❦
"Obviously, someone has to ride with the staff," Chaeyoung started. Because they're in a hurry, they decided to take a taxi. "I should, shouldn't I?"
"No!"
"What if you get lost? You and the staff will be hopeless!"
"Seungkwan, you'll be with the staff."
"Why me?!"
"Yeah! Why him? He's the camera soldier!"
"She's right!"
"Okay, obviously Minghao can't volunteer since he's the camera soldier as well," Mingyu relented, humoring Chaeyoung and her childish antics. "And Chan also can't since he's the what?"
"Carrier soldier!"
"Yes, carrier soldier," Mingyu nodded, sighing. "So who's going to?"
"I should," Hansol volunteered. "Noona, do you want to get your bag? Or should I carry it with me? I obviously won't get lost, unlike you."
Chaeyoung smiled, "I'm going to ignore the last thing you said and pretend you're such a fine gentleman. Thank you." She affectionately pats his head, taking her bag as he pulls it out from his unnecessarily slightly big duffel bag.
When they managed to take three cabs, their arrangement was; Mingyu, Chaeyoung, and Minghao in the first cab; the second cab has Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Chan; the last one has Hansol with the rest of the staff. Two other cameramen were with the former two.
"Ah, I'm getting jittery." Mingyu exhaled, his shoulders slumping. "The hyung team got way ahead of us."
"Taxis are quicker though." Chaeyoung told him, "Don't worry. Even if we lose, at least we had fun. Besides, there are next games to win. We should just try harder, right?"
"She's right," Minghao agreed. "Take it easy. No one's going to get mad at you if we lose."
❦
"I know he's quite..." She started to make gibberish signs with her hands. "Pressured, I guess. He's the first appointed captain, so I know he wants to set an example for the next appointed leader. I know Jeonghan oppa feels the same way so I hope his members weren't giving him a hard time."
❦
Mingyu shot them a soft smile, getting shy. "All right, all right, if you say so."
"Good boy!" Chaeyoung beamed, ruffling his hair. Based on the shininess it exudes, Mingyu must have used hair wax. "Oops!" she sheepishly said when their captain sighed after seeing his messy hair from the rear-view mirror. "I should've known you styled your hair with absolute effort."
"Was that sarcasm?"
"Of course not!"
❦
"Is it me or that bus...?" Minghao pointed at the green vehicle. Chaeyoung, who's been dubbed as one of the people with the best eyesight out of all of them, squinted her eyes while she leans over. "It's them, right?"
"Yeah!" Chaeyoung laughed, clapping her hands. She swiveled to Mingyu. "See? I told you that taxis are way faster."
"I'm happy, even though they are our co-members, I'm really happy," Minghao added, letting out a laugh.
❦
"Oh, it's the same! It's the same!" Seungkwan exclaimed, seeing the lovers' bench that was in the picture the mission gave.
Mingyu snapped a picture of the view first, then Seokmin suggested taking a selca, with Minghao agreeing.
"Hana, dul, set!" Mingyu counted. Chaeyoung flashed a peace sign with a small smile, leaning against Chan, who let out a big bright smile.
Chaeyoung took out her phone, taking a picture of herself as she sits on the bench. Soon, the others participated. "I'm going to post this on Instagram," she said, nodding to herself.
Seungkwan looks out below, saying that a bus is coming. In that, they hurriedly went to the elevator. "It's a good thing we rode a taxi," Hansol said.
"We could've lost if we waited for a bus," Mingyu added.
Seungkwan lets out a grin, "Would be fun if we act like we don't know what we're doing," his suggestion earned approval from the boys, making the only girl sigh.
"Boys," she muttered to herself.
❦
"Oppa, is it this way?" Chaeyoung blinked at Soonyoung, silently marveling at how the older idol keeps silent. "Oppa! Come on, tell me! Please~"
"Noona, I think it's this way, hurry!" Seungkwan called, pulling her hand.
"Oh, okay!" she waved at Soonyoung as she started to run. The rest of the dongsaeng line hurried after them.
"Where is it?!"
"I think it's here!"
"Yah, come here!" Jeonghan called after them, sprinting.
"Woah, what?!"
"Hey, I don't think it's here!" Seungcheol yelled though he continued to run after them.
"Where is it? Where is it?" Seungkwan chortled, letting go of Chaeyoung's hand when Chan finally blew up their cover.
"Success!"
"It's a good thing I don't have a pitiful stamina so that I could keep up with all of you," Chaeyoung exhaled, glaring with exasperated fondness at the boys. She thanked a staff member when he handed her a water bottle.
"You took a photo already?"
