The camp was somewhere remote so Chanyeol, never being a good navigator by himself, had a difficult time finding Camp Note despite the big, fat arrows that casually appeared every once in a while. The twins were no help, belting and singing in the back while occasionally arguing about which singer was better than the other. Technology failed him, too. It seemed like the second they entered the forest of god-knows-what the navigation system in their car suddenly went crazy, repeating “calculating...calculating...calculating…” until Chanyeol got so fed up with it that he had to turn it off. It might’ve raised his mood if there was music playing, but everything on the radio was either static or oldies. All in all, the drive to the camp was, more or less, hell.

The minute Chanyeol saw the big gate with the camp name carved above on an arc, he felt like singing along with the twins. He could’ve cried, but that wasn’t exactly an option, though he was exhausted from driving for nearly four hours.

There was a sigh of relief when he saw other parents dropping their kids off. The difference between them and Chanyeol was that he actually had to stay for the entire summer, so all the parents that got to leave after dumping their kids off to the side had Chanyeol slightly envious.

Once he parked the car in the staff parking area, Chanyeol finally noticed something. Silence. He looked back and saw that the twins were in awe, face plastered against their respective windows as they watched the other kids drag their belongings into camp. For a moment, the drive almost seemed like a thing of the past. Almost.

“Dad! Stop staring at us and get out of the car! We want to go outside!” Luhan, the first of the twins to make Chanyeol cry in the delivery room, was more positively anxious than Sehun who was more quiet, but nonetheless active. They were, in their defense, thirteen. Chanyeol couldn’t really blame them for their hyperactivity.

Chanyeol unlocked the doors and let the twins bolt out, getting out the car much slower than the two. The kids were pointing and excitedly hopping in place with everything that they were seeing. Opening the back of the SUV, Chanyeol called their names to gain back their attention for a short while.

“Alright, you guys. Come on. Take your sleeping bags. I’ll bring your other bags to you when you…” Chanyeol’s voice trailed off when the two quickly grabbed their belongings and started walking in the direction of a camp assistant who was trying to guide a group of kids to the cabin area. Letting it go, Chanyeol takes a seat on the edge of his car’s back space and watches as Sehun waves at him before being pulled along by Luhan since his younger brother (by two minutes) was getting left behind by the group.

His kids were growing up and Chanyeol was both sad and happy. But still, it hurt to be a dad sometimes. The best he could do was do everything in his power to squeeze in as many moments as he could with them.

“You don’t have to look so sad. They’re always like that.” Startled, Chanyeol put a hand to his chest. Glancing to his right, he saw a man holding a box of kitchen ingredients in his arms. “Give it a day or two. They’ll calm down.”

Chuckling, Chanyeol shrugged. “It’s alright. I know. They’re kids after all…” Holding out his hand, he grinned. “I’m Chanyeol.”

The man gave a small smile in return, but only glanced at the hand. “Baekhyun. Nice to meet you, but I’m a bit preoccupied with my hands.”

“Oh.” Embarrassed, Chanyeol put his hand down. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

“Don’t worry about it. You might want to move your car, though,” Baekhyun said, nodding at the vehicle. “This is for staff. The parents are supposed to be at the unloading area.”

“I know. I actually volunteered to work here for the summer to spend time with my kids so I’m part of staff, I guess.”

“Hm… Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think you’re gonna get twenty-four hour bonding time with your kids,” Baekhyun said, giving a small shrug. “I’ve been here for three years and most of the kids think their parents aren’t cool.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but it’s nice on your part to make the effort. Don’t get too sad when your kids decide they want to play with the camp’s water guns with their friends instead of hanging out with you.” Adjusting the box in his arms, Baekhyun let out a breath. “This is getting heavy. I’ll see you around, Chanyeol. If this is your first time being at a camp, then good luck.”

“Thanks. Do you need help with that?” Chanyeol asked, ready to offer a hand.

Shaking his head, Baekhyun declined. “This is my job. You should check in at the front desk and move your things in the staff cabin you were assigned to.”

“Ah, right.” Chanyeol stood up, both feet on the ground. “Sorry for holding you up.”

“It’s not a problem. Welcome to Camp Note. It’ll be fun.”

Chanyeol gave him a small smile. “I hope so.”

-

-

The camp was large, not to mention extremely beautiful. It seemed like a kid’s paradise getaway from their parents, which was kind of bittersweet for Chanyeol to think about. The lake was pristine, sparkling on that hot summer day. No one was swimming yet since everything was still being organized with all the kids checking in and moving into their assigned cabins before meeting with their camp guide.

Chanyeol had some time to himself after he finished settling in his room, which he shared with two other parents, who he mingled with a short while before exploring the camp by himself.

