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When Jeongguk arrives at the school’s cafeteria, he finds out it’s, luckily, not particularly crowded.It’s Friday afternoon, which means that who had morning class has already rushed back home, and the sun is shining strong in the middle of the spring’s blue sky when he looks at it through the big windows of the spacious room.He stands in front of the counter, greets the waitress that is smiling at him and orders a big glass of orange juice.The sound of a joyous laughter echoing through the almost empty room immediately grabs his attention, and when he turns around towards the corner of the opposite side of the room, next to the window, his heart skips a beat.“Jeongguk-ie!” Jimin waves at him standing up from his seat, wiping sugar from his lips with his hand and smiling widely, “Gguk-ie, come here!”Jeongguk walks slowly to the table, his mind refusing to follow that one direction, but his feet betray him when they start growing up their pace. His brain quickly starts to think about what to do. Jungyoon is sitting with her friends from physics class on his left and she’s smiling at him, maybe he could turn around and sit next to her. Jinyoung is sitting alone at the table next to Jungyoon’s one, maybe he could sit in front of him and try to cheer him up after his team lost the regional volleyball tournament.Yet, even if his mind had slowed down to try to organise his thoughts, his feet are fast and he blames all the work out his coach has made him follow in the past years because his thighs are now thick, he can run kilometres without growing up tired, he can swim for hours losing track of time with no need of any kind of break, and now, because of all of that, he’s standing up in front of Jimin, a glass of orange juice in one hand and Taehyung sitting just next to him.“Hey Gguk,” Taehyung greets him and time speeds up again.Jeongguk tries to look at him, even if his cheeks are red and his heart is beating a little bit too fast to be healthy, and slowly exhales the air he didn’t know he was keeping in.“Hey bros,” Jeongguk smiles and sits on the empty chair, “whatcha doin’?”He’s quick to hide whatever feeling and emotion were ready to slip out from the deepest drawer of his heart, and if Jimin and Taehyung notice it, the pretend they don’t.“I swear to God next time you call me ‘bro’ or whatever I’m gonna punch you and ruin that pretty face of yours, Jeon Jeongguk,” Jimin blurts out and kicks Jeongguk on his shin under the table.Jeongguk laughs and sticks his tongue out at him.Taehyung follows in the laughter and extends a hand to Jeongguk’s glass, brushing Jeongguk’s finger circling it and making goosebumps raise all over Jeongguk’s body. “Can I take a sip?” He asks, long lashes framing the stars inside of his eyes, “I already finished mine and I’m thirsty.”It takes a couple of seconds for Jeongguk to realise what has just happened, but when the light switch turns on inside of his head, he nods a couple of times and Taehyung smiles again.Taehyung takes the glass with his delicate and long fingers, wraps his soft pink lips around the colourful straw and the level of the juice lowers a little bit. He puts it on the table once again. “Thank you.”“Oh c’mon!” Jimin whines. He rises his legs to rest them over the table. “If I wanted to watch some lovey-dovey shit like this I would’ve stayed home to watch a damned romantic Korean drama, don’t you think?”Jeongguk chokes on his own spit and his eyes go teary as he tries to don’t cough. Taehyung laughs out loudly. “Poor baby,” he coos, “Jealous because you don’t have a best friend?”“Oh fuck you Tae, I do have a best friend!”“Oh yeah?” Taehyung quirks an eyebrow up, “And who’s that? That Yoongi guy you always stare at during class?”Jimin immediately blushes red and his cocky smile falls into a surprised expression. “Wha— What are you even saying?”“Oh, that guy with black hair who, like, never smiles, wears only black clothes, has his knuckles tattooed probably illegally and always smells of cigarette?” Jeongguk adds and watches as Jimin makes himself even smaller inside of his oversized yellow sweatshirt. Jimin cutely pouts, his shoulders raising up as to try to hide him inside of himself, and puffs. “Whatever,” he sighs and raises on his seat again, “I’ll see you tomorrow, huh?”He stands up, grabs his backpack from the ground and rushes to the exit, not forgetting to raise a middle finger to his friends over his back. Taehyung snorts. “I can’t believe a cute little thing like Jimin is falling for someone as Yoongi, seriously.”“Maybe he’s a good guy you know, we’ve never talked to him,” Jeongguk says, and thinks about the day he was walking back home after school and he’d spotted Yoongi crouched down at the corner of the street, holding a plate with leftovers on one hand and feeding a couple of stray cats. “I think’s he’s nice, yeah.”Taehyung looks at him for a couple of seconds, pushing his tongue over the wall of his cheek, and Jeongguk swears that, maybe, that’s the moment he’s waited for all of his life. He almost rips his shirt off when Taehyung speaks. “Could it be that you have a crush on him, too?”Jeongguk screams internally and fights with himself whether to stand up and slap Taehyung or just deny it. “Fuck— No! Oh God, no, I mean— No.”Taehyung shrugs and turns around on his seat to sip some more juice from Jeongguk’s glass again. “Whatever. You ready for tomorrow, bro?”It’s almost the end of the year and literature professor Jung Hoseok had fought the school’s principal for months to convince her to let him bring his class on a camping trip. She’d been pretty stubborn at first to the point that professor Jung has almost gave up on convincing her, but she’d changed her mind a couple of weeks ago and they had started planning it since. Professor Jung had chosen Seorak Mountain and the dreamy atmosphere of a place in the middle of the raw Nature —of course they would camp on a place where it’s allowed, but professor Jung likes to make his students shit inside their pants a little bit—, and they had decided to stay only two days and one night, enough to make unforgettable memories and relax after days and days of torture at school.Jeongguk grabs his glass back and finishes the juice in one go. “Kind of, I still need to pack a few things. How about you?”