— — —

at 9AM, the students had showered and changed into appropriate and suitable clothing for the next activity hosted by the professors and prefects. they agreed to gather at the desired location, which was a huge and safe forest not far from the hotel. some of them had drove there with the professor's car, and most by taking the bus.

now, all students are crowded around the entrance of the forest as they watched the bus leave them behind.

"no! dont let the bus leave!" chan whined trying to run back to the bus with seungkwan holding him back. "you'll be fine, chan. im sure you'll survive being in the forest for a few hours." the older sighed.

at the entrance of the forest, there was a huge sign showing the map and ways around the forest along with some icons of food somewhere around the map. woozi scrunched his eyebrows, "whats with the food icons? theres meat, lettuce, bread, and.. wait- are we going to do a hunt around the forest?!" he exclaimed to jeonghan who was assisting the professor.

the older smiled as he winked at woozi, before the younger got pulled into a hug by someone.

and that someone was, none other than xu minghao.

minghao pulls woozi into a tight hug, "i dont wanna go to the forest! its fricking hot in there. not to mention the mosquitoes, ants and insects! ew, gross." the younger says while woozi tries to push him off of his body. the older groans, "yah, get- get off you bastard!" he exclaims with the younger pulling him into an even tighter hug.

"baobei, let him go! i think hes gonna suffocate." a voice joins in the conversation. it was wen junhui.

with that, minghao immediately lets go of woozi with an innocent smile on his face. meanwhile, the other was suffocating. "h-hey! you cant just, just act like nothing happened!" woozi cries, holding onto his chest for dear life.

"you boys over there, stop chit-chatting and pay attention! yunjin and eunchae! return chaewon's cap this instant!" professor kang commands. poor woman has to take care of over 40+ adults.

"alright students, please listen up!" another professor announces, snapping her hands in the air.

"the next thing on our agenda, is a treasure hunt. well, to be exact, its a lunch hunt. you'll be searching an gathering ingredients for your lunch, dinner, and dessert. yes, that means you'll have to cook it by yourself. head prefect yoon jeonghan will be handing out the layout and map of the forest. deputy head nayeon will be handing out the ingredients needed for you meals. and senior prefect shinyu will pass out the clue cards. we'll be hosting three rounds with an hour for each round, one for lunch, one for dinner and the other for dessert. if you manage to get all ingredients, then you'll be enjoying a delicious meal. if you manage to get a few ingredients but not all, then you'll have to make it with what you have. though, if you found nothing, then you'll not be eating anything."

the students gulps at the professor's lack of care for their students, how they make them starve if they dont find anything.

"this other board here, is a ranking board. students who got all ingredients will have their name ranked at the very top part, students who got most will be below, students who got some will be the second lowest, and students who didn't get anything will be at the lowest rank of the board. about partners, this time however, you can go with anyone you want or you can go alone. but you have to inform your teachers, so we can add points to your names on the points board. the maximum amount of people will be 4 and the minimum is 1. please form groups or partners now, im giving you 8 minutes!" the professor adds, clicking on a timer on her phone.

in a blink of an eye, everyone started hugging each other claiming partners. some shook hands, some high-fived, and some looking around for a partner.

woozi stood still, hoping no one would come up to him and ask to be partners. even hoshi, since he knew how awkward it will be. just imagine....

current timeline : woozi's prediction if he was partners with hoshi...

"hey woozi..! wanna be partners..?" hoshi asked shyly with a hand rested on his nape.

woozi's heart skipped a beat at the thought of spending time with hoshi, but his nerves got the best of him as he awkwardly accepted the invitation.

"wait- really? thats- thats great!" hoshi exclaims, his cheeks flushing a bright pink.

after a few entertaining chats with hoshi, woozi finally feels comfortable to show his other side to the older, although hoshi has probably seen it from all the stalking and watching him sleep shit.

