TWENTY-TWO

The third round had been a close one. Both sides had been pulling with all their might. The match seemed so evenly that the only way it seemed it was going to end was if one side gave up or if a bee came around, which it did. For some miraculous reason there was a bee there and that bee ended up flying near Lucas and Simon. Lucas being extremely afraid of bees ended up letting go of the rope only to run away and leave Simon behind. And that's when Abel and Abby pulled their way into victory. They were going to be the scouters in their team.

The scouters on the other team were Eli and Seth. And the ones that had lost the tug of war and were now in the water were Lucas, Simon, Josiah and Joel. None of them had however dared to go shirtless, not even Joel who had just a while earlier had been shirtless in the restrooms. It appeared that they were all shy when it came to showing some skin on camera. But as they were wearing white t-shirts, they were bound to become see-through. Abby knew the fans were going to like that, she knew she would.

"Stop trying to see if you can see through Chan's shirt. Was the sneak peek earlier not enough for you?" 

Abel nudged Abby on the side as they waited for Lucas and Simon at the end of a big water slide. 

"I wasn't trying to do that. I'm worried about baby Siah. Does he know how to swim?"

Of course she wasn't going to be able to do what Abel had accused her of. She wasn't some fangirl at the moment, she was supposed to be another member of the group and hence needed to act like one.

"Of course he does. We all taught him how two years ago." 

She thought it was cute how he said they all taught him. Josiah was the baby of the group and he deserved everyone's care including hers. That's why when Josiah and Joel finally reached the bottom of the slide, Abby went over to wipe Josiah's face with a towel. She felt like she was taking care of a baby so she did so gently and even left the towel on top of his head so he could dry his hair off. 

"You're acting like a mother you know." 

If Abby kept acting that way, the other members would start to get suspicious. Cain was after all not the "motherly" type, that was Joel's role.

"Don't most of you act that way towards Josiah though?" 

"Yea but they are on the opposing team right now. You're supposed to be helping out our guys, not them."

"Speaking of our guys, you still haven't apologized to Simon for saying he looked like Alvin the chipmunk." 

She had been meaning to tell Abel to apologize to Simon for what he said earlier and she thought now would be a good time to do that.

"You called Simon a chipmunk?!" 

Lucas who had just gotten to the bottom of the slide with the bottle, got up and stood over Abel. He was the whiniest out of all of them but if there was a father figure in the group, it would be him. Whenever he found out about a problem between members, he would always make sure to set them straight. 

Simon who had just gotten there stood behind Lucas.

"He did and all because I wanted to wear a red hat to match my outfit." 

Abby had noticed that Simon hadn't worn the red hat after all, instead he had worn a hoodie over his head. He had to take it off once they had arrived though. It was lucky for him that he was able to get his hair styled. Although now that he had been in the water, his hair that had taken a good half hour to style was limp and dripping with water. The only ones that were really going to be able to keep their hair somewhat nice were the scouters.

"I was only kidding. You know I love your fluffy cheeks." 

Having apologized, Abel went over to Simon and poked his cheek. He wanted to show that it had just been a playful thing. Having two sisters himself, he would always mess around with them but never with the intention of actually hurting them. And to him Simon and the other members were just like brothers.

"That's not an apology. You have to apologize correctly, it doesn't matter if you were only kidding." 

Lucas still being there, nodded in agreement to Abby. Despite just having been told by Abel that she had been acting like a mother towards Josiah, she didn't care. All she cared about was the well being of the members and that included their feelings.

"I'm sorry Simon. I shouldn't have said that. The hat did actually look good on you, you should have worn it. You can keep it though, I'll give it to you if you want." 

Abby had wondered whose hat it had been but it turned out it was Abel's and he was now offering to give it to Simon. She thought it was sweet of him. At least it meant that he knew how to apologize and that perhaps there was no actual bullying going on in the group, at least not the serious kind.

