⤭ in which two camp counselors meet after 9 years, trying to forget about their embarrassing past encounter. between managing schedules, teaching classes and intense games of kickball, something between them ignites. and it seems to be even brighter...
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geonu feels nervous. like really really really nervous.
it's not like he hasn't covered the night shift before. it's a necessary job to ensure that the campers are safe through the night. normally the adult counselors' would stay up and sleep during the day while the teen counselors teach classes and watch over their designated cabins. but, as head counselor he has to be responsible when the older counselors need assistance. even when that means doing the least dreaded job to help out.
although beomgyu complains for literally hours about why he hates the night shift, geonu doesn't think it's too bad once the caffeine is in your system and you start a conversation with your partner. his partner—right, that's why he's nervous.
okay, so maybe he's a little confident and flirty with her sometimes but, deep down he's just like any other nervous teenage boy with a crush! and now that he practically volunteered her to stay up the whole night with him—realizing now that he didn't even give her a choice and that she may be upset about that—he's kind of, sort of freaking out on the inside. but only a little bit. okay, maybe more than a little bit, but he'd never admit to it out loud.
after the evening campfire, the head counselor had visited his room, changing into a pair of comfortable pajama shorts and a t-shirt. doing a quick check that his campers were asleep, he heads to the lobby where melody would arrive shortly.
he settles into a familiar rhythm as he sets up the keurig, mixing the cream and sugar in humble portions to make the caffeinated drink they'll need to get through the night. just as he pours the hot liquid into two cups, he hears a voice behind him, startling him slightly but not enough to drop any of the bittersweet drink.
"oh god! i love the coffee you make." the girl chirps excitedly from behind him. "give me some!" melody requests, hands reaching towards the cups in his hand eagerly.
he chuckles but hands her a cup nonetheless. "what are you gonna do the rest of the year when you don't have my coffee?"
"well, you'll just have to follow me everywhere and make coffee for me." melody teases the boy, eyes glimmering with amusement as the two settle on the couch in the lobby that connects all the cabins.
he fakes a gasp in response, "wow so you only want me for the coffee. not for my company."
"definitely."
and so, as they sip on the sweet drink, the two counselors fall into a comfortable conversation. geonu's worries slip away as the caffeine slips into his body, gently and without realization. as melody finishes telling her story about a senior prank gone wrong, he can't help but stare at her: at the sparkle in her eyes, the strands of short caramel-colored hair framing her face. then he's staring at her more intensely, not in observation but in analysis.
he hums in question after she comes to the end of her story and the quiet begins to encircle them. "what do you want to do with your life, melody?"
she pauses for a second, scanning his irises quickly before answering genuinely. "i'm not sure yet. I definitely want to go to college and keep learning, so that I can really find the answer to that."
geonu nods in understanding, but follows up with another query. "what if you knew what you wanted to do, but you were afraid of having to leave people you really care about?"
"well how much do you love it?" she asks in response, taking a sip of her coffee.
"what?"
"how much do you want to do it? if it's something you really want to do, then the people you love will support you. no matter what risks you have to take or sacrifices you have to make, you have to go for it fearlessly."
the boy takes a second to process her words as he stares her silently. how did she do that? manage to ease all of his qualms with 3 sentences?
she effortlessly makes the world seem so much simpler for him. he can't tear his eyes away from melody, and suddenly he realizes what being in a trance must feel like.
and it's in that moment of blatant staring at the beautiful girl in front of him, who he finds gorgeous inside and out, that he realizes just how much he's fallen for her. when she lifts her tongue to lick the excess liquid on her upper lip, she notices him and covers her face in embarrassment. geonu feels his heart swell tenfold.
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