#jungkook is a sore loser | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nmjoo-n · 2 years ago

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FADE INTO YOU ☕️ jeon jungkook.

pair. barista! jungkook x f. reader | genre. friends with benefits, romance, jealousy, angst | warnings. possessiveness, profanity, pet names, unprotected sex, slight toxic behavior, degradation kink, zenophilia, oral sex, edging, spit kink, exhibitionism, smoking | word count. 4.7k

synopsis. “oh angel, for how fucking adorable you are, you sure don’t use that pretty little brain of yours much,” or jungkook has no limits when it comes to you. you’re his, he’s gonna get it through your head, eventually.

You dared bring another fucking guy in his work place.

Was it deliberate? God knows you love your little fucking mind games, especially if Jungkook’s on the receiving end. Oh, he was beyond furious. He had half a mind o spit in the fuckers coffee and smugly watch as he drinks that shit, completely unaware as he desperately tries to shove his tongue down your throat after that, one date in.

But you’d know. You were always better at reading him, deciphering the different expressions on his face. He ought to bruise your fucking ass for this, spank you till you’re dripping wet for him, and then shove his cock in your mouth, facefuck you until your stupid hole is sore, and your cunt is clenching for no one but him.

What a pathetic loser. What the fuck did you see in this clown?

“Dude, you’re shaking. You okay?” Jimin nudges him with his elbow, raising a questioning eyebrow, black hair falling in his curious eyes.

Jungkook shakes his head, and removes his apron angrily, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and phone with him. He knows he’s being unreasonable; you’re single, and beautiful, God so fucking beautiful it physically hurts him, and he’s just the lucky guy that gets to fuck you whenever you’re up for it, nothing more, nothing less. A supporting character. Fuck, he knows. But his feelings are for him, they’re private, and right now they’re out of fucking control.

The urge to punch your date in the throat is driving him up a wall. He needs to get the fuck away from here—away from you and your innocent, ignorant ways. Deep breaths, deep fucking breaths Jeon, she hasn’t fucked him yet, and don’t you dare picture that, don’t be a fucking dick, walk away, walk away now.

“I’m going on break,” he announces, but he’s already on the other side of the counter, going for the door, hands busy with the lighter you gifted him on his birthday.

You’ve said your hello’s, you exchanged the necessary, polite words you do every time you see each other in public so there’s nothing else to say. He doesn’t look at you as he passes by, can’t bear to. There’s nothing else you could possibly want with him, not unless it’s after hours, behind closed bedroom doors. Or bathroom ones—or rooftops, staircases, couches, balconies, the beach that one time, his car, the steering wheel digging into your lower back, just last week—no.

Not fucking going there.

Sitting on the ledge right outside the shop, he puts the cig in his mouth, bringing that silver lighter close to it, lighting the edge of it. Taking an inhale of the stick between his fingers, he feels the harmful calm it produces overtake him for the first time that day. He needed nicotine like he needed your pussy pressed against his face, especially since you walked in with that lame looking motherfucker after you told him you’d call.

You never did.

Jungkook doesn’t want to be this way; he never used to curse this much, smoke this much, not before he met you. You’ve tested him in every possible way a man can be tested, have haunted his every waking thought, have wrapped him around your pretty fucking finger and are twirling him around in a never ending, whiplash inducing dance out of which there’s no escape. He’d do anything for you, be anything for you, god he already has, but you couldn’t care less. There was no love in you for him—not the kind he has for you.

Trust him, he wishes he could cut all ties with you, forget you. Stop loving you so goddamn much. But there’s no button for that, no way he can get out of his own body, discard his heart.

Goddamn him, his fucking dick is hard just with the proximity of you. Knowing you were near, having smelled your perfume earlier, the sweetness of your scent mixed with vanilla and something floral, something he’s only smelled on you, and that cursed mini skirt, fuck him, with those legs of yours… legs he’s had wrapped around his torso, over his shoulders, legs he’s kissed a thousand times over, has run his hands over, has worshipped.

No, you couldn’t do this to him. This is the last time you fuck him over, the last time he lets you—he’s going to put you in your fucking place, he decides. He’s going to have to show you who’s been there for you, who fucks you dumb, senseless—who’s cock you’ve been screaming for over and over again, who’s cum you’re craving down your throat almost every night.

Who you belong to. Because fuck anyone that dares so much as think they can have you. You’re his. He just has to get it through that thick head of yours, once and for all. Before he goes fucking insane.

Finishing his smoke, he ties his hair back and away from his face, getting off your Instagram page at once. Look at him, obsessing over your whereabouts, the tags on your pictures, who you’re with when he’s not with you. In you. Fucking ridiculous.

He goes to your last text conversation, a curt message from you two days ago at three in the morning. His eyes skim over it, reading it in your drunk voice, that delicious slur of your tongue, the way you must’ve slowly blinked at his texting you so late in the night. He wants you to think of him always, all goddamn day. As much as he does.

He wants you as obsessed as him.

[03:21am] just came home.

[03:22am] it’s late (y/n). go to sleep.

He decides to text you, then. Make sure you know he’s not going to let this go, that you’re taking it too far coming there, dressed like that, and with another man when his seed is still inside of you.

[19:07pm] is this my replacement? disappointed in you sweetheart.

If Jungkook’s good at anything—he knows how to get a good rise out of you. All that’s left is to sit patiently and wait. You’ll come to him, eventually. You always do.

A half an hour later, you’re standing in front of him, manicured nails digging into your crossed arms in barely contained anger.

He wipes his hands with a rug, giving Jimin the drinks he’d just made, completely ignoring your thunderous glaring. He feels those eyes pierce through his soul, though. How can he not—he’s never been very good at pretending, and God knows you demand all of his attention.

“Replacement? Really, Jungkook?”

Jimin looks between the two of you, sensing the tension. He’s always suspected there’s something going on, but that just confirmed it. Failing to hide his smirk, he balances the tray in one palm and fucks off to the last remaining table for the day.

“Am I wrong?” Jungkook stares at your mouth, the dark stain of your lips, the curve of your jaw, those ample cheeks of yours—you’ve such a cute fuckable face, it’s one of his worst weaknesses.

He can never stay mad at you for long.

“You are.”

“My apologies, angel.”

The sarcasm doesn’t escape you.

You sigh, leaning against the counter, extending both hands towards him. He blinks at them, his own morphing into fists at his sides. He wouldn’t cave in, not this time. You needed to be taught a lesson. You needed to stop refusing him, treating him like second choice.

“Can we talk about this later?” You say in that velvet voice of yours, the one that never fails to hypnotize him into submission. “He’s waiting for me outside.”

Jungkook let’s out a dry laugh, nodding his head bitterly at your words. There’s no magic behind them today, no spell. “We wouldn’t want him to wait,” he deadpans.

“Jungkook.”

“(Y/N).”

You huff, and remove yourself from the bar completely. His body instinctively moves closer, but his mind is set. A terrible fucking jealousy is eating him alive, setting him aflame.

“You’re acting childish.”

“Sweetheart, I’m not the one two-timing people,” he retorts as calmly as possible, wanting to hurt you a little. Nothing like how you’ve hurt him. “Does he know how filthy you like getting fucked? How there’s another man that knows his way around your body like the palm of his fucking hand?”

You step back, face betraying guilt. “Stop it.”

He shrugs, and winks at you, proud of himself. “It’s the truth, angel. Don’t bring him into this if you don’t want him getting hurt.”

“You’re such an asshole, Jeon Jungkook,” you snapped, eyes glittering with tears. Jungkook looked away at once, his jaw clenching in annoyance.

Are you really taking that fuckers side? How long have you known him? Maybe a fucking week, if he had to guess. Jungkook has had you for years.

“Don’t ruin this for me,” you demanded, stomping your foot like a little kid.

Jimin had returned to his post next to his friend, and was witnessing your amusing temper tantrum. He also noticed the younger man’s struggle, the effort it took to stay put in that place of his.

“Ruin?” He mused over the word out loud, then laughed wholeheartedly, with his entire chest. It was an empty sound, a patronizing thing. “If you want to go with him, be my fucking guest baby girl. But if you do,” he warns, forearm resting on the wood in front of him. “you better forget about me. I’m not fucking sharing you.”

You stood hurt, a sour expression curving those perfect lips downwards, weighing your options. This was the moment Jungkook would finally see if you truly thought anything of him, if he mattered enough for you. Or at least if he was more important than a random guy you picked off a club. And God he hoped, for your sake, you picked him. Otherwise he would not be responsible for the Hell he’d give you afterwards.

Who he’d become if you dropped him. He’s scared of himself.

“What’s it going to be?” He presses, pinning you in place with those dark orbs. “Don’t make me become someone I don’t want to be, honey. You and I both know you’ll regret it.”

“Fuck you.”

Jungkook smiles at you, all charm and danger. “It’d be my pleasure.”

When you sulkily sit on the bar stool, and start typing on your phone, your decision sets in him. You chose him. His chest swells, his cock straining against his pants. He’d take you right then and there if he could; lift you on top of the counter, and fuck into you until all you know is his name, until all other men pale in comparison to him. What he does instead—he pulls your face in for a bruising kiss, his big hand cupping your jaw tightly, his tongue forcing your lips open.

“Get a room, Jesus,” he hears Jimin mutter, but he could give less of a fuck. He’s waited way too long for this. Let them watch, I know how to put on a fucking show.

You melt under his touch, letting him consume you. He growls low, and bites down on your bottom lip. You moan, and everything blurs—you’re alone. He craves nothing but you, needs to have you before insanity renders him incapable of fucking you properly.

“I’m getting off early,” he hesitantly pulls back and slaps Jimin’s chest, apron coming off in a blink of an eye.

“Sure, yeah, cause you can do that,” his friend sarcastically replies, but lets him go anyway.

“Don’t be too mad at him,” you add, smiling sweetly. Jimin smiles back, can’t help it. Jungkook glares, messenger bag over his shoulder, and jumps over the wooden top in one swift move.

“Stop fucking staring, Park,” he wraps an arm around your waist protectively, and takes you away. “I’m off!”

You barely made it to the car, before Jungkook turned you around, locking you between the passenger door and his muscled chest. His knee pushed between your legs, your hands on his sides squeezing the skin there. His head dipped to your ear, voice soothing you open, receptive. When his fingers disappeared beneath your skirt, a gasp tore through your throat, goosebumps rising on your skin.

You wanted him too, your pussy told him so. Your panties were all creamed up, thighs begging to be rubbed together to provide any sort of friction. He gave it to you, the pad of his thumb rubbing over your clit. You were throbbing—fuck how much he loved this.

“Tell me baby girl, were you going to keep him around for me to watch while you get fucked? You know you only have to ask,” he whispered, teasing you with those long fucking fingers of his.

In plain sight, for everyone to see. Christ.

“Like Hell you would,” you retort, breathless. “You’re a selfish man, Jungkook.”

He smirks at that, clicks his tongue against his teeth, and chuckles darkly. “You’re right on that,” he pulls you on him and rubs his erection against your clothed cunt. “Can’t let no one touch what is mine.”

“I’m not yours.” A weak remark, as your hips moved with his. He ignored it entirely.

He saw your naked neck, the way you swallowed, and attacked the sensitive skin there, grazing it with his teeth, sucking harshly on it. You hissed at the sensation, yet wanted more. What a contradiction of a woman, Jungkook thought, pulling me in but pushing me away. Unfortunately, for what he was planning on doing to you, he couldn’t be seen.

“Oh, but you are,” he whispers against your cheek, cuffing both of your wrists in one hand behind your back, slowly opening the car door for you to get in. “Oh angel, for how fucking adorable you are, you sure don’t use that pretty little brain of yours much.”

He lowered his head to be on eye level with you. He couldn’t possibly make it any clearer, not unless he bought a ring and put some babies in you.

“I own you.”

Your eyes told him so. The musk on his fingers guaranteed it. He smacked the door shut, licking your juices clean off. You tasted like fucking paradise.

He’d fucking destroy you.

Jungkook loved your neck, how easily it could turn purple, how perfect his hand fit around it, almost like it was made for him. He wouldn’t doubt it for a fucking second—the rest of you molded all over him, every nook and cranny.

Lifting you up the kitchen table, he felt like taking you raw, just like that; pushing your skirt up and burying himself in your folds. His thumb hooked between your lips, pressed down to open your mouth, your gaze following his movements closely. Pudding in his hands, to do whatever he pleased. Every time.

“Look at my little slut,” he admired, pushing his thumb in his second favorite hole of yours. “Suck, baby, show me what that mouth does best.” You did, your tongue swiping all around, over and under, wetting and sucking dry, repeating again and again, until Jungkook was satisfied.

He never was. If he could, he’d fucking snort you up, have you run through his bloodstream for the rest of time. His perfect fucking girl, the one that refuses to give into him, the one that drives him mad.

“Are you thinking about him?” He asks you, the same jealousy nibbling at him. It never left—it never leaves. “How his fingers taste, how they’d curl inside that cunt of yours? It’s fucking morphine, did you know, sweetheart? Why do you think you got me on my knees for you?”

He removes his digit, and decides playtime is over. He’s been lenient enough. You notice exactly when the change takes place, when his eyes darken, and your breathing quickens, fear replacing exhilaration. This was the cruel man that could make you come just with his filthy words. As much as you fucking loved it, he was ruthless—absolutely brutal.

“No,” you mumble, shaking your head. “No, Kook, no, I never—”

Not your coffee boy, but the one that uses a belt to teach you lessons. The one that always knows just how far you’re willing to go.

“Shut the fuck up. You knew what you were doing.”

Jungkook spits in your open mouth, squeezing your throat submissive. You struggle to breathe, but you take it, tightening your thighs around his hips in shameful arousal. He watches you swallow, tongue coming out to show him, just as he likes. He rewards you with a suffocating kiss, before he does it again.

“I bet you wondered how his dick would feel against those velvet fucking walls of yours,” he continued his verbal torture, his other hand pushing your panties to the side, feeling your slick, lapping it with his index, before shoving three fingers inside you at once. You hissed, nails digging holes on his shoulders.

“Yeah?” He fucks you with his entire hand, palm rubbing against your clit. You can’t think of nothing else but getting filled to the brim. “Your mouth works doesn’t it, honey?”

“No one’s fucked me but you in two years,” you confess in a haze, looking at him through your eyelids. Silver shone on his lip and eyebrow under the hidden lighting of his apartment. A shadow draped in gold.

You saw the movement of his jaw, the way his mouth became a thin line. He obviously enjoyed hearing that. But was it enough? Fuck no.

“But they’ve touched you,” he bitterly concludes. “They’ve tasted my pussy, my lips… haven’t they?” He sounded so miserable, so resentful. Your heart ached for him.

You loved this man, but he would never believe you, and you can’t blame him. You loved him in a different way, the only way you knew how. And he did the same. You met and crashed like waves. Your silence was answer enough.

The next moment struck like lightning. All you felt was pain, as he pushed you down on your elbows and ripped your panties off you in one movement. You weren’t even able to scream, the action barely registering in your brain.

“Unbutton my shirt,” he instructed you, no part of him touching you whatsoever. A shudder rippled through you, and down to your unclothed pussy. You scrambled to do as told, afraid of the consequences, hands shaking.

Jungkook groaned impatiently. “Stupid fucking whore, can’t even do something as simple as this,” he snarled at your face, every ounce of affection gone. “D’you need help, sweetheart? Perhaps a manual? None of this is helping your case, you know.”

“I’m—I’m sorry, please,” you whimper, hurrying to undo the stubborn buttons.

He cocked an eyebrow, gaze vicious. Hateful. Something kicked inside of you, a horrifying feeling—you were losing him. He was going to leave you after this. All he’s ever wanted, all you very much were aware of that he craved most—to have you all to himself, to call you his. You never gave it to him, always held back, and for what you’ve no idea. But this, having your body, pleasuring the both of you, it was the one thing if not the only part he had, the one thing he could do, he was allowed.

“Please,” he repeated, the word seemingly unfamiliar to him. “Please, what? Are you sorry at all, baby girl? Do you want me to go easy on you?”

You shake your head again, pushing the shirt off him, bulky muscle now exposed, the chiseled chest you so loved running your tongue over, and the V disappearing beneath his boxers, inviting, nearly a threat.

“Fuck me,” you pleaded, reaching a hand out to touch him, his most private part. “Please. I know I’ve hurt you, I’m sorry, please set me straight, fuck it out of me, I want only you, I promise, only you.”

“Lies,” he shouts, and lunges at you, pinning you down by your waist, skirt pulled roughly from your body. You’re met with the ceiling, but won’t dare move, won’t make a sound unless he tells you to. It’s a thin fucking line you’re walking on, one you haven’t experienced a whole lot.

