#vanderwood

"i'm sorry! i'm sorry! i just can't find them. ugh, where areー found it!" seven hurriedly puts them on and runs to the door, then runs back to his desk to wear his glasses.

"i swear to god, if you don't finish it tomorrowー" vanderwood trails behind him as the redhead prepares to leave his home.

"taser me all you want, but i'm having my well deserved fun today!" before he hears any of it, seven intentionally slams the door and laughs, finally on the way to the party.

meanwhile, zen is all dressed up like he promised, his makeup is flawless, and his hair is perfect. on the way to the party, he's already doing vocal warmups, practicing his anniversary speech, and ohー

"where are my antihistamines?" he confidently asks himself, thinking that he already packed them on his bag.

but they are nowhere to be found.

"holy fuck. i'm so screwed." and he's already overthinking about how he'll look stupid sneezing violently in front of you knowing full well that damn cat will be at the party.

yoosung! is! happily! singing! to himself! and! he! doesnt! care! that everyones watching!!

the moment he stepped out of his apartment, he kept chanting: "10 years! RFA! 10th anniversary! Yay!" like a damn cheerleader.

he was so nervous that he forgot to log in to LOLOL the night before. to be fair, ever since he graduated, he didn't game as much as he used to.

LOLOL had some sort of event going on though, but he didn't care at all. he wanted to see everyone and eat to his heart's content!!

rika crossed his mind once, during the ride on the way. part of him wanted her to be present, but you're already going to be there. he figured it'll be more fun. and he'd already came to terms with the fact that 10 years have passed. the reason that RFA is still here is because of you.

speaking of rika, ever since she somehow got a hold of the chatroom when everyone was asleep, you had a feeling that she's somewhere in seoul. as much as you wanted the RFA to be truly complete, you knew that inviting her isn't the best idea after everything everyone went through.

still, you managed to track her down and send her a small gift from an anonymous location. just to be sure you're safe. not like you're in a position to be manipulated to join a cult again.

you'll never know it, and you'll probably question her messages until the day you die, but she meant every single one of them. part of her wishes that things didn't turn out like how they did, but truthfully, rika can't imagine herself being someone different after the past that she went through.

anyway. V!!

oddly enough, he becomes the best dressed in the party. weeks prior, he cancelled his flight to an exhibition and his managers were disappointed. but hey, can't please everyone in the room, right?

he calls jumin on the way.

"it's been a while, jumin." he says, an excited smile on his face.

"indeed. are you on the way? assistant kang just arrived with the food." jumin replies on the other line.

"yes, i'll be there in ten. has everyone arrived already?"

"there are still others who are not hereー oh, saeran. welcome." jumin replies.

v smiles fondly as he overhears jumin and saeran exchange conversation about the ice cream he brought to the party.

he makes a mental note to take lots of photos during the event.

when saeran arrived actually, seven also parked his car and saw him just in time. so they both entered the venue together.

feeling a little sentimental, seven put his arms over his brother's shoulder.

"you really made sure to bring mint ice cream, huh." he teases.

"…you can never go wrong with having an extra." he quips back, chuckling to himself.

seven stops in his tracks and looks at him.

"what?" saeran asks. seven ruffles his hair and ushers him to go inside.

jaehee is of course, and as always, making sure everything is going according to plan.

as someone who's practically used to being called to work in ungodly hours, managing the preparations for this event are a breeze, so she's not stressed at all.

in fact, out of all the members, she's the most excited!! she even took the time to splurge on a pair of gold earrings and a luxury makeup set. compared to her workload 10 years ago, jumin finally decided to cut her some slack.

she's still in a managerial position, but she works less and sets her own hours. and her pay is increased every month, so she has time to manage the cafe she always dreamed of opening.

my girl is set for life but still continues to work every day T_T

"cake, check. luciel's chips and soda, all here… omurice, wine, pizza… pie, charcuterie… what else… beer… ice cream…" she trails off.

"assistant kang, where is elizabeth 3rd?" jumin suddenly asks.

oh, of course, how can i forget? she mutters to herself.

