Chapter Summary: The squad arrives at the cabin, after much mud and rain. Jun asks some questions. Vernon worries that he's been figured out. Yerin encounters a mystery cuddler.
Rating: 🔞 for the whole fic, but not this chapter
Three | Masterlist | Five
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“Ah, fucking hell,” Jeonghan exclaimed over the muddy water that had managed to splash upwards and coat his, until that moment, pristine track pants. “Remind me why we agreed to let the jocks plan our itinerary?”
“Because you have a gambling problem,” Minghao calmly answered him. “Here,” he held a hand out towards Yerin, “if you step on that white rock, and then this reddish one…”
Yerin accepted his hand, and instructions, easily enough. The hike wasn't exactly difficult, it was just long. The trail had been made extra muddy by recent rainfall, much to Jeonghan's dismay.
The soggy sound of rubber scraping against stone came from behind Yerin. It was followed by something closer to a squelch than a splash and the sound of Vernon cursing.
Yerin found her footing on a relatively dry patch of the trail before she started to turn to assess the mess. Seeing Vernon, with one knee and both of his hands immersed in the mud, she resisted the urge to laugh. Just as she was going to step forward to offer assistance, a windbreaker-clad body stepped past her.
“C'm'ere,” a sturdy hand reached down towards Vernon.
Vernon huffed slightly before accepting Mingyu's help. Getting covered in muck and muddy water in front of Yerin hadn't exactly been part of his weekend plans. Nor had needing to be helped by his significantly more in shape and taller friend. And yet…
“You good?” Mingyu asked, looking him over.
“Yeah,” Vernon sighed, “just a slippery rock. No big deal.”
“We're almost there. It's just another kilometer or so.”
“Let me guess,” Minghao grumbled, “you already dropped off your stuff and decided to come back for the weaklings?”
Yerin noticed that Mingyu was indeed missing his backpack.
“We're not weak,” Vernon protested.
“I just wanted to make sure no one had gotten hurt or anything,” Mingyu shrugged.
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Despite the weather forecast proclaiming post-rain clear skies for the weekend, the small group of stragglers managed to get caught in a minor downpour on the last stretch of the hike. Some of them stripped off their jackets, tucking them over their backpacks in an effort to keep their clothes for the weekend dry, while others started jogging to minimize their time in the rain.
Yerin did neither. The new workout set that she and the boys had chosen was more cute than practical. No waterproofing was to be found in the white cotton blend. As for jogging… maybe if she wasn't carrying a twenty pound pack, that could be an option.
“Here,” Mingyu shrugged off his jacket and pulled it over her pack.
Vernon frowned. He knew Mingyu was just nice. He was always nice. All of his friends were nice in their own ways. But did they all have to be so nice to Yerin? Did Mingyu have to whip off his coat, revealing his tank top underneath? Did it have to cling to his physique quite so much?
“Oh,” Yerin felt her face heat up, despite shivering from the rain, “you don't have to do that.”
“It's fine,” Mingyu shook his head as he tugged the hood of the jacket up and over her head. “You don't want to have wet clothes all weekend.”
“Come on,” Minghao interrupted, grabbing Yerin's hand, “let's hurry.”
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The cabin was large. There was a large living room style communal area with smaller bedrooms branching off of it. Towards the back, there were two shared bathrooms - one with toilets in stalls, one with an open shower setup, and a basic kitchen. The front was a screened in porch.
Hoshi and Seungkwan were busy tying up a series of drying lines on the porch, which the stragglers quickly availed themselves of.
Yerin crouched next to Vernon, tugging the top few layers of wet clothes from her bag. She handed them to him, and he pinned them up. After finally reaching the dry section, she stood and stripped off the uselessly soaked jacket from her outfit.
Vernon's eyes widened. He quickly pushed her hands over her own body.
“Hold on, wait wait wait…”
“Why? It's cold,” she pouted.
Frantically, he started digging through his own pack.
“Take this.”
Vernon barely held back a groan. He looked up to see Seungcheol holding a sweatshirt towards Yerin.
“It will get wet,” she protested.
“Maybe, but…” Seungcheol cleared his throat, “your shirt is… um…”
Yerin lifted her hand from her chest slightly, gazing down at the sodden fabric that clearly showed the outline and details of her bra. She let out a short squeal and quickly took the offered covering.