You hear a shuffling of sorts, before a thud and then you feel it—his hot breath on your cold folds. Those veiny hands on your hips again, before he devours you. The vibration of his growling sends you into a frenzy, and you clench around nothing. Your clit between his sinful lips he sucks painfully at first, wanting to hurt you, but gently afterwards, after your cries settle and you’ve accepted your fate.

You’re at his mercy, and you better behave.

“Used fucking pussy,” he spits on it, fingers working together with his mouth to get you ready for his bulging cock. “What am I supposed to do with a second hand slut like you, huh? Begging to be filled with dick, dripping over my kitchen table…” he tsk’s, tongue flat against your wetness. “You don’t fucking need me, right, I’m just another naive guy wrapped around your goddamn finger, you could have me replaced at any time.”

“That’s not true!” you cry out immediately, hand getting lost in his thick brown locks. “Fuck!” A slap cuts the air—on your pussy. And he does it again, smacks the sensitive area until it’s red and throbbing and licking all over his chin.

“Quiet,” he snaps. “I can make it hurt like never before, honey, don’t fucking test me.”

You’re certain you’re losing your mind by that point, the ache between your legs overwhelming everything else, the thought of needing his cock like you need oxygen the only reasonable solution to making the pain go away. You’re coming before you know it, and Jungkook is a starving man, he licks it all up, licks you dry, marveling at the way your body responds to him, always has.

If only your heart would do the same. If only there was something he could do to make it beat only for him, as his does for you.

“No one will make you come like I do, sweetheart, God my fucking witness. No one knows their way around this pussy like I do, no one will fucking take the time.”

You go to sit up, pull him into you, needing comfort, needing your friend back, the one that made you feel good because you asked, not the half mad one, the obsession, the misshapen thing—for once you need his warm love, the one he’s been talking about, the one hiding behind the heartbreak. You don’t care how awful that is, how selfish you sound.

His palm presses down on your stomach as he towers over you, taking all light with him, flushed cock standing proudly between you, inches away from where you need it most. If he would just move closer, if perhaps you could wiggle further down the table…

“Do not fucking move, angel,” he warns, kissing your sobs silent. With a flick of his wrist, your breasts are in full view, his fingers pinching the erect nipples, calloused palms slapping the plump skin, abusing it.

Every touch vibrates directly in your cunt. You’ve become a blubbering mess, needing nothing but that long stick between his legs. A whore, as he said, a whore with no other purpose than taking dick, his dick, only his, because he’s the only one you want, the only one you need, the only one touching you like this, pushing your limits, driving you over the edge—

“Look at you, my beautiful mess,” he kisses your lips again and again, yet refuses to touch your core. Endless torture, when will it end, when will it end! “Do you understand now? This is what it feels having you under me every night, yet not having you at all,” he shushes your gut wrenching cries, removes your hands from your face, forces you to look at him. “My baby, my love…” he coo’s tenderly, caressing all the way down your body, before his arms hook under your thighs.

He positions you just at the edge of the round table, and quickly leans to lap at your cunt one last time. Christ, fucking Heaven in a woman; it’s alright sweetheart, it’s over, shhh, no more crying, I got you where I want you, I’ll take care of you now, no more crying, fuck if you could see yourself right now, so goddamn hot, a fucking vision just for me, just for your man, you perfect angel, you perfect fucking thing, all for me, all this for me—

You couldn’t describe the tidal wave of relief that washed over you as soon as he buried himself inside you. Both hands on your waist, he slammed you down onto his rock hard cock, his pace fast, relentless, absolutely everything you could’ve ever asked for.

“Harder, fuck, fucking kill me! Don’t stop, please, please, please, please…” incoherent thoughts jumbled together in a string of words, yet Jungkook understood perfectly.

Of course he did.

“Fucking slut…only way you deserve to be fucked…I’m gonna flip this cunt inside out, sweetheart, so no one will be able to screw you. You’re taking my cock so well, baby girl, fuck I want to tear you apart, I want to write my name in this pussy, mark it,” he growled in your ear, manhandling you like a goddamn lifeless doll, pistoling into you with incredible force, so much so you’d think he’d bruise you from the inside, but you couldn’t stop begging him to do so, all of it feeling oh so fucking good.

You want me to mark you, don’t you, you want me drilling into you all fucking day, I know you do, you insatiable goddamn pain in the ass, let me hear you, scream for me, baby, let me know who’s fucking you—say my name, he tightens his grip on your throat, his eyes insane with lust.

“Say my fucking name.”

“Jungkook,” you moan into his hair, nails scratching down his back.

“That’s right, baby. Again.”

“Jungkook!”

I fucking love you, sweetheart, I don’t give a fuck if you never love me back, just give me this pussy, let me drown in it, let me get lost and hide forever in your folds, yeah baby? Come for me now, cream on my dick sweet thing, c’mon, one two three—you scream at the top of your lungs, holding onto him for fear life as your body convulses violently, his own release spurting in thick white strips on your stomach as he barely manages to pull out, and everything goes black. He keeps you on him until you calm down, his pace slow and steady, fucking you both back down to reality.

Your breathing is incredibly labored, hair sticking on your forehead. You look so fucking beautiful to him, the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. His pretty girl. He kisses your forehead overtaken by the strange feeling in his chest.

“God—I love you, you know?” You mumble against his chin, suddenly very shy.

Jungkook stills, his entire world pausing its spinning. “What did you just say?”

You try to cover your face, but to no avail. He’s much stronger than you, much more determined to look into those eyes that could never lie to him. You could make him the happiest man on earth or send him down to the darkest pits of Hell with just three words.

“I love you,” you repeat hesitantly, looking up at him. His expression crumbles. “I know it doesn’t mean anything, that I’m late and you probably want nothing more to do with me after this, but—”

His palm slams your mouth shut. Your eyes widen in surprise.

Jungkook then, still inside you, looks at you with the fondest look on his face, his body weight pressing down on you in the most delicious way.

“You’ve no idea what the fuck you’re saying right now, sweetheart, so I’ll forgive you,” he blinks, bewildered, in disbelief. “I never said I’m leaving you. It’s never crossed my mind.”

You furrow your eyebrows, but your words are muffled. He seems to comprehend perfectly well, anyway.

“You could kill me if you wanted, and I’d willingly die by your hand, (Y/N). Have you any idea what it means to love you?”

When he kisses you again, you think you can begin to understand.

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jaeyunverse · 2 years ago

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seasons in the sun

pairing: lee donghyuck x fem!reader

genres: fluff, crack, mild angst, romance, slowburn, enemies to friends to lovers, summer camp au

wc: 23256

warnings: profanity, daddy issues, mc and donghyuck are dumbfucks who cannot tolerate each other but are also really whipped + they have no moral compasses, childish banter (lots of it!!). i think that’s all but pls lmk if there’s smth else you want me to add :)

summary: camp beaver falls and camp saltwater have had an intense rivalry for more than a few decades, so when a fight breaks out between the two establishments, the respective head counsellors, you and lee donghyuck, decide to hold a championship to once and for all decide who’s the best. the minor hiccup? both of you are sore losers, huge cheaters, have little to no morals, and will do anything to obliterate your competition to emerge victorious. let the games begin.

playlist: click here!

note: this wip was birthed one year ago for the loml jeon jungkook but i abandoned it and then the other loml lee donghyuck gave me the motivation to finally finish it :”) i’m posting a new long fic after six months so i’m rly anxious LOL but i hope it’s to your liking!! feedback would be greatly appreciated!! have fun reading <33

masterlist

“Can all the girls come to me, please? All the girls to— hey! Red Cap! I said all the girls to me. Stop going towards Jeno!”

Red Cap stopped in her tracks and turned to look at you. She arched an eyebrow, shrugged, and said, “I’d rather go to him. He’s, like, one of the hottest guys in this godforsaken camp, and I only associate myself with hot people.”

Imitating her snobbish and bitchy tone, you replied, “He’s also, like, twenty. So get in line and—” you went back to your original voice and deadpanned— “Come. To. Me.”

Red Cap rolled her eyes and raised her hands defensively but began walking towards you, nonetheless. “Jeez, okay. Stop being such a party pooper.”

Stop being such a bitch, was what you wanted to say to her, but for legal reasons, you had to settle for an eye roll.

The walkie-talkie in your partially zipped fanny pack came to life. “Damn, Y/N.” Jeno chuckled from several feet away. “You got insulted by a thirteen-year-old in front of ten campers. Maybe you should take a break and dig a hole to bury yourself.”

“And maybe you should do your job,” you muttered into the device and covertly flashed a finger his way, your eyes roaming around the parking lot in search of other rogue girls who wanted to follow Red Cap’s footsteps. “I’m done being the bad guy. Next time, you tell off any campers that want to make a move on you.”

You switched off the walkie-talkie and shoved it into your fanny pack before Jeno could be any more of a smartass and piss you off even further. Your patience was already wearing very, very thin.

Bringing the loudspeaker back to your lips, you yelled, “Do I need to keep repeating myself? All the girls to me!”

The camp, yesterday as silent as a grave, now buzzed with chatter and life. You looked around and took in your surroundings, marvelling at how happy and cheerful a few dozen children made the place seem.

Camp Beaver Falls was a place of learning and teamwork—a place you were incredibly proud to be an integral part of. Your grandfather had built the establishment thirty years ago to instil values that he deemed were much needed among the younger generation.

To be honest, they weren’t.

He was an army veteran and being on the border for so long had made him think that the number one value he needed to teach kids was survival. You were glad to say that Beaver Falls had come a long way from being a youth military training camp and was now just a fun place for a bunch of children and preteens to spend three weeks of their summer vacation at.

The camp inhabited five acres of land and was nestled on the shore of a lake. Fifteen cabins—each one made to house three campers—were built towards the rear end of the establishment in the form of a gigantic ‘U’. A bonfire pit made of stones was in the centre of the cabins. The rest of the camp consisted of the cafeteria, the volunteers’ dorm, washrooms and toilets, and adventure sports like artificial climbing walls, archery ranges, and sheds that stored safe swimming and rafting equipment.

All in all, it was a place you would have killed to be at when you were a kid.

“Alright,” you announced once all the girls had gathered around you. “I’m going to call everyone’s names now. If your name is called, go to—” you pointed towards a certain tall boy standing a few feet away— “Jaemin. And if you don’t hear your name being called, stay with me.”

“I’m Kim Minju, and I’m pretty sure my name is on the registration list,” Red Cap, who now identified as Kim Minju, cut in before you could speak. “So, I’m just gonna go.”

It took every ounce of your will to restrain yourself from snapping at her. You mentally slapped yourself for getting riled up by a stupid teenager and with a sigh, ticked her name off the list. Watching her sashay towards Jaemin out of the corner of your eye, you continued, “Next, we have—”

Once again, you were interrupted, but unlike the last time, it wasn’t because of a self-centred brat. A groan and the sound of someone thudding to the ground had you dropping your writing pad and dashing towards the source of the commotion.

You pushed past the campers standing in front of you and rushed forward. Too bad for you, so did they. As it turned out, everyone wanted to witness a potential fistfight.

“Move,” you grunted, “out of the way. Guys! Get out of the way! I’m gonna be the one blamed if someone is injured.” You lightly shoved everyone aside and emerged to the front of the circle that had been formed. Some old-time campers from Beaver Falls had surrounded a few kids from the neighbouring camp, Camp Saltwater.

From the looks of it, Beaver Falls was winning. A boy from Saltwater was already down, and the other was looking really, really pissed off.

You, on the other hand, were delighted. A slow smile began creeping on your face, and you had to do everything within your power to make sure it went away. Yes, as head counsellor, you weren’t supposed to enjoy the fight. But did you care?

No. Not one bit.

Those assholes from Camp Saltwater had it coming for them since last year. Enough of being the bigger person; you were gonna let your campers be hateful this one time.

Plus, it wasn’t even like anyone was hurt. Your kids were untouched, and the only injuries the campers from Saltwater would have only gotten were a few scratches at most. Not only that but Jaemin and Jeno seemed to be enjoying the tiny brawl as well.

And they were older than you, albeit by only a few months. You could always throw them under the bus. It was time you took revenge for the years of blame-shifting anyway.

Even the campers were chanting Fight Fight Fight. Who were you, as Minju had so kindly pointed out, to be a party pooper?

Just as you were about to blend into the crowd and pretend like you never saw anything, someone pushed their way past the campers and yelled, “Hey, you Bloodsucking Beavers! Cut it out!”

You groaned.

Lee Donghyuck, like the shining knight in armour that he was, had once again come to rescue his cowardly campers. The boy in question broke the fight apart and shoved your campers away from his. He pulled the fallen Saltwater boy to his feet and checked for any injuries.

Once Donghyuck made sure the boy wasn’t hurt, he glared at your campers and took a step forward menacingly. That was all it took for you to forget about your plan to remain oblivious and become involved instead.

Donghyuck’s eyes shot to yours, his jaw locking and fists clenching.

“Y/N,” he growled.

“Yes?” you sing-songed and batted your eyelashes at him. “Need anything?”

“Are you out of your mind?!” he yelled, then checked his voice upon realising four dozen children were witnessing the scene. “Why were you stupid Beavers beating my campers? Why didn’t you intervene? They were about to beat each other unconscious!”

“Oh, come on, Hyuck!” You waved him away and sauntered towards him. “Beat each other unconscious? Stop exaggerating. My kids barely did anything. It’s not my fault yours are—” you cupped your mouth with your hands to make sure the campers couldn’t read your lips and whispered in his ear— “pussies.”

Seething, Donghyuck whirled on you. However, before he could say anything, you moved away to stand in front of your campers like a barrier and continued,

“To answer your second question, I didn’t intervene because my campers were showing your campers their place. And as far as I’m concerned—” you shrugged— “that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“Bup bup bup!” You raised a finger to silence Donghyuck yet again. “Don’t even try to lecture me. I’m pretty sure you only intervened because your Fish were getting their backsides handed to them.”

“What? No!” he burst out at last. “I intervened because it’s my fucking job as a head counsellor! And they’re not Fish, they’re Sharks, you little piece of shit!”

“Oops.” You grinned in victory. “Not doing your job too well, are you? You just cursed in front of four dozen kids.”

Donghyuck’s face drained of colour. His eyes darted around the crowd and a nervous smile graced his lips.

Sorry, kids, his demeanour seemed to say. The campers seemed unimpressed.

“And just so you know,” you began, picking at the non-existent dirt in your nails. “A shark is a type of fish. But I imagine they don’t teach that in Goldfish camp over there, do they?”

Donghyuck’s answering groan was like music to your ears.

“Leash your kids,” he finally said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want them attacking my campers again.”

He turned around to leave your camp, the children of Camp Saltwater in tow. The crowd shifted to make way for them.

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Hey!” you called, and the crowd moved back into place again. You felt your chest inflate with pride.

Donghyuck slowly turned to face you again, exasperation evident on his face.

“Why should I leash my campers? It was your kids who left their camp and wandered too far.”

Realisation dawned on Donghyuck’s face. “Why were you on Beaver Falls grounds?” he demanded from one of his campers. “I told you to not enter anything that houses trash.”

Your gasp echoed through the parking lot and into the woods. The crowd stirred, and the boys behind you cracked their knuckles. “What did you just say?”

“Exactly what you heard.” Donghyuck looked at you once again, a sweet, saccharine smile on his lips.

You narrowed your eyes at him and lunged forward. “You little piece of—”

“Woah, there.” Jeno finally stepped between the two of you. “No need to fight in front of the campers.” A pointed look at you. “Let’s peacefully settle this.”

Donghyuck snorted. “Yeah, I don’t think your rabid Beavers know what peace means.”

“Really? My campers don’t know what peace means?” you scoffed. “Fancy hearing that from someone who punched a guy just for breathing last year.”

Oooooh went your campers.

“That’s sick,” one of the girls whispered. Jaemin laughed from the sidelines, still making no effort to get involved.

“You know what?” Donghyuck fumed and stomped towards you, stopping only when there was less than a foot’s distance between your figures. “Why don’t we check if your untrained dogs can actually participate in a championship and beat my Sharks, or if picking fights is the only thing they’re good at.”

“Goldfish, Hyuck, not Sharks,” you guffawed. “And stop being so delusional.” Taking a step forward, you brushed away an invisible piece of lint off his shoulder and whispered with a mocking smirk, “You don’t wanna initiate a challenge you can’t win.”

Donghyuck tilted his head to the side and gazed at you with dark eyes, his answering smile nothing short of absolutely wicked. “You’re on.”

“Honestly, Y/N, what were you thinking?” Your father let out an exasperated sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose. “You know I’d ruin those Saltwater campers any chance I get, but right now is not the time.”

