☼ main campfire

@✦ ning yizhuo "Right, sorry." The immediate hostility would normally throw Jooyeon for a loop but he's nothing if not determined. He does shuffle a few inches away, hands curling around the edge of the bench as he leans over a bit to make his face visible.

"Anyway, it's okay," he says, smiling at her warmly, as if it will help to melt at least a little of the tension between them. "We didn't talk much last time, but I did introduce myself! Since you don't remember I'll just, um, uh..." As Jooyeon continues to speak he realizes that maybe he's coming on too strong. At the very least definitely way more energetic than he should be, and he's been told he can be too excitable sometimes, even by his own cabin mates. He coughs - perhaps the fakest one has ever coughed in the history of conversations - and decides to start over. "I'm Jooyeon. From cabin seven. I don't think I caught your name at the last bonfire?"

Jooyeon's feet shuffle in the dirt, the tips of his shoes quietly knocking together in slight apprehension. He really doesn't want to mess this up. Again.

Worried that he may scare her off like last time Jooyeon quickly backpedals. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" He waves his hand while speaking before scratching the side of his head. "I'm just curious what you're, ah, what you're reading there?”

@✦ lee jooyeon The lively crackle of the campfire and the buzz of conversation envelop Ningning, who reluctantly finds herself trapped in the ongoing festivities. Her siblings, in their well-meaning but persistently meddlesome ways, have coerced her into this social affair, and it grates on every last one of her nerves.

She questions her judgment in letting them drag her here. The animated banter, laughter, and general commotion clash sharply with her preference for solitude. As conversation continues around her, she longs for the quiet refuge of her cabin bed. The sleepless nights recently have left her weary, and the insistence from her siblings on dragging her out to this gathering against her will only deepens her fatigue.

With a resigned exhale, Ningning opens the book in her hands, determined to drown out the noise and reclaim a semblance of tranquility.

Her highly sought-after sanctuary, however, is promptly disrupted as an unexpected presence slides into the seat next to her. A flicker of discomfort crosses her face as she subtly shifts away, knuckles turning white as she grips the edges of her book with a bit more force than usual. The pages begin to crumple beneath the sudden pressure.

"Do you /have/ to sit so close to me?” she hisses, shoulders drawing up high with apprehension.

The person beside her seems unfazed. Ningning's response to their following question is swift, her irritation growing more evident.

“No,” she says, the retort accompanied by a cold glance before her attention turns pointedly back to her book, though she finds the words now to be much less captivating than before. "Am I supposed to remember you?"

@✦ ning yizhuo Jooyeon shivers as a chill breeze whispers through the campfire area. He shuffles closer to the bonfire, enough to feel the heat stinging his eyes, and holds his hands up to it. He really should have grabbed a sweatshirt on his way out of the cabin but in his defense he didn't think it was going to get this cold. For a son of Apollo at least; everyone else seems to be mostly fine, laughing and dancing around the fire.

None of his cabinmates joined him and Jooyeon, despite having been at the camp for several years, doesn't know a majority of the campers in attendance this evening. This leaves him standing awkwardly by himself, wiggling his fingers as they start to warm up.

Maybe he should just head back? It's not even that late yet, but it might get colder still.

He sighs, edging his way around the bonfire towards the seating on the opposite side. He'll stick around just a little longer; maybe he can find someone to talk to! Although... nearing the wooden benches it looks like everyone already there is engaged with each other. Except for, "Oh, it's you!" Jooyeon says, perhaps too loudly as he quickly approaches the other camper. "I was hoping to see you again," He grins and takes a seat next to her, making sure at the last second not to get too close. "Do you remember me? From the other bonfire?"