BOY SCOUT. － s.yh + j.jh

8: entry twenty-six

On the second day of their camping weekend, the leaders had organised a variety of activities to keep the scouts busy, and indeed by the time dinner came about Yoonoh was fully drained of all his energy. Donghyuck was the same, what with having given his all to impress his seniors, even if he'd giggle mirthfully and begin to fool around with other scouts the moment he'd remember the fact that he'd get to skip going to school the next day.

Yoonoh had to admit, the idea was quite pleasant for him to think about too, which would have been strange in itself had his school life been in a different state than it was at the time.

No, he'd rather not let his classmates invade his fun whilst he was with his friends, he decided, and so he grabbed another one of the last two chocolate spread biscuits Youngho had packed for him － as promised － and bit it in half, munching on it in silence as he watched the flame of their camp's fire burn alone.

Most of the scouts had gone to sleep with the darkness that settled early over the woods, and the stragglers who remained awake were playing tag some ways off with an adult leader.

Yoonoh did consider joining, but he figured that with the chubby body he had he may be left breathless too soon and he just might end up being a bother for them, anyway.

No, it was best if he sat and ate his snack in peace, he decided, where he wouldn't annoy anyone by forcing himself into the clique of already formed friendships.

"Yoonoh? Why are you here?"

He jolted upright in his spot on the worn down log, his second and last biscuit nearly jumping over the edge of its plastic container, though fortunately surviving his fright.

"Johnny," the boy said, at a loss of how to respond. He felt as though the honest reply to the question sounded rather pitiful, and the thing he wanted least in the world was for the senior he admired to think he was a loser.

"I," he began, sight flickering to the ground and then the flames, sagging shoulders rolling in a shrug, "don't feel like playing."

Whether or not his lie was bought was a mystery, but a number of moments passed in stillness until the older breathed from his mouth and took a seat abreast the other, uncaring of their close proximity as he too stared into the fire.

"Do you like the biscuits?" he eventually asked.

The question caught the boy off-guard, but he hurried to give a hum of gratitude and contentment.

"A lot," he happily said, dusting off his palms and glancing down at the final one at the bottom of the box.

Youngho gave a nod, setting his forearms on his thighs as his hands clasped between them.

"That's great; they're my favourite brand."

"Really?" the shorter chirped, then looking at the biscuit he had picked up as if it were a foreign object. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then a smile stitched itself to his lips, his hand offering the treat to the other who arched a brow in return.

"You can have the last one, as a thank you."

Youngho blinked in surprise before taking hold of the biscuit with the tips of his fingers and breaking it down the middle, "A half each, then."

A subtle pink painted the supple cheeks of the boy who shyly took back the piece offered and began slowly nibbling on it, to make it last longer.

Some minutes passed with no words being shared between the two, and Yoonoh caught himself throwing glances at his senior that would often last too long, distracted by seeing the way the flame's lights appeared to dance along the curves of the older's face, thread through the strands of hair on his forehead and glisten on the lips he licked clean of any crumbs.

"I noticed you've been more reluctant than usual to hang out with the scouts outside of Donghyuck and I," the leader eventually spoke, murmured words slithering through the thick atmosphere until it was cut, "Why is that?"

Yoonoh squirmed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and no longer finding Youngho's face to be distracting enough. He looked to his booted feet, swishing them just above the ground, moving the blades of flattened grass.

"I don't want to bother them," was all he said, and really it was enough.

The taller let out a breath, one which Yoonoh mistakenly misinterpreted as being of irritation.

"Yoonie, why do you keep thinking like this?" Youngho asked in an almost scolding manner, "You're anything but a bother and everyone here really likes you. Distancing yourself from them like this makes the others think you don't like them, you know?"

The boy dipped his head, apologetic, now wondering if he was inflicting how he felt upon his fellow scouts.

"Not everyone thinks they're the best person in the world, but that doesn't stop them from being themselves and being around others. In life, you just need to do you and those who like you will be your friends, those who don't, won't. It's that easy. Yoonoh, it's impossible to have everyone liking you, but it's also impossible to have everyone hating you. In a big world like this, there are so many people who would love to be your friend. Like Donghyuck for example."

"What I'm trying to say is, that you need to put yourself out there for people to first understand what kind of person you are, and then decide whether they want to get closer or not."

Youngho's eyes lifted from the fire to spare a look at the young boy abreast him, stunned to see trails of tears mutedly trekking down the pudgy face of the boy whose shoulders were trembling.

"Y-Yoonie! Yoonie, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you. Are you okay?"

The smaller shook his head, bringing his hand up to use the back of it to wipe away the saltwater that stained his delicate skin.

"Senior, you're. . . so cool."

"Cruel?"

Yoonoh barked out a laugh, his grin baffling the other even further.

"I said cool, Johnny, not cruel!"

"Oh." he relaxed, "Thanks."

The boy's crying had already met its end and he then wore a luminous smile, one that made a sensation bloom in Youngho's chest, closely trailed by the panic of realisation.

He watched without seeing as the chestnut-headed teen set the container, which had been on his lap, on the wood at his side, his eyes curiously peeking at where the other scouts could be seen still playing with their torches lit.

"You must be right, senior, because you know many things."

Youngho would have stated some doubts about a belief such as that, but he let it slide with a jutting of his jaw and a wrinkling of his brow.

"I'll do my best to do as you've told me, I promise," his head unexpectedly turned, locking eyes with the unsuspecting scout who twitched at the contact.

As the first time in the treehouse and as the two occurrences following that, Yoonoh drew nearer until his sugar-scented lips pressed against those of Youngho, firmly but briefly, and the feeling lasted barely enough for the latter to process it.

Yoonoh leant back and beamed as if it meant nothing, then proceeding to stand and give a slight bow to a still shellshocked scout leader.

"Thanks a lot, senior Johnny," the boy said with a faint glisten of drying tears remaining visible on the sides of his eyes, "I'm going to go play with the others before going to sleep. Goodnight!"

And like that he ran off, leaving Youngho with a thundering heart and a muddled mind, wondering if what was happening was acceptable or not.

His twenty-sixth entry retold the entire scene of the two boys beneath the moonlight and by the campfire, how intelligent and kind Youngho was and how giving him a kiss of gratitude made his tummy flip.

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