“Oh, come on, Dad!” you exclaimed, pacing in his personal cabin. “Don’t you get it? We get to make it official this time! Just win the damn championship, and we’ll officially be able to say we’re better than them.”

“We are better than them,” Jeno cut in. “We just have too many first-timers this year, Y/N. They don’t know about the rivalry. And it’s not like we can just make everyone compete against Saltwater. That’s not what their parents paid for.”

“So what?” Jaemin shrugged and moved to stand beside you. Throwing an arm over your shoulder, he said, “We tell them about the rivalry. We tell them exactly why Saltwater needs to be destroyed and humiliated. We tell them what we gain once we beat Saltwater at their own game. And as for what their parents paid for, a little competition never hurt anyone, did it?”

You nodded at Jaemin. “See? He gets it.”

Averting your gaze towards your father again, you pleaded, “Please, Dad. Shouldn’t you be thrilled? Beavers never back down from a challenge. What message would it send to our campers if the owner of the very camp they attend—”

“Fine,” your father relented. “Stop being so melodramatic. God, you’re exactly like your mother. No wonder you can be so manipulative.”

You shoved Jaemin off you and pulled your father in a tight embrace. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” you squealed, your head buried in his chest. “I love you so much, Dad.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said dismissively, but you heard the smile in his voice. “I need more information about this championship, though.”

Moving away from him, you stood next to Jaemin again. Your father continued, “I’m gonna need to know what sports, what games, what venue, and when the championship going to be held. I’m also gonna need you to get a confirmation from Donghyuck’s dad. That kid is an expert at running his mouth.

“I don’t want any of our usual activities to be skipped as you train our campers for the big day. I can manage to free up a few hours for practising every day, but other than that, the schedule is not to be messed with. I want this competition to be healthy. I don’t want our campers getting into hate fights. And if they do, I want the three of you to break them up immediately.”

You glanced at Jeno and Jaemin, and the three of you smiled at your father sheepishly.

“Right.” Your father shook his head warily, already used to your antics. “I need you to follow everything I told you right now. Talk to the other counsellors and ask them if they’re okay with this championship. They’re going to have to work harder than what they’re paid for, and so are you. I don’t want anyone to feel obligated, okay?”

All of you nodded eagerly. Your father brought his hands together and exhaled. “Alright. Get back to work. We’ll reminisce about the origin of this rivalry for the first timers at the bonfire tonight.”

You raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“Oh, I’m done. You guys can go now,” Your father chuckled. “That was a lot, wasn’t it?”

“Nothing we haven’t heard before, uncle.” Jeno mock saluted. “Adios.”

The three of you shuffled towards the cabin door. Jaemin turned the knob, and right as you were about to leave the cabin, your father said, “Win this goddamn championship, Beavers. Make me proud and make this camp proud.”

Jaemin, Jeno and you looked at him over your shoulders with smirks on your faces. Unanimously, you replied, “You bet.”

The first bonfire night was a huge success. Because the camp had just started that day, no activities had been taken. The kids had all arrived a little after lunch, so there wasn’t much to do anyway. Especially because unpacking took most of the afternoon.

The campers had been allowed to explore the Beaver Falls grounds and mingle amongst themselves in an attempt to make friends.

The counsellors, on the other hand, were doing room checks. Three mobile phones, an iPad, sodas, and a lot of snacks had been confiscated. You hated it when counsellors took your stuff when you were a kid, but now, it was your favourite part of the first day.

It was, after all, you guys who ate the confiscated snacks. And it was with those confiscated snacks you had convinced the other counsellors to help you with the championship. You had distributed most of your stash to get what you wanted.

A small sacrifice to achieve a bigger goal.

You were practically shaking with excitement by the time dinner was over and everyone had gathered around the bonfire. Many kids had warm blankets wrapped around themselves and were roasting marshmallow skewers over the burning embers of the bright fire.

Your father turned to face you. “You wanna tell them, or—”

“Me!” you exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Jeno. “I’ll do it.”

Jaemin made a grand gesture with his hands and said, “The floor is all yours.”

You snorted and smacked the back of his head. Ignoring his complaints, you made your way towards one of the empty logs arranged around the bonfire and stood on top of it.

Clearing your throat, you announced, “Hey, guys! Can I please have your attention?”

The chatter died, and everyone turned to look at you. You took a deep breath and began, “How many of you are first-timers?”

More than half the campers raised their hands. You nodded. “Okay, then. Would you like to hear a story?”

“Woah,” Jung Hyun, a fifteen-year-old boy who had been coming to Beaver Falls for the past eight years, spoke up. “Is it about the hollow-eyed woman? Cool!”

“No, Hyun.” You frowned at him. “You know we save that story for the last night of camp every year. Why would you think it would be any different this year?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged and chewed on a piece of roasted marshmallow off his stick.

You groaned. “It’s not about the hollow-eyed woman.”

“Who is the hollow-eyed woman?” You turned towards the source of the voice to see a ten-year-old girl looking at you curiously. “I want to know about the hollow-eyed woman.”

“Honey, no.” You sighed. “The hollow-eyed woman’s story is reserved for the last night—”

“I want to hear the hollow-eyed woman’s story too!” another boy exclaimed.

“Yeah, me too!”

“Same!”

“Why does Hyun know about her, and we don’t?”

“Is it because he’s one of the oldest?”

“This is ageism! I’m just a year younger. Tell me right now!”

Your eyes widened at the number of children demanding to know about the hollow-eyed woman. “Guys, guys!” you yelled. “I’m not going to talk about the hollow-eyed woman. That’s not—”

“We want to know!”

“Guys!" Jeno stepped in, and you almost scoffed at how quickly the noise died down. You could only hope to have an authoritative presence like his. Apparently, you looked gullible and easy to bully.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know about her right now,” he said. “It’s a camp lore that’s followed by a fun activity, so we can’t just tell you the story without doing the activity afterwards. It’ll be boring otherwise. But—” he paused— “Y/N, here, is going to narrate another camp story. It’s one that all you first-timers are gonna want to hear.”

“Ooohhh, are you going to tell them about the rival—”

“For the love of God, Hyun, just shut up and eat your marshmallows,” Jeno said sharply. “Try not to spoil another campfire story, would you?”

The fifteen-year-old grinned. “I’m right, though, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are. Just go back to eating,” you snapped.

The annoyance in your voice must have been very evident, because Hyun glared at you before saying, “You just don’t like it when you’re not in the spotlight.”

“I just don’t like it when you’re being a brat,” you shot back.

“Burn,” a few kids hooted.

Hyun shrank back into his seat, muttering something along the lines of taking over the camp once you graduated college and would no longer be able to volunteer as a counsellor.

You promptly ignored him, unwilling to let a stupid teenager get under your skin.

“So.” You brought your hands together and took a deep breath again, eyes sweeping over the campers eager to listen to your story. “Today’s story is about the decades-old rivalry between Beaver Falls and Saltwater. Back when my dad was a camper and Beaver Falls was under my grandfather’s management, a new camp called Saltwater was established on the other side of the road.”

The old-timers booed.

“Beaver Falls had been in business for three years already at the time,” you went on. “And my grandfather was a decent man. He went over to meet the owner of Saltwater to welcome and hopefully befriend him. Things were going well for a few years; there were casual competitions and both of them used to brainstorm ways to make the camps better.

“Then, Saltwater’s owner asked my grandfather if he wanted to be partners. If he wanted to merge the two camps and manage the newer, bigger, better camp together. Beaver Falls agreed, and a contract was drafted.”

You weren’t sure if the kids knew what a contract meant, so you explained in simple words what it was and continued, “My grandfather trusted the owner of Saltwater with his life so he let him draft the contract by himself without taking part in the process. He didn’t intervene because the owner of Saltwater insisted that he didn’t need help and didn’t want to bother my grandfather with legal matters.

“My grandfather was ready to sign it without getting a lawyer to look at it. He believed making a professional go through the contract would send a bad message—that it would make his friend think he didn’t trust him. But my grandmother convinced him to hire a lawyer. Business is business, and personal relations should not interfere with it, she said.

“She was right. She saved my grandfather from losing Beaver Falls that day. Turns out that the owner of Saltwater wanted to take Beaver Falls for himself. He planned to bulldoze the entire camp and rebuild it the way he wanted. He wanted my grandfather out of the picture.”

The crowd stirred, mutters of disbelief leaving the newcomers’ mouths.

The old-timers just sat in their seats, silent on the outside but raging on the inside. Most of their parents and older siblings had attended Beaver Falls too, so the story angered them more than it would have angered a normal camper.

“Naturally, there was a confrontation after my grandfather found out. He was betrayed by the very person he trusted the most. There was a huge argument. Stuff only got worse over the years, and the hatred got so much more intense. It’s been more than 25 years, but Saltwater still refuses to apologise for what they did back then. They say my grandfather was stupid. Easy to scam. That it’s not their fault he was gullible.

“Yes, he trusted too easily,” you admitted. “But that didn’t give Saltwater the right to exploit him. The owner took advantage of his weakness and left him unable to trust anyone ever again. My grandfather was so broken that he wanted to shut down Beaver Falls. He couldn’t bear to run the camp when the traitor was right across, but then he realised that closing business would mean Saltwater won. So, he kept going. Kept expanding. Kept working hard till Beaver Falls became one of the biggest summer camps in Seoul.

“It’s up to us now to keep his legacy alive. We can’t let Saltwater run over us by winning that championship.” You looked at all the campers, at the expressions adorning their faces and the waves of anger rippling through them. “Will you help?”

The crowd erupted. Yells of approval laced with determination echoed.

You smiled.

Saltwater was going down.

“We don’t have all day, Hyuck! Hurry the fuck up!”

The sun was shining brightly above your head, making you hot and sweaty. It was midday, and while all the campers and counsellors were having lunch, you were standing outside Camp Saltwater with a hand above your head—a necessary precaution to make sure your brain didn’t start melting.

It had been two days since Donghyuck had challenged you, and at that moment, the two of you were supposed to be finalising the details of the championship. The fucker was nowhere in sight, though.

“Donghyuck!” you yelled again.

No response.

You cursed under your breath. “Fuck this shit. I’m going in.”

You were pulled back by your collar as soon as you took a step forward. “Nope, not at all. You’re not going in,” Donghyuck said, his lips grazing your earlobe. “We try to keep our camp as clean as possible, and trash like you simply doesn’t belong there.”

“That’s a surprise.” You elbowed his chest and moved out of his grip to face him. “Because you seem to have no problem living where you don’t belong. Also, try planting a few trees, will you? My head’s become so hot you could fry an egg on it.”

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “Wanna try it out?”

You rolled your eyes. “Shut up. You’re already late. Just explain the whole thing to me so that I can go back and have my lunch.”

“Fine.” He dragged the word out. “Both our camps end on the fifteenth of July, so we’ll have the championship on the fourteenth. The sports—”

“Woah,” you interrupted him. “No can do. We explore the woods on the last night. Also, can we sit somewhere? My legs hurt.”

“Hag alert.” He smirked but directed you to a bench a few meters inside Saltwater’s main entrance, nonetheless. Thankfully, it had a tree throwing shade on it. You would have sat on it as soon as you arrived if it weren’t for Donghyuck and his stupid condition that didn’t allow you to enter Saltwater without someone from his camp keeping a watch on you.

“And I know you explore the woods at night,” he continued. “The competition won’t extend sundown anyway. It’ll probably be over by early evening.”

“Hyuck,” you deadpanned. “I said we explore the woods at night. Exploring means walking and walking needs energy. And so does the competition, and if my campers are going to spend all their energy winning the competition, they’re going to have no energy to explore the woods.”

“One, you’re not going to win. Two, your—no! Don’t you dare interrupt me again!” He wrapped his hand around the finger you had raised to cut him off and shot it down. “Regular activities need energy, too, but you still take them out into the woods on the last night.”

You frowned, realising that he was making sense. “Fine.”

“Right,” he said rather smugly. “The sports will be the usuals because this is so last minute. Boat race, archery, soccer, volleyball, water dodgeball, and finally capture the flag.”

“In that order?”

“In that order. Also, one camper cannot participate in more than two activities because everyone needs to be included.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Is it because you don’t want me to make Sungho participate in every category?”

Donghyuck stared at you. “No.”

“Yeah, right.” You laughed. “You’re a terrible liar, Hyuck.”

“Come on!" he exclaimed and threw his hands in the air. “The guy’s good at everything. You can’t expect me to stand by and watch him participate in every sport.”

“Mina’s good too, you know,” you pointed out. “She can carry your camp.”

“She skipped this year,” Donghyuck grumbled. “Went to Hawaii with her rich-ass, recently divorced mother.”

You smiled at him evilly. “Oh, you’re losing. And you’re losing bad.”

“I’m gonna smack you upside-down,” he threatened, shooting a glare your way. “Sungho doesn’t get to participate in all the sports. My competition, my rules. You’re supposed to give me a list of the names of the participants two days before the championship.”

“Okay,” you hummed, not at all stressed about the competition now that the Saltwater ace, Mina, was out of the way. “And where is this legendary championship?”

“Saltwater.”

You snorted. “So you wanna eat dirt in your own camp? Ballsy, I must say. I’m gonna enjoy obliterating your ass.”

“Really?” Donghyuck asked, amusement evident in his tone. “You’re all bark and no bite, Y/N. You’re arrogant, and you’re getting way too ahead of yourself. For your own sake, get rid of the overconfidence.”

You smiled at him sweetly and leaned forward until your faces were but a few inches apart. “For your own sake, start training your campers. I don’t want an easy victory.”

“You’re not winning, Y/N,” he whispered and tilted his head to the side. Suddenly, it felt like you weren’t in control of your own actions anymore. Your gaze lowered and settled upon Donghyuck’s soft, cherry-red lips. You fell into a trance-like state, wondering what his mouth would feel like against yours. You wondered what he would taste like. If the kiss would be as sweet as the strawberry lip balm you had seen him apply so often. “Get that through your thick head.”

Your eyes shot back to his, the action taking more effort than you would have liked to admit. You flashed a condescending smile his way. “You’re adorable.”

You stood up and moved away before he could answer, hoping the distance would prevent him from hearing the pounding of your heart.

“Here, take this.” Donghyuck stood up as well and fetched a neatly folded piece of paper out of his pocket, holding it out for you. “It’s what I said, but in written format. Make sure your father goes through this. My dad said he doesn’t your old man stomping in here and demanding to change the rules later.”

You ignored the comment he made and snatched the document from his hand. Once you were done studying what was written, you looked back at him. “Why didn’t you just give it to me in the first place?”

“Maybe because I wanted to spend some time with you,” he said nonchalantly. Your body froze at his words, but your heart began racing at a thousand miles an hour. You wondered what he meant by that. Why he would—

“To, you know, get into your head,” Donghyuck finished.

A breath you hadn’t realised you had been holding left you. Right. That’s what it was—a trick to get into your head. You were sure he had taken that pause and implied wanting to spend time with you to throw you off. He was playing mind games with you.

Fine, you thought to yourself. I can play dirty too.

“I’m so stressed,” you groaned and let yourself fall on your bed, your hair splaying in all directions. “There’s no one good this year. And Donghyuck’s stupid rules won’t let Sungho participate in more than two categories. We could’ve bagged the trophy easily if the kid were allowed to play every sport.”

“There’s a trophy?” Jeno asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Unless Saltwater turn out to be cheapskates, I assume so.”

Laughing, your cousin said, “Get ready to settle for certificates, Y/N.”

You groaned again and rolled over on your stomach, burying your head in your hands. “It’s not even about a reward. I just wanna show that piece of shit Donghyuck his place.”

“Oh, cheer up! You will!” Jeno yanked your leg in an attempt to get you to stop moping. You kicked his hand away and let out a string of curses. “Why is this championship so important to you?”

You sighed and mumbled, “I told you; I wanna show Hyuck his place. Also, our camp’s reputation is at stake.”

“No, it isn’t. Your inflated ego is at stake.”

You removed your head from your hands and stared at him. “What?”

“It’s just a stupid competition, Y/N.”

You frowned and sat up. “I can’t believe you’re saying that, Jeno. You’ve been at this camp as long as I have. You know everything that has gone down so far. And weren’t you just as excited as Jaemin and I were in Dad’s cabin that day?”

Jeno sighed and took a seat beside you. “Well, yeah. I’d like to obliterate those shitheads too, but I think you’re taking this championship too seriously. This is all supposed to be in good spirit. To hopefully, finally, end this rivalry and begin a new chapter.”

You looked at him like he was being stupid, which he was. “Don’t tell me you believe that bullshit.”

“No one’s going to care if you lose, Y/N!” he exclaimed.

