Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Euijoo was awake before the sun, as usual. 

The air inside his cabin was warm and still, the distinct scent of wood being one of the first things his senses picked up as he stirred. A quick glance at the digital clock sitting atop the small table next to his bed let him know what time it was, the red numbers reading 6:01 am. He realized then that he didn’t have his phone with him. If he did, it would’ve started playing the usual tinkling chimes at him at exactly 6:00 am. But it seemed his body was conditioned enough by now to have its own internal clock set up, dragging him out of sleep at this hour out of sheer habit. 

Euijoo knew where his phone would be. He had a vivid memory of putting it in his locker at the start of the day on Saturday, like always, but he must not have retrieved it at the end. Must have been too eager to shower and get into bed, knowing he wouldn’t have any schedule to keep on Sunday. He did recall feeling particularly fatigued after the evening meeting Saturday. Case in point, yesterday was an obscure timelapse of being in and out of consciousness, the kind of drunk sleep you weren’t sure where it began or ended – his preferred way to spend his designated off day. 

Euijoo stretched his arms up above his head, fingers bumping against the headboard, a squeaky grunt leaving the back of his throat. 

Since he wasn’t on cabin duty this morning, theoretically he had more time for himself than usual. He could lay in bed for a while, go for a morning swim, watch the sunrise…

He could, but he wasn’t going to. Not sticking to his usual routine would only throw him off. All the extra hour meant was he had time for his weekly phone call with his mom, which was basically also routine. 

He flipped the covers off of himself, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The smooth wooden floor was warm against the soles of his bare feet. Hoisting himself up, he padded over to the small bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth. Once that was done, he came back out and took the set of freshly washed, folded up clothes from the top of his dresser and brought them over to the bed. 

He pulled his white sleep tee over his head, replacing it with the red one that qualified as his work uniform – the words Camp Wolf Lake on the front and COUNSELOR on the back. He followed suit with the bottoms, switching out his blue-and-white checkered pajama pants for khaki-colored cargo shorts. He pulled a black belt through the loops and fastened it snug around his waist, dropping the end of the t-shirt back over it when he was done and pulling on a pair of socks.

He then went over to the small desk by the door, stepping into the pair of sneakers he kept there before swiping up the orange lanyard with his ID and clipping it to his pocket. He grabbed up the clipboard his schedule was on and then his jacket from where he’d flung it onto the back of the desk chair. It was camp-issued, lightweight and also red, with the same wording on the front and back as his shirt. He wouldn’t want to be anywhere near it by the time it was noon, but it helped to combat the early morning chill. He tucked the clipboard underneath his arm to push his hand through one of the sleeves, pausing to swipe up a baseball cap (also Camp Wolf Lake) from the desk’s surface and slap it onto his head. It was easier than dealing with the horrendous bedhead he was sporting right now.

He removed the clipboard, opened the door with his free hand, and stopped in his tracks.

There was a guy standing in front of his cabin, one foot on the bottom stair like he had been about to come up.

A surprised noise tried to fight its way out of Euijoo’s throat, but he forced it back down just in time. 

All the campers were still asleep, and the staff would only just be waking up, busying themselves with getting ready and making their own preparations for the day ahead. Even though the counselors all stayed on the same side of the grounds, it was rare for Euijoo to run into anyone else before making it to the staff cabin, or the mess hall.

Whoever this was, in a white T-shirt and black hoodie and wide, dark shorts that came down to his knees, he certainly didn’t look like a staff member. And he was definitely too old to be a camper.

He seemed surprised too, and that was based on the slightly parted lips as he stared up at Euijoo and not because Euijoo could see it in his eyes. Because he couldn’t see his eyes – not really. The beanie he was wearing was pulled down so low it covered his eyebrows completely. The dark bangs that poked out underneath were grazing his lashes.

Euijoo blinked at him as he took his foot off the step in one languid motion. 

“Are you EJ?” His voice was soft, deep. Tired?

“Yes?” Euijoo worked his other arm into his still-dangling jacket sleeve, sparing a quick glance at the campgrounds. The early morning fog hung low and translucent grey over the treetops. Still no one around. No one to come to his immediate aid if this guy turned out to be a camp killer on the loose like some Asian Jason Voorhees. Euijoo made sure to hang close to his open door, just in case.

“Fuma told me to come find you.”

Euijoo’s eyebrows lifted, his mounting suspicions dissolving at the mention of the Lead Counselor’s name. “Oh! Really? Uh, what for?”

The boy shrugged, the action looking like it felt like a chore. He blinked slowly up at Euijoo, saying nothing else, and Euijoo had to wonder if he was half asleep or just disinterested.

Euijoo tried for a smile. “Okay, um…” He fished in his shorts pocket for his cabin key and turned around, armpitting the clipboard once more to pull his door closed and lock it. Once that was done, and the key repocketed, he clunked down the wooden stairs. “Let me go see what this is about. I’ll be right back, okay?”

This time there wasn’t even a shrug. The guy pushed his hands into his own pockets and slouched into himself, evidently tucking in to wait, still watching Euijoo with dark eyes he couldn’t really see.

“Okay…” Some of that uneasy feeling was creeping back in. Not quite in an ‘am-I-about-to-be-murdered?’ kind of way, but kind of in an ‘is-this-guy-going-to- plot-my-murder?’ kind of way. Like he wasn’t in any danger right now, but he might be later.

The smile felt heavier on Euijoo’s face as he sidled awkwardly past the shadowy obstacle partially blocking the space in front of his stairs (that made no attempt to move, by the way). Euijoo tried really hard not to brush against him without making it obvious that’s what he was doing. He managed at the expense of some of his composure. His smile turned into more of a concentrated grimace during the maneuvering, reappearing only when he finally stepped down onto the dewy grass.

“Okay, just- wait here, uh… what’s your name?” When he spoke to Fuma, he should have something to refer to him as that wasn’t frowning beanie guy in front of my cabin.

“Nicholas.”

Euijoo nodded. “Nicholas.”

“I’m the new camp counselor.”

Euijoo barely stopped himself from going bug-eyed and blurting, YOU? 

Barely.

“Y-oh. Really? Okay, well, I’m… I’m gonna go see what’s going on.”

He turned around and forced himself to walk down the path, even though he felt Nicholas watching him, making the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably. When he hung a left at the halfway point, and he was sure he was out of sight, that was when he broke into a studious jog the rest of the way to the staff cabin. 

☀️

Euijoo took the steps up to the staff cabin two at a time, pausing before he entered to look down and check the watch that only ever left his wrist when he was showering, bouncing on the balls of his feet. It was 6:37. Good. More than enough time to get this situation sorted. Wake up call wasn’t even until 7:00. After that, there would be so much activity – kids buzzing, announcements happening, staff at work – that there wouldn’t be time for anything.

He pushed the handle down and stepped in.

The staff cabin was set up to both function as and resemble a lounge. There was a large black fridge tucked against the far wall, a vending machine, and a couple of round, wooden tables with matching stools. A sitting area with couches and a coffee table on top of a rug was on the room’s left side. To the right was a mini cafe-style bar that staff members could order non-alcoholic drinks and food items from during their breaks. A few glass-framed plaques hung on the back wall, displaying the camp’s history, mission statement, certifications, and achievements in cursive black.

The air in the room was stuffy and already a little warm, even though the sun had barely started to lighten the sky. It was as though the thick wooden logs that made up the structure held all the heat from days previous no matter what time of day it was. That, and there was no AC. A wooden ceiling fan hung still in the center of the room, but the counselors rarely even bothered with it anymore. Its pitiful spinning was no match for the heat. 

Fuma sat at one of the tables, head ducked over a handful of papers spread out over the surface. He was wearing a pair of silver-framed glasses and sporting a pretty serious reading frown, one hand loosely clutched around a small paper cup of water from the dispenser in the corner of the room. An open backpack sat on the stool next to him.

When he heard Euijoo enter and glanced up, a brilliant smile lit up his face.

“Euijoo-kun, good morning!” he chirped, as always bright-eyed with a positive attitude even before the sun came up.

Euijoo knew he would find him here rather than in his own cabin. Fuma was more of an early starter than he was, often coming here first thing in the morning before things got going to sit at one of the tables and triple check his list of responsibilities for the day. And that was after one of his typical morning workout sessions, which it looked like he had done given the sleeveless tank and basketball shorts he was wearing.

Where he found the time or energy Euijoo had no idea. He himself had to schedule in time to drink water during the day so he didn’t pass out from dehydration because he forgot, which almost happened once or twice.

Fuma was just diligent like that, even before becoming a Lead Counselor. It was probably why he’d been made one.

Euijoo gave him a quick, habitual bow in greeting. “Good morning, Fuma-san. So—”

“Did you meet Nicholas?”

“—I met Nicholas.”

“Oh!” Fuma perked up, chuckling at their overlapping words. He pulled off his reading glasses and set them on the table with a clack. “That’s good. And is everything okay?”

“…Yeah…”

Euijoo couldn’t deny he felt a slight tinge of disappointment that Fuma knew exactly what he was talking about. He was secretly hoping that he’d have no idea, and then all they’d have to deal with was a potential madman who’d wandered his way onto the campgrounds somehow. A modern-day Friday the 13th situation. No big deal.

“It’s just, I wasn’t really expecting a new counselor at this point in the summer.”

Fuma nodded. “I know. Camp’s been in session a couple weeks already, but we still feel like… wait.” He paused, scrutinizing Euijoo’s expression. “You got my message on Saturday, didn’t you?”

Euijoo blinked. “I… haven’t looked at my phone since that morning. I didn’t get to check it yesterday, and it’s just been in my locker. I was planning to check it this morning before things got going, but then…”

But then there was frowning beanie guy in front of my cabin.

Euijoo trailed off as the look of surprised realization grew stronger and stronger on Fuma’s face. He clapped a hand over his mouth dramatically, eyes blowing wide.

“Ah, Euijoo… ahh, I didn’t know! Well, I guess I should have when I didn’t get a response from you right away like usual, but it was after the staff meeting on Saturday and it was late, so I figured you were just tired or maybe already in bed. And that you’d see it during your day off yesterday.”

Euijoo had been too busy being dead to the world for most of it for that. He briefly pondered the biology behind sleeping for nearly sixteen hours straight and still feeling tired.

“I pretty much slept the whole day in my cabin. Didn’t see any message,” he confessed sheepishly.

“I’m sorry.”

Euijoo shook his head, confusion drawing his eyebrows together. Why was Fuma apologizing?

“No, it’s fine. Really, I was just surprised that he was looking for me this morning. And to find out he’s a new team member.”

Fuma’s eyebrows lifted, an expectant expression smoothing out his features. “So he did tell you. You’ll do it then?”

“Do what?”

“Be Nicholas’ trainer.”

The words walloped Euijoo in the chest, but he felt like he schooled his expression better this time.

“Ah. Well… yes. Of course I can do that.”

What else was he supposed to say? 'Hell no, I won’t do it. That guy scares me?' He’d been praised for being “exceptionally responsible, reliable, and dependable” in his mid-summer and end-of-summer evaluations before — by Fuma. There was no other option here but to smile and say yes.

Fuma, for his part, looked relieved. Probably because he didn’t have to scramble to find someone else to do it on such short notice. That alone was enough to make Euijoo depuff a little bit. 

Was he wary about this? Absolutely. Did he want to do it? Not really. He had a full plate as it was. But between a larger volume of campers this year and less returning counselors than they had anticipated, the staff were admittedly stretched a little thin. Fuma himself was balancing being both a Counseling Lead and a Ropes Facilitator for their Outdoor Adventure program. Knowing doing this would be helping him out, maybe taking some of the load off the other Lead Counselors and Program Organizers, who already had their hands full supervising and making schedules for everyone, respectively, made Euijoo want to give it his best despite his qualms about it. For the sake of the team.

“It’s a really big help, Euijoo,” Fuma commented, as if sensing where his train of thought was. He began gathering his schedule papers back together. “After Kyungmin couldn’t come back at the last minute, well you know, he was supposed to be your co-counselor, so it left a big slot open. We’ve been managing fine splitting up the responsibilities, rearranging activities, and filling in the gaps and such. Everyone’s adapting really well, and you’ve been doing an excellent job managing your campers on your own. But I think if there was someone who could fill the role well and help you out, it’s better to get them in sooner rather than later. Nicholas was the perfect fit. K thought so, too.”

Perfect compared to what, exactly? Euijoo snarked in his head.

He thought back to the vision of apathy he’d met in front of his cabin – all soft frowns and dead eyes and dark colors and monotone speech. That guy didn’t exactly scream camp counselor. In fact, he was like an entire juxtaposition to everything a camp counselor was supposed to be. In essence their job was to be sunny, enthusiastic, preppy if you will. Nicholas looked like he ate preppy for breakfast.

He tuned back into Fuma, having gotten lost in his train of thought.

The other man was standing now, zipping up his bag and swinging it over his shoulder.

“We were going through some older applications, I came across his, we gave him a virtual interview, he said he could start right away, and here we are. Honestly, it was kind of like fate. You know, I recommended you specifically to be his trainer.”

Euijoo perked up. “Why me?”

“Because you’re so reliable.”

There it was. Euijoo wondered if it would ever end up being a problem: being perceived as someone who effortlessly had his shit together. He did not. It could be said he held his shit in place, if anything; and it most certainly was not effortless. It was at the cost of an enormous amount of energy and a brief stress cry in a vacant cabin every now and then. And it wasn’t just at camp, it was the story of his life. Even back in college he moved the same way, like a smiling zombie, just without the lanyard and the clipboard. It was like meeting goals in the way he wanted meant sacrificing sleep, barely making deadlines, and then not having time for anything else.

Don’t get him wrong. He loved being a counselor. It was rewarding – the kind of hard work that left him exhausted but happy. He slept better at the end of a long day because he felt fulfilled despite his drained social battery and tired body.

He just always worried that one day someone would have expectations for him that he couldn’t meet, be it here or anywhere.

“And guess what?” continued Fuma, pulling him out of his thoughts for a second time. “You two are the same age. Isn’t that a coincidence? I thought you might get along well with each other.”

Euijoo smiled tightly. “I’ll do my best.” Fuma strode over and clapped him on the back with a force that almost knocked him over.

“Atta boy, Juju. I knew you were the right guy to ask.”

Euijoo rolled his eyes, subtly massaging his now-aching shoulder. “Only the kids call me that.”

Fuma grinned big enough to show his teeth. “But it’s cute.” Euijoo gave him a look, so Fuma held his hands up and stepped back. “Alright, alright. I texted you all you need to know for your first day of training. It’s nothing fancy. Your main group and schedule haven’t changed. All I really want Nicholas to do is observe you today – see what you’re doing, get a feel for the way things work. Like being your shadow.”

Well, he’s already one of those.

“So, you don’t even have to do much really. Just do what you usually do and answer his questions if he has any. Maybe explain things here or there if you have time, or during meals. Otherwise, we’ll figure out the next steps during the meeting tonight. But like always, you can let me know if you have questions about anything.”

“Right.”

“Do you have any questions now?”

“Um… hold on.”

Euijoo jogged over to his locker, light grey and lined up with the others against the back left wall. He twisted open the combination lock and extracted the phone he hadn’t seen since before work on Saturday. He unlocked it and tapped the latest message from Fuma. It sat unread in his recent messages, right under a text from his mom and another from a college friend.

Wow. Fuma really did text him everything he needed to know. Maybe more than he needed to know. The guy didn’t type like any twenty-something he’d ever met. More like a Wikipedia article with all his block paragraphs and, to be fair, correct usage of things like colons and asterisks. It was useful, though, explaining in detail the steps he needed to take from now until the evening as far as Nicholas was concerned, all working around his duties as a counselor. It really wasn’t anything overbearing.

“No,” Euijoo confirmed, turning back to Fuma. “No, not right now. I think… yes, everything is fine.”

“Okay, good… I am sorry this is all being thrown at you at the last minute. If you want, I can see if somebody else can take over after today.”

Euijoo was fast to shake his head. He wanted to do his part and show Fuma that he wasn’t wrong to think of him. “Nah,” he grinned. “Can you imagine Harua training anybody?”

As sweet and gentle as their blonde team member was with children, it was well-known amongst the other counselors that he did not possess that same level of patience for adults.

Fuma barked a laugh. “It would be a shame to have to start a missing person’s investigation for poor Nicholas, ah… alright, I’m off to shower and change. Good luck!”

Fuma pumped a fist and exited the cabin, leaving Euijoo alone.

He blew out a stream of air into the silence, looking back down and using his thumb to flick through the fat text message boxes again, trying not to pay attention to the light anxiety he felt bubbling in his stomach. It was lucky he wasn’t one of the counselors who had bunk duty last night and had to wake up their campers this morning – in about ten minutes, actually. He still had some time to gather himself, get back to Nicholas, and get him situated. But come breakfast time, his batch of kids would be turned over to him for the day, and then he had to be locked in. Full counselor mode.

Well, counselor and trainer mode now.

Did he even have a trainer mode? He didn’t know. But if not, he needed to find it soon.

He glanced at his clipboard, tucked into the crook of his elbow all this time, so habitually he barely noticed its presence anymore. He flipped haphazardly through the pages and pages of his very full itinerary, wondering how the hell he was going to fit in any adequate training on top of it.

He went back to his phone and this time read the information slower, trying to home in on the most relevant parts.

Nicholas Wang. Born July 9th, 2002. 

They really were the same age.

Nicholas was to be under Euijoo’s supervision today, accompanying him on all schedules with his assigned group of campers, including mealtimes and the evening staff meeting. He was to observe the campers’ activities and assist with small duties if necessary.

Nicholas was to be given a uniform and locker key. His locker was #033, which was Kyungmin’s old locker. Which was…

Euijoo glanced up.

…right next to his own.

Great.

No, no.

He wasn’t being fair.

He wasn’t trying to be pessimistic, really. First impressions were important, but they weren’t always perfect. He knew that from personal experience.

During his first week as a counselor two years ago, Euijoo led his campers to the wrong activity four different times, and all the little eyes staring at him made him so nervous that he often lost his train of thought in the middle of his sentences. The next day, he was pleasantly surprised to find that neither his campers nor the other counselors or leads were fed up with him and all his bumbling. The kids found him funny, and his peers had patience and wanted to help him improve.

Maybe he and Nicholas didn’t have the best first interaction, but there was no reason he shouldn’t get the benefit of the doubt, too. Maybe his stormy expressions were just a byproduct of being tired. It was early, after all. Maybe his mumbling and lack of complete sentences were because he was nervous himself. Maybe he just liked… black.

Nicholas deserved the benefit of the doubt. And Euijoo owed it to him to be the best damn trainer he could be.

“Okay,” he said aloud, locking his phone and placing it in his locker before pulling open the one next to it. Just as the message said, inside was a yellow combination lock and tiny brass key sitting atop a neatly folded Camp Wolf Lake shirt, hat, and a pair of khaki shorts. Identical to Euijoo’s getup, sans the jacket.

The lanyard and jacket were fully-fledged counselor rights only.

Euijoo gathered the articles of clothing and left the lock and key inside, shutting the door with his elbow.

He let himself fall into his counselor persona: 25% more smiley, 25% more attentive, and 50% more enthusiastic about life.

He was Camp Euijoo now.

And Camp Euijoo had this shit on lock. 

☀️

“HI AGAIN!”

Nicholas startled from where he was sitting on the steps to Euijoo’s cabin. Euijoo winced, pulling up to a stop. “Sorry.”

Okay, maybe dial down the enthusiasm a little bit.

He offered a smile as Nicholas cautiously stood up, watching him a bit like a cat that was deciding if it should bolt from a new, strange person or stick around to see if it had food.

“Um. So, I spoke with Fuma, and everything’s in order. I’ll be training you from today.” He held out the folded-up clothing in his arms. Nicholas took them, hands briefly brushing against the backs of Euijoo’s. Euijoo stepped back, crossed his arms, remembered it was a pose that made one appear closed off (advice given during his own counselor training), and dropped them stiffly to his sides instead. “This is your uniform. Sort of. It’s a T-shirt and shorts, but we call it a uniform. Also a hat, because it gets really sunny. Speaking of, there’s communal sunscreen in the mess hall. And little travel-sized ones in the staff lounge that you can take, too, if you want.”

He remembered something he’d read in Fuma’s text messages.

“Fuma mentioned you were put up in one of the counselor cabins already?” Nicholas nodded, a subtle motion. He twisted, pointing in a vague eastward direction.

“Yeah, I dropped my stuff in it earlier, right around there.”

Nicholas’ voice was indeed as quiet as it had been before. Euijoo didn’t know if it was because his voice was so deep, or if he was just soft-spoken by nature, but he had to concentrate to hear him over the chirping of the birds that were starting to wake up in the trees.

Euijoo clapped his hands together. “Okay, great! So once you get changed, please meet me in the staff cabin. It’s just this way and down the path to the left. It’s this big log cabin, you can’t miss it. I need to show you your locker and give you a quick run down.”

Euijoo considered offering to wait for him to change and then walking him over, but thought lingering around might be uncomfortable - for Euijoo. Maybe for Nicholas, too. Plus, he didn’t want Nicholas to feel rushed. Euijoo always felt rushed when he knew people were waiting on him. 

They were short on time, though. So maybe Nicholas should feel a little bit rushed, actually. Euijoo checked his watch again.

“Sure, I know it,” Nicholas said. It made sense he would have some basic knowledge of the grounds. They had a map of it on their website, all colorful and labeled and everything. It matched the one displayed on the sign next to the flagpole, in the mess hall, and on the outside of several miscellaneous buildings across camp. It should’ve been in Nicholas’ on-boarding package, too, if that step wasn’t skipped in the last-minute haste.

Just then a loud, drawn-out horn sound rang across the grounds. Nicholas turned his head in the general direction and squinted like it was doing him a personal offense.

“What the hell is that?”

“You like it?” Euijoo grinned. He was kind of an expert on explaining camp things. “It signals the start of wake-up call. Right now the counselors on bunk duty will start getting their campers up. We used to have a bell before, but I think this is so much better, don’t you? It’s more campy.”

Nicholas hugged his clothes to his chest, squinting against the rich orange sunlight finally starting to poke up over the horizon and douse everything – the grass, dirt paths, the cabins, the sides of their faces – in its fiery glow. “It’s loud.”

“Yeah, but so are kids,” Euijoo shrugged. “Actually, I think- no, I know- they’ve got this thing beat on their most energetic days. So, you know, brace yourself for that.” Euijoo tried to subtly gauge his reaction. Someone with a disdain for noise wouldn’t survive as a camp counselor, and it was better to know now if Nicholas was going to realize he made a mistake in his choice of summer job and run for the hills. They could save time that would otherwise be spent training him and getting him acclimated to the kids. 

And save money. Jackets were expensive these days.

Unfortunately, Euijoo couldn’t tell if he was having a revelation or not. Nicholas simply sniffed and went on to look just as disgruntled as he always did, squinting against the sunlight. 

“Okay, well, I’ll see you in a bit.” Euijoo turned to go but then stopped. “Oh, and please refrain from using any and all profanity during camp hours. Each offense in a quarter in the swear jar.”

“There’s a swear jar?”

“Yep, in the staff cabin. It’s a thing among the counselors. It helps to discourage slip ups around the campers.” He pointed at Nicholas jokingly, lifting an eyebrow and pretending to sound stern. “‘Hell’ counts, by the way, so I’ll expect your contribution by the end of the day.”

“…”

Euijoo lowered his finger. “That was a joke.”

“Oh.”

“About you making a contribution, not about the swear jar. There actually is one of those.”

“Got it.”

“...”

“...”

“Okay, well… see you around, partner!”

To say Euijoo fled from the scene might be an overstatement. 

It also wasn’t inaccurate. 

☀️

For the second time that morning, Euijoo made haste to the staff cabin. On most days, it was a space that allowed some reprieve, from the outside world and from the busy days of camp life, for what little time he and the other counselors got to spend in it during their jam-packed schedules. The dark oak wood that made up the structure did an excellent job muffling the ever-present sounds of activity outside. It was the perfect place to drop the counselor persona for a minute, take a much-needed breather, maybe get in a power nap if you were lucky and timed your minutes right. 

It was good for all those things. Right now, though, it was the perfect place for Euijoo to hide from his own bungled attempts at pleasant social interaction.

He burst into the cabin, making the screen door clatter noisily. As soon as he was in, he leaned back against it and squeezed his eyes shut.

Alright. No more attempts to make jokes around Nicholas then. Clearly, that wasn’t the move. 

Whenever his campers didn’t laugh at his quips - something he wasn’t proud to admit was a semi-normal occurrence – at least their blank stares didn’t make him want to dig himself a hole outside and jump into it. Kids were gonna stare – whether they liked you or not, that was just how they were. One day they appreciated your beetle analogy, the next they didn’t. Such was life. Their eyes were like those little laser pointers professors used during lectures: obvious but harmless. You couldn’t feel them, they couldn’t hurt you. There was a strange comfort in that. 

Nicholas’ stare, on the other hand, had some heft to it. Euijoo felt like he could still feel the weight of it even some distance away now. 

Dear God, how was he going to survive today? 

Another thought jumped out at him.

See you later, PARTNER? Why the hell did he say that?

Euijoo pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes, not quite managing to suppress a groan. This was gonna be a long day. Longer than usual, he could feel it. Maybe he shouldn’t completely rule out taking Fuma up on his offer to seek someone else out for this task at the end of it. If it was going to be like this the whole time – Euijoo fumbling and Nicholas… being that way – neither one of them would benefit much from this arrangement. 

There came a tiny beep – the sound of an ID being swiped at the vending machine.

Euijoo took his hands from his eyes, blinking away the bright spots to look across the cabin. He hadn’t even noticed anyone else was in here, too distracted with trying not to have a crisis before breakfast. 

Yuma, one of the counselors for the Claw Division – the older kids – stood in front of the vending machine. He was in the same counselor clothes, a neon green lanyard hanging off one hip, tied through one of his belt loops. The way his head hung a little lower, dark hair obscuring his eyes, indicated that he wasn’t fully awake yet. He jammed his thumb against a button to make a selection, and Euijoo didn’t even have to look to see what it was. Canned coffee. 

The lounge bar didn’t open until 1pm, so Yuma – caffeine fiend that he was – had to resort to other measures to get a fix this early. The mess hall actually didn’t serve coffee since it was buffet style and not to order – all the drinks pre-packaged or in dispensers – so it was the easiest way to ensure none of the kids got their hands on it. Didn’t want them bouncing off the walls or buzzing through activities. They’d be even harder to corral. 

Euijoo peeled himself off the door and power-walked over to his shorter coworker, who hadn’t looked over at Euijoo yet, even though he must have known he was there. The squeaky creak the screen door emitted when opened made entering the lounge unnoticed an impossibility. Never mind the way Euijoo had all but catapulted himself inside. Yuma’s head dropped lower, tracking the can of coffee as it thunked to the bottom of the machine, rolling into sight at the bottom.

Euijoo came up behind him and poked him in the back by way of greeting. 

“Did you know we got a new counselor?”

Yuma’s reaction was akin to that of a roly-poly, shrinking away from the touch and curling into himself to wait for the nuisance to go away. 

“Mmnn,” he grumbled. “Euijoo, please. I was asleep literally twenty minutes ago.” 

Euijoo continued like he hadn’t heard, coming around to Yuma’s other side to lean against the vending machine. Right in his line of sight, rendering his roly-poly defense futile.

“Fuma and K hired a new counselor, and I’m supposed to be training him. But I was not prepared to train anyone today. New people are usually trained before camp starts, right? That’s what orientation week is for. But Nicholas – that’s his name, Nicholas – just got here, like literally I think this morning, so I don’t know. I mean, Fuma says to just let him shadow me today, but I feel like I need to say some things to him, right? Like I need to do some teaching, ‘cause I can’t just ignore him all day. That’d be weird. I need to be a trainer. But to do that while leading the activities– I didn’t plan for that. How do I fit that in? Plus I really need to focus on the kids. They can tell when you’re not paying attention to them, you know, and, and… are you listening?”

Yuma hadn’t so much as moved while he rambled – not even a noncommittal ‘mmhm’ throughout the whole spiel. Euijoo scrutinized the side of his face, almost reaching over to push the hair out of his eyes and check if he’d fallen asleep standing up.

But then, in a voice still thick with tiredness: “Listening, yeah. Hearing?” Yuma trailed off, opening the slim can in his hand, the sharp crack of the top like a punctuation mark. 

Euijoo frowned as he took a sip. “Yuma…” 

Yuma swallowed and flicked his wavy fringe out of his face to cast him a sideways look. The soft bluish light from the vending machine caught the glint of mischief already starting to wake up in his eyes, possibly triggered by that one sip of caffeine. 

“Yes, I know about the new counselor,” he admitted. The corner of his mouth twitched, threatening to curl in amusement. “Fuma sent us all a notification text.” 

Euijoo pushed his shoulder, not too hard. “Help me.” 

“Help you how?” Yuma exhaled a quiet snuffle of a laugh, lifting the can to his lips again.

“Tell me how to be a trainer. You trained Harua last summer.”

“I mean, I don’t know.” Yuma shrugged, turning to face Euijoo. He leaned his shoulder against the vending machine like he was. “I just showed him what to do, and he did it. ‘This is where this is, this is where that is, this is how this activity goes, this is what to do in this situation’, you get it. He caught on quick. Of course, this was before the campers got here, so we had more time and space to iron things out. Harua was also volunteering at a daycare on his campus for a child development course back then, so he already had some fresh experience with children.” Yuma shrugged again. “I feel like that helped, too.” 

Euijoo seriously couldn’t picture Nicholas reading bedtime stories to toddlers or rocking babies to sleep in his free time. He crossed his arms.

“I don’t know why Fuma chose me for this instead of you,” he admitted sulkily. 

He felt guilty as soon as he said it. Not only was it not in the Camp Wolf Lake Spirit™, it was like saying it out loud made his agreement with Fuma even more vapid in his mind than it already was – like he was going back on his word even though he wasn’t. He was trusted to be able to handle this – counseling, training, juggling the two – but it wasn’t even breakfast yet and here he was doubting his own capabilities. If Fuma knew that’s what he was doing, how he was responding to the challenge, Euijoo was sure he wouldn’t be so confident entrusting him with this extra job. Might even regret assigning it to him. 

It was counterproductive to think about, but he did anyway. He thought about letting Fuma down, disappointing his campers, even being a bad trainer to Nicholas. 

“Well I’ve already done my time, so,” Yuma pointed out, taking another swig of his coffee. Euijoo sighed dejectedly.

“Yeah…”

Yuma barked a laugh at his crestfallen expression, pulling the can away from his mouth. “Oh, come on, Euijoo, I’m kidding. Fuma asked you because you’re you. You’re a great counselor! Just be yourself. The campers love you.”

“Nicholas isn’t a camper.”

“All that means is you’ll probably just have to work harder for it.”

Yuma tilted the can up and finished it off before tossing it in the nearby bin. It swished softly against the fresh trash bag inside. A second later there was a knock at the door. 

“Um–” Euijoo and Yuma looked at each other. No one ever knocked before coming in here, unless it was a camper who managed to wander away from their group on the rare occasion. But Euijoo had a good idea who it might be. “Come in.”

There was a beat, and then the door gingerly pushed inwards. Nicholas stuck his head around the corner, and the first thing Euijoo noticed was that his head was sans beanie. The second thing he noticed was that Nicholas’ eyes actually were catlike in shape and it wasn’t just the beanie making them appear that way. They were more visible now but also somehow not. It was clear now that his fringe was more overgrown than Yuma’s, hanging into his eyes in a translucent veil of black. Every time he blinked, Euijoo could see the pieces caught in his eyelashes shift. 

Wasn’t that annoying for him?

When Nicholas saw them, he stepped into the cabin proper. He had changed into the Official Counselor Getup™. Fuma or K must have gotten his size for everything after his interview because the clothes neither swamped him nor looked too tight – well-fitted but breezy enough for a day working in the sun. The red and khaki made him look more approachable than the abundance of black had, and Euijoo found himself kind of stunned that this was the same person. The only thing that was the same from before were the worn black and white sneakers on his feet. He might be imagining it, but Nicholas didn’t even seem to be frowning as hard. 

His cap, instead of being on his head, was clipped through one of the belt loops at his hip. Euijoo thought he would probably want to change that later when the June sun gave him a reckoning, but for now it almost bothered him that it looked cool like that. 

Do not misunderstand – Euijoo Byun was not in the running for any Coolest Counselor awards. He was 6'1 and lanky; debatably two left feet; with a penchant for bad jokes and inappropriate laughter. That title would go to many candidates, including Fuma, K, Yuma, Harua even, before it ever reached him. And even then he still wouldn’t get it. If he was all that was left to choose from, they would just abolish the award at that point. 

But anyway. 

Yuma swiped the back of his hand over his lips, probably getting rid of any lingering coffee, to reveal a smile that the kids loved to see – hell, the adults, too. 

“You must be Nicholas. I’ve heard so much about you in the last five minutes. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too bad.”

“He’s kidding,” Euijoo was quick to say. 

“I am.” Yuma tilted his head, taking on a thoughtful expression. “Or am I?”

Euijoo elbowed him. He hadn’t warned Yuma about Nicholas and jokes.

Yuma smiled and rubbed his arm, oblivious to his inner turmoil. “I am, I am. Good to meet you, I’m Yuma.”

Nicholas nodded at him, not looking bothered. Euijoo thought. With his face, it was hard to be sure.

“Looking forward to working together,” Yuma said, nodding back before elbowing Euijoo in retaliation. “See you out there, Euijoo.”

“See you.”

Yuma walked toward Nicholas to get to the door, seeming not at all perturbed by his reclusive aura that, despite the brighter colors, was still coming off him in waves. Yuma pulled open the door and even flashed him another smile on the way out, his bright personality fully activated with just one can of coffee, apparently. Nicholas didn’t return it. Euijoo couldn’t tell if Yuma even noticed.

The screen door fluttered shut behind him, and then there was silence. Euijoo kind of wished Nicholas would be the one to break it. He was still recovering from his earlier attempt to make small talk and didn’t trust himself to try again just yet. But then he remembered that he was supposed to be leading by example. If he let some discomfort hinder him, he wouldn’t be where he was now; nor would he get anywhere with Nicholas. 

Plus he did have camp stuff to go over with him, and that was his territory. Safe territory. No need to try and be clever or funny (which he wasn’t) in order to break the ice – just supply information. He pulled his eyes from the door to address Nicholas and was caught off guard to find his new coworker already staring at him with a questioning look in his eyes. 

Euijoo held his tongue and shifted in place, waiting for him to say something. Nicholas seemed to take an agonizingly long time to do so. 

During that time Euijoo found he almost missed the beanie he'd been wearing before. Without it, his eyes seemed even more unnerving –  not on full display but on display enough; dark and intense and holding him in place.

“Your name is Euijoo?” In the thick, contained silence of the cabin, Nicholas’ voice came out at an almost normal volume, not carried away by the wind and swallowed up by the sky. 

Euijoo released a breath. He didn’t know he’d stopped breathing. “Uh, yeah?”

Nicholas frowned slightly, and this one somehow softened his features. Just a little, around his mouth. He glanced down and back up again, a confused line between his brows. “Fuma called you EJ.”

Euijoo exhaled a bout of nervous laughter, feeling a little lightheaded. He really needed to get himself together. “Oh, right! Well… some of us use nicknames because it’s easier for the younger campers to pronounce than our real ones. You should hear the little ones try to say Euijoo properly, haha. Same with K, uh Yudai, the other man who interviewed you with Fuma? We use them during the workday, even around the older kids. Just to avoid confusion and to keep everyone on the same page.”

“Mm.”

“You should probably have one too, come to think of it,” Euijoo pondered aloud. “Nicholas is a bit…” He trailed off. Nicholas blinked at him – cutting eyes nestled into a face that looked perpetually pissed off. Euijoo faltered. On second thought, he could hold off trying to assign this guy a quirky nickname. Possibly forever. “You know what, never mind. We’ll play it by ear. Let the campers decide.”

The campers. Euijoo hadn’t even given thought to how he was going to introduce them to Nicholas this morning. How would they take to someone as quiet as him being one of their new counselors? Euijoo himself wasn’t doing so hot. Would the kids find him intimidating? Distracting? Would they get along well? But how would they get along at all if Nicholas barely spoke?

Euijoo hurried to change the subject, lest he ruminate on that too much and send himself into a downward spiral before he had his waffles.

“Speaking of, our group is part of what’s called the Pup Division, which are the second to youngest campers. Ages ten and eleven. I—well, I guess we, are responsible for twelve campers total. The days pretty much go like this: we wake up, then the campers wake up, breakfast, morning activities, lunch, rest, afternoon activities, dinner, evening activities, campers go to sleep, we have a meeting, and then we go to sleep. Got it?”

Nicholas blinked. “Um.”

“You know what? We’ll just take it one thing at a time. It is–” Euijoo checked his watch. “–just past 7:30, and the first thing on the agenda is breakfast at 8:00.”

“Got it.” Nicholas shifted, pushing his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts. “So, my locker?”

“Ah! Here it is!” Euijoo slid aside and gestured to it with both arms. “There’s a combination lock inside, so it’s safe to leave your belongings in here. The combination’s on a sticker on the back.”

Nicholas nodded and strode over, and Euijoo scuttled back to give him some more room.

“We actually have to leave our phones in our lockers,” he added. “They’re not allowed anywhere on the campgrounds, and we can only use them here during break or after hours. It’s a requirement.” 

Euijoo almost added a ‘sorry’ at the end, like Nicholas might hate that and protest against it (he sorta looked the type who needed music constantly blasting in at least one ear to brave society). But Nicholas just shrugged, expression barely shifting, and dug around in his shorts pocket. He extracted his phone, and Euijoo almost got whiplash. 

Whatever kind of phone case he was expecting Nicholas to have, a pink one dotted with hand-drawn-style red strawberries was not anywhere on or near that list. Euijoo silently ogled it as Nicholas moved it to the locker, trying to figure out if the Calcifer charm he saw dangling at the top was a trick of the light or maybe a glitch in his eyes. Nicholas placed it inside before he could get a better look or ask about it, taking out the lock and peeling the combination off the back before pocketing it with the key. He closed the door over with a clunk and went about securing it with the lock.

Euijoo shrugged off his jacket while he did that. Even indoors, he could feel the summer heat already seeping into his bones. It was gonna be a hot one. 

“‘Scuse me,” he mumbled, remembering too late where his locker was relative to Nicholas’. He sidled next to him, but Nicholas barely noticed, too busy twisting his combination in, frowning at the tiny numbers. Probably checking to make sure it worked. 

Euijoo took his own lock into his hands and swiftly put in his combination, working more from muscle memory than actually needing to look at the numbers. The lock came apart with a soft click, and he pulled open the door, quickly shoving his jacket and phone inside. He paused to reach up and adjust the short sleeves of his t-shirt where they’d gotten twisted and then shut the door to find Nicholas watching him. 

Why did he keep doing that?

Euijoo coughed and fiddled with the combination lock in his hands so he wouldn’t have to make direct eye contact.

“So uh, you’ll just stick with me today. I’ll show you the usual flow of things, and I’ll let you know if I need you to help with anything. But since it’s your first day, you’ll mostly just be observing. Any questions, you can ask me.” 

With that, Euijoo stopped stalling, replacing the lock on his door and stepping back. “So, are you ready to get out there?” He tried to sound brighter than he felt. Optimistic. Motivational.

Euijoo Byun: Camp Counselor Extraordinaire. 

Nicholas shrugged, and Euijoo felt his eye twitch. He hoped he wasn’t going to do that all day. Unfortunately, it seemed like 70% of how he communicated. Euijoo forced his smile to widen.

He tried to make himself think positively, even amongst all the what-ifs in his head. The day hadn’t even officially begun. He couldn’t start it by thinking it was gonna suck just because he had a role he’d never been in and a CIT he didn’t know how to talk to. 

Although, let’s be honest, those were kind of valid reasons.

“Okay.” He adjusted his cap on his head. “Then let’s do this.” 

Chapter Text

☀️

Euijoo and Nicholas stood outside the mess hall with the other counselors five minutes before 8:00 to get their groups handed over to them. Euijoo greeted his regular campers, taking over from the counselors and cabin counselors who had overseen them during his day off. 

The children instantly circled around him, grabbing his arms and clothes and chattering at him about what they’d done yesterday. Euijoo smiled, bopping them all lightly on the tops of their heads as he did a head count. It made them giggle. 

Nicholas stood to the side with his arms behind his back, saying nothing. The kids didn’t pay him any mind. 

Euijoo actually thought that was good. Mornings were a frenzy, and it would be difficult to do proper introductions when all the campers wanted to do was get inside and eat. That could come after.

He led his group into the mess hall after making a quick request to Nicholas to bring up the rear in case any of the campers tried to wander off – something Euijoo had struggled to prevent on multiple occasions when he’d been doing this solo. Nicholas simply nodded and made his way to the back.

They were greeted first with a nice refreshing blast of air conditioning – barely 8am and already the air outside was growing thick and balmy – and then with all the deliciously mixed scents of hot breakfast items. Seasoned meats and sweet pastries, warm toast and freshly-chopped fruits. 

He brought the campers around the edge of the room, keeping them in line behind the other groups even though a couple of them wanted to rush ahead. He distracted them by handing out trays, noticing one of the girls at the back hand hers up to Nicholas. 

Euijoo thought he saw the soft beginnings of a smile as he took it from her, but he couldn’t be sure because then it was their turn at the buffet and he had to stop looking. 

The self-serving stations were an accommodatable height, but Euijoo still helped serve the ones who couldn’t be trusted with a ladle or tongs just yet. 

The mess hall always offered an expansive variety of food and today was no different. Some of the choices laid out before them this morning, being kept invitingly warm in their deep metal dishes sitting over hidden troughs of steaming water, included fluffy mountains of scrambled eggs, crunchy strips of bacon, glistening disks of pork and turkey sausage, and thick pots of oatmeal and buttery grits. Plus, a station for biscuits and gravy; and toast and jelly. 

Further down there was a cereal bar and a yogurt bar, offering several flavors and toppings like assorted berries, granola and nuts. There was also a section displaying blueberry, chocolate and bran muffins alongside cream cheese danishes. Next to it, a fruit bar stacked high with watermelon, pineapple, honeydew melon and cantaloupe; plus baskets of grapefruits, oranges and apples. 

Euijoo helped his campers move efficiently down the row. By now most of them were used to grabbing what they wanted (instead of everything in sight) and moving on, always free to come back later. At the end of the line, he made sure each one of them had their drink: stress-free sealed bottles of juice or cartons of milk in assorted flavors and non-dairy options. 

Once all the campers had their food, Euijoo grabbed a piece of fruit and followed them to their table. 

Which is where he sat now, his campers all lined down the benches to his left, munching happily, their conversations blending in with all the others going on around them. 

He did not get waffles (they didn’t have them today – they had pancakes, which were pretty much inferior in every way), but he probably wouldn’t have even if they were available. He went to town on those things, and currently, eating in general felt kind of awkward. 

Nicholas sat across from him, immersed in a bowl of cereal with dehydrated strawberries in it. At some point he must have returned the tray that the girl, Clara, had given him, opting for just a small styrofoam bowl instead. There was also a carton of strawberry milk in front of him.

Euijoo felt a tap on his arm, right above the crook of his elbow. He pulled his eyes away from Nicholas and looked down at the boy who had poked him. Samuel, one of the ten-year-olds.

“Is that all you’re eating, Mister EJ?” The kids didn’t have to call him mister, but sometimes they just did. Euijoo thought it was cute.

Euijoo glanced down at the tangerine in his hands. He was eating as he went. Half of the peel sat curling on the wooden tabletop. 

“I’m not that hungry this morning.” He pinched Samuel lightly on the shoulder and smiled. “But thank you for checking on me.”

The boy grinned back, flashing the food in his teeth. He had gotten the pancakes. And some blueberries, too, by the looks of it. 

At least he was getting his antioxidants. 

Euijoo put the tangerine down and went for one of the spare napkins dotted randomly along the table to wipe some access syrup from around his mouth for him. Samuel let him do it, tilting his chin up and kicking his feet. Once he was done, the kid went straight back to shoving pancake in his mouth, smearing more syrup around it almost immediately. 

Euijoo shook his head, balling up the napkin and leaving it on the table for now. He reclaimed the tangerine and went back to peeling. 

When he brought it up to his mouth to tear off the next exposed slice with his teeth, he used it as cover to peek at Nicholas again. He was still just eating his cereal, forearms on the table, pretty absorbed in the bowl. 

It was technically encouraged to talk with the campers during meal times – ask them about how their night went, any activities they enjoyed from the day prior, what they were looking forward to today. Stuff like that. It was especially helpful at the beginning of camp, when most of them were new and more reserved and still transitioning into camp life, the school year lingering on them. 

But they were a couple weeks in now. Everyone had found their friend groups and became more comfortable in the environment. Honestly Euijoo found most of them preferred to talk to their own peers at this point. 

Of course if someone looked like they could use some brightening up, he’d go over to them; squat next to them and chat, or take up an empty space on the bench to give them some company. But other than that, it was more about watching and playing it by ear. 

Which is why he didn’t bring it up to Nicholas right now, lest he think Euijoo was trying to imply something about him being too antisocial and hyperfocused on his Special K. 

Nicholas chose that moment to lift his head up from the bowl, sighing through his nose and looking around the cafeteria as he chewed. His eyes fell on Euijoo, and Euijoo wasn’t quick enough to look away, and the tangerine juice burned the back of his throat as it went down the wrong way. 

“ Uhm .” Euijoo started coughing, holding a fist over his mouth. He gestured to Nicholas’ bowl and made himself say something quickly, so he’d think that’s why Euijoo had been looking – only because he was about to get his attention and not because he just wanted to stare at him. Not that he was staring at him. God, his throat stung. “You should eat more. That probably won’t be enough.” 

Silently, Nicholas lowered his eyes to the last slice of tangerine Euijoo had left in his hands. It hadn’t even been a hefty tangerine – barely the size of his palm. 

Maybe it wasn’t even a tangerine but one of those kid-friendly clementines. It was suspiciously easy to peel. But he was going off topic. He shook his head and defended himself. 

“This is different. I thrive on vitamin C.” 

Nicholas looked unsure what to make of that. 

“Was that another one of your jokes?”

Euijoo felt his eye twitch again. Was he going to need to get that checked out? 

“I just mean I like tangerines, and I’ll really be fine. I don’t like to eat much for breakfast – unless there’s waffles.”

It wasn’t untrue. He was always too preoccupied with thinking about the schedule for the day and meeting his goals that there was no real desire to eat in the mornings. Hunger was like an afterthought, suppressed under all his more pressing ones. He was usually ravenous by the time lunch rolled around because of it, but he made do.

“But I’m just saying, the days get long and they’re kind of physically taxing. You don’t realize how hungry you get. It’s just a piece of advice.”

Nicholas looked at him a little longer before shrugging and scooping more flakes and strawberries onto his spoon. “I’ll manage.”

Before Euijoo could decide if that rubbed him the wrong way or not, a much louder voice cut into the conversation. 

“Hey, EJ! Smile!”

It wasn’t much of a proper warning given Euijoo had barely turned his head before hearing the undeniable sound of a shutter clicking. Considering he knew who it was behind the Nikon model, it wasn’t that unexpected. Pretty on-brand, actually.

If the picture was horrid, at least he knew Maki wouldn’t upload any photos to the camp website without getting approval on them first. 

Euijoo smiled, not for the photo, but to meet Maki’s own as he lowered the camera. The younger boy was in the same getup as all the staff – t-shirt and shorts, electric blue lanyard around his neck – only the back of his tee would say MEDIA per his role. Euijoo greeted him as he came over.

“Morning, Maki. You know I wasn’t ready yet,” he added just for the sake of doing so, already knowing what the younger’s argument for that was. 

“Candids are the best,” defended Maki good-naturedly. “More authentic, you know? We could do a professional photoshoot anytime.” He hiked a leg over the bench to plop down right next to Nicholas, straddling it like one might a horse. “Hey man, what’s up.”

Intros, Euijoo figured, were probably his duty. 

“Have you met Nicholas?” he asked, knowing Maki hadn’t. “He’s the new counselor, starting today.” 

“Sweet. Smile.” Maki leaned back and aimed the lens at Nicholas’ face. 

Nicholas did not smile. Maki, of course, did not care. 

Click!

There was no flash, but Nicholas still blinked several times. He turned his gaze on Euijoo, and thanks to this morning, Euijoo could decode the questioning micro-expression. 

“Maki’s one of the members of our media team.”

Maki lowered the camera, proudly flashing the photo ID in the plastic of his lanyard like someone who’d never had one before. Being a year out of high school, he probably hadn’t. 

“That’s me. Taking a billion pictures a day and getting paid for it. I’m gonna have hella experience by the time I graduate.” Nicholas blinked at him, and Maki must have been able to read the question in the small frown too. He dropped the lanyard and pointed at himself. “Photography major.”

“He was also a camper last year,” Euijoo supplied. 

Maki dimpled. “Why else would they give me the job?”

“Was EJ your counselor?” Nicholas asked in a rare display of interest. Maki shook his head.

