9:00 AM- 15:00 PM: Boot Camp

They weren't woken up by “Reveille” that morning. Instead, it was Nichkhun's voice blasting through a megaphone. “UP AND AT EM, SOLDIERS! STOP WASTING LIGHT AND REPORT FOR DUTY. I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU TWICE.”

Jackson groaned from the depths of his throat. The last thing he needed was a boot camp themed day after the night he'd just spent tossing and turning, trying to decide what he was going to do now.

Jaebum and Jinyoung had only emerged from the docks just in time for curfew the night before, and instead of staying up talking like he usually did, Jaebum had gone right to sleep, not giving a single clue as to what had passed between himself and Jinyoung on the docks. Other than the blatant kissing and hugging and hand holding Jackson had seen for himself with his own eyes.

As for Jinyoung, any communication with Mark about what they'd seen had seemed entirely non-verbal. He'd taken his hand upon entering the cabin, squeezed it gently while meeting his eyes, then let it go before sliding into his bunk and also going to sleep. It could have meant anything, in Jackson's eyes—either a quiet “I'm sorry, but it's not going to work out between us” or a “Everything has been settled, and we're going to be together from now on.” Whatever the case was, Mark didn't seem utterly destroyed by it, and Jackson supposed Mark would know best what Jinyoung was trying to say to him. It wasn't exactly a conversation they could have in a cabin full of unrelated people, but they seemed to have communicated enough to take them through until the next day.

Jackson couldn't say the same for himself and Jaebum. Even if Jinyoung had ended it and the kiss was some kind of cheesy “farewell” gesture, he still wasn't sure that it would change how Jaebum felt about never giving Jackson “a way in” to his heart again. It felt almost pointless to slam himself against a door that had already been closed. Or would have, if he hadn't come to the conclusion after a night of no sleep that he was so decidedly in love with Jaebum without hope of ever falling back out that he would still have to verbalize it to Jaebum himself or he might literally explode.

He just couldn't visualize it going well. He could only imagine Jaebum knocking him unconscious and vowing never to speak to him again. There was no way he was going to stoop to giving Jackson a chance, and Jackson was pretty sure he didn't deserve a chance from Jaebum, anyways.

But now, it seemed like they wouldn't be getting to talk, in the first place. Nichkhun was chasing them around the cabin, tossing army uniforms at them while abusing them verbally. “I've seen grandmothers get out of bed faster than you!” (Youngjae). “Do you think dabbing would save you if this were a real call to battle?” (BamBam). “Are you impersonating a zombie, or do you usually look this terrible in the morning?” (Jaebum).

The eight of them got into their army uniforms and were trooped off to the campgrounds without breakfast. Cabin #1 were also being dragged to another part of the camp by Wooyoung.

“So who here feels hungry?” Nichkhun boomed into his megaphone. BamBam was the only one with the audacity to raise his hand.

“Thank you for your honesty, soldier. The rest of you, drop down and give me 10.”

BamBam looked a little surprised that his move had actually worked, while the rest of them got on the ground and started their push-ups.

They rose to their feet when they finished, facing Nichkhun once again.

“Have you gotten complacent just because it's the last day of camp?” he asked. “You think life is all fun and no work, that you were sent here just to have a good time for a week?”

“No, sir!” they chirped in unison.

“Good. Because all of you are going to be paying your dues to each other right now. For all the times you let down your team, you're going to have to own up. Starting with our first offenders—Lt. Park Jinyoung and Lt. Im Jaebum, step forward.”

“Yes, sir!” the two chanted. Both of them marched up to Nichkhun.

“You can have a personal relationship all you want when you're not at camp, but camp is about being together with a community and spending time with them to build friendships and trust. You prioritized yourselves and didn't spare precious time your fellow cabinmates would have enjoyed spending with you in the evenings. For the five nights you did this, I sentence you to 6 push-ups per night. Drop down and give me 30.”

The two of them did so without protesting. They were fine at first, but Jinyoung's ankle started to wobble at fifteen. Mark's hand immediately shot up. “Sir! Permission to take over for Lt. Park Jinyoung, sir!”

Nichkhun raised a hand, allowing Jinyoung to pause. “Reason?”

“Lt. Jinyoung is still recovering from an injury. I'll do it in his place, as his Buddy.”

