hotel_omelas | a day on the beach [dated to 2/9]

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a day on the beach [dated to 2/9]

It's really not warm enough for a beach trip, but maybe that's why they're doing it. It's an impractical trip, a flight of fancy that hadn't been planned or anticipated, a spare afternoon where none of them have other plans, or at least no plans that can't be changed. They have a free few hours and Jin's truck and nothing in the world sounds better than spending a few stupid hours together.

The hyungs all pile into the cab, Jin hyung and Joonie hyung up front, the other two just behind them while Jimin and Taehyung and Jungkook make themselves comfortable in the bed. Or at least as comfortable as they can with a few blankets, their cheeks turning a frigid pink as the wind whips at their skin. It's next to impossible to carry on any conversation back there, but that hardly stops them from trying, the three of them screaming and laughing into the wind, rejoicing in the opportunity to just be away from the rest of the world, to exist in just this exact moment with nothing else weighing them down.

Jimin's ears are ringing by the time hyung pulls onto the familiar stretch of beach, body buzzing from the vibration of the truck on the road as he hops out.

It's even colder here than it'd been in the city, the wind rushing off the water, chilling Jimin to the bone despite his big, puffy coat. But it feels amazing, the sand soft under his shoes as he runs up ahead, glancing back at his friends as he comes dangerously close to the edge of the water, hands still stuffed in the pockets of his coat. The dulled sunlight glints off the truck, a little blink as the sun is enveloped in another blanket of clouds.

They've only just got here, still have hours to spend doing just about whatever they want and yet, some part of Jimin is already dreading when it all ends.

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The wind blows off the water in little gusts, ruffling Jungkook's hair, stringing it together with humidity and salt, and Hoseok thinks he looks like some kind of water sprite, a sea creature returning home. He just looks like he belongs out there, water lapping roughly around his shins and getting the cuffs of his jeans wet.

Hoseok has never really felt at home anywhere outside a dance studio, the polished wood flooring beneath his feet, music wrapping around him, driving through him. The closest he gets isn't a place, it's a person, or a group people, these people. When they're all together like this he feels like maybe the shattered future he sees in front of himself is the dream and the happiness and togetherness of his found family is what's real.

He tugs his hat further down on his head as Jungkook ducks and, for a worrying second, Hoseok thinks maybe Jungkook is going to go under. Instead he shoves up his sleeve and plunges his hand into the water, coming up with something from the sandy bottom.

And then Jungkook is running up toward him and beckoning him over. He takes cautious steps in Jungkook's direction, careful of his sore ankle as he reaches out and offers Jungkook his hand without question or hesitation.

Maybe Jungkook will regret this all a little later, when he finds his skin still salty and sticky from the ocean water, but for now, the soft look of curiosity on Hoseok's face is enough to have made the wading worth it. With a proud grin, he holds his fist briefly over Hoseok's palm before dropping the shell there.

"For hyung," Jungkook laughs, his expression slightly self-deprecating. It's not nearly as nice as the souvenirs that Jungkook's sure that they'd be able to find if they stopped by the shops that line the more popular stretch of the beach — but sometimes Jungkook thinks that with Hoseok, smaller presents like this might mean just as much. The amount of money spent doesn't really matter, and can even be a burden.

Whereas this shell can simply serve as a little symbol of Jungkook's care.

"It looks really pretty on the inside, if you hold it up to the sun," Jungkook nods at the shell, thoughtlessly stuffing his hands back in his pockets and taking a couple steps backward, already curious how many more shells he can collect if he carefully combs through the sand. "Maybe if I find some more, we can make a necklace."

Hoseok lifts his hand to examine what Jungkook's just given him, tilting his hand so he can see the sunlight catch on the iridescent inner surface of the shell. He carefully picks it up so he can get a better look, looking at both sides, pretty in different ways like so many things in life, the true beauty hidden by a more unassuming exterior.

"Oh a necklace," he says, looking up at Jungkook with wide, delighted eyes. "That would be really pretty!" he remarks, looking down at the shell in his hand again. "And unique and special, being handmade." He drops the shell into his palm again, curling his fingers protectively around it.

