Chapter Text
The video opens with Keith holding back giggles.
The footage is shaky - likely filmed on a phone - and shows the inside of an airport security gate where Lance is currently having his bag checked.
The camera zooms in, and Keith snorts as Lance shoots a glance his way: mouth open to say something but closing when the guard speaks and takes his attention.
No words can be heard between them, but it's easy enough to guess what Lance is being asked.
He pales as a familiar blue bra is pulled up from his luggage - one that has made a few appearances already in the series - and rushes to explain as his cheeks flair crimson.
The video feed grows blurry as Keith fails to contain his laughter, catching the exact moment Lance glares over with narrowed eyes and an expression screaming revenge, and the intro begins.
Living Like Link - Part 2: Episode 3
The scene opens with a side view of Lance, who is reading a pamphlet provided by the aircraft they're in.
“-really think ‘Snakes on a Plane' is the best movie to be featuring right now- oh,” he breaks off when he sees Keith's camera pointing his way, and waves. “Hi there.”
“Hi,” Keith answers sweetly, and Lance's eyes lift to the place Keith's face must be.
“I was talking to our viewers.”
“How do you know this is for them?” Keith harrumphs, and Lance raises a brow.
“Who else would it be for?”
The camera moves up and down: Keith shrugging.
“My own personal footage,” he offers, and Lance's expression turns sultry.
“Well in that case-” he leans forward, eyes still fixed above the lens. “When we get off this plane I'm gonna find the closest corner and f-”
The feed cuts out: a prolonged beep acting as a precursor to the next segment.
“Hey guys,” Lance grins down at the camera, the interior of a plane visible and the low hum of the engine providing the background noise. Keith is glaring out the window beside him: face red where it shows behind the fist pressed into his cheek, supporting him as he leans against the siding. “As you can see, today's video required a little traveling to do!”
He nudges Keith, who glances over with a pout.
“Ah, are you still mad at me?” Lance whispers, and his boyfriend huffs.
“No,” he grumbles, abandoning the window to lean into Lance's shoulder. “This flight is just too long.”
“It's only a few hours,” Lance responds, patting the hand that cradles his arm. “Or are you all pent up-”
“That was your fault!” Keith exclaims, and then ducks lower in his seat as several people must glance over. Lance smiles and kisses the top of his head.
“We’ll be there soon. And it's your halabeoji that lives so far away.”
Keith chuckles, looping their arms together.
“You can just call him ‘grandpa’.”
“Is my pronunciation that bad?”
Keith shakes his head at first, but then shrugs in second thought.
“I think you'll just give him a heart attack if you address him as such in Korean. Besides, for what we'll be doing ‘sabeom’ or ‘seonsaeng’ is more appropriate.”
“Which means?”
“Like, ‘instructor’, I guess. He runs a dojang so ‘sabeomnim’ will be respectful.”
Lance repeats the word a few times under his breath until Keith nods.
“And anyway, it's not like we can do anything once we're there anyway,” he complains as an afterthought to Lance's prior remark, nuzzling his cheek into the arm he cradles. “The walls in his house are literally paper.”
Lance snorts, and tousles Keith's hair.
“You're too cute. Anyway,” he looks back down at the camera, “we're heading over to Keith's grandpa's for our next quest, which will be-”
“I wanna tell them,” Keith interrupts, reaching for something out of frame, and when he brings his hand back it holds a small, yellow plastic stick between his fingers.
He shoves it closer to the camera, which blurs in and out of focus for a second before showing a clear image of a sandwich pick in the shape of a sword.
“Ta-da...” he cheers in monotone.
“Love the enthusiasm,” Lance chuckles, taking Keith's hand away from the camera. When he does Keith is shown sagging deeper into Lance's side: eyelids drooping as he smiles sleepily. “Or maybe the melatonin is finally kicking in.”
He uses his free hand to pull a blanket up and over Keith’s torso, who sighs contentedly at the added warmth and nestles closer to the main source.
“I guess we'll let this big baby sleep,” Lance whispers at the camera, and then waves as he rests his cheek against the top of Keith's head. “Talk to you guys when we land!”
