“Remember everyone! The annual camping trip is this weekend so make sure you all sign up!” a student with a blow horn announced.

“You’re going to that right?” Cindy asked. You nodded, there was no choice, and you had to go. The trip was for students who were enrolled in the music club and the dance club. And since you were assistant head of the music club, there was no getting out of it. But you didn’t mind, since you always enjoyed camping. Though, you wished Cindy or Sehun could come.

“Why can’t you come again? Joonmyeon said he could easily get you guys in!” you reminded her.

“I’m moving into Chan’s apartment this weekend.” She beamed.

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.”

“Did you ask Sehun? Maybe he’ll go?” she recommended.

“He can’t, he’s leaving town to attend some business seminar for class.” You pouted.

She nodded and turned her attention back towards the club fair.

“Hey what about sewing club? I’ve always wanted to sew myself a scarf!” Cindy suggested. You gave her a disapproving look in which she responded with a sulk. “Fine! No sewing club, but we have to pick something the fair will be ending soon!”

She was right, the club fair was ending in an hour and you still hadn’t decided on what club to join. Since the fair only came annually, if you missed it or didn’t sign up in time then you’d be at a loss all year. You loved joining clubs and meeting new people, it was a great way to build connections that would become useful later in life. But since you were already a part of the music club, you decided you would choose something that correlated to the arts. That way, you would meet new people while not straying too far from your responsibilities as assistant head of the music club.

Fortunately, just before the fair ended one booth in particular caught your eye.                                                 

“Hi, do I sign here?” you asked the guy behind the booth.

“Yes, right there.” He smiled, his dimple catching your attention. He seemed familiar; you think you might’ve seen him in the dance studio once or twice before.

“Dance club!? You’re joining the dance club?” Cindy questioned as if that was the most outrageous thing she’d ever heard. You two unquestionably had differing opinions when it came to dancing. Dancing was something you loved to do ever since you were a little girl, although you weren’t excellent at it. It all started when your mother took you to the holiday nutcracker show many years back. The ballerina’s moved so gracefully and naturally, it was like they were floating. You thought they were beautiful, dance was beautiful.

Cindy on the other hand had no appreciation for the art, and would rather do math homework than step into a studio.

“It’s not that bad, come on Cind join with me.” You convinced.

 “Why are you doing this to me, I thought we’d decided we’d join a club that we both enjoyed.” She retorted.

“Cind, pleaseeee?” you begged. “Just try it, if you don’t like it you can quit!” you assured. She rolled her eyes and practically ripped the pen from your fingers. “The things I do for you.”

You smiled and hugged her from behind.

Suddenly you were interrupted by someone calling your name .“Am I right? Is that you?” the boy behind the booth inquired.  

Glancing up from behind Cindy and narrowed your eyebrows. “Yeah."

He smiled a goofy smile, almost like he was proud of the fact that he was right. Subsequently, he offered his hand to you and you caught another glimpse of his dimples. “I’m Yixing by the way; I’m Kai’s friend and his superior in the studio, although he never treats me like one.” He chuckled. You returned his smile and shook his hand, recalling how Jongin preferred to be called Kai when he was amongst his dance friends.

“Anyway, thanks for signing up for the dance club! There will be a meeting next week for all the new members.” He declared.

You nodded and were about to walk away when you all of a sudden thought of something. “Yixing? umm. How do you know me?” you turned back around to face him.

“Ah, that’s actually a funny story. I borrowed Kai’s phone one time and his background was of you-”

“Hyung can you come look at-” Jongin disrupted. His voice was cut short when he noticed that he had just interrupted a conversation between you and Yixing. His eyes fell over yours and for a split second they were filled with shock, but then quickly returned to that of disinterest. “Oh sorry I thought that the fair had just ended.” He apologized.

It’s like we really are strangers now.

“I’ll talk to you later hyung, and keep in mind that it’s your turn to pay for the pizza!” he added, but now he was already a distance away.

Yixing responded with a loud “Yeah Yeah.” and turned his attention back towards you. Although his face now had the look of confusion. “Did… something happen between you two?” he asked, his eyes tapering. There was no response from you; your eyes were focused on the boy who was now walking away from you.

He was here. In the same city, at the same university, he even lived in the same building. Yet, you had never felt so far away from him.

As the distance between you two grew, all that came to mind was; is this it? Is this how our story ends?

That unrequited love that soon became something more was about to come to its conclusion. The worst part about it was that it didn’t even a chance to embark on its journey. It was over before it even began.

Yixing tried to grab hold of your attention once again but your mind was completely elsewhere. It was only when Cindy elbowed you in the side that you came to your senses. “Huh? Sorry. Could you repeat that Yixing?” He pressed his lips together and nodded. “I asked if everything was okay between you two. You and Kai.” He clarified.