"Have you ever made a necklace like that before?" he asks, casting his gaze out over the ocean for a moment before turning his attention back on Jungkook. "I've never tried, but I always like those sorts of things when I see them in the shops."

"Can't say that I have, but I bet it wouldn't be impossible for us to figure it out," Jungkook reasons. He's sure that crafting such a necklace is probably harder than it looks, as is typical with a lot of artisan jewelry — it takes a certain amount of practice to keep things looking just uniform enough to be intentional, but not so much that it looks machine-made. But if there's anything that Jungkook likes about himself, it's the fact that he's not afraid of a bit of hard work.

"Like that one could be the center pendant, right?" Jungkook muses, bringing a fist up to his lips and pressing it there in thought. "We'll probably have to drill a tiny hole in it; I don't know how we'll do that, but maybe if I find another shell, we can play around with it and see if it's possible to do without cracking the whole thing. And then, mm, if we find those little shells that look like ice cream cones? A couple of those on the sides of the pendant would be nice, I think."

His lips stretch into a grin as Jungkook takes one step back, closer to the water. "I'll have to look really hard. Maybe if we find seven clam shells, we can all have a matching necklace! Ah, I bet you can probably find some on the dry parts of the beach too, hyung."

Hoseok smiles fondly as he watches Jungkook work out the logistics of making a necklace of seashells. When Jungkook had first mentioned it Hoseok had thought about it briefly, how one could attach a cord maybe, punching a hole or gluing a jump ring on or something, but it had just been a passing thought. Like most things that catch Jungkook's attention, this now has his full attention. Hoseok's always admired that about Jungkook, how he takes even the smallest ideas and latches onto them, gives them the care they deserve. He's really very thoughtful for a boy his age, for a person any age.

"I can see what I can find," Hoseok says, turning his head back and forth to look along the sand, eyes landing on little bumps and shapes that could be shells. "I really like the idea of the matching necklaces," he admits when he lifts his head again. "Something to tie us all together," he goes on, and it isn't until he says it that the idea makes his chest ache a little. "Something physical, I mean," he amends, swallowing past the uncomfortable feeling that's rising.

"I'll meet you back here after I look for a few minutes," he says, quickly turning his eyes away, pretending he's already looking for shells. He doesn't know what it is, but the emotions building feel dark and constricting, something like fear or dread. He doesn't understand what it is or why it's come over him so fast, but he doesn't want to upset Jungkook.

"It's kind of a nice symbol, right?" Jungkook asks, pleased that his idea has been well-received and immediately digging his toes deeper into the sand, pushing it around, trying to find more. This stretch of beach seems a little bit more barren, but as Jungkook glances off into the distance, he notices a few tide pools off further to one side that might be a little more fruitful. He smiles, reaching to touch Hoseok's arm with a nod. "Thanks for helping me look, hyung. Maybe we can keep it a surprise from the others."

Jungkook takes off without much pause, waving his arm as he goes. "If you wanna find me, I think I'll look around those tide pools for a while," he calls out, before turning around to run at full speed. He lets out a slight little whoop as he rushes against the wind, feeling the temperature of it cut against his face.

Something about being here makes Jungkook feel more alive than he has in weeks, finally breaking through the monotony of days spent back in class. Someday, he thinks, they'll be able to take off like this anytime.

Take a day off and just drive, drive, drive.

Hoseok lifts his eyes to meet Jungkook's, the coldness in his chest warmed some by the light in Jungkook's eyes, the joy and fulfillment of a plan in mind. He smiles without thinking, the feeling of it suffusing him, lifting some of the weight from his shoulders. "I like that," he says. "A surprise." He grins widely, his hand finding Jungkook's opposite shoulder, squeezing.

He watches Jungkook sprint down the beach, water flying up from his heels, deep footprints left behind in the damp sand. Jungkook shrinks a little as he runs, but he doesn't go too far, still near enough that Hoseok could shout for him if he needed to, could hobble over without too much effort.

Jungkook reaches the tide pools and begins searching for shells and Hoseok begins to walk around the area near him, dragging the toes of his boots through the dry sand, leaning down to comb his fingers through the grains of it any time he finds anything big enough to work for their necklaces.

