A/N: It might seem strange and I might really be rushing things now but I think it's necessary. Even I am getting so excited for what's going to happen next but you didn't hear that from me. Please comment and tell me what you think. - Bluekimchi

-----------------------------------

Tentbuilding is a skill Seulgi never learned. Not in the special tutoring she had from elementary to high school. Not in college. It's useful though. Soojung is a homebody. She wasn't one to commune with nature so she's never thought of learning it before for her. But maybe they can go camping when she comes back? If she comes back? Seulgi's not really sure how to put it anymore (it's hard to keep being optimistic with the chemical impulses going on in her head at full speed).

Seungwan's small hands are adept at this. She looks really cool, like an expert. Maybe she and Joohyun went camping a lot, Seulgi thinks. She envies them.

"Seulgi?"

"Yeah?" She looks up at Suzy, hands still gripping the tent poles. She hadn't notice that they were even having a conversation.

"Do you want to?"

"Do I want to what?" She asks.

"Sit with me. By the campfire." Suzy says with a smile, side eyes Seungwan who had straightened out from kneeling on the grass.

"I-"

"She's sitting with me." Seungwan interrupts. "Sit with me." She shoots Seulgi a look. Suzy bites back a laugh.

"Okay." Seulgi says.

Suzy nods slowly and then happily skips away which is really weird because basically her attempt to flirt with Seulgi, if that can even be considered flirting at all, had failed.

"You guys better hurry. 'Cause you're on strings, Wan-ah." Suzy calls as she goes.

"Okay, okay." Seungwan says, annoyed. She purses her lips and gives their unfinished tent a look. Seulgi watches her and she feels even more deflated than the canvas heap that is their tent.

"Are you mad? I'm sorry that I'm not good at this." She speaks up, frowns at her hands. The whole point of this trip is to win Seungwan back but at this rate, Seulgi might as well give up now because all she's ever done is make her upset (she thinks).

"It's not you, Seulgi." Seungwan hesitates on the words,  second guessing which doesn't really give her much comfort. "Let's just... finish this so we can sit by the fire." And then Seungwan gets back to working on the poles.

But Seulgi's still upset even after they finish. She's lost in a world of her thoughts that Seungwan has to take her by the hand to lead her to where the group is gathered.

Seulgi nearly jumps up when she hears the sound of strings being plucked. She looks to her right and she sees that Seungwan is playing the guitar. And suddenly, this is the only thing that matters.

Her ears slowly get accustomed to the soft clapping from the people sitting next to her. Voices follow right after but Seungwan's floats above the rest and it's so beautiful. She blinks, watches her quietly.

The crackling heat of the fire in contrast with the cold night air feels so perfect. She feels a smile play on her lips as she watches Seungwan bob her head in time with the music she's making. She's singing in an angelic voice, not quite soft, not quite husky. It's full of emotion and it leaves Seulgi in awe.

There's something about seeing Seungwan like this, something that makes Seulgi want to pull her up and dance with her under the stars for nights and nights without end. It's weird because one will tire of doing something over and over but she still wants to do it and she would, if only she can find the strength to move, to look away. Looking away is another thing because Seungwan is such a beautiful sight to behold and the more she looks at her, the more she feels her hungry heart get full.

The cozy heat from the fire, the sweet melody Seungwan makes, the warm glow in her eyes, even her hair being ruffled lightly by the breeze, it all makes Seulgi feel alive. For the first time in a long time, she doesn't feel like she's drifting through space, like a ghost waiting and waiting to be saved. No, this time, she feels present.

Somebody latches an arm around her and she looks up to see that everyone in the circle has an arm around the person next to them, swaying and singing along. She looks at Seungwan and Seungwan smiles at her. For a brief moment, she wonders if this is what it feels like to finally realize what she's been missing since Soojung left, maybe what she's been missing all along, even. And that is life itself.

--

"This is the highlight of the trip, Seungwan! Cheer up!" Hyeri's voice is loud. And annoying.

Seungwan scrunches her nose, nods gingerly in hopes of getting her to quiet down. She shoves her hands in her pockets as Suzy steps to her side.

"You haven't forgotten where you buried yours, right?" Suzy makes an attempt to tickle her but she only steps out of the way.

"How can I forget?" Seungwan replies with a raised eyebrow, like she's questioning Suzy's presumptions of her.

"So what's with the attitude? Loosen up, Seungwan." Hyeri interrupts.

"You'll have Seulgi to accompany you so it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Mark (Seulgi finally remembers his name) adds, even winks at Seungwan.

