Work Text:
“hyung, are we there yet?"
jinyoung feels a migraine coming along. “no, bambam. not yet."
“how much further…?”
“an hour more, i promise. go back to sleep.”
“okay,” bambam says, and he does as he’s told, and jinyoung is thankful.
he taps his fingers on the steering wheel. one more hour, he thinks. he can do this.
✯✯✯
it starts like this.
park jinyoung comes home from school on a friday with a letter from the department about a summer exchange student program conveniently forgotten in the tresses of his bag. his mother, who doesn’t have much sense of respect for the privacy of her son’s room let alone the privacy of his own belongings, finds it neatly tucked in-between his failed math exam and his copy of 청춘의 문장들 and, much to his chagrin, decides it would be absolutely wonderful to have an exchange student living in their own house for four weeks, despite no one in the family speaking a lick of thai or english.
begrudgingly, he submits the signed letter.
begrudgingly, they’re called in to be a host family.
enter: kunpimook bhuwakul, bambam, fourteen years old, and a total pain in the ass.
the language barrier, for the most part, is non-existent. bambam is actually decent in korean, is a member of his school’s korean language club, has watched more korean dramas than jinyoung has (much to his mom’s enjoyment), and has actually auditioned for jyp (and despite not making it in, plans to do so again), but as much as his mom loves him, she’s not his guardian, and guard him jinyoung does. bambam’s pocket size and hyperactive demeanour have made him the target of the affectionate noonas and slightly-more-annoying-slightly-taller brats that haunt the hallways during summer school. jinyoung usually spends his lunch in peace, devouring his food and the pages of a new book for the whole two weeks he’s there, but now he spends it making sure bambam’s cheeks aren’t ripped off from too much pinching and that he still has money in his wallet.
however, all of this is another story. why jinyoung is in a car with bambam at three in the morning on a saturday is a different one.
✯
it starts like this.
park jinyoung gets an e-mail on a sunday before the last week of summer school from mark tuan. mark is a nice guy, someone he met at summer camp and got friendly enough with that they added each other on facebook. jinyoung is curious, to say the least, given that they usually stick to kakao for their irregular conversations. his interest piqued, he opens the e-mail and reads it.
hi jinyoung~!
i know you’re probably wondering why i’m e-mailing you instead of texting you, but i figure i need the space.
remember the camp we first met at? (you should :P) well, as you know, i’ve signed up as a cabin leader there for three summers now! the program starts again next week, but the problem is we’re still understaffed, so i come to you in our time of need. we need someone familiar with the camp already, so i was wondering if you wanted to sign up?
make sure to e-mail me back asap when you’ve decided. i hope you say yes! i would love to meet up again haha.
your local foreign friend,
mark
despite going there every summer for years, jinyoung actually hated summer camp. from his memory, it was hot, tiring, and the kids fought way too much. he even remembers a kid punching another kid in the gut. it wasn’t a happy time for him basically. in another time he wouldn’t have said yes so quickly, but with bambam expected to stay another week here after classes ends, he doesn’t even hesitate.
plus, his mom loves it when jinyoung engages himself.
hey mark!
your proposition is intriguing… i would love to be a cabin leader. sign me up. ^.^
your local local friend,
jinyoung
jinyoung clicks sends and leans back on his chair. a week off, he thinks. it’s perfect.
of course, everything else went kind of downhill from there.