“Nah, he usually has the little kids. Right?” Euijoo nodded, popping the last of the fruit in his mouth while Maki continued. “I was with Fuma. Man, outdoor adventure activities with him were the best. He was an absolute beast. He’d be all casual and smiley while absolutely killing the courses. Some part of my body burned every day with him, I swear. And then I had Counselor K the year before that. Which reminds me, I think I gotta get some more pictures of him. That guy’s always moving around so much. I can’t catch him.”

“Well, wear sunscreen today,” Euijoo advised, wiping his fingers with a napkin to rid them of sticky juice. “It’s going to be really hot.”

“Yes, mom,” Maki teased, angling to snap a picture of Euijoo’s line of campers, still eating and chatting away. He checked the photo before something behind Euijoo caught his attention. “Ooh, I see muffins. Later.” 

And he hopped up and exited the conversation just like that. 

“Ball of energy, that one,” he mused, gathering up the orange remains into a neat pile. 

There were medium-sized straw baskets of sunscreen and hand sanitizer sitting on the ends of each table. Euijoo reached and pulled one toward himself while Nicholas downed his cereal milk, fishing around for one of the travel bottles of SPF 50. He popped the cap open and set to rubbing some on his nose and cheeks. With all that had gone on this morning, he’d skipped the step himself.

At some point he felt Nicholas look at him again, so Euijoo took another bottle from the basket and pushed it across the table to him.

“Wasn’t kidding about the sunscreen. You should wear it, seriously. It might be pushing 90 today.” Euijoo glanced subtly at the pale skin of Nicholas’ arms and throat before looking away. It seemed like he would burn very easily. 

Thankfully, Nicholas didn’t protest this. He grabbed the bottle and flicked it open, squeezing sunscreen into his palm. 

“What’s the first thing on your list?” he asked, applying the cream to his arms and eyeing the clipboard on the table. Euijoo didn’t need to look at it to remember. 

“Just a short hike around one of the trails. The kids are gonna draw different bugs they see,” he supplied, rubbing some sunscreen onto his neck, not noticing the way Nicholas’ eyes followed the movement briefly. “But before that, we need to get you properly introduced to the campers.” 

☀️

“Good morning, campers!”

Euijoo got a mixed chorus of greetings back. After breakfast was over, they all gathered on the grass a little way away from the mess hall and out of the main flow of traffic. Other counselors passed by with their own groups in tow, leading them to their first activities of the day.

“Before we get started,” he began, clicking his pen and using it to gesture at Nicholas, who stood quietly beside him. “I’m sure you’re all wondering who this guy with me is.”

These kinds of lead-ins would probably be considered cheesy with the preteens and teenagers, but kids normally liked to play along. It was interactive for them.

One of the girls pointed. “He’s wearing a Wolf Lake t-shirt!” She announced it like it was a revolutionary discovery.

“Great observation, Megan. You’re right. He’s wearing the same clothes as me, so can we guess who he might be?” 

He got a few different answers, but generally they got the gist. Someone like EJ.

Euijoo nodded. “That’s right. He’s one of our new counselors in training. I’m going to be helping him get to know you guys today, and he’s going to help you have even more fun. Does that sound good?” 

At their nods and yeses, Euijoo took a step to the side, motioning for Nicholas to come forward. “Please introduce yourself.”

Nicholas stepped up. “Hi guys. I’m Nicholas,” he greeted, in a proper volume and with a non-threatening, kid-friendly smile to boot.

And here Euijoo thought he was going to have to tell the kids to gather round and put their listening ears on. He felt some of the worry knots in his chest loosening, pleasantly surprised.

“Can we all say ‘hi, Nicholas?’” he asked the campers.

They parroted him, but barely anything they said sounded like Nicholas’ actual name.

One of the kids screamed from the back, “I can’t say that!”

Another one, looking straight at Nicholas, so dead serious it was funny: “Your name is hard.”

Kids – so honest. Also probably so spoiled by all the nickname outs provided to them, anything above two syllables was too much for them to even want to try. 

Euijoo had anticipated this. He propped the clipboard against his stomach, peering at Nicholas expectantly. “Any preference for a nickname?”

Nicholas shrugged nonchalantly. “What do you guys want to call me?”

He got lots of interesting suggestions. One kid suggested Eyebrow Man. Another one threw out EJ #2. At some point, someone said Nico, chopping off the last half of the name altogether, and then a bunch of them started repeating it. 

“Nico! Nico!” 

They were apparently tickled by the cute-sounding name, laughing and clapping as they said it over and over again. 

It was cute, Euijoo thought. Didn't really suit him at all. But it seemed like the kids were attaching to it. 

“Nico,” Euijoo said, trying it out. It was kinda fun to say. He spoke to the kids but looked at Nicholas to gauge his reaction, to see if he was okay with going by that for the rest of the summer. “What do we think? Do we like that one?”

Nicholas didn’t need to mull it over long, spreading out his arms and smiling easily at the small group with eyes trained on him. “Guess I’m Nico.”

“Then the Pups have spoken. Let’s all welcome Counselor Nico!”

This time the kids didn’t need to be asked, yelling out, “Hiiii, Nico!” and waving their little hands at him. 

Nicholas waved back with both hands, matching their enthusiasm. He looked brighter than he had all day – brighter than Euijoo thought he was even capable of looking. Almost like a different person. 

He checked over some notes for the day on his clipboard while Nicholas continued to have a waving battle with the kids, a thought materializing in his mind. 

When Nicholas smiled like that, in a way that made his face look open and inviting, maybe a cute name like Nico did suit him, just a little bit. 

☀️

And for the rest of that first day, things had gone pretty well. Nicholas was there assisting with basic duties like helping Euijoo set up material for certain activities, conducting head counts, and dividing their campers into groups. He interacted pleasantly with the kids if they came up to speak to him, and if they had a question he didn’t know the answer to, he’d ask Euijoo. It was a good system, or so he thought. 

But when the pace of things slowed down – like during mealtimes and nightly meetings – that’s when it became noticeable just how little they actually said to one another, during activity periods or not. 

At least during activities, Euijoo was distracted with making sure everyone stayed safe and on schedule, so it wasn’t as felt, but outside of them? Bare-minimum small talk. At best.

It wouldn’t be so unusual – they had only known each other for a few days – if not for the fact they were quite literally around each other the whole entire day, so it kind of was. 

Imagine spending hours upon hours with someone and then being hesitant to ask them to pass the salt. 

Euijoo could relate.

But Nicholas was so quiet and short with his answers it had to be social code for leave me alone, please, and who was Euijoo to push? He was new to this trainer thing, but he was pretty sure demanding someone have a nice conversation with you was not the way to go. 

When he and Kyungmin had been co-counselors, there had always been easy jokes and pleasantries flying between them, at any time of day. It had been similar with him and Maya. Nicholas was not at all unreliable but he was also not all there. And Euijoo wasn’t there with him. And maybe that would just be their dynamic. 

As long as the activities got done, and the kids had fun, they were doing the job, right? 

But Euijoo still couldn’t help but feel that the fault lied with himself. It should be up to him to make the environment warm and welcoming for everyone, including Nicholas.

He just often forgot how much it wasn’t until that fact was staring him right in the face.

Like right now, during one of those rare occasions when they were together but away from the campers.

The large lake after which the camp was named lapped softly nearby. If Euijoo looked to his right he could spot it through the trees, a glistening body of cobalt stamped with shining, wavering lines of sunlight. 

Despite that, the silence that hung in the air was stifling, and not even the peaceful serenity of Wolf Lake could distract from that.

An uncomfortable heat pressed down on the back of his neck, quietly oppressive warmth that pushed in from every side, clinging to his skin like steam did in a sauna. It really wasn’t helping matters. 

They were picking flowers for the next morning activity under a cluster of trees that at least offered a sufficient blanket of shade – only little faded flecks of sunlight making it through their leafy veils and dotting the ground with yellow.

Euijoo peeked up from underneath the bill of his cap, making sure to keep his hands moving.

Nicholas was working diligently, his eyes on his patch of little yellow and blue flowers as he carefully plucked them up by their stems and placed them into the pail next to him.

Maybe he would open up if Euijoo started a conversation with him. Not about camp stuff, just him. It worked when he was dealing with less sociable campers. Find out what they liked, and chances were they wouldn’t stop talking until the horn sounded to signal the end of the activity period.

It was just a matter of finding out what kind of things Nicholas was interested in.

Euijoo mentally sorted through potential conversation-starters.

‘So, what are you into?’ sounded too broad and out of the blue. ‘Tell me about your hobbies’ sounded like the beginning of a job interview. 

He tried not to think too much. Part of his job was being good at talking to people, after all.

“So, do you like… trees?”

Nicholas’ head jerked up, and the look he gave Euijoo. It was a mix of bewildered and weirded out, his eyebrows bunched together so tightly it also made him look kind of mad?

Correction: part of his job was being good at talking to campers – kids. Not this. Never this. 

How silly of him to forget.

Euijoo focused back on what he was doing and forced himself to elaborate instead of the more attractive option of running into the woods screaming. “Nature, I mean. Is that why you wanted to become a counselor?”

A noncommittal sound came from Nicholas, nothing more than a low vibration in his throat. Euijoo briefly glanced back up at him. He was back to picking flowers. 

Euijoo sat there, his fingers stilled atop the soft petals of his own little bed of flowers, wondering if he should try again or if that response was a clear indication Nicholas wasn’t interested in having a conversation.

The soft crunching sound of shoes on grass came from behind him.

“Hey, EJ,” K’s voice called. “Can I borrow you for a second?”

Euijoo shot to his feet, maybe too quickly. 

“Yes!”

He spun around, grateful to be met with a familiar face. A happy-to-see-him face.

“Hey, buddy, can I get you to go help Harua hang the movie night poster in the mess hall?” K asked, stopping in front of them, clipboard tucked into the crook of his elbow. The long ends of the front part of his hair were tied back in a mini ponytail to keep it out of his face.

Euijoo had the fleeting thought to suggest that to Nicholas, so he wasn’t shaking his own overgrown fringe out of his eyes all the time, until he remembered how well trying to say anything to Nicholas had gone for him so far.

“He said he needs a ladder, but he really just needs a longer set of arms,” added K.

“Yes, sure,” Euijoo breathed out, relieved. “Uh, but I was helping pick flowers for our arts and crafts activity…”

“I can finish that for you,” offered K. He smiled at Nicholas. “Nicholas and I can get to know each other better.”

Good luck with that, Euijoo thought. But he had his out, and he was going to take it.

“Alright, thanks.” He stepped past K and nodded at him before turning to Nicholas to offer him some sort of goodbye as well. Nicholas’ eyes met his, as flat and unreadable as ever, and Euijoo briefly glitched. “Bye!” 

🍓

Euijoo was different. 

Was the best way Nicholas could describe the guy he was being trained by. 

He wouldn’t call him weird or anything, just more like an enigma. Some kind of puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. 

Right off the bat he deduced Euijoo liked to talk – or at least talking seemed to be his preferred way to deal with silences he deemed uncomfortable in his mind, probably. 

So, Nicholas let him talk. 

As someone who conserved energy by using as few words as possible, it seemed like the ideal student-teacher sort of relationship – even though he was sure Euijoo couldn’t be much older than he was with that baby face of his. Euijoo could share all his profound camp knowledge, and Nicholas could absorb it. Win-win. 

Only, it seemed like talking to Nicholas in particular was somewhat of a distressing task for him, and honestly? It was kind of funny to witness. 

Because, here’s the thing, Nicholas knew what kind of face he had. 

He’d been told enough times by friends and family alike that he basically had an “unapproachable aura” (his sister’s words, specifically). One friend told him he looked like he wrote people’s names in his own personal Death Note. Another admitted that back in high school he was sure that Nicholas, on more than one occasion, wanted to fight him in the halls after class. 

So he scared people off, which was fine. He wasn’t the most sociable person to begin with. Figured any relationships he formed despite that were the only ones he was meant to have anyway. 

He did anticipate that once he fell into his role here at Camp Wolf Lake, and once the rest of the proverbial new-guy ice melted between him and his colleagues, Euijoo would be one of them – an equitable work acquaintance if nothing else. 

Not exactly what happened. 

He wasn’t as absorbed in his role as he thought he’d be at this point. It had only been four days, but when all he basically did was activity prep and minor tasks (role call, making sure Lucas didn’t eat any worms, making sure no one wandered off during the hike), his lack of contribution felt noticeable to him. 

Euijoo didn’t seem to want him more involved – whether that was because he didn’t think Nicholas was ready to be or because he was comfortable continuing to handle most things himself, the jury was still out. 

Either way, Nicholas didn’t want to overstep. This place wasn’t new to him, but being a counselor was. Knowing how important their roles could be for kids, letting the person who knew it all (according to Fuma) set the pace was fine by him.

Fuma had said Euijoo was the best, which Nicholas could believe. He could see it in the way the guy cared about everything (every. little. thing.) and planned days down to the last minute. He could see it in the way he paid attention to all the kids – making sure that their needs were met and that they all participated and got equal attention, so that everyone was having a good time and no one felt left out. 

Still, Nicholas was here to help him. It seemed like Euijoo was content doing almost the same amount of work as before he showed up, not leaning on Nicholas for much at all. 

So Nicholas offered to help him pick flowers while the Arts Division staff members they were with this morning supervised their campers and started them off with a painting activity. He wanted to show Euijoo that he was here. That he was part of the team and happy to be. 

“So, do you like… trees?”

The question came out of left field, disturbing the comfortable silence with its oddity. 

Nicholas looked up at Euijoo like he thought he was ridiculous, which he kind of was. Amusement pushed against his chest, and he was about to ask him to elaborate, but Euijoo was already ducking his head and saying more words in a rush.

"Nature, I mean. Is that why you wanted to become a counselor?”

Euijoo was now super focused on separating the dirt from the petals in his hands. Nicholas knew he was probably making small talk just to fill the silence again. He didn’t seem to like to exist in it. 

Nicholas hummed and got back to his own work, considering letting Euijoo in on the real reason. Not because he liked trees (which he did, so much that he used to climb them all the time as a kid and ended up with a pretty nice scar on his arm from falling out of one). 

He was still mulling over his words when K showed up asking Euijoo for help, and then all of a sudden Euijoo was leaving. 

Nicholas tried not to feel disappointed as Euijoo bid him a quick goodbye and hurried away, always seeming to move in two-times speed.

K kneeled down in front him, putting his clipboard on the grass and picking up where Euijoo left off. There was a small patch of barren grass in the tiny flower bed, so K worked on expanding it, plucking with dexterous fingers and dropping them into Euijoo’s pail. 

“How are things going?” he asked, leveling Nicholas with an open smile. 

That was a vague question. How were things going with this? Picking flowers? Or how were they going with the campers? How were things going today or as a whole?

“Fine.” Nicholas settled on the all-encompassing answer.

“And how’s EJ doing?”

“How’s he doing?” 

Why didn’t K just ask him that when he was here? Nicholas guessed Euijoo was also fine. Maybe a little high-strung. 

“As your trainer,” K elaborated. “Everything going well?”

Oh. Well, that answer wasn’t as all-encompassing, but still he responded with, “Yeah. Fine.” Because anything else might paint Euijoo in a negative light in the eyes of his superiors. 

Nicholas had worked at a theme park before, during his junior year of high school. Any performance review that wasn’t tens across the board did not fly with them. He had no idea if this place was the same way.

“That’s good. Good, good.”

Nicholas felt like K wanted to say more, but he was fine when he didn’t. They picked enough flowers for their little metal pails to be nearly full, bursting with various colors and a few different varieties. 

“I’ll help you take these to the arts cabin,” offered K, dusting off his hands and grabbing his clipboard to stand. 

“I can handle it no problem,” Nicholas replied. It was two pails of flowers that collectively weighed less than his Shiba Inu back home. 

“It’s on my way.”

What could Nicholas say? He stood up, bringing the pails with him and handing one to the other man. It looked extra small in his hand. 

K smiled wider. Apparently he wasn’t deterred by his “unapproachable aura,” not with how he came closer and threw his arm around Nicholas’ shoulders like they were old friends, continuing to rattle off random questions at him as they walked across the grounds. 

☀️

After Euijoo finished helping Harua in the mess hall – before that having to convince Harua to let him help: “I just need a ladder!” – he was coming up around the side of the Arts & Crafts cabin. Better to first check if K and Nicholas had finished up and made it here before he walked all the way back over to the edge of the woods by the lake. 

He was rounding the long structure when he stopped in his tracks.

His mind trailed off, and Euijoo narrowed his eyes, mouth dropping open.

There, on the white deck of the Arts & Crafts cabin, stood Nicholas and K, and they were engaged in what looked to be… pleasant conversation. Nicholas had his arms crossed, his face and demeanor more relaxed and open than Euijoo had ever seen it. He was maintaining un-awkward eye contact with the taller man, nodding every now and then, a ghost of a smile curving his lips.

Euijoo stared, feeling something dangerously close to flabbergasted. “...What?” 

He darted back around the edge of the mural-painted building, taking up residence behind a large, leafy hedge. 

Which is exactly how Yuma found him thirty seconds later – hunching behind said leafy hedge. 

“EJ?”

Euijoo turned. Yuma stood a couple feet away, looking quite concerned. 

“Hi,” greeted Euijoo curtly. Then he stuck a finger to his lips. “Shh. ” And spun back around. 

Now K was clapping a friendly hand onto Nicholas’ shoulder, patting it a couple times and leaving it there. And Nicholas was letting him. 

What the fuck? 

“What are you doing?” Yuma asked slowly, grass crunching underfoot as he walked around to have a look at Euijoo’s face. He squinted against the sun’s glare. “You look like a bush gremlin.” 

“Shhhh, ” Euijoo hissed again, as if they were actually at risk of being heard amidst all the talking and screaming from campers, coming both from his group inside the cabin and from a little ways across the clearing where another group was doing an activity under a large apple tree. He grabbed Yuma by the arm and pulled him behind the hedge with him. “Do you see that?”

“I don’t even know what I’m looking at.” 

“That.” Euijoo pointed straight ahead. “Them. Nicholas and K.”

“...Yes, I see Nicholas and K.”

“Well, what the fuck?!” Euijoo blurted before hurriedly clapping his hands over his mouth. “ Shit. No! Dammit. I mean–!” He forced himself to stop saying words, doing a quick sweep of the area. There weren’t currently any kids in the near vicinity that would have heard him. He hoped. He removed his hands from his mouth. “I will put three quarters in the swear jar.” 

“Are you having a heatstroke?”

“No, Yuma, I just don’t get it! What’s K doing that I’m not doing?”

“Huh?” 

Euijoo huffed and stood up straight, facing Yuma to explain before his coworker found Fuma and requested he visit the clinic. He listed points off on his fingers. 

“I’m nice to him, I train him, I answer his questions, I help him with the group activities, I–” He flapped his hands, searching for another example. “–told him about sunscreen! But I don’t even get a smile!” 

Yuma’s mouth split into a grin. He tilted his head to the side. “Ohhh. So, you’re jealous?” 

"What? No!”

“Entitled, then?”

“No, I just… don’t know what else I should do.” Euijoo deflated a little, shoulder’s sagging. “Our jobs would be so much easier if we could laugh with each other, too. I mean, why don’t we laugh?”

Yes, Euijoo was aware how pathetic he sounded right now. 

Yuma patted him on the arm, looking far too amused at his genuine plight. “I don’t know. Why don’t you just go up to Nicholas and tell him you wish he would smile at you, too?”

Euijoo didn’t like the way he said that. He narrowed his eyes at Yuma, face catching on fire, and hoped the other man thought any reddening was because of the sun beating down on them.

“Don’t you have something you should be doing? Some preteens you should be tending to? I’ll tell Fuma you’re slacking off.” 

His flimsy threat rolled right off. “I was , before you snatched me behind a bush with you. Speaking of, I should go before people think we’re doing something indecent around the campers. You know how Harua loves to gossip.”

Euijoo’s blush was uncomfortably hot now. “I hate you.” 

Yuma laughed. “See you at lunch.”

He left Euijoo there to wonder what he was doing with his life right now – a grown man standing behind a hedge at a summer camp, spying on his coworkers. 

A little girl walked past him, eyeing him strangely. He smiled and waved at her. She ignored him.

Euijoo sighed. He probably deserved that. 

And on that note, that was enough time wasted on being ridiculous, and he should get back to his campers now.

He smoothed down his shirt, patted down his pockets. 

Noticed he didn’t feel his lanyard. 

“Ah, shit.”

Four quarters in the swear jar.

🍓

Nicholas watched from the corner of his eye as Euijoo spun around in place, looking to be searching for something on the ground, before high-tailing it back the way he’d come. 

He’d spotted him talking to another one of the counselors near that big hedge at the edge of the cabin that Euijoo had been crouching behind for some reason. Why? Did he think he was hidden?

Because… no. 

Nicholas had looked on. His ears stayed tuned into his conversation with K, but curiosity pulled his eyes to his trainer every few seconds. That was why he saw it when Euijoo had pointed straight at them, speaking animatedly to the other guy. Yuma , he recalled from the first night introductions.

Nicholas pretended not to notice, but something twisted in his gut. 

They were talking about him. Maybe K, too, but Nicholas knew it was unlikely he was the only one. What were they saying?

He shifted on the deck, the painted wood creaking beneath his feet, and smiled appropriately when K mentioned something about a movie he was planning to take his cousin to see, but it didn’t feel genuine anymore. 

“...but I’ve talked your ear off enough,” K was saying. “I know you’ve got campers to get back to.”

“Yeah, no problem. Thanks for your help with this.” Nicholas lifted the pails in his hands.

“Sure thing. I’m always around if you need me!” With a two-fingered salute, K stepped down onto the deck stairs. Nicholas turned to enter the cabin, hand on the door, but stopped. 

“Uh, K?”

“Yeah?” K spun around on the bottom step. 

Nicholas took a step away from the door. “Am I… uh, doing okay? I just mean, I’m not doing anything wrong– am I?”

K tilted his head, brow lowering. “No, I’d say you’re doing great. Why do you think that?” 

“Nothing. No reason. Just making sure.”

☀️

Euijoo climbed the steps to the Arts cabin after recovering his lanyard from the mess hall. It was in the little Lost & Found box in the back, right on top along with a snarky sticky note from Harua. 

He waited to catch his breath before going inside, having jogged most of the way here.

Sakura’s voice filtered through the space in the door, which was perpetually cracked to let in a breeze (wishful thinking, but it was fresh air nonetheless). 

Euijoo came closer to peek inside. The campers sat spread out at several square, lightwood tables, paying as much attention as could be expected of ten-and-eleven-year olds to Sakura as she explained the next crafts activity to them.

He spotted Nicholas crouching next to one of the girls, Josie, whispering to her and pointing from her blank paper to the front of the room where the instructors were brandishing examples of finished projects. Nicholas said something else and gave her a thumbs up. Josie nodded, her messy pigtails flopping, and he patted her on the back. 

Something stirred in Euijoo’s chest at the sight. 

Not wanting to linger too long, he pushed open the door. This one made noise, too, but it wasn’t as obnoxious as the staff cabin’s. Sakura flitted her eyes to him, smiling a little wider and nodding to acknowledge him before focusing back on the room, never breaking her explanation. 

This must be the project they picked the flowers for. The pails sat empty on a back desk, and the flowers had been separated into smaller bowls and distributed to each of the tables. Euijoo swore the air smelled a little more fragrant because of them. 

Nicholas stood up when he spotted him and took a step back from Josie. His smile was gone, replaced by the neutral expression that Euijoo was used to by now; only now it was starting to feel out of place since he’d seen what Nicholas looked like when he actually smiled. Like that should be his resting face instead.

Euijoo’s shoes clumped quietly over the glossed wood floors. “Sorry I’m a little late. Thanks for looking after them,” he spoke quietly. 

“Sure.” Nicholas didn’t look at him. “Let me know if you need me to help with anything.”

He went to go stand over by a sink, built into a counter messy with dried paint splatter and stray markers. Nicholas leaned back against it and crossed his arms, tuning in to the front of the room.

There it was again – that same kind of distance Euijoo had been feeling, only this time something about it felt even more palpable.

If that was possible. 

☀️

He didn’t feel like eating when lunch rolled around.

Nicholas had been in the middle of filling his plate with turkey club halves when Euijoo asked if he wouldn’t mind watching the kids while he took care of something. Nicholas had given him a nod and a small sound of affirmation but not much more than a fleeting glance. 

Euijoo took it, though, sure the campers were used enough to him by now to not care one way or another if Euijoo wasn’t there for a while. And they’d listen to Nicholas. They liked him.

So here he was now, posting his campers’ freshly-made 3D flower pictures along the doorframe of one of their cabins; something he thought would be a fun thing to do together with the kids before lights out tonight, but right now it was a good enough excuse for him to be by himself. Away from all the fresh, new bunch of problems he had that all seemed to revolve around Nicholas. 

Euijoo sighed, gently smoothing a project down over the loop of scotch tape he’d pressed to the frame, careful not to disturb any of the pasted-on flowers. 

“Your campers make those?”

Euijoo looked over his shoulder. Fuma was coming around the far side of the cabin, carrying several harnesses on his shoulder. Sweat glistened on his neck and across his hairline, which was visible thanks to the backwards cap pushing his hair back. Clearly he’d just finished a ropes session with a group. 

“Yeah, just now.” 

“They’re really talented,” Fuma complimented, stopping by the stairs and smiling like a proud dad.

“I’ll tell them you said so.” 

“Good. Nowww… what's going on with you? You’ve got a face going on.”

Euijoo turned away, taking the next picture from the stack so Fuma couldn’t scrutinize whatever kind of expression he was apparently wearing. “Nothing. Just thinking. I guess.”

“‘Bout what?” 

Euijoo paused, holding the paper against the doorframe a few inches under the previous one. He chewed the inside of his lip. 

He had a thought. Not a good one. Not a developed one. Not a smart one, considering it could very well affect Nicholas’ job. But it was already established that something was wrong with Euijoo lately, and that he didn’t think correctly when he came to Nicholas, and thus:

“So… I think Nico is doing great. So good.”

Fuma's voice brightened. “That’s good.”

“But–” Euijoo forced out, trying not to crinkle his camper’s project in his hands. “I just… I’m not sure that things are working out the best with him as my co-counselor. Maybe.” 

Fuma went silent behind him. Euijoo was too scared to turn around and look. 

“What do you mean?” 

Oh no. Fuma’s tone was lower, serious – all the previous jolly sucked right out of it. 

He hadn’t meant to incite a serious conversation. 

Yet he soldiered on, putting the paper down and making himself turn around so he at least looked his Lead in the eyes while he stuck his foot further into his own mouth. 

“I think the kids might be a little… you know… scared of him.” 

Fuma raised an eyebrow. “Which ones?” 

Euijoo froze. “...I’m sorry?”

“Which kids do you think are scared of Nicholas? Did any of them mention something to you?”

“It’s not that they mentioned anything per se.”

“Are any of them acting differently around him?”

“Well… no.” 

Fuma blinked a few times, waiting for him to elaborate or offer up some sort of actual explanation then. He didn’t – just stood there with his arms crossed too tightly across his chest to be casual, one of his hike-worn sneakers thumping an offbeat rhythm against the wooden deck.  

Fuma’s eyebrows pulled together slowly. “Then I don’t follow.” 

Euijoo threw his hands up. 

Fuma and his questions. 

“Fine, it’s me, okay? He scares me.”  

It was all so stupid. He was stupid. He didn’t know what he was saying or why he was saying it. He didn’t even know what he was trying to do here. Throw Nicholas onto someone else?

Irresponsible, yes, but also ridiculous, because the story didn’t even track. It would not hold up in a court of law, especially if a witness was called to the stand in the form of any of his campers, who very obviously were not scared of his co-counselor. 

Except maybe Bobby. Just a little. But he was shy around everyone, not just Nicholas. 

And Fuma? 

Fuma laughed at him. 

Head thrown back, crinkled eyes, full-bellied laughter. 

“Euijoo-kun…” he cooed once he could catch a breath. He rubbed at his eye, so there might have even been some tears.

Euijoo’s skin felt hot all over, and he couldn’t even blame it on the sun. It was currently nestled behind some particularly fluffy-looking clouds, throwing cooling shade all over this section of the campgrounds, something that happened so rarely Euijoo had to think the universe was having a laugh at him right along with Fuma. 

“It’s not funny,” he said weakly. 

Fuma adjusted the harnesses on his shoulder, looking more relaxed than anyone carrying that much bulky weight for so long ought to. 

“What’s really going on? What, are you and Nico not getting along?”

Euijoo sighed, considering. To say that didn’t feel right. Nicholas hadn’t actually done anything. 

“I don’t know. Things are fine. But sometimes it’s really awkward. Something’s just not clicking with us. Plus, most of the time he’s so quiet and… stoic. I can’t tell what he’s thinking.” 

“Did you try asking him?”

“Have I ever tried talking to my co-counselor?” deadpanned Euijoo. “Yeah, no. Never once crossed my mind to do that.”

Fuma smirked. “Alright, Sarcastic. Try again. Nothing good ever comes without discomfort.” 

Good old Fuma. Short and to the point. It sounded so easy when he said it. Probably was easy for someone like him, who’s large smile and comforting presence drew people to him like moths to a warm light. 

“You know what might be good?” Fuma’s thinking face was out, which Euijoo knew from experience could either bring salvation or ruin. “If Nico starts joining you on bunk duty.”

It was typical for there to be at least two counselors staying with the campers at night. That didn’t mean Euijoo was ready for that, to be with Nicholas for even more hours of the day. Sleep in the same room as him.

“I don’t know…” Night was one of the only reprieves he got. But apparently Fuma hadn’t brought it up to get Euijoo’s two cents on the matter. 

“I’ll see what I can do about it. In the meantime, try making sure he really gets involved with you and your campers. Work together. That’s why you have each other, EJ. You’re great at what you do, but you don’t always have to do everything.”

Euijoo frowned. “I don’t–”

“Whoa, sorry, I gotta go.” Fuma was looking at his wristwatch. “I was supposed to be halfway across camp by now.” He rubbed a hand through his ash blonde hair with his free hand, flashing an apologetic smile so pretty Euijoo couldn’t even be mad. “Ganbatte!”

Euijoo snorted. “Thanks.”

Fuma left with purposeful strides, and Euijoo checked his own watch again. There were about thirty more minutes left of lunch, but he figured he’d stay here and finish. Too much on his mind anyway. He wasn’t even hungry. 

He tore off some more tape from the dispenser perched on the railing, thinking over Fuma’s words and the activity ahead. 

☀️

“Alright guys, did everyone enjoy lunch and their break?”

A chorus of various affirmations erupted from the gathered group kids in response to Euijoo’s question. They were gathered in a secluded clearing on the campgrounds, having followed a short dirt trail from the back of the camper cabins through the woods. Tall pine trees stretched to the sky on either side, giving them some shade and privacy; although, some thin streams of sunlight still managed to make their way through the gaps. It was quiet, save for the cicadas and birds, and the squirrels that rustled around in the underbrush. 

“Good to hear. Why don’t you guys go line up behind that log over there, and we’ll get started in just a minute.” 

Euijoo came closer to Nicholas, who was standing attentively as always several feet away.

“Hey so, we’re doing team-building activities.”

Nicholas nodded. 

“Why don’t, uh, why don’t you explain this first one?” 

Nicholas’ eyebrows lifted infinitesimally before his expression smoothed into something acquiescent.

“Alright. Uh, can I see your…” He gestured to Euijoo’s clipboard (another full counselor right, so they’d been sharing), and Euijoo handed it over. Already turned to the proper page, Nicholas skimmed over it. “Okay, uh…” A glance at Euijoo, as if to check he was sure. “You want me to…?”

Euijoo gestured to the waiting campers, nodding in encouragement. “Please.” 

Nicholas walked over to them. “Hey guys, listen up…”

He explained the fairly simple concept to them. 

Basically, they had a thin blanket, and the goal was to get everyone to fit on it. The catch was the blanket would be folded up once after each turn, shrinking the available surface area every time. The challenge was to find ways to keep squeezing everyone onto it even as it grew smaller and smaller. 

Of course, there were questions from the kids. Euijoo kept his mouth shut and let Nicholas answer them.

“Before we start, how about Nico and I demonstrate?” he suggested once the inquiries ebbed. 

Nicholas looked mildly surprised but was quick to agree.

“Yeah, great idea.” He placed the clipboard on the ground and retrieved the blanket from the pile of activity stuff they brought with them. Euijoo moved to help him. 

They got the blanket spread out and motioned for the campers to gather round. 

Together he and Nicholas stepped onto it. They fit easily on it at its full size, both practically standing at opposite ends. 

“You start like this,” said Euijoo. 

Then they got off, folded it over once, stood on the reduced portion, and repeated the same thing a few more times. Easy. 

“When the blanket starts getting too small for your whole group to stand on, that’s when you’ll need to start thinking of creative ways to fit,” Euijoo instructed while Nicholas folded the blanket over again. 

He stepped on, and Euijoo after him. Their heels barely fit inside the edges of the fabric. 

Euijoo wasn’t thinking about how small it had gotten until he was standing a mere few inches from Nicholas’ face, their sneakers toe-to-toe. 

He blinked, almost swaying backward at the sudden proximity, but he managed to keep himself still for the most part, stomach tightening. Nicholas was docile as always, blinking up at him from underneath dark eyelashes and–oh. 

He would never call Nicholas short, but he also never realized how much he had to look down to see him properly. His chin was nearly tucked into his chest right now. 

But, lots of people (most people) were shorter than him, at least a little, so this was no big deal.

Just an observation. 

Nicholas was wearing his cap right now, but it was on backward, squandering the effectiveness of the bill. As a result, the tops of his cheeks were tinged a berry-like pink. Might be the beginnings of a sunburn.

Euijoo’s chest felt tight, and that’s how he realized he’d started holding his breath at some point. 

This time he allowed gravity to pull him, stepping back off the blanket and sucking in a breath of air so thick with heat that it clogged his lungs. 

Nicholas, nonchalant as ever, gave the watching campers a thumbs up, coming off the blanket and crouching to fold it again. 

Oh no, why was he folding it again?

There was no way two grown men were comfortably standing on that. But then, that was the point of the activity – work around the problem until you can’t anymore. 

Nicholas straightened and looked at him expectantly. “Do you wanna go first?” 

The campers were watching with rapt attention. He had told them they should work to try and find solutions. 

Euijoo put one foot on the fabric, and that alone took up half the available space. Nicholas placed his opposite foot next to his, and there you go, that was the whole square. 

Now what?

Well, he knew what. He’d played a similar game in grade school. The next step was latching onto your friends and making complete fools out of yourselves trying to stay upright. But they were a bit too old to be acting like fools, and he and Nicholas weren’t friends. 

Euijoo compared him to a cat in his mind more than he cared to admit, but it was easy to do. The eyes, the face, the quietness. As such, Euijoo would wager he’d have a similar feline aversion to being latched onto by the human he just met and hardly liked but was forced to share an environment with nonetheless. 

Which was why it nearly sent Euijoo toppling backward a second time when Nicholas leaned close to him, arms hovering at his sides. 

“Is it okay if…?” he trailed off, expression blank, eyes searching. 

“Oh. Yeah. Sure.”

Euijoo’s mouth felt dry. When was the last time he drank water?

Nicholas wrapped his arms around his middle, using his body like an anchor to hoist his other foot on top of the blanket. Euijoo could’ve told him he was built like a beanpole, so he shouldn’t be the anchor, but Nicholas found out the next second anyway when Euijoo was dragged forward from the pull, no resistance whatsoever.

Nicholas caught himself when he started to fall backward by planting the same foot behind him. Fail. 

Euijoo hopped out of his space, but not before feeling a puff of breath – warm but somehow cooler than the air around them – exhale against his neck, right under his ear. Nicholas’ hands fell away, his fingers sliding over the dip of his waist, and Euijoo spun to face his campers. 

“Something like that,” he said to them, voice sounding a little too loud to his ears. “It’s an exercise to test your teamwork.” 

“Ha ha, Nico and EJ don’t have good teamwork!” someone heckled, inciting a chorus of kid giggles. 

“Yes, well–”

“No, no, let’s try it again.” Euijoo looked back at Nicholas. He was already readjusting his foot on the blanket. “One more shot,” he said to the campers, holding up a finger before locking eyes with him. An invested kind of determination sparkled in their depths. “We can do it.”

So Nicholas was competitive. Huh. 

It honestly spoke to the side of Euijoo that didn’t like to lose either. He had been willing to ignore it, but if Nicholas wanted to. 

They were finally working together on something. 

And there was just something about being laughed at by a bunch of 10-year-olds that’ll give you a second wind. 

“Okay, what if…” Euijoo stepped forward and wound his arms around Nicholas this time. He tried lifting his foot off the grass a little and had to set it right back down. Nope. His weight was still tilting. 

He was too tall for this. His center of gravity was not in his lower body. This was rigged against him from the start. 

Nicholas for his part seemed better at holding his balance, frame shaking but not falling over as he gripped Euijoo’s arms for balance and tentatively lifted his foot to rest on top of the other one. His face was intense with concentration, a light sheen of sweat shining across his exposed brow. Euijoo could almost laugh at how seriously he was taking this. 

“Okay.” Nicholas’ voice was barely there, only heard because he was so close. The words sent more breath skittering across Euijoo’s neck, and suddenly he didn’t feel like laughing anymore. “You try.”

Euijoo did, shakily lifting his foot again, trying not to lose focus over the way Nicholas’ fingers dug into his biceps, slipping a little further up underneath his shirt sleeves when they both suddenly pitched to the right but corrected just as fast. A startled laugh left Nicholas as they fought to keep their balance, and it didn’t even register for Euijoo that it was his first time hearing it so close, sharp and surprisingly loud. He was too busy stepping on Nicholas’ toes and getting his stepped on in return, their legs knocking together awkwardly. 

Euijoo slid his hands further up Nicholas’ back, involuntarily hugging him in a last-ditch effort to save what was obviously a sinking ship. The back of his shirt was at that stage right before it started to feel damp, the skin underneath like a furnace, heat seeping into Euijoo’s palms through the material. Something he did register, as they both finally toppled off the square because someone (Euijoo) leaned too far to the left, was that Nicholas was much more solid than he looked. 

The smaller man crashed into him as he tried and failed to pull them back upright, pressing himself fully against him, all hard lines and heat. The discovery lingered longer in Euijoo’s mind than it ought to – long after they had accepted their defeat and stepped off the blanket and untangled their limbs.

Even after Nicholas briefly distracted him with something else altogether. 

A smile. First of its kind, at least aimed in Euijoo’s direction. Bright and delighted and unguarded. “Not bad!”

It was gone too quick, turned on the campers in a blink, a playful challenge in his voice. “You guys think you can top that?”

That got them excited to try. Many clapped and raised their hands above their heads, some of the more excitable ones coming forward to try and start right away.

“Let’s split into two groups, six each. The team that can stand on the smallest square for three seconds wins.” 

Euijoo was glad to let Nicholas take over this part, drifting over to the sidelines in search of something he knew they brought with them. Before he had been existing in a constant state of warm, but now he was actively sweating, a beat of sweat sliding down the dip of his back underneath his shirt. 

Where were those damn water bottles?

🍓

Nicholas registered a huff to his left and glanced over. Euijoo was rubbing a hand over his stomach. 

The first exercise had wrapped up after a few rounds, with one team narrowly clinching the win by coming up with the idea to have a couple of them hop onto their teammates’ backs like little spider monkeys. They’d since moved on to a new team-building activity, this one involving an imaginary hot chocolate river and marshmallow stepping stones (paper plates) the campers had to utilize to get their whole team across. 

He and Euijoo stood a few feet away, watching the chaos unfold.

Nicholas hesitated only a beat. “You okay?”

“Hmm?” Euijoo looked over like he was surprised to hear another voice. “Oh, yeah, fine.”

Nicholas nodded, figuring they’d just leave it at that. He turned back to watch the campers, noticing the way Euijoo’s gaze lingered on him longer than usual. 

“I’m just hungry,” he eventually admitted, followed by a short laugh full of regret. “Like so hungry. I shouldn’t have skipped lunch. Ironic coming from me, huh?”

Nicholas blinked at him. That was the most words – not related to a schedule or activity or one of his camp-specific fun facts – Euijoo said to him in a while. He watched as Euijoo grew visibly restless under his stare until he ended up looking elsewhere. 

“That’s alright. Only…” He glanced down at his watch. “A little over an hour until dinner. No big deal. My blood is like 90 percent citrus juice anyway. I got this…” 

Light-hearted and maybe a little bit self-deprecating – Euijoo’s specific brand of humor, Nicholas was coming to learn. 

Euijoo didn’t see the way his lips quirked, too busy clapping his hands encouragingly at the kids. 

“Good job, guys! Today’s theme is thinking of different ways to approach a problem. If it’s not working that way, what’s something else you could do to get across?”

Nicholas remembered something. At lunch they’d had these little square chocolates, rich and dark with swirls of strawberry through them. They were insanely good, and nobody was really touching them, so naturally, he’d confiscated a handful and stashed them in one of his pockets for later. (The kids were more crazy about the milk chocolate caramels anyway.) 

He pushed his hand into his pocket, fishing around for a few to give to Euijoo. Tide him over until dinner.

“Do you want-” He paused, frowning. Something didn’t feel right. 

“What?” Euijoo looked at him curiously. 

“Uhhh…” Nicholas tried to close his fingers around the individually-wrapped candies he knew were there, but instead, something squished. Gooey warmth seeped through his fingers.

“Nico?”

Nicholas made a face, already knowing what had happened, kicking himself for not thinking earlier because yeah, of course that would happen. It was at least 85 fucking degrees Farenheit out here. He slowly pulled his hand up, knowing he was smearing chocolate against the inside of his shorts. His hand emerged, and with it pink pieces of aluminum foil; but mostly a huge glob of dark brown and pink melted chocolate, spread messily over the back of his hand and hanging thick from his fingers. 

He would curse, but he remembered the swear jar. 

Euijoo gaped. “Is that chocolate?”

“Yeah.” Nicholas grimaced. Some of it dripped from his fingers and splatted onto the dirt by his feet. 

Euijoo put a hand over his mouth. For a split second Nicholas thought he might be upset. He seemed like the kind of person who just might get his boxers in a twist over uniform cleanliness or some shit, or maybe even care about taking food from the mess hall; but he realized Euijoo’s shoulders were shaking, these quiet, breathy hitches escaping through the spaces in his fingers, his eyes scrunched and shining. 

He was laughing. 

One of the campers took notice.

“Counselor Nico has chocolate hands!” she yelled excitedly, pointing a little finger his way. 

That got Euijoo to erupt into full laughter, doubling over and wrapping his arms around his middle. 

And that drew the attention of the rest of the group. All of them, even the ones in the middle of the exercise, stopped what they were doing and came over to see him and his chocolate-covered hand like it was the most entertaining thing in the world, tickled in such a childlike way by something so simple. 

He registered the weight of Euijoo’s hand on his shoulder. The taller boy might not have even noticed he was doing it, still bubbling with residual laughter, the smile on his face doing a good job competing with the sun. 

Nicholas didn’t feel particularly embarrassed (if anything he felt dread at the thought of trying to scrub chocolate out of his pants tonight), but his cheeks tingled as an unmissable warmth spread through them, so maybe he was – a little.

He distracted himself by forming his hand into a claw and acting like he was going to use it to grab any nearby campers, stalking toward them playfully. 

They screamed with laughter and darted away.

Chapter Text

🍓

“Ee-jay!” Yuma filed into the staff cabin after them, where all of the available counseling staff were converging for the nightly meeting, and nearly jumped onto the taller boy’s back. Nicholas took a small step to the side in case they ended up going down in a heap, but Euijoo kept his balance. “I did not see you during lunch today. Did you forget to eat again?”

Again? Nicholas absentmindedly noted the use of the word as he shuffled past the coffee table toward an empty couch. Euijoo mentioned he didn’t normally eat full breakfasts, but was skipping other meals a somewhat normal occurrence for him? 

If so, yikes. Nicholas had never in his adult life felt the need to eat three full meals a day. Never felt like he could fit it all into his stomach. 

He did here. 

“I got preoccupied. It’s fine. I survived. Nico brought me chocolate. Can you get off me?”

Nicholas quirked an eyebrow, sinking onto a couch cushion. Why bring that up? It’s not like it had helped at all. He thought ruefully about the pair of shorts in his cabin, still in a crumpled heap on the end of his bed where he’d discarded it to take a quick shower and change before the meeting. No time to work on the mess of chocolate glued to the inner pocket. Luckily he had two other pairs of work shorts, but he still planned to get some of it scrubbed out before tossing them in the wash tonight. 

“Oh, that’s nice.” Yuma detached himself from him and threw a smile Nicholas’ way. It wasn’t malicious, and yet Nicholas still felt like there was intent behind it. “And did you ask him about–”

Euijoo whirled on him, putting a palm over Yuma’s mouth and shoving him down into the last bit of space on the couch they were by. 

Well, that wasn’t suspicious at all. Naturally, Nicholas assumed it had something to do with what the two of them had been talking about by the arts cabin today. In fact, that pretty much just confirmed for Nicholas it had been something about him. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

Maybe he could ask Euijoo, now that they seemed to be on better speaking terms. 

That is, they were speaking, period. 

There was laughter in Yuma’s eyes as Euijoo removed his hand, revealing a wickedly-curved mouth, but he just stared up at Euijoo and didn’t say anything. Next to him, a female counselor with midnight hair reaching down to her ribs made a noise of protest and nudged Yuma half-heartedly, trying to create some space between them on the already crowded couch. 

“It wasn’t my fault, Kazu-chan. EJ pushed me.” 

Nicholas stared at Euijoo’s back as he huffed and turned around and then kept staring when Euijoo’s eyes locked onto his. Euijoo folded first and fast, shifting them around instead to look for a place to sit. There was some space next to Nicholas, but Euijoo decided the floor would be preferable to that, and promptly sank down next to a single armchair that was occupied by a smaller guy Nicholas had never personally talked to but heard a lot about nonetheless. Thanks to these meetings, he knew his name was Harua. 

He had his legs swung over one side of the chair like he was in his own living room, phone resting against his thigh as he scrolled on it with one hand. The other played with his yellow lanyard, flicking it so that it wrapped and unwrapped around his hand. 

When Euijoo’s back pressed against the seat, Harua paused what he was doing on his phone to pat him atop his brunette head. 

Lots of people were sitting in random spots on the floor, but Nicholas still felt that decision held some degree of significance. He crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms, trying not to appear surly as he sunk into the corner of the couch. He knew he was probably not succeeding. 

That’s when K appeared from somewhere behind him – Nicholas hadn’t even seen him come in – and settled right down into the unoccupied spot next to him. The middle cushion sunk under his weight, his long ass legs stretched out in front of him. 

He let out the universal just-finished-a-long-day-of-work sigh and gave him a friendly smile, patting him a couple times on the knee. 

Nicholas’ lips twitched back at him. By the time Fuma took the front of the room, he had slowly wriggled himself out of the corner. 

The meeting was carried out with smooth efficiency like always. No one wanted to stay any longer than the allotted thirty minutes, and the Counseling Leads were just as concerned with sending everyone off to bed in a timely manner as they were with going over updates, schedules, and any notable happenings around camp. 

Some days, Nicholas noticed, there wasn’t much to report. It was that way tonight. Fuma breezed right through his points, opening up the space for the other four Leads to go through theirs. It was much the same, and before they knew it, K was holding up his palms to signal he was done after one brief note about reinflating basketballs for the court. And after Fuma checked if anyone had any questions, of which there were none, the meeting was dismissed almost fifteen minutes early – to the noticeable relief of the room, which felt like it took one big collective sigh. 

All around people stretched and got up from their seats, the space filled with the sound of loose conversation and lockers being opened and closed, beeps and rumbles coming from the vending machine as some secured late night drinks and snacks before calling it an evening. 

“Oh, I almost forgot. Nico.” Nicholas tilted his head back, eyebrows lifted. Fuma approached the back of his couch. “You’re going to start cabin duty with EJ. Monday.” Fuma smiled and looked over at Euijoo, whose eyes seemed just a little rounder than usual. “I got it all sorted. We’ll hammer out scheduling details at Saturday’s meeting.”

“Oh great,” Euijoo replied. His tone suggested he didn’t really think it was great. “That was quick.” 

Fuma grinned proudly. “I know, right?” 

Euijoo’s eyes flickered up to Nicholas’, and this time he at least gave him a crooked smile, nodding minutely. 

“Looking forward to, uh, bunking together.”

Nicholas nodded back, keeping his expression carefully blank. “Yep.”

Most of the other counselors were petering out. K, who had fished his phone out at some point and was steadily typing on it, stood from his seat beside Nicholas.

“Be right back,” he announced to what seemed like just him.

Nicholas watched him leave, eyes still on his device, and stretched his legs out now that there was more room. He usually didn’t linger around after the meeting, whether Euijoo left or stayed – usually left; the man adhered to a strict schedule – but it sounded like K was expecting to come back to him still being here, so he lingered around for a bit. Some of the others were staying, too, the strenuousness of the day keeping them sunk into the couches, heavy-looking limbs and droopy eyes.

