When I woke up, we were just landing in the Charles de Gaulle airport around noon.  The view of the airport outside the plane windows was less than spectacular; still, I heard Yoohyeon suddenly wide awake, struggling to lean over Dami to look out their window behind us.  Handong was still asleep even as the flight attendants announced it was time to get off the plane, and I wondered just how tired she was.

            “Dongie,” I whispered, nudging her arm lightly.  “It’s time to-”

            “You guys, we’re in Paris!” Yoohyeon shouted, causing Handong to jolt awake.  An older Frenchman, startled and annoyed by Yoohyeon’s sudden stop in the walkway, shoved by her and gave her a dirty glance before rushing off.  Yoohyeon bowed apologetically before shifting her worried eyes into an angry glare.

            “Don’t take it personally, Yoohyeon,” I assured with a grin.  “Everyone is busy, just trying to get where they’re going.”

            Her angry appearance shifted again into the expression of an upset, helpless child.  She grumbled in frustration and slumped down the walkway towards the exit.  Following behind her, Dami gave a sigh and put her hands on Yoohyeon’s shoulders.

            “Can someone carry my luggage?” Gahyeon requested suddenly from her seat in front of us.  She had turned her body around in the chair and poked her head up from the headrest.  Her usual bright smile was a slightly slanted frown, and her tired eyes were red and watery.

            “Gahyeon, did you not sleep well?” I asked urgently.

            “I kept going in and out,” Gahyeon sighed.

            “How about we all carry our own luggage and then have crepes for lunch,” Siyeon suggested, getting up from her seat.

            A light flickered in Gahyeon’s eyes.  “Crepes?”

            “Don’t get too excited,” I warned, patting Gahyeon’s head.  “We’ll probably drop our luggage off first and get settled before we get lunch.”

            And I was correct.  As soon as we got off the plane and took our luggage, we all gathered outside the airport to wait for a bus that would take us to our living quarters.  When details were finalized for the trip, we were told that the male and female students would stay separately in their own rented houses for the duration of the summer.  The pictures they sent made them seem like beautiful mansions in the middle of a luscious forest, and as the bus brought us closer and closer to them, I imaged that was exactly what they were.

            “Je...Je t’aime,” Yoohyeon murmured to herself next to me on the bus.  After her tantrum on the plane, she invested herself deeply into her “French for Dummies.”  She hadn’t stopped repeating French phrases to herself since we boarded the bus, and I was beginning to truly feel like I was in France.

            “Hey, Yoohyeon, you’re sounding pretty good,” Siyeon commented, looking over Siyeon’s seat from behind.  “What does that mean?  Je t’aime?”

            “It means…”  Yoohyeon squinted her eyes and bowed her head shyly.

            “Huh?  I couldn’t hear you,” Siyeon smirked, attempting to peek around Yoohyeon’s head at the book.  “What does it mean?”

            “It means…I love you,” Yoohyeon finally admitted, closing her book and looking out the window.

            “I love you?” Siyeon snickered, flopping back into her seat.  “Do you really think we’ll ever be in a situation to say that on this trip?”

            “Maybe you won’t, Lee Siyeon,” Yoohyeon insisted with a glare.  “But someone like me should be prepared.”

            Siyeon gasped and leaned forward in her chair again.  “Hey, Kiwon,” she suddenly called.  She reached over and tapped a handsome male student on the arm and pointed at Yoohyeon.  “You studied French the past two years, right?  Yoohyeon just learned a phrase she wants to show you.”

            Yoohyeon quickly lost her smug expression as the athletic and personable Kim Kiwon, a Junior admired by many of the female students, gave her a bright and expecting smile.  “Are you studying French, Yoohyeon?  Go ahead and tell me the phrase; I can help you with your pronunciation if you’re a little shaky.”

            “I…”  The flustered Yoohyeon looked down at her book with wide eyes as if it might have an answer for her.  I stared at her in amusement and resisted the powerful urge to laugh. 

            “Je t’aime,” I blurted suddenly, poking my head out from behind Yoohyeon.  “It’s je t’aime.  Do you know that phrase, Kiwon?”

            Kim Kiwon was certainly a high-ranking student and the love interest of many students, but he was still a Junior, and he had a huge crush on me.  Within seconds, his cheeks glowed bright pink and his attention was diverted from Yoohyeon.  He looked down at his fiddling thumbs and gave a shaky laugh.

            “Je t’aime…That means I love you,” he said quietly.  “Um…Good job, Yoohyeon.  Study hard and keep improving.”

            “Wow, you’re so powerful, Jiu,” I heard Gahyeon’s voice say from in front of us.  Her and Handong peeked over their seats at us and giggled.  “The boys worship you.”

