Campfires, Ghost Stories and Games

Night had quickly covered the sky by the time the trainees had arrived back to the encampment with the last remnants of the sunlight rapidly disappearing on the horizon, coloring the sky with vibrant shades of pink, purple, orange and yellow until it too vanished into the darkness only to expose the distant shining stars hidden behind Earth’s atmosphere. The guides left behind during the trainees hike up the mountain had started the campfires when they were gone so that it appeared there were shining stars twinkling below them too when making their way back down from the long hike. The air surrounding the mountain began to become much cooler so they would need the warmth emitted from the campfires spaced throughout the encampment.

Sungjae walked shoulder to shoulder beside Changsub, watching him as he began to limp in pain from the strenuous journey of trekking up and down the mountainous range. As soon as the group of trainees had reached the edge of the encampment, Sungjae paced towards the tent he’d remembered leaving his belongings in, racing inside once spotting it and ripping open his bag to dig for the ointment he had promised Changsub. Finding the ointment immediately, he also grabbed a pair of clean socks and house slippers, and walked out of the tent to hand them over to Changsub but bumped into the boy from the bus, Ilhoon.

“Hey, there. Whatcha got there?” he asked with the same smirk he had given him on the bus and at lunch. Sungjae didn’t have time for this boy’s antics so he sidestepped and walked passed him, ignoring what he said after.

“Changsub, here’s the ointment I told you about,” Sungjae said, handing him the ointment along with the clean pair of socks and slippers. “I brought you some socks and slippers too. I think it’ll be beneficial to air out your feet after the pain it has gone through,” Sungjae added meekly.

Changsub smiled at him, thanking him. He sad down on the ground and removed his shoes slowly, gritting back the pain it caused by doing so. Peeling off his socks, he opened the ointment package and squeezed a small amount onto his palm. Rubbing it together, he placed it onto the sole of his feet, massaging the ointment in. Relief was evident on his face once the ointment started to take effect. Looking back up at Sungjae, Changsub gave him a huge grin.

“Thank you! I owe you big time. Whatever you want, it’s yours,” Changsub said, managing to make Sungjae’s heart skip a beat with a promise of anything and giving him a smile that creased his eyes.

“I’ll hold you to that promise,” Sungjae teased back but not really expecting anything in return. Just making him happy was enough for him.

Totaled in all there were at least 5 campfires sporadically spread out throughout the encampment with small clusters of trainees gathered around the campfire closest to their shelter for the night. Sungjae could see that a few trainees were already heading to sleep, exhausted by today's activities, while others had enough energy to talk amongst themselves, eating the night snacks provided by the guides when they had arrived back.

The small group Sungjae was with was one of the latter, already sitting around the campfire laughing and joking loudly without holding back their voices. He spotted the guy name Minhyuk holding Eunkwang’s arm loosely, laughing and leaning on him and Eunkwang was laughing hysterically too. Hyunsik was sitting to there right with a huge grin on his face, eyes hidden behind his eyelids. The boy, Ilhoon, was standing awkwardly between Hyunsik and the two with a faint smile appearing on his face presumably about the joke everyone was laughing at.  

“Looks like everyone is having a fun time. Let’s go see what their laughing at,” Changsub said, catching the group’s laughter from the short distance and turning his head back to see the source of the deafening noise. Raising his hand, he looked at Sungjae expectantly. Sungjae instinctively reached down to grab his hand, helping him up from the ground.

“I’m lucky you brought me these house slippers. I don’t think I could manage to squeeze my feet back into those shoes,” Changsub said, looking and making faces at the shoes that had gave him the pain, as if he were mocking them. Sungjae couldn’t help but to laugh at his hyung. Sometimes he acted like he was the one who was younger than him and Sungjae kind of thought it was adorable in a way.

The campfire was thoroughly warm compared to the space they had just left. Sungjae thought he might want to sleep outside near the campfire if that were the case. He’d rather sleep out in the open then sleep in a tent, shivering in the cold, trying to keep warm with the one blanket the guides had provided. Everyone was sitting in a circle near the fire, talking about the day they had until Eunkwang stood up, suggesting he had something to say.

