Chapter Text
Moments like these are magic.
Precious for their rare nature, all the more treasured when they arrive. Even the most adrenaline-junkie of contemporary idols will not deny loving an off moment, a lull before life goes back to its hectic self, a few days of calm.
A break, to make it simple.
Such is the circumstance NCT127 find themselves into.
After too many days of close to no sleep, hurried meals, hysterically checked rehearsal and a few mental breakdowns, the training is over, the choreographies have been learned and the songs recorded. The MV of the first song of their new album has been released twelve hours ago, and, to quote the wise words of Mark Lee, they ‘deserve a fucking fuckity fucked break, hashtag break, my life sucks sometimes, man’.
No one has really understood the reason for the last part of the comment, choosing rather to focus on the first portion – the one all of them could agree on.
They truly, really deserve a fucking break.
Taeyong lets himself flop down on the couch, squeezing his way in the empty spot left between Doyoung and the couch arm. It’s more a freefall than a coordinated, controlled movement, but, whatever.
Taeyong bounces slightly, the movement of the cushion jostling Doyoung as well, albeit less. The younger whines, eyes still closed and arm slumped to cover his eyes. Taeyong absent-mindedly reaches out, to pet Doyoung’s hair.
The fact that Doyoung allows, even softly hums in contentment is a further proof of just how tired the boys are.
“We should eat” Jungwoo opines, his usually soft voice turned raspy like every time after he’s been singing for too long.
“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had” Mark muses quietly, smiling with his eyes closed and a beatific expression on his face.
“I’m too tired to cook” Doyoung mutters, hiding his face in the crook of Taeyong’s neck.
Taeyong extends his arm open, letting the younger snuggle closer into his side, and offering more space for Doyoung’s head to rest in the nook of his shoulder. It’s always sweet and endearing, watching the two of them cuddle like this, like cats, like kids. Especially if you consider that Doyoung is taller than the boy he cuddles into, and not by a little.
Taeyong strokes the back of Doyoung’s head, playing with the fine, black hair just as absent-mindedly as before. He looks exhausted, and he pulls his lips close and hums quietly.
“Me too. Let’s just order. I can pay”
“Ooooh” Johnny coos after that, beaming in a way that lights up his face but does not hide the tired strain in the corner of his eyes.
Taeil and Haechan giggle at the same time, in a way it looks eerily rehearsed and it’s eerie because it’s not. They are currently squeezed together in the loveseat, not so much as cuddling but rather holding onto one another in order not to tumble down from it, their heads slotted one under the other and eyes drifting shut.
“If it gets me food faster, I can pay” Taeil announces, mumbling with his face hidden in Haechan’s hair.
Taeyong snorts: “Let it not be said I object against you paying for me. Johnny, can you write down our orders?”
Johnny swiftly pulls his phone out from his pants pocket and types at it.
“Right back at ya, Taeyongie. What do we want?”
Taeil snorts: “I like how fast you’ve changed your mind, Taeyong-ah” he comments, sending a sarcastic, little smile Taeyong’s way.
Their leader grins Cheshire-cat like, and lifts two fingers in a peace sign.
Jaehyun groans from where he’s collapsed on the couch end opposite to the one Taeyong and Doyoung are occupying, raises an arm over his head and swings it a couple of times. The movement wakes Mark, jostling him from where he’s fallen asleep with his head all but in Jaehyun’s lap.
“I want samgyeopsal. A lot of samgyeopsal”
“Uh, and Bulgogi too, we should get bulgogi too” Yuta adds, with heavily lidden eyes and a soft voice that isn’t too far from being a moan.
“Man, I didn’t know you had such strong feelings for grilled beef” Mark candidly comments. The members laugh, a tired sound that spread in the room pleasantly all the same.
“Let’s get bossam. Bossam and samgyeopsal”
“And bulgogi”
“Yes Yuta, we will get your bulgogi, we got it” Johnny reassures him with a teasing smile, fingers typing fast in his phone as he places the order.
“Mmm” Doyoung moans, stirring to the side. He unfolds his long legs from under his butt and stretches them out on the floor, the movement sending him with his back entirely pressed against Taeyong’s front, but the older doesn’t protest, letting him readjust into a comfortable position.
