10:00 AM- 11:00AM: Check In

Jinyoung had been dreading going to camp for so long that he was actually kind of surprised that the location wound up being rather beautiful. The camp was divided by a wide lake—girls on one side, boys on the other—and the surrounding area was enveloped in a rich green forest which gave the place a fresh, earthy smell. He was less thrilled at the prospect of all the hiking (and insects) those forests presented, but at least it wasn't bad to look at.

He, Jackson, and Jaebum hauled their suitcases up to the makeshift table set up on the boys' half of the camp. Two older guys who looked about college age were sitting behind it, tossing a baseball back and forth as they waited for the campers to appear.

“Reporting for check-in,” Jackson said with a mock salute. “We're all from Cabin #2.”

“Great, you guys are the last of the bunch,” one of the guys said, grabbing the baseball his friend had thrown and setting it on the table for the time being. “I'm the counselor of Cabin #2. Nichkhun.”

“More like 'handsome',” Jackson said with a wink. “For real.”

“Wow, I've never heard that one before from every woman and man I've ever met,” Counselor Nichkhun said, though he was still smiling. “But nice try. And you would be...?”

“Wild and se-”

“He's Jackson Wang,” Jaebum interrupted, smacking Jackson on the head. “And I'm Im Jaebum.”

“Oh, great, the missing Buddy pair. You two will be bunking and doing our camp's special Buddy projects together for the week. Although you two seem to know each other already...?”

“It's fine,” Jackson said. “One can never learn too much of Im Jaebum. The man's a mystery.”

“Figures I'd get stuck with you,” Jaebum muttered.

“What about me?” Jinyoung asked.

“Ah, since you're the last to sign in, you must be Park Jinyoung?” Nichkhun asked.

“JYP,” the guy next to Nichkhun whispered.

“Huh?”

“You know, the famous whisper? Park Jinyoung? JYP?”

“I've never heard that one before,” Jinyoung said, mimicking Nichkhun but pulling it off a bit more sarcastically. He'd been hearing that whisper for his entire life.

“No one has time for this, Wooyoung,” Nichkhun said, rolling his eyes. “And oh, look, more campers. Must be from your cabin. Be a good boy and get your clipboard out.” He turned back to Jinyoung. “You're with Mark Tuan. Don't worry, I met him earlier. Very nice guy. A little shy, but very charming.”

“Cool, Jinyoung, you're with one of the Americans!” Jackson said with a whistle. “That'll make up for me bunking with your boyfriend. Don't worry, I'll let you have him for free time in the evening. You know Jackson, he'd never stand in the way of true love.”

“Uhhhh,” Nichkhun said, looking back and forth between the three of them. “OK...well...you do that, then.” He dug through the box on the table and handed them all a small stack of papers. “Here's your schedule, guys. Our first official event kicks off at 11:00. Since it's our first day, we're doing ice breakers. You three seem to know each other, but I'm sure there's some people you still need to get to know here. As for now, you're more than welcome to head over to Cabin #2 and get your things settled. The rest of the campers from your cabin will be there, too.”

The three of them grabbed their schedules and headed towards the cabin. “You know, you don't need to announce to everyone that Jaebum and I are dating,” Jinyoung told Jackson. “It's going to make things weird.”

“Anyone who thinks you guys are weird can mud wrestle me,” Jackson said. “Actually, I hope that Nichkhun thinks you guys are weird, I 100% wouldn't mind mud wrestling him.”

“God, sometimes I really want to punch you in the face,” Jaebum grumbled.

“Join the club, man. My face takes good care of itself.”

The subject seemed dropped—Jackson clearly wasn't going to let it go. Jinyoung sighed to himself. He still hadn't wrapped his head around the idea that he and Jaebum were dating. It still felt like nothing had changed in the slightest between them since the whole thing started. But camp was supposed to change that. He supposed he'd just have to wait and see.

Cabin #2 was already pretty noisy by time they made it inside. On one half of the room, Yugyeom from the BBQ restaurant was arm wrestling a slender and baby faced guy Jinyoung didn't recognize. On the other half of the room, Youngjae was talking in loud and practically incomprehensible English (“Swiggity Swag? You wanna fly at me, man?”) with a Korean-looking guy, while on the bunk across from them, a handsome looking guy was sitting on the lower bunk, watching the scene with a neutral smile on his face.

