campfires ₰ l.gn ✓

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"boys, i needed you in the..." melody pauses as her eyes glance at the scene in front of her. "...uh, lobby."

ni-ki is sprawled out dramatically on the bench outside the lobby. his arms are outstretched above his head, pink (he insists it's salmon and not pink, but it's definitely pink) vans covered feet resting on the ground. melody giggles at his posture and her eyes wander to the males seated next to him, their positioning on the bench almost identical to the camper's. in line beside him are youngbin, beomgyu and jeongin, lounging on the chairs beside ni-ki, experimenting with different methods to escape the heat.

jeongin is attempting to fan himself with a sorry excuse of a paper fan, which she notices is made of stolen construction paper from the art room. youngbin and beomgyu are blocking the sun with two large pieces of wrinkly newspaper, also looted from the arts and crafts room.

"oh uhh h-hi melody!" jeongin crumples the paper fan, scrambling to tuck it into the pocket of his shorts, his honest self feeling apologetic immediately. "we were just uhhh beating the heat."

"i could tell," she giggles. "i can also see you ransacked my art supplies for your endeavor."

"uhh-"

"we're sorry, it's just too hot outside~ i think i might melt." beomgyu complains, hands flying to his face to dramatically act it out.

"we were outside rock climbing with the kids and it was just too hot, so we cancelled class and had everyone rest. technically, we still have to watch over the area because geonu's not going to be back for another hour or so." youngbin says, pointing to the empty camp grounds in front of them. melody follows his gaze, noticing a few small groups of campers hidden in the shade. she giggles as a couple of the younger campers charge towards the tall 2006-born boy with colorful pieces of chalk clenched in their fists.

the three counselors go back to sunbathing (more like sun-escaping), as melody giggles at the camper who has remained silent in front of her. "what's with you?" she points to ni-ki, watching him adjust the giant sunglasses on his face.

"daniel left me to play with the minis, so these guys persuaded me to hang out with them." the grouchy teen responds. he looks directly at melody and groans, "but now i regret it. i just want it to rain because this heat is torturous."

about an hour later, it seems like niki's wish might come true.

geonu finally returns from the grocery store, bags of food ingredients in his hands. for some reason, his calculations were off and the kind staff who cook food for them were short on some ingredients needed for the final few days. so, he ventured out to purchase the necessary items and is now moving them from the back of his jeep to the kitchen area, with melody's help.

"that should be the last one!" melody claps excitedly, and geonu smiles at her. he thinks he feels the light drops of rain on his shoulder as he opens the passenger side door and stuffs the small red box into the pocket of his shorts.

"you are correct." he laughs, locking the car. he watches the girl begin skip to awning of the lobby as the raindrops feel heavier and more frequent. geonu scuttles after the girl, already feeling his shirt stick to his body from the humidity of the air.

the female counselor stops mid-way, looking up to the sky and smiling goofily. she sticks her palm out in front of her from, wanting to feel the little tickle of raindrops on her outstretched fingers. geonu slows his jog as he reaches her side, saying "come on, it's going to start raining heavily soon."

she just giggles and shakes her head at geonu's incredible responsibility. "live a little, head counselor." she pauses excitedly, a sparkle making its way to her eyes as she speaks, "haven't you ever wanted to have your cliche enjoying the rain moment?" and with that she runs around in a circle around the boy.

"not particularly, no."

but still, geonu's eyes follow her. he watches as she raises her head to the sky, tongue darting out mischievously to taste the raindrops in her mouth. he smiles as he sees her twirl with her arms stretched out to her sides, embracing each and every droplet that's comes in contact with her skin. he admires her spirit, carefree and bold, watching the liveliness in her eyes as she lets the water collide gently against her. as he notices that her hair has darkened from a caramel to a dark brown, she turns around to face him, a smile prancing daintily across her face. "let's dance."

and so, he obliges, taking her hands in his. they waltz in the rain, moving a few steps at a time, letting the rain pour down around them, but they're already too lost in the moment to realize that.