Their little chat had taken them longer than they expected and the other team had already gone ahead of them. They had to hurry if they wanted to catch up to Eli and Seth. All of the things they were going to have to look for were different and because of this they hoped that the other team ended up getting harder to find items than theirs.

"What does it say we have to look for?" 

Abel had opened the bottle and unfolded the piece of paper in it. Abby tried to see if she could read what it said but it was in cursive and she couldn't read it, she always had difficulty reading Korean cursive.

"It says we have to look for something that looks like a mushroom and has a fish on the top." 

"Well looking for something that looks like a mushroom is going to be harder than looking for a fish, does it say what size it is at least? If not then it'll probably be easier to just look for a fish and then we'll have to see if it's on top of something that looks like a mushroom." 

She thought it was an odd thing to have to look for and wondered if perhaps they had made a mistake.

Abel however had been silent and it seemed like he was deep in thought. She had to snap her fingers in front of him just to get his attention.

"Sorry. It's just that I think I remember seeing a fish earlier and I think it could count as being on something that looks like a mushroom. I was just trying to remember where I saw it. I believe there was some kind of a bridge near it." 

"A bridge you say?" 

Abby took out the map to the water park. Luckily they were each given one to help them.

"I found a bridge! Was it over a big pool?" 

"Yes! That's the one!" 

Abel looked at the map and they both ran all the way to the spot.

"You see?! There's a fish on top of it and don't you think that looks like a mushroom?" 

Abby looked to where he pointed, a big white thing that indeed did look like a mushroom, either that or an umbrella. It was one of those things that squirted water out and it was mostly meant for kids to run around in. 

Abel took out the polaroid camera they were given and they both posed for a selfie with the mushroom looking thing and fish behind them. They had found their first item but they had to go back to wherever Lucas and Simon were. They weren't sure if they were still at the same place or if they had gone somewhere else and because of this they had to run. Having shorter legs than Cain, Abel had fallen behind but at some point Abby had stopped to wait for him and grabbed his hand so she could pull him along with her. It was a new side of her that he was seeing, she was competitive.

They had arrived at the place where they last saw Lucas and Simon but they were no longer there. They had to look for them. And because of this the game wasn't going to be as easy as they had thought it would be. Just finding their two other teammates was going to be a whole other challenge. The only thing that was able to help them find them were the cameramen that surrounded the area. It made sense since they had to be filming the whole time just like they had both been followed by a cameraman while they searched for their item.

All of the swimmers were gathered in another big pool, one that had fountains surrounding it. It looked like each of them had found more than one bottle. That meant that the scouters weren't going to have to search for the swimmers anytime soon and they would be able to focus on just the things they had to find. Abel grabbed the three bottles Lucas and Simon had found. He took out the piece of paper out of each one and read the items aloud. 

"A green statue, red handrails, and a kakao friend." 

The red handrail was the easiest one to find since they had seen it on their way there. Abel had also remembered seeing a green statue but he had seen it just outside the water park so they had to go all the way to the entrance where it was. The kakao friend was the last one they found, Abby had found it, it was a poster advertising kakao friends merchandise. Neither team knew how many items the other team had found but they were now more than halfway through the length of time they had been given. They had to hurry even more and both the swimmers and the scouters had started to feel the pressure. 

A dolphin, Egyptian cats, inflatable yellow lifeboats, an archway of red flowers, a heart sculpture were all things Abel and Abby had to find next. Lucky for Abby all of the things except for the lifeboats and dolphin had been out of water but for those things that were in water, Abel was the one to pose with them while Abby took the photos from afar. They ended up making a great team since in the end they had been the scouters that found the most items despite the other team's swimmers having gathered more bottles than their own team.

Both teams had to gather to hear what their prizes and penalties were going to be. The first thing that was to be announced was the penalty. The losing team had looked anxious as a staff member rolled out a cart that was covered. Their penalty was going to be whatever was on that cart. The director gestured for the staff member to remove the covering. There were wigs and school uniforms for girls. They were going to have to crossdress. And if that hadn't been bad enough, a second cart was rolled out. It too was covered.