No, nothing was okay. Everything was a mess. You had ruined everything and you weren’t sure how to make things right. Jongin had every right to hate you. In the past he hadn’t accounted for your feelings, and now, you hadn’t accounted for his. It must’ve hurt when you walked away without acknowledging his feelings. Confessions are hard enough as it is, but you hadn’t made it easier on him.

“Everything is fine.” You responded. He retorted with a simple ‘okay.’ but it was evident that he didn’t believe that.

Cindy grabbed your hand and led you away from the booth, her hand gently squeezing yours in an effort to comfort your aching heart. “I think it’s time you made that call.” She stated.

Yeah, maybe it was.

✥✥✥✥

“Don’t forget insect repellent!”

“Ne!”

Today was the day of the camping trip and packing was hectic as usual. Joonmyeon had messaged you several times to remind you to arrive on time, as it took almost all day to organize the students and buses. So you intended to wake up nice and early so that you’d be ready and on time. But of course, your of an alarm clock decided it would screw you over and not go off when it was supposed to.  So as a result, you were scrambling to finish up your last minute packing while trying to make sure you hadn’t forgotten anything essential.

Ultimately you were able to finish packing, but that was only possible since your mother and Cindy offered to help.

“Make sure you wear that long underwear I brought over for you. Oh, and don’t stray too far from the campground, you know how big of a klutz you are.” Your mother lectured. “Omma! I’m almost 21!” you whined.

“She’s right you know. You’re the biggest klutz out there.” Cindy chimed in. They both gave each other a look and began to laugh, whereas your face was growing red with embarrassment, but mostly annoyance.

Joonmyeon was supposed to be picking you up but he himself was running late. And he tells me to be on time. Nevertheless, Cindy offered to drive you to the university and you once again thanked the heavens for your best friend.

“So no word from Jongin yet?” she questioned.

“…Not yet.” You sighed.

A few days ago you had sent him a message saying you needed to speak to him, but you received no response. It was clear that Jongin was ignoring you since he almost always replied right away. He couldn’t ignore you for too long though, because he was also going on this camping trip and you were determined to confront him this time around.

“I’m not going to shy away from him anymore. It’s time we talked.” You stated. Cindy looked over at you in awe. “That’s more like it” she smiled.

You’re going to talk to me this weekend Jongin. Whether you like it or not.

Once you arrived at the university you waved goodbye to Cindy and headed towards the main building. The music room was busier than usual and it seemed like almost every member was planning to attend the trip. If only they were this enthusiastic about the meetings.

“Noona! You’re here!” you turned your attention towards the voice and observe a boy who looked very unfamiliar. “Hello? Umm, are you a new member?” you hesitated. The boy furrowed his brows then shook his head. “It’s me, Chen!”

Chen…?

Wait…Trumpet boy?!

He looked essentially unrecognizable, the haircut he had gotten since the last time you saw him allowed for his eyes to been seen, unlike before. Moreover, he no longer had a unibrow so he looked very well-groomed.

You smiled and complimented him on his new look. He blushed and glanced towards his feet. It was painfully obvious that he had a little crush, but you found it cute.

“Assistant-head can I speak to you?” Joonmyeon motioned. You turned around and nodded, giving Chen one last smile.

“I think we’re ready to load the buses, so can you take the first group” he asked. “Oh, by the way. Since we didn’t have a great budget this year we’re going to have to share the buses with the dance club." he added.

Of course, when did the music club ever receive enough funding? The dance club however, always did. It was typically due to the fact that the dance club was 95% male, and most of their performances were sponsored by companies who catered to the female audience. Even so, It did help that most of the members of the dance team were good looking.

“Okay so is everyone ready to go?” you called out to the room full of music students. They responded with howls and yells, everyone seemed eager. You smiled and nodded. “Okay! Follow me!"

After all the buses were loaded, you decided to go looking for Joonmyeon as it was getting late and the bus driver was starting to become impatient. Suddenly, your phone vibrated in your bag.

…………………………………………………………………................

[Joonmyeon] – 4:00 PM Friday May 22^nd, 2015

Change of plans! I won’t be leaving with the rest of the group due to some legal problems that I have to sort out for the trip. I’ll just come in my car afterwards!

…………………………………………………………………........................

Well that’s just great, now how were you supposed to get there. All of the buses were filled and you were planning to go with Joonmyeon in his car. Your phone vibrated again, indicating there was another message.

……………………………………………………………………..................

[Joonmyeon] – 4:02 PM Friday May 22^nd, 2015

Try and catch a ride from one of the dancers.

……………………………………………………………………................

One of the… dancers?

✥✥✥✥

“Thanks for offering to give me a ride Yixing, that’s nice of you.”  you admitted. “Of course, a friend of Kai’s is a friend of mine” he grinned.

Right… friend.