“I was just talking to Minhyuk, and he had a great idea,” Eunkwang said. Minhyuk, who was sitting beside him, smiled shyly and hesitantly stood up.

“Since we are all here, I thought we could, I don’t know...maybe tell ghost stories. It’s the right season for it too,” Minhyuk suggested, looking at Eunkwang and then at everyone else for approval.

Hyunsik and Ilhoon nodded in agreement. Changsub who was sitting beside him nodded his head too. “Why not? Seems like a great idea to me. Right, Sungjae-ya?” Changsub said, turning his head to look over at him. Sungjae didn’t really like ghost stories or anything scary in fact. Horror was not his thing but Changsub looked happy at the idea so he nodded his head.

“Okay!!! Then, who wants to go first?” Eunkwang asked.

“I will. Since I suggested it, I think it makes sense that I should tell a story first to get the ball rolling,” Minhyuk said with a little laugh at the end.

“Okay, here it goes...So this story, I...uh, heard from a fellow trainee. He said he heard it from one of his close friends that it happened too,” Minhyuk said in a wary voice, stopping to look at everyone’s response so far and then continued on.

“The story goes like this. His friend was walking through the halls, after a long day of practising. He was going to take a small break before leaving for the night, so of course he went to the break room to lounge around, grabbing some snacks to replenish the energy he’d lost during his practise. In the break room, while eating the snacks he’d found, he sat down on the sofa that sits against the wall that faces the entrance of the break room. Well, I guess he was so tired that he passed out but shortly after he was awoken when he heard something shatter. Frightened awake, he looked around trying to pinpoint where the noise came from but didn’t see anything. That is until he saw someone’s shadow through the door’s window. He called out to whoever was on the other side but no one responded back. Thinking it was strange that the person didn’t hear him and answer, he got up and walked towards the door. When he got closer to the door, he could hear the faint voice of someone singing. He immediately thought it was another trainee coming to the break room so he opened the door for them……” Minhyuk paused, turning his head to each person in his audience. He smiled creepily, and then continued. “But there was no one on the other side... He walked out the door and looked down both sides, but still…..nothing. At this point, the hair on the back of his neck and arms started to rise. He immediately grabbed his book bag and ran down the hall. When he was running, he swears he heard laughter following behind him but every time he turned his head no one was there. The next day, he asked one of the security guard’s if there was anyone there during the time he had left but he was told he was the only one there that night.” Minhyuk finished his story, eyes darting back and forth between his listeners with a slight mischievous smile creeping onto his face.

During Minhyuk’s long and detailed story, Sungjae had found himself scooting closer and closer to Changsub. Changsub had glanced over at him several times, grinning at him but Sungjae couldn’t help that he was frighten. Telling ghost stories at night, in the middle of the woods, was not a good idea. Not to Sungjae at least, but he was in the minority so he had no choice but to go along with everyone else. Towards the end, Sungjae had been clinging onto Changsub’s arm, and Changsub had been laughing at him the whole entire time, no longer paying attention to the story.

“I don’t think we should tell anymore ghost stories. It appears one was enough to make Sungjae frightened for the night,” Changsub said out loud, laughing once Minhyuk was done. “I’d hate to see what he would do if more were told,” he said, trying to stop laughing but failing. Sungjae let go of his arm and scooted away from Changsub, embarrassed that he’d been exposed with Changsub teasing him openly in front of the others.

Eunkwang stood back up, clearing his throat but his eyes were now shifting beyond the campfire looking out towards the woods as if he were also affected by the ghost story Minhyuk had told. “I agree….let’s find something else to do…. Any suggestions?” Eunkwang asked.

“I have a suggestion,” Ilhoon said, and he glanced over at Sungjae making sure he caught his eyes before making his suggestion with a hidden smirk. “How about truth or dare?”

What is he up to? Sungjae thought.

Eunkwang nodded his head. “That seems like a great idea.” Everyone nodded, clapping their hands. “Who will go first?” he asked. Ilhoon raised his hand.

“Okay. Everyone knows how to play right? If not, let me know,” Eunkwang said.

