Family Outing with Taeyeon (6)

As soon as the group arrived at the lakeside, still buzzing from the laughter and chaos of the boat ride, Kim Sooro clapped his hands like a team captain rallying his troops.

"Alright!" he announced. "In the past, it's always been Hyori and Yejin who got to pick the teams. But today? Chunhee and I are taking over!"

Lee Hyori arched a brow. "Wait—diving needs teams now?"

Before anyone could answer, Yoo Jaeseok jumped in with his classic game-show energy. "Of course! Let's make this interesting. Whichever team gets the higher combined score from the dive wins! Bragging rights on the line, people!"

"Ooooh!" the others chorused.

"I'm in," Chunhee said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Come on then!" Sooro challenged, nudging him like a rival player before a showdown.

The two men faced off, tension thick with playful competitiveness.

Lee Chunhee turned to whisper something to Hyori and Yejin. They nodded with knowing smiles, though their expressions clearly said, Don't trust that man.

"Hey, hey, what are you whispering about?" Sooro narrowed his eyes. "No scheming before the match!"

Chunhee just smirked. "Nothing. Let's go."

"Alright then," Sooro said. "Scissors, paper, stone!"

Chunhee threw scissors. Sooro threw paper.

First win—Chunhee.

"YES!" Lee Hyori fist-pumped behind him like she just won the lottery.

"Nonna, calm down!" Jihoon teased from the side, raising a brow. "You haven't even been picked yet. Why are you cheering like it's your name being called?"

Caught red-handed, Hyori laughed, slapping a hand over her face in embarrassment. "I got excited, okay?"

But Chunhee wasn't wasting time.

"I pick Taeyeon," he said immediately, no hesitation.

Park Yejin gave Hyori a dry look. "Well, there goes our turn."

Hyori nodded. 

Sooro tried to intervene, "Chunhee-ah, come on. Can't you pick one of the older noonas first? Hyori? Yejin? Be a gentleman!"

Chunhee didn't even look back. "They can wait," he said nonchalantly.

SMACK.

Hyori kicked him hard from behind. "YA! You punk!"

"Seriously, what happened to manners?" Yejin added with a pout.

"Alright, alright!" Jaeseok cut in, trying to keep the game moving. "We don't have all day—Three! Two! One!"

"Taeyeon!" Chunhee shouted again, sealing his pick.

Second round—"Scissors, paper, stone!"

This time, Sooro took the win.

He glanced at Taeyeon longingly but had to keep a poker face. "Daesung. Come here."

Daesung dragged his feet over. "Why me…" he mumbled under his breath. He clearly had his sights set on the other team.

"Scissors, paper, stone!"

Sooro won again.

This time, his tone shifted, softening like a dad trying to lure a stubborn toddler. "Jihoon, come here. Come, come."

Jihoon grimaced. "Why me? I wanted to be with Chunhee hyung!"

Sooro placed a hand dramatically on Jihoon's shoulder, "With me, you'll have more fun! Trust me! Why do you want to suffer over there?"

"Because Taeyeon's there," Jihoon muttered under his breath, almost like a confession.

In truth, whenever he had the chance, he made sure Taeyeon had more screen time—it was strategic.

She had more to gain from this variety exposure than he did.

"YA! Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Sooro narrowed his eyes.

"No! I'm thinking… of the team dynamic!" Jihoon said, but even he didn't buy it.

Sooro huffed, grabbing Jihoon by the arm. "Stop making excuses and come over here!"

"Scissors, paper, stone!"

Sooro won again.

At this point, his competitive side flared with delight. "Hyori!" he shouted.

Hyori looked surprised but raised a brow. "Oh? Now you want me?"

"Of course, nonna. My team needs balance!" he said, hands folded in mock sincerity.

"Scissors, paper, stone!"

Another win—Sooro again.

By now, it wasn't even a game. It was a landslide.

"Wow, hyung," Jihoon whispered, leaning in. "Are you some kind of rock-paper-scissors savant?"

"Shh. Let me enjoy this," Sooro replied with a smug smile.

The rest of the cast burst into laughter, the mood getting goofier by the second.

"Scissors! Paper! Stone!"

Kim Sooro won the fifth round in a row.

He paused, hand still midair, thinking hard about who to pick next.

While he hesitated, Jihoon continued sketching aimless spirals in the dirt, then said loudly, without even looking up, "Just give them all to Chunhee hyung's team, hyung. What's left over is just old, weak, sick, and emotionally unstable. Dead weight."

"YA!" Jaeseok barked immediately.

"You calling us disabled now?!" Yoon Jongshin added, pointing at Jihoon with a scandalized expression.