There was a pool, an indoor basketball court, a rock climbing station, a whole bunch of trails, a lot of tire swings (especially near the lake) and a whole bunch of other things that Chanyeol knew would occupy the twins.

Even though he was thirty-three, he kind of wanted to do all the activities the camp provided for kids during their free time. He wanted to go on a tire swing and jump into the lake, too…

When it was was finally eleven a.m, Chanyeol walked back to the main camp office and joined the rest of the adults who were crowding around an area with a single person in the middle. He was in the back, but he was tall enough to see and hear perfectly.

“Hello, parent volunteers and staff! My name is Kim Junmyeon and I’m the head director for this summer. Um, let’s see.” Junmyeon took a minute to look down at his clipboard, possibly filled with notes and reminders what about to mention. “Here at Camp Note, we are dedicated to giving these kids a fun, safe summer while also focusing on their singing capabilities. Now, I must mention that not every child here can sing well, but we’re here to help them improve and learn some pointers.”

Chanyeol stifled a laugh in the back. His twins were talented, which he already knew, they could learn a thing or two. Whatever the deal was, they loved to sing and they had a gift for it. The way Chanyeol felt was probably how other parents felt.

“The staff already have their schedules and they know what to do. Volunteers, please come up after this little get-together to pick up what your assignments will be. Most of the things on your sheet are constant, other things change,” Junmyeon explained. “For instance, you may have the job of being an instructor's assistant from nine to ten-thirty for the entire summer, but you’ll have other rotational jobs such as watching the kids and supervising them when they’re out swimming and so on. Uh, what else…”

Chanyeol looked around for a while, wondering if Baekhyun was there at the meeting, but it didn’t seem so after he couldn’t spot the man.

“Oh, the kids must be in their cabins by eleven unless there’s a night activity planned for groups. Lunch will be served at twelve, which is in an hour. Afterwards, the kids will have an hour of free time before going into their groups. Group A, B, or C, depending on their age. They will all have a set of activities ready for them each day. I’m sure you all read the packet that was sent to you a few weeks ago…”

Cringing, Chanyeol looked around. The other parents were nodding their heads and he was forced to join along. He didn’t really read it in depth. In general, he was up to date on things.

“The kitchen is off limits unless you’re authorized, but the staff lounge is open for twenty four hours. There is a coffee shop next to the camp gift and souvenir store, too… Now, teachers! Your classes are going to rotate, too. The schedules you received are…”

Tuning out, Chanyeol noted the type of parents that were there. Just by looks, he could tell that most of them were pretty stable. One woman had her arms folded in front of her with a look of stern focus on Junmyeon, immediately letting Chanyeol know that she was probably one of those uptight parents. He also spotted a lovely woman in the crowd who was dressed a little oddly. To him, she kind of looked free-spirited. She probably worked with kids before, or at least, knew how to handle them.

Chanyeol didn’t have to spend much time trying to figure out what kind of parent volunteer he was. He was the workaholic dad who barely spent time with his kids. In fact, it was hard to connect with them. They knew he loved them, but it was so difficult trying to relate with twins who either kept to themselves or enjoyed playing out with the other kids in the neighborhood. Chanyeol did the best that he could, and the boys knew it despite their distant relationship.

It wasn’t his idea to take a two month vacation away from work. In fact, it was Jongdae, the head of the architecture firm where Chanyeol worked his off day in and day out who adamantly suggested he take the summer to spend time with the kids.

“They’re growing up, Chanyeol,” Jongdae said when he gave Chanyeol a cup of coffee. He usually didn’t do that. “They’re also out of school. It’s a good time to take a break, don’t you think?”

Work, as Jongdae put it, was flexible. After Chanyeol reluctantly agreed, he finished all his current projects and defaulted any new opportunities to his other co-workers.

After Junmyeon finished his entire spiel about camp safety and fun, the group of adults began dispersing. Some went to their assigned posts but Chanyeol had the pleasure of meeting Junmyeon face to face when he walked up to the front to grab his assignment.

“Hi, there!” Junmyeon greeted. He held out a hand to Chanyeol, and the single father smiled back, shaking the hand politely. “New here?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol said, nodding as he picked up his paper. “This is a nice camp you got here.”

Junmyeon proudly raised his chin. “Thank you. It’s been in the family since my grandfather opened it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep.” Junmyeon watched as Chanyeol read his duties. “Do you need any help understanding any of that?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “No. I’m alright. Thank you… Actually, I have a question.”

“Sure thing! That’s what I’m here for!” Junmyeon piped cheerfully. “What do you need to know?”

Turning the paper towards the man, Chanyeol pointed at item number two. “It says here that I’m kitchen help. Does that mean I’ll be in the kitchen all day?”

