♦Chapter One: Part Two♦

“This shirt is hideous. I don’t even know why I own it. Do you know who bought it for me?”

Nam Jihae ignored the speaker, not pausing in reading the text message that was taking up her attention. Kim Kibum, known by some as just Key, glared at his best friend menacingly. He hated being ignored. Feeling the eyes burning into the back of her head, Jihae finally looked up. Upon seeing the shirt in question, Jihae wrinkled her nose is distaste. “That shirt is hideous.” She got up from the pink leopard printed chair she had been seated on located in the corner of Key’s extravagant bedroom. Jihae went up to Key, picking lightly at the orange and purple monstrosity in his hands. “Why do you even own this?”

Key scoffed, irritated that Jihae obviously wasn’t listening to him. “I don’t know, that’s why I was asking if you knew who might have bought it for me,” Key said before smacking Jihae on the back of the head. He ignored her small squeak of pain, continuing on. “Yah, Jiji, you need to pay more attention to me when I talk. Now help me to finish packing for camp. I already helped you, and you need to return the favor.”

Sighing lightly, Jihae nodded her agreement to help. Satisfied with the response Key went back to rummaging through his closet. Jihae soon joined him after responding to the earlier text, the room filling with chatter as the two spoke continuously as they worked. Jihae only stopped every once in a while to respond to the texts she was receiving. Noticing her occasional inattention, Key was about to reprimand Jihae again but was stopped when she spoke up first. “It’s Saerom. We’re trying to figure out a time where we and Daejung can get together before you and I go to camp.” Looking up at Key, Jihae smirked. “Don’t worry, we just figured out a time and place. You now have my undivided attention, Kibummie-ah.”

Key returned the smile, no longer irritated. He knew just how close Jihae was to her older sister and younger brother. “Good, because the Almighty Key demands you start paying attention only to him.” Key turned with a flourish, heading towards the door to his room. He stopped right at the door, looking back to Jihae who was standing arms crossed and an eyebrow raised in interest. Key raised an eyebrow in turn, cocking his head as a signal for Jihae to follow him. “I’m getting bored with packing, let’s go to Lotte World.”

Immediately an evil grin lit up Jihae’s face. She was quick to follow Key out the door and then out his house, pace becoming much quicker than his. Key suddenly grabbed Jihae’s hand, stopping her brisk walk. He gave her a questioning look, not having to say a single word for Jihae to understand that he was questioning her sudden excitement. “I heard recently that Lee Chaerin was going to Lotte World today,” Jihae said, the grin still not disappearing.

It only took a second for a look of recognition to cross Key’s face. “You were complaining about her yesterday, weren’t you?” Key relaxed slightly, used to how much his ex-girlfriend Lee Chaerin, sometimes known as CL, and his best friend disliked one another.

Jihae nodded and started up their walk again, hand still clasped within Key’s. “I was,” she said, pausing when they reached the bus stop. Leaning closer to Key so the others at the bus stop would not hear, she continued. “I saw her at the mall the other day.  We were just ignoring each other at first but you know how we get when one of us is in a bad mood and looking for a fight. We ended up getting into a yelling match in front of a smoothie place, and got kicked out of the mall. She started it this time, and I hadn’t even gotten the jacket I was there for so I haven’t forgiven her.”

Key sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. “You’re going to do something horrible to her.” It wasn’t even said as a question. Key was quite aware of how vengeful Jihae could become if she felt she was wronged. “Make sure you do it fast. I don’t want to spend the whole time there stalking her while you plan an attack. Like I said earlier, Almighty Key demands your full attention today.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long.” Just then the bus arrived, Jihae and Key piling in along with the other passengers. They found a spot quickly, the two leaning close to each other. “Plus with us leaving for Camp Diamond in two days it’s not like I have much time to exact my revenge, so I already had a few things in mind.”

Trusting Jihae to do the deed as fast as possible, Key nodded his consent to let her do what she wanted. “I wonder how camp will go this year. Hopefully you don’t make any more enemies. It’s exhausting worrying about whether you’re getting into fights or not whenever we’re not together.” Key sighed louder than necessary, wagging a finger in front of Jihae’s face. “Aigoo, I should just give up on you.”

