ˏˋ°•*⁀ ➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡
─◌✰್ 𝗒𝗈𝗅𝗄
𝘆𝗼𝗹𝗸（𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻）/𝘆𝗼̄𝗸/
❝ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗒𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗈𝗐 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗋𝖽'𝗌 𝖾𝗀𝗀， 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗎𝗋𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗍𝖾， 𝗂𝗌 𝗋𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗂𝗇 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗂𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝖺𝗍， 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗇𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗂𝗌𝗁𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖾𝗆𝖻𝗋𝗒𝗈．❞

A seagull drifted by on the perfectly crafted breeze, his wings lazily outstretched as he took his sweet time making it back home for breakfast. Clouds floated in synch with the wind, exposing the sun, which had risen many hours earlier. A perfect eighty degrees fahrenheit. Not too hot, not too cold. Ideal weather for sunbathing, beach volleyball, swimming, anything, really.

Bright light filtered into the beach house which was a short walk off the shore. The morning smiled down upon the house's inhabitants, inviting them into the new day.

You, however, were not smiling back at this kind greeting.

"Son of a bitch!"

You rolled over, squeezing your eyes shut in a desperate attempt to avoid the morning and what it might bring.

Hiding under the covers, you tried to fall back asleep. But it was much too hot under the plush duvet. You'd initially been excited about the high-quality bedding the beach house offered, but it was biting you in the ass now.

Huffing and throwing the covers off, you rubbed your eyes before opening them a crack.

And holy hell, was that an awful decision.

Right as you took the chance to look out outside, your head began screaming some sort of royal terror down upon you. It was as if someone had lit your brain on fire and left it to smolder. You didn't think you'd ever experienced such terrible pain ever in your life, not even when you nearly drowned. You tried to burrow yourself right back into the blankets, temperature be damned.

"Isn't it such a beautiful morning??"

Mya yanked the covers clean off your bed before you could get them halfway over your body.

"What the hell, Mya??" You exclaimed, blindly feeling around for your blanket, still refusing to open your eyes.

"C'mon, it's almost ten in the morning! I've been up for like, four hours!" Mya persisted. "I'm bored out of my mind!"

"Why?" You groaned, peeping your eyes open once more and wincing. "Haven't you gone downstairs for breakfast? Don't you usually work out and do a whole day's worth of things before now?"

Mya rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, on normal days."

You raised an eyebrow at her. Clearly you weren't thinking very fast today, because none of Mya's words made any sense. Your brain felt like a jar of jelly had been spread across every single nerve ending, making it stop working.

"Normal day?" You echoed.

Mya shook you, making your teeth rattle. "Of course it's not a normal day!" She exclaimed. "We just went to the bar last night and I can't- I can't go down there and see Jeongin! What if he hates me??"

"He doesn't hate you," you pried her hands off of your arms. You swore they would leave bruises. "I don't remember much from last night, but I do remember that he couldn't keep his eyes off you."

"Shut up," Mya mumbled, her cheeks bright pink. "He could too. Could he? Tell me everything you saw!"

"We should wake Riley up first," you said, ignoring your friends' pestering. She would learn soon enough that Jeongin was head over heels for her.

Hopping off your bed, you walked over to the second mattress where Riley slept. You didn't remember how you three had ended up there the night before, but you and Mya must have shared a bed, and Riley was in the one next to you.

Sparing no niceties for your friend who was definitely still asleep, you climbed on the bed and started jumping up and down, not caring if you stepped on her or not.

"WAKE UP RILEY!" You yelled.

"What are you doing??" Mya exclaimed. "You could break her legs!"

"She'll be fine, c'mon! I can't wake her up by myself! She's a deep sleeper!" You insisted, motioning to a spot on the bed next to you.

Mya sighed doubtfully, but eventually settled for shaking the bed as hard as she could.

"Noooo," Riley whined, trying and failing to shove you on the floor. "Get away from me, it's too early!"

"We have to force Mya downstairs!" You yelled, jumping harder. "She thinks Jeongin hates her!"

Riley's head immediately appeared from amongst the puffy duvet, eyes squinted at both you and Mya, the right side of her face red from sleeping on it.

"You think what??" She exclaimed, still extremely groggy but impressively indignant. "Do you have eyes??"

Mya glared at you. "Wow, thanks for throwing me under the bus!"

You shrugged. "It's true, and you know he's obsessed with you! We have to go see him, like, now! And you," you turned on Riley, "Have to see Chan!"

In response, Riley covered her head with the blanket again.

"Not you too!" You yanked the blanket off, just as Mya had done to you earlier. "There's no way you two are scared to see them. What happened last night??"

"You were there!" Riley exclaimed, finally sitting up. "I can never let Chan see my face ever again, or I will die of embarrassment. And you know it takes a lot to embarrass me."

You frowned, trying to remember the previous night. After you'd started drinking, everything was a blur, and at one point, a complete blackout.

"I threw up in front of him," Riley prompted.

"I know that!" You interrupted. "But you were drunk, what's the big deal? Besides, he was coming over there to stand up for you! Wasn't that hot??"

