Back inside the log cabin
,,Let's draw lots to see who will cook live with Woo, okay?" Hongjoong addresses his members. One by one, they write a small note and place it in a bowl. Ready to pick, Joongie closes his eyes and pulls three slips of paper out of the bowl. He opens his eyes starting to read: ,,Yeosang, Jongho and Yunho."
Missing his daddy already, Woo pouts, blinks sadly towards San. Watching the scene, Seonghwa laughs and looks at the umbrella couple. ,,You will surivive it, don’t be afraid hahaha!“ he teases them. Sannie nods poutingly, Woo sighs but agrees. Mingi who isn’t happy about the situation either, hugs Yunho from behind and whispers jealously to him: ,,Tchh.. you're again doing live videos with Wooyoung..“ Afraid of making him feel like his moral loyalty was betrayed again, Yunho grabs Mingi’s hands and sighs: ,,It wasn’t me who chose it but the note Hongjoong-Hyung did just draw..“
,,Mhh… I think you like to spend time with him.. but you should enjoy spending time with me more than with the others.. we know each other for longer.. or did you already get used to it and now you don’t cherish the time you spend with me anymore, huh?“ Yunnie who is usually really calm, polite, patient, pushes Mingi against the wall and pinches his cheek. ,,Don’t you dare to say something like this again! If you would only know how awful I felt in those eight months where you haven’t been by my side. I not only cherish the time we both spend together, I worship it and now stop being unneccessarily jealous, babyboy! I love you.“ Even if he is a wolf, Mingi puts on a puppy look and apologizes. ,,I’m sorry babygirl. I love you, too. I‘ll go to the sauna, the heat will definitely do my back good." Yuyu pecks a kiss on Mingi's cheek and smiles in approval. ,,Uhh.. I'll go to our room, baby to read the letter that came with our gift, okay?" Wooyoung waves to his daddy accepting his fate as the only member that can stop the others from turning the kitchen into a battlefield. Since they got nothing to do, the two oldest members make themselves sit comfortably in front of the fireplace on the lambskin - which has become their favorite spot - and Hongjoong lies down on his back with his head resting on Seonghwa's lap. Suddenly, Seonghwa pokes his shawty in the side, murmurs: ,,Shawty, am I seeing right and there is a bottle of spray cream next to the fireplace or am I imagining it?" Hongjoong turns his head towards the fireplace, only to discover the bottle of spray cream. ,,YAAAAAAAAAAH!! Am I supposed to be freaking out here? What little pig put spray cream next to the chimney and what the hell is it doing next to it anyway?" the captain snaps.
Oh boy, Pokjoong really needs to work on his aggression problem again.
Jongho and Yeosang, who are preparing everything for the cooking live, don't turn around at all and the soup ladle Yeo is holding in his hand is shaking worse than a branch in the wind. ,,Shit, sweetie, did you forget to put the cream back in the fridge yesterday?" Jjong asks his boyfriend. Hehetmon nods unobtrusively wishing he could vanish, but no matter how much he pretends to search for something inside the lowest drawer of the cupboard, no hole is appearing where he could sink in. //Oh no.. how embarrassing.. please don‘t let him find out..// Spotting his most shy son‘s behavior, Hwa distracts his husband. What a lovely mother. He pulls him back down on the lambskin and opens his legs, so he could sit between them. Within seconds, Hongi forgets his anger, takes a seat between his only Hyung‘s legs. He leans his back on Seonghwa‘s chest and grabs Seonghwa‘s arms to put them around his petite waist.
What is San up to?
He sits on his bed and reads the letter I wrote for him. After a moment, he puts the letter aside so he can wipe the tears out of his face.
