We left the hotel in a black SUV and drove around town to get doughnuts. I could only think of one place to get them: the store where Zoey, Christine and I met B.A.P.
"Wait, you're taking us to that store?" Daniel asked after I suggested we go there.
"I know there are many other doughnut places," I said as I sat in the front passenger seat, staring ahead, "but that's the only place I could think of."
"And besides, the doughnuts there are just delicious," said Zoey. I saw her through the rearview mirror lick her lips.
"I wish we were there when you met B.A.P," said Mike.
"Ya, you guys had your boys night out," said Christine. "Maybe these coming days, you'll get to meet them."
"I still don't get why you all want doughnuts," said Lee who sat with Zoey and Christine behind me.
"Because we want something sweet to lift our spirits," said Zoey, as she dramatically lifted her hands.
"You should have just ordered candy instead."
"You know all this is just an excuse to get out of the hotel," I said as I smiled to myself.
"I thought as much."
"We should hang around for a bit before going back," said Mike.
"You sound just like Zoey," said Christine.
"Well, I'm glad someone gets me on this one," said Zoey as I saw her smile back at Mike.
"Come on, guys," said Lee. "We can't stay out for too long. You've a song to work on."
"We know, Lee," said Daniel. "But it won't hurt just to have a little fun."
"That's why you're only going out to get doughnuts and that's it. Collins will be mad if he knows that you have been out doing nothing but having fun."
"Sadly, that's what we all plan on doing," said Zoey.
"Sam, please, tell your crew that we can't stay out for more than an hour," said Lee as she looked at me.
As much as I didn't want to admit it, Lee was right. We had work to do. And now that most of the BTW members weren't going to show up, we had to work on the song ourselves. I understand the other's will to have a fun free time, but that would have to wait.
"We have to listen to Lee, guys," I said. "We get the doughnuts and leave."
"You're so not fun," said Zoey.
"Tell that to our managers," I turned to give Zoey a smirk.
"Ooh, here we are," said Christine, looking out of the window.
We were here, alright. And the little blue and pink store with a white coloured roof, shone brightly like a house you can only find in candy land. There was a free parking space right in front of the store and the driver took it. The five of us Toxins and Lee soon stepped out of the car.
The six of us all headed for the door. Mike was there first, so he stood there to keep it open while the rest of us went inside.
There weren't many sitting booths inside and the place was almost empty except for a middle aged Korean couple who sat in the booth close to the counter. They didn't seem to notice us as they were engaged in some conversation only meant for the two of them. I noticed them smiling at each other as they had a plate of doughnuts in between them with cups of coffee. They looked so adorable that I also couldn't help but smile.
"Awww!" Zoey said admirably but again, almost too loud that I quickly had to hit her on the arm.
"Ouch," she looked at me angrily.
"Don't make it so obvious that you're looking at them," I whispered. "It almost feels like you're invading their privacy."
"Please, I don't think they would mind," said Zoey as she went to one of the booth on the other side of the room. I quickly joined her, rolling my eyes.
"I'll go make the order," Christine offered and went to the counter. Lee joined her.
Mike and Daniel came to sit with us in the booth. Daniel sat next to Zoey and Mike next to me.
"So when we get back to the hotel," said Zoey, "won't we be bored to death?"
"Depends," I said. "To be honest, I feel like I can't continue working on the song."
"Well, we just have to," said Daniel. "Disappointing as it is that the others couldn't make it - for we know what reasons - we still have to do our best."
"Let's just hope the doughnuts could be the inspiration Sam needs," said Mike as he smiled at me, mockingly.
"I just can't stop looking at that couple over there. They are so adorable," said Zoey with her elbow on the table and her fist under her chin as she stared at the couple with a smile.
I snapped my fingers in front of her. "If they see you, they will get scared and think you're a freak," I said.
"Well, isn't she?" Mike asked.
Zoey slowly turned her head towards Mike and she quickly went from all smiles to killer mode.
"I should have your head on a pike," she said, through clenched teeth.
Mike leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. "I would like to see you try. But you do know I would hunt you in your dreams, right?"
Zoey scoffed as she dropped her arm onto the table. "It seems I will never ever get rid of you, huh?"
Mike surprisingly gave her a bright smile, but we all knew it wasn't genuine. "I'm glad you know," he said.
Lee and Christine came back to the booth. Christine joined Mike and me.
"Where are the doughnuts?" I asked.
"Well, I know how someone likes chocolate dip doughnuts," said Lee, "so we will have to wait a little longer to have our assorted set complete."
