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The door vibrated slightly at the two short knocks, awaking Jongseob from his light nap. It was only early morning, yet the warm light shining through the window combined with the low level hum of The Office playing on the downstairs television had lulled him back to sleep before he could even get out of bed.
"Come in!" he yelled, loud enough so whoever was on the other side of the thick oak door could hear him.
An audible creak, and then the door swung open loudly, hitting his cream white walls hard enough to leave a faint streak on the wall. He knew the only person who entered his room with such a ruckus was his older sister — Sunhye.
Her bleach blonde hair, similar to his own, now had a neon streak of pink in it, and it seemed she had a new shiny silver lip piercing. It was her summer break from university, and she'd already gone crazy on customising her appearance (much to their parents dismay). But, Jongseob appreciated her uniqueness. as it balanced out his usually mellow and reserved attitude.
"Do you know what day it is?" she asked, ambling fully into the room and plopping down onto the bed.
He reached for his phone, the fluorescent screen slightly burning his eyes as he swiped down and looked for the date.
August 1st 2026 | 11:27 am
"Okay..? So what?" Jongseob said, words still slightly slurred and drawn out from tiredness.
"It's time for me to check your university applications!" she cheered sarcastically, already reaching for his laptop leaned against the bedside table.
If someone saw Kim Sunhye on the street, they'd probably assume she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, not purely off looks, but the way she clumsily approached around about everything made her come off as…silly, in the kindest way. However, she was nothing short of a genius, she'd finished high-school early and was in university for biochemical engineering whilst also securing a job at a steel company for after she finished school. So, Jongseob had enlisted her help to check his applications so he could get into the prestigious Yonsei University.
She flicked open the laptop, the screen already on the application, and scrolled through it quickly, nodding enthusiastically.
"This seems good! Like perfect! Well, not as good as mine of course, but this is pretty perfect." she ruffled his hair as she scrolled down all the way to the extracurriculars section. And her grin contorted into a frown.
Jongseob sighed. "What…? What! What is it?"
"It's just, you have everything — debate club, track team, tutoring — but where's your volunteering experience?"
"Volunteering- what?" he spluttered in confusion. "That's useless!" he exclaimed. In all honesty, he knew it would've helped, but he'd thought the rest of his stellar application would make up for it and then some.
She laughed heartily, slapping him on the shoulder and kicking her feet as she always did when something outrageous was said.
"They'll throw your application out if you haven't volunteered anywhere are you crazy!?" she clicked open a new tab and searched up volunteering opportunities.
"Ooh look! Kids football team?"
"No."
"Soup kitchen?"
"No."
"Retirement home?"
"No."
"Summer camp on Jeju?"
He considered it. Jongseob was never a fan of nature, but it would be a nice break from his city life. And his annoying sister and equally annoying parents.
"Fine." he groaned.
In a matter of minutes, she filled out the application, bulking it out with some slight exaggerations, and it said they'd receive an email in a matter of hours regarding if he was accepted or not.
The sky had dimmed from an amber to a slight mauve, clouds scattered across the sky so beautifully it looked like a painting. Jongseob was laid on the plush, leather couch with his black cat Crypto sprawled over his lap, purring softly as he smoothed the hairs on her back. Suddenly, a sharp ringing sound came from his phone, the noise startling Crypto and causing her to speed away and hide under the table.
It was his sister.
"What?" he asked, pausing the TV quickly.
"Guess what!"
"What?"
"Chicken butt! Hah.. No but seriously, check your emails!"
Jongseob opened his phone, and started to search through his emails before swiping to the spam folder where one lone email sat:
Camp Harmony! ♡ 🏕
We are delighted to inform you that you, along with 5 other lucky individuals have been chosen to be a camp counselor for a week at our beautiful camp on Jeju Island!
Our minibus will come to pick you up at 4:30am sharp on August 2nd, so make sure you're ready and equipped for us! Thank you!
Please click here for the equipment list ♡
His mouth dropped open.
"Why the fuck does it say August 2nd? Today's August 1st! You didn't tell me this?"
She giggled lightly before trying to explain herself. "Listen..it seems like a good place, and you'll be fine! Better get packing, love ya, bye!"