“Oh yeah, “Taehyung crosses his arms behind his head and relaxes over the chair, “I’ve been waiting for this for too long, I love camping and I love mountains. I’ve been ready since last year now.”Jeongguk laughs and remembers how much Taehyung used to love mountains and the beauty of their environment, to the point he had posters of hills and animals and plants all over the walls of his room when he was in middle school and he always showed them proudly to Jeongguk whenever he would come by. “Do you remember that time, like… three, four years ago? At Donbongsan Mountain?”“How could I forget?” Taehyung says, “We had so much fun there, man, 10/10 would do it one more time.” And Jeongguk has to agree because, probably, he would do it a hundred, a thousand of times more. He would never get tired of following Taehyung over the narrow paths through the forest, taking picture of every little animal hopping by and of Taehyung’s back more times than necessary, and looking at the stars together until they fall asleep hand in hand after they’ve called themselves ‘best friends’ for the first time.“I can’t wait for tomorrow to come,” Taehyung grins again, standing up and waiting for Jeongguk to follow him, “If the last trip had strengthen our friendship like that before, I can’t even imagine what will happen during this.”Jeongguk would lie if he said that he had never thought about it before. Because since professor Jung had started to talk about his idea months and months before, almost at the beginning of the school year, Jeongguk had also started to dream about every little, different, possible event that could happen during the next night. And he wishes he could say that he’s fine, that he’s only excited because it’s been so long since he’s camped out and that he needs a rest so bad after a hell of a school year. Yet, whenever he remembers that he’ll have to share the tent with Taehyung and Jimin and that he’ll have a 50% of possibility to sleep side by side with his best friend, his heart starts beating faster and he’s not sure he’s gonna make it out from there alive. It’s freezing cold when Jeongguk steps out of his father’s car.He’s wearing his favourite Off White warm hoodie, yet it’s not enough to protect him from the low temperatures of the spring’s mornings. His father grabs his black and green and comically enormous bag from the trunk in the back. “The hell you got inside here? The neighbour’s dog?” He jokes, before giving it to him and telling him to be a good boy and do nothing illegal —at least not in front of the professor. He walks towards the crowd of students in front of the bus and spots Jimin and Taehyung already there.“Are you serious Gguk,” Jimin says rolling his eyes, “we’re gonna stay less than two days, you don’t need all those things.”Jeongguk sticks his tongue out and repeats what Jimin has just said in a mocking tone. Taehyung laughs and grabs his bag from the ground to throw it over his shoulder. “You got the good cameras, huh?”Jeongguk nods. “Yessir.”“Morning kiddos!” Professor Jung is standing up on a wooden bench next to them, a thick red jacket hugging his body. A chorus of sleepy ‘Morning professor’ raises from the crowd and he smiles. “Are you ready for the best trip of your life?”They nod and smile, Jimin claps his hands and professor Jung laughs, before bowing to them and jumping down on the ground. They’re among the first ones to get on the bus and they get the chance to sit at the back. Jimin plops down on one seat and Jeongguk and Taehyung sit on the row immediately behind.Jimin turns around to them and raises his head over the seat, cute nose poking up over them. “You— fuckers, you said that one of you two would’ve sat next to me on the bus!”Taehyung covers his face to suppress a laugh and waves a hand in front of him. “Jimin-ah! I promise I will sit next to you on the trip back, okay?”Jimin pouts but accepts the promise and, before he can turn around to sit again, a black haired guy steps next to his seat. “Can I sit here?”Jimin watches Yoongi speaking to him for the first time since the first year of high school with big eyes, and his jaw opens and almost falls on the ground. Jeongguk raises a hand to close his mouth.“Yes— Yes— I mean, of course! You can lay down here if you want.”Yoongi raises an eyebrow and chuckles. “I guess just sitting here will be fine.”“What a coincidence, huh?” Taehyung whispers close to Jeongguk’s ear and Jeongguk blushes hard over his face and his neck. He turns around to look outside and nods.The bus’ engine turns on and it starts moving forward, announcing the beginning of the two hours long journey to the camp.Somewhere in between that time, when Troye Sivan’s Bloom starts playing on the earphone Jeongguk is sharing with Taehyung and he spots a little rabbit hopping on the side of the highway, Taehyung’s head falls onto Jeongguk’s shoulder and Jeongguk’s mind goes completely blank.He turns around slowly and Taehyung’s honey blond hair spread in contrast with the dark red of his hoodie makes him stop breathing. Because Taehyung is so close, too close for him to don’t lose his mind, and Taehyung’s hand laying over the seat between their legs looks so soft and so warm and Jeongguk doesn’t think straight when he intertwines his fingers with Taehyung.Eventually, he falls asleep as well, laying his head over Taehyung with red cheeks and a warm feeling inside his chest.“We’re here kids!” Professor Jung shouts. Jeongguk jolts awake and immediately draws his hand back, coldness taking place instead of Taehyung’s hand. “Get off, now!”“Whass’ap?” Taehyung mumbles, his hair soft and ruffled over his shiny eyes, eyelids still not completely opened.Jeongguk covers his mouth with his hand and prays in his heart that Taehyung doesn’t notice the redness over his face. “We— We’re here.”They get off the bus, take their bags from the truck and follow Professor Jung to the camping site. Jimin and Yoongi are walking behind them and they look like they’ve never stopped talking since the beginning of the trip.