Yena honestly didn't expect for her to be woken up earlier than her alarm. Truth be told, she only set up an alarm so she could wake up before the others and buy breakfast from one of the nearby restaurants as thanks for inviting her on this trip despite her refusing it at first.

She would’ve had more time to think about what food to buy for them if she didn’t wake up to Hyewon groaning louder than a thundercloud.

“Ugh, holy my head hurts.”

Hyewon’s voice was deep from sleep and her eyes looked unfocused. Yena got up from her bed and sat down on her friend’s just to flick her forehead.

“Ow! What was that for? I’m already in pain, don’t add more to it,” she rubbed her temples.

“I warned you not to drink too much. It’s like you completely forgot that we’d be going somewhere today the moment the bottle touched your lips.”

“Get me some Advil first, then you can scold me however much you want when my head isn’t killing me.”

Yena shook her head but still went off to do what she asked. She came back a few moments later with a glass of water and a pill. Hyewon reached for them but Yena held her hand up to stop her, “Nope, you gotta get something in your stomach first before I give you this.”

Her best friend sighed, “Fine, can you go get me some chips? It’s in the cupboard near the fridge.”

“No, you’re coming out there with me and you’re gonna help get breakfast.”

“Oh c’mon seriously?”

Reluctantly, the photographer got up from her bed and joined Yena outside. The latter gave her a piece of toast so that she could have her painkiller as soon as possible and relieve her of any more pain. Yena put on her jacket and threw another at Hyewon.

Just as they were about to exit the house, the back door opened and Minjoo came in with a plastic bag hanging around her arm. She didn’t notice them until she was well into the kitchen and placed the item on the counter.

“Oh, you guys are up early.”

“I was gonna say that to you. I didn’t realize you were out buying...” Yena motioned to the bags on the counter, “...all this. What is this anyway?”

“I got breakfast sandwiches for everyone, along with some hangover soup.”

“You got us haejangguk?” Hyewon yelled. She practically jumped on Minjoo and hugged her, “I’m going to kidnap you from work and make my boss hire you instead.”

Yena removed her hands out of her jacket’s pockets, “We were actually going out to buy food. How much was the food? I can pay you.”

“It’s okay, unnie, the food is free. I know the owner.”

Yena opened to protest, but she relented after seeing the insistent look on Minjoo’s face and closed it.

A thud and a loud whine emitted from one of the rooms. A few moments later, a string of muttered cursing followed. Minjoo perked up and the door to her shared room with Yujin opened.

Their beloved intern came out, looking as lovely as ever with her disheveled hair and overall groggy appearance. Normally, Yena wouldn’t laugh at someone who just woke up since she knew that she’s been in that position of looking out of sorts and less than presentable; but the frown on Yujin’s face threw her politeness out the window and she guffawed like a middle-aged dad laughing at a mediocre and cringy dad joke.

“Holy , Yujin, what happened to you?”

“I rolled off the bed and fell. Then I realized I have a hangover,” she mumbled, rubbing her face with her hands to wake herself up. “Whatcha guys got there?”

Hyewon replied, “Minjoo just picked up breakfast, along with haejangguk.”

“Oh my God, you’re the best,” the youngest exclaimed while making her way to the food.

Minjoo visibly reddened at this, but this goes unnoticed by Yujin while Yena and Hyewon gave each other knowing glances. Minjoo coughed, “Well, when you guys are done eating and getting ready, we can go to Cheonbuldong Valley.”

---

Yena crossed the bridge and looked back at her companions who were still on the other side. Hyewon was taking selfies on her phone while the other two begged her to take a photo of them because her “photo-taking skills are godly.” Yena laughed at the way Hyewon stuck her tongue out at them and playfully refused to do as they requested. As much as Yena best friend for bringing an extra bag filled with photography equipment, she was grateful that they had someone who was able to take phenomenal pictures that they could immortalize on their walls.

Speaking of immortality, it seemed like Yuri’s image was immortal and ever-present in her mind. No matter how many times she tried to distract herself with the beautiful and vibrant scenery, the same bright red hair would appear as a mirage along with the sweet song that she sang that night.

Just a few moments ago, she perked up when she saw a glint of crimson reflecting under the sunlight. The logical part of her knew that Yuri wouldn't be here but she still slipped away when her friends weren’t looking to get a closer look. Surprise, surprise, it was just her mind playing tricks on her and the person she went after was someone who didn’t even remotely look like Yuri at all. When Yena was about to walk away, the stranger asked her if she wanted something from her; and Yena had to apologize and say that she mistook the woman for someone else. Dusting the embarrassment off her shoulders, she returned to her companions before they noticed that she was gone.

At least their mountain path hike would be over soon. They completed their trek and rounded back towards the beginning of the trail. They already went down the last set of steps and all they needed to do was cross the last footbridge–which Hyewon and the others still haven’t crossed.

