The glowing butterflies were circulating the garden courtyard, which Valerie was admiring every single one of them. She didn't notice her hands were accidentally touching Jimin's and caused them to startle. They looked at each other for a few seconds and turned their heads away awkwardly as they remained silent. Valerie continued to take pictures while Jimin was standing and watching her serenely.
"Ahem..." a familiar voice cleared their throat, alarming them to see the person behind them. She was holding two cold drinks with a blank, peculiar expression on her face. "Babe! There you are! I've been looking for you. I was wondering where you went."
"Chia. I was accompanying Valerie here..." Jimin explained, blinking three times.
"I've figured... Anyway, let's go and get changed. We're going for swimming," Chia chirped, holding her arm out and slightly giving an unwelcoming gaze towards Valerie. She plastered a supposedly mocking smile, saying. "Your friends are waiting for you. You better hurry..."
Valerie nodded quietly and started to walk away. "Right. I'm done collecting them. Thanks for informing me..."
Chia hummed in agreement as she stood tall proudly, clinging her arms with Jimin's. Though she was somewhat hiding her ire and still managed to smile. The two of them watched Valerie disappear through the bushes when she took the right turn.
Afterward, Jimin gently let go of Chia's arm and asked her in perplexity. "Is it me or am I sensing some agitation coming from you?"
"No! Why would you think that way? I was telling her about her friends," Chia scoffed.
"Okay..." Jimin mumbled and slowly nodded in daze.
"So are you ready to swim? I've prepared our clothes, towels, and appetizers," Chia said.
"Ah. We can push that later because Taehyung texted me if we can play a game with them," Jimin explained.
"Alright. Promise we'll take a swim?" Chia asked in a hopeful manner.
"I promise. We'll have our alone time together," Jimin said, embracing her and kissing the top of her head endearingly.
Chia giggled as she leaned in to kiss him on the lips. Then, they both started to leave the courtyard and headed back to the beach with their arms wrapped in each other's waists.
At the same time, Jungkook came back from the washroom after drying his hands. His calm expression began to alter when he examined their surroundings in question. "Why are there a few people missing? Where's Valerie?"
Bryan glanced at him and answered. "Valerie went to go take a stroll somewhere in the park area."
Hoseok raised his eyebrow astonishingly. "Where exactly?"
"The Spirited Garden," Ava replied as she read her text message from her phone.
Jungkook nodded and said. "Oh... okay. Well, I assumed Jimin and Chia are together. I'm just going to look for Valerie and tell her something."
"Okay, buddy. Good luck. Make sure you don't get your ass dump in a split second," Jin remarked with a laugh before chugging down the contents of the bottled whiskey.
"Shut up..." Jungkook rolled his eyes in annoyance and started to sprint until he stopped in his tracks to see Valerie approaching in the midst. "Ah! There you are!"
"Hey, guys," Valerie greeted lazily.
"Val. You're back! Thank goodness, we were wondering where you went," Sally exclaimed.
"Now that you're here, we are going to play 'Truth or Dare,' so come and sit with us," Taehyung encouraged, gesturing his hand forwardly.
"It's going to be fun. Trust me," Namjoon nodded in reassurance.
Valerie agreed silently and sat back down on her spot as she opened her camera to examine the photos.
"What about the couple?" Ava reminded them.
"They'll be here at any minute or so," Taehyung responded.
Bryan looked at her and asked. "Do you want me to get you a drink?"
"No thanks. I'm good. In fact, I've had enough of them. My face is heating up a little," Ava groaned, patting her cheeks softly.
"I'll get you water," Bryan stood up and walked over to the table where the drinks were. He poured warm water onto the cup and handed it to Ava in which she thanked him for it.
Jimin and Chia had arrived in just about five minutes, smiling and greeting their friends. As soon as they settled down into their spots, Bryan was the first person to be dared by stuffing marshmallows inside his mouth for only 3 minutes and 45 seconds, much to Ava and Sally's astonishment. For Valerie, she already knew how eccentric and talented he is when it comes to experimenting with things. The rest of the members were also shocked as well and it was no doubt that Bryan must have more skills than one. Hoseok was the next person to do the dare where he had to speak the words in reverse and juggle the oranges in his hands simultaneously. Unfortunately, he almost tripped on his knees on the sand, dropping the fruits that were rolled over near the fire. Everyone gasped in stagger when Hoseok sneezed momentarily, which gradually blew the flames. He informed them he's doing alright and had dust and solid particles in his face.
