c h a p t e r  23

For the third day, each group was tasked to scout for 20 pounds of fruits all over the area. The catch was, we had to draw lots that will decide what fruit. Supposedly, this will challenge our abilities to work with what we were given and that not all good options will be available. I deemed it to be fair. Up until Seungmin showed us the paper.

I was out for murder.

My jaw hung open as I hallucinated a target sign right in between Seungmin's eyebrows. He mirrored my expression as he collapsed down on the floor, clutching the paper that had a big fat 'peanut' in the middle. It mocked us with its bold font.

Bang Chan massaged the bridge of his nose. "How. How can you choose peanuts out of all the fruits in the lot?" He muttered, darkly. "How unlucky can you get?" He added, exasperated.

"King-kong, you already knocked over our tower-" I pointed out.

"..and have us get devoured by those three girls." Bang Chan muttered quietly.

"Now you want us to scrounge for damn peanuts?" I frowned. I was beginning to think that he hated the both of us.

Seungmin curled into a ball on the floor. "I'm sorry." He pouted.

Bang Chan and I exchanged glances, feeling a little guilty since Seungmin looked genuinely sorry. I sighed, about to put my hand out to hoist him up from the ground. We can't really blame him for his unlucky nature.

I decided against it when I heard the celebratory chants of the other groups. Durian. Pineapple. Coconuts. My extended hand, curled into a fist as my middle finger itched. I kept the temptation in with pressed lips.

"You suck." I said instead, leaving him on the floor to repent.

•••

I didn't think that it was possible to sweat so much in such a cold weather. After digging through dirt for an hour, I proved it to be true now that I'm carrying 20 pounds of peanuts. Panting, I willed myself to hike back to the common room while struggling to lift the basket of fruit.

The other groups that was fortunate enough to draw bigger and heavier fruits had long finished. I shoot a random student a sympathetic smile as I realized that their fruit were grapes. I eyed their basket that was halfway full and back to mine. It is beyond me on what the teachers will do with all these fruits. If the next task is making peanut butter, catch me on the next bus back to Seoul.

My thoughts were interrupted when a certain long haired boy skipped alongside me. "Peanuts?" He stated.

"Peanuts." I echoed, staring straight ahead.

"Watermelon." I could practically feel the smugness exuding off of him. I did not miss the smirk in his tone.

I glared at nothing in particular. "I hate Seungmin." I deadpanned, extremely jealous that they only had to look for one and they're done for the day.

Hyunjin shamelessly took a peanut from my basket, cracking it open. "As you should." He popped the seed inside his mouth. "Where are they, anyway? Isn't this supposed to be a group work?"

I let him munch on the peanuts, doubting that a few shells will dent the final weight.

"Said boy slipped and sprained his ankle. Bang Chan took him to the infirmary." I frowned, partly because I was feeling sorry for Seungmin and partly because I was sorry for myself for having to finish the job alone.

"Wow, that's dumb. Have Bang Chan injure a body part and you're a team of PWDs." He chuckled. "Power rangers is shaking."

My lips curled in annoyance. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"What's more better than annoying you?" He smiled, tossing a peanut in the air then catching it with his mouth. I suppressed the urge to ask him to do it again. "Have you changed your mind about being my date?" He raised a brow, as we neared the common room.

I could hear the dirt that found its way under my nails, celebrate.

"I have."

"And?"

"I realized that I haven't expressed how much I don't want to agree."

Hyunjin ruffled his hair messily. I hated how it just flowed back right into place, making it even more perfect. "What can I do to change your mind?"

"Crack open all of these." I mumbled, gesturing to the basket in my hand.

"Promise?"

I scoffed, sarcastically. "Sure. Peel off the skins while you're at it." I said it without much thought since I know for a fact that he would not go through the hassle just to change my mind.

•••

After confirming with the teachers that we had succeeded in doing our task, I took it upon myself to visit Seungmin to deliver the news. I had expected for Hyunjin to tag along since it was his friend that is injured but he had disappeared. I shrugged it off before going my way.

"Hey." I cracked open the infirmary door, seeing the saddest, plastered puppy ever. "You good?" I felt guilty for smiling. I couldn't help it since the poor boy sitting on the bed looked so dejected. He nodded with a pout.

"Don't worry. I finished the job." I started, laughing internally at how suspicious it sounded. "You can call me 'peanut master'." I said in a lame attempt to lift his spirits. I entered the room, seeing as it was empty and sat down on the available stool next to the patient's bed. "Where's Bang Chan?"

"He informed the teachers about what happened." He frowned even more. "I'm sorry. You had to do the task alone." He mumbled, fiddling with his fingers, obviously guilty.

"It's fine. Seeing you faceplant twice, was more than enough to keep me entertained." I teased, laughing.

"I'm going to let that slide since I can see how hard you worked based on the dirt underneath your nails." He pointed at my hands that were resting on the bed.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I've been trying to pick it out but my nails are too short."

Suddenly, he sat up from the bed and went through the drawers beside him, looking for something. My eyebrows raised in confusion but I kept silent. After a while of rummaging, he pulls out a needle. "Hand."

Seeing what he meant, I obliged, resting my calloused hands on his soft ones. "Prick me and your arms will be sprained too." I threatened. He didn't talk and just focused on cleaning my nails, expertly doing it. "Wow, you're good." I complimented, feeling no discomfort at all.

He chuckled. "I should be. My younger sister makes me clean her nails all the time."

That made my heart warm. There was something unexplainable about big brothers doing stuff for their little sisters. The closest I had to a brother is Minho and he was far from sweet.

The door slides open making the both of us turn our necks. "Hey, Miso." Bang Chan greeted cheerily as a chorus of new greetings followed. Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin entered the room where they settled themselves in Seungmin's bed. I couldn't stop the smile that made its way to my face as I see how close they were.

Bang Chan however, positioned himself beside me. "We really appreciate you finishing up." He exclaimed. "How can we repay you?"

I waved my hand dismissively. It was a trip, I didn't see any reason to fuss over it. "Forget it. It's done."

"But-"

"Where's Hyunjin?" Seungmin asked as Felix nestled himself next to him with a soft smile.

Jisung poked Seungmin's feet making the latter wince in pain. "He said he'll visit later, saying he had something to do."

"Do what?" Jeongin asked.

Jisung shrugged. "I don't know but he had a basket of peanuts with him."

There is only one thing that could explain the fluttering in my stomach. I'm pretty sure that amidst digging through dirt, I swallowed a butterfly.