. "He hadn't gotten very far, thankfully. But he must have tripped or something, because he sprained his paw. When his owner came back, he was furious. They blamed me for being a terrible vet and not keeping track of him. I didn't even leave the door open, and he still demanded that we pay him a bunch of money, and that I should- that I should be fired." Your voice broke on that last word.

Changbin's eyes narrowed. "You made an honest mistake, everyone does. The dog wasn't even seriously hurt. Are- were they coming to this event? If I could have a word with them..." His fists clenched so hard you heard his knuckles crack.

You glanced down at his hands, and shook your head hopelessly. "No, they canceled then and there. Originally, they'd even wanted to fly out here just to support the clinic, but they said they were never coming back. On top of that, they left a terrible review on Google, and it's caused a bunch of other people to review bomb us too. Everyone blames me for what happened, and now that no clients are coming, I don't know what to do. The event failed. I failed. And now I have to tell everyone."

Changbin cocked his head. "Tell everyone what?"

You sighed, shrugging. "Everything, I guess. That this entire fucking event has failed, that I'm a loser. That they have to pack up and go home, and it hasn't even been a full day."

For a few moments, Changbin remained silent.

"What?" you demanded. You weren't used to this charismatic, fun-loving guy being quiet. Was something wrong? Had you said something stupid? Was he judging you now for being a complete idiot? Clearly, you weren't all that he'd hoped you would be. He was probably relieved he could go home, and you'd be on a flight back to Jeju, never to speak again.

But the words that came out of his mouth shocked you.

"You're not a fucking failure. And we're sure as hell not going back home. I have a plan."

laska's note —
well, there it is, the work debacle! lanhua hadn't told anyone about it until now. i wonder what changbin's plan is? will he try to get the clients back? or is he gonna come up with something else to keep the event running? we're gonna get to see tessa and minho try to fish, so that's will be exciting! can't wait for more shenanigans with this iconic friend group! leave your thoughts in the comments!
also a huge happy new year to everyone! i hope this year will be better than the last! does anyone have any new years resolutions? tbh i don't really do them, but i'd love to hear yours if you have them!

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟬𝟴 - 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿
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