Hakyeon’s description of the waterfall was nothing compared to what greeted Taekwoon and the rest once they reached the top of the path. For most of the walk up, they had only caught glimpses of the river that wound down the mountain from its source even further up, and in the thirty minutes they had been climbing those stairs, Taekwoon had repeatedly wondered if there really was a proper waterfall up ahead.

His doubts were crushed as he looked up at the water gushing down from perhaps thirty feet above them. It wasn’t quite like the Niagara Falls where the water would just plunge straight down into the lake below, but the jagged rocks from the side of the hill allowed the water to carve patterns in the mountainside. The foamy waters from the force of the waterfall was like white ink against the wet rocks, but the water in the lake was so translucent that you could almost clearly see the soft bed below.

“Wow,” Soojin breathed. Taekwoon looked at the girl standing beside him and for the first time that morning, her eyes finally seemed clear. He smiled softly.

“Bean!” Wonsik called from up ahead. Taekwoon followed the other’s voice and saw him waving urgently for his friend to catch up. Hongbin, who had been walking along with the rest of them, sighed and ran up ahead, bumping into Soojin a bit as he passed by her still figure.

“Ah, sorry, noona!” He called as he jogged up the path.

Taekwoon frowned at the sight of Soojin rubbing her arm, and he was about to catch the younger boy to tell him off, but someone else beat him to it.

“Yah, Kong, watch where you’re going! You could hurt someone, you know!” Hakyeon called, rushing forward and checking on the girl.

Soojin laughed. “Come on, Hakyeon. It’s not like I fell or anything. He just knocked into me a bit. Besides,” she said, and when she smiled her eyes glinted in the sunlight. “I was the one standing in the middle of the path.”

Taekwoon frowned. He knew Soojin was right and that Hongbin didn't have any malicious intent in bumping into her - he was just rushing and a little push wasn't entirely harmful to the girl, but the least he could've done was apologize and check on the person he had knocked into.

"Hey hyungs, come on! Last one in the water's a rotten egg!" Sanghyuk called, and Soojin burst out laughing once more, although Taekwoon detected a bit of a forced edge to it.

"That guy's still a kid at heart, isn't he?"

Hakyeon nodded, chuckling a bit as he followed the girl's gaze to the lake, where Sanghyuk and Jaehwan were wrestling each other by the bank. "Aren't we all?" He replied, and Taekwoon felt his eyebrow twitch as the other boy grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her after the others.

Taekwoon had always been protective of the younger girl. When they had met years ago, she had been very fragile. After losing her parents so suddenly, she was left with her only remaining relative, who happened to live in the same neighborhood as the six of them. It was Jaehwan, being her classmate, who first approached her, and Taekwoon hadn’t really been interested, since he wasn’t fond of hanging around people too much. Nonetheless, he was dragged out by Hakyeon every single time and he had found good company in the then quiet girl. When they had noticed her scars, Taekwoon knew he wouldn’t let that happen again. And that was why despite him being overseas often for tournaments and exhibition matches, he made sure to regularly call her - even if he didn’t talk. After breaking out of the cocoon she was in, Soojin found no reason to keep her emotions hidden from her friends. Her slightly talkative manner over the phone reassured Taekwoon that all was well with the younger girl - besides, whenever things weren't well, she'd start ranting about that, too.

"Yah, Taekwoon! Aren't you joining us?" Hakyeon called. Taekwoon stopped his reminiscing and turned to the other boy, who was already in the water with the others. The blue water looked cool and inviting, but a quick scan with his eyes told him that someone else wasn't in the water. He shook his head at Hakyeon, then went to sit at the picnic table, where all their bags were abandoned by the boys - their shirts scattered over the bags.

"Aren't you going to swim?" Soojin asked as she rummaged through the bags.

"Maybe later," Taekwoon replied, watching the girl curiously. "What are you looking for?"

"Janan!" She exclaimed, pulling out a pack of chocolate chip biscuits. "That long walk made me hungry."