Ilhoon sat on a the ground looking around for his victim. Sungjae had a feeling it would be him based on how this boy kept giving him weird stares and smirking at him but then he heard Changsub’s name being called out. Sungjae looked over to watched Changsub direct his gaze in Ilhoon’s direction.

“Truth or Dare, which will you have. If you say truth but refuse to answer the question, it will automatically switch to dare. You got it?” Ilhoon said with a large grin growing on his face. Sungjae wished he knew what this guy thought he was doing.

“Okay, got it. I choose truth,” Changsub said without hesitation. Sungjae waited for what Ilhoon would ask him.

“I see. Then, my question is...Is there anyone... here... at this encampment, that you like, as in like a crush?” Ilhoon said to Changsub but looking directly at Sungjae instead. Sungjae eyes grew large and he could feel his cheeks starting to flush red. What was this guy trying to get at here? Was this about what he saw on the bus?

“....no….there isn’t anyone,” Changsub answered and Sungjae’s heart shattered into a million pieces and he didn’t know why. He didn’t want to look at Changsub for fear that Changsub would notice how upset he was and start asking him questions when he himself didn’t know why he was upset. He looked up to see Ilhoon smirking at him. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

“My turn now, right?” Changsub said. He continued to asked Minhyuk truth or dare. Minhyuk chose truth.

“You’ve met Eunkwang before, haven’t you?” Changsub said. Minhyuk nodded his head in admission.

“It’s true,” Minhyuk stated. Eunkwang turned his head quickly, eye’s bulging at his admission.

“I knew it!” Changsub said, “you looked very familiar. Where have I seen you?”

“Really, when?” Eunkwang asked, flabbergasted.

“About six months ago, I saw you at the restaurant when some of my friends told me about the rumor regarding you. You know the rumor I’m talking about,” Minhyuk said matter of factly.

“Aaah...yes I do,” Eunkwang said thoughtfully, “that makes sense.”

“My turn!!!” Minhyuk said with a giggle and pointed his finger at Hyunsik. “Truth or Dare!”

Hyunsik looked up, eyes appearing lost in what they were doing. “.....uuhhh…..since no one has chosen dare, I’ll go with dare,” he said with a grin.

“Okay, hmmm...what’s a good dare,” Minhyuk said more to himself than for others. “How about you sing us a song?”

“I can do that,” Hyunsik said. He cleared his throat and toned his voice before beginning. While Hyunsik was singing a song, Sungjae was deep in his thoughts on why he reacted the way he did when Changsub had answered truthfully that he didn’t like anyone at the encampment. He could still feel his heart trying to pick itself back up from the shock of hearing his answer.

“Sungjae-ya, earth to Sungjae-ah. You here?” Changsub called and nudged him from his side.

“Huh?” Sungjae looked up confused because everyone was now focusing their attention on him.

“It’s your turn, Sungjae-ya,” Changsub told him.

“Oh,” Sungjae looked up at Hyunsik, waiting expectantly for him to ask him truth or dare.

“Not him. Me. I’m asking,” the boy Ilhoon announced, drawing his attention to him. Sungjae was confused again. How long had he dazed out? Now he was even more confused and anxious because he knew this boy had it out to get him. For what he didn’t know, but he seemed to be getting a kick out of making Sungjae squirm.

“Truth or dare?” Ilhoon asked while raising his eyebrows in a dramatic way.

“....truth…”Sungjae hesitantly said, waiting for Ilhoon to embarrassed him in some way.

“hmmm…..you’re going with truth…okay....Is there anyone,” Ilhoon was beginning his sentence, and Sungjae knew where he was going already. He didn’t know if he could answer that honestly though. He was so confused. He glanced over to Changsub quickly and then back down to the ground.

“that you have a secret crush on,” Ilhoon finished his question with a face that screamed out loud that he succeeded in catching him.

Sungjae remained quiet trying to find an answer. He could lie but he knew by how long he was taking no one would believe him now.

“Waaahhh…..You have a crush on someone, don’t you, Sungjae-ah?” Eunkwang half-screamed across from him. Sungjae shook his head trying to deny it.

“Since you have not answered the question, it automatically switches to dare,” Ilhoon announced gleefully. Sungjae wished he could stand up and punch this guy for making his night miserable. He had been having a fantastic day until this guy decided he was going to ruin it for him. He was embarrassed to even looked over in Changsub’s direction.