"Yah, what is going on?"
Chan and Seungkwan started to explain, with smugness adorning their faces. Meanwhile, Chaeyoung chugged her water bottle until it's empty. She mostly kept quiet even when her team chose 'rice' for their reward. Rice and noodles are both good in her opinion, as long as it's food and it tastes good.
"Take care! And have fun!" she told the hyung team when the crew ushered them to a bus. Jun ruffled her hair with a small smile while the others responded each in their own ways. They quickly came into the vehicle and sat in their desired seats.
"What do you think, noona?" Hansol asked, turning to Chaeyoung's direction.
She looked up from her phone. "Huh?"
"You and your phone," Seungkwan grumbled. "We asked you if we made the right choice."
Chaeyoung laughed, tucking her phone into her bag after turning it off. "I have the inkling that whatever we choose, we'll still get the best treatment. I bet that we're going to an expensive restaurant, regardless if we choose noodles instead of rice. I mean, didn't we win?" she shrugged, tilting her head as she faces them.
"I was thinking the same thing," Mingyu nodded. "Though I still couldn't help but be nervous..."
The rest of the ride went in silence, save for a few explosions of Seungkwan and Chan's banter. Chaeyoung went back to her phone, with Hansol sitting next to her left. Chan is on her right, with Seungkwan next to him as they all are sitting in the back of the bus.
"Chae, we're here," Seokmin called for her attention when the bus stopped. The only girl nodded before turning her phone off. One of them guided her when she got off of the vehicle, jumping down on the ground with a small smile on her face as she shoots Mingyu a smug smile.
"I told you," she gestured to the Japanese-style house. Being in Japan several times before lets her know what exactly is inside the place. She smirked at Mingyu's confused look. "Let's go in!"
When they followed her, they let out oohs and ahhs as they take in the classic Japanese details inside. "This place looks classy," Seungkwan pointed out.
"Looks like we'll be eating well," Chaeyoung commented as soon as she saw the long table where they'll definitely eat. Minghao told her to sit in the center since there are seven seats. When they all settled on their places, the food started to trickle in.
"Oh, I like this," she pointed at the soup Minghao was trying to take a smell. "It's good, try it," she told him.
❦
"Guys, let's make a toast," Mingyu said, prompting Chaeyoung to look up from her plate. "Oh, we'll wait for you to swallow your food, noona. Don't worry." At that, she nodded and continued to chew. When she finished, Minghao wordlessly gave her a glass full of Cola.
"Everyone," Mingyu raised his cup, with the others following him. "One Fine Day, 13 girls, Vacation Tycoon!"
"Boys," Seungkwan corrected. "And 1 girl."
"Boys... What did I say?"
"13 girls and you would probably say 1 boy," Chaeyoung remarked, already taking a sip.
"Again, again," Minghao instructed.
"One Fine Day, 13 boys and 1 girl's Vacation Tycoon!" Mingyu repeated, followed by Seungkwan or Seokmin's cheer. "Maknae's chapter—no, maknae team, fighting!"
"Fighting!"
"Fighting," Chaeyoung clinked her glass with the others before fully gulping down the content. "Wah, that's so nice."
"For our enjoyable trip!"
"Yeah!"
❦
Wonwoo TV, SeventeenGO
"What... are they doing?" Chaeyoung frowned, stopping Mingyu, Minghao, and Seokmin who are helping her with building a snowman. The four 97 liners watched as the others seem to be making a ruckus around Jeonghan who, for some reason, is laying down on the snow.
"Probably something that has to do with the show," Minghao shrugged before telling Seokmin to help him with the snowball.
"LET'S GO CATCH ROSÉMON!"
"Huh?!" Chaeyoung exclaimed before dropping the twigs she's holding. She started to run, "Build the snowman without me!"
"We will~" Seokmin replied, picking up the twigs she dropped before someone else steps on it. "Good luck!"
"Seungcheol hyung would still catch her though?" Mingyu frowned, watching as Chaeyoung struggles to outrun the oldest member. She's physically fit, yes, but trying to escape from their leader...?
"Hush, don't let her hear you," Minghao dispassionately told him. "That's just going to make her do something risky."
"GOTCHA!"
"AHHHH!"
"Everyone, this is Wonwoo, and I caught 7 Sevenmons, with one of them being a special one! Thank you—"
"HEY, NO TICKLES!"
❦
"Ice cream? Even if it's cold?"
"That's when it's the best," Chan told Chaeyoung while they wait for the ice cream. Mingyu, being the cheapskate captain that he is, only ordered for one cup. They could hear Seungkwan asking for more scoops though. Chaeyoung almost called him shameless for that.
