day one: kiss kiss kiss, for downcastqueen
Title: Kiss Kiss Kiss
Recipient: downcastqueen
Fandom/Pairing: Oh My Girl | Arin/Binnie, Arin/everyone
Rating: PG
Warnings: n/a
Summary: Arin hasn’t had her first kiss yet, but the other girls in her cabin at summer camp are determined to remedy that.
Author's notes: Uninspired title from the song by BENI of the same name. To the recipient, I hope you like this! Thanks for giving me an excuse to write Oh My Girl ^^
It was a lot to take in, Arin thought, as she followed the directions on the map she had been handed at the welcoming table. There were girls everywhere- laughing, talking, lugging heavy looking duffel bags. It was obvious that many of them had been to this camp before with the comfortable way they were roaming around and excitedly greeting old friends. But Arin spotted quite a few girls who seemed just as timid as herself and felt it was safe to assume that they were first timers as well.
Camp wasn't necessarily Arin’s thing. But that summer, her parents had apparently wanted her outside instead of indoors, reading like she usually was, because they had sat her down at the beginning of summer vacation with pamphlets from half a dozen camps. Her mother had been very adamant that they didn’t want to force her. Arin supposed she could have refused, but while she was determined, she was also not one to cause conflict. So she had very unenthusiastically chosen the all girls camp for ages thirteen to eighteen. Archery wouldn’t be so bad, surely?
“Where are you going?” a girl asked, throwing an arm around Arin’s shoulders like they were old friends.
A look to her left revealed an older looking girl of about her height with long, blonde hair in a ponytail, bangs, and lips that naturally curved up at the edges, stretched in a grin that showed her gums.
“Um,” Arin looked down at the handwritten number and the circled cabin on her map even though she didn't actually need to check. “Cabin seven.”
“Yooa! She's one of ours!” the girl called over her shoulder, and before Arin could turn to look at who she was talking to, there was a girl skipping in front of them- auburn hair flowing behind her and large, doll-like eyes friendly as she took Arin in.
“Hi!” the second girl greeted her, voice light and airy. “I’m Yooa. You're new this summer?”
Arin nodded, a little overwhelmed with the sudden attention. Though she was grateful. It was much better than wandering around by herself.
“You’re gonna love it,” the first girl cut in, elbow still hooked around Arin’s neck. “I’m Mimi, by the way.”
“Arin,” Arin finally got out, stammering out some mix of you don't have to and thank you when Mimi took her arm back in order to grab Arin’s heavy duffel from her.
“Geez, what's in here?” Mimi teased, making a show of hefting the bag over her shoulder.
“Books?” Arin offered, feeling a little sheepish. But she hadn’t known if she’d need them or not.
“You’re not going to have time for those,” Mimi promised.
Yooa shook her head to agree, eyes sparkling as she grinned.
This summer was going to be an adventure.
---
“He knew I was going to camp!” Seunghee, one of the girls in cabin seven, complained. “Why would he confess the day before I went to camp. Timing!”
“He wanted to claim you before you left,” Mimi told her, waggling her eyebrows as she leaned forward on her bunk.
“Well, he didn’t,” Seunghee sniffed, tossing her hair. “I told him I’d think about it.”
Arin was the youngest of the eight girls in her cabin. She’d have thought it might have been lonely being the only fourteen year old, but she actually liked all the attention she got from the older girls and the way they’d dote on her.
It turned out that the five oldest girls- Hyojung, Jine, Yooa, Mimi, and Seunghee- had all been in a cabin together the year prior. And while the two girls that were just a year older than Arin- Binnie and Jiho- hadn’t been in a cabin with the other girls, this was the second year for both of them at the camp. But instead of feeling left out, Arin was grateful for the way they had all taken her under their collective wing.
They had only been at camp for a week, and Arin already felt like she had known them for much longer.
She hated to admit it, but this summer was turning out to be a lot more fun than it would have been in her hometown.
“Did you kiss him?” Yooa wanted to know, leaning into Mimi easily since they had pushed the bunks together, the two of them giggling mischievously.
Seunghee wrinkled her nose. “No. I don’t even know if I like him.”
“Would he be your first kiss?” Hyojung, the eldest of the girls in the cabin, asked from where she was sitting next to Seunghee on her top bunk.
“Nah,” Seunghee shook her head. “There was this guy a year ago...and then spin the bottle a couple times.”
“Did you have a good first kiss?” Jiho asked, next to Arin since Jiho had offered up a seat on her top bunk. “Because mine was gross.”
“How so?” Jine wondered with a quirk of her brow and her lips already pulling up in anticipation of the story.
“I was playing truth or dare with my friends and some guys, and this guy got dared to kiss me,” Jiho told them, giggling. “And instead of just kissing me, he was trying to make out with me and, like, trying to put his tongue in my mouth.”
“You didn’t let him?” Mimi teased. “Too bad.”
Yooa hit her on the shoulder and they both cackled as Jiho made a face of disgust.
“Definitely not,” she confirmed. “I did not want to make out with him.”
“I have you beat, though,” Mimi went on. “My first kiss was when I was seven and this boy came up to me at recess and licked my face.”
Binnie squealed and covered her face with her hands as Yooa howled with laughter and fell back on the bed.
“I’m not sure that counts as a kiss, Mimi,” Hyojung pointed out wryly.
“Well, he thought it did,” she said, shuddering theatrically and smacking Yooa on the thigh when she continued to laugh.
“How about you, Arin?” Jiho asked, poking Arin in the side.
“I haven’t had mine yet,” she admitted, not embarrassed about that since she was the youngest of all of them. Who was she supposed to have kissed, anyway? There hadn’t been anyone back home she’d had a crush on.
“We can fix that,” Mimi told her, waggling her brows suggestively. “You have seven lovely candidates right in front of you.”
“You can’t just offer up my lips without my consent,” Seunghee argued, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Well, I just did,” Mimi taunted playfully, sticking her tongue out at Seunghee.
But Arin missed whatever Seunghee said in retaliation because she was too busy trying to parse what Mimi had just said.
Was she seriously suggesting that Arin choose one of them to kiss in order to experience her first one? Was she kidding? Surely she was kidding. Right?
“Arin is getting all red,” Hyojung pointed out, giggling and reaching out across the span between their beds to try to get a hand on her cheek.
Of course that only had Arin blushing harder as Hyojung cooed and Jiho patted her on the back, the other girls arguing over which of them would be the best candidate.
“I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I am a good kisser,” Mimi was saying, earning herself a pillow in the face courtesy of Yooa and lots of loud dissent from Seunghee.
“I bet Jine is a good kisser,” Hyojung theorized, leaning over the edge of the bunk to look at the girl in question. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
Jine chuckled, shrugging a shoulder.
“She can’t even deny it!” Jiho hooted, burying her face in Arin’s shoulder as she laughed.
“Okay, seriously,” Seunghee cut in loudly. “Who here thinks Mimi would really be a better kisser than me?”
Jiho raised her hand and earned herself a scowl from Seunghee as Mimi tackled Yooa for not casting a vote in her favor.
“I am not picking a side on this one,” Hyojung announced on a laugh, holding her hands up in innocence.