Namjoon prefers to tell the truth, but it wasn't fun since he always does it every time Jin or Yoongi asks him personal questions. He was forced to do a compelling dare where he had to name all the countries while doing push-ups. However, it didn't last long when he only reached up to 24 and slumped on his back in exhaustion. They still cheered for him after that and they were proud of how he passed it, even though he wasn't able to complete them alphabetically.
Subsequently, Valerie decided to sit between Hoseok and Namjoon, who were telling funny stories, whereas Jimin and Chia were snuggling and randomly fiddling each other's fingers. At that instant, he started to hear Jungkook and Taehyung's conversation from their near distance.
"The moment she introduced herself to me, I couldn't be surprised at how angry she looked. I was appalled when she barged into my studio with interrogation. Overall, I admire that kind of trait she has," Jungkook stated, folding his hands firmly while placing his elbows on his lap and curving his back casually.
"You should ask her out, you know," Taehyung pointed out.
"I don't know. She will probably kick my ass," Jungkook chuckled slightly.
Taehyung snorted and shook his head dismissively, saying. "Come on. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
Jungkook stopped and rolled his tongue on each side of his mouth. He wiggled his eyebrows and patted his lap lightly in agreement. "You're right... I shouldn't chicken out. I'll give my best shot at this. I'll do it tomorrow."
Taehyung hummed in response with a smile. "It's up to you."
Jungkook grinned as they turned their heads to gaze towards Valerie, who was sitting and laughing along with Hoseok and Namjoon's jokes mirthfully.
Jimin's eyes widened in impassiveness. He didn't know how to react after eavesdropping. Until then, he was still deadpanned, not knowing Chia was literally snapping her fingers more frequently in front of his face. That was when he got startled as she kept calling him out.
"Babe?! Hello?! Have you been paying attention to what I just said?" She raised her voice in a huff beside his ears.
Jimin blinked a few times and glanced at her, repeating a question. "Sorry. What were you saying?"
Chia stared at him in disbelief and sneered a little when she slapped him on the shoulder, causing him to grunt with his mouth forming a shape of an O.
"Ow, sorry..." Jimin mumbled apologetically.
"Are we even going to swim? It's already past 11:00 pm," Chia narrowed her eyes disappointingly.
"I supposed we should. Sorry about that. Let's go," Jimin muttered and held her hand as soon as they stood up from their spot. He turned around to face his friends, saying out loud. "Hey, guys. Chia and I are going to swim now."
"Okay. Have fun, you youngsters," Hoseok sang.
"Stay off the limits," Namjoon said promptly.
"We got it, professor," Jimin called behind them, much to the others' laughter.
Namjoon threw his head back in exasperation and tried to give a punch towards Hoseok, who was laughing hysterically. Bryan, Ava, and Sally were discussing their next activities for tomorrow, whereas Valerie was watching the couple going into the shallows of the waters. Jimin was holding Chia's hands often and hugged her from behind as they started making out.
She sighed when she glanced at her friends and asked. "Hey. I'm going to head off for asleep."
"What? Already? Alright, then. We're going to be playing another game of 'Would You Rather' as a 'Spin The Bottle' version," Ava noted.
"Girl, give her a break. She needs to have her beauty rest," Sally scoffed, nudging her elbow towards her.
Ava gestured her hands defensively. "Okay, I'm just saying. Val, have a goodnight."
"Thanks. I know I'm missing out, but I'm just tired and I'm saving up my energy for the next day," Valerie explained and faced her back on them as soon as she raised up the right flap of their tent. She closed it where she plopped the pillows next to her, including her blanket.
Bryan, on the other hand, was staring in her direction, then he looked back at Ava and Sally. He engaged back into their conversation.
Henceforth, midnight came where everyone went inside the men and women's tents as they headed on for their slumber. Some of them have been snoring noisily while some of them are sleeping soundly. Nevertheless, they've enjoyed it thoroughly and couldn't wait to move onto the next exciting plans they want to accomplish.
Although, not for the mysterious black figure, who was lurking in the shadows...
ns 15.158.61.48da2
