ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡
─◌✰್ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗎𝗀𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗉𝗎𝗆𝗉𝗄𝗂𝗇

catdad_lee you could've helped instead of running away to take pics...
> ramenoodlaska @catdad_lee no, our insta is way more important than saving ur ass lino
> robin_is_a_penguin @catdad_lee yeah i look good so stfu 💅
> ramenoodlaska @robin_is_a_penguin should i drop the pics u took of me too? 😏
> sunshine.lix @ramenoodlaska yes please! 😍

cheesecakehannie wait is that my shirt-
> robin_is_a_penguin shh it's finee ji 😋
> cheesecakehannie @robin_is_a_penguin i was wondering where that was, i had to wear my onesie to bed
> huats.up @cheesecakehannie you wore a WHAT??

bin.there.done.that okay why are there tents behind you, did you sneak into someone's campsite?
> robin_is_a_penguin @bin.there.done.that erm about that
> matchatess @robin_is_a_penguin girl don't tell him!!
> dingdonghong @matchatess @robin_is_a_penguin is that where y'all were?? wtf 🤦‍♀️
> cheesecakehannie @dingdonghong hehe yeh it was fun seeing the insta girlies in their element

He was still acting like an asshole, and he knew it.

"Okay, we have to find our pumpkin now!" You turned to Changbin, a beam lighting across your face, and a huge bag of kettle popcorn in your arms. A group of guys did a double-take when they saw you. Because, of course they did.

Changbin wasn't immune to your charm, either. He couldn't help but stare at you, basking in your insane beauty. He was blessed to be in your presence, just for a moment.

You raised your eyebrows at him, a look of concern coming over your face. "That is... if you want to go with me?"

Changbin let out a huff of breath, a surprised laugh escaping him. It was in that moment he realized, this was the first time he'd smiled - let alone laughed - in the past twenty-four hours. Had he really been stewing for that long?

It was time to apologize. But first...

"Hua, yes, of course I want to get a pumpkin with you," he sighed, his voice gravelly from lack of use. He'd also been unusually silent for the past day. It was like he'd reverted back to being a moody teenager.

And it was all because of one stupid guy.

Fucking Namjoon. Changbin knew he shouldn't have let that toe of a man, with tic-tacs for teeth and perfect hair, control his mood for this long. But seeing the way you and he had interacted with one another, had made Changbin feel physically ill.

He knew how gorgeous you were. He was used to seeing men flirt shamelessly with you, or stop whatever they were doing to check you out, like those two guys had just done. And he thought he'd come to terms with that.

But it had been many months since he'd seen you in person. He'd forgotten just how lucky he was even to have a chance with you. And seeing the predatory way that Namjoon had pursued you made him think... had he been kidding himself all this time? Was he making a fool of himself, chasing after you like this? Stupid Changbin, throwing himself at a girl who is way out of his league. He should just give up, and let her be with a guy who actually deserves her.

A guy like Namjoon.

But he did have to admit, he greatly enjoyed watching the fierce way you defended yourself against his inappropriate advances. You handled it with poise and a professional demeanor only you held. It was incredibly clear that you were not interested in him. And unless Changbin had been reading all the signs wrong, you were interested in him instead.

And what had he done in return? Treated you with nothing but coldness, icing you out like a wart. You didn't deserve that.

"Changbin? Changbin? Bin?"

Changbin snapped out of his doomsday thoughts at the sound of your voice. "Sorry, what?" he said, shaking himself internally.

"What do you think of this one?" You held up a large, slightly misshapen pumpkin. "It's a weird shape, huh?"

"Hua?" His words came out more uncertain that he would have liked.

You set the pumpkin down, before turning questioning eyes on him. "Bin?"

"I'm sorry." He met your gaze steadily. "I've been acting like an asshole, and it's wrong of me. You didn't make Asshole Namjoon show up and treat you like garbage, and as much as I wish we'd never have to see him again-"

"Bin," you said again, more firmly this time, a smile creeping across your face. "Have you been acting like this because you're jealous?"

