[M. Footsteps Challenge Entry]

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-1-

The long ridges sparkled mightily under the high scorching sun. I never missed to take a shot at every magnificent natural landscapes flashed before me. I drowned my eyes at the sight of the green mountain ranges. They're all breath taking.

I was busily enjoying the serene moment when I felt something heavy dropped on my shoulder. I gasped and jumped a little simultaneously and turned to peak at who it was. Luckily, the camera didn't fall from my grasp. I turned slightly to peak at what happened through the corner of my eyes.

A special kind of scent enveloped me and soothed me from within. What is this feeling? I've never felt this... weird before.

Choi Minho?

Oh. He fell asleep on my shoulders. Great. How am I supposed to take a rest myself? We still have three hours to travel. I grimaced inwardly when he snuggled closer to me. What is this imbecile doing?

As much as I wanted to wake him up, something inside me is defiant. I looked at him once more and noticed how his fallen bangs offered me a blurred vision of his smooth cheeks, the thick frame of his lashes and the soft slant of his nose.

My gaze skimmed over his features, more dazzling and intoxicating than all the sceneries I've seen. And what is this giddy feeling? Why is my heart beating faster? Why am I breathing irregularly?

I bit my lower lip and thought deeply. What is this physiologic reaction I'm having? Is it because of his close proximity? Is this really the love people are talking about? I thought that feeling is special. Special in a sense that I don't even know what it's like. I have no experience. But if this feeling is love, then why is it so simple? It's only a feeling of content and happiness.

Nothing more.

I shrugged the thought off. Maybe this is just my allergic reaction to the shrimp-flavoured chip he offered me. Yeah. That should be it. I nodded mentally and looked at him once more.

Why can't I take my eyes off of him? It's like I want to stare at him forever.

Forever? Wait. Where did that statement come from?

My eyes skimmed over his lips. They looked so soft and so kissable. His breathing is so calm and the way the light breeze from the outside dance with the soft strands of his spiky hair looked so inviting.

And his weight against my shoulder isn't overbearing.

In fact, it's quite comfortable...

-2-

I reached out to him. Slowly, I slid my hands and made them rest gently against his cheeks. Using my other hand, I brushed his bangs away to take a good stare at his closed, mesmerizing eyes. Surprisingly, my spectacles aren't as heavy as they were. From there, I shifted my gaze to his nose while tracing the smooth line of his jaw. I closed my eyes and leaned in. I can feel his warm breath fanning my lips as I approach him closer.

Just more... some more. A few more... My lips touched his lightly and I can feel his warmth seep through me. But he woke up. We stared at each other in shock and before I knew it, I could feel the world receding. Noise was everywhere and someone was calling my name.

"Jung Krystal!"

I gasped in air as I stared at the man who has identical features with the persona I was about to kiss just now. It took me a while to realize that it was a dream. Thankfully, it is.

"Hey. Are you okay?" he reached out to brush his thumb against my cheekbones and my lips trembled. Why did I dream about him just now? And I was kissing him!

My hand reached up to rest against my chest, throbbing in an aching manner. I took several deep breaths to compensate with my heart's demand for oxygen as it beats rather faster than usual.

"Krystal, are you okay?" I heard him repeat his question. I just continued staring at him, not knowing how to answer the question. I don't thing my brain can work properly after that dream. I almost kissed him! My best friend!

"We already arrived at the campsite. Sorry if I fell asleep on you. Are you tired? Do you want to rest?" he laid me with several questions. Concern was etched at every dent of his furrowed brow.

After a few moments of internalising, I failed. I tried to get up and managed to squeeze a few words to reassure him. I know that I'm not in the proper state of mind to think about that dream. "I need to rest," I said softly.

Hopefully, my mind will go back to normal after I take a few hours of sleep.

"What happened? Are you hurt? Do you feel sick?" he asked, supporting me as he tried to balance the weight of the backpacks on his shoulders.

I shook my head lightly but I didn't look at him this time, "Just a dream."

He chuckled lightly and said, "Nah. C'mon. Don't tell me you're taking a simple dream so seriously? I know the remedy to that."

