HIKE

08 | congratulations!

"Wow, you made it," was Mark's greeting as they charged through the campsite gates. He looked like he wanted to pinch himself, his eyes were so wide with disbelief. "And you aren't even the last group to arrive..."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, hyung," Donghyuck drawled.

"Congratulations, Team Dream!" Mr Kim came over to them, giving each team member a high five. "Find a spot around here and pitch your tents. Other than that, have fun, don't be too loud, and most of all well done!"

"That man is more positive than I will ever be," Donghyuck muttered under his breath.

"Thanks, sir!" said Jaemin, standing rather heavily on Donghyuck's foot. "Come on, guys."

"Ow, fuck you," Donghyuck whined, getting louder the futher they got from the teacher.

They trudged a little further into the field until they found a nice spot, and all collapsed into the soft grass. The sun was getting closer to the horizon, painting the sky a warm orange, but it was still light and it would be long until dusk.

"Okay, how about you two put up the tents whilst Renjun cooks the ramen?" Donghyuck suggested. He leaned back and stretched out his arms, clearly ready to lounge around on his ass and do little else.

"How about you give us a hand, fatass?" Jeno countered. He was already getting the tents out of his bag and making a start on putting them up.

"Lee fucking Jeno," Donghyuck breathed, flaring his nostrils, "I have been walking all fucking day, so gimme thirty fucking seconds to sit down, you little bitch!"

Jeno threw a tent peg at him while he seethed in response. The peg bounced off Donghyuck's thigh, and he whined in pain. Jeno just silently smirked.

"Dong-yuck!" Lucas bounded over from his group and leaned down to ruffle Donghyuck's hair.

Donghyuck slapped his hand away. "What a shame, I thought we'd beaten your ass here."

"We've been here for hours, man," Lucas shrugged and grinned at him proudly. "We were the first group to arrive, actually."

"Who else is here?" Jaemin cut in quickly. He glanced up from where he was folding the map on the grass, looking in Lucas' direction questioningly.

"Oooh!" Donghyuck hooted. "Who are you waiting for, lover boy?"

Jaemin's ears turned red and he went back to helping Jeno unpack the tents. "I was just wondering," he muttered.

"Actually, Xiyeon's group still hasn't arrived," Lucas remarked.

Donghyuck instantly went into panic mode, shooting to his feet as he began to shake the taller boy by the shoulders. "Xiyeon isn't here yet? Is she okay? Did something happen?"

"Oooh," Jaemin droned in a sarcastic monotone, "someone's worried now."

"Shut up, Jaemin, this is important," Donghyuck snapped. He grabbed the front of Lucas' shirt and continued, "Look, you Chinese tree, tell me what happened to my girlfriend!"

"She's fine!" Lucas answered quickly. "I mean, she probably is. Mr Kim hasn't heard from them but they should get here soon."

"Oh, Christ," Donghyuck mumbled, panicked. "Someone cook my ramen, I need an anxiety nap."

He instantly collapsed in the pile of bags, eyes shut and snores errupting within seconds.

"So... can I help you guys with anything?" Lucas asked. He smirked a little as he prodded Donghyuck's head with his toe.