✯✯✯
after four hours of non-stop driving (with a five minute pitstop at probably the seediest looking gas station in the outskirts of busan, after which jinyoung declared to bambam no more pitstops ever), jinyoung finally stops the car. he rests both of his hands on the wheel, leans forward, and takes in the sight before him.
summer camp is a lot less exciting than he remembers it being.
everything is lined up around the lake, with activity areas on one side and cabins on another, and the mess hall right smack in the middle on the other side of the camp entrance. everything is dressed in a drab brown, with washed out specks of paint he thinks were more vivid the last time around. there is a pungent smell of coffee, carbon gas and disappointment in the not-so-fresh air that he can smell even from the inside of his car. everything looks small, or, smaller than before at least, but he supposes a growth spurt will likely do that to a place you haven’t seen in five years. that’s a long time, after all. a lot can change. not just him.
still, in some weird way, even though he hated it back then and finds the sight of it now even more unacceptable, he feels nostalgia tug at his heartstrings. this is three years of his life, or it was, at least. memories come to surface as he starts feelings familiar things—like ridiculous ghost stories in dark cabins at the end of each day, or sneaking out past lights-off to grab a snack from the mess hall and getting their asses caught, or having to clean up the mess hall after meals because they got their asses caught sneaking out the night before, or ending up in a food fight during clean-up and having to clean even more. he’s starting to remember all the good stuff he had buried underneath the sticky feeling of sweat and the aching pain of overworked muscles and the searing burn of cuts and bruises. the stuff he had buried even more underneath last year’s trigonometry theorems, physics formulas and shakespeare. and the lessons from the year before that. and the year before that.
he takes a look at the dashboard numbers that flash back at him. 6:25. four hours before camp officially opens. mark texted him the day before to tell him he was at camp already and would be waiting for them, so jinyoung decided it would be a good idea to get here early and use up the extra time to get himself oriented with the week’s program. he steps outside the car and has to get used to the stark difference between the outdoor heat and his car’s air-conditioning first. once settled, he opens the door to the backseat.
“bambam, wake up.”
bambam groans and shields his eyes from the little light peeking behind jinyoung’s silhouette, because dusk is abnormally bright in the wilderness, apparently. after a few seconds, he finally opens his mouth. “…are we here?”
“yeah. we’re here.”
bambam groans again, groggier this time. he readjusts himself into a better position, one with less light in his line of sight. “give me five more minutes.”
jinyoung looks out at the sun just peaking over the horizon of the lake and breathes in. “okay. yeah. five more minutes.”
five more minutes. maybe he needs it too.
✯✯✯
the last time jinyoung saw mark, his hair was cut in an embarrassing way, his cheeks still had an inch of baby fat on them, and he still stumbled over the korean language like he could cry about it. jinyoung found that last part endearing when he first met him, and he vowed to be his translator for the rest of the week they were at camp.
now, jinyoung can’t even lose him in a crowd. “mark!” he shouts once his eyes spot a steak of red hair in one corner of the room
“hey!” mark turns around and flashes jinyoung a smile, his newly dyed locks falling in front of his eyes. he pushes his fringe back before continuing. “how’s everything going? did jackson already give you the rundown of your cabin’s schedule for the week?”
jinyoung nods. “it’s a good thing you’re a redhead or i wouldn’t have found you.” he gestures around the crowded mess hall. “were there this many people back in our day?”
mark laughs. “don’t worry, most of them are just here to send their kids off. we really only had a couple of registrants.”
the sharp sound of a mic buzzing rouses everyone’s attention. the whole room turns their eyes to the stage where jackson is cringing in apology. “sorry about that! i just needed to get everyone’s attention.” everyone laughs at that, and even jinyoung finds himself smiling. “anyway, i’m jackson wang, assistant head coordinator here…”
although jackson is a commanding presence, jinyoung finds himself zoning out and letting his eyes wander instead. he circles the whole room, spotting a few familiar faces amongst the crowd—old coordinators turned parents and old cabin leaders turned coordinators and old campers turned cabin leaders—and jinyoung wonders if this will be his faith too, destiny forever tied to this camp. then his eyes land on someone new.
it’s his ear piercings that get jinyoung’s attention at first. they line up the lobe of his ear in an… attractive fashion. it’s like a cheap attempt at a bad boy image. they look cool, but they also look ridiculous, but they also look hot. the boy moves a little, and the lights cascade his face to reveal sharp features, and that’s when jinyoung starts looking at everything else. his jaw. his mouth. his nose. he travels all the way from bottom to top until he gets to his eyes. there are two moles on the top of his right one, and jinyoung swears he’s seen that kind of thing somewhere before, some time ago.
he must have noticed the staring, because he turns his attention from the stage directly to jinyoung and raises his eyebrows. jinyoung lets his face sink in a millisecond longer, and then turns away before the other boy can register his own identity. once he removes his attention away again, jinyoung tugs at mark’s shoulder and points back to the other boy. “hey, who’s that?”