“I will!” you shot back. “I will care if we lose!”

“And that,” Jeno said, “is because you’ve got a lot of pride.”

“Well—” you sputtered— “Dad will care if we lose!”

“Yeah, that’s because you’re his daughter and—I mean no offence when I say this—he has just as much of an ego as you do.”

“Big words coming from someone who’s part of the same family!” you fumed. “You’ve got a huge ego as well!”

“True,” Jeno muttered. “And that’s why I’m going to help you make sure we win. I just wanted to point out that this rivalry is stupid and childish, and that you have an ego problem.”

“How?!” you exclaimed, ignoring the blatant hypocrisy he displayed and the jab he made at you. “How are you going to make sure we win? All the aces outgrew Beaver Falls!”

“Is this the part where you regret gloating to Donghyuck?”

“Don’t rub it in,” you grumbled. “Give me a solution, Jeno. We could’ve trained the campers better if we had more than just a few stupid fucking hours every day—”

“You wanna win, right?” Jeno interrupted.

“No,” you deadpanned. “No, I don’t want to win. That’s why I’ve been whining for so long—”

“What I meant to ask was,” he clarified, “is the victory important to you, or is the way you emerged victorious?”

“Jeno,” you snapped. “I want to win. That is all. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Okay. Are you willing to cheat?”

“Are we going to get caught?”

“Not as long as you follow exactly what I say.”

Your lips tugged upwards, the smile adorning your face a wicked, cruel thing. “I’m listening.”

You had to admit, Jeno was not as stupid as you had thought him to be.

You were pleasantly surprised when he first laid out his plan in front of you. He might have eaten crayons when he was a kid, and he might have believed cooties were real even when he was in middle school, but he was a mastermind where it really mattered.

It was easy to figure out when Saltwater was training their campers for the championship.

You slipped into the rival camp’s grounds as soon as everyone went to sleep the next day. Having spent most of your summers living across them, you knew when the security rotation occurred.

And thanks to several years of sneaking into Saltwater to TP their trees, you had valuable knowledge about the blind spots in the CCTVs they had installed throughout.

(Not that you would need to hide from them once you were in the camp since you were wearing a cap and your face wouldn’t be visible, but you couldn’t have them recording you entering the premises from outside.)

“Merida to Base.” Jeno’s voice filtered through the walkie-talkie you possessed. “What’s your 20?”

Startled, you brought it to your mouth, clicked on the PTT button and hissed as quietly as you could, “Shut up, Jeno. I told you not to contact me first. This shit is loud as fuck.”

“Don’t call me Jeno!” your cousin complained. “Use my code name.”

Rolling your eyes, you scanned the woods you were currently making your way through. No one in sight and not a single noise except your conversation.

“We’re not kids anymore, dumbass. I’m not gonna call you Godzilla and I’ll kick you in the nuts if you call me Merida again.”

“I can’t believe you’re insulting my favourite princess like that,” Jeno mumbled. “I’m gonna kick you in the face if you talk shit about her again.”

Despite yourself, your felt your lips tug upwards in a smile. You could always count on Jeno to be the brother you never had.

“I’m switching the radio off now,” you said. “You talk too much and are jeopardizing this mission. Over and out.”

You turned off the walkie-talkie and pocketed it before he could protest, prowling for the edge of the woods on near-silent feet.

If there was something you had learnt after years of camping and counselling, it was that there was at least one kid who broke curfew—be it to ransack the snack bar or to sneak over to someone else’s cabin.

In most cases, campers had a genuine reason for not being in bed, and you’d found that reason to be the need to use the toilet.

So, as soon as you were out of the woods, you aimed for the porta-potties that were placed near the dorms for easy access so the kids didn’t wander unnecessarily in the middle of the night.

Upon arrival, you locked yourself in one and bid your time.

Twenty minutes later, you heard someone approach. Judging from the lightness of their footsteps, you deemed that it was one of the younger kids.

The moment they went inside another booth to do their business, you slipped out of yours and patiently waited at a substantial distance for them to come out.

You had information you needed to extract, but that didn’t mean you were going to be creepy and stand right outside the toilet.

“Hey.” You smiled at the six or seven-year-old that exited the porta-potty after a few minutes and fell into step with her, acting as if you had just happened to see her on your way to do something else. “How are you enjoying your stay here?”

The girl narrowed her eyes at you. “Do you go to this camp? I haven’t seen you before.”

“I do,” you confirmed. “I’m actually a counsellor. Look, I’m wearing the shirt too.”

Her gaze fell on the Saltwater shirt your figure adorned, and you saw the suspicion on her face slowly fade away.

Resisting the urge to let a victorious smirk grace your lips, you mentally pat yourself on the back for not ripping apart the shirt Donghyuck had thrown at you as a reminder of your failure in a swimming competition between the two of you a few years ago.

Every time he pissed you off after that, you hung the shirt on a wall and threw darts at it. Despite being frequently assaulted by the pointed tips of the arrows, it had not torn.

“You probably didn’t see me because I joined late,” you continued. “Personal problems, you know?”

No, she did not know, and from the look on her face, it didn’t look like she cared either. “Okay.”

“So what’s this talk about a competition against Beaver Falls?” you inquired. “It’s all I’ve been hearing everyone talk about ever since I arrived.”

The girl’s expression changed immediately, and you saw a spark ignite in her eyes. “Oh, yeah. Head counsellor Hyuck challenged the head counsellor from that doo-doo camp to compete against us in a championship on the last day of camp.”

One might have thought being called doo-doo would hurt less than being called outright shitty, but no, the impact was still the same. Your eye twitched, and your jaw locked, but the girl was too busy gloating to notice the change in your demeanour.

“We’ve been training for three hours every day,” she droned. “One hour after breakfast and two hours after we finish the daily activities. You should see how excited everyone is. It’s my first year here and I already feel like I’m part of the family!”

You forced a smile on your face. “Mutual hate does bring people together, doesn’t it?”

“It does!” she beamed. “I know all about what happened between the two camps, and I can’t wait to defeat them. We plot about bringing Beaver Falls down at lunch. They have no idea what’s coming for them.”

The evil giggle she let out after had a chill running down your spine.

What was Hyuck planning? Was he going to rig the entire championship? It was, after all, Saltwater that was going to host it. They could do anything they pleased unless Beaver Falls intervened. Perhaps you should have let a third party plan the championship.

You were going to have to discuss this with your camp. But right now, you needed to know more.

“What is coming for them?” you asked, putting a stop to her rambling. Then added upon seeing her grow suspicious again, “No one has had time to fill me in yet.”

“Then you should wait till the counsellors do,” the girl said cautiously. “You seem to have a lot of questions, and I don’t think you want to ask them to me. I’m just a kid.”

Fuck, she was onto you. And not as gullible as you had thought. Thankfully, you had reached her cabin, so escape was easy.

You nodded. “You’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Have a good sleep.”

“You too.”

And then she was gone, leaving you alone outside. You made your way back to Beaver Falls the same way you had come. Jeno was waiting for you by the archery range.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“We’re done for” was all you said.

“At least we know what time they’re training,” Jeno said in an attempt to cheer you up. “We can spy on them as we decided before. We can still figure out their game plan. And we can make Saltwater let us co-host. They can’t deny us.”

The two of you were sitting on a wooden bench, and you had just finished reciting everything that had happened. It was way past midnight, but you were too worked up to worry about getting enough sleep. Gone was the confidence you felt the previous night when you narrated the rivalry.

“You don’t get it, Jeno,” you snapped. “That’s not what is bothering me. What’s bothering me is that we let history repeat itself. Grandfather let Saltwater draft the contract all those years ago and we let them host the championship this year. And now they’re gonna rig the entire thing. We trusted them again. Despite everything that has happened so far, we trusted them, and now we’re gonna lose.”

Jeno cursed and ran a hand through his hair. “How are those motherfuckers always a step ahead?”

You laughed mirthlessly. “Maybe they were onto something when they blamed us for being too stupid.”

“You gotta talk to your dad tomorrow,” Jeno declared. “We gotta make Hyuck let us co-host.”

“No.”

“What?”

You glanced at him upon hearing the utter disbelief in his voice. “I thought we were at a disadvantage before,” you said. “I thought we were fucked. But maybe I was wrong.”

“I’m gonna need you to ditch the need to be mysterious and start explaining everything in one go,” Jeno said impatiently.

You shot him a glare but elaborated, “As of now, we know exactly what Saltwater plans to do. But they’ll become suspicious and realise we’re onto them if we suddenly demand to co-host after handing them the reins just a few days back without any problem. They’ll change their strategy, and we’ll be back to square one. Let them think we’re still clueless. Let them think we’re cocky and overconfident.”

Understanding dawned on your cousin’s face. “Let them think they have the upper hand.”

“Let them think victory is theirs,” you said, a smirk morphing on your lips. “But we’ll be right under their noses the entire time, keeping tabs on what they’re planning. Figuring out how they’re rigging the games, and then modifying everything so the scales tip in our favour.”

“Holy shit,” Jeno swore, admiration coating his features. “While that’s an amazing strategy, you do realise it’s going to need a lot of planning and effort to actually work, right?”

“You got something better to do?”

He snorted. “Two people can’t pull this off.”

“I never said it was just gonna be the two of us.”

Jeno followed your gaze, and a laugh escaped him when his eyes landed on the cabins in the distance.

“I’m willing to bet everything that every single person will help,” you said with a small smile. “If there’s one quality we Beavers have, it’s that we’re loyal as fuck.”

You were having such a blast preparing for the championship that you barely realised a week had already passed since summer camp began.

Everyone was training really hard and morale was skyrocketing. You felt like you had gotten much closer to the campers and the counsellors with all the plotting you were doing.

Of course, your father had no idea you were playing dirty, and you never planned on telling him that you were. He despised Saltwater just as much as you did, but he was an honest man who valued his morals more than winning.

You, on the other hand, didn’t give a fuck. You just wanted to hand their asses to them and most of all, watch the smug expression on Donghyuck’s face morph into horror when he realised you had beat them at their own game.

As if simply thinking about the bane of your existence was a beckoning, you spied him approaching you at the lakeshore from the corner of your eye.

You crossed your arms over your chest and turned to face him. “What?”

“Why were you sniffing around Saltwater?” he demanded, cutting right to the chase.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said nonchalantly and shrugged, focusing on the kids exiting the changing rooms one by one, clad in their swimsuits.

Grabbing your upper arm, Donghyuck twirled you to face him again. “Don’t play dumb,” he growled in a low voice. “I checked the CCTV feed and saw you talking to Nabi.”

You tilted your head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Did you see me or did you think it was me?”

Even with the footage, you knew he couldn’t prove it was you. Not once did you look at the cameras, always keeping your back to them. And you doubted the girl—Nabi—would be able to identify you. It was dark, and the shadows of your cap were concealing your features; you’d made sure of it.

Donghyuck’s jaw locked, as if he realised the same.

He knew it was you without a doubt—the two of you were so familiar that you could recognise each other from miles away—but he had no concrete evidence. He couldn’t dock your points for cheating.

“How did you get the Saltwater shirt?” he asked instead.

You felt your cheeks heat. While not discarding the shirt had been useful in the long run, admitting that you had saved it was embarrassing and seemed intimate for some reason.

You knew Donghyuck would make a stupid, extremely untrue comment if you told him the truth, so you shrugged. “I don’t know.”

He stared at you for a moment. Then, a sly smirk took form on his lips, and you braced yourself to hear said stupid, extremely untrue comment. “You wanna tell me why you didn’t burn the shirt and held onto it instead?”

You didn’t know the answer to that question yourself. There was no way you could have predicted needing to use it for the championship, and you hadn’t held onto it with the intention of using it as a dart target. No, you had thought of doing that later on. After Donghyuck had pissed you off so bad that your fingers were itching to punch him in the face.

You blew out a breath and mumbled, “Don’t get the wrong idea,”

“Too late.” He grinned cheekily. “Too fucking late.”

“Are you done?” you snapped. “I have counselling duties I need to attend to.”

“Nah,” Donghyuck chirped, still smug. “But I’ll let you go for now.”

You rolled your eyes as he backed away. The hand he had wrapped around your arm vanished, an imprint of his warmth the only thing left behind.

You shuddered, hating that you missed his touch.

“Is everyone ready to swim?” you asked, diverting your attention to the kids talking amongst themselves. Upon hearing a chorus of yes, you asked, “There are floating tubes in the shed by the tree for those who can’t swim. I’m getting into the water too so that I can teach you. The rest of you can play around but don’t go beyond the marker, okay?” You pointed at the floating buoy.

Another chorus of yes, and everyone dispersed.

Crossing your arms, you clutched the bottom of your shirt and pulled it over your head in one swift movement. Upon hearing a crash and yelp, you whirled around.

Only to find Donghyuck fallen on his ass several feet away, his face painted red like a tomato.

The corner of your lip tugged upwards. “Like the show?” you called, sauntering towards him.

His face turned a deeper shade of red—something you didn’t think was possible—and he dipped his head, letting his fringes cover his face. You could see him trying to fight the fluster as he said, “Would’ve liked it better if there wasn’t a swimsuit covering everything underneath.”

You laughed, causing Donghyuck to look up at you. “Sorry to disappoint,” you popped and held your hand out for him. Grabbing it, he pulled himself to his feet.

Before he could let go and move away, you strengthened your hold and tugged him closer. Putting your mouth against the shell of his ear, you whispered, “But I can make up for it.”

Leaning back, you shoved your Beaver Falls shirt into Donghyuck’s chest. His mouth parted in surprise, and you let go of his hand, walking back to the campers waiting for you by the wooden plank.

You glanced over your shoulder moments later, expecting him to scowl and throw your shirt on the ground.

What you did not expect, however, was to see his grip on the shirt tighten and a soft smile to creep on his face as he gazed at it shyly.

What you did not expect, however, was for your heart to go into overdrive at the sight.

“Are you going over to Saltwater tonight, or do you want me to go?” Jeno asked during lunch the next day.

Upon receiving no response and no change in your expression to indicate that you had heard him, he shouted, “Y/N!”

Snapping out of your reverie, you glanced at him, an apology spilling from your lips. “Sorry. What did you say?”

Your cousin narrowed his eyes at you. “What is wrong with you? You’ve been out of it all day long.”

“It’s nothing,” you said, dismissing him and popping a piece of cut-up watermelon in your mouth. “Was that what you said?”

Jeno looked unconvinced but decided to drop it for the time being. “No. I asked if you’re going over to Saltwater tonight or do you want me to go again?”

Swallowing, you replied, “I’ll go. You should rest.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, trying to get you to talk for the last time. “You seem distracted.”

“I’m not!” you exclaimed.

“Not sure or not distracted?”

You stared at Jeno, wanting to punch him in the face. “Not distracted.”

He stared right back, trying to figure out what you were hiding from him. He gave up a few moments later, deeming his food to be more important than whatever was bothering you. “Okay.”

You sighed in relief. You had lied; you were distracted. You couldn’t stop thinking about the exchange between you and Donghyuck from the day before.

You’d given him your shirt in an attempt to mock and recreate what had gone down two years ago when he had thrown his own shirt at you. You hadn’t expected him to genuinely smile and clutch onto it like it was some goddamn gift.

You hadn’t expected to dream about the encounter either. Hadn’t expected fellow counsellor, Lia, to wake you up in the middle of the night and ask why you were squealing in your sleep like a maniac.

As if dreaming and thinking about the stupid idiot from the camp across wasn’t enough, you were missing him too. You were having these sudden urges to rush over to Saltwater and talk to him. Spend time with him.

Scowling, you shoved another piece of watermelon in your mouth. You were unhappy with the amount of effect Donghyuck was having on you, but you had at least managed to accomplish your goal of embarrassing him with your antics.

He looks cute when he’s embarrassed, a voice inside your mind piped up.

You silenced it immediately. In fact, you spent the entire day silencing the awful thoughts that kept running through your mind.

Hell, your self-control was so horrible you had to take a pause and recollect yourself as you made your way through the Saltwater woods after sundown, a pair of binoculars hanging around your neck.

“Shit,” you swore under your breath and rested your forehead against a tree. Pushing your eyeballs into your sockets with the heel of your palms, you tried to get rid of a disgustingly cute and mushy image of you and Donghyuck forming in your mind. “I’m an idiot.”

“You are,” a low voice whispered right next to your ear.

You froze in place for a moment. Fear crept into you, and you opened your mouth to shout for help.

However, before you could do so, a hand clamped over your mouth, and an arm snaked around your waist, pressing your back against a wall of solid.

Not a wall, you realised upon tilting your head to catch sight of your captor. It was Donghyuck’s chest that you were flushed against.

