After the students placed their luggage inside the motel, the whole student body gathered in front of the building. Then one senior class and one junior class paired up, and in that group, one senior pair and one junior pair was one team. Jiyeong was surprised that she and Taehyung were assigned to be with Jin and Namjoon. At the same time, she was kind of disappointed. Although it was great to have people she knew around, she would be one step farther from finding her brother.

The student body was transported by buses to different spots around a huge mountain. Looking at the height of the seemingly endless slope, Jiyeong felt sick.

“We’ll be climbing the famous Halla Mountain,” Ms. Oh shouted over the chattering of the two classes (one junior, one senior) in front of her. “Good luck!”

Jin and Namjoon’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Byun, blew his whistle. All the nearby students started moving. The goal was to reach the top first; the winning team would receive a prize.

“I don’t particularly care about winning,” Jiyeong muttered under her breath. She wasn’t a fan of mountain climbing, or any kind of strenuous exercise for that matter.

“We’ll go up slowly,” Jin assured her. Jiyeong arched an eyebrow. He really was treating her like a weakling all the time.

“Follow the trail!” Mr. Byun yelled after the others, who were already dashing up the path. “Don’t get lost or I’ll have your heads!”

“A cheerful teacher,” Taehyung commented.

“He would be quite wonderful if he didn’t carry a baseball bat all the time,” Jin agreed. Being the baseball coach, Mr. Byun always carried his old bat with him. He always threatened that he would use it on especially troublesome students, but most of the time he just brandished it threateningly.

“Let’s go!” Jiyeong said. She didn’t want to be stuck on the path after daylight. Scrambling up the slope, Jiyeong took the lead.

After an hour, Jiyeong felt her stamina dwindling. The boys didn’t seem tired, but she felt like she would puke from the unaccustomed exercise. Gritting her teeth, she moved forward without slowing her pace, in case one of them became suspicious.

“Let’s take a break,” Jin suggested. He was keeping a close eye on the lead.

“Already?” Namjoon seemed the only one shocked.

“Sure!” Taehyung exclaimed quickly. He removed a water bottle from his pack and threw it to Jiyeong. She barely managed to catch it. “We don’t want to be drop-dead tired at the end.”

Jiyeong collapsed onto the ground on her bottom. Sitting cross-legged, she took a huge swig of the water. Some water spilled on her shirt, but she could care less. Trying not to pant like a dog, she self-consciously wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“I wonder how far we have to go,” Jin stated aloud.

Taehyung shrugged. There was no one in sight. “I’ll go check to see if there’s any team nearby.” He stretched and started walking up the path in quick steps.

Jin glanced at Namjoon and Jiyeong. “I’ll go, too,” he said. He disappeared up the slope with the junior.

Twenty minutes passed, but there was no sign of the two boys. “Maybe they got lost,” Jiyeong groaned.

“Maybe they went too far and couldn’t come back,” Namjoon spoke out. He stood up from the ground. “Then we better get going. We’ll probably meet them on the path.”

Jiyeong stood. She was feeling a lot better and couldn’t be any more grateful towards Jin for suggesting the break. Walking next to Namjoon, she started on the trail again.

During their hike up, Jiyeong stumbled on a particularly steep incline. Her ankle twisted in an unusual manner and she suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Namjoon immediately leaned over the girl. He looked worried.

“I-I think I sprained my ankle.” Jiyeong’s face contorted in pain. She was holding her left ankle.

The older boy examined it. “It’s swelling,” he announced. Namjoon immediately crouched down and turned his back to her. “Get on.” His voice was dead serious.

“You’ll break your back!” the girl objected.

“Just get on. We don’t have a choice.” The tall boy didn’t budge the slightest.

Groaning, Jiyeong got on the boy’s back. He lifted her quite easily and started walking up the path again.

“I’m sorry I’m such a clumsy fool,” Jiyeong muttered.

Namjoon let out a short laugh. “It’s fine.” He was silent for a moment. “It reminds me of a time long ago,” he said softly. The girl didn’t hear him.

“Jiyeong!” Taehyung exclaimed. He and Jin were waiting at the top for the other two. They had turned back after scouting for other students, but reaching a fork in the trail, decided it was safer to keep climbing up. Taehyung and Jin both secretly regretted leaving Jiyeong alone with Namjoon, who still had no clue of the girl’s true identity.

“What happened?” Jin fussed over Jiyeong like a mother hen. Namjoon didn’t let Jiyeong down and walked to his teacher, who was gaping at the two.

“Mr. Byun,” Namjoon said. “One of the juniors sprained his ankle. I’ll take him to the clinic immediately if the bus is ready.”

Surprise still evident on his face, the coach nodded. He speechlessly pointed to his car – he had driven up to the top with Ms. Oh. “I’ll take you to the motel now,” he finally spoke. “Ms. Oh can take the rest of the students down in the bus.”

Namjoon nodded and carried Jiyeong to the blue car. Jin and Taehyung trailed behind them until the two, along with Mr. Byun, entered the car.

“I’ll visit the second we reach the motel,” Taehyung promised the girl. His forehead was creased in concern.

“Thanks, Namjoon, for taking such good care of him,” Jin said before the car door shut. Jiyeong glared at him through the window. That was what she was supposed to say. Why was Jin acting like her mother all the time?

Jiyeong glanced at Namjoon as Mr. Byun started the car. “Thanks, really,” she stated.

“No prob,” Namjoon said. “You’re quite light for a boy.”

The girl stiffened, and then she laughed nervously. “Really?”

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Sorry I didn't do this earlier, but I'll double-update today~~