“hmm,” mark follow the finger and hums. “im jaebum. you don’t remember him? he went to camp with us. same cabin and everything.”
no, jinyoung thinks. he doesn’t, and he should, because even at the age he was back then, he’s pretty sure he would have noticed someone that attractive. “no?”
“emo kid? used to skip activities all the time… punched that one guy in the gut?”
oh. he turns his eyes to jaebum and suddenly notices all the old parts about him that he didn’t notice before. the curl of his lips. the glisten in his eyes. he looks a lot different with actual hair and no frown on his face. a lot different.
at the worried look on jinyoung’s face, mark eyes go wide. “he’s not like that anymore though!” he puts his hands up in defence. “i swear! or else we wouldn’t have signed him up as a cabin leader.”
“relax." jinyoung laughs. "people are staring.”
when mark realises the eyes on him, he goes sheepish and turns his attention back to the stage as jackson finishes the end of his little speech. once jinyoung’s giggling subsides, his eyes sneak another glance at jaebum only to finds the boy’s eyes already on him. immediately, jinyoung looks away. he doesn’t know why, maybe it’s the nerves of being found out, but his heart skips a beat.
when he finally gathers the courage to look again, the other boy is already gone.
✯✯✯
jinyoung wakes up the next day with a mark tuan in his face.
“jesus!” the sight shocks jinyoung wide awake and out of his bed. his body greets the floor with a thud, his face colliding with the wooden planks in a way that makes him worry about the sorry state of his nose.
mark laughs from where he towers over him. “no, just mark. and good morning to you too.”
haha, jinyoung thinks. i wonder how long it took him to come up with that one. in any case, he doesn’t laugh along, choosing instead to collect himself before speaking. “how long were you even standing there?”
“not long.” although jinyoung can’t see him, face still connected to the floor and all, he imagines that it came with a shrug. “you didn’t even look that asleep.”
“i wasn’t.” at that, jinyoung remembers the sweat all over his body that kept disrupting his attempt at peaceful slumber, and he grimaces. “it was too hot.”
“well you can grab a shower after you help me set-up breakfast, come on.” mark tip-toes around his body and pulls open the door gently, jinyoung watching him from where he’s still smashed against hardwood floor. he sees mark raise an eyebrow when he turns around. “why are you still on the floor?”
“it’s cold. and comfortable. give me five minutes.”
mark snorts. “if you’re not in the mess hall in seven minutes, i’m coming back here and kicking your ass.” he exits the cabin and lets jinyoung have his moment of reprieve.
five minutes later, jinyoung, still drenched in sweat but now with a hint of lilac from the perfume he sprayed all over himself, is much more awake and ready for the day than he was five minutes ago. he’s not exactly feeling refreshed, but he figures he’ll just have to get used to it if it’s going to be like this the whole week long. he exits the cabin, making sure not to wake up his kids, and absentmindedly follows the path down to the mess hall.
when he arrives at the end of the path, he’s surprised to see someone who looks like he’s waiting for him standing outside, leaning against a tree that leads into one of the lake’s docks. although jinyoung doesn’t recognise him at first, the closer he gets, the more he realises who it is, and the identity of the other person quietly unnerves him. “um, jaebum… right?”
the other boy gestures behind him to the mess hall. “mark told me to wait for you. he has his hands full in the kitchen.”
jinyoung nods and lets him lead the way. he’s surprised by jaebum, to say the least. he would have thought after yesterday there would be a tension in the air. he surprises jinyoung even more when he actually opens the door and tells him to go in first.