“Up to your feet, Lt. Jinyoung,” Nichkhun ordered. Jinyoung rose. “You should be honored that one of your teammates is willing to stand up for you. Remember that next time you put yourself before the team, that these are the teammates you're not prioritizing.”

“Yes, sir!” Jinyoung saluted to both Nichkhun and Mark. Mark and Jaebum finished up their push-ups.

“Now, Day 2 offenders,” Nickhun said. “Lt. BamBam Bhuwakul, Lt. Mark Tuan, Lt. Choi Youngjae, and Lt. Park Jae step forward!”

Everyone but Jackson, Yugyeom, Jinyoung, and Jaebum went forward.

“First things first,” Nichkhun said. “Our Hangul Helper offenders. Lt. BamBam, even though your partner participated well and did everything to help you, your disinterest in studying hangul reflected poorly on you. Lt. Jae and Lt. Youngjae, you couldn't overcome your handicap and help each other work as a team. The three of you, give me ten squats each.” They obeyed, sweat pouring down their faces. “Lt. Mark, both you and Jinyoung were incredibly late turning in your scavenger hunt assignment. Since you've decided to take his punishments, you have 10 extra squats to do on behalf of Jinyoung. Give me 20.”

Mark did so without complaint, but Jackson could see Jinyoung biting his lip hard, looking pained by the situation.

“Day 3 offenders,” Nichkhun continued. “Lt. Jackson and Lt. Mark.” They stepped forward. “It didn't escape my attention that Lt. Jackson and Lt. Jinyoung were fighting and disrupting your team harmony. Lt. Jackson, you also gave a thoughtless answer to our question about the Buddhist teachings. Give us 20 crunches. Lt. Mark, on behalf of Jinyoung-”

“I'll do it, sir!” Jinyoung burst out.

“Permission to continue standing in for Jinyoung, sir!” Mark persisted.

Nichkhun looked back and forth between the two of them. “Lt. Mark, at ease,” he said. “Lt. Jinyoung, 5 crunches. Mind your ankle and go easy.”

Mark looked about ready to protest, but Jinyoung shook his head, got on the ground, and did his crunches.

Jackson stopped after 20 crunches. He felt exhausted, but not exhausted enough. He was being punished for Day 3, but not for the right thing. “Permission to be punished with more crunches, sir!” he called out to Nichkhun.

“Reason?”

“I lied to Lt. Jaebum during the sacred art of meditation,” Jackson said. “He asked an important question, and I gave a bull answer when I really should have told him the exact truth of how I felt when he asked for it.”

“All right, 10 more crunches, Lt. Jackson,” Nichkhun said. “Or make that 11 for swearing.”

Jackson didn't turn to Jaebum to see how he was reacting. He didn't need any validation—he'd done it because he'd needed to, not because he wanted to make Jaebum obligated to forgive him.

Jackson got to his feet when he was done and stumbled back into place.

“Day 4 offenders—all of you except Lt. Park Jinyoung,” Nickhun announced. “At least Lt. Jinyoung had an excuse for being unable to play the games up to expectations. The rest of you were complete jokes. I want to see twenty-five jumping jacks from all of you!”

When the twenty-five jumping jacks were done, Jaebum said, “Permission for more punishment, sir!”

“Reason?”

“I didn't participate in the Buddy Activity with Lt. Jackson, wouldn't help him untangle our kite string, and threatened to punch him in the face unnecessarily, sir!”

“In that case, give me fifteen more. I'm impressed by how you guys seem to be gluttons for this, but carry on.”

Finally, they reached Day 6 offenders. “No complaints for yesterday, soldiers,” Nichkhun said. “If nothing else, you at least learned to improve your-”

Jaebum and Jackson's hands shot up. “Permission for punishment, sir!”

“Denied. As entertaining as this is, I'm ethically obligated to feed you brats breakfast.” He glanced at his watch. “You have fifteen minutes to grab something from mess hall. GO!”

Fifteen minutes wasn't a big enough break for a meaningful conversation, but Jackson still felt a faint bit of hope rising in him. After all, Jaebum had taken an extra punishment for his sake, even though he could have gotten away with staying silent. That had to count for something small. Or at least Jackson hoped it did.

