x.  the tenth step

Jongin raced down the mountain with exhilaration bursting in his bloodstream. The crisp air cleansed his lungs as he maneuvered himself down the slope at a terrifying speed. Drunk with adrenaline, he almost missed the way his left ski quivering beneath his boot.

He made a quick skid to the trees that sat beside the trail’s bend. As suspected, he found a loose strap that he quickly fixed. That wasn't a good sign. Lost in his musings, he almost missed the sound of someone sloshing through the snow.

“Kai!”

The familiar bellow of his name revealed Lay. He wasn’t given time to respond, however, as Lay was gone in a flash, clearing out the bend with graceful expertise. Jongin just opted to shake his head at the grin Lay shot him before disappearing. Then it struck him.

Why was he alone? Where was Gong Minji?

Lay couldn’t have possibly left her by herself. Not when the guy told him about the special lessons he gave the girl yesterday. She wasn’t hopeless but her lack of confidence was enough to jinx her trip down the mountain. If she were to encounter one moment of hesitation, one mistake, it would be enough to—

Jongin stopped himself. Why was he worrying? If Lay trusted her skills enough, he should too. Yeah, that’s right. Lay wouldn’t put her in danger.

Going over his equipment for the last time, he readied to put it on again when another figure zipped closer to the bend. Jongin recognised Minji in an instant. Unconsciously, his shoulders relaxed at the sight.

She was fine, but then a second later, she was not.

His stomach gave a lurch when one of her poles suddenly flew from her grasp and everything went downhill. Literally. Gravity induced her to a rolling heap and Jongin was forced to watch at a standstill. When he snapped out of it, he ripped off his skis and tried to run to her but barely managed. In spite of this, Fate seemed to be on his side as her body tore towards his direction.

Jongin thought this was good—but Fate merely played a trick on him as she rammed into him and threw him off balance. She carried too much force.

Instinctively, his arms went around her as they plummeted off the trail and into the forest beside the ski route. They kept rolling and rolling; enduring the harsh ground, trees and bushes they flew past. Jongin had already blindingly stuck out a hand to grab anything but to no avail. Instead through his foggy goggles, he saw an incoming branch of a tree that was half submerged in the snow. It couldn’t be avoided.

In mute acceptance, Jongin pressed Minji into him and welcomed the pain that shattered over his helmeted head.

The world became black.

“Kim Jongin!” No matter how many times she shook his shoulders, he didn’t stir. “Please…”

Minji’s throat began to burn but she didn’t care. What if he didn’t wake up? Especially in his bruised state that probably mirrored her own. What if he was gravely injured—or worse? She took a sharp and painful intake of breath at the thought. No, he had to be fine. He had to be.

Feeling utterly useless, Minji broke out into snivels on the forest floor, all too aware of the unfamiliarity of the place they landed in. It didn’t help with thoughts that preyed on her guilt. They were lost, the trail far gone behind them.

“Oh, god. This is my fault…”

A groan. Ignoring the ache of her limbs, Minji flew to the unconscious male. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she should’ve been tending him. She unbuckled his helmet, letting his hair fall across his forehead. Surveying his face, no open wounds were on the surface except for some inevitable scratches. Thank god.

Another groan and a muscle twitched on his face. Minji almost sobbed out in relief.

“Kim Jongin…”

A vivid expression of discomfort bloomed on his face. He was stirring. Holding her breath, Minji hung on to every movement, until soon, his lashes were fluttering.

“G-Gong…” His voice was thick with pain, but Minji never felt so happy hearing it.

“Thank god.” She shuddered with a trembling sigh. “Oh, thank god.” Immersed in her efforts to stop another wave of tears, she almost missed his effort to get up. Her arms flailed around him. “Careful!”

A cuss fell from his lips as he lifted his head up. Jongin nursed it with a groan and Minji wiped her tears to help him to sit up against a tree.

“How badly hurt are you?” Frantically, she scanned him from head to toe. He did not respond at first, eyes still testing his vision. He rubbed his temples.

“Probably same as you.”

He was being dismissive but the agonised twist of his face ruined his attempt. Minji felt worse, knowing the truth.

“That’s not true, I probably only absorbed half the impact!” she protested with a shake of her head. Digging the heels of her hands into her damp lids, she let the guilt roar to life. “You know that’s not true,” she ended pathetically.

Jongin understood. He probably looked like and it was because he felt like . It was as if a truck ran over him. Every breath stung. Thankfully, it seemed like nothing was broken though every inch of his skin felt like it was black and blue. He felt like passing out again, but then again, he was just thankful for helmets.