“Thanks Cheollie,” she mumbled as she quickly tugged it around her shoulders.
“Of course,” Seungcheol cleared his throat again, “don't wor-”
“Here,” Vernon stood up, holding out a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. “Go get changed. I'll put your bag in one of the rooms.”
Yerin looked at the clothes in his hands doubtfully. Her doubts dissipated a second later however, when a burst of wind made her start shivering again.
“Okay,” she took the clothes from him. “I'll be right back.”
Seungcheol guided her to the shower area, even poking his head inside to make sure it was all clear before she went inside.
“My shower stuff is in that black bag on the shelf,” he pointed it out to her, “might as well wash up while you're in there.”
After some minor protest, and triple checking to make sure it was okay to use his things, Yerin did exactly that. She stood under the hot spray of water, thankful for being able to warm up so effectively.
“Yerin-ah?” Dasom's voice echoed slightly against the tiles, “the guys asked me to bring you a towel.”
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Of course they spent the first night drinking and playing games. Yerin was introduced properly to the few participants that she had somehow managed to miss meeting thus far.
“Ah, so who's girlfriend are you?” Junhui asked.
That earned him a slap on the arm and a sharp “Jun!” from Seungcheol.
“What? All the girls here are someone's girlfriend.”
“I'm not anyone's girlfriend,” Dasom pointed out.
“Not yet,” Jeonghan teased her.
“She doesn't count,” Jun shrugged, “she's one of the guys to me.”
“I guess I'm one of the guys too,” Yerin said. She shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
“You're blushing,” Jun pointed out.
“Jun, baby,” another woman, Miseon, gently took one of Jun's hands. “Too much.”
“Ah,” Jun nodded, “I'm sorry Yerin. I was just curious. Vernon acts like your boyfriend, but you smell like Seungcheol's shampoo, so I was conf-”
“Too much baby,” Miseon interrupted him again. She leaned forward to address Yerin then. “He just likes to know things for sure.”
“That's okay,” Yerin nods. “I'm not dating anyone, Jun. I think Vernon acts like that because he's known me the longest.”
She shot a smile at Vernon before continuing.
“We're best friends is all.”
Jun nodded, obviously digesting this information for a moment.
“So you already rejected him?”
“Well…” Yerin cocked her head to the side, considering Jun's words. Lost in thought, she missed the way that several people were leaning forward, invested in the conversation.
“There has to be an offer before a rejection, right? So, no,” Yerin shrugged, “I haven't rejected him.”
Vernon choked at that, quickly grabbing a napkin to cover his mouth. Hoshi held a cup out towards him, but he shook his head.
“Oh,” Jun looked even more confused now, “bu-”
“Oppa!” Miseon loudly cut off her boyfriend, “let's go make sure that our room is all set.”
“We already put the blankets on th-”
“I know,” Miseon stood up, “but I just want to double check.”
She held a hand out towards her boyfriend, which he took without complaint.
Vernon shot her a thumbs up as she pulled Jun away from the group, still coughing slightly as he pushed Hoshi's half empty glass of beer away.
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“I hope Jun didn't make you too uncomfortable before.”
Vernon and Yerin sat on the edge of the porch, legs dangling down towards plants that had probably sported flowers just a few weeks ago.
Yerin shook her head, leaning slightly to bump her shoulder against Vernon's.
“It's fine. I'm used to people assuming that.”
Her words caused a lump in Vernon's chest. A tight knot of nerves and hidden words.
“Mingi, you know him?” Yerin picked at her cuticles, completely unaware of her friend's cardiovascular issue as she spoke. “From the marketing team? Anyway, he asked me just last week if we were dating.”
Vernon racked his brain, trying to put a face to the name.
“The tall one? With the round glasses?”
“I always think of a lost little chick whenever he has to come to our floor.”
Vernon laughed at the description. It was apt enough.
“What did you tell him?”
Yerin turned to shoot him a quizzical look.
“The truth,” she shrugged, “we're just close friends. Apparently one of his friends is interested, so he wanted to make sure the coast was clear.”
That jumble in Vernon's chest twisted, sinking lower.