After shoving their faces with as much food as they could grab, they trotted back out to where Nichkhun was waiting for them. “I hope you've all reflected on your previous actions and fed yourself well,” he said, his voice retreating back into its more regular kind tone. “Today is not actually a punishment day, though we did want you to consider how all of your actions have affected your team. The theme of the day is actually celebration. We want you to give yourself a pat on the back for all your hard work and all the things you've done this week at camp. But at the same time, we want this to be a gift you give for each other. So rather than just doing the work of giving a celebration to you, you're going to be building the festivities yourselves. There are several different tasks I'll be assigning you to, but first, we have one last closing assignment to help wrap things up on a good note. You'll be participating in our grand finale obstacle course. And before you get all excited and start jumping up and down for joy, it's a lot harder than it sounds. Plus, there are relay elements, so we'll be checking to see if your teamwork has improved. You'll be competing against Cabin #1, so I want to see all of you on the top of your form so you don't lose as embarrassingly as you did on game day. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir!” they shouted.

“Excellent. All of you, report to your cabins for further instructions. All except Lt. Jaebum and Lt. Jackson.”

Jaebum and Jackson looked at each other in alarm. On top of all the punishments they'd already received, were they about to get in more trouble?

Once the other campers had trooped back in the direction of their cabin, Nickhun pulled them aside. “You two are the final leg of the obstacle course,” Nichkhun explained. “And you will be doing something slightly different from your cabinmates. For example, since BamBam and Jinyoung missed the boating activity, they're going to be in charge of the rowing course. Youngjae and Jae are going to be in charge of a cooperation course, similar to the one they didn't do so well on for Day Two. As for you two, you are going to be doing a scavenger hunt course. You need to bring some items back to the campgrounds by the time limit.”

“But Mark and Jinyoung were the ones who came in last during the scavenger hunt,” Jackson pointed out.

“True. But coming in second to last is nothing to brag about. And trust me, you're going to want those items you lost back.”

“You stole from us?” Jaebum asked suspiciously.

“Not at all. You lost these items yourselves. It's up to you to get them back.” Nichkhun handed them a list. “Here are your clues. And just so you know, you'll be doing this individually—however, it won't look cool at all if one of you arrives on time and the other doesn't, so please try and make an effort, all right? Here's your timer. It'll be counting down until your deadline, so keep an eye on it. Ready? GO!”

Jackson quickly looked down at the list.

What you're missing? You'll be led

Straight to a message you never read

Some words that never reached their goal

But may yet find you and heal a hole.

First place to look? A place you rest

When you're not feeling quite your best

“Sick bay,” Jackson murmured. He glanced over at Jaebum, but Jaebum was already running off after his own clue.

Jackson dashed off to sick bay, watching as the other campers prepared for their own challenges at the main camp grounds. As Nickhun had said, Youngjae was back in headphones with Jae on his shoulders, squaring off with Wonwoo in his elevated geta with Minghao on his shoulders. Jinyoung and BamBam were waiting in a canoe on the lake next to Vernon and Seungkwan. Mark, Yugyeom, Seungcheol, and Junhui were waiting by a more traditional looking obstacle course of tires and net crawls. Jackson presumed Joshua and Jeonghan were off doing the scavenger hunt for their team.

Jackson arrived at sick bay and immediately began hunting for the note. It took awhile, but he eventually found it under the pillow of the bed.

One step closer, don't move too slow

There's still some places you have to go

Next stop is where music plays

To wake you up and start your days

This was a lot easier than Jackson had thought it would be. He ran over to the speaker pole and found another piece of paper taped to it. He could hear his cabinmates cheering for Jinyoung and BamBam on the lake in the distance.

Think this is easy? Think again!

The challenge is much harder when

You must go to a place you love to hate

Where other campers go to date

Jackson blinked. Did Nichkhun himself write this? He didn't like the implications of this message one bit.

it up, he went out to the docks. Jinyoung and BamBam were still navigating their canoe through the course, but Jackson didn't stop to watch. The dock wasn't incredibly big, and he couldn't immediately guess where the clue might be stashed. He looked on the underside of the dock, but turned up nothing. Had the note actually been referring to the woods where Jinyoung and Jaebum had gone out the first time?

He was just about ready to run to the woods when he noticed a bit of string tied to the end of the dock. Giving it a tug, he pulled up a bottle with a message inside. Eagerly, he pulled it out and read.

There's one more place! You're almost there!

But this time you had best beware!

