♦Chapter Two♦

It was Sunday, a little after noon. Hoards of campers were piling out of the buses that had taken them up the mountain to their destination, Camp Diamond. Newcomers were sticking close to the crowd, eyes wide as they looked around the camp but too worried about getting lost to actually go anywhere.  Returnees mingled about in the crowd, meeting up with their friends and talking loudly.

Many of them were interrupted from their conversations however as a girl was pushing roughly through the crowd, ignoring the dirty looks she was being given by the other campers. “Zelo, where the hell are you?” Jinhee continued to push everyone out of her way in her search for her cousin. The boy was with her the whole way up the mountain, but disappeared as soon as they got off the bus. She was stopped in her search when a hand curled around her arm, preventing her from moving any more. Pissed off, Jinhee turned around and was about to yell at the person but became wide-eyed instead at the site of her best friend, Bang Yoonmi, standing there. “Yoonmi? What are you doing here?”

“Well ‘hello’ to you too, Jinhee,” Yoonmi said, picking at her nails. “My parents sent me here because they think I’m a . I’m assuming it’s the same for you.”

Jinhee nodded, confirming the girl’s statement. “Sorry Yoonmi, but I’ve got to find Zelo. We’ll catch up later, okay?” Before receiving an answer, Jinhee was back to rushing off. It wasn’t long before she ran into another person, completely ignoring them. However, Jinhee found herself being grabbed by the arm once again by the person she hit. Even madder at the second interruption, Jinhee turned and glared at the person.

“Yah, watch where you’re going you ,” a girl yelled, her eyes narrowed and a snarl on her face.

Jinhee only continued to glare, only wanting to be left alone to find her cousin and angered by the insult. “Look into a mirror and you’ll find out that you’re the , . Get out of my face before I knock your teeth out.”

The girl was about to lash out again before another girl stepped into the picture, dragging her off. Jinhee was now face to face with a girl a little taller than herself with short blonde hair who grabbed her shoulder. “How about you get out of our faces? Chaerin and I don’t take too kindly with newbies like you who don’t know their place,” Dee said, angrier than usual because her best friend was being threatened.

Jinhee roughly pulled out of the girl’s hold, but was stopped from doing anything else when she spotted her cousin a few feet away. Not caring about the other two girls anymore and completely ignoring them, Jinhee was once again rushing to catch Zelo before he left her sight again.

Dee and Chaerin watched as Jinhee left and reached Zelo, holding onto his arm. “Damn, I hate new campers,” Dee said before looking to Chaerin. “You seem to have entered into a bad mood since I last saw you five minutes ago. What happened?”

Chaerin posture became more rigid. “I just saw this girl I don’t like. The last time I saw her was when I went to Lotte World a few days ago and she spray painted my upper body when we were on a spinning ride. It took me three hours to get it out of my skin and hair, and my favorite jacket is now ruined.”

“Was it that girl you started a fight with at the mall?” At Chaerin’s nod, Dee continued. “That’s a bit overboard. It’s kind of funny, too, though.”

As Chaerin was about to respond a voice sounded over a megaphone, interrupting all other conversations. “Alright, everyone! Time to head off to the Great Hall, and don’t wander off!” Though Dee could not see the speaker, she recognized it as belonging to the Camp Director, Leeteuk. Dee started to walk off towards the Great Hall, everyone else doing the same.

“Oh wow, this place is so big,” Dee heard from somewhere to the left, instantly becoming annoyed again. She really didn’t like newcomers. However, the voice sounded vaguely familiar. She looked over, seeing a girl with the same face as her own but with dark, longer hair. Her eyes widened, and was about to move towards the girl but another figure pushed between them, Dee losing sight of the other. Probably just my imagination, she thought to herself, starting a conversation with Chaerin. She was momentarily distracted again by a squeal from the same direction and from the same voice, but didn’t bother to look.

