Mount Seorayeon, 8:03 PM
The clearing behind the camp lit up with warmth.
Long benches circled a massive bonfire built in the center of the clearing. Its flames licked the night air with orange and gold, casting flickering shadows across the students' faces. The teachers had set up portable speakers that hummed low with music, and someone had already started passing around toasted rice crackers and sweet roasted chestnuts.
Daewon sat on one of the benches, chin resting on his palm, watching the fire crackle. His hoodie sleeves were pulled over his hands, and the flickering flames reflected in his eyes.
Someone bumped his shoulder softly.
He turned - and Aera stood there.
She was wrapped in a dark navy jacket, oversized and soft, the collar zipped up all the way to her chin. Her cheeks were faintly pink from the wind, and her breath puffed out in tiny clouds.
"Sorry," she said, rubbing the spot where she'd bumped him. "Wasn't looking."
Daewon shook his head. "It's fine. You can sit."
Aera hesitated only a moment before settling beside him. The bench dipped with her weight. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The fire crackled, music drifted through the cold air, and laughter rose from nearby where students were telling scary stories with exaggerated gestures.
"It's warmer than I thought it'd be," Aera said, voice soft.
Daewon glanced sideways. "You're still shaking."
She paused. Then held her hands out to the fire. "A little."
He hesitated. Then, almost too casually, he pulled one hand from his sleeve and held it out between them - open palm, like an offering.
Aera blinked. "What's this?"
Daewon shrugged. "Your hands are always freezing."
She looked at him.
And then, quietly, she slipped her hand into his.
It was small, soft, cold - but it warmed quickly.
They didn't say anything. Just sat there, holding hands as the bonfire blazed in front of them.
Later, the teachers brought out marshmallows.
The air was filled with laughter, sugary smoke, and the sound of someone playing guitar off to the side. The flames cast golden light on Aera's cheeks, making her eyes gleam like starlight when she turned toward Daewon, a marshmallow skewered and slightly burnt.
"You eat burnt ones?" she asked.
He bit into his perfectly roasted one. "No. That one's for sacrifices."
She laughed. Really laughed, her shoulders shaking slightly. "Then I guess I'm cursed."
They both laughed. It was easy in that moment. Safe.
After the marshmallows, someone brought out sparklers.
"Let's light them all at once!" someone yelled, and the clearing exploded into soft bursts of light - sparkling trails and glowing laughter. Aera and Daewon stood a little away from the others, their sparklers buzzing in gold.
"Don't move," Aera said, and raised her sparkler.
"What?"
"I want to draw something."
She moved the sparkler in the air - slow, looping strokes.
"What's that supposed to be?" Daewon asked.
"A star."
"It looks like a sea cucumber."
She laughed again, swatting him gently.
Then she paused.
"…What about you?" she asked. "If you could draw something in the air right now… what would it be?"
Daewon thought.
"…Maybe a blue umbrella."
Aera looked at him.
She didn't smile right away. She just stood there, sparkler buzzing low in her hand, cheeks glowing with soft pink.
Then she whispered, "...That's such a you answer."
Daewon scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. "What does that even mean?"
Aera shook her head with a small smile. "Nothing. Just -"
She didn't finish. The sparkler burned out between her fingers.
The night air grew quieter. The bonfire burned lower, more orange than gold now, casting long shadows across the mountain clearing.
As the teachers began ushering students toward their tents, Daewon and Aera lingered near the edge of the clearing. The crowd slowly thinned, voices fading behind them.
Above them, stars scattered endlessly across the sky.
"Can we stay just a minute more?" Aera asked.
Daewon nodded.
She turned to look up at the stars, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her jacket.
"I always feel small under the sky," she said. "But it doesn't feel scary. It feels… quiet. Like I can finally hear myself think."
Daewon glanced at her.
The firelight was mostly gone now. Her face was lit only by moonlight.
He said, "...What are you thinking right now?"
Aera didn't answer right away.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper -
"I'm thinking I like right now. This moment. The fire, the stars, the cold, the -"
She didn't finish.
Daewon's heart skipped. Loudly.
