Chapter 8

Obedience

"Kids, we're moving in ten minutes. Please take your seats." Mr. Park yells through a loudspeaker. He's dressing in that tracksuit again, bright green with yellow stripes, and he looks utterly funny with his new haircut, which he told the students that he was the one that came with that idea. The students have no idea why he's joining them because he was allegedly known as a scaredy cat and a man with words but not of deeds. This survival camp will be more of like a labor camp to them. "That's right kids. Settle down now." Ms. Kim says. So that's the reason why both the teachers are here, the students finally understood. Mr. Park and Ms. Kim were known to have a 'some' relationship. Getting to see the beloved couple together today is no shocking news to them. 'Are they official now?' The students have the same question in their mind. 

Eva walks to the end of the bus and takes a window seat at the last second row. After asking for permission from her parents, she immediately got into the list without much effort. They even proposed to pay for the fees, whereby Steph scoffs in return because they never asked her anything about the camp. Sadly, Mia and some of the boys aren't able to join the camp because it is solely for the Senior Three first class students. That's what Jess said. Her parents offered sponsorship for the activity thus Jess has a say in it.

"Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through." A boy with thick round glasses squeezes through and comes over to the empty seat which is beside Eva's. He slumps onto the chair with a loud sigh, hands clutching a thick book. "Hey, my name is Adrian. It was a pleasure meeting you." He offers his hand and grabs onto Eva's, shaking with much force. He's acknowledged as one of the geeks in the high school and students were surprised to know that he's from the first class. To Eva's luck, he is a chatterbox. He never stopped talking the second after he rested his on the seat. "So, I did a research on the place where we are going to stay at. We don't have to worry about our meals because there are many fruits in the forest, and there's a river around somewhere. But we have to be careful for the wild boars." Someone save me! Eva groans mentally.

"Is this seat available? Yes it is." Another voice interrupts. Savior! The next thing she knows, Adrian is already standing by the side and the owner of the voice has replaced him. Poor boy, he must be really scared. Adrian pushes his glasses back up his face and avoids any eye contact with the intruder. Eva has to admit that the deep voice does sound intimidating. "That's so rude! You could've asked him nicely." Eva snaps at Mark. "Sorry. Can't let you sit with a stranger for this four-hour ride. Trust me, it's gonna bore the out of you." Eva hisses at him at his choice of words. Her eyes follow the nerd and he looks so pitiful wandering in the bus for a seat. He then finally settles down alone. He just wants a company. Sigh. "Do you really want to sit with him?" "Just sit with Mark please. We don't want to sit with him anyway." Jaebum says from behind and Jackson is already bear hugging him. "Dickheads." The two are fast enough to dodge Mark's sudden attack. 


"Finally!" They chant and stretch their bodies while getting down the bus. After claiming their belongings, they gather at a empty spot along with the teachers. "Listen up!" The students groan when Ms. Kim announced that this is the suppose beginning for the journey to the campsite. They have to carry their own bags and trudge through the forest to reach their final destination. 

After around an hour of non stop walking, they finally reach a wide field. During the journey, girly screams can be heard from time to time. That is because of the continuous encounter of various types of bugs. Huge or tiny ones. Jess is no exception. She appears suddenly behind Eva and Mark then clings onto the boy when she accused that a giant bee is attacking her. Besides that, she also faked an ankle sprain, collapsing in front of Mark when he was taking a break. She was only left with disappointment when Mark paid no attention to her. "Stop staring!" Jess lets out a piercing scream when the boys took her as a clown. "Need a little help here." She snaps and her group of Barbies immediately went to her and pulled her back to her feet.

"This is the only spot where you can set up your tents. Start doing your work and no funny business." Ms. Kim cues. 

"More like she's saying that to herself." Jiwon snickers. "Get laid woman!" Hanbin whistles with his friends.

"Can you hand me those?" Eva hands the tent poles to her teammates. Unfortunately, she's alone again. She was teamed up with three of her classmates but neither Mark nor Jackson was one of them. She follows their orders obediently. Handing them the tent parts and assembling the frame of the tent. After securing the rain-fly of the tent, it is done at last. But that's not the end, they have to look for food in the forest. Some students had brought along packages of instant noodles and snacks but they got confiscated by the teachers while boarding the bus. "We should start moving before it gets dark." Hyori leads the team and suggests each of them to bring along a torchlight. With a map in her hand, they begin their hunting in the woods.