Jihae chuckled lightly, not believing Key’s words in the slightest. He said he’d give up on her on a nearly basis, to the point where the words lost their meaning. She knew he only said it because he was worried about her, and hated how many enemies she had that could hurt her. “Don’t lie. You love me too much to abandon me.”

Key didn’t respond, only threw his arm around Jihae’s shoulder and leaned their heads against each other’s. He could only hope that his best friend wouldn’t get into any fights this year, but knew that was highly unlikely just by listening to her currently complaining about all of the ‘hideous passengers’ that were on the bus with them, and how she really wanted that hat one of them had and how it would look so much better on her. Only the upcoming months at Camp Diamond would tell.

“Yah, Okcat! Move your fat and let me on the couch!” Ok Taecyeon just laughed, stretching out even more to take over the entire couch. Jung Cheonsa, preferring to go by her English name Demetria or Demi for short, glared at her friend. “Move or I’ll slap you,” she threatened, readying her hand to strike.

Teacyeon shifted to lie on his stomach, raising his eyebrow in a taunting manner. “Make me.”

Suddenly smiling, Demi replied with a cheerful “Okay!” She quickly brought her raised hand down, smacking Taecyeon on the hard. He yelped at the impact, quickly repositioning himself to sit normally on the couch. He glared playfully at Demi, who then flopped down on the couch dramatically, turning and throwing her legs over Taecyeon’s. “This is why you should listen to me,” Demi said, crossing her arms and smirking.

“Demi, are you ually harassing Taecyeon again? I heard him yelling.” The two on the couch turned to look over the back of the couch, finding their other friend Bang Minsoo, known by some as C.A.P, staring at them strangely.

Demi returned the stare, still smirking. “It’s not harassment if he likes it.” Rolling his eyes, Minsoo moved to the couch, shoving Demi so he could sit down behind her. Demi let it happen, leaning back against Minsoo’s chest while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Taecyeon watched the two suspiciously before speaking. “Are you two sure you aren’t dating? You guys are awfully cozy with each other.” Immediately Demi and Minsoo began to sputter out denials, each saying that the other is ‘definitely not my type.’ Seeing the response, Taecyeon laughed and waved his hands around in a gesture of peace. “Calm down, I’m just messing with you two.”

The two calmed down at his statement, relaxing back into each other. “Not funny, Taecyeon,” Minsoo said, leaning over to give him a light flick on the head. Despite his words, a smile could still be seen on Minsoo’s face. “So Jay D, did you ever get your soccer ball refilled with air? I’m in the mood for some -kicking right now.”

At the mention of sports, Demi moved to sit properly on the couch. “Yup, I did,” she said. “But I think it’s you who will be losing, not me.” Demi then stood up, leaving the room for a few seconds before returning with her soccer ball in hand. “Let’s play, shall we?”

Minsoo stood up as well, staring Demi down before nodding his consent. The two rushed for the back door, nearly knocking each other down in their rush to get outside. Taecyeon remained on the couch for a few moments before slowly standing and following, reluctant to move from his comfortable spot.

Finally reaching Demi’s backyard, he found her and Minsoo glaring menacingly at each other as they stood in the middle of the yard, the soccer ball between them and nets on either side of the yard. Seeing the looks on their faces, Taecyeon quickly came to the decision that there was no way in hell he was going to get between them in this game, too afraid of how competitive they could get. “I’ll play referee!” The two nodded at his words, barely paying attention to him. “I’ll do a coin toss to see who gets what goal.” Reaching into his pocket, Teacyeon pulled out an American quarter. Having lived his life back and forth between Beford, Massachusetts and Busan, South Korea, he had gotten used to carrying around American change as well as Korean. “Jay D, heads or tails?”

“Heads,” Demi replied immediately.           