The place your item hides is no man's ground

We hope you come back safe and sound.

While you're there, please don't linger

And on the people there don't lay a finger

“What the hell?” Jackson asked. For the first time, he had no idea what the clue was telling him. Was it sending him somewhere dangerous?

He puzzled it out for a minute, looking for keywords. No man's ground...not laying a finger on people... He considered the bathroom, in case this message was accusing him of wanting to lay his hands on Jaebum in the past, but then, all of a sudden, it clicked. No man's ground was literally a place where men weren't supposed to go. The girl's half of camp.

It was a far distance to go, so Jackson broke out into a run so he could make it there faster. As soon as he crossed the divide, he saw a group of girls waiting for him, their hands hidden behind their back.

“One last question left to go,” the girls chanted in unison. “We think by now you ought to know. What's your item that's red and gold, and has a confession you were never told?”

“Im Jaebum's lantern,” Jackson answered, out of breath. “Give it.”

The girls sent a representive to Jackson, who extended the lantern to him. He took it from her, making sure not to sure to lay a single finger on her hand.

“His handwriting is crap,” Jackson said. “What's it say?”

“It says: 'Please don't give me the pain of hearing another no from someone I love. I'm begging you'.”

“Oh,” he responded. It felt like more of his breath was being taken away. “OK.”

“That's all? No explanation? We're dying to know.”

“No, sorry,” Jackson said. “Team's waiting for me. Can't let them down again, can I?”

0

He could see Jaebum as he was running. They were both about as far away from the goal as each other, and the small pedestals to place their final items were empty for both teams. Jackson didn't waste time trying to see if Joshua and Jeonghan were nearby. He just kept his eyes focused on Jaebum.

You'll never have to hear another no from me, he thought with all the strength left in his body. I'll never put you through that pain again. Just forgive me. Please, just forgive me.

They reached the end at the same time, slamming their items down. The lantern from Jackson and a ring on a silver chain from Jaebum.

“Cabin #2 is our final event's winner!” Nichkhun declared. “Have we all learned a lesson, boys?”

“Sir, yes sir!” they chanted as one before running together to celebrate their hard earned victory.

15:00 PM- 17:00 PM: Preparations- Jackson & Jaebum

After their obstacle course celebrations were over, Nichkhun and Wooyoung divided up the tasks needed to get ready for the final celebration ceremony of camp. They were back to the Buddy system, so Jackson and Jaebum were put on firewood duty to help Mark and Jinyoung, who were preparing the campfire snacks and drinks, including the long awaited s'mores.

They didn't talk at first, but focused on steering their wheelbarrow through the woods and finding a good spot with a lot of fallen branches to collect underneath the trees. It wasn't until they filled the wheelbarrow to a good level that Jackson finally spoke.

“Jaebum?”

“Mmm?”

“I think there's no way out of you being mad at me. I think you're probably going to be angry no matter what happens, so if I'm allowed to ask one thing of you, can I just request that you let me say what I need to say before you rip my head off?”

Jaebum looked at him tiredly. “Fine.”

“OK. I promise I'm not going to lie to you or hide anything anymore. I'll just...get it all out.” He took a deep breath. “So, let's start out with the important part. I'm in love with you. Probably for awhile now, but I just realized it a few days ago when you started acting like you really were in love with Jinyoung, and I'm sorry for being an idiot about it, but I can't go back and change what I did. Maybe this won't make sense to you, because I always act all confident and wild all the time, but I haven't put myself on your level since I first met you. To me, you're the top in everything. Looks, coolness, style, talent, you name it. It's all you, for me. No one ranks higher than you. And I don't even rank close. So even though I've been thinking since the beginning, 'Wow, that guy is brilliant, anyone who got to be with him would be the highest level of happy,' I would have never put myself in that place beside you. I'm not big enough. Besides, Jinyoung's pretty damn close to being a wall of perfection himself. I thought he was the only one who could come close to your level, the only one who could reach you. I didn't think there was any way for me to be better or more important to you than him, or any way for me to be as important to you as you were to me. So I didn't even bother to try.”

He took a breath. Jaebum was still looking at him with a wary expression on his face.