He could cry. His roots were grown out, he hadn't packed, and he didn't even know what he was gonna wear. She'd seriously screwed him over.
Luckily, he was a quick packer, so he shoved his nicest clothes. jewelry and perfumes into a backpack within an hour. Perhaps taking a marshmallow perfume to a campsite was slightly cliché, but he supposed if anybody noticed it'd be a good conversation starter. Then, the more important issue — his hair.
He burst open his sisters door, thankfully she was out somewhere with her girlfriend, and wouldn't notice if one (out of the hundreds) of bottles of hair bleach was missing from her closet.
Used to the routine, he quickly applied the product to his darkening roots and let it sit while he scrolled through the Camp Harmony website. It was secluded in a beautiful wooded area, tall, pinewood trees framing a picturesque campsite with large bistre colored cabins. There were colorful flags hanging between the cabins and over the paths, which seemed to lead deeper into the forest, which held a glimmering stream.
Despite his previous hesitance, he felt slightly more confident at the sight of the beautiful place he'd be staying for a week.
Finally, his hair was done, the toner adding a nice sheen and bounce as he brushed through the shoulder length locks. The clock read 9pm, usually that would've been much to early, but considering he had a minibus coming to pick him up at the crack of dawn, he'd decided upon on an early night.
He groaned. The beautiful sound of his alarm hadn't woken him up, so he was forced to drag himself out of bed at whatever time it possibly was. Jongseob rolled over and checked his phone. The time 3:50am staring him in the face, bright and blaring.
"Shit.." he sighed, jumping out of bed to shower with a speed he'd never done before, change into his clothes — a pearl colored jumper with a white undershirt, his nicest jeans, frilly socks and some wiry glasses off his nightstand — before throwing his backpack over his shoulder and speeding out the door, yelling a clumsy "I love you!" to his sleeping sister and parents as he left.
The time on his phone was 4:02, and he prayed to any God that existed that the bus would've waited for him. To his surprise, God, or whatever mystical force, was looking out for him, as a bright green minibus stood on his street, with the words "Camp Harmony!" lettered in cursive on the side. The smoke bellowing out the exhaust pipe was making him splutter as he walked up the door.
A man, plump and jolly looking, almost identical to Santa, was sat in the drivers seat, and smiled at him ss he gestured for him to take a seat. The bus shuddered slightly as he stepped into the main compartment and looked for a seat. Five other people, supposedly the other counselors, sat on the bus.
At the front there was two girls, one had very long, black hair, so long Jongseob was wondering if they were extensions. She had a rather dark, empty, distant gaze in her eyes apart from when she looked at the girl sitting next to her. The girl in the other seat was also, beautiful, her hair a pastel pink and a loud, Canadian accent laced in her voice as she said: "Hi!" to Jongseob.
Then, at the other side was a tall ginger haired boy with a mousy smile visible as he looked down on his phone. His face had so many freckles on his face they looked like beautiful constellations. Beside him was another girl, her hair dark brown and short, her lips pouted into a shape she looked more puppy than human, especially as she waved kindly towards him.
Finally, behind the black and pink haired pair was a boy, probably the tallest out of them all. His hair was a light brown, but Jongseob could tell by the frazzled texture of his hair it used to be dyed blonde. The boy's eyes were large and glary, pure, inky black. He had a large silver necklace on over his black top, which was paired with black jeans and black shoes. Jongseob wasn't familiar with alternative subcultures, much to his sisters dismay, but the boy seemed intriguing. That plus the fact the only other open seat on the bus was next to him forced Jongseob to plop his stuff and himself, next to the boy.
"Are you wearing marshmallow perfume?" the boy exclaimed, causing the 4 other people in the bus to turn around to watch them.
Jongseob laughed sheepishly before nodding, and turned to his phone, planning to scroll through AO3 whilst listening to music for the foreseeable length of the trip, which Google Maps estimated to be 6 and a half hours. He reached into his pockets, searching for his earbuds, but he couldn't feel the casing. After a few minutes of looking around, it dawned upon him that he'd left them in the very bottom of his backpack. Not willing to empty out the bag in-front of 5 strangers, he sat, cross armed and tried to sleep.
