So it turns out we're watching a Korean movie after all. That meant some of us had to get our eyes ready for subtitles. As tiring and straining as it may seem, we were pretty much expecting this. Except Christine, of course.
"I think I need to water my eyes every time we're watching movies with subtitles," she said as she rummaged through the picnic basket next to her looking for a water bottle.
"But don't use too much of it, okay?" Seungri who sat in front of her, pointed out.
"She's just joking," I said to Seungri. "Usually she waters her eyes after the movie is done."
"Easy for you to say," said Christine as she shot a look at me. "Your eyes don't hurt like mine."
"FYI, all our eyes hurt when we look at the screen for too long," said Daniel, who sat to my left. He already had a bag of crackers open, eating them one by one, as the movie hasn't started yet.
"Whatever," Christine took out a plastic water bottle and also a chocolate bar filled with nuts and raisins. Zoey and I told her to pass us some as well.
"This is really nice," said Zoey who was on her knees behind me, opening her chocolate bar. "I can't remember the last time we ever came to the park just for a movie."
"It's been a while," said Daniel, chewing on a cracker. "Ever since we became famous we never had time to go out for such outings."
"Even just going out for a movie at a cinema, that's if you weren't invited or anything," said Christine.
"This is why I'm going to enjoy this moment," said Zoey, "even if we've to watch a movie with subtitles."
"Keep on saying that and Christine might leave to join some other group for the movie," I said as I chuckled.
"As tempting as that sounds, I don't want to attract so much attention," said Christine as she settled next to Seungri.
"And if she does, people will know The Toxins are in the building," said Seungri.
"Let's not forget you and Daesung will also be discovered," I pointed out.
"Well, let's hope that this location the guards picked out will be enough for no one to notice us," said Zoey as she looked around.
Even when we weren't so close to the screen, we were settled under a tree to the east side and there weren't many people. Most of them settled in the middle to have a clear view of the screen. And the fact that the place was partially dark at the moment except for the flood lights positioned strategically around the park area, no one has noticed us yet. Besides, when the lights go off when the movie starts, we'll completely be in the dark, hence a perfect cover away from prying eyes. And if anything goes wrong, the guards who are close by will have everything covered.
"I think we're fine here," I said, as I started to look around, "that's if Daesung and Mike get here quickly. They will be the ones attracting unwanted attention."
"I know, we don't need more popcorn though," said Daniel as he also looked around.
"I don't know why they left," said Christine. She had just finished her chocolate bar and put the wrapper away in a plastic bag where we would be throwing our trash in. "The popcorn in here seems more than enough for all of us."
"You know how Zoey is," said Seungri. "She just needed the sour creamed popcorn."
Christine, Daniel and I laughed. Seungri sounded as if he's known Zoey forever. I heard Zoey mutter something out of frustration and Seungri couldn't help but turn to look at her with a crooked smile on his face.
"It's not my fault that I'm in the mood for sour cream," said Zoey as she now sat with her arms folded.
"But what's wrong with buttered popcorn?" Daniel asked. "If you ask me it's actually the best."
"Like I said, I want sour cream," said Zoey a little too loud.
The four of us turned to shush her and she became offended right way. We couldn't help but laugh. Troubling Zoey can be fun at times.
"Hey, what did we miss?" Mike asked as we turned to see him and Daesung standing behind us with packs of popcorn in plastics in their hands.
"Seungri just made fun of Zoey just now," Daniel answered.
"Ya, I can see that," Mike bent a little to look at her, "it's written all over her face."
Daesung started to snicker. The look on Zoey's face spoke volumes, and all we could do is laugh.
"Okay, guys, enough," I said as I tried my best to stop laughing. "Zoey has had enough for one day, don't you think?"
"No," said Mike as he knelt on the picnic blanket to put the packs of popcorn down. "I want to know what Seungri said."
Christine was quick to say what had happened. Even as she said the story, we all couldn't help ourselves and laughed again. Zoey just took her popcorn from Daesung who sat beside her.
"This might be the last time I'm eating sour creamed popcorn," we heard Zoey say to Daesung.