But he didn't speak either.
They stood there in silence, surrounded by the quiet of the mountain night.
Two silhouettes under the stars.
Next Morning, Mount Seorayeon - 6:24 AM
A thin layer of mist curled across the campsite.
The early light stretched in gentle golds and pinks through the pine trees, soft and sleepy. Birds chirped, sleepy students yawned and shuffled about, and the smell of instant ramyeon and steamed buns wafted from a portable stove set up by the teachers.
Daewon stepped out of his tent, hoodie half-zipped, hair tousled with sleep. He rubbed his eyes and took in the morning view.
Aera was already awake.
She stood near the edge of the trail, hands in her sleeves, looking toward the mountains where the sun peeked over the distant ridge. The quiet wind moved her hair, and a gentle, thoughtful expression rested on her face.
Daewon watched her for a moment.
He didn't say anything.
Somehow… he just wanted to remember that image of her. Standing there in the early morning light, a little tired, a little peaceful.
Then she turned - and saw him.
Their eyes met.
"...Morning," she said, her voice still a little sleepy.
Daewon nodded. "Morning."
"Did you sleep okay?"
He smiled a little. "The floor was hard. But the stars were nice."
Aera smiled back. "Yeah… it was kind of perfect."
They ate side by side in comfortable silence, sipping hot soup and sharing pieces of sweet bread the teacher had passed out.
After breakfast, it was time to pack up.
Sleeping bags rolled, tents folded, students half-laughing and half-whining as they stuffed their bags and helped clean the site. Teachers gave soft instructions, and before long, everything was neatly loaded onto the school bus waiting at the base of the trail.
Daewon stood next to his backpack, looking one last time at the forest.
"...Feels like it went by too fast," he said.
Aera stood beside him. Her fingers brushed a leaf from her jacket. She was quiet for a beat, then said, softly:
"Sometimes the best things don't last long. But… that's what makes them special."
Daewon turned toward her.
There was something about the way she said it. Gentle. Honest.
He opened his mouth, but then the teacher's whistle blew.
"Let's go! Everyone on the bus!"
Inside the school bus, 10:03 AM
The engine rumbled as the road curved back toward the city.
Aera sat by the window, forehead lightly against the glass, watching the trees pass by in streaks of green and gold.
Daewon sat beside her, earbuds in, one playing soft music. They didn't speak, but the quiet between them was easy. The kind that didn't need filling.
She glanced at him once.
He was staring at the seat in front of him, absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his knee in time with the music. His expression was thoughtful - calm, but distant.
Aera looked away again, heart quietly warm.
She remembered the bonfire.
The hand he offered.
The blue umbrella sparkler in the air.
The stars.
And his eyes - how they softened just a little more when he looked at her.
Elsewhere on the same bus seat
Daewon was thinking too.
About how small her hand had felt in his.
About the way she'd laughed over the marshmallow.
About the way she looked up at the stars and said she liked that moment.
He smiled faintly, barely visible.
It was like a memory already tucked into the safest part of his chest.
Back at school, the students filed off the bus with sleepy yawns and reluctant steps. The sun was higher now, warming the front gate of their middle school.
"Back to reality," someone joked.
But Daewon stood near the gate, bag slung over one shoulder, watching as Aera stepped off the bus behind him.
She turned and looked at him.
"See you tomorrow?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah."
But then - just before she turned to go - he added:
"...Thanks."
Aera blinked. "For what?"
He shrugged. "For this trip. For being... you."
She stood there for a moment, sunlight in her hair.
Then she smiled.
"Aren't you getting soft, Kang Daewon?"
"Maybe," he said, looking away with a grin. "Just for today."
That night, in their separate homes
Aera sat by her window, knees tucked to her chest, journal open on her lap. Her pen hovered for a long time before she finally wrote:
> The stars didn't say anything. But it felt like he did.
And for once… I didn't want the night to end.
Daewon lay on his bed, arms behind his head, phone screen still showing a picture of the sparkler stars someone had taken during the bonfire.
He looked at it.
And quietly whispered to himself:
"...Aera."
Then turned off the light.
And smiled.