“Oh, no. Of course not. You’re only a help,” Junmyeon said, his brown eyes looking up at the parent. “You are to report to the kitchen at least an hour before breakfast, lunch, and dinner are supposed to be served. After the kids all leave for their activities, you can go on and do, uh...Let’s see...Oh, lucky you. You get to supervise the kids during their free time after lunch. That reminds me. You need to be in the kitchen right now.”

“Oh…” This schedule wasn’t as hectic as the one Chanyeol dealt with on a regular, working basis, but it definitely had some things that were blindsiding him left and right. Like the fact he was late for his first job as a volunteer. “Where’s the kitchen?”

“Follow that trail,” Junmyeon instructed, pointing at a path that, conveniently, had an arrow pointing to the right that said Mess Hall. “It’ll take you to the cafeteria, but if you go around the back, there’s going to be a red door that says Employees Only. It’s not hard to find, even if you’re new. Good luck…?”

“Chanyeol. You can call me Chanyeol.”

“Ah, okay. Good luck, Chanyeol.” As Junmyeon waved him off on his way, the father heard the head direction shout, “You’ll do just fine!”

-

-

The red door wasn’t hard to find, just as Junmyeon had said, but there were so many people going in and out of the damn thing that Chanyeol worried that he was extremely late. But then again, he was new so whoever was in charge wouldn’t reprimand him that severely, especially since it was the first day, too.

Chanyeol walked in, careful to do so quickly that he wouldn’t be in the way of someone trying to get out. The kitchen was bustling, but it wasn’t as busy as Chanyeol initially thought. He tried to look for the stereotypical head figure, the man (or woman) wearing a ginormous hat to symbol their power and authority over everyone else, but Chanyeol found that there wasn’t a single individual in that particular costume.

No one approached him. They did smile at him, but that wasn’t any help. Thankfully, the only person he knew on camp besides his twins and Junmyeon walked through the doors carrying a box of ingredients--just like how Chanyeol last saw him.

“Ah, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol waved before apologizing to an individual who needed to pass by him.

“Hello. Nice seeing you again,” Baekhyun nodded, making his way through the kitchen before setting the box at one of the empty stations. He didn’t entertain Chanyeol by turning around and facing him. Instead, he continued on working, taking out mixers and pans from the box and the other boxes underneath his station table. “Are you randomly wandering in here or did you get assigned to kitchen duty?”

“Uh, assigned,” Chanyeol said, hopelessly following the other around while trying not to stand in the way of others. “I don’t really know what I should be doing right now, however…”

“There’re a lot of things you could do here.”

“I know, but…” Looking around didn’t help at all. What was he going to do? Jump in and into someone else’s job? “Baekhyun, who’s the person in charge of this place?”

Baekhyun walked over to the large, stainless steel fridge and pulled it open, taking a jug of milk and two cartons of eggs out from stock. “I am,” he replied casually as he walked back to where he had taken out the pans.

Chanyeol was shocked, but not too entirely shocked. The profession looked like something the man would do considering he was working his way around the kitchen super well. Better than Chanyeol ever could.

“Do you mind giving me an assignment? I’d feel more comfortable if you put me somewhere.”

Baekhyun stopped, looking at him before turning his eyes to someone else in the kitchen. “Jongin! Do you need another helper with the bread?”

The man across the kitchen by the name of Jongin shook his head. “I have enough people helping me. I have it covered.”

Baekhyun nodded as he tapped his fingers along the surface. Everyone else seemed to be handling their assignments well, and the volunteers that had skipped the initial meeting with Junmyeon that arrived earlier than Chanyeol were already falling in rhythm with the work.

Turning to Chanyeol, Baekhyun took the egg cartons and placed them in the man’s large hands. “Guess you’ll be working with me on desert… Do you know how to break eggs without getting shells in the bowl?”

Looking down at the cartons, Chanyeol blinked. Did he? He never really cooked for the boys...which sounded terrible now that he thought about it. The boys were self-sufficient, always making and cooking their own things. Independent for their age…

He walked over to an empty space and kept the metal bowl near him. Taking one of the eggs, Chanyeol held the cold thing and tapped it on the edge of the counter. Turning it over, he saw that it was cracked, but just barely.

“You have to do it a little harder--and faster.”

Baekhyun came up from behind him and took the egg from Chanyeol. With one hit against the counter, the egg became significantly cracked, well enough to be opened in one swift move. The yolk fell promptly in the bowl.

“See?”

Nodding, Chanyeol took over the job. He tried to mimic what Baekhyun had done, grinning to himself when he managed to do it almost perfectly the first time. A tiny piece of the shell made its way in the bowl, but he managed to take it out.

After a few minutes of cracking one egg after another, quicker and faster than the last, Chanyeol took the bowl and presented it to Baekhyun who was working on getting all the decorative pieces of their desert ready.

“What’re we making exactly?” Chanyeol asked when he handed over his work.

“Cupcakes. I hope you’re artistic because we’ll be decorating these later.”