,,Noona? Are you there?“
,,I am. Always. Atiny is always there for you. All of you.“
,,I wish you could be here.“
*teleports* *puff* ,,You wished for it, so here I am.“
,,Thank you for the letter, your words were so touching and encouraging, gamsahamnida.“
,,Ohhh.. please don‘t cry San-ah and please speak informally to me, I‘m just one year older.“
,,Will you stay with me until Wooyoung comes back?“
,,It would be an honor, what do you want to do?“
,,Mhh.. do you want to watch a movie?“
,,Ohh why not, how about an oldschool movie?“
,,Mhh.. just choose one you like.“
,,Okay, I choose ‘Dirty Dancing‘, since Woo reminds me on the female lead ‘Baby‘ except that he is not that shy and you remind me on the male lead ‘Johnny‘ except that you are introverted. I mean.. It‘s not that you look alike, but somehow I feel that you both would slay the choreo of their dance and I don‘t know.. the tension between the two of you is just similar. You will see once we watch it. I think there should be korean subtitles for it.“
Some clicks later on San‘s tablet, I start the movie and we lie together on the bed, on our stomachs, ready to enjoy the movie.
,,Whoahh daebak! Noona, their dancing hits different, I wish I could try that choreo out with Woo.“
,,Just ask him later on, I‘m sure he would give it a try. Also, please finally drop the honorifics. Hehet..“
,,Uhh.. that‘s kinda difficult for me since we don‘t know each other for that long but I will try it.“
,,Come on say it!“
,,Na-Ri..“
,,See, it sounds good.“ I calm him down and we continue following Baby and Johnny‘s love story.
,,Do you like this kind of movies?“
,,I‘m not really into oldschool movies or dance movies, but this one is special to me since I watched it with my mom for about 100 times. Normally, I only watch K-dramas.“
,,Ohh nice, which genre do you prefer?“
,,I love action dramas or cop/detective dramas. But sometimes I need a idol/ highschool drama like ‘Imitation‘ for my teeny girl heart, hehet. Your acting was amazing in that drama. And I also love BL dramas.“
,,Thank you. What about historical dramas? Kekeke… how fitting that you‘re the narrator of a story about four BL couples.“
,,Mhh.. quite fitting right? About historical dramas.. hmm.. I only watched one and that was ‘Our blooming youth‘, you know? The one where Jongho sang the OST for? But actually it‘s eight couples since I‘m the narrator of the story about Straykids, too. Hehet.. let me just quickly check on their cooking live, okay?“
,,Yeah, I have seen that drama and I loved it. Uhh, gurae, I’ll pause the movie and wait for you.“
In the kitchen
Jongho checked the light settings for the camera and set it up with a good angle. Seconds after our captain informed their manager that the live will start any moment, the chef team gets ready. ,,The live starts now!“ Yunho reminds them. Politely, they greet their fans. ,,Today, we will try to cook beef wellington, enjoy watching us hopefully being successful, Atiny saranghae!“ Woo signals Jongho that he should MC the live by reading the fans questions, so he, Yeosang or Yunho could answer them. With a gummy smile, the Maknae agrees since it‘s in his blood. Ateez private chef starts cooking on the kitchen aisle so he could face the camera and Yeosang assists as good as he can. ,,Would you turn on the stove and put some oil in the large pan?“
Hehetmon accepts the requests and finishes his task. ,,Yunho, could you cook the minced mushrooms, shallots and garlic in some butter until it becomes a dry-like paste?“ Yuyu scratches his head but promises to give his best whilst Wooyoung cooks the tenderloin until a dark brown crust forms. ,,Hyung, an Atiny asks if you‘re able to cook any dish as long as you have a recipe for it..“ Woo lifts his head and looks into the camera. ,,Mhh.. well, I guess not every dish, but most of them probably..“ he answers the fan. When the mushroom-paste has cooled down, Yeosang carefully spreads it on the prusciotto as Yunho cleans the frying pan, when Jongho has another question. ,,Another Atiny asks what you love more, cooking or San?“ Remarkable that Jongho isn‘t showing any signs of laughter, because Yunho and Yeo are nearly dying of laughter. ,,Ahh Atiny, I think you already know the answer, right? Of course I love San more than cooking!“ Completely ignoring that the chat section of the live video explods due to too many Woosan related comments, Wooyoung wraps the meat he covered in mustard a moment ago, in the prusciotto and wraps the whole thing thightly in plastic foil. ,,Okay this question seems kind of ..umm.. different?! An Atiny asked all of us.. ‘What does emotion mean to you?‘ “
