CHAPTER 22

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The excitement from the swim relay seemed to linger for the next few days. In the dining hall a big scoreboard had been put up. I could see how proud the members of the swim team were every time they saw our points on the wall, especially Hyuk. He was the youngest member on the team and a first year, so it was amazing that he was able to keep up with the older boys.

That night at dinner he had been showered in praise. All four of the boys were. Baekhyun had made it his mission to let everyone know that even I had cheered for Luhan during the race. There was a loud exclamation of surprise from the table as he revealed the news. I simply shrugged and blamed my action on the infectious excitement.

The next event had been announced at dinner too. It was a tug of war tournament. I thought that sounded fun until I learned that I would be on the team. The team would only be first years. It was a move decided by the counselors to encourage more first years to get involved. Thankfully we had a few days to compose ourselves before the event.

It was Saturday again, and I was looking forward to the weekend, maybe more so than anyone else. All club activities were on hold for the day because we would all be going to the girls’ camp for an activity day. I would get to see Minhee and June again.

After breakfast we boarded buses to our destination across the lake. There was a quiet murmur on the bus. I assumed the boys were nervous to be hanging out with the girls all day.

When I stepped off the bus, I had one goal in mind. I had to find my friends. Minhee spotted me first and came bounding over, pulling June behind her. They both wrapped me in a giant hug. Minseok awkwardly stood beside us the whole time.

I stepped to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. “Girls, this is Minseok. Minseok, these are my friend Minhee and June. They are the ones I told you about.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said politely with a small bow.

“So, I guess we are your official guides for the day,” Minhee said. “We have a bunch of activities planned. The first thing we can do is a craft project. We can take a group of six with us, if there are other friends you want to bring,” she explained.

I scanned the crowd. I could see Taekwoon’s head bobbing up and down. He was looking for me and I knew it. I would be fine without him today. I didn’t need to bring him along. He deserved to have time with his other friends too.

“Hey, Taekwoon,” I said as he approached. “These are my good friends Minhee and June. Ladies, this is Taekwoon.”

They bowed and greeted each other.

“He’s good at keeping secrets,” I said quietly hoping Minseok wouldn’t overhear us.

Both girls looked at me with surprise. I gave them a reassuring nod.

“I’m going to go with Hakyeon and Hongbin,” he said to me quietly.

“Okay, maybe we can meet up later.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll be fine,” I said to him.

“See you later,” he addressed the group before leaving.

“So, just the two of you?” Minhee asked, wanting to get a move on.

I looked at Minseok, deciding whom else to ask along. “Kyungsoo and Baekhyun?”

“And Luhan,” he finished.

I let out a sigh. Things had been better between us lately. I hoped I wouldn’t regret my decision later. “Sure.”

“Wait just a second, and I’ll see if I can find them,” Minseok said to us.

An arm s through mine as he walked away. Minhee hung at my side. “You didn’t tell me you were friends with a God.”

“Control yourself please. I have to go back and live with these boys for another month. And that’s my roommate, so you need to be extra careful.”

“And that other guy knows?” asked June standing on my other side.

“Yeah. I don’t even want to tell you how that happened,” I groaned remembering the situation.

Suddenly, like a scene from a movie, the crowd parted in front of us. Through the middle came Minseok. The other three boys followed behind him. Minhee’s giddy laugh sounded in my ear, and she tugged on my arm.

“They’re gorgeous!”

“Swear to god.” I growled under my breath. “If you don’t get ahold of yourself, I will kill you,” I threatened.

As everyone gathered together, I took it upon myself to do the introductions. I could already see where there was going to be a problem. Baekhyun was making eyes at June and Minhee was feeding off of any attention she got.

I nudged June in the side and shrugged at her, trying to get her to take the lead. We needed to get moving before things got awkward. She caught my meaning and cleared . She told us to follow her out to the craft clubhouse.

When we arrived, June g