His job did involve a lot of drawing, but Chanyeol hardly thought the kids wanted blueprints on their desert.

“Can you preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit?” Baekhyun asked, taking the eggs and dumping it in the mechanical mixer. He turned it on until the eggs were beaten completely.

After doing as he was being told, Chanyeol walked back over and helped the latter dump one pack of flour in another bowl, deeper and larger than the other. He watched quietly as Baekhyun added the baking powder and sugar, all without having to measure anything for preciseness.

“Do you bake often?” he asked after some time.

“I guess you could say that,” Baekhyun answered, whisking everything together before putting it all in the mixer. He looked back at Chanyeol after turning the knob for medium speed and hitting the green button. “I’m going to take the wild guess that you don’t spend much time in the kitchen.”

“No, I can’t say I do.” Chanyeol’s eyes drifted to the mixer. “Is it supposed to turn red like that?”

“It’s called Red Velvet for a reason.”

“That...is true.” Laughing, Chanyeol folded his arms. “Seems like you know a lot.”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I own a bakery. Knowing how to make cupcakes is pretty basic.”

Chanyeol raised a brow. That explained a lot of things. The camp wouldn’t just put a random person as head of the kitchen. They’d hire a professional. Of course. Why he never connected one and one together, he didn’t know.

“So, what do you do?” Baekhyun asked, breaking Chanyeol’s train of thought. He stopped the mixer and waited for the machine to still. “Obviously nothing that has to do with the kitchen, right?”

“I’m an architect.” And a pretty damn good one. “I don’t make cakes. I make buildings, work on commission. That kind of stuff.”

“That’s an interesting line of work,” Baekhyun said, taking the bowl from the machine and placing it on the counter. Chanyeol started ripping open the plastic packages for the cupcake wrappers, putting one in each holder. “I didn’t think your type of people would have time to chaperone their kids for two months in summer camp.”

“What about you? You said you owned a bakery. How can you leave behind your shop for two months?”

“I leave my store in trusty hands,” Baekhyun replied, putting scoops of the batter into the molds. “You can grab another of these things and fill the other pan. Each kid should only get one, but some get a little greedy about this rule, not to mention how generous the staff can be with the younger ones. It’s best to make more than the minimum.”

Chanyeol copied Baekhyun’s handiwork, filling each little mold with a scoop of the batter. He felt a little proud even though it was such a small thing to contribute. At least he was doing something. It made him feel less of a bum in the kitchen.

“How long have you been doing this? Working for Camp Note, I mean.”

“Three summers,” Baekhyun said, taking the time to hold up three fingers. His pan was almost done. “The first year was certainly an eye-opener. Didn’t like it very much in the beginning, but then I ended up liking it and I’ve been willing to come back here every summer ever since.”

“Why’d you come here in the first place?”

“I have a nephew here. He’s ten now.”

Laughing, Chanyeol cocked his head. “He likes to sing?”

“I suppose,” Baekhyun replied nonchalantly as he turned around to put the ready pan aside on another counter. “He tries for a ten year old.” He looked at the clock. “We need to work a little faster if we’re going to have everything done in time. Are you almost done with those?”

“Yep. Here.” Chanyeol handed his pan over. Everything seemed a little messier than the one Baekhyun took care of, but the latter didn’t make a comment on it so Chanyeol took it as a good sign that he was at least on the margins of being an okay kind of help.

“Great. Now we’re down for ten more.”

-

-

Decorating the tiny things ended up being more of a hassle than Chanyeol initially thought. The bakers on the food network made everything seem so easy. It was like all they had to do was squeeze the piping tool and all of a sudden, their cakes came out so perfectly decorated and everyone was happy. But those shows are called reality TV shows for a reason.

Baekhyun’s decoration plans weren’t even difficult. White frosting swirled on top of each cupcake with a music note made from hardened royal icing on top to go with the theme of the entire camp. But it was easier said than done. While Baekhyun managed to make his cupcakes look flawless, Chanyeol’s own creations ended up looking like . Literally. The swirls were ungraceful, looking like dog turd with a music note on top of it, and though Chanyeol caught the other staring at it without saying a single word, he knew Baekhyun was laughing on the inside.

When every single cupcake was decorated and the two of them put out the first batch in the cafeteria for the kids who were peeking through the doors, waiting to be let in, Baekhyun put a hand on the father’s back, giving him a pat. “The younger kids like anything that tastes nice, so don’t worry. They won’t say anything bad about your decorating skills.”

-

-

Being appointed as one of the supervising adults after lunch wasn’t as bad as Chanyeol thought it’d be. It was funny to see all the kids interact. The youngest kids were at least six or seven, and to see them try to keep up with the bigger kids was adorable. It brought back memories of when Sehun and Luhan were the same age. They used to be really clingy to him, always asking him to stay home and attend things like Career Day at school. Of course, he never actually went half the time, and eventually they started becoming more and more independent, knowing how much--or how little--Chanyeol’s word actually meant whenever he said “I’ll be there”.