Taekwoon would have chuckled at the kid that had seemed to surface in the serious girl, but he didn't fail to notice the distracted look in her eyes as she pulled out a biscuit and took a bite. "Is there something bothering you?" He asked.

Soojin's eyes were fixed on the water, where the other boys had managed to begin a game of crab wrestling. Wonsik and Jaehwan were fighting it out while Hongbin and Sanghyuk struggled to keep their heads above water level. Hakyeon was playing referee.

He nudged her with his elbow.

"Huh?" She started, turning to him. "Sorry, Taek. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if something was bothering you."

Soojin had leaned in to hear what he was saying, his voice barely above a whisper. Understanding his statement, she leaned back and absently took a bite of a cookie. "Is it that obvious?" She asked, making a face. "Okay, I guess I've been pretty bipolar today, huh?"

Taekwoon only raised a brow at her, waiting for her to continue. "It's just - ugh, how do I put this? Um, well, you know how last night Hyukkie kinda revealed the thing with me and Jaehwan in the past? We haven't gotten the chance to talk about it properly. And with the stuff that happened when he left, it wasn't really a perfectly clean break... Although there was so much happening even before he left." She looked up, and her eyes met his. "I think I'm still hurting him."

Taekwoon frowned. Still hurting him? How could Soojin still be hurting Jaehwan? Soojin must have noticed his confusion when she suddenly chuckled, getting up and moving to face him.

“Don’t worry about me,” she sighed. “We’ll solve this, Jaehwan and I. Right now, I’m guessing he needs space, and I won’t step into that space in the meantime, I guess.”

The silent boy turned his friend’s words over in his head. In the past, he would've easily understood the meaning the girl held between the lines, having observed her for many years, but he knew next to nothing of what happened between her and her best friend. He felt the weight her words held, saw the worry in her eyes, but he knew to trust Soojin. After all, she had been through a lot and he had seen her fight strongly through it all.

Boisterous laughter reached Taekwoon’s ears and brought his attention back to what was in front of him. The wrestling match had apparently ended, and he chuckled softly as he saw Hakyeon being grappled by Wonsik, who was laughing loudly with Sanghyuk. Jaehwan stood a little off to the side, grinning at the same sight. It took a second for Taekwoon to figure out that someone was missing from the picture, and in that second everything seemed to go into slow motion. A dripping Hongbin rose from his crouching position by the bank and grabbed Soojin from behind, pulling her with him back towards the lake. Soojin squealed in surprise but laughed as she tried to pull out of her captor’s grip.

“Hongbin!” Hakyeon yelled sternly. “Stop it before one of you gets hurt!”

“Ah, don’t be a party pooper, hyung. He’s just getting Soojin to join us.” Wonsik laughed, his arm still locked around the older boy’s neck.

“Hongbin!” Soojin squealed again, this time being able to pull out of the boy’s grasp enough to turn around and face him. Her hands pushed against his chest, but he only laughed at her weak attempts against his strength.

“Noona, come on! Time to join in on the fun!” Hongbin laughed. He picked her up bridal style and ran quickly towards the water.

Taekwoon’s eyes followed the two as he rose from the bench, and he immediately began running the moment his sight landed on the spot where Hongbin was headed. He cursed under his breath as the younger boy continued running with Soojin in his arms, apparently not paying attention to where he was going as he struggled to maintain his grip on the girl.

“Stop right there,” Taekwoon called. “Hongbin! STOP!”

Taekwoon saw his uncharacteristic shout achieve his desired effect as the younger boy turned his head to face him, attention on his usually quiet hyung - and away from where he was stepping. Hongbin lost his balance as he tripped over a stray rock on the bank, his trajectory having taken him to the rocky portion of lake. He could no longer do anything as he fell, Soojin still in his arms, making it impossible to break the fall.

“Soojin!”

“Hongbin!”

Hakyeon could only watch as Hongbin and Soojin fell into the water - or more precisely, onto the rocks in the water. He felt Wonsik’s grip on him loosen, and he took off, fighting the water that was determined to slow him down. The others were right behind him as he saw Taekwoon reach the two.

