Chapter Text
The talent show was great.
Stunned by Seungkwan and Seokmin’s stunning back-to-back ballads, not a dry eye was left in the dining hall from their moving performances. Even Jeonghan, hidden in the back corner yet paying rapt attention, could be seen wiping at his eyes in between rounds of applause.
Jihoon likes to think he clapped the loudest, impressed by their skills and proud of them for putting them on display with a confidence he has yet to learn. It fills him with determination to be like them one day and move an audience the way that they can.
What really left Jihoon with butterflies, however, was Soonyoung and Mingyu hovering around him the entire time.
Normally, Jihoon would scoff at how cheerful and clingy they were. He might have even scolded them for it and told them to leave him alone.
But after a week of push and pull between the three of them and their first practice together, Jihoon only feels burning endearment for them, even when Soonyoung throws an arm over his shoulders, his free hand holding Mingyu close like a leash does an overexcited puppy.
Jihoon hasn’t been able to shake them off his tail since then. Even when Joshua approached him with a few questions regarding the draft of his lyrics he submitted yesterday, the two were reluctant to leave him be. They resigned themselves to waiting for him outside when he insisted that his project was private.
Now he’s lying in a hammock listening to a particularly intense game of four square occurring in the nearby parking lot.
Wonwoo, Junhui, and Vernon are relaxing in other hammocks within the same patch of trees as him while the rest of Jihoon’s friends are arguing, again, about whether a ball was in or not.
It’s making it hard to concentrate on writing more lyrics for his song, but it’s not like he was making a lot of progress to begin with. Vernon and Wonwoo are each reading a book and Junhui has curled up and gone to sleep. Jihoon wonders if they’re as bothered with the noise as he is.
After several minutes of bickering and throwing around proposals, Jihoon finally hears Soonyoung declare, “Fine! I’m out. I’m taking a break.”
He doesn’t expect the dancer to come striding up to his hammock with a pout and paw at him with a whine of, “Jihoonie, they were being mean to me… now I’m lonely!”
Jihoon hums, closing his notebook for good and meeting Soonyoung’s eyes. He’s become remarkably tolerant of Soonyoung and Mingyu petulantly seeking his attention, but he tells himself that it’s because of years of doing the same with Seungcheol and Junhui.
“I’m sure they were, but you were the one who made yourself lonely by walking away,” Jihoon says.
“Really?” Soonyoung chirps. Then, realizing what he said, he resorts to whining again, “You’re supposed to be comforting me right now!”
Jihoon nudges Soonyoung’s side with his foot and teases, “Shouldn’t Mingyu be doing that?”
“Mingyu’s still playing, though! I don’t want to play anymore, I want to sit with you.”
Sensing his next move, Jihoon hurries to stop him, “Soonyoung, wait, don’t—”
But it’s already too late. With a devilish grin on his face, Soonyoung starts climbing into the hammock that is far too small to accommodate both of them.
Despite Jihoon trying to shove him off the entire time, Soonyoung gets both of his knees onto the swing. Seconds afterwards as he adds his weight, he loses balance and sends the entire hammock flipping.
It’s all a blur. Before Jihoon can think about how he should land, he’s falling face first into Soonyoung’s chest.
When he gets up the nerve to open his eyes, he’s horrified to find himself laying on top of the dancer, Soonyoung having taken the brunt of the fall by flipping their positions and holding Jihoon to his body.
So much for a normal afternoon. Jihoon can’t seem to catch a break from all these heart-fluttering incidents, and it’s so unusual that he’s beginning to feel like the protagonist of a romantic drama.
“Ouch,” Soonyoung wheezes.
He makes another pained noise as Jihoon rolls off of him; and if Jihoon intentionally allows his elbow to dig into Soonyoung’s ribs, the dancer is none the wiser.
Clutching his lyrics notebook to his chest, Jihoon glares down at Soonyoung as he cackles, unperturbed by the pain he’s in or the massive pain he’s being.
From another hammock, Wonwoo frowns, “Have you no shame? Soon, you’re obviously bothering him.”
“Why’d you think that would work, idiot?” Jihoon berates him.
“Don’t fight,” Vernon says, eyes barely lifting from his book.
“Yeah, no fighting,” Soonyoung grins. He sticks his tongue out. What is he, five? Jihoon stops himself from saying it out loud.
Junhui sits up, blinking awake. “Fighting? Who’s fighting?”
Jihoon steps over Soonyoung who is still laying on the ground. He shakes his ankle out of Soonyoung’s hold when he grabs it, walking over and sitting on Junhui’s hammock— correctly, he might add, so that he doesn’t topple the whole thing.