He searches for a while, ten minutes, fifteen, twenty, has a pocketful of shells that could be useful, any unbroken shell he can find. They jangle as he walks toward the tide pools, like muted wind chimes, and the breeze ruffles the bits of Hoseok's hair that aren't tucked beneath his hat, the strands tickling his cheeks. Where he felt heavy a few moments ago he feels light, like he's floating, and his ankle aches a little but it feels like being alive.

He's close to Jungkook again before he knows it, watching with a smile as Jungkook stoops at the edge of a pool of ocean water, dragging his fingers through the silt. "Find anything good?" he asks from a few paces away, dipping his hand into his own pocket, hoping he's found at least a few pieces that Jungkook can use.

By the time Hoseok comes back around, Jungkook's taken a break from wading directly in the water, instead opting to sit by the side of a tide pool, letting his feet hang in the air. There are a few shells that clink around in his pocket, enough that he can probably manage the full set of necklaces — though he really looks forward to seeing Hoseok's collection, of having enough choices to narrow it down to the prettier shells, and perhaps saving the others for some other purpose. Maybe a non-living terrarium.

When he hears Hoseok's voice, Jungkook pauses from where he'd been playing around with the critters in the pool, flashing a bright smile and patting the spot next to him. The sand is a little damp, but not enough to soak too much into their pants; if anything, the dampness seems to help prevent the sand from getting all over the place, which Jungkook imagines Jin will appreciate.

"Yeah, I've got some shells in my pocket, we can compare in a moment," Jungkook nods, before reaching down to scoop his latest find in his hand, carefully cupping it to keep a little bit of saltwater in his palm. Only after Hoseok's settled down does Jungkook lift his hand the rest of the way, revealing a small starfish in the middle of his palm, no larger than the width of three fingers. It's not super bright like the ones he often sees in pictures — if he were to describe the color at all, it'd basically be the color of sand.

But it's still fun to watch the legs of the starfish curl and search around on Jungkook's skin.

"Look, hyung," Jungkook grins. "I can't tell if it's cute or totally gross."

Hoseok moves to Jungkook's side as fast as his sore ankle allows him, dropping carefully to his knees and then swinging his legs around so he can sit cross-legged next to Jungkook on the edge of the tide pool. The sand is a little damp but it doesn't seem to be seeping into Hoseok's jeans, though the cold does a little and he ducks his chin into the collar of his coat as he smiles over at his friend.

He's excited for them to share the spoils of their searching, but he can tell something else has caught Jungkook's attention, and he watches as Jungkook dips his hand into the water, shivering as he imagines how cool it probably is, Jungkook's fingers raw and pink. Of course Jungkook doesn't seem to notice or mind, his focus entirely elsewhere.

Leaning close, Hoseok looks into Jungkook's palm, not sure what he's expecting to see. He makes a delighted little 'oh' sound when he identifies the little creature Jungkook's holding, realizing he's never actually seen a starfish with his own eyes before, maybe not even a picture of a real one. It's small and pale and way more flexible than Hoseok thought it would be, its limbs moving around fluidly, reaching and flexing.

"It's cute!" Hoseok decides, very carefully poking the end of one if the points with his fingertip, the starfish retracting a little in response. "I never realized they were so... Bendy," he says with a laugh.

When Jungkook notices the slight shiver of Hoseok's shoulders, he quickly throws an arm around Hoseok and draws him closer; with both of them tucked close, it's possible to share and better retain body heat, which for all of Jungkook's earlier wading, he seems to have an abundance of. Maybe it's something about the whole trip that has his body running hot and excited, compared to how much he had been shivering earlier in the truck.

Jungkook grins widely as soon as Hoseok's recognized the little creature sitting in his palm. It squirms around with multiple limbs, as though trying to feel out the new planes of its temporary home in Jungkook's hand. In retrospect, maybe Jungkook shouldn't have pulled the little guy from its habitat — he distantly recalls something from a class long ago about how doing so can be pretty disruptive for the animals — but hopefully, remembering where he picked it up from will be good enough to put it back into place soon.

For now, it's kind of fun to watch the creature, livelier than any he's seen while at the zoo.

"Kind of reminds me of hyung, huh?" Jungkook giggles. "I'm sure that you're just as bendy. And a lot more graceful about it. You wanna hold it?"

