Mina huffed as the oppressive summer heat began to take its toll on her. She didn’t have to look at herself to know her plain white t-shirt was, unfortunately, absolutely drenched in sweat.

As if it couldn’t get worse, Tzuyu and Dahyun had also decided to go missing halfway through their little plan, along with the rest of the group who the three had diverged from.

This was why she didn’t interact with nature.

Mina could’ve been living it up back at home right now. She could’ve been chilling in her air conditioned apartment, playing PUBG in the comfort of her home. But no, instead she’d decided to go along with her friends’ ridiculous plan to go camping. It wasn’t like she had any choice anyways, after she’d immediately refused their oh-so kind invitation, she was met with a chorus of whines and pleas.

‘It’ll be an amazing experience Mina!’ and ‘You always spend your time indoors Mina!’. She had to admit that they were right though, she never got enough fresh air and her mum was always calling to make sure got enough daylight on her day offs. So she had foolishly thought that maybe, maybe this was a good idea.

It wasn’t.

She looked down at the map and compass in her hands. Mina didn’t know why she even bothered looking when she didn’t have a clue as to how to read maps. Looking up again she was met with the same expanse of greenery she so desperately wanted to escape.

“Have I seen those trees before?” She spoke aloud to herself whilst squinting at the bark of a oak tree. Mina wondered if she had already lost her mind.

The gang of friends had decided to set off for a walk along the hiking trail in the forest. Tzuyu and Dahyun had convinced Mina to separate from the rest of the group so she could assist them in pulling a prank on the older girls, which answered her silent queries as to why their backpacks looked massive in comparison to everyone else’s. No doubt Jihyo would be fuming when she discovers that they’re missing later on, but according to Dahyun it would be ‘totally worth it’ for the ‘epic reaction’.

She didn’t know why she trusted those two.

Out of all the girls Mina was the most directionally challenged. She wasn’t sure she had an internal compass of sorts. Hell, even Sana seemed to have an okay idea of navigating in the depth of the woods.

Mina continued trudging through the leafy floor of the terrain. She felt like she’d been walking for hours but a quick glance at her watch tells her it’s only been about twenty minutes or so since she last saw her friends. She didn’t have a tendency to be dramatic, but this new terrain was pushing her to her limits.

Mina noticed that she was getting short of breath quicker now, her steps slowing down as her legs had to put more force onto the ground to keep her upright. She surveyed her surroundings, it was getting steeper. Following her instincts Mina continued her ascent up the precipitous landscape, hoping it would lead to somewhere or someone.

She took swigs of her water bottle to keep herself energised, and finally reached the top. She had to use her hands to cling onto the surrounding trees to ensure she didn’t go tumbling back down the way she came from.

She was greeted with the sight of rows upon rows of plastic tunnels in the distance, containing what she assumed to be vegetables. Mina felt a refreshing burst of energy knowing that she wasn’t going to die alone in the woods.

She instantly started towards her new destination, but was met with an obstacle.

The fence.

It was pretty tall for a fence, and there was no sight of any gates nor any stiles to help get her over said fence.

She determinedly placed a foot on the wooden fence, trying to scale it as gracefully as she could. Using every ounce of energy she had she got herself on top, precariously balanced on it.

She was so close to getting to the other side, just one more foot down and it’d be over. She could get help and pretend this day had never happened.

But instead Mina’s foot slipped, causing her left foot to catch painfully on the fence. She collapsed to the ground heavily, her backpack not doing much to break her fall. A cloud of dust surrounded her as she bit back the urge to scream an expletive.

She laid there for a few minutes, contemplating the meaning of life and all the choices she’d made that had led up to this point. Then she remembered what she’d seen not too long ago. The farm.

Mina felt adrenaline rush through her body, temporarily numbing the pain in her ankle. She stood up with vigour, and power walked towards the plastic tunnels. Gritting her teeth through the pain. She’d done ballet for years, she could handle this.

The blazing sun didn’t help as she took her baseball cap off her head to fan herself. She plopped it back on top of her head, swiping the sweat off her forehead as she did so.

Mina looked for any sign of life, but all she saw were multitudes of strawberries in neat lines encased in translucent coverings. Then she spotted a wooden hut of some sort situated in between two of the plastic tunnels. She approached it, hoping there’d be someone inside.

Fate didn’t seem to be on her side as she knocked on the door and received no response. Her body ached as she tiptoed to peer through the windows. It was empty.

Well, at least she had shade now. She pressed her back against the hut and slid down. The escape from the glaring light of the sun was heavenly.

She felt dizzy, dangerously so.

“Hey! Are you okay?” A girl’s voice cut through the incessant buzzing of the insects around her. She cracked one eyelid open. She could just about make out a figure walking towards her.

Mina’s chest was rising and falling heavily, the air felt too thick.

“Water...please…” She managed to get out, felt like cotton.