,,Hmm maybe they asked because of our last track in our new album.. so for me emotion means to show the people I love how I feel so they can understand me and I can understand them.“ Woo answers. ,,Hmm.. for me, emotion is by far the best way to express yourself.“ Jongho explains and Yeo nods in agreement, saying he would think exactly the same. ,,So, I think emotion can be a very dangerous weapon if handled wrong but the most beautiful thing on earth if handled the right way. Even if we don’t understand each others emotions and feelings sometimes, without them we wouldn’t know the difference between being happy or being sad because we wouldn’t feel anything and that just sounds awful to me. I mean how can we make memories when we felt in each situation, good or bad, exactly the same?“
,,Wow that was deep. Imagine this live would be seen by the people of strictland, you would change lives, Hyung!“ Jongho jokes. But while all of the pirates are laughing it off, I simply can’t. Something in me stirs. Something in me tells me that he hit a spot without knowing it.
//Mhmm that must be because I’m way too deeply immersed in Ateez lore, right?//
In the meantime where the meat prosciutto roll chills inside the fridge, the three chefs take a dance break and Jongho sings for them.
Let‘s check on Mingi
Relaxing on the wooden bench inside the sauna, just a towel covering his private parts, Mingi tries to relax.
Uff…sirrrr..
//Wow.. I am really his boyfriend.. I still can‘t realize it somehow.. after years of friendship we finally took the next step. With him by my side, I feel like I can do anything. With him I feel stable. Thanks to him, I could overcome my depression. I love him so much. If he is strong for me, I will try being strong for him. No matter which hardships are awaiting us, I will fight them with him being on my side.// As he wipes his sweat off his forehead, Mangi suddenly notices his hands shaking. //I feel kinda dizzy.. maybe I should end my sauna session here..// The moment, he stands up, he loses his balance due to his weak knees, stumbles and faints.
Ohh shit! //My whole body aches..why am I glowing? I can’t teleport right now even if I really want to. Weird.. why is my body reacting as if I would teleport any second?//
,,Wooyoung!!! Mingi fainted inside the sauna, just think of something and tell Yunho to run over there!!“
,,Psst Yunho, I think you should go look for Mangi, I kinda have a bad feeling, he is in there for almost an hour now..“ Wooyoung lets Yun know which causes Yunho to excuse himself in front of Atiny and running off. Some Atiny‘s ask what‘s wrong, why he lookes so sorrowful, so Jongho explains to them that the captain wanted something from him and he just hurried to get there, but there is no need to be worried, everything would be fine. The two remaining chefs put the prepared beef wellington inside the oven and finally take a seat.
Inside the wellnessroom
Full of worries, Yunho tears the door of the sauna open and finds Mingi lying unconscious on the floor. He picks him up and carries him outside of the sauna cabin. ,,Babyboy.. please wake up.. don‘t leave me.. why aren‘t you answering.. I‘m so sorry, I let you alone..please wake up..“ Yuyu starts crying bitterly. At this moment, Mingi comes back to consciousness and opens his eyes. As he spots his babygirl crying like a little puppy that was left alone by his owner, he pulls him closer into a hug and breathes still weakly: ,,I‘m fine, please don‘t cry, I think.. I think I was just for too long inside the sauna..“
Pressing him firmly on his body, the puppy sighs in relief. ,,You scared me babyboy.. from now on, please never go alone inside the sauna again and stick by my side like you always did for the past 9 years..I need you so much.. more than you could ever imagine.. I..I love you..“ Yunho cries, whimpers. Mingi who isn‘t able to see his boyfriend crying, strokes over his hair calming him down: ,,Let‘s always stay by each other‘s side. Forever.“ and kisses him. ,,But you didn’t faint because you were having a anxiety attack, right? You didn’t let your mind again circle around your self-doubts? You didn’t downgrade yourself in your head, right?“ the sorrowful puppy wants to know. ,,No, last night something like an angel appeared to me in a dream and forbade me to doubt myself again. So I will try to never do it again. I promise.“ Yunho kisses Mingi’s forehead exhaling in relief. ,,Something like an angel? Did he came to you because they miss you in paradise, my little Cheon-sa?“ Giggling and shrugging his shoulders, Minky answers: ,,Maybe, but don’t worry, I will go nowhere without you, especially not back to paradise, since I got my wings removed a long time ago!“
Awww.. Did he just call me ‘something like an angel‘?