I looked at him and waited for the remedy he's talking about. After all, real-life situations are his forte.

He looked back at me and placed an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him, "Food."

I rolled his eyes to him yet again and playfully whacked his chest. He chuckled as he watched me grabbing my trolley and headed out of the bus. I was serious and he tried to make a joke out of it. Oh yeah. He's Choi Minho after all.

Well, at least he was able to lighten the mood.

-3-

"Good evening students. You are fifty in number here so I don't expect you to wander off deep in the forest, okay? Let's work together. This summer camp aimed to develop your teamwork and creativity. But above all, we want you to have fun," Professor Kang announced when she gathered us around the bonfire. We just arrived at the real campsite after two-hours of walking through the forest until the dusk peaks through the dewy leaves.

"Tomorrow, we will start the three-day camp activity. We already assigned your partners and we expect you to stick with one another throughout the whole camp. You may rest for now and secure your belongings. We will start the activities tomorrow."

We nodded in understanding and prepared the tent we're going to use. Minho and I are going to sleep on separate tents. After all, we still have different chromosomes. XY and XX shouldn't be sleeping together if they're not yet married, right? I have to keep my logical mind all geared up to avoid myself from getting lost to his tempting lips like my dream. Thankfully it was just a dream.

When all of them are sleeping snugly on their respective tents that served as their shelter from the cold forest wind, I sneak out of my own tent quietly and laid a blanket on the moist grass.

I laid there, looking at the stars. It's summer so there are no rain clouds. The stars are very visible to human eyes and their twinkles made them look like a precious diamond, though I know that it's actually round in shape.

I know that I have to store my own energy for the activities tomorrow but I can't sleep. I love solitude and tonight is its very definition. The night is silent. So silent. And silence means peace. Or, is it really? After all, my heart is the only noisy one in the middle of the night. Its beating reflects guilt because of my dream. I'm in love with Choi Minho. My best friend.

And I'm guilty as charged.

I sighed.

They said that the forest is safe and free from any wild animals. I can't recall any attacks aired on the news since I was born. I already have my stuffs ready for tomorrow's activity. Those three days will be for treasure hunts. Nothing more.

I unconsciously ran my hands together. Instinctively, I realized that it's getting colder out. A warm piece of clothing was laid on me like a blanket. Shocked as I was, I shot my gaze up, only to meet his smiling face.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he asked as he sat on the blanket beside me.

The noisy beating of my heart became louder on my ears than it already was. I forced myself to speak, "Nothing."

He frowned, "What happened to you? You're so quiet. You're normally very noisy." He chuckled a bit and I smiled my small smile.

"I'm still human. I possess XX chromosomes and I have the tendency to get sentimental too, you know?" I said, in all honesty.

"C'mon. Tell me what's bothering you," he urged and held my hand. I can feel his warmth envelope me in a calming cocoon. So comfortable.

He's my best friend, after all. Okay then. I trust him.

"I dreamed..."

"You dreamed about?"

I heaved a deep sigh.

"I dreamed about you..."

He looked at me and waited for me to continue.

"I dreamed of me..."

His hand tightened around mine when he noticed my difficulty.

"k-kissing you..."

I held my breath and his gaze remained locked in mine. I waited for his reaction.

"So?" is his simple response.

An eyebrow crooked higher than the other before I could stop them.

He chuckled. "Why are you so affected? Don't tell me you like me," he teased, his lips trimmed in a playful smirk.

A strayed hiccup break free.

Another one before I could stop them.

I don't know what to say. He's making a joke out of it like it's nothing to him at all.

I hope it's in my nature to lie.

When he got no response from me, he let go of my hand. His eyes widen in shock and darken in horror as if it's the most horrible thing on Earth. He slowly withdraw his proximity from me and looked at me in a disbelieving stare.

I felt scared. I don't know what to do.

Beyond my conscious thoughts, I grabbed his retreating hand. "No. Please. I don't know what's wrong with me or when it began. B-but... I don't know how to handle it anymore. I-I'm scared. I can't loose you Minho. P-please. It's not my fault. I tried to stop it. Believe me... I tried!" I said desperately. It sounded more like a plea.

