Work Text:
“Remember that this weekend is the trip to Gyeongju and by the 11th you have to hand in a video assignment on how your group experienced the trip,” said the teacher as he finished switching off the class computer. “I have left the list of groups on the platform and, yes, to make the groups I have taken into account the opinions you left me in the survey I sent you.”
In the auditorium, students could be heard typing quickly on their laptops their credentials to enter the faculty's online platform and the section of the subject in question —language and audiovisual technology— to see who were in the groups to do the work they had told them they should do during the trip to Gyeongju that had been scheduled since the beginning of the semester. Only a few seconds later, hysterical screams began to erupt around Seongbin because it seemed that the teacher had actually respected what his students had asked him to do so that they could spend the weekend with their group of friends and make memories with them while doing the required work. Seongbin was in no hurry to look for it, anyway, he had no friends in that subject —or any other— so he had asked the teacher in the survey to let him do the work alone, and if he had respected other people's opinions, why shouldn't he respect his own? However, when he saw the list a few moments later that his opinion must have been the only one he had not respected because on the paper he found his name next to those of other students and the boy could do nothing but sigh deeply.
Seongbin had no people skills, as could be evidenced after two and a half years studying in that faculty and not a single friend, but it wasn't because the boy was a weirdo or anything like that —at least that's what he thought— he was just so introverted that trying to interact with the rest of the universe was quite a problem because he didn't know how to start conversations, or how to continue them, or how to end them. So, he had spent his years in college doing most of his work alone and, in the inevitable cases when he had to do group work, he had only met with his classmates twice: on the day the work areas were divided up and on the day of the exhibition. For this job, Seongbin didn't think that system would work for him, since what they had to do was to document their group's journey, what they had done and the approach they had wanted to take to their wanderings around the city.
The boy sighed again, looking at the names associated with his own: Cho Seongil, Kim Dogyun, Nam Seongmo, Park Seokjoon and Yoon Yechan. He didn't remember talking to them other than an exchange of greetings, a short conversation about a class they shared, or when they had shared some mandatory group work for some other class. He knew that they were all friends and that, except for Dogyun, they must have all been his age because they had entered the same semester, but other than that, he didn't know much more about them and Seongbin's stomach began to ache a little at the thought of having to share a whole weekend travelling with them in order to get that group assignement done. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice that the classroom was beginning to empty, but more importantly, he didn't notice someone approaching him, at least not until a face appeared above his laptop screen, with a gigantic grin on it.
“Hwang Seongbin,” Yoon Yechan said his name, not as a question to see if he had indeed found the right person, but as an affirmation that he knew exactly who he was. “Give me your phone number so I can add you to the group with the others to organise the trip these days.”
It took Seongbin a few moments to process. Firstly because he hadn't expected the other to appear out of nowhere before him; secondly because he hadn't even considered that he would have to give him his phone number, but of course, they had a lot of things to prepare and it made sense for them to be in contact in order to do so. Once he came out of his stupor, rather later than a normal person would have done, the boy nodded and Yechan held out his phone for him to write down the digits of his phone, which he did quickly, handing the phone back to the other, who kept his contact.
“Perfect, we'll be in touch!” said the boy by way of farewell, and after that, he ran down the stairs to go out the door, where Park Seokjoon was waiting for him. Seongbin felt the other boy's dark eyes looking at him, and a slight shiver ran through his body.
~
Lunch that day at the university was nutritious but unappetizing looking, so, Seongbin was munching on his vegetable puree without paying too much attention to anything but typing on his laptop. He had had a rare moment of inspiration as he picked up his lunch tray and sat down at one of the dining room tables to get ahead on some work that was giving him a lot of headaches. Not paying attention to anything, the boy didn't notice how his phone vibrated on the table with several messages in a row, nor did he notice how, a few minutes after that, five people were heading straight for his table, at least not until the chairs next to him shifted and Seongbin lifted his head from his laptop to see the five people he was supposed to do the group assignement on the trip to Gyeongju that same weekend standing around him. The boy was startled, his eyes widening, but he tried to calm down, thinking that this was normal, meeting the people he was supposed to do a paper with, even if it was so unexpected.
“Seongbin, bro, why don't you look at the phone if it's right next to you?” Yechan questioned, sitting down on his right. “We tried to contact you in the group to see if we could use lunch to talk about the trip and you didn't show any sign of life.”
There was a hint of reproach in Yechan's voice, but at the same time he seemed a little amused by the situation —if the huge grin that adorned his face was any indication— and Seongbin didn't know what to say. Should he apologise for not looking at his phone? He hadn't even realised that the messages were sent to him, but he assumed that if he'd told him it was because they'd really tried to contact him and hadn't been able to. Should he explain? They didn't know each other beyond knowing each other's names or that they shared most of their classes, so he didn't think it was appropriate to tell them why he hadn't seen them. Seongbin was still pondering what answer to give the boy when a deep voice saved him the effort, breaking into the conversation.
