Serving 5: Chapter 8 - "There's Bears in the Woods" p.2
The trip went smoother than they thought. Of course they had no idea that by ‘park’ Manager didn’t mean a playground and a bunch of trees, he meant a playground of trails, a lot trees, and a lake.
“What the heck?” Jiyong blinked at the map that was stationed beside the parking lot, as the others tumbled out of the van and stretched. “This is a freaking national park!”
Seungri gazed at the forest trail before them and felt a pang of intimidation. “No! Too much green!” He had been expecting a city park after all. “I need civilization. Get me out of here!”
He started to run back to the van like a maniac, hoping to escape the nature.
Driver started the engine and proceeded to drive away.
“No!” Seungri screamed, as the van drove off. “Take me with you!”
Seunghyun rushed behind Seungri, who was on his knees in denial, and watched as the van got smaller and farther away. “How the heck are we supposed to get home now?” He fell to his knees beside Seungri and sobbed.
“Sheesh, you guys are such pansies,” Youngbae said as he passed them dragging the picnic basket. “I bet Manager-hyung planned all this. I’m pretty sure Driver-hyung will come back to pick us up later. He wouldn’t abandon us.”
“Ok, I have a plan!” Jiyong said in English, pointing his finger up like a light bulb. “As you can see here on the map there’s a picnic area here, and beach here and it’s the closet to the city. We are here,” he pointed to a picture of trees. “which is the farthest from civilization, which explains the forest and the fact that we’re the only ones here. So my plan is that we walk to the beach the long way. That way we can enjoy the park before having to worry about people and getting back home.”
The other members applauded his idea. Although, Seunghyun and Youngbae were doing it in sarcasm the maknaes greatly appreciated it.
“Bravo!” Daesung whooped.
“Bravissimo!” Seungri echoed.
Jiyong waved the praise off politely. “Kay, guys, that’s enough.”
Seungri stopped clapping and placed his finger on his lip in doubt. “Hyung, aren’t there bears in the woods?”
Jiyong traced a rough sketch of the map in a small notebook that Youngbae brought along for organization purposes. “Don’t worry, Maknae. The only bares you’ll be seeing is Seunghyun if he needs to use the bathroom.”
It took Seunghyun three seconds to respond. 1 second to hear it, another to understand the statement, and one more to attempt to grab the leader. He missed as Jiyong moved forward and saluted to the trail before them that led to the forest. “Now, onwards!”
They trekked into the woods. Jiyong was satisfied for being the head of the group and was enjoying himself. That was the problem, though. The only thing he was enjoying was himself.
Daesung loved nature. His crescent eyes were wide open, observing and staring at the trees, flowers, grass, and landscape with his mouth open. When was the last time he had been in something like this?
Youngbae wasn’t in a bad mood nor was he in a good mood either. He would have appreciated it more if one of them volunteered to help lug the supplies along. These bags were starting to kill his gym grown biceps.
The two Seunghyun’s trudged behind the others, pouting. Later, however when Seungri cooled off and realized that he had been walking with his favorite hyung he brightened up immediately and grabbed Seunghyun’s arm.
Seunghyun tried to shake the maknae off. He remembered that he forgot his ipod and cell phone in the van and that left him stripped off completely of his electronics. Now he was helpless.
“Ok, now stop.” Jiyong said all of a sudden holding his hand out and halting the rest.
“Why are we stopping?” Seunghyun grumbled as Youngbae fell on the grass in exhaustion.
“I need to take a leak,” Jiyong said, scouting a good-sized tree a few feet away.
“Just for that?!”
“No looking!” Jiyong called, his back turned to them.
Seungri had just started enjoying the trip and was slightly disappointed to be stopping already. He walked towards the leader. “But, Hyung-”
Jiyong turned away further when he saw the maknae. “For freaking’s sake! I told you not to look.”
“He’s like a girl,” Youngbae said as he heard them, resting his head on a bag of extra clothes. He tipped his hat over his face to block the sun. “I wonder what Nohrae’s doing.” His voice was muffled as he spoke from under his cap. “I hope he’s doing alright. I should have left him with Sarah, but I didn’t want to bother her.”