But he shook his head defiantly, his lips stiff in a straight line. "But you let yourself feel something beyond friendship. You betrayed my trust!" he said in my face boldly.

"No!" I shouted almost immediately. "I just thought that you needed to know the truth. I don't know how to handle this feeling. I don't know anything about love. If only... if only I know that it is this painful... I wouldn't--"

"Stop it Jung Krystal! Don't you dare tell me how hurt you are! It's your fault! You broke my trust! Maybe it's the reason why you were so kind to me, right? Maybe it's the reason why you took me under your wing. You wanted me to yourself, don't you? You wanted to take adva—" I slapped him hard on the face.

Anger consumed me, "How dare you accuse me about such things!"

His looked at me sharply, matching my anger with his own, "I don't love you. And I will never love you. You don't even look good enough for me! You with your incredibly irritating spectacles! Stick to your books!"

I had enough.

I ran.

I don't care where my feet will take me. I ran deep in the forest. I don't care what will happen to me there. Logic embedded, heart shattered, mind blank. I don't know what to do. It's so painful. Science didn't tell me that it's painful to love. It didn't tell me that it can give me a bloodless bleeding. And it didn't tell me how to cure it.

Tears cascaded from my eyes to my pale cheeks. It's so cold but the pain I feel in my heart made me feel oblivious about the other stimulus gathered by my other senses.

There's only pain.

Pain alone.

I stumbled upon a protruding root of a huge tree and it blessed me with a sprained ankle and a few bruises here and there. I gasped as pain shot through me. I don't know where I am but I know at that I'm somewhere deep in the forest. I don't know how long I've been running or how many miles I was able to take. Nothing else matters as long as I get away from him - from Choi Minho - and his painful and mocking rejections.

I tried to crawl until I reached the trunk of the tree. I tried to support my back with it as I grabbed my throbbing ankle. The night is getting colder and I don't know if my body can take the gradual drop in temperature. All I'm wearing, aside from my spectacles, is my pink sweater, soiled pants, and sneakers.

At this time, I finally become aware of what happened. He rejected me. He doesn't care about me. He looked at me as if I'm the most tainted and disgusting person on Earth. He maliciously scrutinized my kind actions towards him. And he never bothered to follow me and know about my whereabouts. He didn't even call me back when he saw me running my way to the forest, though he knows how dangerous it is.

But I don't feel scared. In fact, I prefer to be alone in a deep forest with twisted foliage, tall grasses and thick leaves, than to see him looking at me disgustingly or avoiding me as if I'm infected with a serious disease.

The moon peeped its way through the thick forest leaves and reached my cheeks in a pale glow.
What will happen to me now?

My wristwatch read one in the morning. five hours more and they will be waking the students up, do the roll call and find me gone. I'm going to ruin the entire activity because they will be looking for me. I will be the one they're going to hunt instead of the treasures. Professor Kang will nag me endlessly and will send me for detention.

Choi Minho will ignore me.

Or look at me disgustingly.

And my world will crash.

-4-

I felt someone shaking me and hugging me from behind. The scent felt familiar. It's the scent that I've familiarized myself with for a very long time. What is it doing here?

"Krystal? Are you alright? Wake up now, please? I'm so sorry," someone whispered in my ears. An angel's voice.

Am I dead?

But I cannot open my eyes. I feel so weak and so cold. I shivered lightly and snuggled closer to the warmth enveloping me. I don't know what's going on, or who the person is, but comfort and warmth is all I need for now.

Something enveloped me in a comforting warmth and the scent was there. I sniffed it satisfyingly and mumbled his name, "Minho..."

I heard the person affirmed my statement. Maybe it's just my imagination. He's not here. He wouldn't be here. He loathes me. He doesn't want my love for him. He doesn't need me.

Something brushed against my ankle and I winced. I can feel myself being lifted from the ground. I forced myself to peak. It took all my energy to see who the person was.

And a blurry vision of the person who's name is carved deep in my heart flashed before my eyes before I fell into deep oblivion.

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*P O S T N O T E S:

Let's see. I don't know what to say. (:

Stay tuned! :)

[rossEureka]
123110|10:41'
-Philippines-