Yuma curled to the side and reached out to Euijoo. “Truce?”

Euijoo rolled his eyes in response but still took his offered hand, pulling himself up from the floor and flopping onto the now open cushion next to Yuma. 

Nicholas considered getting up to retrieve a soda from the machine, feeling his own body start to drag with sleep, just to have a little more energy to spend on cleaning his clothes before bed tonight, but he remembered he didn’t have an official ID yet and had to stick to Euijoo for entry to certain areas and access to certain things. 

He’d probably swipe the machine no problem if Nicholas asked. Euijoo was nice. Agreeable. But Nicholas felt unsure. Things had been easier today, noticeably, but now he really wanted to ask Euijoo what was up with earlier. What the heck had he been talking about with Yuma like that and was everything really okay? But he couldn’t exactly do that with Yuma sitting right there.

“So, Nicholas, how’s counselor life treating you so far?” asked Yuma himself, stretching his arms above his head and removing his feet from his sneakers to pull them up onto the couch, tucking them underneath his body. He rolled his head along the back of the couch, playing with his own hair while he waited for an answer, looking incredibly at home. 

Nicholas glanced infinitesimally at Euijoo on his other side. His head was tipped back, eyes closed, hands in his lap, looking halfway to sleep already. Or maybe he was already asleep. It was hard to tell. 

“It’s kind of tough,” he admitted. “But it’s fun. I like it. The kids are great.” 

“EJ not driving you crazy?”

“Hey,” grumbled Euijoo, brow furrowing. “What happened to the truce?” 

“No complaints,” Nicholas said. “Not yet anyway.”

He saw Euijoo’s bunched expression smooth out, apparently quelled by that. 

“Nicholas got the kids really engaged with our activity today,” he mentioned after a beat. “Turned it into a competition for them. Never seen them so fired up to work together.”

Nicholas felt his eyebrows hike up at the unexpected praise. Compliment for a compliment, he supposed.

Yuma whistled. “Inciting competition amongst the campers, huh? He’ll definitely be ready for the end of the summer.” 

“What’s at the end of the summer?” Nicholas asked, glancing at Euijoo. His co-counselor had a small smile on his face. 

“Only the event that turns friends against each other,” supplied Yuma eagerly. He stretched a leg out to poke Harua’s dangling ankle with his own socked foot. “And that turns Harua into a bigger menace than he already is.” 

Yuma? Calling someone else a menace? Nicholas felt like he had a lot left to learn about the staff members here.

Harua lazily kicked his foot off, still scrolling on his phone. “If you all don’t want to adopt the killer mentality needed for victory, I don’t know what to tell you,” he said, speaking for the first time tonight.

“Sure, but your team’s never won though.”

“We win in spirit. And I’m teaching them lifelong survival skills.” 

“And give him a break. His kids are really young,” defended Euijoo, crossing his arms, eyes still closed like he wasn’t actively engaging in conversation now.

“That, and also Fuma exists,” Yuma added. Fuma smiled silently from where he’d come to sit at the opposite of Nicholas’ couch to listen in.

“Euijoo almost beat him last year,” Harua pointed out, eyeing the Lead over the top of his phone.

“And almost wasn’t good enough,” proclaimed Fuma haughtily. “My kids are always warriors.”

“Okay, but you teamed up with the accounting crew, too. Those guys have a lot of pent up rage,” Yuma argued.

“That’s also true,” Fuma admitted. He shrugged and put his arms behind his head, a wide grin adorning his face. “I guess the only hope any of you have is forming a more formidable team for us to face.” He proceeded to let out a laugh that sounded suspiciously like the villain in a blockbuster movie.

“Have some mercy, why don’t you,” Harua mumbled.

“Hey, maybe now that Nico's here, you guys could team up and win,” Yuma pointed out, tapping Euijoo on the leg. 

Nicholas interjected. “I still don’t know what we’re talking about.” 

Yuma finally did him the favor of spilling the beans, facing him with a look like he had some classified government secret to impart. “A camp-wide Capture the Flag game, and it’s serious. The entire campgrounds are used as the battleground, and everyone gets involved. I’m talking the campers, the counselors, the event team, the media team, the kitchen staff. It gets crazy.”

“Counselors place bets,” added Harua. “Winners get bragging rights and all the quarters in the swear jar.”

“Wow,” Nicholas drawled, not being able to help his sarcastic tone. He glanced over at the clear, wide jar sitting over on one of the counters. The quarters that were in it weren’t even enough to form a single layer over the bottom. “With that much money, who would need this job?” 

Fuma snorted. 

“Hey, but EJ was racking them up today. We might be able to make early retirement with his contributions alone.” Yuma turned on Euijoo. “Have you anted up yet?”

Nicholas eyed him in surprise and curiosity. Euijoo? The guy who was two steps away from being a textbook goody-two shoes? Who would probably cry if he stepped on an anthill? For the ants. What could have gotten him riled up enough to start swearing up a storm?

Euijoo flushed, avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes, mumbling something about an ATM and his day off.

Just then the cabin door swung inward, and K reappeared. “Hey guys. You remember Taki.”

K was followed in by a young man with shaggy dark brown hair and a softly-rounded face, who Nicholas guessed couldn’t be older than twenty. K posed it more like a statement than a question, clearly for the people who had been here a while, because Nicholas had no idea who this was.

“Heey! Taki!” Yuma cheered, throwing his hands up above his head. 

“Takiiii,” drawled Fuma. 

“Hi, Taki,” Euijoo said, twisting around to smile at him. 

The kid had been sticking close to K, frowning softly down at the floor, but his expression instantly brightened when he noticed the familiar faces. 

He walked around the couch Yuma and Euijoo were on, and the two of them scooted over and made room for him. He plopped down and immediately reached over to poke Harua on his knee. For once Harua actually put down his phone, sitting up to bump his fist against Taki’s. 

“How you been?”

“I’ve been good,” Taki replied. He had a warm, friendly voice. 

“You grew!” Yuma ruffled his hair.

Taki groaned, but he was smiling. “Yuma. It’s only been a year.” He pushed his hand away. “And we’re basically the same age.”

“What have you been up to?” Euijoo asked, leaning around Yuma. 

“Oh, you know,” Taki shrugged, settling into the couch and bouncing his leg. “Just hanging out.” 

K materialized behind the couch. Nicholas noticed he did that a lot. Appeared out of thin air. “No. ‘Hanging out’ would imply he actually gets social interaction beyond the people in his TV.”

Taki rolled eyes in much the way a sibling would. Nicholas wondered if that was what they were to each other. “They’re part of my MMO group. They count.”

“No dragon quest is so important you need to do it every day. Nothing is.”

Fuma raised his hand. “I once played Pokemon Go for forty-five days straight, and I would’ve made fifty if the app didn’t crash and snap me out of it.” He met K’s glare with earnestness. “I’d like to say I regret it, but I don’t. I get him.”

Taki gave him a pointed look. “See?”

K huffed. “So what?” he said to Fuma. “Now you spend every day outdoors. In the sun. Getting exercise.” He pointed down at Taki. “I had to practically drag him out for this movie tonight. Bribe him with the promise of cookie dough bites.”

Taki sighed like they had this argument all the time. Nicholas was guessing they probably did. “You’re so unfair. I slave away all year in college,” he began, eliciting an eye roll from K. “I should get to play games when I want.” When the older man’s unimpressed expression didn’t budge, Taki switched tactics, making his eyes go all round and shiny, tipping his head back against the couch to aim them at him more efficiently. “Computer science is really hard.”

Nicholas imagined the eyes had a strong weakening effect when the kid was a few years younger, maybe with some more baby fat around his face, but K seemed to have grown immune to them. 

“I know it is. So why you’d want to stare at another screen all summer long is beyond me.”

“You don’t get it,” Taki sulked, giving up surprisingly fast. He sank further down into the cushion and dropped his head onto Yuma’s shoulder. Yuma patted his hair consolingly. Guess he had a side. 

K leaned forward on the back of the couch, his hands sinking into the cushions. “I just don’t get why you wouldn't want to come work here for the summer. God knows we need the help, and it would be good for you. Why jump across platforms in some game when you could literally do that in real life? Thirty feet above ground. In trees. Right, Fuma?”

Taki glanced at Fuma, probably expecting more support since he’d so readily given it where online gaming was concerned, only to find him nodding with an apologetic look on his face, like he was sorry he had to let Taki down on this one. Taki frowned.

“Or across water,” added K. Taki crossed his arms stubbornly. 

“That sounds horrible.”

K ignored him. “And you could be around people who aren’t, I don’t know, 28-year olds living in their mother’s basements.”

“Right. Because spending it with a bunch of 12-year-olds is so much better.”

“It isn’t just kids. It’s also these guys. You like these guys, right?” K gestured around the room at ‘the guys’ – Yuma, Harua, Euijoo, Fuma – who all played along and waved at Taki jokingly. He flushed at the exaggerated gestures, pouting. “And look! A new guy.” K pointed at Nicholas. 

Taki’s eyes flicked to him and then away, gluing themselves onto the coffee table. Nicholas smirked. 

“That’s Nicholas. He started this week. Boom. New friend acquired. See how easy that was? Think about it.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Okay.” With a couple pats on Taki’s hunched shoulders, K finally laid off, straightening back up to his full height. “Hang out here for a sec. I’ve just got a couple last things to take care of, and then we can go.” He went and disappeared into one of the rooms at the back of the cabin. Nicholas recalled from the shared schedule all the counseling staff received that K’s off days were Fridays, which explained why he was taking Taki out so late.

Taki sighed once he was gone, physically uncoiling. “He’s so much,” he mumbled. 

Nicholas leaned forward. “Hey.” Taki looked up. “All siblings are. I have an older sister who’s the same way.”

“We’re cousins actually. And maybe.” Taki gave him a small half-smile.

Nicholas’ mind travelled back to speaking with K this afternoon. The taller man had mentioned something about a cousin and a movie. Nicholas remembered it now. The details were fuzzy because he’d been switching between listening to him and trying to figure Euijoo the fuck out. At the thought of him, Nicholas’ eyes moved over just in time to see Euijoo’s move away. 

“He just wants good things for you,” Yuma told Taki, bumping against his shoulder.

“If you did work here, it wouldn’t suck to see you more,” Harua added casually. 

Taki narrowed his eyes at both of them, but there was no real annoyance behind it. “Traitors.”

“You know what the rest of us should do?” Yuma straightened up suddenly, his face brightening with an idea. “Go to that shop in town. The one that sells all that one of a kind stuff that looks like it’s from 1942.”

“It’s almost ten-thirty,” Euijoo pointed out plainly. Nicholas noticed he didn’t even need to check his watch for that information. 

Yuma shrugged. “They’re open ‘til midnight.”

“That kind of wasn’t my point.” 

It was at that moment that Maki burst into the cabin, the light screen door flying inward with a clatter and almost hitting against the back wall. “Please tell me this vending machine still has Nutter Butters in it.” 

Nicholas blinked at him. “What are you still doing up?” he asked automatically.

“Chill out, dad, some of us were working on the camp’s site. Don’t you want it to be pretty? Aesthetic? Inviting?”

“Okay, I get it.” 

Maki grinned in a way that flashed his dimples and continued on, making a straight beeline for the large vending machine humming quietly at the back of the room, his shoes thunking over the wood flooring. 

“Yes!” the photographer cheered, followed by the hasty beep of his ID as he swiped it over the pad. Nicholas could only assume his elation was owed to the presence of chocolate peanut butter wafers within its depths. 

“Nice timing, Maki. We were all gonna go to that square in town,” Yuma called over to him.

“We were?” Euijoo again, and again it fell on Yuma’s intentionally-deaf ears.

“Shops are open late during the summer,” Yuma added, perhaps as a persuasion tactic, though he really didn’t need to worry about it.

“Sweet, I’m in,” Maki agreed immediately, walking over to them, late-night calories in hand. The plastic around the snack crinkled as he tore it open and plopped down onto the arm of the couch next to Taki, despite all the open seats. Nicholas didn’t have a very large data pool, but he’d yet to see Maki sit normally on a piece of furniture. He took a large bite of both wafers in the pack, cutting them down to nearly half their size in a second. Taki was staring silently up at him, and while Maki chewed, he appeared to register that this was someone he hadn’t seen before. 

“Hey, I don't know you,” he stated around the mouthful, twisting to get a better look at Taki. “You another new staff member?”

Taki shook his head, blinking several times. “No, K’s cousin. Uh. Taki.”

Maki nodded, easy and casual like always. “Cool. Nice to meet you. Oh hey.” He bit down on the wafers to free up his hands, fishing around in the pocket of his team jacket and producing a small digital camera. Nicholas almost snorted. Of course he had a travel-sized one. “Shmwile!” He held it up at Taki’s face and pressed the button on top before Taki had time to register the request. Click!

“So, does a true cameraman only take candids?” Nicholas asked him.

Maki grinned, putting the camera away and taking the snack from his mouth. “You just haven’t seen my serious stuff. Remind me to show you.” Taki, who obviously didn’t know what Maki was taking pictures for, continued to sit and stare in confusion, but if he had a question he didn’t get a chance to ask it. Maki bit off another large hunk of the treat, using the remaining bit to gesture at Taki. “Will you be joining us on this night expedition?”

“I'm not going on a night expedition.” Nicholas had to give it to Euijoo for being so adamant, insisting on making his stance known even if he was standing on it alone. Not that he seemed to care very much about that, crossing his arms and turning his face away like he could physically reject the absolutely heinous notion of grown men staying up past their bedtimes. Or maybe that was really him caring a lot. Nicholas noticed he was still sitting right there on that couch, instead of actually, you know, going to bed. It was the kind of convoluted stubbornness Nicholas didn’t know he possessed. 

Fuma must have also noticed. He was laughing at Euijoo behind his hand, but the crescent-shapes of his eyes were endeared. 

“Nobody’s on bunk duty tonight,” Yuma reminded him, turning and poking a finger into one of his cheeks. Euijoo moved his face away, like a baby that didn’t want to eat something off the spoon his parents were extending. “How often does that happen? And we’re all here.”

That was how Nicholas learned he might’ve been adopted into some kind of group without knowing it, probably by extension of being trained under Euijoo, but still. 

“We have to be up at 7:00 in the morning,” Euijoo pointed out.

“Then we better get a move on, shouldn’t we?”

Euijoo looked helplessly at Fuma. “You’re not trying to talk anyone out of this? Out of being sleep-deprived counselors watching people’s children tomorrow?”

Fuma lowered his hand. “Curfew’s at midnight, and I trust everyone to know what kind of schedule they need to keep for themselves.” Euijoo lifted an eyebrow like he was waiting for him to continue. Eventually Fuma did. “…Sometimes that place has these really rare Pokemon cards…”

K emerged from the back room, a small black backpack slung over his shoulder. “Ready to go, Taki?”

“Yeah.” Taki stood up, and Maki’s questioning gaze followed him. Taki noticed it. “Er. We’re gonna see a movie. Maybe I’ll, uh, make the next… night expedition, or whatever.”

Maki, always one to go with the flow it seemed, simply nodded and saluted. “We’ll save you a spot.” 

K rounded the room over to their side, bending over the couch to say something to Fuma. The other man nodded and took his hand for a brief shake. “Yeah. See you Saturday.”

“Bye, everyone!” K waved to them all while walking to meet Taki at the door. “See you Saturday.”

He received a chorus of farewells in return – a mix of bye’s and see you’s and one enjoy your day off from Euijoo. On the way out K threw an arm around Taki's shoulders, and despite Taki’s earlier exasperation with him, he subtly leaned into it. 

Once they were gone, Yuma stood, looking oddly rejuvenated for someone who’d just had an over twelve hour work day, most of it in the sun. Now that Nicholas would never understand. “So, to town? Yes? We’re going?” There was a round of unintelligible agreements. Harua stretched his arms and legs before swinging them around to hop up. Yuma pointed right at him. “Nico?”

He hesitated. “I… need to get the chocolate out of my shorts.”

Harua looked over in silent alarm. 

Yuma went quiet for a beat. “I don’t know what that means.”

Thankfully, Euijoo stepped in so that he wouldn’t be forced to recount the tale. “It’s a long story.”

“Oh. Okay. But you have more than one pair right?”

“Yeah?”

“Then do it later. Join us!”

Nicholas considered for a second. The campers were in bed with their assigned cabin counselors. Everyone here had already showered and changed, and the meeting was over. The only thing left to do was get into bed themselves. Nicholas was someone who could still manage to feel sleepy during the day even after getting a full eight hours, but somehow that didn’t seem like a big enough reason to say no. In fact, it was decent persuasion, knowing a couple hours of sleep probably wouldn’t change anything anyway. 

Besides, it was the only time of day most of them even got to talk to each other. This was the first time he’d ever even said so many words to anyone on the team besides Euijoo, Fuma and K. If he was being invited, he wasn't going to refuse. 

“Alright, yeah.” 

Euijoo eyed him. “For the record, this is not recommended.” 

Nicholas got to his feet and looked straight at him, brow lifting. “Are you saying I can’t?”

Euijoo frowned. Nicholas was pretty sure it was the first proper, active one he had seen from him. His features were too soft for it to really sour his countenance – just darkened it a little and added a slight pout to his mouth. “I’m not telling you what to do,” he said quickly, almost defensively. “That isn’t–that’s not what I’m doing.”

“Does this mean you’re not going to come with?”

Euijoo pushed his lips out in consideration. He turned his head about the room and didn’t answer right away, as if he was still making up his mind, even though Nicholas got the sneaking suspicion he already had.

And sure enough: “Maybe just for half an hour…” Euijoo tentatively conceded. Maki reacted immediately, and loudly.

“Whaaat?” Yuma was moving out of the way, so he quickly took over his spot, launching onto the cushion beside Euijoo, knees first. “This is a momentous occasion! EJ staying up late? Voluntarily? I don’t think this has ever happened before. Someone mark the calendar. Someone take a picture. Oh wait.”

“Aish.” Smiling (in an all-suffering sort of way), Euijoo gently pushed away the digital camera that had materialized in Maki’s hands once more, this time inches away from his nose. “This is why teenagers shouldn’t eat sugar after a certain time.”

🍓

They rode in Fuma’s Hyundai Palisade. It was parked in a lot a short walk from the main grounds, the same one parents used when they were dropping their children off. Even though it felt like they were packed in, the six of them, there was actually one seat to spare, leaving Nicholas awed at the marvels of the modern automobile. 

The nearest town was maybe a fifteen-minute drive from the campsite, and with hardly anyone on the roads because it was frankly an ungodly hour for anyone to be traversing around on unimperative nick-nack shop trips just for the hell of it – especially people who had work in the morning – they made it there in just under that. 

Fuma parked in one of the open spots lining the perimeter of the square, which was mostly empty. Tall streetlamps with decorative black bases lit the area well in an inviting yellow wash, and there were still a few crazy people like them out and about, so the atmosphere didn’t have that feeling like you needed to latch onto a travel buddy and look over your shoulder every few seconds. Together, their little group trooped to one of maybe half the shops around that still had its lights on. 

A bell above the door welcomed them in with a tinkle, even though there was no one at the front desk to do so. Nicholas figured whoever was manning it had probably wandered away, evidently confident enough that no one would rob them. 

The inside smelled faintly like dust and wood and something sweet and earthy, like incense. It had wooden floors and walls, much like the ones in nearly every building back at the camp – a reminder that they were still very much surrounded by nature in this area, so much so that it was incorporated into the architecture. Another was the fact Nicholas could go outside right now and see the dark, jagged outlines of mountains on the horizon, not even that far away. 

The shop was stuffed to the brim with a little bit of everything, leaving no surface bare. From snow globes to post cards to mason jars of 100% organic bee honey, to a rack of random clothing articles that looked like they might’ve been made in the 80’s – which was actually pretty cool and drew Nicholas’ attention instantly. 

He wandered over to it while Yuma and Maki ushered Euijoo over to a wall of metal shelves lined with hats ranging from reserved and sophisticated to straight up wacko, giggling like the excited kids they supervised on a daily basis. 

Fuma, true to his word, beelined to the end of the long front desk where several stacks of old cards were displayed in little glass cases – a yellowish fade and soft-looking edges to them that showed they were worn with time. They seemed mostly to be miscellaneous baseball and playing cards, but Fuma was on a mission, determined to find and extract an illustrious pocket monsters card from its depths. An aisle back, Harua rose up on tiptoe to sift through a clear bowl of woven leather bracelets. 

Nicholas picked through the rack. It was mostly jackets, some t-shirts, some belts, some ties. He found several cool, vintage-looking pieces – a long black trenchcoat-like jacket that made out of a heavy fabric; a brown and red plaid blazer made out of thick wool-like material that was kind of ugly but that was kind of what made it stylish; a dark blue denim jacket with puffed sleeves, sewn-in patches of colorful fabric, and lots of zippers that looked like it came straight out of an 80s teen movie. All of them had a thin collection of dust along the shoulders. 

Nicholas tried not to get attached to anything he saw. He had a bit of a problem when it came to clothes, and one good thing about working at a reclusive camp site far away from the city proper was he wasn’t in some shop spending money every other day. It was a good thing the cash he had brought was tucked safely away in his cabin. That was for necessities and emergencies only.

A burst of laughter behind him had him turning around mid-sift. Euijoo had a large cowboy hat on over the beanie he was wearing, and based on the embarrassed way he was grinning and covering his face as Maki tried to get the right angle for a photo, he hadn’t been the one to put it there. The culprit seemed to be Yuma, who kept trying to force Euijoo’s hands down until he finally gave in, a faint blush on his cheeks. He held still for the camera but refused to look at it. It appeased Yuma and Maki though, and the latter started happily clicking away. 

Nicholas turned his attention back to the woven belt in his hand he didn’t even remember picking up. Were those ducks on it?

He spent a minute casually poking through a few more. He was letting a heavy, bedazzled one slide out of his hand and going to pick up a leather one when he felt a sudden light pressure on top of his head. He turned around and there was Yuma in a floppy yellow beach hat grinning up at him, a copious amount of other hats nestled in his arms. Behind him was Maki in a pair of oversized plastic lime green shades with blue-tinted lenses. Where he picked them up from Nicholas had no idea. 

“Uhh…” Nicholas reached up and adjusted the hat on his head, smiling questioningly.

“It’s giving Casablanca,” was Maki’s thoughtful analysis.

Nicholas furrowed his brows in confusion, looking around for some kind of reflective surface. Turned out there was a half length mirror sitting against an aisle near the clothes rack. He bent down to see and…

“Eugh.” Nicholas wrinkled his nose in disgust, ripping the offending object from his head and handing it back to Yuma. “No.” 

“We thought you might be a fedora guy,” Yuma explained, taking it back into the pile. 

“No one’s a fedora guy anymore,” Nicholas stated matter-of-factly. 

Yuma shrugged, poking around in the pile and pulling out a disco ball-esque abomination. “What about a glittery bucket hat type of guy?”

Nicholas subtly observed him. The friendliness didn’t seem disingenuous. His smile didn’t look like a mask he was forcing on for the sake of work pleasantries all while having some kind of hidden opinion about him at the back of his mind. It reached his eyes. 

“I think that might be a better fit for you, actually.” That was not a lie. Yuma absolutely had the look and audacious aura that could make ridiculous look like it was made for him.

“Dude. I see it.” Maki took the sunhat off him, so Yuma pushed the bucket hat over his midnight tresses and blinked at him expectantly. The result obviously tickled Maki, who let out a bark of laughter and readied his camera again, dimples cutting delighted divots into his cheeks. “Yes! Wait, pose pose pose.” 

While they did that, Nicholas found himself seeking out Euijoo. He had been with them moments ago, but now he seemed to have wandered off. The cowboy hat was replaced on one of the shelves. 

Nicholas left the two to their mini photo shoot and let his feet carry him past the aisles, past the hats, down by the back wall made up almost entirely of used soft-cover books. He liked to think he was just wandering around, not actively searching for Euijoo in particular, but he couldn’t deny his eyes were scanning for that already familiar tuft of brown hair and overly long frame.

There was a split curtain covering an opening Nicholas wouldn’t have even known was there if he hadn’t walked back here. Soft light bled from underneath its wavy edges. Nicholas pushed it aside and stepped into a whole other room, proving the quaint little shop was actually much bigger than it looked from the outside.

This room had posters in gilded frames stuck high up on the walls around the whole perimeter – miscellaneous paintings of the sky and ranch houses, lighthouses on the shores of crashing beaches, and wind turbines in massive fields. Long rolls of papers in bins below it that might’ve been the same posters up for sale were right next to a bunch of rolled-up rugs. 

The shelves back here were just as cluttered – crystal jars and lava lamps, ceramic mugs with quirky sayings – but it was a homey kind of chaos, like stepping into your grandma’s house. She might’ve been two steps away from being a hoarder, but it was okay because it was warm and smelled like pie.

Bulbous string lights with a dim golden glow were strung over random sections of the walls. It felt like the kind of place you could easily spend hours looking in, even if you didn’t know what you were looking for. 

Nicholas only passed a couple of aisles before finding what he was.

After showering, Euijoo had donned an oversized red and black flannel and long, loose tan pants for the meeting – something easy to throw on and throw off when it was over. A black beanie with a little white smiley face on the cuff obscured his hair, only little bits of brown curl sticking out the front. He looked like such a regular guy. Of course that’s what he was, but when Nicholas had only ever seen one version of him so far, it was hard to trade that image in his mind for someone he just as easily might have encountered on his campus, or walked past on the street. 

However, what he found Euijoo doing was a first.

“What are you doing?” he asked in place of a greeting. 

Euijoo pulled his nose away from where it had practically been buried inside a glass candle. He looked over and blinked at Nicholas like he had just requested he solve a math equation. 

“Sniffing candles,” he answered candidly, screwing the top back on. 

“I can see that.” Nicholas pushed his hands into the pockets of his joggers and stepped forward.

Euijoo put the candle back with a small clank. “Why’d you ask then?” he said, quieter, more to himself – like he hadn’t really intended for Nicholas to hear. But it was quiet in the room too, so he did. 

Nicholas stopped, sneakers scuffing the ground. There was that sense again, like there was some kind of block between them despite the good day today. It was easy enough to see past when they were working with campers or in a group with their coworkers, going with the flow of other people. But it determinedly made itself known when they were alone.

“Can I ask you a question? If you’ll answer honestly?”

Euijoo looked a little put off, an expression he seemed to make when he was challenged. It wasn’t overly severe or anything. Something akin to a disgruntled pufferfish. “Why would you think I wouldn't? I’ve been doing that, haven’t I?”

“Not about the campers or any kind of work thing. About you.”

Euijoo stiffened at that, scratching a nail against the lid of another candle he didn’t pick up. “What about me?”

Well, they were so rarely alone. Might as well take advantage and just ask. “What were you saying about me today? With Yuma, near the arts cabin?”

Euijoo dropped his hand and turned to face him, eyes widening, which was a pretty impressive feat because they were already what Nicholas felt were unnaturally round. “You saw that?” Nicholas pressed his lips together and nodded. “But we were hidden behind the bush.”

“You really fuckin’ weren’t.”

Euijoo sighed, rubbing his hand under his nose before transferring it to his hip. The action tucked the fabric against his side and really accentuated how unreasonably big that shirt was. And how small his waist was.  

“It’s nothing to do with you. Well… maybe a little bit to do with you.” He looked like he didn’t want to explain, his eyes darting to Nicholas’ and then away like he was remembering something. Eventually he settled on saying, “I’m new to this. Training. And I really want to be good at it. I thought I knew how to be good at it, but you’re not what I expected.”

“Oh.”

“Not in a bad way,” he assured quickly. He also didn’t elaborate on that. “Anyway, I felt like things weren’t going right, and I realized I actually might not be good at this, but I didn’t really know what I was doing wrong , and also it was really hot which never helps, so I just kind of ended up ranting to Yuma. Which he didn’t sign up for, by the way. He just happened to walk by and I snatched him. But he’s a good friend. He’ll listen and only judge me a moderate amount.” 

“I could tell you what you did wrong.”

That surprised Euijoo into looking at him properly. “Oh. You… can?”

Nicholas nodded, like it was the simplest thing in the world. “Yeah. Ranting behind a bush in broad daylight instead of just, I dunno, asking me? ” Euijoo blinked dumbly. Nicholas continued, getting some enjoyment out of his expression. “It makes sense, right? I am the one who bears witness to your training methods all day every day. I could’ve told you if you were dropping the ball.”

“Well… it’s not like I could freak out at you,” Euijoo defended. “The camp’s trying to keep employees, not scare them away.”

Nicholas tossed his arms out. "Who said anything about freaking out? How about just talking?” He dropped his arms and shrugged. “Not saying I couldn't handle a freakout.”

For a moment Euijoo looked like he was realizing something, like the metaphorical clouds were clearing as the truth dawned on him. He still dropped his eyes to the worn flooring the next second, mumbling, “There’s certain things I can't ask you.” 

“You can ask me anything. I’m an open book.” 

Nicholas watched Euijoo consider, eyeing him for a moment. He seemed to sift through several possible options before deciding on one. He straightened up. “Califer.”

Nicholas blinked. “Pardon?”

“I’m more of a Ponyo fan,” Euijoo supplied, voice so plain and emotionless it was almost funny. Like he was giving an interview. Or conducting an interrogation. “I saw the charm on your phone case the first day. Do you like Studio Ghibli?” 

Alright. He could roll with whatever this was. 

“Howl’s Moving Castle is one of my favorite movies,” Nicholas said simply, crossing his arms. It felt like they were having some kind of stand off.

Euijoo squinted his eyes, almost imperceptibly. “Interesting.” And then he went back to looking at candles. 

“Was that it?” Nicholas asked incredulously. 

“For now.”

Nicholas unfolded his arms, looking on in amusement. “Did you really just come back here to sniff candles?”

“It’s a good pastime.” 

Nicholas considered that for a moment. He pursed his lips, turned, scanned some of the selections, and then grabbed one at random. For a while the only sounds between them were soft clinks and sniffs as they picked candles up, smelled them, and put them back. Nicholas could surely say he’d never spent his time doing this before, but it actually wasn’t that different from sampling perfumes in stores, which was something he did a lot. 

He came across a candle he really liked the smell of, sage green wax in a little glass cylinder sealed off with a cork. He raised his eyebrows as the fragrance hit his nose, overcome with the urge to get someone else to smell it and agree with him that it was nice. The only other person here was Euijoo, so he silently extended his arm and angled the uncorked candle at him. 

Euijoo glanced over, staring curiously between Nicholas and the glass. Tentatively, like a cautious deer, he moved his head closer. 

He took a whiff and almost instantly recoiled.

“Ew!”

Nicholas’ mouth dropped open, pulling it back. “'Ew?’”

Euijoo was holding his nose like it’d been burned, his eyes looking shiny and betrayed. “That’s awful!” His voice was muffled. 

“What?” Nicholas turned the small, fat cylinder around in his hands to read the label. “It says I Like You a Lily. It’s nice, it’s like flowers.”

“It burns.”

Nicholas sucked his teeth. “Baby.” He pushed the cork back in and set the candle back on the shelf. That’s when he noticed Euijoo was holding his own selection out at him in return.

Nicholas turned his head and inhaled. The scent of something warm and milky filled his nose, accented with something sweet that reminded him of cinnamon.

“It smells like cookies,” he commented plainly, pulling back. 

“Exactly.”

“And you like that?”

Euijoo nodded, serious, clutching the candle to his chest. “Anything that smells like you can eat it is the superior candle scent.”

“Whatever you say.” It was a little sweet for his tastes, personally. “Feels like I’ve learned a lot today.” 

By now Nicholas’ nose was tingling with all the different smells, so to give it a break he about-faced to run his hand over some pin cushions on the adjacent shelves. He really should try to pick up sewing again.

He heard Euijoo screwing the lid back on the candle in his hands. “Yeah, me too.” 

Not a moment later, they received a group text message from Fuma telling them all to gather back up to return to the camp. So it was evident he cared a little about getting them to bed on time.

“For the record,” remarked Nicholas breezily as he and Euijoo made their way down the aisle. “I think you’re good at this. You’d probably be even better if you loosened up some.” 

Euijoo stopped walking and sputtered. “What does that–”

“Come on, EJ, everyone’s waiting,” he called, loud enough for the others to hear him in the front, before slipping through the curtains.

A young girl had materialized at the front desk to check a few of them out. Fuma actually found three Pokemon cards, and Nicholas never would have thought those little pieces of paper could make such a buff man so happy. Harua bought a bunch of the bracelets he’d been looking at and proceeded to unceremoniously hand them out – going around to Fuma, Yuma, Maki, and Eujioo. Nicholas was a little surprised when he walked over and pushed one onto his wrist as well, tightening the string for him with delicate fingers and no words. 

It was obviously pretty cheaply made and probably sold for it too, which would explain why Harua got so many of them, but Nicholas felt the faint smile on his own face as he adjusted it. His was braided black faux-leather with plastic red crystal beads woven in. He kept it on the whole car ride back to camp.

Even when he changed and climbed into bed that night, it remained on his wrist.

☀️

Euijoo could say he was feeling the effects of going to bed after midnight the next day, but truth be told he’d functioned in worse states than being a little sleepy. Someone, however, had all but collapsed onto the nearest bed as soon as they brought the campers by their cabins during break time. 

“Come to the lake with us,” Euijoo insisted, poking Nicholas on his shoulder. “You haven’t properly seen it yet. You’ll like it.”

“I’m tiiiired,” Nicholas protested, keeping his eyes closed. He was sprawled out on his back, so Euijoo could see the small smirk on his face. He rolled his eyes and straightened up. 

“That’s because you agreed to stay out so late last night.”

“So did you.”

“Yeah, and now I’m tired, too,” Euijoo admitted, trying to keep the techiness out of his voice for the sake of the kids in the room. “But I’m still taking the kids to swim. Besides, the water will wake me up.” 

“Or you could just stay here and sleep with me,” Nicholas suggested. Euijoo clamped his mouth shut. Why would he say it like that? “Instead of being Super EJ 24/7.”

Euijoo cleared his throat. “It’s not 24/7. And most of the campers wanna go. Yuma and his group are coming. We’re all going to walk over together.” 

Nicholas didn’t move, one of his socked feet shaking a little rhythm out on the bed. Euijoo sighed. It was break time, a free period where the campers could do whatever they wanted so long as they had supervision. As counselors, they weren’t obligated to have them do anything that wasn’t actually scheduled. 

Euijoo looked at the other four boys who were still hanging around in the cabin, having earlier vocally protested against swimming with the rest of their peers. “Do you four want to stay with Nico, or do you want to come with us to swim?” 

He was willing to let Nicholas sleep by himself if that’s what he wanted. Euijoo understood the need to replenish energy, and he’d rather Nicholas was rested enough to engage well for the remainder of the day. It wasn’t like he hadn’t handled all the kids by himself before. And anyway, the Aquatics staff would be doing most of the supervising.

Their responses overlapped.

“Stay with Nico.”

“Stay with Nico!”

Ten and eleven years old, and Nicholas won them over without even the promise of some fun cabin game. Just sleep. Another contender for the Coolest Counselor Award it would seem. Must be nice. 

“Alright, be good,” he told the kids before nudging the foot Nicholas had dangling over the side of the bed. “Watch them.” 

Nicholas flicked him a lazy salute, smile widening as he finally opened his eyes a little. Even though he looked teasing, Euijoo knew he would do as asked. He still couldn’t help rolling his own eyes once more for good measure.

He turned to leave, going over a mental checklist to ensure he had everything the kids would need. Thankfully the swim staff provided a lot of things, so he didn’t need to take much.

Behind him, Nicholas asked the boys, “Who wants to take a nap with me? Store up our energy for the next activity?”

“Yeah!” 

Seriously, what little boys got excited about sleeping?

Euijoo took one last look over his shoulder before stepping through the door to regroup with Yuma and his co-counselor, who were both just outside watching Euijoo and Nicholas’ bunch of campers alongside their own. Each of the boys in the cabin were squeezing onto the bed with Nicholas, curling around his feet and under his arms. 

Euijoo’s nose twitched with a sniff as he closed the door.

Cute. 

🍓

Nicholas was sure the boys thought they were being very quiet, but there was only so much shifting around, whispering, and hitting each other across his body he could pretend to ignore. 

He cracked  one eye open. “Thought you guys said you were tired.” 

“No, we didn’t!” Jesse, a camper who was prone to yelling everything, shot up instantly, showing he wasn’t even pretending to sleep. He rolled himself over onto Nicholas, propping himself up on his elbows. “That’s what you are, Counselor Nico!”

Nicholas flinched at the volume so close to his face and put a gentle hand over the boy’s mouth. “I hear you man.” He looked over the other three, who obviously weren’t sleeping either, and lowered his hand. “So what do you guys want to do? Go swimming with EJ and the others?”

“Sure!” agreed Samuel while the others shot up and started nodding. “But we want you to come, too!”

Hilarious how they didn’t just say that in the first place. Maybe the whole time they just wanted to go along with what he wanted to do, and he couldn’t have that. He held his hands out like it was obvious. “Well if you’re going, I’m going. Come on, let’s go swimming. Go change into your trunks and t-shirts.”

They made a bunch of excited noises and clamored off the sheets, and Nicholas stood up to follow them. 

The nap could wait. 

🍓

Nicholas could tell Euijoo was surprised to see him approaching the lake pier with the kids. 

He took his feet out of the water and stood up to meet them as they came down the boardwalk together. “Hey,” Euijoo greeted the kids first before raising his eyes to Nicholas. “What happened? Change your mind?”

“They changed their minds,” Nicholas corrected, placing his hands on top of Samuel and Jesse’s heads and tilting his own to the side. “And I’m a great CIT. So here we are.”

“Right.” Euijoo smiled sardonically. “Mimi, we have a few more. Could you get them some life vests, please?”

A young woman in a navy one piece and camp t-shirt on over it practically skipped over, her long, wavy hair shining from the sun and framing her round cheeks as she smiled down at the new arrivals. “Of course.” She took two of their hands and nodded for the other two to follow her into the little covered part of the dock that had all kinds of supplies for water activities. 

“Go with her.” Nicholas gave Bobby an encouraging nudge on the back when he didn’t move right away, distracted by an abandoned dragon inflatable floating nearby. 

“That’s Himena, one of the Aquatics staff,” Euijoo said as Bobby trotted off, squinting against the full effects of the high afternoon sun. Nicholas watched the light breeze around the lake push one side of his hair up. “Oh, and I don’t think you’ve met Jo?” He stepped aside and gestured to someone else further down the dock, absentmindedly touching his fingers to Nicholas’ elbow. They felt warm, probably from the heat of the sun, or the dock, or maybe that’s just how they were. “He started this summer, too. Jo!”

A young man looked over. He broke off from his other coworkers, leaving them to continue watching the kids play in the water to stride over. He was wearing a staff t-shirt, trunks and a visor. But what was more noticeable was his broad shoulders, big ears, and gorgeous face, all characteristics Nicholas felt would see him well-suited to a Sports Illustrated catalogue. 

“I’ve seen you around,” Nicholas said to him once he was near and looking questioningly between the two of them. Nicholas could recall him now – in the mess hall during meals and sometimes in passing at the end of the day. His was the kind of face you remembered. 

Despite the striking model-like features, when Jo spoke it was very reserved and polite, almost shy. “I think I’ve seen you, too. I’ve heard positive things about you.”

Nicholas’ curiosity peaked. “From who?” he asked. Was Euijoo talking about him?

“EJ,” Jo confirmed. “And Yuma.” He pointed to the water, where Nicholas just noticed there was a familiar person floating in an inner tube. Yuma looked hilariously at peace in his shades – ankles crossed, head tipped back, while a bunch of rowdy young teens splashed around nearby.

“Huh.” 

Jo smiled gently at him. “Are you planning to swim? We can get you a life vest.”

“Sure, but I don’t need a vest.” Nicholas stretched his arms above his head. His lower back cracked pleasantly. “You getting in?” he asked Euijoo, but his coworker shook his head.

“Oh no. I think I’m just gonna let you and the kids have this one.”

Nicholas dropped his arms. “Remember what we talked about last night about you loosening up?” He nodded toward the water. “I think this could help.”

Euijoo’s mouth dropped open. It looked like the memory from last night came flooding back, and he’d forgotten he was supposed to be indignant about it. “What is that –”

“Here they areeee,” Himena sang as she rejoined them. The four extra campers were around her legs, now outfitted in little orange life vests. She beamed up at them. “Are you all ready to get in?” 

“Absolutely,” Nicholas answered, dodging Euijoo’s cutting stare to bend down to the kids’ level. “Come on, let’s go. EJ will join us if he’s fun,” he added with a big smile. 

Euijoo stayed dutifully silent, like Nicholas – cheekily – figured he would around company. 

“On three, okay?” he told the boys, making sure to get a little bit of distance just in case Euijoo decided to kick him in at the last second or something. He grabbed onto two of their hands. “One, two, three!”

All five of them jumped. For a second there was just sun and air, and then he was submerged, liquid gurgling in his ears. The water was comfortable – slightly warm but soothing on his skin that felt like it was quite literally getting cooked by the sun’s rays. He let go of the boys’ hands so they could use their arms properly, pushing himself up the short distance and breaking the surface right after them. They were already cheering and splashing. Nicholas grinned and clapped along with them, casting a glance back up to the dock. 

Himena beamed down at them from next to Euijoo, hands behind her back, her petite frame practically dwarfed by his. Jo was clapping demurely for the dive, like he was a spectator at a competition. Nicholas couldn’t really make out the expression Euijoo was leveling him with on account of the lake water falling into his eyes and blurring it, but he imagined it wasn’t as cheery. 

So naturally, he returned it with a preening smile of his own and smoothly backstroked away. 

Euijoo joined them in the water slower than Nicholas thought he might, but join them he did.

“Hey.”

Laughing in his head, Nicholas spun around and pretended to be surprised that Euijoo’s competitiveness had won out. “Oh hey!”

“You can’t run from me,” Euijoo said, frowning at him from over the rippling cobalt surface of the water. “We’re tethered to the campers.”

“Wasn’t trying to.” Nicholas dunked his head underneath the surface, enjoying the cooling effect it had on his face and the way it muffled all the noise on the lake for a second before popping back up. The sounds of screaming kids and splashing came rushing back. Euijoo continued.

“What do you mean I could stand to loosen up? I’m loose.”

Nicholas pushed his hair from his face, slicking it back. “You seem a little tight.”

Euijoo’s body sunk a little lower into the water, nearly up to his chin, mimicking the way his brow lowered. “We’ve established why I’m tired. We’re all tired.” 

Nicholas dropped his arms and put a conscious effort into trying to be gentle. Yes, it was fun to mess with him, but this was also kind of confirming a suspicion he’d had that Euijoo didn’t recognize this about himself. “Yeah, but for you, it’s like, all the time.”

Euijoo scoffed in response. “You’re the one who looks tired all the time.”

“First, rude. Second, that’s just my face. Third, I actually don’t know what a proper sleep schedule is, so there’s that. And fourth, you know I’m right.” He leaned back and let his body drift away. Euijoo followed, swimming up beside him. Or wading. Nicholas imagined Euijoo’s feet probably still touched the ground, unlike his own. They weren’t too far back from the shore.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You haven’t even been here for a full week.”

Nicholas turned his face, the water like a wet pillow at the back of his head, soaking into his hair and lapping around his ears. He could keep pushing, but instead he smiled as he tracked a drop of water down Euijoo’s cheek and watched it plop from his chin. This close to him, he smelled like lake water and sunscreen and sweat. Like summer. 

“I see it.”

Some of Euijoo’s obvious annoyance made way for confusion, the lake reflecting a little bit of blue into his brown eyes. “See what?”

“Ponyo. I see why you like the movie now. Surrounded by water. And frowning. You kind of look like him.”

“You’re saying I look like a fish?”

He wasn’t exactly, but he guessed technically that was what he was saying. “Yes?” Euijoo didn’t seem to like that. “Well, a fish character.”

Euijoo made a noise and flicked water at him, a few droplets splattering his face. “You’re annoying.”

Nicholas sat up and splashed him back harder, preparing for the inevitable battle that was set to ensue at this point. Instead, Euijoo squawked and ducked away. “No, don’t. I don’t wanna get lake water in my hair.”

Nicholas paused. “What? Why?”

“Well I won’t have time to wash it before the next activity, and it gets fluffy if it dries with–”

“You realize this is the kind of thing I was talking about, right?”

His response was a silent stare. Nicholas could see Euijoo was starting to see the point, but his stubbornness held strong. “Don’t splash me.”

Nicholas wasn’t feeling very much like he wanted to listen to that request. Euijoo couldn’t tell him what to do – not here, with this. They’d established that. So the only thing he stood to face was Euijoo being annoyed with him, possibly more than ever before, possibly for the rest of the day. Nicholas could live with that. Some part of him kind of wanted to see how pissed someone like him could actually get. 

He slowly raised a hand above the water, palm facing downward in a threatening manner. Euijoo had never taken his eyes off him, so of course he saw it, as well as Nicholas’ shit-eating grin as his hand climbed higher and higher in order to create the most sizable mini-wave. Euijoo narrowed his eyes dangerously. 

“Nicholas…”

A mighty splash drew their attention to something behind them. Nicholas turned around in time to see Yuma’s dark head pop back up to the surface, his inner tube still clutched in the hands of a couple of his laughing campers. They quickly let go of it once they caught sight of Yuma’s glare, even mostly hidden by his flattened bangs. His sunglasses bobbed atop the water several feet away. 

There came another splash, this time from the other direction. His and Euijoo’s heads swiveled. It was Jo, jumping down into the water and swiftly making his way over to Yuma, treading water with ease. 

Jo grabbed the abandoned inner tube on the way and pushed it back toward Yuma. Nicholas couldn’t hear from here, but he saw Jo say a few words to him. Yuma tucked his sopping bangs behind his ears and nodded back with a slight smile on his face, the inner tube now tucked underneath his arms, and then Jo was headed back to the dock, pushing through the water with clean strokes. 

Euijoo’s eyes followed him the whole way. “Uh, Jo?” he called once the other boy reached the dock. 

In a flex of muscles that they could clearly see now that his shirt was soaked and stuck to his body, Jo hoisted himself out of the water and turned around to sit on the wood. “Yes?”

“Why’d you just do that?”

“Oh.” Jo blinked a few times, wiping water from his eyes. “Well Yuma’s not a great swimmer, so.”

Nicholas nodded in understanding, but Euijoo went strangely silent, turning to look at Yuma funnily. He looked like a wet cat, hanging onto the lime green floatie, splashing and hissing at his still snickering campers. Nicholas looked back and forth between them, wanting to ask what was up, but suddenly one the kids launched themselves onto his back. 

And that was the start of he and Euijoo getting roped into several chaotic rounds of chicken, marco polo and a spontaneous game of water volleyball without a net for the last half hour of break time. At that point there was no hope of Euijoo keeping his hair dry. 

When it was time to head back, everyone rinsed the lake off of them underneath a little showerhead set up off the shore. During which time Nicholas spent a little too long peering at the way Euijoo’s shirt clung to his body under the spray – wondering if the definition he thought he saw along his abdomen was real or a trick of the sun glare – before realizing that trying to count your coworkers abs through their wet t-shirt was probably highly frowned upon in most HR departments and cut it out. But curious questions still flitted through his mind as he took his turn (Did Euijoo work out? He didn’t seem the type. Didn’t even seem like he had the time. If not, then why was he toned? Surely not from bird-watching and being unexpectedly good at paper mache crafts. Was it the hiking?) 

They thanked Jo and Himena and the rest of the Aquatics staff and made their way back down the dirt path to the cabins. 

During the walk, and despite being thoroughly rinsed, Euijoo’s hair started to frizz and lift as the sun dried it. By the time they reached the cabins, it was sticking up in all kinds of odd directions. 

“Ohh, okay, I see what you mean,” Nicholas admitted, feeling a little bad while also struggling not to laugh. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” sighed Euijoo, letting the girl campers into their cabin so they could change while Nicholas led the boys next door. “That’s what the cap is for.” 

Euijoo wore it all through the afternoon activities. Nicholas actually forgot about his hair. Until he took it off for a second during dinner to run his fingers through it, exposing how it had exploded to at least twice its size. 

Nicholas did laugh then. 

🍓

The only days everyone showered and changed into casual clothes before evening activities were Friday and Saturday, because the evening activities on those days were the Friday night movie and the Saturday night campfire. Arguably the most chill events – didn’t involve much movement or sweating, and everyone could head straight to bed afterward. A lot of the campers, especially the younger ones, even usually conked out at some point during them, so he’d been told.

Nicholas’ hair was still a little wet from his hasty shower, dripping onto the collar of the open blue shirt he wore over a white tank, but the evening air was warm enough that it wasn’t uncomfortable. Already the ends were curling around his nape and temples as they slowly dried.

This was his first movie night since he’d started working, and as expected, it was a bit of an event. 

Everyone was gathered in an open area just a little ways down from the mess hall and administrative buildings, their lights still on and glowing yellow against the deep cobalt backdrop of the darkening sky.  