“Same!” Binnie chimed in, hugging a pillow to her chest and looking like she was ready to shield herself with it if either Mimi or Seunghee wanted to retaliate.
“It only matters what Arin thinks, anyway,” Hyojung teased, turning back to Arin with a mischievous smile.
Arin could feel her face getting hot again.
“I don’t know!” she insisted, giggling in embarrassment as she hid her face in her knees.
It wasn’t like she could just look at the other girls and decide which of them would be the best kisser. That hadn’t even crossed her mind until five minutes ago. And she still didn’t know how serious this offer was. It was very likely that it was all just an excuse to make Arin blush and for the older girls to argue in favor of their own prowess.
“I’m sure you’re all good kissers,” she added diplomatically when Jiho kept nudging her in the side and Hyojung hadn’t stopped her cooing.
Mimi booed her, and for some reason Yooa lobbed a stuffed animal at Hyojung who shrieked and threw it back, thus starting a mini stuffed animal war that lasted until their counselor came in and told them it was time for lights out.
Arin was grateful that they’d gotten off the topic of kissing since she definitely wasn’t ready to just name someone in the cabin that she wanted to kiss. Did she even want to get her first kiss over with like that? And if she did, how would she choose?
It was all a lot to think about, so she was grateful when exhaustion crept up on her and started pulling her into sleep.
Maybe everything would make more sense in the morning.
---
When she wasn’t assaulted by anyone volunteering themselves as her first kiss the next morning, Arin decided the whole conversation had probably been a joke. Which was fine. She didn’t feel particularly qualified to be picking someone to be her first kiss, anyway.
Canoeing in the morning and swimming in the afternoon went as usual, and Arin had nearly put the whole thing out of her mind by the time dinner rolled around.
“Hey,” Hyojung said, smiling at Arin and linking elbows with her after they’d both returned their dirty dishes. “Sorry for teasing so much last night.”
Hyojung was steering them away from the other girls, and Arin had to guess that was so no one would overhear.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Hyojung went on. “I just couldn't help myself. You're so cute.”
She reached up to squish Arin’s cheek with one hand, grinning up at her, and making Arin blush.
“It’s fine,” Arin told her, flapping a hand and giggling, a little pleased. She kind of liked that Hyojung thought she was cute enough to want to tease. It wasn’t like she’d been that embarrassed. It was all in good fun.
“That being said,” Hyojung went on, pointing them in the direction of their cabin, “if you do decide you want one of us to kiss you, I won’t make a big deal out of it. If you want me to and you don’t want anyone to know, that’s fine. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
Arin did not have a response at the ready for that.
Hyojung was offering so...that meant that, at the very least, Hyojung had been serious about their discussion the night before. She was honestly willing to give Arin her first kiss, if she wanted it.
Able to feel her cheeks burning, Arin tried to figure out what to say.
Did she want Hyojung to kiss her? Yes? Maybe? This was all very sudden, and Arin had never expected to be given so many options regarding her first kiss.
“I- can I think about it?” Arin finally got out, happy to have managed some sort of sentence with the way her mind was racing and her nerves were prickling from where Hyojung’s bare arm was rubbing up against her own.
“Of course,” Hyojung told her with a bright smile.
Arin opened her mouth to thank her, but then Binnie barreled into the pair of them, yelling something about bugs. Which made a lot more sense when Jiho raced up to them with a cricket in her hands.
Acting as a human shield between Binnie and Jiho’s outstretched hand while trying to get away from the cricket herself, Arin didn’t have any more time to think about Hyojung’s offer right then.
But she had all summer. Plenty of time to think things through.
---
“We’re stuck!” Seunghee hollered as their canoe lodged itself in the mud near the edge of the lake.
Arin tried to use her oar to push them back into deeper water, but the canoe barely moved.
“Augh!” Seunghee exclaimed, trying to shove them away from the shore with her own oar to no avail.
The canoeing instructor was currently helping Jiho and Mimi who had also managed to strand themselves on the opposite side of the lake.
“Guess we ought to get comfortable while we wait,” Seunghee announced after a few more futile jabs at the mud.
Arin sighed and rested her oar in her lap as Seunghee slumped down as well as she could in her seat.
“Oh hey!” Seunghee said, straightening up suddenly. “I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“Yeah?”
Usually someone telling her that they had to tell her something or needed to talk to her stressed Arin out, but Seunghee didn’t seem like she was gearing up for bad news.
“When Mimi was auctioning us all off to be your first kiss?” Seunghee started, and Arin snorted.
That maybe hadn’t been quite what happened.
When Arin nodded, Seunghee continued.
“And I was complaining that she was offering up my lips without my consent?” she went on. “I just want you to know that I wasn't objecting because I am against the idea of kissing you. I was just annoyed that I was being volunteered.”
Arin definitely hadn’t taken Seunghee bickering with Mimi as any sort of rejection.
“It’s fine!” Arin assured her. “I didn't think-”
“And just so you know,” Seunghee cut in before Arin could tell her that she wasn’t offended, “if you do want one of us to kiss you, I would do it. If you wanted me to.”
“Oh!” Arin gaped, feeling herself flush immediately. She never thought she'd have so many people offering to kiss her at any given time. What was the proper response in this situation?
“Just if it comes to that,” Seunghee told her. “I didn’t mean now.”
Arin hadn't thought she meant right that minute, but her cheeks burned to think of kissing Seunghee in the middle of the lake where they would definitely be seen by all the other girls. Seunghee cackled and reached out to pat Arin on the shoulder.
“Don’t stress out,” she told her with an amused smile. “It’s just an option.”
That was true. It was only an option. And options were good, right?
Arin just didn't know what to do with so many.
But she did know what to do when their instructor finally freed them from the mud. Or at least mostly. She and Seunghee managed to keep from getting stuck after that, so Arin was counting it as a success.
---
Arin watched as Mimi barreled over the hurdle and nearly threw herself at the slanted wall to climb it. It was the obstacle course that afternoon, and while Arin thought it was pretty fun, she didn’t have the about of gumption that Mimi did. She liked to take her time and be careful. Which, of course, resulted in a longer completion time, but she was okay with that.
“That girl is gonna break an ankle,” Jine tsked, standing next to Arin as they both waited for their turns.
Arin hummed in agreement, when Mimi stumbled a little on her ascent.
She and Jine both watched tensely as Mimi rapelled down the other side, making it to the ground safely and running for the tunnel on the ground.
“You don’t have to feel weird,” Jine said after half a minute of silence.
“Hm?”
What was she feeling weird about? Being slower at the obstacle course?
“About Mimi making a big deal about you not having had your first kiss,” Jine explained, keeping her voice down, though the yells from the other girls wouldn’t have allowed anyone to overhear, anyway. “I hadn't had mine when I was your age, either.”
Arin knew that plenty of girls her age hadn’t kissed anyone yet. And she hadn’t thought Mimi was being mean or judgmental about it. But still. It was nice to hear.
“Yeah, I just haven’t ever been in the situation where I would have had the opportunity to kiss someone. I’ve had a few crushes, but none of them have panned out,” Arin shrugged. “I’m not really in a big rush, I guess. Though...I am a little curious, of course.”