There wasn’t much to do as an adult supervisor. He could’ve talked to the other adults on duty, maybe made some friends, but he decided that he had an entire summer to talk to them, so he sat alone, taking a seat on a giant log.

Chanyeol tried to play a game with himself that involved guessing which kid was Byun Baekhyun’s nephew. He said he was around ten, but Chanyeol couldn’t make accurate guesses based on that single detail alone. None of the kids resembled him in the slightest, and they were all moving around too fast and too often for Chanyeol to keep track on which kid he already thought about and which one he hadn’t.

His thoughts were only interrupted when a small child hopped on the same log he was sitting on. Looking to his right, Chanyeol smiled at the blank-faced kid who stared at him without saying anything. It was a little weird and slightly uncomfortable on Chanyeol’s part. There weren’t any kids around them so the boy wasn’t just taking a break from playing tag. He was just standing there, staring, and Chanyeol was flustered until he reminded himself that he was the adult and this was only a six year old--or at least, the kid looked like he was six, but the judgement was made based on height alone.

“Hi,” the kid finally said after a while. “I’m Kyungsoo. Do Kyungsoo. My mom calls me Soo.”

Chanyeol smiled at the unusual child who was wearing a white shirt underneath his blue overalls. His socks were above his ankles, and on his head was a green safari sun hat. He looked adorable, though. “Hello, Soo.”

“My mom’s the only one who can call me Soo,” Kyungsoo said, quick to correct him.

Taken aback, Chanyeol raised a brow. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Wanna hear me sing?” Kyungsoo asked, sitting down on the log.

They must’ve looked like a giant labrador and a tiny chihuahua sitting together, because that was how Chanyeol thought of it as.

Trying to be encouraging, Chanyeol nodded. “Sure. Let’s hear it.”

“I threw a wish in the well. Don’t ask me I’ll never tell--” Kyungsoo paused. He stopped swinging his legs and turned his head at Chanyeol. “I looked at you as it fell and now you’re in my way.”

Chanyeol could only smile even though he had a weird feeling about this little performance. “You sing really good, Kyungsoo,” he offered.

“Thanks. My mom says I’m a superstar,” Kyungsoo said so proudly. “What’s your name?”

“You can call me Mr. Park,” Chanyeol replied.

“Are you Sehun and Luhan’s dad?”

Surprised that the small kid would even ask, Chanyeol stalled for a second before he could respond. “Yeah. How did you know?”

Kyungsoo shrugged with his tiny shoulders. “They did a roll call and I heard them say ‘Here’. I have good memory. Mom says I have a good noggin.”

“Your mom says a lot about you, doesn’t she?” Chanyeol said, taking the world’s wildest guess. “What else does she say about--”

“I have to go, Mr. Park. I have friends.” Kyungsoo climbed off the log, huffing when his feet touched the ground.

It was probably the most ungraceful good-bye he had ever been given. Kyungsoo didn’t wave to him. He left the way he arrived--randomly, running with his arms out, his sun hat bouncing up and down his head.

Weird kid.

There wasn’t much to do. After his odd encounter with Do “Soo” Kyungsoo, he walked around for a bit, telling kids to slow down when they were running too fast and warning the younger ones to be careful when they were climbing over the playground structures.

After some time, Chanyeol joined the rest of the adults on duty. There was Nana, the woman who Chanyeol kind of thought was a little on the hippy side. Very earthy looking, her fashion choices. He decided not to judge too much. Some people needed to care about the planet, at least, so he’d let her do her own thing. Then there was Pyo Jihoon, who, as Chanyeol found out, was forced to volunteer by his ex-wife. Something about custody and him never being there for the kids. Chanyeol didn’t pay much attention. It was a lot of drama.

“What about you? What’s your story?” Jihoon asked when Nana finished talking about herbal remedies that one could do without using products in the store. “Did you get forced out here by your wife, too?”

Chanyeol gave him a polite smile. “I’m widowed, actually.”

“Oh… Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright. It was ten years ago.”

“You know,” Nana said with her arms crossed, “my sister lost her husband just a few years back. It’s been quite hard on her, but she’s better now. You don’t struggle with your kids?”

He wouldn’t say that he struggled. They had a connection, but the kids did their own thing and Chanyeol just dabbled wherever he could when he had the time or when his schedule allowed it.

Shrugging, Chanyeol bobbled his head. “Here and there. It’s kind of hard to talk to them on a personal level, but they understand how it is.”

“Who takes care of them?” Jihoon asked.