“Didn't you see how immersed he was with the laptop that he didn't even notice we were coming towards him?” Seokjoon said. “I'm sure he hasn't looked at his phone for a while.”
“I think it's terrible that the phone isn't an extension of his hand like it is of yours,” Seongmo then commented, mocking Yechan as he sat down next to him and threw his arm around his shoulders. “Don't listen to Yechan, he's anxious.”
“Of course, we haven't talked about the trip anyway,” Dogyun said then, setting his tray of food down on the table in front of him. “They've spent the whole time sending each other memes and tiktoks as if they weren't next to each other”, next to “they” the boy pointed to Seongil, Yechan and Seongmo, earning indignant looks and protests.
“I'm joining the group right now,’”Seongbin said, saving the progress he had made in the document so that he wouldn't lose it. “I promise to keep a closer eye on my phone too.”
“It’s okay, man, don’t you worry” Seongil replied, “The group is just going to be about organising ourselves more or less for the trip, what we're going to do and such for the assignement.”
Seongbin nodded at that, and once he had lowered his laptop screen, he picked up his phone from where it was, face down on the table, to realise that he did indeed have the notification that he had been added to a group called ‘crazy goat’, along with 135 unread messages that must have been the memes and tiktoks that had been sent in the group earlier, which he would read later.
“Is the group called ‘crazy goat’?” he asked helplessly, curiosity winning out over whatever discomfort he was feeling at the moment because his space had just been invaded by five people he barely knew.
“You said it meant something cool in English you fucker!” Seongmo snapped at Yechan, his voice rising above the noise in the cafeteria and he stood up from his seat, using the arm he'd been wrapped around Seongbin's shoulders to try to strangle the other boy, who was on Seongbin's other side.
“And it is!” Yechan retorted, defending himself. “It means ‘crazy and the greatest of all time’.”
Seongbin bit his lower lip to keep from letting out the comment about how the group's name should be ‘crazy & g.o.a.t’ if that was the meaning he wanted to give it because he really wasn't one to make that comment and it wasn't that important either because that group was just going to get the job done and would be abandoned the moment they handed everything over, so, the boy wasn't going to get into it, he'd just asked out of curiosity. A tapping on the table before him brought Seongbin out of his thoughts and he raised his head, meeting Seokjoon's dark gaze as he did so.
“If you have any ideas for the tour and for the composition of the video, feel free to discuss them with us,” he said. “We're a little bit in over our heads, but we're still serious people when it comes to work, so I hope you'll overlook when we're being assholes because we're cool at heart.”
“Don't say it like that, man,” Seongil replied. “It sounds like you're trying to sell us and giving him reasons to buy us even though we're defective.”
“You are defective, hyung,” Dogyun commented, his cheeks full of food. “Those knees of yours are creaking more and more every day.”
“You'll get to my age... you'll get to my age...” said the other, as if it were a threat.
Seongbin couldn't stop a smile from playing on his lips at all this. Perhaps they were far more chaotic than what he had observed in their classes or when he had passed them in the corridors of the faculty, and the chaos was likely to make him feel out of place because the group dynamics were perfectly established, but he knew that he was at least going to laugh with them, even if he also felt a little uncomfortable with the whole situation of having to travel and work together with them when he barely knew them.
~
Cho Seongil
*link
As I know you are a bunch of lazy people
I've taken the liberty of doing this
Kim Dogyun
What's that hyung?
Nam Seongmo
Open the link?
And you will see it?
Kim Dogyun
I have run out of data
No loading
Nam Seongmo
-.-
Cho Seongil
There’s a map of the touristic part of Gyeongju
I have pointed all the important places to see
You can add everything you want to do in the area
And when everything is ready, we will set up the route
Park Seokjoon
We also have to see what is the approach we want to take
And then see what we record
And how
Nam Seongmo
We have to write down the places to eat
Yoon Yechan
We have to take lots of photos of us
Kim Dogyun
Take the good camera with you
Yoon Yechan
Of course
What do you take me for?
I'm going to steal it from my brother tomorrow when I go home to get my backpack for the trip.
Kim Dogyun
You are the best!