Youngjae noticed them first. “Oi, oi, oi, it's TRIPLE J, yo!”

Yugyeom also looked up while in the meantime slamming his arm wrestling partner's arm down with effortless ease. “Hey, guys. Jackson, Jaebum, you're on our side of the room. This is BamBam, my new best friend.”

“You met each other exactly how many minutes ago?” Jackson wondered, throwing his bag up to the top bunk of the vacant bed set.

“Ten,” BamBam said proudly.

“Hey, it's long time no see, man,” Youngjae said in English, frolicking up to Jaebum. “Why you never call me long time?”

“I wonder,” Jaebum said, wincing. He'd technically gotten over Youngjae awhile ago, but Jinyoung knew that he was still a little bitter about the whole thing. For such a tough looking guy, he was actually pretty sensitive to rejection and took awhile to move on from it. In the back of his mind, Jinyoung wondered if he was supposed to be jealous that Jaebum was going to also be spending the week with someone he used to be interested in, but decided, no, he wasn't really all that jealous. Yet.

“And Jinyoung, you no take classes with me this year, where you at?” Youngjae asked.

“Oh, you know, at Jaebum's like always,” Jackson answered for Jinyoung. “It finally happened, Youngjae: they got together.”

Youngjae's eyes widened, and his face suddenly broke out into a smile. “AH! AH! AH! I knew it! It took you forever, but you GOT IT.”

“Finally,” Yugyeom saild, rolling his eyes. “Slowpokes.”

“Um, you only serve us about every other month at a restaurant that must have thousands of customers,” Jinyoung said, glaring at Yugyeom. “What gives you the right to say 'finally,' you barely even know us?”

“Come on, everyone could see you guys were fated except for blind idiots named Park Jinyoung,” Yugyeom shot back. “So I'll say it again, louder just for you: FINALLY.”

“Yeah, I've never met you until now, and even I can see it,” the guy who was bunking with Youngjae said. “Congrats, strangers. I'm Jae, by the way.”

“Congratulations~Congratulations~” BamBam sang, clapping his hands together like a seal.

“Right...” Jaebum said, shuffling his feet. Jinyoung wanted to curl up and die in the center of the floor. Jaebum must have noticed his discomfort, since he nudged him gently on the waist. “Hey,” he whispered. “Why don't you go over and meet your new bunk buddy?”

That sounded even more awkward, especially after what Jackson had just broadcast to everyone, but he decided it was better not to put it off in case Jackson had any more embarrassing announcements about his love life to make. Besides, his bag was getting heavy. He wanted to set it down.

He walked across to the other half of the room where the last remaining boy, Mark, was still sitting. He was almost unfairly handsome when you got close. He had a small face, model-like features, and captivating eyes that held his firmly without looking away. Jinyoung, who wasn't normally good with strong eye contact, felt a little nervous.

“Um, hey,” he said in English as he got closer to Mark. “I'm buddy.”

Mark cocked his head to the side just slightly, lifting an eyebrow. “I thought your name was Jinyoung.”

“Oh, um, yes. It is.”

“I know. I was joking.” He stuck out his hand. “Mark Tuan. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah. Nice to meet you, too.” Jinyoung shook his hand. He'd already displayed the extent of his English and hoped Mark wouldn't expect any more out of him.

Mark seemed to sense his nervousness, and switched to Korean. “I hope you don't mind sleeping with me,” he said. “Since you have a boyfriend.”

“Sleeping with you?” Jinyoung repeated in alarm. “I wasn't planning on-... wait, do you mean bunking?”

“Did I use the wrong word?”

“Uh, yes, it sounded like you were suggesting we were going to...” Jinyoung turned red. No, he did not need to be talking about this. “Nevermind.”

“OK.” Mark looked at him a bit curiously. “So, are you fine with me on the top, or did you want to be on top?”

Jinyoung started choking. “Um, Mark. Please use the word bunk when you're talking about the beds, OK?”

“Sorry, my Korean isn't very good,” he said with a shrug.