“When they were younger, I had to work a lot, so I hired a nanny for them. Nowadays, they take care of themselves. Usually, it’s the older twin, Luhan, who has to take care and make sure the younger one’s okay when I’m not around.” He wasn’t around often, either. Sometimes, physically, he was, but mentally, his mind was still at work. Chanyeol could almost cringe. His parenting skills were poor. Not wanting to talk any more on the subject because cold reality was harsh as hell, Chanyeol excused himself. “I think I’m going to go check out the lake. I see some kids over there daring each other to go in with no life guards around.”

Chanyeol left the two who moved on to bigger things, arguing about Jihoon’s lifestyle and disconnection with his own kid. They were an interesting group of people, but he wasn’t up for any more conversations. Walking down to the lake’s edge, Chanyeol spotted Luhan talking to a boy around his age. Sehun was behind him playing with some sticks with a girl. At least they were making friends, he thought to himself.

His presence along the lake scared a few younger kids into running back to the main camp. Some stayed, but they kept far away from the water. Chanyeol took a seat on the roots of a nearby large oak tree.

He could hear the kids in the back giggling and squealing. Some were even singing, probably warming up their voices for upcoming activities. The light summer breeze hit his face, and it was nice. Being in nature and all. It was quite different from being stuck inside a large building, talking about and drawing other buildings. After seeing one skyscraper after the next, this was definitely a good vacation from it all.

“Avoiding your supervision duties?”

Jolting at the voice, Chanyeol turned his head to the left and noticed Baekhyun coming from behind the trunk of the tree. “Oh, hi,” he said, ready to stand up. “No, I just thought I’d supervise this area.”

“Hm.” Baekhyun acted as if he accepted the reason. “I’m not going to report you to Junmyeon, because I get it. I’ve been on duty before. It’s kind of boring.”

“Well…” Chanyeol didn’t want to admit it, but yeah. It was putting him to sleep. The most interesting thing that happened over the last thirty minutes was Do “Soo” Kyungsoo singing to him and leaving him for his so called friends who might or might not exist. “I didn’t really expect it to be fun.”

“Very realistic of you,” Baekhyun commented as he motioned for Chanyeol to sit back down, taking space right next to him. “Couldn’t help but see you and think that I should keep you company. You looked lonely.”

“Typical symptoms of single-fatherness.”

“If you say so.” Baekhyun brought his knees up, setting his elbows on top. “Have you figured out which one of these kids is my nephew, yet?”

Shaking his head, Chanyeol felt slightly disappointed in himself. “Nope.”

Baekhyun turned his head in the direction of a small kid picking up a long heavy stick and chucking it in the water. The boy watched it float away for a few seconds before looking around for another thing to throw. Chanyeol would’ve been concerned about how he didn’t even notice the kid there if he wasn’t distracted by the green hat on his head.

“Kyungsoo! What did I say about throwing things in lake, especially in the swimming area?” Baekhyun shouted, gaining the boy’s attention. “Put the stick down and go play with your friends.”

Kyungsoo dropped the stick, but instead of rejoining the other children, he ran his way over to where they were sitting. Before the boy got to them, Chanyeol asked, “That’s him?” To which Baekhyun promptly nodded.

“But my friends are boring, Uncle,” Kyungsoo said, sitting himself between Baekhyun and Chanyeol quite rudely, but Chanyeol excused it. The kid was like six. “And I like sticks. Lots of sticks.”

“You’re going to get your overalls dirty. Your mom wouldn’t like that,” Baekhyun lectured, brushing away bits of dirt that stuck to the boy’s clothing. “Did you have a good lunch? Who did you sit with?”

“My friends,” Kyungsoo said, staring off at the lake, his attention waning. “I liked the cupcakes.”

“Did you?” Baekhyun said, brushing his fingers through the boy’s brown hair. “Have you met this guy yet? He helped me make them.”

Chanyeol smiled when Kyungsoo looked up at him. “Nice to see you again, Kyungsoo.”

In return, however, Kyungsoo said nothing, turning his attention back to Baekhyun. “I want to sing already.”

“You can sing any time you want.”

“No audience,” Kyungsoo muttered.

“Hey, Soo,” Chanyeol said, poking the little guy’s shoulder. “You can sing to us. Didn’t you sing to me a while ago?”

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo refused. “I’m tired. I’m going to play with my friends.” He got up and hugged Baekhyun by the head before letting go. “Bye.”

Once Kyungsoo left, Chanyeol looked over at Baekhyun and asked, “Do these friends of his actually exist or…?”

Baekhyun laughed. “Of course, they do. He has a lot of friends. It’s just that he’s with them one minute and the next, he’s out by himself playing with sticks or something. He comes and goes, but at the end of the day, he’s with his friends. They’re not imaginary.”

“I kind of thought they were,” Chanyeol said, scratching his head. “Good to know, though.”