It had been Wonsik’s idea to pull the girl into the water so she would join in on the fun. Taekwoon wasn’t an option as he could easily overpower any of them - even Wonsik - and they knew that once Soojin was in the water, he’d follow once he got bored on his own.

But Hakyeon had warned them. The lake wasn’t as safe as it looked. Just like the beautiful waterfall that carved jagged rocks into the face of the hill, the light reflecting off the water blinded onlookers from the dangers just below its surface. It was only from his angle with his nose just above the water's surface that he was able to see what the others couldn't; the water, though looking deep from other angles, was actually shallow due to the rocks below.

It felt like forever went by and restarted before Hakyeon reached Soojin, who was calmly speaking to Taekwoon, trying to pacify the older boy who looked almost murderous as he looked down at Hongbin. The younger boy was nursing his arm, which had a large cut running down his triceps. Hakyeon placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing just a bit too tightly, and whispered for him to go to the back to the bank so they could clean up the cut. Seeing Wonsik and Sanghyuk waiting for Hongbin, he then turned to the other two. Taekwoon was checking Soojin for injuries while she continued to insist that she was fine.

“You’re not fine, Jinnie,” Hakyeon sighed. Soojin had been wearing a sleeveless white shirt, and although it had been dirtied up and a bit torn after the fall, he saw the blood that had seeped through the cotton on her side. Taekwoon followed his gaze and immediately sprang to action. Supporting her by her other arm, he led her slowly back to the bank.

“Ah,” Soojin stopped, hissing in pain.

“You definitely aren’t fine,” Hakyeon sighed again, stepping closer to the two.

Soojin pouted. “I think my ankle’s sprained.”

“Of course it is. You didn’t exactly land nicely. Plus Hongbin probably crushed you with his weight,” Hakyeon tsked.

“He actually managed to catch himself, which led to him getting that gash down his arm.” Soojin said softly, looking over to where the other boys had gone to tend to Hongbin. “Go easy on him, will you?” She asked, turning to Taekwoon.

Hakyeon saw the taller boy clenching his teeth. He could tell that the other was still livid after what had happened, and he admired the quiet boy’s restraint. He had barely held himself back from delivering a blow right to the other’s jaw just now.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll check your ankle,” Taekwoon replied.

“Okay! Let’s do that!” Hakyeon said, laughing awkwardly in an attempt to lighten the mood. He stepped forward and bent down in front of Soojin. “Hop on! Express ride back to the bank!”

Silence followed, and Hakyeon turned to look at the girl, only to see her staring right back at him. “What?”

“Are you serious?” Soojin asked, incredulous.

“What? I can’t give you a piggy back?”

“I’m fine.”

“Jinnie. You can’t walk.”

“I can limp! Let’s go!”

“Jinnie!”

“Let’s - waaah!” Jinnie gasped as she was lifted into the air, Taekwoon’s strong arms holding onto her securely.

“Let’s go.” He muttered, and Hakyeon could swear he saw Soojin turn pink just before Taekwoon turned away.

“Taek! I was supposed to carry her!”

“You two would have spent the next hour quarreling,” effectively silencing the other boy.

Hakyeon sighed and followed the other two, picking up Soojin’s shoe, which had fallen off when Taekwoon had picked her up. They reached the others soon enough, and Hongbin immediately approached them.

“Noona! I am so sorry! I didn’t see where I was stepping, and I tripped and – I’m SO SORRY!”

Soojin chuckled. “Bean. I’ll be fine. I just need an ice pack and a Band-Aid, then I’m good to go.”

“I told you it was dangerous, though. When will you guys learn to listen to me?” Hakyeon scolded. “I get that when we’re fooling around, you guys enjoy picking on me, but when it comes to your safety, you really need to take me seriously.”

Hongbin fell silent, and Wonsik joined him. “We’re sorry, hyung. It’s kinda my fault, too, since I egged him on.”