“It's fine. And, yeah, you can be on the top...the top bunk.”

“Fine by me.” Mark stood up and scaled the ladder to where his overnight bag was already resting. “Bottom's all yours. The bottom bunk.”

As Jinyoung was settling into the bunk, Jackson popped back over to crane his neck up to look at Mark. “Dayum, is everyone at this camp a Greek God, or something? My name's Jackson. Is yours 'single'?”

“I have no idea what you just said,” Mark said in English.

“Thank god I'm multilingual, then,” Jackson said in English, grinning. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“I'm seeing a guy who is coming on way too strong right in front of my face, if that's what you're asking,” Mark shot back. Jinyoung didn't understand most of it, but he definitely understood BamBam and Jae going “Oooooh, BURN!” in unison.

“Fine, fine,” Jackson said tragically. “I just want some love because my two best friends are running off together without me. Can't blame a guy.”

“Not going to stop me from blaming a guy.” Mark leaned back on his bed, shoved some ear buds into his ears, and closed his eyes. Conversation done.

“Ugh, I'm always weak for the cold ones,” Jackson said, switching back to Korean. “Jinyoung, you'll talk me up, right?”

“Not unless you stop telling everyone and their brother about me and Jaebum,” Jinyoung quipped.

“Oh, hell naw, man. We still gotta meet the guys from Cabin #1, after all.”

11:00AM-13:00PM: Ice Breakers

“I am serious, Jackson Wang,” Jinyoung hissed as they went outside for ice breakers. “If you so much as mention me and Jaebum during ice breakers, I will castrate you.”

“What's there to be so shy about?” Jackson wondered. “If I was dating a guy like Jaebum, I'd take out a billboard. In every country. Have you taken a look at the guy? People would kill to be you.”

“Well, 'people' aren't me, and I don't want everyone sticking their nose in our business when I haven't even-” He sighed, cutting himself off. “Look. Jaebum really hates that whole attitude, because rather than 'killing' to be in my shoes, people just break his heart. On my behalf. It really , and this whole relationship is to try and make something good out of the age, so please-”

“Wow,” Jackson said, finally looking contrite. “I'm just so happy for you that I didn't think of it like that. When you guys are together, I don't see any trace of age. I just want the world to see what I see and be just as happy for you as I am.”

“They already see it,” Jinyoung said with a sigh. “So could you just calm down so I can calm down and maybe try to see it, too?”

“Yeah, I got it. Or I'll at least try and wait until day 3. You'll be happy in love by then. I'll bet on it.”

“So you keep saying.”

Counselor Nichkhun and Counselor Wooyoung had both cabins of boys gather in a circle and go around and introduce themselves by name. Cabin #2 was, of course, Jackson Wang, Im Jaebum, Kim Yugyeom, Kunpimook “BamBam, Double B” Bhuwakul, Choi Youngjae, Park “Jae” Jaehyung, Mark Tuan, and Park Jinyoung. Cabin #1 was Wen Junhui, Xu Minghao, Joshua Hong, and Vernon Choi on the overseas visitors side, and Choi Seungcheol, Yoon Jeonghan, Boo Seungkwan, and Jeon Wonwoo on the Korean side.

“What is this, Asia week?” Jae wondered. “I thought we were at least going to get some British chap named Lord Reginald Codswallop the 16^th. What a let down.”

“Funny,” Counselor Wooyoung said. “We're hosting this camp every week, and a lot of the students of other nationalities have signed up later in the summer. You all just happened to sign up for this week without giving yourself a small break after school got off.”

“Anyways, let's start off with an ice breaker game,” Counselor Nichkhun said. “We actually had two games planned, but since someone forgot the supplies for the second game at home, we're just going to have to play the first game twice if you complete it too quickly. Anyways, it's pretty simple. We've got a stack of name cards here-” he lifted them up- “but they're not your names. They're things or people that go together. Peanut Butter & Jelly. Spongebob & Patrick. Lilo & Stitch. We're going to go around and put these on your backs at random. Your job is to find out who your match is. You can receive clues from the other guys, but only if you tell them a random fact about yourself first. When you have enough clues, pair up with the person you think you go with. If you get it right, we'll take a commemorative photo for the camp bulletin board. We're hoping to fill it up by the end of the summer.”

