More Than Nation

Oparara Arches Cave

The next day the members left the lodge at 10am. They drove to the Oparara Arches Cave with the car they had rented at the airport. The ride took a couple hours from Blenheim to the cave but the members took naps in the car to feel energetic afterwards. When they got out of the car the producer told them that they were going to discover the surroundings and eat at a restaurant nearby later. The members started walking around the river to reach the cave. The water was slightly green and orange but the view was amazing. There was a big bridge of stone over their head that led to the cave where the water was calm. The river was surrounded by woods and hills. Looking up it felt like they were in a huge hole in the earth. Jungkook walked into the cave. When he found a perfect spot, he took out his phone and took pictures and selfies. A bit further inside the cave, he saw Dahyun and Kim Sook looking around and taking pictures as well. He approached them and joined their walk. Jungkook didn't want to be awkward with Dahyun. The strange feeling between him and her, he wanted to break through it and at least be able to stay in the friendship zone with her. When walking next to her, he paid attention to act normal which relaxed Dahyun as well. They didn't feel the slightest discomfort during the journey. The attractions that she felt towards Jungkook, had confused her so much that she forgot that they could get along very well. It felt good to be natural in each other's presence. The members finished their tour and went to the restaurant nearby to order popular New Zealand food. When the food came, without wasting a minute, the members dug in and barely talked to each other. At some point, Dahyun lifted her head from her seafood and her eyes fell on Jungkook on the opposite side of the table, who was deliciously eating his meat. One thing that looked amusing to her was that he made an angry face when eating. He frowned as if he was mad with the food, but also made noises of pleasure and deliciousness. Watching him in his eating habits brought a smile to Dahyun's face. He looked adorable. She lowered her gaze down to not show her expression. After the members finished their food, they got in the car and took off to return to the lodge. When they arrived it was almost 8pm. It was actually time for dinner but the members had eaten at the restaurant so much that they didn't feel like cooking and eating even more. Instead they decided to have fun before going to bed. The staff had brought equipment for karaoke. They installed the device at the television, selected a song and took the microphones. Lee Hyo Ri and Jungkook started singing first. Dahyun watched their performance on the couch and was impressed about how passionately Jungkook sang. He was absorbed into the song and put his heart and soul into singing. After seeing him, Dahyun got excited and wanted to sing next with Nana. They chose a ballad love song that could fit both of their voices. Dahyun was a bit nervous because she had never sung in front of people other than TWICE and ONCE. But their performance was better than expected and Dahyun did a great job despite being nervous. Jungkook watched her silently. She had a nice voice, not too high, not too low, a relaxing, soft voice that he would love to listen to at nighttime. Jungkook resembled her voice to a warm autumn day, the sun in the sky, dead leaves under the feet and the smell of earth in the air. A day that he wished to take a walk for hours. The next turn was Kim Sook and Jungkook again. They chose a song of the 90s that they could get hyped up and have fun with. Seeing the joyful performance, Dahyun also jumped into the middle and started doing a popping dance to which Jungkook also joined. They had so much fun that they couldn't resist to choose Park Jin Young's popular song 'Honey' next and Jungkook and Dahyun sang together while dancing. Jungkook stopped dancing from time to time and watched Dahyun's performance. He was absorbed in the way she grooved her body to the song. The other members also had fun watching the maknaes enjoying karaoke. After some time, Lee Hyo Ri came with a bowl and plates in her hands and put them on the couch table.

"Guys, I will cut some fruits for you. I also brought nuts.", she put them on the table.

"Thank you unnie.", Nana said, "By the way did you see the mandarin tree in the garden?"