“Don’t forget a lot of bibimbap. Never forget bibimbap” he mutters, resting the back of his head in the crook of Taeyong’s neck.
He sighs softly, and it’s all the more endearing because he hasn’t opened his eyes once yet.
“Poor Doyoungie, are you that tired?” Taeil asks, teasing.
“Yes” Doyoung replies, smiling honestly and unabashed.
Taeyong giggles at that, caresses Doyoung’s hair back from where it’s fallen on the younger’s forehead.
“Johnny, get us kimchi, too. I know we always end up needing it”
“Already written, boss”
“Good. And hoeddeok, too”
Haechan makes a protesting sound: “Hyung, you’re literally the only ones who likes them!”
“Yah, Haechan-ah, they are good and we deserve dessert too” he argues.
Jaheyun snorts and raises his hands over his head again, making a sort of shaking gesture with his shoulders.
“You know what I deserve!” he sing-songs.
“Hyunnie, go back to sleep” Doyoung orders, extending a leg and using it to push at Jaehyun. His foot collides with Mark’s belly before he can reach Jaehyun though, and Mark is too tired to move out of his way.
“Ooof” is the sound Mark makes, as the foot ends up slowly but inexorably pressed into his chest. He grabs at Doyoung’s ankle and holds it still. Realizing his ankle is now trapped, Doyoung opens his eyes, peeking from under his lashes, and smiles apologetically at Mark when he realizes he’s punished the wrong person.
“Still, let’s get something sweet as well. Hoeddeok are fine, but we should get something more” Jungwoo argues, from where he’s slouched into the other smaller couch with Yuta.
“Aren’t you a smart one, Jungwoo” Yuta murmurs, turning on his side and sliding his legs in Jungwoo’s lap. Jungwoo snorts but doesn’t move them away, caressing instead the fabric of Yuta’s pants.
“Hyung, you’ll be asleep before the food arrives”
“Mmm. Wake me up for it”
Jaehyun giggles: “Or else?” he asks.
That gets a reaction out of Yuta – the Japanese boy frowns, lifts himself on an elbow and glares at Jaehyun.
“My beloved younger brother, you do not want to find out” he threatens, then smiles one of his beautifully dazzling smiles, and lets himself collapse again into the couch.
“Don’t try to steal Yuta’s food, Jaehyun. He barks, but he bites too” Johnny advises, lifting an eyebrow and looking at Jaehyun with a pointed expression, as if to say, you have been warned.
“Okay, so, anything else?” he asks the room.
“Get us a cake or something” Haechan mumbles, his face squashed against the cushion of the loveseat.
Johnny nods and types at his phone.
“Okay, done. I’m sending the order. Anything else?”
Taeil silently pats his leg and extracts his wallet, throwing it to Johnny. Johnny slips the credit card out and punches the numbers in the app for the food, effectively placing their order.
“Oookay, it says here we’ll get our food in a bit less than thirty minutes”
Taeyong claps his hands, startling Doyoung into definite consciousness. He ignores the grumbling younger and the curses Doyoung is hissing his way, and pushes him up into a sitting position, slipping out from behind him and standing up.
“That’s enough time to shower and get out of these clothes. Come on, everyone, I can still see plenty of makeup on most of your faces. Up! Go wash yourselves” he commands, clapping again.
The members protest and grumble, but, after Taeyong disappears in his room for a well-deserved shower in the privacy of his bathroom, they all mimic him, bee-lining in direction of a shower and working on removing the leftover of makeup they still have on.
“This is the thing I hate the most about promoting” Yuta comments, rubbing a cotton pad over the scorpion sign on his cheek: “every time having to wear makeup and then take it off, only to have it put on again the day after”
“Well, that’s makeup for you” Jaehyun replies shrugging: “and anyway, you’re the one insisting for the extra details” he adds teasingly, fingers pointing at the other’s cheek.
Yuta scoffs: “I like my scorpion symbol. It makes me look hot” he argues.
Jaehyun makes an unimpressed sound: “Whatever you say, hyung”
“I agree, by the way. Such a bother” Doyoung declares, popping up from nowhere. His skin is still flushed pink and he’s still in the process of toweling his hair. He must have just come out the shower.