“And don't make the clues obvious,” Wooyoung warned. “Like no You're a cartoon talking sponge. Show a little subtlety guys. We want you all to get to know each other, so make the clues difficult.”

Wooyoung and Nichkhun went around putting signs on everyones' backs, then returned to the center of the group. “Ready? Go!”

Jinyoung went up to BamBam first since he was closest, and they showed each other their backs. BamBam's sign read “monkey”.

“I used to be class president in middle school,” Jinyoung said as his fun fact.

“You seem like the type,” BamBam said. “Hint: you're an animal. Fun fact about me...I dab every morning when I wake up.”

“You're also an animal.”

“You mean my name tag, or just me?”

Jinyoung went over to Minghao, who was wearing “honey” on his back. “One summer I read two books per week and never left the house unless I had to,” Jinyoung said as his fun fact. Way to make myself sound real cool, too. Minghao gave him a hint that he was a cartoon, then told Jinyoung that he'd won an award in martial arts when he was younger to receive his own hint.

Jinyoung ended up at Mark next. Mark had “Patrick” on his back, and Jinyoung had already seen Jackson running around with “Spongebob” earlier. He wanted to warn Mark of potential ual harassment, but thought the better of it.

“So, um, fun fact about me is that I really wasn't excited about this whole camping thing because I have a difficult time opening up to new people because I like a lot of alone time, so I'm sorry if I come across as stand offish, I'm really not,” Jinyoung rambled. Oh god, not good. He just really wanted his Buddy not to be weird with him or hate him, but he still couldn't avoid sounding like a desperate loser.

“You're an adorable mouse,” Mark responded, inexplicably.

“I'm...an...adorable...what???”

“Your name tag,” Mark said. “If I was responding to what you said, I would say that you've got a warm smile, so I never thought you were...whatever that word was you used. Offish? And my fun fact is that I'm pretty much the same as you, so I hope you don't think I'm cold.”

“You're kind of an idiot,” Jinyoung blurted out.

Now it was Mark's turn to look surprised. “Did you call me an idiot, or did I hear you wrong?”

“I meant your name tag! I don't think you're an idiot, I'm sure you're really smart...so, um, yeah, I should probably get another clue. Bye!” He ran off, his cheeks flaming. Nope, this is not going well.

By now he knew he was an adorable cartoon mouse, so he just needed to find out if he was “Mickey,” since Jeonghan was running around with a “Minnie” sign, or if he was “Jerry,” since Yugyeom had a “Tom” sign on his back.

After getting some hints from Seungcheol (“You've got big ears”) and Jae (“You and your partner have a taste for violence. Sledgehammers and dynamite and everything. stuff”), he determined he was Jerry and went to find Yugyeom for their commemorative picture. Yugyeom, charmingly, pulled out a ppyong hammer from the prop bin and bopped Jinyoung on the head with it. “It goes with our theme,” he explained to Jinyoung, after Jinyoung snatched the hammer and started barraging him in the .

They'd finished the first game pretty quickly, so they went for another round, this time with slightly harder clues. As Jinyoung went around the group and shared random tidbits about himself, he discovered that his word was “As hot as you are” (Jackson), “Up” (Vernon), “SET MY EYES ON FIRE!” (Youngjae), and “Daytime” (Joshua). He was pretty sure he knew what that meant, and who his match was, but he wanted to be sure before they went for their commemorative photo.

He grabbed Mark by the arm as he passed. “Er, hey again.”

“You're back. Am I going to get another fun fact about my Buddy?”

“I think I already know what I am,” Jinyoung said. “I just wanted to check your clues to make sure they match up with mine.”

“Oh, are we a match?” He whirled Jinyoung around. “Mmm, maybe we are. But I'm not telling you my clues until you give me a fun fact. Rules are rules.”

“Fine,” Jinyoung said, wracking his brain. It felt like he'd already said everything there was to know about him during the course of the game. “I've never dated anyone before. I don't think I'm very popular.”

“Liar.”

“Excuse me?”

“You're dating that guy from our cabin.”