“They look so cute,” Taehyung comments when he turns around for a moment to look at them. Jeongguk follows his eyes and smiles. “They look like a couple. Makes me sick.”Taehyung laughs and throws his body over Jeongguk, hugging his arm and laying his chin on Jeongguk’s shoulder. Too damn close. “Do we also look like a couple, Gguk?”“What?” He asks, red cheeks and heart on the verge of exploding inside his chest, because he’s never understood when Taehyung is joking and when he’s not since when they were young, and maybe Jeongguk is too stupid or blind or just a mess of expectations and delusions, but he knows that the hope living inside of his chest is getting tired of never becoming reality and he’s not sure he can stand that anymore.But Taehyung only laughs again, freezes Jeongguk’s arm when he leaves a cold space between them, and runs towards the group walking ahead. The walk under the strong spring’s sun is tiring and Jeongguk is a mess of sweat under his thick hoodie. He stops for a moment, drops the bag onto the grass and takes his hoodie off, leaving him with a thin black t-shirt and a sticky and shiny bare skin.It’s half an hour later when they arrive at the camping site. A wooden signboard with ‘Seorak Camping’ written on welcomes them, but when they cross it and enter inside, they notice that other than the fence surrounding the spacious area and the grass and the tall pines, there’s not much more.Jeongguk turns around to professor Jung. “Prof, where’s the toilet?”Professor Jung looks at him and raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” He asks, then waves his arms around. “Everything surrounding you here is the toilet.”Jeongguk chooses to stay silent and doesn’t even dare to ask where they keep the toilet paper because he’s afraid to know that the only things surrounding them are trees and bushes and that they don’t produce paper but just leaves.He drops his bag on the ground, opens it and pulls out the orange tent that his brother has lent him after days of begging. It’s new, Junghyun hasn’t even used it yet, said that he wanted to use it in the summer with his girlfriend and didn’t want to ruin it, but Jeongguk promised him that he would’ve handled it with care and would’ve washed the dishes for all the month after. After the last promise, Junghyun had immediately accepted to leave it to him.When he opens the folded paper with the instructions, Taehyung walks next to him and starts reading. “We need to lay the grey cloth on the ground first?”Jeongguk nods, spots the cloth inside of the tent’s bag and pulls it out. “I guess it’s to avoid the humidity from the terrain to get in.”“You’re right,” Taehyung agrees and helps Jeongguk laying it down. They read the next step on the instruction’s sheet. “Next, poles. This is the worst part.”Taehyung hums. “Not for you little shit, you and your damned biceps,” he jokes and Jeongguk wishes he could hide behind that bush he spots in the distance and hop away from his life like the rabbit he saw before. “Your dad helped us set it up last time, I wish he would be here now as well. He would be a lot more helpful than Jimin. That bitch, what is he doing next to Yoongi? Oh God— Jimin- ah!”Jimin turns around and waves at him.Taehyung puts his hands around his mouth to shout louder. “Move your ass here, we need you!”“What?” Jimin asks like he hasn’t heard him, even if they’re not that far from each other, and then turns his back to them to watch Yoongi building up a black tent. What a—“Bitch.”Jeongguk puts a hand over Taehyung’s shoulder to calm him down. “Don’t worry huh, we can do it by ourselves anyway.”Taehyung nods and picks the poles up from the ground. “Of course we can. You and I build this shit up, you and I sleep in it. I hope Yoongi will welcome Jimin inside his tent, otherwise that cute little shit will have to sleep under the stars tonight.”Jeongguk follows him to help him resuming from where they left. He crouches down over the orange tent, picks up one pole to put it in its place, and when the realisation that tonight Taehyung and him will sleep together and all by themselves hits him on his chest, he stops breathing for a moment and wonders if he’s died and if the camping site where they’ve arrived is just somewhere similar to Hell. They have breakfast all together on the wooden tables that were already part of the camping area. Professor Jung has brought them some pancakes and cookies his husband has made for him and his students, and Taehyung and Jeongguk go to sit next to Jimin and Yoongi, who are still chatting about only God knows what.Jeongguk has his camera hanging from his neck and he snaps a couple of pictures to the couple. “Hey bitches,” he says when he sits down.Jimin stops in the middle of the sentence to look at them. “Oh! The best friends! How are you doing without me? Have you already fucked?”Jeongguk chokes on the biscuit and Taehyung throws to Jimin a piece of pancake. “Shut up, you traitor.”Jimin grins and then turns to Yoongi. “Guys, this is Yoongi. Yoongi, these are my friends Taehyung and Jeongguk.”“Hey guys,” Yoongi smiles and Jeongguk swears that’s the first time —after the cat encounter— he’s seen Yoongi smile in all his high school experience with him.When breakfast time ends, they still stick together for the rest of the day. The itinerary the professor has set expects them to climb up the mountain, eat the sandwiches he’s made at home for lunch, walk around and try to spot as many not-dangerous animals as they can and then come back to the camping area.Jeongguk uses it as an opportunity to snap as many pictures as possible and if half of them are just Taehyung’s back, Taehyung’s side profile and Taehyung’s face when his eyes are looking to another direction, that’s something that no one else needs to know.When they walk back to their tents, the sun is setting and their stomachs are already rumbling. A few students help Professor Jung setting up a little controlled fire in the small area where is allowed and the others get some of their food from their bags.It seems like Professor Jung’s bag comes straight from Mary Poppins’ movie, because when he grabs it and search inside of it, he pulls out an enormous bowl with pasta salad inside.