this summer | jeongchan

one

you could say that jeongin dreads the last day of junior year. actually, scratch that. he loathes it. not only is he not going to be able to see his friends—more like friend—for the summer, but his family is shipping him away to some summer camp three hours away.

it's stupid, in jeongin's opinion. he doesn't even fully understand why he's being forced to go. when his parents announced that he was going to be there all summer, all they said was, "it'll be a great opportunity for you to make a lot of friends and do something other than be on your phone all day!"

jeongin fought with them for a month before giving up and accepting his future.

now, jeongin sits in his first period class on the last day of junior year.

it's inevitably boring, with the teacher not doing anything at all but playing hangman with the students in the front. (they are favored and probably smartest in the class).

jeongin feels something rub against his shoulder and turns to see a crumpled paper laying on the floor. he picks it up and looks across to room to see his best (and only) friend, seungmin, smiling like the puppy he is. seungmin gestures for jeongin to unwrap the paper and he does, reading it in his head.

how about we skip for the rest of the day next period before you leave me for three months? i know a way out ;)

jeongin looks up and gives a quick thumbs up before stuffing the paper into his bag, which is entirely empty. after twenty minutes, the bell rings and seungmin waits at the door for jeongin. he suddenly starts walking to the bathroom and jeongin tilts his head.

"why are we doing to the bathroom?" he asks, closing the door behind the two. seungmin says nothing, instead going over to the window and opening it just wide enough for somebody to fit through. it doesn't look it, but with jeongin and seungmin's physique, it does the trick. with jeongin first and seungmin second, the two crawl out through the window and land on grass thankfully. jeongin breathes in the air and lets out a satisfied sigh.

"im gonna miss this.." jeongin states as the boys walk out of school territory and mindlessly on the sidewalk.

"you're gonna miss.. school?" seungmin asks.

jeongin hits him playfully, "no, stupid. i'm gonna miss this town, how beautiful it is." he looks around at the flowers blossoming and smiles.

"well you're only going a few hours away, i'm sure the camp will be nice too.." seungmin says, a sad tone prominent in his voice. jeongin takes notice and turns to him.

"i know.. i don't wanna go either. but you know what i'll miss the most?"

"me?!" seungmin says in a optimistic voice, as if he's correctly guessed the answer. (he did, but jeongin wasn't going to let him off so easy.)

"—i was going to say my parents but i guess it'll suck not seeing you every so often." jeongin remarks, which earns a 'tsk' and shove from seungmin.

for the rest of the day, the two boys try their very best to make each second worth it. they go to the mall, eat at their favorite food places, take a very, very short trip to han river, and soon it is 7 o'clock, the time in which school's let out and they both have to go home. they walk from han river to jeongin's house. they now stand on the porch.

"well.. i guess i'll see you in three months. don't miss me too much." seungmin teases, but you can tell he doesn't mean it.

jeongin sighs and immediately hugs the other, "i will. thanks for hanging with me, minnie." he feels seungmin wrap his arms around him.

"gosh," he says against jeongin's back. "you're making this sound like you're leaving forever."

"oh yeah, sorry. don't worry, i'll see you soon." jeongin apologizes and finally lets go, waving a small goodbye and opening his front door.

seungmin turns and leaves, as does jeongin.

once he steps into the house, it's quiet. almost too quiet. he carefully slips off his shoes before entering the kitchen, where he's suddenly met with his mother focusing on cooking something on the stove.

"oh! honey, i didn't even hear you come in." she exclaims, a bit startled. "how was your last day of school?" she asks.

jeongin shrugs in response and sits at the table, resting his head on his hand. he plays with the table cloth for a little before his mother sits across from him.

"listen, i know you don't want to go, but im sure it's not as bad as you're expecting it will be. you'll make some friends and, who knows, maybe find a girlfriend.." she rants, emphasizing the last sentence. jeongin scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"right." he says sarcastically. jeongin's mother obviously gets agitated as she stands and goes back to the stove. sighing, she says "well, you better go start packing your clothes. remember, we're leaving at 8 am tomorrow. and please, don't anger your father, he has enough stress already."

jeongin stands and walks upstairs into his room, closing the door behind him. he lays on his comfortable bed and stares at his ceiling for what feels like hours. all he's thinking about is how, maybe, his parents are happy that he was going away for the summer. for a second, water builds up in jeongin's eyes, but he quickly distracts himself by remembering that he has to pack his stuff. he checks his phone, 8:30. jeongin stands and goes to his closet, slowly picking out pairs of jeans and shirts and throwing them into the suitcase his mother prepared for him.