Oh, right. “That happened recently,” Jinyoung said. “I'm still getting used to it. Anyways, I never dated anyone before that. So it still counts as as a fun fact.”

“You're warm.”

“I know, you said that last time.”

“Right, but your word this time. That's my hint. It's warm. Hot, technically. But right now, it feels warm.”

Jinyoung nodded. “And you're a little cool.”

“I didn't give you a fun fact.”

“I'm pretty sure we're a match, Mark. You don't have to-”

“I would like,” Mark said, interrupting him, “to be friends. Fun fact.”

“Oh,” Jinyoung said, taken aback. He hadn't expected any of the guys who he didn't already know to like him. It was a bit surprising, but not necessarily bad. “OK. Of course. Let's be friends.”

“All right, Mr. Sun. Let's get our picture.”

“OK, Mr. Moon.”

15:00PM-18:00PM: Buddy Time- Jinyoung & Mark

It felt like most of their morning had already been “buddy time” since they'd run into each other a lot during ice breakers and had both been assigned to clean up after their lunch in the mini mess hall, but Jinyoung still had to report back to Mark during the designated “Buddy Time” of the schedule. It was a considerable block of time, too—from 3 to 6, a grand total of three hours. The camp wanted to take this time of the day to emphasize learning culture on an individualized, one-on-one basis to help the foreign students who were new to living in Korea learn more about it while also having the chance to share their own cultures.

The Buddy activities of the day were still centered around the overall theme of Day One, “ice breaking”. Today they would be focusing on four main points: Who Am I? Why Am I Here? What Are My Goals? How Can I Reach Them? The whole thing screamed of an existential crisis to Jinyoung.

To start off with “Who Am I?”, they were doing calligraphy art for each other. Mark would write “Park Jinyoung” out in hangul, while Jinyoung would write out “Mark Tuan.” While they drew, they were also supposed to rehash the basics about themselves they hadn't covered during the ice breaker game.

“So you're from LA?” Jinyoung asked as he drew the “ma” character of Mark's name.

“I lived there, yeah,” Mark said, dipping his brush in ink.

“How does that compare to here?”

“It doesn't. Here and there are completely different. There's good points and bad points.” He bit his lips in concentration. “Ugh, writing hangul is hard.”

“You'll get the hang of it. After you do it a lot, it gets easier.”

“I hope. Anyways, I've traveled a lot, so sometimes it doesn't feel like I have one real home. It's just wherever my family is.”

“And they're here now?”

“Yup. But let's not skip. Why Am I Here? is the second question.” He studied his handiwork of the “park” character and gave a resigned shrug. “So, we don't go to high school together, do we?”

“I don't think so. Are you in your last year, too?”

Mark nodded.

“Then no. I'm pretty familiar with all my classmates. But if you're also living in Seoul, we're probably nearby.”

“You go to school with the guys from the cabin? Jackson and Jaebum?”

“And Youngjae, too. We met Jackson last year. Usually it was just Jaebum and me hanging out, but Jackson has kind of expanded us into the three musketeers.”

“And what about Youngjae?”

“It's kind of awkward, actually. Jaebum asked him out in our second year, Youngjae turned him down, and Jaebum's pride was kind of hurt from that a little.”

“You're pretty calm talking about your boyfriend asking other people out.”

“We weren't dating back then. Like I said, this whole thing happened a few days ago.”

“But everyone acts like it's been going on for a long time.”

“Everyone doesn't know about me and Jaebum,” Jinyoung said. “Um, sorry for swearing.”

“No need to apologize,” Mark said, grinning. “I'm curious, though. Who asked who out?”

“Jaebum asked me.”

“How?”

“Look, it really wasn't romantic or anything. Jackson enjoys talking it up. He's like that.”

“Well. Anyways. I never said congrats to you. That must be something, going from friends to lovers. I'm sorry I'm taking away from time you could be spending together.”

“Don't be,” Jinyoung said sincerely. “I can see him all the time back home. I think it's good for me to meet new people. Other than Jackson, I haven't really gotten the chance to in a long time.”

When their calligraphy pictures were ready to dry, they moved on to the next question. “I'm at this camp because my parents want to stay here long term,” Mark said. “I'm OK at the language and my studies, but they don't think I'm sociable enough. I don't really have any friends.”

