I pull as hard as I can.

The resistance is like a boulder leaning against my shoulders. My feet dig into the bottom of the mud pool, and I do my best not to slip immediately. To the front and back of me, the members of TXT grunt against the pull of our competitors. All around the circumference of the game, cheers and shouting fill the atmosphere. My arms ache as I lean backward, and the rope burns the palms of my hands as my grip slips a bit.

"Keep going!" Beomgyu's words anchor me to the ground. I can't give up so easily. Even though it's been months since I've stepped foot into a gym, I must channel all my strength into this moment. I'm going to do all I can for TXT to come out winners.

I lean backward to a greater degree, making sure my heels are planted into the mud and my back is tensed in resistance to the other team's force. I let out a shout of pure desperation. I feel Beomgyu in front of me slip to the ground, but that only adds power to my motivation.

I pull and pull, until my whole body becomes an unmovable pillar in the center of TXT.

The leader of the other team slips, letting go of the rope. It's easy from there, how the rope goes taut in our direction. We're able to fully pull the other team across the center line. They all fall like a stack of six dominoes.

My muscles are burning, but I'm smiling like I've found the cure to inevitable death. Beomgyu looks back at me with sparkling eyes, and he lets go of the rope to embrace me. "That was amazing," he says. "I felt how hard you were pulling."

"We couldn't have done it without you, Jayden." Taehyun slaps me on my back as the game-master shouts out our win to the crowd. Everyone is clapping and cheering for us. The members of TXT are surrounding me like I belong in their team. I belong with their arms next to mine, with their gazes resting easy on me like I'm their equals.

Even if I will never be equal to these idols, I can at least imagine a world where we're destined to stay friends. Three more weeks, I think to myself. Three more weeks where I can anchor myself next to Beomgyu and his four closest brothers.

"Let's celebrate and dance!" Huening Kai suggests.

A minute later, I end up in front of the raised platform, where a DJ is spinning mixes of popular K-pop songs. I laugh as Soobin attempts the routine of a cutesy girl group dance, and Taehyun follows along with admittedly much more precision. Yeonjun intervenes with some hip-hop and breaking moves, while Huening Kai freezes his body and isolates his arms like a hyper robot.

Beomgyu stays next to me, jumping up and down like an over-excited squirrel. It doesn't take long for me to follow along to the members. I loosen my limbs and pump my fists. As the songs change, my body follows along to the lyrics. Even though I can't understand most of the Korean, I become drawn into the waters of music—the universal language of humankind. I've never felt so close to another human being, regarding the way I feel with Beomgyu right now. He's so close, so intent on having the time of his life right next to me. His joy is infectious. He smiles and laughs with the energy of eternal youth.

Maybe an hour passes of us dancing, but to be honest it only feels like a few minutes. If it wasn't for all my limbs aching from the partying, I swear I could go on for a few hours more. I wouldn't mind being an ecstatic college boy next to the five members who've chosen me as their newest friend.

The sun is setting over the coast of Boryeong. Orange paints the sky along with a splattering of purple over the ocean. I admire the rolling gray waves, breathing in the scent of overwhelming sea. I sense the crowds of the mud festival settling down, slowing in their movement and chatter. We have become one in the name of getting dirty and partying, and now it's almost time to head home and wash off the exertion of the day.

"I want to do one more," I tell Beomgyu, surprising myself.

He raises his brows. "Someone is enjoying himself," he says. "Well, which one do you want to do?"

A huge crowd has gathered around an obstacle course next to the tug-of-war pool. They are cheering on the runners who are jumping across inflatable hoops, boards, and slides that are all sitting on a layer of mud. I point to this one without thinking too much about it.

"This one looks like fun," I say. "Let's go out with a bang."

Beomgyu laughs, placing an arm around my shoulder. "You're becoming more outgoing by the moment, Jayden. I love it."

"But, I love it!" I sing, in the tune of CROWN.

Beomgyu makes a sour face. "You're getting more cheesy than Yeonjun too."

I laugh as we make our way to the line. There are two people in front of us. They complete the obstacle course without much struggle, sliding through the finish line with whoops and hollers.

Beomgyu goes first. Of course, the agility he's gained through dancing for so long aids him. He jumps through the hoops and hops across the inflatable boards with no issue. He comes out the other end with a big smile, flashing me a thumbs up across the station.

"You're turn!" he shouts out.

I don't have much time to hesitate. I head across the course quickly, trying to copy Beomgyu's ease.

But I realize that the course is actually much more slippery than I imagined. As I jump through the first hoop, my body gets stuck and I have to wiggle my way through. My face heats up as the surrounding crowd watches. I realize that some people are recording me on their phones. The knowledge that I could live on the Internet as a meme spooks me, and I head to the halfway point of the course carefully.

But apparently, my slow pace doesn't help me at all. I slip across one of the boards, falling straight off and banging my tailbone against the mud floor. The nerves of my body squeeze in protest, and I let out a gasp of pain. I struggle to get up, but I can't move a muscle.

"You got this, Jayden!" Beomgyu screams from across the course.

I get up, trying to force a smile. I jump across a raised inflatable platform, but I slip again. This time, I hit my tailbone with twice the force as before. I'm left taking a huge effort just to breathe. I feel deprived of oxygen, like the air was knocked out of my lungs twice.

"Walk it off!" Beomgyu calls out.

I take his advice. Through the gasps of the crowd, who have definitely seen my embarrassing falls, I walk through the side of the course. I reach the end with a sheepish smile, but the inside of me is slowly dying. I don't know what monster in me thought it was a good idea to challenge this course. I have zero coordination, and I should've known that.

"Are you okay?" Beomgyu asks, his eyes wide upon seeing me up close.

"I'm okay," I say, more to convince myself that I won't die soon from the weight of shame.

"Let's head back to the room," Beomgyu suggests. "We'll get you some medicine. You don't look so good."

I nod. I couldn't agree with Beomgyu more.