Chapter 4 - Fire

"What are you girls waiting for? Dig in, while the food is still nice and warm." Yujeong urged as the members of Petit Macaron sat in their seats eyeing the lasagna on their plates.

"Counselor Soyeon isn't coming to eat with us today?" Hayoung questioned, her eyes scanning the dining hall for any sign of the self-proclaimed dignified ert. 

Yujeong shrugged her shoulders, stealing a glance at the Red Velvet table. Soyeon was actually sitting with her cabin this time, and the Red Velvet members appeared ecstatic to finally be graced with the presence of their counselor at dinner. The blonde observing their table grimaced as Soyeon held up two oranges in front of her chest and shook them. Seulgi and Wendy cackled, earning looks from other tables.

Yuejong was secretly relieved that her friend wasn't joining them tonight. She would be able to eat in peace without worrying about possible demonstrations. The orange demonstration didn't seem to be any better than the banana one she attempted last time. Note to self: Keep fruits away from erts.

"Oh, I have an announcement to make." All eyes fell on the Petit Macaron counselor. "Free time will be cancelled today." Yujeong waited for the cries of protest to die down before continuing, "Tonight is special. I hope you girls enjoyed the cabin mingle from yesterday because there will be a similar event today - but it involves campfires and singing." The girls at Yujeong's table cheered and clapped their hands, excited for the event to take place. "Look forward to it! You'll finally be able to showcase a bit of your talents for everyone to see."

"You hear that, Solbin? Everyone is finally gonna get their pants blown off by your amazing singing!" Haein exclaimed to her dazed friend. "Solbin?"

Solbin was currently trapped in her own mind, thinking over what Yujeong had just mentioned. If this event was similar to the cabin mingle from the other day, that would mean... She would probably see Jinye again. She slightly shuddered, having a sudden flashback to her elementary school days.

Solbin was sitting on a bench, watching the other kids play with each other from afar. They wouldn't play with her, or even look at her. She hadn't even done anything to them. They were just listening to everything Jinye said.

"Solbin is stuck up!" Jinye huffed, talking to another little girl. "She said all sorts of things about you and your sister. She told me not to tell, but..." Then she proceeded to tell the girl things Solbin had never said, or even thought of.

After Jinye spoke to them, Solbin's classmates would give her dirty looks and do awful things to her on purpose, like trip her when she was walking by or throw candy that would get caught in her hair. Solbin used to get along well with the other children, but Jinye's gossip caused her to become shunned by them.

Thus, Solbin lost confidence in herself and wouldn't speak unless spoken to, and remained quiet most of the time. She didn't really have any friends until she met Haein and Yulhee in middle school.

"Hey Solbin, are you alright? You're turning pale." Yulhee pointed out worriedly as Solbin didn't respond to her either.

"Maybe she just needs some space for now?" Haein suggested to her girlfriend as Yulhee nodded and returned to eating her food.

"The lasagna is pretty good." Junghwa commented, chewing her food thoughtfully. "What are we having for dessert?" Just as Junghwa had finished her inquiry, one of the servers approached their table and set down a plate. Junghwa pouted, picking up one of the pieces wrapped in plastic. "Hard candy? What is this?"

"I heard that the oven they use for baking isn't working." Yeoreum explained as Haeryung followed suit with another pout.

The Petit Macaron members and even their counselor exchanged wary glances. Nobody reached for a hard candy.

"Yay!" Haein and Yulhee heard a very familiar shout from a nearby table. Their eyes flickered over to a girl standing up, grabbing handfuls of hard candy and dropping them into a pouch she made out of the hem of her sweater.

"Hi Jiae!" Haein screamed, waving her arms overhead at her newly made friend.

"Haein!" Jiae squeaked as she skipped over to the pinkette's table in spite of a certain grumbling cabinmate of hers. She enveloped Haein in a hug before noticing Yulhee and Solbin's presence as well. She grabbed the two and hugged them simultaneously, snapping one of them back to reality. 

"Hey, do you want our hard candy? You can totally take it. Nobody here is gonna eat it." Yulhee offered, pushing the plate of wrapped candies to her friend.

"Really?" The other girls nodded enthusiastically in response and Jiae took the entire plate into her hands. "Thank you! Well, I gotta go. Jinye is getting mad again. See you at the campfire!" With that said, the girl left as quickly as she had arrived.

"Who was that?" Hayoung asked, amused by Jiae's spontaneous visit.

"Jiae. She's a friend we made at the cabin mingle yesterday. She's from Pitter Pat." Haein answered proudly.

"Pitter Pat? That's the cabin that we'll be with sharing a campfire with." Yujeong interjected, earning an excited gasp from Haein and Yulhee.

"Solbin! We get to play with Jiae after this!"

Despite the terrible churning she felt in her gut, Solbin weakly nodded. Jiae's presence meant Jinye's as well.

"Jiae! Stop running around the dining hall! Are you five?" She heard Jinye scold her friend. She hoped that Jinye didn't remember her, at least.

"Why didn't anyone say there were s'mores? I ate so many hard candies and now my stomach hurts." Jiae mumbled, rubbing her aching abdomen.

"I don't think anyone expected s'mores." Haein told her ill friend as she impaled a marshmallow with a stick. "I'll make you a few in case you want some later. I don't think these are going to last..." The girls glanced at Nahyun and Youngji who were shamelessly devouring the s'mores while their cabinmates watched on.

"You don't want any s'mores, Solbin?" Yulhee asked, sitting next to her friend on a log. Solbin merely shook her head, her eyes trained on a charred piece of wood near her feet.

Jinye was here. She was sitting on a log right across the campfire, where a few of the other Pitter Pat members were. They didn't seem to get along though as the rest of Jinye's members didn't speak to her or spare her a single glance. "Ah, you're looking at that jerk. Something wrong? Did she say something to you? I'll kick her ."

"It's nothing." Solbin mumbled. Before Yulhee could question it further, Yujeong and the Pitter Pat counselor, Sojin, called for the girls' attention.

"Everyone sit down around the fire, we're going to start soon."

"I recommend you finish your food and get yourself cleaned up beforehand if you intend on doing any singing today. A nice cup of water should help wash everything down."

Haein sat herself next to Yulhee while Jiae plopped down beside Solbin. She nudged her quiet friend, holding out a handful of hard candy. "You've been really quiet. Want some? Candy always cheers me up." Solbin appreciated the kind gesture but she politely rejected the offer.

Once the members of Petit Macaron and Pitter Pat were quiet and settled down, their counselors began to explain how the night's event was going to work. "As you all know, Camp Laboum is no ordinary summer cam