What seemed like five minutes later, his light sleep was interrupted by a gentle tap on the shoulder. The bright eyed boy next to him was a bit too close for someone he didn't even know the name of, and was talking to him, the words muffled and difficult to make out. Jongseob rubbed his face in an attempt to wake himself up properly.
"Sorry. . . what did you say?" he inquired.
The boy giggled before repeating himself, his words accented and animated. "Do you want to share my airpods?"
Was the guy a mind-reader? How did he know Jongseob would've done anything to drown out the noise of the bus and road?
"Uhm, sure!" Jongseob smiled, "also, what's your name?"
"Haku Shota."
Across the aisle, the ginger boy with freckles interjected before Jongseob could reply with his own name.
"Ohmygosh, are you Japanese!? I've been studying it for years, I was even an exchange student in Japan!" the boy rambled, before stopping awkwardly after realising he'd interrupted their conversation.
Shota smiled emphatically, "Yeah I am!" and then he switched to Japanese whilst the boy, who introduced himself as Choi Jiung, replied in what seemed to be ( according to Jongseob’s limited Japanese knowledge, all stemming from Haikyuu and other animes,) perfect. Eventually, the twos conversation faded into nothingness as Shota turned to Jongseob again.
"So you want the airpods, right? And I never got your name.."
Jongseob had almost completely forgotten.
"Yeah I don't mind sharing! And I'm Kim Jongseob."
Shota dropped the singular airpod into Jongseob’s open hand, before asking if he had any music preferences, to which Jongseob declined. He watched him switch off whatever song he was playing before, and flipping to a different playlist before closing eyes and resting his head on the window.
The song was sweet and summery, the melody reminding him of the retro music his mother used to play on the radio while he cleaned, but unlike the slightly misogynistic lyrics of 1970s pop, this song was romantic and calming.
"The bright sun in the blue water, we fight less and love harder"
It brought him peace as he glanced out the window to see the rolling hills and snow capped mountains as they drove.
"It's only for the summer, but we do it anyway"
A golden glow split open the gray of early dawn, lighting up the verdant pastures they were driving through. The song continued on. And as the melody filled his ears, Jongseob felt like he could happily be in the bus for an eternity.
"Laying by the beach with you, wishing this would never end"
Some time while listening to the song, he'd fallen into a deep slumber, only waking up after the bus hit a particularly large speed bump. They were traveling through a denser, more wooded area now. Jongseob could almost taste the nutty scent of pine in the air as they drove deeper into the woods. All elms and redwoods, the church like shadows the towering trees casted on the roads were a nice contrast to the earlier brightness of the sun.
Jongseob glanced around the bus, before his eyes rested upon the boy beside him. For a moment he forgot the name of the boy, before it call came back to him. Shota. Haku Shota.
He blinked quickly to adjust to the change in lighting, before realising the other people on the bus were talking to each other, introducing themselves.
"—And my name's Keeho!" the pink haired girl continued, "The girl besides me is called Theo, and she's my girlfriend. And… one fun fact about me is I was Regina George in my high school musical!" she finished, smiling kindly at everyone before whacking the other girl, Theo, sharply on the shoulder, telling her to introduce herself.
"Hi, I'm Theo. A fun fact is… I play the guitar." she tried to smile, but it came off more as a grimace, and then the pair at the front turned to look at the lanky ginger boy, and the puppy eyed girl.
"I guess I'll go first! Hi, I'm Choi Jiung and I have 5 cats!" he grinned kindly, much more inviting than Theo's lopsided attempt at a smile, which made Jongseob instantly more comfortable.
Jongseob was planning to be silent until his turn came around, he was never one for public speaking, but cats were his kryptonite, and so, he blurted out:
"What're their names!?"
He sank into his seat in embarrassment once he'd realised what he'd done.
"Oh. Uhm, the girls are called Nina, April and Jane. And then..the boys are called Chester and—"
"Chester!?" Keeho yelled out in surprise, causing most of the bus to cover their ears at the banshee-type shriek.
"Sorry," she started, "It's just such a stupid name.." she look around for approval, but everyone else on the bus, including Jongseob, were staring at her, the looks ranging from blank, to unamused, to intrigued.
Jiung had a downcast gaze, before he spoke quietly, almost a whisper — "It's the name of my dead grandfather."
