“Are we ready?” asked Yuri. She looked expectantly at her two best friends.

“I’m ready,” Seohyun answered. More than ready, she thought. Anything to get herself out of the house and away from the prying eyes of her overtly strict parents. Her mother burdened her with unreasonably high expectations and her father treated her like she was sixteen instead of twenty, so yes, she was definitely ready for her new summer job.

“I’m ready too,” Yoona said, knowing it was a complete lie. She wanted to say, I don’t even want to be here, but she didn’t want to disappoint her friends. The summer job was totally Yuri’s idea, but Yoona had let her two friends talk her into it, and she had no one to blame but herself for agreeing to it.

They climbed out of Seohyun’s lime green Chevrolet Beat and she locked the doors with the electronic key. “This is going to be a great summer,” Yuri said. “Trust me.”

Yoona followed her two friends through the tall gates that lead into the water park. It was around nine on a Monday morning, but heat was already starting to build up. By noon it would probably be in the low thirties.

“This place is the size of a small city. I’ll never find my way around,” Seohyun joked.

“Sure you will,” Yuri countered. “I’ll help you.” Yuri’s older cousin was head of security at Caribbean Bay, so Yuri knew plenty about the layout of the giant theme park. “Orientation’s in there,” Yuri said, pointing right, towards a large cabana surrounded by germinated palm trees.  

Inside, two large velvet sofas occupied most of the room, flanked by small artistically carved wooden tables. Clay sculptures lined the shelves that ran the whole length of one wall and circular yellow lanterns hung from the ceiling, serving as a light source. A narrow corridor led deeper into the cabana.

“Well, well, well. Looks like we aren’t the only people who signed up,” a deep voice spoke.

Yoona squinted to see two muscular guys approaching them from the dimly lit corridor. The one who had just spoken was slightly taller than his companion, and had dark black hair that fell into his eyes. The other looked like a foreigner with his blonde hair and overconfident stance.

“Told you so,” the blonde said. “This is one of the best places in the city to spend a summer. Though I was hoping that this could be the bachelor’s pad.”

“Well, I still think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” the one with the deep voice smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Boys, quit it, before you scare them off," a husky command originated from behind the girls.

Yoona whipped her head around, startled. The man stood at around six foot with muscles that bulged out of his tight white tank top.

“Welcome, summer employees, to our Caribbean Bay orientation. I’m Ok Taecyeon, head lifeguard of this sector of the theme park. All of you have passed the preliminary exam of our program in the first set of paperwork you submitted a few weeks ago. Today”—he paused for dramatic effect—”more paperwork.” He grinned, and held up several thick folders while the two boys groaned in unison.

“But after we fill out the forms and go over some rules,” Yuri interrupted, “we’ll take a tour of the park, right? And we’ll get free lunch, right?”

Seohyun applauded and Taecyeon nodded, “I think you’ll fit in here just fine, Miss…”

“Kwon Yuri. And these are my friends Im Yoona and Seo Joohyun. But Joohyun goes by Seohyun,” Yuri replied excitedly, and pointed to each of her friends respectively.

“Nice to meet you. Please take care of us,” Yoona and Seohyun bowed. Yoona more out of formality than actual genuineness.

“I’m Nichkhun Horvejkul,” the foreigner said, “and he’s Hwang Chansung.”  

“Now that we’ve covered the basics of learning each other names can we get down to business?” Chansung asked, sarcastically.

“Yes. One of the things in your packet is a form that asks you for your clothes sizes, because all of you will be issued special bathing suits and shirts that will instantly identify you as a Caribbean Bay lifeguard. On occasions when you are not on duty the dress code here isn’t quite strict, so I’ll trust that you’ll find it to your liking,” Taecyeon flashed a toothy grin.

After fifteen minute of listening to Taecyeon talk about the program, the rules and his expectations for them, Yoona felt her head start to swim. When it was time to tour the park Taecyeon caught her eye and winked. She averted her gaze. Show-off.

“The history of this theme park is amazing,” Yuri stated, five minutes into the tour. “Did you know it’s the biggest of its kind in the world?”

Beside her, Yoona heard Taecyeon say, “Rah, rah,” under his breath. She glanced at him and he flashed a y smile. She felt her cheeks color and quickly looked away.

Taecyeon led the group towards the children’s area. Water sprouted from the ground into huge magnificent fountains. Several children were going down colorful slides and into the swirling blue waters of a shallow pool.

Yoona heard Nichkhun and SeoHyun murmur about how cute the kids were and how fun it would be to work in this area of the park. Except for occasionally babysitting her younger cousins, Yoona hadn’t spent much time around children, so she hoped she’d be assigned elsewhere.

“You’re eyes aren’t misting over,” Taecyeon whispered in her ear. “Don’t you like kids?”

He alarmed her so much that she stepped backwards and almost fell over a little girl. Taecyeon grabbed her arm to steady her.

“You okay?” Yuri asked as all eyes turned toward Yoona.

Yoona blushed furiously. “I’m fine.” She pulled her arm from Taecyeon’s grasp.

“You’re welcome,” Taecyeon said out loud, embarrassing her even more.

The tour took around an hour and a half. By the time they returned to the cabana where the orientation had begun, Yoona felt more overwhelmed than ever by the size of the park.

“You’ll all have a map and directions,” Taecyeon announced, as if reading her mind. “It won’t take you long to figure out the place. Promise.”

The scent of fresh pizza drifted from through the spacious room. “Time to eat. I called in a little favor for Yuri-ssi,” Taecyeon said.

Yoona took a seat at the edge of the sofa and sighed inwardly. She looked up to see Taecyeon standing in front of  her holding out a can of ginger ale. “For me?” she asked.

“Peace offering,” he said.

“For what?”

“I thought you’d tell me.” He stood peering down at her, his dark eyes gleaming. “So Im Yoona, what have I done to upset you?”