They reconvene in the living room shortly before the food arrives, each member taking place either at the dining table or kneeling around the coffee table between the couches and loveseats. Johnny appears in the door way, carrying several paper bags with steamy containers full of food, Taeyong trailing after him, carrying some himself as well.
They splay the food out on the dining table, decide to arrange the food all there and then relocate to whatever seat they pick. Taeyong calls dibs on one of the chair at the dining table and inadvertently starts a war for dibs on seats.
“Let’s go in order of age” Doyoung suggests.
“Hyung, not fair!” Haechan protests.
“Guys, grabs some pillows and sit here” Taeyong suggests, depositing a pile of plates on the table after retrieving them from the kitchen. Mark goes to fetch them chopsticks and Yuta brings back glasses.
“We should have gotten something to drink, maybe” Doyoung mumbles to himself. He hands out to each member a dish and a set of chopsticks, Taeyong doing the same with glasses.
“We have water and… more water, and… pear soda? And some other sodas” Taeil informs them, peeking into the fridge.
He and Johnny bring back some bottles and splay them on the table. They take a seat, Johnny on the last empty chair at the table (he doesn’t like eating sitting on the floor, claims he’s too tall), while Taeil sits crossed-legged on a pillow between Haechan and Yuta.
The food is good, and they are starving, too tired to enjoy it, and too famished to notice if something hasn’t been cooked the traditional way. Beside Doyoung. He notices, and after some silent munching deep in thoughts, turns to Taeyong to asks his opinion.
Taeyong munches his own bite and swallows, takes another bite, munches some more, then nods, agreeing with Doyoung.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. Not that it matters now”
Doyoung snorts, shaking his head no and helping himself with a good portion of kimchi. Oh no, sir, it really does not matter – give them barely cooked meat and they would probably eat it with no qualms, at this point. Especially some of them, he thinks, eyeing silently Jaehyun’s and Yuta’s way.
“Hey, hey, hey, none of the judgmental staring please” Jungwoo reprimands him, pointing the back of one of his chopsticks at Doyoung.
“I wasn’t judging” Doyoung lies smoothly, bending closer to his plate to scoop up the last of his meat.
“You so were” Taeyong laughs, mouth still half full with the food he hasn’t swallowed yet.
He pours soup in a bowl for himself and another for Doyoung, who accepts it with a grateful nod. Haechan asks for some, too, and Taeyong ends up serving samgaetang for everyone.
“Mmm, what a sexy maid you’d make, hyung!” Yuta teases him, grinning. The members laugh and Taeyong can’t help the blush coloring his cheeks.
“Why do you always have to be such an idiot” he mutters in response, and the members laugh more.
“Yah, plus, the word you’ve used is really funny” Taeil adds, struggling to speak, laugh and not choke himself on the bite he’s still chewing.
Yuta frowns in confusion: “What do you mean?”
“The word you’ve used, maid, instead of waitress” Doyoung replies, being it easier for him than Taeil to speak: “it’s correct, it’s not wrong. It’s just what you’d hear in a drama set in Goryeo times” he explains.
“I think we heard it in that movie we watched together last time, remember hyung?” Mark pipes up, looking at Yuta while trying not to spill his soup from the bowl he’s drinking.
“Mark-ah, watch out, you’ll spill that soup” Taeyong scolds him, the parent-mode automatically activated at the sight.
“Sorry hyung” Mark replies, just as automatically, not even realizing what he’s apologizing for. He turns back to face frontwards and, in fact, spills a bit of soup while moving: “Oh, damn”
Without missing a beat, Haechan passes him napkins, at the same time as Doyoung snorts fondly.
“Guysh” Johnny starts, half-covering his mouth with the back of his hand. He’s holding his chopsticks with one hand and his phone with the other: “Manager-hyung shays we should do a Vlive”
He stops, swallows his mouthful of food and shows them the phone: “Looks like we’ve received a tons of presents from fans, and because we don’t have anything planned for the next couple of days, they say we could do a Vlive and open the presents on cam”
Haechan snorts: “So much for peace and quiet”
“Yah” Jungwoo nods in agreement: “let it not be said NCT spend two days resting, oh no, it would be tragic” he sarcastically says, with his best aegyo voice.
