"God, it's hot out here." Nayeon mutters, barely audible.

She shifts her weight from one leg to the other, one hand on her hip and the other above her face, shielding her eyes from the blazing sun. Free strands of dark hair cling to her neck. 

"I'm glad to see so many familiar faces, as well as a few new ones." The voice belongs to Jihyo Park. She stands atop a podium speaking enthusiastically into a megaphone. Nayeon knew her well. She had been the camp's assistant director for the last 3 years. She was the perfect fit for the position. Stern when necessary, yet loving like a mother. Beside her stood Jaebum, another familiar face. He was a lead instructor the year before. 

"For those of you who have been instructors before at The Fine Arts Summer Academy, you'll notice we are missing one lead instructor. Miss Joohyun won't be joining us this year, unfortunately, but we have someone new who will be arriving tomorrow with the campers. For those of you that are new, welcome. All of the instructors, and lead instructors arrive a day before the campers. This gives us a chance to get to know each other and get used to the flow of the camp."

Nayeon fans herself as Jihyo goes on for what seems like an eternity. It's the same speech every year. Welcome to the camp, let's have a great sumer a bad joke or two, Nayeon could recite it herself if she had the mind to. She was ready for things to get started. This past semester was one of the worst she ever had. She failed a class that could potentially postpone her graduation and broke up with her girlfriend of two years. That, by far was the worst part for her. This wasn't just any girl. She was the girl, after much apprehension, she introduced to her parents who were less than welcoming. The girl she could see herself having a family with. She was The One. And although this summer wouldn't make her forget that, she sure as hell hoped it would help.

"Does anyone have any questions?" There is silence across the crowd. If there were any questions, they could wait until they were somewhere with air conditioning. "Alright! In a moment, we'll assign dorms and everyone can grab their bags."

"Thank God" Nayeon says aloud. The comment intended for herself, but loud enough to hear. A girl snickers from her left. She turns to see the culprit and had to catch her breath. She was not prepared to see someone so strikingly beautiful. Dressed in a white tank top, that showed a bit of her midriff revealing perfectly toned abs and a pair of denim shorts. She had a body that would cause anyone to look twice. She gave Nayeon a breif smile before looking away, raking her fingers through her hair to reveal a sharp jawline. Gorgeous would only scratch the surface when describing this girl. Shew must be new, because Nayeon would have definitely noticed her before. Nayeon had to force herself to look away.  She was completely and utterlly captivated. Jihyo finally ended her welcoming speech and began calling names for their dorm assignments. It's important that she listen for her potential dorm mate, but her eyes can't help but wonder back to this girl. 

When the last name is called, the instructors are dismissed to retrieve their bags, find their dorms and get to know the person sleeping next to them for the next few weeks. Desperate to get out of the dreadful heat, they waste no time. Naeyon turns to her left to see the girl has already left. She locates her in the crowd of people, some hugging and catching up, others making their way back to the buses that carried them in. She has to sort of jog to catch up with her, but she is determined to say something. 

"Hey." She calls out, startling the girl. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you." she says chuckling. "You must be new. I'm Nayeon." She extends her hand for the girl to shake it. 

"I'm Momo." She responds, giving her a firm hand shake. "And yeah, a friend of mine worked here the last two years. She reccommended it, so I decided to give it a try."

"Oh, nice. I've been teaching here for three years. I think you'll really enjoy it. All the kids are super sweet." There's a beat of silence as they approach the first bus, the one Nayeon arrived on. There's already a line of people waiting to get their luggage. 

"So what are you gonna be teaching?" Nayeon says, trying to prompt the conversation further.

"Dance."

"Oh wow. I'll have to see you dance sometime." Momo laughs nervously. The line inches forward and the sound of bugs and muted conversations fill the air. Nayeon wonders if her comment came on a bit too strong due to Momo's reaction. She allows herself to steal another glance at the beautiful woman beside her. It was hard not to stare. Momo turns to meet her gaze causing her to look away flustered. 

"How about you, Nayeon?"

Oh, I d-do singing. I mean vocals. I'm a vocal coach." Real ing smooth, she thinks. Was she actually getting nervous talking to Momo? It's a feeling she hasn't felt for a long time. Awkward as it may be, she welcomes it. 

"That's cool. I'll have to hear you sing." Momo gives her a flirty smile. Naeyon feels the heat rising on her cheeks and does her best to conceal it. It's a poor attempt, but she hopes that Momo wouldn't notice. "Yeah, absolutely." she says, trying her best to sound nonchalant. Lucky for her, the line moved rather quickly. She tugs at the suitcase from it's space in the compartment on the bus. She's cursing herself for packing so much as she struggles to free it. This is defintely not the impression she was hoping to make. Thankfully, there was a guy standing near her and helped her pull it out. She thanked him and she and Momo headed to the bus on which Momo arrived. After everyone had their belongings it was time for them to meet their dormmates. 

Nayeon would be rooming with Sana Minatozaki. There was usually three to a dorm, so Nayeon was happy she'd only have to share with one person this summer.  She remembered Sana from last year. She taught Japanese and crafting, if Nayeon recalled correctly. She was a sweet bubbly girl who was affectionate with everyone. They weren't overly close last year, so this would give her a chance to get to know her better. 