,,Can you walk, babyboy? Or should I carry you upstairs?“
Mingi exhales deeply and admits that he probably still isn‘t able to walk steadily. So Yun nods understandingly, wraps him in his dark blue bathrobe and carries him upstairs to their room. When the parents together with the chef team discover their big bear carrying his princess through the livingroom upstairs, they try to hide their shocked glances.
,,So, the beef wellington is now inside the oven, but since it will take 40 minutes to finish, we will end the live for now and show you the result later on in another short live. Bye bye Atiny and thank you for watching!“ Woo ends the live, he and Jongsang wave towards the camera.
,,What happeend to Mingi?“ Wooyoung shouts towards Yunho who has already arrived at the end of the stairs. ,,He was too long inside the sauna, so he fainted, but don‘t worry, he is okay now. I will care for him.“ Yuyu explains his worried brothers and parents.
,,Should I go to look after them?“ Hongjoong is full of sorrow. ,,It‘s okay, let Yunho be the care-bear he is, I think he can handle that, shawty!“ Seonghwa assures his husband, cuddles onto him.
,,I‘m back, San-ah, I‘m sorry it took so long, but there was quite some trouble downstairs, Woo will explain everything later to you. Let‘s finish the movie okay?“
,,Gurae, do you want some snacks and some Soju, or is it too early for you to enjoy Soju?“
,,Uhh.. if you don‘t mind sharing your treasure you kept hidden inside your luggage with me. Hehet.. it’s never too early for Soju..“
,,Ahh... I really can‘t hide anything from you, hmm?“
,,Nope. You definitely can’t.“
San grabs the bag of chips, tries to open it, but he isn‘t called a mountain for nothing. Okay, actually it is just the meaning of his name, but it describes his physique pretty well too. *WOOSH* the chips are flying through the air landing everywhere on the bed.
,,Ahhh.. ssibal hahah!“ San curses accompanied by laughter.
,,HAHAHAHAHAHA A DORITO THROWING DORITOS!!“
,,Ehh? Why am I a dorito?“ San doesn’t understand my joke.
,,Because of your small waist and your broad shoulders, kinda like a upside down dorito kekeke..“ I explain akwardly.
,,Wanna see that Dorito without it´s package hahaha?“ he laughs wildly.
,,What the-.. no.. I mean yes, but for the sake of Wooyoung, no.. anyways.. let‘s pick them up and eat them one by one.. hehet. But please let me open the bottle of Soju. For you and my own safety..“
,,Kekeke it’s funny how you get shy..“
Whilst we pick up each one of the chips combined with sharing a bottle of Soju, I suddenly realize that sharing a bottle is also considered a indirect kiss. Shyly, I blush and turn my face away from him. ,,Is everything okay? Don’t be afraid, Woo won’t kill you for this kekeke..“ he chuckles, mocks me for blushing over such a stupid thing. I nod deciding to trust him that Wooyoung really won’t kill me and we enjoy watching the movie until the final scene appears where Johnny jumps off the stage to show the audience the famous dance move. Baby runs towards him and he lifts her high up in the air.
,,Whoa.. I wanna do that too with my baby!“ San marvels the dancing couple on the screen.
