"...there will be a class trip next month," Professor Kim said, handing forms around. "We'll be going to Nami Island and Jeju to observe the biological works there; and we'll stay for two weeks. It's a compulsory field trip."
Sakura felt anxiety twist her gut. Compulsory?
She raised her hand.
"Yes, Miyawaki?"
"Can I not go? I have... something up at my job next month... and I can't miss it," she lied quickly, in hopes of saving herself.
"When next month?" Professor Kim walked back to his desk and uncapped a marker.
"The first and second week," Sakura answered.
"That's fine..."
Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief and relaxed her tensed shoulders.
"...the trip is on the third and fourth week," he finished.
Sakura slumped. Daeman saw and leaned over to his left, "It's okay, we'll protect you."
Hyewon pumped her fist and nodded encouragingly.
Sakura felt the twist in her stomach ease slightly, so she looked over the form.
Full name:
Group:
She raised an eyebrow, confused. "What does 'group' mean?"
"Oh, about that," Professor Kim said, drawing a bubble mind map on the board. "I can't control all thirty students going at once, so we'll have to split you into six groups of five."
If it was even possible, Sakura deflated even more. She knew there was no point arguing though. This time fate was sealed. She could just hope and cross her fingers that Miyun wouldn't be in her group.
"So," the professor said, capping the marker, "this is a mind map of what we're going to do there. I'm forming everyone into groups now, come take a slip of paper from this bag." He held out a paper bag filled with bright coloured paper and told everyone to pick a slip without looking.
Sookyung, Seunmi, and three other boys got red paper, so they were in the red group.
Jinseok, Jaeyeong, Hankyung, and two other girls got yellow paper, so they were in the yellow group.
Sakura held her breath when she saw the slip between her fingers was blue.
She relaxed when Hyewon had subtly peeked into the bag so she'd get blue too. Hyewon smiled at her. Daeman pulled away blue, too, and so did Jiwoo.
Then she tensed and felt like throwing up immediately after she saw Miyun pull away a blue slip.
"Now everyone sit in your groups, you have to discuss as a group what you will do to contribute to this trip purpose."
Everyone pulled up chairs to one desk to sit in circles. Daeman, Jiwoo, and Hyewon immediately circled around Sakura, distancing Miyun away from her.
Miyun glared at her through her heavy lashes.
...
"Sukyeong, you're the leader of red team," Professor Kim announced after everyone had settled back down in their groups. "Jaeyeong, yellow team leader, Sangyu, purple team leader, Hyewon, blue team leader, Nayong, pink team leader, Kyungwon, green team leader."
Daeman leaned to the right slightly so Miyun could only see Sakura's blazer sleeve and his hair.
"Quit staring, Yun, I know I'm handsome," Daeman said, intending to make the girls laugh. Sakura let out a small giggle and Hyewon chuckled. Jiwoo clapped her hand over her mouth and laughed.
"Now, each team has to figure out a way to preserve wildlife on the islands. Nowadays more and more of them are dying. Good luck, you have until period six."
"Gosh, yellow team has Jaeyeong," Jiwoo gasped. "They'll win for sure. That guy has the IQ of all of the upper level seniors combined."
Sakura brushed her hand, "Yea, and blue team has Hyewon."
"Hyewonnie," Miyun started.
"I don't like that name. Call me by my actual name," Hyewon said.
"Hyewon," she continued, "I'm sorry. I'm literally begging you. Stop being friends with it."
"God, we are in class and in a fuckin' group, and you still choose to be so pathetic," Daeman growled. "Sakura is human like all of us, so shut your fat gob. Go apply some lipstick or something."
Hyewon ignored them and gave suggestions that tourists should stop hurting the wildlife to Jiwoo and Sakura.
"Hyewonnie," Sakura called out, purposely using that name, tapping her pencil on the paper they were writing down their ideas on.
"Yes?"
"You said you didn't like being called that name," Miyun said sourly.
"Correction, I don't like you calling me that name. Sakura, what were you gonna say?"
Sakura tilted her head. Hyewon's innocent doe-eyes look and her words gave her whiplash. It was like a retriever puppy with the bark of an adult bulldog.
"Uh, we could hold a fundraiser while we're there to collect money to build fences around the parks in Nami to prevent tourists from feeding or touching the animals."
Daeman wrote it down and said, "Our Kkura is smart."
Miyun seemed to darken with every passing moment, only jealousy and anger in her eyes.