“Let me just give Kai a call and we’ll get going.” He stated. “Oh, so is he coming in the car with us?” you questioned.

“Yeah, we figured carpooling would be best… so I told him not to bring his.” He replied. You pretty much zoned out after he said ‘Yeah’ due to your rapid heartbeat that was now making you dizzy. Jongin and you in one car for two hours? It sounded too good to be true. There was no way he could ignore you now, this was the perfect time to tell him about your feelings.

While you were sitting in the backseat of Yixing’s car waiting for him to return with Jongin, the warmth of the car was making you lethargic, but you knew you couldn’t sleep just yet. You had to speak to Jongin first, that was your first priority.

 After what felt like hours, Yixing returned and Jongin was trailing along behind him. He reached for the passenger door when Yixing cut in front of him and lead him to the backseat, the one beside you. Jongin gave him a baffled look but soon brushed it off as acting out of the ordinary wasn’t something rare for the older boy. Yixing rushed him inside and Jongin played along, not without sending a few scowls his way first. It took a few seconds for him to recognize the fact that there was someone else in the car other than him and Yixing, and when he saw that it was you he almost jumped.

Your name sounded so eccentric coming from his lips, or maybe you felt that way because you hadn’t heard it in a while. “Hi, Jongin.”

His bewildered eyes focused on yours for a moment before turning their attention back towards the older boy.

“What is she doing here?” He questioned, the harshness in his tone now apparent.

“We’re giving her a ride. Hers bailed last second.” Yixing sympathized, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

“Okay, well I’m not sitting back here.” He stated, his hand closing around the door handle without delay.

The throbbing in your heart was beginning to return. Not only did he not want to associate with you, but now merely sitting beside you was an issue for him.

“Well it’s either you sit back there or in the trunk, because the passenger’s seat is taken!” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“By who?” Jongin asked, his patience running dangerously low.

Yixing raised his index finger at him and briefly disappeared under his seat. He came up a few seconds later holding a large unicorn stuffed animal. “By Mr. Truffles.”

“Hyung, you can’t be serious.” Both you and Jongin were giving him a look of disbelief and he responded with a satisfied grin.

“Alright, let’s get going shall we!?” Yixing beamed, not willing to hear anymore objections from anyone.

Jongin was painstakingly irritated at this point, you on the other hand couldn’t be happier. It appeared as if Yixing was on your side, which meant he wanted you two to talk and sort out your problems. Maybe he wasn’t as oblivious as he seemed.

As you inched closer to Jongin, he noticed what you were trying to do and fished out his headphones from his pocket. He put them in his ear, as if to say ‘don’t disturb me’ and then shut his eyes and tilted his head back.

This was going to be harder than you thought.

✥✥✥✥

You woke up to the sound of cheering in the distance; it was coming from the buses which were unloading the students.

“Were here! Are you still sleeping?” Yixing poked his head into the car. “You must’ve been really tired since you slept through the entire two hour ride.”

Crap.  I was supposed to talk to Jongin not fall asleep! “Sorry Yixing, you were probably really bored weren’t you?“

“Not at all. I’m glad you got some rest. Do you want to help me and Jongin unload the car?”

You nodded and brought your messy hair back into a high pony, ignoring the sweat beads that were beginning to form on your forehead. While heading towards the trunk, you bumped into Jongin and your immediate response was to smile. He however, didn’t do the same. His neutral expression remained as he walked past you.

“Jongin... can I talk to you.” you finally said. He stopped briefly, but then continued on his way.

Fine, we’ll see how long you can keep this up.

You lent a hand unloading the rest of the car and started towards the camp ground.

Since the trip itself was organized by the university, the camp counselors took over the job of directing the students for the rest of the trip. This meant you were actually able to enjoy the trip this time around.

“Alright everyone so here’s the schedule for the day, listen carefully because I won’t be repeating myself.” one of the uptight looking counselors stated. “First we will begin by setting up our tents. We will then play a game of paintball in order to establish team building. The teams for this game will be created according to the club you are associated with, so music club members will belong to one team while dance members will be in the other. The goal of this game is to learn compromise, discipline, and teamwork. Once everyone has their tents set up, we will be meeting near the staff quarters. Understood?”

The howling and cheering continued and you thought you saw the uptight counselor smile, but realized it may just have seemed that way due to your half-awake state.

 Everybody began to set up their tents, though they were mostly just used for day lounging. After setting up your tent, you glanced over at some students who were struggling with theirs. You walked over to them and gave them a hand. “Wahh, Unnie you’re so good at setting up tents!” one of the girls marveled. That was only because of all the camping you did when you were younger. Since your family didn’t have much money, your idea of a vacation was camping because it was fairly inexpensive. Aunt Yumi had been an adventurer at a young age and everything you knew came from her.

