Eun-Ae gazed up at the winding mountain trail stretched out before her, a simple dirt path that climbed up the rocky mountain peak and s away around a corner, surrounded by pine trees and ferns and bushes. It was early in the morning of her sixth day; the sun had barely risen, and was hovering over the horizon, a yellow-orange ball of shimmering light casting the world in its bathing light. The sky, bleeding with color, was transitioning from the blue-black of night to the pinks, oranges, and yellows of the dawn. The air was alive with the scent of earth and pine, and as Eun-Ae breathed it in, she prepared herself for the long, long day ahead of her.

After the fiasco yesterday, they had rushed to a hospital to have her head wound examined, and thankfully, she had no concussion. The incident had left her with a nice-size goose egg and the occasional headache, neither of which hindered her ability to progress with her bucket list. However, she and Key had not had the slightest hint of a discussion about the incident within the cave. When she had woken up that morning, it was as if it had never happened at all. He was the same bright, flirty Key that he was before, and if it were not for the lingering wound on her head, she would not be certain it had even happened at all.

Apparently he had not told the rest of the boys the truth of the matter either, as they were treating her no differently than before. They were currently unloading the car of their backpacks, stocked with a day's worth of supplies, and chatting with the coordinator of their little joking excursion.

“Here is a radio to contact for emergencies,” the young woman said as she handed over a small walkie-talkie-like radio to Jonghyun. “You have no cell phone reception out here, so this is the only way you will have to call for help should the worst occur.” She quickly rattled off instructions, but Eun-Ae was barely listening, only nervously the limpet shell and piece of coral hanging around her neck. She jumped as Onew came up behind her, abruptly clapping her on the back.

“You’ve been acting pretty funny since yesterday, Eun-Ae. Are you sure you’re all right?” he frowned down at her.

“Yes. My head just hurts a little, but I’ll be all right,” she lied. The truth was that her mind could not escape the memory of Key kissing her, down in the dark, and her subsequent escape attempt that ended with her bleeding and near-drowned. She couldn’t get the image of the pain of his face out of her mind; every time she closed her eyes it was there, hovering in the blackness. What hurt the most is that he seemed to not remember, or was so hurt by it that he didn’t want to. I can’t believe I did that to him, she moped as she glanced up at him sheepishly. He strolled over to her, one hand clutching a backpack and the other reaching out to slide around her shoulders.

“Don’t look so glum, Eun-Ae. This is gonna be fun! Right, guys?” he grinned.

“It’s so eaaaaaarlyyyy!” Taemin groaned as he shuffled across the grass towards the trail, head back, arms hanging, feet dragging, mouth wide open with complaint.

“Get over it,” Jonghyun sighed with a shake of the head, the walkie-talkie clipped to his pants. “Remember what we're doing this for,” he scolded.

“Right, right,” he sighed.

“Let’s get going,” Minho called from the entrance to the trail. “We don’t have all day.” They left the car behind, descending into the forest trail in a rough single-file line. Minho led, followed by Key and Eun-Ae, then Onew, followed by Taemin and finally Jonghyun. Surrounded by the other boys, the conflicted girl could not raise the issue of the catastrophe in the cave with Key, and so she was forced to swallow her words. To take her mind off of the questions gnawing at her mind, she instead focused on the beautiful scenery.

As they marched up the sharp incline, the sand crunching beneath their feet, the world slowly began to come alive. As the sunlight streamed in, patterns danced along the ground, mosaics of light and shadow created by the sun filtering in through the thick canopy of pine needles far above their heads. Birdsong began to echo in the air, a combination of a hundred little voices calling to the wind. The wind whistled through the trees, shaking the pine needles and sending them spiraling down to the ground below. The fell like a light rain, and Eun-Ae smiled slightly as she pulled one out of her hair. It’s so peaceful here, she thought happily, her worries completely melted away.

They continued to climb steadily, chatting idly about various things. As it went on, however, Eun-Ae found it harder and harder to listen, or keep up, for that matter. Why is my chest so tight? She wondered as she panted heavily. It was like she wasn’t breathing at all, that none of the air she in was having any effect. Soon she was trailing the pack, sweating profusely and barely able to breath.