,,Ahh.. I wish I would have any talent for dancing, but unfortunately I don’t kekeke!“
,,Nahh.. come one. I’m sure you have talent for dancing, you just need to practice, I wasn’t a great dancer too when I was a trainee and now I think I’m doing pretty well.“ San motivates me.
*REMEMBERS THE CYBERPUNK CHAIR CHOREO* *BLUSHES AGAIN* *SUFFERS FROM HICC UP* ,,Yeah, you are indeed *HICCS* a great dancer kekeke..“
,,And you are indeed drunk hahaha..“ San laughs out loud over my weird and cute drunk behaviour.
Just when the credits appear on the screen, Wooyoung enters the room and sees me. He runs towards me and no, I am not Johnny and I surely can‘t lift him. (Well, I could, but not drunk.) He jumps on me yelling: ,,Nooonaaaa!“ Quickly, San covers his mouth, so at the same time we force him too keep it silent with a ´Shhhhht´.
,,Do you want them to find out that we have a guest here, our parents would scold us and the rest would be ultra confused about who she is or why she is here, so please keep it down.“ San warns his boyfriend.
,,Okok, Noona what are you doing here? Did you watch a movie? Are you drunk? And why is my side of the bed full with chips crumbs?“ he laughs.
,,Uhh.. San was bored so I decided to watch a movie with him and drink some *HICCS* Soju with him, then he tried to open a bag of chips and this happened. And yeah. We watched ‘Dirty Dancing‘, also I *HICCS* told San that you and him remind me on the main leads of the movie. You should totally try out the choreo of the last dance *HICCS*. I bet it would look breathtaking!“
,,Omg hahahah.. Noona, you are so drunk.. But uhh now I‘m curious about that..“ Woo confesses. Together we watch a tutorial for the famous dance of ‘Dirty Dancing‘. Woosan stands up and shoves the clothes that are covering the floor aside to start practicing. With every move, they slay like born talents. I cheer for them more and more until I become sad that I can’t dance like this. The second, Wooyoung notices my sulking face, drags me onto the selfmade dance floor. ,,Is there any choreo you would love to learn?“ he asks me.
,,Ohh. I would love to *HICCS* learn the choreo of ‘Wave‘ hihihi..“
Just a moment after I told him, San plays ‘Wave‘, he and Woo teach me the choreo. ,,Didn’t you say, you would have no talent for dancing?“ San asks confused.
,,I swear, when I’m sober, I don’t have any talent for dancing at all kekeke!“ After some fun and dancing, I notice that I have to go sobering up, because I still have to watch the others and tell Atiny about them.
,,San-ah, Wooyoungi, I have to go now, but I‘m sure we will see each other again soon! Thank you for the fun I had today and enjoy your dinner, saranghae!“ I wave my hand and vanish.
,,She is so adorable!“ Woo compliments me.
,,But she‘s a total crackhead, she is so funny haha!“ San giggles.
,,Ahemmm.. I can hear you!“
,,Uhh.. that was actually a compliment!“
,,Uh-huh okay, then I didn‘t say anything..“
,,I wonder if she is doing okay, since she seemed quite drunk..“
,,And I wonder if she visited Yongbok-ah and Hyunjin-ah that often too..“
,,I’m not drunk, just tipsy kekeke..Naurr don‘t make me feel bad.. I didn‘t visit them for three months now because they were pretty busy with recordings and their schedule..“
,,It‘s okay, just meet them when they have time and you feel like it and in case you don‘t want to visit them, that’s okay too. I mean, you shouldn’t spend too much time on looking at other idols kekeke. Just come to us, we will always make time for you!“ Woo promises.
,,Aww thank you, but I really should pay them a visit some day. Don’t be afraid, Noona will never watch any idols as much as Ateez. Ateez will be forever the one and only group I will stan. So, I will take a look at your parents, ok?“
,,Okay, please be careful and make sure to have some hangover curing drink!“
,,Yes, sir!“