Nayeon entered the room to see Sana sitting on the bed on the right side of the room. She was tinkering with a lamp that sat on the small bedside table. The other bed sat perpendicular on the oposite wall. It was safe to say that Sana had claimed the one on the right already, so Nayeon sat her duffle bag on the bed and rolled the suitcase near the wall. Sana, still very preoccupied with the lamp, must not have noticed Nayeon come in. 

"Hey, Sana." Nayeon waves at her cheerfully.

"Nayeonie!" Sana rushes up giving embracing Nayeon tightly. You would think they were life-long friends who hadn't seen each other in ages. "How have you been?" She lets go, looking over Nayeon happily.

"Ah, it's been a rough year to be honest, but I'm doing well." 

"Well," Sana returns to her bed sitting down, patting the space next to her for Nayeon to sit down. Nayeon obliges without much hesitation. "You can tell me all about it."

"It's a long story, trust me."

Sana checks her phone. "Well, we have about an hour to 'get to know each other', so I'm all ears."

She was right. It would probably be more awkward to just sit in silence until it was time for them to regroup with the rest of the instructors. 

"The year started off great. Everything was going according to plan. My classes were perfect. My girlfriend had just met my family for the first time over the break. It went okay. My family was less than thrilled about me bringing a woman home, but it was a big step in our relationship I think. Maybe too big because shortly after that she broke up with me."

"Oh my God, that's terrible!"

"I know. We were together for over two years. We did everything together. We talked about our future together. I really felt like she was the only one for me, you know. I just-" 

Nayeon stops talking. She can feel the tears catch in . Sana rubs her back. "It was her mistake, then." Nayeon smiles placing her hand on Sana's thigh. 

"Thanks, Sana."

It was a little odd to talk about all of her struggles through the year to someone who was basically a stranger, but it felt nice to let it all out. Sana listened to every word intently. She told her all about the aftermath of their break-up, the fight with her parents and every other awful thing that happened over the course of that year. Sana shared parts of her year as well. Her failed relationships, troubles at work and school and her homesickness. Though it was only an hour, she felt significantly closer to her already. Before long, it was time for them to regroup with the rest of the instructors. 

As they walked to the dining hall, they ran into a couple of people they knew from the previous years at the camp. Up ahead, Sana saw Mina walking arm and arm with Momo. That nervous feeling returned to Nayeon. How could someone she just met make her feel so scared and excited all at once. She tried her best to shake the feeling off as Sana ran up to meet them.

"Momo, I can't believe you actually came!" she squealed in excitement, locking her in a tight embrace. They hugged like they hadn't seen each other in years, which was true. Sana had left Japan along with Mina to study abroad. Momo always said she would join them, but things would always come up when the opportunity arose. They all kept in touch calling and video chatting constantly, but this was the first time they'd seen each other in person since then. Sana hugged Mina as well and they began chatting. Nayeon felt it might be rude to interupt them, so she hesitated. 

"Oh, Nayeon!" Sana called back to her, waving her to join them "This is my best friend, Momo and I'm sure you remember Mina." she said as she approached. 

"We met earlier, actually." Momo said looking over to Nayeon. Nayeon smiled at them both, unsure of what to say. She did remember Mina. How could she not? She was almost infamous at the camp, being the elegant beauty she was. 

They all walked together to the dining hall. Mina, Momo and Sana talked amongst each other for the most part, so Nayeon didn't have to say much. It was for the best as she found herself unable to even think around Momo let alone carry out a conversation. Upon entering the dining hall, they were blasted with cool, refreshing air. It was a welcome contrast to the blazing heat outside. It was a large cabin-like hall. Long tables with benches attatched sat in the middle of the room. In the back of the room was a small stage with several chairs arranged in rows in front of it. Everyone took a seat and talked amongst themselves until Jihyo stood on the stage. 

"I hope everyone has had a chance to get acquainted." she started. "Were going to give everyone a brief summary of the scheduling for the classes, and how everything will be carried out. Everyone will get a list of the kids who will be attending their classes, then we will serve lunch. Please use the information we give you today to plan out your lessons and have them prepared by tomorrow. The campers will arrive bright and early. Also welcome our new volunteers. They will be the ones handing out the schedules for tomorrow"

Every year, there were volunteer instructors. They would assist the regular instructors in their classes and other tasks. The volunteers were usually teenagers who had attended the camp when they were kids. There was one that Nayeon recognized: Somi. She was a camper in her singing class the first year she worked there. She found it funny just how much a person could change in three years. This girl looked nothing like the eager chubby faced girl she remembered. She had really grown up. After everyone recieved theur schedules and things, they were dismissed to have lunch. The rest of the day was consumed with planning and everyone getting to know their fellow instructors. Nayeon met with the other vocal instructors: Wendy, Sungjin and Jinyoung. They talked for a while and coordinated how they would run their respective classes. She didn't see much of the others for the rest of that day as they all had different jobs within the camp. As the sun began to set, everyone returned to their dorms.