The next scene shows Keith wearing glasses sitting on what appears to be a thick padded blanket in a room lit up by two lamps, pajamas on as he fiddles with his camera.
The view swivels around the show Lance's face, who smiles down at the lens with a green face mask adorning his skin.
“Hey so, both our phones died at the airport and our cameras were in our luggage, so we couldn't film the landing.”
“Hunk would be embarrassed for us,” Keith's voice can be heard off-screen, and Lance moves so they're sitting side by side.
“Hunk is definitely cringing at our crap filming skills,” he agrees once settled. “But we landed late anyway so we can just show you what the place looks like tomorrow.”
“We also can't wear our outfits for this part of the series,” Keith adds, placing his camera back in its case gently. “The activities we'll be doing need breathable clothing. And also my grandpa would flip if he saw you in that costume.”
“Which means I brought that stupid bra for nothing,” Lance grumbles, and then shoots Keith a smirk. “Well...maybe not nothing ..”
“Paper walls dearest,” Keith reminds him, taking the camera to show how literal he's being. Aside from the wood paneling behind them, large sections of the wall look to be sheer and thin: dim light from lamps out in the hall easily seen through the material.
“Yeah I thought you were joking about that,” Lance confides when Keith points the camera his way. “But we can still cuddle, right?”
“Definitely,” Keith grins, and then waves down at the screen. “See you guys bright and early!”
“How early?” Lance can be heard asking as the camera is lowered.
“Like, seven?”
“Oh god. Pray for me.”
And the screen goes black.
“Good morning!” Keith greets the camera warmly, wearing sweats and a maroon shirt with the words ‘routine is a curse’ written on the sleeves. A link to Lance’s merch appears in the bottom right-hand corner, letting viewers know the shop is open. “And welcome to the dojang!”
The view expands, showing Keith standing in a large open space with natural lighting from high windows and a padded floor reflected in a wall-length mirror behind him. Lance waves as he can be seen behind the camera, and then zooms back in on Keith.
“This is where we’ll be learning some really cool Korean martial arts, known as ‘taekkyeon’,” Keith explains, and the word appears on screen to show the viewers: 택견 (taekkyeon). “My grandpa Kolivan, who we’ll address as sabeomnim-” again the word flashes: 사범님 (sabeomnim) “-will be teaching us traditional Korean sword fighting tomorrow, which I am really excited about.”
“Same here,” Lance agrees behind camera, and a door opens at the far side of the room. A woman with a shoulder-length bob, loose baggy pants, and a white T-shirt steps into the room, cracking her fingers as she points at Keith.
“So it was you who snuck into my room and knocked my knives on the ground!”
The view zooms out to avoid flipping back and forth between Keith and the newcomer - both of whom look remarkably similar - and Lance can be seen grinning in the mirror.
“I didn’t!” Keith tries, backing away with his arms out in front. “At least, not in the plural sense…”
“ Halabeoji told me he caught you red-handed,” the woman goes on, crossing the mat and stretching her neck from side to side menacingly. “Don’t even bother lying little Akira .”
“Jenjang”, Keith curses under his breath, but Lance interrupts before he can say much else.
“Wait, ‘Akira’? Who is that?”
The woman glances over at the camera and smirks, hips jutting as she crosses her arms in front before turning back to Keith.
“Ah, you didn’t tell him your real name?”
“It’s not my real name,” Keith explains, but his expression turns sheepish as he tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. “It’s...technically my first name, but-”
“What!?” Lance shrieks, and the woman laughs.
“Oh god, wait until he finds out your middle name isn’t even ‘Keith’.”
“Excuse me?!”
The camera shakes to show Lance’s emotions, and zooms in on Keith’s face as Lance rushes forward to confront him.
“Shut up Acxa,” Keith hisses, and then smiles shyly over at his boyfriend. “It’s...a shortened version.”
Lance makes a noise of pure shock.
“What is it! Tell me! Tell me!! ” He begins chasing after Keith with the camera, who laughs as he runs off with red cheeks. The scene cuts as the feed grows too blurry to watch.