“Is your husband Gordon Ramsay, professor?” Namjoon asks. Namjoon is the smartest and yet kindest kid of their class. Jeongguk hasn’t talked much to him before, only sometimes when he needed some help with homework or when they happened to be in the same project team for chemistry lab, but has always respected him from his seat on the back of the classroom and always admired him.Professor Jung laughs and then shares the food with all the other students.Seokjin is another boy that Jeongguk respects not only for his intelligence, kindness, sweetness and the fact that at his age he’s already acted in a drama, but especially for his stunning beauty that always leaves him speechless. He’s Namjoon’s closest friend and he’s the one who stands up to help the professor with the dishes.Taehyung and Jeongguk take turns to change inside of the tent, even if they’ve already seen them without a shirt before, but Jeongguk isn’t sure he could stand being almost naked in the same tent as Taehyung and so he insists in waiting outside first.When they go to sit on the ground around the fire, Jimin is already sitting there next to Yoongi and he’s stuck on the other’s arm like an octopus. Yoongi doesn’t seem to mind though, as he smiles and talks. Seokjin gives a plate of pasta to each one of them and then sits next to Jeongguk with Namjoon along. “Yo,” he smiles.Jeongguk smiles to them as well. “Yo there, thank you for the food Seokjin.”“You can call me Jin bro, no problem!”At some point during the speech Professor Jung is giving to all of them about how hard they should study for a bright future without forgetting to care about themselves and their passions and hobbies first, Taehyung stands up to get a cup of water from where the professor is sitting on a chair. When he comes back, Jeongguk has already finished his dinner, and Taehyung decides to plop down on Jeongguk’s lap.“Wha— What’s that for?” Jeongguk asks, startled.Taehyung’s lower lip sticks out and he pouts. “I’m jealous of Jimin,” he admits, turning around to bring his face closer to Jeongguk’s, “He’s so lucky he found someone to flirt with.”“S—so you decided to sit on me?” Jeongguk’s cheeks are red and he’s glad that’s the same colour of the fire burning in front of them.Taehyung nods. “Do you mind?”“No!” Jeongguk almost yells, and Taehyung chuckles.“Good. I’m gonna stay here until Jimin gives us some attention.” And Jeongguk really doesn’t mind.Jimin doesn’t give them any attention more than just a “Hello” and a sly look, too busy talking with Yoongi and giggling at every word he says; Seokjin is cuddled up onto Namjoon’s chest, who’s gently caressing his hair, and, suddenly, it feels like a three—couple date, except that the couples are only two and Jeongguk wants to rip his hair off because he swears he’s going crazy.When everyone looks like has finished dinner, Namjoon gently shoves Seokjin away and claps his hands, sitting on his knees. “Alright, who’s ready for a round of horror stories?”“Absolutely not me!” Professor Jung snaps, standing up from his chair. “Not now, not ever.”“Ahw, c’mon professor!” Seokjin begs him, clasping his hand together, “that’s what makes a bonfire even more exciting, am I wrong?”Jungyoon, the girl with pretty and blonde hair, nods. “I love horror stories at night! But without alcohol it’s less fun.”“Who said we have to be sober?” Jaebum, one of Jeongguk’s teammates in his swimming club, stands up and takes two bottles of red wine from the bag laying on the ground next to him.“You— You!” Professor Jung shouts and walks up to him to take the bottle from Jaebum’s hands. “You’re an angel Im Jaebum. I’m gonna give you and A+ next time I swear to God.”He opens the bottles with the tool Jaebum takes out from the same bag, and then, like they’ve all decided it before, a boy named Mingyu and then Yoongi take out other alcoholics from their bags as well.After a couple of minutes, everyone has a cup of alcohol in their hands. Seokjin sits up on his knees and coughs to clear his voice. “I’m gonna start,” he says and then begins. “Last year I went to Japan with my family. We booked one of those typical Japanese houses in the country side you usually see in movies, and stayed there for a few days.”Taehyung searches on the ground for Jeongguk’s hand and, when he founds it, squeezes it.“Are you scared?” Jeongguk teases, even if his heart’s beat is speeding up.“What if I was?” Taehyung jokes, sticking out his tongue.“At the beginning, “Seokjin keeps going, “it was completely normal, but after a couple of days I noticed that things were moving by themselves, like literally moving. I thought it was just a trick of my mind, but later my brother told me that he experienced the same thing.Chairs moving, objects lifting on air and then falling back to the ground. It was too weird. On the last night, I was sleeping in my room when I heard a loud scream. I immediately got up and went to the living room. My brother was there already, while my parents didn’t hear it, I guess. We looked at each other and then heard another scream coming from outside. When we opened the slide door, you know what we saw? A Geisha— A Geisha wearing a red Kimono with black roses on it. She was looking at us with an emotionless expression, and then, in a blink of an eye, she was gone. That night we didn’t sleep at all and the next day we asked out parents to go back home earlier.”Jimin is curled up under Yoongi’s arm and Taehyung has his head shoved under Jeongguk’s chin, and just as Jeongguk pats his back to calm his shaking down, they hear a screeching sound coming from the forest.A white figure screams loudly and runs towards them fast. Everyone gets up screaming even more, some of them run away, while others lay on the ground and cover their ears.Professor Jung is the one who screams louder and he’s on the verge of crying from behind a tree when someone stops screaming and shouts, “Oh fuck you Namjoon!”When Jeongguk opens his eyes again and Taehyung is completely curled up against his chest, the white blanket falls onto the ground and Namjoon laughs so loudly he nearly bends in half.“You’re such an idiot,” Mingyu comments, but most of them are laughing as well.Seokjin has tears in his eyes from how much he’s laughed. “You should’ve seen your expression!”