A large projector screen was set up at the base of a small swell of hill, currently sitting silent and grey. The area was packed with groups from every division, kids of all ages milling around in search of friends, food, or a bathroom break before the movie started. Others were either arranging or already lounging on blankets of various sizes, colors and materials in front of the projector. Nicholas had helped Euijoo lay some down for their campers before he’d gone off in search of extra refreshments. Their Capri Sun reserves had already been depleted down to less than half, and the movie hadn’t even begun yet. 

Nicholas made his way through the crowd. The smell of buttery popcorn was heavy in the air as staff members popped it in little machines at various stations dotted around the grass, distributing it to campers and counselors alike. There were other stations, too. Nicholas passed one for soft pretzels, fruit slushes, nachos and even crepes. Large white coolers that were free to take from contained things like fruit juices, flavored teas, water, sodas, and packaged ice cream.

The air hummed with a mix of human voices and soft laughter, threaded through with the chirping of crickets and the continual buzzing of a bug Nicholas probably couldn’t name. 

He was hit with a pleasant sense of nostalgia but was only able to sit in it for a second before something else stole his attention.

Someone had commandeered Maki into spinning cotton candy at one of the tables. Nicholas immediately adjusted his course, arriving just after he handed a big mountain of fluffy pink sugar off to a couple of girls. Nicholas took their place as they moved along. 

“They have you working?” he asked, bemused. But mostly amused. 

“Temporarily,” Maki replied, leaning his palms on the table. He was dressed in a clean white long-sleeved shirt, lanyard swishing around his neck. His face twisted suddenly as something registered. “Wait a minute, I work!”

Nicholas laughed and held his hands up. “I know. I’m just messing with you.”

Maki’s smile was instant and easy. “You want one?” he offered, gesturing to the cotton candy machine.

“I’ll pass.”

“I still think they seriously missed out on the opportunity to play Friday the 13th. This is a camp. And it’s Friday! The thirteenth!” 

Indeed it was. Half the campers had spent almost all of breakfast trying to make a case to stay inside all day because they were convinced today would be The Day. Luckily, kids’ memories were pretty short, so they’d all but forgotten about it halfway through a modified hopscotch activity, but Nicholas gave all the credit to Euijoo for somehow pacifying them enough during that hour to the point they even left the cafeteria without a fuss.

“They can’t show that movie to kids,” he reminded Maki, who sniffed petulantly and crossed his arms.

“I watched that movie when I was like four, and I’m fine.”

Nicholas hadn’t known him long enough to confirm or deny. “Well, you’re just gonna have to be fine with a movie about a journey to the center of the earth.”

Maki shook his head like he was lamenting the loss of a loved one, staring into the swirling pink candy floss. “Give me grisly murders any day.”

A hefty forearm slid its way around the younger boy’s neck from behind. It turned out to be attached to Fuma, who clapped his free hand on Maki’s arm, speaking cheerily right by his ear. “What was that I just heard you say around a ton of impressionable children?”

“Uhh, just that I’m all about family friendly blockbusters?” Fuma let him go, and Maki stepped back from the station with an innocent grin. “On that note, I’d say I’ve officially been relieved.” Always one to have a camera nearby, he grabbed today’s model from the table and saluted. “Bye!”

Fuma stepped into his place as Maki scampered off into the crowd, to terrorize or take pictures or both.

“You’re the cotton candy man?” Nicholas asked him.

Fuma nodded once. Solemnly. “Nobody spins a more perfect one than me.” 

“I respect it.”

Fuma gave him a friendly smile, and Nicholas returned it tenfold. “You seem well. And you’re already a week in. We need to catch up properly, Nico.”

“Definitely,” Nicholas said, meaning it. “If I can find some time between training, and you can find some time between bench pressing tree trunks, or whatever it is you do.”

Fuma pointed a steady finger at him. “I’m holding both of us to it.” 

He left Fuma with the promise to squeeze in a meal together one of these days and went back to Euijoo after acquiring a 16-pack of juice boxes from one of the large coolers.

The spot they had secured for themselves and their campers was toward the back of the audience. Just behind their heads a border of deep green trees dropped the scent of pine down onto them, the bottoms of their trunks wrapped in faerie lights that glowed a soft orange – for a bit more illumination when the sky lost the remainder of its light. 

Euijoo claimed these were the best seats in the house, and although Nicholas was skeptical about that at first – he was more of a front row seat kind of guy – he was starting to see his point. 

Since they were toward the top of the little incline, it gave them some elevation, like they were in a theater. All the people between them and the projector weren’t an obstruction this way. It felt open, like they could see everything in the whole field. 

A little girl was with Euijoo when Nicholas made it back into their section of space, stepping carefully around other blankets to reach them. Nicholas didn’t recognize her. She was younger and smaller than their campers. He spotted Harua nearby chatting with another female counselor, so maybe this girl was one of theirs. 

She sat in Euijoo’s lap while he helped her carefully string pieces of popcorn onto a clear line (i.e. he did it while her chubby little hands slapped offbeat rhythms against his wrists). It looked like a built-in arts and crafts activity. Nicholas recalled Sakura and her crew stopping by blankets and handing out those strings. He hadn’t known what they were for, but he guessed popcorn necklaces were the answer.

“Won’t it be fun to have a necklace you can eat, Emma?” Euijoo tried to crane around and see her expression.

Emma shook her head, and Euijoo’s nose scrunched when her pigtails slapped him harmlessly in the face. “No, Juju, I just want to eat it,” she denied in her little girl voice. It was really cute. 

“Did you find a way to suck the fun out of eating?” Nicholas inquired, lowering to his knees on the blanket next to them. 

Euijoo shot Nicholas an unimpressed look and didn't say anything back, eyes returning to his task. Emma’s eyes, however, lit up when she saw him. Well, when she saw what he was carrying. 

“Ooh, gimme, gimme.” She stretched for the apple juice box, causing Euijoo to miss the angle on the popcorn. It crumbled around his fingers as the string pierced it the wrong way. He sighed and picked the popcorn pieces out of Emma’s hair for her. Meanwhile, Nicholas pried the box away from her grabby fingers. “Wait, wait, let me put the straw in for you.” He tore off the wrapping and poked the pointed end through the little circle of aluminum, bending the straw up for her. “There you go.”

“Yay!” She took it, popped the straw in her mouth, and wriggled herself out of Euijoo’s lap. 

“Emma, your necklace.” She did a spectacular job of ignoring him, going a couple blankets away and plopping down with some other kids her age. 

Nicholas couldn’t help it. He laughed, even as he stood to go around and offer juice boxes to a few of their campers.

“It’s not funny.” 

“It’s a little funny.” Nicholas handed one to Clara and put the bag down near their shared blanket, deducing everyone was good for the time being. He sat back down, legs criss-crossed.

“I’ll wear it.”

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“No, seriously. Put it on me. It’ll be my statement piece for tonight.”

Euijoo scrutinized him out of the corner of his eye while Nicholas tried his best to appear genuine. He was, but he wasn’t sure he was good at looking it. It was apparently enough for Euijoo to believe him. He plucked another piece of popcorn from his bag. “It’s missing one piece.”

Nicholas sat and watched him work. He was hilariously invested – sporting a small frown, tongue poking out to the side. Nicholas didn’t know how long he watched him, but by the time Euijoo was rising up to walk over to him on his knees, he couldn't remember looking anywhere else.

“Okay.” Euijoo got in close to drape the creation delicately around his neck. Nicholas felt fingers at his nape as he tried to tie it, leaning in further to see around the back. A sweet scent wafted off his clothes, like vanilla or cinnamon, and instantly the memory of last night came to the front of his mind. Euijoo had said he liked things that smelled like you could eat them. Well, he definitely did. Whatever scent was filling Nicholas’ nose right now, it was legitimately like a cinnamon bun or something. 

Euijoo didn’t end up buying the candle (they weren’t allowed to burn them here anyway), so what was it then? Shampoo? Lotion? Body wash? He smelled like outside, too, because that’s where they were now – and where they were all the time – and that nature-y smell just stuck to your skin no matter what. Nicholas normally didn’t think anything of it. But right now, when it was mixed with whatever Euijoo had going on, it was all kind of a really nice combination. 

“Your hair’s a little damp.”

His voice sort of startled Nicholas out of his thoughts. He twitched but tried to keep still because Euijoo was still working. “Hm? Oh yeah, I just washed it.” 

Euijoo sat back, but his fingers stayed behind his neck, tightening the knot to ensure the plastic string didn’t come apart. Nicholas looked up so he wouldn’t be staring right at the collarbones peeking over the rounded neckline of Euijoo’s loose, dark grey t-shirt. Instead, he got an eyeful of how the faerie lights around the trees brushed gentle gold highlights along the edges of Euijoo’s hair, fluffy and soft-looking from an earlier wash and air dry in the humid summer air. This close, Nicholas also noticed the corner of his bottom lip was a little redder than the rest of it, like he bit at that spot a lot. Was it a nervous habit? A stress habit? He was kinda staring at his lips now. 

Even when Euijoo finally brought his hands to the front to adjust the popcorn necklace against Nicholas’ shirt, he was still staring, but at least Euijoo couldn’t know for how long.

“Voila.” 

The first thought that came to Nicholas’ mind and left his mouth was, “Matches the jorts.”

Euijoo snorted softly, shifting out of his space to return to his side of the shared blanket.  

Nicholas wanted to say something to him. Not anything in particular, just talk – maybe Euijoo had more random, out-of-left field questions for him like childhood hobbies or favorite foods, to go with his recently-acquired knowledge that Nicholas was a fan of Japanese animated movies. Unfortunately, the AV team picked that moment to start up the film. No previews, just straight into it. The amp system was impressive, and the sounds from the movie’s opening scene projected to them loud and clear. 

Nicholas laid back, pillowing his hands behind his head and breathing in the scent of salty food, heady pine and grass. Euijoo wasn’t so near he could pick up his scent within all that anymore, and moving closer just so he could didn’t feel right. Or allowed.

Euijoo moved the popcorn between them. 

Maybe twenty minutes into the movie, Nicholas got up again for another snack run. It was quick. He remembered where he saw the thing he wanted. He settled back down on the blanket in record time and poked Euijoo on the shoulder.

“What?” Euijoo whisper-talked around a mouthful of popcorn. Without a word, Nicholas held up the foil-covered sphere of chocolate in his hand. Euijoo spared a glance at it before moving his eyes back to the screen, chewing absently. “What’s that?”

“It’s chocolate.”

Euijoo stopped chewing for a second, eyeing it a second time. “Again?”

“Unmelted this time.”

“Why?”

“They’re shaped like little oranges, and you do have a borderline unhealthy obsession with them.”

Euijoo sighed, long and drawn out, and closed his eyes – like he should have expected this type of jab from Nicholas by now. 

And yeah, Nicholas thought. He probably should get used to it. 

“Thaaaanks,” he said dryly, turning back to the movie and taking the sphere-shaped candy from his hands. Their fingers brushed in the near dark.

“I have another question,” Nicholas said, pulling his hand away and curling it into a fist at his side.

“Yes, Nico.”

“Is Juju a nickname that’s on the table now, too?”

The response was instant. “No, it is not.”

“It’s what Emma called you.”

“It’s not for you.”

“But I like it.”

“No you don’t.”

“Juju.”

“Stop.”

“Juju, Juju, Juju,” he teased. 

Euijoo turned his head toward him, frowning. Even in the insufficient lighting the string lights provided, Nicholas could see the dark flush in his cheeks, and around his neck.

“Cut it out,” he snapped. “Are you one of my campers?”

“Shhhhhhhhhh."

Euijoo tilted his head back and to his left. “Sorry,” he whispered to no one in particular. 

Nicholas propped himself up and looked in the same direction. “Yeah, sorry. That was Juju,” he whispered. 

He was promptly hit with a handful of popcorn.

Chapter Text

☀️

Euijoo’s phone woke him up early – 6 ‘o clock on the dot like always. He felt around for it on the bedsheets by his legs where he’d purposefully left it the night before, instead of on the bedside table, so that the sound of it rattling against wood wouldn’t disturb any of the campers – or Nicholas. He clicked it off. 

In his experience, none of their campers had ever been fans of waking up early. Euijoo had come to learn that sentiment was also resolutely shared by his co-counselor. Absolutely no one in this room but himself was a morning person.

Which was really fun because it meant he got to rouse Nicholas for wake-up call as well, when part of the reason Nicholas was here was to help Euijoo wake the kids. In that way, he was like a kid himself. Twice as stubborn, in fact, but it was okay. Nicholas was a great deal of help with everything else; a fair trade-off in Euijoo’s opinion, since the immense sense of pressure and obligation he felt prior to Nicholas joining him on bunk duty – even prior to him starting work here – was noticeably less.

Euijoo sat up and briefly stretched his arms above his head before dropping them to his lap and taking a languid look around the room. The cabin was dim and the air was silent, still and warm, everyone else still fast asleep. His eyes fell on the lump atop Nicholas’ bunk on the other side of the room. 

They were four days into the first week of shared bunk duty, in which time Euijoo learned Nicholas had a deep-seated aversion to sunlight before a certain time of day. He liked to sleep completely buried under the covers so not even a smidgen of sunbeams could touch him before he was good and ready. Euijoo wondered if that distaste was recently reinforced thanks to the mild sunburn he’d gotten the other day at the lake.

The usual flush that stuck to his skin during the day hadn’t left once the sun had gone down, and by the next morning it was tender to the touch. Nicholas had complained about it while rubbing aloe vera gel onto the bright red skin of his lower arms and neck, to which Euijoo told him he’d done it all to himself by not prioritizing sunscreen. 

He did feel bad for him and his uncharacteristically cute pout, but in a messed up way, he was a good example for their campers. Euijoo was pretty sure he saw more of them than usual slapping the protective cream on without needing to be asked after noticing the way Nicholas would wince and adjust the collar of his shirt for the next few days. Or suck in air through his teeth when his arms touched something too roughly. Nicholas’ suffering had awarded them with a valuable teaching opportunity. 

Silver linings.

Euijoo pushed the sleeve of his light blue shirt up to scratch at his wrist. Probably to the shock of anyone who knew him, including Nicholas himself if he were conscious to witness it, Euijoo wasn’t following his same routine this morning. He figured he'd take some of that advice from Nicholas – which was really just the other man saying, none-too-sublety, that Euijoo had a stick up his ass – and deviate a little. Do something he wouldn’t normally do. Not fill his every waking moment with thoughts pertaining to his job (even though he loved his job) and instead engage in what some people might call self-care. Decompress. 

Not that he felt he was overly compressed in the first place. 

But anyway. 

He was going to take a walk around the campgrounds, maybe follow one of the paths down by the lake. Enjoy the fresh air and beginnings of a sunrise before swinging back around to the cabin. 

It was nothing too big, but there had to be a reason Yudai swore up and down by the healing powers of his morning runs. Euijoo assumed most of the credit was due to the scenic views of the camp and not to the act of running itself. Because who in their right mind would find running calming? Then again, Euijoo knew the Lead had done track and field throughout his middle school, high school and college years – voluntarily – so maybe he was one of those types that got sick kicks out of burning lungs and cramping calves, even if he wasn’t staring at birch trees and a crystalline lake while he got them. 

Go figure. 

Euijoo would still give the walk a go. He liked mornings, and not just because they gave him time to plan. He liked enjoying the world before everything woke up, while it was quiet and his mind was clear and answers that were hard to find during the chaos of the day came a little easier. He didn’t particularly love or hate nature but always tolerated it better when it didn’t turn the landscape into an oven. 

And maybe he also wanted to subvert expectations – other people’s and his own. 

He threw the covers off of himself and ducked into the bathroom to quickly change into some casual navy blue sweatpants that were a little better suited to walking outside than his sleep pants were. He didn’t bother switching out his top; just slipped on his sneakers and then he was carefully out the door. Nicholas was there for their campers if they needed anything immediately. Still, Euijoo planned to be back well before any of them stirred. 

Another thing he’d learned about Nicholas recently was not only did he not get up early, he was dead to the world right up until he needed not to be. Another thing he had in common with their campers. 

Euijoo’s sneakers crunched over the dirt path as he followed it through a trail in the woods. He breathed in the crisp morning air, savoring the only time all day it was this perfectly moderate, mildly cool temperature. One or two birds were up, but no other creatures like squirrels or chipmunks yet moved in the trees or in the underbrush. The lake came into view. This early it was still, or as still as it could be, moving in very soft ripples. When he stopped he could even hear that little bit of movement, lapping around the posts of the dock, it was that quiet. It was nice.

There were several trails cutting through the woods around camp, either to reach an activity site that had been carved out within them or to cut through to a different part of the camp if you didn’t want to take the long way around, but there were also some that weren’t used as often. These were more narrow and half covered with fallen leaves and pine needles, the woods trying to reclaim them. 

Euijoo followed one of these paths deeper into the woods, overgrown foliage scraping against the sides of his sneakers as he passed. At some point he realized this was the first time he’d seen any of this without either the company of kids or at least another staff member – like K, who had walked him through these trails when he was being trained. On his own, the scenery looked different somehow. Bigger. Prettier.

He wasn’t used to being up and not immediately running over a list in his head, but surprisingly, he found he didn’t care. He could pretend for a moment that he didn’t have any duties or obligations. Euijoo could feel some sense of peace settling over him as he breathed in the everywhere scent of pine mixed with dirt, reaching out a hand to absentmindedly trail a hand over the flat leaves of some plant that wound up a tree next to the trail. 

He could probably get used to doing this sometimes. His work was back in the cabin with the kids, and right now he was out here with himself, and those things could be separate. For a few moments he could let himself exist with the trees, and those two birds, and… and…

“Nicholas?!”

Euijoo’s voice cut loud through the tranquility of the morning. He was pretty sure a bird above their heads was stirred into flight because of it. 

All of that paled in relevance next to the fact that Nicholas was standing there, underneath what appeared to be a rustic-looking shower head. He was soaking wet. And naked. 

Well, partially. He had swimming trunks on, thank God. So at least Euijoo didn’t have to kick his day off with an HR nightmare.

But in summation, his co-counselor and trainee was not asleep under a bundle of covers back in the cabin. He was taking a shower in the woods. 

There went Euijoo’s peaceful morning stroll.

Nicholas turned to him, wiping water out of his eyes with his fingers. “Oh hey.” 

Oh hey?

Euijoo had questions (Why was he out here? Why was he wet if there was no water?), but none of them wanted to come forth and make themselves known. He’d seen Nicholas in a similar state before  – that is to say, wet . Just last week, in fact. At the lake. But this was different. One, he was sans shirt this time, which made a big difference even with the presence of trunks. And two, well, he was showering . 

“Hi,” he forced out, the one word being all he could manage. For what it was worth, his voice came surprisingly steady despite his suddenly clammy palms and dry throat. It might have had something to do with Nicholas’ peculiar state of calm, almost indifference, like it was the most normal thing in the world to be washing up in the woods. Not exactly out in the open but close. 

Nicholas transferred a tan bar of soap Euijoo hadn’t noticed to his left hand so he could comb his dripping bangs back with his right. That at least answered another question about where the translucent white suds currently collecting in the divots of his collarbones came from, which unfortunately had also shriveled up and died in Euijoo’s throat before he could ask it. 

“What are you doing out?” Nicholas asked him. “I thought in the mornings you went to the staff cabin and… meditated about your day or something.” 

First, wrong. He went to the staff cabin to strategize about his day thank you. But he wasn’t going to get into that. Besides, it didn't matter, since clearly he wasn’t in the staff cabin this morning. He was out here being scandalized. 

Second, Nicholas was asking him that? 

It took Euijoo a few seconds of opening and closing his mouth, but eventually words came.

“I was doing like you suggested and taking a calming walk before work. You know, loosening up. Remember?” Ironic. Now he was anything but loose. In fact, if he got any more rigid he’d probably get a charley horse. He was pretty sure it wasn’t good for his heart to be going like it was this early in the morning, thumping around in his chest like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. On six shots of espresso. See, this was what he got for deviating from a perfectly fine routine. “What are you doing out here?” The question sounded accusatory, but he kind of wanted it to. 

Nicholas blinked at him, like it was supposed to be obvious or something. A drop of water fell from his nose. “Showering?”

“In the woods?!”

“Is that okay? There’s still like an hour until the wake up call, right?”

Not the point, Nicholas. Not the point. “No, I mean–” Euijoo took a breath. “Why are you out here instead of using the one in the cabin?” 

Nicholas shrugged and made a noncommittal noise. “Thought this would be more fun? Plus, I know I take the longest to get ready. I didn’t wanna hold anyone up if they needed the bathroom since we’ve only got the one, even though I had to force myself to get up early to come out here. Which is terrible, by the way. I don’t know how you do it every day.”

To be honest, Euijoo wasn’t all the way listening to all of that, so when Nicholas stopped talking he had to spit something out in a hurry. Hopefully it made it seem like he was fully focused on the conversation instead of losing some of it to Nicholas’ damp collarbones. “But you showered last night?”

Really, it didn’t matter how many answers he got. It wouldn’t make this situation not be happening right now. It wouldn’t calm his heart down. The only way to do that would be to leave. Put as much distance between himself and his shirtless coworker as possible.

“Guess I run hot. Got a little stuffy last night,” responded Nicholas.

Ah, so the lack of cabin air conditioning struck again. Euijoo wondered if he could advocate for getting it installed at the next meeting; although, even if the camp did have the spare funds for that (not likely), he could name five other buildings that would get priority over cabin B029.

Something still wasn’t adding up. “How’d you even know this was out here?” Euijoo inquired, for the first time really looking up at the outdoor shower. It was attached to a plank of wood leaning up against the tree trunk, and it looked like it had endured many elements. The especially flat design of the showerhead was unlike any in the actual bathrooms. “It’s, like, ancient.”

Nicholas pursed his lips and twisted the spigot, angling a look at Euijoo when water came forth from the nozzles in a gentle stream. “Works fine.” He stepped back into the spray and proceeded to rinse the soap off, pushing his hair back in the process. Heavy with water, it reached the base of his neck, jet black and shiny. As he worked his fingers through it, Euijoo noticed he was still wearing the bracelet Harua had given him. And that his arms were still a little pink from the sunburn. It had to be that. He couldn’t imagine the water was that hot. 

“I remember these from when I used to go here.” Nicholas’ words drew Euijoo’s eyes to his face. Nicholas’ eyes were squeezed shut against runaway drops of water. “We used it then.”

Euijoo wouldn’t have thought it possible, but that revelation got him to forget about Nicholas’ semi-naked body for a moment. 

He gaped. “... What? You were a camper?!”

Nicholas was still nonchalant as ever, and it kind of made Euijoo want to scream. “Yeah. I went here at the same time as Fuma. We were really close. He was a few years older than me, obviously, but we had fun doing the dance workshops together. And I liked being in the talent shows with him.” 

“You didn’t tell me that!” Euijoo cried, and Nicholas cut the water off.

He swiped water from his eyes for the sole purpose of leveling Euijoo with a Look, putting a hand on the trunk behind him and cocking his hip. Oh no, don’t do that. Euijoo implored his eyes to stay on Nicholas’ face, which also proved to be its own challenge. His eyes were intense as always, if a little less intimidating these days, water dripping around them, wet hair stuck to skin and framing them in spikes. Just like last week at the lake, but also not at all the same. 

“You didn’t ask. ”

Euijoo didn’t want to do this right now. In fact, he physically couldn’t. Theoretically he had a retort, but it was too slow to process, his mind slug-like. So he focused his eyes on a lovely bird nest and instead blamed someone else. “Why wouldn’t Fuma tell me that?”

A beat. Nicholas wrung the ends of his hair out. The droplets pattered onto the leaves around his flip-flop clad feet. “Maybe he thought it’d be funny?”

That actually seemed far more plausible than Nicholas probably realized. 

“I’m going back,” Euijoo declared. “The campers aren’t supposed to be left unattended. If I would’ve known you’d be… we’ll discuss the timing if you want to do–” He gestured vaguely. “–this again.”

He then rigidly spun around and got to walking back. Nicholas’ voice called after him. “Sure. Sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” Euijoo assured quickly over his shoulder. “Just, y’know, warn me next time, and we’ll work around it.”

“Got it. I’ll let you know next time I’m going to take a shower.” Euijoo could hear the humor in his voice. 

And here he was getting ready to worry that Nicholas felt bad. 

Even though he was trying to avoid it at all costs, he spun back around. His punishment (or reward, I mean, it wasn’t a bad sight, objectively, okay?) was seeing Nicholas again. Water rivulets still trailing down his bare chest. An innocently teasing smile on his face. 

Euijoo felt his cheeks warming. From indignation, he was sure.

“You know what I mean!”

☀️

“Maybe calming morning walks aren’t for you.”

“I hate you.”

Nicholas breathed a laugh, because Euijoo didn’t say it with any real intent and he knew that. 

Nicholas looked over his shoulder at the campers gathered onto a bed at one side of the room, warily eyeing Euijoo’s inflamed red hand where it was nestled between both of Nicholas’ gloved ones. “EJ’s fine, guys. Just a little poison ivy.” Euijoo shifted in the desk chair they’d rolled over beside his bunk and lifted his free hand. Nicholas slapped it away before he could scratch. “No.”

Euijoo sighed and tapped his feet, looking around for something to distract himself from the itch. There wasn’t much. Wood walls and freaked out kids. “How do you even know how to do this?” 

They’d gone over basic first aid, but thus far no injuries had occurred that needed anything more than a band-aid. But when Nicholas finally asked to see his hand when they returned to the cabin after the evening activity, apparently having noticed the way Euijoo kept scratching at it throughout the day, and they’d deduced it was poison ivy (much to Euijoo’s chagrin), he set right to pulling out gauzes and salves and gloves like a practised medical assistant or something. 

“Learned it from this place.” He reached over to where the cherry red first aid kid was sitting open on the bed, several items splayed out around it. He held up a piece of paper with several lines creased into it from folding. “And from these instructions detailing poison ivy treatment.”

Euijoo snorted softly. “I still can’t believe that.”

“That I can read?”

Euijoo felt the urge to stick his foot out and kick him in the shin. So he did. Softly. 

“That you used to be a camper here.” He’d only just learned about it this morning, but with the usual busyness of the day, it couldn’t really settle in. He squinted at Nicholas as the other man squeezed ointment from a metallic tube onto the back of his hand, trying to picture him as a little kid in a Wolf Lake t-shirt – probably with dirty knees and even more unkempt hair. 

“Yeah, little Nico definitely fell into this stuff once every few weeks at least. Our counselors warned us what it looked like, but I guess that didn’t stop me. Or you.” He looked up at Euijoo through his bangs. They were soft and fluffy now, and they bobbed when he blinked. “Did you not know what poison ivy looked like?”

Euijoo frowned. “It’s not that I don’t know what it looks like. I wasn’t looking.”

“I think that was my excuse too.” Euijoo frowned harder. Nicholas smirked and Euijoo noticed the way his eyes dropped to his pout before continuing. “Anyway, they fixed me up so much I remember the basics like the back of my hand.”

He finished applying the salve to the back of Euijoo’s hand (har har) before turning it over to squeeze some more onto his palm, where the rash had also spread. Probably from all the absentminded scratching before Euijoo had known he had it. Nicholas’ hands were warm even through the latex, thumbs working small circles into his palm. Euijoo’s fingers twitched and curled at the ends but he didn’t close his fist. 

“I really can do this myself, so you don’t catch it.”

“Please. Poison ivy is afraid of me at this point.” Nicholas carefully plucked the precut strip of gauze from the bed and wrapped it snugly around Euijoo’s puffy hand several times. He secured it with two little metal fasteners and patted the back of his hand. “You’re all done.”

Nicholas stood and turned toward their captivated audience.

“Now guys, you don’t want to touch EJ’s right hand for the next week or so. He is very contagious,” he informed everyone with an unnecessarily dire tone, carefully removing the latex gloves. “You will turn into poison ivy if you do.”

Euijoo slapped him on the arm with his good hand as the kids gasped in horror. Except Lucas, who seemed to think that was “awesome.”

Lovely. Now he had a terribly itchy hand and he had to explain the laws of reality to children.

☀️

A knock on the door rocked Euijoo out of his sleep. He snuffled awake, eyes popping open to blink blearily at the dark ceiling. 

His immediate thought was, It’s not Monday already is it? , accompanied by a quick shot of anxiety. If someone had to come wake him up, that meant he’d seriously overslept somehow. But a quick tap on his phone screen dispelled that fear. It was still Sunday – barely even 8:30am in fact. 

The only thing keeping annoyance from flooding in to take its place over being jarred awake not even an two hours into his all day hibernation is that his coworkers knew it was his off day and therefore knew not to disturb him with anything work-related – the same courtesy all the counselors afforded each other. 

So someone knocking despite that either meant it was something so important it couldn’t wait, or it was a camper who had wandered away from their group. He couldn’t be mad at either of those things and both warranted attention. 

Euijoo flipped himself over without using his arms. He was barely half awake and floppy, but he stuck his leg though the covers to the floor and forced his noodly arms to push himself up with a vaguely animal-sounding grunt of effort.

There was some pressure in his hand from the fresh gauze wrapped tightly around it, but the skin underneath wasn’t currently itching. Much. He should stop thinking about it now.

He padded barefoot over to the door, but not before hitting his foot on the bedside table as he passed it, so when he yanked the door open he was hunched to the side like an elderly man with a hip problem. All the blinds in the room had been drawn for maximum cave-like effect, and he squinted against the sudden wash of sunlight like a dour cave bat. 

“Whoa. Good morning sunshine.” 

Euijoo’s features smoothed out immediately. He forced his eyes open all the way despite the ache from the sun to take in Nicholas. 

He was wearing a white shorts and shirt set with a small colorful splotch design that reminded Euijoo of the paint-splattered counters in the arts cabin. A black tee was under the open shirt, and a white bucket hat was on his head. The hair that peeked out at the top and around his nape was shiny and soft-looking. His knees and elbows were pink from the sun, but it probably wasn’t another case of sunburn – not with the way Nicholas caked sunscreen on lately. He was just an owner of pale skin that refused to tan but would blush like there was no tomorrow. 

Whereas Euijoo might’ve previously hoped his undoubtedly offputting appearance would deter anyone from talking to him longer than necessary, he suddenly couldn’t help but feel conscious of his appearance: puffy face, sleep-crusted eyes, rumpled hair, grey sweats that were too big for him, and a twisted shirt he subtly tried to fix. 

“Hi,” he said as he got his neckline to stop choking him a little bit. His voice was rough with sleep, so he cleared his throat. “I thought you were visiting the town with your sister today.” 

Already this was way more words than he usually spoke on his day off. 

“I was. I am.” Nicholas adjusted the black fanny pack slung across his hips. It lowkey made him look like he was set for a tour of the museum of natural history. A few beats passed. Nicholas looked down at the deck stairs, bit his lip. Euijoo watched the flesh around his teeth turn pale from it. “Sorry for waking you up. Just had something I wanted to tell you.”

“Okay.” This didn’t sound like a life-threatening emergency to Euijoo. If it was, Nicholas would've gotten to the point already. If it were anyone else he’d probably have closed the door in their face by now. But he didn’t. Instead he leaned in a little to hear what Nicholas was going to say. “And?”

“They uh, they’re serving waffles in the mess hall this morning.” Nicholas looked back up. 

Euijoo blinked. “Waffles.”

“Thought you might want to know. You could still get some before breakfast is over if you wanted to.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah. You said you liked them right?”

“I did say that.” If Euijoo strained his brain, cramped with activity schedules and a mental list of their campers’ allergies, he could maybe remember mentioning something about his preference for the breakfast dessert. Maybe. His mind had been all over the place. And anyway, he’d probably just been rambling when he’d said it. 

And that’s what you woke me up for? Euijoo didn’t say that. 

Why’d you remember that? He wanted to know, but he also didn’t say it. 

What he did say was, “Thanks for the heads up.”

Nicholas smiled, polite. Pleasant. “Yep. See you tomorrow.”

He left, and Euijoo closed the door. 

Nicholas had woken him up to tell him about waffles. He should be annoyed. Disgruntled at the least. 

But he wasn’t. Not even a little bit. 

🍓

“Put it back.”

Nicholas smirked, replacing the #1 Sister mug on the shelf. “I was just seeing if you were paying attention.”

His sister put down the pair of sunglasses she was trying on and came over to eye a line of snowglobes with little interest. “So how’s it going at the camp? You haven’t said much about it.”

“It’s good. It’s nice. Hot.”

She shot him an amused smile over the little glass spheres. “Good, nice, hot? That’s it? Why is it like pulling teeth with you to get real answers?” Nicholas rolled his eyes and kept coy, migrating over to a tall rotatable display of keychains. She was right on his heels. “How are the kids? What do you do during the day? How’s the food? Any bitchy coworkers?”

Nicholas gave her answers. The food was great. The kids were even better. He explained the best he could in his standard fifty words or less that every day was something different. Hikes, movies, obstacle courses, art, swimming, music, sports. It was never boring. Just like he remembered.

“No one’s a bitch,” he remarked. “There’s a brat. And a trouble-maker,” he added, a fond note to his voice.

“Which one’s the guy that’s training you? Jay?”

“EJ.”

She snapped her fingers. “That’s right. You said he was kind of a stick in the mud when you called that first week.”

“I don’t think I used that exact phrasing.”

“Might as well have.” She used one of her flower-stamped nails to comb a couple loose strands of hair out of her face. “Why? Is he not anymore? Did something change?”

“He can be sometimes, I guess.” Nicholas ran his hands over a line of silver-plated keychains, looking for his name around the cluster of N’s. He could usually find it. His mind switched to how it was probably nearly impossible for Euijoo to ever find his. Not here. Even ‘EJ’ didn’t seem like a common enough name to expect to see it. He looked for it anyway. “But that’s just because his job is really important to him. Which is a good thing. I wouldn’t want to learn from someone who doesn’t want to be there.” The keychains clinked between his fingers as he skimmed them up several rows. “But I think… yeah. He’s not as…” Nicholas paused. Boring? Plain? Those seemed too harsh. And inaccurate. “ Stick-like as he seems on the outside. Definitely not.”

“Just like you’re not as murdery as you seem on the outside?” she laughs, moving over to a display adjacent to where he stood to paw noncommittally through a row of glittery scarves. “So is he taking care of you guys’ campers by himself today while you’re off? Or do they assign someone to fill your spot?” 

“We have the same days off, actually. He’s probably still in his cabin sleeping.” 

Nicholas was brought back to this morning. Euijoo had looked half-dead to the world, but Nicholas had never seen anyone wear disheveled the way he did. Somehow someway Euijoo got sleep-squinted eyes and mind-of-its-own hair to work for him. Even fashioned it into something one might call endearing. 

Rudely, he was shaken out of the sun-tinted memory and totally scientifically-sound analysis by his sister materializing next to him and hitting him on the arm.

“Ow.” He clutched the spot and frowned at her. “You know I’m getting over a sunburn.” It didn’t matter that it had mostly been on his forearms, neck and face and not the bicep he was cradling. She didn’t need to know that. 

“You should’ve asked him to join us! I would’ve liked to meet him.”

What she didn’t know was that Nicholas almost had. That had been the main reason he’d gone to Euijoo’s cabin in the first place. Yes, also to tell him about the waffles. He’d had some this morning with strawberry syrup and those things had seriously hit. He saw why Euijoo rhapsodized about them now. But after that he had considered the possibility that maybe Euijoo wouldn’t mind accompanying him (and his sister) out for a bit. 

It would be a beneficial break in his routine. Nicholas could take it upon himself to borrow the unofficial role of being a helping hand for Euijoo, just like Euijoo was for him.

But then Euijoo had answered the door and Nicholas just… didn’t ask.

He rubbed his arm where it stung and frowned at his sister. “He likes resting on his days off, okay? And I don’t think he’d appreciate being hit by a crazy lady in a store.”

“I can restrain myself around a guest. Especially one that’s taking care of you.” She pet him on the head. 

He ducked away and smoothed his hair out, shooting her another withering look she just giggled at. “Maybe next time, huh?” 

Nicholas grunted. Suddenly he very much wanted to keep his sister and Euijoo far away from each other, and he didn’t exactly know why.

He removed his hat from where he’d stuffed it into his fanny pack, unfolded it, and pulled it pointedly back over his hair.

“Well, nothing to see here,” his sister announced. “Want to move on to the next store? I think there’s a little cafe around the corner?” She brought her phone up to check, the charm on top of the case clinking. 

“Yeah.” Nicholas touched his fingers to the ‘NICHOLAS’ keychain he finally found but didn’t have the urge to buy. It was mostly just about seeing if he could locate it, kind of like a find-it game. He rounded the vaguely cylindrical display to follow her to the door. As he did, he passed even more keychains on the other side. These weren’t names but random objects in miniature form. A little boba tea, a little cowboy hat, a little yellow chick. But one in particular caught his eye. “Actually hang on.”

She responded with an ok sign and leaned against the window by the door, nails clicking softly against her phone screen as she continued tapping away on it. 

Nicholas was already smiling as he swiped the keychain off the little hook and brought it to the front desk to pay for it.

☀️

Euijoo watched Nicholas flit around the room, stopping by different campers to straighten collars and costume jewelry, offering styling suggestions as he went. 

“Untuck it like this, it’ll look cooler.”

“Here, zip this up. And let’s fix the hood.”

“Add a hat, trust me.” 

They were in what used to be a costume room for when the camp was putting on plays. Euijoo had never witnessed one of the productions as apparently it had been several years since the last one, but it was obvious that time had passed. 

Spacious as this room was, there were so just many things packed into it. Like a graveyard for costumes. There were racks and racks of old clothes, shoes lined against the wall, several sewing machines, and a multitude of clear bins filled to the brim with fabrics, threads and everything under the sun to help put an outfit together; or to DIY something from scratch. 

The kids had been between here and the Arts cabin all afternoon, creating their own custom fashion pieces. Now it was nearing the end of the day, dinner had wrapped up, light was leaking from the sky and turning it into a dark cobalt, and the kids were getting ready to model what they’d made.

It was a joint night activity with them and several other groups. The modest audience consisted of other counselors and their campers. A makeshift runway had been set up and everything – nothing more than a long roll of red fabric lined on either side by lanterns. It was cute. Intimate.

Last Euijoo saw, Harua was controlling the radio. He could hear his current mood music of choice, Madonna, filtering through the cracked door. 

Their group had the last turn in the room before things got started, and they were also going first. Nicholas had taken it upon himself to conduct outfit checks for everyone. 

Euijoo had never seen him quite so vibrant about an activity. He was always pleasant with the kids and engaged in what they were doing, but this was different. He was almost giving cheery. Like he was one of the kids himself. Just as excited as they were. 

Maybe a little more than they were. 

“Everyone okay?” Euijoo asked the room, noticing some of their expressions were not as enthused as they had been when they started. No one spoke at first, until one of the girls, Kimi, raised her hand from where she was sitting on top of one of the tables.

“We don’t look as good as the other groups,” she admitted with so much sad honesty on her face it was mildly heartbreaking. “We won’t beat them.”

“Aw, you guys,” Euijoo went over to her and smoothed her hair down consolingly, looking around at everyone else. “It’s not a competition, okay?”

“And what are you talking about? All of your outfits are great!” Nicholas piped up, in the middle of helping fasten a sequined bowtie to Rory’s shirt. “It’s not a competition like EJ said, but if it were , you’d definitely win.”

Their words didn’t seem to have the desired effect. Their room suddenly seemed like it had been leeched of a considerable amount of light and spirit, whether or not all of them had shared Kimi’s sentiment. Nicholas seemed to notice, too. He finished with Rory and got up from his knees, surveying the area with his hands on his hips.

“Tell you what. EJ and I will go out there with you.” 

Euijoo felt his eyebrows hike up to his hairline. Wait a minute, he didn’t agree to that. His plan had been to conjure up an inspirational speech of some sort. Something along the lines of believing in yourself and not caring what other people think. That would’ve worked. Still, he couldn’t exactly shoot Nicholas down in front of them. 

“Really?” Rory asked. Euijoo didn’t like how most of them already seemed to like the idea. Kimi was looking up at him with sparkly, expectant eyes now. 

“Yeah. With us as your models, the other kids will have to see that the outfits you guys made are cool because two cool guys are wearing them,” Nicholas continued confidently.

Euijoo could've protested that notion, but it was too late. A switch had been flipped. The light had brightened in several of their campers’ eyes and before Euijoo knew it, they were both being ushered over to the picked-over racks of clothes and opened bins of accessories. So he accepted his fate.

It really wasn’t a good idea letting the kids just pick things at will. If he accepted everything they threw at him he wouldn’t be able to move much less walk, but he tried to take on as many items as possible to appease most of them. 

Of course the result was less fashion and more like a craft store reject bin threw up on him.

Funnily, the kids lost interest quite quickly after doing this to him – casually committing clothing crimes and going on about their evening. 

Nicholas seemed to have fared better than he had, even though objectively he looked just as crazy. Pants that were too long for him – and purple – a checkered belt, a fluffy scarf, several ties, too many shirts, a whale (?) necklace, a pair of gloves, and a fluffy bucket hat such an offending shade of hot pink it burned Euijoo’s retinas. And even with all of that, Nicholas didn’t look like he wanted to die in his getup, which made him look alright somehow. Against all odds and contrary to what should be possible. 

Meanwhile, Euijoo tried and failed not to catch his reflection in one of the full-length mirrors leaning against the walls around the room. 

He knew Maki was out there with his camera. This was definitely an event that warranted a lot of photos for the camp website, being fun and wacky and one of the times several groups came together. 

He made peace with the fact he was going to go out there looking like a closet monster. Maybe he wouldn’t even be that recognizable with the several hats on his head and the cat-eye grandma glasses. 

Nicholas put down the bowl of glitter he had been using to help one of their campers stencil a design onto her skirt and made his way over. He took one look at Euijoo’s expression and laughed – one of his deep, jumpy ones that were as unexpected as they were contagious. 

“Don’t look so defeated!”

Euijoo sighed. “It’s fine.”

Nicholas tilted his head and walked around him, his smile going soft and amused. He might’ve been thinking of tweaks he could make to his outfit like he had been doing with the campers, so Euijoo stopped him right there.

“I don’t know what kind of credentials you have in this area, but not even you could fix this.” 

Nicholas shrugged. “A couple fashion design courses in college. One winter being hyperfixated on learning to sew.” He stopped in front of Euijoo and gave his terrible fit a once-over. “But mostly just an eye for these things.”

Euijoo truly had nothing to lose, so he let him have a go at it.

Nicholas stared a long while, so long that Euijoo started getting a little antsy. He wasn’t thrilled about being perceived in this state, much less intensely scrutinized. Finally, Nicholas stepped closer, reaching for the right strap of his overalls. “Unclip this. Off the shoulder will look cooler.” 

To Euijoo, cool seemed too ambitious an adjective to be aiming for, but okay. 

Nicholas unfastened the buckle and the denim drooped on one side. Nicholas arranged it so, Euijoo guessed , it fell more artfully across his front, but he couldn’t imagine it made much of a difference. 

But apparently Nicholas wasn’t done. He squinted at his feet.

“Are you wearing two different kinds of socks?”

“Underneath the cowboy boots? Yes. Yes I am.” They hurt like a bitch, too. The boots, not the socks. Those only hurt emotionally.

“That’s fine, we can work with it. Embrace the chaos. That’s the theme.”

No, the theme was probably Got in A Fist Fight with the Sesame Street Gang, but fine.

Nicholas spent the next few minutes picking over his outfit, fluttering around him like a fashion-forward hen. He removed several of the clunky plastic bracelets from his wrists – leaving mostly bangles and stretchy ones with multicolored beads behind – as well as all of the hats on his head, whispering that the kids wouldn’t even notice they were gone. He took a pair of scissors and frayed the edges of the overall shorts. Found some random buttons and stuck them to the front of the overalls – a peace sign, a smiley face, an old boy scouts pin, another with a tree on it that told him only he could prevent forest fires. 

He rolled the weirdly flowy short sleeves of Euijoo’s striped shirt into something tank top-like. Adjusted his mismatched calf-high socks so that one was shorter than the other. Switched the grandma glasses out for a pair of thick round brown ones that might have belonged to a grand pa , but it was less obvious.

In between it all, Nicholas even made modifications to his own clothes. He pulled one arm out of the sweatshirt he was wearing – it had a glittery deer on the front – and pushed the extra fabric up on one shoulder. He tucked one of the undershirts into the waist of his pants and tightened the checker belt. He took a few of the ties from around his neck and tied them into his belt loops instead. 

He cuffed the ends of his pants and cut holes into the fingers of his gloves, giving one to Euijoo to wear over his bandaged right hand. He slid a few of Euijoo’s leftover bracelets onto his own wrists and traded Euijoo his light blue scarf. He even took the cat lady glasses Euijoo had been wearing, with its deep purple, bedazzled frames, and placed them over his own eyes. 

“Matches the pants,” Nicholas said when Euijoo gave him a dubious look. The silver chains that hung from the sides swung distractingly.

Euijoo looked at both of them in a mirror.

They both still looked crazy. 

But maybe a little less sloppy at least.

If Nicholas knew that, he didn’t seem to care. He grinned at their reflections. “I just remembered something. Wait here. I’ll be right back.” 

He left the room, and Euijoo wandered over to the nearest table. He dropped onto a stool, feeling physically weighed down by the amount of stuff he was wearing, and took to watching the campers for a while. They fawned over their own outfits and added their own finishing touches, seeming completely revitalized, and Euijoo couldn’t help but smile at them. 

He was alone like that for about a minute before Josie and Megan came bounding over to him, colorful hair ties and a silver tin of something in their small hands. “Can we do your hair and makeup?”

Oh boy.

So when Nicholas returned it was to Euijoo with a messy tuft of a ponytail sitting directly on top of his head and a frankly obscene amount of blush spread in a jagged line across his nose and cheeks. 

Their eyes met and Euijoo didn’t say a word. 

“You know what? I think it works for you.” 

“Shut up.” Euijoo put his hands over his face. At this point all he could do was find it funny. 

Nicholas tried to reassure him even though he was clearly holding back laughter, too. “No seriously. And this will tie it together.” He stooped to clip something through the front loop of Euijoo’s overall shorts. 

It was a keychain. The round charm had a little weight to it as it tapped against his hip. Euijoo picked it up when Nicholas moved back. “What is this?” He squinted at it, and promptly rolled his eyes and dropped it. It was a damn tangerine, with a little green leaf painted on the top and everything. “Never gonna let up, are you?”

“Maybe not,” Nicholas grinned, looking too happy with himself.

“I regret sharing anything with you.”

“Why? It’s perfect. It represents you.”

“You think my personality can be boiled down to a fruit?”

“Course not. Fruits don’t have personalities,” he answered smartly, earning a dry stare in return. “But I think if I had to choose an accessory that fit, this is it. I saw it in some shop in town the other day and immediately thought of you.”

Euijoo wanted to be put off, but he could admit (to himself and himself only) that he did inadvertently think of Nicholas yesterday whilst picking over the strawberry slices in his fruit salad. But for his sanity he could argue that was because Nicholas had been sitting right there across from him at the time, eating a chicken quesadilla and listening to Yuma recount a frankly not meal-appropriate tale about how he and his campers had encountered a cannibalistic lizard that day. On the other hand, Nicholas was in town and saw this and thought of Euijoo. Randomly. 

Between this and the Ponyo thing he was going to have to find new likes and interests and then keep them to himself.

Nicholas grabbed a stray stubby No. 2 pencil from the table. The tangerine keychain still had a tag attached to it. When Nicholas took it into his hand again, Euijoo saw it was one of those To: From: tags. Nicholas leaned down and scribbled something quick onto it. When he moved away, Euijoo looked again. 

By: Nico 🖤

“So people will know who styled you,” he explained once he saw Euijoo’s quizzical glance. “It’s an… interesting OOTD, but you can pull it off.”

“You don’t have to lie,” Euijoo deadpanned, but Nicholas shook his head, glancing off to the side and rolling the pencil in his hand. 

“People with cute faces can make anything work.”

Euijoo’s mind stalled, and then kickstarted after about a three-second delay. “It’s… not me, it’s the blush.” 

It was all he could think to say to not have to directly acknowledge Nicholas’ sentence. He probably didn’t even mean anything by it. He’d said it so flippantly, so off-handed. Euijoo called Harua cute at least three times a week. Which was true; although, Euijoo mostly did it because it ticked Harua off.

Anyway.

“Um, that reminds me.” Euijoo gestured to the open tin on the table. He was not going out looking like Ronald McDonald alone. “Your turn.”

Despite some initial vocal gripes, Nicholas sat obediently on the stool and removed his glasses as Euijoo took up the comically big makeup brush the girls had left with him. He had no idea how to apply any makeup, let alone blush, so he just swirled it around in the tin and slapped it on like they had. Everything about the two of them screamed done by kids anyway, so Euijoo was sure no one would be able to tell the difference. 

Nicholas kept still as the brush passed across the bridge of his nose, scrunching his face when little plumes of rosy dust kicked up from the soft bristles. He was so fair that the color was instantly vibrant, sticking to his skin like a cosmetic sunburn. Euijoo guessed he could see the appeal of makeup and why people took time to do it. It was kind of fun. Like painting a tapestry. 

Without thinking Euijoo used his free hand to tilt Nicholas’ chin up so he could get the apples of his cheeks better, dumping blush onto them with no skill or precision – just until they looked as feverish as Euijoo’s did. 