Jihoon sat up quickly, raising both hands like a hostage trying to de-escalate. "Hyung! I meant that as a compliment! You don't want to be on Sooro's team either, right? Be honest—you all want to be with Taeyeon, don't you?"

The two "victims" looked at each other. Then, without a word, they both groaned dramatically and collapsed into exaggerated exhaustion poses, like veterans who had seen too much.

Sooro rolled his eyes and sighed, waving his hand. "Fine, fine! You guys take the leftovers. I'm done picking."

Jaeseok and Jongshin immediately sprang to life, dragging Chunhee into their embrace and surrounding Taeyeon like schoolboys who just won the class prize.

"Ya! Don't be so obvious!" Hyori muttered from the sidelines, unimpressed.

Sooro, on the other hand, still had one more pick left—and being the decent person he was, he looked around and shouted, "Yejin! Come here!"

Park Yejin lit up at the call, though no one from the other group even turned her way. Their eyes were locked firmly on Taeyeon, who was now in the center of attention—again.

With the teams finally formed, the next event was the long-awaited diving challenge.

The captains, Sooro and Chunhee, were up first.

Yoo Jaeseok took his place as MC, positioning himself like a red-carpet host, mic in hand—even though there wasn't a mic—and began narrating the moment with theatrical flair.

The two captains climbed up a rocky ledge that overlooked the deep lake below. The rest of the cast members sat on boats below, ready to score the dives like Olympic judges.

Taeyeon, ever the scene-stealer, had wrapped a towel into twin buns on her head, giving her a look somewhere between a sheep and a cartoon character.

Jihoon, never missing a chance to be annoying, reached out and gently squeezed the towel buns on her head.

Taeyeon immediately grabbed his arm, threatening to splash water on him, but it all ended in laughter and selfies, with her holding up peace signs while Jihoon grinned behind her like a proud chaos gremlin.

Back on the cliff, Sooro took a deep breath and stepped forward dramatically. Jaeseok, still playing MC, raised an invisible mic and asked, "Mr. Kim Sooro, we're at a stunning location surrounded by nature. If there's anything on your heart, now's the time. Let it out!"

Sooro didn't hesitate.

"Taeyeon!" he shouted with the passion of a man giving a wedding toast. "Thank you so much for coming! You have no idea how long I've waited for this day!"

"You want to know why someone like me—an old, jaded man—would be so excited? It's because your arrival has finally set me free from the shadows of Hyori and Yejin!"

"YA!" Hyori snapped from the boat.

"I'm serious!" Sooro shouted back, full of conviction. "You've brought light to this set! Hope to our country! And I believe—no, I know—SNSD will become Korea's number one girl group!"

There was a pause. Then: Hyori and Yejin each raised their scoring paddles—Hyori gave him a minus one. Yejin gave him a solid zero.

Unbothered, Sooro saluted like a hero, then dove into the lake—only to belly flop with a splash so massive it rocked the boats.

Jihoon winced, covering his eyes. "That one definitely rearranged his spine."

The final score: 30 points.

Next up was Lee Chunhee.

Before he jumped, Jaeseok nudged him. "You've got the mic. Want to say anything?"

Chunhee stepped forward, already smiling like a man on the verge of a breakdown.

"Kim Sooro!" he shouted. "Why are you like this?! You've tortured me for ten years! Ten years!"

Everyone burst into laughter as Chunhee wiped imaginary tears from his eyes.

"When will I ever be free of you?! I just want to live a peaceful life!"

He turned suddenly, as if hit by divine inspiration. "And another thing! Do you really think you're a good match for Taeyeon? Stop it! Let her go! Don't drag her into your sad fantasy!"

Jaeseok leaned over with a grin. "Is there someone you want to dedicate this dive to?"

Without hesitation, Chunhee cupped his hands and shouted toward the boat, "Taeyeon!"

Taeyeon laughed, hiding her face in her towel horns.

"What about Hyori and Yejin, your noonas who filmed with you for years?" Jaeseok asked, clearly setting him up.

Chunhee turned to the women briefly, gave them a sheepish smile—and yelled again: "TAEYEON!"

Hyori and Yejin could only stare, deadpan. "This little punk…"

Finally, Chunhee raised his hands, ready to dive.

But just as he leaped, a sudden gust of wind threw off his balance, and instead of a graceful flip, he rotated halfway and landed flat on his back with a loud slap on the water.

Everyone cringed, and Jihoon actually yelped, "Oof! I felt that in my soul!"

Chunhee surfaced, clutching his back and looking like he'd just been through a car crash.

Final score: 19 points.

Sooro's team was now leading 1–0.

[Author's Note: Heartfelt thanks to Wandererlithe, JiangXiu, and Daoistadj for bestowing the power stone!]