“You should see your expression when I’m gonna beat your asses next year, you brats!” Professor Jung scolds them coming from his hiding place, a little tipsy as we wobbles and grins.They laugh some more and decide that, maybe, they’re a little too scared and a little too drunk to share more horror stories. Someone suggests to go to sleep and everyone agrees as they stand up and walk to their tents.“Put your alarms at 7a.m. tomorrow, or you’re not gonna get breakfast, ‘night!” The professor informs them, before disappearing inside his tent.Jeongguk and Taehyung are opening the zip of the tent when Jimin walks up to them. “Guys,” he whispers, like he’s going to say something wrong, “Uhm… I think— I think I’m gonna sleep with Yoongi tonight.”Taehyung turns to look at Jeongguk and raises his eyebrows, smirking, then turns back to Jimin, who’s playing with the long sleeves of his pink sweatshirt. “Go Jimin,” he says, “Go get that D.”“T—Taehyung!”“Get that D Jimin-ah, do it for us,” Jeongguk adds, and Jimin is read from head to toe, but still smiles when he hops back to the black tent.Jeongguk and Taehyung get in, stay in the same outfits they had on before, and get inside their sleeping bags. When they turn off the led lamp that Taehyung had borrowed from his father, everything goes pitch black and the silence is so heavy when they can only hear the wind blowing softly outside.When Jeongguk changes position and turns around, Taehyung is lying on his back and has his eyes opened. “You can’t sleep?”Taehyung looks at him and shakes his head a little. “I looked at the night sky before,” he whispers, “I’m sad we couldn’t stare at it a little more.”Jeongguk considers that the starry sky is nice, but it’s cold outside, he’s tired, his feet are sore, his mind is cloudy and he would do everything to have at least one hour of sleep, but that Taehyung is more important than everything else and his heart tightens when he hears the disappointment behind Taehyung’s voice. “Who said we can’t?”An exchanged look in the darkness and then they’re already outside, jackets hugging their bodies warm, and, in complete silence, they walk outside of the camping area.It’s chilly and the music the grasshoppers are playing and the white Moon illuminating their path makes everything seem so dreamy. Jeongguk wonders if that’s reality or not, but, after a moment of thinking, decides he doesn’t care.They walk for what feels like hours but is just five minutes or less and arrive to a place where the terrain is flat, the grass is shorter than it is around them and it’s not too far, yet not too close to where their classmates are sleeping. Taehyung lays the blanket he was keeping under his arm onto the ground and then collapses on it, followed by Jeongguk.And, then, the vastness of the black sky covered with shining stars of different sizes opens in front of them. It’s so huge, overwhelming, so empty and dark and yet so full and bright Jeongguk holds his breath in and then exhales it slowly, scared that this moment could slip away from his sight. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Taehyung’s delicate fingers are dancing among the stars, in the sky, eyes completely opened to capture them inside his irises, tracing different shapes and creating constellations. “That’s the Ursa Minor,” he explains, then moves his fingers to another side of the sky, “and that one is the Ursa Major. Oh— That one is so bright it looks like the North Star! It’s beautiful.”Taehyung’s gaze is focused on the spectacle above them, yet Jeongguk’s eyes are only on the boy lying next to him. “Yes, it is,” he whispers, and Taehyung is beautiful with his eyes shining under the moonlight, with his perfect side profile, with his golden hair spread on the blanket and with everything Jeongguk wants, yet is not his.Taehyung notices his heavy gaze and turns his head towards Jeongguk and Jeongguk jumps a little by surprise. “Hey,” he says with low voice, silence broken only by their breathing.“Hi,” Jeongguk replies and some butterflies get out of their cocoons to fly inside his stomach. Taehyung closes his eyes a little and smiles. “See something you like?” He jokes.“I see something I love,” Jeongguk answers, and when he registers the words that have just left his mouth, it’s too late.Taehyung’s eyes blink more than twice and his mouth opens. It’s not the same happy expression he had just before and Jeongguk feels like drowning.“I— I—“ he starts, but it’s too much and he doesn’t know what to say.“Do you love me Jeongguk?”Jeongguk’s heart is beating like crazy inside his chest and he’s scared it might explode and his ribs rip apart and reveal everything that he’s kept inside for so long.He’s hot and the chilly air around them is suffocating. His mind starts working fast, searching for an excuse, for a lie, one of those he hasn’t said before yet, something to keep him sane and don’t let him fall apart.His hands start to shake and the tears on his eyes are already there, ready to fall down and make him a mess, embarrass him in front of the only person he’s ever felt like more than just a friend before in the whole world and in all of his short yet long life.He grips at the blanket under them and closes his eyes. Stills for a couple of seconds and wins over the tears he doesn’t let to fall.“Yes,” he exhales, slowly.Because keeping a secret and lying to hide it even deeper might seem easy at first, but when the hole that it’s digging in his chest become too deep and too hollow, it becomes hard, heavy and there have been so many times he’d wanted to give up he’s lost the count.While speaking the truth is easier, he finds out, just when that word leaves his lips. It’s like breathing fresh air for the first time after years, like the monster that was sitting on his chest suffocating him has finally stood up and walked away to leave him free.