The scream in your throat died, and you stopped struggling, letting your figure fall limp in his hold. Glowering up at him for scaring the living shit out of you, you tried to rip his hand from your mouth.

“Promise me you won’t scream,” he warned, pressing his palm harder.

You rolled your eyes and fought the urge to bite him, conveniently ignoring the way you didn’t want him to let go. The way your body seemed to be leaning into his of its own accord.

And for whatever reason, Donghyuck didn’t appear particularly inclined to let go of you either. So, you ignored the rational part of your mind that was yelling at you to get away and enjoyed the feeling of being enveloped in his embrace.

Deeming your annoyance as a good enough answer, Donghyuck removed his hand.

“What the fuck?” you demanded, craning your neck to look at him. “You almost gave me a heart attack, Hyuck!”

“Don’t what the fuck me!” he scoffed. “What the fuck yourself! Why were you sneaking around Saltwater again?”

“Well,” you began, scrambling for excuses to explain your presence, “technically, I wasn’t in Saltwater. I was outside it. And I wasn’t sneaking. I was just taking a little walk. Also, the woods aren’t your stupid camp’s property, you know? You can’t control who comes and goes.”

“You’re right; we can’t control who comes and goes,” he admitted. “But we can question any suspicious people wandering around the camp property to ensure the safety of our campers.”

“Suspicious people?” You feigned innocence and batted your lashes, allowing a pout to settle on your lips. “We’ve known each other since forever.”

Donghyuck’s eyes dropped to your mouth, and your heart skipped a beat at the way they darkened.

But a moment later, they were back to normal and glaring at your face instead, causing you to think you’d imagined the entire thing.

“We have,” he said. “And that is exactly why I know you weren’t out here on a walk.”

“I was!” you protested weakly. You were too distracted by the sight of Donghyuck’s strong arms to bother defending yourself better. It was pathetic, the way you were being undone when he was barely doing anything.

“You have binoculars around your neck!” he said incredulously. “Didn’t you think they’d weigh you down while you were strolling?”

“No?”

An exasperated sigh left Donghycuk’s mouth. “Just admit it, Y/N. You were cheating. You came here to spy on us.”

“Why bother asking when you already know the answer?” you huffed.

A click and a victorious smirk taking form on his face—that was all it took for you to realise.

“You motherfucker!” you growled and elbowed his chest, stumbling away from him. “You recorded me!”

Donghyuck shrugged and removed his hand from his pant pocket. Your gaze immediately zeroed in on the concealed tape recorder. “I didn’t have evidence of you playing dirty before. Now I do.”

You scoffed. “Mighty hypocritical of you to say that when I know for a fact that you’re cheating as well.”

“Mighty smart of me to not get caught in the act, though,” he popped, grinning from ear to ear.

The colour from your face drained, and dread settled into you. The thought of recording them as they rigged the games and plotted had come to your mind long back, but you had refrained. It wasn’t like you could call them out without raising unwanted questions. Like how exactly you had figured it out, how you just happened to have your phone on you when even counsellors didn’t use them during summer camp save for emergencies, and why you were hanging around Saltwater woods for no reason.

“What are you gonna do with that recording?” you asked blankly.

Donghyuck crossed his arms over his chest and rested his chin on his fist, pretending to think. “I suppose your father won’t be too happy to know his daughter decided to cheat.”

You barked a laugh in an attempt to hide your rising fear. “What? You’re gonna rat me out like a goddamn middle-schooler?”

“Nah.” He clicked his tongue. “There’s no fun in that.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you tried to understand what he was implying. Noting the expression on your face, he continued, “I’m gonna blackmail you instead.”

Gritting your teeth, you asked, “What do you want?”

Donghyuck shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step forward, leaning down until you were both at eye level and his face was barely a few inches away from yours.

“I want you to meet me by your camp’s entrance tomorrow at midnight.”

“Why?”

Donghyuck grinned. “Looks like you’ll have to find out yourself.”

“You let him blackmail you?!” Jeno exclaimed the next day. “How could you be so stupid, Y/N?”

Jaemin snorted. “Why are you so surprised, Jeno? It’s Y/N.”

“Hey!” You glared at Jaemin, regretting letting him listen in as you narrated the previous night’s events to your cousin. You hadn’t returned to camp immediately after your encounter with Donghyuck, instead choosing to go on that little walk for real and determine your next move. You hadn’t told Jeno upon your arrival either. You didn’t particularly feel like getting insulted and told you were a big idiot right before you went to sleep. “I didn’t let him blackmail me.”

“What does he want?” Jeno cut in before Jaemin could make another unhelpful and unnecessary comment. “For us to back out from the championship?”

“No, nothing like that,” you said and added, “Plus, I doubt Hyuck would want us to drop out. The competition is his biggest ticket for publicly humiliating us. He just wanted me to meet him outside our camp tonight.”

Jaemin furrowed his eyebrows, sipping on his juice box. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.” You shrugged.

“Hold on,” Jeno interrupted. “Why does none of you find this suspicious? He could be planning to murder and bury Y/N in some ditch for all we know!”

You rolled your eyes. “Be realistic, Jeno. It’s Hyuck we’re talking about. I’ve known him my entire life. He’s an asshole, but he would never hurt me. He probably just wants me to jump off that small cliff on the other side of the lake. We’ve done that tons of times already.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin agreed. “Hyuck might be a jerk to Y/N, but we all know he’s got a soft spot for her.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t know?” he asked incredulously.

You looked at him with a confused expression. “No?”

Jaemin whistled. “Damn.” Then, he noticed Jeno’s lost face and added, “I’ll tell you later, bro.”

“Okay, what is going on?” you demanded, frustrated that he was being so secretive and indirect. “Why does Jeno get to know, but I don’t?”

“Not my place to tell you,” Jaemin said simply and before you could protest, asked, “Are you going to meet him tonight?”

“I mean, she has to,” Jeno replied in an obvious tone. “That’s the point of blackmail.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” you corrected your cousin, making a mental note to talk to Jaemin about what he was hiding later on. “I don’t have to. I never confessed to cheating with actual words.”

“Wait, what?” Jeno asked quizically.

You explained, “I realised it last night while coming back to camp. Hyuck told me to admit that I was spying on them and playing dirty, but I never explicitly said that I was. I just told him to not ask me questions he already knew the answers to. That isn’t concrete proof; I could have meant the exact opposite as well.”

“Why’d you tell us about getting blackmailed then?” Jaemin inquired. “It doesn’t make any difference in the end. We’re right back to where we were yesterday afternoon.”

“Except Saltwater knows we’re cheating,” Jeno chimed in.

You waved them both away. “Saltwater always knew we were going to cheat. They just know for sure now and think they have the upper hand, which is something our entire strategy is dependent on. But that’s not the point here. The point is I don’t have to go, but I’m still going to.”

“Why?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Curiosity?”

“Curiosity?” Jeno deadpanned. “That’s bullshit.”

It was bullshit. You weren’t curious; you’d just accepted you were down really bad for Donghyuck. Against your better judgement, you wanted to spend time with him. He could make you jump off the cliff if he wanted to; you’d just take him down with you. There was something about jumping into the water together that seemed very romcom-y.

Or maybe you were just deranged.

You lowkey hated yourself for being attracted to him. Thinking about Donghyuck in romantic light made you want to punch yourself. It made you want to punch him, too, but not more than it made you want to hold hands with him.

How could he creep into your heart and change the way you viewed him with something as simple as a smile?

But then, maybe you had always liked him. Maybe you had been in denial all this time. You always claimed to hate him, yet you could never stay away. You voluntarily went over to Saltwater to TP their trees. You purposely indulged him and went toe to toe with him even when the situations were trivial.

Perhaps, a part of you always liked the attention he gave you.

You shuddered, trying to get rid of the unwanted thoughts racing through your mind. This was not the time to think about the past and analyse all the interactions that had taken place between the two of you.

“Well, I’m going,” you declared. “Maybe I’ll get some info while I do whatever it is that Hyuck wants me to do.”

“Saltwater knows we’re onto them, though,” Jaemin reminded, aiming the juice box at the garbage bin several feet away. He threw it—clean shot. Focusing on Jeno and you again, he continued, “What about that little fact we forgot?”

“I guess we have to play clean now,” your cousin mused. “Unless you have a plan, Y/N?”

You sighed. “I don’t. I think we should just continue what we have been doing so far and try to figure out what Saltwater’s next move is.”

“They already made theirs by busting and blackmailing you. Pretty sure it’s our turn.”

“I don’t have any ideas!” you exclaimed. “I’m not some soap opera villain to constantly keep plotting.”

“Jeez, fine,” Jaemin said, raising his hands defensively. “He was just asking.”

You sighed again and pinched the bridge of your nose. “I know. I’m sorry. I just—I don’t know what to do next. I talked a big game, and now we’re gonna lose, and I’m not gonna be able to show my face to anyone.”

Jeno’s eyes softened. The championship was not Beaver Falls versus Saltwater as much as it was Y/N versus Donghyuck. If your camp lost, you’d take the blow harder than anyone else. It was more personal to you than it was to anyone else.

“We’ll brainstorm about what to do next tonight,” Jeno said. “You try to get Donghyuck to quit cheating.”

“Fat chance,” you snorted. “He knows there’s very little possibility of Saltwater winning without playing dirty, but I’ll try.”

Jaemin nodded. “Good luck.”

You tapped your foot against the ground impatiently, checking your wristwatch every few seconds.

You’d been waiting for Donghyuck for 10 minutes. You’d kept your word and arrived exactly when he had asked, but it looked like your blackmailer didn’t care about punctuality. You’d thought he’d be on time since he had seemed excited the previous night about whatever you were going to do tonight, but apparently not.

“Come on,” you mumbled to yourself. “Where the fuck are you?”

The moment the words were out of your mouth, you saw Donghyuck’s jogging figure approach you. You crossed your arms over your chest and glared at him.

“You’re late,” you pointed out.

He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at you, struggling to catch his breath. “Miss me so much?”

Unfortunately.

“You wish,” you scoffed instead. “I just don’t like it when people don’t follow through.”

Donghyuck hummed. “I know. I’m sorry. We’re gonna have to wait for a few more minutes, though. Renjun’s doing last-minute fixes to the scooter.”

You gawked at him. “You finally fixed it?”

Donghyuck smiled at you—the same stupid, genuine smile that had your heart going haywire—and beamed, “Yeah! I can’t believe it needed so much repair, to be honest.”

You laughed. “It literally went down a hill and crashed into a tree. How did you not believe it would need so much repair?”

A few years ago, Donghyuck had challenged himself to ride his brand new 50cc scooter up the steep slope of a hill when you had called it useless. You’d said that buying a vehicle with such a low power output was of no use when your camps were surrounded by hills on three sides, but he had been adamant to prove his money had not gone to waste.

Halfway up the hill, his scooter had given up on him. Since he couldn’t really lug it up with him, he had decided to make a U-turn and take it back down.

Unfortunately, the scooter had slipped from his hand and barrelled down the hill at a speed that was faster than Donghyuck’s sprint. Thankfully, no one had been in its way, and the vehicle had come to a stop after crashing into a tree.

How it had balanced on its two wheels while racing down the slope, you had no idea.

You had made fun of Donghyuck that entire summer. Since the two of you lived in neighbouring towns, you had told everyone in his high school what had happened too. Too bad he had been a senior then and had suffered the teasing from his peers for no more than a year.

Before he could answer, a horn beeped, and headlights blinded you. You winced and covered your eyes with your arm, only lowering it when they were turned off.

In front of you was Huang Renjun, casually sitting on the scooter and grinning at you and Donghyuck. “She works.”

“Holy shit,” Donghyuck whispered and ushered Renjun to get off so he could sit. He turned the key and started the engine, accelerating the scooter in place. “She works!”

You pressed your lips to keep a smile from breaking out on them. Donghyuck looked so childlike and adorable when he was excited that you wanted to pinch his cheeks. Instead, you turned to look at Renjun and waved. “Hey.”

Even though your camps were rivals, the two of you got along well. You’d found out he attended your college when you asked him what he did and where he lived during his first year as a counsellor. The entire academic year after that, you often met up to hang out and eventually got closer.

“Hey.” Renjun shot you a wink. “How’s the preparation for the championship going?”

You sighed and said truthfully, “Awful.”

“Damn, why?”

You blinked. The question didn’t sound mocking—just plain curious. Did Renjun not know about you getting caught cheating? Had Donghyuck not told him about the tape? You’d thought he would flex about cornering you and gaining the upper hand the moment he returned to Saltwater the previous night.

You glanced at Donghyuck to find him shrugging at you. Focusing on Renjun again, you waved him away and said, “Just messing with you. You’re too gullible, Jun.”

“Looks like I ended up in the wrong camp then,” he joked. “Should have applied as a counsellor in Beaver Falls.”

You smacked his shoulder playfully, eliciting a laugh from him.

Donghyuck cleared his throat. “Thanks for helping me fix the scooter, Renjun, but we gotta go now.”

Realisation dawned on Renjun’s face. “Oh, right. Have fun on your date.”

Ruffling your hair, he jogged away, leaving you behind with your jaw on the floor. You whirled to face Donghyuck. “Date?!”

“Be grateful I said that instead of telling him I was blackmailing you!” he said defensively. “If he knew you were stupid enough to get caught while cheating, he would have never let you live it down!”

You winced, finding his words to be true. “Whatever.”

Rolling his eyes, Donghyuck put on a helmet and said, “Get on.”

“What?”

“Get on, Y/N,” he repeated and handed one to you. “We’re leaving.” When you didn’t move and stared at him incredulously, he asked, “Why did you think I fixed the scooter with Renjun and asked him to bring it out?”

“I thought you wanted to show off!”

“No! We’re going somewhere, so haul your ass and set it down behind me!”

“I don’t trust your driving. You crashed the scooter the last time you drove.”

“It was just one time!” Donghyuck glared at you. “Besides, you’re wearing a helmet, and I’m not gonna drive it up any steep slopes.”

You hesitated for a moment before slipping the helmet on your head and swinging a leg on the other side of the scooter to sit behind him. “I don’t know if I have life insurance.”

“You won’t die,” he said exasperatedly and accelerated, the inertia causing your unprepared self to jerk back in your seat.

You yelped and grabbed his shirt by the waist, screaming at him to slow down.

Donghyuck just laughed. “If you think this is fast, wait till I take you out on a ride on my motorcycle.”

“You have a motorcycle?” you asked, your chin hovering over his shoulder. The wind was carrying his voice away, so you had to lean in to hear what he was saying.

He nodded and slightly turned to look at you, a grin on his face. Your noses were barely a few inches away, his eyes darting between you and the road. “Yeah, it’s my uncle’s. My aunt told him to sell it because she doesn’t want their kids to be fatherless in case he dies on it, but he handed it down to me because he’s too attached.”

“I wish I had an uncle like that,” you sulked.

“I’ll let you vicariously live through me,” Donghyuck popped.

“Aren’t you a sweetheart?” you huffed. “Where are we going anyway?”

“Stargazing.”

Your mouth parted open in surprise, and you stared at him in shock, but his entire focus was on the road ahead. “Really?”

His throat bobbed, and he nodded once. “Yeah.”

“Is this some sort of serial killer slang to keep the suspicion from rising? Do you tell your victims you’re taking them stargazing if they ask questions while you’re leading them to a second location to commit murder?”

Donghyuck’s lips quirked up in a small smile. “Shit, you busted me, Y/N. Looks like I’m gonna have to come up with a better plan to kill you later and take you stargazing for real right now.”

You laughed and pushed back a strand of hair that had flown in your face. “I might let you blackmail me all the time if this is your idea of the word.”

“And I might not use blackmailing as a cover for wanting to hang out with you from next time and just start being honest about wanting to spend time with you.”

It took you a few moments to fully understand what he’d said, and your heart started thundering in your chest as you tried to figure out what exactly he meant by that. A small part of you wanted to ask Donghyuck if he truly wanted to spend time with you, but the bigger part feared being made fun of for assuming.

What if he was just joking? The two of you did that a lot. What if he thought you were joking and had gone with the flow? In a way, you sort of were, but your words had an underlying implication that you were having fun hanging out with him.

Before you could overthink and overanalyse what Donghyuck had said, he killed the engine and announced, “We’re here.”

You blinked, snapping out of your reverie and getting off the scooter. “Already?”

“I didn’t think it would be wise to go too far so late,” he explained as he unbuckled his helmet. “Our camps are pretty isolated, and there’s nothing except farmland around for miles.”

You hummed and took in your surroundings. The two of you were standing on the side of the road, a huge field with overgrown, surprisingly green grass sprawling for acres in front of you. You looked at the sky to find the entire galaxy gazing down at you.

