29

Xiumin abruptly left the school. No one knew why.

Before he left, he sent Jaemi a text message saying never to look for him again and he’s sorry for all that he had done.

Jaemi was in the canteen, sitting alone.

She looked at her phone and sighed. Baekhyun called her thrice in the morning.

She didn’t want to call him back or text him back because she knew what he was going to ask-a date again.

The phone rang in her hand and she jumped.

She sighed in relief when she saw it was Eunmi.

“Baekhyun was trying to call you,” Eunmi said.

Jaemi sighed. “I know. I..He wants to go out with me, but I don’t feel like going out.”

Eunmi sighed over the line. “Just give him a chance,” she urged.

“Eunmi, I don’t want. I don’t want to go and date with Baekhyun. I’m waiting for someone. I want to give him one more chance.” She stood up and walked.

Chanyeol overheard her conversation and he quickly hid behind a pillar.

Jaemi was walking towards his direction and she heard Chanyeol’s voice.

“Nana, it’s been a long time since I met you. You want to come to my dorm? But there’s Baekhyun? Ohh, alright. Then let’s meet outside of school.”

Jaemi clenched her fists tightly. She met Chanyeol’s eyes, and quickly looked away.

Chanyeol saw them. Those hurt and tired eyes. He broke eye contact with her and walked away.

It was finally the day-camp.

Jaemi and Baekhyun sat together on the bus, while Chanyeol sat in front with Teacher Jung.

Jaemi smiled awkwardly at Baekhyun who was dreamily looking at her.

Behind her, whispers and murmurs could be heard among the girls.

“Look at Jaemi. Initially she was so close to Chanyeol, and in a blink of an eye she’s dating Baekhyun,” a girl whispered.

“Maybe Jaemi is dating the both of them at the same time! What a two timer,” another girl whispered.

“Poor Baekhyun and Chanyeol,” they murmured.

Jaemi and Baekhyun could hear it. Jaemi bit her lip. She agreed. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the two victims.

Baekhyun clenched his fists and Jaemi quickly held him back. “Baekhyun, don’t.”

“But why? They are smearing you!”

“It’s just for fun. Things will die down after a while,” she said and quickly stuffed an earpiece into his ear.

Chanyeol curled his fist into a ball and clenched tightly. He took in a deep breath to calm himself down and closed his eyes.

The bus ride was silent throughout the entire journey.

Once they reached the campsite, everyone got off the bus and grabbed their camping bags.

Baekhyun took the initiative to carry Jaemi’s bag but was kindly rejected by Jaemi.

Seeing Baekhyun and Jaemi interaction from afar, Chanyeol could only look the other way and walk even further.

“Leadership cannot be taught, instead it must be learned,” Chanyeol said loudly. He was in the front row and students’ eyes were fixed on him.

Baekhyun offered Jaemi a snack and she shook her head. “No thanks.” She smiled.

“Park Jaemi!” Chanyeol shouted.

Jaemi jumped and looked at Chanyeol, where all of the students attention were diverted to her.

“Y-yes?” she squeaked, stunned.

“You need to listen to instructions or you will receive a demerit, understand?!” He hollered.

Jaemi nodded. “Yes, sir.” Her cheeks blushing red from embarrassment.

The students were soon dismissed to set up their own tents.

Jaemi was setting up her tent alone when Eunmi was in the toilet. She was hammering the nails into the ground.

Teacher Jung nudged Chanyeol. “Chanyeol, help Jaemi with her tent.”

Chanyeol nodded. He hesitated for a moment before slowly approaching her.

He stood behind her, blocking the sunlight that was shining on her.

Jaemi smiled. “Thanks Eunmi.”

“Jaemi.”

She froze in her position and gulped.

“Let me help you.” He bent down beside her and grabbed another hammer, helping her. Jaemi took in a deep breath shakily and blinked. "Th-thanks," and she continued to hammer the nail. Her eyes were as if they were fixed on the nail, but her eyes were actually wide and unfocused and her mind was running wild as she tried to ignore his presence. Her pulse quickened and she could feel her breathing getting faster.