Hoseok appreciates the warmth of Jungkook's arm around him, and the contact too, the closeness. He's spent so much of his life feeling isolated and unwanted, and these boys, Jungkook in particular, are his family. He is never happier than when he's with all of them together, when he feels like a brother, like a part of something bigger than himself.

He laughs fondly when Jungkook compares him to the starfish, and he thinks about how he could use something like those searching, sinuous movements in his dancing, an homage to the little creature who has become a part of their afternoon. His instinct is to shy away when Jungkook suggests he hold the starfish, afraid of how it might feel in his palm, that he could hurt it, but he feels like he should try.

"Since we're so much alike," Hoseok says, lifting a hand palm up so Jungkook can pass the starfish over. "I'd love to hold it."

Jungkook feels a bit of warmth in his chest when Hoseok laughs, receptive to the comparison between himself and the starfish. It was certainly meant to be a compliment, but sometimes Jungkook finds that he's a little bit clumsy with his words — there are certainly lots of other attributes about a starfish that are less than flattering. But the movement, he thinks, is oddly graceful. A little tentative at first, before the starfish reaches further in any given direction that proves promising.

It's not unlike what Jungkook observes about his hyung sometimes, occasional moments of doubt that vanish once there's a safe opportunity to explore.

"Here," Jungkook murmurs, his voice soft as though not to disturb the starfish. He pulls his arm briefly away from around Hoseok's shoulders, carefully nudging an index finger underneath the body of the starfish to help lift it, then transferring it over to the center of Hoseok's palm. "Yah, hyung's fingers are long like the starfish's arms, too."

Hoseok's still nervous when Jungkook carefully picks the starfish up, setting it down in Hoseok's hand, worried it will feel gross and slimy or might not like him, might sense his anxiety and try to escape somehow, up his arm or off the side of his hand. But the creature just sits, maybe a little compressed, like it's waiting to make sure its safe before it moves.

Hoseok holds his breath until the starfish reaches out with one little arm, and Hoseok looks closely when he feels a tickling against his skin, sees that the starfish actually has dozens of tiny feet on the bottom of each limb that move it around. He laughs softly, surprised and a little nervous, afraid to move too much and scare the little thing.

"He's really coordinated," Hoseok remarks, spreading his fingers wide so his hand mirrors the starfish a little more, watches as the starfish moves toward his index finger. "And gentle. Reminds me of Kookie," he adds with a grin, lifting his eyes to Jungkook's.

"Me? Gentle?" Jungkook laughs incredulously. Coordinated might be one thing — Jungkook has to admit, his solid performances during physical education suggest that he's got an edge there — but gentle is a word that he saves for so many of his other hyungs. For Jimin, who has both a gentle touch and gentle heart. For Namjoon, who makes up for lack of coordination in the quiet solace and wisdom he offers. For Yoongi, whose fingers skate so gently across the keys.

All of his hyungs are gentler than he is, Jungkook thinks. But maybe that just means that he has all the more he should be learning from them.

He nods at the starfish, and at the steady stretch of Hoseok's hand. "I think hyung's gentler than I am. More coordinated, too. Look, even the starfish knows that your hand is the better one to climb across, because you're so steady," Jungkook points out, kicking his feet out in delight. "It's too bad we can't take it home with us, huh?"

Hoseok doesn't feel like the starfish seems any more or less confident or comfortable about the terrain of his hand, but he's charmed by Jungkook's words anyway. Hoseok doesn't know if he's gentle himself, but he tries to be steady and supportive of his friends, tries to be kind and loving. He doesn't want to give anyone a reason to reject him, to turn their backs. He just wants everyone around him to be happy, wants to do what he can to be part of that happiness. Or at least not take away from it.

"You've always been gentle with me," Hoseok comments, his voice soft, watching the starfish move slowly, testing the different textures of Hoseok's palm. He doesn't want to get too sentimental at the moment, but he relies on Jungkook a lot more than he should and Jungkook has only ever met that reliance with kindness and care.

"We'll remember him," Hoseok says with a gentle smile, curling his finger as the starfish reaches out toward it. "And maybe he'll remember us, too."

