Chapter Text
Five hours in a car with Lily Morrow was five hours too many. The girl had spent the entire ride singing “are we there yet” to the tune of every pop song she knew. It’d stopped being funny within the first five minutes. Still, she thanked the girl’s mother profusely as she stepped out into the gravel parking lot. The trip had started in Seoul, and now they stood under the blaring sun almost at the southernmost point of the country.
“Lily!” two voices shouted at once. Two girls, about Lia’s age, came running to them.
“Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re here!” one of them exclaimed. She pulled Lily into a hug. She turned to Lia. “Are you new?”
Lily answered. “She lives in my neighborhood. She needed something to do over the summer, my mom recommended this camp, and here she is.”
“I’m Lia.”
The second girl, the one who hadn’t spoken yet, reached out to shake her hand. “I’m Ryujin.”
“I’m Yeji,” the first girl said, “and Ryujin and I are a thing, just so you know.”
“I’m too good for introductions,” Lily announced.
Lily’s mom opened the trunk of her car and handed Lia and Lily a pair of duffle bags. Lily trudged off on one path. When Lia began to follow, Yeji stopped her.
She and Ryujin led her in a different direction, explaining that the counselors stayed in one big lodge, except for those who “babysat” the campers full-time. Lia would be rooming with a girl called Yuna.
“Yuna’s gonna be so happy to meet you!” Yeji said. “It’s been a while since we had someone new in our age group. Usually, people show up as teens and grow up to be counselors rather than coming later.”
That meant Lia would struggle to break between groups of friends. She’d have to learn their humor, their inside jokes, and all of their past memories. Shaking her worries away, she reminded herself that she could stick with these two and their group. They didn’t seem to mind her so far.
“Speaking of Yuna, do you like girls?” Ryujin asked.
Lia nearly choked on air. “Not… I don’t think so.”
“Interesting.”
They continued to the lodge. Lia sighed with relief when she saw that the beds were normal twin mattresses. She wouldn’t be climbing a ladder to a top bunk every night. She dropped her duffel bag in the corner opposite the occupied bed.
Only by taking a glance at the room, Lia learned a number of things about Yuna. Posters were pinned onto the walls, the tiny nightstand was decorated with polaroid photos and a few Blackpink photocards, and dirty clothes dotted the carpet. Lia tossed a stray pair of shorts off of her own bed and smoothed the blankets. It seemed comfortable enough.
“Come on,” Yeji said, “you’ve got to meet Yuna.”
“You’ll probably be working lifeguard duty with her,” Ryujin added, “as long as you can swim pretty well. Everyone else is already partnered up for their jobs, but our previous head lifeguard was bumped up to year-round staff last year, so they’ll need a replacement. In the mornings, you’ll be leading vocals with Yeji.”
Yeji went on, explaining how the schedule worked. The intention of the camp was to inspire kids to create art, but free time filled their schedules more than anything else. Between breakfast and lunch, campers rotated between lessons depending on their own skills and goals. For the rest of the day, they roamed free and enjoyed themselves.
They left the lodge and toured the camp as they made their way closer to the beach. Eight cabins circled an enormous fire pit.
“There are seven other cabins, but you’ll be seeing most of Lily’s group, because we’re good friends with their counselors. You’ll meet them later, too. They’re in cabin six. You’ll be familiar with cabin five, as they’re in the same age group, and really, you’ll learn the majority of the campers by name. You just might not see them outside of lessons and lifeguarding.”
Abandoning the cabins, they moved onto the mess hall; the office, where the paid year-round staff worked; the gathering hall, where indoor activities took place; and the athletics fields and courts. Farther away from the central area, larger, nicer cabins rested along the trail where the year-round staff stayed. When the buildings ended, the trail diverged into two. One sign pointed to the ropes course, archery, and hiking trails. The other directed them to the beach.
The trees parted and the gravel trail shifted to sand. They paused to take their shoes off. Lia’s bare feet sank. Down a rickety wooden pier, a girl sat with her legs in the water.
“Yuna!” Yeji shouted. The girl turned her head. “Get over here!”