“I know it was terrible,” Jackson continued. “I know you tried to show me in little ways that you didn't give a damn about Jinyoung like that and that you wanted me to stop, and I just kept on ignoring you. I'm not good at admitting I'm wrong. You know that, right? I couldn't do it then because I didn't know what it would feel like to lose you, but I'll admit it to you now that I know. I was wrong, wrong, wrong, so ing wrong that I ended up making the biggest ing mistake of my life while trying to cling to how wrong I was. I knew from the moment I saw you hand those flowers to Jinyoung that I didn't want you with anyone else but me. That even if I'm not big enough or good enough for you, instead of just handing you off to someone else, I should fight to become worthy of the attention you gave me. I know it's too late. I already ed it up and forced you to listen to me going on and on, pretending like I understood your heart and your destiny better than you did. But...I can't stop loving you, Im Jaebum. Knowing how terrible I am and how much you deserve someone better than me hasn't changed that. I'm in love with you, and that was the reason for everything, the reason why I got mad at Jinyoung for not loving you enough, the reason why I can't even think straight when it comes to anything having to do with you. I love you, and I can't just pretend like I don't anymore.”

He felt exhausted with that off his chest, like he could collapse to the ground. It was a strange kind of relief he felt—not the happy, fulfilled kind, but more similar to the feeling you had after being caught for something you'd done a long time ago. There was a sense of panic and fear over how you were going to be punished for it, but also a sense of overwhelming freedom that you didn't have to lie or hide or wonder when everything was going to come into the light, because it was at long last already there.

Jaebum's jaw was clenching and unclenching—he always showed his emotions that way, but Jackson couldn't immediately tell if it was anger or something else. At long length, he pursed his lips and met Jackson's steady gaze. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

“Excuse me?”

“What do you want? Do you want me to forgive you? Do you want us to be a thing now? Do you want me to tell you I love you and have all of this be over with? What?”

Jackson considered. “I... you don't have to do anything, Jaebum. I just wanted you to know. That you weren't in love alone this time. That I...I won't say no to you again, ever.”

“Huh.” Jaebum seemed to count to ten before exhaling sharply. “Sit down.”

“What?”

“Sit down.” He pointed to a tree stump across from him.

“Wait...isn't this the part where you kill me?”

“No. This is the part where I tell you exactly how I feel, since it seems like you pretty much don't have a clue.”

Jackson sat down on the stump, waiting for Jaebum to begin.

Jaebum opened his palm, showing the ring and chain that he'd brought back from the scavenger hunt. Jackson studied it more closely. The ring was one of those cheaply made mood rings, the kind that turned your finger green if you wore it for too long. The color of the ring was currently a bright shade of purple.

“Remember this?” Jaebum asked.

Jackson shook his head.

“Figures. You were the one who gave it to me, just a few weeks after we first met. You told me you'd gotten it at some kind of tourist shop, but you didn't need it anymore because it was broken. 'It always shows purple around you, which means bored. And I'm never bored when you're here.' So I took it, and like some kind of pathetic idiot, I've kept it. I kept it because it did always show purple when we were together. But purple isn't the color for 'bored' on this ring. Bored is green. Purple is 'in love'. And you never even realized it.” Jaebum shook his head. “I kept it to remind myself that this is the way you are. You don't realize things like this, and I shouldn't take it so personally. I shouldn't put my faith in things that don't really mean anything, stupid things that told me how you felt when it didn't even matter if you refused to recognize it. I thought that one day I'd be able to throw it out or at least have it not matter so much anymore.” He slid the ring onto his finger and studied it blankly. “The chain broke on Day 4. I thought it was lost, and I'd never have to see it again. I thought that was exactly what I wanted. Imagine my surprise when it found its way back. Still purple. Still ing purple, after all this time.”

“Jaebum...”

Jaebum shook his head. “No. Now it's your turn to listen to me. After all that crap with Youngjae, I told myself that I wasn't going to do this to myself again, but you had to come into my life and treat me like I was the center of your world and the best thing that had ever happened to you until even I started to believe it, that I was capable of making someone happy, that someone was capable of seeing me and not focusing only on Jinyoung. You saw me not only as bigger than I saw myself, but as bigger than I actually was. People like you see the potential of what someone can be and treat them like that naturally amazing person before they even become it in the first place. So I wanted to change, because of you. For the first time in my life, I wanted to live up to the faith of another person. You made me happy in a way I'd never gotten to be before, and I loved you so much for that. I loved you so much that I lost my head enough to think that you'd feel the same and that the happiness I felt was something we'd share together. Not me and Jinyoung, but you and me.” He clenched his hand over the ring again. “And what did you do? You did what everyone else has done to me and insisted that I have to be with Jinyoung and there's no other way, and oh, aren't we just the cutest together? All that love I had for you, you just threw it back in my face as if it had all been a joke. And no matter what I did and what I said, you wouldn't let go until I felt like there really was no way I could ever be happy unless I did what you ing wanted me to do. And anytime I thought you might change your mind, no. I just want you two to find happiness. That's all it is. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you understand what hearing those words feels like when you're desperate for any other answer, Jackson Wang?”