“How should we unpack presents, if the staff always open them first to check them?” Jaehyun points out: “don’t tell me they’d rewrap them again for us to un-wrap a second time”
“Most definitely” Taeyong distractedly answers, reaching out with a finger to Johnny’s phone and scrolling quickly to read the message.
“I mean, we can do this” he says, looking around ta the rest of the members: “How long would it take? An hour? We can do that”
Doyoung hums, thinking: “Plus one other for the makeup. But, I mean. Sure, we could do it, I guess”
Jaehyun and Johnny protests that they planned on hitting the gym, then argue that they can do the Vlive either after or before they do so, and finally agree. Jungwoo and Yuta shake their shoulders in the most careless way, and Haechan and Taeil nod quietly.
Mark giggles, attracting all the attention from the table.
“I just hope they censor the worst, though. Like, I know they wouldn’t let us unpack lingerie or shit like that on camera, but. Some presents are really cringy, sometimes”
A chorus of giggle and strained, embarrassed sounds follows.
“Okay, John, tell Manager-hyung we’re in” Taeyong decides, and after that it’s final, Johnny humming quietly and typing single-handedly as he goes on eating.
-
“Okay cuuuut!”
“Stop being so loud, Haechan-ah” Johnny chides fondly.
“Yeah, stop being so loud, Haechan!” Doyoung echoes more pointedly.
“Yo, it doesn’t even make sense, you can’t say ‘okay cut’ when we have literally just started a Vlive” Mark points out, waving his hands in front of his face.
“Oh, shut up, Canada, really”
The members laugh at the almost aloof expression Haechan dismisses Mark with, that clashes drastically with the way his cheeks are coloring up.
“Okay, everyone!” Taeyong exclaims, clapping loudly his hands and attracting attention. He looks straight into the camera and explains what they are doing, a Vlive recording of the members opening presents and letters received from their fans.
The members are sitting at a semi-circularly shaped table, strategically placed so that each of them can easily be seen from the camera. In front of each of them there are several wrapped boxes and letters, some with colored envelopes, some plain white.
“Yes, as you can see” Haechan takes after Taeyong: “in front of each of us there are presents from you, our beloved Ncitizens, and we are now going to unwrap them all. Each of us will pick one between gift or letter, and unwrap it and show it, or open it, and read it”
“Yes! And at the end of the session we will decide which gift we found was the best and which letter has touched us the most” Jaehyun adds.
“Also please note that we couldn’t include every single one of the presents that you sent us, because they are that many” Johnny steps in, smiling charmingly to the camera: “and if we tried to open them all on camera, we would probably hit the record of the longest Vlive session, ever”
A mumbled voice follows, the camera focusing on Johnny’s intent expression as he listens. The members laugh, and Doyoung repeats aloud what someone from the staff has just pointed out.
“Yes, and, the staff has screened the gifts and removed the presents that were not suitable for TV. That’s your own fault though!” He points a scolding finger at the camera: “what have you sent us, that had to be censored, uh?”
The members laugh.
The Vlive session is quiet, neither particularly bad nor good, and they have their usual share of fun, albeit sometimes a bit forced. Mark proves true to his true self by almost making another sexual joke and bursting out into his usual, hysterical laughter, but Johnny and Jaehyun rush to cover it up and move the topic.
They know it’s a moot point and Mark’s words will be all over the internet in less than twelve hours, but, whatever.
At the end of the scheduled hour, there’s a layer of wrapping paper covering the floor about fifty centimeters high, so much that their legs disappear from sight. The table is covered with stuffed animals, food, clothing articles and drawings or pictures. They decide which present they found best and which letter has touched them the most, putting up the usual amount of fake-arguments (which, to be honest, in Taeyong and Doyoung’s case isn’t completely made up, but, whatever), and then they wrap it up.
Right before they say hello to their audience and close it, though, Jaehyun grins to Johnny and then straight to the camera, the way his elders have learned not to trust because it means whatever he’s about to do will not be filed under the ‘things responsible Jaehyun would do’ category.
“You know what, I think I am curious now, I think we should open the censored gifts after we close the Vlive” he opines, smiling devilishly.
Haechan laughs, thinking it’s a joke.
“Well, if you want” Doyoung says, before he can help it.