Hakyeon looked at the two, whose eyes were fixed on their feet. Hongbin’s arm was still bleeding, and behind them, Taekwoon was still carrying Soojin, the red stain on her shirt growing bigger. He sighed. “Next time, be more careful. Let’s get back downhill so we can fix you guys up. Did anyone bring a first aid kit?”

“I think I have one in the bag I brought,” Sanghyuk said, rushing to the table where they left their things. Taekwoon followed him, sending one last glare in Hongbin and Wonsik’s direction.

They moved quickly, checking both Hongbin and Soojin’s injuries. It was a good thing Taekwoon was well versed in caring for sprained ankles, having to deal with them so often as a football player. After making sure that Sanghyuk and Wonsik knew what to do with Hongbin’s wound, Hakyeon went to check on Soojin’s injured side. There was a tear in her shirt, and underneath, he saw a cut, perhaps the length of his index finger.

“It’s not too deep,” he said, dabbing some antiseptic solution onto the wound. Soojin hissed. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches.”

Within a few minutes, they had finished patching everyone up, and they made to go back to the cabin, ending the day’s outing for the meantime. Hakyeon offered to carry Soojin on his back first, as the group had decided to alternate carrying her down the long track. They were all set to go when Soojin suddenly spoke up.

“Wait,” she said, bringing Hakyeon to a sudden halt. “Where’s Jaehwan?”

The realization seemed to dawn on everyone only then as they looked around. As Hakyeon thought about it more carefully, the last he’d seen of the boy was before he’d rushed off to Soojin after she fell.

“Maybe he went back already?”

“He was in the water just a few minutes ago,” Sanghyuk said. “He was just standing there watching us when we were treating everyone.”

Hakyeon felt Soojin shuffling on his back as she looked around the area. He did the same, wondering where the other had gone off to. “Maybe he went back already?”

He felt Soojin’s arms tighten around his shoulders, and she rested her chin on his shoulder. “Maybe,” she breathed, sending a tingling feeling down Hakyeon’s neck. “He knows his way back, right?”

Hakyeon’s teeth clenched, and he started down the path, the others following behind him. “He’s a big boy. He knows what he’s doing.”

“True,” Soojin whispered.

They trekked on in silence, with only Wonsik and Sanghyuk’s laughter disturbing the forest around them. Hakyeon could feel Soojin’s even breathing on his back, and he knew she had fallen asleep. The poor girl didn’t seem to have gotten a good night’s sleep, and with the day’s events, she must have been exhausted. Hakyeon’s thoughts drifted back to the previous night’s revelation, and his hold on the girl tightened. It was true – he had rarely checked in on his best friends in the years he was gone, but he called every now and then, ate with them every now and then – well, that is, whenever his girlfriend had let him go. She was the possessive type that demanded quite a lot of his attention and time, and he now realized that he had ended up caring for the wrong heart. He wished he had acted on his feelings for the right girl sooner, but then again, what good would that have done? He would have hurt his best friend, and he had no confidence in being able to make her happy back then.

“Not this time,” Hakyeon whispered, stopping at a bench by the side of the road where Taekwoon was waiting, his face dark, ready to take Soojin down the rest of the way. He sat her down gently on the bench and knelt in front of her, brushing the hair out of her face. “I will protect your heart this time.”

Umm, hi? /hides in a corner

I am SO sorry! I disappeared again! I said I would update in February, but it's April and I really have no more excuses. School ended a couple of weeks ago, but I only managed to pull my writer's cap on now.

Oh, well. Here it is! The chapter that took me forever to revise and complete.  Please tell me what you think of it~~ Comments would make me high and would most likely get me to write more, so.... please?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of the Sewol Ferry incident. It's so devastating! Maybe it's coz I'm naturally a crybaby, but every single piece of news I read about it makes me cry. All those kids on the boat! And then that class president that risked his life for his classmates *sobs* Let's all continue to pray for a miracle, guys. Let's #PrayforSouthKorea and the families involved in this tragedy. Remember, there can be miracles if you believe <3

Til the next update! (I won't say anything anymore. I don't seem to be able to keep my word on when I will update next anyway.)

N-nyeong~~