"Don't take it too seriously, Zoey," said Daesung, trying his best to be comforting. "They are only joking with you."
I turned to look at Zoey who now started to pout. She looked like a puppy whenever she did that.
"You always make fun of me, Zoey," I said. "But I don't get this upset."
"Yes, you do," she said as she looked at me.
I shrugged my shoulder. She has a point. But Zoey takes things a little overboard sometimes.
"Okay, enough, everyone," said Daesung. "The movie is about to start. And here, everyone gets a pack of popcorn."
He and Mike distributed the popcorn around. Zoey who had already started to eat hers didn't say a word until:
"Hey, guys, I thought I had seen someone familiar just now."
We all turned in the direction Zoey was looking towards the middle of the seating area. But there were so many people that we couldn't pin-point anyone familiar.
"Who did you see, Zoey?" Mike asked as he now knelt to get a clear view.
"Forget it," she said after she clicked her tongue. "Maybe I'm just seeing things."
"Mmm," I murmured as I continued to look around.
"Don't strain yourself looking, my panda," said Seungri. "Don't forget, you've a movie with subtitles to watch."
I chuckled. "You're right." As much as I wanted to stop looking, I couldn't keep my eyes from wandering a little.
"I better put my phone on vibrate," said Daniel as he pulled out his phone from his jacket. "Don't want to be the guy who ruins a movie by the sound of the phone ringing."
"Ya, I probably should too," said Christine, also pulling out her phone.
I remember putting my phone on vibrate the time we got to our picnic spot, but it can't hurt to check again. I had my phone on my lap and I pressed the power button to turn the phone's screen on. My phone is apparently on silent and I found three missed calls. Weird. Who could be calling me? And why didn't I notice the phone screen light up as the person called? I probably had my phone turned upside down that I didn't notice.
I unlocked my phone to check who had called, and lo and behold, it's G-Dragon. That's odd. Why would he be calling? Was he checking up on me to see if I was at the park? I looked at the time he called and it wasn't less than ten minutes ago. Should I call back to see what he wants?
The flood lights around the park started to go off one by one. The movie is about to begin. Maybe I should leave him a text. I don't want to disturb anyone by making a phone call. I quickly did so telling him that I was already at the park. I didn't expect him to reply right away, so I turned off the phone screen and placed it on my lap.
"Who were you texting?" Mike asked as he came to sit on my right, pushing Seungri a little further away from me.
"GD called," I answered. "I didn't hear my phone ring as I had put it on silent."
"He really likes to trouble you a lot."
I rolled my eyes and smiled at my brother. "He does."
The place became dark except for the lights surrounding the huge white screen in front of us. Soon, even those went off and images started to appear on the screen and sound came from the speakers. My phone screen went on. GD had texted me back. That's quick, I thought.
The opening credits started to show on the screen and as much as I didn't want to miss this, I'm forced to read GD's message. What I see next when I unlock my phone, got me thinking. His message read:
"Hey, where are you guys seated?"
Could G-Dragon be here in the park? How come?
The movie is still on the opening credits and this time the image projected on the screen is an aerial view of a large city. Looked like Seoul. My eyes quickly wandered off the screen to look in the crowd. But with the darkness and only the light coming from the main screen, I still couldn't pinpoint G-Dragon.
Daniel noticed me looking about so he tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, what's up?" he asked in a whisper.
"GD is here and is asking where we are," I whispered back.
"Huh? Why is he here? He wasn't invited, was he?"
I shook my head. I couldn't understand it either. The time he called at the hotel, he didn't say anything about joining us for the movie. He would've told us earlier if he wanted to. Right now, I couldn't tell what he's thinking.
"Just ignore him," Daniel whispered. "The movie has already started and I don't want to miss a thing."
He's probably right. I can't start looking for someone in the dark. If I had been expecting him earlier, I would've gone out to fetch him. If I stand to do so, I'll disturb everyone who's watching.
I put my phone aside, this time, turning the phone upside down so that I wouldn't see the screen light up. I hope GD can forgive me for this.
