"Sorry Jin, but Lauren and I have to get to sleep. We'll see you in the morning." Ailee said. Lauren and Jin had kept talking and laughing with one another not noticing how late it was getting. Ailee had come back from helping Young-Ji and told Lauren that it was time for them to go to sleep since it was past midnight.
"Alright, I'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight, and get well soon Lauren." Jin said as he and the two tired cameramen made their way out of the hotel room.
"Thanks, Jin. Sleep well!" Lauren called out towards him as she waved him goodbye. He smiled and returned the wave as Ailee closed the door behind him.
Once Jin and the two cameramen were gone Ailee turned off the lights to their room, but there was still a small light coming from's Lauren's lamp on her nightstand. Lauren was already in bed as Ailee ran up to her and flung herself onto Lauren which made her shriek in shock as Ailee laid on top of her.
"Ailee, get off me," Lauren said in English as she tried to squirm underneath the brunette.
"I'm tired. Let's just go to sleep like this," Ailee said back to her in a muffled but childlike voice. Lauren only sighed in defeat as she stopped her movements. She looked down at Ailee but because of the dimness of the light coming from her lamp she only saw the top of Ailee's head that was laying on her lower chest.
"You're a pain, you know that right? You're supposed to be the older one here." Lauren said as she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I know, but I don't care," Ailee mumbled in response. Both of the girls laid there in silence for a while until Lauren looked back down at Ailee who's breathing had evened out.
I guess she really fell asleep, Lauren thought. Lauren just laid her head back down on her pillow as she looked up towards the ceiling. Memories started to invade her thoughts as she softly smiled.
"Ya know, Ailee," Lauren whispered to herself.
"You remind me of my mother," Lauren whispered as her eyes became glossed over. She closed her eyes and few tear's made their way down her face as she let the memories of her smiling mother put her to sleep.
"Alright, guys! I hope you all had a good day, and Lauren I hope you are feeling better." The PD announced. Lauren nodded her head as everyone looked at her.
"Yes, I'm doing much better. Thank you." Lauren said. The PD nodded his head and began explaining what was on their schedule for the day.
"I hope you all are excited since we have a full day of activities planned! Before I explain the different games I will explain the groupings. Since you all are here we will be splitting you all up into three groups with four people in each group. You each will pick a partner and the two of you will be paired up with another duo, so take a few minutes to pick your partner." The PD announced.
Everyone started looking around for someone to partner up with but Lauren automatically walked to Ailee's side without a second thought and grabbed onto her arm.
"Wanna be my partner?" Lauren asked her with a smile. Ailee nodded her head with a smile as they began talking to one another about what another duo might be with them.
"What if it's Jin?" Ailee said to Lauren teasingly. Lauren playfully slapped Ailee's arm as she shook her head.
"What are the odd's that we would be paired up with him and his partner?" Lauren said plainly.
"Jin and Jackson, join Lauren and Ailee's group." The PD announced once everyone was done picking their partners. Lauren widened her eyes as Ailee moved closer to Lauren.
"I guess the odds weren't in your favor..." Ailee snickered under her breath. Lauren could only sigh as Ailee recited that overused line.
Jin and Jackson looked over towards Lauren and Ailee as Lauren looked down shyly and Ailee laughing behind her hand a little maniacally.
Did something happen? Jackson and Jin thought as they saw the two girls actions.
"I guess we're a group! The young people!" Jackson smiled as he stopped in front of Ailee and Lauren.
"Didn't you say the same thing when you thought we were going to carpool together here?" Ailee said as she pressed her lips together in thought.
"Yup! But unlike last time, we're actually a group." Jackson laughed.
Ailee and Jackson began talking as Jin shuffled over towards Lauren who was still looking anywhere else but at him.
"Are you feeling better?" Jin asked Lauren. Lauren slowly looked up towards him with an awkward smile as she nodded her head.
"Yes, I'm feeling much better. I think I may just have eaten something that didn't agree with my stomach." Lauren said. Jin stood still for a moment but nodded his head with a smile.
"I'm glad. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to participate in any of the activities. I didn't want you to be stuck inside all day." Jin said with a caring voice as Lauren felt a twinge in her stomach. It was almost the same feeling from yesterday but it felt somewhat different to her. It didn't feel like she was going to throw up, but it felt more like she had small butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks had a tingling sensation.
"Y-Yeah." Lauren stuttered as she averted his eyes.
Lauren, get ahold of yourself! Lauren mentally scolded herself as she took a deep breath in and out as Jin raised his eyebrow at Lauren's odd behavior.
"Are you guys ready?" Ailee cut in. Lauren looked up at her as Jin did the same.
"They are about to announce the activities," Ailee said. Lauren and Jin both nodded their heads and listened closely to the PD's words.
"Alright, everyone! I hope you guys enjoy your teams because they will be the group you will be with for the whole day! There will be different activities for you all to participate in such as ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, and even sledding! Remember, we will be meeting back here in five hours to eat! There will be no challenges so please relax and have fun!" The PD announced as the roommates cheered and started heading off to the activities they wanted to do.