Jackson shook his head, tears flooding his eyes. “No. I can't.”

“Good, because it hurt in a way I would never wish upon you. Numbing myself to it and trying to force it all on Jinyoung to make better for me wasn't the right thing to do, but I thought it would make you happy. And it didn't. And I couldn't help but think after all this ah, there is really nothing I can do to make this person happy. Not by loving him, not by not loving him. There was no point in the faith he had in me.” Jaebum looked at him, his hands trembling. “So tell me, Jackson: how the hell am I supposed to trust you when I know what you're capable of doing to me? How can I feel relief when you say you love me when you're only saying it after convincing me for an entire year that you never would? I told you already, didn't I? I was only going to give you one more chance. And you didn't take it.”

“I know,” Jackson said, wiping furiously at his eyes. “You don't have to give me any more chances, Jaebum. I messed this up. I know it. And you don't have to believe in me or trust me anymore if you don't want. I already failed you. But please don't believe that my faith in you was misplaced or that you're not a strong and important person. You've always made me happy. There's never been a moment in my life where I haven't felt so lucky to have you in it. You've put so many smiles on my face that I just wanted there to be a smile on yours everyday so you could know the same happiness. I just didn't think I could be the one to give it to you. I didn't believe in myself in return for you believing in me, and because of that, I let myself get so many things wrong. But whether you believe or not, I still love you. I can't get rid of it. It's too late for that, too. I'm sorry.”

“Good. Because I'm sorry too. I should have done something more to show you, because if you had known...if you had known even one third of what I was feeling, there's no way you could have misunderstood. But I was scared of you, scared of what hearing no from you would do to me." He looked at Jackson firmly. "I'm sorry I didn't make you feel like the kind of person who deserved whatever love he was given, whether from me or anyone else, because you are. You're a thousand times brighter than that dim view you take of yourself, and I should have told you that. I should have helped you see you the way I see you.”

"We're just such messes, both of us," Jackson said weakly. "This happened before we were ready for it. But now...?"

"Now?" Jaebum's eyes flashed a little, and Jackson suddenly felt a little nervous again. This was the part where everything would be decided, and he still wasn't sure Jaebum was going to give him an answer he wanted to hear.

“So...is this the part where you kill me?”

“Do you want to die?”

“Not particularly.”

“Then tell me. You said you would be honest. What do you want?”

The answer flowed through Jackson, as natural and pure as it could be. “I want you to love me,” he said. “Even if you don't forgive me, as long as you love me, you'll try until you can. Just like as long as I love you, I'm going to try not to hurt you ever again.”

Jaebum was silent for a long time. He stared at Jackson hard, as if trying to determine for good whether he was telling the truth or not. Jackson was still half-convinced he was going to explode into a temper and deck him in the face, screaming that none of what Jackson was saying actually made up for anything he had done.

At long length, Jaebum nodded. “OK,” he said simply.

Jackson stared at him in disbelief. “OK?”

“OK. What else do you expect me to say? I tried not loving you and it didn't work, so what other option do I have?” He opened his hand, pulled the ring off of its chain, and slid it onto Jackson's finger. “Prove it to me that you mean what you said. I want this ring to stay purple every time I see you from now on. Don't you dare say to me again that it's broken. And one day...” he took Jackson's hand in his- “not today or tomorrow or next week or this month or maybe even this year, but after you show me that you can do this without wrecking me again, then we can see if I can both love you and forgive you—that we both can trust and believe in each other and ourselves. And if we can...then I'll ask you again what you want, and you can tell me that you want to be together, and I won't kill you. I may even say that's also what I want, and you took your damn time making it happen.”