Mike, Daniel and I turned to look at Zoey. She shrugged her shoulders as she knew that she was the one who liked chocolate dip the most.
"I don't think it will take long," said Lee as she sat joining Zoey and Daniel.
I had a clear view of the counter and I saw the same man we met last time in a white apron, packing the doughnuts in pink and blue paper boxes. There was movement in the kitchen behind the counter. Looks like we weren't going to wait long for those chocolate dip doughnuts after all.
The man at the counter looked towards our booth and waved at me with a smile. I smiled and waved back. He still recognised me.
"Hey, Lee," said Zoey, "don't you think that couple over there is just super adorable?"
Lee turned to look at the booth on the other side. "I believe so," she replied as she turned back to face Zoey. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh.., no reason," said Zoey. "I just think they are."
"Zoey's lovesick," said Mike.
"What the-can you just sssh!" Zoey said as she looked at Mike with a vengeance.
"Ya, she must miss Mino so much," Christine said, joining in on the tease.
"What are you talking about?!"
"Oh, please, Zoey," said Daniel as he gave her a look. "We all know you and Mino kind of have a....," he lifted his index and middle fingers of both his hands and flexed them to show him making quotation marks. "...thing going on."
"That's not true," she said as she looked out the window, obviously trying to hide her face.
"Maybe that's why she's been admiring that couple over there," I said, joining in on the fun. "You must miss Mino that much, huh?"
"Not you too, Sam," said Zoey as she looked at me and shook her head.
I shrugged my shoulders as I smiled at her. Mike started it and it wouldn't hurt to tease her a little.
"Maybe we should give him a call," said Lee as she pulled out her phone. "See if he misses her too."
"You can't be serious," said Zoey as she turned to look at Lee with her eyes bulging out of her sockets.
"Do it," Mike insisted.
"Yes, call him," Daniel joined.
"Instead of calling, we should be checking on those doughnuts," said Zoey.
Lee turned back to look at the counter. The owner of the store had probably gone to the kitchen. She turned back to look at Zoey with a mocking smile.
"He isn't there," she said and she went back to tapping on her phone. "We better make that call before he comes back."
"This is getting ridiculous," said Zoey. "I don't miss Mino. Why can't you just drop it?"
"We know how close you two are," said Daniel. "And now that he didn't come today, you must have seen the both of you in that couple over there."
"And here I thought you were more sensible than your brother," Zoey looked at Daniel with a dangerous glow in her eyes. I thought she would pounce on him like a wild cat.
"I am. I'm just saying the truth."
"Okay....," said Lee as her thumb made scrolling movements on her phone, muttering, "Mino, Mino, where is he? I've so many people here whose names start with M."
"Lee, put that phone down, please," Zoey begged. This time she really meant it.
"Ah! Here it is," Lee had so much glee in her eyes like some child who had just spotted candy under their pillow.
"Lee, come on." Zoey looked like she was about to lose her mind. "Why are you guys bothering me about this? If there's anyone you should be bothering, it's Christine. She likes Jinwoo."
"Wait, what?" Christine chuckled as she almost couldn't believe what Zoey was saying. "That's ridiculous."
"Oh, don't deny it. I see the way you look at him when he isn't looking."
"I wish I had popcorn. This just got interesting," said Daniel.
"Tell me about it," said Mike.
"Ah, his phone is ringing," said Lee with her phone to her ear.
Zoey turned back to Lee. "What!" This time, her voice was loud.
"Your order is ready," called the man at the counter.
"Saved by the doughnuts," said Lee as she stood up and put her phone away in her white leather coat. She went to get the doughnuts and Christine followed to help her out.
"This isn't over, you know?" Mike said as he smirked at Zoey.
"Oh, shut up," she snapped at him. "You guys weren't even interested with what I had to say about Christine and Jinwoo."
"That's because it's not true," said Christine as she stood near the table with two paperboxes in her hands.
"Oh, really?" Mike asked as he gave Christine a funny smile.
"Come on, Toxins," Lee announced as she was almost at the door. "Let's go before some of you end up making a scene."
"She's talking about you," said Mike as he gave Zoey a smirk and stood up from his seat.
"Why, I'm gonna-" Zoey stood up, ready to grab Mike, but Daniel stood too and held her shoulder to stop her.
"Look over there, Zoey," I heard him whisper to her, gesturing with his head to the couple on the other side. "You don't want them thinking you're psycho, do you?"