"Well... kindness deserves kindness in return, right? It's only natural that I'm gentle with my hyung, because you've always been sweet to me," Jungkook points out, tilting his head back as a breeze passes by, letting it weave through the strands of his hair. Being here by the ocean, surrounded by only the hyungs who love him, Jungkook feels like there's so little in the world that can really go wrong. If only he could make time stand still, keep everyone here just like this — as much as Jungkook looks forward to the future, he thinks that's a deal he'd be willing to make as well. All of them, together, safe and happy.

He peers back to the side when Hoseok makes a remark about the starfish remembering them. He's pretty sure that starfishes don't have great memory — he's not even sure where their brains are — but it's kind of a nice thought anyway.

"It'd be nice to come back here sometime and see if he grows at all, wouldn't it?" Jungkook remarks. "It wasn't too hard to find a day all of us could come, it's really — as long as Namjoonie hyung's got the time, and Jin hyung's still got his truck, then we can all come out like this. Maybe next time, we'll go somewhere different, but I hope, I hope we can make lots of trips like these. Lots of memories we'll never forget."

Hoseok considers Jungkook's remark for a moment, thinks about the different ways that Jungkook approaches each of them, meets each situation. It's obvious how agile their maknae is physically, but Hoseok's never really taken the time to notice how deft he is in his interactions with people as well. Hoseok's always been amazed by how easily Jungkook adapts, and this is definitely a part of that, his ability to rise to any occasion, to weather things that would bring Hoseok to his knees. He knows some of it is that he's well supported by his six hyungs, but a lot of it is that Jungkook possesses a resilience that Hoseok wishes he had even a fraction of himself.

"It would be nice to come back," Hoseok agrees, though they both know there's no way they'll be able to find their starfish again if they do.

It's less about that, though, and more about the seven of them sticking together. The end of the school year is looming, and with it four of their graduations. Hoseok so far has been afraid to talk to any of the others about their plans after high school, what colleges they've applied (or even been accepted) to, where they're going to go. He's not naive enough to think they're all going to stay close, even if no one leaves Seoul, and he hates thinking about it, hates the idea that he's going to start losing people so soon, even though he's always known it's inevitable.

Turning his head he looks down the beach and finds Jimin easily, his orange hair like a ray of sunshine against the blue sky. If anything can be comforting it's knowing that he'll still be here. Jungkook and Taehyung too, but things are changing now between himself and Jimin. There's a chance it could be Big and Good, and if Hoseok has to deal with losing Namjoon and Seokjin and Yoongi, and least he'll have someone to hold him and shelter him from the sinking loneliness.

"Where else would you like to go?" he asks, turning his attention back to Jungkook, glancing down at the starfish in his hand, lowering his palm into the icy water in case it's ready to be let go.

Jungkook wonders if he should take the plunge, raise the idea to Jin of coming back — maybe exactly a year from now, something that all of them can hold onto. He wonders if he's the only one for whom these dates matter; he already has so many etched into his mind, stepping stones leading him to freedom.

Someday, the passing of the days won't be something he has to worry so much about. Someday, they'll all have the freedom to decide their own fates, and it won't matter what the adults say. But until then, he has them filed away in his mind. This year's graduation ceremony. Each one of their birthdays. Christmas, next Christmas, when Jungkook will demand for all of them to crowd together in Jin's apartment again, which always feels wide and spacious until they're all bundled in together.

And maybe, next year, February ninth again.

A small grin spreads on Jungkook's face as he watches Hoseok carefully lower his hand, watches the starfish's legs all curl up in surprise before it tentatively crawls its way off, back to the safety of the pool.

"I wanna go to the countryside," Jungkook declares brightly, reaching his arm around Hoseok's shoulders and pulling him close again, now that they don't have to worry about disturbing the starfish. "Somewhere way out there, where there aren't any high-rise buildings, where you can stare for kilometers and kilometers and just see fields and mountains and... ahhh, don't you think it'd be great? To be somewhere that space isn't so limited. We could laugh, scream, play around without worrying about disturbing neighbors."