“I love you, Tae. “Jeongguk’s voice is so soft and barely audible under the heavy starry sky shining upon them, yet feels so light.Because it’s obvious. It has always been obvious, since two years ago when Taehyung took his hand walking to school one morning like he did everyday, and Jeongguk felt a caterpillar transform into a butterfly inside of his stomach that was different from before and that made him understand that, between them two, it wasn’t friendship anymore.Even if he tried to deny it to himself, it only grew up stronger and heavier in his mind and whenever Taehyung looked at him, he blushed, whenever Taehyung went to his house, he couldn’t help but imagine kissing him and confess, and, yet, never found the courage to do it.Because their friendship was too precious for Jeongguk and the last thing he wanted in this world was to ruin it, to lose it. Keeping his love hidden was the best solution he’d thought about.Except that it wasn’t.His heart is aching too badly lately and he can’t stand it anymore. If Taehyung will break it into tiny pieces, then, maybe, it will hurt a little less if Jeongguk starts breaking it in half first.Taehyung looks away, back to his beloved stars, and exhales slowly. Jeongguk feels like his tears are going to drown him and he wants to curl up in himself and just disappear. Then, just when he thinks that the world is collapsing over him, Taehyung raises himself up on one elbow, propping his forearm next to Jeongguk’s head, and locks his eyes with his.His face moves closer and Jeongguk doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t even know if he’s still inside a dream or not.Taehyung brings his other hand to Jeongguk’s chin and swipes his thumb over Jeongguk’s lips. “Can I?”It takes a few seconds for Jeongguk to register what is happening, but then, his eyes get teary, his mind goes cloudy, his cheeks red and he nods. Nods because of course he can.Taehyung moves his hand slowly and gently to Jeongguk’s cheek, closes his eyes and closes the space separating them.The world collapses and the butterflies inside Jeongguk’s stomach explode into colourful fireworks.He feels warmth spread throughout his whole body, starting from where Taehyung’s soft lips are pressing on his. He moves his hand to Taehyung’s jaw and then tingles his fingers in his honey hair, pulling him closer and earning a soft gasp from Taehyung.Taehyung starts moving his lips gently around Jeongguk’s, parting them slightly with his tongue and biting the other’s bottom lip between his teeth.Jeongguk moans and Taehyung swallows it up when he tilts his head and dives in more, making the kiss more desperate than before and passionate, heated and almost ferocious.Their lips are sloppy against each other and Taehyung shoves his tongue inside Jeongguk’s mouth, licking him over his own tongue and dancing together. Jeongguk feels dizzy under the heat and he swears he’s losing his mind.Taehyung breaks the kiss to attach his lips on Jeongguk’s mouth edges, on his cheeks, on his nose, earning a soft giggle from Jeongguk, just to immediately dive in his mouth again.Jeongguk’s hands find Taehyung back and press him to pull him closer, leaving nothing other than their clothes to separate them.A strip of saliva connects their shining lips when Taehyung breaks the kiss and connects his mouth to Jeongguk’s neck, sucking hard and sloppy on the skin, leaving red marks all over the place and making Jeongguk squirm and moan under his touch.“More,” Jeongguk begs, because it’s too much and yet it’s not enough and he doesn’t want this dream to end too early.Taehyung raises his head and Jeongguk follows his lips, hungry to get more. “You’re so eager,” Taehyung says and his voice is lower than before, sending a shiver down Jeongguk’s spine.“S— Sorry.”“I’m joking,” Taehyung says, leaving a soft peck on Jeongguk’s nose, “you’re so cute baby. But it’s dangerous to stay here more, so late at night.”Disappointment takes place in Jeongguk’s mind, but he understand and nods, kissing softly Taehyung one more time and earning a sweet smile.Taehyung stands up and Jeongguk follows, takes the blanket from the ground and then extends his hand towards Jeongguk, who immediately grabs it and holds it tight.They walk in complete silence to their tent, careful to don’t make any noise that could wake up the others, and get inside, taking their jackets off and just as Jeongguk is getting into his sleeping bag, Taehyung suggests to open their zips up and use one as a kind-of-mattress and the other as a duvet.When they cover themselves with the thick new blanket, Jeongguk lays his head over Taehyung’s pillow and their faces are so close he wants to shorten the distance and never get away.“Hey,” Taehyung smiles, leaving a soft kiss on Jeongguk’s lips, “you good?”“Am good,” Jeongguk answers and then kisses him.Taehyung’s hand moves under the blanket to Jeongguk’s hips and pulls him closer, while Jeongguk pulls him from his hair.It’s like they resume where they had left before, because the kiss becomes immediately passionate and hot, like the world is ending and they have no time, and Taehyung clashes his tongue inside Jeongguk’s mouth, moaning lowly and touching him everywhere.He brings a hand under Jeongguk’s shirt and he shivers from the contact. “Take this off,” Taehyung orders with deep voice and Jeongguk immediately complies, taking it off while still laying and throwing it on the other side of the tent.Taehyung’s hands are warm in the chilly night and they leave heat everywhere they touch, caressing Jeongguk’s back and finding their way to his ass. He cups it and squeezes it while biting down Jeongguk’s lips, making him moan too loudly. “Shh, baby,” he whispers over Jeongguk’s breathe, “I want to hear your voice so bad, but I don’t think the other would also like that, so lower it a little, for me huh?”Jeongguk melts under the pet name and tries to lower his voice. He forces one leg between Taehyung’s thighs and rolls his hips closer, feeling a bulge under the cloth separating him from Taehyung.Jeongguk’s is so hard as well, fears he might come just by the passion of their kiss and doesn’t want to stop. Taehyung pushes him on his chest to lie on his back with one hand, and then moves it down to palm Jeongguk’s dick over his sweatpants.