We all froze when we heard the rustling from the trees behind us...
Minho stood up first, already tensing like a bodyguard. Travis followed, eyes narrowed.
"...Please let that be a raccoon," James whispered.
A voice broke through the brush. "Whoa! didn't know anyone else would be up here." Out from the shadows came another group seven people our age, maybe a little older. Two girls, five, guys dressed in laid-back outdoor wear and carrying their own snacks and foldable chairs.
"Oh my god," Ryan groaned. "You scared the hell out of us."
The tallest guy in their group chuckled. "Sorry, didn't mean to. We thought we'd be alone too."
Twan glanced at Minho, who shrugged—still wary, but not hostile.
"Well," one of the girls said, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "looks like we all had the same idea. Hope you guys don't mind if we stay on the other side of the clearing?"
"It's public space," Minho muttered.
"Cool." The girl winked at James. "We'll be over here if you change your minds."
James smirked, then muttered under his breath, "God bless outdoor socializing."
The other group settled a short distance away, close enough to be seen but not close enough to really join forces. Still, some banter was exchanged when Travis passed over a half-finished bag of shrimp crackers.
"I'm surprised you're sharing," I teased.
"I'm just trying to prevent world war shrimp," he deadpanned.
One of the other girls wandered a little closer to our side, pointing at Twan's camping chair. "Where'd you get that? That looks way comfier than ours."
"You wanna try it?" Twan asked, charming as ever. "I charge by the minute."
She giggled, then gave him a once-over. "I don't mind going into debt."
Everyone laughed—except Travis, who looked ready to file a noise complaint with the mountain spirits.
Eventually, both groups eased into a natural rhythm—laughing, teasing, someone even tossed a frisbee into the trees (and promptly lost it). The air began to cool, the other group said their goodbyes and retreated toward their own side of the clearing, but not before one of the guys gave me a weird double-take.
"You look familiar," he said.
"I get that a lot?" I replied.
"Right... never mind." He nodded once, then jogged to catch up with his group.
Huh. Weird.
Back at our own camp spot, the boys rearranged the chairs, and Minho emerged from the car holding the brown paper bag like it contained treasure. And it did.
He plopped the bag on the center table, tore it open, and revealed three bottles of Hakushika sake—chilled and shimmering with condensation.
"Oh hell yes," James whispered in reverence.
"Dude," Ryan groaned. "You brought that and didn't tell us?"
"You're welcome," Minho said coolly.
I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this illegal?"
"We're supervised," Ryan said, gesturing to the moon.
"Supervised by bad decisions," Travis muttered.
Minho opened the first bottle and poured the sake into some small shot cups. "Just one," he said to me.
I stared at the tiny cup. "I don't know..."
"You scared?" James taunted.
"No..."
"You don't have to," Ryan said, leaning in protectively.
I took the shot and downed it. The boys burst into cheers.
"Atta girl," Ryan grinned.
Twenty minutes later, I'd had three.
"Okay! Okay okay okay." Travis, now significantly looser, clapped his hands. "Truth or dare."
I flopped onto the picnic blanket. "Absolutely not."
"Never Have I Ever, then," James suggested.
"Oooh, yes," Twan chimed in. "Let's spill."
Ryan leaned back in his chair. "I'll go first. Never have I ever... kissed someone from school."
James, Minho, and Travis all took a sip without hesitation. I looked over at Twan, who raised a brow and slowly brought his cup to his lips like he was savoring the attention.
I blinked at him. "Seriously?"
He just winked.
Then, reluctantly, but not too reluctantly—I picked up my own shot and took a sip. Five heads swiveled toward me.
"Wait, you too?" James asked, grinning.
"Not from this school," I clarified quickly, raising a hand.
Minho smirked. "So a mystery guy, huh?"
"Former school," I muttered, cheeks heating up.
"Oh, the plot thickens," Ryan teased.
"Shut up," I laughed, setting my cup down. "Alright alright, my turn. Never have I ever... snuck out after curfew."
Travis, Twan and Minho drank. James looked like he was debating whether to lie or not, then sipped too.
I stared at Minho. "You? Mister Model Student?"
He shrugged. "Gotta keep the GPA and the gossip balanced."
Then came Travis's dare. Literally out of the blue. I swear this guy when he has alcohol in his system "Okay. Twan. James. One of you has to fake confess to Elise."
"Bro—" James started.
Travis leaned forward. "Fake. Confession. To. Elise."
Twan rolled his eyes. "Easy." He stood, turned to me dramatically, and placed a hand over his chest. "Elise. From the moment I saw you standing outside the gate that day, I knew you were trouble. Like... girl-who-eats-all-the-good-toppings-from-the-ramen trouble. But I'm okay with that."
