CHAPTER 1 — Friendship 

Son Yee looked in the rear view window at her son, Trying her best not cry. Again. This week had been one of the hardest for her because she was taking Yunho to his first sleep away camp for the summer. For 5 weeks, she would be without her only child and she honestly didn’t know if she could handle it. Yunho, on the other hand, was practically bursting with joy. The seven year old seemingly had no reservations about leaving his mother for such a large portion of the summer.

“Do you think I’ll make tons of friends?” Son Yee smiled, momentarily forgetting her sadness.

“Of course! Our Yunho is the greatest. You’ll make more friends than you know what to do with.” She thought of her mother who had convinced her to send Yunho away in the first place. Her sensitive boy was shy and withdrawn so she thought it may be good for him. Reluctantly, Son Yee agreed with her.

“How many weeks will I be gone?” Yunho’s question seemed like a response to Son Yee’s thoughts. She gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, her nerves getting worse as they got closer to the camp.

“Um, it’ll be 5 weeks. Do you know how many days that is.” 35 she answered in her head.

“35!” Son Yee glanced at Yunho again before focusing on the road again. How did he know that?

“Y-yeah, that’s right.” She stuttered. The exit to the camp was only a half a mile away now. She sighed and started practicing her not-gonna-cry face. When they were finally pulling in behind the line of cars where kids were being dropped off, she knew that there was no amount of practice that was going to prepare her for this. Yunho grabbed his backpack and held it close to his chest. For the first time in weeks, he looked hesistant. Son Yee turned in her seat and looked at him. She placed a comforting hand on his tiny knee.

“What if the other kids don’t like me? What if I wanna come home?” Son Yee smiled.

“You don’t have to worry about them not liking you. You’re so full of light that it’s going to be hard for them to ignore you.” She rubbed his knee. “And the second you feel like you wanna come home, tell the camp counselor and I’ll  come get you.” Yunho stared at her for a long moment, still looking unsure. He finally took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay. I love you.” She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I love you too.” With that, Yunho’s infectious smile returned and he unbuckled his seat belt.

“Let’s go!” He opened the car door and hopped out. Reluctantly, Son Yee followed. She walked around to the trunk to grab Yunho’s suitcase that was probably overpacked for 5 weeks. But she couldn’t help herself and the last thing she wanted was for him to need something and not have it.

Camp counselors were gathered around, greeting kids and their parents with overly excited faces. Some parents were practically running back to their cars after handing off their children. Other’s weren’t handling it quite as well and were clutching their kids for dear life. One father was even being consoled by a counselor. Suddenly Son Yee didn’t feel too bad about her own overwhelming feelings about sending Yunho away. She looked down at Yunho who’s eyes were sparkling as he soaked in his surroundings. His genuine excitement calmed her nerves a little more. She bent over and brought his hand up to her lips. Pressing a kiss to it, she smiled.

“Well, are you ready?” He nodded, but his face was serious. He gestured for her to come down to his level. Son Yee squatted down so that she could look him in the eyes.

“Don’t forget to water the plants and feed Hoo Gun. Also don’t forget to eat after work.” Feeling emotional all over again, Son Yee grabbed Yunho and held him against her in a tight embrace.

“I won’t forget. But thank you for being such a big boy and reminding me.” Yunho smiled wide and touched his moms face.

“See you soon.” Son Yee nodded, feeling more confident about leaving behind her son than she had since he purposed the idea of camp.

“See you soon.” She gave him one last squeeze and headed back to the car. She watched as a camp counselor came over and took his hand as she talked energetically to Yunho who nodded quickly. As she drove away, she took a second to remember her late husband who passed away when Yunho was only 5 months old. He hadn’t got a chance to see how insightful and smart their son was becoming. But she knew he was watching, and that was good enough for her.

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“And this is your cabin! You’ll be sharing with 3 other boys.” Yunho nodded as he took in the big roomed filled with 2 bunk beds and two huge closets. He eyed the bottom bunk near the window, hoping no one claimed because he hated heights.