Teacyeon nodded, flicking the coin in the air and catching it on his palm. He smiled at the result, nodding to Minsoo. “Tails, Minsoo’s choice.” Minsoo smiled, giving Demi a smug look and choosing the goal behind her. She just scoffed in response, flicking her hair in defiance. “Okay, game on!” At Taecyeon’s words, Demi quickly rushed forward for the kick-off, maneuvering past him and heading towards the goal.

Minsoo followed behind quickly, not taking long until the two were neck-to-neck. Minsoo kicked out for the ball, sending it off to the left where he followed it, kicking it in the other direction and heading the opposite way down the field. Irritated, Demi back peddled and followed.

The game went on for the next three hours, Demi and Minsoo being evenly matched in skill. Taecyeon had fallen asleep at some point under the shade of a nearby tree, no longer keeping track of the score. By now, Demi and Minsoo were sweating and panting in exhaustion, both always giving their all when it comes to sports and never relenting.

“Demetria!” The sudden call of her name made Demi stop in her tracks as she was about to steal the ball from Minsoo. Minsoo stopped as well, not thinking it to be fair to continue on if she was distracted. Demi looked to the house where she saw her brother, Rain, by the door. Rain looked at the three, Taecyeon having woken up at the shout, finally stopping his gaze at Demi. “You need to finish packing. The boat to Jeju Island leaves tomorrow, and I’d rather not have to leave you behind. Luckily for you I even came back here after setting up the camp to make sure you were ready.”

Demi sighed, upset that her game with Minsoo had to be stopped. She looked at him, giving him a once over. “This isn’t over yet.” Minsoo nodded, smirking while he and Teacyeon followed Demi back inside the house with Rain. “I’m so excited for camp this year,” she said once she, Taecyeon, and Minsoo reached her room.

The two boys agreed, loving the camp as much as Demi did. Demi was definitely excited for this year, knowing from her brother, a counselor at Camp Diamond, that the competition this year would be fierce. This only further fueled her competitive spirit, and she was willing to go to extremes to make sure she and her teams emerged as the best.

It was a beautiful day, the sky a clear blue and the sun shining brightly despite it still only being morning. The sun’s light reflected brilliantly on the waters that surrounded the port city of Busan, South Korea. Many ships and boats crowded the docks, but one in particular stood out with its bright colors and fancy lettering advertising its destination of Jeju Island, courtesy of its owner Camp Diamond.

Standing on the dock, Kim Heebon looked wearily at the sea. She hated the ocean, and wished she could have flown to Jeju Island instead of using the boat. However, the only indication of the fear she felt was how she was twisting the bracelet given to her by her older brother, Kim Hyunjoo. Otherwise her expression was perfectly cheerful and serene, as seen by the other campers headed to Camp Diamond along with Heebon.

“Alright, everyone! Start gathering your bags and heading on to the boat, we will be leaving shortly!” The lively voice of Heebon’s favorite counselor, Kim Junsu, sometimes known as Xiah, rang out and carried across the dock. Some of the staff of the camp were in charge of supervising the journey to Jeju Island, Junsu being one of them.

Looking at the large number of bags by her feet, Heebon quickly came to the conclusion that there was no way she wanted to carry them all on the boat. She sighed loudly, fanning her face with her hand in mock weakness. “Ahh, this is so heavy!” At the sound of her voice, many of the surrounding campers turned to face the popular girl. “I’m so tired, too. I don’t think I can carry all of this onto the boat by myself!” The response was immediate.

“Don’t worry Heebon-ah, I can help you!” “No, don’t worry, I’ve got it!” “Aww, I’ll do it for you Bonbon!”

Heebon giggled, covering with her hand. “Really, you all will help me? Thank you so much!” A chorus of “Aww’s” sounded, the men holding Heebon’s various suitcases stopping to admire the cute sight. “Be careful though! I’ll be mad if you drop anything.” The pout that formed caused even more of a scene from the men as they immediately began to shout about just how adorable Heebon was before rushing onto the boat with her luggage.