Jine smiled understandingly.
They both glanced over at the loud whoop Mimi let out upon hearing her time.
In a couple seconds, it would be Jine’s turn.
“Well, if you ever get really curious,” Jine said, reaching behind her head to tighten her short ponytail before she had to start, “let me know. I’d be happy to help.”
Arin found herself at a loss for what to say, despite having been in this situation twice before.
“And don't think this would be the first time something like this happened in this group,” she added, lips quirking as she glanced back at the end of the course where Mimi was still making a ruckus. Mimi?
But before she could inquire further, the whistle blew and Jine was off, maneuvering her way through the tires laying on the ground.
Well. That was good to know.
Arin had to admit she was warming up to the idea. But as far as whom she wanted to kiss, she still had no clue how to choose.
---
“What is wrong with Jiho?” Mimi complained, arm latched tightly to Arin’s, and she was clinging just as desperately back.
They’d just had their weekend campfire, and that week, the activity had been scary stories.
Even though she knew it was just the other campers walking behind her, Arin felt like, if she turned, she’d see a horrifying ghost preying on her. She squeezed Mimi’s arm even tighter.
“She wasn’t scared at all!” Mimi went on. “She just looked like she was having a grand old time. Meanwhile, the rest of us who are normal are terrified.” She sighed.
Arin was pretty jealous of Jiho’s immunity to ghost stories because she had a feeling that she was going to have trouble sleeping.
Happy thoughts, she tried to coach herself as they walked through the dark to get back to their cabin. But she couldn't stop picturing the wide, unseeing eyes of the little girl ghost that had been featured in one of the stories.
With Mimi clutching her arm, Arin was suddenly reminded of Jine’s mysterious statement the other day. And at least that was something to occupy her mind.
Any distractions from the rustling of leaves in the night wind was welcome.
“I was talking to Jine the other day about…” Arin trailed off, a little embarrassed to be the one bringing it up, “about me not having had my first kiss? And the idea of kissing someone here?”
Arin hoped that Mimi didn’t think she was begging for a kiss. Not that kissing Mimi would be a bad thing. And she did want a distraction. But she definitely didn’t want to seem needy, and she’d hate for Mimi to feel like she was put on the spot.
“Yeah?” Mimi replied, lips pulling up a little- probably at the memory of her own teasing.
“She said that it wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened here?” Arin went on, deciding not to mention the fact that Jine’s gaze made Arin think that Mimi was directly involved. “What did she mean by that?”
Mimi’s steps faltered slightly before she sped up, pulling Arin along with her down the path toward the cabins.
“I don’t know,” she replied, though Arin could see the flush on her cheeks, even in the dark. “I mean, I’m sure that kind of thing happens all the time, you know? I bet some other cabin is having the same kind of discussions.”
That was probably true, but definitely not what Jine had been talking about.
But if Mimi didn’t want to elaborate, Arin wasn’t going to force her. It wasn’t her business, even though she was incredibly curious.
“Why? Didja want me to kiss you?” Mimi asked, smile mischievous and familiar, teasing tone back in her voice. “Ey? Eey?”
Mimi was nudging into Arin’s shoulder with her own and waggling her eyebrows, and since they were still linked at the elbow, Arin couldn’t even get away.
Whining, Arin smacked Mimi lightly on her arm with her free hand, and Mimi laughed.
“The offer remains open,” she said, grinning at Arin as their cabin came into view before adding in a sing-song voice, “Let me know.”
Another offer.
Arin started to huff about Mimi’s teasing, but a loud boo from behind them had them both shrieking and clinging tighter to one another.
A cackling Jiho fall into step with them, and Mimi cursed, reaching out to try to swipe at her.
But Jiho was already skipping away, probably looking for another victim.
“If she tries to pull anything tonight, I’m gonna punch her,” Mimi grumbled, keeping Arin close even as they entered their cabin.
Of course, when they were all in bed and the lights were out, Jiho had started making ghostly noises. Though she didn’t get punched, she did get a pillow to the face.
And even though Jiho wasn’t particularly perturbed, laughing through it all, Arin thought it was a pretty just punishment.
---
Arin’s flip flops thwacked against the floor as she walked to the bathroom, the sound of the shower audible through the closed door. After Binnie was done with her shower, it would finally be Arin’s turn to wash the grime and dirt of the day away.
Bouncing her shower caddy against her knee, she blew out a stream of air that ruffled her bangs. Even though there would be the inevitable hour or so of talking after Arin was out of the shower and they were all getting ready to turn in, Arin was just looking forward to climbing in bed. They’d been on a long hike that afternoon, and their morning had been spent swimming. Laying down would be heaven.
“Arin!” Jiho trilled, skipping up behind her and throwing her arms over her shoulders so she was plastered against her back.
“Careful!” Arin warned, laughing even as she used a hand to make sure Jiho’s jostling didn’t make her towel fall down.
“Oops!” Jiho giggled, moving her arms to Arin’s waist and notching her chin over Arin’s shoulder so her slightly damp hair brushed against Arin’s arms.
Jiho had borrowed Yooa’s hair dryer to dry her hair, but she tended to get bored and give up before her long hair was completely dry.
“Pervert,” Arin grumbled teasingly, holding her towel against her chest just to be safe.
“Oh hey!” Jiho exclaimed, lifting her head from where it had been resting. “Speaking of that!”
“Speaking of being a pervert?” Arin asked incredulously, turning her head to see Jiho grinning at her own segue.
“Kind of,” Jiho said with a shrug, still holding onto Arin’s middle. “About your first kiss? I’ll do it, you know.”
She said it so casually, like it wasn’t a big deal at all. Like it was as simple as offering Arin half of her cookie at dinner. Which she had never done because Jiho was usually the one trying to beg extra dessert off the other girls.
“I won’t even lick your face like Mimi had done to her,” Jiho added. “I promise.”
Arin barked out a laugh, smacking at Jiho’s hand where it rested against her belly.
“I guess that’s comforting,” she said, overwhelmed by yet another offer to be her first kiss, but still at ease since Jiho was so…Jiho about it.
“It is,” Jiho confirmed with a giggle. “You do not want someone licking your face, trust me.”
That seemed reasonable. Arin definitely was going to take Jiho’s word on that.
“Shower’s free,” Binnie announced, emerging from the bathroom in her pajamas with a towel in her hair.
“Let go,” Arin complained when Jiho didn’t immediately release her.
“I don’t think there’s room for two people,” Binnie observed with a quirk of her brow.
“Jiho is not invited to my shower!” Arin announced, finally untangling herself from Jiho’s hold and shuffling toward the bathroom with Jiho’s laughter echoing behind her.
Arin smiled to herself. She had really gotten lucky as far as cabin mates were concerned. Never in a million years would she have anticipated liking the girls she was staying with so much.
Of course she also never would have dreamed that five of them would have offered to be her first kiss.
That was a different issue entirely.
---
“Sleeve hitting game, sleeve hitting game,” Yooa sang, walking next to Arin and continually hitting her with the dangling sleeves of the sweatshirt Yooa had tied around her waist.