Just like Zoey, I also turned towards the couple and I noticed them staring a little at our table, but trying their best not to. Daniel was right. It wasn't good for Zoey to go psycho right now. She had plenty of time to do that when we got back to the hotel.
"Fine," she said as she looked at the table's surface, looking humiliated. But when she looked back at Mike, she gave him the "this-isn't-over" look. Mike happily replied with a smile.
"Come on, let's go," said Lee as she stood by the door, waiting with her free hand holding the door handle. "Sorry for this," she said to the man at the counter.
"Oh, it's no problem at all," he replied with a smile.
Lee smiled and walked out. Christine did so seconds later. I stood up and joined Mike, Daniel and Zoey. The other three went out of the door before I did because I soon got distracted by the beeping of my phone in my pocket.
I stopped walking and took my phone out. I had a message from Jennie, apologising for not making it and I replied to her message. The door to the store flew open and someone walked in. I had just pressed the send button when all of the sudden, my phone dropped to the floor.
"Darn it," I said as I bent down to pick it up. "I really have butter fingers sometimes."
While I was still bent over, the person who had just come in went round me, heading for the counter. I picked up the phone, straightened up and checked to see if there was any crack on the screen. Luckily, there was none.
I placed the phone back in my pocket and I looked behind me towards the couple, still at their table. The person who had walked past me was taking his order by the counter. I continued to look at his back. He had a black denim jacket on with black jeans and wore black and white canvas shoes. Looking at his stature and the shape of his head, I couldn't help but feel like I knew him.
At the moment, I was transfixed as the shop owner started packing doughnuts in a small paper box. The customer started to tap his fingers on the counter as he waited. He turned his head to the side, but it wasn't enough for me to fully see his face. If only he could turn his head a little more...
My phone beeped again. I had another message? Who could it be? I took my phone out and this time it was a message from Daesung. Well, this was a surprise.
I looked back at the man on the counter and figured I wouldn't get to see who it is. I turned to the door and walked out.
"What took you so long?" Lee asked when I finally got in the car. Zoey was already eating a doughnut and just finished up the last bit of it.
"I had to reply to a message," I answered. I put my seatbelt on. "We can start off now," I said to the driver.
Just when the driver started the car engine, the door to the doughnut shop flew open. My eyes at first were on the phone wanting to read Daesung's message, then I looked up at the door to the store. The person who walked out was Bang Yong-guk.
"Isn't that Bang Yong-guk?" I asked as he turned to walk down the street.
For a moment, everyone was silent as we watched him go. The driver didn't put the car in reverse as if he knew we might not want to leave at the moment.
"It is him," said Zoey.
"I want to go and say hi," said Daniel as he hurriedly tried to get out of the SUV.
"What the-?" Lee looked over at Daniel as he drew the car door open, jumped over Lee's seat and went out hurriedly.
"Daniel, get back here, we have to get back to the hotel!" Lee called out to him, but it was already too late.
"I'm going too," said Mike and he also made his way out.
"Me too," said Zoey, "excuse me, Lee."
Zoey went past Lee and Christine also followed suit. I looked at Lee and she had a surprised look on her face. She turned to look at me.
"Should I follow them?" I asked.
"I know you want to go too," said Lee. "Just say your hi and goodbyes and get back here."
"Sure," I said as I quickly unbuckled the seat belt, opened the door and followed the others.
"Hey, wait up," I called out to Christine and Zoey. They stood for a minute and I caught up with them.
"This is ridiculous," I said as we tried to catch up with Mike by walking as fast as we can. Daniel had gone further ahead and it looked like he was catching up to Yong-guk.
"Because we all just want to greet Yong-guk when we could have done that at a later time?" Christine asked.
"Ya, I mean, we do have a song to work on, so Lee really wants us to get this over with quickly."
"To be honest, I don't want to go back to the hotel," said Zoey as we passed a little boutique. She briefly glanced at the display window. "Yong-guk couldn't have come at a more better time than this to let us have time away from the hotel."
Mike was just a few feet in front of us when he looked behind him. "Ah, sis," he said as he looked back in front of him. "I see you joined us on our walking spree."
"You know why," I answered, "Lee wants us to go back."
"What? And you're our time keeper?" Mike chuckled. These are the times when I realise why Zoey always wants to hit him.
I looked ahead and I saw Daniel and Yong-guk nearing a corner. We had gone too far from the doughnut shop. Daniel would have stopped him judging by the way he was so close to him. Why didn't he?