Instinctually, Junhui wraps his arms around Jihoon and props his chin on his shoulder, making himself comfortable in a way that only Junhui can.
“No one's fighting,” Jihoon explains. “Soonyoung just made me fall out of the hammock because he’s dumb.”
“Dumb and hot,” Soonyoung says.
Wonwoo sighs, “At least he’s self-aware.”
“Oh? Wonwoo thinks I’m hot?”
“I think you’re a dumbass.”
“A cute dumbass?” Soonyoung tries once more. He frames his face with his palms and wiggles his fingers cutely, looking up at Wonwoo.
The rapper only snorts, “Do I look like Mingyu to you?”
Soonyoung’s smile drops. “You’re no fun, you know that?”
“You’re the one bothering me to keep yourself from getting bored.”
“Shut up, that’s not even relevant.”
“It’s the whole point!”
Vernon interrupts, a little firmer this time, “Stop fighting.”
Wonwoo and Soonyoung suddenly smile at each other, sickeningly sweet. It’s a truce, not that they’re even at war with each other. Despite their jarringly different personalities, they do actually get along.
“I love you, Wonwoo,” Soonyoung sings, standing and picking up Wonwoo’s hand.
Wonwoo just kind of accepts it, careful to slip his bookmark into his book before looking up at Soonyoung. Honey drips from his eyes as he echoes, “I love you, Soonyoung.”
Unlike the two lovebirds cooing at each other, Jihoon actually sees Mingyu approaching them, already brooding over… Jihoon isn’t sure yet.
Either way, Mingyu shouts as he approaches the hammocks, “Wonwoo! Are you trying to take my man?”
“‘My man,’” Wonwoo scoffs. “As if. He already has you. He wouldn’t leave you for me even if you died.”
It becomes quiet, his words sinking in. Soonyoung already has Mingyu. Jihoon’s heart sinks. They’re not… are they?
“Lighten up,” Junhui chides. “Soonyoung isn’t that bad.”
Wonwoo sits up in his hammock. He’s still holding Soonyoung’s hand, but now Mingyu is holding his other one. “I’m not saying that they’re bad. I’m just saying I wouldn’t have any chance to come between them.”
Jihoon is really confused. Everyone is acting like Soonyoung and Mingyu are dating, but they’re not dating because they’ve never said that they are. They hang around each other a lot, but they’re really close regardless. Are they dating?
At this point, Jihoon is too afraid to ask.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
“Jihoon.”
“Shh.”
“Did you see the way Wonwoo was looking at Soonyoung earlier? Do you think he likes him?”
Jihoon hums, scribbling his thoughts down before he loses them. For some reason, it feels wrong to write a love song right now, but Jihoon is nothing if not dedicated.
Seungcheol really should have gone canoeing with the rest of their friends instead of staying inside and whining. He’s not even making use of his downtime.
They’re sitting in the living room of the cabin, Jihoon again with his notebook and Seungcheol twiddling his thumbs. Jihoon’s notebook has been practically glued to him recently, but he takes it as less of an obsession and more as a streak of inspiration.
“Hasn’t he already said he has a crush on you?” Jihoon huffs, throwing a glare at the couch opposite him. “You guys are all lovey-dovey anyway, it’s sickening.”
Seungcheol rolls over to face him properly. “I mean, kind of,” he admits. “I told him I think he’s cute and he said he likes me. He keeps acting like we like each other. Does that count?”
Finally, Jihoon snaps his notebook closed. “Cheol, I think if Soonyoung were dating someone, we’d know. He’s not subtle about… anything.”
For some reason, Seungcheol seems offended by this. “As if you’re doing better than I am. You barely know who you have a crush on, much less if either of them like you back.”
“At least I can tell whether they’re interested or not.”
“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”
Jihoon huffs and gets up. “You’re annoying.”
“You’re annoying.”
Leaving his notebook on the table, Jihoon slips on his shoes and opens the cabin door.
“Hey, where are you going?” Seungcheol calls after him.
“Out,” he fires back, shutting the door behind him.
With the sun still prickling at his skin, Jihoon matches uphill, passing cabins until he reaches the one marked as number seventeen. He’s not sure what brings him there— maybe just a desire to prove Seungcheol wrong. Maybe to reassure himself that he does have a chance with someone for once.
He doesn’t bother knocking; the cabins dont really get locked. But when he steps inside to an empty living room, he’s reminded that everyone is at the lake. No one’s home.
Jihoon sighs. “Great,” he sighs. He can’t believe puppy love is making him stupid.
Just when he’s resigned himself to sitting on the porch until his friends come back, a voice stops him.
“Soonie?”
It’s Mingyu.