The girl stretched her long legs out of the lake and stood. She wore a black, one-piece swimsuit with cutouts on the sides. Her hair fell over her shoulders in two thin braids. She sauntered over to the three of them and stood with a hand on her hip.
“You’re cuter than I thought you’d be,” she remarked, eyes trailing down Lia’s figure.
“Thank you?” Lia replied. Instinctively, she tugged at her cropped shirt, hoping she wouldn’t regret bringing only her lightest clothes.
“Do you like girls?”
Lia uncrossed her arms. “Can someone please explain why I’ve been here for twenty minutes and have already been asked that twice ?”
“It’s an all-girls arts camp. I don’t know what you expected,” Ryujin said.
Yuna raised an eyebrow.
Ryujin spoke again. “You haven’t answered her question.”
Lia bit her lip. Her toes curled. She spun a finger through the belt loop on her shorts. The answer should’ve been “no”, but she didn’t say it. “No” felt too final.
“I haven’t,” Lia said. Yet.
Yuna abandoned the trio, wandering towards the water. She waded to her knees. Lia pried her eyes away from the dropped back of the girl’s swimsuit. There was something alluring about her presence.
“Now you’ve met our resident barbie doll,” Ryujin said. “Where would you like to go next?”
“Can I check out the water?”
Yeji nodded. Lia stepped away from them and followed Yuna into the waves. It was chilly, but warm enough to wade in comfortably. She wished she had her swimsuit on, but all of them sat buried in the bottom of her bag.
She kicked up the water, letting it blow towards the pier with the wind. At the end of the wooden walkway, a tall, white chair stood under an umbrella. A second seat rested on the sandy beach. They were clearly reserved for lifeguards, but Yuna had occupied neither when they’d arrived.
“Are you a good swimmer?” Yuna asked. She didn’t turn to look at Lia. She’d somehow sensed that she was within earshot.
“Yeah, I’d say so. I swam on a team in high school. My endurance is good, although I was never the fastest.”
“Good. The last girl works admin now, which is about as far from the beach as you can get at a campground. Which one do you think she’s better at? Take a wild guess.”
“I’m gonna say she’s better at admin.”
“That was a rhetorical question.”
Lia rolled her eyes. She was past knee-deep now. She stopped, not wanting to risk getting her shorts wet when there were surely places she’d need to go after this. Her stomach growled. Yuna finally glanced back.
“Have you eaten?”
The question was most often a greeting, but in this context, Lia assumed otherwise. “I had a snack earlier this afternoon, but no, I haven’t had dinner.”
“Damn. I forgot that Lily and you came late. The Busan group’s buses come before lunch, and most of the Seoul-area kids come on a train that gets here in the afternoon. Let’s go back. There are plenty of snacks to go around. I’m sure Chaeryeong and Chaeyeon have some to share.”
Lia found herself surprised by the girl’s consideration. She dragged her feet through the water until she’d returned to the beach. Sand stuck to her bare feet. Yuna climbed onto the pier, dried herself off, and tied a towel around her waist. She slid on a pair of flip-flops.
After attempting to brush the sand off of her feet, Lia slid her shoes back on. Yuna joined the three of them, and they began the hike back to the cabins.
They stopped momentarily at the lodge, where Yuna threw a pair of shorts over her swimsuit. Yeji led them to the sixth cabin and opened the door without knocking.
The room beyond the entrance was small and held several couches and tables. One door sat on each wall. The one across from them visibly led to a restroom, but the others were closed. Two counselors and six teenagers, one of whom was Lily, occupied the chairs. The counselors had almost the same face. Lia wondered if they were twins.
One of the counselors cupped her hands around her mouth. “The new girl’s here!”
“She has a name,” Lily retorted.
“Currently, no one fucking knows it, Lily, so shut your goddamn mouth,” one of the other girls spat.
Lily rolled her eyes, pouting.
Lia sighed. It was safe to say that she didn’t miss being a teenager.
She cleared her throat. “I’m Lia.”
Each of the teenage girls stated their name. Lia tried to register them all, but her mind already had a lot to handle. The counselors introduced themselves as Chaeryeong and Chaeyeon: sisters, not twins.
“Lia’s hungry,” Yuna stated. “You have good food.”