The two were turning round the corner. At that point, I saw Daniel stretch out his hand to tap Yong-guk on the shoulder. I guess he had finally caught his attention. The four of us had to hurry.
"Looks like Daniel finally caught up to him," said Christine.
We soon turned round the corner and we saw Daniel and Yong-guk standing in front of a post office, looking at each other.
"Yong-guk, hi!" Zoey greeted him as she went to join them.
Daniel and Yong-guk both looked at her, surprised by her sudden appearance.
"How are you?" Zoey asked when she got close. "Sam noticed you at the doughnut shop so we all wanted to come and say hi."
"Uhhh....," Yong-guk looked at Zoey like he didn't know what to say.
"Ummm...., Zoey-" Daniel said to her. I noticed his expression. He looked disappointed-kind of embarrassed, to be exact.
"It's good you caught up with him, Daniel," said Zoey, not giving Daniel a chance to talk. "So what have you been up to, Yong-guk?"
Something told me I didn't want to take part in this conversation. Daniel's face sent mixed signals. Not only did I notice, Mike and Christine did as well. We kept our distance, waiting to see what we were actually missing here.
"Zoey, right?" Yong-guk asked as he nervously looked at Zoey.
"Huh?" Zoey looked perplexed.
The three of us that kept our distance were shocked. This is a surprise. He asked for her name as if he had never met her before or as if he wasn't sure. What's going on?
"Zoey, listen to me-" Daniel said, but Zoey cut him off.
"Have you forgotten me so easily, Yong-guk?" Zoey asked, not quiet believing what was happening.
"It's not that Zoey," said Yong-guk. "It's just that I'm not who you think I am."
"What!" Zoey looked like her head was about to explode. "What are you saying!"
"What does he mean?" Mike whispered to me.
I didn't answer right away as I continued to look at Yong-guk in front of me. I felt like I was missing something, but what? Zoey on the other hand continued saying random things that she disturbed my thoughts.
"Zoey, we aren't going to figure out anything if you keep reacting like this," I said.
"Oh, Sam, what do you want me to say?" Zoey asked as she looked at me. "I can't believe that Yong-guk has forgotten me so soon."
"Would you listen to me for once, you drama queen!" Daniel said out loud. He sounded irritated and whatever he wanted to say, he wanted to say it quick. We all know how restless Zoey could get sometimes that it's difficult to calm her down.
Zoey grew silent as she looked at Daniel with a scared look on her face. Daniel might be sweet and innocent, but when you push his buttons too far, he would explode in a way you wouldn't think possible.
"This isn't Bang Yong-guk," Daniel continued, this time, his tone was firm but gentle. "It's actually his twin brother, Bang Yong-nam."
"Huh?" Christine and I muttered as we looked at Yong-guk's twin. So that was what I was missing.
"Twin?" Zoey couldn't believe it either. "I'm really going to faint."
"Wow, you two look so much alike," said Mike.
Yong-nam smiled at us and said, "I get that comment a lot. Don't worry, you aren't the first."
"Phew! Thank goodness," said Zoey, looking relieved and scratching the back of her head. "I'm sorry if I took it too far there."
"She's one who doesn't take things little by little," said Daniel as he looked at Yong-nam. Zoey threw him a look.
"Oh, it's cool," said Yong-nam. "Like I said, I get into these incidents all the time."
"It's really nice meeting you," I said. "We thought you were your brother and we wanted to say hi."
"Oh, you were the one at the doughnut shop picking up your phone on the floor, weren't you?" he asked as he looked at me.
"Yes, I was. When I saw you at the counter, I felt like I knew you. Turns out I was half right."
He chuckled and I couldn't help but feel like I was actually looking at Bang Yong-guk when it's actually his twin brother. It's going to take time for me to get used to this.
"It's really nice meeting you all," he said, "though it's under weird circumstances."
"Ya, super weird," said Daniel as he gave Yong-nam a huge grin.
"Well, we better be going back," I said. "The pleasure is ours, Yong-nam. Tell your brother that we, Toxins said hi."
"Wait, he's right nearby," Yong-nam said quickly. "I went out to get doughnuts for him and his friends."
"He's around?" Zoey asked.
"Ya, you can come along with me. That's if you aren't so busy."
I felt all eyes fall on me, including Bang Yong-nam's. Goodness, I never really liked it when I was the one who had to call the shots.
"We'll have to ask Lee first," I said as I pulled out my phone. "She wants us to go back to the hotel because we have stuff to do."
"If you're busy, then I shouldn't bother you," said Yong-nam as he smiled at me. "I'll just pass on your greetings to him and B.A.P."