“. Hold on I’ll be right back.” The figure jogged away.

Mina closed her eyes. If she succumbed to the extreme exertion in her body, would she wake up in the afterworld?

Thankfully she wouldn’t have to find out as she heard footsteps approaching her. The glowing figure pressed a cold towel to her head.

“I’ve got fresh water for you, can you sit up?”

Mina nodded, the towel helping to cool her down and bring her back to reality. She pushed herself off the ground, arms shaking slightly.

She gratefully took the glass out of the girl’s hands and sipped the water. She gulped the entire pint in one go, sighing in satisfaction after she finished. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“Here, let me take you straight to the water pump. You look like you could do with a cool down.”

Mina pushed the pain in her leg to the back of her mind and stood up, her hands leaning against the hut for support. Her vision was still a little blurry, but she managed to stand upright without swaying and followed after the girl she’d just met. Thankfully the water pump wasn’t too far away, and she was signalled to kneel down in front of it.

She heard the metal squeak as it moved up and down, cold water erupted from the pump not too long afterwards. She cupped her hands underneath and relaxed at the feeling of the cold water. She drank some, and splashed it over her face, it refreshed her immediately.

Mina felt her senses return to her. She turned to give her deepest gratitudes to the stranger, but found her words die at the tip of her tongue. felt dry again, despite the water she’d just drank. She looked into two curious wide eyes, the owner’s eyebrows raised in concern.

“Do you feel better?”

Mina couldn’t take her eyes off of her. “Y-yeah. Thank you so much…”

“My name’s Chaeyoung.”

“Thank you Chaeyoung. Mina I am. I mean am Mi-I’m Mina.”

“Nice to meet you Mina.” Chaeyoung smiled widely and giggled at how flustered she was, her dimple prominent in her cheek.

Mina smiled back shyly and quickly averted her eyes, turning her focus back to the water pump and cupping a handful of cool water. She splashed it over her face, it dripped down onto her shirt but she couldn’t care less how she looked.

After flicking any excess water off of her face and hands, Mina attempted to stand up. But the spike of pain that shot up through her leg stopped her, causing her to stumble back onto the ground with a groan.

Chaeyoung immediately knelt down, concern evident on her face. “Woah, is your ankle alright?”

She felt embarrassed to say it but she had no other choice, her ankle was throbbing in pain, “I kind of tripped earlier. Think I just rolled it, nothing too serious.”

Despite Mina’s claims that it wasn’t anything life threatening Chaeyoung continued to look concerned.

“Come on, let’s get you out of the sun.” Chaeyoung said after standing up and leaning down, hand outstretched, a kind smile present on her face.

Mina glanced warily at the smaller hands in front of her.

She gently placed her palm on Chaeyoung’s and allowed herself to be pulled up off the ground, she wasn’t expecting the shorter girl to move closer so suddenly. Chaeyoung took Mina’s hand and moved so she was standing next to her, lifting her arm to rest across her own broad shoulders.

Mina’s face was burning and she was pretty sure it wasn’t just because of the heat. As much as she wanted to distance herself from the not-really-a-stranger she’d just met, she couldn’t help but lean against her surprisingly strong body. She took the pressure off of her left foot, letting Chaeyoung help her hobble into the cream coloured gazebo that swayed slightly in the breeze.

There were various tables, metal benches and stacks of baskets waiting to be filled with strawberries within the large gazebo. Chaeyoung led Mina to the wooden swing bench and lowered her carefully. The older girl reluctantly let go off Chaeyoung’s shoulders as she settled on the soft pillow atop the bench.

“I’ll be back with some ice for your ankle.”

“Thank you so much for helping me out.” Mina managed to get out smoothly. She internally cheered that she didn’t stumble on her words.

“It’s no problem.” She said genuinely.

Mina laid her head back and pushed her right foot against the earth. Swaying the bench slowly as she cooled down in the blissful shade of the tent. She heard voices chattering outside, but opened her eyes to find out it was just the workers and an occasional visitor passing by.

She thought about her friends. She missed them. Then she was reminded of Nayeon’s ‘no phones allowed’ policy. She missed them a little less.

But no matter how much they got on her nerves, or forced her to partake in activities she wouldn’t consider ‘fun’, Mina wished they were at the strawberry farm with her. Momo was probably starving with the limited amount of food they were able to carry, and there was no question that Nayeon and Jeongyeon had probably already gotten into at least five arguments over how they should hold the map.

The Japanese girl traced her fingers along the grooves of the swinging bench. It seemed well loved. Not brand new at all, but worn in. She noticed an engraving on the arm rest, three cartoonish faces with writing underneath them. Time had taken its toll on the bench but Mina could just about make out what it said.

“School Meal Club?” She mumbled to herself. It sounded familiar.

“What’s so interesting?”