“Can you get them to do that for me, too?” The cute laugh that followed had Heebon turning around in excitement at the newcomer. Standing there was Bae Suji, called Suzy by most. Locking eyes, the two girls simultaneously moved in for a hug. It had only been a day since they last saw each other, but the special occasion of leaving for camp called for hugs to be had.

Heebon was the first to pull away. “You could do it on your own, I bet. Guys love you!” Suzy just laughed, waving her hands awkwardly and denying the comment. A new arrival soon caught the girls’ attention however, Junsu rushing over to greet them.

“If you two are ready to go, board the boat! I see Heebon-ah has already had her luggage packed but you still need to Suzy-ah,” Junsu said, smiling warmly at two of his favorite campers.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get my stuff on the boat soon so we can board.” At Suzy’s words, Junsu gave another smile before saying his goodbyes, rushing away to stop a fight that broke out amongst two campers, one of them trying to knock the other off the deck and into the water.

Heebon rolled her eyes at the pathetic sight before turning back to Suzy. “Don’t worry. I’ll get some guys to get your stuff on board.” Heebon flounced off. Suzy followed behind, trying to convince her that she didn’t need help. Heebon merely brushed her off with a wave of the hand, having already found a group of cute guys. The guys looked to the girls at their approach, smiling widely at them. “Hi guys,” Heebon said, not even knowing any of their names. They must have been new, as she knew all of the returning campers. “My friend here needs some help with her bags, can you do it?” With a single wink, the boys were reduced to blushing messes as they scurried off to get Suzy’s bags on the boat. Having come to terms with her fate, Suzy just thanked the boys and let them be.

“Let’s head on board then,” Suzy said, grabbing Heebon’s hand tightly. Suzy was the only one who knew of Heebon’s fear of the sea, sticking close as reassurance. Heebon held on tightly, but kept her head held high and greeted everyone cheerfully as they walked onto the deck of the ship.

They eventually stopped at a set of chairs, Suzy sitting down a little less gracefully than Heebon. Heebon was about to start up a conversation when a group of other campers came up to the two, pulling up chairs and sitting down while greeting them. Though a little annoyed at the interruption, Heebon greeted the newcomers with enthusiasm.

“Wow Heebon, your dress is so cute,” said Kang Jiyoung, a friend of Suzy’s. “Where did you get it? I want one too!”

Heebon stood with a flourish, spinning around to show off the baby-blue sundress. “I know, I look so cute in it don’t I?” Heebon stopped her spinning, facing Jiyoung and giving her a once over. “I look better in it than you would though, don’t you think? Maybe you shouldn’t buy it.” The sickly sweet smile on Heebon’s face paired with her cheerful tone of voice caused Jiyoung to merely laugh and agree with the other, not noticing the insult directed toward her.

Soon enough, Junsu announced the ship’s departure, the boat soon heading slowly off to its destination. Being with Suzy and surrounded by her admirers, Heebon couldn’t have been in a better mood not considering she was out in the middle of the ocean. She was looking forward to flirting with all the cute guys at camp, going horseback riding, and more. Heebon had a feeling this year was going to be interesting.

“Hyemi!” Hearing her name being called, Jung Hyemi looked around in curiosity. “Yah, Hyemi! Behind you!” She followed the instruction, face lighting up when she found who was calling out to her. Hyemi smiled watching Bang Cheolyong, known as Mir to most, barreling towards her in excitement. Mir finally reached the younger, pulling her into a tight hug, Hyemi returning it with just as much enthusiasm. Mir was the first to pull away, but kept his hands on Hyemi’s shoulders. “How are you? I’ve missed you tons!”

Hyemi chuckled, appreciating Mir’s boundless energy. “I’m doing fine as usual. How have you been?” Immediately, Mir started to talk, barely even pausing to take a breath. Hyemi only continued to smile, laughing whenever Mir told a joke or a funny story.

Suddenly he stopped, looking past Hyemi’s shoulder. Another grin grew on his face and Mir sprinted off, dragging Hyemi behind him. “Jieun-ah,” he called, trying to gain his other friend’s attention. Lee Jieun, occasionally known as IU in the music sphere, stood up from where she was sitting on a large rock, waving towards the two coming her way. She smiled sweetly once they arrived, giving them both large hugs and greeting them warmly.

