Kingdom of Knuffel

Tae found himself smiling. "See you soon." He watched Lain wander off and took a minute to look around. He wasn't quite sure what he would want to read. He didn't read a whole lot with their schedules, much less books in Korean. Usually he just read what his mom sent over.

After wandering around the store, he found himself in the manhwa section. He figured he could give them a try, since they seemed like pretty easy reads. He found what looked to be a series set in the past with emperors and warriors. It looked interesting enough.

He grabbed two of the books, not sure how many he'd be able to even get through. He found Lain sitting on a beanbag chair and walked over, sitting on a beanbag chair next to him. Lain seemed to have a whole stack of books. "You found a lot." He noted with a smile.

Lain grinned. "Yeah, I always have trouble narrowing down on books I want to read, whenever I visit a bookstore or a library. It's like I'm tempted by everything."

He went through his stack and picked a single-volume slice-of-life manhwa. "This one has only one volume, so I can probably finish it right here right now," he explained.

He looked at the books Tae had chosen. "Oh, I like that series!" he exclaimed. "It's the only historical-themed series I've read."

Tae smiled a bit when Lain said he could never choose. "That's me with candy." He said. Well, when he could buy candy. He didn't do it a lot because he had to keep looking the right way. "I could buy one of everything if I was able." And eat it all too. Then pain said he'd read the series he picked. "Really? I like historical stuff and I figured it would be an easy read."

He was quiet for several moments. The book was open, but Tae wasn't really reading it. "Hyung, can I ask you a favor?" He asked finally. It had been bugging him for awhile and he didn't want to ask around the others.

"You must have loved Halloween as a child," smiled Lain. A pity they were all on strict diets. "I would eat tteokbokki every day if I was allowed to."

Lain nodded. "Yeah, it's full of action. Pretty breezy and fast-paced to read, I seem to remember that about it, although I don't remember much now. I read it a while ago."

Lain opened his book again when it seemed Tae had begun reading. But once Lain had turned a couple of pages, Tae spoke again.

"Hyung, can I ask you a favor?" Tae said.

Lain looked up and blinked. "Sure, what is it?" He was surprised. And curious.

Tae nodded a bit. "I loved Halloween." He said with a smile. The costumes. The decorations. All the candy. He would do it all again if he could.

Lain agreed to the favor. Tae hesitated a bit, biting his lip, before working up the courage to ask him.

"Can you help me get better at singing?" He asked. "I know I'm the worst in the group and I...don't want to hold us back."

Lain melted. "You have pretty decent singing skills for an idol," he said, before backtracking. "Wait, I meant for that to be a compliment. Not an insult to you or other idols!"

He ran his hand through his hair, embarrassed. "There is always room for improvement and although your position is dance, it would be great if you could get more lines, and more vocal parts. So I'd be happy to help... but I wish you wouldn't call yourself the worst singer in the group. You're selling yourself short... and you've improved a lot vocally since our trainee days."

Lain bit his lip for a moment before continuing, "I think we should have some dedicated time set aside each week if we're going to be doing this, because it's only regular practice that makes a difference. Regardless of schedules coming in the way, if we're going to do this, we should commit to it. And in return, I'd be so grateful if you would help me with my dance," he smiled.