Chaeryeong stood and disappeared into one of the side rooms. She returned with a bag of chips and tore it open, handing one to Lia. “Join us. We’re playing name games, because it’s tradition, even though everyone here knows each other already.”
Except you.
Lia found a place in the circle and did her best to play along.
~
Lia woke up to a blinding light. It flickered off, then on again.
She opened her eyes. Yuna’s hand hovered above her head, holding a flashlight.
“Your sleep schedule will adjust, don’t worry. From now on, we go to bed at eleven and wake up at seven. If eight hours isn’t enough for you, grow up.”
Lia rubbed her eyes. The flashlight blinked again. She put a hand up to block it.
“I’m up, I swear.”
“Breakfast is in ten minutes.”
Lia sat up. She had a lot of things to account for and not much time to account for them.
She pulled her blankets up to her pillow when she stood, flattening her sheets. She’d fallen asleep in yesterday’s clothes. It wouldn’t be the last time.
She changed quickly in the corner, running a brush through her hair and crossing her fingers that she looked presentable. Yuna wore a bathrobe, hair tied haphazardly into a bun. They left not even a minute before breakfast was scheduled to begin.
Every single other person in the mess hall was in pajamas.
“You don’t need to put in all that effort when you’re here,” Yuna said, “I mean, it pays off, but, like, no one’s gonna judge you. I’m everyone’s favorite, and look at me.”
“You could show up in a trash bag, and you’d still belong on the cover of a magazine,” Lia told her.
Yuna grinned. “You’ve got a point.”
Lia followed her to the table closest to the kitchen window. It was crowded, but a few empty spots remained. Yuna sat on the end. Lia sat between her and Chaeryeong. The rest of the seats were occupied by the counselors she’d met yesterday, along with Lily. The rest of the girls from Lily’s cabin sat at the table behind them.
A voice boomed through the room. Lia glanced around until her eyes landed on a woman who stood in the back of the room, holding a microphone.
“Welcome to Camp Cheshire!” she shouted. The room filled with applause. Lia clapped along. “I’m Jihyo, the head coordinator here, for those of you who don’t know me. My job is to make sure that everyone else does their job.
“I’m going to take attendance to make sure that everyone’s here, so sit tight for a little while. Once that’s done, I’ll call tables to get food. If you have a nickname you prefer to go by, tell me. Momo, your activities director, will be here at the end of the meal to go over a few more things.”
She began to shout out names. Most shouted “here” in response, but a few jumped out of their seats. The kids at the table next to them, Lily’s friends, made animal noises.
“Choi Jisu,” Jihyo called.
“Here,” Lia exclaimed, raising a hand.
“She goes by Lia!” Yuna yelled.
Lia smiled. Jihyo nodded, moving onto the next name.
Jihyo called their table last, which made sense, as almost all of them were counselors, but it still disappointed Lia that all of the waffles were gone. She took a pancake and a few sausages.
Yuna stacked her plate with food and drenched everything in syrup. “You’ve gotta eat more than that, Lia. You’re gonna be running and singing and swimming all day, every day. You need all of the energy you can get.”
She added another pancake to Lia’s plate. Sitting back down, Lia shook her head. She sawed at her pancakes with a dull butter knife and took a bite.
She sliced her sausages into tiny pieces and ate them one by one, trying to stretch the meal out for longer. Yuna, despite having taken a mountain of food, ate it at a snail’s pace. She’d spend five minutes talking, nibble at her meal, then repeat the process.
A taller woman with short hair and choppy bangs entered, taking Jihyo’s microphone and replacing her in the center.
“Momo’s here,” Yeji whispered. Ryujin’s face lit up. Yeji explained that before Chaeryeong and Ryujin had instructed the dance class, it’d been Momo’s job. Apparently, the woman was some sort of freak of nature.
Momo cleared her throat while inches away from the mic, causing half of the room to flinch. Everyone turned to her. She announced that in ten minutes, cleanup would begin. In forty minutes, after half an hour of time to get ready and prepare their lessons, morning classes would commence. She listed off the activities that would be open later in the day and offered times for the other meals and the nightly campfire.