            “Worship?” I cackled.  “That might be…a slight exaggeration.”

            “You ruined the fun, Jiu,” Dami sighed from next to Siyeon.  “I wanted to see how Yoohyeon was going to get out of that one.”

            Yoohyeon turned around in her seat and gazed at Siyeon and Dami with fierce eyes.  “Some time on this trip you guys are going to ask me to order you a croissant in French, and you’re going to end up with escargot instead.”

            “Oh, I’ve heard that’s really good, actually,” Siyeon responded excitedly.  “I’m hoping to try it as soon as possible.”

            “Do you think it’s anything like golbaengi?” Dami asked.  “If it’s the way my mom makes it, it could be pretty delicious.”

            A defeat Yoohyeon turned back around in her seat and gave her classic whine.  She leaned on my shoulder and began to fiddle with the fingers on my right hand as Siyeon and Dami chuckled behind us.  Even I couldn’t hold back a laugh, and I apologetically pushed Yoohyeon’s messy bangs out of her eyes and patted her on the head gently.

            “I’m sure that phrase will be useful to you, Yoohyeon,” I whispered.  “You should be able to recognize it if a cute French boy stops you on the street to say it to you.”

            “That’s what I was thinking,” she replied absentmindedly, entirely focused on the bracelet I was wearing now.  “Thanks for saving me back there.”

            “Honestly, you missed an opportunity,” I grinned.  “I think you could have wooed Kim Kiwon quite quickly with your French.”

            “No…”

            “No?”

            “I mean…”  She snapped out of her trance-like state and looked at me with determination.  “Of course I could.  I could.”

            The rest of the bus ride continued like that; taking jabs at one another until we finally broke down into breathless laughter.  As we talked and laughed, I barely noticed the cute city of Paris turn into the lush green forest alongside the dirt rode on which we drove.  The ancient trees appearance consumed with ivy, and they grew so high, creating a deep darkness inside only a few feet from the road.  Even so, pretty beams of sunlight could be seen flickering in between some trees, and I felt them drawing me in like diamonds buried in a mine.

            After a few minutes, we reached a rather large clearing where our aged mansion resided in a fenced area.  It was huge, with two large wings on each side.  Windows appeared every few feet on the weathered grey walls, and great red brick chimneys rose up from the dark blue roof.  The lawn all along the house was beautiful and bright green in the sunlight.  I felt my heart give a deep thump before beating normally again.

            “This is where we’re staying?” Yoohyeon questioned, leaning over me to peer out the window. 

            “It’s…incredible,” Handong muttered.  “Just…incredible.”

            “It’s so big,” Siyeon noted anxiously.  “Are we really staying here all by ourselves?”

            The bus pulled up as close as possible to the front door, and all three of the professors ordered everyone off the bus.  “Boys, please carry the girls’ luggage in for them.  Leave it all at the top of the stairs in the left wing.  Please be careful not to damage anything in the house.”

            As the boys began carrying the luggage in, Professor Oh nervously called me and the rest of the girls over.  “Okay, Jiu, as the oldest one here, you’re in charge.”  He handed me a clipboard with our names on it.  “You have access only to the left wing and you can only use the first three rooms at the top of the stairs.  Let’s head inside and figure out where everything is.”

            As we entered the mansion, we were bombarded with the chestnut antique furniture, the archaic beige walls, and the deep red curtains that seemed to send us back into a time we neither remembered nor related to.  As the light peered in through the old windows onto the old paintings on the walls, the aged globe on the parlor table, and the pretty ceramic vases in the entry hall, I felt like I was breathing air from a different planet.

            “As you can see, the doors to the right wing are closed and locked,” Professor Oh explained, pointing to the large double doors with a haunting ash grey color.  “It should be the same upstairs as well.  We’ll use that wing to teach classes, but that’s all.  Please don’t enter that wing if a professor is not here.  Let’s see the dining room.  Lee Gahyeon!”

            Before we could move on, the rest of the girls had dispersed upstairs and down the long halls of the mansion.  I didn’t blame Professor Oh for his worry; Gahyeon’s mischievous laughter made it seem like the smashing of a vase or the falling of a lamp was to immediately follow.

            “It’s okay, Professor.  I’m sure they’ll behave themselves,” I attempted to assure.

            The professor wiped his brow and nodded his head nervously.  “Alright.  Let’s go to the dining room.”