“uh, thanks?” he says, taking steps inside the hall. “listen, if this is abo—“
everything after that is a haze. the next thing junior registers is how drenched his body, and not in sweat, but water. ice cold water.
he opens his eyes and finds mark standing in front of him, a familiar smug grin on his face. to his left, jaebum is trying his best not to laugh. to his right, jackson isn’t. behind them, another one of the cabin leaders, minyoung, claps quietly, a smile on her face.
“good morning,” mark says, stupid smile never once leaving his face.
jinyoung breathes in deeply then blows out the water in his nose. “if you aren’t jesus, why did i just get baptised?”
mark laughs. “not my idea,” he says, pointing to the boy on his left instead. jaebum is trying to hide it, but he’s looking awfully smug under his facade.
“well then, you’re paying for my laundry bill, jaebum-ssi.”
✯
a change of clothes and a few minutes with minyoung (who thankfully owns a blow dryer) at her cabin later, jinyoung finally arrives at the mess hall not looking like a washed-up fish. everyone is lounging around chatting with each other clearly finished with setting up breakfast already. he takes a glance at the clock, and realises he’s spent so much time not pulling duty that thirty minutes have passed and it’s almost time to wake up the kids.
jaebum waves over and pats the space next to him on the bench. cautiously, jinyoung accepts his invitation and walks over to take the seat. “all dried up now?” jaebum asks, once he’s close enough to hear.
“no thanks to you, of course.” he slides into the space. “fair warning: i know that was an initation prank, but i hold grudges. watch yourself—i like to get even.”
jaebum smirks, grand ideas clearly brewing in his mind. “how about we make a deal then?”
that gets jinyoung’s attention. “oh? i’m all ears.”
“there’s a trophy at the end of the week for best cabin, right? if your cabin wins, i’ll do whatever chores you have left for saturday. bathroom clean-up. breakfast duty. babysitting. you name it.”
jinyoung raises his brow, interested. “and if you win, i’ll have to do yours?”
“fair is fair, after all.” he raises his hand, stretching his pinky out. “so what do you say, deal?”
jinyoung almost laughs at the gesture. it’s something he remembers their cabin leader introducing to their cabin. whenever someone broke a rule and he didn’t want anyone to do it ever again, he would bring up his pinky and ask the kids to make a pinky promise. it made them think the promise was more special, but in hindsight, the only thing it did was make the promise come off childish.
he doesn’t laugh, but he does smile as he crosses his pinky with jaebum’s. “deal.”
in even more hindsight, that pinky promise might have been a childish thing to do. in more than one way. jinyoung kind of regrets it, at least.
✯✯✯
they’re in the middle of the week already with three challenges behind them. jinyoung’s cabin has been doing great, but by some margin jaebum’s cabin always manages to be ahead of him. they outscore them in archery, outrun them in the obstacle course and even out-creativity them in the flag design challenge. he was hoping to catch up eventually, but he doesn’t have much hope of doing that today.
“i’m tired,” he can hear one of his kids say in the back of the line, and he focuses his attention on them. it’s one of the girls, dahyun. she’s decided to make a pitstop for the rest of the group, taking a seat on one of the larger rocks in the forest and parking her bag right next to it. “we’ve been walking for hours. are we even going the right way?”
in reality, they’ve only been walking for thirty minutes, but jinyoung supposes thirty minutes without having found a single item on a scavenger hunt list can kind of prolong how a kid sees things. he looks at the little map he brought with him and then around their little circle, and realises that he’s not sure where they are. or where they’re supposed to go. or where they even came from.
another one of his kids, chaeyoung, tugs at his hand. “oppa, chewy says she’s hungry.” jinyoung turns his eyes to tzuyu, who’s now sitting next to dahyun on the rock with her hands on her stomach, clearly in some pain. bambam and yugyeom, the oldest kids in his cabin, are awkwardly standing there looking at him, one with an expression of concern and the other one looking hopeless. he turns back to chaeyoung, who’s staring up at him with puppy dog eyes, and feels his heart pang.