Hyemi stood close to her friends, at her happiest when the three were together. She spoke up quickly, wanting to get a word or two in before Mir started to ramble again. “Jieun, how was Incheon? Did you have fun there?”

Jieun nodded, a smile still on her face. “Yes, it was very nice there. I wish I could have stayed a little longer to see the city more, though. Still, the wedding I was hired to perform at was very fun and I got to wander the city a little before the plane here, to Jeju Island, was to take off.”

“It must have been really tiring, though,” Mir said, jumping into the conversation. “flying from you and Mi’s homes in Pohang to Incheon and then to Jeju Island all within four days, just so you can make some money from that wedding.”

Nodding, Jieun admitted that she was indeed tired. “You can sleep on the bus,” Hyemi said, gesturing more than needed to one of the large buses only a few feet away. “We should be leaving in about half an hour to head up the mountain.” Mir and Jieun turned their heads simultaneously to look at the bus, and then looked up towards the mountain where Camp Diamond was located. At the moment the trio of friends along with the other campers and staff of Camp Diamond were near the foot of the mountain at the edge of a town that brought in all of the incoming campers from across South Korea, and sometimes other parts of the world. They were all waiting for the rest of the campers to arrive before they could head on up.

Mir sighed, ruffling his hair in slight frustration. “Thirty minutes is way too long! I just want to get there, eat, and play! Why are some of the campers so slow?!” Hyemi and Jieun just laughed at Mir’s complaining, completely used to his impatience.

“Mir, don’t you remember though? They won’t serve a meal until dinner.” Hyemi watched as Mir’s expression changed to shock at Jieun’s words. “Everyone was told to eat lunch before arriving here. It’s the same as last year.”

Hyemi and Jieun laughed at Mir’s squawk of indignation that followed. “But how will I survive? I haven’t eaten since breakfast!” Mir proceeded to fall to his knees dramatically, bending over to cover his stomach and groaning in pain. “I’m gonna starve!”

Still laughing, Hyemi crouched down next to Mir, patting him on the back. “There, there Cheolyong. I knew this was going to happen so I brought some snacks for us to eat on the way there.” Immediately Mir shot up from his spot on the ground with a loud sound of excitement, making grabby hands towards Hyemi for the mentioned snacks.

Jieun tutted, grabbing Hyemi’s backpack that was sitting by their feet. She reached in, grabbing a bag of chips and holding it out to Mir. Mir made a grab for it, but Jieun pulled the chips back just as his fingers were about to close around the bag. “Say please,” she sang, the teasing in her voice obvious.

Mir pouted, unhappy at being denied food. He widened his eyes, clasping his hands together in front of his face. “Pleeease,” he said in the sweetest voice he could muster. Jieun thought for a moment before grinning and holding out the bag again with a bright “Okay!”

Watching her friends Hyemi couldn’t help but laugh louder than usual. She always felt so much more open and free to be herself around her friends, and knew she had nothing to hide from them. Suddenly she heard a shout from behind her, calling Mir’s name. Mir looked up and waved enthusiastically as some of his friends came bounding over. Hyemi and Jieun immediately moved away from the crowd that had suddenly formed, Hyemi’s face having grown blank. She looked to Jieun who smiled warmly, reassuring the younger that she was still there for her.

Noticing his friends’ disappearance, Mir stopped talking with his friends and looked around, finally spotting Hyemi and Jieun again. He pushed through the crowd and grabbed them both by the arm, urging them back into the group. The two girls tried to resist, but were pulled in with Mir’s insistence. Somehow, Jieun had been farther into the crowd, leaving Hyemi standing by herself.

“Hey, Hyemi.” Hearing her name, Hyemi looked over and saw Park Sanghyun, often called Thunder, smiling at her. Hyemi smiled, happy to see a friend and not just strangers in the crowd Mir had forced her into. She greeted him back, and the two entered into small talk.