“But you're so handsome,” Jinyoung protested.

“Thanks, but good looks don't mean good friendships.”

“This country is kind of shallow, though.”

“That's why I said 'good' friendships. What about you? Why did you come to this camp?”

“Jackson signed me and Jaebum up. He thought it would be good for us.”

“Holding hands and looking at stars, that sort of thing?”

“Since it's Jackson, probably yeah.”

“He seems more interested in your relationship than you are, almost.”

“He's a love freak. It's kind of his thing.” Jinyoung looked at Mark tiredly. “Can we maybe stop talking about this?”

“Sorry. I thought it would be a subject you'd be really into. A new relationship.”

“I just... kind of feel weird about love, a little. It just seems like everyone knows my heart better than me, and it makes me wonder all the time why I'm not getting it as well as they do. I wonder what it is about myself that I'm not really seeing.”

“Huh. I don't think I understood most of that,” Mark admitted. “But we don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. Actually, can we just ignore the last two questions? Talking about goals is kind of boring, and I don't have any really good goals. Let's just talk about what you want to talk about.”

“What I want to talk about?” Jinyoung echoed. “I'm not really that interesting of a person.”

“Great, me either,” Mark said, smiling. “We don't have to talk about what other people think is interesting.”

And so they did. Mark had warned that he wasn't a big talker, but he actually opened up quite nicely when you nudged him in all the right places. In a way, it was soothing. Jinyoung was more accustomed to handling Jackson's overwhelming energy and snarking back and forth with Jaebum, so talking with Mark in some ways felt like a nice change of pace. He felt like he could just sit back and go wherever the flow of the conversation took them.

Besides, Mark had a lot of interesting stories. Unlike Jinyoung, he was well-traveled and had a whole range of experiences Jinyoung had never dreamed of. Though he felt a lot more worldly and even a little bit smarter than Jinyoung, he wasn't arrogant in the slightest and seemed just as absorbed in what Jinyoung was saying back to him.

As Buddy Time finally began winding down, Mark turned to Jinyoung with a big smile. “I just want to say thank god I got a good partner. I was worrying about this for months, to be honest. I thought the whole thing was going to be an awkward mess, but you're cool.”

“Same to you,” Jinyoung said, smiling back. “Jaebum and I have been ing about this trip for weeks, and now I feel guilty for not even giving it a chance.”

“And hey, it'll probably just keep on getting better for you as time goes on. You still have a lot of looking at the stars with your boyfriend ahead of you, right?”

“Apparently.” But now I really don't think I need it to bring a silver lining to this whole thing, Jinyoung thought to himself. I'm already fine right now. It's going to be OK.

15:00PM-18:00PM: Buddy Time- Jackson & Jaebum

“OK, maybe being your partner is a waste of time,” Jackson said. “There's absolutely no ice to break between us. You are Im Jaebum. You're here because I signed you up. Your goal is to make Park Jinyoung realize he's madly in love with you.You can reach it by flashing those smoldering eyes of yours and possibly ripping off your shirt and doing body waves.”

“Is it possible for you to be serious?” Jaebum asked.

“Excuse me, Im Jaebum, I'm being perfectly serious!” Jackson retorted, affronted.

“I mean it. That's the question I'm asking instead of the stupid ones they're giving us. Part One: Is everything a complete joke to you?”

“I'll say it again-”

“Because I'm wondering. You're such a love addict, but if you were ever in a relationship, exactly how serious would you be? You've literally flirted with everyone at this camp it's possible to flirt with, and heaven help the girl's camp if you ever decide to go over there.”

“Hey, hey, hey, this is something I can do because I'm single,” Jackson said, pointing his brush at Jaebum and consequently flinging ink everywhere. “When I'm really in love, I am the most loyal person you'll ever meet. I will chain myself to my lover's happiness. I will literally be a love slave who will never look at another human being again.”

“If that's the case, I guess I've never seen you properly in love.”

“Of course you haven't. This heart is a fortress that will only open for someone worthy. The flirting is just a pre-test. Extending the bridge a little to see if anyone wants to cross the moat and get to the front gates.”