“okay, listen. i realise this probably looks bad, but…” his eyes glance around their little circle, and he can’t even bear to finish his sentence.
yeah, okay. bust.
“alright, we’re heading back. i’m forfeiting the mission.”
“you can’t!” “no!” “we’ll be total losers!” jinyoung hears them all cry, clearly against the idea, but he doesn’t care. he doesn’t know what he’s doing. he can’t lead these kids to victory today.
“i know this must suck, but tzuyu needs to eat, dahyun needs to rest her feet, and either we finish this together as a cabin or we don’t finish at all, okay?” he’s trying his best to stand his ground. and against a bunch of kids too, at that. when they all give him the okay he feels a little pride swell in him. “then let’s go.”
the trek back to the mess hall isn’t supposed to be long, considering how short they’ve been walking for, but for whatever reason (okay, jinyoung will admit he has zero sense of direction out here, you can’t blame him if one tree looks different from another angle), it takes them an hour to get back. his kids look nearly ready to pass out when they make it inside, and even if the sight of all the other cabins already there should dishearten him, he’s more concerned with everyone’s stomachs. he slides into the kitchen and grabs a plate of finger sandwiches from mark’s hands. “sorry hyung, gotta steal this.” he rushes it out the door before the older boy can even yell at him, and when he sets it down at their table, everyone’s hands are already all over it.
“have you guys seen jackson sunbae? i need to tell him we’re forfeiting,” jinyoung asks in-between sandwiches. yugyeom points to one corner of the room where jackson is doing his check-up of all the bags for the scavenger hunt. jinyoung nods and excuses himself from the table for a second.
he walks over to jackson and taps him on the shoulder. the other boy pauses his work and offers jinyoung a warm smile. “jinyoung! what can i do for you?”
“my cabin’s forfeiting the challenge.”
jackson’s eyes go wide. “what for? you finished, right?” he says, scanning his checklist. “it says right here that i got a bag from you.” he walks over to the bags and unexpectedly pulls one out from the pile with jinyoung’s cabin’s name on it. “see?”
now it was jinyoung’s turn to be surprised. “what? that can’t—”
just then, jaebum pops up by jinyoung’s side and wraps his arms around his shoulders. “sorry jackson, but i’m gonna have to borrow jinyoung for a second.” taking both of jinyoung’s shoulders, jaebum steers both of them to the kitchen. once inside, jinyoung pushes him away and squints. “why did you do that?”
jaebum stares at him, mouth agape. “do what? save your ass from getting both of us in trouble?”
jinyoung scoffs. “so you admit it? you got two of each item on the list during the scavenger hunt and passed off a bag as ours?” he crosses his arms. “how did you even know we were gonna forfeit?”
when jaebum doesn’t answer, jinyoung draws the dots himself. “you were spying on us. on me.” at the words, jaebum’s face deflates, but it only gets jinyoung even more riled up. “this is some kind of scare tactic, isn’t it? you want to prove you’re superior. you’re trying to get me to give up.”
jaebum looks at him in disbelief. “what? no! it’s not that serious.”
“it so is!” jinyoung rebuts, raising his finger in the air. “well you can forget it, because i’m not giving up.” he takes a few steps closer until his face is right in front of jaebum’s. “you can kiss that trophy goodbye, because the only time you’re getting close to it is when you’re cleaning out our cabin.” he spins arounds and walks out the door before jaebum can even react.
if his heart is beating faster than it should and there’s a wild blush on his cheeks, he doesn’t say anything.
✯✯✯
jinyoung proceeds to spend the next few days basically giving jaebum judgemental wild eyes everytime they come across each other. when he passes him on the way to the bathrooms. when he spots him across the mess hall during breakfast. when his cabin’s canoe catches up to his cabin’s canoe and makes it to the dock first for the race. they can’t even have a civil dinner together as cabin leaders without jinyoung looking ready to jump him, or at least, that's what everyone else is trying to get across now.