"It was totally hot," Riley agreed, her eyes going out of focus for a second. "But that's not even the worst part! I started- well, from what I remember - I started dancing on him! Like grinding on him! What the hell was wrong with me?? It was like I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't control my body! I just kept dancing! Even when he told me to stop, I just kept going! And I bet Chan never wants to speak to me again. He probably thinks I'm some kind of insane woman who just dances on any guy she can get a hold of when she's drunk!"

"Well, you do kind of do that," Mya pointed out.

"Yeah, but now I only want to dance with Chan!" Riley wrung her hands. "And now he probably thinks I would dance with any old chump. But he's the only chump I want!"

"Well you have to tell him," you decided. "Which means... we can go downstairs and have breakfast!" Your stomach growled in agreement.

But as much as you whined, begged, and argued with your friends, they both refused to go downstairs with you.

"Fine, I'll go get breakfast and bring it up for us," you sighed dramatically. "But you two better thank me for this for the rest of the day!"

"Yes, Laska!" The two chorused, and you rolled your eyes once again, shutting the door extra hard to make your point.

As you walked down the stairs, a sense of foreboding overcame you.

You had no idea why. There was no reason for it.

But you knew you'd always been able to trust your gut instinct. Like back in preschool when Mary tried to sit next to you and you said no, because you knew she was a mean girl. And she became the class bully. And now, your gut was telling you that something must have happened in those couple of hours last night that you couldn't remember. Who knew what, of course.

Shut up Laska. You thought to yourself. Whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad. You and your friends are safe, and that's all that matters.

You continued to remind yourself of this as you entered the kitchen.

The first floor was abuzz with life, in stark contrast with the groaning and complaining happening upstairs. Every single window was open, allowing the perfect amount of summer breeze to dance throughout the beach house. You took a deep breath, allowing the refreshing, salty smell to penetrate your senses.

Chan and Hyunjin were out on the back porch, which faced away from the ocean and towards the collections of houses scattered a few miles along the coast of the beach. Chan held the plates and forks, while Hyujin had the napkins and placemats. They took turns as they walked around the table, making it look surprisingly nice for two guys. You were kind of impressed with Hyunjin's table-setting skills, especially after his physical and mental state last night.

Changbin and Seungmin were outside throwing a football back and forth, Changbin purposely making Seungmin dive for the ball. Seungmin complained the entire time, but dove to catch the ball every single time. Han was kicking a soccer ball against the side of the house, making loud thump thump thump noises as he went. You were surprised that hadn't been what woke you up.

Jeongin stood at the kitchen table cutting up kimchi and putting it in a large glass bowl. He was surprisingly quiet, seeing as he always liked to boast to everyone that he was the kimchi master. You wandered over to him.

"Can I do anything to help?" You asked, glancing down at the bowl, which was nearly full.

Jeongin shrugged. "I'm almost done here, then I'm gonna go out and play with Jisung. He's waiting for me."

You laughed and shook your head. No wonder Han seemed so bored.

"What's for breakfast?" You asked curiously.

"Lix and Minho are making kimchi-jjigae," Jeongin responded. "They told me to cut up the kimchi and then I can go play!"

"I guess I'll go see what my brother's up to," you said, glancing outside again. "Make sure he's okay after last night."

"Where are your friends?" Jeongin cut in before you could leave. "I-I mean, they haven't come down yet, have they?"

The boy looked both ways, his hair flying in the eagerness of his search.

You hid a laugh. "Oh, no they're waiting upstairs. I'm just gonna bring them breakfast."

Jeongin was clearly trying to hide his disappointment, and doing so poorly. "Ah, well send my... regards," he ended lamely, his cheeks reddening as he finished his sentence, as if he knew it sounded stupid before it was out of his mouth.

"I sure will," you winked at Jeongin before hurrying outside so he couldn't see the grin on your face. He was totally obsessed with Mya.

"Hey Hyun, how's it going?" You asked as you came out onto the porch, trying to play it cool.

Your brother turned around, his eyes squinted against the sun. Up close, he didn't look nearly as normal as he had from your vantage point inside. His skin was paler than normal and his eyes were bloodshot and dry. You assumed his night after he left the club hadn't been very enjoyable.

"How does it look like it's going, Laska?" He asked, pointing at his face as he set the final napkin down. "I look like a twice-dead zombie."

"I'm surprised you're awake so early," you agreed. "Last I saw you, you weren't doing so hot."

"Chan forced me to get out of bed," Hyunjin complained, glancing at the older guy. "He said it's 'for my health' or something."

You laughed. "You should probably still be in bed. I have photo evidence!"

Hyunjin did a double-take. "You have what?? Chan, you didn't tell me she took pictures!"

Chan, who was setting the final plate onto the picnic table, shrugged nonchalantly. "I never said she didn't take pictures. She's your sister, you should've expected it."

While Hyunjin was busy pouting, you turned to Chan.

"Sooo, is there anything I can do to help?"

"You should help Minho and Lix, they're the only two who volunteered to help cook breakfast. Everyone else just wants to play outside," Chan ran a hand through his hair. "I think they're getting hungry. And the guys have to make fifteen servings."

