If Only I'd Met You Earlier♡ •Ot7•

23. Family

A nice and bright sunny afternoon was what all eight of them seemed to need. Ayeong looked more than overjoyed to have such a nice and big family that actually skipped all work to take her for a picnic, unlike her previous one-person family who hadn't done her much. She hadn't mentioned Jean to any of us for a very long time which gave me a relief that she was actually happy with her current life.

We were settling next to a waterfall, but not the one where Jungkook and I used to practice meditation, splash water at each other, walk hand in hand.....no stop! I don't want to think about it.

SeokJin and Yoongi did the work of setting up the jumbo size picnic cloth that could fit all 9 of us- no actually 10, since Yeontan was with us as well. He currently was running towards the water following Taehyung with his tiny little feet. Hoseok put down the two picnic baskets full of homemade snacks that SeokJin and Yoongi had worked on before we left from home.

Namjoon was buzy taking photos and selfies with plants and of Yeontan playing in the water. The sound of birds chirping and a buzz of insects around us gave a perfect finishing touch to the mini event.

"Any foodie up for gimbap already?" SeokJin called out from where he was sitting besides Yoongi, opening the box that was in his lap.

"Me, me!" I rushed towards him with hunger drool threatening to escape through my mouth, "I've barely had anything since morning!"

"Is it??? I am definitely sure that I saw you munch on loads of carrot while we were cooking." SeokJin commented as I picked the biggest piece and sat myself down.

"Yes, and that is because I am soo hungry!" I laughed, taking a bite. I could swear that SeokJin and Yoongi make the best gimbap in the whole world. A sigh of appreciation escaped me, "This is soo perfect!!"

SeokJin laughed, "Glad you like it." I didn't have to look up to see that Jungkook had finally decided to leave his spot next to the tree and walked up to SeokJin and had taken one piece for himself. He slipped off his flip-flops and stepped onto the cloth with a soft footing, taking two long strides to reach me. The heat from his gaze was burning my nape and I had to use every ounce of self control to not look up at him which would give him the permission to sit next to me. I thought I wasn't ready for it just yet, so I kept staring at my crossed legs. When I didn't look up, he stepped back and sat, leaving space between us for one person to occupy. I let out a breath, not completely with relief but mixed with something else I couldn't quite put my finger on.

It wasn't long until everyone started settling down for food. Taehyung occupied the space between Jungkook and me while Hoseok sat on my other side, making me one apart from Namjoon. After drying their feet, Jimin and Ayeong sat next to Yoongi and SeokJin to complete the circle. More boxes of food were placed between us while I held back a fully drenched Yeontan from leaping at it. Once he was given his treat, he ran of chasing squirrels and butterflies, keeping himself far away from the water so we could eat without worrying about him flowing away.

The whole circle broke into small group chats. Once in almost every five minutes, someone would silence all of us to narrate an embarassing snippet of someone else from the circle. I had my ears dropping into every conversation so I didn't miss out on anything. I realised in that moment, how many smiles I would have missed out if not for them, and that made my heart bloomed with appreciation.

Ayeong and Jimin got into an argument yet again and headed back to the waterfall for a splash war. Jimin took that chance to show off his perfectly built body by ripping out his crew neck t-shirt. Hoots arose through the group, Ayeong's face turned crimson before she hid half of it behind her hands, groaning as if she saw something displeasing. She could make a good actress. Jimin was grinning ear to ear as he pulled her with him.