Chapter 128

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Author's Note:  Regarding this chapter.  For some reason I constantly think that Sicily is a separate country from Italy.  When I originally wrote this chapter part of it sort of reflected that mistake.  I tried to fix it, but the shadows of that thought are still there, so please understand that I did my best to fix it.

I didn't use as many photos this time.  It takes me so long sometimes to find photos that fit the situation that I am kind of getting burnt out trying.  Sorry about that.

One last thing.  This particular chapter goes in depth regarding food.  So probably a good idea to not come in and read it hungry.


I wake up to the silky soft touch of lips pressing sweet soft kisses to my neck. I turn my neck into the loving attention and find myself completely unsurprised by the chuckle I receive in response to my actions. "Morning, Sweetheart."

"Morning, Bunny." I pivot to my side a bit so I can execute a full body stretch without unintentionally injuring Jk. I roll a bit further away to grab my phone from the side table and check the time and the weather.

I frown as once again it is supposed to be chillier than I expected it might be today. In fact today is the chilliest out of all the days thus far at only 73°F (22.8°C). It's only 8am, and the ship is still moving because once again we won't be arriving in Amalfi until 11am. "We could have slept for a bit longer."

"True. But, I wanted to take a shower with you."

I turn and frown at him for a moment before raising both my eyebrows in regards to the ludicrous suggestion. "Have you seen the size of the shower? I mean sure it's bigger than any other shower on the ship, but I don't know if it's big enough to house the both of us or not."

"I don't mind squeezing into tight places." I bite my lip as I look at his darkening eyes. I let my vision trail down his body lingering over his toned physique so I can give his body the appreciation it fully deserves. The blankets are pooled at his waist, but I can make out how excited he is due to how they tent above his pelvis.

I wet my lips and shake my head at him. "You are incorrigible."

Despite my argument we still try to fit in the shower together. I help take care of his problem, but in doing so I manage to turn myself on. So, of course he reciprocates in kind.

I can't help but pout when we get to breakfast. It was my own decision to try to immerse ourselves in the culture as much as possible for the places we would visit, and I had made a point to definitely include the food served specifically in that request. I can't help but miss the idea of eating gelato for breakfast this morning though. I even pause before taking a bite of the delicious smelling frittata. "I still say we make an executive decision to once a week have ice cream for breakfast." Which of course prompts all of my soulmates into fits of laughter. Jin and Jimin's laughter competing for the award of the loudest.

The production crew let us know what the plans for the day are when they leave a photo at the center of the table. On it is an image of a pontoon boat. I only know it's a pontoon because outside of this small cruise ship and the speedboats that we have been on already this trip it's the only type of boat I have been on before ever leaving the United States.



"Because Amalfi is on the smaller side, we decided to let you have today to cruise around the area on this boat." I glance at the director speaking. His eyes are shining with mischief which makes me think that there is definitely more in store than simply that. I glance at each of my soulmates, but the only one that seems to have caught on to the director's elusiveness is Namjoon. The others are too enamored with their breakfast and the idea of getting out on the water in a smaller boat.

"You think we can fish while on the boat?" Yoongi asks, and Jin becomes immediately excited at the prospect.

The director nods. "We did arrange to have fishing poles on the boat. The driver will make sure to stop in a less populated area for you to try your hand at fishing."

A few hours later we are standing on a small pier, once again dressed in wetsuits, and being coached by four instructors on how to water ski. (Well, only one is really teaching us, the other three are walking around us and correcting our stances if we are doing something wrong.) Apparently the real plan is to indeed ride the pontoon, but once we get a good distance out away from mass amounts of people we are going to be water skiing for a bit. Two speedboats are travelling alongside us, along with two waverunners. The waverunners will be each taking one of us out to the speedboats so we can attempt our hands at the sport.

I'm not surprised to find Jk exceptionally excited by the prospect. I am however surprised to find Jin excited also. It's only when he confides with me about his love of certain sports. "I'm a pretty decent snowboarder. I also have done wakeboarding pretty well also. I realize it isn't the same thing, and I will probably have some difficulty with it in comparison. But, I am excited at the prospect of learning and trying it."

"Yeah, we all have been wakeboarding." Jk sighs dejectedly. "And I have to admit that Jin-hyung definitely did the best out of all of us."