They were on their way to the archery field on the outskirts of the camp which meant they had at least five more minutes of walking ahead of them.
Arin wondered if Yooa was planning on continuing her “game” the whole way there.
“Mimi,” Arin whined, calling for the older girl who was a few yards ahead of them. “Make her stop.”
Yooa cackled and Mimi just raised her eyebrows, slowing her pace slightly.
“You’re on your own, kid,” Mimi told her with a laugh before jogging to catch back up with Hyojung.
Arin whined again for good measure as Yooa continued to hit her with her sweat shirt sleeves.
“Or we can play another game!” Yooa announced cutely, resting her arms on Arin’s shoulder while still managing to walk alongside her. “The kissing game!”
With that, she leaned up so her mouth hovered right next to Arin’s ear and made a loud kissing sound with her lips.
Then she repeated the same thing with her lips nearly touching Arin’s cheek.
“Why?” Arin whined, not knowing quite how to respond to such attention, and also a little annoyed because she was just trying to walk and Yooa clinging to her was making it much more difficult. Though she couldn’t be too frustrated since Yooa was actually adorable.
“Because it’s fun,” Yooa trilled, doing more air kisses in the direction of Arin’s face.
Arin resigned herself to her fate.
“Or we can play a real kissing game,” Yooa added after a minute, apparently getting tired of her own game since Arin wasn’t reacting nearly so much anymore.
Glancing over at her, Yooa was smiling innocently, but her eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“If you want, we can get your first kiss out of the way right now,” Yooa suggested, kissing right next to Arin’s ear again.
Arin covered her face with her hands, embarrassed, and Yooa giggled.
“So cute,” she said, ruffling Arin’s hair before finally unlatching herself from Arin’s side. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
With that, she scampered off to catch up with Jine, and Arin was left with the knowledge that she had yet another option for her first kiss.
Surely first kisses weren’t meant to be this complicated?
With three weeks left of camp, Arin felt like she should try to make a decision soon, though she had no idea how to even begin.
Maybe she should suggest the girls all play rock, paper, scissors to battle it out. But as entertaining as that might be, it wasn’t very romantic.
Arin sighed as she trudged up the dirt path.
Hopefully the answer would come to her.
---
Arin rested her head in the crook of her arms, relaxing at one of the picnic tables outside during their free hour before dinner.
It was hot out, but not as hot as it had been. And there was a breeze, so it was comfortable to just sit outside and let the evening sun fall on her shoulders.
Mimi was next to her, drumming out a beat on the table and humming under her breath, and though the vibrations through the wood under Arin’s head was a little bothersome, she liked having the company. Even though they were both in their own little worlds.
Arin was wondering if she could doze off, and if so, would someone wake her up for dinner. But that thought became moot when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
“Arin?”
Looking up and blinking against the sudden brightness, Arin saw Binnie standing next to her, chewing on her lower lip.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Arin nodded, scooting over so Binnie would be able to sit down too, but Binnie remained standing.
“Over there?” she said, gesturing away from the picnic table.
Mimi stopped her drumming, looking intrigued.
“Okay,” Arin agreed, standing up and following Binnie to the edge of the treeline in an area where there weren’t a bunch of girls congregated.
“Uh…” Binnie began, looking unsure of herself. Which was strange. Binnie was usually pretty straightforward in what she said and she rarely seemed shy.
Arin wondered what could have her seeming so nervous.
“Um,” she started again. “I was wondering...”
Binnie’s eyes darted up to meet Arin’s, looking back to the side before settling on her face- like Binnie was forcing herself to keep eye contact.
“..if I could kiss you.”
Arin felt her brows jump.
While she had been offered a first kiss by every other girl in their cabin aside from Binnie, none of them had phrased it quite like that.
Arin couldn’t help the little extra thump her heart gave.
“Why...why does everyone want my first kiss?” she wondered out loud, not knowing how else to respond.
Binnie’s cheeks were flushed as she looked up at Arin through her lashes- black bangs curling delicately at her brows.
“I was actually hoping you’d be mine,” she said softly, watching for Arin’s reaction to that carefully.
Truthfully, it took Arin a second to absorb that since she hadn’t expected it.
She supposed that Binnie hadn’t jumped in with any first kiss stories when they had been talking about it. But she hadn’t given it any thought at the time since she was being bombarded by, at the time, possible teasing offers to kiss her.
But Binnie wasn’t offering to do her a favor. Binnie wasn’t even asking for a favor. She was just...hoping for a kiss.
Arin could feel the way her heart was pounding in her chest, stomach swirling with butterflies, and this...this was how she’d always imagined her first kiss going. Not a well-meaning offer that had been carefully weighed and arranged. Just a person wanting to kiss her, and her wanting to kiss them, too.
That realization settled as Arin took a deep breath. She did want to kiss Binnie.
The answer had come to her after all.
“Okay,” she agreed, belatedly noticing that she was nearly whispering.
Binnie looked surprised for a second before she smiled, taking a tentative step forward with a determined look in her eye.
The press of Binnie’s lips against hers was warm and light- like the summer wind that blew through their hair in the second that they remained in the liplock.
It wasn’t some sort of revelation- Arin didn’t feel like a changed person. But it was undeniably nice.
When Binnie pulled back, eyes soft and questioning, Arin couldn’t help the quick kiss she pressed to Binnie’s lips before she giggled.
First and second kiss accomplished in one fell swoop.
Binnie was grinning at her, and Arin knew that she had made the right choice.
When the dinner bell rang, Binnie’s hand was clasped around hers as they made their way to the dining hall.
Arin knew that she would remember that evening forever.
---
“I still can’t believe you picked Binnie,” Mimi complained when they were back in their cabin that night. “I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with her. But you have no idea what you’re missing.”
With that, gestured to herself and was met with a chorus of groans and jeers. Mimi stuck her tongue out at all of them.
“I think they’re cute,” Yooa cooed, leaning into Mimi’s side as she smiled down at Arin and Binnie on Binnie’s bottom bunk.
Arin covered her flushed cheeks with her hands and Binnie threw a stuffed bunny in retaliation for being stared at.
“They are!” Hyojung agreed, looking at them like they were precious.
Binnie didn’t have anything to throw that time, so she just grumbled instead.
Fortunately, the conversation eventually was directed elsewhere and Arin could relax as the girls shared stories about some of the senior pranks they’d seen executed at their high schools.
Unsurprisingly, most of the older girls had plans for their upcoming senior year, and they took turns sharing what they wanted to do.
Mimi’s plan involving chickens didn’t seen the most realistic, but Arin liked the way it had Binnie tossing her head back as she laughed unabashedly- one of her hands resting comfortably on Arin’s knee.
When the summer had just begun, Arin had known that it was going to be an adventure. What that adventure would entail, however, she’d had no idea.
It was safe to say that she hadn’t expected to be inundated with offers to be her first kiss. She also hadn’t expected to experience such a knee-weakening one.
The summer was starting to near its end, and Arin had to admit that she wasn’t eager to return back home.
With Binnie’s chin notched over her shoulder, Arin reminded herself of something very important.
