Fire & Silk

11. Retreat Confession

T/W: There is mention of child sexual abuse towards the end of the chapter! If you don't want to read that, please skip to the end of the story and read the short summary of what happened that night.

   The sound of birds chirping and a gentle breeze against the walls of the tent were all that could be heard in the secluded area. Jeongyeon slowly opened her eyes and yawned, taking a moment to lay there and just listen to the sounds of nature. Ever since she was a kid she loved camping. Each summer she and her family would take a week to go camping and this brought back all the memories. She sat up in her sleeping bag and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She turned to see the still sleeping figure laying across from her and laughed lightly, getting up and quietly unzipping the tent.

   Jeongyeon grabbed her toiletry bag and a bottle of water and walked towards the creek that bordered their camp site. There was a bathroom with a shower for her to get ready for the day but she wanted to spend as much time as she could outside. She sat down on a log and took out her toothbrush and toothpaste, wetting the brush with the bottled water. She took her time brushing her teeth, closing her eyes to bask in the cool morning air. Once she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, she put her supplies back in her bag and sat there, just getting lost in the sounds of the forest.

   When President Park had told Mina, Jeongyeon, and the others working on the Copycat Case that they were going on a retreat, both Mina and Jeongyeon were dreading it. The last thing both women wanted was to spend time together in the middle of nowhere. By the time Jeongyeon set up their tent and took her first look at the creek though, her mood had completely changed. Being in the woods did something to her and she always felt better when she left.

   She hadn't realized just how much stress she was under making sure that Sana was protected and there was actual movement on the case. It was already June and it felt like there had barely been any progress. The Copycat seemed to stop completely after the incident at Sana's apartment and the police weren't finding too much that connected to the case. Jeongyeon sighed and just shook her head, ruffling her hair. "I can't think about that now. This long weekend is about relaxing and trying to get closer with the team." She muttered this to herself and turned her attention back to the calm creek.

   Mina was the opposite of Jeongyeon when it came to the outdoors and camping. Her idea of camping was in a camper with all the accessories. The idea of being on the ground in a tent with nothing much except a thin pad and a sleeping bag to protect you from the elements wasn't appealing to her at all. When she woke up, she rolled over to see Jeongyeon's sleeping bag empty. She stretched in the sleeping bag and immediately clutched her back. It was stiff and sore from sleeping on rocks and twigs all night. She slowly got up and tried to alleviate some of the pain before she got out of the tent and went to get ready for the morning.

   Mina stopped in her tracks as she made her way to the bathroom, glancing down at Jeongyeon who was sitting on a log by the creek. She turned and watched the woman for a moment, contemplating on going down to join her or not. A few seconds passed and she decided against it, continuing her short walk to the bathroom. She finished getting ready and put her belongings back in the tent. She changed into a t-shirt and boy shorts before she made her way to the picnic tables where everyone was setting up for breakfast.

   It had just hit 9:00 am by the time the group sat down for breakfast. Nayeon sat beside Jeongyeon and Mina was across from them. All eyes were on President Park's secretary who was in charge of the retreat. She opened the folder in her hand and started going down the list of things they were doing for the next few days. "Good morning everyone! I hope you all slept well and are ready for a fun few days in nature!" Mina rolled her eyes when the woman mentioned sleep and continued to pick at the fruit left over on her plate. "Today's going to be a long day starting with cleaning up from breakfast. After everything's packed up we're going to play soccer and then take a break for lunch. To motivate you more we're going to be split into two teams. The team with the most points at the end of this weekend will be treated to a free dinner paid on President Park's personal card."