The woman - Acxa as Keith had called her - is now standing with Keith in a headlock: Lance trying not to giggle as she messes up his hair.
“This is what you get for going in my room you little gremlin!”
“You have the Skyward Sword!” Keith argues back, struggling to break free of her grip. “How could I not touch it!”
“It’s a collector's item!” Acxa grunts, flipping Keith so he’s knocked down on the mat. “And you have nasty grabby fingers!”
The camera flips around to point at Lance as Keith curses in Korean, nodding approvingly down at it.
“I like her.”
The camera is set up on a tripod now, allowing Lance to stand beside Acxa and Keith - who fixes his hair and glares over at the girl vengefully - and officially begin the video.
“Hi and welcome back!” he cheers, gesturing over to their guest. “As you now know, this is Keith’s cousin Acxa, who works at the dojang teaching taekkyeon under their grandfather, Master Kolivan. She’ll be our instructor, our sabeomnim , today.”
Acxa waves, and Keith flinches at the movement.
“I’ll be teaching you guys some basic moves first, like how to step and bend,” she says, and then bumps Keith’s shoulder with her own. “Though this guy should know all that already, right Akira?”
Keith flushes but nods, and Lance looks his way.
“Oh yeah, you were taught taekkyeon when you were little, right?”
Several photos appear over the video, showing Keith as a small child wearing the traditional white outfit associated with most martial arts, looking fierce as he poses with several medals and trophies alongside Acxa. From the pictures, it appears as if Keith had been competing since the age of seven up into his teens, and in one photo he’s grinning with two of his front teeth missing: eye blackening but looking as happy as can be.
“You better not show any pictures,” Keith grumbles as the video resumes, and Lance sticks his tongue out at the camera.
“Akira was a regular old scrapper,” Acxa beams proudly over at her cousin, who looks away embarrassed. “Such a keener. And then he got into gaming and got lazy and-”
“I did not!” Keith slaps her hand away lightly as she laughs. “I still know enough to beat you!”
“Oh really?” Acxa raises a brow, and Keith pales as he re-evaluates his boast.
“I mean...maybe?”
“You wanna make a challenge out of it?” she offers, and Lance immediately brightens.
“Yes! I do! I wanna watch Keith get his butt kic-I mean...win?”
“Gee. Thanks,” Keith groans boredly, and Lance gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Ah c’mon, you know I’ll always be rooting for you. So how about we learn some basics first, and then you two can fight at the end, yeah?”
“Sounds good to me,” Acxa agrees, and Keith nods despite the unease in his expression. Lance hugs him briefly, and then pulls him over to the edge of the mat with Acxa in front, eager to learn.
“ Taekkyeon is a traditional, full contact Korean martial art that dates back before Taekwondo,” she begins, arms loose at her sides. “It is very dance-like and focuses on kicks, hand movements, jumps, and sweeping motions that must be balanced and natural. The hands and feet move and work together at all times to defeat the opponent. The goal is to attack fluidly: constantly in motion yet graceful and light, each move purposeful and practicing gumsil or ogeum jil .”
“Can you explain what those mean?” Keith pipes up, and Acxa nods eagerly, demonstrating as she talks, and the words appear on screen: 굼실 (gumsil) and 오금질 (ogeum-jil) .
“ Gumsil or ogeum jil refer to the knees constantly bending in between movements, acting as a transition to the next step and keeping the practitioner aligned.” She bends at the knees and sways back and forth: feet shifting beneath her as she goes. “ Pumbalkki , or ‘stepping-on-triangles’, is the name of the footwork used in competition, and it’s basically a triangular shape that makes the movements look more like a dance.”
She moves as she speaks, and the footage zooms in to show the steps, the words: 품밟기 ( pumbalkki) popping up as well, before cutting back to full screen.
“We use high, medium, and low kicks in taekkyeon . The goal is not force, but rather technique, and points are given based on throws, pushing the opponent out of the ring, or by kicking to the head.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Lance points out, edging back on the mat, but Acxa waves him off.