I laughed so hard I nearly snorted. Then James stood up.
His voice was quieter. "Elise... I don't fake anything."
The air shifted. I stared. James gave a wink—joking? Not joking? Then he plopped down and grabbed another takoyaki like nothing happened. Twan looked confused. Travis muttered, "What the hell..."
Ryan blinked while coughing as he said. "Moving on."
The game continued, with secrets flying out casually—Ryan admitted he almost left school last year, Twan said he'd gotten into a fight once (a fist fight, apparently), Travis confessed he's lowkey scared of cats, and Minho... didn't say anything until prompted.
"Your turn," I nudged him.
He looked down at his shot. "Never have I ever... wanted to run away from everything."
Everyone went quiet. Then Minho drank. So did Ryan. And Travis. I followed suit. The silence that followed was heavier than any of the jokes.
"Okay," I said, suddenly fidgety. "My turn. Never have I ever... told anyone this, but sometimes I feel like... I'm always expected to have it together." The wind picked up a little. No one moved. So I continued. "Like if I mess up, everything falls apart. Because I'm the eldest. I'm the one who has to know better."
I drank.
So did Minho and Ryan. I wasn't expecting that. No one spoke for a while.
Then Ryan cracked open another bottle. "Alright, I'm gonna cry if we keep this up."
"Same," Travis exhaled. "Can we talk about something fun or what?"
Laughter resumed, and just like that, the mood lightened again.
After another round of teasing and ridiculous dares, including James being dared to pretend he was in a soap opera confession scene and dramatically declaring his love to a tree—Ryan suddenly stood up and stretched.
"I'm gonna check something in the car," he said casually.
Minho stood up too, brushing sand off his sweatpants. "I'll come with."
"Both of you?" Travis raised a brow.
"Yeah," Ryan said. "We left a thing. In the trunk."
"What thing?" Twan asked through a mouthful of melon pan.
Ryan just gave a shrug and started walking. Minho followed without saying a word.
I blinked. "What thing?"
"Probably drugs" James joked.
They disappeared into the tree line toward the parked cars. The rest of the group didn't seem too concerned. Travis pulled out his phone and started playing lo-fi from a speaker he snuck in his bag, while James and Twan argued over who would win in a foot race. I watched them goof around, feeling that subtle warmth still in my chest from the sake—but also something strange tickling my gut.
Minutes passed. Ten. Then fifteen. I glanced toward the direction they disappeared to. Still no sign of Minho or Ryan.
"I'll go check if they got eaten by bears or something," I joked, standing up and dusting off my joggers.
"Tell them to bring snacks!" Twan called after me.
"Or to come back before Elise sobers up and starts math problems!" James added.
I gave them both a mock glare and flipped them off playfully before heading into the trees. The moment I stepped past the outer glow of the portable lights they'd set up, the sounds of the group softened into a background hum, replaced by the quiet hush of the forest. The air was cooler here, a little damper, and each crunch of leaves beneath my sneakers felt louder than it should.
I didn't really know where I was going. I was mostly following my instincts and faint memory of where the cars were parked—but at some point, I paused. My head still felt a little foggy, but the walk helped. "I need air," I muttered under my breath. No one was around to hear it anyway.
I veered slightly off the narrow path that led to the cars and wandered toward the tree line, letting the cool breeze hit my face. I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the stillness. Then I heard it. Voices. Low, familiar ones.
I stepped closer, the trees muffling their sound. I crouched down slightly, my breath caught in my chest as I crept behind the thick trunk of a tree. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop... Okay I am eavesdropping.
"...so what are you gonna do?" Ryan's voice.
Minho sighed, and his voice came next—lower, heavier. "Nothing. For now."
"Dude..." Ryan replied.
"She's not ready to know," Minho added, almost like he was reminding himself. "You said it yourself."
There was a pause. A tense one.
"She deserves to know eventually."
"I know. But what good will it do right now?" Minho muttered. "She's just starting to get comfortable with us."
Us? They were definitely talking about me. I stayed frozen behind the tree, barely daring to breathe.
"Besides," Minho continued, "Josh might already be feeding her his version of it."
Ryan let out a frustrated groan. "If she finds out through him first..."
"She won't," Minho said quickly.
"You better be right," Ryan replied.
Then I heard footsteps, crunching leaves. Crap. I turned quickly and stumbled away from the sound, trying to loop back around to the campsite before they caught me listening. My heart pounded harder than it had all night, and not because of the alcohol.
What wasn't I ready to know?
What did Josh have to do with it?
And... what exactly were they hiding?