"So as you can all see, there are wigs and girl school uniforms. The wigs are however all short for a purpose and that is so they won't get in the way of what the losing team is about to do." 

The wigs were all short bobs with bangs on them. And not only that but they were all in different pastel colors. It seemed like they had gone all out just to embarrass the guys.

"And what exactly is the losing team going to be doing?" 

The staff member uncovered the second thing that had been rolled out. Abby gasped at the sight, it was a BBQ grill. 

"The losing team will be cooking for the winning team while wearing the school uniforms and wigs. They will be cooking Korean beef along with some other side dishes. To make sure that whatever they cook actually ends up being good enough to be considered a reward to the winning team, there will be two chefs there to assist them. And while the losing team cooks, the winning team will get to enjoy some time on the water park rides." 

Abby knew the BBQ grill had been a bad sign the first moment she saw it. Had she known that the winning team would have to both eat food cooked by others and ride the water park rides, she would have much preferred to have lost. But of course that would have been greedy of her to want since that would have meant that the people in her team would have also been penalized along with her. Just seeing how happy Lucas and Simon seemed to be made her feel guilty for even having such a thought. She had noticed how the two had ended up enjoying their time in the water so she could only assume that they were glad to be given more time to spend on the rides without having to look around for bottles. They had even already run off to their favorite ride, the big water slide. 

It was just Abel and Abby standing there. The losing team had already gone to change and the cameras were recording the chefs as they took out all the ingredients that were going to be used. Abel watched them while trying to come up with an idea. The manager had already told him and Abby to leave but he didn't want to, not without at least having tried to do something. He had to come up with something good enough to get Abby out of riding the rides at the water park. He had noticed her starting to have her first signs of a panic attack. And that had just been the trembling of her hands and the shortness of breath, he couldn't even begin to imagine how she was feeling on the inside.

Abel told Abby to take her medication while he went over to talk to the manager. He had come up with an idea.

"Hyung, would it be okay if Cain were to cook with the losing team?"

"And why would Cain want to do such a thing? Wouldn't having him cook with the losing team be like a punishment?" 

He should have expected such a response from the manager. He was always one to want a logical explanation before taking any actions and now Abel needed to come up with one on the spot.

"Well...Cain has been into cooking lately, especially grilling. And to get a chance to cook under the guidance of two chefs, wouldn't that be like a good reward to him? Probably even better than riding some rides on a water park, don't you think?" 

The manager seemed to consider for a moment.

"I'll have to run it through with the director but are you sure that Cain wants this?"

"Yes." 

"Fine. I'll let you know what the director says once I'm done talking with him. You two stay here in the meantime."

It wasn't a definite yes but Abel was happy that he was at least delaying things a bit and that it gave him a bit more time to see how Abby was doing.

"What were you talking about with the manager?" 

He had gone to sit with her and noticed how her hands were no longer shaking but she still seemed to be trying to catch her breath.

"Just the usual things. He's talking with the director right now. He said for us two to wait here until he was done talking with him." 

"Oh. Ok..." 

Abby almost felt like a kid that had gotten in trouble at school and was just sitting waiting to be punished. Because she knew that she couldn't stay there the whole time. She was going to have to go back to where the water park's rides were, it was expected of her to get on those rides.

She had been quiet and Abel could only assume that it was because she was feeling anxious about the whole thing. He had thought about telling her the suggestion he made to the manager but he didn't want to get her hopes up in case the director didn't approve it. So instead he was going to have to try and get her mind off things, if only for a short time. It was then that he noticed the guys from the losing team walk out with their wigs and school uniforms on. Abel pointed them out to Abby and they both ended up laughing. They all looked too manly to be dressed in such a way. Some of them even had leg hair and they could see it as they were wearing skirts the same length that their shorts from earlier had been.

The manager ended up standing before them while they were still laughing. He looked at them oddly but continued on to say what it was he had gone to tell them.