There was always next summer.
Recipient: downcastqueen
Fandom/Pairing: Oh My Girl | Arin/Binnie, Arin/everyone
Rating: PG
Warnings: n/a
Summary: Arin hasn’t had her first kiss yet, but the other girls in her cabin at summer camp are determined to remedy that.
Author's notes: Uninspired title from the song by BENI of the same name. To the recipient, I hope you like this! Thanks for giving me an excuse to write Oh My Girl ^^
It was a lot to take in, Arin thought, as she followed the directions on the map she had been handed at the welcoming table. There were girls everywhere- laughing, talking, lugging heavy looking duffel bags. It was obvious that many of them had been to this camp before with the comfortable way they were roaming around and excitedly greeting old friends. But Arin spotted quite a few girls who seemed just as timid as herself and felt it was safe to assume that they were first timers as well.
Camp wasn't necessarily Arin’s thing. But that summer, her parents had apparently wanted her outside instead of indoors, reading like she usually was, because they had sat her down at the beginning of summer vacation with pamphlets from half a dozen camps. Her mother had been very adamant that they didn’t want to force her. Arin supposed she could have refused, but while she was determined, she was also not one to cause conflict. So she had very unenthusiastically chosen the all girls camp for ages thirteen to eighteen. Archery wouldn’t be so bad, surely?
“Where are you going?” a girl asked, throwing an arm around Arin’s shoulders like they were old friends.
A look to her left revealed an older looking girl of about her height with long, blonde hair in a ponytail, bangs, and lips that naturally curved up at the edges, stretched in a grin that showed her gums.
“Um,” Arin looked down at the handwritten number and the circled cabin on her map even though she didn't actually need to check. “Cabin seven.”
“Yooa! She's one of ours!” the girl called over her shoulder, and before Arin could turn to look at who she was talking to, there was a girl skipping in front of them- auburn hair flowing behind her and large, doll-like eyes friendly as she took Arin in.
“Hi!” the second girl greeted her, voice light and airy. “I’m Yooa. You're new this summer?”
Arin nodded, a little overwhelmed with the sudden attention. Though she was grateful. It was much better than wandering around by herself.
“You’re gonna love it,” the first girl cut in, elbow still hooked around Arin’s neck. “I’m Mimi, by the way.”
“Arin,” Arin finally got out, stammering out some mix of you don't have to and thank you when Mimi took her arm back in order to grab Arin’s heavy duffel from her.
“Geez, what's in here?” Mimi teased, making a show of hefting the bag over her shoulder.
“Books?” Arin offered, feeling a little sheepish. But she hadn’t known if she’d need them or not.
“You’re not going to have time for those,” Mimi promised.
Yooa shook her head to agree, eyes sparkling as she grinned.
This summer was going to be an adventure.
---
“He knew I was going to camp!” Seunghee, one of the girls in cabin seven, complained. “Why would he confess the day before I went to camp. Timing!”
“He wanted to claim you before you left,” Mimi told her, waggling her eyebrows as she leaned forward on her bunk.
“Well, he didn’t,” Seunghee sniffed, tossing her hair. “I told him I’d think about it.”
Arin was the youngest of the eight girls in her cabin. She’d have thought it might have been lonely being the only fourteen year old, but she actually liked all the attention she got from the older girls and the way they’d dote on her.
It turned out that the five oldest girls- Hyojung, Jine, Yooa, Mimi, and Seunghee- had all been in a cabin together the year prior. And while the two girls that were just a year older than Arin- Binnie and Jiho- hadn’t been in a cabin with the other girls, this was the second year for both of them at the camp. But instead of feeling left out, Arin was grateful for the way they had all taken her under their collective wing.
They had only been at camp for a week, and Arin already felt like she had known them for much longer.
She hated to admit it, but this summer was turning out to be a lot more fun than it would have been in her hometown.
“Did you kiss him?” Yooa wanted to know, leaning into Mimi easily since they had pushed the bunks together, the two of them giggling mischievously.
Seunghee wrinkled her nose. “No. I don’t even know if I like him.”
“Would he be your first kiss?” Hyojung, the eldest of the girls in the cabin, asked from where she was sitting next to Seunghee on her top bunk.
“Nah,” Seunghee shook her head. “There was this guy a year ago...and then spin the bottle a couple times.”
“Did you have a good first kiss?” Jiho asked, next to Arin since Jiho had offered up a seat on her top bunk. “Because mine was gross.”
“How so?” Jine wondered with a quirk of her brow and her lips already pulling up in anticipation of the story.
“I was playing truth or dare with my friends and some guys, and this guy got dared to kiss me,” Jiho told them, giggling. “And instead of just kissing me, he was trying to make out with me and, like, trying to put his tongue in my mouth.”
“You didn’t let him?” Mimi teased. “Too bad.”
Yooa hit her on the shoulder and they both cackled as Jiho made a face of disgust.
“Definitely not,” she confirmed. “I did not want to make out with him.”
“I have you beat, though,” Mimi went on. “My first kiss was when I was seven and this boy came up to me at recess and licked my face.”
Binnie squealed and covered her face with her hands as Yooa howled with laughter and fell back on the bed.
“I’m not sure that counts as a kiss, Mimi,” Hyojung pointed out wryly.
“Well, he thought it did,” she said, shuddering theatrically and smacking Yooa on the thigh when she continued to laugh.
“How about you, Arin?” Jiho asked, poking Arin in the side.
“I haven’t had mine yet,” she admitted, not embarrassed about that since she was the youngest of all of them. Who was she supposed to have kissed, anyway? There hadn’t been anyone back home she’d had a crush on.
“We can fix that,” Mimi told her, waggling her brows suggestively. “You have seven lovely candidates right in front of you.”
“You can’t just offer up my lips without my consent,” Seunghee argued, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Well, I just did,” Mimi taunted playfully, sticking her tongue out at Seunghee.
But Arin missed whatever Seunghee said in retaliation because she was too busy trying to parse what Mimi had just said.
Was she seriously suggesting that Arin choose one of them to kiss in order to experience her first one? Was she kidding? Surely she was kidding. Right?
“Arin is getting all red,” Hyojung pointed out, giggling and reaching out across the span between their beds to try to get a hand on her cheek.
Of course that only had Arin blushing harder as Hyojung cooed and Jiho patted her on the back, the other girls arguing over which of them would be the best candidate.
“I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I am a good kisser,” Mimi was saying, earning herself a pillow in the face courtesy of Yooa and lots of loud dissent from Seunghee.
“I bet Jine is a good kisser,” Hyojung theorized, leaning over the edge of the bunk to look at the girl in question. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
Jine chuckled, shrugging a shoulder.
“She can’t even deny it!” Jiho hooted, burying her face in Arin’s shoulder as she laughed.
“Okay, seriously,” Seunghee cut in loudly. “Who here thinks Mimi would really be a better kisser than me?”
Jiho raised her hand and earned herself a scowl from Seunghee as Mimi tackled Yooa for not casting a vote in her favor.
“I am not picking a side on this one,” Hyojung announced on a laugh, holding her hands up in innocence.