Hoseok wipes seawater off his palm on the leg of his jeans, shivering slightly but then relaxing into the comforting warmth of Jungkook's arm around him. He should probably be embarrassed, letting himself be wrapped up like this, but Jungkook's been bigger than him for a while now, broader, stronger, warmer, and Hoseok can't say he minds being looked after like this, even if it's by his little brother.

He curls his own arm around Jungkook's waist, leaning in to their shared body heat, looking out across the beach as Jungkook speaks. He knows Jungkook's life isn't easy, that his home isn't as warm and comforting as it should be, that he struggles to be dependable and supportive of all his hyungs when he should be able to let himself be coddled as the maknae.

But in this moment he sounds free of the usual burdens, painting an image that all of them long for, an escape from the heaviness of their realities. Hoseok daydreams about it all the time, the seven of them living somewhere together, a big house with lots of rooms, no parents, no school, nobody telling them what to dream. And it's not remotely realistic, he knows that, but some nights it's all he can do to keep from cracking, imagining there's a future where they won't be alone or scared or hurting, neglected, lonely, riddled with guilt.

"Maybe we could camp," Hoseok says, Jungkook's words painting images in his head. "Build a fire and cook, sing songs under the stars." He inhales deeply, tasting salt at the back of his throat. "I've never been camping," he says. "Have you?"

"Ahh, no! I haven't," Jungkook shakes his head, immediately brightening at the little detail that Hoseok's added to the mental image. He can imagine the seven of them all nestled up somewhere around the mountains, with the trees serving as shelter overhead and perhaps a tent, or a camping car, or whatever they can manage on their funds — it doesn't really matter how fancy it is, as long as they're together and able to lean on each other for warmth and company. "I watch those segments all the time on variety shows, though! They always look so fun."

Jungkook leans back slightly, his nose wrinkled in excitement as he recalls all the details. Distantly, he remembers that his father was a man who enjoyed the outdoors, would always head to the water as he was growing up in Busan, and Jungkook can't help but wonder if this is something he would have enjoyed sharing with his son.

"It'd be cool though, like... learning how to pitch a tent, and curling up in those giant sleeping bags. And we could bring one of those portable burners, and a pot or something, and have ramyeon out at night. I feel like ramyeon's always tastier when it's a little chilly out. And we could have a fire and roast some sweet potatoes, and maybe even some meat," Jungkook rambles, running and briefly kicking his feet out. "I wonder if Jin hyung would still be as good at cooking without all the accouterments of a formal kitchen."

"I know he would be," Hoseok answers immediately, because he can't imagine Jin wouldn't be great at cooking no matter what the environment. "Jin hyung's a great cook, I know he'd rise to the challenge."

Hoseok had seen some of those variety shows too, back in the orphanage, and he always loved the idea of getting away from everything, being away from adults who can tell them what they can and can't do. Not that he has any aspirations of doing anything crazy (aside from maybe some drinking, but that's legal for him now anyway), it's just the idea of being able to stay out late and be noisy and not have to worry about anything at all is so appealing.

"You're right about the ramyeon too," he says, thinking about a bubbling pot of it right now, how the steam would rise up in the cold air, warming his face if he leaned over to smell it. "And sweet potatoes, god that sounds so good," he hums, his stomach growling just at the thought of it.

"We should totally do it," he states, decisive. "Maybe even this summer, after school ends?" he muses, trying not to think about the fact that they might not all still be here much after that, not wanting to believe that their time together as friends, all seven of them together, could soon be drawing to an end.

"I'd be down for that," Jungkook says, pleased with the slight shift in Hoseok's expression, a little bit of longing and a little bit of something else, Jungkook thinks — something brighter, perhaps more like hope.

He knows that sometimes it's hard for Hoseok to allow himself to look forward to the same things the rest of them do; of the group, Jungkook's pretty sure that he has the tendency to look the furthest ahead, but all of those desires he has for the future are things he's not sure Hoseok even lets himself think about. Things like marriage, like having children — realistically, Jungkook knows that he might not have either of those things in his lifetime, not with having chosen Yoongi as his partner, but they've never seemed like insurmountable milestones based on Jungkook's identity alone.

And because of that, Jungkook finds that sometimes it's good to look for the small victories. Anything for which the only real blocker is time.