“OK,” Jackson said. “You have yourself a pro-”

“Don't you dare say 'promise.' I'm done with promises. Just do it if you want to, and don't if you don't.” Jaebum's fingers dug into his. “And just one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

Abruptly, Jaebum yanked with all his might on the hand he was grabbing, and Jackson was jerked forward, practically into Jaebum's lap. Before he could even make a squeak of surprise, Jaebum's lips were on him, the exact kind of dominant, relentless kiss he'd always imagined it would be. He could taste all of Jaebum's emotions on him, the anger, the sadness, the fear, the tentative joy, and most importantly the love. It was a love with slightly crushed, trembling wings, but it was testing the air again. It was starting to grow stronger.

Jackson kissed him back, holding his waist and pulling him closer. It meant everything that all those emotions were for him, and that one day he would be given the chance to chase the bad ones away and fill Jaebum's life with the good ones. That was all he had ever wanted to do, but he'd gone about it so stupidly. He knew he couldn't afford to make that mistake again, or there really would be no more chances left.

At long length, Jaebum pulled away. “Incentive,” he said in a thick voice. “And confirmation.”

“Confirmation of what?” Jackson asked, his body in a happy daze.

“That it feels so much better when it's with the person you truly love," Jaebum said. "And that person is always going to be you."

17:00 PM- 18:00 PM: Preparations- Jinyoung & Mark

Mark came back from the woods hauling the wheelbarrow Jaebum and Jackson had prepared for them to the area where they would be building the campfire that evening. They had already spent the last hour setting up the snack table, impeded from talking to each other by the lurking presence of Nichkhun, who seemed convinced they would eat the Hershey bars if he wasn't around to supervise. It was only when Mark finally gave up and said he would go check on Jaebum, Jackson, and the firewood that Nichkhun finally wandered over to mess hall to check out the set-up for the indoor portion of the festivities.

Jinyoung's heart gave an unsteady jolt when he saw Mark coming. The two of them hadn't talked properly that day, but he knew they were fine. He knew Mark knew that things were over with Jaebum, that they were free to do what they hadn't been able to do before. But it still felt strange. They were stuck dangling between two worlds at the moment, and neither of them had fully made the shift they had been waiting for. They weren't friends, but not yet lovers, just two people dancing on the line and waiting to cross it.

“I see our guard dog is gone,” Mark said when he made it to where Jinyoung was waiting. “Just when I could have used the help unloading all the sticks.”

“I could help, you know.”

“I'd rather you took a seat on one of the logs and rested your ankle.”

“I'm not a weak princess, Mark.”

“No kidding. I was here when you literally dragged that log across camp to set it up here. I don't need any power demonstrations to know that you're strong. But still...” He shrugged. “I have something to say that you might need to be sitting down for.”

Oh . Jinyoung did not like the sound of that. It had to be something different from 'I love you,' since he'd said that without forcing Jinyoung to take a seat yesterday. He nervously sat down on the log, waiting for Mark to say something.

It took Mark awhile, since he'd momentarily distracted himself with arranging the logs and sticks into a credible campfire. It wasn't until he was most of the way done that he turned back to look at Jinyoung.

“Sorry for this,” he said earnestly. “But Jaebum's cheating on you.”

That was not what Jinyoung had been expecting. “O-oh?”

“Yeah. I don't want to be that guy who rats someone else out just because I'm a jealous bastard, but you deserve to know. When I went to get that wheelbarrow? He was frenching Jackson right in the middle of the woods. I had to wait for them to calm down before I could get anywhere near. And trust me, it took awhile.”

Jinyoung smiled in relief. “Good—I mean... I'm so, so, so terribly and utterly heartbroken. How dare he?”

“Exactly! I mean, any guy who was lucky enough to date you should be 100% loyal and never look at anyone else again. You deserve someone who will shower you with all the affection in the world and then some.” He took a seat beside Jinyoung on the log, grabbing his hand. “And I just wanted to let you know that if you give your heart to me, I'm going to do just that, and make you as happy as you can possibly be. I'm going to love you so much that you'll never go looking for love anywhere else.”

A few stray tears pricked Jinyoung's eyes. “Yeah.”

“And I'm not going to make you cry, and-”

“Yes.”

“And you'll always have me to take wi-”

“Mark.”