I looked back at the screen and luckily, I didn't get to miss much as the opening credits ended. And along with the others, I had my eyes glued to the screen.
We were only ten minutes into the movie when I felt someone tap my shoulder behind me. I didn't want to turn my head, but I did, and found Zoey whispering into my ear:
"GD just texted me, he wants to know where we are."
Apparently, everyone else heard and we started to look at each other.
"Did you invite him, Sam?" Mike asked.
"No," I answered as I shook my head. "He also texted me but I ignored him."
"What's his problem?" Zoey asked sounding irritated as she whispered. "Do I answer him?"
"Don't," Seungri whispered back. "He knew we were coming for a movie and I invited him. But then he said he was busy and wasn't going to make it. So I'm not sure why he's looking for us now."
"Looks like he changed his mind," said Christine.
"I don't know about you guys, but we can't start looking for him in the dark," I said. "Tell him that we're on the east side of the park. If he won't see us, then there's nothing we can do about it."
"Okay," said Zoey as she turned her phone on. "I really hope he won't hate us for this."
"I thought the same," I muttered. Daniel and Mike both turned to look at me. Clearly, they heard.
We went back to watching the movie and while we did, we ate our popcorn. For the time being, the movie caught our attention, and as much as it's an action-adventure movie based on secret agents, there were parts that were actually funny that we laughed along with everyone else.
Daniel had just finished his popcorn and had started to eat from my pack. I had to get him the butter flavoured popcorn in the picnic basket. This is one reason why I never like sharing a bowl of popcorn with him whenever we watch a movie. He eats popcorn so fast. We aren't half way through the movie and he's already done with his popcorn.
We continued watching and just a few minutes later, I heard noises coming from the crowd a few feet away from us. It didn't seem to be much of a big deal as we ignored it.
Seconds later, we heard them again, this time, angry ones. I didn't want to turn my head and look, but the noise got louder and I saw a few people standing up. It sounded like they were arguing amongst themselves.
"Hey, what could be going on there?" Zoey asked as she nudged Daesung beside her with her elbow.
"Seems like someone stepped on the other by accident," Daesung answered. "That's what you get when you walk around in the dark during an outdoor movie."
Afterwards, the group of people settled down and only one person walked away. I'm guessing that's the person who had caused the commotion. With the darkness and the little light coming from the screen, you couldn't tell who it is. I went back to looking at the screen. I've already missed out on a good scene, and I bet I'm not the only one.
Things had settled down when we came to an intense part of the mission where the two spies now had to break into a building with tight security.
We were just coming to a good part when Zoey suddenly yelped. We all turned to look at her and she was holding her foot, wincing in pain. She had attracted attention and people close by couldn't help but mutter in surprise, some in irritation. One of the body guards behind us came to check on the matter.
"Zoey, are you okay?" Christine asked.
Zoey didn't answer as she looked up and said in anger, "why won't you watch where you're going?"
I hadn't noticed that there was someone standing right next to her after the body guard showed up. The person wore a heavy black coat with black trousers and black boots that it's hard to actually see them, not with the place partially dark. I looked up to see who the person is and my jaw immediately dropped.
"I'm so sorry," said G-Dragon as he knelt to check on Zoey's foot. "I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?"
No one around me spoke. I bet they were just as surprised to see him as I am. Zoey on the other hand, slapped him on his shoulder. He seemed to be expecting it as he silently laughed. I still didn't say a word as I continued to look at him.
"You almost crashed my foot, of course, you hurt me badly," said Zoey.
"What are you doing here, Jiyong?" Daesung asked. By the look on his face he didn't look the least bit happy to see him.
"I came to watch the movie with you," G-Dragon answered.
"But you should've told us earlier," I said. "The time I saw your missed call, the movie had already started."
"Ya, I know, and I'm sorry about that. But I just had to find you guys."
"Well, you found us," said Daniel who all this time had been trying not to look at G-Dragon as he had his eyes fixed on the screen. "Can you quiet down? We're trying to watch."
"Oh, sorry. Sorry about the leg, Zoey. I'll make sure to massage it when we get back to the hotel."