He makes a mental note to himself to talk to Jin later, to ask him how financially feasible it is for them to go on such a trip. How they can manage to do so on a budget that doesn't end up feeling like a burden to those among them who are more financially stretched.

"If hyung could pick the location, where would you want to go?" Jungkook asks, curious as to where Hoseok takes himself when he lets himself dream.

Hoseok has to take some time to think about it, because he hasn't really been out of the city except on school field trips, and his fantasies always have him going places a lot father away, Japan, Paris, America, locations he'll never really be able to see in person. He looks out across the ocean, imagines he can see past it, that he could fly off to those beautiful places by just sheer will.

He thinks a little harder, but he can't come up with anything practical or realistic. He thinks about the Bakhansan National Park, and he knows it's beautiful, that you can hike there, but he isn't sure about camping. There must be somewhere not too far out of the city, the countryside Jungkook mentioned, but Hoseok doesn't know where any of it is specifically, what places would allow them to camp.

The thing is, most of his world view comes from what he learns in school. He's never had very easy access to a computer, and even when he can use one it isn't anywhere he has the luxury of time to just browse. He has his cell phone now, but he has to be mindful of his usage, can't afford overages. So he knows about far off places and history, from classes, from the few movies and TV shows he's seen, but he doesn't have any real ideas about where they could go on a local camping trip.

"I don't, um," he says, rubbing at the back of his neck as his cheeks go warm with embarrassment. "I don't really know where you can camp around here," he admits. "Maybe somewhere near the Han? Or the countryside, like you said."

"I don't know either," Jungkook answers easily with a small shrug and smile. "I guess I just wondered if you had like... some kind of dream place to go. But I guess most people probably don't have a list of camping places they really want to go to here in Korea, huh? Even when we think about those variety shows, so many of them go overseas... Law of the Jungle doesn't really work if it's in Korea either."

Jungkook leans back, reaching back with his hands until the heels of his palms press against the cool sand and rock around the edge of the tide pool, tilting his chin up until he's able to stare up at the sky. Sometimes it's a little daunting to think about how much of the world is out there, and how much time they spend in so small a perimeter. How much they miss out on as a consequence of the system they've been born into.

"I wish it was easier to go far, far away. Not forever, but just... I don't know, if we work hard, if we save up. Someday, we should all go somewhere far from here and just see what else is out there. Maybe it doesn't even — maybe it doesn't even have to be overseas, I guess it'd be fine if we stayed in Korea, but maybe we can go to the edge of the country. Somewhere we aren't always surrounded by all sides by the high rises, somewhere that feels different from Seoul. You know?" Jungkook muses, frowning to himself. "I've been researching Busan, it actually isn't that bad when you're like. Willing to stay in a love hotel or something, nowhere fancy. I just want to be somewhere that doesn't feel like here, even if only for a day."

"Oh, Busan?" Hoseok asks, tipping his head to see Jungkook's gaze trained upward at the clouds, the light breeze still ruffling his hair. He looks young again, in the late afternoon sunlight, happy, carefree. It warms Hoseok's heart, and he wishes he could see Jungkook like this every day, that Jungkook could always be this free of worry, mind unburdened.

"I've never stayed in a hotel," Hoseok says idly, looking back down into the tide pool, watching the surface of the water ripple. "It sounds fun, though. A love hotel sounds really fun," he adds with a laugh. He imagines that Jungkook's research is for him to go to Busan with Yoongi, and it makes him smile to himself. He hopes they will go, that they'll get to be alone together and do whatever they like, just be together, to not have to share their time with anyone or anything else.

He wonders if that's something he'll get to do with Jimin, some day. They aren't together yet, of course, and there's a chance they won't get to be, that Taehyung won't be okay with the situation. It's hard to not daydream about it a little, though, to think about where he and Jimin might go, if they could stay in a hotel together too. Though maybe he should be more careful about letting his hopes get out of control; even if things do work out, a big trip like that is probably something they shouldn't rush into. And also there's no way Hoseok can afford something like that, not unless he spends a lot of time being careful what he spends his money on otherwise.

"Will you go to Busan with Yoongi hyung?" he asks, turning his gaze back to Jungkook.

a day on the beach [dated to 2/9]

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