sorry about the month long wait lol i have no actual reason. in case you've forgotten what's happened so far, here is a quick recap: after reading the story of joy, wendy, and irene, son joohyun has now embarked on the mission to reunite our two homos. we left off on her leaving with yeri to the camp where irene works. also, in the last chapter, jennie said irene would be gone for a month, which i have now changed to two months to attempt some kind of realism. enjoy :)

If New York was a concrete jungle where dreams were made, then Texas was where they went to die. After a six hour plane ride, and then another hour of driving, both girls were exhausted.

They had skipped over the more illustrious parts of Texas, trading in the urban appeal of cities and metroplexes for the wide open expanses of land in East Texas. Yeri was only familiar with bustling cities and constant noise, for her two homes were Seoul and New York, two places sharply contrasting with the part of Texas they were in.

Almost the end of June, Yeri and Joohyun sat with wide eyes as they sat in the backseat of a rideshare vehicle, silently watching the way pavement turned to dirt and buildings turned to trees.

The ride was air conditioned and comforting, but stepping out of the car after the long ride was a rude awakening. Summer in Texas meant a hot, dry hellscape that experienced bouts of rain every other month. Luckily for them, though it didn’t feel quite lucky, they arrived during a time without the dreaded rain. 

As they unloaded bags from the trunk, with the help of their driver, they felt the dirt grind against the bottom of their shoes, undoubtedly finding a place in the small cracks of the material.

And with a thank you, the driver left, leaving two girls from the city standing in both awe and reluctance as they stood at the entrance of Camp Happiness.

Joohyun had lived in a city her entire life—yes, she had gone on vacation in more scenic areas, and she had even gone camping; this, however, was new territory.

Every breath she took felt sharp in her lungs; there was a clarity in the air that she felt for the first time in her life. The grass was greener, verdant and bright; when wind passed over her face, it was warm and gentle.

She liked to think the warm embrace of the wind was just her mother, finding ways to reach her even when she couldn’t do so with her own physical hand.

I’m doing this for you, she thought as she continued to let the motherly wind pass over her.

“Hey, kid.” Yeri’s call drew her out of the feeling of solace. “We should probably actually enter the camp; I can see the line from here, and it’s not pretty. Let’s go.”

With a grab of her hand, Yeri led her niece through the wooden arch that read “Camp Happiness” and to the long line of eager campers along a wooden fence awaiting their entrance to the summer camp. Parents were long gone; Yeri was an obvious outlier in the line full of children and preteens. Despite her advantage in height, she couldn’t even see who was checking these children in. 

Hopefully they’re easy enough to not mind a random 27 year old becoming part of their staff…

The line got shorter and shorter, and Yeri and Joohyun got sweatier and sweatier. The heat was uncomfortable, but it affected the body quietly, leaving sweat in every crook and nanny with no warning.

When they finally reached close enough to see who was checking in every camper, a surprised smile made its way onto Yeri’s face. Silently, she moved in front of her niece, just to tease the woman working the line.

“Ok kiddo,” the staff member said routinely without looking up from her clipboard. “I need your name, age, and I’ll write down your weight.”

All things were needed to ensure parents that for the next 8 weeks, their child would not be deprived of any care, of course.

“Son Yerim, 27.”

The young woman laughed at the way Seulgi gripped the clipboard in her hand, her smile almost splitting her face as Seulgi looked up and at her with disbelief.

“I cannot begin to list off the questions I have. Just come here.”

A sharp tug on her arm pulled Yeri towards Seulgi, who was obviously trying to maintain her best behavior in front of the children.

“Son Joohyun. 10.”

“Hi, Joohyun, you’re in Cabin 8,” Seulgi warmly greeted. After taking note of her weight, she gestured for her to enter the rest of the camp, and when she felt Yeri’s hesitance, she shut her down. “It’s a summer camp. For children. She will be fine.”

Yeri crossed her arms and leaned against a wooden fence, refusing to admit that the older woman was right yet still obeying.

As Joohyun left the initial entrance, she was amazed at the way the camp widened and came to life. The dirt trail she walked on split into three paths; up ahead was a large colonial cabin with a large set of steps and a porch, to her left was a seemingly endless amount of green, with another large building and several different activities surrounding the area, and to her right she could see a lake in the distance, so large that she could not see the other side.

Judging by the amount of people at the building up ahead, she followed the path straight ahead. The closer she got, the more wonderment she felt.

It was a seafoam green wooden cabin with chestnut stairs and a matching porch, but despite the questionable colorway, it was a colonial piece of art. There were several cabins behind that one, but this was clearly the main attraction.

The group of children she was following crowded around a bunch of balloons. One by one, a balloon was handed to each child, who then ran off into their assigned cabins.

