Meet Me Here

Chapter 3: Camp Spirit

"Are you okay?" Hyun Bin hovered over her with concern instantly.

Wincing in pain, she took Hyun Bin's outstretched hand and pulled herself up. Awkwardness settled in between them once Hyun Bin was sure Ye Jin was okay, neither of them fully processing their wake-up call.

"Mianhae. You fell asleep at the debrief yesterday. I wanted to wake you but I guess I fell asleep too." Hyun Bin rubbed the back of his head shyly.

"Mmm. It's okay...I-I'll go shower now." Ye Jin darted past him to run from the awkwardness.

Hyun Bin continued standing in the facilitator's lounge for a good minute as he tried to calm his racing heart. He didn't even need a mirror to tell him that he was red like a tomato. How was he going to face her now? Biting back a groan of frustration, Hyun Bin left to take a shower as well.

☼ ☼ ☼

Back to the present

"Alright campers! Listen close. After lunch, we will be going on an excursion. Who knows where we're going?" So Sook asked them.

A chorus of shouts could be heard as the campers volunteered their answers enthusiastically. It would seem even after the excitement of the morning games, the campers were still bursting with energy.

"That's right, we're going to the zoo! We will be boarding a bus so this is where I need your full attention. Pirates and Spartans, you will be one group. Ninjas and Vikings, you will be one group. Facilitators take note, because of the space limit, only the Main I/Cs in every group will follow your groups onto the bus. The rest of you will head there on the minivan. Is that clear?" So Sook briefed everyone.

The facilitators all gave So Sook a big thumbs up before they ushered their campers to the canteen for lunch. The air was alive with excitement even throughout lunch as the campers talked about their upcoming excursion to the zoo.

Right on the dot, everyone boarded the bus before the rest of them got on the minivan. Most of them were thankful for the short reprieve away from their hyper and energetic munchkins and the minivan was mostly silent.

Naturally, Ye Jin and Hyun Bin ended up as seat buddies although neither said anything nor dared to even look at one another. Gradually, tiredness trumped all semblance of consciousness and the childhood sweethearts drifted in and out of sleep just like the rest of the facilitators in the minivan.

Heavy eyelids, languid bodies, muddled thoughts. Everyone was downright exhausted as it was with all camps. Sometimes, the brain doesn't recognise the tiredness until the adrenaline dies down and that was exactly what was happening.

During that time, Hyun Bin nodded off and he ended up resting on Ye Jin's small shoulders while her head instinctively rested atop of his. Nuzzled closely to one another, light snoring soon followed. It was going to be a long day ahead.

Sometime later, Ye Jin and Hyun Bin woke from their deep slumber. Their minds were still fuzzy as they looked at each other, still groggy from sleep.

"I'm sorry I slept on your shoulder." Hyun Bin's voice was deeper than usual from his slumber.

"Huh? What?" Ye Jin was still trying hard to process reality.

"I think I slept on your shoulder. I'm sorry." Hyun Bin repeated sleepily.

"Oh. I think I drooled." Ye Jin wiped at her lips.

Wait a minute, why would she say that? Ye Jin mentally face-palmed herself when she realised what she said, and the two sleepyheads burst into laughter when reality set in. Gradually, the awkwardness from the morning dissolved around them as they laughed.