“Okay!” Taeyong exclaims, glaring their way and then pointedly ignoring both of them: “everyone, this is us leaving! Thank you again for watching and see you soon! Ncitizens, we love you!”
Cue in the usual smiles, chorus of hellos, I love yous, Bye Ncitizens.
As soon as the staff informs them the camera is off, Taeyong cuffs Doyoung on the back of his head.
“What the fuck! Why did you say that on camera!”
“Hey! It was Jaehyun who said it first!” Doyoung protests.
“I don’t care, you could have defused instead of giving him more attention”
“Chill, Taeyongie” Johnny steps in, sneaking an arm along Taeyong’s shoulders.
He looks pointedly over at Jaehyun and smiles sweetly at the younger boy: “But I think we all agree Jaehyun pays for food tonight”
Jaehyun tries protesting but it’s drowned in the chorus of hurras, and thank you Jaehyuns.
“Okay guys, let’s fuck off. Dinner together later?” Taeil asks, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.
They agree and part ways, Johnny and Jaehyun hitting the gym, Mark and Haechan getting an Uber to join the Dreamies somewhere. Yuta, Taeil and Jungwoo leave together with some obscure reasons that neither Doyoung nor Taeyong further investigate.
That’s how NCT leader and his best friend finds themselves alone, sprawled on Taeyong’s bed, heads hanging off the bed and feet up on the wall. Despite the uncomfortable position, Taeyong is already close to doze off, and Doyoung feels equally so tired he might fall asleep anytime soon.
He rearranges himself properly on the bed and drags Taeyong along, forcing him to lie down in a way he won’t crack his skull open if he falls on the floor. Taeyong goes along with it but whines all the while, because how could he not.
Once again settled, they snuggle close to each other, Doyoung humming quietly under his breath one of the new songs and Taeyong helping him with the lyrics he forgets, until they fall asleep, curled like cats.
-
Dinner is a loud affair, albeit not much more than usual. The members are tired but happy, the resting day proving to be what they needed. Mark and Haechan talked the most, retelling the others about something stupid and equally funny that happened when they were with their younger members.
Once the food is over, they relocate to the living room, piling up on the couches and loveseats. Johnny deposits a couple of bottles of gin, tequila and vodka on the coffee table, and Jaehyun places about fifteen tumblers, somehow miraculously not dropping even one before he makes it to the table.
Haechan, Mark and Taeil pile up the rest of the presents, the censored ones, some wrapped in terribly cringy wrapping papers, or in stuff that was presumed to look sexy.
“Who the fuck wraps a present in black lace thongs?!” Haechan asks, bewildered and laughing, shaking a small wrapped package in the air.
“My kind of type!” Yuta replies with a sly grin, and snatches the gift from Haechan’s hands.
“Uh, I want that one, the one all in black” Johnny exclaims, pointing at a package.
Taeil hands it over and reads the small label on a very bright pink one: “This is for Taeyong!”
“Oh god” Taeyong mumbles and accepts the package.
“I hope it’s a bra, again” Doyoung teases him, grinning madly.
“Shut up”
“Doyoung, here, this is for you” Taeil calls him, handing him a present wrapped in orange and green stripes.
“I hope it’s a carrot” Taeyong comments.
“Why would it be a carrot? Don’t you see it’s a rectangle?” Doyoung objects, already unwrapping the present.
“Gaw! Oh my god!” Yuta exclaims, laughing madly with his head tilted back. The black lacey thongs his present came wrapped in lie in his lap, all thorn apart, and he’s clutching a small piece of paper in one of his hand.
“What’s that?” Johnny asks, curious.
“It’s an onlyfans address” Yuta replies, drying the tears from the corner of his eye.
“Is she hot?” Jaehyun asks, curious, trying to read the slip of paper and promptly blushing right after.
“…Oh”
“Yeah, Jaehyunnie, that’s the reason why I was laughing”
“Wait, what is it?” Doyoung asks, trying to bend closer to Yuta and read.
Jaehyun laughs: “It’s a boy” he explains to the rest of the team: “the thongs got me hoping!”
“Whatever, I think I’ll check him out anyway. Maybe he’s cute” Yuta shrugs, placing the slip of paper on the coffee table.
“Suddenly I don’t feel so sure about opening mine” Taeyong grimaces.