By now though Kimchi had put her hand to to silence herself, slightly embarrassed by the loud sound she had just made after she had felt a hand grazing high up on the back of her thigh. She looked over to the perpetrator, gasping when she saw Choi Jonghyun, known mostly as Changjo.”Changjo? What are you doing here, aren’t you supposed to be back home in Japan?”

Changjo shrugged his shoulders, putting his hands in his pockets. “Same reason you’re here, I suppose. The school sent me here to fix my ways, saying I was too much of a troublemaker. They said another person was chosen too, but I had no idea it was going to be you!”

Laughing awkwardly, Kimchi subtly moved away from Changjo, nervous from being in his presence. Unfazed, Changjo followed Kimchi’s movements, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to keep her from going anywhere. “Well, I hope you have fun here. I’m excited.” Knowing she couldn’t escape his hold, Kimchi felt it better to just go with the flow. Luckily by now, she could see a large building in front of her where the other campers were slowly filing in.

Going inside, Kimchi gasped at the sight. She wasn’t expecting the Great Hall to be so large, and was impressed at the setup. The campers were all filling in the spacious area, Kimchi and Changjo close to the front of the crowd. In front was the stage area, a group of people who Kimchi assumed were staff members were line up.

“Looks like they got new curtains. That’s good, the old ones had holes in them.” Kimchi looked over at the voice, seeing a girl almost as short as her with short hair standing next to her. The girl seemed to have been talking to one of her friends, but was facing forward with a calm look on her face. Kimchi smiled softly, happy to see someone who looked nice near her, and not just the erted Changjo who was still holding her tightly. Kimchi was about to say something to the girl in hopes of maybe making a friend when she heard the sound of someone tapping on a microphone. Looking back to the stage, she saw a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties standing there, a large smile on his face that showed off a cute dimple.

“Welcome everyone to Camp Diamond!  For all the new campers my name is Park Jungsoo, but you can call me Leeteuk. As of this this year, I will be your Camp Director!”

Cheers broke out in the crowd, Hyemi clapping along with everyone else. Everyone loved Leeteuk, and was obviously pleased that he was now Director. Someone to her left though looked really confused, but smiled and clapped along with everyone else. Feeling a little bad for the girl, especially seeing how uncomfortable she was with the boy wrapped around her, she leaned over and whispered into her ear. “Leeteuk-ssi used to be a counselor, a very well loved one at that. That’s why everyone is cheering so loudly.” Kimchi startled for a second, but then smiled to Hyemi in thanks for her explanation. Hyemi gave a small smile back, but her expression immediately went blank and she turned her eyes back to the front.

No matter how much she liked Leeteuk, Hyemi still felt a little apprehensive at the change in Directors. She liked how Camp Diamond was run under Yang Hyunsuk, and didn’t want it to change under Leeteuk’s commands. She preferred things to stay as they had in the past but knew that not everything was going to stay the same. Hyemi knew adapting to these upcoming changes would be difficult for her.

“I hope everyone is excited for camp this year, because I certainly am,” Leeteuk continued after the cheers died down. “I’m sure we will all have a great time together spending time with friends and making new ones along the way. Camp Diamond will continue to aid you in all aspects of life, and our goal is to have you leave here with new skills to help you live a long, fulfilling life.”

Hyemi heard a chuckle from the right of her, turning to look at Mir with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll live a long life if I don’t die from another paddleboat accident, that is. Boat-Marco polo wasn’t the best idea I ever had…” Hyemi had to cover from laughing out loud; remembering the incident from last year Mir and some of his friends were involved in. She saw Jieun on the other side of him doing the same also having remembered, but also seemed to be explaining something to another girl she was standing next to that Hyemi couldn’t see the face of.

“Now to introduce everyone to our wonderful staff! After I say their name, each staff member will raise their hand to show you who they are. First are our resident nurses, Park Bom and Choi Seunghyun!” The two waved, and Hyemi could hear girls from around the room squealing over Seunghyun, known by some as T.O.P, and the boys wolf-whistling for Bom.

Leeteuk then listed off the names of the cooks, stopping at Park Sandara to explain that she also doubled as a counselor. Hyemi clapped for Dara, the two of them being friends.