“If you continue this metaphor thing, I will deck you.” Jaebum set his brush down. “Part Two: Can you maybe back off Jinyoung a little?”

“Oooh, are you jealous already? I just called Jinyoung hot because his name card said 'sun'. It was a joke. I mean he is hot, but I know that he's all yours.”

“That's not it. I mean, back off a little with the whole relationship cheerleading thing.”

“It's called 'shipping'.”

“I don't care what you call it. Jinyoung's not as relaxed about things as you are. Hell, even I'm more relaxed than that guy. What you're doing is stressing him out, so can't you let it go? He's never going to be able to think of me romantically if the pressure of living up to yours or anyone else's expectations freaks him out.”

Jackson's facial expression instantly melted. This was the side of Jaebum that had made him want to be friends in the first place. Jaebum had a hard, gruff outer shell, but underneath it was someone sweet and sensitive and attentive to other people. He knew each and every one of his friends well and how to make them happy or comfort them or make them feel like they belonged. And he knew Jinyoung best of all. That's why Jackson liked the idea of the two of them so much together. He wanted Jinyoung, who was often anxious and uncertain of himself, to always feel loved and affirmed. He wanted Jaebum to be with someone who made him kind.

“Watch out, Jaebum, you're making my heart flutter,” Jackson said. “You're seriously the coolest guy on the planet when you get like this.”

Jaebum looked at him for a moment, his expression unreadable. He looked kind of sad one moment, then slightly resigned the next. His fingers reached up to play idly with the chain of his necklace. “Part Three: Could you cut out saying things like that?”

Jackson looked at him in surprise. “I was praising you, man.”

“It doesn't feel like praise. It sounds like Youngjae and his 'you're so cool, Jaebum, but...'. I'm just freaking tired of hearing the word 'but'.”

“I didn't say 'but' anywhere in that sentence.”

“Yeah, but you frankly have the biggest 'but' out of anyone, whether you say it aloud or not.”

“Pardon me, but I do not want to be acknowledged for having the biggest when breathing the same air as Park Jinyoung,” Jackson said, making a mock offended expression. He was relieved when Jaebum finally granted him with a smile for the first time since their Buddy Time started. “Come on, Jaebum, I'm gonna think you hate me if every question you ask is a criticism. Can't you think of something nice to ask? Like Jackson, how did you get such incredible abs or Jackson, why are you the bestest friend a guy can have and what did I do to deserve you?”

“Jinyoung's my best friend,” Jaebum corrected him, smiling faintly. There was something so sweet about that smile, and yet so incredibly sad. "Here's a nice question for you, Jackson. Part Four: Why do you have to be so damn hard to hate?"

19:00PM-21:00PM: Lovers- Begin!

After they'd finished dinner, Jackson, Youngjae, and Yugyeom had summarily pushed Jaebum and Jinyoung out in the direction of the nearest patch of woods to go out on their first 'date'. They were given some free time in the evenings, which was technically supposed to be used for campfire time—singing traditional songs, and telling traditional legends and so on—but if there was any other counselor approved activity they wanted to do, they could do it during this block. Jackson had fed Counselor Nichkhun a line about how Jinyoung and Jaebum were passionate about nocturnal birds and wanted to work on a bird watching checklist they'd apparently brought with them. Nichkhun hadn't seemed too convinced, but eventually acquiesced and let them go, as long as they didn't stray too far from the campfire.

Jinyoung felt a little anxious as they walked. He didn't know what he was expecting from this part of the day, or even what he wanted. Buddy Time had been surprisingly effortless, but this felt almost too weighty for him to handle. It was strange. He normally never felt this kind of pressure with Jaebum, and to feel it now after all this time almost felt disturbingly wrong.

“Hey,” Jaebum said eventually.

“Yeah?”

“I know you probably don't feel like it at the moment, but we're technically going out. I don't think it would be inappropriate if we held hands or something, right?”

Jinyoung nodded. That was at least doable—it wasn't kissing or anything. He could just about manage. He extended his hand and Jaebum took it. It reminded him of when they were little kids. They had done this all the time on their adventures back then, and it felt comfortably familiar.

