“Hyejoo…” a soft voice called, sounding a million miles away. “Hyejoo…” it kept saying, every time sounding closer. “Hyejoo!” Chaewon raised her voice and finally managed to wake her. Hyejoo rubbed her eyes and squinted, trying to focus on the small girl that was kneeling beside her bed. She pulled the covers over her head and groaned “Why’d you wake me up?” she said, her voice still hoarse from sleeping. “How long do you take to get ready? Cause you’ve got an hour and a half.” Hyejoo sat up and ran her hands down her face. “Ugh...what time even is it?” “6am, I really didn’t wanna wake you but I was afraid you’d sleep in and then it would be too late.” Chaewon said, with an apologetic look on her face. Hyejoo couldn’t really stay mad at that, especially when Chaewon’s small pout looked so adorable. She stretched her limbs and yawned, trying to wake herself up a little more. “It’s okay, thank you for not letting me miss the trip.” Giving Chaewon a polite smile, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

After a kinda long shower and making sure she had packed everything she needed for the day, Hyejoo let herself relax since she was able to get ready with half an hour to spare. She set her backpack aside and watched Chaewon sitting on the edge of her bed, scrolling through her phone bouncing her leg nervously. “Everything alright?” Hyejoo asked. Chaewon looked up from her phone, realizing how Hyejoo was eying her. “Oh, yeah I’m okay. A little nervous? Not exactly sure why. Maybe it's just excitement.” Chaewon replied with a sheepish grin. Hyejoo walked over and sat on the side of her bed closest to Chaewon, offering some sort of comfort. Although it was small, Chaewon really appreciated the gesture, and it worked to calm her nerves a little. 

“You all packed up?” Chaewon asked, trying to start conversation. “Mhm. Should be all good, you?” “Yeah…” 

The silence was awkward, and the short exchange didn’t make it any less awkward either. They both resorted to scrolling through their phones, reprimanding themselves for not being able to keep a conversation going. Thirty minutes. Hyejoo kept stealing glances at the time on her phone, begging for it to somehow go faster. Twenty five. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Chaewon, she just had a really hard time thinking about how to talk to her. The girl seemed bubbly, bright, everything she wasn’t. Twenty. Frankly, Hyejoo was afraid she would open and ruin things from the very beginning, making the rest of their trip miserable. Fiftee-

“Should we head out now?” Chaewon spoke up, distracting Hyejoo from the battle she was having with the time. “We still have fifteen minutes left.” She replied. “Well, yeah but I think it’s better to arrive a little earlier. Maybe we can get our seats in the back by the window.” Chaewon smiled, a gentle smile, a smile that told Hyejoo that she was really trying to get along with her too. It gave her a little determination to stop beating herself up about things and try to get out of her shell. If Chaewon was trying then, why couldn’t she? 

“Right.” Hyejoo said, a little more enthusiastic. “Our seats, can’t let anyone make them their official unofficial seats.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder and in an attempt to help out the shorter girl she picked up hers. “Woah, what do you have in here?” Hyejoo said, testing the weight of the backpack in her hands. “Isn’t this a little too heavy to take on a hike?”

Chaewon walked over and tested the weight of the backpack before putting it on. “It might be a little heavy but I can’t help it! We’re going to a rainforest and I brought my instant camera and my flower book which is admittedly a little big but I can assure you everything I have in here is essential!” Hyejoo chuckled at the sound of the blonde’s small font voice trying to be convincing, but in reality she was a little worried since the guides told them to travel lightly because the trail was long.  

“Don’t you think the book is a little too much? You can always take pictures and check it when you’re back.” Hyejoo suggested. “I guess you’re right…” Chaewon said dejectedly, setting the backpack down and ping it, taking out a thick book about the flora of different environments around the world. After the massive book was removed Hyejoo checked the weight of the bag and...it was still heavy. Before she could say anything, Chaewon looked at the time on her phone and gasped. “Hyejoo we gotta go!”  and without waiting another second she zipped up her backpack and headed for the door, Hyejoo following behind. 

They walked up and joined the rest of the group in the lobby, thankful that they weren’t the last ones to arrive. The guides directed them towards the bus and they proceeded to claim the seats they always did which, not surprisingly, everyone else seemed to be doing the same. 

“I guess we don’t have to worry about losing our seats anymore.” Hyejoo commented, pointing out her discovery to Chaewon. “I guess I’ll just have to keep beating you to the window seat then.” Hyejoo realized the blonde girl had taken up the seat next to the window and chuckled. “Guess I’ll have to start waking up early from now on.” 

The bus was on its way to the rainforest and the guides discussed the pamphlet of the place and set the rules of travel. No straying off from the group was the top priority. Chaewon studied the map in the pamphlet and pointed out the trail they’d be taking to Hyejoo. “It says here that going all the way to the end and back takes three hours.” Hyejoo said, still worried about the weight in Chaewon’s backpack. “Well I guess I should start making it a little lighter.” Chaewon ped the backpack at her feet and started rummaging through it, taking out two energy bars. “We didn’t have any breakfast so here, to get our strength up for the hike!” “I don’t think this is gonna change much for the weight but thank you.” “Oh I have more snacks in here, I guess we can progressively make it lighter as we go?” “Sounds like a plan.” Hyejoo bumped her energy bar against Chaewon’s as some form of cheers, which caused the latter to giggle. 

The bus arrived at their destination and their guides went over the map once more before heading on their way. Chaewon had taken her instant camera out of her backpack and let it hang from her neck, which in reality wasn't really making it lighter despite Chaewon’s intentions. The trails in the rainforest were a little narrow, which meant everyone had to file in a single line in order to let the people coming back get through too. Hyejoo walked behind Chaewon and the guide she spoke to the first day walked behind her, making sure nobody strayed off the path. She didn't seem to mind it when Chaewon stopped to take pictures of the different plants and flowers she saw, occasionally naming them and reciting fun facts.

Hyejoo smiled every time Chaewon went off on a tangent, she liked the way her eyes lit up and her smile grew. The way she got shy after realizing she’d been rambling, it made Hyejoo feel a little jealous really. Her parents never let her pursue the career she was passionate about, so she wanted badly to have something that would make her light up like Chaewon did. “Oh, I know this one.” Hyejoo said when she saw Chaewon snap a picture of a new flower. “It’s an Iris” she said proudly. “Pleasantly surprised, Hyejoo.” Chaewon replied playfully. “Contrary to popular belief, I can keep up with a flower nerd like you.” “Flower nerd?” The shorter girl chuckled “I’m a florist, just so you know. I have my own shop back home.” “Woah, really? That’s actually really cool.” “Ever since I realized my passion for flowers it was the only thing I ever wanted to do. I was lucky enough that it worked out.” 

Chaewon let Hyejoo look at the picture that just developed before she put it away. “What about you? Your company must be pretty big if they’re giving you a trip with all expenses paid.” Hyejoo was silent for a second, being brought back down to the reality waiting for her back home. “I’m just an accountant. The way I won the trip was because of a company