“I dare you to kiss the one next to you on the cheek for 10 seconds,” Ilhoon said, enjoying this game way too much. Sungjae head snapped up at the dare being announced. Everyone faces shown shocked at this kind of dare given.

“Aiigoo...now that’s a dare….I guess I went too easy on you Hyunsik,” Minhyuk said chuckling.

“Thank you for going easy on me,” Hyunsik replied back, half shocked with his mouth hanging slightly open.

“It's alright Sungjae-ah, it’s okay,” Changsub said scooting closer to comfort him. “It’s just a game anyways. Go ahead.” He leaned closer placing his cheek within reach. Ilhoon was watching closely, eyes eager to witness his dare.

Sungjae heaved a sigh, looking at everyone’s faces one final time before he had to fulfill his dare. How did he get himself into this mess? It was all this guy, Ilhoon’s fault, he thought, giving him a glare before turning his head back to see Changsub’s face so close to him he could feel his body warmth bouncing off onto him. Up close he saw his perfect profile outlined by the shadows with his plump lips and small pudgy nose. Changsub had his eyes closed, waiting for Sungjae to give him the kiss.

Leaning down, he took one more breath, closing his eyes and placed his lips against his soft squishy cheeks. He could hear the other’s enthusiastically counting down the seconds but during that time, he also felt his heart dancing around in his chest. His ears began to heat up and he felt his body becoming warm from within as if he had a fire churning within his blood. His hands began to become clammy with sweat and his heart was beating so fast and loud it clouded out all the noise around him to where it was just him and Changsub. And then his cheek disappeared from his lips and Sungjae was left staring at a Changsub who was smiling at him with his crinkling eyes.

“It’s over now,” Changsub said in a comforting voice, still smiling and patting his shoulder but Sungjae felt a void replacing what he just felt. He looked over at Ilhoon who was nodding his head at him, smirking at his deed and a look of understanding in his eyes.

Sungjae had a crush on his hyung. He looked back to see Changsub laughing at the antics of the others presently dancing around the campfire and eventually getting up to play with them. The game had been completely forgotten with the last dare proven to become too risky for the others. Sungjae remained seated with this new knowledge circling around in his head obtained by the dare he was made to do. Out of nowhere, Ilhoon came to sit beside him, stretching his hand out to shake Sungjae’s hand.

“My name is Ilhoon,” he said while grabbing his hand and shaking it. Sungjae just looked at him completely lost at his odd behavior. “And your Sungjae. Sorry about that earlier. My curiosity sometimes gets the best of me..hahaha,” he said, chuckling.

“Why are you talking to me?” Sungjae said, wondering why the guy who had just completely turned his world upside down was sitting beside him, trying to form a conversation with him.

“I think you could use a friend, especially one who can understand what your going through right now,” Ilhoon replied back simply.

“How?” Sungjae asked, exasperated.

“Because I know who your crush is, and judging from the confusion your displaying, this is your first. Am I right?” Ilhoon explained

Sungjae collapsed his head in his hands, everything whirling together. He had just kissed his hyung on the cheek and he had liked it so much that he had wanted more. He didn’t even care that he had done it in front of others. The only thing bothering him was he knew that Changsub didn’t feel the same way and when he remembered that, he could feel his heart plummeting down to his stomach.

When had it all started? Had he fallen for him when he first began receiving training from him personally or had it been since the beginning when he had heard his voice coming seemingly out of thin air in the halls of Cube? The voice that had drew him to know him further til he had reached this point of his life, questioning how he had come to love him so much regardless of his gender.

“If you ever need advice, you can come to me, whenever,” Ilhoon said before getting up, seeing Changsub heading back towards Sungjae.

“Come on, Sungjae-ah,” Changsub said, grabbing ahold of his hands and dragging him over near the campfire where everyone was dancing around acting silly. “It’s fun! Try it!” Changsub said laughing loudly. Sungjae laughed back and started to dance too.

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New Chapter!! I had a lot of fun writing this one...I think this may be my longest chapter so far...Melodies, let me know what you think so far. :D