A conversation to the left soon caught Hyemi’s attention though, and she couldn’t help but eavesdrop. She recognized one of the voices as Jung Jinwoon, a friend of Mir’s, and the other voice as Mir himself.

“Mir, sit with us on the bus! We’ve missed you,” Jinwoon said with a smile, eyes curving up.

The smile on Mir’s face had stayed put, but his eyelids drooped slightly in guilt. “Sorry, I’m going to sit with Hyemi and Jieun.”

Hyemi let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was happy Mir wanted to sit with her, but felt a little guilty that he wasn’t going to be spending time with the rest of his friends. Still, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Mir and Jieun at camp and had too much of a hard time getting close to people to make more friends. Hyemi wondered if things were going to be different this year, and maybe some people would be willing to push a little harder to get to know her. Turning back to her conversation with Thunder, Hyemi almost hoped that someone would.

A loud laugh rang out through the bus, causing the other campers on it to turn in their seats, looking to the back. Lee Danja, known mostly as just Dee, merely gave the onlookers a stare that had them facing the front once more. She looked over to the source of the laugh, Lee Chaerin. Chaerin just grinned, not caring that she may be causing a ruckus. Dee smiled back, not caring either.

Dee leaned back in the seat, placing her boot covered feet on the seat in front of her. “And that’s why you should never offer an angry cop a beer to loosen him up.” Chaerin’s chuckles slowed down by the time Dee’s story had finished, but traces of laughter could still be heard in her voice.

“Speaking of beer, did you bring any with you?” By now Chaerin had leaned closer to Dee, voice lowered so no one else could hear.

Before Dee could answer another body shoved themselves onto the seat that was really only meant to fit two people. Dee and Chaerin yelped in surprise, both automatically kicking and punching out to remove the newcomer. A groan sounded after, Dee and Chaerin looking to see the fallen man who was the source of the noise. Upon seeing him, Chaerin gasped and grabbed their arm, pulling him on to the now-crowded seat.

“ing christ, Jiyong! Don’t freak us out like that,” Chaerin said, straightening her boyfriend, Kwon Jiyong, sometimes known as GDragon’s, hair. Jiyong chuckled softly, lightly pushing Chaerin’s hands from his hair. He threw his arm around Chaerin to reach Dee, ruffling her hair messily. Dee smirked, smacking his hand away and giving a fake glare.

Satisfied, Jiyong curled his arm around Chaerin’s neck and pulled her close, giving her a kiss in greeting. “So, what’s this I hear about beer?”

“She was wondering if I had any this year,” Dee said, looking back towards her friends after having been staring out the window. She didn’t like it too much when the other two got romantic with each other, making her feel a bit like the third wheel. She leaned a bit closer to them, keeping the conversation private. “And I do. They are in my suitcases, hidden in lemonade and soda cans.”

Jiyong and Chaerin grinned, both giving Dee high-fives in praise and appreciation. “We’ll have fun this year, it looks like.” The two girls nodded with Jiyong’s statement. A conversation soon sparked up, but Dee found herself uninterested in it. Instead, she looked out the window in thought. For some reason, she had a feeling this year would be different from the previous ones. A sly smirk grew on her face the more she thought about it. Whatever was to come, she would face it head on.

____kasper's korner

Congratulations to lookitskasper, prettyangel25, ricecakes70, a-positive, and Mir-Chi!

If you haven't been accepted, don't freak out. Your character will be a cameo/secondary character in the story if you don't unsubscribe. So, don't unsubscribe! Besides, you might even like the story anyway!

Thank you everyone for applying! It was super difficult choosing from everyone since all the apps were so great.

This was just the introduction chapter(s). I'll give you guys a warning though: The story may start off a little slow, but things will pick up around Chapter Three or Four.

Also, sorry for the crappy graphics. I made them myself and I had no idea what I was doing.

If I screwed up with someone's character, do not hesitate to tell me. I won't be insulted. It may take me a few chapters of writing about them to really get the feel of them. Plus, I only showed certain sides of each character, not all of them.

❤ Kathy