"The director agrees with your idea Abel. Cain, you will be joining the losing team. You will be cooking with them but you won't have to wear a uniform or a wig like them."

Abby was shocked by what the manager had just said. She couldn't believe that she was going to be allowed to join the team she had just moments before wished to be a part of. And not only that but she wasn't going to have to wear a uniform and wig like them. She was simply going to be allowed to cook and that meant that she wouldn't have to eat food cooked by others but food cooked by herself.

"He will still get to eat with us, right?" 

Abel asked the manager. He didn't see a problem with Abby eating now that she would be able to cook her own food. 

"Of course. Now as for you Abel, go join the other two. We need at least three of the members to be enjoying the rides right now. We were allowed to film here with the condition that the members make it seem like a fun place to visit." 

They weren't just there to record some show for their fans, it turned out that they were also there to promote the place. Not being an idol herself, Abby had never really known how things worked out when groups were allowed to record in such places with no other people around. She had thought that perhaps either the label had to pay to use the place or they had to work out some other kind of deal but it seemed to her now that promoting was what the water park had been after by letting Adam record there. If fans saw their favorite group at a theme park, of course those fans were going to want to visit that place as well just so that they could get on the same rides that their favorite idols had gotten on.

"So this was your idea?" 

Abby turned to Abel. He hadn't planned on letting her know that it had been his idea but the manager had just revealed it.

"Yea"

He rubs the back of his head feeling shy.

"And you did this all for me?" 

Abel nodded and she felt like hugging him right there and then, except she couldn't. He had been in the water and she wasn't sure if he had washed himself with soap after that. He had changed clothes just like everyone else had but that didn't exactly mean that he was clean and free of germs. So instead she decided to express how she felt verbally.

"Thank you! Thank you so much Abe! I love you for doing this!"

Abel's face reddened at the word love. Abby hadn't even realized she had used the word until after she had said it and seeing him blush made her blush in return. She was about to clarify what she meant but just then a cameraman had come for Abel. And the arrival of the cameraman meant that they had to part ways.

The losing team was more than happy to receive another member, they liked the idea that they were going to have less cooking to do with another person around. Abby was glad that she could be of help so she offered to do anything she could.

Abby washed her hands thoroughly before starting to wash the lettuce which she also planned on washing thoroughly. The lettuce was going to be used as wraps for their beef but on them they were going to put gochujang. It brought her back memories of Jun. Out of all the things they could have used, it just had to be gochujang. But since she was going to make her own food, she planned on excluding the sauce. And just the fact that she was going to be making her own food made her happy. But she didn't want to make food just for herself, but for Abel as well. She wanted to thank him for everything he had done that day. Not only had he saved her from falling into the pool but he also came up with an idea that would prevent her from having to go on the rides and eat food made by others. He had saved her from having another possible panic attack. 

What she had said to him earlier still bothered her though. She only hoped he didn't get the wrong idea. There were different kinds of loves after all. Not only was there the romantic kind of love but there was also the kind of love you have for a friend. And even that kind of love, Abby had not thought she would be able to feel for another person. She already had her small group of friends and to the rest of the world she had chosen to close herself off. But somehow Abel and Cain had changed that. And even though it was hard for her to admit, she was going to have to accept that they had now become her friends, at least she hoped they also thought of her that way.

Abby had finished washing the lettuce and had started chopping some veggies when her phone started vibrating in her pants. One thing she never did though was grab her phone while doing something that involved food. Even though she always made sure to clean her phone with disinfectant wipes, there were still chances of germs being on there. Thinking that whatever it was could wait, she decided to ignore her phone and continue on with what she was doing. It wasn't going to be long that she was going to regret that choice.

Cain had first thought he had seen wrong. The park had been closed just for Adam after all. And that meant that only EVE employees and water park employees would be there along with the Adam members. But yet the guy he had seen looked just like Abby's ex. He knew that there was such a thing as people looking alike but it was more than that, it was an uncanny resemblance. It just didn't make sense for two people to look so much alike. It had to be him, Jun. But he wasn't an employee at EVE, Cain was certain of that. He knew all of the employees that worked at his label and he would have remembered a guy like Jun. But it also didn't seem like he worked at the water park since he wasn't wearing the same uniform as the water park employees. He had been wearing a suit, an expensive looking one.