“I can open it for you, hyung” Jungwoo offers, snatching the present and not wasting a second before unwrapping it.
“…Oh” is all he says, once he’s completely unwrapped it: “oh shit”
“What, what is it?” Taeyong asks, curious, half the team watching as he picks the small bundle of fabric from Jungwoo’s hands, and realizes it’s a pouch.
Frowning in confusion, he turns around, and proceeds to blush furiously at the ‘agent provocateur’ embroidered over the front. He curses under his breath, face reddening by the second, and Doyoung bursts out laughing even before Taeyong is done raising the article of clothing for the rest of the team to see.
In the stunned silence that follows, Taeyong pulls his lips together in a skeptical expression.
“Well” he comments quietly: “there is no ways I am wearing this”
The members laugh, the booming mixing with the hysterical sounds of Mark’s and Taeyong’s, as their leader shows them all the skimpy panties he’s being gifted.
“Shit, hyung, do you have any idea how much those must be worthy?” Doyoung asks, shaking his head incredulous and still giggling.
“Oh, don’t worry, you can have them if you want” Taeyong reassures him sarcastically.
Doyoung makes a loud pfff sound and points out they’re so tiny there is no way they’d fit anyone but Taeyong.
“Hey, at least it’s shit of good quality” Mark tries for the bright sight, but it’s ruined by another fit of hysterical giggles that escapes him before he’s finished speaking.
The rest of the presents are less weird, and more cringy, with a lot, really a lot of love declarations, and some disturbing attempts at poetry – Doyoung in particular is giving everyone the time of their lives the way he’s destroying every single poem as if he was the meanest literary critic.
“Look at this! She even spelled ‘nude’ wrong! How can you spell ‘nude’ wrong!” he exclaims, looking almost frustrated with incredulity: “seriously, listen: ‘I fall asleep and dream it’s not the blanket choking me but your naked arms, my precious Jaehyun, I would love to be nude in your bed’. How can you write shit like that and not check if you’ve made a spelling mistake! And let’s not mention the choking with a blanket”
“You’re so mean” Haechan tries to say – try being the key word, because he’s almost sobbing so hard he’s laughing. He holds his tummy and tries to wipe at his tears, sighing softly.
“And, another here! No, this one you guys have to guess. Listen: ‘the beauty of a rose is such because it does not wither, and so do you, never wither my love, the rose of your scars’. This is disturbing! Come on!” Doyoung exclaims, triggering another fit of laughter as he slaps the back on his hand against the poor piece of paper in yet another display of utter disbelief at the bad poetry.
“Oh my god” Taeyong whines, red in the face.
“Yah, Taeyong hyung, I think it’s you!” Yuta teases him loudly, Jungwoo immediately repeating what he remembers of those few lines in his child-like aegyo voice.
“What the fuck” he says right after, switching to his normal tone: “what does that even mean. Roses aren’t eternal”
“The rose of your scar? What does that mean?” Taeil asks, curious: “Like, do you have that many scars that they are the petals of a rose? Or how many scars do you have that look like a rose?”
“Just the fucking one” Taeyong answers, tearing the paper out of Doyoung’s hands and balling it up.
“Ohhh, guys, check it out! It wasn’t a carrot, alright, Doyoung hyung!” Haechan squeals in delight, pushing a rectangular box right into Doyoung’s face – the present that came wrapped in orange and green striped paper.
Doyoung frowns at Haechan in confusion and quickly gets rid of the rest of the paper… and then blushes madly, redder than even Taeyong, while the rest of the team start laughing so hard they’re basically crying, Mark falls on the floor and Taeyong is almost convulsing.
Doyoung drops the box on the floor like he’s been burnt, but Jaehyun picks it up, still laughing, and actually opens the box, revealing what they knew already was inside, since there was a very bright colored, very precisely drawn picture on its cover.
It’s a carrot-shaped, orange dildo, topped by a triplet of cute, green, plastic carrot leaves.
Taeyong howls laughing, pointing at it and at Doyoung’s mortified face. Jaehyun actually dangles the dildo in front of Doyoung’s face, and Doyoung slaps it away with the back of his hand, an expression so horrified it triggers a new fit of hysterical laughter from basically everyone.
“Doyoung, are you going to use that?” Johnny asks, and he looks like he wants to try and say more but he has to stop, laughing so hard he bends backward.