"Why don't we just leave her here?" Jimin gathers the other members while Eva scans around the forest. She walks away on her own when she heard rustling from the bushes, she actually thought that they heard it too and were following behind. "That's crazy! This is a forest not some shopping mall!" Hyori almost shouts out at the girl's ridiculous idea. "Yea, she's right. What if she gets lost?" Worry written on Nana's face. "Come on! We're here to have fun." Jimin says as if this is just one of her games, she never thought of the consequences. "I bet she'll find her way back. Let's go." With so much guilt lingering in their hearts, they follow Jimin and leave Eva behind.

Eva stops on her tracks when she realizes that the voices of the other members were no longer can be heard. The sky is already getting dark and she starts to panic, her hands tremble in fear. When she runs back to the spot where they last stayed at, the others are already gone and then she knows that they had ditched her and she's now alone in the forest, full of anonymous and dangerous creatures. Eva heads east with her torch in her hand, flashing on piles of dead leaves and trying to lead herself to a less crowded area. It's more difficult for her to find her way out when everything looks the same, trees standing stall and no marks or signs were left behind, she has no choice but to continue walking to wherever her feet bring her to.

Eva halts her footsteps when a source of light flashes from behind and voices of few men can be heard. She turns around immediately and sees a boy approaching her. "M-Mark..." She nearly throws herself to the boy and squeezes the breath out of him but she holds back the urge to. She feels more than happy to see the sight of him, relieved even. She always feels safe when Mark is around, all her worries fade immediately and she's out of harm's way. This feeling is amazing, both of them held a strong bond but neither of them knows it's more than that. "What are you doing here alone?" He scans her surrounding and fumes in anger when he understood the situation. He suppresses the temper and takes a hold of Eva's hand, making sure that she's right beside him and protected. "Are you okay?" "Did you hurt yourself?" "You must be freezing." He asks with concern and takes off his padded jacket then places it around her shoulders. "We're almost there." He assures. 

"I told you it was a bad idea to leave her in the forest!" Hyori hisses angrily, at the same time trying to lower her voice. The other three members sit on a log, slightly far away from the students. No one knows what has happened, not even the teachers. They thought Eva would be back by now but there's no sign of her arrival and an hour has passed. Hyori and Nana start to grow nervous and shakes in fear. "What if she fell off a cliff? Eaten by wild animals?" "Don't be such ! Trust me, she'll be fine! Let's go get our food now." "But... It's already seven thirty and..." Nana paces back and forth. 

After succeeding the hunt in the forest, students were told to gather at the campsite to mark their attendance, while uncooked food is distributed to each group as a reward. Although some of them did bring back fruits and fish, the event was mainly to build teamwork between the members and discover survival skills through it. That's what the teachers said, and Eva's group surely failed miserably. "One of our members is resting in the tent." Jimin smiles innocently to Mr. Park and he's completely oblivious, letting the matter slides. "Here's what you get, and try figuring out how to cook the bird." He jokes and gives a pat on Nana's shoulder then walks away. 

"Where's Mark?" Jackson asks Jaebum when he returns from the woods. "He told us to leave us and- Oh! There he is." Jaebum points to a pair of couple slowly walking out from the dark. Meanwhile Jimin, Hyori and Nana are sitting around the campfire, grilling their marinated chicken. The two kind hearted girls rush to Eva when they saw a glimpse of the girl surrounded by some boys. They squeeze themselves through and finally stand face to face with her. "I'm so sorry Evianna. We didn't meant to leave you behind, it was all Jimin's idea." "Yeah, we were telling her to snap out of it but she kept on insisting that you'll be fine. Thank God you're okay now." They have the courage to approach her after treating her badly, hug her even while Mark is glaring daggers at the girls. He's furious. "Where were you guys?" Ms. Kim suddenly walks over with Mr. Park, they doubted them at first but softens when they see Eva shivering in cold. "She was left alone in the forest." Mark's answer is short but spiteful, the displease in his tone almost sounds like he's insulting her teammates, roasting and shaming them. "You two must be worn out. Go get some food." The teachers usher in pity. 

