Baekhyun’s POV~ 

 

It was a new day and the sun was shining brighter today. I was a bit more energetic today because of what happened last night. I couldn’t hold her to sleep, but we stayed out long enough to enjoy each other’s presence. She didn’t let me kiss her again, but holding hands was enough for me. 

It was a little awkward between Jinyoung and I after I kissed him, but I only meant it as a joke. I apologized to him and he forgave me, but he was still shocked. 

“Will you be joining us at the slopes?” I asked him as he was moisturizing his face. 

“Will you kiss me again if I don’t?” he asked and I sighed into a chuckle. 

“Yah, I already said sorry,” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “You even forgave me.”

“Just because I forgave you doesn’t mean I trust you,” he said and covered his chest with his arms. “I couldn’t sleep last night because I thought you’d pounce on me.”

I was flabbergasted and scoffed. 

“Yah, be glad I didn’t kill you,” I said and put him in a head lock. By now, we were both laughing as he and I weren’t taking this seriously. 

Just then, there was a knock at the door and I opened it. It was Mina and Seolhyun, fully dressed to go skiing. 

“Are you guys not dressed yet?” Seolhyun asked, staring me and Jinyoung up and down. 

“We got side tracked,” I sheepishly grinned and she sighed. 

“Well, unnie and I will head out first then,” she said and I grabbed Mina’s hand before they could get any further. 

“You go first, I’ll go with Mina-“

“Sorry, but I’m going with her,” she said and pushed my hand away. “It’s not my fault you couldn’t get dressed in time.”

She smiled and they were gone. I just stood there with my hand hanging in the air. 

“Ouch, rejected,” Jinyoung snorted and I glared at him. 

“Looks like the other cheek is asking for a kiss,” I said and he widened his eyes and shut up. I’m already used to Mina acting this way, so I wasn’t too offended that she brushed me off. But, it still hurt...just a little. 

Jinyoung and I finished dressing and headed down to the lobby. To my surprise, Mina was sitting on a couch, alone, and looked at me. I smiled as she did too. 

“Where’s Seolhyun?” I asked as she stood up. 

“We were heading towards the rental shop, but she forgot her credit card, so we came back in. I was waiting for her,” she said and I felt a little disappointed. 

“Ouch,” Jinyoung whispered and I gently elbowed him. 

“Wanna head back out there?” I asked, but she shook her head. 

“I’ll wait for Seolhyun, you and Jinyoung can go out first,” she said. Why was rejecting me so much today? We were all lovey-dovey yesterday. 

“We can wait too,” Jinyoung smiled and I just stared at her. Why is she acting like this? I wanted to ask, but decided not to. 

Seolhyun came back down and we all headed to the ski rental shop. I wasn’t one to enjoy skiing, neither was Seolhyun, but since we were here we thought we’d at least do that once with the other two. 

I wasn’t a pro or anything. Seolhyun is actually much better than I am even when all she did was go to the hot springs. But, I can’t show that I’m lacking in front of Mina. 

We purchased our equipments and headed to the smallest slope for adults. For beginners, it was still quite steep. I worried for Mina and Jinyoung. 

“You’ve the straps on wrong,” Seolhyun told Jinyoung and helped him properly strap in. I watched the two, then turned to Mina. She was strap in perfectly and she looked cool. I was starting to admire her appearance. She’d look hot if she was a professional skier. But, she’d be too popular, so I’m not going to wish for that. 

The only thing that was stopping her from looking cool was the way she waddled. It was too cute. I wanted to squish her, but she’d hate it. 

“Shall we start the learning process?” I asked and looked at the three of them. They nodded and I eventually started to teach them through words first. I had Seolhyun demonstrate and they followed clumsily. 

“Relax your legs a bit more,” I said to Mina as she fell down on her . I reached my hand out and she grabbed it. I pulled her up and held her other hand. “Don’t stiffen you’re body too much.”

She nodded and I led her down the slope, slowly. Surprisingly, she was good, despite her awkward posture.

“Don’t let me go,” Mina anxiously said as she swayed to the side. I tightened my grip on her hands and smiled, “Don’t worry. I won’t ever let you go.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said and I chuckled with a shrug. 