“G-guys?” She cried out when she could take no more, and halted in the middle of the trail. “I need to stop… Please… Just for a few minutes,” she called. They were soon scrambling down the trail, concerned looks on their faces as Key guided her over to a rock to ease her down into a sitting position. She was so out of breath and woozy that she didn’t even care about Key's arm wrapped around her waist, holding her steady as she lowered herself onto the rock. “Phew… I’m sorry,” she apologized, embarrassed at her weakness.

“No, Eun-Ae, don’t worry about it,” Taemin reassured her gently, sitting down beside her to rub her back. “You take as long as you need.”

“I guess all that time in the hospital has really taken a shot at my endurance…” she huffed as she leaned back, supported by the arms of the two boys sitting beside her. She focused on breathing, and slowly the tightness in her chest subsided and she could breathe normally again. “Thank you,” she murmured as she righted herself, slowly easing herself to her feet. “That’s much better. I’m fine now,” she smiled down at them. As they stood up, still looking worried, she jumped as Minho suddenly exclaimed.

“Hey, look, mushrooms!” he grinned, and they all gathered around the spot he was pointing at. Sure enough, a cluster of little toadstools was sprouting from the damp earth, little white things that were barely larger than golf balls.

“Oh, how cute,” Eun-Ae mused.

“Hey, I have a fun idea,” Onew grinned. “Why don’t we go on a mushroom hunt?” he suggested. “We all split up into pairs, and whichever team finds the most mushrooms wins!”

“Why does it always end up a competition?” Jonghyun sighed heavily. “First the sand castles, now this…”

“You’re just afraid me and Eun-Ae are gonna kick your ,” Key snorted. Me and Key… Alone… It’s a perfect opportunity to talk to him! She thought.

“I want to do it,” she interrupted as the boys began to squabble amongst each other. “I think it would be really fun. Please?” She asked them, batting her eyelashes. Unable to resist her charm, they exchanged a bunch of bashful smiles before pairing off and beginning the characteristic trash-talk.

“All right, then. You guys are going down!” Minho beamed, dragging Taemin along with him as they stepped off the trail and descended into the trees.

“Don’t go too far, or the bears might eat you. Though they may just use you as a toothpick, since you’re so skinny!” Onew called after him, flipping him the bird before stomping off into the woods with Jonghyun. Eun-Ae glanced at Key, but was unsure just what to do or say. All she could manage was an awkward smile.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he sighed, grabbing her hand and pulling her off into the trees. Eun-Ae's heart skipped a beat as their fingers touched, electricity shooting up her arm. Oh, he still makes me feel this way… she thought absently.

“Key…” he tried, but he just held up a hand, crouching down in front of a patch of toadstools and digging at them.

“Don’t. You don’t have to explain yourself, Eun-Ae,” he sighed heavily, keeping his back to her as he dug up the mushrooms. “I’m… I’m the one who was in the wrong. I knew how you felt about it, and… I did it anyway. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt, and we wouldn’t be in this mess…” Eun-Ae keeled down beside him, leaning against his shoulder. He paused what he was doing, stiffening up.

“I’m not angry. Just sad,” she whispered as the tears began to flow. It was so frustrating; she wanted him as much as he wanted her, but the barrier between them was too high to breach. She was dying. There was no getting around that fact, and yet her heart yearned for him more with each passing day. “I’m sorry that things ended up this way. What do we do?”

“I guess we just… Go on like it didn’t happen,” he murmured, reaching over to gently her cheek. “Regardless, I still want you to be the happiest girl you can be,” he smiled softly, and she returned the smile. However, as they returned to the trail, hand-in-hand and carrying a bunch of mushrooms in their arms, Eun-Ae wondered if she could go on as if nothing had happened.

“Wah! Taemin, don’t eat that!” Minho cried as Taemin moved to experimentally nibble at one of the mushrooms he was carrying, and he smacked it out of his hand. “You don’t know if that could be poisonous!”

“But it looked so good, and I’m hungry!” he whined in complaint, pouting as he picked up the mushroom and brushed dirt off of it. He glanced up when she and Key approached, and snickered. “Eun-Ae, you have dirt on your face.” Eun-Ae reached up, feeling the dirt on her cheek falling away. From where he touched me… Her mind was far away as the boys all squabbled over the mushrooms, comparing size and color while she just stared out at the forest, feeling the phantom of Key's lips on hers.

No. I don’t think I can do that, Key. It did happen, and both of us aren’t going to be the same…

Perhaps… I should let the feelings win, after all.