He didn’t realize the pads of his fingers were pressed into the soft underside of Nicholas’ chin until he felt him swallow, and then he removed them like he’d been singed. Nicholas was looking at him, his eyes round and soft around the edges. 

“All done,” Euijoo announced, leaning out of his space. He didn’t know when he’d gotten so close. 

“How do I look?” Nicholas asked airily, fiddling with the glasses in his lap.

“Like you might be coming down with something,” Euijoo answered honestly, the plainness in his tone making Nicholas snort. But the mirth on his face was soft, quieter than before.

They stuck some holographic stickers onto their faces because according to Nicholas accessories helped (at this point Euijoo didn’t think anything would help) and called it a day. Not before Nicholas found a bandaid from somewhere and pressed it across the bridge of Euijoo’s nose for him, as a “finishing touch.” It had lemons on it. Euijoo had a feeling he knew what fruit design he would’ve picked if it were there.

In something like retaliation, Euijoo found some rubber bands in an accessories bin and tied them around the longish ends of Nicholas’ hair, creating two mini ponytails at the base of his neck. It was supposed to incite a reaction, but Nicholas checked a mirror and claimed he liked them, so all Euijoo really got out of it was the knowledge that his hair was indeed as silky as it always looked. 

Before they knew it, it was time to start the show, and they were up. Together Nicholas and Euijoo ushered their campers out the back door and gathered them behind the curtain (spare bedsheets), hidden from direct view of the waiting audience.

“Remember. Your number one weapon is confidence,” Nicholas told them, like they were about to walk on Project Runway for a chance to make or break their careers instead of for a carefree, nonjudgemental camp activity. 

“And just have fun,” Euijoo reminded them gently.

The announcer, who happened to be K, introduced their group in a way that gave wrestling match more than runway, but what did Euijoo really know?

He and Nicholas helped file each of the kids out in intervals, making sure the previous camper made it all the way down and stepped off to the side before sending the next one.

Of course their insecurities were all inside their little heads. Each one of them received the same enthusiastic level of applause and cheers, and thankfully they seemed to be having fun. 

“And that wraps up EJ and Nico’s group of campers. Let’s hear it one more time for them,” they heard K say into his microphone. Nicholas poked his head around the curtain as another round of applause went up. “Now we–” K’s voice cut off when Nicholas started signaling at him. Euijoo stuck his head out over Nicholas’. K’s surprised eyes trailed over their getups, and he caught on quickly. “Oh.” He aborted a laugh into the mic, the sound amplified across the area. “ Oh. Okay, wait. There’s still two more models for this group, and we– yeah. Here we go.” K covered his mouth and waved at them to go ahead. He twisted on his stool and motioned to Harua to turn the music back up. 

He and Nicholas ducked back behind the curtain and faced each other. Nicholas motioned to the slit in the sheets, where murmurs from the crowd filtered through. “After you.” 

Euijoo started. “Wait a minute, why do I have to go first? You go first.”

“This is originally your group. Your campers,” Nicholas stated simply. “Go. Represent.”

Oh no, he wasn’t getting off like that. 

“They’re just as much your campers as they are mine.”

Nicholas’ eyebrows lifted, but not enough to get past the rims of the granny glasses. “Really.” 

“Yes, and anyway you’re the one who used to be a camper. You’re a Wolf Lake alum. You represent.” Euijoo tried to usher him though the curtain, but damn if Nicholas didn’t have strength on him. He pushed back and side-stepped, quickly reversing their positions. 

“You’ve been a counselor longer.”

Nicholas may have been stronger, but Euijoo was taller and ganglier, and he used those things to his benefit, planting his feet and flopping backwards so he couldn’t easily be budged. Nicholas grunted. 

“What happened to all that talk about confidence, huh?” Euijoo argued when he felt his feet start to slip over the dirt. Damn cowboy boots. “I knew you secretly thought we looked ridiculous. ‘Couple of fashion courses’ my ass.” 

Nicholas laughed and gave up, catching Euijoo before he lost his balance and fell back onto the ground. “A bunch of nine and ten year olds dressed us. Of course we look ridiculous! You know what? We’re going together.” 

With that, he hooked his arm though Euijoo’s and dragged him through the space in the sheets before he could object any more. 

It wasn’t an overly big gathering. Just the six other groups of campers and their counselors, all sitting or standing in the grass down by the end of the fabric runway. It was quiet at first, nothing but the lyrics to Vogue , and then the audience erupted with noise from counselors and campers alike. There was clapping and whooping and maybe a little bit more laughter than the kid models had received, but all of it felt welcoming and supportive, if a bit (okay, a lot) teasing. Someone wolf-whistled. 

K was absolutely losing it over there in his seat, the microphone picking up his uproarious laughter even though he had the courtesy to hold it away from his face.

And then there was Maki with his particularly heartfelt yell of, “Ohhh my god!” followed by several rapid-fire shutter clicks. Even Harua was grinning from his spot beside K, shaking his head and turning the radio up more.

Nicholas looked up at him, the light of the lanterns reflecting in his eyes. “Shall we?”

Fuck it.

Euijoo couldn’t tell you exactly what he did, but he just followed Nicholas’ lead. At first it was embarrassing, but not enough to really matter. They strutted, they struck poses, and they laughed at themselves with everybody else. Euijoo had no idea what he looked like, but he was sure Maki was going to be more than happy to show him later. 

At some point Euijoo spotted their own campers down at the front watching them. They were clapping and jumping up and down and falling over in laughing fits.

“This is the best thing ever!” Jesse, one of the boys, screamed.

Euijoo felt something warm in his chest as Nicholas reached for his hand and together they took several theatrical bows. It felt like he was in the middle of one of those moments, one of those memories he always collected from this place by the end of the summer, that he’d look back on for a long time.

☀️

Euijoo joined Fuma over on the sidelines after all the groups finished and the main area turned into a makeshift place to mingle to the background music of Let’s Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire. (Man, Harua was on it tonight.) Euijoo was pretty sure Fuma hadn’t been here in the beginning, but as someone without a set group of campers and no ropes courses to facilitate during the evenings, he must have wandered up at some point during. 

“You’ve been keeping things from me,” Euijoo said, sidling up beside him.

“I could say the same.” Fuma trailed an amused eye down his attire. “I didn’t know you were a model now.”

Euijoo chose to ignore that, looking forward and trying to look as dignified as he could in mismatched socks and a neon scarf. “I meant like how you and Nico apparently go way back.”

“Ah.” Fuma looked back toward the milling crowd too. “So you found out.”

“ Yes . In a very unorthodox way.” He realized he did not want to elaborate on that, so he ignored Fuma’s curious stare. “Don’t ask.” They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, watching a few kids chase each other around in the dark while a slight, warm breeze pushed the scent of honeysuckle into their faces. “Any reason you didn’t tell me? Or include it in that really informative text message from Nico’s first day?” 

Not that it was professional information Euijoo should have been privy to, but it still felt like something Fuma would mention. At some point before now, at least. 

Fuma angled a clandestine smile at him. “Guess I thought it’d be kind of funny.”

Euijoo’s mouth dropped open. “My god, that’s exactly what Nico said.”

“So he did tell you himself?”

“Yeah?”

“Then that’s good.”

As opposed to what? Hearing it from someone else who knew? Which was probably only K. Euijoo didn’t know why that would matter. He gave Fuma a side eye but opted to watch Nicholas interacting with some of their campers over by the lanterns instead of prying. Nicholas was showing them how to strike model poses, and they tried to mirror him. It was simultaneously diverting and impressive that the poses looked unironically legitimate on him.

“Do you know why I asked him to come try his hand at being a counselor?”

Euijoo glanced over. Apparently Fuma was watching them, too.

“Because you guys made such a good dance team?”

That surprised Fuma into turning to him fully. “He told you that?”

“Yeah,” Euijoo confirmed, a little pleased he’d caught him off guard with something for a change. “I hope you know I expect to see a routine one day.”

“Hm,” Fuma hummed, deep and contemplative, a reflective smile on his face as he stared at a spot on the grass. “I spent a lot of time with Nico. Back then there were joint groups like this more often. There would be three or four groups doing activities together several times a week. Nico always took them seriously, even though he was so young.”

“You mean dance?”

“Yes. But also everything. You wouldn't think an eleven-year old would go through a dozen sheets of paper just to make the perfect paper airplane that could actually make it across a room, right? They would get bored or frustrated before that. But Nico did. He did a lot of things like that. He just always wanted to do better and be better, all the time. I can’t remember all the things we used to talk about as kids at this point, but I remember that. And I remember thinking how unusual it was for someone his age to be like that, even though I wasn’t much older.” 

Euijoo looked back across the area, observing Nicholas and their campers and trying once again to picture him at their age; this time also trying to imagine him as the kind of kid Fuma was describing. 

“And then when we both aged out and he went back to Taiwan for a while and I stayed here, we still kept in touch. I’d check in with him from time to time, and it was so easy to see those same tendencies were still there, even stronger, in everything he was pursuing. He’s honestly one of the most driven people I’ve ever met. But what I especially like about him is he never lets the insane kind of focus and ambition that he has make him cold or detached. He uses it to help other people. Drive them and motivate them too.”

Euijoo was so caught up in what Fuma was saying that when the other man nudged him he wasn’t expecting it. “Kind of like you.” Euijoo blinked at him a few times, surprised. Fuma smiled. “I told you I thought you two might get along. Eventually. Not just because you’re the same age, but because you have that in common.”

Back across the way, Nicholas exploded into laughter, and they looked back in time to see him giving several kids hi-fives. Not all of them were a part of his and Euijoo’s regular group. 

“You’re both the kind of people to instill positive values into a whole new generation of campers.”

Euijoo felt himself smile. 

☀️

A week later, Euijoo asked Nicholas to hang back after the staff meeting. 

“You need to take a photo for your ID,” he explained as the last person left the cabin, the door swinging closed behind them.

“Wouldn’t that be Maki’s job?” Nicholas asked, but he followed Euijoo over to the counter, hands stuffed into the pockets of his navy hoodie.

Euijoo pulled a digital camera out from one of the drawers and glowered at him. “I can click a button.” Nicholas smiled as Euijoo closed the compartment with his hip and turned the camera on. “Anyway it’s better I do it. Tell Maki you want a picture for something, he’ll take ten and then make you choose one even when they all look the same.”

“He’s just passionate.”

“That’s one word for it,” Euijoo mumbled, clicking through the device’s settings, but he agreed. And thanks to his talk with Fuma, he now knew Nicholas also knew a thing or two about being passionate about something. Or several somethings.

“So, wait a minute, does this mean I passed or whatever?” Nicholas asked, freeing his hands to fold his arms on the countertop. 

“Yes, Fuma gave me the go-ahead. You’ve been here just about a month. The training period is over. Well…” Euijoo turned to look at the large calendar hanging on the wall behind him, situated underneath several of the camp’s official plaques. “It will be over four days from now. So long as you don’t do anything heinous between now and then or decide you want to quit. We figured we’d get the ball rolling.”

With that, he held the camera up, looking at Nicholas expectantly. 

“This feels very unceremonious,” Nicholas commented. 

Euijoo regarded him around the side of the camera. “What, did you want a cake?”

Nicholas’ mouth curled, slow and indolent, but he didn’t retort. He straightened up and leisurely adjusted his hoodie. Euijoo centered the camera again.

“Smile. Or don’t, if you don’t want to. Ready?”

Nicholas nodded. “Yeah. No. Wait.” He stepped a few paces to the left so he could see into the glass of the vending machine, treating it like a mirror while he used his fingers to tousle his hair around. After a few moments of that, he stepped back in front of Euijoo. “Ready.”

Euijoo looked into the viewfinder, and Nicholas smiled. 

It was a simple smile, understated, no teeth. It lifted his eyebrows gently, and rounded his cheeks just slightly. It opened his eyes up more, the lights from the vending machine and lamps over in the sitting area casting a glossy mix of blue and yellow over their curves. It was the kind of expression that softened Nicholas’ whole face beyond what Euijoo had seen before. He looked not plain, or teasing, or humored, but especially sweet. And kind. And pre…

Something in Euijoo’s chest clenched, not painfully.

He pressed the shutter button. The camera clicked quietly. Euijoo still wasn’t sure if his heart had resumed beating. The camera stored the photo away and readied to take another one, the brief still shot replaced with his live image once more. Euijoo watched as Nicholas’ expression slowly faded the longer Euijoo didn’t move or say anything.

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah,” Euijoo said softly, but he hadn’t exactly checked it. Nicholas noticed.

“Well how’s it look?” he asked, stepping closer. “Do we need to do another?”

“Here.” Euijoo clicked a few buttons distractedly, bringing the photo up on the screen and quickly handing the camera to Nicholas. He scratched at the gauze on his right hand, even though it didn’t itch anymore. “Do you like it?”

Nicholas observed it for a moment and then shrugged. “Yeah,” he replied in a tone that said he didn’t really feel one way or another about it. He held the camera back out to him, and Euijoo carefully took it from his hand. “It’s just an ID photo, right? You like it?”

Yes.

“Does it matter what I think? You’re the one who has to wear it.”

“You’re the one who has to look at it.”

“Ugh.” In a way, Euijoo was grateful. At least this – the back-and-forth – was starting to feel familiar; something unique to the two of them. It was reassuring. Especially considering there was once a time when he’d thought the only thing that would be unique to them were awkward, stilted conversations. He leaned into the familiar and let it distract him from whatever foreign thing had cropped up just now. “It's a very cute picture. Happy?”

Unexpectedly, Nicholas scowled like he’d just witnessed someone kick his cat across the room. “No. I’m not cute.”

That was ironic coming from someone who had arguably the cutest-sounding nickname of all the counselors. And from someone who did a fair amount of cute things in his day to day life. Euijoo could think of examples, but he was not about to list them out to Nicholas. 

“Okay, fine. Wait here.” He left the camera on the counter and turned to head into the back room where they kept miscellaneous items that couldn’t fit in the main room without cluttering it. Euijoo hoisted up a translucent bin from the floor by the entryway and brought it back out to Nicholas. “It’s time for the most important question. What color do you want your lanyard to be?” 

He placed the bin on the counter and removed the top with a series of clicks, revealing a collection of lanyards in a wide variety of colors and shades, all with empty plastic ID-holders attached and the words Camp Wolf Lake stitched along their lengths. 

Nicholas only picked around inside for a few seconds before extracting a pink one the color of bubblegum.

Euijoo was suddenly reminded of his strawberry phone case and chuckled.

Nicho scrunched his brows, a cautious smile slowly growing on his lips. “What?”

Euijoo shook his head. He took the lanyard and wrapped it around his hand, placing it in a neat bundle in a drawer along with the camera, where they’d stay overnight. “You’re just full of surprises.”

He guessed he shouldn’t let things like this surprise him anymore – not when it came to Nicholas. 

Nicholas liked pink. He also liked black. Nicholas liked Studio Ghibli and Howl’s Moving Castle and Calcifer. He liked headache-inducing floral scents and seemed to enjoy strawberry things an above-average amount. Nicholas had attended this camp when he was younger. He knew more about it than Euijoo probably did. He liked dancing and had performed in talent shows with Fuma. He had enough interest in fashion to take a couple classes and buy a sewing machine. He had offered Euijoo chocolate not once but two times. He was quiet but not shy. Soft-spoken but opinionated. Teasing but not mean. Looked like he could kill you but actually probably wouldn’t. 

Euijoo had known him just long enough to realize he was an interesting book with something new on every page. And that first day they’d met, when Euijoo very dramatically worried that his summer might’ve been ruined, he’d simply been the cover of that book. A month ago he couldn’t look at Nicholas and see all the things he did now. A month ago, he didn’t care the way he did now about all the things he couldn’t see but wanted to know. 

Working here, Euijoo always learned something new about kids, for which he was grateful. Somehow this summer, working with Nicholas, he felt like he was learning all kinds of new things. Including things about himself.

“Is that good?” Nicholas asked, looking mildly worried.

Euijoo shrugged, blinking himself out of his thoughts. “Surprises are surprises.”

“That’s cryptic. I shouldn’t expect you to call another emergency bush meeting with someone, should I?”

“The picture is ugly, actually. But I'm not giving you a chance to retake it. You’re just going to have to walk around with it for the rest of the summer.” 

Nicholas didn’t look like he believed him. Of course. Because Euijoo didn’t believe it. 

“You know, everybody says you’re this nice guy, but you’re actually pretty mean, Euijoo. Had me fooled for a while.”

Euijoo stilled, lips parting in surprise. He stared silently at Nicholas long enough for the other man’s teasing smile to start fading. “What?”

“You called me Euijoo.”

“Oh.” Nicholas’ smile dropped all the way. “It’s outside of the regular work day, I thought– I don't have to call you that.”

“No, it’s fine,” Euijoo said hurriedly. “It is my name.”

Nicholas visibly relaxed, body language loosening. “Okay. Good.”

“I’ll get these to the administrative building first thing in the morning. I’d say your ID should be ready by this upcoming Monday.”

“Great, thanks. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Nicholas turned to go, and Euijoo slid the bin off the counter to return it to the back room. He crouched to place it on the ground and stayed there a moment.

He slid a hand over his chest. The feeling in it was similar to the one he got when he was anxious, but not quite. It was softer than that. It fluttered around in the spaces between his ribs, tickling them; instead of knocking against them and cracking bone. And it sharpened and swelled when he pictured the way Nicholas had smiled for the camera, or the way Nicholas had said his name, or the way Nicholas…

Euijoo fisted his hand into the material of his pullover. 

Oh look, another surprise.

Chapter Text

☀️

The only recollection Euijoo had of Fourth of July the next day was treating at least a dozen mosquito bites, one teenager getting a mild burn from a sparkler, Maki eating too many hotdogs, Yuma stepping on an anthill, a fly landing in the potato salad, Fuma carrying a whole foldable table under one arm like it was nothing, and Euijoo teaming up with Harua to chase down (and briefly get chased by ) a raccoon that stole an entire bag of hamburger buns off a table.

All of that paled in comparison to the fact that Nicholas looked really nice whenever he laughed and his teeth showed. When Euijoo found himself engaged in a brief tug of war with said raccoon over dominance of the buns, Nicholas had thrown his head back to the sky, the dancing white fire of the sparkler in hand lighting up the planes of his face. 

Anyway. 

So, Yuma.  

Yuma was a chill guy.

Yuma wasn’t one to particularly care if one of his rare mornings not on bunk duty happened to get disrupted. Not like, well, not like Euijoo would care. Because Yuma wasn’t like Euijoo. He was the type to embrace the unexpected, welcome it with open arms. Go with the flow.

Still, when he opened the door and his face slackened in surprise at seeing Euijoo standing on the deck of his cabin, Euijoo quickly handed him his can of bribery coffee and started speaking a mile a minute, trying to get everything out in one fell swoop just in case Euijoo caught him on a morning he didn’t want to deal with anything. He fired off the important points. It was Nicholas’ birthday, Euijoo was setting up a surprise for him in the staff cabin, and could Yuma please, please, please go help Nicholas watch their campers for a bit while he did that? Please?

“I’ll take you out for real coffee soon. Buy you anything you want,” Euijoo concluded his offer in a rush, clasping his hands together when Yuma didn’t answer right away. “Please?” 

He needn’t have worried, because Yuma agreed to it right away, the corner of his mouth tilted up in amusement. Good old Yuma. Euijoo surged forward to envelop him in a quick hug.

“Just a half hour. Promise.” 

Yuma patted him on the back. “Yeah, yeah. The things I do for love.” 

Euijoo released him with a smile, hopping down the stairs. “Love you, too. Let’s plan for that coffee!” He jogged away.

If he had slowed down, he might have heard it when Yuma said to himself, “Not what I meant.” 

But he was already halfway down the path, too far away to catch it. 

🍓

Of all the ways Nicholas preferred to wake up in the morning, a kitchen timer blasting his ear off was very low on the list. Maybe right behind being doused with a bucket of water and electrocuted. 

He lifted his head off his pillow, squinting against the early morning sunlight filtering through the windows, disoriented and groggy and already so, so irritated. The timer was buzzing so hard it vibrated across the surface of his side table, offensively noisy. Evidently someone thought it was funny to play pranks. 

He spent a good thirty seconds trying to figure out how to shut the damn thing off, including shaking it, smacking it, and banging it against his side table. Any camper who wasn’t already up and complaining because of its trilling definitely was now. 

“I know, I know.” He gritted his teeth, mad that he now had no choice but to slow down and tap into some critical thinking skills if he wanted the ringing to stop. The part of his brain responsible for that should never be functional before he’d even wiped the sleep crust out of his eyes. 

Turning the alarm around in his hand revealed a button on the back. Big, red, plain as day. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious, but his brain had been yanked straight out of REM and immediately forced to start processing beta waves, which wasn’t recommended by most sleep specialists, and he wasn’t a baker, okay? Shut up. He stabbed his thumb into it and the device fell silent. Nicholas blew out an exasperated sigh of relief. Without the blaring, he could hear birds chirping outside the windows, significantly happier than he was with how this morning had started. 

Nicholas looked around at the campers in the room. Some of them lowered their hands from where they had them pressed over their ears. 

“Alright, who’s the funny guy?”

No one answered, and of course they wouldn't. If he were ten years old, he wouldn’t want to own up to it either. Maybe this was karma for being a menace back during his own camp days. He’d been responsible for pulling his own fair share of pranks on adults and other kids alike – no one was safe. The only way he was ever fessing up back then was if one of his counselors beat the truth out of him, and of course they never did. So he understood all the tight lips right now.

It still didn’t mean he appreciated the hilarity as an adult. Some of the campers yanked their blankets over their heads to hide from his glare. 

Instead of laying into them, he trailed his eyes around the room’s interior, scanning for Euijoo who, despite having his own morning disturbed, would surely tell Nicholas, in that kind voice of his, that they were just being kids and a that lecture would only put them behind schedule and that he should just let it go. It would probably piss Nicholas off even more, but here he was seeking it out.

Euijoo’s bed was neatly made, in that way of his that made it look like it hadn’t even been slept in. His eyes found the clock on the wall. 7:03 am. It was time for wake-up call. Euijoo should be here.

He got up and crossed over to the bathroom door, rapping on the wood softly with the back of his hand. “EJ?” No response. Nicholas placed his ear against the door. He couldn’t hear any movement or sound on the other side. When he tested the knob, it twisted easily. He was almost certain by now that Euijoo wasn’t in there, but he still pushed the door in to check. His suspicions were confirmed when he was met with an empty bathroom. 

“Hm.” He made a noise, stumped, and left the door ajar for kids who needed to use the bathroom. “Alright, let’s uh, get ready for the day, yeah?” 

Any residual irritation melted away and was replaced with confusion. Where was Euijoo? 

Nicholas had been with him every day of bunk duty so far, watching the way he did things. He wasn’t worried about getting the kids up and organized. Especially now that he’d finished his training and was set to be a full counselor. 

That wasn’t what drew his eyebrows together. Euijoo being late for wake-up call – or anything – was unusual enough to feel worried for a different reason. 

He hoped everything was okay.

☀️

“Could you hand me up the tape?” 

Harua temporarily left off holding the base of the ladder Euijoo was standing on to grab the dispenser off the countertop, passing it into his outstretched hand. 

"Thanks.” His long limbs allowed him to keep one hand on the edge of the sign while he used the other to break off a piece. Tongue sticking out, he stretched up and carefully smoothed it over the edge of one of the letters. Harua stepped back as he descended the ladder, hopping down the last couple rungs. “Whad’ya think?” 

Harua pursed his lips and tilted his head at the Happy Birthday sign that had seen many counselor birthdays and even some camper ones over the years. Its glittery pink paper was scratched in some places, the glossed layer of lamination having long lost its shine, and some of the corners of the rounded bubble letters were softened, frayed and bent at the edges. 

“It looks like it’s seen better days,” he answered dryly. 

“It’s the best we got.” Euijoo waved the lackluster reaction off with his hand, folding the ladder together and leaning it against the wall for now. They were a camp that made the most of recycling, that was for sure. “Nicholas won’t mind. Besides, that’s not the main thing. The main thing–” He spun around to scuttle over to the refrigerator, extracting a round cake in a plastic container. “–is THIS.”

He brought it over and placed it down on the counter in front of Harua, who leaned forward to see the decorations. 

The cake had deep rosy pink icing, with wavy piping around the top and bottom borders. On the face of a cake, spelled out in frosting a few shades darker, were the words Happy Birthday Nico with a few chubby strawberries piped in red frosting surrounding it. 

“I went into town late last night to pick it up,” Euijoo animatedly explained. “This is strawberry buttercream icing. And the cake itself is one layer of strawberry and one layer of chocolate with raspberry filling in the middle.” 

Harua nodded along, chin in his palm, eyes not on the cake but on Euijoo. 

“I was kinda worried it would be too much, you know? But the woman at the bakery said the flavor combo was one of their best sellers, and then she gave me a sample and I almost died in a good way, so I think Nico will like it too.” He twisted the cake around on the counter, scrutinizing it. “And if not, well, Maki will eat anything.”

“I don’t remember you being this excited about Fuma’s birthday last week,” Harua pointed out, drumming his fingers along his cheek.

“Fuma specifically said he didn’t want a cake, because it would mess up his gains,” Euijoo retorted defensively. “He seemed perfectly happy with the card we all signed, the happy birthday serenade from his campers, and the mess hall serving him that steak with a candle in it.”

“And Nico’s the type to want this sort of thing?”

“Pretty sure.” Euijoo shrugged. Ask him a month ago and he’d be in the same boat of skepticism, but now he knew Nicholas was more of a softie than he wanted to let on. “Besides, it’s his first summer here, and I’ve been training him since the beginning. I should put in some effort to make him feel appreciated.” 

He said that, but it also felt like a little something more. He couldn’t stop thinking about last week. That moment alone with Nicholas in the staff cabin, right at the end when the other man had done the simplest act of saying his name and Euijoo had just– blanked, totally, as if a really vital wire in his brain had been cut and now there was some ominous unknown countdown going on inside of him he didn’t know the nature of. And he didn’t know what would happen when it reached the end. 

“I think Jo’s birthday was yesterday.” 

Euijoo’s eyes went wide, snapping out of his thoughts about biological bombs and trivial turn-ons. “Really?” 

He didn’t know that. Whenever the counselors put together little surprises for someone’s birthday – and that’s all they were, little, because the days kept moving regardless, and there was no time for anything fancy – it was just for other counselors. They were the most close-knit with one another and saw each other the most. Unless you were particularly close with someone in another division, you wouldn’t even know when the majority of other staff members’ birthdays even were. There wasn’t much reason for Euijoo to be concerned with or even care about the birthday of the new guy in Aquatics. 

Except for the fact that Euijoo liked Jo. He’d spoken to him on several occasions now during his and Nicholas’ campers’ various trips to the lake and pool for activities or downtime. He was sweet and easy to talk to, not to mention hard-working and thoughtful, and he cared about doing a good job. Euijoo knew if they had more time to mingle, he’d have befriended him by now. 

He was already plotting how he might acquire another cake tonight (it couldn’t be custom like this one, those were three day waits, he’d have to see if there was a nice one amongst the pre-made options) when Harua waved his hands. “Don’t pop a blood vessel or anything. It’s his off day tomorrow, and I heard some of the Aquatics staff are going to treat him to a meal as a present.” 

Leave it to Harua to somehow know everything about everyone regardless.

“Oh,” Euijoo breathed, the schematics in his head ceasing their flow. “Okay. That’s good. Maybe I can get him a belated gift before the summer’s over.”

“I think he’d like that.” 

🍓

The room seemed louder than usual – or maybe he was extra sensitive because of the kitchen timer thing. He swore he could still hear it ringing in his ears, mixing with kid chatter and the thunking of several pairs of shoes as a few campers chased each other around the cabin. Still no Euijoo.

Nicholas had his phone on him. He and Euijoo both kept them in the cabin overnight and dropped them off in their lockers on the way to bring the campers to breakfast. He considered texting the other man, but he was on the clock, around the kids, and he technically wasn’t allowed to use it right now. Normally he might do it anyway – no one was around – but he made no move to pull it out of his pocket. Euijoo must be rubbing off on him. 

Thinking rationally, no one had come to bring Nicholas any news that Euijoo had been bitten by a poisonous spider or fallen into a sinkhole or something, so he tried not to worry. It was unusual for Euijoo to just disappear, but it probably meant whatever he was doing was important. 

Through the morning mayhem, Nicholas heard a knock on the door. Relief instantly flooded through him. He finished pulling Samuel’s shoelaces into a snug, bunny-eared knot and got to his feet, stepping around all the scattered kids to get to the door. 

“Hey there,” greeted Yuma with a tilted head and a flash of teeth, hands tucked behind his back. Nicholas felt the smile slide from his face. It wasn’t that it wasn’t nice to see him, but he wasn’t who he’d been expecting. 

“Hey.” 

“Here to help you with your little rascals in the absence of your trainer this morning.” Yuma stepped in without asking, looking over all the kids inside the cabin. Some stared back at him like baby owls, others barely paid him any mind.

So at least someone else knew then; and Yuma’s demeanor was the same as always, which meant Euijoo was probably fine. 

“Haven’t heard? I’m graduating.” 

“My congratulations. One of us. One of us.” 

“Do you know where EJ is?” Nicholas asked, closing the door after doing a sweep of the area outside. No sign of a chestnut moptop. 

“Yes. He had some top secret important business to take care of.” 

Nicholas stared him down but Yuma didn’t budge; neither did his toothy smile. That was annoying. Clearly he knew the actual answer and didn’t want to share it with him. Fine. He didn’t have the energy to probe in the morning. He’d do better at getting answers once he got some food on his stomach. But first he had to get the kids out the door, something that was taking longer without Euijoo’s efficiency. 

“Fine. Since you’re here, could you give me a hand?”

“It’s what I’m here for.”

“Great. Hope you like tying shoes.” Nicholas knelt in front of another camper and nodded his head around the room where similarly loose laces hung on several kids' feet. Some of the light visibly drained from Yuma’s eyes. 

“I forgot there was a point when kids didn’t know how to do that.” 

☀️

Fuma came into the staff cabin soon after Euijoo texted him – punctual as always, but it was also his scheduled off day. Fuma usually liked to hang around the grounds for his, so Euijoo had known there was a good chance he’d catch him free. He wanted a second opinion since Harua was giving him absolutely nothing. Dressed in casual wear, Fuma gawked at the common room once he caught sight of what Euijoo had done to it. 

It wasn’t much in reality, but it was a space defined by even-toned wood and modern appliances. With the large, shimmery bubble letter banner, the round cake, and the single balloon he had pulled from somewhere and was currently being played with in Harua’s hands, the space was noticeably more festive– and pinker than usual. 

“It’s for Nico’s birthday today!” Euijoo filled him in, interpreting the Lead’s silence as questioning. “I asked Yuma to watch our campers with him, and they’ll be by any minute now. The kids will probably want to sing happy birthday. I think it’ll set a good tone for the day.” Fuma didn’t say anything. Euijoo’s smile slipped an inch. “Do you think he’ll like it?” 

“Uhhh.”

Something didn’t feel right. “Why uhhh? What’s uhhh?”

“So, funny thing about Nico. He actually doesn’t really go for birthday surprises.” 

“Doesn’t go for as in…?”

“He might hate them a little?”

“What! Fuma!” 

Fuma held up his hands, eyes rounded. “I’m only going off the fact he tells me every year he wishes his sister wouldn’t try to plan something for him. And that he doesn’t know why celebrating birthdays is such a big thing.” 

Euijoo made a strangled sound. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mention to anyone his birthday was coming up.”

“It was included in the onboarding text you sent me.”

“I know, but I didn’t know you’d do all this!”

“Why not? Am I somehow not the type of guy who would put together a surprise for their friends?” He swung around to look at Harua too, throwing his arms out for emphasis. “I’m nice!”

Harua played with the lip of the balloon, regarding him candidly under his straw-colored bangs. “No one’s denying that, EJ, but come on. You’re technically working, but instead of keeping a hawkeye on your kids like you always do, you asked someone else to cover for you so you could be in here blowing up balloons and hanging signs. It’s sweet, but also, who are you?” 

Euijoo sighed and ran a hand down his face before turning back to Fuma. “So you’re telling me this could actually ruin his day?”

“Hey, not necessarily.” The reassuring smile Fuma was going for faltered as a thought flashed over his face. “Although I do remember him crying one year when we were campers, after his counselor sang him happy birthday and gave him a cupcake.”

“Oh my god, help me get this down.”

“Hang on.” Harua rose to get the ladder, but Euijoo jumped and snagged the edge of the sign between his fingers, ripping it off the wall during his descent. Some of the letters ripped with it. Harua stared as Euijoo paid it no mind and hastily gathered it up into his arms. “Now we really do need to buy another one of those.” 

Euijoo shoved the ruined sign into the nearby bin. It stuck out of it at an awkward angle, the top not able to close all the way. 

Then came a knock on the door, followed by Yuma’s voice. 

“Ee-jaaay. I’ve got your campers and your co-counselor out here.”

With a panicked squeak, Euijoo swiped the cake into his hands so quickly it slid a little underneath the plastic cover. He half-threw it onto a shelf under the counter and then eyed the balloon in Harua’s hands wildly as the handle started to turn. 

Euijoo picked up a pen from the counter and popped the balloon in one motion. Harua jumped in his seat and clapped his hands over his ears too late to be effective, shooting Euijoo a dirty look. Fuma tucked his elbow into one hand, the other covering his mouth. 

Yuma stuck his head in, pausing with one foot in the room as his eyes took in the plain scene around him. “What was that?”

“Harua sneezed.” That earned him another glare, but Euijoo didn’t care. “Bless you.” 

Nicholas appeared behind Yuma, who stepped aside to let him in. It was a good thing Nicholas couldn’t see Yuma’s face because the shift it took into utter confusion would have had him asking questions for sure. Yuma looked at Fuma for help, but the other man just shook his head, hand still over his mouth.

Nicholas’ eyes brightened when he saw Euijoo. Euijoo tried not to let himself feel too satisfied about that. “There you are. Where’d you go this morning? Yuma wouldn’t tell me anything. Was it another walk?”

It wasn’t a joke, but Euijoo still choked out a laugh. “Ha ha. No.” He reached for the last item he’d set out on the counter, holding up the bubblegum pink lanyard, complete with Nicholas’ picture ID in the plastic pouch.  “Just went to get this.” It wasn’t a lie. He had made a stop by the admin building earlier this morning to pick it up, thinking it’d be a nice additional gift along with everything else. Guess it was a good thing he did, because now it was the only thing he had to show. “Your lanyard’s ready.”

He saw the brief confusion pass over Nicholas’ face, like he’d been expecting more after all this.

“It’s a right of passage,” Fuma said helpfully, and bless Nicholas that he was go-with-the-flow, too.

“Well, put it on me,” Nicholas said cheekily, walking over.

Euijoo met him in the middle and slid it over his head, fingers brushing against the silk strands of his hair. It looked nice on him. Really nice, actually. Professional. Fashionable, even. “Congratulations on your right of passage. Hooray.”

“Hooray?” echoed Harua dryly. 

Nicholas looked up at him. “Wait a minute. Does that mean the kitchen timer thing was also you?”

“Had to make sure you woke up somehow.” He knew Nicholas wouldn’t like it, but it was the only way to make sure he got out of bed on time. He’d make a wonderful counselor in every other way, but God knows he couldn’t be trusted to wake up on his own. Euijoo’s plan had been to make it up to him with the cake, but well. 

“It’s okay.”

“Well. Let’s get to breakfast.”

Nicholas crossed the room to deposit his cellphone into his locker before joining Euijoo at the door. “Thanks for your help,” Euijoo mumbled to Yuma, ignoring Yuma’s inquisitive stare and stepping down the stairs to reunite with his waiting campers. 

“Sure thing,” Yuma replied. Nicholas went down after, sticking by Euijoo’s side, oblivious. “See you guys later.”

-

Yuma threw his hands out after they departed. “Did I miss something?” he asked the remaining parties. 

“Apparently, Nico hates surprises. And birthdays,” Harua sighed, pulling the cake out from under the counter and taking it over to the refrigerator. “Go figure.” 

☀️

Euijoo got through the whole day thinking he’d dodged a bullet, even while being a little disappointed things hadn’t gone as planned this morning. But by the time the meeting had wrapped up that evening, the sun and the schedule, as always, left little room for any feelings or thoughts beyond tired and bed. He stretched his arms over his head while he waited for Nicholas to grab a bottle of water from the fridge so they could walk back to the cabin together. When he turned around, Nicholas was holding his birthday cake instead, staring at it wordlessly.

Euijoo froze. 

“Aii – I– don’t look at that. That’s not, that’s nothing.”

“It says Happy Birthday Nico.”

“Yeah but, but.” Euijoo couldn’t think of anything. “Please don’t be upset?”

Nicholas looked astonished. “Upset? Why in the world would I be upset?” 

“Well because,” Euijoo pulled at his fingers, cracking the bones fitfully. “Fuma said you didn’t like birthdays, or birthday surprises.”

It was quiet for a couple beats. Then Nicholas laughed, the sound filling up the space and bouncing off the walls. It moved his body like a physical force, making him double over. The cake teetered precariously in his grasp. “Oh god, I need to put this down.” He stumbled over to the counter, setting it down, and then put his hands on the edges and tried to catch his breath, regarding Euijoo through crescented eyes. “You are so stupid.” 

Euijoo frowned, embarrassed and too warm and now offended on top of it. “That’s not very nice.” 

“Euijoo!” He stiffened at the sound of his name. “Okay, yeah, maybe I don’t prefer birthday parties or particularly care about celebrating them, but did you really think I was going to crash out over a cake?”

“There was also a sign.” 

“Ah.”

“And a balloon.”

“Oh, really? One balloon?"

“Yeah. But I popped it.” 

“Shame.” Nicholas’ eyes sparkled with mirth. In the silence that followed, Euijoo was forced to face the realization that he may have overreacted. Slightly. 

“Fuma said you cried one year because a counselor did something for your birthday,” he mentioned, unable to fully let it go just yet. He wanted to make completely sure before he agreed with Nicholas’ earlier statement about him being stupid.

“When I was like nine, Euijoo. You wanna know why? Because when I was eight, right before I blew out my candles, a salamander landed on my head. I freaked out, knocked the table over. Cake was on the floor, I was running around screaming, and my bàba’s pants were on fire for about four seconds.” 

“Oh.” Yeah, that’ll do it. 

“Yeah. So the next year I figured, yeahhh I don’t need a celebration that much, and kept that energy. I never told Fuma that, so all he remembers are the cake and tears, but I promise enough time has passed, and I don’t wanna cry right now.

“I think I think too much.”

“Yeah, you should stop doing that,” Nicholas agreed. “I’m glad you at least left the cake for me to find.”

“Actually, that wasn’t exactly the plan either,” he admitted. “That was probably Yuma. Or Harua.”

“But it was you who did this?” Nicholas looked straight at him, and when Euijoo nodded, he nodded right back, slightly, like it was the only answer he had been expecting. “Come on, let’s get back to the cabin. We’re already late.”

“You’re bringing the cake?” Euijoo asked, watching Nicholas slide it from the countertop into his arms again.

“Hell yeah. This here’s not a community cake. I’ll put it in the mini fridge in the room.”

“I think that’s a quarter.”

“You’re not allowed to swear tax me on my birthday.”

It was fully dark outside this time of night, but the midsummer air was like a heater that never turned off. It wrapped around them like a weighted blanket, not sweltering but toasty. The two of them walked side by side down the shadowy path, mapped by memory at this point. Euijoo knew where to step even if he couldn’t see the ground that well. It was a short walk. They made it halfway back when Euijoo let out a quiet chuckle. 

Nicholas turned his head. “What?”

“Nothing.” Euijoo smiled in the dark, shaking his head. “Guess I still don’t know you very much at all.”

Nicholas adjusted the container in his hands, facing forward again. “Ask me something then.”

It was dark, the buzzing of insects was loud, and ninety percent of the camp was asleep. It felt like a moment to ask something substantial, but all Euijoo could think of was, “Do you have a fear of salamanders now?”

“Not really. I still can’t really watch that movie Monsters Inc. though.”

They were late getting back to their cabin for overnight bunk duty. The two tired counselors who were standing in for them while they were in the meeting were waiting on the stairs when they walked up. Nicholas earned their forgiveness by offering them cake. As soon as they all stepped into the cabin Euijoo thought he shouldn’t have. Every single one of their campers were still wide awake and looking at them. 

“What the– why?” He looked at the two substitutes. “Why is no one sleeping?”

“They wouldn’t go,” one of them deadpanned with a shrug. And then they took the cake slices they didn’t deserve and left.

Euijoo sighed and shrugged off his jacket. “It’s bedtime guys. Come on. Early start tomorrow.”

“We’re not tired!”

“I have an idea.” Nicholas brandished the plastic knife in his hand. It was smeared with cake crumbles and frosting. “Who wants some cake?”

Cheers went up immediately. Euijoo turned into Nicholas’ space, speaking low. “That’s the last thing they need.” 

It was so late, much later than any of the kids should be eating at all let alone risking a sugar rush. Plus, it could read in their little minds as positive reinforcement for not sleeping. He and Nicholas could have to deal with the same thing tomorrow.

“Just as a one time thing.” Euijoo kept his lips firmly pressed together, resolute. But Nicholas pushed closer, eyes imploring even though something in his expression was more guarded than usual, almost nervous. “Come on, for my birthday. It’s– it’s the one thing I want.”

At the beginning of the summer Euijoo thought those eyes could kill him. While that didn’t turn out to be true, now it seemed they could undo him. Which was deadly in a different way.

“You better hope they’re not bouncing off the walls in thirty minutes, or it’s all you,” Euijoo warned, already fully prepared to stay up and corral kids with him if it came to that. 

Euijoo took another knife out of the box and helped Nicholas divide the cake. They cut off small slivers, laid them on little plates, and cut them again so everyone got half. If anything, Euijoo dared to hope the kids were already close enough to sleep that they skipped the sugar rush part and went straight into the crash. He and Nicholas both cut slices for themselves and sat on the floor in a circle with their campers. Better, Euijoo had said, than getting crumbs in their beds and risking bugs, but regardless of practically, it felt nice to eat with everyone like this; cozy. And the cake was phenomenal, better even than the sample he’d had at the bakery. It was enough to make him forget he was ingesting this much sugar past ten. Dammit, Glinda had done good.

“Happy birthday Nico,” one of their campers said sweetly, invoking the rest of them to parrot her words, smiling at him and flashing their frosting-covered teeth. 

Euijoo didn’t know what possessed him, but he dipped one finger into the frosting of his slice and swiped it across Nicholas' cheek, leaving behind a pink streak. “Happy birthday, Nico.” Nicholas paused mid chew, cutting his eyes at him dangerously. Euijoo might be scared if he didn’t know better by now. 

In retaliation, Nicholas dragged three fingers through his frosting and pushed them down the side of Euijoo’s face, much more aggressively than Euijoo had. He recoiled as a glob of buttercream dropped onto the front of his shirt. It wasn’t fair. He’d only done it to Nicholas because of tradition.

“Thank you, EJ,” Nicholas grinned as he pouted, spooning more cake into his mouth, not even bothering to clean the sugary frosting off his own face. It stayed stamped pink against his skin like a kiss mark. 

☀️

What Euijoo didn’t know at the time was Nicholas becoming an official counselor meant he wasn’t always going to be paired with Euijoo anymore. Fuma and K saw fit to spread out resources wherever they had them and knew Nicholas would be up to the task. Euijoo didn’t doubt it, but it didn’t mean he was happy about it either. Not even a week later, his day campers were divided back down to the standard six – much more manageable for one person and yet he found he preferred twelve. Sure, that number made him want to pull his hair out some days, but it kept him on his toes. And with twelve, he would have Nicholas.

Strange– back when he had been made to work on his own due to the staff shortage, he’d thought the lack of a partner made him more efficient, which was better all around. Now he didn’t care about that so much as he missed having Nicholas around.

Euijoo passed by him one day. He was leading his group in one direction and Nicholas was taking his in the other, walking backwards and speaking to them, a clipboard of his own in his hands, the plastic of the lanyard around his neck glinting in the high afternoon sun. A natural. Euijoo would feel more proud if the sight didn’t tug at his heart.

Nicholas turned his head and made eye contact with him. “Hey EJ!” he called, throwing a hand up. Euijoo waved back. “How’s your hand doing, by the way?”

Euijoo flashed an ‘ok’ sign with the fingers of his right hand, now sans bandages and rash-free, the skin returned back to its normal, summer-tanned color.

“Good as new!”

☀️

There was a moment one afternoon, during a joint activity with a different counselor, when Euijoo had a chance to break away and drop by the staff cabin, only to get a cold bottle of tea and breathe for a second. But his legs ached from walking all morning, and they carried him over to the couches without his consent.

His bones liked it a little too much when he deposited himself onto one of them next to another employee, molding to the shape of the comfortable cushions like they wanted to become one with it. It was dangerous, and he fought not to fall asleep. He had to be back out the door in three. 

“You’re looking lively,” Nicholas observed beside him, amusement warming his voice.

Euijoo’s brain was a bowl of hot soup, so he was unable to form a retort. He forced a lazy smile instead, happy to see him despite the fatigue. “How you been, Nico?” he drawled. He really wanted to know. They barely had time to talk anymore. Sucked it had to be when he could hardly keep his eyes open.

“A bird pooped on him when our groups were fishing together yesterday. It was hilarious,” Kazuha interjected, passing by the back of the adjacent couch. 

“Yeah, thanks Kazu.”

“It’s an honor,” Euijoo slurred. He didn’t really know what he was saying. It was half-asleep talk, but it sounded like it could be true. “When nature does that. Camp’s taken a liking to you…”

“Hope they’re not the only ones.” Euijoo couldn’t be sure he heard correctly. He dozed off right then. He knew this because the next time he opened his eyes, sandy and damp with sweat, Nicholas was gone. Back to work. 

Work. His eyes widened. 

Kazuha wandered back over, an iced latte in her hand from the lounge bar. “You’re still here, EJ?”

Euijoo lurched off the couch so fast his shin connected with the coffee table, making the little fake succulent pot on top of it clatter. “Shit!” 

“Swear jar!” someone yelled. 

☀️

They were still assigned bunk duty together most days. Euijoo looked forward to it even though there wasn’t much room for talking. At the end of a long day, it was all about making sure the kids were showered, teeth brushed, and in bed. Exhaustion took the appeal out of any would-be conversations.

So he must have been out of his mind to be the one to suggest a bedtime story one night, (even though he’d yawned several times in the last few minutes), for no reason than to just be around Nicholas a little longer – awake and not in passing or sitting through a meeting together, but in the way he’d started growing accustomed to and missed more each day.  

It backfired on him when the kids demanded it be a scary story, of which Euijoo knew none. The bedtime story section of his camp counselor arsenal consisted of tales involving quirky characters and happy endings. He wasn’t in this business to be scaring kids. Yet he seemed the odd one out for it. Nicholas and his campers teased him as he tried spinning something bone-chilling on the fly, with lackluster results.

Nicholas saved him by stepping in and telling a story about this reportedly haunted tunnel in Taiwan – built near a cemetery and apparently home to many ghastly apparitions. Like the ghost of an old woman often spotted sweeping nothing in the middle of the road; or the spirit of a long-dead girl hitching a ride in a taxi-driver’s cab. 

It was nothing too intense, but it did its job of being spooky enough, and their unusually-silent campers probably wouldn’t be asking for a scary story again any time soon. 

The next morning, when Euijoo woke up well ahead of everyone and passed by a sleeping Nicholas – covers kicked down to his legs in the stuffy cabin heat, black sleep shirt hiked up to expose a sliver of stomach, soft hair flopped messily across his forehead – and Euijoo’s heart lurched like it was trying to fight its way out of his chest cavity and go curl up beside him like some kind of greedy cat, he came to a conclusion.

Their unexpected separation came at the right time. It was better for his heart than whatever was happening to it. 

🍓

“Mason jars, mason jars…” Nicholas chanted as he skimmed the cluttered shelves for what he was looking for. They only needed a few extra for the night activity being set up, and Gaku had let him know there might be some in one of the dingy storage sheds scattered here and there across camp. This one in particular happened to be all the way back near the staff and campers cabins, a good walk from the activity site in a clearing near the lake. 

Nicholas didn’t mind the walk over here. The grounds were pleasant to look at any time of day, especially beautiful at dusk and golden hour, but there was something about now, when the sun had just set but its light wasn’t completely gone yet, turning everything a cool, muted blue even as shadows everywhere stretched and deepened. Fireflies floated around, their flashing butts like warm little beacons. Everything felt more quiet and serene, a far cry from the simmering chaos of the typical midday. Even as insects and owls buzzed and chittered and hooted – one long, overlapping, never-ending musical note – that, too, was nice. A peaceful orchestra. 

The only thing was the balminess, hanging especially thick in the air this evening, not a breeze to speak of. Its effects were even worse in the cramped little storage shed, where air circulation didn’t exist. Nicholas kept the door open, and his short sleeves were rolled up and tucked at his shoulders, but a sheen of sweat still formed over his brow and neck.