“Finally, I’m supposed to wait to say this, but you all know already, so I’m gonna tell you now: there’s a talent show the night before everyone leaves. It’s an annual thing. There’s no need to start rehearsing yet, but I’d recommend picking groups and songs before everyone starts preparing. Ooh, and, spoiler, the counselor dance this year is a Girls’ Generation song.”
Momo switched off the mic, covering her hand with her mouth. Jihyo, who still stood off to the side, glared at her. Momo laughed and Jihyo shook her head. Lia turned back to her group.
“I’m betting on ‘The Boys’ or ‘Into the New World’,” Ryujin said.
“What about ‘Genie’?” Yeji countered.
“When will we do Blackpink?” Yuna whined.
“You’re all idiots,” Lily said. “It’s gonna be ‘Gee’.”
Lia nodded, but said nothing. She’d never been much of a dancer, but she figured that there were other counselors without experience. She took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to worry about that, anyway.
“Yuna, you can do Blackpink for your dance,” Chaeyeon suggested. “They always pick older songs for the counselor dance.”
Chaeyeon listed off the past songs to Lia. A lot of them sounded more difficult than ‘Gee’, that was for sure. She told Lia that every year, Chaeryeong, Yeji, Ryujin, and Yuna did some sort of dance together, while she did a solo performance. Lia shook her head when asked if she wanted to join in.
“You can do more than one number,” Yuna suggested.
“I’m not the best dancer,” Lia replied.
Yuna shook her head. “I’m sure that with a little bit of work, you’d be fine. Are you going to sing, though? Yeji would love to do a duet with you.”
Yeji nodded supportively from further down. Lia shrugged. “I’ll think about it. I was in choir in high school, but I never took any solos. I’m better off in supporting roles.”
Yuna put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t say that, Lia. Anyways, I’m sure you’ll get used to singing in front of people after teaching kids how to do it for a few weeks. We’ll give you time to think about what you want. If you decide that the group dance is enough, that’s fine too.”
People shuffled around the room, putting their dishes away, so their group followed. They returned to the lodge as a group to make themselves presentable. Lia sat in the silent common area. She allowed her mind to settle, breathing slowly and preparing herself for the day.
“Lia! Let’s go! We should be there a few minutes early, before the campers come,” Yeji yelled. She found Lia on the couch and grabbed her hand.
She dragged her out of the cabin and let go when they were finally outside. “Don’t worry, I have everything planned out already. You’ll just be helping out and demonstrating and stuff. I’ve been doing this for years. Hopefully, you don’t mind teaching the same lesson three times.”
Lia shook her head in disbelief. “I’ll survive.”
Yeji laughed.
It was going to be a long summer.
~
Lia stepped out of the shower. The water left her hair tangled and her skin dry, but it was better than smelling like the lake.
Today marked her third full day staying in the lodge, and slowly but surely, she found rhythm in the days. The food was great, even if breakfast was too early. The nightly campfires were crowded in a cozy sort of way. Yuna flirted with her endlessly, yet the attention was sort of nice. She liked it here.
She pulled her pajamas on and returned to her room.
“What did you shower for?” Yuna asked.
Lia dropped her dirty clothes into her laundry bag and turned to look at the girl.
“Oh, wait, you don’t know about the midnight swim.” Yuna chuckled. “Every year, on the fourth night at camp, the counselors go to the lake at eleven, right after the campers’ bedtime. We don’t get any sleep, but it’s worth the fun. Wear your best swimsuit. We start walking in five minutes.”
Lia blinked at her. It took a moment for the words to register.
She crouched over her duffel bag. She’d brought five swimsuits, four of which she’d had for months or years. She’d ordered the fifth online as a last-minute addition to her camp wardrobe. It was the only one of the five that she hadn’t worn yet, and this seemed like the perfect occasion. The baby-blue bikini hugged her frame, revealing enough to stretch her comfort zone but not enough to break outside of it. She turned.
Yuna gasped. “Why have you been hiding this from me?!”
Lia giggled. “Saved it for a rainy day, I guess.”
“Well, you look hot as hell. Oh, and funnily enough, it rained last year. It was a lot of fun, actually.”
