Behind the board, Seungcheol was sitting in the floor of the van, stunned. It wasn't often he got shoved around like that by Jihoon. Something must've been bothering him.
"Did you hear the little humph she made?" Vernon was saying.
"Oh, shut up. She nearly got us killed," Jeonghan snapped.
"Gotta say, I'm with Jeonghan on this one," Seungcheol said before thinking about it. After he opened his mouth, he froze for a fraction of a millisecond before climbing into his seat. An awkward silence filled the back of the van. Jun coughed quietly, and Jisoo let out a little awkardly content sigh. Seungcheol and Jeonghan hadn't spoken all week, not agreeing, not talking to each other, not talking to each other. Only five words.
The silence was then broken by Soonyoung, who pushed a button and the back of the van was transformed into a party house. Seungkwan started screeching along to what Soonyoung hand chosen, Girls Generation's I Got A Boy. Seungcheol was relieved the awkward silence was gone, but the sense of relief ended when the van screeched to a stop and he was thrown forward out of his seat.
Then the lights died out, and they wre left in pitch darkness with Seungkwan holding onto a microphone for dear life. A little light came back into the van as the board fell and Jihoon crawled back.
"We're here."
They all looked at their shortest member in the darkness as he pulled back the van door. Knowing Seventeen was relying on him, Seungcheol tentatively stood up and crawled out.
Looking around, Seungcheol's breath was taken away. They were at a small park, barely a hill with a picnic table, that Seungcheol had never seen before. Even though it was small, it was beautiful. Seoul was still visible, but they were far enough away to see a glittering array of stars. A thin sliver of a moon hung in the sky, Washing the hill in silvery light. Seungcheol had never seen anything so magical. It was like he was in some fantasy world.
Seungcheol was dully aware of the fact that the rest of Seventeen had climbed out of the van. He just wanted to look at the stars in silence, maybe with one other person, someone he felt connected to. He could almost imagine it, laying under the stars, Jeonghan beside him, his auburn hair washed in silver.
Seungcheol mentally punched himself for thinking that. It had been a week and he still found himself thinking about the singer. Snap out of it! He told himself. Whatever Jihoonie has planned, you can't be thinking about him.
"Where are we?" He asked Jihoon, who had joined him.
"I don't know the name, but its a park north of Seoul. I come here if I'm stressed."
Seungcheol shot him a smile. "So this is where you disappear to all the time."
"Yep." Jihoon turned to face the rest of their family. "Follow me."
Someone coughed. "What about Ming?" Seungcheol could sense the eye roll that followed Vernon's question.
"Don't worry, Lover Boy. She's staying by the Kaleidoscope, "Jihoon answered.
"The what?" Seokmin asked.
"I think he means the Karaoke Machine On Wheels," Jeoghan murmured they all hummed in understanding. Seungcheol could tell Jihoon was giving them all weird looks.
There was a silence before Jihoon said, "Your ability to name things amazes me," and turning to walk up the hill. Knowing he really didn't have a choice, Seungcheol followed.
Jeonghan stuck close to Jisoo as they headed up the hill to whatever Jihoon had planned. The park was beautiful, though. The stars the hill, the moon, and the distance from the city all made it seem almost unearthly. It was the perfect place to just lay down in the grass and just be. Be Happy, be clam, be there. Jeonhan could almost see it, laying down in the grass, looking up at the stars, Seungcheol beside him.
