The Retreat | Enha multi ship

[Chapter 13]

The last thing Jake wanted to do was talk about his small crush on Lee Heeseung, and if he did, it definitely wasn't going to be with Nishimura Riki. Luckily for him, he managed to dodge the question, as they happened to arrive at their set destination. In a clearing to the side of the dinning hall, was a few tree stumps, with a pile of logs stacked up against the building. That boy Junhyuck, was also over there, holding a couple axes in his hands. 

"Alright this is where I leave you, I have other stuff to do this morning. Junhyuck will show you what to do." Dahyun states, pointing towards the mint haired boy, before wandering off into the woods.

The four boys glance at each other, in a, I guess we've actually gotta do this, sorta way. The first one to make his way over to Junhyuck was Riki, and the rest followed close behind. 

"Hey guys, you up for chopping some wood?" Junhyuck asks with enthusiasm. 

Sunghoon found it quite strange that he had this much energy at 6 in the morning. "We don't really have a choice." He replies, stuffing his hands into his pockets, as the cold wind started to blow stronger.

"Well the quicker we get this done, the quicker we get to go back inside." Junhyuck picked up on the fact Sunghoon was cold, so he played to his audience. It seemed to work, as Sunghoon quickly nodded, and took the axe he was handed. Junhyuck then handed out the rest of the axes. "If you take one of these each, I'll show you the best way-"

"It's just chopping wood, I'm sure I can manage." Jay interrupts him. There was no way of hiding his slight annoyance that the boy interested in his [kinda] boyfriend, was now telling him what to do. Of course, he wasn't going to be blatantly rude, but he also wasn't going to make this kid his best friend.

Though Junhyuck seemed a little thrown off by Jay's interruption, he still kept on a friendly smile, and headed over to the pile of logs. He took a small one off the top, instantly putting it back as Jay refused one so small. He ended up grabbing one that was much longer and thicker, which even he [who chops wood all the time] wouldn't want to chop.

He places the log on the stump, and steps back. "It's all yours."

Now, Jay had never actually chopped wood before, but he was almost offended that Junhyuck would pick up such a small log. Did he really seem that weak? Sure this new log was intimidatingly big, and probably hard to chop, but Jay had a point to prove. He was not someone to be messed with.

It was important to get this right, so he took his time lining up the axe, and getting into the right position. He spreads out his legs in a wide stance, and pulls the axe over his shoulder. Then with one deep breath, and one swift motion, using all his strength, the wood slices cleanly in half.

 Internally, he breathes a sigh of relief, because it would have looked really bad if he didn't deliver after all that big talk. Externally, he stayed calm, almost unphased, as if that was easy for him. He turns to Junhyuck, expecting the boy to be shocked, but in reality, he actually looked impressed.

"Nice work." Junhyuck compliments, wandering over to the pile of logs. He grabs a small log and another large one, placing the large one in front of Jay.  "I hate chopping the big ones, so you make my life easier."

Well that didn't work out the way Jay wanted it.

"Just grab a log you guys, and do what Jay did." Junhyuck says to the other boys, leaving them to get on with the task by themselves.

Jake felt quite daunted staring at the pile of logs. He glanced over to Jay and Junhyuck, who were chopping the wood with no problem. Scratch that, Jay did seem a bit tired already, but he was chopping the big ones. He watched Sunghoon and Riki grab logs with no worries, and couldn't deny he felt this pressure to follow along.

So, just like everyone else, he grabbed a log, and put it on a stump. However, he didn't do much after that. The axe was heavy and kinda scary, like it was sharp; one wrong swing and someone would loose a limb. Manual labor really wasn't his strong suit. He could put together a book shelf, but that was just about it. 

The blonde a few feet away noticed his hesitation. "I know you're over thinking it."

"Obviously, what if I mess it up?" Jake mutters, slowly dragging his axe along the top of the log.

"Then you try again." Sunghoon simply responds, going back to chopping his own logs.

Maybe Sunghoon had a point, it was better to just get it over with. Just as he was about to swing his axe up, he hears laughter.

"Damn Jake looks so funny with an axe!"

He instantly drops his axe, and looks over to Riki. "Don't distract me."

"I'm sorry but it really doesn't look right. I mean I've seen more muscle on a baby."

You know what, being invisible really did have its perks, because if no one notices you, then you'll never get comments like that. Riki wasn't some malicious person, and really didn't mean it in a bad way, but it didn't make Jake feel any better. He just had to push that comment to the back of his mind, and get this dumb task over with.

He picked the axe back up, swung it down, and successfully chopped his first log. "Wow, that wasn't so hard." He mumbles to himself, actually eager to go retrieve another log. As he was coming back from fetching his second, he stopped to marvel at how many logs Jay had cut by himself. "Look at how big his pile is." He says to Sunghoon.

The blonde paused his chopping, and flicks his fringe out of the way, looking over to Jay. He then darts his eyes across to Junhyuck, who's pile was a similar size, and It became pretty obvious why he was working so hard. "I thought he didn't want to look like an insecure idiot."

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh it's nothing-"

"Why are you guys out here?" Sunghoon was cut off by a familiar voice, which made this whole situation way more amusing. Jungwon was instantly greeted by Junhyuck, then Jay went over and put his arm around him. There was definitely some awkward tension in the air, so he could only guess there'd be some drama on the horizon.

As much as he wanted to see how it would all unfold, Sunghoon had something better to put his focus on, as his favorite person came running over. 

"Sunoo look!" Jake excitedly points to the log he chopped. "I'm practically bob the builder."

"Yeah, you did really good." Sunoo smiles as he walks over to Sunghoon, who welcomes him with open arms. He feels a sense of warmth flow through his body while hugging Sunghoon. 

"How come you're up so early?"

"We couldn't sleep." 

He almost felt comfortable for a moment. 

Key word: almost.

"Listen up you guys!" Dahyun shouts, appearing from the path she had gone down earlier. "Go back to your cabins and get yourselves ready for breakfast. Today's events are starting at 8 sharp." 

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Ahh we hit 1k reads already! Tysm for all the support! I wasn't sure if anyone would even like this spin off, so I really appreciate it!

Double upload today!