good luck kid ☾myg.pjm

Ch.2

The bus is fully loaded by the time the students are finally allowed on board, and Jimin takes what he can get when the seniors and juniors are thankfully split onto different buses. Jimin all but latches onto Namjoon as the pair fall into one of the seats in the middle (because the front is for nerds, and the back is for try-hards – they are neither of those).

When Jimin risks a glance out the window, he can see that Yoongi's taken a window seat adjacent, but the boy's too busy chatting to a friend to look. Jimin groans and draws the curtains, curling up in his gross camping clothes on the seat. Namjoon offers him an earbud, and off they go.

Both Namjoon and Jimin fall asleep on the bus ride there, until the bus breaks down three-quarters of the way through the journey, and the students are forced to hike the rest of the way up. Jimin wants to die when they step out and the sun is blazing, turning him almost instantly a shade of mahogany. He's sure that once he takes off his sunglasses at the camp site, he'll have ugly, pale rings around his eyes, where the skin had yet to be touched by the sun.

Namjoon rolls his eyes at Jimin's exaggeration, and waves goodbye when he sets off to meet his senior partner. Someone by the name of Seokjin, but Jimin doesn't really care; he just bids Namjoon farewell, and promises to see him on the other side. A rather dramatic farewell that's cut short when Jimin is forced to go find Yoongi, the boy already set up with his bag on his back, straps tightened and weight lifted slightly off his shoulders. Jimin struggles to do the same, and surprisingly enough, Yoongi reaches out to help him tighten the straps in utter silence.

Jimin kind of expects Yoongi to push him over when he's done, just to watch him flail like a turtle on the ground. But instead, Yoongi steps back with a neutral expression on his face, and nods toward the crowd of students nearby.

Namjoon's group are a fair way away, and Jimin's group just needs to follow. Yoongi offers to become one of the leaders guiding the way, and although he doesn't look it, Yoongi makes a surprisingly thorough leader. He allows Jimin to walk alongside him despite the juniors all being crammed toward the back of the group, and Jimin practically beams with pride as he keeps in step with Yoongi.

After a while, the sun and heat gets the most of them, and a rest break is called for. Their resources are scarce though, so instead of gulping down water like they would normally do in the comfort of their own homes, they drench their tongues with a few droplets before preserving their precious life source.

Jimin voluntarily falls onto the ground, on his back more specifically, and stretches out his limbs. Yoongi doesn't once speak to him, doesn't even check on him, and he busies himself with one of his senior friends. He laughs with them, actually shows a genuine gummy smile for once, because he's never seen smiling around anyone else. Ever. They talk about the compass and the map they shared. Then they laugh some more, and Jimin doesn't find any amusement whatsoever in navigation.

When he cranes his neck to look further up their path, he can see that Namjoon's group have paused as well, taking a well-needed break. Namjoon's standing up and watching Jimin's group from afar, flailing his arms and jumping up and down. Jimin grins to himself as he unbuckles his backpack, scrambling to his feet and running a few metres away from the group. He jumps up and down, waves his arms in star formation, and laughs when Namjoon mirrors him.

The two groups are staring at them in bewilderment, obviously not understanding their odd dance, and Yoongi's next to Jimin in a flash when the youngster trips over a rock and almost face-plants onto the ground. Yoongi holds him up mainly with the help of his backpack, and Jimin stares at him shock, surprised that Yoongi's helping him at all.

"Be careful," Yoongi hisses in disapproval and pushes Jimin gently upright, returning to his posse and breaking out into another smile. Namjoon just whistles awkwardly to himself, turning back to his own group.