Seungkwan handed her a spoon, "Noona, it's good. Try some!"
She sighed, giving in as she takes a small scrap of the creamy dessert, "All right, all right..."
"Why does ice cream taste good even on a cold day?" Seokmin smiled, licking his spoon.
"Where should we go next?" Mingyu asked, just around the same time a bark resonated from somewhere.
"Oh, gosh, please, no," the only girl sighed, solemnly taking some ice cream again. Minghao laughed at her reaction.
"Oh, I can hear the dog barking again!"
"I love dogs but not that dog," Chaeyoung mumbled. One task while keeping up with two teams that consisted of very competitive boys already took a toll on her. "What's the mission?"
"Buy five of Akita's representative foods and gather at Senshu Park until 4:30 PM." Mingyu reads, looking down at the pad.
"That sounds easy," Seungkwan commented.
"No, it's not," Chaeyoung countered. It wouldn't be easy especially since they don't live around the area. They would have to find a market or a shop first.
The staff called for their attention, prompting all of them to turn and listen. The staff would be telling the 5 representative foods, which means they have to take note. Wordlessly, Chaeyoung pulled Mingyu to the front.
"Listen carefully," she told him.
"Iburi-gakko." A female voice rang out from the phone the staff was holding.
"Hatahata."
"Bataa mochi."
"Hinai jidori."
"Kiritanpo."
"Woah, wait! That's all?!" Chaeyoung stared in shock as the phone was pulled away. The boys then started to negotiate, as it turns out they all didn't manage to hear everything. She sighed, being in the same predicament. "Why do these games have to be so difficult..."
"There's a price?"
"What price?"
"Seungkwan can do busking!"
"Why would he do busking?"
"Or he should dance!"
"What! No~" Seungkwan whined.
"Kwannie, don't move, I'm trying to eat," Chaeyoung told him, holding his arm steady as she takes a huge heap of ice cream from the cup he's holding.
"How can you eat in this situation?!"
"Hansol's doing the same!"
"Well, what should I do?" Seungkwan asked, at the same time staying still as Chaeyoung eats the remaining dessert along with Hansol. She's so taken with the food she didn't hear the task given.
"Okay!" Chan clapped his hands, raising one after. "Then can I be the one?"
"One for what?" Chaeyoung looked up from the ice cream.
"Dancing," Seokmin informed.
"Oh?"
"You can do it, you can do it!"
"Go, Channie!"
"Please give a round of applause," said Seungkwan to the audience that surrounds them.
Chan then proceeded to dance the choreography of one of their recent songs, BOOMBOOM, right on the spot. "I don't know why but this gives me major secondhand embarrassment," Chaeyoung mumbled in English to Hansol who quickly understood her.
"This is a show, of course, we have to do this," he told her while clapping along. "Let's just be thankful we're only told to dance without music."
Chaeyoung sighed before reaching to Chan and ruffling his hair. "What's wrong, noona?"
"Hm? Nothing's wrong."
❦
Since Mingyu apparently recorded the voice and they could ask for assistance from the Japanese locals, mostly the girls that are apparently Carats, they managed to find a shop that sells Kiritanpo. Unfortunately...
"It's closed," Chaeyoung blandly remarked.
"Oh, no!" one of the guys cried. "What should we do, then?"
"Maybe we should find out what the five foods actually are," Mingyu said, tapping onto the iPad. "E-Eguriganto?"
Seokmin stifled a laugh as he repeated the word while Chaeyoung shakes her head. Someone from the crowd corrected them. "Iburi-gakko? Really?" Seungkwan beamed. "Where is it? Where?"
They then continued to walk, asking for direction while on the way. "Are we looking for a market?" Chaeyoung asked, taking hold of Seungkwan's sleeve as they walk.
"Yes—It's there, it's there! Let's go, noona,"
As they enter the market, they all went ahead and asked for the required foods. They managed to get iburi-gakko and are currently asking for butter mochi. They're all so busy with the vendor that they didn't notice someone sneakily approaching them.
Minghao lets out a startled noise as Seungcheol quickly runs away. The seven of them watched flabbergasted as the oldest member (and their leader at that) runs away, holding their recently acquired iburi-gakko. "Did he just..." Chaeyoung trailed off as she follows Seungcheol with her eyes. "Was that... did he just steal?!"
Their Chinese member then followed after him, with Chaeyoung quickly tagging along, "Hyung, give it back," he said.
"Oppa, I didn't know you would steal!"
"Here, I thought I lost mine..."
"Oppa, how could you lose something you didn't even have in the first place..."
"I swear!"
