the sun was barely up, when the most hated sound on planet earth ripped through the morning air.
"who the fuck didn't turn off their alarm?!"
areum shot up, face swollen and eyes puffy from the lack of sleep. the sound came from miyun's sleeping bag, the girl still fast asleep. areum chuckled, before crawling towards her friend. why would she set an alarm, if she wouldn't get up after all?
when areum finally held the device in her hand, she realized that miyun was getting a call from an unknown number. the older girl hesitated for a second, before picking up and awaiting a korean greeting. but instead she got a japanese male screaming into her ear. even with areum's below average japanese knowledge, the words coming from the speaker made her stomach twist while all the color faded from her face.
she sat next to her best friend, tears welling up in her eyes and phone dropping to the floor.
"i hope you die."
she whispered into the speaker and hung up, before running out of the tent, sobbing and shaking. she stumbled towards chan's tent and busted through the tarps, the boy immediately waking up, eyes wide.
"areum? what time is it? are you crying?"
he pushed out of the sleeping bag and walked towards the girl embracing her tightly, letting her sob against his chest.
"m-miyun..."
as if he had just waited for her name to be mentioned, woojin's head shot up from under the sheets as well, hair messy and a frown decorating his face.
"what happened?!" both boys asked at the same time, worry coating their voices.
"the guy from japan.. he called and..."
woojin stopped her with a swift hand motion, cocking his head in confusion.
"who is he? miyun's boyfriend?"
his mood changed from worried to sad, areum shook her head and plopped down onto chan's mattress.
"this is all too much.. miyun spent her youth and teens in japan and.. she, i don't know if i'm allowed to tell."
both boys stared at her, dumbfounded. areum still shaking and sniffling, before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"she was raped and he blackmails her to this day. i can't imagine how she must feel, especially without rosie. please, woojin make sure you treat her well. you have to protect her, if you don't, i'll actually kill you."
she tittered bitterly, hands full of chan's bedding, knuckles turning white, until she felt the male's digits on the back of her hand.
"calm down, we'll make this right."
he whispered into her ear, nuzzling his head into the crook of her shoulder. her scent made his head spin and his slow breaths tickled areum's skin. a tense silence washed over the hut, woojin nibbling on his lower lip, dwelling upon how he should approach miyun after her secret had been lifted.
"and i almost kissed her yesterday... imagine how petrified she must've been, i'm horrible."
the two blondes sat across from him both stared at woojin, disbelief and pity in their eyes.
"you did nothing wrong! you didn't know about miyun's past. i'm sure she would've told you sooner or later."
areum consoled the older boy, patting his knee encouragingly.
"areum?"
a coarse female voice called, her shadow wavering on top of the beige tarps of the group-tent.
as if a wasp had stung her, the girl inside the abode shot up and busted through the entrance, coming face to face with a pale miyun, who was trembling, arms hugging her thin frame tightly and the fresh breeze tugging on her thin night gown.
"mimi, you don't look well, are you okay?"
all the girl could do was shake her head, areum noticing the phone in her hand only now.
"no..."
she shook her head, immediately knowing what had happened.
before one of the two girls could bust down the silence lingering in the cold morning air, the tent tarpaulins were ripped apart, revealing woojin.
"miyun... come here angel."
his heart almost exploded at the sight of the girl he was most definitely infatuated with at this point. even in her parlous situation, she still looked absolutely stunning.
"i don't feel too well."
her mouth opened again, but no sound followed the motion, her legs slowly giving in, body tilting forward.
"get chan!"
woojin frantically yelled out to areum, before taking two huge steps towards miyun, catching her body and tightly embracing her limp body.
"you'll be fine. we'll get through this. i promise."
seongmi tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, beads of sweat running down her forehead.
"god damn it seongmi..."
sua grumbled, nudging her friend lightly in order to disrupt her annoying sleeping pattern.
she was still half-asleep and not even a golden spelling bee award could've gotten her out of her warm blanket at this point.
to say she was hungover was an understatement, the pulsing pain in her head almost made her want to cry.
"i'm never going to drink again."
she whined, turning to the other side, unlocking her phone.
she hesitated for a second, before dialing his number.
"sua?"
even at this ungodly hour his voice was clear and soft, it almost mending her headache in an instant.
"yeah, did i uhm.. wake you?"
she could almost hear his chuckle, before his reply.
"no. i just woke up, actually. you wanna go and grab some coffee?"
right after he had finished this very sentence, her phone fell to the floor, her hand clenching her heart.
"calm down..."
she cursed herself and slowly picked the mobile device up again, voice way too shaky for her liking upon replying.
"sure and an ibuprofen if we're already at it."
his little giggle coming through the speaker caused sua to almost drop her phone again, composing herself in the last possible second.
"i'm in front of your tent."
now she could finally hear his voice in real time, the butterflies in her stomach going crazy.
"i'll be right there."
she hung up and tiptoed out of the marquee, her gaze meeting seungmin's upon stepping outside.
"hey there gorgeous."
he grinned and flung an arm around her shoulders, messing her her with his hand.
"shut up."
the girl groaned and punched his chest, the boy screeching in faked pain.
"are you team iced coffee or warm coffee?"
he asked randomly, trying to ease the awkward silence between the pair.
"iced coffee, actually. what about-"
she couldn't even finish her question, because as soon as she had told him her preference, he turned on his heel.
"what the hell?!"
sua sighed and ran after the boy, jumping onto his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his lower abdomen.
"get off me!"
he exhaled and started spinning, making both of the teens way too dizzy much quicker than anticipated. seungmin's legs caved in, sua and him plummeting to the ground, laughing hysterically.
"this is all your fault."
seungmin wheezed in between heaps of laughter, the girl almost forgetting about the numbing pain spreading from her head into her whole body, seungmin's laughter more addictive than any drug known to mankind.
"you left first."
a pout decorated sua's lips, seungmin's face surprisingly close to her own. seeing his moles and deer eyes this closely flustered the girl so much, she forgot to breathe. her eyes darted from his eyes to his pink lips, his eyes already completely focused on her lips.
"relax."
he whispered, before closing the space between them, noses touching ever so slightly.
the feeling of his lips on hers felt so familiar, her arms found their way around his neck, while his hands rested on her hips, pulling her body closer to his. the rising sun tinted their skin a warm red and dried the dew covered grass around them.
a few hundred meters from the patch of grass that lead to the drugstore on the hill, bodies slowly arose with the sun, greeting the new day with yawns and stretches.
"i miss felix."
seongmi managed to piece together in between yawns, earning stares from the other five girls.
"you're so disgustingly whipped. you deadass saw him last night."
liv spoke what everyone had thought, slipping into her huge hoodie, before excusing herself to the shower facilities.
"she's been so weird ever since we've been here."
seongmi noted, pondering over liv's odd behavior, until her phone rang a couple times in a row.
she immediately dismissed any thoughts about liv and ripped her phone from her bed, beaming at the screen that showed five unread messages from none other than felix.
"come meet me at the beach."
"i have a favor to ask you."
"it's important."
"don't rush yourself though, take your time! ily."
"no, i'm sorry omg i meant ttl, hehe."
"you're so adorable."
naeun smiled, before falling back down onto her mattress, lids shutting instantly.