“C’mon guys!” she called over to them, startling Hyewon out of her photographer mode and making Yujin and Minjoo jump. “I would love to stay and take more photos but it’s the afternoon already and we haven’t had lunch yet.”

At the word “lunch”, her best friend quickly ran across and met her, urging the other two to follow. Once they all got together at the base of the mountain, they asked Minjoo where they could eat. Just before she was about to suggest a place, Yena spotted a food stall from the corner of her eyes.

She pointed it out, “What’s that?”

“Oh, that stall? The guy who works it sells street food, mostly ones that you can eat on a skewer but sometimes he sells other things depending on the ingredients he has on hand,” Minjoo provided information.

Yujin suggested, “We can just buy our lunch from him then, right?” She began rummaging around her pockets for money, “I’m hungry and I’d rather spend the rest of the day having fun at the beach instead of looking for food.”

“She’s got a fair point, we should probably hurry then before the line gets longer,” Hyewon added, “Also, because I really want to eat whatever he’s selling.”

And so, they scouted the food that was being eaten by other visitors and the food that was being displayed on the stall. After a few minutes, they decided on what they wanted to eat and Yena and Minjoo volunteered (more like forced by the other two) to stand in line.

“So, how do you like Sokcho so far?”

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s been really good so far.”

“None of that lingering feeling of doubt from last night?”

“What do you–”

Oh, right. Yena basically walked out on them with an obvious look of preoccupation without an explanation.

Yena nodded her head, “Yeah, I’ve had time to self-reflect.”

“Guess that walk on the beach really did you good,” Minjoo said simply. There was a strange tone in her voice, but Yena couldn’t quite place why it seemed so mysterious.

Before the older could dwell on the matter further, Minjoo naturally dropped the subject and they moved onto other topics. Soon, they were at the front of the line and the middle-aged man who was operating the stall. He looked at them and with one glance at Minjoo’s face, his own immediately lit up with familiarity.

“Kim Minjoo, how have you been? It’s been so long since I last saw you!”

“Hi there, Mr. Oh. It’s been a while but I hope you didn’t miss me too much.”

He gave a good-natured chuckle, “How could I not miss my favorite customer? You always bought so much from me.” He commented further, “Instead of one chicken skewer you’d buy two for your friend. Speaking of which, I never really got to meet your friend. All I know is her name.”

“Oh, that… She’s not really allowed to go out–”

Mr. Oh. cut her off and pointed at Yena, “Is that the friend I’ve yet to meet?”

Yena answered for Minjoo as she noticed the young woman struggling to explain, “I’m not sure who this ‘friend’ you’re talking about is, but I’m someone else.” She pointed to herself and then at Hyewon and Yujin, “I’m Choi Yena and those two are Kang Hyewon and Ahn Yujin. We came from Seoul and we’re on a trip here. Minjoo’s our tour guide.”

Mr. Oh made a sound of acknowledgment and asked for their orders before continuing their conversation. He asked about what Minjoo has been up to since she left for the city, and the girl was eager to reply. From the tidbits that Yena could pick up, Mr. Oh was known to travel around Sokcho and set up his food stall in tourist spots; but on certain days of the week, he would always appear at the street corner near Minjoo’s old house. Every now and then, Yena would be prompted to answer and elaborate on some details that came up about work.

At one point, Yujin and Hyewon quietly approached them, with the former taking out her camera to film Mr. Oh while he prepared their late lunch. Yujin listened attentively to the stories passed between Minjoo and the man, especially when it focused mainly on details about the former that she hadn't heard before. Yena wouldn’t be surprised if the young girl was mentally taking note of anything Minjoo related.

“Anyway, here’s your order.” He handed them their food, “It was nice catching up with you, Minjoo. Say hi to Y–”

“Yep, I won’t forget! Thank you, bye!”

Yena raised her eyebrow at Minjoo’s deliberate and non-concealed attempt at hiding her friend’s identity. The others didn’t seem to bat an eye so Yena ultimately ignored it too.

With one final wave to Mr. Oh, they trekked back to their van. Hyewon, who was already halfway done with her first chicken skewer, eagerly asked, “Who’s ready to hit up the beach?”

---

Really, Yena didn’t know why she even agreed to play beach volleyball with them. The whole thing would’ve been fine if Yujin gave a heads up that Minjoo absolutely at sports. It’s not like Hyewon was miles ahead of Minjoo in that regard, but at least she was actually decent when she tried. Minjoo was a literal blackhole.

It would’ve been fine… if they weren’t playing such a one-sided match. Now, she’s stuck as her teammate while Yujin and Hyewon snickered like high school bullies on the other side of the net.

For the umpteenth time, Minjoo ran to receive the volleyball but tripped over a small mound of sand and fell; leaving Yena to dive for it, ultimately failing to get there in time because of how far she was.

“Sorry, unnie!” Minjoo apologized while picking herself off the ground and dusting off the sand on her swimming shirt and shorts.

Yena waved her off, trying not to let the huge gap between the teams’ scores get to her, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

They went a few more rounds and, surprisingly, t