“Hyung, not like that the tent will collapse.” A voice echoed from behind you. Jongin and Yixing were also having difficulty setting up their tent.

“Need some help?” you offered.

“No-” Jongin started. “Yes, we do” Yixing interrupted.

✥✥✥✥

“So then you just tie the rope around the peg, like this.” You concluded. Yixing gazed at you with his mouth open, as if you were an angel sent from above just for him. “Okay now you try the other side.” You suggested, handing him one of the pegs. He nodded and with much excitement tried to follow the method you had just taught him. In the meantime, Jongin was standing behind him looking like he’d rather the grass then help Yixing.

“I can teach you too?” you smiled. He glanced up at you and held his stare for a moment. “No need.” He stated and then walked off.

“Wait!” you called out behind him, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to listen. “Stop Jongin!” you said a little louder. But he was already meters away, his walking speed doubled as he noticed you trying to catch his attention. You decided to increase your pace as well, in order to catch up to him. When he was close enough, you grabbed his arm and he stopped in his path. “I need to talk to you.” you huffed.

He didn’t respond, your grip on his arm grew tighter until Jongin turned around and pulled away his arm from your grasp.

“…Jongin?”

“Can you stop following me? Do you not get the hint? I don’t want to talk to you.” he stated, his cold stare cutting into you like knives.

His words were beginning to sting, but you had to pull through. It had been long enough and you couldn’t run away anymore. “Jongin I just-”

“Listen, if you’re still worried over my confession, just forget it happened. I’m Kai; my feelings for women come and go. It’s nothing serious.”

Nothing…serious?

Am I just another girl to you… someone you can play with then forget about?

And who’s Kai? What happened to Jongin. My Jongin.

“Later.” He added, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

✥✥✥✥

As one of the counselors strapped on your paintball vest, all you could think about were his words. Did he really feel this way? Was this how he felt all along? No, there was no way that was the case. The boy you spoke with moments ago wasn’t Jongin, he could never be Jongin. The Jongin you knew was kind, sweet, and shy. This Jongin was the complete opposite, he wasn’t Jongin at all, he was Kai.

“We’ll be commencing the game in a few moments so remember; the winning team will be awarded a surprise sum of money! This money will go towards improving the club and its activities. Please prepare yourselves and have fun.” The counselors continued.

“Noona! What are you doing the game has already begun!” Chen nudged you from behind. You came back to your senses and sprinted into the forest. This was no time to think about him, you needed that money to improve the music club, and you’ll do whatever it takes to win.

✥✥✥✥

It had been 30 minutes into the game and you had already shot over 10 opponents. There were still many left to go but you were pleased that you hadn’t been targeted yet. However, it wasn’t long before one of the members from the dance team was on your tail. You resorted to sprinting as the man was quickly approaching right behind you and just as you thought you’d lost him, you ran head first into a tree branch, scratching the side of your face in the process. This slowed you down drastically and you knew there was no way you could return to the speed you were at a moment ago. Before you had the chance to think of your next move, an arm appeared from behind a large tree and pulled you to the side. Due to the tightness of the space, the stranger pressed you into his body so that you two weren’t visible to other players. The man was wearing a black mouth mask so you weren’t able to catch his facial features aside from his eyes; nevertheless you were thankful he had just saved you from being disqualified. But before you could formally thank him, you glanced down at the color of his vest and your eyes widened. He was on the opposing team, and he had just saved you.

But, why?

You contemplated for a second that it might be Jongin, but then decided against it since Jongin wanted to be nowhere near you right now. So there was no way he’d save you like this, right?

The crunching of leaves was heard as the opponent who was chasing you moments ago ran past the tree you were hiding behind. You let out a small breath of relief and glanced back at the man, who was now gazing at you. He brought his right hand up to caress the soft skin under your right eye, which was now stinging due to the scratch you acquired minutes ago. His touch was so loving, it reminded you of the way Jongin touched you.

The thought crossed your mind again, could it be him? Your fingers were reaching for the mask before you could even comprehend the fact. You hooked your forefinger at the top of the mask and slowly slid it down. It seemed like the man didn’t notice your actions, he was still peering into your eyes. Only when the mask made contact with his neck did he pull away from you. His eyes widened momentarily, then he quickly put the mask on and headed in the opposite direction, once again avoiding any form of conversation.

Now that.

That was my Jongin.

A/N:

Hello! So i initially intended for this to be the chapter to be a lot shorter but in the end it became quite long. Sorry if this story feels like it’s dragging on! Things will soon return back to normal between the couple (hopefully). For now just hold on and anticipate the next chapter as it will be quite exciting :) 

I'm going to try my best to update as soon as possible but class is starting tomorrow and then I’m going on a school trip for the weekend. What a coincidence right? Maybe I’ll meet my very own Kim Jongin in the midst of the camp fires and luscious trees.

FINGERS CROSSED.