“Now for our counselors, who you will be interacting the most with and are always available if you need them. They are Choi Gina, Goo Hara, Horvejkul Nichkhun, Jang Wooyoung, Jo Kwon, Jung “Rain” Jihoon, Jung Yunho, Kim “Xiah” Junsu, Kim Taeyeon, Meng Jia, Nam Woohyun, Park “Jay” Jaebeom, Song “Victoria" Qian, and Wang “Fei” Feifei.”

Cheers erupted once more, everyone trying to get the attention of their favorite counselor. Hyemi just laughed slightly, waving to Dara just for fun.

“And now for the boring part,” Leeteuk said, not surprised at the groans that followed from the audience. “Time to lay out some rules. Information packets will also be passed out now, make sure you get one.” At his words, the staff left the stage and began to pass out the mentioned information packets.” Do not tamper with camp property or the property of the staff and your fellow members. Be nice to your peers. Violence and bullying will not be tolerated. Always follow directions given to you by the staff…” Leeteuk went on with the rules, Hyemi spacing out. She’s heard all of this before. “And finally, there is a new rule,” he said, Hyemi snapping out of her daze and paying attention once more. “There will be absolutely no bouncy balls at all in the Dining Hall. This rule will be strictly enforced.”

Laughter immediately broke out from the returning campers. The newcomers looked around in confusion, wondering what the commotion was about. Jihae laughed along with the crowd, high fiving the boy next to her, one of her best friends Lee Seunghyun, or Seungri to most. Seungri continued to cackle, having been one of the main instigators in the bouncy ball incident though no one could prove it. She watched as Leeteuk rolled his eyes, but didn’t miss the hint of a smile he had on his face. Her laughter stopped once one of the counselors, Jung Yunho, came to hand her one of the information packets. Instead she smiled angelically at him, Yunho returning it and patting her head in greeting before continuing on.

Seungri shoved Jihae playfully after watching the encounter. “-up,” he said with a smile. Jihae shoved back, the two continuing to shove at each other until Leeteuk started to speak again.

“Lastly, I’ll be announcing everyone’s cabins and the head of their cabin. For newcomers, cabins are named after an animal. A large painting of the animal is found on the cabin itself to help you tell which one is your own. Each cabin has a counselor that is in charge of it, and who sleeps in a separate room attached to the cabin. Okay, now for who goes where. In the Rabbit Cabin headed by Kim Taeyeon there are…”

I better not get stuck with any stupid people again this year, Jihae thought to herself. Her cabinmates from the previous year consisted of a loud, wannabe singer with no talent and a girl who snored like dinosaur among other obnoxious girls.

“In the Cheetah Cabin headed by Choi Gina are Jung Cheonsa, Jung Sooyeon, Kim Hyoyeon, Lee Chaerin, Lee Danja, Son Minjung, and Nam Jihae.”

Jihae let out a hiss after hearing her name. She was going to be stuck with Chaerin. The only thing that made her feel a little better is knowing that  one of her friends, Jessica, who’s real name was Jung Sooyeon, was going to be there, too. Sure they weren’t best friends like she was with Key and Seungri, but they did get along very well unlike how she did with most girls.

Sensing Jihae’s frustration, Seungri put his arm around her waist and brought her close. “Don’t worry, it’s not like you have to spend any time in there other than for sleeping.” Seungri felt Jihae relaxing in his hold, knowing she was fine again. “Besides, you can just come to my cabin if something happens. I don’t mind if it’s in the middle of the night, I know how to make you feel better,” he said, giving her a flirtatious wink.

Jihae laughed, turning in Seungri’s arms to face him. She took ahold of his face, leaning in. “Don’t tempt me, Strong Baby,” she said, watching Seungri smile at the nickname. The two always loved flirting with each other, the line between friendship and lovers a thin one but never being crossed with neither planning to ever do so.

“In the Fox Cabin headed by Song Victoria there are Bae Suji, Choi Jinju, Jung Hyemi, Kim Heebon, Lee Jieun, Lee Kyumi, and Park Jinhee.”