"Right. So we'll meet back here in two hours to prepare for the hike down. Yah, Seungwan-ah!"

Seungwan starts to walk away, waves her hand above her head to tell them not to worry. Seulgi follows her, hands nervously gripping the straps of her backpack as she bows politely to Seungwan's friends. She catches up to her pretty soon and they're walking side by side in silence.

They pass by trees and random plants growing on the side of the path, feet trudging on dead leaves and twigs. The ground seems pretty even considering that they're on a mountain which makes everything easier for Seulgi.

"So what's in your time capsule?" She asks, tired of just hearing crunching sounds. And they do have to talk about something at some point, right?

"Just some small things. Pictures and letters. Stuff like that. I don't really get what this fuss is all about." Seungwan says. "Digging up old memories isn't going to bring back time." She adds bitterly, nose scrunching again.

"That's true. But maybe it's fun for them to look back at old times and just smile at how things have changed?" Seulgi suggests, tries to bring up the mood.

"Good for them." She laughs then clears . "Can we talk about something else?"

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Seulgi asks quickly, wants more than anything not to upset Seungwan.

"Why did you run away?" Seungwan picks a topic at the top of her head, looks at Seulgi expectantly.

"Oh." Seulgi thinks for a moment. She wasn't expecting Seungwan to ask about that now. Oh, well.

"Chorong unnie and Bomi unnie were fighting because of me. I felt really bad about it. I mean, it's bad enough that I'm being an inconvenience to them and now they're arguing because of me too so I figured I should just leave." She says, frowns and kicks some leaves around as they continue to walk.

"What were they fighting about?" Seungwan slows down, looks at Seulgi.

"Chorong unnie has been setting me up on dates and Bomi unnie doesn't approve of it." Seulgi's voice drops low as purses to a thin line and her eyebrows knot together.

"." Seungwan cusses. "Was the fight bad? I should probably explain-" She trails off at the surprised look on Seulgi's face.

"Huh? Explain what?" They stop walking completely.

"That it was me." Seulgi looks at her, confused. "I was the one who convinced Chorong unnie to set you up on dates."

Maybe it's the way that she said it - so honest and so casual - that has Seulgi confused on how to react. Should she feel relieved? Should she feel angry?

She picks the latter, nonetheless.

"What?! Hold up." Seungwan jumps back at the sharp tone. "What are you saying?"

"It was me. I'll take responsibility for what happened. I just thought-" Seungwan suddenly feels nervous and she doesn't know why but she catches herself taking steps backward.

"What? You thought that I should meet new people? Why? Because you don't want to be my friend anymore?"

All these days and weeks that Seungwan avoided her -cancelled their plans on her, refused to talk to her - and the dates that flopped and Bomi and Chorong fighting;  the weight of it all comes crashing down on her and she comes to a conclusion: Seungwan doesn't care about her. Seungwan is done with her. Chorong was right when she told her to meet new people. But then again, here's Seungwan, claiming that she was the one behind everything which doesn't make any sense and still leaves things unjustified. Seulgi feels so lost and confused.

Her eyes are aflame as she looks at Seungwan, asking, and more than asking, begging for answers. For a moment, Seungwan looks like she could break under that gaze. But she only shakes her head to regain her composure and takes it head on.

"Yeah, that's right, Seulgi!" She pauses. "I don't want to be your friend anymore! I can't be your friend anymore." She fires and Seulgi's face contorts in pain that shatters her defenses.

She has to swallow hard, regrets ever looking into her eyes because, now, not only are they full of anger, but they are also full of hurt and desperation and frustration and she’s never seen her like this, never seen her look so helpless.

Seungwan watches Seulgi plop down on the ground in a hopeless mess and when Seulgi holds her head in both hands, Seungwan finally decides on the truth.

"I can't be your friend anymore.” She bites her lip.  “Not when I keep on seeing Joohyun in you in the little things even though you are nothing like her."

She looks at Seulgi and she sees her hiding in the store room with her, sees her eating red bean flavored ice cream, sees her walking by the orphanage with her, sees her holding her as she cries. Heck, she doesn't even have to look far because Seulgi's in Joohyun's clothes, wearing Joohyun's backpack.

"I don't know why but I find myself so comfortable around you when Taeyeon unnie and Tiffany unnie can't even get me to smile on a good day."

She thinks about the time with her in the rain and the time she held her when she cried in her room during New Year's eve which was also the very moment she admitted to herself that there might be something more to them. With every word, she feels herself growing weak.

Seulgi slowly looks up at her. It seems like nothing she has said so far cleared things out for her so when she spells it out for Seulgi, she’s completely out of strength.