I can tell that Jin wants to tease the Golden Maknae about it, but he instead just smiles proudly at the praise. I'm sure those watching the show once it's finished being edited would have appreciated the love hate moment that would have ensued.



A half an hour later we are out on the teal colored waters planning on who will make the first attempt at trying to water ski. Honestly, I find myself pretty unsurprised that Jin and Jk are the two to volunteer. They struggle for the first few minutes, but both of them manage to get up and stay upright for about two minutes.

Jimin and Tae volunteer to go next. They both struggle about the same as Jin and Jk had at first, but when they do finally get a grasp on the sport they last only about a minute and half upright.

Hobi and I are the third people to go. I volunteered because I didn't want to go last, and Hobi volunteered because he wanted to get it out of the way. We both flounder quite a bit at first. I just can't get my mind to follow the actions I was taught. But after four attempts and additional tips from the instructor on the boat I finally manage to stand upright. In fact, I end up surpassing the 95s in time by a few seconds.

Hobi didn't favor quite as well as I did, but he did get up on his skis faster than I did. His time was a bit shy of the 95s time.

Yoongi and Namjoon go last. Yoongi because he just doesn't want to get in the water. Namjoon because he simply let everyone else go first, and I don't think he is much looking forward to the sport himself. They both take about fifteen minutes before they ever get upright. When they do it lasts for just under a minute. But, they both decide the moment they succeed that they are done.

After the water skiing we take the pontoon back to the pier. Our plan is to take a break and get some lunch before we actually properly tour the surrounding area on the pontoon. Because it's lunchtime and we are in Italy we all decide pizza is most definitely the way to go.

We ask the instructors a place for pizza they would recommend and they agree on a place that is a little bit further inland than the restaurants that are more so featured just off the beach. If I had to judge by the name I wouldn't know what to expect. I think I might be worried that the pizzeria would be subpar at best, and gross at the worse. The minute we step inside and the aromatic mixture of tomato sauce, oregano, and basil hit my nose I am convinced that the name definitely no longer matters.

We find a table in the corner and the minute we open up our menus we find ourselves all at a loss. "There are 45 pizzas listed on the menu!" I exclaim after I finally count up the listing. "That's not to mention the fact that they also have two calzones, four pastas, and three salads listed also."

"I think the best thing to do here would be to each order our own pizza." Namjoon suggests.

After looking at the menu for a while, I work out that some of the pizzas are repeating flavors. The difference is the thickness of the crust used. After not having an option in Brazil and having to eat a thinner style crust we all decide to go for a thicker crust while we are here. Of course I end up having to be different and order outside the box. I order a giardiniera pizza, and while the original pizza on the menu is Vegan I let the waiter know that I am not Vegan so make all the necessary substitutions for the real cheeses and what not. I also ask to add grilled chicken and grilled aubergine (small Italian eggplant) to my pizza. The toppings that pre-existed are artichoke, mushrooms, red onion, black olives, tomatoes, and of course mozzarella cheese.

I'm a bit surprised that Jimin orders a fiorentina pizza. I mean I do get the egg since he does have a slight obsession with the chicken byproduct, but it has spinach on it. Have I finally got him to accept the green leafy vegetable? I'm not even upset when he asks for 'light spinach' rather than the full helping.

Namjoon orders a barbacoa pizza. "I considered that one myself." I tell him. "So, don't be surprised if I steal a slice." When I ordered Chipotle the few times I went I would always get the burrito bowl with barbacoa as my protein. The pizza in question of course obviously includes the barbacoa beef along with chipotle salsa, tomato, mozzarella, red onion, tomato, and coriander.

Yoongi orders something called a 'Sloppy Giuseppe.' It's one of many listed pizzas that sounds like there might be something spicy about it. The ingredients are hot spiced beef (whatever that means), green pepper, red onions, tomato, and mozzarella cheese. I'm torn whether I want to try that one or not.

Hobi orders one called 'pollo ad astra.' I know immediately that the pollo means chicken, since the word is the same in Spanish (surprisingly I remember that particular word from my classes in high school), but I am not sure what the rest means. It has chicken, sweet red peppers, red onion, tomato, mozzarella, and Cajun spices. I'm definitely considering trying his pizza just because sweet peppers are one my favorite peppers. I do like any bell pepper aside from green though also.