The only sounds that could be heard on the bus was the squeak of the wheels as they entered a wetter patch of land, and the streaks of raindrops pattering against the windows.
"Awkward!" she smiled, before asking the girl next to Jiung to continue so they could move on swiftly.
"I'm Intak!" the girl said, her puppy-like pout somehow not disappearing off her face as she spoke.
Theo gestured for her to continue. "And a fun fact..?"
"Right, sorry," she took off her headphones and looked at everyone properly now. "Hmm, well, my dad's a professional footballer, but that isn't too interesting."
Everyone's mouths went agape.
What did she mean "not too interesting" ? It was crazy!
Jongseob had never been one for football, he'd always preferred badminton (much to his father's dismay), but he knew most of the Korean players, and some international ones due to his mother's fan girl behaviors when it came to the World Cup.
There was incessant, near interrogation level questions.
"What's his name?"
"What team does he play for?"
"Is he hot?"
"Can i have his signature?"
But Intak had no replies, as she was already encapsulated in whatever she was doing on her phone, and everyone else's eyes moved towards Jongseob and Shota. Deep down, Jongseob was hoping that Shota would offer to go first. But he felt he owed him something for the airpods, and opened his mouth to go first.
"My name's Haku Shota!"
The one time Jongseob tried to be a good person, and Shota somehow was even better.
He continued. "And I want to make the world go—" and then he did some dramatic explosion noises coupled with him throwing his hands around wildly.
Jongseob, along with what seemed everyone else was insanely confused, yet somehow endeared, so he just smiled kindly at him whilst the pink haired girl gawked and cooed as if she'd just seen a baby.
Deep breaths. In and out.
Public speaking was always his worst fear. Well, that and heights, so he considered the fact he wasn't asked to do this on the Empire State Building and felt a slight increase in confidence.
"I'm Kim Jongseob, and I'd like to go to Yonsei University."
He heard a few oohs and ah's at the name of the prestigious university, which helped calm his nerves.
"Seriously? I wanna go there too?" beamed the boy beside him.
"Really?" Jongseob couldn't believe it. Not that he thought Shota was an idiot or anything, but he didn't expect anyone on this trip to be such a high achiever. He felt a wave of annoyance at himself at the narcissist thought, pinching his arm sharply so he'd snap out of it.
Shota nodded, before explaining that he wanted to do robotics or astrophysics, which gained even more shocked noises from everyone else. They chatted away for what seemed to Jongseob, hours. He enjoyed the way Shota’s eyes lit up when he spoke about space, explaining complex ideas with cartoonish words and sound effects.
Keeho, clearly bored, announced (loud enough that probably even Kim Jong Un could hear): "Alright love birds! Enough!"
Did she think she was the group leader or something?
Jongseob was tempted to tell her to ‐ in the nicest way - shut her mouth, but her pretty smile the way her eyes crinkled at the corners while she spoke dispelled him from being anything but nice to her. He'd thought they were being rather quiet, but as he saw the intimidating girl besides Keeho give him a look which could only be interpreted as "be quiet" he came to the conclusion that when he was talking to Shota, he couldn't help but be loud.
A faint blush appeared on both Shota and Jongseob's cheeks as they looked away from each other and went back to their own devices.
According to Google Maps, they'd completed more than half the journey. Driving through various biomes - from rolling hills to eerie forests to urban, concrete hells - he didn't know how the journey could continue any longer.
The bus was beginning to slow down, and the driver yelled loudly.
"Kids! I'm taking a gas break. For both the bus and me!" He stopped to laugh at his own crappy joke. "Take twenty minutes to eat and piss, but don't be late. Please."
At that, the bus halted to a stop, and the driver hopped down from his seat, stumbling slightly, legs clearly not accustomed to walking after the long drive. He trundled into the gas station, leaving Jongseob and the others in the bus.
Jongseob decided to stop being so reserved (he wasn't gonna see any of these guys after the week anyways..) and he stood up first. As he rose from his seat, he felt the world spin on its axis, but in reverse. He swore he'd collapse right then and there. onto the vinyl flooring, and he'd never get up.
Secretly. Deep deep deep down, he hoped Shota would catch him, but the comfort of his arms never came, as he regained his balance and exited the bus.
