"You have everything?" Eomma asks, testing the weight of my backpack. It's almost ten in the morning, and Seolhyun's supposed to pick me up in the few minutes. I stopped by the clinic to tell my parents goodbye. "My goodness, this is heavy."

"That's my portable telescope and camera." Who knew ten pounds could be so heavy? It take sup a lot of space in the pack, so I've got one of the tents Seolhyun bought stuffed in the bottom, a compressed sleeping bag, clothes neatly rolled to save space, a couple of energy bars, peanut butter cups, and some chocolate - you know, all the major food groups.

I also may have brought a grid-line journal. Just a small one. And a few gel pens.

"You have the emergency cash I gave you?"

 I pat the the pocket of my overall. I paired them with my high tops Converse. I put my hair up in a messy bun; I'm killing it. Someone should pay me to look this sharp. One modeling contract, pronto.

"Portable cell phone charger?"

"In my pack," I lie. It's an older model that weighs a ton, and in the battle of heavy versus heavy, my telescope and camera won. Besides, they'll have electricity at the glamping compound. I can just plug my phone in.

Eomma inspects my arms. "Hive cream?"

"Yes, I've got the stinky homeopathic cream. Where's Dad? I need to leave soon."

"Daniel!" she calls out to the back rooms, cupping her hands around . Then she turns back to me. "He's rushing to head out to the bank. I tried to get an increase on the clinic's credit card, and they said our credit score is too low because we're over extended. Which is crazy, because that's our only credit account, and paid off your father's car loan last year. There must be some mistake. He'll get it sorted out. Oh, there you are," she says as he jogs into the reception area, keys in hand.

And toward the front door.

"I'll be back," he says, keys in hand.

"Daniel. Suzy's leaving for her camping trip," Eomma says, sounding exasperated as I feel.

He turns around and blinks at me, and apparently is just now noticing my backpack. "Of course," he says, smoothly covering up his faux pas with a charming smile. "Excited to spend time with the Kim daughter?"

"Seolhyun," I say.

"Seolhyun," he repeats. More smiling. He turns to eomma and says, "Everything checked out at the campsite, right? The girls will be safe there?"

"They have security and everything," Eomma says. "I told you, remember? Mrs. Kim talked to the owner, and they're going to pay special treatment to their group."

"Right, right," Dad murmurs, nodding. Then he smiles at me, starts to extend his arms as if he might hug me - which is weird, because we don't normally do that anymore - and then changes his mind and pats me on the head. "Have a great time, kiddo. Stay in touch with Younghee and take your pepper spray in case there are any boys with roaming hands."

There will be boys, and I certainly hope there will be roaming hands. But no way am I telling him that, so I just laugh, and it sounds as hallow as his smile looks.

He nods stiffly, and it's awkward. "Got to get to the bank. See you when you get back," he says, and before I can answer, he's jogging out the front door.

When he's gone, I vent at Eomma. "Hello! I'm leaving for an entire week. Does he realize this?"

She holds up a hand in shared exasperation. "He knows. I told him I could take care of the bank on my lunch break, but he insisted it had to be now. He's just -"

"Stressed," I say, resigned. "Yeah."

And what's up with this credit thing at the bank? That sounds fishy. Or maybe I'm just suspicious of everything my dad touches.

"hey, forget him. I'm right here," she says, holding my face in her hands. "And I'm going to miss you like crazy. I will also worry every day, so please call or text to check in when you can."

"Spotty cell service," I remind her. We read warnings about it on the glamping compound's website.

She nods. "If I don't hear from you, I won't alert park troopers. Not unless you aren't standing here in front of me at noon next Friday. In one piece, I might add."

"Don't know about one piece, but I'll be here. Seolhyun's got to be back for some presemester orientation thing for her cross-country team," I remind her. "Speaking of, I'd better get outside. Need to stay on my schedule."

She grasps my arm to look at my watch and winces at the time. "Crap. I need to get the room ready for my first appointment."

Good, because I really want to get here alone before Younghee decided to walk me outside and greet Seolhyun. Like my father, she's still under the illusion that this is a girls-only trip, and I'd like to keep it that way.

"I changed my mind. Don't go." She hugs me extra hard and then clings dramatically.

"Eomma," I say, laughing. "You're unbalancing my life force."

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Not today. You you did buy my turkey jerky, and if that's not a token of affection, I don't know what it."

"I love you, sweetie."

"Love you back," I tell her.

When she finally lets me go, I lift my heavy backpack onto one arm and salute her goodbye.

"Don't forget to feed Damon at dinner," I remind her. That's usually my job; Eomma feeds her in the morning.