He didn't know what Abby's ex could be doing there but he did know that he had to hide and tell Abby. He texted her to let her know and even sent her a photo that he had taken of him. Just to make sure, he asked if it was her ex. Cain didn't think that there was a reason for Abby to avoid Jun now that she was him but he also didn't want her to be surprised if she were to suddenly see him. But minutes had passed since he had sent her the text and she still hadn't replied, it wasn't even marked as read. He was going to have to go with plan two. Remembering that she had been in Abel's team, he decided to text him. If he was with Abby then he could just tell her.

<Hey. Is Abby with you? She's not answering my texts.>

<She's not with me, she's with the other team. What did you want her for?>

<Oh. Should I just...no nvm. I can't. I'm not an Adam member so it's not like I can just waltz in to where they are filming.>

<Is something going on? I could try to go to her if it's something important.>

<Jun is here.>

<Who?>

<Her ex.>

<Oh. That's not good. What is he doing here? I thought the park was supposed to be closed. Is he perhaps an employee here?>

<Definitely not an employee of the water park. He was dressed way too nicely. The guy even had a Rolex and a Samsung phone that hasn't even been released to the public yet. I don't know what he's doing here though.>

<So you wanted to tell Abby that he was here, right?>

<Yea but like I said, she isn't answering my texts and I can't go to her either. I'm even hiding in the car that I came in just so that he won't see me.>

<K. Well don't worry and stay where you are. I'll try to see if I can get away for a bit.>

Abel had just gotten on a ride called Super Boomerango with Lucas and Simon. The ride was basically big round inflatables that went down a huge slide and at the end there was water that splashed all over the riders. He had started to get his seatbelt off so he could get off but just then an employee stopped him and they were pushed. The slide was big but since they were sliding at a fast pace, he didn't think it would take long to get to the bottom. He ended up getting splashed the most but he didn't care. He had to get to Abby before it was too late. 

The waterpark was somewhat big and he didn't know exactly how to get back to where the other team was so he grabbed a map but then someone snatched it away from him, it was Simon. 

"That was fun! Where should we go next?" 

"Excuse me but that was my map that you just snatched away. Can I have it back?" 

"Chill dude we're all going to the same place anyways." 

"Not me. I have to get back to where the other team is so I'll be needing that map." 

Abel extended his hand out so that Simon could give him the map but just then Lucas snatched it away just as he was about to give it to him.

"Nope. I'm the leader of this team right now and you're not going anywhere. We already lost Cain, we're not losing another person. You're coming with us."

Since there was no way for him to leave, he had to think of another way. Neither he or Cain could go to Abby and she wasn't answering her phone. There were however four other members there with her. None of them knew her real identity but they all did know about Cain "dating" Abby and her having an ex named Jun. He just had to text one of the guys and hope that they would be able to relay the message to her. Eli usually replied to text messages faster so he decided to text him.

<Hey. Tell Cain that his girlfriend's ex is here.>

<Are you serious?! What is he doing here?! Do you think he'll tell on Cain?!>

<Don't think so. It wouldn't be smart of him to make a scene here while we're filming but Cain should still know so tell him.>

<K.>

Abby was on the grill flipping meat when Eli appeared on her side. He had his face so close to her that she ended up being startled and dropped a piece of meat but it seemed like he wanted to whisper something into her ear so she let him. 

"Abel said to tell you that your girlfriend's ex is here." .

She couldn't believe what she had just heard. There was just no way Jun would be there. But then she looked up and there he was, Jun. She didn't know why he would be there but there was no mistaking that it was him. There was no way that she wouldn't be able to recognize the guy she had dated for 4 years and had even been engaged to. It was him and he was there, just a few feet away. And he was waving at her.