I heard Zoey humph and felt her move aside for G-Dragon to join us on the picnic blanket. To be honest, it felt a little awkward that he's here. I could tell everyone felt the same way too.
"Great, we just missed out on a really good part," I heard Mike mutter to himself. I doubt anyone apart from me heard him.
G-Dragon asked for popcorn to those of us in front of him and Seungri did likewise to pass over some of the buttered popcorn from the picnic basket. He passed it to me, then I passed it on to G-Dragon. He muttered a thank you and I gave him a nod.
Five minutes hadn't elapsed when I heard Zoey whisper to G-Dragon, asking who he is texting. And the answer I heard didn't make me happier, not even a bit.
"I'm texting a friend to come over to the east side of the park," I heard him say.
"Wait, you came with someone?" Zoey didn't sound the least bit happy either.
"I did. Sorry I forgot to mention it."
Someone should've told him that we were trying to keep a low profile. But he already knew that. So who did he come with?
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Seungri asked as he turned to look at G-Dragon. "And why didn't you come with this friend of yours?"
"We had split up trying to look for you guys. And I almost forgot to text him when I had found you so I did so a few minutes ago."
I raised an eyebrow at what G-Dragon said without turning to look at him. Who could this friend of his be that they had to split up to find us? I know The Toxins to some Koreans are unnoticeable, but Seungri and Daesung aren't. Do we even know who this friend of his is? I don't think I've met any one of G-Dragon's personal friends outside the K-pop industry. As much as I'm curious, I continued to fix my eyes on the screen.
"Well, he better not step on my foot or else the two of you will really get it," Zoey warned.
"He won't, you don't have to worry."
Whenever someone says that, I always tend to worry.
I felt G-Dragon stand behind me and pretended not to be disturbed. He said he would be right back as he goes to get his friend and bring him here to us. As soon as he left, Zoey couldn't help but groan.
"Why did GD have to come?" she silently asked. "To be honest, he's done nothing but disturb me."
She isn't wrong there, but we can't chase him away now. The damage has already been done. We just have to sit this one through till the movie is over.
While we continued to watch, I saw Christine turn to look behind me then went back to look at the screen. All of a sudden, she quickly turned her head again and this time her jaw dropped in surprise.
I wonder what's wrong with her and I'm not the only one who noticed the look on her face.
"Hey, Christine, what's wrong?" Daniel asked.
"You're not going to believe who G-Dragon is bringing over here," she said, her voice sounding a little shaky.
Zoey and Daesung also heard and a creepy feeling crawled up my spine. Christine sounded serious and I could only imagine it's only going to be bad for all of us.
"Huh?" Zoey couldn't believe what Christine said. "I bet you're just imagining things."
I felt Zoey turn round and the others did the same. For some reason, I sat still, not willing to take a look. I felt like I'm in those horror movies where you know the monster that has been lurking in the shadows is right behind you and you're trying your best not to turn around and look it in the face. The worst part of this feeling, is that I felt like I knew who Christine is talking about.
I heard footsteps behind me and a few seconds later, they stopped. I felt the mood around me change. I heard Zoey gasp. I shut my eyes in despair.
"So, this is who I was talking about," said G-Dragon. "I don't need to introduce him to you Toxins since you know each other. Daesung, Seungri, this is Johnny."
"Hello, Johnny," Daesung greeted him casually. I then remembered that Daesung and Seungri don't know about our relationship with him. They've no idea how uncomfortable the rest of us are at the moment.
"Hi," greeted Johnny. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm also a huge fan of BigBang."
"That's nice," said Seungri as he smiled back. "Please sit down, we don't want to distract those behind us."
Johnny and G-Dragon knelt on the picnic blanket. We all had to make room for Johnny, fidgeting around and also had to make ourselves comfortable. But now that he's here, a lot of us weren't.
"So, how have you Toxins been?" Johnny couldn't help but ask.
"Great. You?" Mike quickly answered, his eyes still on the screen.
Johnny gave a chuckle. "Always short and blunt, huh, Mike? I'm doing great, thanks."
Mike put a mouthful of popcorn in his mouth, trying his best not to answer back.