“Same!” Binnie chimed in, hugging a pillow to her chest and looking like she was ready to shield herself with it if either Mimi or Seunghee wanted to retaliate.
“It only matters what Arin thinks, anyway,” Hyojung teased, turning back to Arin with a mischievous smile.
Arin could feel her face getting hot again.
“I don’t know!” she insisted, giggling in embarrassment as she hid her face in her knees.
It wasn’t like she could just look at the other girls and decide which of them would be the best kisser. That hadn’t even crossed her mind until five minutes ago. And she still didn’t know how serious this offer was. It was very likely that it was all just an excuse to make Arin blush and for the older girls to argue in favor of their own prowess.
“I’m sure you’re all good kissers,” she added diplomatically when Jiho kept nudging her in the side and Hyojung hadn’t stopped her cooing.
Mimi booed her, and for some reason Yooa lobbed a stuffed animal at Hyojung who shrieked and threw it back, thus starting a mini stuffed animal war that lasted until their counselor came in and told them it was time for lights out.
Arin was grateful that they’d gotten off the topic of kissing since she definitely wasn’t ready to just name someone in the cabin that she wanted to kiss. Did she even want to get her first kiss over with like that? And if she did, how would she choose?
It was all a lot to think about, so she was grateful when exhaustion crept up on her and started pulling her into sleep.
Maybe everything would make more sense in the morning.
---
When she wasn’t assaulted by anyone volunteering themselves as her first kiss the next morning, Arin decided the whole conversation had probably been a joke. Which was fine. She didn’t feel particularly qualified to be picking someone to be her first kiss, anyway.
Canoeing in the morning and swimming in the afternoon went as usual, and Arin had nearly put the whole thing out of her mind by the time dinner rolled around.
“Hey,” Hyojung said, smiling at Arin and linking elbows with her after they’d both returned their dirty dishes. “Sorry for teasing so much last night.”
Hyojung was steering them away from the other girls, and Arin had to guess that was so no one would overhear.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Hyojung went on. “I just couldn't help myself. You're so cute.”
She reached up to squish Arin’s cheek with one hand, grinning up at her, and making Arin blush.
“It’s fine,” Arin told her, flapping a hand and giggling, a little pleased. She kind of liked that Hyojung thought she was cute enough to want to tease. It wasn’t like she’d been that embarrassed. It was all in good fun.
“That being said,” Hyojung went on, pointing them in the direction of their cabin, “if you do decide you want one of us to kiss you, I won’t make a big deal out of it. If you want me to and you don’t want anyone to know, that’s fine. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
Arin did not have a response at the ready for that.
Hyojung was offering so...that meant that, at the very least, Hyojung had been serious about their discussion the night before. She was honestly willing to give Arin her first kiss, if she wanted it.
Able to feel her cheeks burning, Arin tried to figure out what to say.
Did she want Hyojung to kiss her? Yes? Maybe? This was all very sudden, and Arin had never expected to be given so many options regarding her first kiss.
“I- can I think about it?” Arin finally got out, happy to have managed some sort of sentence with the way her mind was racing and her nerves were prickling from where Hyojung’s bare arm was rubbing up against her own.
“Of course,” Hyojung told her with a bright smile.
Arin opened her mouth to thank her, but then Binnie barreled into the pair of them, yelling something about bugs. Which made a lot more sense when Jiho raced up to them with a cricket in her hands.
Acting as a human shield between Binnie and Jiho’s outstretched hand while trying to get away from the cricket herself, Arin didn’t have any more time to think about Hyojung’s offer right then.
But she had all summer. Plenty of time to think things through.
---
“We’re stuck!” Seunghee hollered as their canoe lodged itself in the mud near the edge of the lake.
Arin tried to use her oar to push them back into deeper water, but the canoe barely moved.
“Augh!” Seunghee exclaimed, trying to shove them away from the shore with her own oar to no avail.
The canoeing instructor was currently helping Jiho and Mimi who had also managed to strand themselves on the opposite side of the lake.
“Guess we ought to get comfortable while we wait,” Seunghee announced after a few more futile jabs at the mud.
Arin sighed and rested her oar in her lap as Seunghee slumped down as well as she could in her seat.
“Oh hey!” Seunghee said, straightening up suddenly. “I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“Yeah?”
Usually someone telling her that they had to tell her something or needed to talk to her stressed Arin out, but Seunghee didn’t seem like she was gearing up for bad news.
“When Mimi was auctioning us all off to be your first kiss?” Seunghee started, and Arin snorted.
That maybe hadn’t been quite what happened.
When Arin nodded, Seunghee continued.
“And I was complaining that she was offering up my lips without my consent?” she went on. “I just want you to know that I wasn't objecting because I am against the idea of kissing you. I was just annoyed that I was being volunteered.”
Arin definitely hadn’t taken Seunghee bickering with Mimi as any sort of rejection.
“It’s fine!” Arin assured her. “I didn't think-”
“And just so you know,” Seunghee cut in before Arin could tell her that she wasn’t offended, “if you do want one of us to kiss you, I would do it. If you wanted me to.”
“Oh!” Arin gaped, feeling herself flush immediately. She never thought she'd have so many people offering to kiss her at any given time. What was the proper response in this situation?
“Just if it comes to that,” Seunghee told her. “I didn’t mean now.”
Arin hadn't thought she meant right that minute, but her cheeks burned to think of kissing Seunghee in the middle of the lake where they would definitely be seen by all the other girls. Seunghee cackled and reached out to pat Arin on the shoulder.
“Don’t stress out,” she told her with an amused smile. “It’s just an option.”
That was true. It was only an option. And options were good, right?
Arin just didn't know what to do with so many.
But she did know what to do when their instructor finally freed them from the mud. Or at least mostly. She and Seunghee managed to keep from getting stuck after that, so Arin was counting it as a success.
---
Arin watched as Mimi barreled over the hurdle and nearly threw herself at the slanted wall to climb it. It was the obstacle course that afternoon, and while Arin thought it was pretty fun, she didn’t have the about of gumption that Mimi did. She liked to take her time and be careful. Which, of course, resulted in a longer completion time, but she was okay with that.
“That girl is gonna break an ankle,” Jine tsked, standing next to Arin as they both waited for their turns.
Arin hummed in agreement, when Mimi stumbled a little on her ascent.
She and Jine both watched tensely as Mimi rapelled down the other side, making it to the ground safely and running for the tunnel on the ground.
“You don’t have to feel weird,” Jine said after half a minute of silence.
“Hm?”
What was she feeling weird about? Being slower at the obstacle course?
“About Mimi making a big deal about you not having had your first kiss,” Jine explained, keeping her voice down, though the yells from the other girls wouldn’t have allowed anyone to overhear, anyway. “I hadn't had mine when I was your age, either.”
Arin knew that plenty of girls her age hadn’t kissed anyone yet. And she hadn’t thought Mimi was being mean or judgmental about it. But still. It was nice to hear.
“Yeah, I just haven’t ever been in the situation where I would have had the opportunity to kiss someone. I’ve had a few crushes, but none of them have panned out,” Arin shrugged. “I’m not really in a big rush, I guess. Though...I am a little curious, of course.”
