Chapter Text
Felix is the first to arise from his slumber. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he gently sets aside the BbokAri plush that he had been cuddling in the night. He looks to his right and sees Hyunjin still deep in his dreams. For a moment, with a fond smile he wonders what the dark haired one might be dreaming of, but quickly his head is filled with thoughts related to the day about to start.
He quietly stands up and makes his way to the empty living area. He soon turns to the kitchen area and opens the fridge. To his surprise, he’s greeted with everything that one might need for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Slowly the dots start to connect. Chan and Minho had indeed gone out last evening so they probably went to the shop.
With a gleeful smile Felix opens a container of eggs and a pack of bread. Soon the cabin is filled with the delightful smell of bacon, toast, eggs and grilled cheese.
It doesn’t take long before the smell lures Han out of his and Minho’s room. Felix flashes him the sunniest smile one could.
“Morning! How’d ya sleep?”
“Probably worse than you, but still good.”
Mumbles a still rather sleepy Han. He walks to his best friend’s side and leans in close to his face. He squints his eyes as in suspecting something.
“What’s got you so excited? You seem in a good mood, even better than usual.”
Felix pushes his face away and laughs at his antics.
“And why should I tell you?”
“Because…umm…you love me. And you should never hide things from the ones you love.
The dark-haired one manages to come up with the answer.
“I suppose this might be enough of a reason to bless you with the information.”
Felix takes the breakfast off the heat and ushers Han to sit on the couch with him. He leans in close to tell the secret.
“Me and Jeongin found a cave entrance yesterday. We’re gonna check it out, you should come too. It’ll be so fun. I would’ve invited Hyunjin too, but he has his mind set on painting.”
“A cave you say? I’m absolutely coming too! Yes! Oh, but did you know that Lee Know is totally into that stuff? He could come too.”
Suggest Han.
“Plus, if you trip and fall and break your leg, he’d surely know what to do.”
Felix nods in compliance.
“Fine, fine, he can come, if he so wants.”
As if on command Lee Know walks out of the room and arrives at the living area.
“Morning”
He sits on the edge of the couch and looks at the two whispering to each other.
“Felix, did you make the breakfast?”
He finally asks.
“Yup, sure did!”
Answers Felix proudly.
“It smells really good.”
Is all Leeknow says before standing up and waddling over to the cabinets. He finds a plate and some cutlery and starts placing food on his plate. He gets bacon and eggs and a few vegetables. He sits down at the dining table and starts to eat. He doesn’t say a thing while eating, but his face says everything there is to say. The food tastes as delicious as it smells.
It doesn’t take long before Hyunjin also emerges from his room. He looks dishavelled and still a bit tired. Felix waves to him brightly, and invites him to the couch with himself and Han.
Hyunjin takes a seat next to the blonde one and leans his head back.
“You don’t seem to have slept too well.”
States Felix.
“Yeah, it could've been better. I’m fine tho, pretty excited actually. You know how much I love nature. And now we have a whole month to enjoy it here.”
Hyunjin answers while mindlessly braiding Felix’s hair.
“Do you have any plans for today? If not I wouldn’t mind you being my muse.”
“I’m going exploring with Hannie, Innie and Minho. Once we’re back, I’ll frolic through the fields for you.”
“That’s so corny, but I must admit, the thought looks lovely.”
Their conversation is interrupted by Han shoving plates of food in front of their faces.
“C’mon eat up so we can get going. I talked to Minho and he’s already packing his bag. I’m going to fetch Innie too. I swear, if he’s not awake by now I’m going to throw a pillow at him."
He’s talking a mile a minute before dashing out of the cabin and leaving the residents in a state of both confusion and amusement.
After a while the group of four gathers outside. They walk through the village. The locals are starting to go about their everyday tasks: some gardening, some hanging laundry. A few people wish them a good morning, others don’t even notice their passing. Soon the village turns into the familiar forest road, where the footsteps from the previous day can still be visible in the dirt. The quiet conversation turns into a game of guessing which footprint belongs to who. They almost walk past where they’re supposed to turn into the forest, but I.N stops the others before they do.
“I think this was the place, no?”
“I’d guess so. Your footprints are in the moss here.”
Says LeeKnow, who had crouched down at an indent in the moss.
Jeongin enthusiastically leads the way into the forest until he finally spots the familiar opening he had seen on the previous day.
“Hey, here it is! I found the entrance!”
He calls out
The entrance is rather small, but it seems to get bigger as the tunnel goes on. It is humid inside the tunnel, even compared to the fresh morning air. There are some puddles on the floor and somewhere far away is a quiet sound of water flowing and splashing against rocks.
Han, I.N and Felix put on their phone flashlights. LeeKnow is the only one with a proper flashlight, so he goes in first.
“This is…wonderful.”
He mumbles.
LeeKnow is honestly looking like a kid in a candy store. His head whips around everywhere although all the walls are made of the same old dark-grey rock.
“You look adorable, Hyung.”
Teases I.N while walking deeper and deeper into the cave.
Minho doesn’t even bother to send him a look, because he does feel like a kid in a candy store. He still feels a bit embarrassed at being called out, but decides to let I.N off the hook this time.
The farther they walk, the dimmer the light from the entrance turns, until finally disappearing from sight. They are officially in the cave and feel the weight of both excitement and hesitance fall on them. The bunch exchange looks for a moment before silently deciding to continue along the tunnel.