Youngbae sighed as he turned over in the soft grass and stretched out like a cat. His thoughts wondered to his fish, trying to remember if he said goodbye to them before he left.
“Hyung, when are we going to eat?” Daesung asked, as Jiyong zipped his jeans and wiped his hands with a leaf.
“When we get to the picnic area.”
“My gosh, Hyung!” Seungri said, appalled. “That’s like on the other side of the park and my stomach’s hurting.”
“You’re probably just constipating again,” Jiyong said, picking up the trail once again. “Fine. We’ll look for a spot soon. But not here. These trees smell suspicious.”
They trudged on with a few more stops. Seungri found some berries and wanted to eat them and Jiyong told him to go ahead. But if he dropped dead on the spot he wasn’t going to help carry him. Daesung reprimanded the maknae gently not to eat random food in the forest, and confiscated it right away. Seunghyun found a beetle and Jiyong went in to hysterics and wouldn’t stop screaming once he put it down. Youngbae complained that he was starting to hear noises.
“Yeah, right,” Jiyong said, as he kept walking.
“No, really! At first I thought it was one of us then I found out that it was coming from forest.”
“It’s an animal then,” Daesung said not fully convinced that it was something out of the ordinary.
Youngbae was sure he had heard something. “I heard leaves and some twigs snapping. Something large was doing it, and we have already confirmed that there are no bears here.”
“If you’re just trying to scare us then it’s not working,” Seunghyun looked around the forest just in case there really wasn’t anything.
“I’m not lying,” Youngbae said. “I could hear it clearly. You guys are probably deaf or something. Seriously, I’m starting to get worried about your health. Stop listening to loud music.”
“Mhm,” Everybody replied, ending the conversation and waving it off.
The trees started getting more domesticated and the over growth lessened. But it was still had the nature-ish feel that still seemed like the woods. Although, they were seeing random benches by the trail.
“Why do they set them a mile away from each other?” Jiyong looked back to check if he could still see the last bench they had passed. “Don’t you guys find it weird?”
“Yeah,” Seunghyun trailed his voice making it sound serious. “Wouldn’t it be creepy if you were walking here and night and then you saw somebody sitting on the bench, but when you blinked they weren’t there?”
A shiver ran through Seungri’s back and his heart starting beating fast. It was scary if he thought about it that way.
“And then,” Seunghyun continued despite the eeriness he was causing. “when you pass by in front of the bench your feet suddenly freeze and for some reason you can’t move. And you turn to look at the bench beside you and the same person you saw earlier is sitting on it. He’s staring at you,” Seunghyun looked at Daesung, who was the nearest, and gave him a sinister look. “Right into your heart.”
Jiyong slapped the back of Seunghyun’s head. “Yah! Stop that! Just because you’re not enjoying this trip doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for everyone.”
Seunghyun pushed Jiyong away, who was about to give him another slap. “I am enjoying it,” he continued. “Anyway, then you start running away because your feet can move again and you can hear the same sounds Youngbae was hearing behind you. You look into the forest and see the person far away pale and glowing. And every time you blink it suddenly comes closer.”
Seungri grabbed Daesung and hid his face in the older boy’s shirt, pointing to Seunghyun. “Hyung, make him stop!”
Daesung placed an arm around Seungri and rolled his eyes at Seunghyun. “Hyung…”
“Let me finish first. Then it comes so close that you could feel it breathing on you.” Youngbae gulped, as he felt his hands grow clammy around the handle of the bags he was carrying. “And you get so scared that you shut your eyes real tight. But when you open them again the person is so close to you that your foreheads are touching and you can feel his eyes wrenching your soul.”
“Yah!” Jiyong gave him another well-deserved strike. “Now everyone’s uneasy because of you. Learn to shut up for once!”
Youngbae stopped in his tracks. “I heard something.”
“Now what?!”
Youngbae shushed the leader. “Seriously, listen.”
He quieted down and listened to the stillness. Slowly, voices floated up the trail to their ears. A panic ran through the whole group. Seunghyun had already pulled enough nerves to make anything set them off. They tumbled off the trail and plunged into the nearest bush in a rush.
