Since starting at Pledis, Ren had felt his character shifting into a more tolerant and understanding one. He could now see the value in families and appreciate that lack of money does not necessarily mean poverty. That being said, Ren had expected that when Baekho claimed he knew a guy who would set them up for the night before returning in the morning, that the accommodations would likely not be a five-star hotel or luxurious condo. However…

          “A barn?!” Ren shrieked. Yongguk raised a hand as if to block the sound waves from piercing his ear dum.

          Baekho grinned, obviously proud of his connections. “A former barn.” He corrected, as if that would appease Ren. “Mr. Jung renovated it a few years back when he purchased the property.”

          “How are we going to sleep in a barn?” Ren wailed, staring in despair at the brightly colored building in front of them.

          Mr. Jung had greeted them animatedly when they arrived, giving Baekho a hug that would have left Key jealous had he been there, then led them to their sleeping quarters for the night.

          Ren had been hyperventilating for two whole minutes at the white door, too afraid to open it and see what they had been subjected to for a night.

          “I think it looks cute.” Minhyun thought aloud, studying the yellow building. “I bet it’ll be cozy.”

          “Right!” Baekho retained his cheerful demeanor and gently pushed Ren to the side to open the door.

          The inside was… okay, well it wasn’t the worst place Ren had ever seen. The ceiling wasn’t caving in and soccer ball sized rats weren’t scurrying across the floor. There were even functioning lights hanging from the beams that supported the roof. Overall, it looked fairly normal.

          Ren took a delicate step inside, eyes darting to every corner as if afraid that a rabid boar might charge him at any moment.

          Yongguk followed him inside, a reassuring presence at Ren’s back. If a monster did decide to leap out, Ren could shove Yongguk in and run.

          Probably.

          Maybe not.

          Yongguk looked too big to shove quickly.

          Minhyun and Baekho were already laying their backpacks down next to the mattresses they were claiming. Ren hurriedly dropped his own bag down on the one next to Baekho, which left Yongguk next to Ren and on the left end.

          Good. Ren didn’t want to be hanging off the side. This way he had two bodies on one side and one on the other for monsters to pick off before they reached him.

          “Good thing we didn’t decide to go camping.” Baekho chuckled.

          Ren shot him a glare. “Bears would be the biggest threat if we were camping and since you resemble one so well, I think they’d leave us alone.”

          Minhyun snorted and flopped down on the mattress. “I kind of wish we could see the stars tonight.

          Yongguk sat down silently on his designated mattress. Ren hadn’t noticed before but he only had a small school pack with him.

          “Didn’t you bring any clothes to change into?”

          “I have another shirt.” He muttered, drawing the bag closer to him.

          “What are you going to sleep in?” Ren eyed the bag.

          “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Yongguk replied. He refused to meet Ren’s gaze.

          It suddenly occurred to Ren that perhaps Yongguk had never been invited on an excursion like this one. It was possible that Yongguk had never even spent the night at a friend’s house.

          Ren felt his heart thump painfully in his chest and he thought for a moment. “There’s still some time before the sun sets. We could go back into town to grab you some supplies.”

          Yongguk shook his head. “I’ll be alright.”

          “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t sleep in your jeans.”

          Yongguk looked as if he was going to protest again when Minhyun said loudly, “I forgot my toothbrush!” He slapped himself on the forehead and Ren held back a grin. “I ate garlic bread too! I’ll have to go into town anyway to pick up a toothbrush. Yongguk, you should come with me and we’ll resupply together.”

          “I want to buy some snacks.” Baekho chimed in as if he hadn’t eaten an entire lobster just an hour earlier.

          “We’ll all go into town.” Ren declared.

          Yongguk looked around helplessly, unsure of the events unfolding in front of him.

          Ren felt pride well up in his throats for his friends. They had been uneasy around the older boy when the trip began but were now actively trying to make him relax.

          Grabbing Yongguk’s arm, Ren led the way out of the barn. Their driver would return in the morning to pick them up so it was a twenty-minute walk back into town.

          The sidewalk looked out over the coast, however, so the twenty minutes flew by in silence as the four admired the setting sun over the water.

          In town, Minhyun ran into the first department store and purchased a toothbrush. Ren wasn’t sure if he truly needed one or if he had made up an excuse to get Yongguk to agree to the trip.

          Baekho picked up snacks along the way as the remaining two trailed behind, looking for something Yongguk could wear.

          Ren stopped in front of a pile of t-shirts and grinned to himself. “Hey, Yongguk,” He held up an orange tee with the phrase ‘I love fish’ written on it in goofy lettering. “It’s just to sleep in, right?”

          A look of sheer horror flashed over the elder boy’s features. He looked like he was trying desperately to find some polite way to say “That is the ugliest effing shirt I have ever seen” without hurting Ren’s feelings.

          An hour later, they had found Yongguk a different black shirt with no lettering on it and a pair of grey cotton shorts.

          Baekho had an armload of chips and various candies and Minhyun had his toothbrush. Overall, Ren was fairly pleased with the outcome of the trip.

          By the time they had made it back, the sun was almost completely beneath the waves and the four stopped to look up at the stars appearing in the sky.

          “Thanks, you guys.” Minhyun said quietly.

          No one responded. They all understood.

          Ren never slept more soundly than that night. Before he had completely dozed off, though, he took a moment to listen to the others breathing. He would never admit it to anyone else but the evidence of their presence gave Ren a feeling he’d never experienced before.

          In, out, in, out…

          He wondered if Yongguk was listening as well, feeling whatever it was that Ren was feeling too.

          He decided he rather liked the feeling.