“The kicks aren’t meant to be damaging,” she explains, “but are used to knock the opponent back. In competition sometimes the winners are decided after one person falls three times, so the goal is to knock the other off their feet.”
“Acxa was always good at that part,” Keith comments, and she glances over with a knowing smile.
“Flattery won’t get you out of our little competition Akira,” and he sags beside Lance. “But you’re right, my kicks are something to fear.”
She moves then - quick but calculated - kicking upward at an invisible opponent. Her leg is a dart, moving back downwards with a snap as her knees bend and she shifts forward, one hand hitting the mat as her entire body flips up and over. Both legs kick out at the same spot and land soundlessly back on the ground, and when she rises again she exhales smoothly with a grin.
Lance and Keith can be seen in the mirror: one looking thoroughly impressed, the other as if he’d just witnessed his own death. Acxa motions for them to stand.
“The first move I’ll show you is one of the basics that we’ll build up on as we go. It starts with both feet at shoulder width apart, like this-” she demonstrates the position, which Keith and Lance mimic. “Now bend your left knee and kick your right leg out, touching the ground in front at a slight angle before bringing it back. Shift the weight to your right leg and repeat the process on that side: left leg kicking out to touch the ground before bringing it back.” She shows what it should look like, the movements fluid and bouncy, and both boys follow with relative ease.
“Okay, next-” and on it goes, with Acxa showing movement after movement until eventually they’re kicking with each forward lunge, bodies swaying and arms in sync with every motion. By the end of it Lance is sweating slightly, and Keith’s earlier apprehension is gone.
“It’s all coming back to me now,” he admits to the camera as they take a brief break, water bottle in hand as Acxa ducks from the room for a moment. “Just like riding a bike.”
“Speak for yourself,” Lance pants, laying down on the mat with a groan. “She makes it look so easy! So graceful and pretty.”
“What about me?” Keith prods, tapping Lance’s foot with his own. His boyfriend glances over with a wink.
“Everything you do is graceful and pretty.” Keith - who had been in the process of drinking - chokes at the compliment, spitting water all down his front as he coughs. Lance lifts up on his elbows and laughs. “Well, most of the time.”
Acxa returns then, and lifts a brow as she sees the wet mark on Keith’s front.
“Why are you so sweaty?”
“It’s water!” he shoots back, and she rolls her eyes.
“Whatever you say.” She crosses the mat and snatches the water bottle from Keith’s hands, who frowns as his hands clasp around air. “Next comes the fun part.”
“I wasn’t done with that,” he attempts, but trails off when Acxa blatantly ignores him, taking the bottle and setting it up on a large foam block she’d placed in the middle of the room. She motions for them to step back, and then kicks the side of the block, sending the half-empty water bottle into the air. Without pause she spins, jumping up on one leg and sending the other up and outwards, where it connects with the still airborne bottle and sends it flying across the room. She completes the move with a twirl and bows playfully to the camera.
Lance’s mouth is open as he stares unblinkingly, but Keith tsks and shakes his head.
“That’s not even taekkyeon. ”
She shrugs, unbothered.
“No, not really, but it’s how I started teaching my students to aim. Plus it’s fun as hell.”
“I wanna try!” Lance cheers, running to gather up the water bottle and replace it on the block. He mimics the starting stance Acxa had used, and stares over at her. “How do I do it!”
She laughs and gently shoves him out of the way, showing him where to kick and aim.
“The trick is the timing,” she explains, and then kicks the block to send the bottle upwards. This time her feet remain planted as her torso juts forward: right arm striking to collide with the bottle and send it across the room with a punch.
Lance gasps and applauds while Keith steps into frame with a disapproving grimace.
“Your form was off in that one,” he criticizes, placing a different bottle on the block and lining up. “And it looked lame.”
He kicks the side, sending the target up, and lands back on his feet. Rather than the same leg kicking back up as Acxa had shown before, Keith shifts his weight so the other strikes, twisting his hips and smashing his foot into the bottle with a satisfying crunch. It lands a good distance away, and Lance bites his lower lip as he meets Keith’s eyes.
“See?”