"Isn't any one of you going to say hi to me?" Johnny asked.
"I thought Mike already spoke for all of us," I said, raising my eyebrow and doing my best not to turn and look at him.
"Just wanted to hear your voices is all," said Johnny. "It's great to hear yours, Sam."
"Can we watch the movie, please?" Daesung suggested. Something told me he already felt the tension in the air.
"Okay, I'll hush. Can someone please pass me the popcorn?"
"There is no popcorn left," said Christine after she checked in the picnic basket beside her. "G-Dragon got the last one."
"Sam, can you check in that other basket next to you?" he asked.
"There isn't any," I told him. "There wasn't much popcorn in this one."
"That's sad. I bet Daniel ate them all."
I felt Daniel grow stiff. There came an eerie feeling, like lightening would just come out of nowhere and strike the ground anytime now.
Johnny and G-Dragon started to chuckle while the rest of us didn't find anything funny at all.
"It's so not funny, Johnny," Zoey tried to whisper silently.
"I was just joking," Johnny tried to defend himself.
"If you're only here to pass silly comments, then it's best you leave," I said turning to look at him. "We came here to watch a movie. You're everyone around you."
Johnny and G-Dragon stopped laughing. I made sure to even pass Johnny a few lunch bars and crackers. I felt like throwing them at him, but not doing so shows how lenient I can be with people like him. If he does pull something off like this again, I don't know what I'll do.
I turned to look at Daniel who hadn't said a word still. He looked to be okay. At first, Johnny's words got to him like they used to before. I'm glad he didn't get to answer back. You don't want to mess with him when you push his buttons.
We continued to watch the movie but most of us couldn't enjoy it anymore. As if G-Dragon being here wasn't awkward enough, now there's Johnny. I felt like leaving to go watch the movie else where.
An hour and thirty minutes had elapsed into the movie and we were just reaching the climax, when I felt someone behind me stand. I wonder who it could be.
I heard Johnny murmur. I guess he's the one who stood. But what could he be doing? Doesn't he know he is distracting people behind him?
A few people started calling out to him, obviously telling him to sit down. Seems like he wasn't listening because the noise grew louder and angrier.
"Can you sit down?" Zoey told him. "You're distracting people. You'll do your stretching session after the movie."
I turned to look at Johnny and still found him standing with his arms outstretched and moving his body side to side. He looked like he hadn't heard Zoey as he continued to stretch and people were getting upset.
"GD, please tell him to sit down," I told him as I leaned back to give him the message.
"Let him stretch a little," said GD. "It's not my fault that people are getting distracted."
I sat upright with an eyebrow raised. I didn't expect him to say something like this. It's so unlike him.
"You brought him here, Jiyong," said Daesung. "Tell him to sit. The last thing we need is for people to come here and cause a scene. We're trying to keep a low profile here."
Mike and Daniel scowled, finding Johnny's stretching a little annoying. Now that I think about it, his stretching looked a little exaggerated, as if he's doing all of it on purpose.
Someone soon came up behind Johnny. It's one of the bodyguards. Thank goodness. I'm glad he read the situation and stepped up to the plate. He held Johnny's right shoulder and pushed him back down. I couldn't have done it any better. I would've hit him on the head.
"Wow, that guy sure has a hand," said Johnny as he held his shoulder and turned his head to give the guard a glance.
"Next time, we'll tell him to knock your lights out," Christine warned.
"I see you can be feisty when you want to be, Christine," said Johnny, giving her a glare.
"Goodness," said Daesung, "we're missing out on a really good part right now. Can you keep it down, Johnny?"
"To be honest, I'm more lost than ever since you two showed up," said Zoey as she looked at GD and Johnny.
"Hey, we haven't done anything," said G-Dragon.
"She's not wrong there," said Seungri.
"Guys, we're talking a little too loud," I said. "Can we argue later?"
"I would keep quiet but what Zoey said has really got to me," said Johnny. "This isn't right. She should take back what she said."
A group of people beside us, told us to keep quiet. I furrowed my eyebrows. This is getting annoying.