The carrot-shaped dildo falls on the floor and Doyoung hastily covers it with the back of the box, scoping it back inside and closing the lid with all his strength.
“… We are never, ever opening this box again” he orders, glaring at everyone who dares to make eye contact and still blushing furiously.
“Shit, I think that was even better than the panties for Taeyong” Taeil opines, hiccupping.
Doyoung nods vehemently, no longer brave enough to make eye comment with his members any longer, and suggest them (begs, really) that they move on to another package.
Trying to sober up, Mark reaches for a big, rectangular box, this one thin and big, which he presumes won’t contain sex toys or lingerie sets, if only because it’s big enough it could contain several sets, one for all of them.
And Mark really doesn’t want to think about people picking underwear or sex toys for him to use, thank you very much.
He tears the wrapping paper and realize…
“Hey guys, check this out, this isn’t too bad!” he exclaims, twisting to show the rest of the team the present.
“What’s that?”
“What…?”
“Hey, is it a board game?”
“A board game?”
“Who does even still use board games, man?” Haechan asks, squinting in confusion.
“Yeah, it’s a board game” Mark confirms, finishing unwrapping it.
“And…. Oh” he stops as he notices the name and then promptly bursts out laughing.
Johnny catches the name and laughs as well: “I guess we know why they sent it to us!”
It's a board game, and judging from the box is not one that any of them has ever seen. It looks vintage and pretty, the box finely painted and decorated.
“Why would someone send us a fantasy board game… oh. Really? That’s the name?” Jaehyun laughs: “long-ash-ride?”
“What does that even mean?” Haechan asks in confusion, looking at the Foreign Swagger Team.
“Shouldn’t that be long ass ride?” Taeyong asks Mark: “Isn’t that one the thing you always say?”
“It is. But I guess whoever sent this saw the name and thought it sounded similar”
“It doesn’t even mean anything in English” Johnny points out, laughing at the absurdity of the name.
“How can ash be long or short?” Jaehyun asks, nodding.
“Hey, it says here that it’s great for team building and solving any issue between team members” Jungwoo reads aloud, smiling happily: “Let’s play!”
“What? Why, how do you even play?”
“There must be instructions inside” Doyoung reasons: “Let’s check the reviews it has on google”
“Who cares about reviews, even if it’s a boring game, let’s just play” Jungwoo insists.
“Uh, actually, I don’t find it” Jaehyun frowns, scrolling through his phone.
“Yeah, me neither” Johnny agrees, squinting at his phone.
“Maybe it’s really old” Taeyong suggests.
“Or maybe it sucked so much they never sold enough copies of it” Doyoung adds.
“Oh, come on” Taeil sides with Jungwoo: “who cares! After the dildo, I don’t really want to see what else we could find in the pile of gifts left”
Doyoung hurries to agree with that one.
“Here is the card. It says it’s for all of us, they even listed all the names” Yuta says, digging through the wrapping papers discarded on the floor and picking up a piece of the one that covered the board game.
“Mark, open it” Taeyong suggests, and Mark does. He places the lid to the side and the first thing they see is a folded, wooden looking board and a thin, small booklet.
“Those must be the instructions” Johnny points out, extending his index finger at them.
“I say Mark reads them out, it would be appropriate, for a game called ‘long ass ride’” Taeil jokes.
“It’s long ash ride” Mark corrects him, but picks up the booklet nonetheless.
“Who cares, man, just read them” Taeyong insists.
“And if it’s too boring we’ll do something else” Doyoung suggests.
“Why Doyoung, do you want to go try out your new toy?” Taeyong can’t help to tease him.
The team laughs, Doyoung blushing furiously and pinning Taeyong to the floor and proceeding to smother him with a pillow. Taeyong fights back, and shortly after Jaehyun has to intervene and tries to divide them.
“Guys, guys, come on!” Johnny calls them.
“Let’s try this long ass ride!” Jungwoo screams.
“Dude, no, that sounds really, really bad” Mark points out.
“…Why?” Jungwoo asks, blinking owlishly.
“Just read the instructions, Mark” Johnny suggests, levelling Mark with a pointed look.
“Okay, team, here we go” Mark says, and opens the booklet.