“Same meaning for a different situation.”

“I’m being serious here. If you let go and drop me, I’m going to kill you,” she said with a shaky voice and I realized she was scared. I felt bad and tried to find her eyes through the goggles. 

“I won’t let you go, promise,” I said and we continued until we reached the bottom. I kept her hands in mine as she took a deep breath and let it out. 

“How do you feel?” I asked and she looked up at me. 

“Okay,” she said and took off her goggles. “Maybe skiing isn’t for me.”

I didn’t want her to feel discouraged so I suggested we go for another try, which she agreed. But, it was the same, she really was scared. Even kids were whizzing passed her as she slowly made her way down the slope. 

“You’re doing great,” I encouraged her. “Just keep your posture like that.”

“L-Like this?” she asked and she started to wobble and fell, dragging me down. She stood on her knees and sighed. I took off my goggles and face mask. I gave a faint smile and patted her shoulders. 

“Don’t give up just yet, you’ve got this,” I said and stood up, reaching my hand out to her, but her eyes were stuck on something else. I followed her gaze and there was a father-daughter duo. He was teaching his young daughter how to ski as he gave her encouraging words. She was smiling as she held her father’s hand. 

I looked down to Mina with a heavy heart and she just watched. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking right now. 

“Mina,”I quietly said her name, but she didn’t respond. “Mina.”

Nothing. 

I bent down and tapped her shoulder. She seemed to have snapped out of her thoughts and looked at me with a surprised look. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said and tried to stand, but fell forward. Luckily, I was able to grab her and held her up. “Uhm, let’s continue.”

I gazed at her with a frown and she seemed to have caught on. She cupped my face with her glove covered hands and smiled sadly. 

“I’m okay, so don’t make that face,” she said, but why did it break my heart? If only I could bring her father back, she wouldn’t have to make this face or force a smile. 

“Should we take a break?” I asked and she immediately shook her head. 

“I won’t let your efforts go to waste,” she said. “Let’s keep going.”

“But-“

“Baekhyun-ah,” she softly said. When did my name sound so sweet? “I won’t be sad anymore. I have you now.”

I felt my breathing stop for a second, then gently smiled, “Yeah, I’m here.”

She wasn’t giving me a sad smile anymore, this one was genuine. I wanted to kiss her right here, but she wouldn’t like it. 

“Let’s keep going! You’ve got this! I believe in you, Lee Mina!” I shouted and she giggled. 

 

Mina’s POV~

 

I was in pain. We were skiing the whole day with little rest. I was having so much fun that I couldn’t tell time was passing. But, being a beginner, my legs were sore. I was exhausted. 

“Here’s your hot chocolate with extra whipped cream,” Seolhyun happily said as she skipped over to me. I grabbed my cup and the cream first. It was soft and sweet, a perfect fit for my sweet tooth. 

Baekhyun and Jinyoung had gone to buy some snacks for us in the meantime before the dining hall was open for dinner. 

“You were amazing out there!” Seolhyun chimed. “I didn’t think you’d be better than oppa.”

I laughed, “Me neither. He’s really not that good of a skier.”

She laughed and sipped her drink as I did too. 

“Jinyoung wasn’t that bad either,” I said and she nodded. “Who would’ve thought we’d learn this fast.”

“I know. It took oppa a few days to learn.”

“Really?” I asked, curious. I was starting to grow interested in Baekhyun’s life. What he was like as a child; what his school life was like; what he did in Japan before meeting me. I wanted to know everything about him. 

“Yep,” Seolhyun smiled to my curiosity. “He wasn’t really into skiing, but he suddenly started learning. He was horrible the first two days that he even had to start at the kid’s slope.”

Wow, he was really worst than me. 

“He eventually got the hang of it and starting showing off his skills, but then he lost interest and didn’t ski for some time,” she continued. 

“Why?” I asked and sipped my hot chocolate, making sure I got some whipped cream. 

“Well it was because-“ she gasped before she could finish. She covered and looked at me. “I don’t think I should tell you.”

Saying that only makes one more curious.

“What? You’ve already started, so finish,” I said, eager to know. “Why did he stop?”

She shook her head, “If I tell you he’s kill me.”