"Why should I apologise?" Zoey asked, this time keeping her voice down. "You're the one at fault here and you know it."
If I were Zoey I wouldn't have answered him. He's just looking for a fight like he always does. Seems old habits die hard.
"Because its hurtful," Johnny replied.
"I agree," said G-Dragon.
"You really are big babies," said Zoey. "I'll apologise. But after the movie."
Neither G-Dragon nor Johnny said anything. I hope that kept them quiet, but something told me that all this is far from over.
We were now in the last moments of the fight between the agents and the villain. I don't know what made me turn to look behind me, but I did. Johnny had suddenly disappeared.
"GD, where is Johnny?" I asked him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. He just got up and left."
That's Johnny for you. I turned to look back at the screen. He can't have gone just like that. I wonder what he's up to.
After the agents had finally defeated the bad guy, we were now heading to the end of the movie where the lives of the agents were now getting back to normal. We were watching a touching moment when all of a sudden, one of the flood lights close to the screen went on, throwing the whole mood out of proportion. Everyone started to complain, wondering why the flood light is on when we weren't even done with the movie.
"Oh, man!" Mike complained. "Who turned the light on?"
"Uh-oh," Christine muttered. "You're not going to like your answer, Mike."
I saw who Christine is talking about, and soon, the rest of us did. Johnny stood close to the lit flood light and made his way to the front of the screen. Everyone started to yell at him. Some even stood, telling him to move aside so that they could finish the movie.
"This is embarrassing," said Seungri, not believing what he's seeing.
"What the heck is he about to do?" Zoey asked as she held my shoulder.
"Something that might put us in trouble," I answered.
Johnny looked at the crowd before him and my mind kept on spinning. I'm trying my best to keep my cool, but I can't. What the heck is he going to do?
"Someone better stop him," said Daniel. "I've a feeling he's about to do something crazy."
Looks like we all felt that way. At the moment, I couldn't even move. I felt stuck.
Johnny continued to look at the crowd, and with his hands, he tried to bring them under control by telling them to cool down. That made them even more angrier. Way to go, Johnny. You just added more fuel to the fire.
"Calm down, calm down, everyone!" Johnny called out trying to get their attention. A few people at the front slowly calmed for a bit. "I've an important announcement to make, please calm down!"
"I can't believe people are listening to this clown," said Zoey, the annoyance in her voice came out a little stronger than I expected. I can't blame her.
"I'm sorry for interrupting the movie," he continued to speak loudly. The movie had now gone on the end credits. "But I've an important announcement that I want to make and it will be a huge surprise for all of you."
When he said that last sentence, I quickly went on my knees. Good, I can move. The bad thing is, we've to get out of here quickly.
"Guys, pack up, we're leaving," I said as I got the picnic basket beside me.
"What?" the others looked at me like I had spoken nonsense. But soon enough, Mike and Daniel quickly stood.
"Wait, we're really leaving?" Daesung asked, now looking confused.
"You don't want to be here when the storm blows over," I said as I quickly stood.
"I agree," said Christine as she also stood up, looking around her at the ground to see if she left anything.
"What's with you guys?" G-Dragon asked. "Aren't you going to listen to what Johnny has to say? It might be important."
"No!" the five of us Toxins responded, as we all turned to look at him.
"Whatever comes out of his mouth brings nothing but trouble," Zoey pointed out as she stood. "Please get off the blanket, we're packing up now."
"Listen everyone," Johnny said drawing people's attention. Some people close by had started to pack up and leave. If there's anyone who had to do it quickly, it's us.
"I'm not going anywhere," said G-Dragon who remained seated. "I want to hear what Johnny has to say."
"Fine, your funeral," said Christine. "Come on, people, we've to move."
"We've important people amongst us right now who came to watch the movie with us!" Johnny announced loudly.
"Guys, run," said Mike and in a flash, the seven of us did just that, leaving G-Dragon alone on the picnic blanket.
We by-passed the guards who quickly followed. I could already hear Johnny say:
"For all of you people who are BigBang fans, we've Daesung, Seungri and G-Dragon in the house! And let's not forget, some very important people in my life - mind you, they are special people too- The Toxins! Come on, guys, come up and say hi to the crowd. Don't be shy!"