Fumbling with the clasp of your helmet, you asked Donghyuck, “How’d you find this spot? It’s so pretty here.”

“My dad used to bring me here whenever I missed home during summer camp. He said it was to make me appreciate all that the world had to offer,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve come here in a long time and brought someone else along instead of him. Do you need help with that?”

The change in topic was so quick that you barely had time to think of a response. Not that Donghyuck waited for you, his hands encasing your own as he undid the buckles for you. The feeling of his knuckles brushing the underside of your chin sent shivers down your spine.

He took the helmet off your head and even went as far as fixing your hair for you. Your cheeks set on fire, and you sent a silent prayer to the Gods for the lack of visibility the night sky offered.

“Let’s go.” Donghyuck motioned you along after fetching a blanket from the little storage box under the scooter’s seat.

You followed him silently, enjoying the grass tickling your ankles and the slight wind caressing your face.

A few minutes later, he stopped and spread the blanket on the grass. He lay down on it, and you followed suit, making yourself comfortable beside him. Your arms brushed against each other, the contact sending electricity zinging through your body.

You could tell why Donghyuck loved coming here. The stars shone brighter than they did when you gazed at them from your camp. There was a sort of peace and quiet here that you hadn’t experienced anywhere else. The cool wind was doing wonders in relaxing your mind.

“Do you like it?”

You turned your head to look at Donghyuck to find that he was already staring at you, his eyes shining with hope. Smiling softly, you said, “I love it.”

He returned it, and your heart clenched at the relief flooding his face. “I’m glad.”

“Why’d you stop coming here?” you asked and returned your gaze to the sky, afraid of identifying the other emotions swirling in his dark orbs.

When he didn’t answer for several moments, you realised you’d crossed a boundary and asked him something he wasn’t comfortable sharing. You opened your mouth to apologise, but he beat you to it.

“I messed up,” Donghyuck said quietly. “I told my dad to quit bringing me here after a few older kids made fun of me for being a middle-schooler and still missing home even though summer camp only lasted for three weeks. That it was uncool for my dad to coddle me and take me stargazing just because I missed my mommy.”

The way his voice turned bitter… it compelled you to look at him again. To put your entire focus on listening to what he was saying.

“But they didn’t know that wasn’t the reason we still came here,” Donghyuck continued, his eyes not leaving the sky for even a second. You suspected that even though he was physically beside you, he was reliving everything that had happened in the past. “They didn’t know we came here because I loved spending time with my dad. Because stargazing was something we did; it was our thing.

“I didn’t tell them that, though. I was scared they’d bully me and call me a baby. I was just entering that stage of my life where my peers’ validation was the most important thing ever. I cared so much about what they thought of me—even more than I did about my dad’s feelings. I was mean to him and told him to leave me alone in front of everyone when he asked me if I wanted to go stargazing.

“I hurt him so a bunch of bullies could think I was cool. I regretted it so much later, but I couldn’t bring myself to apologise because I didn’t want him to think I was so shallow. He never asked me to go stargazing again, and I couldn’t bring myself to come here alone either. It just didn’t feel right without him. I’ve been trying to get the courage to make amends for so long, but dad pretends like it never happened. He never asks me to do anything new with him anymore.

“I don’t know if he even remembers what happened all those years ago. Maybe he’s already over it. Maybe he knows I didn’t mean it. I—I just don’t know. He deserves an apology, but I don’t know how to apologise for something that happened over five years ago. I don’t want to open old wounds just so I can feel better about being a shitty son,” Donghyuck finished, hastily wiping away a tear that had escaped his eye.

You were speechless. You’d never known Donghyuck’s relationship with his father was strained. You didn’t know he was carrying this huge burden of guilt on his shoulders. You didn’t know what to think, what to say so he could feel better.

So, you settled on offering him the absolute truth.

“It’s never too late to apologise, Hyuck,” you said, slipping your hand into his. You didn’t expect him to interlock your fingers and hold on like he never wanted to let go, but when he did, you reciprocated. He turned to look at you as you continued, vulnerable and glossy eyes staring right into yours,

“I’m not saying your father wasn’t hurt, but you were a child when everything went down. You were stupid like every goddamn teen out there, and I’m sure your father knows that—he deals with so many of them every summer. I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean to hurt him. No one ever wants to hurt their parents.

“I know it’s hard to apologise for something that has happened so long ago. You don’t know how to bring it up—you don’t want to bring it up, like you said, to avoid opening old wounds. But Hyuck, you need to realise that even though the bleeding is stopped, the wound never really heals until it’s treated.

“You don’t want to look back years later and regret not making amends. You don’t want to look at the sky when you’re older and think about the nights you could have spent stargazing with your father. There’s nothing worse than time lost and spending your life wondering about the what-ifs.

“Maybe your father is not asking you to do new things with him anymore because he’s afraid of being disappointed again, not because he’s angry at you. You told me stargazing was your thing, and when you turned him down in front of everyone, you probably made him think it didn’t matter to you anymore. You need to tell him that it does matter to you. And I know he will forgive you. I know it because that’s what parents do. No matter how much you fuck up, a parent can never stay angry at their child forever.”

Donghyuck swallowed and rasped, “Thank you.”

You offered him a small smile in response and squeezed his hand reassuringly, gently wiping the new tears staining his cheeks. “You don’t have to. I know I haven’t implied it in the way I’ve behaved with you so far, but I’ll always be there if you ever need anything.”

His lips quirked up. “I know.”

You blinked, but Donghyuck returned his gaze to the sky again. “Why do you think I brought you here and told you about everything? You’re one of the very few people I absolutely trust. Our camps are rivals and might hate each other, but I’ve never hated you. You’re infuriating, sure, but that’s one of the things I love about you. You never take shit from anyone and always stand up for yourself and what you think is right. You never lie about what you really think, and all I needed was some of that.”

Your heart was racing inside your chest, thumping against your ribcage so hard that you were afraid it might break the bones and leap right out. You couldn’t breathe—couldn’t believe Donghyuck was saying all of that to you and was meaning every single word.

“I’m glad I could help,” you said softly and tried to regain control of yourself. “But I think you’re giving me more credit than I’m due. I mean, I don’t think cheating’s right, but I still did it and defended myself.”

Donghyuck laughed and looked at you, the entire galaxy shining in his eyes. “Yeah, how about we quit treating this championship like some life or death competition and just have fun participating.”

“You’re just saying that because you know you’re gonna lose.”

“How dare you?” Donghyuck gasped and feigned offence. You shoved his shoulder with your free hand, eliciting a chuckle from him. He continued, “I guess I’m just over the entire rivalry thing. It was fun when we were kids, but it’s starting to get tiring now. I just don’t see why we can’t let go of things that happened so long ago. Why keep grudges?”

You raised an eyebrow. “You act like you don’t enjoy bickering with me.”

“You act like I need a reason to do that,” he shot back. “I’d bicker with you even if there were no rivalry between our camps.”

“Now you just sound like you’re obsessed with me.”

“Kindly get off your high horse.”

You grinned. “I’ll stop cheating when you stop cheating.”

“I don’t think you could play dirty even if you wanted to,” Donghyuck pointed out, his face the epitome of smugness. “I know everything you’ve planned so far. Heck, I have a pretty good idea of what strategies your little pea brain might come up with in the future too. You’re in deep shit, Y/N. Deep. Shit.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I thought you wanted to end the rivalry.”

“I suddenly remembered I’m having too much fun watching you scramble to win something you can’t, so let’s wait until after the championship to do that, okay?” He smiled at you sweetly.

You locked your jaw. So much for trying to convince Donghyuck to play fair. Jeno would be disappointed.

“You better watch your ass, Hyuck,” you grit through your teeth. “I’m going to fucking obliterate you and your stupid little camp. I’m going to humiliate you so bad that your kids are gonna ditch you and come to me. And then we’re gonna watch you go out of business together just like you should have all those decades ago. I’m going to bulldoze your fuckass camp and—”

“You look so hot when you’re angry and determined and threatening me.”

You blinked. “What?”

Donghyuck’s lips twitched, as if he was trying not to smile. “Look how easily you got distracted, how quickly you lost sight of your goal. Maybe you’d stand a chance at winning if you worked on that.”

You looked away from him and glared at the sky, feeling your face heat up due to anger and embarrassment. What he said was true. After all, he had gotten you to confess to cheating because you were too busy being down bad for him.

Heck, the same thing had happened again. He caught you off-guard so easily. All it took for him to get you to lose your train of thought was to flirt with you.

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” you muttered, causing him to laugh.

“Then sleep, Y/N,” Donghyuck urged you. When you looked at him in alarm, he said, “It’s already very late, and I don’t think we’ll get to sleep for more than a few hours if we waste time returning to camp. Let’s just go back tomorrow morning.”

You contemplated his suggestion for a moment, making a mental list of the pros and cons of sleeping outside.

Who knew what sort of critters resided in the grass you were laying on? You didn’t even have a blanket to cover yourself to protect yourself in case the chilly wind decided to pick up. Anyone driving on the road could see the scooter parked on the side of it and decide to make you the victims of their murder.

But the weather was terrific and so was the view. Your body felt heavy, like it was already asleep, and your strained muscles were finally relaxing after a long day of physical exertion. The air was fresh and carried an Earthy scent that was lulling you into a slumber. Sleeping in a field under the stars sounded therapeutic. Heck, it was therapeutic.

“Okay,” you mumbled and closed your eyes. “But don’t blame me if I accidentally kick you in the middle of the night.”

Donghyuck hummed. “I won’t. I’ll just kick you harder.”

You smiled to yourself, feeling your consciousness slowly slip away. “Deal.”

It felt like you and Donghyuck had become friends.

Well, friends was probably not the right word to describe what had bloomed between the two of you since you still wanted to overthrow and humiliate each other. But you had definitely gotten closer.

Maybe you could put a label on whatever was blooming between you once the competition was over a week and a half later.

Both of you went stargazing for a couple of hours almost every night. You had even started to take food with you, thanks to the peaceful silence your stomach had broken with its demands for nutrition two days ago.

Obviously, Donghyuck had been a child about the incident and commented about your fart smelling like shit that had gone stale, but the next day, he’d brought with him a stash of confiscated junk food that the two of you had devoured together.

You hadn’t asked him about his dad again. You just didn’t feel right bringing up the topic since it wasn’t your place to stick your nose in their father-son business. You knew he needed time to gather courage to talk to his father and think about what he was going to say to him.

So the two of you just hung out together, doing things friends usually did.

Never mind the fact that you wanted to go beyond friendship.

For every moment you spent with Donghyuck, you wanted to spend a thousand more. His teasing remarks and grins never failed to make your day. Your bickering only made you want to talk to him more, and the stupid shit he said only made you want to slam your lips on his to shut him up.

The interactions between you weren’t making things easier either.

The first night you’d stargazed, he had held your hand the entire night. You were still sleepy when you got on the scooter and started to drive home, causing you to accidentally rest your cheek on his back.

You’d pulled back as soon as you realised, but he had urged you to use his back as a pillow. Heck, he’d even told you to wrap your hands around his waist. You’d spent the entire day over analyzing his words and trying to figure out if he’d said that for your safety or for some other reason.

Three days ago, when Donghyuck had come to Beaver Falls, he’d caught you staring at his arms and had asked if you were okay. You were actually looking at the bulging veins, but no way in hell were you going to admit to that. In an attempt to hide the real reason, you’d blurted out that you were looking at them because they seemed lanky, and he wouldn’t stand a chance against you in hand wrestling.

Donghyuck made a face that conveyed he thought you’d finally lost your sanity, and in response to that, you’d challenged him in front of everyone.

You had won.

Rather, he had let you win. You could tell from the way he smirked at your bewildered expression. You could tell from the way he kept flexing his arms casually. You could tell from the way he stuffed his hands in his pockets to provide you with a better view.

The fucker knew, and you had never been more embarrassed in your life. You had supposed you should be thankful he hadn’t made a comment about your blatant shamelessness but on second thought, had realised his knowing gazes were worse than him calling you out.

“Y/N!” Jeno called as he jogged over to you, snapping you out of your reverie. “Uncle was looking for you.”

You blinked, slightly confused. “Oh, okay. Where is he?”

“By the canteen, I think.” Jeno nodded at the largest building in your camp. “You should be able to catch him if you hurry.”

You didn’t respond, instead turning on your heels and speed walking towards where your father was. You spotted him talking to the cook and noting something down—most likely a list of supplies that needed stocking.

He noticed you and nodded in acknowledgement, motioning for you to wait. You complied, taking the extra time to calm your nerves.

You had no idea why you were anxious. Your dad wasn’t intimidating or scary. He didn’t even look mad or stressed. Heck, Jeno hadn’t warned you about anything either. So why—

“We need to talk.”

Shit.

You gulped, startled by your father’s sudden appearance and slightly upset at yourself for getting lost in your thoughts so often these days. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Not here.” He shook his head. “The office.”

Yeah, you were most definitely screwed. What was the problem with speaking right there? It wasn’t like anyone was around; everyone was occupied with their respective camp activities.

“Okay,” you croaked and followed him to his office.

Once you were inside, your dad closed the door behind him and told you to take a seat. Your nervousness was skyrocketing now. There was a lump in your throat, and you couldn’t bring yourself to relax in the chair. Your breathing was laboured, and your leg kept bouncing.

“Is everything okay?” you inquired.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he replied simply. Then added, “Isn’t it?”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Why do you think it wouldn’t be?”

You were seriously starting to get weirded out now. Your dad kept answering your questions with more questions, and the entire conversation was beginning to seem like some sort of trap or set-up.

You didn’t have the patience to play his game, so you asked directly, “Quit beating around the bush, dad. What do you want to talk to me about?”

Your old man stared at you for a moment before sighing heavily and resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. “I saw you going out with the boy from Saltwater last night. Really late, might I add, like you didn’t want anyone to see you. What’s going on?”

You froze, feeling like a deer caught in a headlight. You had no idea how to answer that question. What was going on?

How were you supposed to tell your dad you were being buddy-buddy with the son of his rival and spending most of your spare time with him? How were you supposed to tell him that you liked him?

You couldn’t exactly lie to him. You were already hiding things about the competition. Any more deceiving and you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself. You decided being vague yet truthful was the best course of action.

“We’ve—” you cleared your throat— “we’ve just been hanging out. That’s all.”

Your dad’s forehead creased, and he tilted his head to the side, not believing you. “Hanging out?”

“Yeah!” you exclaimed and laughed nervously, scrambling for a better explanation. “We just started talking and realised we got along really well. So we started meeting up and thought, Wow, not hating each other and holding grudges feels good. What is the point of this rivalry? We don’t need to have beef just because our grandfathers did. Maybe we should—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” your father interrupted and signalled a time-out, overwhelmed by your rambling. “So is the competition off now? Weren’t you excited about it? I vividly remember you begging me to let our camp participate.”

“I was— I am excited!” you corrected yourself, trying to clear the misunderstanding. “The competition is still on. We were talking about ending the rivalry after it gets over.”

“I’m confused right now,” he said. “If you wanna end it, why not end it now? Why wait?”

“Well, that’s because—” you caught yourself and narrowed your eyes on him. “Wait, why do you sound like you don’t mind the idea of getting along with Saltwater? I thought you hated them.”

Your dad sighed. “I don’t hate them. It just doesn’t sit right with me that Lee thought his father’s actions were justified. Then again, I don’t know what version of the story he was told. Maybe Saltwater painted your grandfather to be the bad guy like he was painted to be the bad guy in the version we were told.”

“But what about all the mean stuff you’ve said about their camp?” you sputtered. “Why would you raise me in a way that made me hate them if you didn’t hate them either? Why would you make our campers hate them?”

“Okay, let me rephrase that,” he backtracked. “I don’t hate the camp; I just hate Lee. Actually, maybe I do hate the camp by transitivity because Lee’s the one leading them. But anyway,” he moved on upon seeing your incredulous expression. “I think competition and healthy rivalries are good for character development. I may have been blinded by my own rage and let things get out of hand, causing the kids to be full of hate for Saltwater, but I’m glad you and Donghyuck are getting along. I’d like for our establishments to be able to exist in harmony. I can’t forgive Lee or ever have a civil conversation with him, but I’m proud to know our kids aren’t as petty and stubborn as us.”

Your jaw was hanging open. You couldn’t believe what you’d heard. The continuation of the entire rivalry was a result of misunderstandings and lack of communication between your dads? Because they had huge egos and didn’t have the ability to forgive and forget?

This was the stupidest shit ever.

Then again, you had no right to judge your father. You had been doing the same thing until Donghyuck put the thought of ending the rivalry in your head.