They each grabbed a towel and left. Yuna wore the same bathing suit that she’d been wearing at Lia’s arrival.
The trek to the beach took less effort each day. Whether that was due to the repetition or to her legs growing stronger, Lia couldn’t tell. They stopped a few times to empty gravel out of their shoes, but made it to the lake before long.
They tossed their flip-flops in the growing pile at the edge of the sand.
Yeji came running. Dust flew up behind each of her footsteps. “Oh my god! You two look stunning. Wow . ”
Ryujin appeared behind Yeji and linked their arms together. “Come on, we’ve got to go now if we want to get in on this game of volleyball.”
She ended up on the same team as the two of them. Yuna stood on the opposite side of the net, knees bent, hands together.
Someone on the other team served the ball. It bounced across a few pairs of hands before making it back and then returning again. Lia stood and watched for the first few plays. She eyed the others’ strategies. She didn’t have to be good, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try.
Yuna jumped, spiking the ball straight at Lia. Lia closed her eyes, putting her hands out and crouching slightly for leverage. The ball collided with her palms and flew away from her. She opened her eyes. It caught in the net and tumbled to the ground.
“Nice try,” Yeji called out. “Yuna’s spikes are no joke.”
Lia kicked the ball back to the other team, repositioning herself. The ball came to her again, this time on a softer curve. She reached up, setting it over the net. It hit the sand with a soft thump.
Her teammates cheered. A girl from one of the younger cabins held out her fist. Ryujin served the ball.
After a decent stretch of beach volleyball, someone realized they weren’t even keeping score, and everyone agreed that it was time to get in the water. They scurried down the pier, shivering as the temperature of the air decreased.
Yuna spoke loud enough to quiet the crowd. “The water’s probably warmer than the air at this point, so it’ll be fine once we get used to it. Good luck getting out, though.” She leaped into the lake, cheering once her head emerged.
The line thinned as everyone entered the water. It was too shallow to dive, but they cannon-balled, straddle-jumped, and spun into the water. One girl belly-flopped, which led to a lot of laughing and one very red face.
“I’m going to the raft, if anyone wants to come with me. It’s first come, first serve, so be ready to tread water!” Yuna kicked away from the group. After a moment’s thought, Lia followed her, pushing the water away from her as she swam. Slowly but surely, she caught up with Yuna, until they were side-by-side.
The raft had one plastic ladder. It required a lot of arm strength to climb, as the bottom rungs were covered in algae and it was pointless to try to get a grip on them. Lia was the first to collapse atop the floating rectangle. Yuna joined her within seconds, rolling to her side.
They breathed in silence for a moment. Voices echoed across the water. Kicking and splashing grew closer. The raft leaned one way. Two bodies joined them. The raft popped back into place.
“It’s nice out here, isn’t it?” Chaeryeong said.
“It’s quieter,” Chaeyeon agreed.
“You interrupted our alone time,” Yuna whined.
Chaeryeong and her sister laughed. Lia took in a slow breath and stared at the sky. Clouds covered the stars. She wished she could see them.
To her surprise, no one else arrived. She’d expected Ryujin and Yeji at the very least.
Yuna answered her questions. “They’re probably making out in the trees… or the sand… or the water. Yeji’s not much of a swimmer, anyways.”
Chaeyeon climbed to the edge and dove in, spraying water up to the others. Lia stood once she’d returned.
She shook out her joints and took a breath, letting her lungs expand with air. She bent her knees and closed her eyes. As powerfully as she could, she pushed against the raft and jumped headfirst into the water, twisting before slicing through the surface.
She slowed herself and coasted further down until plants floated around her hands. Air escaped her nose and roamed to the surface. She kicked back up.
“Thank god. You had me worried,” Yuna said.
Lia laughed, paddling towards the ladder. “I’m a good swimmer. You don’t need to worry.”
“That’s not going to stop me.” Yuna held out a hand, pulling her back onto the safe platform. “It’s a bit late, but I should warn you: the water’s about twenty feet deep here. I don’t know how good of a diver you are or whether you’d be that deep either way, but don’t hit your head.”
Chaeryeong took her turn, flipping backwards into the waves. The water swallowed her, but spit her back after only a moment. Chaeyeon cheered.