"I won't," she assures me as I'm opening the door. "You don't pee on your shoes and try not to provoke any bears."

"If I see a bear, I'll pass out from fear, so he'll just think I'm dead."

"That seems reasonable. And, Suzy?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be cautious, be careful. Have a good time, okay?"

I give her a confident nod and head outside.

It's a perfect summer day. Not too hot, not too cool. Pretty blue sky. I'm feeling a weird mix of anxiety and anticipation as I lug my backpack forward a striped no-parking space in front of the curb.

No sigh of Seolhyun yet, so I decide to do one last practice run on my backpack. I tried it on when it was empty, but now that it's full, I'm forced to squat in order to lift it and am struggling to get it on both shoulders. When I finally manage it, I wobble clumsily and nearly topple over backward. How am I supposed to hike a dirt trail with this thing? Feels like an overweight sloth is clinging to my neck. Maybe if I secure the scrap that buckles my waist . . .

"You've got it packed wrong," someone calls out.

I turn around slowly, in case I actually do fall over - which is a real possibility, not kidding - and it takes me exactly one second to spot the voice's owner: white sneakers, ripped jeans, black T-shirt with an button-up.

Jungkook is sitting on the hood of his car, which is parked a few yards away in one of the public spaces in the middle of our cul-de-sac. "You're supposed to pack the heavy stuff in the center, near your back. Let your hips carry the weight, not your shoulders. When it's packed right, you won't a Leaning Tower of Pisa."

"I'm not . . ." I shift my feet and lean forward a little, barely preventing a bodily avalanche. Dang it.

Jungkook's smile is slow and annoying. He's wearing sunglasses, so I can't see his eyes. Double annoying. Why is he even talking to me? Didn't I tell him I hated him yesterday?

"What do you have in there?" he asks. "Bricks?"

"My telescope."

"You fit your favorite telescope inside that pack?"

I'm shocked he remembers. "No, the portable one."

"Ah. Well, it's packed wrong."

"And I should trust you because you're such an expert on backpacking," I say irritably.

He leans back on both hands and lifts his face to the sun. "Actually, I kind of am."

"Since when?"

"Since forever. I backpacked with my dads in Europe when I was thirteen -"

Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. "But that was in hostels."

"And campgrounds."

Right.

"And three times this year. Three? Wait, maybe four," he says,  more to himself than me. He shrugs a shoulder lightly. "One of them doesn't count, but anyway."

"You went to Europe this year?" I say, surprised.

"No, I backpacked here in Daegu. My parents gave me a national park pass for Christmas and took me camping in Apsan Park over spring break. I even took a wilderness survival course."

Does not compute. This isn't Jungkook at all. The boy I knew didn't spend time outdoors. I mean, sure, we technically spend most of our time together outside on all those walks, but that was here in the city. Before I can make sense of this new development in Jungkook, Man of Mystery, he speaks up again.

"I can help repack if you want," he says, still looking up at the sky, where misty trails of morning fog are drifting back out to the waters, silver streaks against bright blue.

Jeon Jungkook with his hands on my private stuff? I don't think so, buddy.

"No, thanks." I let the pack's straps slide down my arms until it's back on the ground. And then, in an attempt to shut him up, I add, "My ride should be here any second."

"Yeah, I just got a text."

Huh? Wait one freaking minute.

Backpack advice. Camping in Apsan Park. Spotted hanging out with Bogum . . .

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

This is not Bogum's new bromance. This is not the "guy" who's leading us to a secret off-trail in the Queen's. It can't be! Seolhyun knows I avoid him. She doesn't know why, exactly, but she should have told me. Why didn't she tell him? There must be some mistake.

Panic fires through my limbs as a dark red SUV whips into the parking lot. Jungkook causally jumps from the hood of his car, landing lightly on his feet. He bends to pick up something out of sight, near the front wheel. When he stands back up, he's pulling a black backpack onto one shoulder. The top outer pocket is covered with vintage punk-rock buttons and retro national park patches. A foam bedroll is neatly secured to its bottom.

Bloody hell.

Blaring music, the red SUV skids as it brakes between us, and then Seolhyun's head pops up from the driver's door. "Glamping time, es!" she shouts merrily over the stereo. "Packs go on top in the cargo container. Let's hustle."

My mind can't form a coherent thought. I know I'm staring stupidly as Bogum lurches out of the SUV to clap Jungkook soundly on the shoulder. "Jungkook, my boy," he said, voice full of joy. "That outfit is sick! I love it. Come on, I'll help you get the cargo box open. The latch is screwed up." Bogum notices me for the first time.