“Oh God Tae—!” Jeongguk almost yells breathless and Taehyung connects their lips deeper to swallow his moans.He starts moving his hand up and down, taking the hard shape of Jeongguk’s dick in his hand, leaves a kiss on his cheek and then raises up, to hover over Jeongguk’s lying body.Jeongguk’s hands go immediately under Taehyung’s shirt and he sits up to lift it and connect his mouth to Taehyung’s nipples. “Oh, you’re so pretty baby,” Taehyung says tangling his fingers through Jeongguk’s soft hair.He pushes Jeongguk down on the mattress again and licks hard onto his neck, making Jeongguk squirm under his weight. He hooks a finger on the waistband of Jeongguk’s sweatpants and pulls at it. “How about you take those off as well?”It sounds like an order more than a simple question, coming from Taehyung’s mouth who’s always been so kind and gentle, and Jeongguk gets even more aroused as he complies immediately and takes his pants off.“You’re gorgeous, Gguk,” Taehyung says and Jeongguk thinks that he could never get tired of hearing compliments coming from him.“You’re too,” Jeongguk replies, taking Taehyung’s hand in his and bringing a finger to his mouth to lick and suck on, “Taehyung.”Taehyung makes something like a growl deep in his throat and his eyes are filled with hunger and lust as he watches Jeongguk leave a coat of saliva over his own fingers. “Say it again.”“You’re—““No, my name. Say it again, baby.”“Taehyung,” Jeongguk repeats and Taehyung kisses him hard again, shoving his tongue inside Jeongguk’s mouth and moaning deeply.Taehyung takes off his pants and his underwear in one movement, while Jeongguk follows him and ends up completely naked as well. They’re both painfully hard and Taehyung doesn’t think twice before taking Jeongguk’s cock in his hand and starting to pump it slowly.Jeongguk’s head falls onto the mattress again and it’s too hard to keep his moans in, to keep his voice low, because Taehyung’s hand is so hot and this must not be a dream anymore because it feels to real and he wants to cry and yell at the top of his lungs.The strokes are slow at first and then they become faster and faster, until Jeongguk can’t help but squirm and grab Taehyung’s arms with his hands because it’s too much and he fills like everything might slip away.Taehyung lowers his face over Jeongguk and kisses him slowly, too slow and too chaste compared to what they were doing until a while before. “You’re so fucking pretty,” Taehyung whispers deeply.Taehyung takes Jeongguk’s hand and places it over his, the one that is stroking Jeongguk’s hard cock, and helps him moving them together, pumping him and sending him to the verge of pleasure together. “T—Tae—”Taehyung takes Jeongguk’s earlobe between his teeth and breathes hot over his skin. “Come,” he whispers lowly and Jeongguk feels the climax reaching his maximum point, “come for me, baby.”He comes white all over his own stomach, riding the orgasm while Taehyung strokes him empty and hard, moaning deep inside Taehyung’s mouth. Taehyung kisses him and slows his hand until Jeongguk is squirming for overstimulation. “You’re such a good boy,” he says, and Jeongguk doesn’t think straight anymore when Taehyung cleans him up with one of their shirts.Taehyung collapses next to him after cleaning him, and then Jeongguk is rising up to sit on his lap.He grinds his hips over Taehyung’s still hard cock and licks inside of Taehyung’s mouth, moaning more to arouse Taehyung than because of any other reason. Taehyung lifts his hips up and grabs Jeongguk’s ass.“Taehyung,” Jeongguk whispers over Taehyung’s lips.“What is it baby?”“I want—“ Jeongguk’s mind is clouded and it’s so hard to think straight and speak, “I want you— Tae.”Taehyung growls one more time, manhandles Jeongguk’s body and overturns them again, putting Jeongguk on his back. He turns around to his bag laying on the ground next to them, opens a little zip on the side and takes out a bottle of lube and a pack of condoms.Jeongguk laughs. “Oh my God, you’re always ready, aren’t you?”“Do you think I’ve never dreamt about…” he points at Jeongguk and then at himself, “this, before?”Jeongguk blushes and his heart warms up at the feeling of not being the only one who’s imagined all of this. He wants to ask Taehyung many questions, listen to him all night and know more, but then Taehyung opens the bottle and drizzles the liquid onto his fingers, warming it up with his thumb, and brings one finger over Jeongguk’s hole.He starts circling around the rim while leaving kisses over Jeongguk’s neck and collarbones. Jeongguk would lie if he said that he’d never fucked himself with the dildo he’d bought online one year ago almost every night, thinking about Taehyung and muffling his moans into his pillow, and when Taehyung doesn’t get straight to the point he feel like he’s going crazy.“Don’t— Don’t tease, asshole.”Taehyung chuckles over his neck and, slowly, pushes a finger in, making Jeongguk’s breath hitch and arch his back up over the mattress.He starts with a slow pace, pushing in and out of Jeongguk to make him more comfortable, then builds up a faster rhythm and kisses Jeongguk hard on his lips.“More—“ Jeongguk breathes and begs. Taehyung complies, taking out one finger and then pushing two inside.Jeongguk starts pushing back to fuck himself on Taehyung’s slender fingers that turn into three, and it’s overwhelming and hot, Jeongguk can’t think straight anymore and the tent smells like sex and sweat.“Are you ready?” Taehyung whispers in Jeongguk’s ear.Jeongguk nods and blinks his teary eyes. “Yes— Yes, I want you inside me, Tae.”He’s a complete mess with his sweaty hair sticking on his forehead, his face blushed red and some dried cum over his stomach, and Taehyung thinks that he’s never seen something more beautiful than Jeongguk.Not even the brightest stars of the galaxy.Taehyung takes his fingers out of Jeongguk’s hole, leaving it clenching on air, grabs the condom back and rips it open with his teeth, before rolling it over his aching dick. He pours some other lube over the latex to slick it all up.Jeongguk spreads his legs wide, drool going down from his mouth at the hot and sexy sight in front of him, and puts his ankles over Taehyung’s shoulder.