Jinju perked up after hearing her name. Having also heard Jieun’s, she turned to her best friend with a large smile. “We’re in the same cabin,” she said, giving Jieun a large hug. “I’m happy!”

Jieun giggled at her friend’s enthusiasm, hugging her back. “Another one of my friend’s is also in that cabin! I don’t know why I haven’t done it before, but this would be a good opportunity for me to introduce you guys. I think you guys would get along.”

Not bothered by the fact that Jinju didn’t respond, Jieun started to pull back from the hug. However, Jinju refused to let go. Though she was close to the front of the standing audience and not surrounded by as many people as she could be, Jinju still felt immensely uncomfortable. She kept her hold on Jieun for comfort. If she didn’t, Jinju was sure to pass out. “We’re with Victoria, though. That’s bad,” Jinju said, finally speaking up from her prolonged silence.

A new voice suddenly joined the conversation, shocking Jinju momentarily. “Just fake fainting around her like usual and you’ll be fine.” Jinju turned around to see her boyfriend Shim Changmin, immediately smiling at the sight. “I’m glad I found you again. You’re so short it’s hard to find you in a crowd, so stop disappearing on me so suddenly,” Changmin said, moving to stand on the other side of Jinju.

Jinju frowned slightly at the jab on her height. “Don’t be mean, you’ll make me cry!”

Changmin shook his head, not believing her words. “If you were going to you would have started already, you crybaby.”

Jieun watched the exchange between the two lovers, horribly confused. She never understood how they ended up dating and were able to continue to do so despite their hugely differing personalities. “If I’m a crybaby you’re a cryelderly!” At Jinju’s exclamation Jieun started to laugh quietly to herself.

Changmin had gone silent, eyes wide, not entirely knowing how to respond to a comeback like that. He coughed to clear the awkward atmosphere, deciding to change the subject. He didn’t have to though once Leeteuk’s voice rang out through the room, louder than before as he just finished reading off the last of the cabin assignments.

“Once I have concluded this meeting, everyone needs to find their cabin leaders. They will first show you to the cabins, but then everyone is own their own in going back to the buses and bringing their luggage back to their cabins.” Leeteuk stopped, looking over everyone’s faces in the audience. “Dinner starts at five-thirty. Other than that, you are all free to do as you please the rest of the day. Camp officially starts tomorrow, so make sure you are all prepared. Now off you go!”

The room filled up with conversation as Leeteuk left the stage. The counselors began to scatter to gather together the members of their cabin. Jinju stuck close to Jieun as they went to find Victoria, staying around the edges of the crowd. Finding his own cabin leader, Changmin bid Jinju a goodbye and left on his own.

“Where’s Victoria? I can’t see her anywhere,” Jieun said, trying to see past everyone.

“She’s over in the left corner!” Jinju and Jieun turned towards the cheerful voice that addressed them. “I’m in that cabin, too. I can show you the way,” the girl continued and walked off, beckoning the other two to follow.

Heebon easily made her way through the crowd, everyone automatically moving out of her way. Jinju and Jieun were grateful for this, but wondered why it happened. Was their temporary guide really that influential, and they hadn’t ever noticed her before? That wouldn’t be too surprising though, considering neither girl could be considered sociable.

“Here she is! If you guys ever need any more help don’t hesitate to ask me,” Heebon said, having reached Victoria. Once that was done and she received her thanks she moved towards Suzy, who was also in her cabin much to her relief.

Noticing her friend’s arrival, Suzy also moved towards until they were face to face. “Where’d you go? You were with me and Sohee one second and suddenly gone the next. Then Sohee disappeared so suddenly, too.”

Somewhat uninterested, Heebon just gestured vaguely behind her where she knew her friend Ahn Sohee was located. “Sohee went to talk to some boy but was then forced to meet with her own cabin head,” she said, before a smile lit up her face. “As for me, I noticed some poor little souls struggling to find their dear cabin leader and I just had to help them.” Finishing off, Heebon pointed to Jinju and Jieun who were in their own little world in a corner. Heebon ‘tsked’ softly while shaking her head. “Poor girls were so confused. My heart was aching for them.” Heebon lifted her hands and placed them over her heart, sighing loudly.