She felt nervous and scared of Chanyeol. She didn’t know why.

Chanyeol turned to look at Jaemi who was hitting the nail and he stood up, fixing the shape of the tent.

Jaemi accidentally hammered her finger and she yelped which caught the attention of Chanyeol. He immediately rushed to her side and held her hand. “What happened?” he asked, concerned.

Jaemi looked up at him and quickly retracted her hand. “I-I ju-just hammered my finger. But it’s fine now.” She looked away.

Chanyeol looked at her eyes that were avoiding his and his heart ached. She was trying to avoid him.

“It’s turning purple,” he said. Jaemi bit her lip. “It-It’ll be fine after a while.” She grabbed the hammer and continued.

Chanyeol looked at her and he bit his lip. Then, he walked away.

Only then did Jaemi could finally let a sigh of relief and she closed her eyes.

Soon, Eunmi came back with a first aid kit in her hand. “Let’s take a look at your hand, Jaemi,” she said.

“How did you know I injured my finger?” she asked. “Ch-“ Eunmi paused. “You’re so clumsy, of course I know you would injure your hand, and see?”

Jaemi smiled.

Chanyeol repeatedly looked at his watch and he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called out. “I’ll go with you.”

He nodded. “Let’s split up.”

Jaemi was assigned to collect firewood with another student but he had stomach ache and Jaemi left without him.

She left three hours ago, in the afternoon and now she’s still not back.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun went into the forest, tracking the trail Jaemi took. “Jaemi!” Chanyeol and Baekhyun shouted. They went deeper and deeper into the forest where it was denser and colder.

“Jaemi!” Baekhyun shouted, pushing leaves and branches out of his view. “Please don’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered and continued on his search.

“Jaemi! Park Jaemi!” Chanyeol called out, looking around the forest and before he could even find her, he reckoned he was already lost in the forest. He lost sight of Baekhyun.

To make things worse, the clouds were darker and greyer as it covered the sun and thunder roared.

But he couldn’t care, his main priority was finding Jaemi.

He wandered around, going around in circles. Just then, he saw Jaemi sitting against a tree, unconscious.

“Jaemi!” he shouted and rushed over to her side. Jaemi stirred and she coughed. “Chanyeol..” she whispered. “Snake..” She was unconscious again.

Chanyeol looked at her pale face, then looked behind her back, where a snake hissed. Instinctively, he grabbed a tree branch, and lifted the snake up before throwing the branch away.

It started to pour.

“Jaemi, Jaemi,” he kept calling. “Don’t sleep,” he whispered. He placed her on his back and lifted her up, carrying her legs as her arms were hung around his shoulders.

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped loudly. The rain drenched both Jaemi and Chanyeol.

Chanyeol bit his lip. He turned his head slightly to look at Jaemi's unconscious face whom was beside his cheek and continued walking. "Hang in there, Jaemi," he whispered. He ignored his wet clothes and muddy shoes. He wanted Jaemi back safely to the campsite.

The rain droplets collected on his hair and eyelids made his vision blurry. He stumbled and fell into a pit.

He let out a scream as the both of them fell, with Jaemi on top of Chanyeol and he groaned in pain.

Chanyeol moaned and quickly lifted Jaemi off him. He slowly placed her against the pit’s wall and sat beside her, their clothes were all soaked to their skin and their hair were wet.

Chanyeol took off his shirt and squeezed the water out before leaving it to dry. He grabbed some branch sticks and stones to start a small fire, keeping both Jaemi and him warm.

Jaemi fidgeted and slowly opened her eyes, wincing in pain. “Chanyeol,” she whispered in relief, slowly smiling. Chanyeol placed one hand on her cheek and carrassed it softly. He smiled.

"I thought.. I thought I would never see you again," she said breathlessly, forcing out a smile.

Chanyeol smiled once more but his smile soon faded. "Jaemi. Hang on a minute. Why are you so pale?" He placed both hands on her face, concerned.

He quickly scanned her body, looking out for any injuries.

It then dawned upon him. The forest had many snakes. Even the tree that Jaemi was lying against had a snake behind her back.