The pizza Jk orders I am not about to touch. First of all with a name like, 'Diavolo', which I can automatically infer is the Italian word for devil screams fire engine heat to me. The ingredients are described as hot spiced beef, pepperoni, tomato, green pepper, Roquito peppers or jalapeños, Tabasco sauce, and mozzarella. I'm kind of thankful that I have a small pouch that carries multiple emergency medicines in it, including antacids should he need them after eating that pizza.

Tae orders something called 'La Reine.' Unsurprisingly his strikes me as the polar opposite of Jk's. The ingredients being ham, black olives, mushrooms, tomato, and mozzarella cheese.

Jin orders a pizza called the 'Padana.' Like Tae's, his ingredients are pretty mild in flavors. For a brief moment I am surprised that he orders it though since it is one of the vegetarian pizzas. But, like me he adds meat to his, only he chooses one of the most popular pizza meats, pepperoni. The rest of his ingredients are goat's cheese, mozzarella cheese, caramelized onion, spinach, red onion, and tomato.

While we wait on our lunch I decide to try to stump my soulmates with history about pizza. Okay, honestly I am mostly trying to stump my two most intelligent soulmates, Yoongi and Namjoon. I pull up an article on my phone and ask them a series of questions. "Did pizza actually originate in Italy?"

All of my soulmates offer differing affirmative responses. But, Yoongi and Namjoon both collaborate to expand their answer. "I would say the answer is correct. But the idea probably came from multiple flatbreads with various toppings that were consumed in a few different places in ancient history."

Yoongi nods. "Of course Romans, but also Greeks and even ancient Egyptians as well."

"Yes, all of that is correct." I nod before continuing. "Oh, but where in Italy would be considered the modern birthplace of pizza?"

"I want to say Tuscany." Yoongi replies.

Namjoon shakes his head. "No, I believe it was Naples."

I nod. "Naples is the correct answer." I peruse the article a bit longer before I settle on my final question. "Why is a pizza with the toppings of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and green basil called a Margherita pizza?"

I innerwardly cheer and pat myself on the back when I see blank faces staring back at me. I take a moment to calm my excitement before reciting the reason. "Because in 1889 Naples was visited by two Italian monarchs and the pizza that the queen preferred was then called pizza mozzarella. It's name was changed to Margherita because that was her name."

The good thing about ordering a single pizza for each of us is that even what we don't eat ends up going to the production staff and security members. I offer the rest of my pizza up to Hye Rin first, since she is supposed to be my security guard specifically. Unfortunately she wrinkles her nose in distaste and mutters something about not liking artichokes. Instead Korain and Sang Hee have no problems eating my leftovers. In fact they both seem eager to try the unique ingredients. Sang Hee has been growing on me since he helped me out that one time Jimin was sick. In fact I feel that I might have to say something to Han Bin or even Manager Sejin about how good of a job that he is doing, not only as a security guard but also how friendly he is too.

After we are done with our lunch I notice Namjoon and Jin both look up at different parts of the sky. After they lower their heads Jk and Hobi repeat the action. Just before we get to the pier I notice the 95s do the same, and at this point I really want to call them out on it and ask them what in the hell is going on. Due to the camera rolling though. I can't.



The breeze blowing off the water while we are on the pontoon is pleasant, but my mind is exceptionally unsettled. I try to relax while watching all of them fix, but honestly I am so wound up there is no way I am going to be able to do so. After being out at sea for three hours we make our way back to shore. None of my soulmates caught any fish, and of course they are feeling a bit disheartened because of that fact. That isn't going to stop me from asking them to come to my room before we clean up for supper though. Because honestly this needs to be cleared up before I grow too uncomfortable with the fact they are hiding something from me.

Once I get them there I turn to them all. "Why don't you all have a seat. I'm not sure how long this will take, but you might as well make yourselves comfortable."

"Petal? What's wrong?" Hobi asks. I honestly can't help but feel bad that I have to do this. That I have to confront them when he looks up at me with those sweet but confusion filled eyes.



"Why don't you guys tell me? What are you all hiding? Why do you keep looking up at the sky as if expecting some gigantic bird to come down and hinder our fun?"

Every last one of them does their own version of looking down

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