Bright. That's all the lights in the convenience store were. Bright. Painful. Luminous. Fluorescent. Acidic? Jongseob tried to stop thinking about the lights and started thinking about what he was going to buy. He could feel around 5000 won in his pockets, so he fished out the crumpled notes and smoothed them out against his trousers.
"Jongseob, right?"
He swiveled around quickly. Swishy pink hair. Pearly white teeth. A sweet smile. An almost antithetical girl on her left, who was frowning slightly. Keeho and Theo.
"Yes, hi! Keeho and…Theo right?"
"You remembered! Anyways, I was hoping to get everyone to pool their money so we can do the Beanboozled[1] challenge together when we get to the camp!" she started, before Theo butt in.
"We have no money."
Keeho tried to recover, "Well, yeah, but it'd help us bond right? And no offense to the others but you seemed the most approachable…so…you'll help right?"
He wanted to say no. Tasting toothpaste and shit flavored jelly beans weren't exactly his idea of a good time. But, on the other hand, he didn't want to be the grouch of the group, so he gave in.
"Sure! Should we go ask Shota next?"
Theo laughed — the first real sign of happiness he'd seen in the girl over the entire trip so far.
"We were thinking of asking Jiung since he's with Intak, and then asking Shota."
"Oh, of course!" he replied, ruffling his own hair awkwardly.
They strolled down the aisles together, Jongseob idly humming the tune of the song Shota had played earlier in the bus. It was addictive, and it helped to anchor him in the world when his racing thoughts made him feel like he could float away. He caught himself tapping it on the sides of boxes and packets, nodding his head to the rhythm.
"—And this is Bungeo-ppang, but you guys have this in Japan, right?" Jiung said, turning to Shota, who was busy talking to Intak.
Jiung sighed, as he turned before his eyes lit up. "Oh…Oh! Hi guys! Keeho, Jongseob and.. Theo! Hi!"
Theo did his lopsided half smile, Keeho waved quickly, and Jongseob, unsure of what to do with himself as he saw Shota grinning at him widely.
Intak perked up, her and Shota ambling to join the group. Keeho enticed them to pool their money so they could afford the Beanboozled package. Jiung took a little convincing, but the other two threw their cash in gladly, and the group of six walked out of the store happily.
A low rumble emanated from the bus as it stood waiting, all buzzes and hums. The driver was eyeing them with slight annoyance, but let them on without any scolding. Jongseob found his seat quickly, settling into the rough leather. Cool air flowing through the slightly cracked window was the only source of comfort in the stifling bus. He felt like his blood could boil at the heat that started on his cheeks and then spread to everywhere else in his body. Shota entered soon after, and the warmth on his cheeks grew hotter as he smiled toothily at him.
"Do you want to share my croissant?" he asked.
"Huh?" Jongseob's brain was blaring, screaming for him to say yes but he couldn't form the words.
Clearly, Shota knew everything he was thinking, as he broke the flaky pastry in half and offered it to Jongseob.
In response, Jongseob grinned, his snaggletooth peeking out from his lips, and he took a bite of the pastry. It was rich and buttery, raspberry jam dripping from the center. He savored it so it would last as long as possible, taking small bites out of it whilst staring at the moving landscapes outside the window.
Time seemed to move in a non-linear way in that bus, for hours sometimes felt like minutes, and then vice versa in other moments. Jongseob appreciated how the trip could be both fleeting and permanent. Not many moments in his teenage years were exactly memorable, but somehow the journey to Camp Harmony felt like one of the most memorable slices of his time.
The suns light was starting to die out, its amber glow dissipating into shades of pink and coral among the clouds. Some of the bus had fallen asleep, except Shota, who's bright eyes stayed wide-open the whole time, and Intak, who was having an intriguing conversation with the bus driver. It was late, so late the roads were only dotted with truck drivers and the odd commuter. Trees shrouded the camp, so only a subtle glow of the lanterns and fireflies signified it's existence. They turned into a bumpier road, made from dirt and gravel, the buses vibrations waking everyone up suddenly. All of them pressed their faces to the glass at the sight of the camp, exhausted faces lighting up with anticipation of what was to come.
The bus slowed down, the path narrowing, and Jongseob could see a sign come into view:
"Welcome To Camp Harmony!"