“He won’t do that because he’s too soft,” I laughed, but she looked serious. I relaxed my face and asked, “Is it something you can’t tell me?”

She fidgeted in her seat. “It’s not that I can’t tell you...it’s just...I don’t want you to get angry.”

“Me?” I asked. She swallowed hard and anyone could tell she was nervous. 

“First, before I tell you, this is all in the past, okay?” she said and I immediately nodded, wanting to know. She let out a sigh and said, “This was when he was 14 and he met a girl.”

Did I just hear something snap?

“He was really into her and she was really good at skiing, so he learned how to ski because of her.”

What’s this feeling I’m having?

“But, she already had a boyfriend, so that’s why...he gave up,” she finished and I stared off into a distance. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I forced a smile and said, “No, I’m glad you told me. Besides, he was only a child.”

She carefully examined my tone and expression. 

“Remember, it’s all in the past, unnie,” she said, worried. 

“Oh, I know,” I said and the boys returned. Seolhyun stood up first and ran up to Baekhyun and whispered something. 

 

Baekhyun’s POV~

 

“I’m sorry, oppa,” Seolhyun whispered out of nowhere and ran off. I looked at her retreating figure, confused, then looked to Mina. She was smiling at me, but it wasn’t her usual sweet smile. It wasn’t a smile I recognized. 

“What the hell did they talk about?” I wondered and walked up to her. 

“Sorry you waited,” Jinyoung spoke first and pulled out a bag of chips. “These are your favorite right?”

“Yeah,” Mina answered him while her eyes glued onto me. 

“What did you two talk about?” I asked and she shrugged. 

“Girl stuff,” she said and I didn’t have a good feeling about this, but decided it was better not to ask anymore. 

 

*****

 

Okay, she was really acting strange. Throughout dinner, she would exaggerate the way she spoke to me and she would just give me that weird smile. She wouldn’t let me near her at all. I couldn’t even talk to her properly because she turn her attention to Jinyoung. 

I noticed Seolhyun sneaking away, so I followed her and grabbed her wrist. 

“Yah, what did you guys talk about?” I asked and she acted oblivious to my question. 

“What do you mean?” she asked and I frowned. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” I said, upset. “She’s ignoring me and won’t let me touch her!”

“Really? I didn’t notice,” she said and tried to leave again, but I grabbed a hold of her wrist. 

“Don’t do this to your brother. I’m suffering right now,” I said and she pressed her lips tight together. “Why is she acting like that? What did you say to her?”

She was silent. 

“Yah, Seolhyun-“

“I told her about the girl you met when you first learned how to ski,” she quickly said. 

I froze. 

No, Baekhyun. This isn’t the time to be feeling guilty! You were only a child and she was just a crush!

“W-why did you tell her?” I asked, slightly raising my voice. 

“We were talking about how you first started skiing and then she wanted to know why you gave up and I told her after feeling pressured,” she apologetically said. “But, I mean, she would have found out one way or another. Besides, it’s all in the past.”

“Right, it’s all in the past, she doesn’t need to ignore me,” I said and crossed my arms. “But, she’s obviously angry with me.”

“Rather than it being angry, think of it as being jealous-“

“She doesn’t get jealous!” I said and she rolled her eyes with a sigh. This argument wouldn’t get anywhere, so I sighed and scratched my head. 

“What am I going to do? I only have two more days with her here...I don’t want to ruin the trip and have her hate me,” I said and Seolhyun placed her hand on my shoulder. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her tonight and explain to her-“

“No, I’ll do it,” I said and looked at my sister. “Like you said, it’s all in the past. I’ll just have to explain that to her,” I said and she gave a small smile. 

“You love her, don’t you?” she asked and I felt my heart race a little. 

“Yeah, I do,” I answered back with a smile. But, would telling her that she’s the only woman for me make her any happier? 

I returned to the dining hall when I saw Jinyoung alone at the table. I looked around for Mina, but she wasn’t in anywhere. I walked up to Jinyoung as he was eating his ice cream and asked him where Mina was. 

“I don’t know. She just said she was going for a walk,” he answered plainly and I bit my lower lip. 