“Well,” you started, trying to come up with something to say. “What next?”

“I still think there should be a healthy rivalry between our camps. I just don’t think we should hate each other as people.”

“But you’re still gonna hate Donghycuk’s dad?” you asked dryly.

“Absolutely,” your dad confirmed, getting up from his chair and opening the door of his cabin. “He’s the biggest asshole out there, and I’m going to talk shit about him every chance I get. But I trust you’ll be better when I hand over this camp to you.”

You rolled your eyes and walked out. “You’re impossible.”

“I know” was all he said before shutting the door in your face.

“What are you thinking about?”

You averted your gaze from the sky and glanced at Donghyuck. He was already staring at you, an amused yet curious expression lining his features.

“Do you think I’m impossible?” you inquired absent-mindedly.

He snorted and turned on his side, propping his elbow on the ground to rest his head on it. He looked down at you and flicked your forehead, replying, “Absolutely. Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” you popped, smiling to yourself at the thought of you and your father being so similar. “By the way, my dad found out about us.”

Donghyuck’s lips quirked in a shit-eating grin. “No way! He knows we’re dating?”

You rolled your eyes and shoved his shoulder playfully, stifling the longing blossoming inside you. The idiot had no idea how bad you wanted to be his girlfriend.

“Yeah, he told me I could do much better than your fuckass.”

“That’s funny because I caught you staring at it today.”

“Don’t be flattered. You had leftover shit stains.”

Donghyuck tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably and ended up laughing at the insult you’d hurled at him. “You’re disgusting.”

Smirking, you sat up and tucked your knees under your chin. He got up as well and spread his legs in front of him, leaning back on his arms.

“He saw us sneak out,” you said, coming back to the topic at hand. “And then he confronted me about it.”

Donghyuck hummed. “What’d you say?”

“The truth.”

“Which is?”

Brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in your face, you said, “That we’ve been getting along and don’t wanna hold grudges anymore.”

“Did he take it well?”

“Surprisingly, yes. He said he doesn’t hate Saltwater; he just hates your dad—” a snort from Donghyuck— “but since your dad is the one leading Saltwater, he hates the camp too. Like, he wouldn’t hate it if someone else were the owner. For example, you.”

Donghyuck blinked and tilted his head to the side. “Does that mean your dad likes me?”

“Yeah.” You huffed a laugh and ruffled his hair, causing him to swat your hand away in annoyance. “He even said he was proud of us for not being stubborn and petty.”

“But we are stubborn and petty.”

“We’re also cheaters and manipulators, but he doesn’t need to know that.”

Donghyuck raised an amused eyebrow. “I feel like I know you more than your own dad. You’d get into serious trouble if I spilled all the dirt I have on you.”

You scoffed. “I don’t think you have any dirt on me.”

“So you weren’t high and drunk at that end-of-semester party you went to with Renjun?” he quipped, looking smug.

You froze, the smile on your face dropping. A chill ran down your spine as you sputtered, “H-how do you know about that?”

“Because you FaceTimed me, told me to fuck myself and then hung up. A minute later, you sent me a snap of you smooching a bottle of vodka that was captioned “kiss my ass like this.”

“No way,” you gaped. Straightening, you faced Donghyuck and crossed your legs under you.

You stared at him anxiously, wanting to know more about what had happened. The entire night had been a huge blur. Even now, you barely recalled anything other than blacking out and then waking up with a pounding headache.

Donghyuck smirked, clearly enjoying the power he held over you at that moment. “Oh, yeah. I called Renjun to make sure you weren’t too far gone and told me he’d gone off with some girl because he forgot you were there with him.”

“Motherfucker,” you cursed under your breath, making a mental note to kick Renjun in the nuts the next time you saw him. You couldn’t believe he’d abandoned you to get some even though he had volunteered to be the sober one and take care of you. “What happened after that? He came back for me, right? I mean, I was in my bed when I came to it the next day.”

Donghyuck looked at you with mock sympathy. “If only Renjun were that good of a friend,” he pouted. “I was the one who picked you up and took you back home after he texted me your location. You were passed out on the floor of a cubicle and cuddling with the toilet when I found you.”

“But you live an hour away.”

He shrugged. “So? I couldn’t just let you be by yourself when you were so wasted.”

Your lips parted, and you gazed at Donghyuck in shock. You’d seen an outgoing call with him on the night of the party but had been too tired to wonder what it had been about. You had forgotten about it later, but you remembered now.

“You took me home?” you whispered.

He nodded. “Yeah. I left right after tucking you in, though. I had an 8 a.m. class.”

“But Renjun didn’t mention you when I asked him if he put me to bed,” you said.

He snorted. “He knew he’d get his ass handed to him if you knew what really happened. That’s why I didn’t leave a note or call you the next day.”

And all this time, you’d thought Donghyuck was an asshole. You couldn’t believe he’d driven for hours at night to make sure you were okay. That he had never mentioned the incident because he didn’t want his friend to get into trouble for ditching you.

Even now, he was looking at you like what he’d done for you wasn’t a big deal. Like it was something he’d do again in a heartbeat. You didn’t know how that made you feel.

“I…” you trailed off, not knowing what to say. “Thanks for being there for me.”

Donghyuck ruffled your hair and smiled at you cheekily. “Anytime, Beaver.”

Warmth rose to your cheeks, and you averted your eyes from his, dipping your head to hide the effect he was having on you.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” he said and stood up, holding his hand out for you. You raised an eyebrow questioningly, but grabbed it and pulled yourself up, nonetheless.

“Where are we going?” you inquired as he led you back to the scooter.

Donghyuck only grinned at you before saying, “To the end of the world.”

The end of the world, as Donghyuck had so dramatically put it, was a cliff overlooking the lake.

It was the same place you’d thought he would take you to when he asked you to meet him for the first time that day. At that time you’d assumed he would ask you to jump off.

As it turned out, you weren’t entirely wrong.

“We don’t have our swimsuits,” you pointed out. “Our clothes are gonna get wet.”

“Then strip,” he simply responded, kicking off his sneakers and stuffing his socks in them.

Feeling your face heat up, you crossed your arms over your chest defiantly. “You sound like you’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Hyuck.”

“What if I say yes? Does that make a diff—”

“No, it doesn’t!” you exclaimed, genuinely unable to tell if there was some truth to his words or if he was joking around as usual. Regardless, his response sent a trail of goosebumps erupting across your skin. “I’m not stripping!”

“How unfortunate.” Donghyuck grinned and stepped closer to you. “Is it okay if I get rid of my shirt?”

It was an effort to not let your eyes leave his face and wander down to his clothed abdomen. You gulped, struggling to find your lost voice. The boy in front of you smirked, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

“It’s only fair for you to ruin your clothes if I ruin mine,” you croaked with much difficulty.

“Sure,” Donghyuck drawled. “Clothes on, it is.”

You breathed a sigh of relief the moment he moved away and gave you space to get ready for the jump. Trying to calm your racing heart, you tied your hair in a messy bun at the crown of your head.

“Ready?” Donghyuck asked once you got your strands out of the way and were standing barefoot in front of him.

You hummed. “Wanna run off?”

“Only if we race.”

“I hope you’re not a sore loser,” you commented, shooting a small smile his way.

He laughed, leading you away from the tip of the cliff. “You know I am.”

The two of you faced the drop once you were several feet away. Glancing at Donghyuck out of the corner of your eye, you proposed, “On three?”

“Do the honours,” he replied, nodding once.

You looked forward again and dug your feet in the ground underneath, bracing yourself for the run. “Three,” you began, “two, one!”

And then you were sprinting, Donghyuck’s laughter chasing after you as he met your pace. You forced yourself to go faster, faster, faster in an attempt to outrun him, and within no time, you were leaping off the cliff and soaring in the sky.

A scream of pure joy spilled from your lips as gravity dragged you back down.

The dive was over right as it began. It barely lasted for more than five seconds, but it was an indescribable experience—one of the best you’d ever had in your entire life.

And having Donghyuck by your side, accompanying you as you made the fall, only made it even more memorable.

The cold water of the lake swallowed you whole the moment you made contact with it. You stayed suspended for a while, drinking in the peace and quiet that came along with being underwater. The moment you began running out of breath, you felt for the lake floor with your feet and propelled yourself upwards.

You broke to the surface with a huge grin on your face and found Donghyuck gazing at you with a similar one on his own.

Before you could ask if he wanted to jump again, he pushed back his wet hair, diving into the water once more.

And then he was suddenly under you, slipping one arm under your knees and putting the other behind your back to support your upper body as he picked you up.

“Hyuck!” you screamed gleefully, wrapping your arms around his neck and clinging on to him for dear life. “Don’t throw me!”

Donghyuck snickered. “You really think I’m gonna listen to you?”

You tightened your hold and glared at him playfully. “You’ll pay for this.”

“Shiver me timbers” was all he said before flinging you with all his might.

A split second—that was all you had to take a breath before the lake enveloped you again. You puffed out your cheeks and pinched your nose shut, but the water still entered your mouth.

Coughing and gasping, you emerged to the top. “You fucker!” you croaked, choking on your own words. “It went up my nose!”

“Your fault,” Donghyuck said and smirked at you. “I warned you.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, wanting to slap the grin off his face. “I’m gonna drown you,” you threatened and lunged at him.

He laughed and dodged you like it was nothing, but that didn’t stop nor deter you. You leapt again without wasting time, grabbing hold of his shirt and pulling him towards you.

Once you’d dragged him close enough, you pounced on his back and dunked his head into the water. “Suffer, asshole!”

Upon hearing his muffled screams and seeing him flap his arms to signal he was getting short of breath, you let go of him and got off his back. “I thought you were a swimmer. How’d you get run out of breath in under a minute?”

Scowling, Donghyuck turned to face you. “You caught me off guard, dumbass.”

“Did I?” you asked sarcastically. “I told you you’d pay.”

He rolled his eyes and pointed at his exposed collarbone. “You tore my shirt too. I expect compensation.”

Like hell were you going to compensate Donghyuck when he was the one who had started this entire thing, but your curiosity got the better of you, and you decided to indulge him. Arching an eyebrow, you inquired, “What sort of compensation are we talking about?”

Donghyuck pretended to think, resting his chin on his fist. “Hmm, I don’t know. There’s not much I want from you other than your failure in the championship.”

You snorted and opened your mouth to tell him to fuck off, but before you could do so, he continued, “Except, maybe a kiss.”

And just like that, you changed your mind about not giving him any compensation.

You were so shocked and overjoyed at the same time that you couldn’t breathe. Your heart came to a stop, and you could only look at Donghyuck. Could only hope he wasn’t messing with you.

But his face had become dead serious. The mischievous glint in his eyes was gone, and all signs of his usual amusement had faded. Unblinking and unmoving, he stared back at you.

You knew he meant it—you could see the hope and anticipation swirling in his orbs. But a part of you still felt compelled to confirm. So, you did.

“Are you sure?” you whispered.

Donghyuck glanced at your lips for a split second before gazing into your eyes again. Gulping, he nodded once. “Yeah.”

And then, your heart was suddenly beating at the speed of light. You couldn’t gulp down enough air as you waded through the chin-level water and approached him.

He stood where he was, not removing his eyes from yours for even a moment. You paused once you were right in front of him and raised your trembling hands to cup his wet cheeks.

Donghyuck didn’t pull you against him. He didn’t close the distance between your mouths. He only waited for you to make the first move.

You took a shaky breath and dropped your gaze to his lips. Parting your own, you tilted your head up and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth.

You felt Donghyuck smile against you. Felt him snake his arms around your waist and finally pull you against him. Felt him kiss you back like he had wanted to do it since forever.

Your heart went haywire inside your chest. Pure euphoria coursed through you, and it felt like your brain was short-circuiting. You’d kissed plenty of times before, but none of those came close to the one you were sharing with Donghyuck.

He tasted like the strawberry chapstick you’d always seen him apply. His full lips were as soft as you’d imagined them to be, and they fit into yours like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Your noses brushed as he dipped his head and titled it to gain better access.

You removed a hand from his cheek and fisted the nape of his shirt, pulling him closer, closer, closer.

“You’re gonna completely rip my shirt, you know?” Donghyuck mumbled against your mouth.

“Good. Then I’ll be able to compensate you again.”

He huffed a laugh and detached your lips. Resting his forehead on yours, he asked, “Am I going to have to let you destroy my clothes to kiss you from now on?”

You smiled and opened your eyes, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Nah. Just come over.”

Donghyuck chuckled. “Don’t regret saying that when I show up every single day.”

“Don’t be surprised when I do the same,” you quipped, moving away a bit.

His hands stayed on you for a moment, as if he didn’t want you to create distance. But the two of you needed to go back to camp. Dawn was approaching, and you needed to dry yourselves. Having wet hair first thing in the morning would raise questions you weren’t particularly inclined to answer.

“This changes nothing, though,” you added. “I’m still gonna humiliate your stupid camp and make you eat your words.”

Donghyuck gave you a lazy grin—the kind that made you want to pull him against you again. “I look forward to making out with you while plotting your downfall.”

You smirked. “Me too.”

“Where do you keep disappearing all the time?” Jeno inquired, narrowing his eyes at you. “One minute you’re here, and the next, you’re not.”

“What do you mean?” you asked nonchalantly. “Where would I go?”

“She hangs out with Hyuck every night and makes out with him in the woods,” Jaemin popped, biting into his apple.

You started, slapping your hand to his mouth and hastily scanning your surroundings to check if any campers were around. “Shut up! How the fuck did you know?” you demanded.

Jaemin’s mouth moved against your palm as he chewed on the fruit. He pointed at your hand, causing you to remove it from his lips and allowing him to speak. “You’re really not that subtle, you know?”

“You disappear to make out with him?” Jeno whisper-shouted before you could snap at Jaemin. “When did he confess to you?”

You froze, averting your gaze from Jaemin and focusing on Jeno instead. “What do you mean when did he confess to you?”

“He means Donghyuck has been attracted to you for a while now,” Jaemin cut in. “It was kinda obvious, but the two of you have always had pathetic love lives, so I don’t blame you for not realising.”

“Hey!” Jeno and you protested at the same time.

“Shut up. Don’t even try to defend yourselves. Jeno, you’re just a big dumbass who pays no attention to his surroundings. I had to tell you Donghyuck was into Y/N. And Y/N, you’re just a stupid fucking idiot who can’t see something that’s right in front of her. I thought you knew Donghyuck liked you. I thought you never paid any mind to his obvious head-over-heels behaviour because you didn’t like him back.”

You glared at Jaemin and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “What gives you the idea that Donghyuck likes me? That he has liked me for a while now, as you said.”

“I don’t know what happened between the two of you that made you start tongue fucking each other, but the fact that you do it makes it pretty clear that he likes you,” Jaemin said in a deadpan voice. “And I know he’s liked you for at least a year because he punched that asshole who was looking at you like he was mentally stripping you.”

You blinked. So Donghyuck hadn’t gone off the rails and become unnecessarily violent like you’d thought he had. He’d raised his hand to protect your honour. The realisation made warmed your heart.

“Donghyuck is a good guy, Jaemin,” you retorted, pulling yourself out of your reverie. “He doesn’t need to be attracted to me to help me out. I’m sure he would have done the same if any other girl were in my place.”

“Fine,” Jaemin said. “Accepted. But you can’t deny the way he looks at you screams I love you and I want you to be mine and—”

“Hold on,” you interjected. “First you accuse him of being attracted to me, and then you say he loves me? You’re insane.”

Jaemin sighed. “Why are you so against the possibility—reality—of Donghyuck liking you. And that’s me toning it down for you because I’m, like, 99% sure he’s in love.”

Your words died in your throat. To be honest, you had no idea why you were so set on dismissing Jaemin’s theory. You liked Donghyuck a lot, but you’d never really expected your newly developed feelings to be reciprocated.

And to now find out that there was a chance he’d liked—you refused to use the word love—you for a long time, even when you’d disliked him…

“You still don’t believe me,” Jaemin scoffed, noting the expression on your face. “Wow.”

“How the hell do you expect me to, huh?” you demanded. “Have you seen the way we act? We’re always hurling insults at each other and saying the most awful things—”

“But you don’t mean any of them!” Jaemin finally burst out. “The two of you never truly mean any of the shit you say. Being assholes to each other and arguing over the most insignificant things is just your dynamic. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.”

“But—”

“Why don’t you just go and ask him yourself,” Jeno, who had been silent all this time, cut in. “Prove to us that you’re not a coward.”

Glaring at your cousin, you said, “I’m not stupid enough to fall for that.”

“You’re not,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still a coward. You’re a goddamn pussy, and that is how I know Donghyuck made the first move. And if he was the one who initiated the kiss, he definitely likes you, Y/N.”

