Sitting for a couple hours surely made some of Jongin’s muscles go numb. He stretched his limbs as he stepped out of the bus. They made it safely to the camp site. He could smell the familiar scent of the sea.

“Ow, I think I just pulled a muscle,” Jaehyun muttered, stretching his hips from side to side. Johnny was already taking pictures as soon as he stepped out. When he snapped a picture of them, Jongin was sure that he had a blank face on and Jaehyun had his mouth wide open for a yawn.

“Okay,” Junmyeon started, clapping his hands to get the attention of the employees. He was wearing a white shirt paired with a navy blue shorts and comfortable flip flops. He got to the camp site a day before to make sure that everything’s set. “Carry your bags and follow me.”

With more or less 50 employees, the camp site’s bursting with life. Carrying and dragging their bags, the employees bee lined behind Junmyeon. They walked a good 5 minutes to get to the log cabins. Junmyeon stood in front and gestured some instructions.

“Ladies, you’ll be staying at left cabin. Gentlemen, you take the right. I know you’re all tired from the ride so I’ll give you 20 minutes to prepare. All those who know how to cook, come find me at the kitchen.”

And just like that, they dispersed.

Jongin settled in with the other guys who started changing into more comfortable clothes which consisted of shorts and loose shirts.

“I can’t wait to hit the waters,” Yuta commented while fixing his man-bun. He’s part of the Marketing Department just like Jaehyun and Johnny. There were 20 guys in the cabin and most of them are in MD. Jongin’s the oldest in the group but the younger guys welcomed him, making him feel like age is just a number. They’re a cool group of guys, Jongin gives them that.

“I’ll be going to the kitchen, who’s going with me?” Taeyong asked as he neatly closed his bag. He’s a quiet soul in the Design Team but he’s heard that Taeyong’s quiet a skillful dude.

“Me,” Jongin replied before standing.

Minutes later, they were at the open kitchen which has a very good view of the sea. Jongin never explored that part of Pohang but he’s heard about the camp site. It’s one of the places that college students hit for their MTs. Who would’ve imagined that he would be working with someone related to the owner of the camp site?

Thoughts about Minjung suddenly filled his mind. He has not seen her since this morning. He wondered if she’s not going to join them.

“She’s running a bit late. Don’t worry. She’ll be here by lunch time.”

Jongin turned to his right and saw Junmyeon with a teasing smile. “So if I were you, I’d give my heart in cooking lunch. She might give in if the food that you cooked tastes like heaven.”

“I was not-”

“Save it.” Junmyeon shook his head, the smile not leaving his face. “I got your back, brother.” And with that, he left after patting Jongin’s shoulder. The latter wondered if he’s some kind of mind reader because he would definitely make a living out of it.

True to his words, Minjung joined them during lunch. She apologized for being late, explaining that she had some things that she had to attend that morning. Jongin would steal glances at her every now and then but he was starting to get conscious about it because Junmyeon’s keeping an eye on him, giving him a knowing smile.

Jongin swore Junmyeon’s enjoying teasing him. It’s not the Jinwoo kind of teasing. It felt like he’s acting like an older brother who caught his younger brother having a crush on a girl and he’s making efforts to bring the two together.

“This is really good,” Minjung commented after taking a spoonful of the food that Jongin cooked.

Junmyeon took the opportunity to pull the strings. “Jongin cooked that. He’s really gifted.”   

He’s exaggerating. It’s hardly a difficult recipe to start with. Jongin internally grunted. Junmyeon’s going to be the death of him.

“Really?” Minjung asked in surprise before looking at Jongin’s direction. She gave him a thumbs-up and he just nodded in acknowledgement, not wanting to give Junmyeon any fuel to go with.

After lunch, they all went to the nearby beach. They were divided into two groups. The games went from tug-of-war to all kinds of races. Jongin felt like he went back to his younger years, laughing and being competitive during the games.

Once in a while, his eyes would wander to where Minjung was seated. She had a camera on her hands, taking picture of them running wild and jumping like energetic bunnies on the beach. She looked like she’s enjoying watching.

“Watch out!!”

Jongin looked up, just in time to see the ball towards his direction in a scary speed. As if his hands have their own brain, he received the ball and sent it flying for Johnny’s perfect spike. They scored.

“Hyung,” Jungwoo called out, sounding like a kid. “Attention. I want to win.”

“Sorry. I just got distracted for a second there.” He gave Jungwoo a lopsided smile. He looked at Minjung for a last time, deciding that he should keep his head on the game or else his teammates will let him wash the dishes on his own.

“I wonder what we’ll be doing tomorrow,” Jaehyun commented, taking a bite on his ice cream. He shut his eyes for a second, shaking his head. Brain freeze.

“Maybe we’ll go treasure hunting in the mountains just like before,” Johnny replied, pocketing his phone and picking an ice cream from the plastic bag that he was holding. Jongin turned to Johnny, brows furrowed.

“Treasure hunting? In the mountains?” He coughed up, feeling the cookie topping of his ice cream stuck in his throat.

“Yes. Sir Kim’s that extreme,” Jaehyun replied, nodding his head. “But we actually enjoyed it. When I first heard it, we were all like complaining. If only I knew that there’s going to be prize money, I would’ve turned all the rocks to find all the hidden treasures.”

“They’re giving away prize money?”

The two nodded. “From Sir Kim’s own pocket. He’s rich. His family is rich. Like filthy rich. But he does not act like an airhead. He’s actually really nice. He once gave me a ride when I had to stay late at the office.” Johnny coolly shrugged. “He’s like an older brother.”

“You do know SK Airlines, right