Intra // Nielwink

Thirty-Three

Jihoon can't catch a break.

From the instant he and Seongwoo arrive at the barbecue to the moment everyone takes their seats, they can't get a moment long enough to talk about Seongwoo's girlfriend. They are constantly interrupted.

First, there's the photo.

Jihoon had eaten and eaten until his stomach grew tight, and no more barbecue fit. He pushes his plate away and sags against the wooden table. He takes a cautious sip of beer and immediately burps. Spices from the meat still burn and fade on his tongue.

"Bowing out already?" Seongwoo teases from next to him, and Jihoon just nods, unashamed. He sets a hand over his belly and pats it, content. Seongwoo clears his throat and lifts his legs over the side of the bench they occupy. "I'm gonna grab dessert."

Jihoon wrinkles his nose up at him. He spotted a huge chocolate cake inside the main lodge, along with an assortment of other sweet treats. Just the idea of having one makes him a little woozy. Seongwoo smirks before he disappears through the other rows of long outdoor cafeteria tables to the buffet. Jihoon tips his head back, inhaling the crisp night air, the smokiness of meat on the grill.

He likes the simplicity of it—man and nature. No computers, no phones. But still, he wonders what Daniel is doing. He sighs and leans his chin in his palm. Seongwoo returns with a plate full of sweets, and JIhoon just shakes his head.

"I hope you don't get sick tonight."

"Psh," Seongwoo chuckles haughtily. "This is nothing. You should see me during the holidays."

"Ugh," Jihoon drops his hands into his lap, and stares at the side of Seongwoo's face as Seongwoo bites deeply into a chocolate cupcake. There's no time like the present. "So, you never told me—"

Suddenly Jennie appears out of nowhere, that mischievous smile of hers playing over features that glow with mild intoxication. It only goes downhill from there.

"Jihoon, this is your seat!" She says, after she and a few others have literally dragged him inside to the common area. He spies Jaehwan, standing among the rest of his coworkers in a huge huddle for a picture. An orange medal dangles from his and Krystal's necks, and something shrivels and dies in the pit of Jihoon's stomach.

His eyes drop to the chair at the front of the group impure disdain.

After the photo, they all remain in the common room and Seongwoo is somehow coerced into handing out more drinks to everyone.

"Speech!" Someone crows, and Jihoon gets ushered to a huge, comfy sofa, squished between Jennie and a man from finance whose name he can't recall. His crutches clatter uselessly to the floor. CEO Jihyun grins bashfully, and in seconds he's standing before the crackling fireplace, and everyone falls silent.

"We, as technology professionals, have a responsibility to use our expertise to keep people connected, while also fostering an appreciation for life above our screens." He casts an intent look around at all of them, as he drones on, Jihoon's eyelids droop.

His final thought before passing out slinks through his mind, barely complete: Daniel would love this.

Seongwoo wakes him up, and somehow Yuri and Krystal end up in the Jeep with them on the way back to camp. It makes sense, since Yuri is staying in the room above theirs, but the two women have no intent on sleeping. Jihoon sulks the entire ride.

He fumbles his way to his bed on the crutches and sinks down with a heavy sigh, watching as Yuri grabs Seongwoo's elbow and jerks him like he's some overgrown doll.

"...It's fun, I promise!" She grins up at him, and everything about her is persuasive: the tenacious tilt of her head, the conscious gleam in her eyes.

Seongwoo hesitates, chuckling and staring down at her with that eternal patience he has. Yuri pouts and gives his arm a few more rough tugs, her long hair a swaying fall of black over her shoulder, the smooth column of her neck. Jihoon feels invisible. Krystal comes hurtling through the door with about five others, snickering and storming up the stairs with a crate of beer. Seongwoo turns to Jihoon, pink-cheeked and smiling from his whole face.