“Well, listen. Can’t really sit here and talk with you all day. What’s your assignment after supervision duty?”

“Uh, nothing really.” Honestly, he couldn’t remember. “Why?”

“Come by Music Room B after free time is over. It’s over near the quad.” Baekhyun rose, brushing dirt and bits of bark off of him that stuck while sitting down. “I have the younger kids for two hours. We’re doing instrument exploratory today along with some other things about vocals.”

“You’re a baker and you’re a music teacher?”

Giving the man a small shrug, Baekhyun walked two steps back before turning around, heading back to the main part of camp. “Not licensed to be, but no one aside from Junmyeon knows that. See you in a bit?”

“Sure. Room B?” Chanyeol asked to make sure.

Baekhyun nodded. “Yep. You’ll know which one it is. Promise.”

-

-



-

-

Well, Baekhyun wasn’t kidding. The room wasn’t very hard to find. Chanyeol passed by the other teaching cabins easily, hearing kids sing and giggle through the wall, but when he reached Baekhyun’s room, Music Room B was loud as hell. He was almost afraid to go inside.

There were kids clinging tiny cymbals together in one corner. Another kid was sitting in his chair with an African drum in between his legs, patting the top and manipulating the tone of the instrument by how hard or how little his fingers squeezed the strings on it. A few curious ones were crowding around a guitar, plucking the strums and such. Most of the seven year olds were running about the room, which Chanyeol had to make sure he was careful when walking up to Baekhyun who was busy getting papers in order.

Chanyeol didn’t notice Sehun or Luhan in the class, but then he remembered the age group.

Tapping Baekhyun on the shoulder, Chanyeol grinned when the latter turned his head back to him. “Need any help?”

Seemingly glad to see him, Baekhyun heaved a sigh of defeat. “I knew they’d be like this, but it’s different when you’re actually the teacher and not just a helper. Here.” Handing Chanyeol a good amount of the paper that was just in his arms, he nodded his head in the direction of the kids in the room. “You have a deep voice. Wanna try and get them to sit down?”

Taking a gander at the kids again, Chanyeol pursed his lips. “Think they’ll listen to me?”

“You’re already scaring a kid over there in the corner because you’re tall.”

True to Baekhyun’s words, there really was a kid with his cemented in his chair, eyes wide open in Chanyeol’s direction. He didn’t really want to be a big, bad monster to them, but Chanyeol figured he could make it up later.

“Alright, listen up!” Chanyeol said loudly and sternly. He waited for a few seconds to see if he was doing okay with the entire authority-figure thing, but the second all the kids ceased their talk and play, he knew he might have overdone it. “Put away those instruments and sit down!”

Obediently, the children scurried to clean up their mess. It was an accomplishment, but Chanyeol felt kind of bad because they all looked like kicked puppies.

“You sounded like an angry janitor, Yeol,” Baekhyun said, quietly laughing under his breath. “Less like an angry dad and more... like a very confident, but strict referee.”

Bowing his head down for a moment, Chanyeol felt his face flush. A little embarrassed, but nonetheless taking it all in good humor, he nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Now that they’re sitting down, you mind passing those out?” Baekhyun said, pointing at the papers he handed over. “It’s a short song with the easy notes for them to learn. Since most of these kids are new here, they need to know some basic stuff like what a staff is.”

“Right.”

Looking down at the first paper on top before handing it off to a very curious little girl sitting in the front row, Chanyeol read the title Forever and Ever.

“Winnie the Pooh?” He asked, unable to resist the urge. Memories of his sons sitting in front of the television singing along to the animated bear’s song over and over again just flooded him. He felt nostalgic.

Baekhyun looked back at him, pausing from wiping the whiteboard clean. “Got a problem with Winnie?”

Laughing, Chanyeol shook his head, leaving a sheet for each kid. There were only about twenty students in the room. “None at all.”

“Good,” Baekhyun replied, opening an expo marker. “You would’ve had to fight Kyungsoo. He helped me pick out the songs. In fact, he’s been singing this song since he was four. Kind of annoying, but at least he knows the words now.”

“I don’t want to go to jail for fighting a ten year old over a Winnie the Pooh song.” Putting the extras in a manila folder marked with the song’s name on it, Chanyeol looked around for a stool to use for himself. “Should I just sit here and watch you do your teaching magic?”

Scoffing, Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He finished writing his name on the board along with a drawing of a basic staff. “First year teaching something and I’m not even certified by the board of education to be doing this. I’ll be happy if nothing gets set on fire. That’ll be the real magic for today.”

“You know, I used to play the guitar back in the day,” Chanyeol shared, not knowing why he was actually telling the male that certain piece of ancient old information. “Haven’t touched a guitar since college, but I could always try to help you out with this song.”

