Jungkook was grumbling. Really, Tae?! I thought I was going to get to sleep until noon today! But Tae had bounced on his bed at eight o’clock before jumping on top of him and shaking him awake.
“Jump in the shower! Get dressed! We have a mission today!”
“What?” Jungkook rolled away from Tae as he brushed a hand through his longish, raven hair. His bangs had just kept falling into his eyes ever since he’d grown them out for ARMY. It was driving him bananas, but it was better than dyeing his hair. And Hyejin liked it too. He smiled as he thought of the midnight beauty whom he’d met in a park a few days before his birthday. He was missing spending time with her to be here. But he couldn’t miss Namjoon Hyung’s birthday. Jungkook loved Namjoon. However, right at this moment, he didn’t feel much love for Tae. He’d thought that if he was sacrificing time with Hyejin, at least he could catch up on his sleep!
“Yoongi let slip to me what Namjoon is up to today, so we’re going to go spy on him.”
“What?” Tae was absurd! Jungkook didn’t like the idea of the guys spying on him and Hyejin.
“He’s set up all these fun adventures for Breeze, and I want to capture it all on film. I brought my camera along. I know you packed yours too. I thought we could take pictures of all their special moments and make them a scrapbook.”
Argh. Leave it to Tae to come up with such a romantic idea that Jungkook couldn’t resist leaving his bed to do something nice for Namjoon.
“It’ll be our birthday present to him.”
Jungkook smiled. It reminded him of the Run BTS episode from earlier this year where he’d given Hobi a camera, and Hobi had given Jimin his very own CD. Yes. Tae was right. It was absolutely perfect!
“All right,” he grumbled. “But you’d better throw in some hotteok to sweeten the deal!”
—
“So, Joonie, what’s for breakfast?”
He gestured towards the picnic basket. “Open it and see.”
She lifted the lid and burst into laughter. “Joonie! Turtle chips?!”
He grinned at her, showing off his beautiful teeth. “Dig under them. What else is there?”
She pulled all the bags of cinnamon chips out of the basket. There were eight. “Are the boys joining us?”
“What?! No! They most certainly are not!” he spoke a little heatedly.
“Joonie, why are you upset?”
“Because I want you to myself. We hardly ever get anything to ourselves. We share it all. But I am not sharing you!”
She laughed. “Well, I hope not! I’m not willing to be shared!”
She peeked into the basket and pulled out a plate covered by a towel. It was warm. She lifted the folds to reveal freshly made hotteok.
“Oh, Joonie, I love hotteok! Here, have a piece while it’s still warm.” She held the plate out to him. “Did you make it?”
“Nope. That’s why I came home. My mom made it!” He took a hotteok, instantly taking a bite and moaning as the warm, brown sugar syrup slid over his tongue. It was no longer hot enough to burn him, so he ate the whole thing quickly. Then he reached for another.
Breeze ate hers more slowly. “This is so good. My friend’s mom taught us how to make them, but your mom’s is way better!”
He reached into the basket and pulled out two water bottles, then he handed her one before opening his and taking a long draught. They sat in companionable silence for several moments while they enjoyed his delicious birthday breakfast.
—
As Namjoon and Breeze chewed their hotteok, Jungkook’s stomach growled.
“Tae!” he whispered fiercely. “Where is my hotteok?! You promised me breakfast.”
“We didn’t have time to grab it before coming here. But you’ll get some. See? Namjoon just put some in their basket. You can have it.”
“What?!” He lowered his voice to a rough whisper. They were hiding several meters away behind some bushes. “How on earth am I supposed to steal some hotteok from that basket without them noticing?”
“Come on. We’ve pulled lots of pranks. We’re good at this. We’ll figure out a way. Otherwise, we’re missing breakfast.”
Tae maneuvered himself into a clear position and snapped another picture of Namjoon and Breeze as he leaned over to kiss her lips. Snap! Tae checked his camera. Yes! Perfect shot. He hoped this didn’t embarrass Breeze, but he couldn’t resist taking such a sweet photo.
Jungkook groaned. He never should have trusted Tae with his stomach!
“Look! Here’s our chance! They’ve left the blanket to go look at the lake. I’ll circle around in the trees and make some noise if I see them starting to turn back towards the blanket. You go get the hotteok!”
“What?! Why do I have to be the one exposed to danger? This was your idea.”
“You’re the brave one, remember? Do you need me to sing you Euphoria? Besides, you’re the one that wants hotteok.” Tae grinned his boxy smile at Jungkook. It melted girls around the world, but Jungkook was impervious to it.
“Oh, all right!” He groaned. “But cover me, or else I’m giving you up too.”
Tae smiled at him, knowing Jungkook would never do that. He’d fall on his own sword first, so that Tae could complete their mission. Tae inched around inside the forest as Jungkook crept stealthily towards the basket. He bent, opened it, and grabbed the remaining two hotteok, praying Namjoon and Breeze were full, then he stifled a laugh as he saw all the Turtle chips. They wouldn’t starve! Could he grab two bags without making any noise? He glanced up. They were far away now, walking along the water’s edge. He grabbed the chips and a bottle of water and fled back toward the bushes. He sat down and had eaten his hotteok before Tae joined him.
“Did you get me one?”
Jungkook was holding the second one up to his own lips. His mouth open to take a bite, he glanced at Tae. Then he sighed. He had picked it up for Tae, but then he’d been tempted to eat it because his own had been so tasty. He loved hotteok. He looked into Tae’s puppy dog eyes and thought of all those ARMYs sighing over them, and he handed it to Tae, shoving it into his mouth. Then he opened the bag of chips as quietly as he could. Which involved a lot of crinkling noises.
“Really? Turtle chips? What were you thinking? They’re gonna hear you crunching from a mile away!”
“I’m hungry!” Jungkook whispered desperately. Then he popped a chip in his mouth and let it sit there for a moment, hoping to moisten it enough with his tongue that he could chew it quietly. It didn’t work. He glanced toward the shoreline. They were still far away. He chewed and swallowed his treat.
Tae’s eyes traveled to Namjoon and Breeze, and he realized they couldn’t hear them. He shoved his hand into the bag and grabbed two snacks before cramming them into his mouth.
“Hey! I got you your own bag!”
“Why, Jungkook! That was so thoughtful of you.” Tae smiled sweetly at him, snagging the bag from where it was resting on the ground next to Jungkook’s crossed legs.
Jungkook focused on chewing. Then shoveling more chips into his mouth. Then more chewing. He’d eaten the entire bag before Namjoon and Breeze headed their way. The two boys waited until the couple had wandered down a path before following at quite a distance. They didn’t want to be seen.
—
Breeze looked up at Namjoon. “What are we doing next?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he answered mysteriously.
Focusing on the path they were taking, she asked, “Are we going back to that delightful swing?”
“Maybe,” Namjoon responded evasively.
“Come on, Joonie, tell me!”
He laughed. “Close your eyes, Breeze, and let me guide you.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I have a surprise for you.”
Her face broke into a wide grin as her eyes floated shut. “I love surprises,” she breathed.
Around the corner, Tae stood, bending over, as he snapped another cute picture. Namjoon Hyung was going to love this. As long as Tae and Jungkook stayed hidden.