Chanyeol turned her body and looked at her back, slowly pulling the collar of her shirt down and realized that Jaemi was bitten by a snake. The bite was two inches below her neck.

He looked at Jaemi’s pale face then at her back where the snake bit her. “Oh my god," he murmured. *Think, Chanyeol, think.*

"Chanyeol, I think.. I'm going to die.." Jaemi whispered, the colour of her face draining. "I just want to say.." she gasped.

"Jaemi, stop. I'm not going to let you die," Chanyeol said in determination.

"I, love you. I only love, you, Chanyeol," she whispered, looking at his face and softly smiled.

Chanyeol pressed his lips on her forehead softly. It was a long kiss before he spoke. "I love you too. I really do. I'm sorry for whatever I have done. I promise, when we are back in school, I'll clarify everything with Baekhyun, then the three of us won't be in so much pain."

Jaemi nodded and weakly smiled.

An idea struck him and he gulped. "Jaemi, I'll save you, don't worry,” he whispered.

He held his breath and placed his lips on her back, then softly on the puncture that was just below her neck. He continue to the blood that was gushing out, then spat it out.

“Ch-Chanyeol..” Jaemi gasped, wincing.

He did these numerous times until the puncture wasn’t purple and he heaved a sigh of relief, spitting out the poison blood and wiped it off his lips with his shirt.

The colour on Jaemi’s face began to return.

But her body was still trembling and she shrivelled up close to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol grabbed his jacket that he tied around his waist and drape it over her shoulders, covering her.

He hugged her tightly, rubbing her shoulders.

“I..I..” Jaemi said shakily.

“Jaemi, don’t sleep, don’t sleep,” he whispered and cupped her cheeks, looking into her eyes. “I have already spat out the poison, you’ll be fine now.”

“I don’t think, I can hang in there,” she whispered, her eyes slowly closing.

“Don’t! Jaemi! Look up at the sky! Just look at the stars in the sky, look at how bright they are, look at them with hem,” he whispered, his hot breath on her lips. It was already night and the night sky was clear after the rain stopped.

She slowly looked up, her head resting on his shoulders. “Stars..” she murmured. Looking up at the sky in the pit, it was like stargazing.

The small fire was extinguished and the pit was dark, the only light source was the moon and stars shining into the pit.

It was only the two of them in the pit.

Chanyeol smiled and placed his head on hers, his hand carrassing her hand, her thumb.

He looked at her thumb that was scarred and he frowned. “The girl.. the girl that gave me the coin, had a similar scar like yours, at the exact position,” he whispered.

The thunder roared and the lightning flashed across the sky once more, slowly covering up the stars.

He remembered when the girl handed him the coin ten years ago, there was a small scar that was marked on her fingerprint.

“You’re that little girl,” he said. Jaemi turned to look at him, trying to remember his look when he was still a child.

He slowly let his hand cup her cheek, the other her hair as he looked into her eyes and softened. "You were with me all along," he said, chuckling.

Now, the pit was getting darker with clouds covering the stars and the moon. Jaemi could hardly see his eyes, it was like the scene when there was a blackout. But she could feel his skin on her wet clothes, her hair still damp and wet and Chanyeol was her hair gently.

Chanyeol slowly moved closer to Jaemi, leaning on her body and let his fingers travel down to her waist, pulling her closer.

Chanyeol looked at her lips and he bit his lips. "Can I?" he asked.

Jaemi closed her eyes and leaned in. Leaning forward, Chanyeol pressed his lips against hers.

Hello my lovely readers! Sorry for the not-so-up-to-date updates recently.

And as I have three stories in hand *sighs* I may not be frequently updating this story as I need to update other stories such as Silent Angel II [Click Here] and my very short story (4 chaps) Forever and Always [Click Here] so I maybe only updating once in two weeks for this story? Or I may be able to update 2 stories in a week! :D But it will go back to normal once exams plus Forever and Always are finished. Which will be in 3-4 weeks time. In the meantime, I will appreciate all comments and feedback + upvotes and subscriptions! Have a nice day! :)