She blinked frantically as her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness they were plunged into.

“What… Can you fix the lamp?” her voice shrill as panic threatened to overtake her. She could make out faint shapes now, eyes having had time to adjust. The sudden lightning illuminated their faces followed by a rumble of loud thunder that had her jumping in her seat. This membership training has been a nightmare so far.

“I don’t think so, and even if I could, I can’t see a thing to fix it.” He said, surprisingly calm for someone who was had just escaped a hole in the midst of a brewing storm and was now trapped in a one-man tent in the middle of nowhere with an almost stranger.

They sat in silence until the next flash of lightning struck, jarring the two out of their thoughts.

“Let’s just get some sleep then, we can both fit if we squish a little.” She muttered, ever the pragmatic one. She wasn’t about to get out of the warm tent and into the roaring storm and she wasn’t about to deny him sanctuary either, even if it was his tent she was in right now.

Not about to look for a gift in the horse’s mouth, he quickly conceded and they laid down awkwardly in the dark. She shivered lightly as the cold penetrated through the ground and the thin sleeping bag they spread out. He stiffened as she wriggled around trying to find a comfortable spot. It was awkward being so close to a woman in the dark and he wondered if she knew what her wriggling was doing to him.

He cleared his throat.

“Are you cold?”

She shook her head before realizing that he couldn’t see her.

“It’s okay.”

He sat up and rooted around his bag, pulling out bits and pieces of clothing. He tucked a clean towel around her legs and handed her another shirt to pull on.

“Here, it’s better than nothing. It’s a pity we don’t have much clothing since it’s a short trip.”

She thanked him as graciously as she could in the situation, assuring him that the clothing they had was sufficient. They wouldn’t die from the cold after all.

The storm raged on as the occupants in the tent slipped into dreams, tucked against each other as one can only do in tight spaces.

The freak storm had surprised everyone and in their spots scattered around the campsites in the forest, the team slept, unaware of the surprise they were in for the next day.

Peace eventually prevailed once more, as the storm filtered to a stop as dawn broke. The silence of the breaking dawn broken by birds and wildlife. Alarms rang and while everyone rose to prepare for the upcoming day, the two slept on. Jong Kook’s watch having been left in the chasm he had fallen into and Ji Hyo’s phone scattered somewhere when her tent had taken off without her.

When the time came for everyone to gather around, they quickly realised that two were missing from their numbers.

“Did they get lost?”

“Didn’t they check in last night?”

“Did they get eaten by bears?”

“Aigoo, maybe they overslept.”

But when an hour had passed and there was still no sign of the two, they had started panicking. As the voices of worried members and staff reached a crescendo, the rational voice of the forest ranger rang out that they should simply search for the lost lambs.

He quickly organized for a group to search the path that the two had taken yesterday.

“It’s not an especially difficult path, but the storm last night might have washed away some markers and turned them around,” the ranger explained as he led a group consisting of Kwang Soo, Jae Suk and himself. The remaining members and staff have been sent for a debriefing while the ranger sent for experienced help.

The three made quick work of the trek and arrived at the clearing shortly after they had set off. Upon receiving confirmation that the campsite was in the area, the three began calling out for Jong Kook and Ji Hyo.

The two had drifted off into deep sleep after their adventure, stirring only when they heard the shouts outside their tent. A wave of awkwardness overcame the two as they realised that they were lying beside each other in extremely close quarters. She was about to scramble out of the tent, partly to escape the awkwardness, and also to find out what the commotion was about outside when he grasped at her wrist and pulled her back.

“What are you doing?” his voice was musky from sleep.

“I think they are calling for us, we must have missed the breakfast gathering.”

“I know, but what happens when we walk out from the same tent?” He was worried not for himself, but that it would compromise her in the eyes of the staff. And should anyone leak out the news, just a hint of anything that had happened, it might mean the end of her in the industry.

“It’s alight. There’s nothing we can do about it anyway. The truth will prevail.” He admired the trust she had in the universe and wondered how she wasn’t jaded after years in the industry.

“Holy crap” Kwang Soo breathes in astonishment.

He rubbed his eyes as he looked at the scene in astonishment. He wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t hallucinating. That had really just happened. Jong Kook and Ji Hyo were there. They had exited from the same tent. They slept in the same tent. His mind was whirling with possibilities and he couldn’t help but gape with his mouth wide open at the scene.

“Good morning,” Ji Hyo greeted the open mouthed searchers. Jong Kook did the same awkwardly, aware of how it looked like to others not aware of their adventure the night before.

“My tent was blown away last night and Jong Kook shi took me in,” she offered.

Jae Suk, always quick to react quickly cottoned on to the situation. He quickly nattered on and distracted the ranger with the search for Ji Hyo’s lost belongings while attempting damage control.

The three younger ones stood around. Jong Kook embarrassed, Ji Hyo seemingly unperturbed and Kwang Soo shuffling around uncomfortably.

At attempt for NaNoWriMo 2016