My stomach flips over.

You know how people say they are blinded by love? That's what happens to me when I see Bogum. He looks like a celebrity, all tanned legs and sandy brown hair, a face too perfect for a mortal high school boy. And don't get me started on his teeth. They are insanely perfect. I never knew teeth could be so attractive.

He flashes me those one-million-dollar teeth in a dazzling smile. "Suzy. Still rocking that y school girl vibe," he says, pointing finger guns at my overalls while making a zinging noise. Then he waves me closer for a hug. "Bring it on in, girl. Haven't seen you in forever."

Omo. I'm overwhelmed by the spicy scent of aftershave. He smells a little like my dad, which is a weird thing to think. Shut up, brain! This is all Jungkook's fault for surprising me. His presence is throwing off my game. And now Bogum lets me go, so I wasted the entire two-second hug with the boy of my dreams thinking about (A) my dad and (B) the boy of my nightmares. Terrific.

"What you been up to this summer?" Bogum asks lightly.

Say something. Do not blow this. "You know, working."

Working? That's the best I could come up with? I work twice a week at the clinic for a few hours, so why am I making it sound like I'm slaving over a paycheck at a real job? I want a do-over, but Bogum's attention shift to the task of opening the big plastic cargo carrier attached to the SUV's roff rack. Meanwhile, Jungkook is looking back at me - nay, full-on staring - and I can't tell what he's thinking because of those stupid sunglasses, but it feels judgmental.

Is this really happening? Jungkook is coming with us?

Bogum pops open the cargo carrier and helps Jungkook lifts his pack inside, nestling it in among several others. Jungkook gestures silently with one hand and a tilt of his head, offering to help me lift my pack, I try to do it myself, and end up having to let Jungkook and Bogum boost it up. Which is humiliating.

"Hey," I say in greeting to Kim Minjun, closing the door as I get settled in my seat.

Minjun's family owns a successful winery that lauded in the press for being one of the best vineyards in  Daegu. Since he goes to private school, I've only met him once, when Seolhyun hauled me to a party.

"Suzy, right?" he says, squinting one eyes closed. In a chambray button-down and shorts that contrast pleasantly with his skin, he's better-looking than I remembered, and has a friendly, confident demeanor.

 A tall girl with long, brunette hair leans around the front passenger seat. Shin Hyejeong. If you crave gossip about anyone in school, she knows it. And even though her grades were so bad that technically she should have had to repeat 11th grade, she's on the yearbook committee and the online school newspaper - which apparently saved her.

"Suzy's into astrology," Hyejeong tells Minjun.

"Astronomy," I correct.

"Oh!" she says, smiling. "I always get those mixed up. Which one is the horoscopes?"

"Astrology," Minjun enunciates, pretending to give her a slap on the head, which she ducks with a silly smile.

Bogum speaks up from behind me and introduces Minjun to Jungkook.

"This is my boy," Bogum tells Minjun, roughly shaking Jungkook's shoulder. "This kid is wild. Right, Jeon Cena?"

Jungkook's sitting behind Minjun, so I can see him better than Bogum. "If you say so," Jungkook deadpans.

"Is that really your name?"

"Jeon Jungkook, minus the Cena," Jungkook says. "Bogum never lets that stop him."

"If I didn't know better, I might wonder if this is a jab. But Bogum just laughs as if it's the funniest joke in the world.

Um, okay. What is going on here?

"Jungkook's birth mother is Park Hwasa from LV?" Hyejeong supplies. "They opened for Power a million years ago. His mom was that tall woman that plays the guitar."

"Dummer," Jungkook corrects quietly, but I don't think anyone hears him except me.

"Didn't one of your dads crash at Moon Moonbyul's house for a few weeks? Seolhyun asks, programming a route into the SUV's navigation system. "Doesn't he know her husband, or something?"

Before he can answer, Hyejeong pipes in with: "Is it true that your dad were, like, together with your mom all at the same time?" She pauses, and says in a lower voice, "I mean, the three of them?"

"I got your meaning," Jungkook says.

"That's just what I heard at school," Hyejeong tells him apologetically. But not so apologetic that she's shutting the question down.

"I've heard that around school myself," Jungkook says.

"Well?" Hyejeong prompts.

"My parents did a lot of things," Jungkook says enigmatically.

The intrigue inside the car is high. Scandal! Gasp! Thing is, Namjoon and Seokjin are one of the most in-love, devoted couples I've ever known. Whatever they've done or haven't done is none of anyone's business. I start to say this, then wonder why I should defend Jungkook if he's not even bothering to defend himself. I know it used to bother him, all the rumors people at school spread behind his back. Everyone loves to discuss his family life. Even my dad has accused Namjoon and Seokjin of being heathens.