            The dining room seemed quite small for the actual size of the mansion, and I imagined it was reserved for the help rather than guests of the manor.  It had fewer windows, all of which were small and covered with thick flowery curtains.  The large dining table which took up most of the room was covered by a rough baby blue tablecloth.  Dark wooden chairs surrounded it, and they looked so old I felt like they would all give a booming creak if simply touched.  But even with all the intriguing furniture and décor, the most captivating piece of the room was the painting of a lone tree bearing the autumn wind in a low valley of wheat.

            “The kitchen is right through here,” Professor Oh explained, looking through the door across from the one we entered.  “I know everything looks ancient, but there’s a refrigerator, and they assured me the stove and oven work fine.”

            “That sounds fine,” I smiled, peering out the window to see Gahyeon and Dami exploring the spacious backyard.  They stopped at a large, shady tree and examined it carefully to find a way up.  I checked the window quickly and found the way to open it.  “Hey, you guys be careful!”

            “Okay, Dad!” Gahyeon shouted happily.  “Let’s go into the woods, Dami.  I want to explore!”

            “Don’t go too far!” I called as I helplessly watched them head towards the nearby woods.

            “Don’t worry, they’ll eventually run into the property fence if they go that way,” the professor assured me with a grin.  “They should still be careful.  Keep an eye on them, Jiu.”

            Even as they slipped out of my view into the trees, I nodded with determination.  “I will.”

            “The rest of us will be staying in a smaller house not too far from here,” he continued.  “You just go down the dirt road in front a little while, clear path will show up on your left.  If you ever need anything, feel free to come visit.  Obviously we don’t have any other way of communicating out here.”

            “Sounds good, Professor.  You all should hurry off and get situated.”

            “You’re right.”  He took a deep breath and wiped his brow again.  “In about an hour, we’ll come back to pick you girls up.  We’ll all go into the city to have lunch and go grocery shopping.  I’ll be giving you all some money for whatever food you want to buy.  But the money is limited, so I hope you’ll all collaborate to shop responsibly.”

            “I’ll make sure we do,” I promised, my eyes wandering out the window to spot Dami and Gahyeon. 

            “And you’re free to spend any of your own money on whatever you’d like.  We should be spending the rest of the afternoon out there and be back by dinner time.  You girls go ahead and unpack, and we’ll see you in an hour.”

            As the professor wandered out of the house, I quickly searched for the door to the back lawn.  Stopping at the edge of the tall trees, I peered through the forest to find my kids.

            “Dami!  Gahyeon!  …We need to unpack!”

            “Jiu!”

            My heart skipped a beat as Dami called my name, mostly because she was never one to sound so urgent or distressed before.  I spotted her and Gahyeon dodging through the trees towards me, and the downhearted look on Gahyeon’s face made me even more nervous.

            “What’s wrong, Dami?”

            “I’m pretty sure we found a bee hive out there,” Dami explained breathlessly.  “Yoohyeon should be careful and make sure to have her EpiPen with her at all times.”

            “Ah, a good idea.  Let’s go find her right away.  What’s wrong, Gahyeon?”

            “I’m just so tired,” Gahyeon sighed, wrapping her arms around mine as we walked back to the house.

            “Well, we have an hour before we go into the city.  Let’s unpack and maybe there will be time for a little nap.”

            Just as we entered, Yoohyeon was rushing downstairs with Handong.  They were both laughing like children, and Yoohyeon, still in her school uniform, really looked like a young student playing carelessly in her own mansion.  Just before they could run outside, I grabbed Yoohyeon’s hand.

            “Yoohyeon, do you have your EpiPen on you?”

            She patted her small brown satchel and grinned.  “Of course.”

            “Dami and Gahyeon found a beehive in the forest behind the mansion,” I informed after giving a sigh of relief.  “You have to be careful.  And did you two unpack?”

            “I don’t even know rooms we’re assigned to,” Yoohyeon admitted curiously.

            “I want to room with Siyeon!” Gahyeon exclaimed suddenly, looking upstairs.  “Is she up there?  We’re going to pick the best room.”

            As Gahyeon ran upstairs to find Siyeon, I looked down at the clipboard the professor gave me.  “Before you guys go out, we have to unpack.  Everyone is coming back in an hour to go into the town for groceries.”

            “I just want to play,” Yoohyeon grumbled as she started to stomp up the stairs, followed quickly by Dami.

            I took Handong’s hand as my eyes scanned the list carefully.  “There are seven of us, so I’m guessing one of the room has three beds…Wait…They forgot to put Sua’s name on here.”

            “Really?”  Handong checked the list with me with a confused expression on her face.  “How could they forget Sua?”

            “I’m sure they didn’t forget her,” I chuckled anxiously.  “I’m sure it’s just that they forgot to put her name on the list.  That would be a really big screw up if they forgot a whole student.”

