28
KING
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As I step out of Erica’s cabin, tired and exhausted from everything that happened last night, I notice a figure walking slowly in this direction.
Seo-jun.
The man looks drunk himself, heading straight for Erica’s cabin.
Rage bubbles up inside me the second I see him; scorching rage coiling to a tight singularity in my chest, making my hands clench.
Just looking at him stirs up anger and disgust; he’s loose with the women here, careless, and after what happened to Erica, I can’t stand the sight of him near her again.
I say a silent prayer for strength to keep control.
I step off the porch and take heavy strides toward him. Seo-jun stops in his tracks, probably caught off guard that I’m coming at him.
“No! No! Don’t come near her again!” I yell, the words ripping out of me, my mind barely held together.
Seo-jun laughs, confused. “What?”
“You think it’s funny?” I demand. “Where were you? She could have been raped.”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” he states.
“You didn’t protect her either,” I reply. “That’s not being a good representative of Christ. You were supposed to look out for her and the other women.”
Seo-jun steps closer. “Who do you think you are? You act like you’re so innocent.”
“I’m not,” I admit. “But I represent this ministry, and what I try to do is uphold the standards of a Christian and protect those around me. You were supposed to protect her.”
Zoe steps outside the cabin.
Seo-jun smirks. “What, you want to fight me?” He steps right up to me.
I’m fighting with everything inside to maintain control. It’s difficult because it’s possible this man, who’s so loose with the women at camp, could have been the one who drugged Erica. There’s no proof, but if he so much as breathes on me wrong…
Javier comes out, looking between us warily. “What’s going on?”
Seo-jun and I don’t break eye contact.
Seo-jun smirks smugly and mock-charges me, acting like he was about to throw a punch.
My guess is he expected me to flinch. I don't.
He nods with that stupid smile, then stumbles past me toward his cabin.
As I take a right to head for my own cabin, I look at Javier, still shaking with anger, and say loud enough for Seo-jun to hear, “In the morning we should all talk about Seo-jun’s employment and if he’s the right fit to be leading the kids.”
Seo-jun yells back at both of us, “I’ll make it easier. I quit.”
Unfortunately, after what happened, I had to tell Javier and Sister Paula what happened to Erica. It was the only way to justify Seo-jun’s termination.
What I didn’t expect was for Erica to get into trouble.
I wait with bated breath for her to come out of the office. At some point, I step outside just to catch my breath and get some fresh air. Finally Erica comes out, her pretty red hair hanging around her face, parted in the middle. Her face looks ashen.
Before I can ask how it went, she yells at me, “Thanks a lot! I’m fired!”
She pushes past me, bumping into me on purpose.
There must be some mistake.
I feel absolutely guilty as I watch Erica storm off, her shoulders tense and her steps quick.
That wasn’t my intention, to get her fired.
I never wanted that. I just wanted Seo-jun gone because he wasn’t safe for her, or anyone else here.
But now she’s the one paying for it, and the look on her face when she yelled at me is burned into my head.
I follow her back toward her cabin, keeping my distance at first. “Erica,” I call out.
She doesn’t turn around. She just keeps moving, faster now, like she’s trying to outrun the whole conversation.
With my legs being much longer than hers I catch up to her easily, and when she reaches the cabin door, she shoves it open and steps inside. She tries to slam it behind her, but I catch it with my boot before it closes. She doesn’t fight me on it; she just lets go and walks straight to the bed.
Stepping inside, I shut the door quietly behind me. She starts throwing her things onto the mattress, clothes, a water bottle, her hoodie, scattering them in angry handfuls. Then she hastily pulls out her gym bag and begins stuffing items inside with peak irritation.
Feeling horrible, I take a step toward her. “That wasn’t my intention to get you fired, Erica.”
She keeps packing, doesn’t even pause.
“I’ll talk to Sister Paula—” I start.
She cuts me off, spinning around to face me. Rage fills her eyes and it makes my heart beat faster, a hard thud against my ribs.
“I don’t need you to do anything, King. Okay? I never asked you to do anything.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “But you understand why Seo-jun had to go.”
She stares at me for a second, then turns back to the bag. “King, please… just let me pack.” Her voice is tiny now, barely above a whisper, like she’s completely at her wits’ end.
Nodding slowly and stepping back, I don’t argue. There’s nothing more I can say that won’t make it worse. Backing out of the cabin, I close the door softly behind me.
The walkie-talkie on my belt crackles to life.
“Brother King, you copy?” It’s Javier, voice static-laced but clear.
Unclipping it and pressing the button, I say, “Yeah, I’m here.”
“Hey, man, we’ve got a problem behind the science building, east wing. One of the makeup air units is leaking refrigerant again. It’s hissing pretty bad. Can you swing by?”
Glancing back at Erica’s cabin once more, the door still closed, I answer, “I’m on my way. Give me five minutes.”
“Thanks, brother. See you there.”
Clipping the walkie-talkie back, I start down the path toward the science building. The one thing running through my head as I walk is that if Erica is fired, she won’t be here at the youth camp anymore.
Even when we weren’t talking, even when things were tense and distant, I was in brighter spirits knowing she was around. I could see her from a distance, hear her laugh sometimes, know she was still part of this place. Now she won’t be here at all, and that bothers me.