Suzy giggled, patting Heebon on the shoulder. “I think your heart is fine. Looking for more fans, are you?”

“Alright girls, now that everyone is here I’ll show you to our cabin,” Victoria said suddenly, a cute and cheerful expression on her face. “Follow me.” The girls all complied, maneuvering though and out the Great Hall and towards where the cabins were located.

Heebon walked with Suzy, occasionally sending smiles and waves towards people she knew with her held high. “Those two aren’t really ‘in the loop’ with things, so I knew they didn’t know me. I needed to change that.” After a few more minutes the small group finally reached the Fox Cabin. True to its name, a large full-bodied red fox was painted on both sides of it.

Victoria ushered everyone inside, giving a quick tour for the newcomer’s sake before they all congregated in the entrance room. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket before speaking up. “We have some rules for the cabins, which I’m sure most of you are familiar with but I know not all of you are. No boys in the girl’s cabins or girls in the boy’s cabins during sleep hours. You must be in your cabin by 11 p.m. unless an event or activity is taking place, or you have otherwise been given permission by a staff member to be out later. All food and drinks in your cabin must be properly covered when not being consumed. Otherwise, don’t be surprised if bugs and critters come inside…”

Heebon stopped paying attention. She’s been here enough times to know the rules by heart. When Victoria finally finished with telling everyone to go get their luggage from the buses, Heebon was the first one out followed by Suzy. Once they reached the buses Heebon gasped, patting her clothes frantically. Suzy watched in a mixture of confusion and amusement until Heebon blurted out, “I lost my phone!” She turned to Suzy with begging eyes. “Call it for me?”

Completely used to this scenario as it happened about every other day, Suzy did as she was asked. They both glanced around, waiting to hear Heebon’s ringtone. Soon enough the call was sent to voicemail, neither girl hearing the ringtone and no stranger picking up.

Suzy sighed and was about to call again when she saw a head pop out of one of the windows on the bus they were next to. Curious, she watched as the girl stuck out a phone and yelled out to everyone. “Hey, did someone lose their phone? I found it ringing on one of the seats.” Heebon gasped, realizing it was her phone in the girl’s hand. She ran up to the bus, reaching up as high as she could to take her phone from the other girl.

“Thank you, it’s my phone! I could have found it own my own but you did make it easier. Thanks for not doing anything weird with it either, you look like someone who might have been that kind of person but I was happy to see you aren’t,” Heebon said while smiling before running off back to Suzy.

Demi raised an eyebrow at the retreating girl, feeling like she was just insulted but not entirely sure. Deciding to ignore it she brought her upper body back into the bus, grabbing her backpack and heading back off. Once off, she went to find the rest of her luggage. Earlier, the staff had been busy getting everything off the buses that were designated for all the luggage to not clog them up as people came on and off them to get their belongings. It didn’t take Demi long to find all of her stuff, heaving them on her back and hanging them off her shoulders and arms. She smiled once she realized she could carry everything in one trip thanks to her strength and headed back to her cabin.

A voice calling her name stopped her though, Demi looking back to see her friend Kim Hyoyeon running to catch up to her. Laughing, Demi took a few more steps forward, causing Hyoyeon to speed up. “Hurry up, Hyo! I’ll leave you behind!” To prove her point, Demi jogged for a few steps before finally coming to a halt to let Hyoyeon reach her.

Once she did, Hyoyeon smacked Demi on the arm playfully. “That was mean.” Despite her words, Hyoyeon was still smiling softly. The look turned into one of a concern though once she saw how much stuff Demi was carrying “Are you sure you want to carry all of that? You could hurt yourself.”

Demi started her trek back up again for the cabin they both shared, Hyoyeon following worriedly. “Yeah, I can do it. I’m not weak you know.”

