"Guys, no, it's like three am!" Jungkook protests but his stupid friends push him out of the building anyway. They aren't even his friends; they're his summer camp roommates. He's known them for four days and idiotically agreed to play truth or dare with them. Not wanting to embarrass himself, he had chosen dare. That was a mistake.
Jungkook's task is simple: go to the kitchen and steal a cookie for each of his five roommates. Unfortunately, their dorm is on the other side of the camp. The punishment for being out of the dorm past 11 is severe and Jungkook is just praying that he won't get caught by one of the guards. So he creeps along the edge of the camp wall and tries his best to stay out of the light.
Summer camp was his parent's idea. They said it would be 'a character-building experience' but Jungkook knows they just wanted him out of the house. Jungkook has only been here for four days but he is certain that the only character he is building is his social anxiety. He's that quiet nerd at summer camp that everyone likes to pick on because he doesn't know anyone.
So Jungkook is sneaking around at three in the morning because people he doesn't know or like want cookies. He has no idea how his life has gotten to this point. He would contemplate that some more, but he freezes when he sees someone walking around near him. He silently dashes to the nearest tree and tries to catch his breath behind it. He risks taking a glance around the trunk and looks at the figure.
It isn't a guard. It isn't even a camp leader. It's a boy in pyjamas walking slowly through the camp. Jungkook watches him curiously as the boy stumbles slightly but then continues walking at the same pace. He has light brown hair and pale skin that looks almost spirit-like in the darkness. Making absolutely sure the coast is clear, Jungkook walks towards him.
"Hey!" he whispers once in hearing distance of him. The boy takes no notice of him and keeps walking. Jungkook frowns and follows him, trying again. "Hey!" It doesn't work and the boy keeps moving. Catching up to him completely, Jungkook realises that his eyes are half-way closed and glazed over. The boy is sleepwalking. It's a miracle that he hasn't tripped and hurt himself sooner.
Luckily for Jungkook, he knows how to deal with sleepwalkers; his sister used to do it all the time and Jungkook doesn't like waking people up by crying for help. Slowly and carefully, he puts his arm across the boy's chest and stops him from walking. As he does so, Jungkook realises that he doesn't know who the boy is or what dorm he's from. Cringing, Jungkook admits to himself that he will have to wake him up and he is not ready for that confrontation.
Carefully, Jungkook places a hand on the boy's shoulder and shakes him gently. The boy's eyelids flutter open to reveal pure brown eyes that almost immediately focus on Jungkook. Jungkook feels a little uncomfortable and takes his hand away. Before either of them can say a thing, a flashlight searches over them, blinding Jungkook momentarily.
"What are you boys doing awake?" the voice of one of the guards cuts through the air towards them and Jungkook wants nothing more but to run away. He is about to start panicking when he hears a smooth voice from beside him.
"Sorry, sir. I was sleepwalking and my friend woke me up. It wasn't his fault, sir." Jungkook is surprised at the coherency and stability the boy's voice holds after having woken up seconds earlier. He doesn't know why the boy is excusing Jungkook and, before he can think properly, says to him,
"Well, it wasn't your fault either." He hears the guard sigh heavily.
"Fine. Both of you back to your dorm and if I see either of you out here again, the leaders will be informed." The flashlight retreats and Jungkook lets out a deep breath. The boy smiles at him.
"Thanks. People don't usually wake me up properly. They either leave me or slap me across the face," he whispers. Jungkook smiles back and they begin to walk back slowly.
"Why did you cover for me? I don't actually have a reason to be out here." He asks and the boy shrugs.
"It would have been pretty cruel of me to say, 'I have no clue who this kid is,' don't you think? I'm Taehyung, by the way." The boy holds out his hand and Jungkook shakes it.
"I'm Jungkook." He's a little weirded out that someone is being nice to him in this place and actually consciously prevented him from getting in trouble.
"What are you doing out here?" Taehyung asks him and Jungkook suddenly remembers what he was supposed to do.
"I was supposed to steal cookies for my dorm but you were sleepwalking and I couldn't just leave you to trip and break your arm. But now my roommates are going to murder me." Taehyung frowns.
"That's horrible. People shouldn't bully you just because you're new."
"Tell that to them." It is silent for a second until Taehyung says,
"If you want, I've got a whole bunch of cookies in my bag; you can give them to your roommates." Jungkook is shocked at the offer.
"What? No, I don't want to take your stuff, I don't even know you," he protests and Taehyung laughs quietly.
"It's either this or getting beat up by them. Besides, I owe you one anyway for waking me up."
"No you don't, you already covered for me." Taehyung shrugs as they approach his dorm.
"Then you owe me one. Come on, or they'll get mad at you for being late." Jungkook is really not used to people helping him in this place at all and just follows Taehyung to his dorm. It's a lot cleaner than his own. He watches form the doorway as Taehyung quietly fishes through his case and brings out a bag of cookies. He hands them to Jungkook and smiles. "Good luck and good night, Jungkook."
"You too, Taehyung," Jungkook replies and runs back to his dorm. He opens the door carefully to see all five of his roommates fast asleep. With a sigh, Jungkook realises that they never wanted cookies; they just wanted Jungkook to get in trouble. He sneaks back to his own bed and gets under the covers. He smiles at the memory of Taehyung and takes an experimental bite of one of the cookies. It's delicious and as Jungkook puts them under his pillow and begins to fall asleep, he wonders if Taehyung made them. He wonders a lot about Taehyung.