taeraevision
i just sang my song

taeraevision
I'M FREE!!!

taeraevision
no more finals

die100
so proud of u babe ❤️😘

taeraevision
yeah ok thanks ricky😭

alvinthechipmunk
I SANG MINE TOO

alvinthechipmunk
thanks for ur advice on it guys i actually think i did well

kjwng
Of course you did!

kjwng
We would never let you perform a shitty song

taeraevision
exactly!!!!

gymbro6000
i think gyuvin died

gymbro6000
he's been asleep for 13 hours

fartmaster1000
kick him in the balls

hanbeean
DON'T DO THAT?????

jjanghao
have u guys been making out

gymbro6000
??

jjanghao
you're always with each other

gymbro6000
ya cause we come as a package

jjanghao
🤨🤨

die100
let us know if he's really dead xx

alvinthechipmunk
what's with ricky and death

alvinthechipmunk
i'm starting to think he's a murderer

jjanghao
his final painting had symbolism of death on it

alvinthechipmunk
so i'm right

die100
yeah and ur next❤️❤️

jjanghao
CAN YOU STOP THREATENING EVERYONE

die100
no thx

gymbro6000
HE'S AWAKE ‼️‼️

ihoardsnacks5
goodmornitngn

ihoardsnacks5
i dnaced so hard i fal asleep

taeraevision
idk how u guys spend so much time together

taeraevision
i'm so happy to be away from matthew and jiwoong rn

alvinthechipmunk
EXCUSE ME

kjwng
Likewise, Taerae 😊

hanbeean
do you guys wanna go out to eat

hanbeean
like as a way to celebrate?

hanbeean
cause i know a bunch of you haven't met in person yet

taeraevision
ok but not until later

taeraevision
i look like a bum

fartmaster1000
not too late plz

fartmaster1000
my mom gave me a curfew 😭😭😭😭

ihoardsnacks5
awwww yujin ☹️☹️❤️❤️

jjanghao
he's just a little baby!

fartmaster1000
SHUT UP

hanbeean
would 6:30 be okay for kbbq

ihoardsnacks5
ya (from me and gunwook)

taeraevision
yeah that's ok

kjwng
Good with me!

alvinthechipmunk
yes❤️

jjanghao
that's fine

die100
i'll be there but i'll be late

die100
fashionably of course

fartmaster1000
my mom said it's ok

hanbeean
GOSH yujin is so :(((( ☹️☹️☹️☹️

fartmaster1000
??????

hanbeean
i mean

hanbeean
i'll make a reservation

—

Naturally, Hanbin arrived first. He made the reservation, thus he was accountable. He reserved a private room at the restaurant, and while it came at a cost, he didn't mind; he'd rather have some privacy anyway.

Jiwoong, who had also picked up Yujin, was the first person to arrive after Hanbin. The eldest and Hanbin exchanged a firmer, more mature-like hug, while Yujin practically leapt into Hanbin's arms the moment they made eye contact.

"How'd your finals go?" asked Hanbin, pouring water into Jiwoong and Yujin's cups respectively before taking a sip of his own.

Jiwoong let out a long, steady sigh, which the other two picked up on right away. "Acting isn't easy, and practicing with Taerae and Matthew did not make it easier."

Hanbin placed a hand on Jiwoong's shoulder and chuckled at the thought of those two laughing and making fun of him. "That's why you don't lock yourself in a room with them, buddy."

"Yeah," Jiwoong said, almost drinking his entire glass of water in one sip. "How about you, Yujinnie?"

"Where do I even get started?" Yujin exclaimed dramatically, crossing his arms. "My classes are so demanding, like, I know I said I wanted fun, but now they're doing too much! I was up all night with Ollie making posters about food-borne illnesses." 

"You always talk about Ollie," Hanbin said teasingly, poking Yujin's arm with his finger.

Innocently, Yujin nodded, eyes sparkling. "Well, of course! He's my best friend."