Seongbin finished reading the conversation that had been held a few moments earlier in the group and then went to the link Seongil had sent, realising that Seongil had done an incredible job in just a few hours. Out of all of them, Seongbin had only worked with Seokjoon once in a group presentation a couple of semesters ago and he hadn't had any complaints about him because the boy had done his part of the work, turned it in on time and then volunteered to do the presentation in class, but he could see that what he'd been told about them being serious people despite being a bit crazy was true and that reassured him a little. Seongbin looked at all the points the other had marked on the map and added a couple more that seemed interesting in a quick search of what to do in the city. They would have to talk and see what was most feasible to do and what routes to follow during the trip, so it was likely that not all the marked points would be visited in the end and, above all, they had to decide on the concept for the work.
I have added some points of interest to the map
And I've been thinking about the concept for the video
Maybe show what a fun trip is like
Even though we are in a super historic city
Park Seokjoon
Like a trip with friends
Nothing too serious or academic
I like the idea
Yoon Yechan
I love it
I buy it
We just need to record ourselves being ourselves
Something we do 24/7
Cho Seongil
If you all like it like Seongbin's message
And we moved on to meals.
Immediately Seongbin saw how the message in which he had given his proposal started to be marked with hearts or thumbs up and he couldn't help a smile appearing on his face, happy that they had liked his idea, although almost immediately afterwards something heavy settled inside him. Maybe the concept was perfect for the rest, a trip with friends was what they were doing, but Seongbin didn't know exactly how he was going to fit into that puzzle or if he would feel burdened by trying to fit in with them when it was clear that he was a piece of another puzzle that had been mixed in with that one by mistake.
~
The bus was packed when Seongbin arrived and the boy cursed under his breath because his journey to the meeting place to catch the bus to Gyeongju had been bumpy from the moment he'd woken up, starting with the alarm he'd set for himself going off and ending with the traffic jam he ended getting on the bus from his house to the meeting place. At least he had arrived on time, just a few minutes before the faculty bus was due to leave, and that was what really counted. Seongbin walked down the narrow aisle between the seats, looking for a free one to sit in before the vehicle started moving, but the free seat found him almost instantly. A hand rose from between the seats and Seongil's head appeared just beyond them, a huge grin on his face, beckoning him to sit next to him. Seongbin froze for a few seconds, unable to take a step forward at the other's effusiveness because he'd never been in a situation like that before, but when he noticed the bus moving, vibrating with the engine's start, the boy eventually made his way over and sat down next to Seongil before they finally got going.
“You've been a long time coming,” his travelling companion commented the instant Seongbin sat down.
“We were already placing bets on whether or not you'd make it,” Dogyun continued, his head popping up over the front seat.
“And scheming how to delay the departure of the bus,” Seongmo added from the seats next to him.
“Bro, you have a serious problem with not looking at your phone,” Yechan scolded him, pointing to his phone in his hand. “We've sent you about fifty messages to the group, no exaggeration, to see where you were.”
“And Seokjoon called you a few times too,” said Dogyun. “He almost lost his fingernails because he thought maybe something serious had happened to you and you couldn't come.”
“Hey,” replied Seokjoon's deep voice from the front seats, and immediately Dogyun's head disappeared.
Seongbin didn't even want to imagine the pitched battle that was going on at the moment, but the seats in front of him began to move to the rhythm of Dogyun's loud banging and complaining. That, however, brought a small smile to his face, although he shouldn't really be laughing because the others had been preoccupied with trying to contact him and he hadn't looked at his phone the whole time because the anxiety of not being on time was eating him up inside and out. After all, the boy wasn't used to having to report his whereabouts to anyone, or to receiving messages, so it hadn't occurred to him that his companions for the trip might wonder where he was or if he was going to make it on time.
“I'm sorry,” he muttered, this time feeling that an apology was necessary. “I had my phone on silent mode and so I didn't even get my alarm this morning, nor did I notice your messages or calls.”
“You don't have to apologise, man,” said Seongil, giving him a gentle punch on the arm. “The important thing is that you're here and that next time you'll remember to unmute your phone.”
Seongbin nodded at those words, though he wasn't too sure about what Seongil had said about next time because it wasn't like after doing that job they still had a reason to meet up or hang out together. Seongbin knew perfectly well that he had no people skills and that being an introvert didn't help him with making friends, so he had learned to live quietly in his solitude and not have to interact with other people more than necessary. The others had been friends for much longer than that, and it was clear to Seongbin that he had no place in that group, even if he had felt a kind of warmth spread through his chest when the others had ‘scolded’ him for his tardiness, worried even for him.
~
After more than four hours on the road from the capital to Gyeongju, with a technical stop at a gas station near Daejeon, spending all that time cooped up in the bus with five other people around him who hadn't stopped for a single moment chatting, singing, dancing, fighting and playing stupid games, Seongbin felt that all his energy had been completely drained and all he wanted was to lie down on a bed in solitude... but his wishes didn't come true because the teacher in charge of the subject and the trip had had the wonderful idea of renting a boarding house, which was an old renovated hanok, and assigning each group the same room, so that Seongbin wouldn't have any space for himself, to disconnect and rest, to recharge his social battery that way.