Jine smiled understandingly.
They both glanced over at the loud whoop Mimi let out upon hearing her time.
In a couple seconds, it would be Jine’s turn.
“Well, if you ever get really curious,” Jine said, reaching behind her head to tighten her short ponytail before she had to start, “let me know. I’d be happy to help.”
Arin found herself at a loss for what to say, despite having been in this situation twice before.
“And don't think this would be the first time something like this happened in this group,” she added, lips quirking as she glanced back at the end of the course where Mimi was still making a ruckus. Mimi?
But before she could inquire further, the whistle blew and Jine was off, maneuvering her way through the tires laying on the ground.
Well. That was good to know.
Arin had to admit she was warming up to the idea. But as far as whom she wanted to kiss, she still had no clue how to choose.
---
“What is wrong with Jiho?” Mimi complained, arm latched tightly to Arin’s, and she was clinging just as desperately back.
They’d just had their weekend campfire, and that week, the activity had been scary stories.
Even though she knew it was just the other campers walking behind her, Arin felt like, if she turned, she’d see a horrifying ghost preying on her. She squeezed Mimi’s arm even tighter.
“She wasn’t scared at all!” Mimi went on. “She just looked like she was having a grand old time. Meanwhile, the rest of us who are normal are terrified.” She sighed.
Arin was pretty jealous of Jiho’s immunity to ghost stories because she had a feeling that she was going to have trouble sleeping.
Happy thoughts, she tried to coach herself as they walked through the dark to get back to their cabin. But she couldn't stop picturing the wide, unseeing eyes of the little girl ghost that had been featured in one of the stories.
With Mimi clutching her arm, Arin was suddenly reminded of Jine’s mysterious statement the other day. And at least that was something to occupy her mind.
Any distractions from the rustling of leaves in the night wind was welcome.
“I was talking to Jine the other day about…” Arin trailed off, a little embarrassed to be the one bringing it up, “about me not having had my first kiss? And the idea of kissing someone here?”
Arin hoped that Mimi didn’t think she was begging for a kiss. Not that kissing Mimi would be a bad thing. And she did want a distraction. But she definitely didn’t want to seem needy, and she’d hate for Mimi to feel like she was put on the spot.
“Yeah?” Mimi replied, lips pulling up a little- probably at the memory of her own teasing.
“She said that it wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened here?” Arin went on, deciding not to mention the fact that Jine’s gaze made Arin think that Mimi was directly involved. “What did she mean by that?”
Mimi’s steps faltered slightly before she sped up, pulling Arin along with her down the path toward the cabins.
“I don’t know,” she replied, though Arin could see the flush on her cheeks, even in the dark. “I mean, I’m sure that kind of thing happens all the time, you know? I bet some other cabin is having the same kind of discussions.”
That was probably true, but definitely not what Jine had been talking about.
But if Mimi didn’t want to elaborate, Arin wasn’t going to force her. It wasn’t her business, even though she was incredibly curious.
“Why? Didja want me to kiss you?” Mimi asked, smile mischievous and familiar, teasing tone back in her voice. “Ey? Eey?”
Mimi was nudging into Arin’s shoulder with her own and waggling her eyebrows, and since they were still linked at the elbow, Arin couldn’t even get away.
Whining, Arin smacked Mimi lightly on her arm with her free hand, and Mimi laughed.
“The offer remains open,” she said, grinning at Arin as their cabin came into view before adding in a sing-song voice, “Let me know.”
Another offer.
Arin started to huff about Mimi’s teasing, but a loud boo from behind them had them both shrieking and clinging tighter to one another.
A cackling Jiho fall into step with them, and Mimi cursed, reaching out to try to swipe at her.
But Jiho was already skipping away, probably looking for another victim.
“If she tries to pull anything tonight, I’m gonna punch her,” Mimi grumbled, keeping Arin close even as they entered their cabin.
Of course, when they were all in bed and the lights were out, Jiho had started making ghostly noises. Though she didn’t get punched, she did get a pillow to the face.
And even though Jiho wasn’t particularly perturbed, laughing through it all, Arin thought it was a pretty just punishment.
---
Arin’s flip flops thwacked against the floor as she walked to the bathroom, the sound of the shower audible through the closed door. After Binnie was done with her shower, it would finally be Arin’s turn to wash the grime and dirt of the day away.
Bouncing her shower caddy against her knee, she blew out a stream of air that ruffled her bangs. Even though there would be the inevitable hour or so of talking after Arin was out of the shower and they were all getting ready to turn in, Arin was just looking forward to climbing in bed. They’d been on a long hike that afternoon, and their morning had been spent swimming. Laying down would be heaven.
“Arin!” Jiho trilled, skipping up behind her and throwing her arms over her shoulders so she was plastered against her back.
“Careful!” Arin warned, laughing even as she used a hand to make sure Jiho’s jostling didn’t make her towel fall down.
“Oops!” Jiho giggled, moving her arms to Arin’s waist and notching her chin over Arin’s shoulder so her slightly damp hair brushed against Arin’s arms.
Jiho had borrowed Yooa’s hair dryer to dry her hair, but she tended to get bored and give up before her long hair was completely dry.
“Pervert,” Arin grumbled teasingly, holding her towel against her chest just to be safe.
“Oh hey!” Jiho exclaimed, lifting her head from where it had been resting. “Speaking of that!”
“Speaking of being a pervert?” Arin asked incredulously, turning her head to see Jiho grinning at her own segue.
“Kind of,” Jiho said with a shrug, still holding onto Arin’s middle. “About your first kiss? I’ll do it, you know.”
She said it so casually, like it wasn’t a big deal at all. Like it was as simple as offering Arin half of her cookie at dinner. Which she had never done because Jiho was usually the one trying to beg extra dessert off the other girls.
“I won’t even lick your face like Mimi had done to her,” Jiho added. “I promise.”
Arin barked out a laugh, smacking at Jiho’s hand where it rested against her belly.
“I guess that’s comforting,” she said, overwhelmed by yet another offer to be her first kiss, but still at ease since Jiho was so…Jiho about it.
“It is,” Jiho confirmed with a giggle. “You do not want someone licking your face, trust me.”
That seemed reasonable. Arin definitely was going to take Jiho’s word on that.
“Shower’s free,” Binnie announced, emerging from the bathroom in her pajamas with a towel in her hair.
“Let go,” Arin complained when Jiho didn’t immediately release her.
“I don’t think there’s room for two people,” Binnie observed with a quirk of her brow.
“Jiho is not invited to my shower!” Arin announced, finally untangling herself from Jiho’s hold and shuffling toward the bathroom with Jiho’s laughter echoing behind her.
Arin smiled to herself. She had really gotten lucky as far as cabin mates were concerned. Never in a million years would she have anticipated liking the girls she was staying with so much.
Of course she also never would have dreamed that five of them would have offered to be her first kiss.
That was a different issue entirely.
---
“Sleeve hitting game, sleeve hitting game,” Yooa sang, walking next to Arin and continually hitting her with the dangling sleeves of the sweatshirt Yooa had tied around her waist.