“Remember when we used to pretend we were detectives and tried to solve crimes in the neighborhood?” Jinyoung asked.

“God, that was a long time ago,” Jaebum laughed. “The summer my aunt bought me every single Hardy Boys book ever written.”

“What were some of the crimes we solved? Or did we actually solve any?”

“The case of 'who stole my bag of Kit-Kat bars?'”

“Which was you. You'd eaten them the night before and forgotten about it.”

“And then there was the case of 'Who destroyed Mrs. Yoon's garden?'”

“Oh yeah! That wound up being a skunk, and you got sprayed while 'investigating'. I'll never forget that smell.” Jinyoung shook his head. “That was so much fun. I was just thinking of that right now. We used to hold hands like this when we'd march around the neighborhood questioning suspects. Your hand has gotten bigger.”

“Yours has gotten a lot less sticky. Glad you started washing your hands after eating dinner. Took you long enough.”

Some of Jinyoung's anxiety started slipping away at this conversation, much to his relief. This was Jaebum, someone he knew almost everything about. There was no reason to be nervous.

“So how've you been today?” Jaebum asked after they'd stopped laughing. “I haven't seen you much after check in.”

“Really good, actually. My partner is a nice guy, and we've had a lot to talk about. Which is kind of impressive, since neither of us are chatterboxes.”

“I'm glad. I was a little worried about you.”

“How's it partnering with Jackson?”

“Exactly as I was expecting it would be.”

“Hey, at least you didn't get assigned to Youngjae.”

“I'd honestly prefer Youngjae, sometimes.” Jaebum's grip on Jinyoung's hand tightened just slightly, and he pulled him to a clearing in the trees, pointing upwards. “Look. Stars.”

“Very good observation, Jaebum,” Jinyoung said dryly.

“I know, right? Feel free to look up and observe them as well.”

Jinyoung did so. They were certainly beautiful. If someone was filming them and added a good OST song to the background, it would certainly look like a Grade A romantic moment. Jinyoung tried to get a grip on how his heart was feeling in the moment, but was having a hard time getting a read on it. Everything felt quiet and still—the earth, the sky, Jaebum, himself. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be. He was a quiet and still person. Maybe this was exactly how it was supposed to be, and being in love meant getting to stay himself, right down to the controlled and steady beating of his heart. He wasn't sure.

Jaebum rested his chin on Jinyoung's shoulder. “Can I say something?”

“Um...sure?”

“I'm not the type to say something like this most of the time, but seriously, not a day goes by in my life where I'm not grateful to have you in it.”

Jinyoung turned his head just slightly in surprise. Jaebum really wasn't the type to say something that affectionate. “What brought this on?”

“I don't know. I guess you've always been one of the most uncomplicated parts of my life. And I'm making it more complicated. And I maybe feel a little bit sorry about that.”

“You don't have to.”

“Maybe not. But thank you for being you. Whatever changes, I just don't want you to feel like you need to.”

Jinyoung nodded gently. “Same to you.” And he really meant that. He'd always been grateful for having Jaebum in his life. He had always been one of the most important people in it, and that had never changed through anything. Maybe that was the roadblock in his heart. He was too terrified that if one thing about them changed, everything else would, too. Or maybe he was just worried that their relationship had already reached its deepest point, and if they tried to dig much deeper, the whole foundation would collapse, something they weren't ready for would come flooding up, and both of them would be washed away. He didn't want to lose the purity of his memories, of Jaebum holding his sticky hands and doing pointless things with him that never had to be anything more than pointless.

“I'm not good at this,” Jinyoung said suddenly. “Dating. I think that maybe I think too much.”

Jaebum finally lifted his head back up. “Yeah, you're like that.”

“And I'm just a little worried because you've been kind of anxious about something lately and I know I'm usually good at helping you as a friend, but I'm not sure if I can help you like a lover would because I'm still in the middle of being confused about us.”

Jaebum gave him a surprised look, then his expression became serious. “That...please don't worry about that. I'm...I'm working on it.”

“But this is actually the one part that makes the most sense about us dating. You can lean on me a little bit more. I'm here for you. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do. Thanks for that. And you're right. If there's anything that makes sense, it's that.”