❄ Cold Relations ❄ [SEVENTEEN] ✓

Chapter 13: Bare Feet (i.e. Joshua's Celebratory Dance)

Jeonghan shifted uncomfortably; he wasn't too keen on being alone, and he realized now that he shouldn't have sent Seungkwan away until he had replaced his presence with someone else's. He was almost considering calling out his friend's name when two familiar voices reached his hungry ears. He held onto them and crept forward until he could make out every word.

"What's going on over here?"

It was brighter on this side of the arcade. Two Skee-Ball machines emanated a faint saffron glow and highlighted the jubilant faces of Joshua and Wonwoo. Hong Jisoo was beaming like he knew something everyone else was oblivious to, and before anyone could react, he launched into a celebratory dance.

"Yeah!" Joshua crossed one ankle over his opposite heel, bent his knees, and turned one full revolution. It gave his friends the distinct impression that he was half amphibian, half spinning top, for, in their eyes, the dance was a mixture between the two.

"I repeat," Jeonghan said, "What are you two doing?"

Wonwoo gestured to Jisoo with his thumb. "Play a game of Skee-Ball with 'Shua. Then you'll see. This kid's amazing."

"It's Skee-Ball. No matter how bad your aim is, you can still get ten points for each ball you throw. How bad can he be?"

Wonwoo shrugged; he could clear up the confusion with one word, yet he decided to let Jeonghan figure it out for himself, just like he had.

"Give me your best shot."

Joshua cocked an eyebrow. "You sure about that? I could go easy on you... if you dropped to your knees and begged."

Jeonghan threw him a look that said "that's never going to happen." "Even if you give me everything you've got, it still won't be enough." The competitive spirit was strong in these two. 

"You won't be laughing when I'm done with you."

"Oh, yeah? I think you're in for a surprise."

"He's gonna knock your socks off," Wonwoo added randomly. They both turned to look at him, yet the statement was so vague that they couldn't decipher which member he was referring to.

"Huh?" Joshua suppressed a giggle. "I'm not wearing any socks."

Jeonghan's eyes drifted the ceiling. "It's an expression, you dope—"

Suddenly, two machines lit up side-by-side, and a catchy retro tune pumped through the air. Nine wooden balls clunked down the side ramp, and the pixels on the top screen popped with red and yellow lightning. Jeonghan picked up a skee-ball in each hand;they were the size of a tennis ball but weighed the same as a small medicineball. Thinking there was a certain rhythm to the game, he watched Joshua a few times, only to realize it was completely spontaneous. He took a few steps back, and with two long strides tossed the ball with the intention of scoring in the corner hole marked "100." Instead, it bounced off the rim and rolled back down the ramp, so that he received the lowest possible score of "10."

"How's it going over there?" Joshua tittered. "Ooh, ten points. I don't know how I'm going to beat that!"

"Shut up and play," Jeonghan tersely replied. He tossed the ball a little lighter this time but with the same amount of frustration. Unfortunately, the result was the same, and he was left with a mere twenty points, while Joshua was racking up a flawless score of five hundred. When the two of them had run out of balls to throw, the game came to an abrupt halt. Joshua had secured a miraculous score of "850"—an almost perfect game—or so he boasted. The best Jeonghan had been able to rack up was a measly score of "100." The extra ten points had come from the time he was aiming for the "100," but by some miracle the ball deflected into the hole marked "20." As Joshua accepted a high-five from Wonwoo and began his peculiar dance once again, Jeonghan stood off to the side, crossing his arms and scowling. Now he knew what it was like to be beaten by someone he deemed socially inferior, and he didn't like it one bit. The sooner Seungkwan arrived with that lemonade, the better. He wanted to forget this moment as soon as possible, and instead use his brain for something useful, like the other ways in which he could manipulate Seungkwan before the day was over—

"Here's your lemonade." Seungkwan had the urge to throw it at him but somehow managed to restrain himself.

Jeonghan tilted his chin up and spoke down to his young friend. "Where's my change?"

"Right here." Seungkwan fished the coins out of his pocket and trickled them into Jeonghan's waiting palm (though, he was only playing along, for it was his money to begin with).

"Thank you, my slave."

Wonwoo's sharp black eyes swept the room, half expecting to find Mingyu lurking in the shadows. "Where is he?"

"Mingyu?" Seungkwan was perplexed. "I don't think I've seen him. I went as far back as the concession stand, but he wasn't there. Neither was he in the bowling alley nor the arcade, so that leaves—"

"—one of the theaters," Jeonghan finished. Fzzzz—he twisted the cap off his soda pop bottle, wrapped his fingers around the neck, raised it to his lips, and gulped down half of it in a single swallow. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go find him."

The first two theaters were dark and empty. Neither one of them was surprised to find Mingyu in the luxury theater, where comfort was the number one priority. Customers paid outrageous prices to watch movies here, and their friend was experiencing it all for free. Mingyu was sitting in the front row in a chair comprised of soft red cushions that made him feel as if he were weightless, perched on a cloud.

A Kpop film was rolling onscreen, though the volume was low enough for him to hear his friends storm in. He munched another handful of popcorn, swallowed, and casually looked up with a sarcastic smile. "Why are you here?"

"You shouldn't have started the movie without us," Joshua complained. "We wanted to see it, too."

"No time," Mingyu said, rising from his seat and handing the large popcorn to Seungkwan. "You had your fun, right?" Hesitantly, the four of them nodded. "Without me, it wouldn't have happened. I think it's about time you returned the favor."

Jeonghan wrinkled his nose slightly, as if he smelled something fishy. "What exactly are you implying?"

"That it's time for us to move on," Mingyu said, and they all groaned. "In order to keep the others guessing, we're going to switch locations as often as is physically possible." The film still playing in the background, he took several long strides to the door. "You didn't think we were going to stay here indefinitely, did you?"

"No," Joshua admitted, "though it would have been nice."

~.~.~

"Someone find that boy's shoes," Mingyu pleaded.

Wonwoo said partly in jest, "Why don't you do it?"

Mingyu gradually turned around and regarded him with a stare that made his blood run cold. "Just do it."

Wonwoo studied the lines in the carpet. "I was only kidding," he said sheepishly. "I guess... I'll go find his shoes."

Satisfied, Mingyu disappeared behind the concession stand counter, tearing out a piece of clean white paper and scrawling a quick message in black marker across the page.

Joshua stumbled over to the counter and leaned against it for support. By some miracle, he had found one of his shoes, and was struggling to get it on without losing his balance. Once he had both his feet back on the ground, he watched Mingyu with curious eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving a clue that, if solved, will lead to our next location. Just in case someone wants to find us."

Joshua's mind went blank. "Why would anyone want to find us?"

Mingyu shrugged. "Who knows? I'm doing this for the aggravation it will cause more than anything else. I hate puzzles, but there are people on our team that hate them even more."

~.~.~

Author's note: I love to see your votes and hear your comments, so please keep them coming! They give me the motivation to start new chapters! Thanks for the support, everyone! >°))))彡

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