Before he was able to continue asserting his agenda of Yujin liking Ollie, two others arrived. Gyuvin and Gunwook arrived together, immediately complaining about how the bus took ages to arrive. They (mostly Gyuvin) clung to Yujin almost instantly, with Gyuvin's hands constantly on the youngest's cheeks.

Despite the fact that they hadn't known each other for long, the group got along just fine—nothing was awkward and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Hanbin assumed that the fact that the weight that was dropped from everyone's shoulders once finals were over also added to the relaxed atmosphere.

"For being a picky teacher," Gyuvin remarked, holding Yujin's hand. "Ms. Park seemed to like my choreography a lot!"

Gunwook nodded in agreement, a bright, gummy smile on his face. "Mine too! For once, I'm actually confident about it."

"I remember having her last year," Hanbin reminiscences, smiling at the fond memories he made during his first few years of majoring in dance. "She can be a nightmare sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Gunwook said, sighing and sitting back in his seat. "It's over now, though." He turned to face Yujin, who was sitting between him and Gyuvin. "Good luck when you have her, little bro. You're gonna need it."

Jiwoong made an offended grimace and reached over the table to place his hands over the youngest's ears. "Don't scare him!" he shouted jokingly, causing the entire table to burst into laughter.

Walking in next was Taerae, who was holding hands with Matthew. They happened to be at the restaurant's front entrance at the same time, so they walked in together. Both had wide smiles on their cheeks, with Matthew feeling the need to embrace every single person who was there.

The conversation was lighthearted, with everyone sharing their experiences cramming for finals, as well as numerous jokes and laughing sprinkled throughout. Hanbin had taken it upon himself to order an impressive display of meat while they waited for the last two to show up, just so they could start grilling as soon as that happened.

Zhang Hao arrived not too long after, receiving cheers from the rest of the friend group, which he bowed to. "Thank you, thank you. I love all my fans!" He took a seat right next to Hanbin, giving him a sweet, gentle smile.

"Did Ricky come with you?" asked Matthew, motioning to the one empty seat that was left.

With a nod, Hao sighed in annoyance. "He did, but he wanted to be the last person to arrive, so I left him in the car," he explained, rolling his eyes. "That brat."

As if it was on cue, Ricky appeared in the doorway, a sly smile on his face. He definitely radiated different energy compared to everyone else; it was extremely noticeable. The only free seat was next to Taerae, which was very much to Ricky's delight. "I told you guys," he said simply, "I come fashionably late."

Hao was already talking Ricky's ear off about how rude and inconsiderate his actions were while Jiwoong grilled the meat, but he paid no mind (and lots of mind to Taerae, who was oblivious).

"You're like the dad I never had," Yujin said as Jiwoong piled his plate up with different cuts of meat that were being grilled in the middle of the table. 

"How old's your mom?" asked the eldest with a goofy grin on his face, prompting everyone else at the table to lose their minds.

Gasping in shock, Yujin dramatically brought a hand up to his chest. "Leave my mom out of this!"

"You should go for Yujin's teacher if you're into older ladies," Gunwook said with a laugh, pointing at Jiwoong with his chopsticks before picking a thin piece of meat up from the grill.

Hanbin nodded at Gunwook's remark, placing a few slices of beef into a piece of lettuce that was in his hand. "You have the face a lot of older ladies like!"

Jiwoong made a face of concern, leaning in closer to Hanbin, Gunwook, and Yujin. "Is that why that one table of middle-aged ladies was looking at me?"

"Oh, so you get bitches?" asked Gunwook rather loudly, earning him a light slap on the back of the head from the eldest.

Ricky kept glancing over at Taerae, who was having an engaging conversation with Gyuvin and Matthew. Hao, who noticed how awkward the blonde was feeling, kicked his foot lightly. "What's wrong?" he asked, switching to Mandarin with ease.

"What do I say to him?" asked Ricky, clueless about what he was supposed to say to someone he was attracted to.

Hao was rather confused, furrowing his eyebrows as he spoke. "You're so confident over text! What happened?"

