Camp Counselors | vkook

01 | day 1

i love a lot of video edits, but you wanna know which one has been turning me on more than anything else lately?

WARNING: viewer's discretion advised - uncontrollable thirst may follow this video

The air was heavy with an unseen rain, thick with the scent of maple syrup, and damp thanks to the nearby lake. Yet, the suffocating atmosphere, cloudless sky, and dilapidated cabins peeking out over the hills brought a trademark smile to Jungkook's dry lips.

Jungkook was used to walking up the same worn walkway, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, during the second week of July. For the first time, he was a week early. Over the years he'd learned to appreciate the way the branches hung low on the oak trees, brushing past his shoulders and scraping at his cheeks. He learned to adore the way dirt pockets embedded into his sneakers and the way leaves lined his pockets by the time he made it to the camp entrance. It was routine every year - right as he made it to the top of the hill, the sun lifted over the horizon and cast a rosy glow over the carved wooden sign hanging over his head.

And as Jungkook took in the words, the grandeur of Camp Wakatata had him remembering that he was finally home.

He kicked up a flurry of dirt as he took in the familiarity of his surroundings, fresh mulch crunching underneath his shoes. With his parents, Jungkook would've still been in bed, limbs tucked tightly underneath his duvet. As the first shafts of sunlight started to tangled into his blinds, he would've heard the water running in the shower across from his room, and the coffee machine whirring from the kitchen. The apartment coming to life slowly, but surely, eased the sleep out of Jungkook's tired eyes, and out of the rest of the city. As Jungkook padded down the hall, it was impossible to miss the sound of honking horns, shouting pedestrians, and blaring sirens. It was impossible to miss the sounds for the rest of the day.

But as he stood at the campsite and the cupped the back of his ear, there was no abrupt noise to make him jump out of his skin. There were no conversations for him to eavesdrop on, or cars revving to get him out of the way, or people mumbling over his slowness. All he could make out was the symphony of sizzling bacon and hushed giggles among camp counselors in tune with the whistle of the breeze.

That was summer in a nutshell to Jungkook - a little peace in the morning, and a growing chaos as the day grew old.

Jungkook had been going to Camp Wakatata since he was thirteen. What had started off as the result of an honest mistake was quick to transform into the by-product of an unintentional intervention. Jungkook had asked his parents to sign him up for a film camp, an opportunity that came to his city every once in a blue moon. What he hadn't asked his parents to do was mistake film camp for family camp and have him sitting behind a log table by day and a campfire by night, instead of a camera all day. But, as it turned out, it was in the grand scheme of things for Jungkook to end up at the last summer camp he expected to be at.

The originally-rowdy boy found comfort in spiking volleyballs over the net a quarter past noon - he channeled all his negative energy into denting sand during the summer instead of skin during the school year. He found relaxation in canoeing to the middle of the lake and drifting - his soothed nerves left the otherwise screaming Jungkook placid at home and in class. Jungkook found passion in jumping into the water and racing to the other end of the lake - the friendly competitiveness to be the top at camp translated into a ruthless desire to be the best at school. While he'd been fluctuating between potential dropout and overachiever during his first few years, by the time Jungkook had reached the end of high school, he'd found his balance.