"alright students,"  professor kang calls out, gaining the attention of tue students before adding more. "your hunting starts from, now!" she cocks the pistol in the air.

hearing that, hoshi slipped out the clue card from the envelope with woozi on his tiptoes, peeking over the older's shoulder.

it read; 'Seek me where the butcher's blade does gleam, In the cool embrace of a refrigerated dream. I'm red and raw, a carnivore's delight, Find me hidden in plain sight.'

hoshi and woozi finished read in silence before they made eye contact and smiled at each other. "let's.. go?" hoshi questions, holding out a hand for woozi to hold onto. "yeah, lets go!"

their first clue led them to the muddiest trails of the forest, where they had to find the best looking meat for their dish.

as they weaved through the trees, woozi struggled to make conversation with hoshi, stumbling over his words and accidentally bumping into one of the students from another class, ryujin. "im-im so sorry," he stammered, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

hoshi chuckled and reassured him, "dont be ashamed, woozingie. let's just focus on finding that meat, shall we?" his easygoing nature puts woozi at ease, but he couldn't shake off the awkward tension that lingered between them.

after what seems like hours, they finally located the frozen meat that they had to claim from the professor waiting in the forest. and the professor even had an electrical fan with him. how unfair. hoshi and woozi thanked the professor, before searching for their next item with meat added to their basket.

this time, woozi took out the second clue in the card, dropping it onto the mud, too.

"ah-! shit." he cursed as he crouched down to take the card back. fortunately, the card wasn't completely smothered in mud, just a few places here and there.

the clue said; "Look for me in the garden's lush green, Among the vines where sunlight beams.
I'm juicy and red, a summer's delight, Find me hiding in plain sight."

with that, hoshi wasted no time grabbing the younger's hand and taking off to their next destination.

their next stop was an overcrowded grassy field of the forest, where they had to play a game of guess the shade of the colour of red for their dish.

"welcome, my dear serenades!" professor yang greeted with a smile on his face. "here to play a game of.. 'guess the shade of red?!'" the professor exaggerates, almost more excited than the students themselves. woozi nodded and laughed at his professor's enthusiasm. professor yang clasped his hands, "great! so who's participating?" he asked.

hoshi raised his hand in an instant, "i am." he replies, with a hint of confidence in his voice. "alright. all you need to do is get at least 10 out of 20 shades correct." the professor explains, setting up the website for hoshi. "would you like to play the version with multiple choices, or-" "i dont need choices. just start the game." hoshi interrupts, but as politely as possible.

with that, the game commands.

"thats the shade or wine."

"garnet!"

"my favourite, crimson."

"ruby."

"hmm, i dont know. actually, the shade's mahogany."

"easy, currant."

"thats berry!"

"this is getting easier and easier, blood."

"this one is definitely sangria."

"the shade named after the human expression, blush."

the students around him wow-ed at his amazing excitement for the many shades of red.

as professor yang continues clicking to the next shade with hoshi getting all of them right, woozi couldn't help but admire hoshi's knowledge of different shades of red and his overconfidence.

soon, the quickly gets all the questions right and claims his tomatoes. "you really know are a nerd for red," he remarked, trying to sound casual with knowing why hoshi knows all sorts of shades of red.

hoshi flashed him a smirk and replied, "ive always had a love for experimenting with tomatoes in the kitchen. its my creative outlet." he boasts without knowing that woozi knows the real reason. but still, woozi felt a warm flutter in his chest at his words, but the awkwardness still hung heavy in the air.

the food hunt continued with more clues leading them to a lake for cheese slices, a thorny roses garden for bread, and the other side of the forest for lettuce. with each stop, woozi and hoshi shared awkward silences, exchanged nervous glances, and fumbled through their interactions.

as they claimed the final ingredient – potatoes from the entrance of the forest – woozi felt a mix of excitement and anxiety. alone with hoshi in the serene garden, he couldn't help but feel the weight of their unspoken feelings hanging between them like a heavy cloud.

finally, they thanked the prefect in charge and claimed the prized herb together.

they made theyre way back to the entrance since they had collected all the ingredients for their lunch.  there was currently no one except peace and quiet on the area theyre walking on, so woozi mustered up the courage to break the silence. "hoshi, i... i have something to tell you, since.. since no one's around here right now." he began, his voice barely above a whisper.

before he could finish his sentence, hoshi interrupted him with a nervous chuckle.

"hey, woozi, i know this has been... awkward," he started, his cheeks tinged with pink. "but i just wanted to say that i appreciate you accepting my invitation and coming on this food hunt with me. you're a great companion." his words sent a wave of relief through woozi's heart as he realized that maybe their awkwardness was mutual.

with a shy smile, woozi nodded in agreement. and just like that, they continued their way back to their starting point in comfortable silence, their unspoken feelings lingering in the air like a bittersweet melody.

— — —