They were on their way to the archery field on the outskirts of the camp which meant they had at least five more minutes of walking ahead of them.
Arin wondered if Yooa was planning on continuing her “game” the whole way there.
“Mimi,” Arin whined, calling for the older girl who was a few yards ahead of them. “Make her stop.”
Yooa cackled and Mimi just raised her eyebrows, slowing her pace slightly.
“You’re on your own, kid,” Mimi told her with a laugh before jogging to catch back up with Hyojung.
Arin whined again for good measure as Yooa continued to hit her with her sweat shirt sleeves.
“Or we can play another game!” Yooa announced cutely, resting her arms on Arin’s shoulder while still managing to walk alongside her. “The kissing game!”
With that, she leaned up so her mouth hovered right next to Arin’s ear and made a loud kissing sound with her lips.
Then she repeated the same thing with her lips nearly touching Arin’s cheek.
“Why?” Arin whined, not knowing quite how to respond to such attention, and also a little annoyed because she was just trying to walk and Yooa clinging to her was making it much more difficult. Though she couldn’t be too frustrated since Yooa was actually adorable.
“Because it’s fun,” Yooa trilled, doing more air kisses in the direction of Arin’s face.
Arin resigned herself to her fate.
“Or we can play a real kissing game,” Yooa added after a minute, apparently getting tired of her own game since Arin wasn’t reacting nearly so much anymore.
Glancing over at her, Yooa was smiling innocently, but her eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“If you want, we can get your first kiss out of the way right now,” Yooa suggested, kissing right next to Arin’s ear again.
Arin covered her face with her hands, embarrassed, and Yooa giggled.
“So cute,” she said, ruffling Arin’s hair before finally unlatching herself from Arin’s side. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
With that, she scampered off to catch up with Jine, and Arin was left with the knowledge that she had yet another option for her first kiss.
Surely first kisses weren’t meant to be this complicated?
With three weeks left of camp, Arin felt like she should try to make a decision soon, though she had no idea how to even begin.
Maybe she should suggest the girls all play rock, paper, scissors to battle it out. But as entertaining as that might be, it wasn’t very romantic.
Arin sighed as she trudged up the dirt path.
Hopefully the answer would come to her.
---
Arin rested her head in the crook of her arms, relaxing at one of the picnic tables outside during their free hour before dinner.
It was hot out, but not as hot as it had been. And there was a breeze, so it was comfortable to just sit outside and let the evening sun fall on her shoulders.
Mimi was next to her, drumming out a beat on the table and humming under her breath, and though the vibrations through the wood under Arin’s head was a little bothersome, she liked having the company. Even though they were both in their own little worlds.
Arin was wondering if she could doze off, and if so, would someone wake her up for dinner. But that thought became moot when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
“Arin?”
Looking up and blinking against the sudden brightness, Arin saw Binnie standing next to her, chewing on her lower lip.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Arin nodded, scooting over so Binnie would be able to sit down too, but Binnie remained standing.
“Over there?” she said, gesturing away from the picnic table.
Mimi stopped her drumming, looking intrigued.
“Okay,” Arin agreed, standing up and following Binnie to the edge of the treeline in an area where there weren’t a bunch of girls congregated.
“Uh…” Binnie began, looking unsure of herself. Which was strange. Binnie was usually pretty straightforward in what she said and she rarely seemed shy.
Arin wondered what could have her seeming so nervous.
“Um,” she started again. “I was wondering...”
Binnie’s eyes darted up to meet Arin’s, looking back to the side before settling on her face- like Binnie was forcing herself to keep eye contact.
“..if I could kiss you.”
Arin felt her brows jump.
While she had been offered a first kiss by every other girl in their cabin aside from Binnie, none of them had phrased it quite like that.
Arin couldn’t help the little extra thump her heart gave.
“Why...why does everyone want my first kiss?” she wondered out loud, not knowing how else to respond.
Binnie’s cheeks were flushed as she looked up at Arin through her lashes- black bangs curling delicately at her brows.
“I was actually hoping you’d be mine,” she said softly, watching for Arin’s reaction to that carefully.
Truthfully, it took Arin a second to absorb that since she hadn’t expected it.
She supposed that Binnie hadn’t jumped in with any first kiss stories when they had been talking about it. But she hadn’t given it any thought at the time since she was being bombarded by, at the time, possible teasing offers to kiss her.
But Binnie wasn’t offering to do her a favor. Binnie wasn’t even asking for a favor. She was just...hoping for a kiss.
Arin could feel the way her heart was pounding in her chest, stomach swirling with butterflies, and this...this was how she’d always imagined her first kiss going. Not a well-meaning offer that had been carefully weighed and arranged. Just a person wanting to kiss her, and her wanting to kiss them, too.
That realization settled as Arin took a deep breath. She did want to kiss Binnie.
The answer had come to her after all.
“Okay,” she agreed, belatedly noticing that she was nearly whispering.
Binnie looked surprised for a second before she smiled, taking a tentative step forward with a determined look in her eye.
The press of Binnie’s lips against hers was warm and light- like the summer wind that blew through their hair in the second that they remained in the liplock.
It wasn’t some sort of revelation- Arin didn’t feel like a changed person. But it was undeniably nice.
When Binnie pulled back, eyes soft and questioning, Arin couldn’t help the quick kiss she pressed to Binnie’s lips before she giggled.
First and second kiss accomplished in one fell swoop.
Binnie was grinning at her, and Arin knew that she had made the right choice.
When the dinner bell rang, Binnie’s hand was clasped around hers as they made their way to the dining hall.
Arin knew that she would remember that evening forever.
---
“I still can’t believe you picked Binnie,” Mimi complained when they were back in their cabin that night. “I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with her. But you have no idea what you’re missing.”
With that, gestured to herself and was met with a chorus of groans and jeers. Mimi stuck her tongue out at all of them.
“I think they’re cute,” Yooa cooed, leaning into Mimi’s side as she smiled down at Arin and Binnie on Binnie’s bottom bunk.
Arin covered her flushed cheeks with her hands and Binnie threw a stuffed bunny in retaliation for being stared at.
“They are!” Hyojung agreed, looking at them like they were precious.
Binnie didn’t have anything to throw that time, so she just grumbled instead.
Fortunately, the conversation eventually was directed elsewhere and Arin could relax as the girls shared stories about some of the senior pranks they’d seen executed at their high schools.
Unsurprisingly, most of the older girls had plans for their upcoming senior year, and they took turns sharing what they wanted to do.
Mimi’s plan involving chickens didn’t seen the most realistic, but Arin liked the way it had Binnie tossing her head back as she laughed unabashedly- one of her hands resting comfortably on Arin’s knee.
When the summer had just begun, Arin had known that it was going to be an adventure. What that adventure would entail, however, she’d had no idea.
It was safe to say that she hadn’t expected to be inundated with offers to be her first kiss. She also hadn’t expected to experience such a knee-weakening one.
The summer was starting to near its end, and Arin had to admit that she wasn’t eager to return back home.
With Binnie’s chin notched over her shoulder, Arin reminded herself of something very important.
There was always next summer.