Running to You | Park Han + JL + Steven | Haneulz + Stejay AU

Chapter 8: Room for Trouble

Chih En raised a hand.

Coach blinked. "Yes?"

"I'll... help all the groups wherever needed, but can I get something from the the bus?"

"Noted, you're float support," Coach said, tossing him the keys, which Chihen caught. He walked off in the direction of the bus. 

Coach clapped his hands. "Everyone else, go." 

In the kitchen, Han stood beside the countertop chopping vegetables with mechanical precision.

JL was beside him, stirring a pot of broth. He hummed softly, a barely audible tune.

"BTOB?" Han asked, surprising them both.

JL blinked. "Oh. Yeah. You recognized it?" 

Han nodded. "My mom's a huge fan. In fact, she said if I hadn't become a track athlete she would have enrolled me in one of Lee Changsub's academies."

JL: "That's pretty amazing. You must have an amazing voice."

Han: "Nah. I'm built for asphalt, not makeup and stage lights."

They lapsed into silence again, only the sound of boiling water and chopping filling the space.

"You okay with the room thing?" Han asked suddenly. 

JL glanced at him. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Han shrugged. "You seemed surprised." 

"Well... Steven's cool. I'm just... he teases me a lot."

"He likes you."

JL hesitated. "As a teammate."

Han didn't answer. JL stirred faster.

***

Outside, Juwon dropped a box of bottled water with a thud. "This better earn me dinner."

Jeongwoo grunted, lifting another crate beside him. "You'll get a thank you. IF that."

Kyungho emerged from the back of the bus with the biggest box of them all. Juwon whistled.

"Overachieving already?" 

Kyungho shrugged. "Feels wrong if I don't." 

Jeongwoo wiped his brow. "Why are we all like this."

"Trauma," Juwon deadpanned.

"Shared delusion," Kyungho added.

"Peer pressure," Jeongwoo said.

They all nodded.

***

In the woods, Woongki screamed.

"IT MOVED."

"That was a stick," Shuaibo said dryly.

"It was a DEMON stick."

Shuaibo picked up the 'demon' stick. "See? Harmless."

Woongki huffed. "Fine. But I want danger pay."

"Would you rather I drag the logs and you collect mushrooms?"

Woongki made a face. "Ugh. No."

They moved together through the undergrowth, bickering the whole way.

"I didn't peg you for the foraging type," Woongki said.

"You didn't peg me for anything," Shuaibo replied, poking him in the side with a twig.

Woongki yelped, laughing. "Touché."

By sunset, the team had gathered around the clearing behind the lodge. A fire pit had been set up, logs and benches dragged around it in a semi-circle.

JL stepped out of the kitchen carrying a tray of steaming food. Han followed behind him with soup and rice.

The others descended with wild cheers.

"Bless you!" Juwon shouted.

"I take back every insult I made this morning," Woongki said.

"Did you cook this yourself?" Jeongwoo asked.

"Both of us," JL replied. Han said nothing. But when JL sat beside him around the fire, he didn't move away. And this time everyone noticed.

Especially Steven. He didn't say anything, but he watched the space between them shrink even more. 

[Your comments and votes each chapter mean the world and support this story. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter! ✩✩✩ - Martiné]