A feeling of apprehension s its way into Joohyun’s head as she inched closer and closer, yet she couldn’t tell why. It was as if the wind was pushing her towards the large colonial house, the sweat building more aggressively on her body as she walked faster and faster.

By the time, she reached the balloons, the last one had been given out already. More importantly, however, she realized why she felt a burning nervousness.

“Sorry,” an apologetic woman told the ten year old. “What’s your name?”

Joohyun didn’t know how she was supposed to be able to talk. In front of her sat the woman she spent hours and days and weeks looking for her and planning. And now there she sat. Wearing a dark green sundress while empty hands sat on her lap, long dark brown hair falling in gentle waves past her shoulders and collarbones. 

“Hello?” The woman repeated, a confused and concerned look in her eyes.

“I’m Joohyun.”

Irene loved summer, but she loved it even more when she was working at this camp; the pay was mediocre, and the weather could be vile, but she always got to do what she loved while meeting the cutest children in the world.

The little girl in front of her was no exception, especially with such a bright smile and lively dark eyes. She almost reminded Irene of someone she once knew, but she was too caught up on the girl’s name to dwell on those details. A smile that made her eyes crinkle lit up her face as she listened to the girl say her name.

“Guess what, Joohyun? That’s my name too.” She laughed when she saw a blush on the child’s face. The shy ones were always the cutest.

“Why did your parents name you that?”

Shy and weird. How cute.

“I think my parents just liked the name. Why did your parents name you Joohyun?”

A sly smile overtook any remnants of the blush from earlier as little Joohyun looked into the older woman’s eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe my parents liked you.”

And with the vague statement, the child left the steps of the building and walked off to her own cabin.

What a strange little girl.

“This is not what I had in mind when I left my phone on that coffee table,” Seulgi hissed, the younger woman’s arm clutched tightly in her grasp.

“What’s wrong with this?” Yeri was not completely against the position she had been put into by a furious Seulgi. Beneath that cute exterior was some serious strength.

“I was expecting you to get Joohyun’s number, call her, text her, whatever, and have her meet up with Seungwan. What the hell is this?”

“When you say it like that, it does sound crazy.”

“Because it is crazy.”

“Well, anyway, I’m here now. Where’s my room? Or better yet, where’s our room, if you get what I mean.” Yeri winked and laughed as Seulgi fought between the confusing feelings of attraction and anger.

“A room? You can take whatever room you find and shove it up your—“

“What’s going on here?”

A bewildered Joohyun took in the sight of a stranger being cornered by an unusually angry Seulgi.

Night had fallen on the fields and buildings making up Camp Happiness, and the lack of sunlight brought Joohyun into the large green building, formally known as the staff’s place of dwelling. 

After entering the door and the foyer, the first floor directly expanded into a great room, with the kitchen and dining room off to the side. Besides the master bedroom on this floor, all the other bedrooms belonging to staff members were on the second floor, which overlooked the first floor, creating a loft styled design.

However, Joohyun did not get the pleasure of relishing in the beautiful design of the house and the fact that she won the bid to get the master bedroom that year; her amazement was halted by the sight of a woman getting cornered right in the foyer, as if they had barely walked in the door before the confrontation started.

Detaching her nails from Yeri’s skin, Seulgi swiftly stepped away from her, smoothing out her clothes as she did so.

Without missing a beat, Yeri stuck a hand out towards Joohyun, who gingerly went along and shook it.

“Hello, I’m Yeri. I’m Seulgi’s friend.”

Her smile was too bright, too robotic, too evil. And Joohyun did not miss the sly implications behind "friend."

The eldest of the trio’s eyes squinted as she drew her hand away from Yeri.

“Ok, Yeri, are you here to stay?”

“Yes, I am.”

The young woman was confident, and it’s not like Joohyun had any authority to decide who could and couldn’t stay.

“And what exactly are you here as?”

And besides, it was fun watching Seulgi squirm.

Yeri paused for a beat. “Well, I don’t actually know. Seulgi just called me last week and begged for me to come here with her.”

“Well, if that’s the case then I’m sure you and Seulgi can room together? We weren’t anticipating you to come so we don’t have an empty room for you.” 

Joohyun’s tone was sweet and understanding, but the glint in her eyes leaned towards teasing at the expense of Seulgi.

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine!” Yeri’s eyes matched the look in Joohyun’s; both women were more than willing to harass their poor mutual friend.

“Joohyun, couldn't I just share a room with you and let her have mine? I mean, you did get the master bedroom—“

Her words fell on deaf ears.

“I am not sharing my room with you. I won that room for myself and I intend to keep it that way. Love you, Seul, but she’s your friend anyway; not a big deal, right?”