            “Should we check out the rooms?” Handong suggested.  “Do you want to room with me?”

            “Of course.”  We smiled brightly as we headed up the stairs.  “I’m guessing Yoohyeon and Dami will be rooming together.  It will probably be you, me, and Sua in the room with three beds.”

            We peered into the first room on the left at the top of the stairs.  Siyeon had already begun unpacking her own luggage, and her attempts to guide Gahyeon to unpack her own were not so successful.  The room was quite beige, yet made brilliant by the sunlight spilling in.  Little specks of dust could be seen in the sunbeams across the room, making the aura seem mysterious and even supernatural.  There was a rather unflattering forest green wallpaper all around the room, but it could be ignored in the midst of the rest of the room’s magic.

            Gahyeon was lying on one of the two beds closest to the door.  Her eyes were closed and was hanging open.  As Siyeon rummaged through her luggage and made quiet noises every so often, Gahyeon gave out discontent groans.  Siyeon made eye contact with me before looking at Gahyeon and shrugging.  When Handong started giggling at Gahyeon’s babyish behavior, I ushered us both out.

            I expected the same scene in the second room, but Yoohyeon and Dami were both unpacking diligently.  It seemed Yoohyeon was eager to get out of her uniform, and that was a good enough incentive to make her work.  Their room was exactly like the first, yet their wallpaper was simply a deep red with no pattern.

            “I’m serious about your EpiPen,” Dami muttered suddenly, still focused on her luggage.  “We’re not even in the city, we’re in a forest.  Even away from that beehive, there will be bees all around.  Don’t lose it.”

            “I won’t lose it,” Yoohyeon snapped like a child attempting to be an adult.

            “Sure you won’t,” Dami snickered, tossing a hat at her.

            “Lee Dami,” Yoohyeon growled as the hat hit her head and fell to the floor.  “You’d better sleep with one eye open.”

            “Hey, let’s all make it out of this house alive,” I pleaded playfully.  “Come on, Dongie.  We’d better leave before this gets violent.”

            Taking a few steps down the hall, we finally opened the door to our room.  As expected, it look exactly like the other two, but with wallpaper the color of a cold, dark ocean.  The whole room seemed darker and more serene, and I fell in love with it immediately.  I noticed my luggage next to Handong’s in the middle of the room, and peeked over to see her blushing cheeks.

            “I didn’t want to assume we would room together, but I brought your luggage in just in case,” Handong explained bashfully. 

            “You’re cute, Dongie,” I grinned, petting her head.  But suddenly I was distracted by the room.  There were only two beds.  Perhaps in vain, I walked around the room and opened the closet door as if I might find an extra bed somewhere else.

            “There are only two beds in each room,” Handong noted, observing my distress.  “Why aren’t there enough for us?”

            “I have no idea…This is sort of negligent.”  I looked around the room in frustration.  “I’ll have to talk to Professor Oh.  Even if one of us is expected to sleep on the floor, do we at least have an extra mattress or something?”

            “I can sleep on one of the sofas downstairs,” Handong suggested with a weak smile.

            I shook my head stubbornly.  “No way.  If anyone has to sleep downstairs, I’ll do it.  But I’ll figure it out with Professor Oh before we start discussing that.  Do you mind if I unpack after we get back, Dongie?”

            “Not at all,” Handong assured.  “What’s wrong?”

            “I want to make sure Gahyeon is okay.  Remember we’re leaving in an hour.”

            “I’ll be ready!”

            As Handong began unpacking her things, I sneaked over to Siyeon and Gahyeon’s room and peeked my head inside.  Even with her eyes still closed, Gahyeon gave an angry sigh every time Siyeon opened a dresser drawer.  I tip-toed over to the sleepy baby and leaned over her.

            “Gahyeonnie,” I whispered, drawing my thumb gently over her cheek.  “Are you awake.”

            She slowly opened her glistening red eyes, and I exhaustion in her face was almost shocking.  As she started to rub her eyes like a tired child, I sat on the bed next to her and lifted her up.

            “You need a proper nap, Gahyeon, or else you can’t go in to town with us,” I warned, propping her tired body up.  “Let’s try lying under a tree outside.  I think it will be peaceful, and the fresh air will be better for you.”

            “I just want to sleep forever,” Gahyeon sighed as she let me lift her up out of the bed.

            We walked slowly down the stairs and out into the front yard of the mansion.  The fields of grass were a golden green under the fantastic sunlight.  I took Gahyeon’s hand and led us through the grass towards the edge of the forest.  The shadow of a great looming oak tree reached over a great portion of grass, and we decided to stop and lie in its cool shelter.

            “Siyeon was making so much noise unpacking,” Gahyeon sighed, staring up at the tree’s old branches with her tired eyes.