“Where did she go?” I quietly asked myself and stepped out of the building to search for her. There’s not many places to go, but the area was big enough to lose one. If she was to take a walk, she rather be outside to get some fresh air than inside, so my search stayed outside. 

She wouldn’t have gone on the slopes either because she was sore from skiing all day. Rather than worrying about my past “love” life, I worried for her health. 

“I should buy some pain relief patches,” I said to myself and took a brief break to buy some at the store. I even bought some chocolates in case she was really angry. 

I continued my search when I came to the back of the resort. There wasn’t much there, just woods. 

In the summer, the woods was used for hiking, but when winter hit, the hills were used for skiing and the woods remained untouched, although accessible for visitors. But, no one bothers to go when it’s just icy and isolated. 

There was no way she could’ve gone there, especially this late at night. Even if the moon and the tall lamps were bright enough to give light to the woods, I don’t think she would have gone. 

I was going to turn away when I saw footsteps leading to the entrance of the woods. It belonged to one person. 

“No, it can’t be,” I doubted and followed the footsteps. She couldn’t have possibly gone to the woods for a walk alone this late. 

I continued to follow when I saw a figure up ahead and immediately recognized who it was. 

“Yah! Mina!” I called out to her and she jumped with a scream. She was so frightened that she fell to her knees. 

I ran up to her and asked if she was okay. She gave me a glare and stood up on her own. 

“Geez, you didn’t have to scare me like that,” she said and dusted off the snow on her knees. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d get scared,” I said, really sorry. She sighed and looked at me. 

“Why are you here?” she asked. 

“I should be the one to ask you that,” I said and there was a silence. 

After awhile she spoke, “I just needed some fresh air.”

“In the woods?” I asked and she shrugged.

“It looked interesting, so I thought I’d check it out,” she answered, looking at her surrounding. I looked too, but there wasn’t really anything interesting at all. 

I turned my attention back to her and bravely asked, “Did I do something to upset you?”

She looked up at me, taken aback. 

“Why would you think that?” she asked with that same unfamiliar smile. This is like saying, ‘tell me what you did wrong.’ Woman sure are scary sometimes. 

I sighed and grabbed her hand and led her deeper into the woods. I’ve been in here enough to navigate myself around and there was a spot I liked that overlooked the resort. So, I brought her there. She didn’t question me and quietly followed along. 

“I think you’ll like the view,” I smiled and we reached an opening where it gave a good view of the resort, lit up prettily with Christmas lights. Mina’s widened, amazed, and smiled widely. 

“Wow, it’s really pretty,” she said in awe. I felt proud and the old bench was still holding up pretty well. I led her to the bench and we both sat down, staring at everything that was happening below us. 

We were quiet, but I found it peaceful. I held her hand and looked down at her as she looked up at me and we both smiled. 

“So,” she began to talk and I felt my heart race. I didn’t think she’d bring it up this fast as I was enjoying the moment. 

“W-wait, let me speak first,” I said and held onto her hand a little tighter. “I know Seolhyun told you a few things and I wanted to clear it up with you.”

I was feeling nervous all of a sudden. 

“I did have a crush on a girl here,” I said and I felt her hand squeeze mine just ever so slightly. “But, I was only 14 years old and she already had a boyfriend. Nothing happened between us. It was all one-sided.”

She didn’t say or react to what I explained. 

“It’s all in the past and right now...the only I love is you,” I said, sincerely. “I don’t want our first trip to be ruined because of an old crush. Honestly, I forgot about her long ago! I only want to enjoy my time with you here and I-“

“Puahahaha!” she laughed and I flinched at her sudden laugh. I was taken aback. 

She clutched her stomach as she laughed loudly. How am I supposed to react to this?

“Uhm, Mina?” I asked and she just kept laughing. Was this a laughing matter? Am I supposed to laugh along with her?

“I’m...I’m sorry,” she could barely say as she wiped her tears from laughing to hard. “I didn’t mean to laugh....but...but you just looked so funny.”

“What?” I asked, dumbfounded. She tried to hold her laugh as she looked at me. 

“I wasn’t angry with you,” she said with a big smile and I felt my heart sink. This was all an act?

She calmed herself down the best that she could and explained, “Baekhyun, I’m not mad at you.”