“Terrible,” Seongmo muttered next to him, entering the small room they would have to share for two nights. “I'm going to have to sleep smelling your feet.”
“You say that as if yours don’t smell too,” Yechan replied.
“Excuse me, but I'm the cleanest person in this group,” replied the boy, completely indignant.
“You sure?”
Seongmo looked like he had something to say back to Yechan, but before he could say anything, like a tornado, Dogyun and Seongil rushed into the room and threw themselves onto the mountain of futons that were piled up against one of the walls, almost immediately starting to push each other around so that only one remained on the blankets, laughing their heads off. Seongbin had stood in the doorway, unwilling to enter the place, at first incredulous that he was going to have to share the space with all of them and, in those moments, almost frightened by the demonstration of tireless energy of the other two, as if they were a pair of puppies that it was impossible to tire despite taking countless walks with them and letting them run around the park.
“They seem to be the same age,” said Seokjoon, beside him, causing Seongbin to turn to him, finding him with a digital camera in front of him, recording the scene, “five”.
Seongbin couldn't hold back the laughter he let out at that moment, doubling over with laughter at how unexpectedly accurate the other's comment had been and that seemed to catch the attention of the others, who hadn't expected his reaction, looking at him with some curiosity. Seongbin couldn't stop laughing for a while, even feeling tears welling up in his eyes and his side beginning to ache, even though he tried to stop laughing several times without much success. Not that it had been such a funny comment, but he simply hadn't been able to contain himself and his laughter at least didn't seem to have made the atmosphere uncomfortable, because even though everyone was looking at him, the group was smiling.
“What did you say to him to make him like that?” Seongmo questioned. “It's hilarious how he laughs, tell me you recorded it.”
“It's recorded,” Seokjoon replied. “And I only told him the truth.”
~
After leaving their things in their room, they decided to take advantage of the afternoon to go on one of the tours they had planned for that trip because it was close to where their accommodation was and because they could take a leisurely stroll around, just enjoying the view and being able to film and take pictures without much trouble until they ran out of daytime. Seongbin hadn't gone on the trip to Gyeonju organised by his high school when he had the chance because he had just caught the flu the days before the trip, so although he was a little nervous about how it would go together with the others, his intention was to make the most of the visit they had organised together to enjoy the city, as well as to take the relevant photos for the assignement.
The place where they decided to spend the afternoon was Daereungwon, the park that contained the burial mounds with the tombs of the kings of Silla, taking a stroll and enjoying the views that the place offered: the mounds that could be seen throughout the park, under which the tombs were located, some of which could be visited. The park was incredibly peaceful despite being full of people who, like them, were there to see the place, and Seongbin couldn't help but take pictures with every step he took. Photos of the beautiful landscape in front of him, tinged with the ochre colours of autumn; photos of the people in the place —children running and parents chasing after them, teenagers in their uniforms following their teachers, tourists of all nationalities—; but, above all, photos of the group of friends with whom he was making that trip, totally impressed by the way that even in such an idyllic place, they were still themselves, being happy, joking and looking for ways to keep having fun while Seokjoon filmed everything —although sometimes Yechan stole the camera to make dramatic turns or zoom—s. Occasionally, as Seongbin took his photos, Seokjoon would turn to him, recording with his camera, both of them looking at each other through their lenses, then smiling at him and inviting him to come closer to them.
“We need to take a group photo,” said Yechan, “If we sit on a bench and someone takes the picture from behind us, with the lake and this tomb in front of us, it would be a really cool picture.”
“I can take it,” said Seongbin. “I have the camera anyway.”
“Nonsense,” Dogyun replied, “You have to be in the photo too, otherwise it wouldn't be a group photo.”
“Give me the camera, I'm going to ask those tourists,” Yechan asked insistently, and Seongbin ended up unhooking the camera from his neck to give it to him.
While Yechan showed off his impeccable English by talking to a couple of tourists passing by, Seongbin was dragged by Seongmo to sit on the bench, with Seongmo on one side and Seokjoon on the other, putting his arms around Seongmo's shoulders and back. Only seconds later, the rest joined them, having to squeeze onto the bench to fit them all in. Unable to help himself, his body tensed up completely, and for the entire time they were having their photos taken, Seongbin was unable to relax as the others did.