“Talk about bad footwork,” Acxa chastises, and a competition breaks out between them, seeing who can perform the coolest move that sends the water bottle flying. Lance stands back beside the camera, making comments here and there as the movements grow more complex.
Acxa will spin in the air and kick out with expert precision. Keith will use his hands for balance as his legs soar over his head weightlessly. It’s a ferocious dance between two dragons: trained in the art of showing off, but the competition shifts when Keith punches the bottle away before Acxa can hit it, causing her to spin off balance and turn his way with a snarl. She sinks low in a ready stance, pushing the block aside.
“I think we’re ready to fight now,” she announces loudly. Keith mimics her and bends his knees, swaying back and forth as the two begin to step in a wide circle.
“What’s the winner get?” he asks, feet bouncing as the weight shifts between each leg, the movements looking identical to the ones Acxa had shown them earlier. It’s taekkyeon in motion, and Lance grabs the camera to zoom in on some of the footwork.
“If you win I’ll let you hold the Skyward Sword.”
Keith shakes his head with a grin, dodging a kick that Acxa sends his way.
“Not good enough. How about if I win I get to keep the Skyward Sword.” He lunges forward, sinking low as one leg attempts to sweep Acxa off her feet. She jumps back gracefully, and clicks her tongue.
“Nice try, but you’ll have to be faster than that.” She moves abruptly, and Lance is just quick enough to catch her feigning a kick that Keith dodges, using her other leg to hook behind his knees and lift him off balance. He falls, and she jumps back with a hoot. “Fall number one Akira! First to three loses, but I’ll agree to your terms. If you win, I’ll let you use the sword for the rest of your videos. But if I win…” and she beams wickedly, glancing over at where Lance holds the camera. “I’ll show Lance evidence of your bowl cut phase.”
“Your what?!” Lance exclaims at the same time Keith growls a menacing “you wouldn’t...” and Acxa chooses to answer the latter.
“Oh, I would little Ra-Ra. And you know it.” The look on Keith’s face tells the viewers she’s right, and Lance moves so he can better witness the fight that’s about to go down.
“Sorry babe,” he calls out once ready. “But I think I’ll be cheering for Acxa.”
“Traitor!” Keith whines, but his attention never leaves his cousin.
“I just really wanna see the hair journey you took, you know? And I’m sure our viewers do too.”
“I was five!”
“You were eleven, don’t lie,” Acxa shoots back, and Keith attacks. He bends and shifts like a river: fluid and flexible and powerful when he strikes. The air whistles as he kicks out, but Acxa swats it away with a hand, transferring the weight to her other foot as she dodges. Without pause she lowers and juts her leg out to catch Keith’s feet, but he tilts backward and flips twice, moving out of her range with a grunt.
“What you lacked in finesse you made up for in energy,” Acxa exhales, eyes as wild as her hair. “But you’re out of practice.”
She moves forward in a cartwheel: legs joining together at the top of the arc as her arms push her upwards. She lands and sinks in one smooth motion, using her hands for balance as she kicks at Keith’s shins.
He jumps up swiftly and takes advantage of Acxa’s position to kick out, and just when it looks like he’ll connect he pulls back, landing in a ready stance as she gapes up at him.
“Not as rusty as you think,” he teases, and she chuckles as she stands.
“One-one then.”
“Anyone else having a bisexual panic attack right now?” Lance can be heard whispering to the camera as Keith and Acxa begin to circle each other again. “Or is it just me?”
The lack of action is short-lived, and Keith strikes again with the same kick he’d used on the water bottle: changing legs mid-movement to confuse his opponent, but Acxa doesn’t fall for it. She shifts around him and grabs his shoulders as he lands, using the momentum from his jump to flip him over and down to the mat.
“Two-one,” she giggles, and he snarls and tries again. This time he windmill kicks, hands helping him balance as one leg shoots up at Acxa and misses, landing back on the mat so the other can do the same motion. She’s not quick enough the second time around, and though she manages to absorb most of the force with her arm, she’s pushed off balance and stumbles off the mat. Keith rises and points accusingly.
“You’re out of the ring!”