In the meantime, Jess has been watching the whole scene. Her face contorts in disgust seeing Eva all weak beside Mark, blowing her fuse when the boy makes a move to hold a grip on her shoulders, she's ticked off by the two being so close together. I was the one that liked him first! Jess thinks selfishly. Her eyes follow them to where they are sitting side by side on camping chairs, while the girl herself is sitting on a dirty log with moss in the inside, to say that her parents sponsored for the whole camping trip. Just the presence of Eva makes her angry. She rises up from her seat, throws away her food into the fire and stomps back to her tent. 


It's already midnight and all of the students are asleep in their tents, but Eva can't put herself in the situation, she tosses and turns all night. Was it the environment she's not used to? Or was it the sleeping bag is not comfortable for her liking? She looks to her sides and both her mates are in deep slumber. What's bothering her but not them? It's rather odd for her to experiment this sleeping disorder. 

Sleep is like a wild rabbit running away from being captured, and she's the hunter, chasing endlessly. She wants to sleep, and she needs to sleep. To the extent she wishes to consume the pink tablet that puts her in ecstasy. If only she has it, she'll already be in dreamland. 

Eva crawls her way to the opening of the tent, making sure she doesn't make a sound that could wake up the girls. She s and finally comes out from the confined space, she realizes suffocation is the one that brings her into insomnia. She heads to the campfire in search for warmth and to her surprise, she sees another victim. 

Mark turns his head when he heard footsteps stepping on the dried leaves. His eyes follow the figure that's approaching, and she takes a seat beside him. Her faint perfume plunging his nostrils and he loves the scent. He's happy to see her, at this time where no one is around, just the two of them and silence worshiping their presence. 

No words were shared between the two. Just the sound of the fire crackling, burning wood making a distinct snap. Mark inches closer to the girl as he mumbles his words. "You okay?" 

Eva stifles a laughter when his voice cracks a little. He must be really worn out from the activities. "I'm always okay." She answers with a assuring smile. It pains Mark a little to see her bright self despite what had happened earlier. She should be sad, disappointed, bitter and hurt about it. He frowns and reaches his arm over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ears. Mark notices the small blush on her face and it pumps his confidence to the highest. "I could've told Mr. Park to put us in the same team." He blames himself for this. It was never his fault and he's not even involved in the first place. "Don't say that." It's that smile again, that sends tingles down his spine. 

Silence falls again and Mark is staring at the girl, engraving her features in his head. His body moves on his own and he's leaning closer. He's charmed. Eva whips her head when she senses the closing gap, her big doe hazel eyes piercing his and it drives the boy crazy. Mark already has one of his arm settling on her waist, leaving a soft touch on her. Mark angles his head and nears his plump lips to hers daringly. It's a green light for him that she's not moving away. Mark pushes himself forward to plant a small peck on her lips. To his luck, the sound of a zipper ping interrupts the moment. He retreats immediately and groans in dismay. They were only a breath away. The two turn their heads to the sound and Eva's breath hitches when she lock eyes with Steph. The sister seemingly catches on the situation and glares at Eva for a second before heading to the bathroom. 

"I-I'm so sorry..." Mark mutters the second after he sees Steph returns to her tent. He has no idea who she was but he senses the tension between the girls. He thinks that he had embarrassed Eva deeply, at the same time he wants to apologize for invading her personal space. He feels even guilty to see her fiddling her fingers with her head hung low. Great! And now she'll never talk to me again.

All the while when Mark was apologizing, Eva was in deep thoughts from what had happened. Blood crept onto her cheeks when she recalled the event over and over. She had to lower her head in order to hide the blush from the boy. She remains silent while enveloping Mark's voice chanting in her ears. Despite his constant stuttering, she finds it adorable. For ten minutes, she has been smiling from ear to ear and no words were spoken to him. But her happiness doesn't last long, her smile fell when she sees Mark scrambles back to his tent without a word. Great! And now he'll never talk to me again.

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Li_Yen #1
Chapter 9: Pls update ASAP!!!
So addicting...
cece_mytlover
#2
Chapter 9: really interesting story :D
Bambam25
#3
Chapter 7: Sooo cool, hope you update soon. ;)))))