After that photo, they continued exploring the complex in the same way they had done before, arriving shortly before sunset at the Cheomseongdae astronomical observatory, where Yechan again insisted that they should take more group photos, although this time in the form of a selfie, trying to frame them all in the shot next to the stone tower, with little success because it was a complicated thing to do. However, Seongil apparently had experience in taking such photos and his long arms helped a lot in the task to make them look decent in the end. Seongbin didn't like taking selfies, he had never been very good at taking them himself, although he did like photography in general and took very good photos, and he hadn't taken many group photos either because of his natural inability to make friends, so for the whole time it took Seongil to take the photos, Seongbin couldn't help but tense up again and only relaxed when Yechan stopped grabbing his cheeks to make him smile.
By the time they had finished their visit, it was already dark and hunger was getting the better of them, so Seongmo searched the naver maps for the nearest restaurants and they all gathered around to decide what they wanted for dinner that night. After a few moments of deliberation and fifteen consecutive rounds of rock-paper-scissors, they finally decided on a small family-run traditional Korean restaurant about fifteen minutes away, a quiet place but one that had incredible ratings, and they headed there at a brisk pace to try to warm up a bit. Once the sun had gone down, the temperature had dropped a bit drastically, so Seongbin zipped his jacket all the way up and slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. Not even a couple of minutes had passed in that way when Dogyun broke away from the group walking before him to latch onto his arm, cling to his body and start walking faster so that they could both join the group.
“Don't fall behind, hyung,” was all the boy said, dragging him along with the others with a strength Seongbin would never have imagined he had.
The restaurant appeared before them soon after, and they sat down at a table at the far end of the place to disturb as little as possible the other customers in the place while they continued filming and taking pictures to include in their work. When the food arrived, everything looked so good that Seogbin's mouth watered and he knew, without even taking the first bite, that this place had been the right choice. To prove it, he picked up his chopsticks to try the bulgogi he had ordered, but before he could do so, Yechan's hand stopped him.
“No, no, no, no,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Before we eat, we have to take the photos.”
And, at that moment, a pitched battle broke out at the round table at the back of the quiet restaurant where Yechan took at least fifteen pictures of the food before them, at different heights and angles, trying to highlight all the textures of each dish in the yellow light of the restaurant's lights while Seongil slapped his legs to make him sit down and stop taking pictures over and over again, Dogyun disobeyed orders to not eat, picking at one of the dishes, Seongmo threatened to poke Yechan in the eye with his chopsticks, and Seokjoon recorded the whole situation with a smile so wide and bright in his eyes that Seongbin felt it rub off on him and ended up smiling at the absurdity of the situation.
~
Seongbin woke up the next morning feeling something heavy on his stomach and stirred a little, still more asleep than awake, trying to shake off the sensation; however, the longer he stayed semi-awake, the more he felt the weight on him, and the boy ended up lifting his head a little to see what he was feeling on him, discovering Yechan's legs, who had rolled over in his sleep and had his head resting on Seongmo and his legs had ended up on Seongbin. The boy sighed deeply and then shifted on what had been his bed that night to sit up and remove Yechan's legs from over him, moving them carefully, trying not to wake the other. For an instant, when he set his legs on the floor, Seongbin thought he'd woken him up because Yechan moved a little, so he laid completely still, as if he was trying to keep a wild beast from eating him, but after a few seconds, the boy made no pretense of waking up, sleeping peacefully, adjusting his head better on Seongmo's legs. Seongbin couldn't help but let a smile appear on his face as he tried to cover the other again before grabbing his coat and shoes to tiptoe out of the room, trying not to disturb the others who were sleeping peacefully.
As he left the room, Seongbin looked at his phone and saw that it was too early to really start the day, but since he had woken up, he would take a walk if only around the complex of hanoks they were staying in for the trip. After all, the boy needed some time alone and he was sure the fresh morning air would clear his head a little. As he walked quietly, enjoying the first rays of sunshine of the day, Seongbin couldn't help but think about everything he had done the day before, how much fun it had been even though he had felt a bit awkward with the others at some points, something they really weren't to blame for because they were being great to him and were all the time including him in what they were doing and calling him to join them if he was left behind. It gave him a warm feeling that spread throughout his body even though it was a bit chilly at the moment. For Seongbin to feel included in something, in a group, was strange, very different from what he was used to, and he didn't want to get too used to it either because he knew it wouldn't last long as the next week the assignement would be due and they wouldn't talk or be together again.
The sound of a camera clicking brought Seongbin out of his thoughts and he turned around quickly, looking for where the noise had come from, discovering Seokjoon, lowering the camera they had taken with them on the trip, smiling at him.
“I hope you don't mind that I took a photo of you,” he said, his expression turning a little guilty, “but it was a beautiful scene with the sunrise and I had to capture it for the assignement.”