“It’s your turn, Yuna,” Chaeryeong said. She tipped back into a float.
“I’m alright, thanks. Maybe a different time.” Yuna squeezed Lia’s hand.
Lia had forgotten she held it. She didn’t pull away. It seemed insensitive to do so, given how shaken Yuna was. She’d been underwater for barely thirty seconds, but maybe it’d felt like more. Maybe Yuna had underestimated her. Maybe she’d taken an unnecessary risk.
“Do you want to head back?” she asked.
Yuna nodded. They dropped into the murky darkness. Lia kept her head above the surface, hovering next to the girl as they swam. The water comforted her now that she’d gotten used to the temperature. It’d been too long since she’d visited a pool, much less a lake or the ocean. Her legs tired as they neared shore, but she propelled herself far enough to climb onto the pier.
Yuna took her hand again. Lia ignored the gesture, instead focusing on the circle of girls in the sand.
Yuna stuck out her bottom lip. “They’re playing spin the bottle without us. Come on, I don’t want to miss it.” She dragged Lia to the crowd.
“Spin the bottle?”
She dragged Lia to the group. “Make room. Chaeryeong and Chaeyeon are coming too.”
They sat down side-by-side. The pair of sisters arrived after a few minutes of waiting and took the spots that’d been made for them.
“Lia, as you’re new, I’ll explain the rules,” one of the other counselors said. “I’m sure you’ve played spin the bottle before. It’s pretty simple. You spin the bottle and kiss whoever it lands on. It’s up to you and the other person what sort of kiss this is, but we’ve collectively decided that it must be on the lips. For Chaeryeong and Chaeyeon, as they’re sisters, or if you land on yourself, the bottle is re-spun. Any questions?”
“Can I opt out?”
“No.” She turned to the girl next to her. “Riku, you’re spinning first.”
The girl placed the empty glass bottle in the middle of the circle. She smoothed the spot around it and spun the bottle. The neck pointed to Yuna.
Yuna sighed. She brushed sand off of her thighs as she crawled forward, meeting Riku in the middle. Riku took her shoulders and brought their lips together, holding Yuna hostage.
Lia closed her eyes. She sighed with relief when she felt Yuna fall back into place next to her.
“Maya, you’re up,” the same counselor announced.
The next girl in the line took her turn. She landed on some girl named Rio. They remained with faces pressed against each other for minutes. The first counselor eventually ordered them to cease, and they returned to their spots.
“Lia, your turn.”
“Aren’t we going in a circle?”
“No.”
Lia pulled the neckline of her swimsuit up. She leaned over, spinning the glass bottle and praying that it landed on one of the girls she didn’t know. It paused in front of Chaeyeon. She leaned forward and squeezed her eyes shut again, holding her breath. A pair of lips dusted hers.
“Next. Mako.”
Lia moved away from the middle. Yuna’s eyes shot daggers at Chaeyeon, who remained unfazed.
The bottle continued to zigzag between hands. By the end of the night, it’d hit everyone except Yuna, by some miracle. Part of Lia wanted to be sympathetic — the girl had seemed so excited to play, and she hadn’t had a turn. The other part of her was glad that Yuna had never had an opportunity to land on her. The thought made her stomach churn.
They returned to the lodge as one large group, complaining about how much sleep they’d get and daydreaming about how much fun they’d have next year. When Lia pulled the sheets up to her chin, she expected to fall asleep within moments.
Yuna whispered. It was enough to fill the silence. “When you spun, were you afraid that the bottle would land on me? Were you afraid that I would take a turn and be forced to kiss you?”
“I don’t know,” Lia replied.
“I know I can come on a bit strong sometimes, but I swear, you don’t need to be afraid of me. If we’d ended up paired, I would’ve kissed you as lightly as Chaeryeong did. I don’t want to scare you away, and I care about you, too. You deserve to feel safe. If it does matter to you, also, there’s nothing between Riku and me.”
“Thank you.”
“I was jealous of Chaeyeon, though,” Yuna mumbled.
Lia closed her eyes, letting sweet darkness envelop her. More than she had been over the past nights, she was comfortable.