“This doesn’t count as a ring,” she tries, but he titters and cuts her off, shaking his finger as he moves over to where she’d stepped off. “It counts. Two-two.”
“Ugh, fine,” she huffs, wiping sweat from her brow as they reset once again. There’s a moment of silence as they step cautiously around one another, in which only their breathing can be heard echoing around the room, but it breaks as Acxa shouts and leaps forward.
Her kicks are swift, and though Keith manages to either dodge or avoid them, he’s given no window to attack himself. All he can do is defend as Acxa twists and turns in the air, landing on one foot only to jump to the other. It looks exhausting, but she shows no signs of slowing, and each kick brings Keith closer to the edge of the mat.
He must sense this as well, and changes his tactics as she sends another leg towards his head. Instead of ducking to avoid it, he leans forward and shifts so Acxa’s foot connects with his shoulder, and in her brief surprise, he charges forward, knocking her off balance.
It looks like the fight will end then and there, but somehow Acxa tilts backward: stretching out her arms to carry her weight over the mat as she pushes off Keith and flips. It’s an amazing move, but Lance can hardly comment as Keith continues his charge. He twists as he gets closer, kicking up and twirling mid-air, and just like that their positions change. Suddenly it’s Acxa on the defensive, with Keith gaining ground as she struggles to find a way through his attacks.
Lance moves around the mats as they push into a corner, trying to get the best angle as the two fight. He doesn’t say anything, as the grunts and pants and shouts of Keith and Acxa don’t allow for much commentary, but every now and again a small gasp of worry or shock can be heard behind the camera.
And still, they fight. Acxa is hastily running out of mat, and Lance catches it all on camera as Keith grins and dips, attempting to sweep her off her feet as the finishing blow. But she jumps in time and rolls forward, rising up in sync with Keith and twisting to avoid his arms. She’s directly behind him now, and Lance captures the exact moment Keith realizes he’s screwed. Acxa’s hands reach around to grab his waist, and she smirks knowingly.
“Sorry cousin,” she simpers, and bends backward, using their combined momentum to send him flying across the mats. Keith yelps as he’s tossed, hands reaching out to soften his fall, but as he catches himself and rolls over Acxa is already there: leg inches from his face and hovering motionless by his temple. They stay like that for a long moment, and then finally Acxa pulls back.
“Three-two. I win.”
Keith’s shoulders sag as he exhales heavily, sitting back on his rear and pushing the hair from his face.
“I don’t think that last move was legal,” he comments raggedly, and Acxa shrugs, not bothering to deny it.
Lance moves forward as well, now that the fear of being hit is gone, and shoves the camera in Keith’s face.
“That was freaking glorious to watch,” he confesses, and Keith’s ears darken as he averts his gaze. The view tilts over to Acxa, who waves and drinks from one of the water bottles she’d been kicking not too long ago. “But we have a winner! Which means-”
“Nooo,” Keith whines, sprawling out on the mats in defeat, but Lance and Acxa ignore him to speak in harmony.
“Bowl cut photos!”
A single image pops up on screen, showing Keith at age eleven holding an oversized backpack and smiling forcibly at the camera. There’s a Hello Kitty bandaid on his cheek, and his shirt is buttoned up incorrectly, but the best part of all is the hair. It’s jet black, perfectly smooth, and cut with expert precision to fall just above his ears in a straight line around his head. A perfect bowl cut.
It’s spectacular, and Lance animates several hearts to appear over the picture before the scene changes.
They’re standing with Acxa again, who hasn’t stopped bragging since winning against Keith.
“Well, there you have it,” Lance says, wrapping his arm around Keith’s shoulders when the boy refuses to look at the camera. “A genuine taekkyeon fight.”
“I still think don’t think that was legal,” Keith mumbles to himself, and Acxa ruffles his hair affectionately.
“Who cares,” she sings. “It’s not like Link runs around kicking people anyway. He mostly just rolls and grunts.”
“And swordfights,” Lance adds, nudging Keith and pointing at the small smile that flickers on his lips. “Ahhh there it is! I knew you’d be excited!”