“His friend? Which… I mean…” Vernon took a deep breath. He didn't have to freak out. If someone had asked Yerin out, she would have told him. Especially if she had said yes. Right? There was probably nothi…
“He didn't say who, but I think it may have been that intern.”
Vernon squinted into the dark, trying to remember the latest batch of interns. There was the one that was always a little extra loud, the one that looked like a foreigner, one that seemed a bit overly concerned with manners… but who would have had a chance to even meet Yerin?
“Jongho?”
“What?”
“That's his name, right? That intern?”
Yerin shook her head, looking confused.
“Why would Jongho want to confess? I mean I don't know him but he doesn't seem like that type.”
“He's the only one who even comes to our department though,” Vernon pointed out.
“No he's not.”
He pursed his lips, thinking so hard that he felt like his brain might start oozing out of his ears.
“Who else? He's the only one, I swear.”
“Wait,” Yerin tilted her head at him, “are you… I mean…”
Vernon stared at her, eyes wide. He'd been too obvious. She had finally put it together. He was about to be rejected, and he'd have to resign and join a monastery.
“I never really thought about it, but,” Yerin bit her lip, trying to think of what was the best way to ask the question.
“Just say it,” Vernon managed to force the words out.
They stared at each other, both worried about how the other might react.
“You…” Yerin licked her lips nervously, “like men?”
Vernon blinked. He opened his mouth, making a small vowel sound, before shutting it again. A confused puff of air came out of his nostrils. He tilted his head, looking down at the ground in confusion.
“It's fine if you do!” Yerin quickly reassured him. She laid an arm over his shoulder, tugging him into half of a hug. “It doesn't matter to me, obviously. I think Dasom might be disappointed, and that intern, but really, who cares? Their feelings are their responsibility, and yo-”
“I'm not gay,” Vernon finally managed to get the words out. He shook off her arm, standing up and turning to face her.
“What does that even have to do with Jongho asking you out?”
“Why would Jongho ask me out?” She asked in return.
“You said that an intern was interested.”
“In you!” She thrust her hand forward, gesturing wildly yet vaguely at him. “Mingi asked if we were together because someone he knows was interested in you!”
“Why would Jongho be interested in me?” Vernon asked, incredulous.
“Oh my god,” Yerin ran her hand through her hair, “not Jongho. I think it's that intern that Soobin is always acting stupid around, Julie.”
Vernon blinked a few times, trying to uncross the wires in his mind and flip through his mental file of people at work again.
“Who the hell is Julie?”
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“I tried to kick them out, but they insisted on having a slumber party,” Dasom explained.
Jeonghan waggled his fingers towards Yerin in greeting from where he was splayed out on the floor of the room she and Dasom had taken for themselves.
“We thought Jun and Miseon ought to have a room to themselves,” Minghao stated simply, not looking up from his, by now ubiquitous, book of word puzzles.
“Oh, that's fine,” Yerin glanced at Dasom. “Right?”
“I don't give a shit,” Dasom shrugged. “If they get annoying I'll just go invade Vernon and Seungkwan's room.”
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“I think Vernon likes someone else,” Dasom admitted into the darkness of the room.
“No way,” Yerin quietly responded. “He would have told me.”
There was a shuffling sound, a slight shift of indeterminate shadows, and Yerin felt an arm land around her waist.
“Either way, he definitely doesn't like me.”
Yerin frowned. Dasom's voice was just as far as it had originally been.
Yerin gently ran her fingers over the forearm. She didn't know what sort of clues she was hoping to find. Minghao and Jeonghan had similar enough builds that without some sort of visual cue she had no hope of figuring out who it was.
The arm tensed under her touch, twitching before it flexed. The body it was attached to pulled itself closer to her body. A bare leg looped over one of her own.
“Still,” Yerin tried to remember which of the boys had gone to sleep in shorts, “that's better than him actively pursuing someone else.”
“Sure,” Dasom sounded unconvinced. “I know how it sounds to say it, but I'm not used to being turned down.”
“You haven't been turned down if you've never actually asked him out,” Jeonghan muttered, revealing to Yerin that it was him that was currently koala-wrapping himself around her. “Now go to sleep.”