“I don't mind,” Seongbin muttered.
“Perfect!” replied the other. “Now let's go inside before I freeze to death and wake up the others.”
Seokjoon held out his hand for Seongbin to reach out and take it, but the boy just looked at him for a few seconds without taking the step to either grab his hand or walk towards him, so Seokjoon went towards him, grabbing his hand tightly and pulling him into the complex.
~
“Are we going to Gyochon village before Woljeonggyo?” Dogyun asked Seongil, who was carrying the map of the city with the points they had agreed to visit.
“If we go this way, we'll be passing through and we can spend some time there to take photos and film before we go to the bridge,” Seongil replied, pointing to the map. “If we go to Woljeonggyo we'd have to make a detour back to Gyochon first, plus we have to have breakfast and there are a lot of hanoks that have been converted into cafes.”
“It makes sense,” Dogyun muttered thoughtfully, before striking a Superman pose in flight and shouting, “Here we go again, Gyeongju!”
“Tell me you recorded that,” Seongil said to Seokjoon, unable to contain his laughter at what the boy had done.
“Recorded and saved,” Seokjoon replied, holding up his thumb.
Laughter was widespread at this point, accompanied by Dogyun's protests that they should stop laughing at him while Seokjoon kept filming him. They resumed their way soon after, following Seongil's directions until they came across Gyochon village, one of the city's main tourist attractions and where there were plenty of foreign tourists marvelling at the old traditional houses and the various displays of what life was like in communities like this. For them, however, the main attraction was the recreational activities that could be done within this space that united traditional culture with modern life, so the first thing they looked for was a coffee shop that had the most affordable prices to have a good dose of caffeine before continuing their exploration of the village, discovering that, in addition to various coffee shops, there was also a second-hand clothes shop that they went into to browse around. Seongbin had always gone to clothes shops to look for something he needed and not just to browse or, as the others were doing at the moment, to look for the most extravagant clothes in the place to show them to each other and play around creating totally terrible looks. However, even though it was his first time doing this, Seongbin had a good time, taking pictures of all the outfits they had Yechan try on to see if he could make them look good and even contributing some garments in colours so garish that it almost hurt the eyes to look at them.
They practically spent the whole morning in the village until Seongmo realised that time was running out and they still had a lot of things to see before it got dark again because they only had that day to finish seeing the city, the next morning they would get back on the bus that had left them there to start their way back to Seoul. For that reason, they quickly made their way to Woljeonggyo Bridge, to admire this jewel that had risen from the ashes thanks to the effort and historical research done to bring it back as spectacular and grand as it must have been when it was first built. Seongbin was totally enamoured by the beauty of the place and couldn't help but take a lot of pictures of the bridge, almost going into the river to do so —and almost falling into the water as well because Seongil decided that was the best time to give it a little push, eliciting laughter from everyone present, including Seongbin himself—.
After that, they headed towards the Gyeongju museum, which housed the entire legacy left in the city by the Silla royalty, discovering thousands of interesting objects and stories that were told on small panels next to the display cases. Although they weren’t allowed to take photos or record for the assignement, the group had decided that it was a place worth visiting and enjoying, even if it was only for a short time because hunger was starting to get the better of them. However, before finding a place to eat, they finished visiting the complex, taking a look at the Silla Art Museum as well and seeing King Seongdeok's bell and the three-store pagoda of Goseonsa Temple, not forgetting to take photos in the latter places and several group photos with Seongil. Visiting the remains of Chunyanggyo Bridge was what they did right after, finding the ashlars that had once been part of another formidable bridge like Woljeonggyo before finally finding another place to have lunch so they could continue with their visit to the city.
~
“You're not quite comfortable with us, right?”
That was Seokjoon's question after lunch, as they walked towards their next destination: Anapji Pond. Seongbin stopped his pace and couldn't help but look at the other, whose face showed that he was a little worried about it. He felt a little guilty that he had caused Seokjoon to worry about something like that, simply because he was unable to feel completely at ease with them, even though all they had done was to find a way to integrate him into the group so that he would be one of them on this trip. It was something Seongbin really couldn't control because it was difficult for him to open up to people, to feel part of something and not be completely alone... but perhaps, during this trip, he had also had no reason not to try. Even so, he had spent half the time walking several steps behind them with the excuse of taking pictures, although the reality was that he wanted to let the group of friends enjoy the trip and to keep his presence as unobtrusive as possible.
“I know I shouldn't because you guys are so cool and nice to me,” he commented, answering Seokjoon's question, “but I'm not the most sociable person in the world and it's a little hard for me.”