Mina jolted at the feeling of the cold ice on her warm skin. She fake glared at a giggling Chaeyoung, before breaking into laughter herself. Chaeyoung sat down next to her, handing Mina the ice pack, who took it gratefully.

“Oh nothing, I was just thinking of my friends.”

“Were you out walking with a group?” Chaeyoung propped her forearm up on the back of the bench and rested her head against her hand.

“Yeah. We were following the trail in the forest, but I somehow managed to get lost along the way.” Mina chuckled nervously. She’d made herself look absolutely hopeless in front of Chaeyoung.

“Hey don’t worry, a lot of people go along that footpath to get to this farm. They’ll probably turn up here later.” Chaeyoung reassured her with another wide smile that Mina had quickly grown addicted to.

“Hopefully.”

A comfortable atmosphere settled. Sounds of faraway conversations and crickets cricketing endlessly filled the air.

“I guess you’re not from around here then.” Chaeyoung said eager to find out more about the Japanese girl.

“I’m the farthest thing you could get from the country. I prefer the city, no offense.”

“None taken. The farm life’s not for everyone.”

Mina hummed before adding, “That being said, city life can be suffocating sometimes.”

“I haven’t been to the city in a while.”

“You’re always welcome to stay with me.” Mina glanced at Chaeyoung and turned her head away quickly, “Seriously. I would’ve died if you hadn’t helped me.”

“Careful. I might just take you up on that offer.” Chaeyoung smirked and Mina had to resist the urge to poke her dimple.

A lull in the conversation allowed for Chaeyoung to stand up and walk over to one of the tables. She picked up a clear plastic box that was filled with deep red strawberries and brought it back to the bench.

“I have some friends visiting, they should be here soon, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you having a few.”

“I feel like I’m taking advantage of you here. I’ve already taken up enough of your time I can’t take your strawberries.”

“I want you to have one! Come on, at least one?” Chaeyoung pouted, the box open in her hands.

Mina turned her head down to hide her blush and picked a random one up. She bit into the strawberry, her eyes widening at the taste of it. “This is delicious!”

“I like to think we have some of the best strawberries in the world.”

“You probably have the best strawberries in the universe.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes lingered on Mina’s gummy smile. She lifted her hand and pressed her thumb to the older girl’s chin. Mina froze, her brain short circuiting at the action. The blonde rubbed at the spot and retracted her hand.

“You had some strawberry juice there.”

Mina knew for sure she was red as the strawberries in the box.

As if out of nowhere an elderly woman appeared at the entrance of the gazebo, she shouted and waved Chaeyoung over excitedly.

“Ah, they must be here! I’ll introduce them to you in a bit.” The blonde hopped off the bench and Mina found it to be the cutest action she’d ever seen someone do.

She watched the girl practically run to meet her guests, Mina could already hear several loud voices from where she was sat. Deciding that it’d be pretty awkward to sit around waiting to be introduced, she carefully stood up and made her way to the opening of the gazebo.

The group were getting noisier as she got closer to them, they sounded like a handful.

“Chaeyoung-ah!”

Mina’s head snapped up. That voice sounded irritatingly familiar.

“Oh my god, I’ve missed you guys so much!” Mina heard Chaeyoung squealing.

“We’ve missed you too! But first, we have a crisis on our hands!”

“A crisis?”

“These two idiots here have managed to somehow lose a friend of ours.” A new, authoritative voice perked up.

“How do you lose a person. Who is it?”

Well, Mina guessed that was her signal.

She walked out of the gazebos opening, limping ever so slightly but a majority of the pain had now gone from her ankle.

Chaeyoung noticed Mina first as she was facing towards the entrance of the gazebo, whilst the rest of the group were faced the other way, all attempting to provide an explanation for their situation.

Chaeyoung’s face lit up at the appearance of her new friend, “Oh hey Mina, is your ankle better now?”

Seven heads whipped around in perfect synchronisation.

“Wait, Mina, you know Chaeyoung?” Jeongyeon asked her, utterly confused as to how the two knew each other.

Simultaneously Dahyun said to Chaeyoung, “I didn’t know you knew Mina!”

Chaeyoung tilted her head, “You guys, uh, know each other?”

The group of girls talked animatedly amongst themselves as they follow the path back to the campsite, where they’d have to pack up their tents for their return to the city.

Each of them carried their own boxes of strawberries (Momo had three precariously balanced on top of each other) in their hands as they already started planning for Chaeyoung’s visit to the big city soon.

Everyone felt a pang of sadness when it was eventually time for them to separate. But the sorrow was soothed by promises of meeting up again. The ‘School Meal Club’ had carved an updated version of themselves into the swinging bench, with six new faces joining alongside them.

Mina remembered how Chaeyoung had slipped a piece of paper into her hands before they’d left.

“Message me? I do get service out here you know.”

She smiled to herself, maybe the outdoors weren’t so bad after all.