"I just can't, Seulgi. Not when I think I'm falling for you."

Everything falls silent. Even the birds stopped chirping and whatever it is that makes up the cacophony of sounds in the forest has become muted. Seulgi can only look at Seungwan because she doesn't know what to do.

"I know I really shouldn't because it's bull to think that you might just be what I need when I made a vow with Joohyun and you're in love with Soojung. I know this well… the only reason that you're befriending me is because our unnies want so badly for us to end up together." Seungwan continues and Seulgi just watches her.

"So tell me, Seulgi, what's the point? You're only here with me because you don't want to disappoint them. You're only here with me because Soojung isn't." Seungwan frowns, looks away.

"That's not true." Seulgi finally finds it in herself to speak, knows that she has to say something at this point.

"Which part?" Seungwan's eyes are pleading and when she looks into them, she's not sure about what to say anymore. "Which part isn't true, Seulgi?"

She her lips, bites into it, hesitating but determined. However, Seungwan gives up before she can even try to find the words.

"I'm tired, Seulgi. Let's just find that damn time capsule and go home."

--

"Suzy! Suzy! Yah, Bae Suzy!"

"Mark? Calm down. What is it?"

"Where is everyone? The forest ranger... they want everyone back to the cabin."

"What? Why?"

"There's a storm warning."

"Oh, no."

"We have to gather everyone! Hurry!"

--

Dig. Throw dirt over shoulder. Repeat.

Seungwan doesn't even remember burying her time capsule that deep. Or maybe Suzy's doubts were actually grounded on something. Maybe this isn't the location. Her shovel hits something just as she's thinking about this and she stops digging. Her hands fumble for the cylindrical waterproof container in the middle of the small pit she just dug and she frowns at it. All this trouble for this stupid thing? She shakes her head.

She brushes off dirt from the container with her hands, looks over her shoulder to find Seulgi still sitting stonily against the tree. She takes a deep breath, uses the sleeves of her shirt to wipe the perspiration as it trickles down the side of her face.

Seungwan thinks she should say something but what can she say that will unhear things that were already said? Did she make the right decision in telling the truth? Because Seulgi clearly has trouble coming to terms with it. Maybe she regrets coming on this trip with her now. Maybe she'll want to stop being friends which is actually what she has been trying to do. That would be for the best, Seungwan tells herself. They shouldn't complicate things more and just leave them as they are. She’s supposed to be in love with Joohyun and Seulgi is waiting for Soojung. Why change things now? They’ll be in even more misery if they try. (But it would be nice if Seulgi feels the same which does not seem to be the case right now so why try?)

Seungwan sighs, walks over to where she had placed her backpack to put away the time capsule and the hand shovel. She straightens up from bending down and that’s when she notices that Seulgi has moved (she's looking up at the sky, frowning). And then she calls for her.

"Seungwan,"

Ignore her, Seungwan does so Seulgi tries again.

"Seungwan," Louder this time and with urgency.

Seulgi didn't talk for hours and in those hours Seungwan wondered and wondered what was going on in her head and it did nothing but drive her insane. Well, that and it was also embarrassing to receive no answer from her confession. Well, now she’s calling her name like it's the only name she knows and it drives Seungwan to the edge. Like a rubber band being stretched to the full, she snaps.

"If there's something you want to say to me, say it now." Seungwan starts. "I don't expect you to do anything about me liking you, Seulgi-"

"Seungwan-"

"If anything, I'd be grateful if we can stop being friends because that's going to make things easier for me-"

Seulgi's efforts to catch her attention are clearly ineffective but she needs to be heard so she stands, closes the distance between them, and throws her arms around Seungwan in a tight hug.

Seungwan immediately falls silent and that is what Seulgi needs. She gathers her courage and prepares for the worst.

"It's raining." She says, mouth close to Seungwan’s ear.

Seungwan looks up and finally notices the darkening sky and the lingering clouds. She feels her knees grow weak and her eyes get wet. Ever so softly, Seulgi lets her hands slide from Seungwan's back to her shoulders as she pulls back.

As the rain starts to fall, the familiar sensation of being ripped apart threatens to take over her. But Seulgi's grip on her keeps her anchored to reality.

"Seulgi... I..."

"Shh, it's okay." Seulgi's voice shakes and for a moment, Seungwan worries that Seulgi is just as scared as her but when she hears the next words, she knows it's true but not for the same reasons.

"It's okay because you might just be what I need too." Seulgi takes a deep breath. "I think I need you too, Seungwan. I think I need you too."