“I'm glad you think we're cool and not just super crazy,” he said, smiling, as if to take some of the heat out of the conversation. “But I want you to know that we're being this way with you because we like you and because we really want you to be part of the group, not just so you feel included in the trip and enjoy yourself,” he clarified. “You're a great guy, Seongbin, and even if you're a bit more shy, you don't have to worry, you can stay that way until you finally feel more comfortable with us,” and he leaned close to him to whisper in his ear, his deep voice echoing through his whole being. “See Seongmo? When we first met him, he was just like you... now he's the first to follow the group's craziness and threaten someone's life every day.”
Seokjoon broke away from him, giving him a broad smile, and Seongbin ended up nodding at his words, ruminating in his mind on what he had said during the time it took them to reach their destination. Honestly, he didn't think he could feel comfortable with them overnight because he really barely knew them, but even though he was having some awkward moments with them, most of the time he was calm and enjoying the way the others were interacting with each other and with him, something that somehow made him feel good... but that warm feeling wasn't enough to make him comfortable. Maybe, in time, as Seokjoon had told him had happened when Seongmo had joined their group, he could open up to them and start to feel much better with all of them, but at the moment he wasn't sure it could happen. Nevertheless, he decided to take into account what the other had told him to try to be less tense for the remainder of the trip.
~
By dinner time they had walked more miles than either wanted to count. Seongbin's legs felt more tired than he had ever felt them before, and what he needed most at the moment was to take a shower and lie down on the futon to sleep until he could feel his leg muscles again; however, the last stop they had to make before returning to where they were staying was the Jungang market, where they had planned to dine at the cheap and tasty street stalls, eating at different stalls and sharing the food among all of them. This was the first time Seongbin had ever shared food with anyone, with people who could perhaps at some point be friends, and although at first the idea didn't seem like the best thing in the universe, he had to say that once he took the first bite of the corn dog Dogyun was holding out to him, he felt a little better. In the end, food seemed to be tastier if it was shared.
“Shall we go over to that stall?” Seongmo asked, pointing to one of the few stalls in the market that didn't have food, but was a small bracelet stall. “So that we could all take one of the same as a souvenir of the trip.”
“Sometimes you're a romantic,” muttered Yechan, pouting.
“And you can be silly sometimes, but when we picked you up from the rubbish they didn't give us a return ticket,” Seongmo replied.
“Even if they had done it, the guarantee is over, so fuck you” said Yechan then, sticking his tongue out at him.
Ignoring the two's little scuffle, the rest headed towards the stall Seongmo had pointed out to see which of the bracelets on display had six of the same colour. It was Seongbin who found some simple bracelets, made of red thread, of which there were six and pointed them out to the others, causing them to crowd around him to look at them.
“With these we can say that it’s the red thread of destiny that has brought us together,” Seongil remarked, corny, causing Dogyun and Yechan to pretend to retch. “For you there is none,” he told them.
In the end, however, not only did they buy bracelets for everyone, but when they put them on their wrists, they took some pictures of their hands, placed in a circle around each other, so that they looked good. Seongbin couldn't help but gawk at how the bracelet now adorned his right wrist, sensing that the significance it would soon have in his life was going to be greater than the boy had ever imagined. However, the boy didn't want to think too much about it and simply followed the rest as he finished walking around the market, finishing his dinner after stopping at a couple more stalls.
“Would you like something to drink tonight?” Yechan asked as they finished eating the tteokbokki they had bought at the last stall. “It's our last night and we're going home tomorrow, so let's enjoy ourselves a bit.”
“There are times when you have terrible ideas,” Seongil replied. “But the terrible ideas are the ones I like the most.”
“I'm sure on the way back we'll come across a 24h convenience store,” Seongmo commented. “We can buy some beer and chips for the night.”
“Do you drink?” Seokjoon asked Seongbin, turning to him.
“I don't usually,” he replied, being honest. There were only a few occasions when he had a few beers alone at home. “But I don't mind drinking once in a while.”
“Great!” Dogyun said, all excited, “Now let's get some alcohol!”
~
Seongbin didn't know what he had expected to happen when his companions were drunk, but definitely not what was happening. If they were already loud, crazy and always joking around when they were sober, when they were drunk they were a show. Seongbin didn't know exactly when it had all started to get out of hand, but somewhere between the third and fourth beer Yechan, Seongmo and Seokjoon had started a rap contest, as if they were at show me the money and had repeatedly insisted that Seongbin join them, something that the boy, even if he looked a little drunk, would never accept and had declined those invitations time and time again, simply being shocked by the lyrics they came up with, rapping about his favourite foods. Dogyun had picked up the camera, determined to record the performance as if he were the inkigayo's cameraman, though there were times when he moved more like a snake crawling across the floor, trying to dodge the bites Seongil tried and sometimes succeeded in taking.