"your cat is lounging on the couch by the window. the salmon and caviar you requested for her are neatly plated by the caterers at the small table beside everything." she says almost instantly.

jumin smiles, and teases her, "you're always so tense, jaehee."

"hardly!" she laughs. "i'm just happy to be here today."

BEFORE WE FORGET, JUMIN HAN WEARS:

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO bowtie

vintage tom ford shoes

a high end south korean designer's custom suit tailored just for him

genuine gold cufflinks

a sapphire brooch ー which is also a family heirloom btw.

and of course, two kinds of designer perfume.

you were the last to arrive to the party. your dress wasn't anything too expensive, but it was beautiful enough for the occasion.

your hands were full of giftbags for everyone. zen helped you carry them as you enter the room.

"happy 10th anniversary to the RFA everyone!" you cheered, and yoosung was the first to bawl his eyes out.

"this day is so special. you have no idea how much you all mean to me." he says in between sobs.

"i knew he's gonna cry." zen laughs. you elbow him.

v starts taking photos of the event. before zen performed, he set up another camera to record him.

"thank you, jaehee. for organizing everything." you tell her. jaehee also can't help but tear up at that.

"it's nothing." she sniffles, "we have been through so much, haven't we?"

"we really did." v butts in, though his eyes were focused on the camera, a content smile on his face.

the games started out really fun and casual. truth or dare, spin the bottle, cham cham cham, you name it.

when yoosung turned the karaoke on though, that's where everyone started to get rowdy.

the ones who fought over it though were him, zen, and seven. jaehee argues a bit when yoosung groans in annoyance when zen keeps on choosing to sing his own songs.

jumin would casually throw some snide remarks at zen just to irritate him.

seven would keep singing the same arabic song over and over again.

jaehee just laughs most of the time.

v would too, and his pictures become blurry and candid as he, too, savored the moment.

saeran would be in a corner eating his mint ice cream. at first he'll take seven's side, but just gives up because of his bad song choices.

"saeran, why don't you sing a song too?" you ask, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"yeah! she's right. ever since my last song, it's been you," he looks at zen, "and seven's damn arabic over and over again." yoosung agrees.

"but i'm notー" saeran protests helplessly.

"come on. it's just us here anyway." jumin supports.

at this point i dont care if its not canon but saeran actually sings so good it calms the other 3. they were SAT.

"why are you guys suddenly so quiet?" he gets a little bit self-conscious after singing.

"the song you picked sums up our anniversary. it's really fitting!" you praise.

"oh." he smiles. "well, it's my favorite."

"that's my brother for ya! now, it's my turn againー" seven sneakily butts in. but before he could press the song code again, yoosung latches onto him to stop him.

"i'm not letting you go until you pick a different song."

suffice to say, hours went by and everyone had so much fun.

oh, but what about zen's cat allergy? jaehee made sure to bring antihistamines. and also an inhaler in case zen really suffers bad.

thankfully, the meds seemed to work!

at the end of the celebration, everyone set a campfire with some smores, and you initiated the gratitude speech.

one by one, you all shared your musings, regrets, and kept rika in your wishes despite the fact that she wasn't there.

after that the conversation flowed naturally. everyone had some random story to share. jaehee fangirled when zen announced his new tour. everybody listened to saeran share his new hobby. jumin revealed his new favorite ramen flavor, much to zen's disbelief. yoosung plans to go on a research trip somewhere in africa to study about wild animals in savannas. seven jokes about his work as a hacker, but when asked about his safety, he assures everyone that there isn't really anything serious threatening him (except for vanderwood tasering him when he returns home). jaehee explores the idea of opening another branch of her cafe, much to jumin's approval. and v suggests to create an archive of today for everyone to keep.

you were watching everyone be themselves after what felt like an eternity. these people really changed your life, and you went through a lot with all of them, helping them find themselves and rebuild the trust that they lost.

10 years, in the grand scheme of things doesn't seem much. but looking back, a lot has changed.

and yet, you can't help but feel like these people had stayed the same.

or maybe they did change. in a way that made them return to their genuine selves again.

you really can't trade something that priceless for anything else.

and you hoped that whatever happens, RFA still remains.

for 20… 30 years… and more.

even if you're all old, and eventually won't be complete anymore.