“What the heck, Seungri? Your butt is in my face!” Jiyong rasped as he pushed the maknae off and tried to shift into a more comfortable position in their cramped hiding spot.
A twig with excellent aim poked Daesung’s eye causing him to squeal and fall back on Youngbae.
“Shush, guys!” Seunghyun smacked Jiyong, who was still complaining about all of them having to choose the same hiding space. “They’ll hear us.”
The voices were very clear now. Seungri peeked out of the bush and at the bench that was a few feet away. He gasped and popped his head back in.
“Ohmahgosh, guys! It’s Sarang-noona!”
That was unexpected. “Seriously?” Daesung asked, head bent sideways.
“You little liar.” Jiyong gave the maknae a disapproving wave with his finger and poked his head out to prove it.
“Why the heck is she with another guy?” Jiyong said all of a sudden, despite the fact that he had proved the maknae right.
Sarah, who was sitting on the bench with her résumé on her lap, looked around suspiciously. “Did you hear anything?”
A man, who was dressed in a business suit with his jacket removed from the heat of the midday sun turned his head to inspect their surroundings before taking a seat beside Sarah. “I didn’t hear anything.”
The other four crouched up from the bush in curiosity to see what Jiyong was so upset about. The bushed looked like it grew five heads.
“She is with another guy,” Seungri gasped, as if he was reading a rumor in one of Youngbae’s magazines.
Sarah smiled politely at her (hopefully) soon to be boss. “I hope you won’t mind my asking, but why did we have to come so far?”
The man adjusted his extremely rounded rim glasses uneasily. “It’s too noisy in the public areas.”
Sarah nodded in understanding and took a pen from her pocket. She passed him her résumé and asked him to show her which qualities were required the most; all in English, of course.
“What are they talking about?” Seunghyun whispered, as he poked Jiyong. “You know the most English. Translate.”
“Yah, I’m not that good.” He moved away from Seunghyun. “I can’t believe she has the nerve to date behind our backs. No wonder she’s always busy!”
Seungri agreed. “Yeah, Sarang-noona should have told us.”
Youngbae tsked and gave them both disappointing looks. “Guys, we really shouldn’t be mingling with this and besides she’s just our housekeeper. It’s not like we’re her boyfriends or her parents or something like that.”
Youngbae had a point there. A very good point.
Seungri sighed. “Still she’s our friend.”
“I think I’m hearing things.” Sarah stopped halfway from explaining her schedule. “I just heard my clients’ voices.”
The man with owl glasses told her it was nothing to worry about and to continue. He wasn’t listening to a single thing she was saying. All that trash didn’t mean anything to him. He wanted something else.
He yawned politely (if that was possible) and raised his hand casually and laid it on the bench behind Sarah’s shoulder. She paused when she felt the contact, but dismissed it for a friendly gesture and continued.
“Ohmahgosh! Did you see that?” Seungri squealed. “He used the old yawning trick!”
Daesung growled quietly. What was this guy up to? A spark fired in him. He remembered promising her that he would be her sole protector and shoulder in time of help. Although, she laughed good-naturedly over it and said he reminded her of her brother, he was very serious. A parent-like rush flooded him as he lowered his eyebrows and watched from the bush.
“I’m most free during Sundays, Saturdays and Friday evenings.” Sarah said, showing him her calendar.
He took it and skimmed through it absently, she had said something that caught his attention. “Friday evenings,” He raised an eyebrow. “As in Friday nights?”
Sarah looked at him and stuttered. “No, I meant evenings.”
“Oh.” He rolled his fingers which had found themselves on Sarah’s shoulder. He turned a page on the calendar and pretended to be interested in it. “So, do you prefer Friday nights or Saturday nights?”
“Excuse me?” Sarah was taken back. Was this really necessary information for an accountant?
“What are they talking about?” Seungri said for the fourth time as he looked up at his hyung’s for any means of translation.
“Shut up, Seungri,” Jiyong hissed, wishing he had a pair of binoculars and a some bubble wrap to keep the maknae from having their hiding spot discovered.
“You know,” the Owl said all of a sudden in a low, smooth voice. “Out of all the people, you qualify the most.” He sat closer, invading Sarah’s personal space.
