3 hours. The car ride took 3 hours. Minho had no trouble admitting that those endless seconds had been the most awkward in his entire life. SHINee's manager would try to start conversation, but nothing more than a single comment from one of the five boys ever came out of his attempts. Minho felt bad for the poor man, being stuck with 5 teenage boys who just didn't click together and trying to force them to get along well enough to be able to live together for the next several years of their lives.

SHINee was about to debut, but the boys were simply not working well together. It's not as if they hated each other- no, far from that- but they just weren't forming the bond that they were expected to make. They'd never really associated with each other as trainees, so Minho supposed they were all just holding a bit of annoyance that they weren't chosen to be in a group with people they actually were friends with.

So, their manager came up with this brilliant idea- note the sarcasm- to send them all away on a camping trip over the weekend that would force them to be closer with each other. The man seemed completely convinced that it was a flawless plan, but Minho could see nothing coming out of this but more discomfort. They were going to be seeing the worst sides of each other being stuck alone in the wilderness together, and Minho knew it.

The oldest in the group, Jinki- or Onew- was probably the most awkward out of all of them. He seemed like he should have been the maknae instead, with how he acted so childish all the time. Whether it was his stupid jokes or the way he tripped over his own feet, he was always making situations more uncomfortable. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but it was hard to look past his oddities.

Jonghyun was the next oldest. And let's face it... the guy talked, and he talked a lot. Minho was surprised that he'd managed to not say a single word the entire car ride, since he usually just spoke about nonsense when he was nervous or something... Kind of like word vomit. It was just plain weird- if you asked him a question that he didn't quite know how to answer, he'd just sit there and ramble on all day about some nonsensical that actually had nothing to do with your question. Usually some sort of erted joke was thrown in there.

Then there was Kibum... Key... Key annoyed the hell out of Minho for no reason. He thought that he was better than Minho just because he was a few months older. Minho didn't really like being treated that way by someone the same age as him. But there was also Key's diva attitude, which was just like a broken record. There was always something wrong- something was dirty, something was too loud, something was keeping him from getting his beauty sleep, people didn't appreciate the food he cooked for them. There was always something with that boy.

Minho was the second youngest. Since he was doing this whole analysis thing, he decided he might as well assess his status in the group as well. He had to admit to himself that he wasn't really helping with the awkward atmosphere; he never really said anything anyway, but that was the problem. He was silent. He would just sit back and watch as all of this went on around him without saying a thng, even if someone asked him something, in which case he may give a response of less than 5 words.

Last was their maknae, Taemin. He seriously reminded Minho of a female with his weird shyness, giggling, and apprehensive smiles. Usually when someone would try to talk to him, he would just smile and look down. Was that supposed to be cute? Okay, so maybe it was cute, but was it just, like, an act or something? Maybe he was just building his image. No one could sincerely smile all the time. That would just be bizarre.

Yes, this camping trip would live in infamy...

He almost felt positive, though, when they arrived at where they would be staying for the weekend. It was a small clearing in the middle of the woods that they reached by a long, thin dirt road. There was even an ocean not a mile away, which gave Minho just a little bit of hope. If things got too weird for him, he'd just slip away to the rocky beach and be alone with his thoughts.

At least, that's what he expected. Their manager had helped them to set up their tents before leaving with the car, making things all the more uncomfortable now that they were without the only person making an effort to converse. It only took Minho ten minutes before he decided that he wanted to cash in that alone time right away.

They had all been sitting around the makeshift fire-pit that wasn't even lit, and no one had said a word.

"I'm going to go take a look around," Minho started stiffly as he stood up and made his way towards the dirt road that would lead him to the calming water.

"Wait," Onew called from behind him. "Can we come with you?" The older grinned widely, which caused Minho to sigh internally. If he said no, then he would look like he was a rude bastard who was pushing them away. "Yeah sure, why not?" he eventually groaned, hoping he didn't sound too hostile. Onew hopped after him looking like a giddy schoolgirl while the other three dragged themselves up to their feet and followed as well, albeit less energetically.

His eyebrows furrowed as nothing more was said until they reached the rocks that lined the shore. Once they were there, Minho sighed in relief, going to take a seat on one of the rocks as he took off his shoes and allowed his feet to hang down into the water. He'd always found something calming about the lapping of waves on his skin.

"Hey guys..." Onew trailed off with a goofy, mischievous grin on his face. Everyone looked up at him expectantly, just waiting for him to continue. "What did one ocean say to the other...?"

It was quiet for several moments until Jonghyun spoke up. "Um... I don't know, what?"

"Nothing, he just waved!"

Everyone burst out into laughter- except for Minho. They were all having the time of their lives, while Minho felt that his had just ended. No,