Keith sighs and relents, lifting his head to stare at the camera with a sheepish expression.
“Okay, yeah. I was always better at haedong-geomdo anyway.”
“Can’t deny that,” Acxa admits, walking over to the door in the back of the room. “That’ll be halabeoji’s job though. I’m gonna take a shower and eat something. See you guys later!” She waves and exits, and Keith’s stomach growls audibly as the door slowly closes.
Lance snorts.
“You wanna eat too?” He lifts his leg to kick Keith’s butt, but Keith grabs it with his hand and lifts, rendering Lance unbalanced as he jumps in place and pouts. “Hey, no fair-AH!”
He yelps as Keith grins and scoots forward, hoisting Lance’s leg up and over his shoulder, before turning so they land on the mat: Keith hovering above Lance and holding both arms over his head with a hand. He leans down and smirks.
“Yeah, I could eat,” he teases, kissing Lance on the neck with a growl. Lance squeals and wiggles, but he’s thoroughly trapped in Keith’s hold.
“Keith,” he giggles as he relents, “the camera!”
“Hmm?” Keith lifts his head and glances over at where they’re still being filmed, and then grins smugly. “Sorry guys, show’s over,” he announces loudly as one leg juts out and sweeps the tripod off balance, sending the camera flying. The screen goes black, and the end credits roll.
A clip of Lance and Keith sitting at a low table is shown before the video ends, a large selection of food dishes laid out before them.
A separate viewing box appears in the corner of the screen and pans over the plates, giving a closer view of each item.
“We’re now about to enjoy a traditional Korean meal,” Lance gestures at the display with a pair of chopsticks while Keith stares at each in dismay. “Keith, do you wanna tell me what these dishes are?”
“Umm…” the panic is evident in Keith’s voice as he shoves the hair from his face, leaning over the table to examine the plates better. “Yeeesss…”
“You seem hesitant,” Lance observes with a sly smile, pointing to a large bowl filled with vegetables in a thick, red paste. “Do you know what this is?”
“I mean, I’ve seen it before...”
“Seriously?”
“It’s been a while!” Keith whines, and in the corner the name of the dish - 찌개 (jjigae) - appears so the viewers are at least informed.
“How about this,” Lance points to another bowl containing an entire chicken sitting in broth. Keith frowns down at it in thought, and right as he opens his mouth to speak Lance cuts in. “Don’t you dare just say ‘chicken’.”
Keith’s mouth shuts, and he moves on to the next dish as the words 삼계탕 (samgye-tang) flash on the screen. The next dish is a skillet with chopped carrots, sweet potato, cabbage and sliced chicken breast. It looks like stir-fry, but once again Keith pauses to think.
“Uh…” And suddenly he brightens, leaning back proudly as he evidently recalls the name.
“This one is bibimbap ,” he states, and Lance nods approvingly. However, a note appears on screen as the two smile at one another: Keith was wrong. This is actually 닭갈비 (dak-galbi). Acxa told us later and he was teased accordingly.
“And this?” Lance continues on, oblivious to the mistake at the time of filming. Keith tilts his head as his eyes narrow, focusing on the dish and making a small noise of uncertainty in the back of his throat.
“This looks like rice,” he concludes, which is an understatement given the plate includes much more than just that, and Lance laughs as he shakes his head.
“Oh my god. ”
“I just eat it!” Keith fires back, defensive. “Look, these are Korean pancakes-” he points to a few flattened spheres and the words 파전 (pajeon) appear on screen, “-which are made of whatever my mom puts in them.”
Lance snorts, nearly falling over as he chortles.
“And this is like, potato salad I’m pretty sure-”
“You’re the worst!” Lance jests with a chuckle, patting Keith’s head as he wipes a fake tear from his eye.
“I don’t know!” Keith retorts, grumpy now as he picks up a small bowl and fills it will with the first dish shown. He sits back with a huff, bringing a spoonful of the stew to his lips. “Just eat it and be happy. And be nice to me - your princess . I’m still upset about losing.”
Lance can only wave at the camera as he giggles uncontrollably, and the video ends.