Jihoon tries not to overthink the fact that his first instinct was to call for Soonyoung and not literally anyone else. It doesn’t matter that they’re staying in the same cabin because Mingyu has four other roommates and probably a million other friends he could be expecting.
Jihoon expects him to come from the bedroom, but he steps out of the bathroom shyly in sweatpants and a muscle tee, expectant glint in his eyes. Jihoon is embarrassed to admit that his mouth goes dry at the sight of his muscled arms.
When he sees him, Mingyu says, “Oh, it’s you.”
It’s soft, pleased; not unkind. Despite himself, Jihoon huffs out a laugh. “Why aren’t you at the lake?”
Mingyu blushes, then, ruffling his still drying hair. “I’m not a strong swimmer,” he admits.
Kim Mingyu? Can’t swim? Jihoon fights back a smile, amused by the idea that strong, athletic Mingyu can’t tread water. Then again, he’s so big, he might just sink like a rock. A really sexy rock.
God, Jihoon’s got it bad.
“I didn’t think you were the type to show off your arms,” he changes the topic.
“And I didn’t think a little boy in overalls could be so mean,” Mingyu teases back, already seeming to shield himself from any attacks.
Jihoon raises his arm, just to scare him a little. “They’re practical,” he mumbles.
Mingyu smirks like a jock from High School Musical, which is exactly what he is. “And adorable,” he adds. “Why aren’t you at the lake? Were you trying to rob us or something?”
“Believe it or not, I was having a streak of inspiration. It’s too bad Seungcheol is super annoying and I can’t concentrate anymore. I forgot everyone was gone, but I guess you’re not.”
“What was he whining about?” Mingyu asks, walking closer.
“Apparently he can’t tell that Wonwoo isn’t interested in Soonyoung and only has eyes for him.”
Mingyu laughs, “Oh, that is funny. Trust me, Wonwoo does not like Soonyoung that way.” It’s said with finality, with the knowledge of something that Jihoon isn’t privy to.
“That’s what I tried to tell him. If Soon was dating someone, we’d all know about it.”
A funny look crosses Mingyu’s face as he makes himself comfortable on the couch. “Yeah, you’d really think so,” he mumbles.
Jihoon’s brow furrows. He didn’t expect this kind of dejected reaction from Mingyu who is usually quick to jump onto a joke, even if it’s about Soonyoung.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, coming to sit beside him.
Mingyu shrinks away from him and into the armrest, all with a defensive, “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?”
But Jihoon can see his mouth settled into a frown, gaze averted to his hands. He brings his knees up to his chest, literally folding himself up to appear smaller than he is. Jihoon, lips pursed, chooses to tuck the image away instead of prying.
It’s better to take notes than force Mingyu to reveal something he doesn’t want to hear.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
There’s a rift between Soonyoung and Mingyu for the rest of the night. At dinner, Soonyoung is as energetic as ever, recounting stories from canoeing adventures to those who didn’t go, but the hurt in Mingyu’s eye is enough to push himself away. To make it awkward.
And it is awkward, at least for the rest of them. Jihoon hates sitting at this table. He just wants to eat his spaghetti.
The moment Soonyoung is gone to get more food, Wonwoo leans across the table and hisses at Mingyu, “What is wrong with you right now?”
“What?” Mingyu snaps.
“Don’t tell me you’re still pissy about this morning,” Wonwoo seethes, voice dropping a level. He’s clearly more annoyed than anything, probably because he’s used to Mingyu throwing fits for stupid reasons. “You’re acting like a fucking child right now.”
Note to self: Never piss off Wonwoo…
“Am not,” Mingyu retorts childishly, petty anger still rolling off him in waves. “Shut up.”
“If you’re going to be bitter about something, can you at least keep it to yourself?”
“I’m not doing anything to you, Wonwoo.”
They’re left hurling daggers at one another until Soonyoung returns. The dancer takes one look at them and laughs. If he has any hesitancy in approaching the silent duel going on, he doesn’t show it.
“I can’t leave you guys for two minutes, can I?” he says, plopping down beside Mingyu. Jihoon tries to throw him a look, one that says please save us, but he doesn’t think he sees.
His laughter dies down when neither backs down from each other. At this point, Jihoon doesn’t even know what they’re arguing about anymore. Mingyu is annoyed, but he swallows, mouth twitching, and Jihoon realizes he’s about to cry. Wonwoo just looks pissed, apparently incapable of showing more than one emotion at once.
Mingyu is the first to look away, standing with his tray with a mumble of, “I’m tired.” He marches off, slipping out the door of the dining hall and leaving the others to watch him go.
“What was that about?” Soonyoung frowns, oblivious.
Wonwoo only sighs, getting up to leave as well. Seungcheol is quick on his heels, calling after him to wait for him.