“don’t you think you’re taking this too far?” mark asks him on friday morning when he is the second one to arrive at their table for breakfast. jinyoung was the first one there. in fact, jinyoung is the only one there. he suspects everyone else has gotten tired of his antics. “with jaebum, i mean.”
jinyoung bites into his toast and almost rips off a piece at the mention of jaebum’s name. “no,” he spits out vehemently. “he started it anyway.”
“and you should be the better person and end it,” mark says, stuffing his mouth with eggs.
jackson chooses this perfect moment to take to the stage and announce the challenge for today. the last challenge. he taps onto the mic to get everyone’s attention and flashes everybody a big smile. “okay guys, i know you’re all excited for this one! today’s the day, after all.” there’s a large commotion in the crowd, larger than there were for previous announcements. everyone can feel it in the air—the excitement. “okay, i won’t wait any longer. today’s challenge, the official tiebreaker, is… tug-of-war!”
fuck, jinyoung thinks, eyes wandering to his kids’ table and calculating their chances.
it’s okay. bambam, yugyeom, dahyun, chaeyoung and tzuyu. we can do this, he reassures himself. they’re stubborn. they’ll put up a fight. they won’t back down.
they’ll win.
✯
or not.
in the end, jinyoung’s cabin doesn’t even last ten seconds in any of the challenge rounds. that’s not to say they don’t try, but it’s not exactly like a cabin of tiny 11 year-old girls and two whiny 14 year-old boys can compete much in a strength competition, even if yugyeom gives it his all every time. jinyoung isn’t exactly all that good in the strength department either, anyway.
when jaebum’s team wins against his, jinyoung can’t even be bothered to give him a death glare.
“we did our best, and that’s what matters,” he reminds the kids when they get back to their cabin. the girls and yugyeom all gather around to give him a hug, while bambam chooses to offer him a thumbs up and a smile instead. camp has been good to bambam. he's grown, weirdly, probably because he has to be the oldest one after jinyoung in the room. if it wasn’t so embarrassing, jinyoung would have cried. as it is, he just lets the kids cry for him.
once they’re finished shedding their tears, jinyoung sees it fit to ask them something. “you all had fun though, right? please tell me you did.” the other kids nod and smile at him, so feverishly you would think he had taken them on a trip to lotte world. god, he loves this little bunch.
it’s only been a week but he guesses that’s what camp does to you.
✯✯✯
that night, the camp lights a big campfire next to the mess hall and holds an old-fashioned barbecue. there’s not much in the way of a program, just dinner and everyone enjoying themselves. of course, everyone is also dying in anticipation for the big announcement. he lets the kids do their thing once they get there and leaves them alone for pretty much the rest of the night.
he finds mark near the refreshments, stocking up a tray of cups full of what appears to be tropical fruit punch. “that isn’t spiked, right?”
“not that i know of,” mark says with a chuckle. he fills up one last cup and hands it over to jinyoung. “here, try one. i was just about to bring it over to our table.” jinyoung takes it, downs it in one gulp, belatedly realises that mark wasn’t joking, and starts coughing.
mark laughs, taking the tray and walking away. “no one ever listens…” jinyoung hears his words fade along with the rest of the night breeze.
he stays like that for a few minutes, just leaning against the table, watching the night’s proceedings and sipping on his punch. almost like a walking parody. he says hi to a couple of people, smiles brightly at a few of the kids, but mostly decides to keep to himself. at some point, the heat of the fire becomes too much and he decides to leave the party, making his way over to the lake to cool down.
against the glow of the lake bouncing off moonlight, jinyoung sees him leaning against the same old tree. he laughs a little, but rather than walk away he takes this opportunity to approach. “of course you’re here,” he can’t keep himself from saying.
jaebum turns to him, smirk once again present on his face. “only because i figured you would be.”
jinyoung snorts. “well you’ve got me where you want me, mr. im,” he says, spreading his arms wide and gesturing to his whole body. “what do you want?”
jaebum’s attention wanders for a moment, then he fixes his gaze back on jinyoung. “to apologise,” he says, then scratches the back of his head, clearly confused as to what to say next. “and—“
jinyoung pushes a hand in between them. “no need. you won fair and square. i’ll gladly do your ch—“
before he can finish, jaebum grabs his wrist and pulls him a little closer.
