as you make your way through the corridors, you find most of the doors locked.even wiggling the doorknobs with gentle bodyslams leave each door unmoved.looks like everyone is out for the day. all but one, and their door is ajar.the faint music grows louder as you stroll to it, accompanied by the telltale clicking of a keyboard and some heavy thuds...you push the door open without a thought, barely stopping yourself halfway with a quick knock.a bubbly voice calls, "come in!"as though you had never stopped at all, you push the door open and step into the room.

upon entering, you glimpse jungkook kicking something under the bed as he lifts his head, eyes lighting up as a smile fills out his cheeks."hyungie!"he quickly clicks out of a few windows, not-so-discreetly nudging the monitor of his desktop away from you as he jumps out of his chair.in a movement too quick for the human eye, he bounces onto you and traps you in a tight hug."good morning!"jungkook's grin happily overlooks the mid-afternoon sun as he continues,"did you need something?"

you ask him about the scavenger hunt and his eyes light up even more somehow, as though twinkling when he nods in response."it's only for you, right?"jungkook grabs your arm and tugs you over to his desk, carefully reaching past consoles and precariously stacked books."he tried to chase everyone out of the dorms, but i snuck back in—d don't tell him..."tell him? you eye jungkook rummaging through the maze of his belongings then consider what you might find if you did it yourself...nah."he stuck this on my screen, can you believe? but it's for you!"oh-withdrawing his hand with practised ease, he turns to you...

...and holds out a polaroid.you gingerly take it from his hold, turning it over a few times.the date catches your eye before you can fully take in the picture: AUG. 2ND 2018.gaze wandering to the photograph immediately after, it takes a moment to put together just what you're looking at.a picture of the park a few minutes away from the dorm on a sunny day.you look up and jungkook laughs as he ushers you into the corridor.you manage a thanks and see you later before he squeezes you in a one-armed hug then bumps you out of his room.barely a breath later there's the telltale clicks of a mouse and keyboard; you almost let yourself wonder what he's up to before catching yourself.he's at that age, after all.you finger the edge of the polaroid, carefully tucking it into your pocket as you make your way back to the living room.

you mention missing him and he barely gets to laugh before you promptly stick both your pinkies into his ears."wHaT tH-"he's still laughing even when you curl your fists, rubbing your knuckles into his sides.he wriggles out of your grasp, snorting a weak demand to stop messing around.you take the chance to knuckle the crown of his head."hyung, what!
are you doing?
stOP—"he sounds anything but serious.you snicker and respond by pinching his arm through his jersey."hyung—"jungkook raises both fists and ducks his head behind his forearms. his boxing sessions are doing him well."If you don't quit now, I'll have to defend myself!"he wouldn't engage a defenceless man, would he?

you inch closer, moving too fast to be anything but mischievous, and jungkook picks up on it.he grabs your hand, high-fiving it with his free one before jabbing your side.by the time you wring your hand free of his grip, jungkook dives at you with a battle cry.it's nothing uncommon, so you brace for impact.an impact that comes in a wild movement:jungkook swings his hand, the arc of it ending with a Strong THWAP to your neck—and it's still funny, even though your vision fuzzes around the edges...then completely fuzzes over as jungkook manhandles you, picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder with a proud huff.the door swings open and knocks the wall as your vision goes black.the world seems to vibrate around you, and heavy footsteps echoing along the walls are the last thing you hear.

you plant your hand firmly on jungkook's head, the action leaving him eyeing you suspiciously.so when you rub your hand in circles and he breaks into that same big smile, you can't help laughing."geez hyung, don't mess around like that!"with playful smacks to both your arms, he pulls you into another hug and spins you both around the room like a well-contained tornado.you barely get out a see you later when he plops you down outside his room and waves you off.quick tapping starts back up and you roll your shoulders once you're steady on your feet.right, you have something to do, too.

you're just checking in and you tell him as much, mentioning you're happy to see he's holding up well."thank you, hyungie!" he tells you a bit about his day while bouncing back into his chair, laughing through his entire story.it involves a lot of wrestling, a bit of sneaking, and ends with you walking into his room.he finishes just as he clicks his monitor back to life, blatantly pausing at the log-in screen to eye you in a way you can't quite place."see you later, hyung. there's still some takeout in the fridge if you want any!"right, you still need to grab something to eat. you wave him off with a grin, turning on your heel.it'll happen in due time.

your gaze falls upon the couch nestled cosily against the wall.no couch should be that peaceful nor that unoccupied.not ever.in no time you bound across the living room and throw yourself onto the couch, settling for some comfortable moments before patting idly across the cushions.

historically, hiding things between couch cushions is an almost sacred act.maybe there will be something for you there?you peek and prod into the spaces between every couch cushion, you even check between the cushions of the headrest.you don't find a single thing; at least, nothing you were hoping to find.there were a couple lost trinkets, some busted earphones, and even some snacks...the snacks were more worrying than expected.you hurry to the kitchen to toss them and wash your hands before returning to the living room;the sanctity of which you now question.