There was no organization in here, so he had to sift through everything. Items seemed to be thrown in as an afterthought, like this was as far as someone got with them and decided to deposit them here instead of taking them to the place they actually belonged. Snorkeling masks, a basketball pump, crates of faerie lights and old firecrackers, lightbulbs, folding chairs. Everything but mason jars. 

“Oh.”

Nicholas turned his head, arms pausing where they were reaching around a bin of beads to get to what was behind it. Euijoo stood in the doorway, light from the rising moon at his back tracing him in a silvery outline. He looked surprised, as he almost always did with eyes that soft and round. A deer caught in moonlight.

“Hey.”  Nicholas’ voice came a little strained, stretching to grab at an unknown glass item in the back. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“I didn’t think I’d run into you today,” Euijoo said. He sounded surprised, maybe even pleased. 

“Here I am.” Nicholas finally got his hand around the object and tried to pull it free. It wedged out enough for him to see what it was. Nope. Just a lantern. 

He let it go and turned to Euijoo, propping an elbow on a tiny bit of free space on one of the shelves, swiping a hand across his forehead under his now damp bangs. They stared at each other for a few seconds. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but silence descended quickly, and when Euijoo belatedly took notice he jumped to fill it. 

“How’s working on your own been treating you?”

Nicholas couldn’t help it. “Missing me?”

He was rewarded with the very reaction he was looking for. Euijoo’s eyes shifting away, a caught-out twitch to his lips. Satisfaction bloomed warm across his chest. 

“I’m just asking.”

“It has its perks.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Nicholas raised his eyes to the ceiling, observing the one dusty, cracked lightbulb hanging in the center of it. “Like, I really enjoy being able to get Gatorade from the vending machine by myself.”

Euijoo’s laugh was short, a one-second sound, humored but pretending not to be, and Nicholas felt the shift and click of something settling back into place; returning to the familiar even though it wasn’t that distant. But a week of only seeing him sometimes, with bunk duty staggered in between, when they had been so used to being together every second of the day, was all it took. It was difficult not to notice a change. 

“What is it you’re doing in here?”

That’s right. He’d had a task. “Looking for mason jars for our activity, but I think it’s a lost cause.” 

Euijoo’s large eyes scanned the shelves above Nicholas’ head before pointing up. “You mean like those?”

Nicholas frowned and stepped away from the shelf to look where Euijoo was pointing. “Top left.” It was too dim in here for Nicholas to see them at first, everything looking like one homogenous clutter, but then he noticed them. A topless cardboard carton holding six mason jars, two rows of three. 

“Oh.”

Euijoo dropped his arm. “What would you do without me?” 

“If you’re trying to hint you want to work together again, I’m sure Fuma could work his magic and get us back on the same schedule.” Euijoo sighed. “Seriously. If you miss me, Juju, just say so.” 

He left Euijoo to sputter and turned back to the shelf, carefully testing his weight on the bottom row. It creaked but didn’t give, and it felt mostly sturdy, so Nicholas hoisted himself onto it, reaching one hand up toward the jars. 

“What are you doing?” Euijoo sounded suddenly concerned. Nicholas could hear the soft sound his sneakers made against the packed dirt floor as he stepped further into the room. 

“Relax.” The jars were still too far away. He stopped reaching and wrapped his arm around the side rail, bending his knee to carefully test his weight on the edge of the second shelf up. Admittedly it felt a lot less suited for taking the weight of a grown man than the first one had, but he only needed to be on it for a second. It was quicker than getting a ladder, and even Euijoo’s long ass arms weren’t enough to reach it from the floor. “I once climbed this huge tree when I was a kid. I’m talking really freaking enormous.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“You’re right, it was way more dangerous than a shelf.”

He felt a palm against his lower back, just light enough to steady him. “Be careful.” 

Nicholas swallowed. “You worry too much.”

“I worry the right amount.”

Nicholas lifted himself up. There was a lot less space on this second tier, so he could only stand on the toe of his sneaker, and it required more arm and core strength to keep his balance. The light pressure of Euijoo’s hand on his back helped keep him steady as he poked his fingers through the holes underneath the shelf to guide the carton forward. It was sitting too far back to grab it over the top.

“Let me just go get a ladder.”

“Do not get a ladder.”

Nicholas felt Euijoo’s hand press harder into his lower back, fingers splaying out to cover as much surface area as possible should he start falling back. Nicholas breathed in and poked his tongue out, trying to focus on the carton as it inched forward and not how unbelievably hot Euijoo’s palm felt where it touched him. He got the carton to a point it was sticking out over the top a little, so he stretched up and gingerly eased it forward with his fingers until he could grab it with both hands and slide it out all the way. “Ta-da.”

He stepped down to the bottom shelf, which at that moment decided it disliked the extra weight after all.

It either broke or detached from the old rusty rungs, dropping down sharply on one side, and he lost his balance. The jars wobbled dangerously, clacking thickly against each other. It wasn’t the thought of falling that Nicholas cared about (he wasn’t that far off the ground), but the threat of one of the glasses toppling out and hitting Euijoo sent a spike of panic through him. He leaned back in an effort to keep them all in the sleeve, which threw off his center of gravity even more and sent him careening into Euijoo. He thought they were both going down, but Euijoo caught him with a surprisingly sturdy arm around his waist, squeezing to steady him as they stumbled a couple steps back from the shelf. “Shit!”

If Euijoo’s hand was hot, his body was like a furnace where it was pressed against Nicholas’ side. Logically he knew it had to be due to the weather. 

“Sorry,” Euijoo breathed out while Nicholas lowered the jars unsteadily in front of his chest, looking back at him. Euijoo’s eyes were wide in the dim, or maybe that was because they were so close to Nicholas’ face. The breath fanning against his cheek smelled faintly like a Nature Valley bar. “I didn’t mean to curse, like, right in your ear.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Nicholas responded faintly, a few decibels shy of a whisper. There were a couple seconds where nothing was happening and it seemed like it should be. They were still pressed together, so Nicholas could feel the way Euijoo’s heart was thunking in his chest, could see his pulse jumping in his neck if he focused. Had he been that worried about him? Slowly, Euijoo slid his hand from around his waist and stepped away, and Nicholas could suddenly breathe normally again. Too bad the air that rushed in didn’t provide the cooling effect he could use right now, still too thick and damp. He suddenly very much wanted to go outside. It felt like he was suffocating in here. “Thanks for catching me.”

Euijoo smiled wryly. “You should listen to me more.”

“I’ll consider it. Do we need to tell someone about that?” he questioned, referring to the broken bottom shelf. 

“I’ll let the maintenance team know about it. But they might just leave it since these sheds are hardly used.” 

Good enough for him. They walked back out into the night, Nicholas with the mason jars that almost killed them in his hands. He would like to say it was a relief, but it was only mildly satisfying. The air was maybe one degree cooler. All in all, it still felt like he was breathing through a straw in his nose.

“See you around I guess,” Euijoo told him, backing away with a lingering look. “Next time.”

“Where are you going?” Nicholas asked before he could turn away. “Maintenance can’t still be in the office.”

“I need to get more long paper and markers from the art cabin for my group’s activity. I only stopped ‘cause I saw the door open.”

“I’ll walk with you.” 

“Don’t you need to be getting back?” Euijoo eyed the jars in his arms. Nicholas wondered if he’d disintegrate if he didn’t follow a schedule, just once. Or if he sincerely thought he would and never had the guts to take a chance and test the theory. 

“Maybe I like being fashionably late.” Euijoo looked unimpressed by that. Jokes about slacking on work didn’t land with him. He’s so salaryman-coded , Nicholas thought, even as his heart squeezed fondly. “And by that I mean, Gaku’s with our groups, and they have enough of these to get started.”

The fight didn’t last long, thankfully. Euijoo silently started walking again and didn’t protest this time when Nicholas fell into step beside him.

“So back to that tree. I actually ended up falling out of it. Got this crazy scar on my arm because of it, look…”

🍓

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do at the end of the summer?” Euijoo asked him, gathering up markers from the art room to put in a cup and take back to his activity site.

Nicholas wandered around a table, picking up a few strays to add to it as well. “Other than just, returning to everyday life?”

“Counselors normally take trips to celebrate the end of the summer,” Euijoo elaborated, testing a sharpie on a scrap of construction paper before dropping it in with the others. 

Nicholas came over and deposited his finds into the cup before leaning back against the counter. “Together?”

“Sometimes. Or we just share pictures and talk about it in a group chat.”

“Is this an invitation to be added to the group chat?”

“Now that you’ll have to ask Harua. He’s very selective about it.”

“Oh boy.” He was already imagining how humbling that experience would be, but he was willing to endure it. He wanted to keep in touch with everybody when the summer was over. “What are your plans?”

Euijoo shrugged, switching to opening drawers beside Nicholas now. “Cali maybe? I saw this ad for guided hikes in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Never been.”

“Don’t know if you’re built to fight off mountain lions.”

“I won’t be fighting off mountain lions,” Euijoo stressed, throwing Nicholas a look he absorbed with grace. “And it’ll be with a group.”

“So there’s a chance the mountain lions will get to them first. Got it,” Nicholas said, grinning when Euijoo chose to not even respond to that. “Sounds fun.”

“So you?” Euijoo squatted and pulled open two bottom cabinets, scanning around the interior before reaching inside, apparently spotting what he was looking for.

“Actually, yeah, I have plans.” Nicholas crossed his arms, smiling to himself just thinking about it. “I’m gonna go see my family in Taiwan.”

Euijoo’s head popped up, a couple stacks of thick, white paper sealed in clear plastic clutched in his hands. “Taiwan?”

“Yeah. I only get time to see them once a year, so we make it kind of like this big, annual thing.”

“Wow, that sounds great.” Euijoo didn’t move to stand right away, fingers playing with the brand sticker on one of the stacks. “Taiwan. That’s, um, far.”

“Only a little ocean, no big deal,” Nicholas joked.

“Yeah.”

On the way back to their respective campers, they realized Euijoo’s activity was taking place just a couple hundred feet from Nicholas’, so they stayed together the whole way back and only broke off when they returned to the clearing. Nicholas glanced across the way at him every now and then, picking Euijoo out by his height and his lank while he worked with other team members to set up whatever activity they were doing over there. But after a while he stopped being able to find him so easily under the darkening sky amidst a group of several other people in the exact same outfit. It was just as well. He needed to focus on his own job over here.

“These smell funny,” Clara complained, wrinkling her nose as Nicholas pushed the bug-repellant bracelet onto her thin wrist. 

“I know, but they’ll keep the mosquitos away,” he told her, pulling a new one from the plastic for the next camper. The clinical smell that was already clinging to the insides of his nose and giving him a headache only doubled in strength with the exposure of the fresh bracelet. “Ugh. I think.” 

Their activity tonight was catching fireflies in jars. He and a couple other counselors had poked holes in the lids, and a handful now sat in the grass at his feet, ready to use. It was supposed to be simple, but the name of the game was patience, which children were not notorious for having. So after an hour of working with the kids and making sure all of them caught at least two fireflies each, if Nicholas was then solely responsible for entrapping ninety percent of the remaining lightning bugs because they just couldn’t be bothered at that point, no one had to know. The only witnesses were the fireflies themselves, and they wouldn’t tell. 

“Will you?” Nicholas cradled one of the jars in his hands. Several fireflies flitted around inside, flashing their lights at him silently. He decided to take that as a yes. 

☀️

Euijoo approached Nicholas a little later in the night like the pull of a friend at a party, his campers waddling up the small hill behind him like a line of ducklings, markers and papers clutched in their hands. Nicholas’ campers were lying around in the grass, some absorbed in their firefly jars and others not doing much of anything. At the center of it all lay Nicholas, on his back with his eyes closed in a field of overgrown grass, surrounded by mason jars that pulsed with dozens of little lights. 

Euijoo stopped by his shoes. “Hey.”

Nicholas smiled without opening his eyes. “Hi.” 

“Can we join you?”

“Is that allowed?”

Euijoo rolled his eyes and waved his group over. They fanned out and made themselves at home on the grass, melting into Nicholas’ group easily. Euijoo sat next to him, lower back releasing some of the tension that had worked its way in from standing so long today. “How’s your activity going?”

“I think this might be my favorite one yet,” he replied, placing his hands behind his head. “Jarring fireflies. Done and done.”

“The kids caught all those?”

“Your distrust offends me.”

Euijoo looked around. The jars had strips of duct tape with each camper’s name written on them. Bobby’s jar was full of at least five fireflies. Bobby was terrified of anything with wings. “Mmhm.”

“That why you came over? To check on me?” 

“It’s a little crowded over there,” Euijoo said instead of answering the question directly. “And too many bugs. My campers are drawing constellations, but it was getting distracting for them.”

“Not much better over here.” Right at that moment, Nicholas slapped his forearm. It came back red, and he groaned, twisting the green bug repellant bracelet on his wrist. “I don’t think this thing is working.”

Euijoo eyed it accusingly. “Smells like it is.”

Nicholas finally peeked one of his eyes open, tracing it over Euijoo’s exposed skin like he was searching for something. “You’re not getting bit?”

“Mosquitoes never liked me.”

“Why me,” Nicholas complained, flapping his hand at another one that came buzzing uncomfortably close to his ear. To Euijoo’s abject horror, the very first thought that came to his mind was, because you're sweet, which was so disgusting it made him want to throw up, so he moved past it quickly. “Nature should get you for a change.”

Euijoo made a face, momentarily shocked out of his self-cringe. “What are you talking about? I just had poison ivy, remember?” 

“I had a sunburn.”

“So one for one, then. It should be your turn.”

“You’re forgetting the bird,” Nicholas said pointedly, while also actually pointing a finger at him. Euijoo wanted to slap it away, but he didn’t want to encourage hitting in front of the campers. “If the universe was just, it would be back to you.” 

“Well sometimes, Nico, we don’t get the things we want from the universe.” 

Euijoo’s view was suddenly obstructed by a shadowy piece of paper that warbled as it slid in front of his nose. “Look at my constellations, EJ!” demanded one of the kids, Aaron – a boy with curly hair and enough freckles to make his own constellations. 

“Mine too, Nico!” Megan came over and practically fell against Nicholas’ shoulder, drawing a laugh out of him as he sat up to take it. 

Euijoo pointed to a scraggly drawing in the corner of Aaron’s paper. “Which one is this?” He listened patiently to Aaron try and fail to recall any of the constellations they’d gone over earlier, and when he was done, Euijoo helped him correctly name and identify them once more, pointing between the scribble on the page and the blanket of stars above. All the while he snuck glances over at Nicholas, unable to help himself it seemed. 

Nicholas was whole-heartedly engaging with Megan about her drawing, even though she wasn’t his regular camper anymore and this wasn’t his activity. Sitting under half-moonlight in slightly overgrown grass, softly pulsating orbs of light that were all the fireflies they didn’t catch tonight appearing and disappearing around him as he pointed up at the sky with her– it was all so stupidly picturesque, frankly Euijoo felt like he was being set up. 

It was a good thing that the universe – and its funny, cosmic way with timing – had sent him a reminder today that the summer was fleeting.

Which sounded sad, but it was a good thing. All kinds of things got better when you knew they wouldn’t last. The taste of ice cream that melted too fast on a humid day. The brilliance of a sunset that moved too quickly toward the horizon. The good company of a friend you suddenly couldn’t see all the time anymore. 

To sort out and define everything he felt about Nicholas would take more time than he had. In two weeks the summer would end, the camp would close, and Nicholas would be gone – out of the country, across the world – so it didn’t matter anyway. Euijoo always took more than one great memory away from this place every year. Nicholas would be another one, he knew – a summer day on which the sun simply set too soon. 

Even still, he was just happy he got to feel the warmth of it at all.

🍓

The second half of the activity basically became lying around in the grass, and that was okay with Nicholas. The tantalizing pull of laziness had even gotten through to Euijoo, who was currently on his back with his hands crossed over his stomach, eyes closed, looking more at peace than he did during ninety percent of his days here. He had given his leftover markers and papers to Nicholas’ campers to keep them occupied. Meanwhile, their counselor occupied his free time by messing with Euijoo – plucking small, white flowers from the field around them and pushing their little stems into his hair. His tresses were thick and wild enough to hold them in place.

“I’m not asleep,” Euijoo mumbled.

“I know.”

Yes, Nicholas was aware he was acting like a teenager annoying the girl he liked. Which might pose a problem with only two weeks left until the summer ends, but whatever. He liked to live in the moment. Not for the first time, he wished he had a camera, or at the very least his phone to take a picture with. 

Euijoo’s work clothes had grass stains on them. His hair was frizzy from excess humidity. The soft dandelion glow of the fireflies pulsed against the skin of his cheeks which, thanks to the cap he always wore during the day, was unevenly tanned. At first glance, there was nothing overly “remarkable” about him. Somehow, that made it even better – that just some guy turned out to be someone like Euijoo. 

Euijoo, who went out of his way to get him a cake for his birthday; Euijoo, who always did his best to engage and make people feel included, even when it flustered him, sacrificing his comfort for other people’s; Euijoo, who was never unfair to Nicholas even when they weren’t meshing well in the beginning; Euijoo, who moved like he didn’t know he was so kind. As unassuming as he was, he was actually remarkable in all the ways that mattered, and the thought constantly on Nicholas' mind was, wow, someone like this actually exists. 

He couldn’t help but think it was some kind of perfect timing on the universe’s part that Fuma had emailed him about this job when he did. That of all the other places in the world either of them could have been, they managed to exist in the same time and place right now, this summer. And Nicholas could know him and call him a friend. 

Eventually he did lay off, moving away to give space for Euijoo’s campers to get his attention if they wanted it. Several kids ended up moving in closer shortly after, filling in the gaps Nicholas left like bumbling moths to a warm light, which was basically what Euijoo was. Nicholas was glad. He had been hogging Euijoo enough. Then, a little selfishly, he thought it was justified. At least his campers still got to see him all the time. 

One of Nicholas’ girls, Aya, rolled into his side, and he smiled down at her. It was nice to know there were campers who wanted his attention, too. Maybe it meant he was doing something right. 

He waited for her to say something. She didn’t for a while, doing nothing but tugging his lanyard string further out of his pocket and twisting it between her dimpled hands. So maybe she just wanted company. He went back to counting stars, and was on number forty-seven when Aya spoke to him in a whisper.

“Do you like Counselor EJ?”

“‘Course I do.”

She shook her head. “No, do you like him, like him?”

He picked his head up from the grass, narrowing his eyes at her, more intrigued than anything. “What makes you think that?”

Now she came over a little bashful, shrugging and lowering her eyes while she played with the blades. “Boys give flowers to people they like, don’t they?”

“Aya. Has some boy been giving you flowers?”

She blushed, and it was clear she was smiling even if he couldn’t see her face because her cheeks rounded. “Nooo~”

“Hey. You tell him he’s gotta speak to me first, alright?”

She responded with a high-pitched giggle, rolling away from him, blades of grass getting caught in her hair.

Nicholes turned his head to look at Euijoo, laying several feet away with his campers. One of them had taken to using his stomach as a table to sketch out more constellations. He didn’t seem to mind. 

Nicholas shifted his eyes to the jar near his head. The lightning bugs inside clacked around the glass quietly. If he breathed slow and really listened, a very soft fluttering sound reached his ears through the air holes on top. There was one firefly crawling up the side of the jar. It paused, flexing its wings slowly and wiggling its antennae. Nicholas swore it was looking at him. 

He looked right back and pressed a finger to his lips. “Shhh.”

Chapter Text

☀️

There was always a different feeling that hung in the air on the last Saturday of the summer. 

An unspoken rule to go all out during the final days camp was in session, in the last hours before the last activity wrapped up and likewise marked a wrap on the season. Before parents arrived to pick up their kids, before cabins were cleaned out, and before staff members departed. 

An unspoken rule to make those final few jokes with your friends, or share a few more stories with each other. To make sure you remembered to exchange numbers with your new soulmate before their car peeled out of the lot. Take that dare. Pull that prank. Fill up on the homemade mess hall pizza one more time, or make an extra trip to the sundae bar. Cannonball off the dock like you’ve been afraid to do, and do it before the Aquatics staff caught you. Or finally take a crack at the advanced ropes course you’ve felt too intimidated to try. 

Muster up the courage to raise your hand in the arts cabin and share your noodle collage with the rest of the class. Sing louder, laugh harder. Do what you’ve been wanting to do, and say what you’ve been wanting to say. This was the time, in this little sunkissed bubble of the world where no one judged and everyone loved and yourself was the only thing you needed to be. Whatever mask you needed to put on to face society in your day-to-day life didn't need to be worn here. 

By the time the sun set on the last day, you knew you’d regret it if you didn't go all out.

It was that sentiment that swarmed through campers and staff alike like a hive of restless bumblebees. This was the moment right before everyone went back to their usual lives. It could very well be the last time this specific mix of people were ever all together. Not every camper returned every year. Neither did every worker. It was bittersweet, but yet another thing that made each summer so unique. So special and precious. 

And there was something else that filled every corner of the grounds with a sense of anticipation today – a competitive undertone that made the air feel just a little bit hotter, like it was charged with electricity. 

It was the annual Capture the Flag game. 

At breakfast things were more buzzy and chattier than usual. The kind of excitable ease that came with there being nothing on the schedule but the main event. 

When there were about twenty minutes left of meal time, all the counselors made their way to the staff cabin to pick up team uniforms (which were just mesh, color-coded t-shirts), leaving the kids under the care of several Lead Counselors and event organizers to go over the rules with them. 

The staff cabin was more packed than ever. This was the only time, save for the very start and the very end of the summer, that all of the counselors occupied the space at the same time. And it wasn’t just them, but all the activities staff from the Arts, Aquatics, Adventure & Athletics programs, too. It was stuffed, and the room buzzed with animated energy as everyone sorted out designated team shirts and hurled challenges at each other. 

“I’m getting you back for last year!”

“You’ll have to catch me, bitch!” 

“Swear jar!”

“That’s okay,” said the offender, one of the Athletics staff members, as he fished around in his pocket for a coin. “I’ll get it back.” He dropped a quarter into the jar with a clank. “All this is going home with me this year.”

“If you’re that desperate for $13.75, maybe we should just give it to you,” mumbled Harua. 

“I heard that, Shigeta.” 

Nicholas leaned over to Euijoo. “I bet it’s fascinating seeing someone else put money into that thing for a change.” Euijoo stuck an elbow into his ribs.

The two of them occupied one of the couches, their legs perpetually pulled in to let the constant stream of people pass. They sat shoulder to shoulder, arms brushing, watching the lighthearted exchanges of empty threats and pointedly staying out of them. Euijoo would admit it was always nice to see his coworkers looking so lively for this event. Of course, they were always appropriately enthused around the campers no matter what the activity was, but the energy in this place was rarely the spirited cacophony it was now. Essentially a pit stop for counselors on busy days, the staff cabin was little more than a muted hum of tuckered out chatter most of the time – the equivalent of a common room in a college dorm during exam season. This was more like a student mixer after final projects had been turned in. 

All the hands that usually clutched pens, multiple papers, and activity cards were empty. No clipboards, no planning, and no schedule to keep, because this was the only thing they had to do all day; and everyone was doing it together. It was a good reason for even adults to get excited and become a little carefree. So rarely was their only obligation in life – at Camp Wolf Lake or anywhere – to have fun and play a game. In a way, it was like they were all kids again, too.

Nicholas tilted his head towards Euijoo’s shoulder, speaking by his ear. “I still don’t understand why exactly this game is such a big deal.”

“You’ll see,” Euijoo replied, a small thrill shooting through him when he moved his head closer and Nicholas didn’t move away. Rather he just smiled at him, brow shifting. Euijoo caught himself admiring the expression – and he should get to. Tomorrow was the last day.

“Okay. Byun, Wang.” One of the Adventure staff members, Aria, appeared at the arm of the couch and dropped a couple bright shirts onto their laps before marking something off on a sheet of paper in her hand. “You guys will be repping the orange team together.” She gave Nicholas a very specific kind of look. “First time, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck.”

She spun around, looking back and forth between the paper and the faces in the room to find the next person.

Nicholas unfolded the shirt in his lap to check the size. “That’s ominous.”

“Jo.” Aria tapped a spot on her copy, looking up and smiling at the Aquatics member, who was standing in the middle of the fray looking a little like a lighthouse in a storm – that is, tall and still. “Asakura. You’re team blue.” She handed him the proper shirt from the several she had folded over her arm. He nodded and took it, cradling it in his arms and looking around for a teammate. He found Yuma, who coincidentally wasn’t far from him anyway, the same blue shirt in his hands.

Euijoo observed as Jo shuffled over and gave him one of his polite smiles. “Guess we’re in this together. If it’s alright, I’ll stick with you.” 

The words, Euijoo noticed, seemed to make Yuma nervous. Or bashful, at least – his smile not the easy slide it usually was. It wasn’t a demeanor Euijoo was used to seeing on his gremlin-esque friend. 

He was so distracted by it that he didn’t notice when a huddle of people began to form on the couches around them, until he looked over and suddenly a bunch of other counselors were occupying their area, a variety of t-shirt colors in each of their hands. They started speaking in fervent tones to one another, and Euijoo didn’t know if he and Nicholas were meant to be a part of it, but seeing as they were sitting smack-dab in the middle of it, there was no choice but to tune in.

“We need to team up and jump the adults on purple at some point,” Kazuha declared, a yellow tee clutched in her hands. “I saw one of the scheduling papers. They have Fuma, Jennifer, and Naomi from the mess hall staff, who still wants her lick back from last year. Plus Julie from accounting. She got cursed out by a parent recently, so she has a lot of pent up anger she wants to let out. EJ, are you guys in?”

Kazuha’s head swung to him and Nicholas, as did everyone else’s.

Oh, so they were part of it.

“Um… I don’t know how to feel about the concept of jumping somebody…”

“This is no time to be a decent person, EJ! You have to be out for blood!” Surprisingly, this protest came from Sakura. The nice, soft-spoken art teacher had her dyed silver hair up in a wavy ponytail. It accentuated the hint of crazy in her eyes.  

“Yeah, and you know Fuma could pack you up with one hand behind his back, so it's better if you come up with some kind of game plan so that you don’t get embarrassed like last year,” added Enna with ease. She was another counselor, and Euijoo noted dourly that the shirt slung over her shoulder was also orange.

“Okay, well that’s rude.”

He felt Nicholas pat him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ll be vicious where he’s not.” 

Euijoo felt somehow betrayed by this. “I can be vicious.” Right as people started laughing, he raised his voice to speak over them. “I just choose not to. We’re supposed to be setting good sportsmanship examples for the kids.”

Yuma leaned against the back of the couch, his mischievous air returned now that he wasn’t gawking up at Jo. “And that’s why you’re defending a losing streak.”

Euijoo shot a look over his shoulder at him. Where did he even come from? He had some choice words, but Enna beat him to it. 

“Yuma, you can’t talk. You placed by association last year. Did you even get one flag for your team?”

“I’ll remember that on the battlefield.”

“What’s everyone talking about?” K entered the chat, clapping Yuma on the shoulder and leaning over the back of the couch. Euijoo looked up and spotted a yellow tee hanging around his neck. Kazuya also noticed it. Her eyes darted from K to the t-shirt in her own hands and back to K, looking like she was being hit with a divine revelation. 

“Oh my god, we might have a chance.” She glanced around the huddle, rising to her feet. “Screw this alliance,” she said, and promptly exited the circle. 

“It begins,” Yuma solemnly noted. Beside him, Jo tilted his head in confusion.

A short, sharp round of clapping cut through the noise in the room. Aria sat on the countertop, clicking her pen. “So that’s all the teams for the counselors and program staff. The Leads that stayed back in the mess hall will be assigning the kids and the remainder of the staff to their teams. We’ll find out who’s where when we go back, but this is it for us.”

“Everyone, we need to focus on the real objective here.” Kazuha outright pointed at Fuma. “That man cannot win again.” 

The laugh Fuma let out was villainous. “Do your worst.” Euijoo noticed with mixed awe and trepidation that his arms looked extra pumped up today. He absolutely believed that three people could come at the man all at once and they still might not stand a chance. “And if you’re all so hellbent, why don’t we make this interesting? Who wants to make a wager?”

Even though they never spelled anything good, counselor bets were like a tradition at this point. All around people started calling out suggestions that were unhinged from the very start. 

“Bottom team drinks raw eggs!” Yuma threw out maniacally, and you could tell he’d been holding that one in since last summer.

Fuma pointed at him, eyes wide with interest. “I could get behind that.”

Euijoo didn’t normally engage during this part, but he felt he needed to say something before that was actually locked in as an option. “No. That’s disgusting. And potentially dangerous.”

Nicholas nudged him, saying cheekily, “It’s protein.” 

“Stop talking.”

“After the kids leave, losers go skinny dipping in the lake!” Maki proposed. Worryingly, Euijoo was only about 70% sure he was joking. Harua wrinkled his nose.

“That’s insane.”

“Don’t lose and you won’t have to worry about it!”

“Personally, I think we should all respect the lake,” Himena piped up. 

In the end, it was agreed that the very bottom team of adults would get shaving cream pies to the face and have the picture posted on the front page of the camp website. It was messy and potentially embarrassing enough to incentivize not coming in dead last; but it was also harmless and didn’t push the boundaries of what could be considered an HR violation. 

Nicholas leaned close again, his arm a constant weight along Euijoo’s side at this point. “I get the feeling I should stick with you during this thing.” 

Euijoo attributed the warmth he felt to the heat being transferred from Nicholas’ body, and not from his words. “You might not want to do that. Fair warning– sports aren’t my thing. Honestly, you might have to end up hard-carrying us.” He didn’t know much about Nicholas’ athleticism, but it was obvious just looking at him that he had some. People who climbed trees as kids instead of reading books in bed like Euijoo did tended to turn out that way.

“Alright, everyone, pre-game picture! Gather up!” Maki called, his clear voice easily cutting through the conversation. He waved a camera above his head, the strap dangling loosely below it, before going to set it up on a mantle on the wall. Everyone gathered on the couches and behind them, as well as on the floor both behind and in front of the coffee table, squeezing into what little available space they could. Maki had to fiddle with the zoom for several moments trying to fit everyone in the frame, directing some people to move in or make more mirrors. 

There were more people trying to squeeze onto the couch than was sensible, forcing Nicholas and Euijoo closer together on the cushions. It shouldn’t feel like anything. Harua was pressed against Euijoo’s right side, and that was whatever, but Nicholas was against his left and that… wasn’t nothing. 

“Sorry,” Nicholas apologized, his leg pushing against Euijoo’s as, on Nicholas’ other side, K tried to wriggle himself into a space he knew damn well was too small for him.

“S’fine.” Euijoo’s arm was slung over Nicholas’ shoulders at this point, and he really tried not to think about how well the other man fit against his side. 

Maki gave them a warning right before setting a 15-second timer and diving across Yuma’s and Jo's legs on the floor. Jo’s laugh wasn’t audible, but it crinkled his eyes. Yuma vocally protested, shoving at Maki’s broad shoulders but clearly not actually trying to budge him off. Maki got a peace sign held up just in time.

The shutter went off several times, and when it was done Maki hopped up to check the photos. “Sweet,” he confirmed for the room, forming an ok sign with his fingers. “Alright, there are officially no friends until 4pm today. See you all in hell.”

🍓

Nicholas and Euijoo flitted around their cabin, getting their campers ready for what was promising to be an eventful day. The kids were putting on their t-shirts, talking strategy with their friends, and decorating each other with orange stickers and hypoallergenic face paint, courtesy of the crafts department. 

Nicholas was sporting a swirling design around his eyes that he’d done himself in the mirror. There’d been no rhyme or reason to it. He just took up a brush and stopped when it looked cool enough. Euijoo took one look at it and told him he’d sweat the work right off. Nicholas responded by saying he’d look hot until then, which made Euijoo go all quiet and stuttery. He didn’t say much beyond a couple aborted words before he was ushered away by one of the kids wanting to paint his face. 

Nicholas sat down on one of the beds, stirring more water into a cup of paint. He meant to continue making rounds on the campers, decorating faces with what they were dubbing war paint, but he ended up planted on the mattress longer than he meant to be, stirring slow and staring at Euijoo. The other man was sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes shut tight as a camper passed the orange-soaked brush dangerously close to his lashes. 

“Nico, can you do my war paint?” 

Nicholas looked down and there was Lucas standing in front of him, staring at the cup in his hands. Here he was shirking his duties caught up in a daydream. 

“Yeah, dude.” He patted the bed next to him, and Lucas eagerly climbed up. 

“I want it done just like yours.” 

Nicholas smiled. “Let me see what I can do.” 

He dragged the brush over the rim of the cup to rid it of some access paint and set to tracing it delicately around Lucas’ eyes and temples, trying to mimic what he’d done to himself but also knowing it wasn’t going to match exactly and that the boy wouldn’t be able to tell one way or another. Once he was satisfied with his work, he returned the brush to the cup.

“Okay.” Nicholas patted him on the shoulder. “All done. Now you’re ready for battle.”

☀️

“Yeah!” Lucas cheered from across the room, standing tall in front of Nicholas and doing his best to puff out his chest, cheeks inflating at the same time. 

Nicholas held his hands out to the boy, palms up. “We’re gonna win today, right?”

Lucas slapped his much smaller hands down on top of his. “Yeah!”

“But,” Euijoo started, trying not to disturb the progress of the intensely-focused child doing his face paint. “Even if we don’t win the game, we’ll still have won because we had fun. That’s the most important thing to remember.” 

There was a beat, and then one of the campers up in the bunks shouted their heartfelt disapproval down at him. “Booooooooooo!” And of course, because kids were little cockatoos, one after another they all joined in until the room was a chorus of heckling targeted specifically at Euijoo. 

One of the voices stood out, deeper, and Euijoo turned his head enough to see over his shoulder. Nicholas was booing him, too, hands cupped around his mouth for maximum effect.

“Where’s your fighting spirit, Counselor EJ?” one of his kids complained over the cacophony. 

“Yeah, EJ, where’s your fighting spirit?” Nicholas made himself look and sound confused, but Euijoo saw the laughter glinting in his eyes under the yellow-tinged lights in the cabin ceiling, the dormant smile threatening to break through the facade. He was just playing it up for them. 

Euijoo knew when he’d been defeated (read: unfairly ganged up on), when all he’d been trying to do was encourage everyone to have a good time. But kids wanted victory, glory, something to brag to their parents and friends about when they returned to whatever part of the world they called home. Sometimes winning mattered a lot to them, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. A little competition was healthy, after all. He waved a hand to placate them.

“Alright, alright. We’re gonna win!”

“Yeeeeeaaahhh!”

Now they were cheering for him. Nice to know it didn’t take much to win back their favor. 

The boy in front of him whined in frustration. “You’re gonna ruin your war paint,” he complained, placing slightly pudgy hands on Euijoo’s cheeks to turn his head back around, the oversaturated paint brush in his small hands dropping a glob of bright tangerine onto the wooden floor. Euijoo made a note to clean that up later. The paint was water-based. It would come up easily. 

“Sorry,” Euijoo apologized to him, going back to holding very still.

☀️ 

When it was nearing 10am, he and Nicholas filed the campers out of the cabin to go gather with everyone else at the assigned meeting place – the flagpole. They melted into the steadily growing sea of bright colors and milled around, waiting for everyone to finish trickling in so they could start the game. 

Fuma slung an arm around Harua’s shoulders. “Ruaaa, we’ll still be friends after this, won’t we?”

Harua didn’t even look at him, speaking to the breeze, voice calm, the ends of the pink bandana tied around his head fluttering behind him. “There are no more friends. Only victors and the conquered. Now don’t speak to me.”

Fuma’s laughter underscored the sharp whistle that pierced the air, several members of the event staff taking to the front to give them the final rundown and timelines.

“Everyone has twenty minutes to get to their zones and work out strategies!” one woman was saying, a large smile on her face. She seemed extra chipper. Maybe because she wasn’t actually participating. “We’ll tally the flag totals at half time and again at the end of the second half. Have fun, stay safe, good luck!” 

A second, longer whistle pierced the air, and the groups dispersed. 

There were six bases for the six teams, each one located in a different part of the grounds. It just so happened that the orange team’s base was in the front-facing part of the camp, with a zone perimeter that included buildings like the mess hall and the administrative building – both of which were near the flagpole, so they didn’t need to walk far. 

Their group gathered up beside the admin building and tried to come up with some modicum of a plan. On a wooden stake in a patch of grass some distance away, the large, bright orange team flag shifted in the slight breeze. 

Like any capture the flag game, the main objective was to seize another team’s flag while defending your own. One of the alterations implemented in this version were the 30 smaller flags with varying point values hidden somewhere within each zone. They served the purpose of maximizing point-earning potential in case capturing a team flag failed. And it helped ensure everyone got a chance to participate, since they were playing a frankenversion of the game with so many people. 

The general consensus their team reached was that scouting out the smaller point flags inside the zones was the logical first move and best strategy. If they managed to gather up enough of those, and did it early on before things dissolved into chaos, they had a chance to place even without stealing anybody’s team flag. 

So when the horn sounded to signal the official game start, Euijoo and several other counselors and staff took a handful of campers and ventured off in search of small flags, while others stayed back to defend their base.

Euijoo and his small band of kids stepped over the painted line in the grass that marked the beginning of the purple team’s zone. Yep. Purple. They were going for bold.

Well, not bold so much as hopeful it was early enough that the other team wouldn’t be expecting an infiltration so soon. And, hopefully, that meant that Fuma and some of the other really tenacious members of the team weren’t posted on defense. 

Wing and a prayer. 

They stopped just before the tree line opened up into the ropes course area. They were pretty far from their base, almost completely on the other side of the campgrounds. Euijoo looked up at where tall wooden platforms sat up in the trees, the currently unused grappling lines extending from one to the other, thick rope bridges connecting them all. Halfway up the wooden ladder to one of these platforms was the large purple team flag, tied around one of the rungs. 

Of course. 

The place was eerily quiet and barren, but Euijoo seriously doubted they’d leave their flag completely unprotected. 

…Unless?

“You guys hang around here and look for flags,” he told the campers, who nodded and scampered off into the trees, their bright orange shirts like beacons against the deep greens and browns of nature around them.

Euijoo eased around the perimeter, eyes on the big flag some distance away. Each time he did a sweep of his surroundings, he saw no movement, no purple team shirts in sight. 

Surely not, right? It couldn’t be this easy. 

Then again, maybe the purple team was confident to a fault. Maybe they really didn’t think anyone would attack them at the very start and instead went to check out other zones. Euijoo’s team could take their flag and be gone before any of them got back. They wouldn’t know what hit them. 

In fact, it ended up being Euijoo who didn’t know what hit him.

No sooner had he stepped out into the open was he sitting behind the makeshift rope bars of the purple team’s jail, sneak-attacked from behind by a wily kid in purple who Euijoo was pretty sure was one of Fuma’s regular campers. Even though he was a teenager, he looked like he possessed more upper body strength than Euijoo ever had in his life.

The kid left him, probably to go lurk in the shadows some more, and that’s when Madeleine, one of the campers he came with, came cutting across the clearing, waving her arms above her head. “I’ll save you, mister EJ!” 

He should’ve warned her to carry out rescues quietly, but it was too late now. She got sneak-attacked in much a similar way and a minute later was sitting right beside him. 

“Sorry I didn’t save you,” she said sadly.  

Euijoo moved to hold her hand. “That’s okay, Madeline. I’m not sad about it. I get to sit here with you.” She visibly brightened at that, her hand curling into a small fist in his palm. Euijoo looked up and saw another one of their teammates approaching from the side, stepping cautiously. “Oh look, here’s Jesse. He’s gonna come save us, he’ll– oh, no, never mind. Hey, that’s okay, Jesse! Good try! Come join us over here.”

“Not like he has a choice,” cackled the same purple player who had tagged him, running off to presumably wait out his next target. They were making it pretty easy for him. 

Jesse sank down on Euijoo’s other side, looking as put upon as a ten year old was capable of looking. Euijoo wound his arm around his slight frame, pulling him into his side and patting him on the arm. “Don’t worry, you’ll get him next time.” 

“I definitely will.” 

He didn’t know how long they sat there, but it didn’t seem like very long. For Euijoo it wasn’t that bad – honestly, he was fine with not running around all day – but he did hope the kids got to participate again soon. 

He noticed some movement to his far left and turned his head. There was Nicholas, standing just inside the trees, gesturing at them. Euijoo widened his eyes at him, lifting his hand from Jesse’s shoulder and silently pointing in the direction the tagger had gone off in, shaking his head. Don’t come. 

Euijoo could see Nicholas’ smile from here. He held up a finger. Wait. 

Euijoo didn’t know what they were supposed to be waiting for, but he got his answer a few moments later. Yelling filled the air as on the other side of the course three kids in orange broke from the tree line and went straight for the team flag. One of the girls moved like lightning, making it halfway up the ladder in a blink. Euijoo’s mouth fell open as she dropped lightly back to the ground, purple flag in hand, which she then raised above her head and screamed, “We got your flaaaag!”

She and her two teammates, still yelling at the top of their lungs, darted back towards the trees, having to alter course a little bit as several purple players, including the boy who had tagged them, emerged from various hiding places and gave chase. Euijoo didn’t even know that many of them were even here. They were in over their heads from the start. 

But then again, maybe not. Their team was now in possession of a flag. 

“Did someone order a savior?” 

Euijoo looked up, and Nicholas was right there, aiming a smile down at all of them, looking very proud of himself. Euijoo managed to roll his eyes. His heart, unfortunately, mimicked the motion and took a tumble down a metaphorical flight of stairs. 

The kids’ faces lit up brightly. 

“Nico!”

“Nico!”

Nicholas grabbed Jesse’s hand and helped him over the rope, then did the same with Madeleine. As they ran back to the cover of trees, Nicholas turned to him. 

“And last but… well, maybe least?”

Euijoo grinned. “I’ll kill you,” he said in Korean. He almost slapped away the hand Nicholas offered him on principle. But he ended up taking it, because why not? Everyone else was doing it. Euijoo should do it too. Nicholas pulled him to his feet with an effortless strength that made his stomach swoop. 

“Hey,” he protested, looking up at Euijoo once more. “Did you just curse me out? Because you know it still counts if it’s in another language.”

“Quit trying to shake me down for money.” 

They started walking back toward the tree line. “So how long did you last before getting caught? Maybe ten minutes?” 

Euijoo kept his composure. “I would say they caught me off guard, but this is kind of what usually happens. Tried to warn you.” He glanced at Nicholas as he sauntered alongside him. Somehow it seemed very on brand that he’d be effortlessly good at fucking Capture the Flag of all things. “How’d you pull that off? With the kids?”

“Easy. I told them that confidence is crucial in everything. And that if they want something, they need to go get it, full steam ahead.”

They stepped into the shade of the trees and faced each other, standing closer than necessary. “Good advice.”

Just then the three kids from earlier stumbled through the trees to join their little group, rosy-cheeked and panting. They didn’t have the flag anymore.

“Sorry Counselor Nico,” the same girl spoke between heavy breaths. “They got the flag back.” 

“That’s okay.” Nicholas went over to administer a round of fist-bumps to them all. “You guys were incredible. We saved our teammates because of you. Good job.”

“The purples are really tough,” Euijoo commented in an effort to make them feel better. 

“We can take ‘em. We just need to regroup,” Nicholas said before his eyes met Euijoo’s, glimmering with humor. “I know what I said before, but maybe it’s you who should stick with me. For the good of the team.” 

Euijoo scoffed, but in his mind, he didn’t want to do anything else. 

☀️

K turned out to be an unexpected problem. Maybe it wasn’t the purple team they needed to be concerned with all this time, but K and the rest of the yellows. 

Euijoo had thought they’d be easier targets.

He should have known. K was someone who, again, ran for fun. 

Their little orange group had stopped by the part of the campgrounds used for archery. The space was large and grassy, a line of colorful circle targets sitting silent and free of arrows at one end of it. Today it was part of the yellow zone. 

It was here Euijoo witnessed someone from another team try to steal the yellow flag, only to have K emerge from thin air and catch up to them in about four strides. Before the player even touched the fabric. It was then that Euijoo decided he did not want to be in this situation. If he got caught that fast by a kid earlier, he wasn’t even going to try it if K was around. 

As the Lead carted the person off to jail, another adult in purple – maybe a staff member – dashed out into the clearing, going straight for the flag. Bold, but that was on brand for the purple team. Euijoo watched in fascination as he actually got to it, yanking it from the wooden post it was attached to. Euijoo could hear the velcro ripping from here. 

The man was decently fast himself, but the large, bright yellow flag was like a flare, and Kazuha was on him immediately. Similar to K, Euijoo didn’t know where she came from or how she hid so well in the highlighter-esque shirt.

She chased him down and all but tackled him to the ground even though that sort of contact wasn’t technically allowed. But Euijoo knew from past experience that, at some point, the adults took liberties with each other that they didn’t take with the kids. It was an unspoken inevitability. And probably why most of the time the adult players took the game more seriously than the children did. 

The man yelled for back up and two of his purple-clad teammates emerged from the trees like they were black ops. One of them got the flag wrestled away from Kazuha and dashed off across the field, taking it back toward their base. Too bad for her – K reappeared, assessing the situation and immediately locking onto her like a Japanese Terminator.

“Run, Jennifer!” her teammate screamed, even though Jennifer was already running. They all knew what kind of threat K was – the worst (or best, depending on how you looked at it) person to be left to defend the yellow team’s flag.

Jennifer seemed to know it, too. Her scream rang through the air as she disappeared into the trees, K five seconds behind her. She had a head start, but Euijoo didn’t think it would help her much.

At almost the same moment, a jail break occurred, and even more chaos broke out. Everyone darted around as opposing team members started trying to steal the small, individual-point flags some players had clipped to their persons. There was a lot of screaming, a lot of flailing, and a lot of plastic flags flying as people resorted to trying to throw them out of reach or to a teammate. 

Euijoo slinked away. Their group had spread out to search for point flags, but now Euijoo was thinking they should probably just gather up and get the fuck out of this area. He came across Nicholas right as he was handing one of the yellow bonus flags off to a young girl in green. She smiled up at him, showing off a gap in her front teeth, and disappeared into the bushes with it. 

They locked eyes, and Nicholas turned uncharacteristically sheepish. “You saw that.”

It wasn’t a question, or a request, but Euijoo still told him, “I won’t tell if you won’t” and hoped the liquid sugar feeling in his chest wasn’t being reflected on his face.

☀️

Halftime came when it needed to. For Euijoo that meant right when he started to get a little too hot, a little too tired, and his anxiety levels over plastic flags and sneak attacks were just a little too high.

Everyone took a break to eat boxed lunches outside on picnic blankets, cooling off with popsicles and battery-powered fans. The halfway tally was what he expected. The purple team was in the lead, but barely. Yellow was right behind, followed by the blue and pink teams. Orange hovered around the bottom of the scoreboard with green, but it was still anyone’s game. So far all the points the teams possessed came from the small point flags. No one had captured a team flag yet. 

Nicholas suggested prioritizing another point rush before making a final run for a team flag. That way they’d have a good amount of points to fall back on in case it didn’t end well. So when the second half began, he and Nicholas were one of the pairings making rounds through the zones, staying careful and alert because, as Euijoo pointed out to them all, people became even more unhinged at this point in the game.

Finding point flags was harder this time around because so many of them had been picked over, but the two of them worked smoothly together, combing through the zones efficiently before moving on. 

Euijoo plucked a pink flag from the leaves of a bush and clipped it on the snap hook at his hip. Harua was part of the pink team, which meant his campers were too, and when Euijoo pictured all of their cute little faces, he almost felt bad for taking it. But then he got confronted by Tony from the registration department, wearing a pink shirt, and he stopped feeling bad about it. 

Euijoo counted it as a personal accomplishment that he managed to make it deeper into the woods and lose the man in the trees, which were thankfully a bit denser in this zone. He might not be the most coordinated individual, but apparently he could fake a man out and leap over a log. 

It was the small victories.

He circled back to the makeshift rendezvous point he’d set with Nicholas – a little cluster of trees with trunks growing close together. It provided some shielding from the open space of the clearing beyond the tree line. 

Euijoo squatted down before him, breathing hard. Nicholas noticed the addition of a pink flag on him. “Nice.”

“Let’s take these back to the base,” Euijoo said, flipping it over to read the point value stamped onto it. Fifteen. Not bad. Every little bit helped. Combined with the handful of flags swinging from Nico’s hip, it was probably enough to give them an edge in the points department.

Nicholas shook his head and pointed across the clearing. “There’s another one. See it? Under that table.”

Euijoo followed his line of sight. A little picnic table sat toward the middle of the clearing, a bright pink flag taped onto one of the legs. It was shaded by the wooden tabletop, but the neon color against the fading grey was still very noticeable. 

“Someone else will get that in no time,” he dismissed, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from underneath his bangs and adjust his cap. He had long since sweated off his face paint and just removed it all during the downtime period after lunch. Some faded orange swirls still clung around Nicholas’ eyes. 

Nicholas ignored him, rising to his feet. “I’m going for it.”

“That’s crazy. You already have six flags.”