"Dang it!" I muttered. I could already feel people's eyes on us as we ran. I could feel an air of excitement when someone yelled G-Dragon's name. Looks like they've spotted him.
"We better hurry," I heard Daesung say.
As we ran, we tried our best not to run into anyone. The good thing about running to the back, is that a lot of people were already up and packing to leave. We bumped into a few on the way, but it wasn't all that serious. Though, I did feel some people give us a stare as we ran past, obviously wondering where we could be running to.
We had just reached the boundary of the lawn we had been seated on while watching the movie and running onto the path, when I heard someone behind us shout:
"The Toxins! There they are! They are with Daesung and Seungri too!"
"Ah! Our cover has been blown!!" Zoey behind me exclaimed as we all continued our run.
There came excited screams behind us and I took a glance over my shoulder. I saw some people make their way towards us. No, almost everyone is now running after us. We've to hurry. We might have gotten a head start, but who knows what can happen.
I heard one of the bodyguards give out a set of instructions as we ran. I wonder if he is talking through his earpiece to the other guards who had stayed outside the park. I hope he had an escape plan figured out, because right now, we're all toast.
We are approaching the parking lot when Christine suddenly lost her footing and fell, dropping the picnic basket she had in her hand as well. I stopped abruptly and went back to help her while the others went on ahead. Mike and Daesung stopped too. One of the body guards stayed with me and we both helped her up.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
"I'm fine, let's keep going," Christine said. She soon winced in pain.
"I'm going to have to carry you, Miss," said the bodyguard as he squatted in front of her for Christine to climb on his back.
Christine was just about to refuse when I quickly pushed her down onto the bodyguard's back. This is no time to chat. The huge crowd is gaining on us and with her fall, we aren't too sure if she's badly injured. If she is, we can't take the risk of letting her run on her own. She'll get caught by the crowd first and that won't be good for us.
I picked up the basket she had dropped and the bodyguard was already up and running. I never expected him to be so fast with Christine on his back.
We caught up with Daesung and Mike who waited for us. Daesung took my free hand as he ran, dragging me with him.
Just outside the park at the front gate were two SUV cars. We saw the others who had gone ahead make their way into them. The sound of footsteps and screams behind us became louder and I knew they're getting close.
"Hurry up, you guys!" Zoey called out to us as she stood waiting outside the cars.
Mike and the bodyguard carrying Christine reached the cars seconds before Daesung and I did. Mike went into the car in front while the bodyguard dropped Christine from his back and together with Zoey, led her into the other car. Daesung and I joined Mike in the first car and I quickly closed the door. The body guard who had carried Christine came to join us in the first car, taking the front passenger seat. He told the driver to step on it and just before the crowd could reach the cars, both SUVs sped away in a flash.
I sighed in relief as I panted. If anything, we're exhausted from all the running. I'm just glad we got out in time.
"I really need a breather," said Mike who also panted as he rolled down the window on his side to let the air in.
"I never thought he could do that to us," said Daesung, also panting heavily.
"That's Johnny for you," I said, leaning back on the seat with my eyes closed.
"Will Christine be okay?" Daniel who sat in the back seat asked.
"I hope so." With the way she fell, it might be nothing serious. When we get to the hotel, we better have her checked out.
"What matters is that you're alright," said the bodyguard in the front. He turned his head to look at us.
"Thanks for helping out with Christine," I said.
He smiled. "Just doing my job."
"That Johnny," Mike said as he looked out the window. "He really did it this time."
"I don't like him," Daesung said. The bodyguard muttered in agreement.
"We all don't," said Daniel. "What are we going to do with him, Sam? If he keeps hanging around us, he'll bring nothing but problems."
"You're right," I said. "We better think of something quick."
I might sound like I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. This isn't the first time Johnny has pulled off something like this. His silly pranks may go a little too far, at times putting someone's life on the line. He has always been doing so whenever he's around us.
Him doing this is just to get back at us for old times. If it's a war he wants, it's a war he'll get.