"He looks much better in person," the younger said in almost a whisper, as if the rest of the table would understand.

"Ricky, you look better in person, too," Hao complimented, patting the blonde's back gently. "Now turn around and talk to him."

Taerae's attention was gained by Ricky after he was done laughing at a joke told by Gyuvin, to which the blonde was not paying attention to. He gave Ricky a charming smile that could give someone a heart attack if they stared at it for too long (and he took those chances with pride). Taerae's ears were perked up, almost as a way of indirectly telling Ricky that he was already attentively listening to what he wanted to say.

"Um," Ricky started, his eyes struggling to keep contact with Taerae's. "You should show me the song you sang for your final one day."

The confusion on Taerae's face eventually turned into another one of his shining smiles. "Only if you show me your painting."

"Oh really?" asked Ricky with a playful smirk, receiving a nod from the older. After some thought, he pulled his phone out, showing Taerae a photo he took of the final painting. 

For being notoriously rude over text, Taerae actually showed a great amount of interest in Ricky's painting, asking various questions about the meaning, inspiration, and symbolism.

Hao's quick glance at the two had him smiling, causing him to tap Hanbin's arm a few times to get him to look as well.

"Those two are actually hitting it off!" Hanbin whispered to Hao, placing a hand on the other's thigh. "What you said actually helped."

Staring at Hanbin with wide eyes, he wasn't even sure what to say. How did Hanbin hear them whispering, and more importantly, how did he understand Mandarin?

Hanbin laughed, finding Hao particularly endearing in this situation. "Don't be so surprised!" He gave the younger's thigh a squeeze of reassurance. "I learned a lot from classes."

"You took Mandarin classes?" asked Hao, still in shock that Hanbin knew as much as he did. They proceeded to have quite the extensive conversation in Mandarin, with Hao correcting Hanbin's pronunciation every now and then.

Jiwoong found himself sitting next to Matthew, after Gyuvin, who was originally in that seat, had gone to the bathroom.

"You should put equal parts, but a lot more chilli oil!" Matthew explained, mixing the meat sauces provided to the table to make what he calls 'beef sauce heaven' (it's stupid, but Jiwoong finds it charming regardless).

He makes a face at the Canadian that shows how uneasy he felt about how much spice there was in the sauce, but who was he to complain? You should always try everything at least once. Jiwoong dipped a small piece of meat into the sauce and was pleasantly surprised by it. "Oh, it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

Matthew playfully punched Jiwoong in the arm. "You thought it was gonna be bad?!"

"The chilli oil scared me!" he shouted back in defence, a laugh escaping his lips.

Even though it was the group's first ever gathering in person, the moment was extremely memorable to everyone, with them learning a lot about each other as the night went on. Gyuvin, Gunwook, Matthew, and Yujin, who was called home by his mother, were driven home by Jiwoong, who wasn't very pleased by Gunwook's incredibly loud music choices.

Hanbin offered to drive Hao home, forgetting he, too, came with a car, but was surprised when the latter left Ricky with his car in favour of being driven by Hanbin. Later, Ricky finds out that it was a ploy by Hao to get him and Taerae alone, but he suspects something between Hanbin and Hao regardless.

Overall, everyone felt the same about the dinner, and would happily go out to eat once more as a group.

alvinthechipmunk
remind me to NEVER eat that much again

taeraevision
ykw at least we didn't drink

hanbeean
GOD imagine waking up on a crisp saturday morning with a hangover

hanbeean
i'd be GONE!!!!

jjanghao
i could've gone for a drink

jjanghao
or four

kjwng
Next time is just for the adults then!

ihoardsnacks5
WOW

gymbro6000
CAN'T EVEN SNEAK US A SIP????

hanbeean
does yujin even know what alcohol is

fartmaster1000
do u want to die❤️

hanbeean
little boy you don't scare me

fartmaster1000
i'll give my teacher ur number

hanbeean
NO WTF ????

fartmaster1000
say sry

hanbeean
OKAY DAMN YUJIN SORRY!!!!