He exhaled. Might as well tell the truth, right? Stepping forward, he grabbed your hand, not breaking eye contact. "Yeah, I was. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Ever since I saw you on the beach that day in Jeju, I knew I you would change my life. But I'm still not totally used to every other man in the world seeing that, too. And I hate that they think they have a chance with you. Do they?" he demanded, eyes narrowed. His cheeks were warm, his hand trembling with anger.

You sighed, grabbing his other hand in yours, apparently not caring about the uncontrollable shaking. "Bin, have I not made it clear how much I like you? I've been worried all yesterday, all night, and all this morning, over how you felt about me. And now you're telling me that this was all because of Namjoon?? Of the guy that I almost punched in the face when he asked me out?" you groaned, resting your head on his chest. "Why did you put me through so much stress?"

"I didn't mean to!" Changbin protested, instinctively wrapping his arms around you. "I just... Asshole Namjoon seems like he would be your type. All rich and hoity toity and shit. He was wearing a damn suit in the middle of the woods, for fucks sake!"

You pulled away from his chest, eyebrows raised. "So you think my type is... improperly dressed assholes and douchebags? Rude."

"Am I wrong?" It was his turn to raise his brows.

You glowered, rolling your eyes. "No, of course not. I used to trip over myself to gain the approval of guys like him. But... I've changed."

"Yeah?" Changbin grinned smugly. "And what do you think was the cause of that?"

"Not what, who," you corrected with a sly smile.

It was all Changbin could do not to stare back at you with what he was sure would be an idiotic grin on his face. Why had he been mad at you, again?

You visibly shook yourself, cheeks rosy. "Okay! Let's find the most perfect pumpkin in this damn patch!"

He smiled, snatching her hand up in his once more. "I vote we look for the ugliest, saddest pumpkin in the lot."

You wrinkled your nose. "Ewe, why would we do that?"

He chuckled. "Who else is gonna take it home? What if it's the last one in the patch, all alone?"

You paused, then shrugged your shoulders as a sign of surrender. "Okay fine, we'll find the ugliest little pumpkin here. As long as you're talking to me again, I'll do whatever you say."

Changbin smirked, his thumb rubbing circles across the back of your hand. "Sounds like I could use that to my advantage."

"Bin!" you groaned, nudging him in the side.

"Hua, Bin!" Mya waved at you with her free hand, the other gripping Areum's leash. "There are some great pumpkins over here!"

You met Changbin's gaze with a tight smile - why did you look slightly uncomfortable? - before the two of you headed over to Mya and Jeongin. He was holding a ginormous pumpkin in his arms while he drank from his cup of apple cider.

You leaned down next to the pile of pumpkins in front of the four of you, and began inspecting each and every one. Changbin had never seen someone so meticulously hunt for the perfect - or rather, imperfect - pumpkin before.

You stood back up, dusting your hands on the edges of your coat. "These are too pretty!" you proclaimed.

Mya frowned at you. "What does that mean? Jeongin and I spent the past twenty minutes searching for the most round, smooth, large pumpkin in the patch! What do you think?"

Jeongin raised the pumpkin with a grin, and Mya unabashedly gawped at him as his arms strained against the sleeves of his dark blue t-shirt.

You raised your eyebrows at your friend, and she blushed wildly. "Well, we decided we want to find the ugliest pumpkin. No pumpkin left behind, you know?" you chuckled. "And these are too blemishless, so we're gonna look somewhere else!"

You yanked Changbin away to a small stand of medium-sized pumpkins. JJ, Renee, Hyunjin, and Seungmin were all perusing the selection. Each of them were holding steaming cups of apple cider.

"This one looks like it would make amazing seeds!" JJ held up a pumpkin the size of her head. "What do you think, Hyun?"

The black turtleneck-clad man scrutinized the pumpkin carefully. "I think that I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

The girl scowled at him, placing the pumpkin back in its spot. "Well I do, and I think it's perfect. We're gonna do pumpkin carving, then make pies and roast pumpkin seeds!"