your gaze settles fondly on the blanket fort you helped build with your own two hands.it took a lot of fumbling, and a lot more imagination than experience, but it's holding up well even now.what if...you plug in the fairy lights then crawl into the blanket fort.after only a moment to orient yourself, you rummage through the few boxes inside.nothing that was not already there...you move on to peeking between pillows and under messy blankets before sprawling across the sheet-covered floor.nothing hidden there, either.you nestle your head on a pillow, the perfect vantage point, and look around.checking every corner is tempting, but you're not willing to risk bringing down the entire fort.aside from that, it's really cosy, even cosier than bed with its dim lights and warmth...you swear you will not lie down more than a minute.it will only be until your bones settle back into place!but it's so hard to keep your eyes open...

it's tough to open your eyes but you overcome the struggle out of sheer curiosity.how long were you out? why do your hands and face feel weird? what's this—?you pluck a sticky note off the back of your hand to reveal a messy pikachu doodle in black and red ink surrounded by stars and spirals.you squint at it and the sticky note that reads:look at your other hand.you look at your other hand and pull off another sticky note to reveal...its similar, doodle-covered state, instead featuring a messy charmander surrounded by hearts of varying sizes.this sticky note reads:look at the pocket mirror on the pillow.pocket mirror?

you look around, willing the bleariness from your eyes, and find a compact mirror sitting a pillow.opening it reveals a sticky note that reads:check below the lights!you remove the sticky note and burst into a round of laughter over the sight that greets you.there are doodles all over your face: a curled moustache, a drawn-on monocle, big spirals on your cheeks and a tiny coloured heart on your nose.you chortle while crawling closer to the fairy lights, your hand knocking something solid—you grab it before it gets stuck between the cushions and hold it up to the lights for inspection.╍╍╍╍╍╍╍PAINTBRUSH acquired!
a wooden paintbrush with worn bristles and a handle covered in technicoloured fingerprints. the damp tip looks a bit green.╍╍╍╍╍╍╍this must be one of the key items mentioned in the note, right?finding one makes you a winner, but the note mentioned four...`WHAT WILL YOU DO?

you make your way to the dinner table and wrinkle your nose at it.it's so clean, almost shiny, save for the centrepiece taehyung places there between meals to make it look homier.but that's the problem, there's nothing much for you to check here—unless...you kneel on the floor and lift the tablecloth to peek underneath the table.nothing.you lift your eyes to the base of the table, and-no way.

you remove the tape securing the fabric to the bottom of the table, tossing it before unfolding the fabric to behold it in all its glory.╍╍╍╍╍╍╍APRON acquired!
a frilly, white apron with a sunnyside-up egg printed on the chest of it.functionality includes tying off in a big bow and protecting the wearer from stray cooking projectiles from the neck down.it looks suspiciously close to your size...╍╍╍╍╍╍╍this must be one of the key items mentioned in the note, right?finding one makes you a winner, but the note mentioned four...`WHAT WILL YOU DO?

your gaze trails to the pantry and you make your way over with the remnants of your snack sticking to your fingers.maybe there's something in here?when you open it a concentrated smell of spices crawls right up into your brain-but that doesn't stop you from pushing your way through containers, tins, cans... spices, snacks, and even a flashlight...you search the pantry so thoroughly, by the time you retrieve the note sticking out between two different jars of spices your hands smell just like it.you wiggle your nose to subdue a sneeze as you read:_________________you're working really hard searching, aren't you?there's no way you would've found this note if you weren't!just the thought of you looking this hard is enough to make my heart jump right out ♡keep going sweetheart, you can find everything at this rate!_________________with a chortle you close the pantry and hurriedly waddle away from it.but in a moment of curiosity, you take a whiff of the note...it smells like chocolate.pfft. you tuck the note into your pocket and give the kitchen another once over.where else can you look?

you lean off the refrigerator and look at the cupboards lining the spaces between the stove, the refrigerator, the door...they are all small but deep, and they contain so many things—he wouldn't hide anything in one of them and expect you to find it!... right?you make your way over to one; the challenge is daunting but you've never backed down from one yet...you swing the closest cupboard wide open and a sizeable note greets you.picking it up to read is unnecessary with how big and bold the font is on the blue piece of cardboard,but you do anyway:_________________BABY[TO BABY ONLY]IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ahem, any specific items,THERE AREN'T ANY IN HERE!PLEASE, I COULD NEVER MAKE YOU LOOK THROUGH ALL THESE DANG CUPBOARDS!!Love, Your Questmaster._________________you snort and set the note down right where you found it, heaving a sigh of relief.it's one thing to attempt a challenge and another to torment yourself.looking through the cupboards for snacks is already a pain, thank goodness you can look anywhere else for what you want.

you stare at the apron for a while longer before slowly closing your mouth and folding it back into a neat square.wh- what does this mean...better not to dwell on it! besides, there should be other items—one item is good, but multiple items would be better, right? and you didn't raise yourself to be a quitter!you tuck the apron underneath your arm and clear your throat a few times.good lord, what are you gonna find when you start looking elsewhere?

you place the compact mirror in one of the boxes, idly thumbing the brush's bristles.they're a little damp, their softness vaguely giving way to the grainy texture that comes with overuse.you snort as the light catches the doodles on your hands and carefully crawl out of the blanket fort.one item is good, but multiple items would be better, right? and you didn't raise yourself to be a quitter!while tucking the paintbrush into your pocket, taking extra care with its handle,you unplug the fairy lights then turn your attention to the rest of the living room.