Maybe Jungkook doesn't care anymore. Maybe he's just embracing it.

"One hundred percent rock-and-roll," Bogum says. "KIA would have so approved of that. Did you know he and his best friend Nissan both slept with Toyota, Nissan's wife? Wild, huh? I bet you have crazy stories growing up in a punk-rock household."

"So crazy," Jungkook says flatly.

Bogum claps his hands together and tells us all, "This dude right here has legendary blood in his veins. Korean punks were the Beat Poets of the eighties and nineties."

Huh. Now I'm connecting the dots. Bogum thinks Jungkook has pedigree. That's why he's decided Jungkook is a "wild man."

Jungkook looks wild, all right. About as wild as a depressed corpse.

"Okay, we're all here and everyone's acquainted," Seolhyun says. "Are we ready to roll?"

"We're going to have some crazy- fun this week," Bogum says, throwing his arm around Jungkook's shoulder so that he can snap a quick selfie. Jungkook's expression remains blank while Bogum sticks out his tongue toward the screen. "Right?"

Jungkook leans back in his seat and echoes his previous words. "If you say so."

"Right, Seolhyun?" Bogum calls out to the front.

"Let's do this," she confirms, shifting the SUV into drive. "Queen's, here we come."

As Seolhyun drives down the street, she informs us that she drive to the glamping compound is more than three hours. And for the first few minutes, the car is loud and chaotic, everyone trying to talk at once. Seolhyun is telling Minjun about the camp's amenities while Hyejeong adds her own commentary about the glamping site in Jeju that her parents visited for their anniversary. Bogum is trying to tell Seolhyun about the nearby places mentioned in KIA's On the Road. And surprisingly, Seolhyun seems interested. This is news to me, because she usually tunes out whatever Bogum goes all rhapsodic about the beat Poets at school. he's always trying to get people to drive to Seoul for afternoon excursions to Beat-friendly Bookstore - "It's a historic landmark." And Seolhyun is always complaining that poetry is boring.

And throughout all of this, Jungkook stays quiet.

Maybe it will be easy to ignore him.

I look around the car, and it really hits me that, minus Jungkook, I'm going on a weeklong trip with some of the most popular people at school. Eomma was right. I needed to do this to feel less like an outsider. I'm going to have fun. Everything's going to be fine.

Jungkook's unwanted presence can't ruin this.

And I am definitely not scratching my arm. If anything was going to make my hives worse, it would be Jungkook. So I can't let him. Deep breaths. I'm okay. I'm totally okay.

After we head out of Daegu, conversations becomes as monotonous as the scenery. Outside my window, I spy flat farmland, fruit trees, wide blue skies, and the occasional small town. Long stretches of highway are punctuated with truck stops and roadside fruit stands, and people turn to their phones for entertainment. A little over halfway through the trip, Minjun points out a tiny historical museum of mining. "They've got a fairly big winery," he says. "My parents brought me here once. It's an old museum, but it was fun."

Since Hyejeong complains that she needs to use a public restroom after drinking an enormous soda, Seolhyun decided to pull of the highway. After gassing a run-down gas station, we spot the down town area easily enough.

The old museum looks pretty shabby and has an entrance fee. We agree to forgo that and head to the general store instead, parking alongside a line travel trailers in front of a wooden hitching post and a water trough.

inside, the spacious store is bustling with tourists, jammed from floor to ceiling with goods for sale - everything from old-fashioned candy and brown bottles, to fake jewelry and a mining cart filled with polished stone. It also smells like peanut butter fudge, which makes me hungry. Peanut butter is my weakness.

The candy counter has a line, so while Hyejeong looks for a restroom with Seolhyun, and the boys are magnetically drawn to a display of mining pickaxes - complete with a cardboard standee of a cartoon old-timey prospector - I wander around the aisles until I'm in the outdoor gear section. A sign advertising "bear vaults" catches my attention. Or maybe it's the gigantic stuffed bear that's standing on two legs with its arms raised. A sign hanging around its neck reads KYUNGSOO THE BEAR.

"Gross," I whisper, seeing that part of its dusty fur is ripped. It also smells funky. But honestly, I'd take all the motley smells in this place 100% over the SUV, where Bogum's aftershave was starting to give me a headache.

"You have one, right?" a deep voice says.

Jungkook steps next to me like a ghost from the shadows.