“You okay?”Jeongguk nods and Taehyung aligns himself on Jeongguk’s hole and slowly pushes inside.Jeongguk holds his breath and shuts his eyes but lets out a soft moan in his throat. Taehyung deeps himself till his balls touch Jeongguk’s skin and then stills, letting Jeongguk adjust on his size.It’s not too different from what Jeongguk has got used to before, maybe a little bit bigger, but it’s warm and Taehyung is pushing inside him and Jeongguk doesn’t understand anything anymore because it’s just too good to be true.“Fuck,” Taehyung swears low as he pulls out till the tip and then shoves himself deep down again, making Jeongguk moan loud in the silence of the night. “You’re so tight.”Taehyung keeps pulling out and pushing in, growing faster and faster, sweating and breathing warm and quickly. Jeongguk searches for a support to hold himself on the mattress and finds Taehyung’s hand, who holds him tightly.“Let—“ Jeongguk breathes over Taehyung’s lips, “let me ride you.”Taehyung stops and with all the strength he has, grabs Jeongguk by his legs and turns them around, his cock still buried deep in Jeongguk’s ass.Jeongguk looks at him with teary eyes and cheeks so pink to glow through the darkness of the night. “Go on,” Taehyung gives him permission, “make us feel good baby.”Jeongguk follows his order, places both his hands on Taehyung’s shoulders to find support, raises his hips up and then slams them back down.Taehyung growls and suppresses his moans on Jeongguk’s neck, licking and sucking hard hickeys that will be visible tomorrow for sure, while Jeongguk bounces in his lap and tries his best to don’t let his voice slip away.“Ah— You’re so good Gguk,” Taehyung praises him between kisses, “you’re so good for me.”Taehyung’s hands are on his hips to help him sit straight, lifting him up and dropping him back down, and Jeongguk’s dick is hard again, bouncing between their stomach, already leaking precum and building his climax fast.“I— I’m close Tae,” he moans.Taehyung squeezes his ass and kisses him on his cheek. “Me too, baby,” he whispers, “come over me.”Jeongguk cries out in pleasure, spilling white all over Taehyung, and throws his head back as his eyes flutter closed and comes just by Taehyung’s voice.Taehyung holds up Jeongguk’s tired body and rises his hips up to keep thrusting harder and faster into the other, until he feels warmth take over his body, nourishing the fire growing inside his chest, and he feels the orgasm rippling through him as he comes inside Jeongguk.They stay for a couple of minutes holding each other in their arms, panting and trying to slow their breathes and their hearts down.Jeongguk kisses Taehyung lightly on his neck and Taehyung chuckles. “Sweet kitten.”“Meow,” he purrs, letting himself be held by Taehyung who slowly eases him out. He collapses onto the soft sleeping bag and covers his face with his hands when reality hits him hard.Taehyung takes the condom off, ties it and then throws it aside, before laying next to the other and covering them both with the duvet. “You okay baby?”Jeongguk nods and pokes out his Bambi eyes behind his hands. “Never been better.”Taehyung chuckles, gently shoves Jeongguk’s hands from his face to put his hands instead and kisses him sweetly until they both fall asleep. The air is warm when Jeongguk wakes up.The tent’s orange colour casts softly the morning light over the interior. He sits up and looks at his right to find Taehyung still sleeping, blond and messy hair spread all over his gorgeous face and white pillow, snoring lightly.Jeongguk thinks he looks like an angel.He looks around and finds his red hoodie to tug on, before shoving Taehyung’s shoulder gently. “Tae,” he whispers, and Taehyung lets out a cute groan, “Tae, wake up.”Taehyung slowly opens his eyes and yawns. “What is it?”“It’s eleven in the morning,” Jeongguk says, showing the time on his phone to Taehyung who’s starting to understand his surroundings, “I can hear the others outside. I think they had breakfast without us, those bastards. The bus is in one hour, don’t you remember?”They get up immediately and rush in packing their things up again. Taehyung kisses Jeongguk on his lips while they’re folding the sleeping bags and Jeongguk melts in his place, thinks he would leave everything and just run away in the middle of the mountains with Taehyung and never come back.They finish packing everything when Professor Jung calls them in front of the wooden welcoming signboard.He asks them why they weren’t present at breakfast and Jeongguk lies saying that he didn’t feel well at all during the night and wanted to sleep until late, Taehyung had stayed with him to keep him company, and the professor believes them as they start walking to the bus station.Jimin hops between them, grabs their hands and holds them together. “Jeongguk has never, and I repeat, never felt sick all his life long and you want me to believe that he didn’t feel well this morning, huh?”Taehyung shares a look with Jeongguk over Jimin’s head and sighs. “You’re talking like you haven’t done anything bad last night, mh, Jimin-ah?”Jimin smiles widely and squeezes their hands. “Each one of us got some D, I see. Cool!”He runs away to join Yoongi walking in the back and intertwines his own fingers with his. “Cute and innocent Jimin isn’t that innocent anymore,” Taehyung comments and chuckles.Jeongguk takes his hand and holds it. “Am I cute, Tae?”Taehyung squeezes his hand and smiles. “The cutest,” he says and kisses him on his cheek, close to his ear, and whispers, “and so fucking sexy.”Jeongguk coughs loudly to cover Taehyung’s words and his face lights up red, making Taehyung laugh even more. Jimin goes to a quick bathroom break a couple of minutes before twelve, and when he comes back in front of the bus, almost all of his classmates have got on.Except for Yoongi, who’s waiting for him in front of the entrance door.“C’mon Chim, they’re leaving!”He jumps inside, just as the bus goes on and drives to the road.They walk through the little aisle of the moving vehicle and Jimin spots a golden head between the seats.“Tae, you promised me you’d sit next to me on the road back—“Taehyung is sleeping, lips slightly parted as he snores lowly, and Jeongguk’s head is lying onto Taehyung’s shoulder, with their fingers intertwined tightly and the light morning sunlight hitting their smiles.Jimin chuckles and shakes his head.“And you tell me I'm not the third wheel, huh?”