“Then...why?”

“...well, at first, when Seolhyun told me about your crush, I was a little annoyed,” she said and looked out at the view. “But, you were just a kid who probably couldn’t even understand your own feelings, so my annoyance didn’t last long. But, I thought I’d tease you a bit.”

I couldn’t believe it. She tricked me. 

I sighed and lowered my head. Our hands were still interlaced, but with my free hand, I ran my fingers through my hair. 

“You really had me worried there. I thought you were going to hate me and ignore me for the rest of the trip,” I said, still a little hurt. “You don’t know how much I thought about what I was going to say to you for you to believe me.”

She lightly laugh and poked my cheek with her finger. I looked at her and she smiled sweetly at me. 

“I’m sorry, but I just wanted to have a little fun since you’re always the one teasing me,” she said and I couldn’t help, but smile and not feel upset. 

“Well, you won this time,” I said and straightened my back. “But, why did you push me away this whole day before the incident? You only wanted to be with Seolhyun and Jinyoung.”

She continued to smile and then rested her head on my shoulder. I was a little surprised by this, but I rested my head on hers. 

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose you know,” she softly said. “You and I weren’t the only ones looking forward to this trip. They were too.”

A bonfire was being lit as many gathered to get some warmth. Laughter could be heard from below. 

“Seolhyun was the first one to ask me to go on this trip and she was really excited to have me come. I couldn’t just push her to the side because of you,” she said and I started to feel bad for my sister. “It’s also my first trip with another girl, I wanted to have fun and do what girls do when they’re on a trip together. Like in those movies...I wanted to experience that.”

She breathed in and exhaled, “And for Jinyoung. I was the one who asked him to come, I couldn’t leave him alone. What kind of friend would I be if I invited him just to abandon him? I wanted to make sure he was enjoying his time here and not wasting it. After all, his parents entrusted him to us.”

“But, they’re not children, they can handle themselves,” I said. 

“I know, but I can’t just give my time and attention to just one person,” she said, obviously directing that one person to me. “Also...I wanted us to have fun together.”

There was sadness in her voice. 

I played with her fingers and quietly spoke, “And we all had fun together. I was a little selfish, but it couldn’t be any better to have all four of us here.”

She nodded and played with my fingers too. 

“There’s still two more days and I want to create as many memories as possible with you all,” she said. “I want happy memories for once.”

“And that’s what you’ll get,” I replied and brought her hand to my lips. She looked up to me and smiled before laying her head back on my shoulder. 

“You remember that father-daughter duo?” she asked and I felt my heart drop just a little. It was always a sensitive topic to talk about, so I nodded. “Remember when I said I won’t be sad anymore because I have you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad I have you,” she said and I felt my heart squeeze. “When I saw the two, I was reminded of my father.... Would he have held my hand, carefully leading me? Would I have laughed just like her, knowing that I was safe? But, why did I think of that when there’s another capable man in front of me, who’s already holding onto me so that I won’t fall? Why couldn’t I just laugh with the man in front of me, whom I feel safe with?”

Her grip tightened around my fingers and I knew she was trying really hard to not let her emotions get to her. 

“When I saw you, I thought...how lucky I must be to have you there with me,” she said and my heart was filled with warmth. “I don’t feel as sad anymore when I think of my father; my one protector; my one best friend...because there’s already you.”

I felt a lump form in my throat and I kissed the top of her head. She lifted her head and gazed at me, lovingly. This was a first...I’ve never seen this look before...I’ve never felt such a certain way before. Would she say those three words I’ve always dreamt of hearing? Was I too hopeful? 

“Mina, I love you,” I said and kissed her lips. 

No. I won’t expect those words because I already know...deep down I hold a special place in her heart. 

“I love you so much,” I whispered in a low voice and kissed her again, passionately. 

 

*****

 

[A/N]: I’m sure some of you may have noticed that Junior’s name had changed to Jinyoung; that’s because I had originally named him “Junior”, but because of my lack of updates, I forgot his name was that, so I kept writing Jinyoung >.< I am just going to keep it at Jinyoung lol

 

Other than that, thank you for reading and supporting! I truly appreciate you all and your comments! Stay safe and healthy! <3