"You're lying, aren't you?"
Their bickering didn't last for long since Minghao has to pull Chaeyoung away. "Come on, we have to go back."
"Oppa, this isn't over!"
❦
"Be careful, Mingyu!" Chaeyoung called as their captain goes to find butter mochi.
"Noona, let's go," Hansol said as they started to walk. They started asking directions from the fangirls who willfully helped them. Few minutes pass and the deadline is hovering near. That's when they started to run.
"Can you keep up, Chae?" Seokmin asked, putting a hand on her upper back when she stopped for a moment.
"Of course," Chaeyoung answered, resuming to move. "What I'm worried about is Mingyu. Isn't the park a bit too far from the station?"
"He's our Captain, don't worry," Seungkwan said. "For now, we have to run. Are you already tired?"
"A bit," she panted. "But I can do it. Wah, two minutes... two minutes..."
"Oh?" Seungkwan turned when he heard yelling. "It's Mingyu hyung! Mingyu hyung! He got it!"
"Now let's run!"
"Gosh, wait!" Chaeyoung exclaimed, reaching for someone's sleeve. "Oh my gosh, why does this park have stairs... I think I'm taking it back, I can't run anymore..."
"Noona, come on," Minghao said, taking her hand and pulling her along. "Just a bit more."
They continued to run, with Minghao assisting Chaeyoung while Seokmin helps Mingyu. Just then, a voice resonated from somewhere, "Hey, kids! Come here!"
"Oh, please, no..." Chaeyoung sighed, hearing Seungcheol's voice.
"Oh? They arrived first?" Seokmin said.
The moment they neared the hyung team, Chaeyoung quickly asked for a water bottle then proceeded to crouch behind her teammates. In that way, she won't be easily seen by the camera as she tries to catch her breath.
"Are you okay, Chaeyoung?" Jihoon questioned when he saw her. Because of his question, everyone turned to look at her. "You look really out of breath."
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she dismissively waved a hand. "Don't mind me."
"You sure?" Seungcheol frowned.
"Yes, oppa, I'm sure," she said.
However, since the majority of the dongsaeng team seems to be tired, especially Mingyu who ran all the way from the Akita station, all of them were given a ten-minute respite.
When the ten minutes were up, they started checking the food. So far, both of the teams got the first four foods right, but then...
"Oh, they're done! They're done! They got one thing wrong." Chan said, pointing to the octopus that the hyung team brought. Instead of Kiritanpo, which is pounded rice, they brought tako, or octopus, instead.
"Wah, that octopus would look really good if cooked..."
"Noona, not now,"
"Then, what happens now? We got one wrong but we arrived on time." Jeonghan asked, putting back the food into the plastic bag he's holding.
They all waited for the staff's decision. Chaeyoung took a swig of her water, turning away for a bit from the camera. "The hyung team wins." The staff announced.
The winners then started to gloat when Seungkwan complained, but the only girl didn't really care much. It's just a game anyway.
❦
Maybe she should've cared more.
"The hyung team still gets to eat in the first round despite losing, where's the fairness in this game?" Chaeyoung said as she tasted the soy sauce. "Oh! Can we get rice? Let's just have soy sauce, it tastes good."
"Can we not really eat...?" Seungkwan tried to charm the staff.
As if it was a spell, they were given a... "A pendulum." Chaeyoung gawked at the item. On the pendulum were words like "ladle", "udon spoon", "normal spoon", "chopsticks" and "teaspoon". "We're going to depend on a pendulum."
"Chaeyoung, do you want to go first?" Seokmin asked, gesturing to the said pendulum.
"No, I'll go last," she shook her head. "In that way, disappointment would hurt less."
The majority barked a laugh over her statement, making her sheepishly smile.
"I'll go first then," Mingyu volunteered, pulling the pendulum towards him. He then started swinging the ball. They all watched in anticipation as the ball started to point onto the words.
"Normal spoon, chopsticks—spoon, chopsticks, spoon, chopsticks, spoon, chopsticks,"
"Seokmin, stop it," Chaeyoung said, feeling dizzy.
"Think carefully!"
"Mingyu, that's a pendulum. It's not supposed to think."
In the end, the pendulum pointed to "normal spoon", which is not that bad. Mingyu stacked sashimi for his choice of food, then Seungkwan came next with the pendulum pointing to "udon spoon". He chose eel and shrimp (with the head). Seokmin followed with the same result, which is "udon spoon" as well. ("Dokyeom hyung, don't get greedy," "It'd be so hilarious if he got teaspoon," "What's with you two maknae suddenly attacking him like that?")