“Maybe I’m crazy.” Euijoo grabbed his wrist before he took off, just as a flash of pink emerged on the opposite side of the clearing. The person turned around just as Nicholas ducked back behind the trees, back out of sight, tripping over a root while he was at it. 

“Maybe you should listen to me more,” Euijoo pointed out, letting go once he was sure he had his balance. Just then, there was more movement to the left, drawing Euijoo’s eyes. Tony. He was walking through the trees a short distance away. He hadn’t spotted them yet. 

Nicholas reacted quicker than he did, grabbing Euijoo by the front of his tee and tugging him forward at the same time he flattened back against one of the trees. Euijoo squawked, but he hoped Tony and any other person nearby would assume he was a bird and didn’t come to investigate. 

Euijoo pressed up against the trunk beside Nicholas, holding his breath. Luckily, the footsteps kept going in the other direction without pausing, a steadily fading crunch over the leaves. Euijoo realized Nicholas had been holding his breath too when suddenly he felt warmth bloom over his chin, smelling faintly of the blue raspberry jello one of the campers spoon fed him during lunch.

His co-counselor smiled up at him, voice hushed. “What would you do without me?” 

Euijoo wanted to smile back but only managed a slight twitch of the lips.

I don’t know, but I’ll have to figure it out.

They remained huddled close even though the danger of being caught had passed. Ironically, the longer they sat here the more the risk increased again. Their shirts were literally anti-camo. But there they stayed – the roughness of the bark along Euijoo’s left arm contrasted by the softness of Nicholas’ arm along his front. Euijoo’s eyes traced down the side of his face and stopped at his lips. The jello left a bit of blue on them, along the inner seam, right under his cupid’s bow. 

The next thought he had – that they might carry a lingering taste of blue raspberry on them – was a dangerous one to linger on. He forced his eyes away, stomach turning. Nicholas was still looking at him, head turned to the side. He wasn’t smiling anymore. 

There came a sudden rustling in the brush, and the forest produced a wild Maki, who squatted behind a tree parallel to them. 

“Oh hey guys,” he greeted when he noticed them. He lifted his camera and snapped a quick picture of them. If he’d bothered to check it, he probably would have noticed Euijoo’s set of extra-wide eyes. He subtly scooted away from Nicholas.

Nicholas sighed. “Hey, Maki, how’s it going?”

“Good.” Maki nodded, clicking a couple buttons on the device before letting the camera hang from the strap around his neck. “Team’s putting up a decent fight. Oh, and Himena? Unexpectedly insane. She solo-stopped attempted jail breaks three times already. We got a whole bunch of oranges sitting in there right now.” He seemed to notice the color of their shirts for the first time. “Oh. Sorry.” 

Euijoo took in Maki’s put-together appearance. His hair was still in place, green t-shirt pristine, and he was breathing normally. A sheen of sweat shimmered along his neck, but that was about it. “Are you actually playing the game?”

“I like to think of myself as a wild card. Staying back, capturing memories, ready to jump in and provide an assist if called upon.”

“How many people have called upon you for help today?” challenged Nicholas.

“Not important.”

“So none then?” Euijoo guessed.

“I’m starting to feel really ganged up on right now.”

They parted ways with Maki, and Euijoo even convinced Nico to give up on the extra flag for the greater purpose of keeping the ones they had.

It turned out to be the right call. One of the other counselors on their team, Gaku, spotted them on the way back to base. He came up to them, arms laden with a bunch of flags, looking a mite bit flustered but happy to see them. “Me and Enna found soooo many! She’s still out there looking. Nico, help me take some of these back,” he requested, passing several of the flags into Nicholas’ hands before he even agreed. “And then I think we need to check some of the jails because people aren’t coming back to the base.”

“That would be the green team’s doing,” Euijoo informed him. 

Gaku looked off into the distance, a strangely solemn look clouding his features. “Himena.” Euijoo blinked at him, wondering what he knew about the Aquatics staff member that no one else did. “Right, we should move. EJ… I’d give some to you, but you know, the two left feet thing. We can’t risk it at this point.”

“I get it.”

Nicholas flashed him an apologetic smile before jogging off with Gaku and the flags, the two of them boldly cutting through open space because that’s how confident they were. Not Euijoo. Nope. He stuck to all the borders and tree covers he could, taking the safest (and slowest) route necessary to make sure he got the three flags he possessed back safely. 

And guess what? He did.

He didn’t see Nicholas or Gaku at their base when he deposited the flags into their team box, so he ventured back out again. 

The game played on, and he didn’t make much progress finding any more flags. There were probably hardly any left at this point. Soon the teams would have to start setting their sights on the team flags or nothing. 

At one point he passed by Jo, who was taking up residence behind a tree. The Aquatics member stiffened when he saw Euijoo approach, round eyes growing wider, like a bunny about to bolt. Euijoo noticed the couple of yellow flags hanging from his hip under the fall of his blue t-shirt. 

“I come in peace,” he announced, holding up his hands and stopping several feet away. To illustrate how much of a threat he wasn’t – because Jo was new here, it wasn’t general knowledge to him yet – Euijoo sat down on the grass, leaning back on his arms. He’d been wanting to sit for a while, tired from walking around and moggish from the sun. This was just an excuse, really. “And I don’t have anything on me.” 

Some people might still be suspicious, but Jo relaxed immediately, even turning his back on Euijoo to peek around the large trunk of the tree again. “Yuma got caught,” he said before turning and putting his hands on his hips. He was sporting a frown that could be from contemplation or sun glare. It was Euijoo’s first time seeing that sort of look on him, his expressions normally so mild. That’s what war could do to you. “This is one of his flags. I’m trying to figure out if I should try and save him, but… I told him not to be so greedy.”

“Greedy works for some people,” Euijoo mused. “Who caught him?”

“The purple team. Fuma came out of nowhere.” 

“Oof.”

Jo looked at him. “He scares me.”

“Yeah.”

Euijoo left him to that conundrum, not having the heart to tell him that Yuma would likely be out of commission for the remainder of this thing. 

While walking back to the base, he came across a purple flag lying on one of the trails, obviously dropped by somebody. A 50-pointer. Euijoo thanked someone for the hard work it probably took to get it and clipped it onto his own snap hook. All’s fair in love and war. 

☀️

He walked along the path in front of the camper and counselor cabins, cutting through to get to the orange team’s zone. It was still and quiet over here. Not another soul as far as Euijoo could see. None of the zones occupied this area, and that’s what made it a great pit stop between mini battle royales. A place where he could breathe and not have to duck for cover or run for his life. 

He walked right by his personal cabin, and the cabin he and Nicholas shared for bunk duty, glancing at it out of habit. That’s how he noticed the door was ajar. 

Euijoo frowned and changed course to go close it. He was sure he’d done so when they left this morning. It was so ingrained in his routine he’d feel off-kilter if he didn’t. 

But there had been a lot going on this morning. A different time schedule. Extra-excited kids. Nicholas. He wouldn’t be that surprised if he had a slip of the mind. According to other people, that sort of thing has been happening to him a lot lately. 

He climbed the stairs, doing a quick glance inside the room through the space in the door just because, and his hand paused on the handle. Someone was sitting on the bed across from the door. Pushing it open further revealed it to be Nicholas, but he wasn’t alone. His arm was wrapped around the shoulders of a kid wearing a green t-shirt. Euijoo recognized him. Even though he couldn’t see the boy’s face because his head was ducked, the red hair gave it away. Bobby, one of the campers they supervised together before the split. Nicholas had a hand on the boy’s chest to help keep him upright, and Bobby had both of his much smaller ones over Nicholas’, breathing so deeply Euijoo could see his small chest rising and falling. 

“You’re okay,” Nicholas was saying, rubbing a soothing line up and down his arm. “Just keep sitting up straight. Breathe.”

Euijoo stepped inside. “Nico.” Nicholas looked up. Bobby didn’t. Euijoo felt a shot of worry as he swiftly crossed over to them and kneeled down in front of the boy, trying to get a look at his face. “What happened?”

“I was with him when his breathing started getting a little shallow. I think he might have gotten overheated, so I brought him here to sit down and cool off. Gave him some water.” Euijoo noticed the open bottle on the desk. Barely any was gone. “He seems a little better, but I wanted to get the nurse. I didn’t want to leave him alone, though. And, you know, no phones. We haven’t been in here for that long. I was still thinking about what to do next.” 

The way Nicholas spoke was levelheaded and even, but there was a slight roundness to the edge of his eyes that indicated he was a little uneasy but staying calm for Bobby’s sake. 

“You did the right thing,” Euijoo assured him. He touched one of Bobby's knees under the dinosaur shorts. “Bobby, how are you feeling?”

The boy’s breaths were still a little quick, but after a few of them, he answered in a soft voice. “Okay. My chest feels a little funny.” 

“Okay, just take deep breaths.” Euijoo touched his forehead and cheeks. He was warm but not burning, and it was hard to tell if it was just due to the weather or something more serious, like heatstroke. Besides the shallow breathing, he wasn’t displaying any other worrying symptoms. “And try to drink some more water.”

Nicholas grabbed the bottle and held it up to Bobby’s mouth. He took the bottle but didn’t drink. 

“I’m gonna go get the nurse,” Euijoo said, standing up. “Be right back.” 

He jogged the short way to the camp clinic, which was thankfully not too far from the cabins – just a little north of the admin building. He gave a quick summary to the staff there, and a nurse followed him back with a little bag of supplies that included cold compresses and a stethoscope. When they entered the cabin, Euijoo was relieved to see that Bobby was drinking the water now, shoes kicking against the side of the bed. Nicholas remained beside him, chin in his hand, using the other to rub little circles into Bobby’s back. 

The nurse stepped forward. “Hi Bobby, how are you feeling?” Bobby looked up at her, eyes round. 

“I’m okay.”

“I’m nurse Katy. I’m just going to take a look at you, okay?” Bobby nodded. 

Euijoo and Nicholas stepped outside to give her space to work and also to give the two of them some privacy, just in case Bobby started to feel nervous or overwhelmed. 

“He’s lucky you were with him,” Euijoo said after a minute of sitting in silence on the cabin steps, listening to the sound of distant screaming as the game played on in different places. 

“I’m lucky you showed up. I was really trying to figure out what to do there.”

“I think you did everything you could in that moment.” Euijoo frowned, considering something. “Maybe this place should rethink their cellphone policy. It would have been better if you could just call the clinic. Especially if something was seriously wrong.” 

“I probably would’ve called you even before the nurse.”

Euijoo smiled at that. There was a breeze today. It pushed the fluffy, white clouds across the sky and made it so that it didn’t feel unbearable to be out here playing a day-long game in. He was still sweating, but then the breeze would come through and cool his skin. It was nice but yet another gentle reminder that the summer was drawing to a close. Sure, the season lasted for another month after camp. But the heart of it, the hottest part, was ending. And at some point Euijoo had started associating summer itself with being here. 

He stared absently at the grass. “Why did you want to become a counselor?”

He felt Nicholas glance at him before answering. “No big reason. Fuma asked me. I remember how it felt to be at this place, and I thought, yeah I want to feel that again. See if it’s the same.”

“Is it?”

“It’s the same, but different. Honestly it’s less cool in some ways, but that’s just because I grew up. Everything’s not as big and fascinating anymore. But, in other ways, it’s better.” He paused. “You know what’s funny? I think I’m partly who I am because of the years I spent here, and I know that’s thanks to the counselors I had. Those guys were like superheroes, I mean it felt like they did everything . Played with us and talked to us and patched us up and made us feel better. Encouraged us to be better. I just thought it’d be nice to be a part of that for other kids. So that they grow up and look back fondly on times like these. They’re over quick but they can mean a lot.”

“That’s not ‘no big reason.’”

“No, maybe it’s not. What about you?”

“Well,” Euijoo sighed. “I recently got my degree in social work.”

“That’s a little bit different.”

“A little bit.”

“So you’ve always loved children.”

“Not exactly. My parents kind of pushed me into it. My grandma was a nurse, my mother’s a pediatrician. They wanted the same sort of thing for me, but I didn’t think I could go the medical route. Social work seemed… softer.” 

“But you didn’t want to do it.”

“It’s not that I wanted to or didn’t want to. I was sixteen, so I just said okay. It would make them happy.”

Euijoo clocked Nicholas’ disconcerted silence. “ But, somewhere along the line I did really start enjoying it. It started to mean something to me. My halmeoni always talked about how fulfilling her work was because she felt connected to each and every one of her kids. Working here, I understand what she meant. I get that feeling every day. So I guess I got lucky. I got to learn that I loved kids. At some point I noticed I was pushing myself in school not just to make my family proud but to make sure I’m the right kind of person to be helping children one day. I want to be.”

“You are a pretty textbook counselor.”

“That a compliment?” Euijoo wrapped his arms around his knees and gave him a cheesy look. Nicholas blinked in return.

“I mean, textbooks can be a little stiff. Rigid. Can put you to sleep if you’re not careful.” Euijoo groaned and shoved his face into his knees, and Nicholas relented. “But I guess they’re also the example everyone follows. Most reliable thing you’re gonna get.”

Euijoo lifted his head to look at him through the frizzed tendrils of his hair. “Aww. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sure you’ll be a textbook… whatever you do next.”

“I’m starting grad school when the summer’s over. And I’ll be working as a case aide at a foster care center at the same time.”

“That’s amazing. Sounds like a lot.”

“I’m good at handling a lot.”

“I know you are.” Nicholas’ voice was gentle with sincerity. “Just pace yourself, alright? I just recently found out you had a personality. I’d hate for you to revert.”

Euijoo had a scalding retort sitting on the tip of his tongue, but it wasn’t what came out. “I’m gonna miss you, when we leave in a couple days.” His voice cracked on something soft, and too late he remembered he wasn’t supposed to be. “As far as first training experiences go, you weren’t the worst person I could’ve gotten stuck with.” 

Funny how in the beginning he had thought Nicholas would be just that – someone who dragged his entire summer down. Now he knew how lucky he was.  

Euijoo expected him to continue with the verbal tennis – his turn to hit the ball back. But instead, he completely stopped the game. “I’m gonna miss you, too.”

Euijoo played with his nails, heart in his throat. “Do you think you’ll work here again next summer?” At this point, it was the only hope he could cling to that this wasn’t the very end of things. That maybe next summer, at least, they could pick up where they left off. 

Before Nicholas could reply, the cabin door swung open behind them, a slight creak in its hinges. They stood up as Katy emerged from the room with Bobby, his hand in hers. “I’m going to take Bobby to lie down in some air conditioning.”

Bobby’s face was still a little red and splotchy in some places, but his eyes were clear and unpanicked as they tracked a small white butterfly that was fluttering past. “Is he okay?” Nicholas asked.

“He’s fine,” Katy assured with a smile, holding a hand up to block her eyes from the sun hitting the side of her face. “He just got a little warm, I think. Maybe a little overstimulated. I think he just needs to rest for a bit. I’ll keep an eye on him.” 

“Alright.” Euijoo bent over, lightly pinching one of his cheeks. “Feel better, Bobby.”

Bobby nodded. “Okay.” When they passed, he waved up at Nicholas, who ruffled his hair in response, stepping aside so they had room to get down the stairs. 

“Thank you for coming,” Euijoo called after her. 

“Of course!” Katy replied brightly. “Good luck with the rest of the game. Go team orange!” 

The camp horn sounded as she and Bobby made their way down the path. Euijoo could squint and see one of the event staff members actually cranking it across the way. It meant they were halfway through the second half of the game. An hour left. 

Beside him, Nicholas was squinting at it, too. “I’m still not crazy about that thing.” 

“I’m guessing they had the bell when you were here.”

“Yeah.”

“It was less campy.”

“It was less irritating." 

Euijoo let him have it. He didn’t have years of nostalgia to fuel his defense like Nicholas did. 

Euijoo stretched, back emitting a series of cracks. He didn’t know if the stiffness came from the wooden deck or the hours of strenuous play, but there was no time to rest now. He had to get his head back in the game if they were going to make an attempt to capture a team flag. He wondered where all the scores were at now. 

And then Nicholas touched him, and Euijoo ceased thinking about anything at all. 

“Would it be bad if we didn’t finish the game? 

“You don’t want to finish the game?” Euijoo asked absently, staring down at where Nicholas’ hand was closed around his wrist for no reason, heart going a little stupid at the contact, but he felt he controlled it well on his face. “Are you feeling okay?”

Nicholas, the guy who gave them battle strategies and rousing pep talks? Who seemed the most determined of everyone to see them place this year? Wanted to tap out during the last stretch? Euijoo almost asked if he needed some water or a cold compress, too. Maybe the heat was getting to him. 

“Fine, but… they wouldn’t miss us for an hour, right?”

“What do you mean?” Just asking was out of character for him. Normally he would instantly decline anything that wasn’t in line with the agenda for the day, and he felt like Nicholas knew that. Nicholas, whose tone was as casual as ever, but whose eyes never once left Euijoo’s, something uncommonly open in their depths. 

“I don’t know. Tomorrow’s the last day. We haven’t gotten to talk much since the split. Why don’t we just– hang out for the rest of the game? Talk some more.” 

“Y… but…” But what? 

A nervous air tilted Nicholas’ smile, fingers twitching around Euijoo’s wrist. “Can we break the rules a little bit?”

His dedicated role as a counselor aside, Euijoo didn’t know if there were still rules beyond the one he had for himself; and it was very simple: don’t make it harder to say goodbye to Nicholas than it was already going to be. 

“I need to get this flag back.” He smiled harder than he needed to, trying to forcefully navigate his way out of the pillowy moment before he sank too far into it. “Don’t get lazy on me now. We can sleep when we’ve won. Where’s your fighting spirit, Nico?”

“You’re mean for throwing that back in my face.” Nicholas’ fingers loosened slowly, and he let him go. A warm ring remained where he’d touched – a gentle brand. 

Early in the summer Euijoo would run from Nicholas – sometimes literally – to escape awkward situations and conversations he didn’t know how to have with him yet. Now he was running from him to dodge something that felt too right, too perfect. All because, if he slipped up and let himself have it, it would suck that much harder when he had to let it go.

🍓

So that was his answer, right?

Not about the fighting spirit comment. Nicholas had a feeling they both knew it wasn’t about that. Euijoo had actually thrown something else back in his face. 

It had taken a lot for Nicholas to do it – ask Euijoo for his time as a person instead of a coworker. His chest was the kind of fluttery that made it hard to draw in a full, complete breath – not because of physical exertion but because of thought. Anticipation. Day by day he found himself drawing closer to Euijoo like a moth to a flame. Even learning a little more about his life outside of camp just now had Nicholas hanging onto his every word. 

This kind of thing hardly happened to him. Whether it sounded bad or not, with most people, talking was just a means to an end. Obligatory; a way to fill up space or take up time. A polite courtesy. In one ear and out the other. Shallow.

But Nicholas wanted to know about Euijoo. Not as a means to an end but as a welcome prelude to something bigger that could go on as long as they wanted it to. Only he could hear a clock ticking in his head every time he looked at Euijoo, which was unfortunate because it distracted him from the very pleasant experience that was getting to look at Euijoo.

Nicholas wished they could start the summer over, begin it as friends. Or extended it by three more months. 

As he watched Euijoo walk away to deliver that single flag to their base, he heard the clock growing louder as it ticked down into its final hours. 

☀️

Euijoo never made it to their base with the flag. He ended up getting jumped by Harua and three of his campers on the way. Bunch of pink-clad Tasmanian devils. Harua let the kids be the ones to take the flag off him because he knew Euijoo wouldn’t fight back, which definitely made it crueler. But then, the kids were so cute and happy about it, it almost made it not humiliating.

Their group did make a last attempt to capture a team flag, to no avail. They were too spread out and disorganized, and they lacked an effective strategy. Turns out running in screaming wasn’t a card one could, or should, play all the time.

When the final seconds ticked down and the horn sounded again to signal the end of the game, Euijoo at least felt like this year he contributed. Some point-earning here. An assist there. He was an actual team asset, instead of just, you know, a bumbling inevitability. 

Everyone gathered back up around the flagpole for the final tallies – a massive, sweaty sea of multicolored shirts and flushed faces. 

Several Leads and activity heads counted the flags out in front of everyone, being dramatic but concise because the midafternoon sun was beating down, and at this point everyone wanted to get inside and eat. When they were about a third of the way done, it was obvious to Euijoo the orange team wasn’t winning, even with Nico and Gaku’s impressive stint at the end there. The purple and yellow teams were too strong - and their in-game beef with each other too impactful. It was crazy, the way their points kept climbing. So maybe Sakura did have a point about being vicious.

What caught him off guard was that orange ended up placing third. The underdogs had actually made a comeback. Euijoo knew it was a result of his teammates’ efforts more than his own; but a win was a win.

They all cheered and congratulated each other. Event staff handed them their little bronze medals. Silver and gold went to the second and first place teams, and participation medals were distributed all around. Once that was done, the media team took pictures of all the teams individually. Then everyone came together for a group photo, the plastic medals around their necks glinting in the white-yellow sun. 

As everyone slowly dispersed, Euijoo found Nicholas’ side. “You win some you lose some,” he tried, and was strangely relieved to be rewarded with one of Nicholas’ easy smiles.

“We’ll get them next year.”

It might have been an answer to Euijoo’s earlier question about if he’d be willing to come back for another summer.

It was enough for him to hope it counted as a promise. 

🍓

If campfires were one of the most popular activities of the summer, the last one came with a different kind of energy. 

Everything felt bright and relaxed. Everyone was winding down. Capture the flag was over. Victors were crowned. For the counselors, they’d made it through the most grueling parts of the summer, and now they could relax knowing the last day was around the corner and the time between now and then would be easygoing. Music flowed from small speakers that were positioned on the ground, around the log benches surrounding the campfire – a bright, yellow-orange blaze in the center.

Nicholas spotted Taki over at the same snack table he was headed for. Apparently, he was usually present at the last campfire because he came to stay with K in his cabin for the last couple of days while everything was wrapping up and K closed out his duties. Afterwards, they would leave together to go on an end-of-summer trip of some kind. According to K, it was random every year. They threw a dart on a map and left it up to fate. 

“Good to see you again.” Taki looked up, probably not expecting to be spoken to, but his expression relaxed when he saw it was Nicholas, maybe even warmed. He went back to spooning jellybeans into a little bio-degradable bag, layered black hair pushed behind his ears. 

“You too.”

He seemed more relaxed tonight in his button down short sleeve, army green tee and jeans. Still a little shy – or maybe reserved was a better word.

Nicholas left him to his jellybeans and grabbed a styrofoam cup, filling it from a dispenser full of something amber. He tasted it. Ah– tea, slightly too sweet on his tongue. But refreshing. He went to rejoin his group of campers, even though most of them were scattered around in different places. In times like these, everyone just watched out for everyone.

There was a space next to Euijoo on one of the long log benches that seemed meant for Nicholas to take. He couldn’t know for sure if that was true, but Euijoo barely reacted when he sat down beside him, save for scooting over a little bit to make some more room.

Nicholas took a sip of the tea. He’d pinpointed the flavor as raspberry. “That should be you,” he said, using the cup to gesture across the fire at a female counselor. She had the swear jar in her hands, shaking the coins like a maraca to the beat of the soft pop song playing. It surprised Nicholas that Fuma wasn’t the MVP of the purple team this time around, and thus the rightful winner of the jar. But then it occurred to him that Fuma probably was the MVP ; he just didn’t give a fuck about the $13.75 like the rest of their broke assess did. “Half of those quarters belonged to you anyway.” 

Without looking, Euijoo closed his hand into a fist and hit him on the arm. It didn’t hurt.

“Ow.”

As was tradition, s’mores fixings were eventually passed around. Piles of enormous, fluffy, square-shaped marshmallows, bars of milk chocolate, sheets of golden graham crackers and sticks that looked like they came from the ground but prettier. Like they’d at least been hosed down. All served on wooden “plates” Nicholas was pretty sure were just bark. 

Euijoo took his components from one of them before offering it to Nicholas, but he declined with a shake of his head. 

Bobby came up to him. After the game, while the other kids were showering and getting ready for dinner, Nicholas had gone to pick him up from the clinic. He looked good as new – a normal amount of flush to his cheeks and eyes that were bright and focused. He was eating a lollipop when Nicholas came in. The official diagnosis was just as Katy had predicted; some slight overheating and overexertion. After some monitored rest, he was declared good to go back. Bobby kept his hand in Nicholas’ the whole way back to the cabins. Even though both of their palms started sweating almost as soon as they stepped outside, Nicholas hadn’t minded it at all. 

“Hey buddy. You still feeling okay?” Nicholas asked him now, giving him a once-over. Bobby nodded. 

“Yeah.” 

“Great.” Nicholas wound an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. “Want a s’more?” Bobby nodded again, cheeks lifting. 

Nicholas grabbed a marshmallow from the nearest plate and skewered it onto an unused stick, standing and walking with Bobby to the fire. There were thick stones outlining the perimeter, ensuring everyone stayed a safe distance away from it. The two of them found an open space and sat down cross-legged, the heat from the fire pulsing intensely against skin but not burning. 

“Watch carefully. This is the most important part of any s’more,” Nicholas instructed, as someone who’d maybe had one in his life. And he was pretty sure he hadn’t even made it himself. 

He extended the stick toward the fire, making sure to keep the marshmallow at the edge of the jumping flame, ready to pull it back if it started to catch fire. It made the process a little slower, but it would be worth it. Next to them, Euijoo was doing the same standing up, but when pulled his marshmallow out of the flame, it immediately slid from the stick and splatted on the ground by his shoes – a gooey, charred mess in the dirt. He pouted at it.

“Don’t be like EJ,” Nicholas advised Bobby – loud enough to be heard over the snapping fire and conversation, of course. And of course, when he looked up, Euijoo was glowering back. While he went to get another marshmallow, Bobby climbed into Nicholas’ lap, holding the end of the stick between both small hands. Nicholas kept his hands on it a little further up, helping him twist it at intervals so the marshmallow got evenly toasted. 

Not that he was bragging, but they ended up assembling the perfect s’more. 

Eventually, yeah – Euijoo did, too. 

They ate them and Nicholas drank his tea and listened to Sakura excitedly recounting a buzzer beater moment during the game. Apparently, Jo was being chased by someone on a different team and had just managed to throw his last flag to her before he was caught. She explained how she was able to get it into their team bucket right before the game ended, enthusiastically declaring the reason they placed fourth was thanks to him. Nicholas smiled at the sight of Jo’s ears turning red.

The evening went on like that. Campfire events were nice because they never had any real structure, just vibes. Talking, decompressing, and eating sweet. A perfect end to any week. A fitting end to the summer. 

At some point the music stopped, leaving only the steady rolling murmur of talking underscored by the usual noise of nightlife. As the evening drew closer to its end, everything slowed down, became more intimate, like a flame being turned lower. People started coming in from the woods and from where they were scattered around the yard, drawing closer to the pit, and to each other. Conversations had lulls in them as people took to watching the campfire like a movie. As it grew darker, it seemed to glow even richer, hypnotizing them into lowering their voices. 

But that only lasted so long.

“Maki, sing us something!” The request was followed by immediate vocal encouragement, mostly from other staff members. 

On the other side of the fire with his back against one of the seats, Maki was shaking his head and waving them all off with his hand. It only made people push more, cranking their cajoling up a notch. Nicholas looked around, intrigued at the kind of response he was getting. He glanced at Eujoo questioningly. The other man nodded sagely back. 

“No, no, guys I couldn’t,” Maki insisted, but the way he was sitting up and fixing his clothes – wiping them free of graham cracker crumbs and smoothing them down – contrasted those words. Not a moment later, he changed his tune. “Well, alright, I mean, if you insist .” He shrugged, like he was only giving in to do all of them a favor. His sly smile said otherwise. 

Nicholas lifted his brows, pushing himself up straighter.

“This is unrehearsed, so take it easy on me,” he warned, and then proceeded to let out the most warmed up-sounding vocals Nicholas had ever heard. Not that he knew much about singing. But he did know one thing: Maki sounded good. 

“So tired of sleepin’ alone
So tired of eatin’ alone
I need to ask her what’s goin’ on
Are we goin’ strong?” 

His voice was smooth and strong, with a slight rasp to it that gave it a pleasantly rich tone. Nicholas was floored. He’d need to take a seat if he wasn’t already sitting down. 

“The long drive, the coastline
Lookin’ out at first light…”

People clapped to the rhythm. Another guy on the media team was leaning to the side taking a video on a Go Pro. Good – it would be a crime not to record this. Nicholas was sitting right here, but he was still going to ask to watch the footage back to make sure what he was hearing and seeing was actually real. 

“Ohhh, Saturday Sun
I met someone
Out on the West Coast
I gotta get back, I can’t let this go…”

It didn’t look like Maki was even trying, holding notes and smiling around the execution like he did this every day. It shocked a laugh out of Nicholas – so loud he had to cover his mouth. He had to wonder if photography was really what Maki should be pursuing, because what the hell? This wasn’t just some silly thing. He was actually a crazy talented singer.

“Oh, Saturday Sun
I met someone
Don’t care what it  costs
No ray of sunlight’s every loooost!”

Euijoo whooped. Everyone started cheering. Next to Maki, Taki was looking at him with his mouth hanging open so wide Nicholas worried he was gonna catch flies.

Maki finished up and took a seated bow while cheers from kids and colleagues alike reached new volumes. Even though he was playing it off, Nicholas could see the pleased flush to the younger man’s cheeks from here, caught by the fire. He was smiling so wide his dimples had their own shadows.

A female Lead Counselor stepped to the front. “I think that is the perfect note to call it a night on. Let’s hear it one more time for our Maki, and then again for all of us.” She paused for another short round of clapping. “Seriously everyone, it’s been such an incredible summer, and that’s all thanks to our amazing campers and staff. Thank you all for making this experience so unforgettable.” Nicholas glanced at Euijoo at that. He was watching the Lead with a small smile on his face. “Half-day tomorrow! Let’s make it a great one, too. Thanks, Camp Wolf Lake!” 

Cheers rose from the circle, people raising cups and marshmallow sticks and hands. 

K stood up as well, clapping his hands a couple times. “Alright, let’s wrap up here and head off to bed. Teamwork makes the dreamwork. Everyone grab your own trash and find a bag.” 

With this system, cleanup went pretty quickly. The campers were fairly efficient at picking up after themselves at this point in the summer, and soon the ground was spotless and bunk counselors for the evening were gathering them up into lines and doing headcounts. 

Nicholas found he was a little bummed he wasn’t one of them. Yesterday he’d been so wiped from another long day he barely even registered it would be the last time he’d be with his campers during the night. At least he’d see them tomorrow. He could spend a little extra time with each of them and say goodbye properly. 

The masses filtered out, bunk counselors with their campers and everyone else. Fuma and K were about to start extinguishing the fire when Euijoo, who’d taken a seat once more, stopped them. “I’ll put it out,” he offered, turning his face to look up at them. Orange light flickered across one side. “I know the procedure. I just want to stay here a little longer.” 

K and Fuma paused, exchanging a look with each other like they were having a mental conversation about if they wanted to allow it. It couldn’t be because they didn’t trust Euijoo (he probably put out a fire so meticulously it steered into overkill territory), but it was likely against some camp safety procedure to leave him alone with it.

Nicholas stepped into the conversation. “I’ll stay with him. Make sure he doesn’t accidentally burn this place to the ground.” 

Euijoo regarded him, expression hard to read, but his lips quirked up and Nicholas saw his head move in a small nod. Another silent exchange passed between the two Leads.

“Alright. Make sure you remember to scrape the logs,” Fuma reminded Euijoo, who nodded seriously. He turned with K to leave. “Have a good night, you two. See you in the morning.” 

They walked off, and Euijoo pulled one of the log benches closer to the shrinking fire. Instead of sitting on it, he sank down in front of it, back against it for support. Nicholas joined him, drinking in the warmth from the crackling blaze. Nighttime pressed in, and already the air was starting to grow colder.

“Do you actually know anything about dousing a fire this size?” Euijoo asked without looking away from it, voice low. 

“Doesn’t matter what I know. What matters is what you know and can explain to me.” Euijoo didn’t respond, leaning forward and putting his chin on his arms. Nicholas pulled his hood up over his hair and settled back. 

“I like to watch it die down,” Euijoo shared at some point. “When I can.” Nicholas couldn’t recall a time when Euijoo wasn’t the one leading the charge away from Saturday night campfires the second everyone was dismissed. The first one inside the cabins for bunk duty, always intent on keeping a schedule. Euijoo answered his thoughts. “Okay, I don’t usually do it, but I always want to, so I thought I would tonight. Last chance I’ll get until next year.” 

It felt like something he wanted to share, not something that needed a response, so Nicholas let it hang in the air without saying anything. Silence washed over them as they watched the flames dance. It was fine by Nicholas. He was glad they could just sit like this. Glad Euijoo seemed content with it, too, finally. Personally, it was one of the ways Nicholas liked to exist with people he was close to. Through a sense of togetherness that didn’t always require words. 

It was easy, especially because he wasn’t always good with words. 

Euijoo started rustling around beside himself. He noticed Nicholas looking and offered the bag of marshmallows – that Nicholas didn’t even know he was hoarding – to him with an outstretched arm and owl eyes. Nicholas shook his head and declined. “S’too sweet.”

Euijoo shrugged and set about skewering the confection on a stick, holding it an appropriate distance from the flame this time. The smell of cooking sugar hit his nose. When he pulled it back, the marshmallow had a lightly browned crust and a tiny white blue flame clinging to the corner, bubbling it up. He watched Euijoo’s lips pout to blow it out.

Nicholas thought about making a joke, congratulating him on his newfound marshmallow-roasting capabilities, but he didn’t. Something about right now felt too tender, too soft to the touch. He didn’t want to tear it with something blunt and hollow. 

The sound of chewing was quiet. Nicholas didn’t know at what point he realized he had subtly watched Euijoo eat the whole thing. He felt warm all over his body, not from the fire in front of him but from something within. 

Euijoo sucked some marshmallow from his thumb, tossed the stick to the side. A bit of the sticky, melted sugar stuck to the corner of his mouth. He didn’t seem to notice it.

Nicholas didn’t think. He never really did. 

He reached over and smudged it off with his thumb.

☀️

All those thoughts Euijoo had about separation being the best thing for him, the most effective way to stop his feelings from growing? They weren't true. 

🍓

The fire made his eyes look lighter brown.

Nicholas could see the flame flickering within them as Euijoo looked at him now. Really, openly looked. Not scared but something neighboring it, his lips parting in surprise when Nicholas’ thumb grazed the side of them. 

Earlier, he figured Euijoo had given him his answer, but Nicholas hadn’t even asked the question properly. 

He wasn’t someone who did anything by halves. Well, sometimes – if they weren’t that important. But the things he cared about he gave nothing less than 100% to. Maybe more. Heart, soul, everything – all left on the line. That way when the universe decided what would come of his efforts, he knew without a shadow of a doubt whatever happened wasn’t because he didn’t try. 

He didn’t know when he started caring about Euijoo. Or when it got to be this much. Probably somewhere between team-building activities and melted chocolate. Or challenges in the lake and a million fireflies. Poison ivy and sunburns. Keychains and cake. Somewhere in between and maybe everywhere all at once.

Nicholas lowered his hand, but his eyes stayed locked on Euijoo’s. 

And he asked the question.

☀️

When Euijoo’s hand slowly came up, it was of its own accord, like he was witnessing himself do it from outside of his body. 

He watched Nicholas for any sign, any indication at all this was the wrong thing to do, but the other man was as still as a statue. The tips of Euijoo’s fingers grazed his skin, near the corner of his mouth just like where Nicholas had touched him. 

He didn’t have any excuse for his actions. No explanation, no words, not that he could speak them if he did. It felt like he was taking one long inhale as his fingers traced higher up along Nicholas’ cheek, whisper soft. And Nicholas let him, observing him with dark eyes that reflected the fire. 

If Euijoo were to count the number of people he’s wanted to kiss in his life on his fingers, he would only need one hand. The desire didn’t hit him often, and still none of those times had felt anything like this. His heart didn’t get through a single beat that felt normal. Each pump felt like the organ was somersaulting down several flights of stairs. The pads of his fingers zipped with electricity where they touched Nicholas’ smooth skin. His tongue traced along the back of his teeth at the thought of tasting raspberry tea on Nicholas’ lips. 

Euijoo had never seen his coworker blush before, at least not in a way that couldn’t be attributed to the sun – or the artificial blush from the fashion activity that felt like a lifetime ago now. He stared, fascinated, as a distinct rosy hue seeped through the delicate pale of Nicholas’ skin, spreading over the apples of his cheeks before creeping across the bridge of his nose, a steadily-deepening magenta. 

Nicholas didn’t tan, he was allergic to it, but Euijoo was reminded how easily he reddened under the sun. 

For a breathless few moments, under the inky blanket of sky, Euijoo was mystified. 

🍓

Nicholas didn’t move.

He didn’t want to accept it was too good to be true until it actually was. Euijoo was prone to doing things for the sake of other people, because he could see it was what they wanted. If Nicholas were to pounce on him now, close the distance and climb into his lap and plant one right on that slack mouth of his, it would be more than apparent what Nicholas wanted. 

There was a part to Euijoo’s lips as he slid his fingers past Nicholas’ jaw and teased the hair at his nape, sending warm shivers down his spine. 

But Euijoo was still thinking, searching – a deer Nicholas didn’t want to startle. 

So he dug his fingers into the sleeves of his hoodie and didn’t move.

☀️

Euijoo’s heart jackrabbited as he pressed his fingers against the back of Nicholas’ neck, applying light pressure. If he was testing the waters before, now he was dipping his foot in. To his surprise, Nicholas complied easily, moving closer instantly, like something was pulling him in. Euijoo felt his brow jump up as the other man shifted into his space, smelling like soap and outdoors and campfire smoke. He was so close that Euijoo couldn’t see his full face anymore, their noses nearly touching. They’d been in situations like this before; and at the same time, they’d never been in this situation at all. This time, intent hung thick in the space where their breaths mingled. This time, they had nowhere to be.

They only had one more day. 

The crickets were loud. Euijoo’s heart was louder. 

Nicholas’ brow furrowed as if pained, biting into the corner of his lip and staring at Euijoo’s unabashedly. 

“Euijoo…” His voice was so soft, softer than Euijoo had ever heard it before; and strained, like he was on the verge of breaking. Euijoo was pretty sure he never wanted to hear his name said any other way ever again.

At that point he stopped thinking. For the first time in a long time, his mind didn’t race with a thousand things. The only thing was Nicholas 

and the feeling of his lips as Euijoo pulled him the rest of the way in

and the sound of Nicholas sighing.

🍓

When Euijoo pressed his lips to his, Nicholas felt like he could finally breathe again. 

This place was infused with magic, he was sure of that now. 

Euijoo’s lips were slightly chapped, and that was okay. In fact, it was perfect, because they were Euijoo’s. And they were warm, and soft, and they melted against Nicholas’ own as he huddled in closer, breathing in his subtle vanilla scent – of the kind he didn’t understand on candles but couldn’t get enough of on Euijoo. The sweetness clung to his skin, mixing with a hint of sweat and pine and residual sunscreen to create a smell that was so inherently him, and Nicholas was immediately addicted. He planted his hands on the ground between them, bits of dirt sticking to his palms as he leaned up into the kiss, maybe a little too eagerly. The feeling of Eujoo’s lips pouting against his own was an insane thing to experience, and he knew any lucky bitch or bastard who’d gotten to know about it before Nicholas wouldn’t fault him for lack of self-control, but he still tried to retain some. The last thing he wanted was to scare the other man off with how much he wanted this.

Turns out he shouldn’t have worried about it. Whatever decision Euijoo had come to in his mind, holding back wasn’t part of his plan. 

Euijoo tilted his head and pushed back, sliding warm fingers into the back of Nicholas’ hair, and when his fingers curled into the roots, and tugged slightly, Nicholas’ lips instantly parted, because how could they not? It seemed to be what Euijoo wanted, immediately licking a stripe over Nicholas’ bottom lip before letting his tongue pass over the tip of Nicholas’ own, coaxing it out of his mouth. 

Nicholas didn’t need more of an invitation than that, sliding his tongue against Euijoo’s and feeling static crackle behind his eyelids. Euijoo jumped against him, almost like he hadn’t been expecting it, a sound coming from his throat that was part surprise and part– something else, his free hand fisting in the front of Nicholas’ hoodie. Heat bloomed in Nicholas’ stomach. He shifted and brought one hand up to snake over the curve of Euijoo’s (stupid, tiny) waist, winding his arm around him and drawing him in even closer to feel his heat. And his heart. Nicholas' palm pressed into his back, and Euijoo inhaled through his nose; Nicholas licked into his mouth again, and he exhaled another sound, sweeter than the marshmallow flavor Nicholas could taste lingering on his tongue. 

He decided he probably judged the s’mores too harshly earlier. Yeah, he could definitely see himself starting to like them after tonight. 

The campfire was warm, but it was nothing compared to the way Nicholas burned wherever he and Euijoo were touching. His thoughts swam. This was the Euijoo – the person who tripped on something several times a day and had chronic inappropriately-timed-laughter-itis and could be a walking ad for sunscreen at this point. It was the same person who was kissing him like tomorrow the world would end and making these increasingly frequent little whining sounds against his mouth that, honestly, a children’s summer camp counselor, who still had his ID clipped to his jeans mind you, probably shouldn’t be making at his place of work. The contrast made Nicholas crazy, his heart heavy with something he couldn’t name. 

Euijoo trapped Nicholas’ lower lip between both of his own, the round edges of his teeth catching and dragging, and Nicholas gave up trying, his groan drowned out by the fire. At least he hoped it was. He tilted his head up, recapturing Euijoo’s lips with his own, sucking kiss after kiss onto the supple skin of his cupid’s bow, enjoying the way Euijoo’s breath went all skittery because of it. 

For all Nicholas had been wanting to prolong the summer, he suddenly, ironically, wished it was already over, and they weren’t at the camp anymore. They were still employees, and the campers were asleep in the cabins. If he had a responsible bone in his body, he needed to use it. But he had always had a rebellious mind, and it took the opportunity to remind him that he had a cabin to himself. And so did Euijoo. And neither one had anywhere to be until 7:00 in the morning. It was reckless, but so was his heart. It was playing with fire, but he was already burning. 

There was also the risk of literally getting fired, but right now Nicholas thought anything was worth it to keep him close and burn another memory into his being.

Euijoo broke the kiss without warning, their lips disconnecting with a soft sound. Nicholas started to chase them until he realized his lungs, like everything else, were also on fire. Maybe Euijoo had the right idea. Oxygen was in short supply. 

He was glad when he didn’t go anywhere. Nicholas’ arm remained encircled around his waist and Euijoo’s hand cupped behind his neck, thumb brushing the soft spot just under his ear. 

Some sound and general awareness came flooding back in the brief reprieve. The crackling fire. The crickets. He thought he heard an owl. Bright orange embers fluttered past in his periphery. He could feel his hood slipping off his head. 

Words. Nicholas felt like words were needed at this juncture before he kissed him again, which he would do as long as Euijoo let him. He’d spend all night familiarizing himself with new parts of him if he could. His heart swelled, sopping with all his syrupy feelings, ready to leak messily from his mouth in the form of words he wasn’t used to saying to anyone. 

That was amazing. 

You’re amazing. 

I think I love you a little. 

“You’re leaving.” 

Nicholas blinked. That wasn’t on the list of things he expected to hear. He pulled his eyes up to Euijoo’s. Was it a question? A demand? The inflection was lost to the static in his ears, the buzzing of his lips, the sight of the man in his arms. Euijoo’s cheeks were flushed the same cardinal color as his lips, warmth flickering in his soft eyes, shadows dancing across his pretty face. God, why were they talking? All Nicholas wanted to do was kiss him again. 

But the pinch in Euijoo’s brow told Nicholas something was bothering him. So he took a deep breath in through his nose and tried to clear the fog from his brain enough to rise to the challenge of forming words. 

“What?”

Nailed it. 

Euijoo puffed out a small breath, the action rounding his cheeks. It made him look so stupid cute. And it fanned more s’mores breath over the lower part of Nicholas’ face, across his still-damp lips. Nicholas shouldn’t be into it, but there he sat. Being into it. 

“To Taiwan,” elaborated Euijoo. “On… when, Monday? After we close out here?”

Nicholas’ mind was fried, spitting out sparks, so he was proud of his ability to even pull up a mental calendar.  

“Tuesday actually,” he corrected, half-distracted by looking at Euijoo’s mouth again.

“Right,” Euijoo breathed. “Two days…”

Neither of them had moved away to have this conversation. They were speaking right up in each other’s space, the words drowned out to the world around them by the blazing fire, like they wanted to keep everything they said a secret from the animals, the trees, everything outside.

“Don’t.”

“What?” Nicholas felt really bad he couldn’t be more eloquent, but he was still very much off-kilter. In his defense, Euijoo wasn’t doing much elaborating. And if he’d wanted Nicholas to be able to speak so soon, he shouldn’t have kissed him like that.

“Don’t go.” Euijoo repeated, quieter, irises shaking.

☀️

Nicholas tasted like raspberry tea and everything Euijoo ever wanted.

It sucks it was a revelation he had so late. 

Sucks it came right before Nicholas told him no. 

🍓

“W-? I can’t.” Nicholas leaned away. He needed some space, some air not permeated by Euijoo's scent and the heat he gave off that was so completely different from the fire. He unwound his arm from Euijoo’s waist finally but kept his hand on his hip. “I can’t just not go, Juju. I mean, it’s the one time out of the year I get to see my family, you know? It’s basically a tradition. My parents are expecting me, and my grandparents. It’s just, I can’t not do it, if that makes sense.”

“I know, but–” Euijoo frowned, a line forming between his brows. Nicholas wanted to reach up and smooth it out for him. Euijoo stared at a spot on the ground, contemplating something for several long beats. “I know. You. You’re right. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I asked.”

“No, don’t be sorry.” Nicholas wasn’t sure if he could grab his hand, but he figured they’d just done more than that, so he reached down and took it. Euijoo’s fingers twitched before curling lightly around his own. Little sparks danced across Nicholas’ palm just from that. “I mean, we can still keep in touch. Right? I want to. Maybe, after the summer’s over, we could… I don’t know. We could figure something out? A way to see each other and hang out again?”

He didn’t want to sound too eager, but he was already trying to come up with ways they could make this work. It wouldn’t be super easy with Euijoo off to grad school, but it wouldn’t be impossible either. Nothing was.

And Nicholas was willing to do whatever it took if Euijoo was. 

He was worth it.

☀️

Euijoo guessed he should have expected it. Make a request like that, he had to follow it up with something compelling, something to sweeten the deal, an offer Nicholas couldn’t refuse. But Euijoo had nothing. He just had himself, and the fact that he really, really wanted him to stay. Of course it wasn’t enough. What was he thinking would happen? That Nicholas would blow off his family to be with Euijoo? Come with him to the fuckin Sierra Nevada mountains? And then what? Follow him off to grad school?

That would be crazy. Nicholas had a life and work of his own. Three months ago he didn’t even know the man.

The crazier thing was, right at this moment, if Nicholas asked him to do anything, go anywhere, Euijoo would say yes without thinking. It was embarrassing, and exactly what he knew was going to happen. Nicholas might like him a little, obviously, enough to want to make out with him, but it didn’t mean the same thing to him as it did to Euijoo. To Nicholas, it was probably just a last little bit of fun to round the summer out with. Nothing big, nothing serious. Euijoo was the one who’d flown too close to the sun. 

Nicholas was suggesting these things because it was the thing to do at this juncture. Because it’s what would make Euijoo feel better. It was just like exchanging numbers with someone you met at a concert and promising to keep in touch only to never speak to them again. Just because you had a fun couple hours together and liked the same music didn’t make you close enough to make sacrifices for each other.

Nicholas would go to Taiwan and then he’d be back, but then Euijoo would start grad school, and it was too far away, and there’d be no time. Even if they were to spend money on a few flights to see each other, then what? It would be nice for a few days. But Euijoo ached during the few hours they were apart for separate activities. 

It was never going to work. Nicholas going to Taiwan didn’t even make a difference in that. It wouldn’t work in general, and Euijoo had known that, and he still messed everything up, right at the end. After he’d tried so hard not to. Now their friendship wouldn’t even be the same. Now Nicholas might not even want to work here next year. 

“Yeah, maybe.” He pulled his hand from Nicholas’ gentle grasp. “We should put out the fire now.”

He didn’t remove Nicholas’ hand from his waist. He really didn’t want to. But the longer he sat there avoiding eye contact, the longer that message wasn’t conveyed. Slowly, Nicholas took it off himself, shifting back to give him space. Euijoo got to his feet, feeling Nicholas’ eyes on him the whole time. 

“Euijoo, what’s happening right now? Are you, we… what’s happening?”

Euijoo could physically feel the remainder of the butterflies in his chest dissolve into warm acid. Trying to fake a smile was like an act of torture, but he did it anyway.

“No, nothing, it's fine. We’ll keep in touch, for sure. It’s just going to be a busy morning, so we should get to bed and talk about it tomorrow. You wanted to know how to do this, right? Pay attention, I’m only gonna show you once.”