...
By sixth period, the class was rowdy and not discussing biology at all. Professor Kim really thought it was a good idea to leave a classroom full of eighteen to twenty two year olds alone?
Someone was playing basketball in the back of the class. Someone was, alright, kind of discussing, but with coffee milk in their hand. Another girl was eating cookies under her desk. Someone even brought a handful of snow in to rub into his friend's hair.
Sakura and Hyewon admitted guilty to being on their phones.
The bell signalling the weekend was here rang. First years, juniors, and seniors poured out of the gates, either running to catch the first bus or walking with their friends home.
Hyewon and Sakura walked out to the parking lot.
On the hood of Hyewon's car, under a sheet of frost and light snowflake shower, was a folded note. She picked it up and read it.
EMERGENCY: GET TO BARN ASAP
Probably Eunbi, considering she was the only one who was near enough and knew where Seonggong was and where she parked her car.
Sakura and Hyewon looked at each other, made a face, and drove off.
...
They stopped at their apartment building, changed, and continued on their way.
Sakura stood in black jeans and a blue sweater while Hyewon sported a white turtleneck and blue denims.
"It's cold, are you just gonna wear a sweater?" Hyewon asked, wrapping her scarf over her nose.
"I like the cold."
It was a while in traffic before they reached.
The hill was now completely white, whereas it had been brown and yellow two months ago.
Sakura didn't care. She pelted Hyewon with snowballs all the way down to the main door of the barn.
...
"We can't come for two weeks," Hyewon sighed. She stepped over a chick and tiptoed her way to an empty spot beside a nestling hen.
Yuri and Chaewon frowned, pausing whatever they were doing.
"Why not?" Yuri asked.
"Compulsory field trip," Sakura said through the opening. Turns out, the opening she'd found to steal a chick was where they stuck their hands in to collect eggs.
Sakura had stayed back and decided to talk through the opening. She knew the chickens would go nuts again if she entered.
"Can't you skip it?" Chaewon said, shooing a group of hens back into their coop to nestle.
"Key word: compulsory," Yuri said, smacking her shoulder lightly.
"What was up with the note on my car, huh?" Hyewon asked, setting a chick aside with her hand.
"Chaeyeon did that," Yuri said. "Wanted you to come earlier for some reason."
They sighed and shut up the coop for the evening before going in for dinner.
...
"Where's Chaeyeon?" Sakura asked. The table was laid out with food for dinner, but she didn't hear the motherly nagging of Chaeyeon ushering the younger girls to the table, so she knew something was off.
"Oh," Yena said, sitting down to eat, "she didn't come today. Said she had a family thing going on. Something to do with her sisters' school."
The corners of Sakura's mouth turned down, thinking of the note, but she nodded anyways.
"Who cooked then?" Hyewon asked. Eunbi pointed to herself.
They sat down to dine on sweet potatoes, rice, chicken, and hot chocolate. Sakura was allowed a few chicks from the coop; Eunbi had plucked the feathers and chopped off their legs for her.
"Since mom isn't here tonight, we can stay up," Yujin said, chewing the tip of a toothpick.
"I guess so," Minju agreed.
They ended up sleeping at 2AM.
...
There was a patterned knock at the door, the beat to a song they all knew.
Minju undid the lock to let Chaeyeon in and fell back asleep beside Chaewon.
"Chaeyeon's here," Eunbi murmured sleepily.
"Hm...," Yuri looked up at the clock. Five in the morning. Oh well. It was cold and the sty was already shut up yesterday. She could muck it in the afternoon.
"Hi," Sakura whispered as Chaeyeon stepped over the sleeping bodies on the ground and climbed into their bunk.
"I didn't know I'd be late, it was a last minute thing," Chaeyeon apologized.
Sakura pressed a kiss to Chaeyeon's lips and pulled the blanket over her.
"Are you cold?" Chaeyeon asked.
Sakura looked at her clothing: a baggy tee and sweatpants. They'd washed up at twelve, then played games until two when they finally slept.
"No, I'm okay. I like the cold," she answered, stretching out a leg. Chaeyeon hugged her and breathed against her neck.
"I am," Chaeyeon whispered. "Hold me."
So Sakura did.
A head with short cropped hair hanging down from it hung down from the upper bunk. "If you're gonna do it, do it in the attic."
"Why are you always awake at the worst times?" Sakura hissed.
Yujin just giggled and disappeared back up.