He took kiritanpo while Wonwoo added something, probably smoked fish. Chan went next, with the pendulum pointing to "teaspoon". "That's what you get, you just jinxed yourself for saying it numerous times," Chaeyoung shakes her head, handing the youngest with the teaspoon. Hansol and Minghao got "udon spoon" too.
"Now the last but definitely not the least," Seungkwan said, turning to Chaeyoung's position. She's currently sitting between Junhui and Mingyu, which is right in the middle of the table. "Noona, swing it now,"
She sighed, obliging, "Please, at least let me get the udon spoon, the udon spoon, the udon spoon..."
"I think it's pointing to teaspoon though?"
"Stop saying that!"
"You'll be totally lucky if you get ladle though,"
"Just do the same strategy I did if you get teaspoon,"
The pendulum is still moving, which doesn't really help. "Yah, stop saying teaspoon—"
"Wow, you got teaspoon,"
"What?!" Chaeyoung exclaimed, looking down at the table. Lo and behold, just like what Mingyu said, the pendulum was indeed pointing to the said word. "I think this pendulum is rigged," she said.
"Nah, you're just upset you got teaspoon," Chan laughed.
"If maybe you'd just stop saying it," she whined pathetically, taking the teaspoon a staff handed her before standing up. "Excuse me, oppa," she mumbled as she scans the food adorning the table. Jun wordlessly scooted back a bit. "Choosing is hard."
"The sashimi is good," Mingyu suggested, "You should get it."
"I don't think the teaspoon is good support for a sashimi tower, Mingyu,"
"Just be careful," Jeonghan gently told her. She sighed, obliging. Might as well get the sashimi.
She stacked a few sashimi on top of her teaspoon, while Mingyu silently mixed some wasabi with her soy sauce. "You can dip it now." He told her, watching as she did so.
"Ah, how I can eat it though?" she said, suddenly feeling shy. Her eyes switched from her food to the camera pointing at her. As if there's some telepathy going on between them, Junhui quickly placed his hand right in front of Chaeyoung's face while Mingyu covered the camera that was placed on the table.
"Go on," Junhui said, still covering her as she bends down and eats her food. "Is it yummy?" He smiled when she nodded feverishly, even giving a thumbs up. "That's good."
Unfortunately, that was the end of their meal since they're only allowed to get one bite. Fortunately, however, Mingyu brought emergency food; which is ramyeon.
"This is why you're the best," she told him as he pours her ramen cup with hot water. They were also given chopsticks to eat with.
"Thank you," he grinned.
❦
After their dinner, they needed to choose a new captain for the new rounds of games.
Chaeyoung refrained from yawning, covering her mouth with her hand as she tries to hide it. It wasn't something she could stop though. Her team woke up rather early in order to catch the train. While she struggles to hide her sleepiness, Jeonghan and Mingyu started to talk about the struggles of being the first appointed captains, with the other members agreeing and sympathizing.
"Well, whoever ends up being the captain tomorrow—"
"Wait, but who do you want to be the captain, or does anyone want to try being one?" Seungcheol asked, cutting Mingyu off.
Chan quickly raised his hand, which some of them already expected. "I would like the next captain to be either Wonwoo or Jun," Jeonghan and Hoshi agreed on either of the two. Since Mingyu and Jeonghan are the current captains, they get to choose the next ones. They took the container with the pingpong balls inside and strapped it onto their bodies.
"What carrier do you guys want?" Mingyu asked as he goes to the front.
"Let's just let whoever gets chosen to choose it," Hansol suggested.
Chaeyoung then was tasked to be the initiator, so with a restrained yawn, she wobbly stood up, "Ready... Set... Go!"
The two started to shake their hips or jump, with Mingyu successfully getting one ball out. Minghao caught the ball, which read his name.
"What's with coincidences and you people?" Chaeyoung pointed out, making Seokmin laugh. Minghao snickered at her remark while taking the red carrier. "Wah! Take the blue one! Blue one!"
"No, let him choose, noona!"
"Oh, right! Sorry, I wasn't listening."
Wonwoo got chosen as the captain for their team, which Seungcheol complains about, "He's such a dictator though!"
Meanwhile, the dongsaeng team seems to be satisfied with their current leader. At that, they decided to check on what their carrier is carrying. Wonwoo found their hidden item, which is digestive medicine while Minghao found herbal medicine.
"Maybe we're getting a mukbang!" The hyungs cheered.
"That one time we had the interview... Ghosts..." Minghao trailed off, looking at his teammates.
"No!" Mingyu shook his head. "No way!"
"Can you stop mentioning that?!"
"What are you guys talking about?"
❦