Hayoon found herself retracing her way back to the camping grounds the next day. After the state she was in when she parted way with Chanyeol the previous evening, she spent the night wide awake in her bed, staring at her ceiling, wallowing in the guilt and embarrassment of losing control of her emotions in front of Chanyeol when all he did was emphasise time and time again how much he cared for her.

Peering through the fence, Hayoon made sure no one was around before crouching down and entering through the secret gate. Seeing two figures approaching however, the girl froze in position, her hand still holding onto the gate, not daring to move in fear of catching unwanted attention.

Peering through the bush in front of her, she recognised Chanyeol walking with his hands in his pockets, next to him Seolhyun, giggling at something he said. Blinking to make sure she was seeing correctly, Hayoon strained her ears to hear what the two were talking about with little success due to the distance between them

Chanyeol looked very much at ease, no sign of tension. Whatever he and Seolhyun were talking about, he was enjoying himself. Shrinking back in her position, Hayoon waited for them distance themselves further before retreating, bolting away from the camping grounds. If Chanyeol was fine, then she did not want to disturb him.

・・・

Later that day while she was reading a book, Hayoon felt her phone vibrate. Reaching for the device, she saw that she was receiving an incoming call from Chanyeol. Dropping her book, she answered the call immediately, her heart beating rapidly, threatening to jump out of her ribs.

“Yeol?” she whispered into the phone.

There was some static sound, before the call finally stabilised and Chanyeol’s deep voice echoed through the phone.

“Hey, just wanted to check on you.”

Hayoon smiled into her phone, a wave of serenity hitting her.

“If you have time to check on me you really should reply Soojung’s messages,” Hayoon quipped. “She’s been complaining none stop that she’s being neglected by her boyfriend.”

There was a pause, and Hayoon could hear Chanyeol shifting around.

“I told her that you were probably too concentrated on composing stuff, but reassured her that we met yesterday and that you are doing fine.”

“Thanks,” replied Chanyeol. “You’re right though, I haven't really been checking my phone because I didn't want any distractions. Your visit yesterday was a small exception.”

“You better make an exception for her too then,” Hayoon chided. “After all that effort you went through to be with her, you can't just keep her hanging.”

“You’re right.” Chanyeol chuckled. “I can already imagine Baekhyun ripping me apart for my negligence.”

“He does that out of love,” hummed Hayoon. “Most of the time.”

“I gotta go now. Bye.”

Without waiting for a reply, Chanyeol hanged up. Staring at her phone, Hayoon contemplated whether to continue reading or not before deciding to take a walk by the seaside instead. Letting her sister know of her plans, Hayoon left her house, phone in hand as she typed away, replying to Baekhyun and Soojung’s messages. She even had one from Jongin, asking her how her summer was going. The message that got her the most excited however was the one from Minseok; a photo giving her a sneak preview of the guest bean that would be awaiting her once she returned to Seoul. Squinting at the background however, she noticed Kyungoo staring right at the camera, a bag of cinnamon sticks in hand. Shuddering at the countless possibilities that meant, Hayoon locked her phone and stuffed it in her pocket.

The remainder of the summer vacation went by in a similar pattern. Hayoon would wake up, fulfil her daughter duties until she reached the limits of her patience, hide somewhere to read, and video call her friends. Her phone would constantly be filled with new message notifications from the group chat, most of them being Baekhyun sending silly memes and Soojung giving a snarky reply. Chanyeol however appeared to have fallen off the grid. He rarely if ever contributed to the chat and did not join their video calls either, using the summer camp as excuse. Soojung had calls with him here and there, each call filled with sweet exchanges of ‘I miss you’ and ‘can’t wait to see you soon’. However, much to Soojung’s frustrations, they were also excruciatingly rare and short.

On her last day in Jeju, Hayoon had contemplated calling Chanyeol to check up on him, but decided against it and settled for a message instead.

Sunshine Hayoon:

Hey, just making sure you’re still alive.

We were planning to have dinner together tomorrow.

Any food preference?

Chanyeol’s response came the next day when Hayoon was headed towards the airport to catch her flight for Seoul.

Thunderous Chanyeol:

Anything’s fine.

Frowning at the uncharacteristically curt response, Hayoon simply shrugged, assuming that the male was simply busy. After all today was when they were all planning to head back to university.

Once she stepped out of the tube station near KNUA, Hayoon took in a deep breath, immediately feeling reenergised. Although Jeju was where Hayoon was born and raised, there was no doubt that her heart belonged in Seoul. This was where she felt most at east, most herself, most at home. Seoul was her home now.

Hayoon was also more than eag