Nicholas’ stare was openly skeptical, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it. Euijoo could physically see him picking apart his bullshit, and it wasn’t fair how he could do that after only knowing him for two months. He felt like Nicholas could read him like they’d been friends for years. Like they’d known each other in another lifetime, even. Nicholas acquiesced, sighing and getting to his feet. “Okay~”

Euijoo felt grateful, followed by more affection, which led to further depression. It would be his luck, to fall completely off the deep end for someone at the last possible moment. 

All’s fair in love and war. No, it really fucking wasn’t. 

🍓

The universe was funny. 

It sent him an absolute idiot. 

Chapter Text

☀️

Euijoo played things by the book. 

His whole life, he was never one for taking chances or betting on unnecessary risks. When he made decisions, he made them after careful consideration and planning ahead, because at the end of the day, his choices had never felt like they were solely for him. The initial decision of what to study in school was primarily to make his parents happy. His agreement to be a trainer was in part to show Fuma that he could rely on him. Every move he made as a counselor was always done with the kids in mind – he considered how his actions would affect their day, their moods, and the level of enjoyment they got out of their experience. At some point he had drawn the conclusion for himself that his choices correlated to other people’s happiness, and to their comfort, and that meant he should make them very carefully. 

He didn’t know when he started thinking like that, or when he might have started neglecting his own happiness or comfort in the process. All he knew was that kissing Nicholas wasn’t something he had prepared for. There had been no plan, no rhyme or reason. No premeditation or forethought. No decision-making process. For once he acted for no other reason than because he wanted to – purely selfish, and purely driven by a part of himself he didn’t usually let take over for him. 

It was fucking him up.

And yet, Nicholas knew they would be going their separate ways, and he didn’t seem to care, so should Euijoo? He hadn’t known him for very long, but already Euijoo could tell that Nicholas lived life so much easier, so much more freely, than he did. There had to be something to that, right? 

Maybe there was, because kissing Nicholas had pretty much been the best feeling in the world. 

And Euijoo would’ve been way better off not knowing that. 

The irony of one of the very few spontaneous actions he’d taken since God-knows-when surmounting to nothing in the end was not lost on him. If anything, he was more stressed out now than if he’d just deprived himself earlier for the sake of a smooth transition out of here. He had no idea what the hell he should do about this anymore. 

Yeah, there was always next summer. Maybe. If Nicholas even wanted to come back. Doubtful now after how things ended last night. 

Euijoo sighed, pushing the last pair of socks into the corner of his suitcase and standing. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was nearing the end of breakfast now. The campers would be heading back to their cabins with their bunk counselors to finish packing, and he was supposed to go pick up a batch of t-shirts and decoration supplies from the Arts cabin. 

Someone knocked on his door. Probably a coworker making sure he was alive. 

Maybe it was just as well, he tried to convince himself as he crossed the room. Long distance would’ve been hard – a lot of time and energy he didn’t have even before beginning grad school. He chose to ignore that sad, soppy part of him that said he could’ve made it work, somehow. Planning was his thing, and this thing with Nicholas would have been more than worth it. He put his hand on the handle. 

He’d talk to Nicholas, of course. There was no way he wouldn’t. He just hadn’t worked out what he wanted to say or how he wanted to say it, or how he was going to do it without dying of mortification. 

He opened the door. Nicholas was standing on the other side, and now that last thing looked a lot less likely. 

Euijoo startled and stepped back. Nicholas stepped in, as casually as if he owned the place. Euijoo’s body reacted strangely at the sight of him. He wanted to pull him close and cling to him and also push him back out, run to the other end of the cabin, and leap out the back window. 

Nicholas eased the door closed with his foot and looked around the cabin like there was something to see here that was different from all the other identical cabins at this camp, including his own, before his eyes settled on Euijoo. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

Nicholas folded his arms. He seemed very calm. Fresh. Relaxed. Like he’d gotten a full night’s sleep. “Are you avoiding me?”

“Wuh-uh… no.”

And no was right. Euijoo wasn’t avoiding him. He wasn’t. It was just that talking to Nicholas was part of a planned schedule, slotted for later. And Nicholas himself was currently ruining that. 

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I am not avoiding you.”

“You didn’t come to breakfast.”

“I wasn’t hungry.” Not true. He was fucking starving. Ever since he started regularly eating more meals, he didn’t know how he had survived without them. He’d busied himself this morning and managed to ignore the hunger pangs up until this point, but now they resurfaced with a vengeance, clawing at his insides. At least Nicholas was polite enough not to comment on the resulting growl his stomach picked that moment to let out, the low gurgling sound painfully noticeable in the silence that stretched between them.

After a pause – that, suspiciously, went on just long enough for the growling to subside – Nicholas continued. “There were waffles.” 

No! Dammit. “Oh well.”

“We kissed last night.”

Euijoo’s mind stalled and he promptly lost the ability to multitask. He couldn’t seem to remember how to breathe and come up with a response at the same time, so in the end all that came out was a squeaky noise that could either be deciphered as a nonverbal confirmation or distress.

Nicholas lifted a brow. “Did you forget about it?”

Euijoo was pretty sure he wouldn’t forget about it for as long as he lived, but at this point Nicholas was talking to him like one of the campers, poking for answers with stupid, leading questions, and it pulled at the already frayed edges of Euijoo’s nerves. If he was bold enough to come here to say something, he should just say it. “What are you doing, Nico?”

Nicholas actually smiled, holding up his hands. “Nothing! I’m just trying to make sure we’re both remembering it the same way, because you’re acting – well, you’re trying to act – like it didn’t happen at all.”

Euijoo rolled his eyes and crossed his own arms, aware that on him it looked more defensive. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Last night you gave me an acronym to remember for putting out forest fires and then tried to shake my hand before going to bed. This was after, by the way.”

Euijoo’s face heated. He moved toward the door so Nicholas wouldn’t see it. “I’m not trying to do anything. And we have to start setting up for the farewell activity.” He reached for the handle, but Nicholas slid in front of it. “Ugh. Move.”

“Or what?” Nicholas goaded, amused.

Euijoo scowled. “Are you fourteen?”

Nicholas rested his head back against the door and stuck his hands in his pockets. Why did he look so good in khaki shorts? That wasn’t fair. They weren’t supposed to look good on anybody. “That’s rich coming from you. I’m not the one currently acting like a child.” 

“I am not.” Euijoo uncrossed his arms, indignation swirling through him. Nicholas was looking at him like he was proving his point, a slight upturn to his lips, the bottom one pulling in at the corner as he chewed on the inside of it. If he could be in Euijoo’s body for a second and understand what all this was doing to him, he wouldn’t be so smug about it. 

Euijoo turned away, not wanting Nicholas to see his face, but doing so forced him to confront the fact he was still well and truly trapped in here with him. The window was still a viable option, but he already knew that even he wouldn’t go that far. He couldn’t try to physically body Nicholas out of the way either, because he didn’t think that would end well. And it wasn’t just the fact that Nicholas would probably embarrass him with his strength advantage; Euijoo didn’t think he could handle touching the other man again without digging himself into a deeper hole. For the umpteenth time he wondered what was happening to him. Here he was so close to being away from Nico and the strange biological-psychological effect he had on him, but he always had to show up and make it worse – weasel his way in when he was trying to make a clean getaway. 

Nicholas' voice floated after him, less of the earlier haughtiness present in it. “I just came to say that even though I don’t know why you’re acting like this, I’m thinking it’s probably just you being you.” Euijoo whirled around, mouth open to retort, but Nicholas continued. “And that’s fine . But I’m not gonna let you do it.” 

“Do what?” 

“Whatever you took it upon yourself to decide was the best move to make here. Although.” Nico’s smile turned a little despondent. “If it’s just that you don’t want to deal with me in that way, that’s fine too. I just wish you’d spit it out.” 

At this point Euijoo wanted to scream. Or pull his hair out. And the window was still looking mighty nice. That wasn’t it at all. “You’re gonna be across an ocean,” he blurted. “Two days from now, you’ll be on the other side of the world. Did you forget about that?”

“No, I didn’t. You’re right.” 

“I know I’m right,” Euijoo said, unnecessarily. “Did you even think about that when we–?” The words caught in his throat. He had no courage without the aid of nightfall and fiery mood lighting, apparently. None to speak of. 

“Did you?” Nicholas pushed off the door. “Technically, you’re the one who kissed me.”

Euijoo swallowed, caught out. “I did… at first.” It was why he had resolved to avoid it. He was going to. But by the time he realized he even wanted to kiss Nicholas, it was already too late. All it took was one encouraging look, one positive response, one reciprocated touch, and he was gone. 

“At first.” Nicholas echoed, taking a step toward him. “But then?” But then it was just you, Euijoo thought. He couldn’t say it out loud. Nicholas took another step closer. “No, I didn’t think, Euijoo. All I knew was that I wanted to.” Another step. “I want to now.” 

There was just a little bit of space between them now, and Nicholas had to look up at him. That face of his, those lips, that look were not for the faint of heart. They’re what got them here in the first place. But Euijoo Byun: Camp Counselor Extraordinaire, fortunately or unfortunately, was not God’s strongest soldier in this department. Here he was, bending to them again, knees buckling at the sight, at his voice. He saw his own hands reach out to him, curling into the sides of his shirt and pulling him closer. Nicholas came easily, stepping forward until the toes of their shoes were touching and his face was tilted up at Euijoo’s with the ghost of a smile on his pretty pink lips.

Euijoo heard himself speak, somewhere far away. “Well… that's irresponsible.” 

He watched as Nicholas’ smile widened. “Ask me what I’m thinking.”

🍓

“Ask me what I'm thinking.” Because he knew Euijoo wouldn’t. He seemed to like guessing games – where he was the only player. 

Euijoo’s eyes jumped around his face. “What are you thinking?”

“I like you, Euijoo. A lot.” Nicholas rested his hands on his arms, Euijoo’s hands still at his waist. He was actually nervous. Guess this counted as an official confession; although, if you asked Nicholas, the confession was last night when he’d had his tongue in his mouth, but whatever. If, with Euijoo, he needed to shake him and speak the words directly, he would do that. If he needed to kiss him a hundred times until he understood, he was so down. Didn’t stop him from feeling like he was back in high school right now – too warm under the collar; too bashful under Euijoo’s wide, shiny stare. “And you’re stupid,” he threw in for good measure. 

Euijoo reached up to touch his cheek. “You’re blushing,” he said softly, like it was fascinating to him.

“Well, this usually happens the other way around,” Nicholas joked, using humor as a way to distract himself from his heart trying to fight its way out of his chest. He wasn’t used to being in this spot. Yeah, people had expressed interest in him before and he’d expressed interest in other people, but it was more in a 'you're hot, we should hook up, maybe eat together sometime’ kind of way. With Euijoo – ok, he wanted those things too – but he also wanted to know about his day, hear about his job, learn about his random interests, buy him things because they were cute and reminded Nicholas of him, spend free time together even if it was just sitting around in silence. And his free time was sacred. He wasn’t used to liking people in general, but especially not people like Euijoo. Buttoned up, a little awkward, a certain innocence to him so pure it was hard to believe it had survived this far into his life. There was also stubbornness, a prepossessing drive about him; quiet confidence in the right circumstances, cute playfulness in others. Thoughtfulness. Attentiveness. Someone so good. And gentle. Up until now Nico’s type had been – he didn’t know – pretty and not too hyper. Now it was Euijoo Byun, specifically, and it wouldn’t be changing for a while. “Yeah, I get confessed to like crazy, so forgive me if I don’t really know how to–”

“I like you, too,” Euijoo blurted, leaning forward like the words had punched their way out of him, his fingers twisting harder into the material of Nicholas’ shirt. “A lot. Probably the same amount. If not more.” 

Nicholas’ mouth twitched. “Didn’t know it was a competition.”

“It’s not. But if it were, I– yeah, I’d probably win.” Yeah probably not, but Nicholas would let him have it. Finally. Finally. This was the part where they enjoyed the fruits of all their extended labor to get here. He raised up on his tiptoes, hands tightening on Euijoo’s biceps. He needed to store up on make-out sessions that would last him for a while when he got to Taiwan, even though he suspected they probably wouldn’t even hold him for the entirety of the plane ride. That’s how addicting Euijoo was. “But Nico, what are we gonna do? It’s a long time until next summer.”

His heels clunked back down on the hardwood. “I see that as future me’s problem.” 

Euijoo’s brow bunched. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Then we’ll deal with it tomorrow.” Being split up as co-counselors had taught Nicholas something: appreciate the good things while you had them. Hold onto them while you can, because what were the other options? Stress about them? Agonize over the fact they wouldn’t last? Then you’ve just wasted the time you did have. That seemed disrespectful to the universe giving it to you in the first place. “The only thing I care about right now is that you’re in front of me – right now. That’s enough.” He reached up and lightly nudged his knuckles against Euijoo’s jaw, making him smile. “You don’t have to be so practical all the time. Okay?” And since it didn’t look like he was coming down, he reached up and laced his fingers behind Euijoo’s neck, anticipation buzzing through him when Euijoo leaned in, hands locking behind Nicholas’ back and eyes dropping to his mouth.

There was a knock on the door. Euijoo looked up. A young woman’s voice filtered through. “EJ! Are you in there? Your group’s shirts are ready for you to pick up from the Arts cabin.”

“Okay!” he called before looking back down at Nicholas, unsure of his next move.

Nicholas threw him a bone. “You should get to that. I’m pretty sure there’s something that I need to be doing somewhere, too.” If Euijoo needed a moment to process everything that had just been said, he should have it.

“Okay.” Nicholas liked that he didn’t step back right away. He liked that he didn’t look unsure anymore, just overwhelmed. “I’ll see you soon?”

Nicholas smiled and let him go. “You better.”

☀️

Capture the Flag was the “official” last activity of the camp, but there was still one last thing planned for the campers to do a couple hours prior to being picked up by their parents. It didn’t involve anything fancy, just paint and markers and plain white t-shirts to DIY their very own wearable camp memento to take home with them. The kids and their counselors, with suitcases and bags all packed and ready back in their respective cabins, were gathered in random patches on a large stretch of grass near the lake, some on blankets and some not, others at spare tables with built-in benches. Everyone was hard at work decorating their tees, minimal conversation in the air.

It was nice, but Euijoo couldn’t focus well on the little sun he was squeezing onto the front of his shirt with yellow and orange gel paint. Nicholas had confessed, and he'd confessed back, so now what? Did that give him a boyfriend for a day? That felt like a crap deal. Better than no boyfriend for no days, he supposed, but he still wasn’t satisfied. He was selfish, he guessed. After everything, it didn’t feel like enough. But what else could he do but accept it? 

It made him antsy, though. At this point he figured he should be spending all of his time with Nicholas, but he had to remind himself that time spent with the kids wasn’t time wasted. He was still a counselor for a little while longer, and right now it was about the campers and making sure their summer experience closed out on a good note. 

He checked on the progress of the campers he was sitting with, stopped to help one of the little girls open the cap on a vial of glitter before refocusing on his own shirt. At some point he looked up, and his eyes found Nicholas easily. He was sitting in the grass across the way, a kid in his lap, helping him color in something on a shirt with a marker. As if through some kind of spooky mind chemistry, Nicholas picked that moment to lift his head, too. Their eyes met over the space, and Nicholas lifted a hand to wave at him. Euijoo waved back. 

The activity went on for several more minutes. The sky was a blanket of white clouds today, so even the sun was taking a breather, nestled somewhere behind them, watery and subdued. It was a peaceful atmosphere, with the low effort activity and the quiet – a nice way to wind down and close out a very eventful summer.

That was until the silence was broken by a commotion. 

At first Euijoo didn’t know what it was. Yelling – maybe some kids being kids across the yard. But it kept going, and it got louder, and then there was more than one voice. Then there were many voices. He and several others looked up and over, and that’s when he saw them. A group was coming over the hills, all wearing red Camp Wolf Lake shirts. The counselors were all here, so this had to be other staff members. At first it seemed like maybe they were doing something silly on their own while everyone else was here working on the activity, embracing the freedom of the final day and the lackadaisical work structure that usually came with it, but after a few more seconds it was clear they were running toward them. Straight at them actually. 

Euijoo noticed Maki leading the charge, smiling so wide he could see it from here. He didn’t know what on earth was happening, just that it couldn’t spell anything peaceful, but he didn’t have to wonder long. 

When the first water balloon went flying, splattering on a nearby tabletop and making the occupants scream, he knew the situation was about to turn really fast. The next one hit the arm of a counselor one blanket over from him, and that’s how Euijoo saw they had color to them. It exploded pastel lilac over her arm and turned the sleeve of the shirt she was working on the same hue. 

The area erupted into movement. Running, screaming, water tinged every color of the rainbow flying through the air and raining down droplets in a kaleidoscope. 

This was unplanned as far as Euijoo knew. Based on the reactions of the other counselors, who scrambled out of the line of liquid fire with as much enthusiasm as the children, they hadn’t a clue either. The ambush must have been orchestrated outside of their bubble. 

“Take cover!” Euijoo hopped up with his campers, happy none of them seemed particularly concerned (or disappointed) by their shirt projects getting soaked in pigment as they abandoned them to try to avoid being hit. 

He wondered if this was just supposed to be a free for all, where they were all at the mercy of the staff pelting them with water balloons, until he noticed several coolers had appeared around the perimeter of the area. They were conveniently open and conveniently filled to the brim with artillery in the form of even more multicolored water balloons. So maybe this was the real final activity all along. The official sendoff. 

He took several balloon smacks to the back and the back of the head as he raced with his campers to the nearest cooler, grabbing handfuls and passing them off to the kids so they could fight back. He saw Maki and a few other people had acquired big plastic water guns from somewhere.

“Freedom!” Maki was yelling, all while unleashing a constant stream of pale pink water in indiscriminate back and forth movements, soaking anyone who passed by. For once he didn’t have a camera on him. 

Euijoo’s group cleared the cooler of balloons quickly, revealing the couple water guns at the bottom. He took one and handed it off to the nearest camper still without water weaponry – Samuel. “Two can play that game, right?”

Samuel took it with an excited grin, giving it several pumps and diving headlong into the fray, opening fire boldly on adults only. Euijoo took the other one and went after Maki for no real reason other than the younger man seemed to be just a little too comfortable. He unleashed on him just as Maki’s own gun started running out. 

“Unfair!” he had the gall to complain, shrieking as Euijoo aimed for his neck with the cold spray. Euijoo chased him across the yard, unloading most of his gun’s content on him just because it was hilarious. When he finally let up, Maki looked akin to a big wet dog. A big wet dog who made it to another cooler, gathered an abundance of water balloons into his arms and started launching them back at Euijoo in revenge. Now Euijoo was the one who was low on ammo, and he had to run. 

At this point there was so much screaming and moving bodies and glistening water flying through the air that he didn’t really know where he was going, just that he bobbed and weaved until the barrage at his back let up and he didn’t feel Maki behind him anymore. He’d finally switched targets.

Euijoo stumbled through the fray, water in his eyes that thankfully didn’t burn more than regular because of what he was sure was safe, non-toxic dye in the water. He used his gun to aim at a few people he passed, but there was so much chaos he didn’t even see if the streams connected with any of them. He did end up getting ganged up on by two people who had water balloons cradled in the front of their shirts like kangaroo pouches. He didn’t know why. Maybe he was seen as an easy target because he wasn’t asserting enough dominance. Or maybe the gun was seen as an advantage. The irony there was that, as he was getting bombarded, the only thing he used the gun for was a shield for his face, and even that was pretty futile. Chilled water seeped into his hair, splashed against his ears. Euijoo just waited for them to have some mercy on him. 

They did let up, but not out of the kindness of their hearts; rather because someone else started pelting them in turn, and whoever it was had better aim than they did. Euijoo caught blurry glimpses of a red t-shirt and an arm cocking back, but none of the projectiles hit Euijoo, so thankfully this didn’t turn into a three-person team up on him. 

His attackers ran off laughing, knowing when they were beaten. Euijoo wiped water from his eyes to see his savior and came face to face with Nicholas. His black hair was framing his face, shiny with water that dripped faintly rainbow-tinted streaks down his skin. 

At the moment it was just them. Well, just them and the battle raging on around them. But it all seemed to dim, even slow. Of course it did. 

Euijoo felt like he should say something. “Thank- ow.” He cut off when Nicholas smacked him directly in the center of the chest with a water balloon, leaving a fresh cold spot and an even heavier t-shirt hanging on his body. It didn’t actually hurt, but there was some force behind it. Nicholas was grinning, holding up another balloon, so Euijoo brought his water gun up and sprayed him with the rest of the reserves. Nicholas laughed and tried to duck, but Euijoo stayed on him, using his height advantage to unload it over his head. Nicholas threw another balloon Euijoo’s way, but this one missed completely. This time Euijoo laughed, louder than usual, pumping his gun a few more times to make sure the final sprays to his forehead and torso really counted. Nicholas’ next balloon found its target on Euijoo’s leg, and then the next one on his shoulder. 

They must look ridiculous, standing three feet from each other and still trying in vain to dodge, giggling like idiots as they soaked each other in color.

Acting like fools. And maybe they were. 

When they both ran out, Nicholas grabbed Euijoo’s wrist and tugged him behind the nearest building, a small, white shed similar to the one they’d looked for mason jars in many nights ago. They passed by Maki, who was using Harua as a shield as several campers ganged up on them, ducking behind him and holding the smaller man in place with an arm around his middle. A diabolical move seeing as Maki was so much bigger and Harua couldn’t wriggle himself free if he tried. Harua had his hands pressed over his eyes, drenched and yelling his discontent as the media member laughed uproariously. Same menace, different person. Euijoo was gonna miss him until next year.

It felt quieter in the area behind the shed – a nice, brief reprieve. Nevermind their own attacks on each other, they were catching a lot of strays out there.

“This is insane,” Euijoo commented breathlessly, finally assessing himself. He was soaked from head to toe – his shirt, his shorts, his socks, all several shades darker.

“This isn’t another end of the summer tradition?” Nicholas asked, gathering up the end of his shirt to wring it out. 

“No. This would be a first for me.” 

Euijoo squeezed excess water from his hair, already knowing it was going to get floofy, but this time around he didn’t really care. He looked over at Nicholas. The end of his shirt was wrinkled now, and he switched to trying to squeeze water out of his short sleeves. Euijoo realized something right then.

It was going to be okay, whatever happened. He knew that now. 

Having Nicholas for a short time was better than not having him at all; but really, they had spent an entire summer together. Falling in love at some point was an unexpected development, but that didn’t change the fact they’d made a lot of good memories with one another regardless. Before, after, and during. And it was only the beginning. 

When he looked at it that way, it wasn’t so bad after all.

In fact, it all suddenly felt like perfect timing.

Nicholas shook his hair out before running his fingers through it a few times to slick it back. Euijoo walked over to him. He waited for Nicholas to notice and look up before he leaned down and kissed him. 

He could feel Nicholas’ surprise, the jump in his bottom lip, but the response was almost immediate. Not three seconds later his co-counselor was melting into him, mouth and body turning pliant. Euijoo walked him back against the side of the shed with the little bit of conscious mind he had that told him there were kids around. This being the last official day of camp didn’t protect them from reprimand or consequence if they were caught. But that didn’t matter enough to stop. Nicholas tasted like what was probably tap water used in the balloons and water guns, still dripping down their faces and getting caught between their mouths. Euijoo pressed his hands against the shed behind them, trapping Nicholas in, and licked the droplets from his lips, swallowing the soft, lilting sounds he made. He already knew Nicholas’ lips were soft, but they felt downright silken from the water, warm and languid against his own, parting for him, tongues twining with the unhurried pace of two people who had all the time to explore each other. And who knew they’d get other chances to. Euijoo let Nicholas' strong arms pull him closer by the waist, bodies flush, no space between them. 

Euijoo’s heart beat wild, a little from the fact the whole rest of the camp was on the other side of the shed; but mostly because of Nicholas, the fact that he got to have this, and the fact that Nicholas wanted to have this with him. If their first kiss had felt like something desperate and forbidden, this one felt like an answer. A surrender. Euijoo pulled back slow, lips grazing against Nicholas’. “I want you.” He felt Nicholas tense and pulled back a little more, realizing how that sounded. “To be with you, that is,” he corrected, blushing hotly.

To his relief, Nicholas hit him with a playfully saucy look, arms tightening around him. “I would’ve taken either one. What about the ocean?” Euijoo’s response was comically fast.

“Screw the ocean.”

Nicholas laughed, his chest jumping against Euijoo’s. Euijoo wanted to inject the sound into his veins, store it in a recording and have it be his alarm every morning when he woke up – an OST for the sunrise itself. Nicholas brought a hand up to play with the hair at the back of Euijoo’s head, fingers twisting into the damp curls, smile fading a little as he studied him. “Really?” His voice came out quiet, and Euijoo knew it was his fault he needed further convincing. 

“Really,” he insisted, leaning his forehead against Nicholas’. “I don’t want to be stupid anymore.” At first he didn’t know if that was going to be enough. He thought maybe he’d have to fight some more, dig down deeper, come up with something better, which he was prepared to do. But Nicholas' smile returned tenfold, showing off all of his teeth, and he fisted his hands in the front of Euijoo’s shirt to pull him down for another kiss. Unlike the previous, this one was filled with pure excitement. Euijoo could feel Nicholas smiling into it. It made his heart race – no soar, like every beat was aided by wings.

Nicholas pulled back but stayed close. “I’ll call you every day. I’m gonna annoy the fuck out of you, Juju. Be ready.”

Euijoo settled his hands on his hips, feeling his warmth through the soaked t-shirt. “That could get expensive.”

“Then I'll write you letters like we’re in the army reserves. I don't care. The point is, I want to figure it out with you. Do you hear what I'm saying?”

But Euijoo wasn’t trying to avoid it anymore. It wouldn’t kill him to not think seven steps ahead about everything in his life. In this instance, it might be the thing that saved him and proved to him that good things could come just from going with your heart. 

“I want to figure it out with you, too.” 

He already knew they would. One day at a time. 

🍓

The kids left yesterday, with their DIY’d (and spontaneously tie-dyed) t-shirts as a keepsake. Nicholas managed to make all his goodbyes to his campers, promising he’d see them next year. There had even been some tears from some people, and not all of them were campers.

Everyone left now were counselors and staff. After a final closing meeting in the morning, they were spending the rest of their last half-day milling around finishing packing, returning items to admin, cleaning up, and helping move things into storage. Nicholas was in the staff cabin, gathering his few belongings out of his locker and stuffing them in his backpack before removing the lock to take back to the admin building. Most people looked to have done this already. Some of the lockers were ajar, empty inside. Including the one right next to his – Euijoo’s. 

Nicholas smiled thinking about him. He was so stubborn, but Nicholas was too, and all that mattered was they finally got to where they needed to be. He was determined to spend some time with him today before his flight late this afternoon. Maybe Euijoo would want to go get lunch somewhere. 

Even though Nicholas was all for figuring things out with him one day at a time and making this work however they could, that didn’t mean he wasn’t acknowledging how much it sucked they would be apart for a while after today. But it is what it is. He could be patient. He hadn’t known he was waiting for Euijoo until he met him. He could keep waiting as long as he needed to. 

The front door creaked open, and Maki stepped in. “Nico! I was hoping I’d find you here. Wanted to give you something before you left.” He walked over and handed him a big, white envelope. “Here.”

Nicholas turned it over. It was blank. “What is it?” 

“Photos,” Maki answered, pushing a hand back through his hair and looking proud. “Making good on my word to show you some of my more serious shots.” Nicholas opened it and looked inside. There were a bunch of glossy photos, even some polaroids. “Behold– what happens when I actually try.”

Nicholas pulled a handful of them out, flipping through them. Immediately they reminded him of shots you might find in someone’s camera roll or scrapbook; or even a portfolio. There was something distinctly personal about them. 

There was a lot of scenery – sunsets and landscapes, various nature shots from around the camp. The lake, shining with sunlight, every little ripple visible and no distracting glare. An empty forest trail during golden hour, sunlight poking through the leafy greens of the trees, its richness preserved even through the camera lens. A group of distant mountains at dusk, their curves and ridges in good focus despite them being so far away. There were shots of the campers, too, mostly during different activities. Some Nicholas himself had been present at, like movie nights and the 4th of July cookout. And others he hadn’t been, like other groups’ rock-climbing or jet skiing activities. There was a photo of everyone sitting around a campfire. Even though it was dark, all the outlines were in focus, the embers were visible, and even the subtle deep blue of the lake in the background was noticeable. There were shots of the night sky, too, wispy clouds sitting like stretched out cotton balls among the stars. 

Maki was damn talented. 

“These are really good, Maki,” he praised honestly, making Maki smile. “Why are you giving them to me? Shouldn’t they be going on the website or something?” 

Maki shrugged and waved him off. “We have more than enough for the site. I wasn’t the only one taking pictures all summer. And now you’ll have something to take with you and remember your first summer by.”

Nicholas smirked, sticking the photos back in the envelope. “I didn’t know you were so sentimental.”

“I’m full of surprises.” Nicholas thought back to him singing the other day and knew that much was true. 

“Thanks man.” He pulled Maki into a one-armed hug. “It was good to meet you this year.”

“Same. I’ll catch you before I leave!”

Maki left the room, the door clattering shut behind him. For the first time, inside the cabin and outside, it was so quiet. Nicholas stood there picking through some more photos, little dust particles floating around his person, glowing from the sun coming through the window. 

He found some of Maki’s signature candid shots mixed in, but they were honestly just as nice. Maki was right when he insisted they had their own charm. As Nicholas flipped through them, he started to see himself more. 

His candid from the mess hall on his very first day, and at the antique shop in town; him and Euijoo posing on the “runway” at the fashion show; Euijoo smiling in that ridiculous cowboy hat from the shop. Nicholas exhaled an amused sound. He hadn’t seen him in it from this angle.

There were some more pictures of the two of them. The morning before the Capture the Flag game when he and Euijoo were in this room talking on the couch. There must have been a moment when they were both looking at each other, caught on camera and frozen in time. They were smiling, heads turned toward each other, a certain soft look in both their eyes that he could see from here. And then another one from the campfire just two nights ago, firelight catching their skin and hair as again they stared at each other with those same tender expressions. How often did he do that? How often did Euijoo return it?

This was right before they kissed for the first time. Nicholas had been so surprised when it happened. If he had seen these beforehand, he wouldn’t have been. 

He wondered how obvious it was to other people. To Maki when he was taking them.

Nicholas stared at the campfire photo, running his thumb over it, all the feelings from that night brushing against him. Not even forty-eight hours ago and so much had changed.

Suddenly, a thought hit him like a ton of bricks. But it wasn’t a painful one, so maybe he should say a ton of feathers or something. Although that would probably still hurt. 

The point was, it was a brilliant thought. A beautiful thought. 

God, why didn’t he think of it before?

He whipped out his phone, constantly on him now that the campers were gone, and quickly texted Euijoo. 

hey where r u
                      12:44 PM

He didn’t even wait a full minute before the response came back. 

Juju ☀️
In my cabin. I have something to show you! 😊
                                                                      12:45 PM       

Nicholas smiled at the exclamation point and the emoji. But also because this was the best idea he’d ever had in his entire twenty-two years of living, and he should get an award for it. He slid the pictures back in the envelope and carefully closed it over, zipping it in one of the front compartments of his backpack. He stopped by his cabin on the way to deposit it in his room, then went a few doors down to Euijoo’s and knocked.

“It’s open!” Euijoo’s voice came from inside. 

Nicholas pushed it open and stepped in, a little breathless. “Hey.”

“Hey!” Euijoo turned from where he was sitting on the bed, dressed in a hoodie and comfortable shorts. His suitcase and bag were arranged neatly at the foot of his bed. He brandished his phone. “Look! I made a schedule for us to keep in touch. We don’t have to strictly follow it, you know, but I thought it’d be helpful with the time differences and everything.”

Nicholas came over to sit next to him, the mattress dipping with his weight. He smiled at it, heart tugging. “That’s nice.”

Euijoo looked pleased, scooting closer to angle the phone at him. “Yeah, see? There’s days when it’s an ungodly hour for you, and days when it’s an ungodly hour for me. I tried to keep them even. And adjust based on weekdays and holidays and stuff. But, if you have something really important to do on a day when the call is scheduled super early for you, for example, then you can just tell me and we can adjust it. Or even if you just don’t feel like it that day, that’s fine too. I totally get that, and I can be flexible. I’ll probably have days like that as well.” 

Nicholas exhaled through his nose. “Cute. But Euijoo–”

“Same goes for when you get back and I start school. There'll still be a time difference. And if I end up having a test or something on one of those days and need to get to sleep, I’ll let you know, like, ‘Hey, Nico, I'm gonna have to raincheck this call. What’s your schedule look like on this day and time instead?’ Something like that.”

“Juju, that’s great, but–”

“It’s divided by phone calls and Facetimes, because I figure we don’t wanna Facetime all the time, right? And it’s color coded. Pink for you, orange for me, so it’s easy to tell apart. Actually, is that easy to see? Now the colors are starting to look too similar. I’m gonna send this to you. You can look at it and let me know. You’re a collaborator too, so you can also just change it if you think–”

“Euijoo, stop talking for a second.”

Euijoo finally looked up from his phone, clamping his lips together with a little frown. 

Nicholas laughed, reaching up to cup the other man’s puffed-out cheeks with his hands. “I love it. I love all of that. Thank you for the effort, but I have something I need to ask you.” Euijoo blinked at him expectantly, so Nicholas grabbed his hands instead, heart racing. 

He didn’t do anything by halves. 

“Come with me.” 

Euijoo blinked a few more times, and then squinted a little. “What?”

Nicholas took a breath. “To Taiwan. Come with me.” 

If it was possible, Euijoo’s eyes got wider. “What.” 

Okay, so that wasn’t a no. He wasn’t picking up any hints that Euijoo was put off by the idea either, so he pressed on, his own excitement and nervousness making him speak faster than usual. “Cancel your trip to the Sierra Nevada and come see Taiwan. It’ll be great. I can show you around. Take you to all the best food spots, the best shops. You can see where I grew up, you can visit my childhood home, you can meet my parents.” Wait. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. “Not in a weird way.  I didn’t mean to make it weird. I just… I usually hang out with them anyway when I go home, and since you were coming with me, well, if you come with me, it would only make sense that you… be there… too.” Was he crashing? Was he crashing and burning? Euijoo had a severe case of Unreadable Owl Face right now. “I know we just started… they don’t even have to know that we’re…” What the hell even were they?

Euijoo nodded. “Yeah.”

“Yeah. We’ll have the whole rest of the summer together.” Nicholas pulled his hands closer. “Say yes.” This wasn’t a solution to the long term living on opposite sides of the country thing, but just ten minutes ago he’d thought this was their last day. A whole extra three weeks together sounded like heaven. 

“I already did.”

“You–” Nicholas felt a little like he was gonna pass out from adrenaline. “You did?”

“Yeah, I did.” Euijoo nodded again, squeezing his hands, a grin already creeping in and brightening his face. “I’d like that.” 

“Me too.” He figured that much was obvious, but he still wanted Euijoo to hear it. He wanted him to know. “I’d really like that, Euijoo.” 

“Then let's do it.”

“Okay.” 

“Okay.”

“Shit, okay!” Nicholas hopped up, throwing his hands above his head. “You’re coming to Taiwan!” 

Euijoo burst into laughter, clapping his hands together like they’d collectively won the lottery. “This is crazy!” 

“I know!” In an uncharacteristic display of hyper energy, Nicholas launched himself at him, knees on either side of his hips and arms around his neck in a spidermonkey-esque embrace. Euijoo responded by wrapping his arms around his waist and squeezing him tightly. Nicholas felt his shoulder warm where Euijoo laughed into his shirt. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner!”

Euijoo glanced up, teasing. “Yeah, why didn’t you?”

Nicholas pulled his head back to give him a dry look. “Hey, you’re Mr. Planner. Why didn’t you? ” He unwound his arms from his neck and pushed him back onto the bed. Euijoo flopped onto the neatly-made covers, chestnut hair fanned against navy blue. Tanned skin, a beautiful smile, dark eyes looking only at him and nowhere else. Nicholas didn’t give him time to come up with a retort. He crawled over him and slotted their lips together. Euijoo responded immediately, hands going to his hips, teasing his shirt up and slipping them underneath to spread over his skin. His hands were warm, his lips were warm, the sheets against Nicholas’ knees were warm. Everything in this moment was warm, glowing from the inside out. 

☀️

He could lay there forever kissing Nicholas. All day, until it was time to leave for their flight. (Their flight!)

But at some point, his planning-oriented brain did eventually notify him of a detail of great import.

That was– the fact that he did not actually have a ticket to Taiwan. 

☀️

Fuma opened his cabin door a few moments after their joint, erratic knocking began, blinking large eyes at them. 

“Can we use the computer in here?” Euijoo asked frantically. 

“Uh, yes?” Fuma stepped aside and the two of them rushed in, making a beeline for the simple computer setup he had in the corner – a small desk, a PC tower, a monitor, a printer, a chair. Being a Lead came with a few more privileges. Euijoo let Nicholas take the seat. He pulled up his flight info on his phone and set about going to the website and logging in, fingers flying across the keyboard. Euijoo pulled over a spare chair from Fuma’s other desk and sat behind him to watch, leg bouncing. Fuma was watching them, so Euijoo just nodded at him. He didn’t want to explain until they finished this. Luckily, Fuma wasn’t the type to be immediately probing, so kept quiet, going back to his packing. 

“We shouldn’t get our hopes too high,” he told Nicholas, even though his hopes were through the roof and he was at great risk of entering a mild state of depression if it turned out he couldn’t get a ticket. “Let’s not be too disappointed if there’s nothing left.” 

“There’s gonna be something.”

“How do you know?” He should just let him work. Stop distracting him. But talking was how he dealt with stress. Nicholas knew this by now. 

“Because the universe owes us one.” 

For a while there was nothing but the sound of typing and clicking. Euijoo watched as Nicholas navigated through different screens, matching the flight on the monitor to the one on his phone before checking for available seats. At some point Euijoo felt it was taking longer than it should, and it felt like a bad sign. He was already thinking about backup options, like looking for available tickets on upcoming days, when Nicholas suddenly spun around in the chair, shifting aside so that the monitor was more visible. There on the screen were the confirmation details for a flight to Taiwan – a flight leaving tonight at 7:20 PM, the same flight Nicholas was on. Euijoo almost choked on his spit.

“You did it, oh my god!”

“They’re not right next to each other, but I dunno, maybe we could convince someone to switch seats with one of us.”

“It’s fine. Whatever. This is perfect, Nico.” The day before he was thinking he wouldn’t see Nicholas for several months at least, another year at most. He could handle 18 hours on opposite ends of a plane if he needed to. “Wait, I should cancel my ticket, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Nicholas got up, grinning. Up until now, Euijoo had never seen him smile as frequently as he had today. He sat down in his place to log out and pull up his own account. They used the same booking website. Not saying that in itself was something like fate but… well, they were getting a lot of positive signs lately. Nicholas paced around, his happy energy preventing him from sitting still, bubbling over once more now that he was no longer stressed. “Hell yeah! Screw the Sierra Nevada mountains!”

“That’s not nice. They’re supposed to be really beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as Taiwan," Nicholas stated matter-of-factly, coming to loosely wrap his arms around Euijoo’s neck from behind and settle his chin on top of his head. Euijoo blushed but didn’t complain. After a moment Nicholas raised his head to look behind them. “We’re taking a trip together.”

Euijoo realized it was an explanation for Fuma, who still hadn’t spoken a word since he’d let them in. Euijoo had forgotten he was there, which was crazy considering this was his room. He glanced over, too. Fuma was sitting on his bed now, folding shirts. He stared at the two of them with the smallest smile on his face. “Yeah, I got that.” 

Euijoo grinned up at Nicholas. He’d kiss him but figured he’d spare Fuma out of courtesy.

Besides, there’d be plenty of time for that in Taiwan. 

🍓

They had to return their IDs and keys to the silver dropbox outside the admin building but got to keep the lanyards, at least. Euijoo folded his orange one up and stuffed it into the pocket of his hoodie. “So it all worked out.”

Nicholas tilted his head at him. “I told you it would.” 

They stepped back over to where they’d left their bags in the grass in front of the building, Fuma and K hovering nearby.

“So, Nico, I guess we should expect to see you back next summer?” K asked him, not working to tamp down his knowing grin at all. It was so obvious Fuma told him something, the way his eyes kept daring between two of them. Nicholas took it in stride. He wasn’t going to explain , not unless he was asked, but he took it in stride, nodding surely at the other man.

“Absolutely.”

K looked happy to hear it, some of his smugness giving way to earnestness. “Good. You were a huge help for us this year. We’d love to have you on the team again next time.”

“Count me in.” 

Fuma yanked Nicholas into a hug then, giving him a couple hearty slaps on the back before holding him at arm’s length and pointing a finger at him. “And we’re still doing dinner, right?”

“As soon as I get back,” Nicholas promised. Fuma smiled wide before releasing him and moving over to Euijoo. 

“Euijoo kun, don’t die in grad school.”

“I’ll definitely try.” Fuma laughed and pulled him into an embrace, too, administering the same heavy back slaps that Euijoo tried really hard to appear weren’t hurting him.

Fuma finally freed him and bent to pick up his bag. “I’m off, then. Everyone keep in touch!” 

Everyone bid him farewell as he passed through other mingling counselors, heading toward the camp’s front entrance and the parking lot beyond. Meanwhile, Nicholas sought out Harua and sidled up to him. “That reminds me. Can I be in the group chat?”

Harua looked at him funnily. “I gave you a bracelet didn’t, I?”

Nicholas touched it where it was tied around his wrist. “Uhh.”

“Gimme your number.” Nicholas did, and Harua clacked away on his own phone with sticker-clad nails, their glittery designs twinkling in the sunlight. “There. Just know Maki likes to be irritating and change the name every three weeks.” 

Nicholas checked the new group chat notification on his phone. This week they were “Die Banditen 💰”.

He was a little surprised to see K – or, he guessed, just Yudai now – and Fuma there. Nicholas texted Fuma regularly, but they were friends before. This felt like a coworker group chat, and the two of them were technically their supervisors. But one look at all the memes and random, definitely work-inappropriate shit being shared and he second-guessed. Based on the kinds of things they were texting, and even seeing them all now – out of uniform, officially off the clock, all done for the summer and debating where to stop and eat before a road trip or a plane ride – it was much easier to see himself becoming close to them outside of this place. Eventually they could end up being friends first, before coworkers. Plus, Maki was literally their camper not that long ago. If everyone could roll with that, so could Nicholas. 

Taki was in the chat, too. He just sent them a meme of a person breaking out of a pair of shackles on their hands, coupled with the message ‘you’re all free now.’ Nicholas smiled and liked it. 

“Wait a minute.” Harua squinted at his screen against the sun glare, scrolling through the chat details. “Who is that? The rice emoji?”

“That’s Jo,” Yuma answered from next to him, looking proud. “I added him.”

Harua looked suspicious. “I didn’t approve of this.”

“Yeah?” Yuma tilted his head and stepped close to Harua, his smile disappearing in a blink as he spoke through his teeth. “Well tough shit. You’re not taking this away from me.” Nicholas’ eyebrows went up to his hairline, and he turned to Euijoo for help, but he only returned the expression. Maybe at some point they’d figure out what was going on with those two. 

“Hi guys.” Jo himself appeared like he’d been summoned, wheeling his small suitcase over the uneven ground. At least Harua had the courtesy to return his smile.

Yuma, on the other hand, might’ve overdone it a little bit.

“Hiii Jo,” he trilled, making Harua shoot him a look of barely-contained disgust. “Headed out?” Jo nodded. “Well, it was great to meet you this summer. Looking forward to seeing you again next year.” 

“Likewise,” Jo replied. “Uh, by the way, did anyone want to share a cab to the airport?” 

“That’s a great idea! Here let me help you with your bags.” Even though Jo only had the one small suitcase, and a string backpack he already had on, and he didn’t seem like he knew why Yuma was doing it, he let the shorter man take the suitcase from him and start to wheel it across the grass. Jo, now looking a little awkward without something in his hands, played with his fingers and followed along.

“Didn’t Yuma say he was going to stay with a relative that lived like five miles from here?” Nicholas leaned up to mutter by Euijoo’s ear. 

“Shhh.”

“I’ll come, too,” Harua said, picking up his duffel to trail after the pair. 

Yuma froze and cut his eyes at him, his smile turning plastic. “I thought you liked taking a cab by yourself. Since you hate people so much?”

Harua smiled sweetly. “You thought wrong.” While Yuma pouted, Harua came over and hugged Euijoo, then Nicholas. “Bye, guys. Save travels. Text when you make it to the airport and when you land.”

“You do the same,” Nicholas said as he released him. “Bye, Yuma. Bye, Jo.”

“Bye…” Yuma’s tone was noticeably flatter as he and Jo waved at them, but he perked up when Jo fell into step beside him, the three of them walking toward the entrance together.

A short while later, Euijoo and Nicholas followed suit with Yudai and Taki, chatting casually about their upcoming road trip. Apparently their where-are-we-going-this-time dart had landed on Texas, and Taki didn’t know how to feel about it. In contrast, Yudai was almost too excited. 

He shook his cousin’s shoulders. “Come on, Taki! Rodeos, barbecues, cowboys, chaps, fried everything. Tell me you hate having a good time without telling me you hate having a good time.”

Taki made a noise of complaint and put his hands over Yudai’s to stop the shaking but didn’t shrug him off. 

Their little quartet stepped out into the parking lot. Yudai spotted Maki sitting on top of his plastic suitcase several empty car spaces down, playing on his phone. “You need a ride somewhere, Maki?” he called, taking his hands off Taki’s shoulders.

Maki looked over and held up a hand. “I’m good! Some friends are picking me up. Thanks though!” Yudai nodded and extracted his car keys, continuing down the parking lot in the opposite direction. “Hey you!” Taki stilled and glanced over his shoulder. Maki was indeed talking to him, jerking his head to beckon him over. Taki hesitated and then obliged. “Let’s follow each other on Instagram,” Maki said when he was near enough. “I’m totally into that MMO dragon quest stuff, you know.”

“Uhh…” Taki slowly extracted his phone from the pocket of his basketball shorts, looking both hesitant and surprised. “You are?”

“Oh yeah,” Maki nodded and held up his phone to the other boy, the screen pulled up to his account page. “This is me.”

Taki read the username and tapped on his phone for a minute. “Followed you.”

Maki looked down at his screen, smiling and tapping a few times with his thumb. “Followed back.” He slid the device back into his jacket pocket. “Don’t be a stranger.” 

“Yeah.” Taki clicked his screen off, playing with the rubber Spiderman case. “You… you either.” 

“Let’s go, Taki!“ Yudai yelled across the parking lot. Taki turned to see him hanging out of the driver’s side of a Subaru Crosstrek, stepping onto the floor in there so he could prop an elbow on the hood. He had on a pair of black cat-eye shades and the biggest, floppiest, most ridiculous hat of all time on his head – tan in color and with an adjustable string hanging below his chin. He looked like he didn’t know if he was going to a club in Miami or a wildlife safari. Whichever it was, it would probably get him beat up in Texas. The older man waved at him. “Adventure awaits!”

Taki cringed and turned back to Maki. “I… I don’t know why he’s like this. Uhm… okay, bye.”

Maki smiled up at him, lopsided, waving lazily as Taki turned and walked away. He shuffled past Nicholas and Euijoo, who were waiting for their Uber a short distance away, giving them both a little wave that they returned. Euijoo checked his phone, then his watch. 

“Eight and a half minutes away,” he relayed dutifully. “Good. He’s on time.” 

Nicholas shook his head at him. “I’ll never be lost when I’m with you.” Euijoo blushed, putting his phone away. “I hope you like this restaurant we’re going to.”

“I’m sure I will,” Euijoo said automatically, hooking his thumbs into his backpack straps. 

“What makes you think that? You said you’ve never tried Mediterranean food before.”

Euijoo shrugged a shoulder. “Because you like it.”

Nicholas’s heart swept, and he got the urge to reach out and thread his fingers through the other man’s, so he did. Euijoo’s fingers curled against his knuckles, their palms fitting together like a puzzle piece. “Xiàtiān kuàilè.”

“Ooh.” Euijoo’s eyes went round(er), and he turned his body to face him, tilting his head to the side. “What’s that mean?”

“‘Happy summer,’” Nicholas translated, squeezing his hand.

“I like it. Say it again.”

“Xiàtiān kuàilè,” Nicholas repeated, tugging him closer. Euijoo stepped right up to him, dropping his voice to a whisper. 

“Again.” Except, before Nicholas could, Euijoo ducked his head and captured his lips in a slow, sizzling kiss. By the time he eased back, Nicholas’ lips were buzzing and his heart was pounding.

“Wǒ ài nǐ.” 

“That sounded different.”

“I said I like you.” 

“Ahh.” Euijoo’s head bobbed cutely. “Well then, nado neol joa.”

Their Uber ended up showing up right on time, a little green car trundling over the gravel and pulling to a slow stop in front of them. Nicholas turned to Euijoo and grinned. “Ready?” 

Euijoo smiled back, challenging the sun. “Following you.” 

☀️🍓

Saying it ended up being the best three weeks of his life wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

-End