Daesung nearly stood up to object. Gosh, that was so near the last straw.
“You only have to answer one more question.” He leaned in enveloping his hand around hers, looking at her obscenely and whispered into her ear. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
So that’s what he wanted! Sarah shook his hand off hers. “I’m sorry, sir. But that is completely inappropriate for a job intervi-AH!”
He grabbed her wrists and pined her down to the bench, moving above her swiftly. A greasy smile pasted his face as he looked down at her victoriously. Sarah struggled trying to kick him off, as she squeezed her eyes shut to block the Owl’s face from her sight.
SMACK!
The Owl yelled, toppling off the bench and sprawled on the ground. Jiyong, who had rushed to action faster than Daesung shook his wrist, which was smarting since he had hit the man too hard. He blew on his swelling hand and grimaced at the helpless form below him.
“You freaking date rapist!” Jiyong shrieked, kicking him before he had a chance to get back on his feet. “What kind of person wears a suit to a park date? Do you know how lame that it?”
The Owl scrambled to get up and tried to escape. He got a few feet away, but was tackled by Daesung and Youngbae who wouldn’t let him leave without a few more threats.
“Noona! Noona! Are you okay?” Seungri rushed beside Sarah checking her for bruises.
Sarah blinked in shock, as she managed to say something. “What….are you guys doing here?”
Seungri saw no harm done and hugged her in relief. “Oh, Noona! I was so worried.”
He rocked back and forth, making Sarah dizzy.
“The more important question is what are you doing here?” Jiyong growled, when he realized that he would have to wear gloves to hide the swelling. “You ruined our outing.”
Jiyong’s blatantness started to show once again towards Sarah, and when she was about to thank him too.
“I was here for a job interview,” she said as blandly as him. “The manger lived near here so he suggested that we meet. I never knew he was such a fake.”
“You’re so gullible,” Jiyong scoffed, not believing a word she said. “You should have known he was by one glance.”
Daesung and Youngbae returned, saving both Sarah and Jiyong from another heated argument. Youngbae looked from Seungri, who was still in his embrace to Jiyong.
“Where’s Seunghyun-hyung?”
“What the heck!” Everyone glanced behind to see Seunghyun, who had attempted to jump out off the bush with Daesung and Youngbae and failed miserably. “I’m stuck!” He tried his best to shake out. Something was tugging on his leg and pulling him down.
“Hyung, untangle yourself first!” Youngbae called, trying to give some advice. “It won’t help if you pull.”
Seunghyun bent down to wriggle his shoe off. He gaped a bit when he saw what had kept him from moving and removed it.
“Look what I have!” Seunghyun said. He pulled his hand out of the bush and presented a snake that he held riskily with his right hand. It was harmless, of course, or Seunghyun would have tossed it away immediately, but anything that slithered and had no feet was fatal to Jiyong.
“Choi Seunghyun, you keep that away from me!”’
He advanced forward wiggling it teasingly.
Jiyong screamed when he started running towards him. “SEUNGHYUN!!!” He hollered curses at him as he raced down the trail with a chuckling Seunghyun hot on his trails waving the snake in the air. “I freaking hate you, Seunghyun!”
The other four watched them run out of their sight. Daesung suggested that they start moving, so they could find a decent place to eat. Seungri stood up with Sarah and start to ask her questions that he had been saving for her ever since Saturday evening. Youngbae sighed as he lifted the bags of supplies and commenced his task as the pack mule. Daesung was upset that Jiyong had gotten ahead of him. After all he was the one that promised to protect her. Sarah wondered what on earth she had done to deserve this, as she ambled along with them.
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After Story Author Side Notes:
- Sorry, if I haven't answered to some of your comments on various journals/fics. I'm late for swimming lessons! I'll reply after I get home, hopefully
-O_O Livejournal...seriously. Over here at the posting they show the font 3x bigger than the one at the actual post X( Font is one of my biggest enimies in this world we call LiveJournal >___>
- I had to add Sarah to their trip guys XD Don't hate me. I didn't want Seungri to be lonely.
- *off-topic-ness* A'ST1's new album is out!!!! The Evany wants you to listen to it NOAWGH!!