"So, what should we do first?" Lauren asked the group.
"Should we do skiing and snowboarding first?" Jackson said. Ailee and Jin nodded their head but Lauren only stood still as she awkwardly laughed.
"I, um, don't know how to ski or snowboard," Lauren said as she held onto her right arm as she looked down to the ground shyly.
"I can teach you to snowboard," Jin said as he looked over at Lauren as she looked up at him to meet his brown eyes.
"Really?" She asked him. Jin nodded his head as Lauren smiled.
"That's settled then? Snowboarding and Skiing first?" Ailee said as everyone nodded.
"Okay, so what's your foot size?" Jin asked Lauren who was sitting down on a wooden bench inside the resort. She was wearing a puffy snowsuit that felt a little tight on her. The top was a light gray and the pants were a darker gray, and Jin was wearing one as well but his top was a hunter green and his pants were the same color as Lauren's.
"Uh, I'm a size 9 in woman's," Lauren said as she tried to move her body in the snowsuit. Jin nodded his head as he went to find her a pair of boots for her snowboard.
Lauren was left alone as she looked around the wooden interior of the lodge. It reminded her of her grandfather's house that was a huge log cabin in the mountains.
As Lauren reminisced about the past Ailee came up behind Lauren in her own purple and white snowsuit and tapped Lauren on her shoulder. Lauren flinched at the sudden touch and whipped her head to the side with her eyes widened. Once Lauren saw that it was Ailee behind her she brought her hand up to her heart as she breathed heavily.
"Oh my god, Ailee. Are you trying to send me to an early grave?" Lauren said as she looked down trying to recollect herself.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Ailee said as she walked around the bench and sat down next to Lauren.
"I didn't know you were that easily scared," Ailee said as she put her head on Lauren's shoulder trying to comfort her.
"It's fine. I'm just normally a jumpy person." Lauren said as Ailee nodded her head.
"Well, I just came by to let you know that Jackson and I are going skiing so it will be just you and Jin snowboarding," Ailee said. Lauren widened her eyes and dropped her eyes to the ground.
"O-Oh, okay," Lauren said nervously. Ailee looked at Lauren's behavior and sighed.
"Lauren, you shouldn't do that," Ailee said in English as Lauren looked up at her with her eyebrow raised.
"What do you mean?" Lauren asked in English.
"I didn't want to say this in front of everyone else but you have to get a grip, Lauren. I know you may or may not like Jin but you can't act differently around him because he might think he did something wrong if you start acting weird around him." Ailee said.
"How am I supposed to act then? It just feels different, Ailee. I can't help it." Lauren said as Ailee sighed.
"I know you can't, but until you know how you really feel about him you should just try to act normal. Don't curl up into a ball and act all shy. That doesn't fit your image at all." Ailee smiled. Lauren sighed and then nodded her head.
"Okay, I'll try my best," Lauren said.
"Great. Jackson and I will meet you guys back here in an hour." Ailee said as she got up from the bench and looked over at Lauren.
"Alright, we'll see you guys then," Lauren said as Ailee nodded and walked out of the lodge.
Once Ailee was out of vision Lauren sighed and looked down to the ground.
Ailee's right. I need to get a grip on my feelings. I can't be acting this way around him. Lauren said to herself as she took in a few deep breaths.
"Lauren, I got your shoes," Jin said as he came up to Lauren. Lauren jumped at his presence and whipped her head over at him.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Jin said with worry on his face. Lauren smiled awkwardly and waved him off.
"It's alright. I was just lost in thought." Lauren said laughing awkwardly. Jin nodded his head and squatted down next to Lauren's legs and put the boots down on the floor.
"These are the boot's you wear when snowboarding. They have clips on them that hook into the snowboards." Jin explained to Lauren as she nodded her head in understanding.
"Here, let me see your leg. I'll put them on for you." Jin said as he sat down on the wooden floor and reached his arms forward to softly grab Lauren's leg.
Lauren slightly widened her eyes at his action but didn't refuse it. She watched him as he took her boot off and put the snowboard boot on each foot. Her eyes never left him as he concentrated on his task. Lauren couldn't help but think that what he was doing reminded her of that one scene from Cinderella were the Prince put's the glass slipper on Cinderella.
Lauren's cheeks began to heat up as she shyly looked down from that thought of hers, but she stopped and slightly shook her head.
Stop it, Lauren. You can't think like that. You don't like him like that. Lauren scolded herself.
"And, done," Jin said as he got up and extended his arm out towards Lauren for her to grab. Lauren was hesitant as she looked at his hand and back up at his face, but she slowly grabbed ahold of his hand and stood up.
"Thanks," Lauren replied quietly. Jin nodded his head and bent down to grab his snowboard and Laurens. He handed the snowboard to her as Lauren took it.
"So, we're going to go up the ski lift to the top of the hill. I'll teach you how to get on the snowboard and how to go down the hill. We can practice on the way down." Jin explained as Lauren nodded her head in understanding.
"Okay, let's go." Jin smiled as Lauren smiled back at him and they both made their way out of the building and to the ski lift.