For Seongbin, that last night in Gyeongju was, to put it mildly, an experience he didn't know if he'd want to repeat... but he couldn't say he wasn't having a good time, because then he'd be lying to himself.
~
“Ouch,” Dogyun complained as soon as he sat down on the bus seat. “God... my ass hurts like hell,” he said. “This is all your fault, hyung,” the boy pointed at Seongil, who was sitting next to him, his head leaning against the window, his sunglasses half-covering his face. “Stop biting ass when you get drunk!”
“Shhhhhhhh... shhhhhh,” the man asked. “My head hurts enough with the hangover without you yelling at me now.”
“Then don't bite my ass the next time,” Dogyun replied. “I saw this morning that I still had your teeth marked in my skin.”
“Ugh,” complained Yechan, making the most disgusted face. “Please don't say things like that, you've just created a disgusting mental image of me and I'm already halfway to throwing up my first mush.”
“Wait, I just changed my mind,” said Seongmo. “Leave me the window and if you throw up, you do it in the bus hallway”.
Yechan complained about having to change seats, but finally got up and did as Seongmo asked, leaving the window to him. Seongbin felt a bit sick, his brain throbbing inside his head, but he supposed he must have a better stamina for alcohol than the others, or he had drunk less than them, either of which could be right, but the boy didn't really feel like thinking about it, because thinking about it made his head hurt even more.
“I know you'll probably tell me to go fuck myself for saying it,” Seokjoon began to speak, drawing the attention of the other five, “but tomorrow we should meet up to share all the material we have for the assignement and see what we can and can't put in, because I'm sure some things are better if the teacher doesn't see them.”
“I'd hit you if you weren't right,” Seongil replied, “We have to hand it in by the end of the week, so it should be ready by Wednesday at the latest.”
“We can set up the video on my computer,” said Seongmo. “You know where I live, come by tomorrow.”
“Seongbin doesn't know where you live,” said Dogyun.
“That's okay, we'll all go together after school,” said Yechan. “Or do you have classes in the afternoons?”
“No, no, I finish at lunchtime,” he said, grateful that they were thinking of him. “It's no problem for me to meet you wherever you say.”
“Perfect!” said Seongmo. “I'll wait for you at my place.”
“But, Seongbin, you have to answer the messages,” Yechan said, practically pointing a finger at him. “You can't miss them, and you can't leave us unread.”
“I promise,” he muttered, unable to keep a small chuckle from escaping him.
“Oh, and another thing,” Dogyun said. “Not just for the group assignement. You have to answer us all the time because you're part of the crazy goat now.”
“Yes,” replied a chorus of voices.
“I told you it didn't mean that,” complained Yechan.
The conversation went on as the bus began to set off on its way to Seoul, but Seongbin could barely pay attention to it, his head spinning over and over again at what he'd just heard, his heart beating rapidly inside his chest —and not just because Seokjoon's head ended up on his shoulder fifteen minutes or so into the trip, but because of Dogyun's words and how they'd all accepted him into that group in the measly span of a weekend—.
~~~
Seokjoon couldn't stop smiling at Seongbin's profile as he explained to the class about the video document they were going to see in the next few minutes, talking about how they had prepared for the trip and what they wanted to show with the work they were handing in. He couldn't take his eyes off him because deep inside he couldn't believe it was all happening. He couldn't believe that Seongbin was there, together with all of them, being part of their group, not just for the work, but to stay with them forever —or until he got sick of them, whichever came first—; just as he couldn't believe that what he'd planned to get close to this one had worked out so well that Seongbin seemed genuinely happy and willing to slowly work his way into the group, having fun with the way they behaved and not withdrawing from them because brain cells were in short supply when they were together.
When Seokjoon had seen the survey for the group assignement and had talked to the others to tell them how he wished they could count on the boy, not only because of his skills, which were many, but because he had a crush on him, they had all laughed as if possessed, but then they had all agreed that Seongbin was very cute and that they would do everything they could to make him feel comfortable with them, a feeling that had grown in all of them during the trip. And Seokjoon was really happy, watching not only Seongbin smile, but seeing how the video they had created progressively showed the evolution of the boy who, at first didn't feel completely comfortable with them until in the last shots, in the last images, he kept smiling while he looked at them and let himself be hugged by the rest in the last group photo, all hungover, before getting on the bus.
Seokjoon wished that everything would go smoothly from that moment on as well, that Seongbin would end up being comfortable around them because he was their beloved adopted introvert and because, at some point, he would like to be able to confess to him how he felt... but that was still a long, long time away and, for the moment, Seokjoon was happy to be able to have Seongbin as a friend by his side.