"Aish, sneak up on people much?" I complain under my breath."Have one what?"

he points to the caniters lining a wooden cubby on the wall. A pleasant scent wafts from his clothes. "Bear vault."

"Not planning on capturing any bears, so no."

"They're for storing food, foolish human."

I give him a sidelong glance. He's holding a square candy inside a wax paper. When he takes a bite, I realize why he smells so nice. Peanut butter fudge.

"So good," he mumbles. He knows I'm a PB addict. At least, he used to know. Maybe he forgotten and is completely oblivious that me watching him eat this is total food .

I ignore his little moan of ecstasy. "I still don't know what you're talking about."

Juggling his fudge, he grabs a barrel-shaped canister off the shelf and flips open the hinged lid. "Bear vaults, to store your food. Bears can smell food from a couple miles away. Not even kidding. They will tear down cabin doors and break car windows to get their grub on. You have to keep everything inside one of these. Food. Toiletries. Anything with a strong scent, like Bogum's cologne."

I give Jungkook a dirty look. Bogum's wearing aftershave, not cologne. At least, I think. That's my dad homophobic and slightly racist father, who thinks everyone should speak "one language", preferably English. Halabeoji doesn't speak English, but he sure as hell doesn't wear cologne.

"I'm sure the glamping compound knows how to keep bears out of food," I tell Jungkook.

"They do, which is why no food is allowed in the tents, unless it's in a bear vault," he says, crinkling the wax paper as he peels it back for another bite of candy.

I hold up an invisible phone and pretend to talk into it. "Hey, Siri, is Jungkook full of ? What's what? Oh, he is. Great. Thank you."

"Hey, Siri? Is everything I just said true?" he says, playing along. He pretends to wait for a responsive and then talks into the bear canister. "Why yes, Jungkook. It most certainly is. You're in a Bear Zone. It's against the law to store unprotected food."

"That law sounds completely made up," I tell him.

"Did you read the rules?"

What rules?

Jungkook rolls his eyes toward the ceiling. "I also texted Bogum a list of things we'll need on the trail. He said he was going to share it with the group."

What list? I'm suddenly worried that I was left out of the loop. Forgotten. And this just reignites my anxieties about whether my presence is wanted on this trip. But I'm not telling Jungkook this.

"Seolhyun bought a lot of stuff for this week," I report. "But I don't remember any bear containers. She's been camping here before, so maybe she knows something you don't. Maybe we don't need them."

Jungkook mumbles an unintelligible curse under his breath. "We'll definitely need them when we go backpacking." He holds the canister behind his neck to demonstrate. It's about the same size as his head - too big. "You can strap it to the top of your pack like this, or down at the bottom, which might be better for people prone to balance problems." He smirks at me with his eyes.

I fantasize about bashing his big head with the stupid bear vault. "Why are you here?"

"Why are any of us here, Suzy? Life is a mystery."

I groan. "On this trip."

"Oh," he says innocently. He's not smiling, but there's a fraction of humor behind his eyes. "The cologne bandit invited me. I'm 'the coolest,' apparently," he says making air quotes with one hand while he takes another bite.

Again with the snark. Why is hanging out with Bogum if he hates him so much?

"But you knew I was coming?" I probe.

"I did."

"Why didn't you say anything."

He shrugs. "I only recently decided to go."

Is that true? I remember back to when Seolhyun first told me about off-trail backpacking and her not being sure if Bogum's "friend" who told him about this bucket-list hidden waterfall was committed to coming.

"Why?" I ask.

"I have my reasons."

"Which are . . . ?"

Jungkook stares at his fudge for a long moment. Then he seems to change his mind about what was going to say and hands me the open canister. "Get this. And maybe a bear bell," he says, pointing to a display of big silver bells designed to be clipped to a backpack. "It gives bears a gentle warning that you're in the area, so that you don't surprise them. A surprised bear is a defensive bear, and a defensive bear kills."

Is he serious? I think he is, but I'm not totally sure. And before I can ask for clarification or point out that he's avoiding my question, he retrieves something from his pocket and dumps it inside the open canister. Then he walks away.

I look inside the canister. Sitting at the bottom is square of peanut butter fudge wrapped in wax paper.

What am I supposed to think about this?

I retrieve the fudge and return the canister to the display shelf, abandoning Kyungsoo the Bear to  catch up with the others. Just because Jungkook cries bear vault, doesn't mean I really need it. It's insanely expansive. Besides Jungkook has a penchant for being super technical and obsessive about details. I think he's exaggerating the urgency of bear protection.

Probably.

At the last second, I double back and grab a silver bear bell off the rack.

Better safe than sorry.

Thanks for reading, guys!