“I never said you were weak,” Hyoyeon said, continuing to fuss. “I just think it would be a better idea if you take more than one trip.”

“No it wouldn’t,” Demi said with a stubborn look on her face. “This way works best for me.”

Seeing the look, Hyoyeon relented. It was not easy to convince Demi to change her mind on anything, even something as simple as carrying some bags. It didn’t take much longer for them to reach their destination, Cheetah Cabin. Hyoyeon stared in awe at the cheetahs painted on the sides of it. “Wow, they look so realistic.” Hyoyeon suddenly started running towards the cabin’s door. “Quick Demi, run! The cheetahs will get you!”

Laughing, Demi followed Hyoyeon into the cabin, dropping her bags unceremoniously in the large bedroom. From what she could see, they were the first ones there. Demi smirked, throwing her backpack onto one of the upper bunks to claim it. Hyoyeon threw the bag she was carrying under Demi’s bed, claiming it as her own before leaving, saying she was getting the rest of her stuff.

Demi began to organize all of her things, placing all of her clothes neatly into one of the dressers and so forth. As she worked, Demi watched as her cabinmates came in and out, some beginning to organize their things like she was already doing. After she was done she jumped onto her bed, simply laying there to rest. She continued to observe the other girls to get a good feel of what they were like, Hyoyeon being the only person there that she knew other than their cabin leader Gina.

“Cas, where have you been? I had to leave without you when I couldn’t find you in the Great Hall,” Gina said the moment Demi saw a girl wearing neon orange shorts walk into the bedroom.

“Sorry unnie, I was helping a few newcomers find their way to their cabin. They got separated from their group,” Cas responded immediately.

Gina smiled to the girl, believing her words. “That was nice of you but try to follow directions more closely in the future, okay?” Cas nodded in consent, Gina ruffling her hair as she left the building to help some of the other girls get their stuff in the cabin.

Once Gina left Cas began unpacking her stuff along with the other girls. She was lucky that all of her belongings arrived in one trip thanks to the help of her guy friends. It didn’t take long before she finished, grabbing one of her comics and climbing onto her bed. She got one of the bottom bunks much to her annoyance, but it was her fault since she arrived later than the other girls.

She was about to start reading the comic, Uncanny X-Men #266, when another girl sat on her bed. Cas looked over to see one of her best friends, Jessica. “So where were you actually?” Jessica asked with a smirk on her face.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Cas said, making her eyelashes flutter in a fake show of innocence. She turned back to her comic book, flicking to the next page.

Jessica snorted, not falling for it. “I know you weren’t helping some new campers. So what were you doing?”

Cas laughed, finally putting down the comic and facing Jessica. ”During Leeteuk’s speech I saw this really cute boy. Right after the speech was done we went out behind the Great Hall to make out. It didn’t go further than that because his friends came over, which is really disappointing. I don’t know even know his name, either. I hope I see him again, because he was a really good kisser and we didn’t get a chance to go all the way like I was planning to. However,” she said, raising a finger in the air for emphasis. "I wasn't completely lying. I did help someone. It was this guy who was really lost and had tons of bags, and I absolutely needed to help him out."

Jessica ignored the second half of Cas's story, focusing on the first boy. “Did either of you have a with you?” As Cas shook her head ‘no,’ Jessica glared. “You’re going to catch a disease one day.”

Cas waved her hand to brush off the comment, though internally she knew Jessica had a point. She just didn’t want to entertain the thought that she could get an STD as she was so terrified of that happening. Hopefully she wouldn’t get one this year, but with the large number of cute boys that she knew she couldn’t resist, Cas wasn’t so sure.

____kasper's korner

Oh god, so long. Does the length bother you guys? It was kinda necessary though since I needed to get everyone in. And well... I tend to write a lot in general. Sorry... If you guys want shorter chapters let me know!

It won't be like this for long though. Things will start to change once everyone meets and stuff, so not everyone's time will be so seperated.

Anyway, don't worry guys! Things will be picking up soon~

❤ Kathy