            “Well, you were technically supposed to be unpacking too,” I reminded with a laugh.  “But you barely slept on the plane, Gahyeon.  You should take this time to rest.”

            “Maybe I can get some sleep here…”

            I watched her carefully and saw her eyes wouldn’t close.  The only peered at the oak’s leaves as the fluttered lazily in the wind.  Her breathing was slow and tranquil, but I felt some thoughts spilling out of her mind.

            “What are you thinking about, Gahyeon?”

            “Um, just…”  She rubbed her eyes again and took a deep breath.  “I guess I never really thought about you guys graduating before.”

            “You’re thinking about that too?” I questioned helplessly. 

            She seemed quite unbothered, yet full of thoughts.  After giving a long yawn, she looked over at me with her carefree smile.  “I’m not really thinking of it actually.  Every time I do, it just doesn’t seem like we’ll ever be apart.  I just can’t imagine anything ever changing.”

            “I wish we could all think like you, Gahyeon.”

            “I guess…If I think realistically, since I’m the only Freshman, all of you will graduate before I do,” Gahyeon began slowly.  “I know it’s sad, but I don’t feel sad.  I just can’t feel it yet.  I think, somehow, we’ll be together forever.”

            She was so young; not just in age, but also in heart.  As her hopeful eyes looked back up at the leaves, I began to envy the peace and freedom she felt.  Her entire being was in the here and now, while the rest of us seemed to have at least a portion of ourselves living in the terrifying future. 

            Her glittering eyes finally closed, and her bright smile shifted into a droopy open mouth.  She was finally falling asleep, and somehow her sleepiness was passing onto me.  The grass beneath us was so soft and thick; it felt like a pillow beneath my head.  The warm wind was like a flowing blanket over my skin, and the temperature felt perfect.  Even with all the responsibilities and worries in my mind, I could feel myself drifting closer and closer to sleep.

            “Jiu.”

            I opened my eyes at the sound of Sua’s excited whisper.  Her upside down face was just above mine, and her contagious smile spread to me quickly.

            “Sua, you’ve arrived,” I announced sluggishly, my eyes still squinted and exhausted.  “When did you get here?”

            “Just a few minutes ago,” she said quietly.  She looked over at the sleeping Gahyeon and pushed the hair out of her face.  “Did you guys get in alright?”  

            “Yeah, everyone else is unpacking.  Sua, there are actually only six beds.”

            “I noticed,” she frowned.  “But don’t worry, I’ll just use one of the other rooms.”

            “Professor Oh said we could only use the first three-”

            “I already talked to him about it, actually,” she explained, suddenly giving me a slow head massage.  “It’s all settled, so don’t worry.  Also, Jiu?”

            My head was tingling from her massage and I felt it was going to quickly send me to sleep again.  “Yes?”

            “I’m on a special diet these days.  Professor Oh already gave me my grocery money, and I went ahead and bought my food before coming to the mansion.”

            “Special diet?”  I grabbed her hands and looked up at her anxiously.  “What do you mean special diet?  Are you eating okay?”

            “It’s a high protein diet,” she assured quickly with a giggle.  “I have a dance competition as soon as we get back, so I want to be ready for it.”

            “Hmm, okay.  If you need any food though, please let us know.  Will you still be coming with us into the city for groceries then?”

            “Not today.  I’ll stay home and try to tidy things up in the mansion.  I’ll be fine.”

            My eyes were getting tired again, and my willpower just couldn’t keep them open.  “Handong had a dream about you.  I think this summer is going to be okay.”

            “I’m sure it will.”

            “Jiu!”

            I opened my eyes again, and Sua was gone.  I looked to my right, and Gahyeon was still asleep and more spread out across the grass as if she’d been sleeping for a long time.  My head still felt like it was tingling from Sua’s massage as I sat up and saw Yoohyeon running towards us from the mansion.  I spotted the bus parked outside behind her and my heart skipped a beat.

            “Everyone is ready to go, Jiu!” Yoohyeon called frantically.  “Come on!  Hurry!”

            I noticed the tree’s shadow had become even longer across the grass, but I couldn’t believe the hour had somehow passed after I had fallen asleep.  I nudged Gahyeon and shook her hand.

            “Gahyeon, it’s time to go!”

            When she opened her eyes this time, she seemed far more rested and refreshed than before, but it was clear she still craved a few more hours of sleep.  She gave a long sigh and sat up with me.

            “I just want to sleep,” she groaned.

            “You’ll have plenty of time to sleep,” I promised enthusiastically.  “Don’t even worry about a thing.  Our vacation has only just begun.”