My Romance Life System

The afternoon dragged on without structure. After their fishing disaster, they'd taken over a corner table in the main lodge with a deck of cards missing the seven of clubs.

"Eight of diamonds is wild because this deck sucks," Nina dealt the cards with quick snaps. "Everyone got it?"

The game fell apart immediately. Jake kept asking for cards he didn't need, Ruby played with quiet efficiency that made everyone nervous, and Kofi just tried to follow Nina's made-up rules.

Thea sat next to Kofi with her sketchbook open, drawing the hawk from memory, the one she'd seen on the trail. Her pencil moved steadily, filling in the spread wings.

"Got any threes?" Jake stared at his cards like they held secrets.

Ruby checked her hand. "No. Go fish."

Jake groaned and drew from the pile. "This is such bullshit."

Nina glanced at Thea's drawing. "That's really good. The feathers look perfect."

Thea's hand stopped. Pink touched her cheeks but she kept drawing, adding shadows under the wings.

They were three games deep when the lodge doors opened. Yuna walked in alone, headphones around her neck, moving like everyone else was furniture.

'Great, the hermit's out,' Nina watched Yuna head for the pathetic bookshelf in the corner.

Yuna scanned the titles with visible disappointment, finally grabbing a thin poetry collection. She turned to find somewhere to sit.

The lodge was packed. The only empty seats were at the small table next to theirs.

Kofi watched it happen—Yuna's eyes sweeping the room, landing on their table, the flash of irritation. She weighed her options, then walked over and sat at the empty table with her back to them.

Thea looked up from her drawing as Yuna sat down. She watched Yuna open the book and disappear into it, creating her own island in the noisy room.

Minutes later, the doors opened again. Ren.

He walked to the counter for water, then scanned the room like Yuna had.

The air changed. Kofi glanced at Yuna—she hadn't looked up but her whole body had gone rigid, shoulders tight, hand clenched on the page.

Ren's gaze swept past her table, paused for half a second, then moved on without acknowledgment. He found a chair in the far corner and sat down with his own book.

Perfect mutual avoidance, executed without a word.

Thea watched it all, pencil still in hand. She looked from Yuna's stiff back to Ren's detached calm, the empty space between them screaming with unspoken history.

'They know each other. But they're pretending they don't.'

She looked at her hawk drawing, thinking of Jessica, of the cold hate in her former best friend's eyes now.

'Yeah. I get it.'

She turned to a fresh page and started sketching—two figures at separate tables with empty space between them. Simple lines, heavy with understanding.

Nina leaned toward Kofi, whispering, "Okay, what the hell was that?"

"No idea. But something definitely happened there."

The afternoon crawled by in that charged atmosphere. Their card game died out. They sat quietly in the loud room while two solitary figures on opposite sides kept reading, locked in their silent standoff.

---

The last day arrived with finality hanging over everything. Morning's activity: an easy hike to some supposedly gorgeous waterfall.

"Alright, final mission," Nina announced at breakfast. "We stick together, take proof-of-life photos, and nobody falls in the water. Jake, I'm specifically talking to you."

Jake waved vaguely, deep in conversation with Ruby about rock formations. "I've learned from my mistakes. Today I'll be graceful."

The waterfall trail was wide and flat, following a small creek. They walked slowly—Nina and Kofi in front, Jake and Ruby behind them discussing something intensely.

Thea walked at the back, sketchbook in hand but not drawing. She watched sunlight through leaves, water tumbling over stones. She looked settled, calmer than Kofi had seen her.

'Good. This trip worked.'

Halfway there, they hit a fork. A weathered sign pointed right: WATERFALL TRAIL. Left, a smaller path disappeared into aspens with no sign.

"Right it is," Nina stated the obvious.

But Kofi had stopped, looking down the unmarked path. He heard something under the creek sounds—a rhythmic thudding.

"What?" Nina followed his gaze. "Please don't tell me you want to go off-trail."

"You hear that?"

Nina listened. "I hear water. Birds. Jake talking about rocks, which I'm ignoring."

"Something else. Like... chopping."

He looked down the path. Stupid idea. They had a plan. But the sound pulled at him.

He glanced back. Thea was looking down the path too, head tilted, curious.

'She wants to know.'

"I'm checking it out. Just for a minute."

Nina's eyes went huge. "What? No! That's literally how people die in horror movies. Rule one is don't split up!"

"It's not a horror movie, Nina. It's a walk." He turned to Jake and Ruby. "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up."

Jake looked conflicted. "But we're supposed to stay together..."

"It's fine. We'll be right behind you." Kofi looked at Nina, then Thea. "Coming?"

Nina sighed hard. "Fine. But if we die, I'm haunting you."

Thea just followed, curiosity winning over fear.

The path was narrow, overgrown, aspens forming a dense canopy. The thudding got louder. After a hundred yards, it opened into a small clearing.

Ren stood in the center.

Shirtless, back to them, school pants his only connection to their group. He stood before a fallen log with a hand axe, bringing it down in smooth, powerful swings that split wood cleanly. Each movement was controlled, rhythmic. His back and shoulders showed lean muscle, sweat gleaming in the filtered sun.

They froze at the clearing's edge, silent witnesses to this private ritual.

'Not a monster. Just a really ripped guy chopping wood alone. Somehow this is weirder,' Nina's brain recalibrated from sasquatch defense mode.

Thea stared. She'd only known Ren as that quiet, detached hallway figure. This was someone else—someone with raw physical power that was beautiful and frightening at once.

Kofi found his voice first. "Uh... what are you doing?"

The chopping stopped. Ren froze mid-swing, body going still. He turned his head slowly, looking over his shoulder. His face showed cold annoyance, but Kofi caught the surprise underneath. He hadn't heard them coming.

He lowered the axe, turning to face them fully, making no move to cover himself.

"Training."

"For what?" Nina's bravado returned. "Lumberjack championships?"

Ren's gaze flicked to her, completely dismissive. He didn't answer, just looked at Kofi. "This is private. You shouldn't be here."

"Unmarked path. No sign."

They stared at each other, a silent challenge. Then Ren's gaze moved past Kofi to Thea.

She flinched and stepped back involuntarily.

Ren broke eye contact immediately, turning back to the log. He picked up the axe again.

"Go back to the main trail. It's safer."

He started swinging again, the rhythmic thudding filling the clearing. Dismissal clear.

They stood another moment, intruders in a scene they weren't meant to see.

Nina grabbed Kofi's arm first. "Okay, he's having a whole thing. Let's leave him to his... whatever this is."

They walked back, the axe sounds fading until only leaves and footsteps remained. At the fork, they turned toward the waterfall, the strange encounter leaving them all quiet and thoughtful.