“What’s the worst that could happen anyway?” Jaemin continued. “You could get rejected. Donghyuck could be an even bigger jerk than we thought he was, and say that it all meant nothing. But then you’d at least know. You could use your hatred and anger as fuel and fucking crush him in the championship.”

“He’s not a jerk,” you mumbled, dropping your gaze to the ground.

“Oh, yeah? Then why don’t you go and talk to him?”

You knew Jaemin and Jeno had a point. You knew they were rightfully calling you out on your bullshit. You knew you were scared. You just didn’t know of what.

Donghyuck wouldn’t play around with you. He wasn’t the type of guy to do something like that. The two of you had practically been around each other your entire lives, so no way in hell would he just mess around with you knowing your paths were so entangled.

But what if he thought you were messing around? What if he thought you weren’t serious? You certainly hadn’t done or said anything to hint that you were.

Maybe that was why he hadn’t asked you out yet. Because he thought whatever was going on between you was just a short-lived summer fling.

Or maybe he was just waiting for you to make the move this time. Donghyuck wasn’t a jerk, but he did like to get on your nerves. And he could be very patient if he wanted to be.

“If this backfires,” you began, “I will chop your testicles in your sleep. I don’t need to be rejected by fucking Lee Donghyuck.”

“It won’t,” Jaemin urged, throwing the core of his apple in the dustbin nearby and pushing you towards your camp’s exit. “I know he likes you.”

You grumbled to yourself. Jaemin better not be wrong. You’d rather die than confess to Donghyuck and not have him return your feelings.

“Hey, Renjun,” you greeted and waved at him upon entering the grounds of Saltwater. “Have you seen Hyuck?”

“Yeah,” he said as he pulled you into a side hug, pointing at a cabin several feet away. “He’s in his dad’s office. I think he’ll be out soon.”

“Can I wait?”

Renjun snorted. “Hell, nah. I can’t have you spying around and seeing things you shouldn’t be seeing.”

“Even though we’re best friends?” You pouted, refraining the urge to blackmail him by mentioning the time when he ditched you at the party.

He flicked your forehead playfully. “Especially because we’re best friends. I know the exact kind of a person you are.”

You began to protest but cut yourself off when the corner of your eye caught Donghyuck’s figure exiting the cabin, his father in tow. Even though you were far enough to not be able to hear them conversing, you didn’t miss the huge smile adorning the boy’s lips.

It wasn’t playful or evil. Neither was it the mischievous one that he gave you so often. Donghyuck was smiling a real smile that conveyed nothing but happiness and childlike joy.

Watching him look at his dad like that made the corners of your lips curl up too.

As if feeling your gaze on him, Donghyuck’s head turned in your direction. You saw his mouth move as he bid his father goodbye. And then, he was sprinting towards you.

You let out a surprised laugh and took a step back, bracing yourself for the hit you were about to take.

He rammed into you with the force of a small vehicle, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in an embrace. The ground under your feet disappeared as you were picked up, and he began twirling you around. You just grabbed his shoulders, screaming at him to slow down.

“You won’t believe what just happened,” Donghyuck breathed after setting you down, his hands still resting on your waist. Your own clung to his biceps while you tried to regain your balance.

Excitement bubbled inside you, and you looked at him expectantly. “What?”

“I talked to my dad. I finally fucking talked to him about everything. Apologised for every single time I hurt him and asked if he’d be willing to go stargazing with me tonight.”

You beamed at him. “He agreed.” The expression on Donghyuck’s face and the twinkle in his eyes made it clear.

“Not just that,” he gushed. “He forgave me. He said he’d love to take me on a week-long father-son bonding trip after camp ends!”

“What?” You laughed. “That’s insane, Hyuck! I’m so happy for you!”

Donghyuck smiled at you softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. “Thanks for being there for me.”

“Anytime, Goldfish.” You winked and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Donghyuck chuckled lowly, whispering in your ear that he was a shark. You simply hummed and called him a goldfish again. Your goldfish.

From behind you, Renjun cleared his throat.

Shifting away from Donghyuck, you faced your friend and tried your best to fight the fluster that was warming your cheeks. Renjun was looking at you with a raised eyebrow, but he thankfully didn’t make a comment.

You knew he’d torment you later, though, and ask why you were suddenly so close to the boy you always talked shit about.

“I’m happy for you, Hyuck.” Renjun grinned and pulled him in a brief hug. “I don’t know what happened between you and counsellor Lee, but I’m glad you grew the balls to make things right.”

Throwing an arm around your shoulder, Donghyuck said, “Wouldn’t have done it without Y/N knocking some sense into me. Besides, if her dad could be proud of me, there was no way mine wouldn’t even hear me out.”

That’s when the reason behind his sudden courage dawned on you. Donghyuck must have felt shitty to know his enemy’s father was proud of him when he was on awkward terms with his own.

“True,” Renjun popped. “Anyway, I gotta go know. Archery starts soon. I’ll leave you guys to it.”

Once the boy was out of earshot, you shrugged Donghyuck’s arm off your shoulder and glared at him. “You drove Renjun away!”

“What?” he exclaimed. “I literally only breathed!”

You groaned. “Did you have to be so touchy in front of him? He clearly got uncomfortable and escaped. What’s worse is he’s gonna tease me about it—”

Donghyuck shut you up by capturing your lips in a kiss. It was pathetic how you instantly melted into him and reciprocated, giving no thought to your surroundings.

“Don’t lie; you love it when I’m touchy,” he mumbled against your mouth, pulling back with a cheeky grin on his face.

Touché.

“Also, it’s not that I don’t enjoy seeing you,” he continued, “but why are you here?”

Oh.

Clearing your throat to buy yourself some time to think of an excuse, you squeaked, “Um, I was just spying on you.”

Donghyuck gave you a weird look that said there was no way he was buying your utter bullshit. “When do I get to hear the truth?”

Never, you thought to yourself. It wasn’t that you were chickening out, but it just didn’t feel right to confess to him immediately after he had made amends with his dad. It was their day, and you didn’t want to intrude on it. You could talk to him the next day too.

“Tomorrow,” you declared. “After you’re back from stargazing.”

“I was actually hoping we could meet tonight,” Donghyuck countered. “Dad and I won’t be gone for long—just a couple of hours at most.” When you raised an inquiring eyebrow, he explained, “Trust me, I wanna do spend more time with him, but he still has a camp to run. This place might fall apart if the owner and the head counsellor both disappeared for an entire night.”

Laughing, you agreed. “Sure. Midnight?”

“Midnight.”

It was midnight.

Donghyuck was nowhere in sight, but you weren’t really surprised. His lack of punctuality didn’t even faze you anymore. But when fifteen minutes passed, and he still didn’t show up, you started to grow agitated.

Had he decided to spend the entire night stargazing with his father? It was possible for them to have made last-minute changes to their plan. You couldn’t even be angry at him for ditching you because tonight was special for him.

Sighing, you let your shoulders slump and scanned your surroundings for the last time. Upon finding the road stranded and no one in sight, you turned to go back to your camp.

You had taken no more than one step when all the lights winked out, and darkness engulfed you. Slapping a hand on your mouth to keep a scream from escaping, you whirled to see what had caused the sudden blackout.

Before your eyes could adjust to the sudden lack of light, a lamp post inside Saltwater grounds came back to life, your gaze immediately zeroing in on it.

You’d seen enough horror movies to know that following the light would be a mistake. But then again, standing alone in the dark was even terrifying. The security personnel from both camps had also seemed to vanish into thin air.

“Fuck,” you cursed under your breath and threw a glance over your shoulder, trying to detect any movement in Beaver Falls.

You weren’t surprised to see that the camp was as silent as a grave. It was way past curfew, and even the counsellors didn’t stay up past midnight. Walking into your own home felt scary when it was shrouded in darkness.

Averting your gaze to the only source of light in a sea of obsidian, you steeled your nerves. “I’m gonna kill Donghyuck if I die,” you muttered and took a step forward.

But then you remembered that you had nothing to protect yourself with against the ghost that was tormenting you, so you speed walked to your side of the road, crouched and blindly searched the ground with your hand.

Bingo, you thought to yourself as your fingers wrapped around a large, heavy stone. Throwing it would be challenging, but you had a solid defence against the threat now.

You took small, measured steps towards the lamp post with the stone raised above your head, your eyes constantly darting around in fear. When you were less than a few metres away from the beacon, another one lit up, and the one in front of you extinguished.

You froze, eyes wide and breathing laboured. The stone slipped from your fingers and landed on the ground with a soft thud.

“Hell, no,” you whispered, realising that you were being led towards the woods. This was not how you were going to die. “I’m out.”

Turning on your heels, you began sprinting in the direction of your camp. Thanks to the little bit of light, your eyes never adjusted to the utter darkness. The only thing keeping you from falling was your muscle memory.

You had only run for a few seconds when you crashed into a wall of solid and rebounded, falling on your ass. You dared to look up and instantly wished you never had.

Staring down at you was the urban legend whose story you narrated to the kids in your camp on the last night of their stay—the hollow-eyed woman.

She had no eyeballs, and her figure adorned a white gown splattered with blood. Her mud-stained skin was pale, as if it had never seen sunlight, causing her blue veins to look like they were popping out. Her waist-length hair covered most of her face, her empty sockets staring into your soul through the gaps.

You knew she didn’t really exist. You knew she was just a myth. You knew it was you who dressed up as her every year to scare the kids when they explored the woods.

Unfortunately, your terror had rendered you unable to think rationally. Heck, you couldn’t even bring yourself to breathe, much less scream. But then your body suddenly switched to survival mode, and you were scrambling away from her.

Hauling yourself up, you made a beeline for the light. To Hell with your worries of being baited into the woods.

Anywhere was safer than where the hollow-eyed woman was.

One after the other, lamp posts lit up, the ones behind them winking out as you sprinted past. When the woods got thicker, the posts were swapped with hanging lamps nailed to the tree.

It felt like you had been running for hours, but then you stumbled into a clearing. There was no light to follow anymore, so you came to a stop, your eyes darting around in an attempt to identify your location.

Realisation slowly began to dawn on you. “What the—”

You were cut off by the lights suddenly switching back on. Raising an arm to shield your eyes against the brightness, you squinted, trying to see what was going on.

Lee motherfucking Donghyuck was standing in the middle of the small clearing, a shy smile on his face.

He had ditched his camp jersey in favour of wearing casuals—a black button-up shirt that was tucked in from the front and had its first two buttons left open with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of blue ripped jeans and white canvas shoes. His hair was pushed back, putting his forehead on display.

All thoughts about the hollow-eyed woman flew out of your mind. The only thing you could focus on was the boy in front of you and how good he looked.

Your fear was replaced with confusion and fascination and wonder. The clearing had been decorated, and from the looks of it, a lot of effort had been put into making it look pretty.

Fairy lights were hung on the trees to illuminate the place and a table for two had been set up behind Donghyuck, soft music playing in the background.

“What…” you trailed off and began walking towards him. “What’s going on?”

Donghyuck chuckled softly. “I told you to meet me tonight, didn’t I?”

“But I did come to meet you,” you sputtered. “But there was no one there, and then everything went dark, and this lamp post suddenly lit up, and then more started lighting up, and there was the hollow-eyed woman, and I started running and—”

“That was all to bring you here,” he said, cutting off your ramble. “You were supposed to follow the lights.”

“And the ghost?” you asked incredulously. “That was a set up too?”

“Of course, it was.” He laughed, slipping his hand in yours and pulling you closer to him. “Jeno dressed up.”

Despite your confusion regarding what was happening, you couldn’t help but let out a snort at the image that formed in your mind. “I didn’t know he was so good at costuming.”

Donghyuck smiled, cupping your cheek with a hand and caressing it with his thumb. “Neither did I. And I didn’t know you’d be so scared either. Sorry for baiting you that way.”

Rolling your eyes, you shoved his shoulder playfully. “I wasn’t scared,” you lied, trying to play it cool. “I was just taken aback. Was the ghost part really necessary?”

He gave you a look that said he didn’t believe you but indulged you nevertheless and said, “I knew you wouldn’t follow the lights. You’re too smart to fall for something like that, so we had to think of a way to make you do what we wanted.”

“We?” You raised an eyebrow. “Why does it sound like more people were involved?”

Donghyuck grinned. “Because there were. When I told you I wanted to end the rivalry, I meant it. Kids and counsellors from both our camps helped me to set everything up.”

“No way!” you gasped. “They actually worked together?”

He laughed. “Yeah. Now can I ask you out, or do you want me to explain the entire process and tell you about the fights I had to break apart in order for this to be a success?”

Your heart thundered inside your chest. “Ask me out,” you breathed.

“Will you go out with me, Y/N?”

“Yes,” you whispered and closed the distance between your mouths.

Feeling Donghyuck smile against your lips as you kissed him was probably one of the best things you had ever experienced. That little upward quirk of his lips spoke volumes about how happy he was.

How happy you made him.

You’d never thought you would crave something—someone—so much. You’d never imagined having the courage to lay yourself bare with all your flaws out in the open for a person to see. Had never expected anyone to witness them and still accept you for the way you were.

It dawned on you that Donghyuck had been doing so your entire life. You may have been enemies and gone head-to-head on numerous occasions, but he knew you from the inside out and had never been repulsed. He’d seen you at your worst and had still fallen for you in the end.

And despite knowing all his imperfections, the same had happened to you. Maybe it was because you never saw them as something that needed to be worked on or fixed.

Donghyuck was annoying, stubborn, a literal child when it came to certain things, but that was what you loved about him. Had perhaps always loved that about him even when you hated him.

You realised that it’s true what they say: sometimes the answer is right in front of you.

Donghyuck was your answer.

It was the day of the competition.

Both camps were buzzing with excitement, adrenaline was flowing through everyone’s veins, and anticipation was evident on each face.

All of your campers had worked tirelessly for this day, and you were incredibly proud of them. They’d even gone as far as waking up an hour early every day for the last week of camp so they could practice for longer.

Hell, even the six-year-olds had willingly gotten up at five in the morning to polish their moves.

Donghyuck and you had decided to play fair. If you wanted to end this rivalry once and for all, the best way to do it was by not sabotaging each other. In fact, you’d made changes to the basis of the championship too.

Now, everyone was competing to build teamwork and develop a sense of sportsmanship. No longer would the winner be declared as the “better of the two camps.”

As per your expectations, the kids had been against the “participation is more important than winning” mantra you had proposed. To be honest, you yourself thought the entire saying was bullshit, but it was time you started acting like a figure the campers could look up to and aspire to be.

You hadn’t bothered to make changes to the intense pep talk you had written in advance on the day the championship was announced, though. Most of its contents still humiliated camp Saltwater and encouraged the Beaver Falls representatives to put those pathetic Goldfish in their places.

It didn’t matter anyway. You wanted to be a good idol, not a great one.

“Ready to lose?” Donghyuck drawled in your ear, throwing an arm over your shoulder.

“I hope you are,” you quipped. “I’m going to destroy you bitches.”

“You aren’t even participating.”

Throwing him a side glare, you said, “You know what I mean, dumbass.”

“I don’t know how I feel about my girlfriend calling me a dumbass.”

Your heart started beating a little faster at the word girlfriend. “How about fuckass?”

“Nah.”

“Whore? Slut? Dipshit? Bitch boy? Douchebaguette—”

“Douchebaguette?” Donghyuck asked incredulously.

“Douchebaguette it is!”

“Hey, I didn’t—”

“Bye, I gotta go practice the trash talk I’m gonna make you hear after I win this championship,” you interrupted him and shrugged his hand off you, beginning to walk away with your front still facing him.

Donghyuck snorted. “Yeah, you go do that, Douchebaguettess. You’re seriously lacking.”

Biting your lip to keep a smile from creeping on your face, you gave flipped him off with both hands. “Suck my dick.”

“Why don’t you suck mine?” he called after you. “At least the one I have isn’t hypothetical!”

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. Shaking your head, you finally put your back to him.

Dating the idiot was going to be a rollercoaster. The good kind. You couldn’t wait to see what was in store for you. Couldn’t wait to experience the wonders of life with him.

And maybe it was too early to put a name to your feelings for Donghyuck, but they sure as hell felt a lot like love.

note: I’LL GIVE YOU A BIIIIG HUG IF YOU MADE IT SO FAR <3_<3 writing seasons in the sun has been such a rollercoaster for me LOL as someone who has zero commitment but still wanted to include everything that was thought of, completing this fic was a huge challenge <//3 BUT all my frustrations turned out to be worth it in the end bc the amount of satisfaction i’m feeling rn......PHEW once again, thank you soooo much for reading :”) truly means the world to me <3

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