Baekhyun thought about it for a moment before he shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” He wrote EGBDF on the board, each letter getting their own line or space. “We’ll do a quick run through of the song.”

As Chanyeol got up from his stool to get the guitar that was put away by the children that he scared (all of whom watched as he made his way towards the instrument, no doubt curious and slightly still terrified), Baekhyun put the marker off to the side and turned his attention to the kids, greeting them and introducing himself as Mr. Byun.

“Like cinnabon, but you can’t call me that.”

Chanyeol laughed to himself while he unlocked the guitar case. Like cinnabon... These kids were seven. They didn’t need that example; however, Chanyeol was glad that they got it, though. It was funny.

“Raise your hand if you’re familiar with this song.”

In the back, Chanyeol raised his hand before putting it down to close the guitar case.

“Alright. Seems like a lot of you are, including Mr. Park over there in the back,” Baekhyun said with amusement in his voice. “By the way, come to the front and introduce yourself properly.”

There were forty eyes watching him, excluding Baekhyun’s. Chanyeol only counted the kids. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable since he knew that most of these kids were scared of him already, but then he reminded himself of all the times he had to present an idea or pitch a design to an investor or client and how that was much more unnerving that seven year olds staring at him.

“Hi. I’m Chanyeol, but you have to call me Mr. Park.” Chanyeol tried to say it in a funny way, but no one laughed, and the only reason why Baekhyun was chuckling to the side was because of the silence. “Um... My sons are here in Camp Note, too. They like to sing just like you guys. Uh... I’m their dad-- Ah, wait. Of course, I’m their dad. They’re my sons--Anyways--”

“Okay, Mr. Park,” Baekhyun interrupted, hushing the kids who dared to giggle. “Why don’t you hurry on over here so we can start the demo.”

“Right.”

“First, we’re going to give an example of what this song sounds like. Afterwards, we’ll all sing it together before going into what makes the song which are lyrics and notes.” Baekhyun waited until Chanyeol found his seat again, sat on top and settled the guitar comfortably on his lap. “Do you know how to play this simple song, Mr. Park?”

“I think,” Chanyeol confessed, tuning the strings. “I can play by ear and I basically have this song memorized in my head thanks to the twins.”

“Good. Ready?”

“Mmm…” Taking one more minute, Chanyeol made sure everything sounded okay as well as playing around with a few strings for some quick, last minute practice. It had been a while since he put down his pencils in place of a guitar. “Ready.”

“Okay. One...Two...Three…”

-

-

“Dad!”

“Dad! Dad! Sehun thinks he has a crush on this one girl just because she gave him her marshmallow once. It was one time.” Luhan adamantly shoved a finger in Chanyeol’s face. He almost spilled his hot coffee all over himself in shock. “You should’ve seen him yesterday. He didn’t want to go in the water because she was there and he was self-conscious about his body.”

“Stop lying to dad!” Sehun demanded.

Chanyeol grinned. “Is this true, Sehun?”

“No.”

“Yes, it is,” Luhan said rolling his eyes. “But whatever. Summer romances never last! Right, dad?”

Nodding, Chanyeol took a sip from his cup. “Definitely.” After tasting the bitterness of the brew, he made a face. “Be careful with your heart, Sehun. You’re only thirteen.”

“Whatever…” Sehun muttered under his breath. “When’re you going to start dating?”

The question came out of nowhere. Chanyeol spewed water out of his mouth. Fortunately, Luhan jumped out of the way in time, throwing his dad a disgusted look.

“Why do you ask all of a sudden?” Chanyeol frowned.

Sehun shrugged, kicking dirt aside with the tip of his shoe. “I don’t know. Luhan and I made a bet. He said that you’ll find someone here that you’ll like. I said that maybe it’ll be with that one lady with the hair and the sticks.”

“Ms. Nana?”

“Is she the weird one?”

“We don’t call people weird, Sehun--”

“She is,” Luhan said, answering the question. “That lady who tried to teach us about herbs? Yeah.”

“Why would you think I’d like her?” Chanyeol questioned. Honestly, he wanted to know. Nana seemed nice, but she wasn’t...the one. “I’m fine the way I am now. Besides, being a dad’s my first priority. I don’t have time to date.”

“That’s really sad.” Groaning, Luhan took a seat by Chanyeol on the bench. “Sehun and I are okay with you finding someone. You’re always busy. Maybe you need someone to make you…not busy.”

“Dad, the last time you tried to go on a date, you ditched them, remember?” Sehun huffed, sitting on the other side of Chanyeol. “Something happened with a client and you had to work overnight to fix it.”

“And you missed the dinner.”

“And you didn’t even call.”

“You were an , dad,” Luhan sighed, glancing up. “But whatever. That was, like, a year ago. Time to try again, okay? If Sehun can fall in love with marshmallow girl in two days, you can find someone.”