"Fifteen??" You frowned. "But there's only eleven of us."

Chan shook his head. "No, the girls are coming over too. Changbin invited Lanhua - or rather, she invited herself - and she's bringing her friends too. Apparently kimchi-jjigae is one of her favorite foods. And Han basically forced Robin to come too. I'm not even sure who's showing up at this point."

You shrugged. "Well, I'll do whatever it takes to get some food. I'm here on a mission."

Chan frowned, his hand going up to his hair once more. "Oh, uh... who all are you getting food for? Is... no one else coming down?"

"Nah, they're staying upstairs," you replied. "They don't wanna come down. They're not doing so well."

Chan nodded vigorously. "Yeahh, right! That makes sense. I mean, if you need help, I could carry some food up to your room for you! Three plates is kind of a lot to carry all at once."

"No, no I'll get it myself!" You said quickly. You knew that Riley would have a meltdown if she found out that you had allowed her crush to see her hungover, in her pajamas, when the last time he'd seen her had been when she was blackout drunk, twerking on him or something. You'd never hear the end of it.

Chan shrugged doubtfully. "I don't know if there's anyone better for the job," but despite his thinly veiled concern, he let it go.

"Anyway..." you paused. "I guess I should head inside and help with breakfast! My friends are gonna get hangry."

Chan chuckled. "Yeah, you do that. I'll warn you though-" he stopped mid-sentence, as if he was second-guessing what he was going to say.

"Warn me about what?" You prompted.

Chan shook his head. "Nothing, I forgot what I was gonna say," he waved you inside. "They're gonna need a lot of help!"

You frowned at Chan, but walked back in anyways. It was barely 10:30 in the morning, and things were off to a weird start.

"Hey, you here to help?" Minho called to you, looking up from the pot at the stove. He waved you over, and you wandered into the kitchen.

"Yeah, Chan said you two have your hands full," you agreed, peering around Minho's arm to look in the pot. Broth, spices, vegetables, and the kimchi Jeongin had prepared were all boiling, covered, inside a nice stainless steel pot Minho had brought. It already smelled delicious. Your mouth watered.

"It already looks amazing!" You complimented. "How did you fit a pot that size in your suitcase?"

Minho laughed. "I had to beg Chan to let me take it. It took up like, half of the trunk. Yongbok had to keep most of his luggage by his feet the whole time. Right?"

Both you and Minho turned to look at Felix, who was cutting up tofu on the other side of the kitchen island. You noticed you hadn't heard him talk at all since you'd come downstairs. Usually he would at least tell you 'good morning' or hand you a cup of tea. Today? Nothing.

You tried and failed not to feel upset.

Swallowing your hurt, you smiled at Felix, who had finally looked up at you both.

He nodded, and turned back to the cutting board.

What could be so damn fascinating about tofu?

You met Minho's eyes, and he shrugged before wordlessly nudging you over towards Felix, as if he was daring you to talk to him.

You groaned inwardly. It was clear Felix wasn't having a good morning. And besides, he hadn't even shown up at the stupid club last night to apologize for being an ass. And you weren't about to try and make amends, if that was what Minho wanted you to do. Why should it be your responsibility to make a man feel better about his stupid mistakes anyway?

Still. You reminded yourself. It was always a good idea to be the bigger person. Not that you'd ever been the bigger person before in your life. But today could be the day you start. And you could start with Felix.

So you set your shoulders, rounded the island, and came to stand next to the blond-haired guy.

Instantly, you knew it was a mistake.

Felix's entire body visibly stiffened, and his eyes focused even harder on the cutting board, as he pretended you weren't even there. But you knew he felt your presence. You knew what he was doing.

"Lix-" you started, moving to take the knife out of his hand. He was freaking you out a little.

Without letting you finish whatever you were about to say - which might have been a good thing, since you had no idea what you were going to say anyway - he set the knife down and marched away, muttering a nearly incomprehensible, "I'm sorry," before heading outside.

You stood there, mouth still half-open, staring at the place where Felix had just stood moments prior.

Minho came to stand next to you, looking the other way, out the door where Felix sat on the stoop, watching Changbin tackle Seungmin into the grass.

"Did I do something?" You finally asked Minho. You were surprised at how steady your voice came out.

"I don't think I should be the one to tell you," Minho replied slowly, before going back to the stove.

So your gut feeling was right. Something must have happened between you and Felix last night. And whatever it was, it was serious enough to make Felix, the kindest, funniest, sweetest guy you knew, stop talking to you.

And you had to find out what the hell it was.

laska's note —
ooooh! the awkwardness has returned once more with a vengeance! what do you think is going to happen now?? will they recover? will they actually communicate with one another? will laska remember what happened the night before?
anywayy i'm so excited for 5-star! for me it's literally tonight and i'm freaking out i bought every single version of the album and i can't wait for all the songs!

question of the day —
what outfits from all the 5-star teasers are your faves?

my answer —
topline and get lit! felix's red coat in topline and the tiara he's wearing in get lit?? i died 😩😩

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟮𝟬 - 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘀𝗵
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