Mark reached forward and cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer. The world was both silent and full of activity around them. There were birds cawing and leaves rustling in the trees, the evidence that they were just two people in an always lively universe. But the air was quiet. There was no one chattering around them. There was just them and their heartbeats, their bodies caving towards each other, their lips meeting in a breathless hush, a sweet and quiet release of finally finally finally.

Jinyoung had only ever kissed when he was acting, and never for real. Everything about it felt different. The emotions felt more frightening, but at the same time more ecstatic. The touch was more tender, but at the same time more passionate. He felt like he was being wholly embraced, like Mark was reading through every part of him and saying yes yes yes, you are exactly who I want. There's nothing you are that isn't beautiful to me.

Jinyoung pulled away, listening to the regretful sound of their lips separating before they had communicated the full extent of each other. “I hope you realize this means we're cheating, too,” Jinyoung whispered.

“Jaebum will get over it,” Mark said, nuzzling his nose against Jinyoung's. “I'm not exactly planning on stopping.”

“You're horrible.”

“Mmm.” Mark pulled him in again, kissing him harder. Jinyoung felt like his head was spinning, it was so good. He wrapped his arms around the back of Mark's neck, falling back a little bit, pulling their bodies into each other. It felt like with anymore of this, he'd have his back against the log, Mark completely on top of him.

Mark pulled away a little before that could happen. “I'd feel a little less guilty if you confirmed to me that you've broken up and none of this was cheating to begin with,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving Jinyoung's lips.

“We did.”

“I'd feel even happier if you told me you were going to be with me from now on and will never kiss another guy while you're in love with me again.”

“I am.”

“You're a giver, aren't you?”

“And a taker.” He stole another kiss. The world suddenly felt noisier. Blood was rushing through his ears. His body was singing out in exultation. “I don't think I've told you that I love you,” he said when he gave himself a second to draw away again.

“You can tell me now.”

“I love you.” He shook his head in amazement. “I've never said that before. How did you get that out of me in only seven days?”

“I think I deserve that explanation more, considering you got it out of me in only six.” He kissed underneath Jinyoung's ear, then dragged his lips down his jaw. Jinyoung hummed in pleasure. “Can you say it again?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Park Jinyoung. No one's ever going to confuse you for someone else's soulmate again. From this moment onward, you're mine.”

“From just this moment? You pretty much had me from when you first asked me if I minded sleeping with you two seconds after we met.”

“Hmm. How did you answer that question again?”

“That I hadn't been planning on it. But then again, I hadn't really been planning on falling in love with you, so...”

“In other words, who knows what the future will bring?”

“Exactly.” Jinyoung pulled him in again, his breath hitching in anticipation. “But I'm really looking forward to finding out.”

18:00 PM-Late into the Night: Celebration

The last night of camp was celebrated in both a banner strewn mess hall filled with pizza boxes and snacks, and out by the campfire with sticks covered in marshmallows, waiting to fit snugly in the center of s'mores. The 16 boys and 2 counselors talked and laughed about anything and everything, played guitar and sang, and recounted memories of both embarrassments and triumphs that had happened to them throughout the week. They pinned their photos onto the camp bulletin board and scribbled down messages for the campers who would be taking their place for the next week—don't forget sunscreen during the scavenger hunt, please study your hangul, the winner of the cannonball contest has to be called 'Lord Splashington,' don't get sick on folk game day. They exchanged phone numbers and chat IDs and promised to get together some other time, a relaxed reunion for them to catch up and reminisce once again.

And in the midst of all the blatant celebrations were two smaller ones: a pair of hands that would occasionally reach out for each other, one hand lifting the other to check the color of a purple ring; two sets of eyes that were always meeting and holding each other, trailing down to each other's lips and back again, full of love and happiness and want.

A lot had happened in a week. Love was like that—it could exist in your heart for months without you realizing it, or strike you right away without a single moment to prepare. But no matter the amount of time it took to manifest or grab you, it always managed to find you, no matter where you were hiding or how scared you were. It was always there, the happiest guest at the celebration, the loudest of the cheers, the biggest of the smiles. The last one to leave when the night was over. It didn't go to sleep, when everyone else did. It was ready to carry the celebration to the next day, to be there when everyone woke up again in the morning. It was ready to keep celebrating in the hearts of those who had found it for as long as the party went on.

A/N: Guys: I can never say this enough, but thank you so much for supporting this story!

An epilogue will be coming next week :D