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The air smelled of salt and was filled with the soft, muted sound of waves crashing in the distance, shushing until they were dead, only to crash again moments later.
Sekyung's group wasn't the first to arrive in the boarding lobby. A large group of people around the same age as them crowded one spot, all of them with luggages and duffel bags as well. Most of them were recognizable and familiar, others were complete strangers.
She introduced herself to a circle of a few, engaging in small conversation and getting to know some of them. Sekyung had never been one to shy away from people, being an extrovert was one of her defining qualities. She learned the names Renjun, Karina, Jaemin, and Mark.
The large group walked together to their boarding station, Sekyung finding her way back to Hasae and Emika before getting on the boat. Looking out the window, she could see the endless blue ocean, the sky fogged with gray clouds. It looked like it could rain.
She stared out the glass as they walked up the ramp to the boat, dragging their suitcases laboriously behind them.
Immediately upon entering the boat they were greeted with a red carpet, lights decorating the ceiling in an exciting manner. They weren't given enough time to stop and take it all in, immediately making a beeline to their respective rooms to put their bulky belongings away.
Considering they were three college students on a trip offered by their school, they weren't given the most luxurious excursion package. It was a singular, compact room. A king sized bed took up most of the floor space, and a long twin sized bed was bunked above it, taking up the rest of the space.
A narrow door to the right led to their bathroom, the sink too small to hold any cups or toothbrushes. At least there was a closet and bedside table with a mirror that stretched up the entire wall, right?
The three stared speechless, luggages still in hand, before scrambling erratically to get a view of the sea from the small, circular window, to open closet doors, to flick the switch to find that the lamp on the bedside table illuminated the room in a dim, yellow-tinted light.
"It's better than I was expecting, to be honest," Emika began, slipping her sunglasses atop her head and kicking her duffel bag beneath the bed. "I thought we'd all have to share one tiny bed, and Hasae would blanket hog us all night."
"I don't do that!" Hasae laughed, knowing fully well that she does, in fact, hog the blanket in her sleep. That alone had her automatically banished to the twin sized bunk.
She opened her phone to check scheduling, times, and such. "So it'll take us a good while before we reach the first island. Apparently we'll be doing more traveling on the ship than exploring."
The other two continued to unpack their necessities: pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, listening as Hasae explained. "Dinner here is kinda strict. They want us in the same restaurant every night and the tables have assigned seating, for attendance purposes I guess."