“that’s not it,” jaebum interrupts, a stern look on his face. “something else.”
jinyoung looks at him wide eyes, and nods. he wants to say anything, but maybe now talking isn’t the best thing to do. he gestures for jaebum to continue.
“i’m sorry about the scavenger hunt. i didn’t mean to hurt your pride, that wasn’t… that wasn’t my intention. i just didn’t want to see you lose like that.” he lets go of jinyoung’s hand once he registers the tight grip he has on it. “i didn’t actually want to see you give up. i… i was just using the rivalry to get close.”
oh. jinyoung focuses his eyes on jaebum and suddenly notices all the parts about him that he didn’t before. the quiver of his lips. the sincerity in his eyes. he looks a lot different when jinyoung isn’t trying to hate him.
"do you get it now?”
yeah, okay.
he pushes forward and lets their lips brush (1. 2. 3.) and then backs away. jaebum looks at him in shock.
yeah.
okay.
he gets it now.
✯✯✯
jinyoung needs coffee. in fact, jinyoung needed coffee an hour ago, when his physics class hit the second hour stride and formulas started to look like squiggles in his eyes. the best coffee shop on campus is on the other side of where he is right now, but he doesn’t care. that was his last class anyway, he can afford to make the trip. with a breath, he starts making his way there.
as he's walking along the side of the gardens, he feels the phone in his pocket buzz against his thigh and it gets him irritated. that’s the third time in the last thirty minutes. he brings it out and presses on the home button, powering on the screen to see a wall of notifications from the last three hours.
three missed calls from: mom♡~, bambam
one text from: mom♡~
jinyoungie~ don’t forget to pick up eggs on your way home. and remember i love you!
one text from: sungjin
dude, i scored free tickets to 2pm!! i know you love them, don’t lie. wonpil’s already said yes and i know you won’t pass this up. text me back.
one text from: youngjae
hyung, can i borrow your old chemistry notes?? my exam is in three days ㅠㅡㅠ
one text from: bambam
hyung, can you ask yugyeom want he wants for his birthday? please e-mail me back asap!! shipping takes long you know
one text from: mark
don’t kill me.
ok…? that one’s a little odd.
one text from: unknown
huh, okay. the last time he got a strange unwarranted message, it led to… well, it led to things. he could probably delete it now and pretend it never existed, but he’s a slave to his curiosity. he bites his lip, slides open the notification and reads the text.
one text from: unknown
hi jinyoung. it’s me, jaebum.
you haven’t been messaging me back, idiot, don’t think i didn’t notice. i’m coming over to busan next week for a student film festival. they’re screening one of my productions.
i want to see you. don’t make any excuses this time.
(p.s. thank mark for giving me your number.)
jinyoung isn’t surprised. disappointed maybe, but not surprised. i guess playing hard to get is over now. those two months were fun while they lasted.
he saves the number on his phone as “idiot~” and fires back a text.
one text from: jinyoung
hey idiot.
guess you’re finally getting the courage to come see me, huh?
i’ll be waiting. ;)
(p.s. tell mark to prepare his funeral.)
before he shuts off his phone, jinyoung stares at the texts again and clicks his tongue. for a few seconds, he reads jaebum’s words, then his, and contemplates. then he sends one more text.
one text from: jinyoung
(p.p.s i missed you too. call me.)
his phone rings not a second later.
✯✯✯✯✯
FIN.