"The whole group is together?" Daniel asked. Yong-nam nodded.
"Bummer," said Mike. "I was really looking forward to meeting them since we didn't get to last time."
"Sam, call Lee," said Zoey.
"Yes, Sam, please do," said Christine.
"Alright, don't rush me," I said as I tapped away on my phone.
But just before I could even call, I saw the black SUV slowly come up right behind me, making a turn down the street and finally parking across. The other Toxins followed my eyes and they knew right away it was Lee.
"No need of calling her now," I said. I looked back at my phone, remembering that I had an unread message from Daesung.
I looked across the street and I saw Lee quickly cross the road. I went back to looking at my phone and read the message quickly.
"There you are, you troublemakers," said Lee when she reached us.
"Uh-oh," said Mike.
Uh-oh, indeed. When Lee calls us troublemakers, it was a sign that she was not happy.
"What's going on here?" Lee asked as she put her hands on her hips. "You were supposed to be back at the doughnut shop."
"Yes, we know," said Christine. "But there was a bit of a mix up."
"What mix up?"
Daniel told her what happened. Yong-nam greeted Lee like it was nothing. And just like us, Lee couldn't believe that Yong-nam was really Yong-guk's twin.
"Wow, it's not everyday that you get to run into someone's twin," said Lee.
"And a celebrity's for that matter," added Mike.
"Lee, we wanted to ask a favour," Zoey said as she turned to look at Lee.
Lee put up a face and was right to do so. She wasn't going to like what's next.
"What favour?" she asked as if she knew what it was.
"Well..," Zoey played around with her fingers, "Yong-nam here is bringing in doughnuts for his brother and the rest of B.A.P, so we were wondering if we could go over there and say hi."
The nerve on Lee's head looked like it was about to pop.
"You know you have work to do, right?" Lee asked. I could tell that she didn't want to raise her voice, especially not in front of Yong-nam.
"Of course, we do. We just want to say hi, that's all."
Lee would have let out a growl if she wanted to. But instead, she sighed and said, "fine."
Zoey jumped for joy, not hiding her excitement. The rest of us just smiled.
"But I'll be going with you," she added as she folded her arms.
"It's cool," said Mike. "We need someone to keep track of us anyway."
"Alright, then," said Yong-nam, he also couldn't hide the smile on his face. "The others would be really happy to see you."
"I think we better get those extra doughnuts in the car so that there's plenty for everyone," said Lee.
"That would be great."
"I'll help you," I said.
Lee and I crossed the road to where the car was packed while the others stayed where they were. I could already hear Zoey ask Yong-nam a dumb question:
"So, how does it feel to have a twin?"
"Geez, Zoey can drive you nuts," I said.
"Tell me about it," said Lee as we reached the car. "It's a miracle that I still have my head intact for so long."
As soon as we reached the car, I looked at my phone to reply to Daesung's message. Lee had already opened the car door to the passengers' side to remove the doughnut boxes as she told the driver about the latest developments.
"Hey, are you going to help me out here?" Lee called out to me.
"Oh, sorry," I said as I quickly put away my phone into my pocket to get one of the boxes Lee was holding in her hands.
"What were you looking at on your phone?" Lee asked as she closed the car door with her free hand.
"I had a message from Daesung. How free is our evening schedule?"
"Well...," Lee looked left and right down the road before we crossed. "If you all manage to make progress with the song, you might just be free. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no, reason," I said as we crossed the road. "Daesung asked if we can all go watch an outdoor movie with him and Seungri."
We were almost so close to the others when Lee looked at me strictly. "Not a word to anyone about this until we get back to the hotel, okay?" she ordered.
"Ummm, ok," I answered. I would have opposed, but it didn't seem appropriate at the moment.
"We're all here," Lee announced with a smile as though she didn't look strict earlier. "We can go now."
"Alright, follow me," said Yong-nam as he led the way down the street with Zoey walking right beside him.
"So where are they anyway?" Zoey asked.
"They are at the agency," Yong-nam answered.
"Oh, it's TS Entertainment, isn't it?" Lee asked.
Yong-nam nodded. "Yep."
"I can't believe we are going there," said Christine. "I am so excited."
We all were. We, Toxins, at least got what we wanted: more free time away from the hotel. But now, Lee had laid an ultimatum for us that the others weren't even aware of yet. I hope we get done with this fast, because if the others get to know tonight's program, they would probably want to go. And that's if we make a tremendous amount of progress on the song.