Hyunjin turned to you and Changbin, an exasperated look on his face. "Since when has she been so obsessed with fall??"

You shrugged with a smile. "Oh, this is nothing. Wait until winter. And Christmas."

"Yeah, she never shuts the fuck up about Christmas!" Tessa appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, behind you. "Anyone want a sip?" She held up her cup of cold apple cider.

"No, because no one wants to drink cold cider!" Minho called, a few feet behind. "Hot cider is the only way to drink it."

Tessa glared at him. "Okay, it was sunny today and I didn't want a hot drink, don't hate! You drank your whole cup, then half of mine and I didn't hear you complaining."

"It was a last resort," he grumbled. Minho held his empty plastic cup in one hand, a pumpkin in the other, and a scowl on his face.

"Please don't talk about winter yet!" Renee sighed. "I love this weather, a solid sixty degrees and sunny is the best. I don't want to be freezing my feet off, while I'm afraid for my life driving on solid ice."

"Okay, that almost never happens in Jeju, Renee," you laughed, patting your friend on the shoulder.

"But when it does, it's terrible." Tessa wrinkled her nose at the thought. "I ran my car off the road two years ago, remember that?"

"See, I knew you were a bad driver!" Minho pointed his cup at her, and she stuck out her tongue in response.

"Well, Ren and I are gonna go check out." Seungmin held up a cute little pumpkin, followed by a gnarled lumpy one, in each hand. "Then we'll come back and we can all do the corn maze together!"

"Yes, it was a lot of fun!" Riley, Chan, Berry, and Alaska hurried towards them, all carrying pumpkins. Even Berry held a tiny pumpkin between her jaws.

"I definitely want to try the maze!" Alaska agreed enthusiastically.

"Where's Lix?" Changbin asked, looking at her. Usually, those two were inseparable.

"Oh, he went to get us a tray of nachos!" Alaska replied with a grin. "Did you see? The food truck just arrived, and they have all sorts of things, like hot dogs, soft pretzels, anything you could ask for!"

"Ewezies, look at this pumpkin!" Renee squealed in a very un-Renee-like manner. "It's probably the ugliest one I've seen, even worse than Seungmin's!"

Changbin watched with amusement as your ears perked up. "Ooh, give it here!"

Renee tossed the pumpkin over to you, and you hurried to Changbin's side with a wicked smile. "Look at this bad boy! Now is that not the gnarliest thing ever?"

Changbin snorted out a laugh. "I think you're right. It looks like a goblin. Or a troll, or maybe a piece of-"

"Oh c'mon, let's be mature," You couldn't finish your sentence, before letting out a resigned giggle.

"I-I can put it back!" Renee interrupted nervously. "No one would want a pumpkin like that, you can't carve it, and I bet the seeds are gross too! Here, let me take it!"

"No, no Renee," you said firmly. "We're taking this one. Right, Bin?" You glanced over at him, that reserved smile still on your face. He was going to have to figure out what that meant later.

Instead, he just grinned back, nodding. "Yeah, this ugly fucker is ours." Reaching his hands out, he offered, "I'll take it and check out?"

You placed the pumpkin in his hands, your fingers brushing against his as you did. Electricity positively crackled between the two of you, leaving a sting on his skin that he would savor for days to come.

You began to pull your hand away, but something in his head - or heart - made him stop your movements, and he grabbed your hand.

Everything inside him wanted to snap his hands back down, ugly pumpkin be-damned. But he was tired of just being the insecure, nerdy, funny guy. He knew what he wanted. And he was tired of not getting it.

So he slid his hand closer to yours, and let himself linger.

laska's note —
omgg i think our babies are making up! 🤭 and maybe, maybe changbin is ready to be the confident man we all know he can be! and is hua ready to admit her feelings fully to him and not get distracted by work once again? who knows, i suppose they need to talk about it... now onto the pumpkin carving! there really is just so much fun fall stuff for them to do, i can't wait! it all seems so cozy! what are some of your fave things to do in the fall? and what do you hope to see in this fic? 👀

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟭𝟱 - 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
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