Gaining his wits, the memories returned and he remembered the predicament they were in. Jongin was about to inquire about her wellbeing when the answer was plain in sight.

And he was entranced.

It was the first time he saw her image shattered into pieces; the seams that held her condescending front unravelled in front of him. She was a ruined picture; her hair a mess, her skin dirtied and her emotions? Tragically out of control.

It wasn’t the Minji he knew, that girl who held herself in a higher pedestal than everyone else, so who was this? This girl who glowed when she told Lay she was able to come on the trip. This girl riddled with guilt when she realised she caused him to burn his hand.

Because Jongin couldn't recognise her and it left him at a loss.

He tore his eyes away and hauled himself up to his feet. No. This wasn't the time.

“You shouldn’t!” Minji was gaping at him as he wobbled. 

“—we wore helmets. The worse that could happen is if we didn’t have it on when we fell. So besides the bruises, we should be fine. I didn’t suffer more than you have.”

Minji joined him to stand in the same shaky manner. She looked unconvinced but didn’t argue. Jongin had no time to comfort her anyway as he surveyed their surroundings. The best thing to do is to find their way back.

With a sweeping glance over their surroundings, he could tell they went off-trail. This was bad. They were in no condition to walk, especially without a clue of their whereabouts.

“I don’t have my phone,” He remembered that Lay volunteered to carry his since his jacket had no pockets and he didn’t trust the ones on his pants. “How about you?”

She looked queasy. “I left it at the resort.”

That confirmed it. They had nothing.

“Well, we certainly can’t go up. Let’s keep going down, maybe we’ll reach the bottom,” he announced, putting his helmet on. It was better than standing here and doing nothing.

So like that, the unlikely pair wandered, never certain which way was the right one. All the trees and bushes they encountered hardly differed in appearance. Fortunately, it was still quite light. Though the clouds and snow seemed to worsen, thickening even more than before. They lost momentum and strength only half an hour later but did not stop despite the ache.

Sometime later, Minji was the first one to realise something was wrong. The wind. It was too strong and more importantly, not ceasing.

“Kim Jongin…” There was no response. “Kim Jongin!”

She barely saw him turn because of the wild toss of hair in her eyes. He twisted to look back at her. “What is it?”

Minji almost did not hear his reply. She only heard the damn wind. Puzzled, she glanced at the trees that rustled aggressively above them. When Minji did not answer, Jongin followed her eyes.

The change in the air dawned on him. Grabbing her arm, Jongin quickened their gait. All at once, he noticed the signs he should’ve noticed earlier. The snow beneath their feet had been climbing without their awareness and the wind has risen. Not to mention, the temperature dropped.

His assumption was proven correct as no more than a few moments later, they were running blindly. The snow grew ferocious. There was a lump of panic in his throat as he desperately sought for shelter. Out of the blue, Jongin’s cry rose above the howling wind. “I see something over there!”

He thanked his goggles for the second time that day. He briefly recalled Lay’s advice earlier after his friend looked at the sky. Perhaps Lay noticed the signs earlier than he did but thought nothing of it. Well, who knew Minji would do more than just tripping?

The girl who followed did not see what he was talking about. When he stopped, she bumped into his back.

“Why are we stopping?”

He pulled her and then she saw it. There was a small cabin a few distances away from them, their only haven from this brewing storm, but laying between them and the cabin was a frozen lake.

“We have to go around—” she began with a shout.

“It’ll take too long!” Jongin bellowed back.

Minji stared at him and he held her gaze. Then that only meant…

She shook her head fiercely. “No, we can’t! That’s crazy!”

Jongin looked at the lake for a moment before slamming a boot on its icy surface. Minji jerked away in shock, expecting the ice to crack like glass but nothing happened.

“The ice is thick enough.”

With no choice but to swallow her fear, Minji followed him and together they trod across the ice with caution. Soon, the cabin was within their reach. In his anticipation, Jongin pulled Minji with him to make a run for it. He did not notice the frail spot as he stepped on it.

One minute he was grabbing her, then there was an undeniable crack and they plunged into icy black waters below.

Jongin blanked out in pain, icy needles piercing his skin. His body slid into shock. Hyperventilating, he was fighting for his life when he forced himself to do something. He made a blind grab in front of him and caught Minji’s hand. Amid the splashing, he gripped her waist and somehow found the edge of the ice. His lungs burned along with his arms as he tried to haul her to the top again and again.

It was hard, the cold water already numbing his toes. It was on his sixth try when he succeeded, leaving only him in the water.

“J-Jong-in...”

The dreaded ski jacket was death itself, its weight weakening him with every move. He almost gave in when a frigid hand caught his and it was enough for Jongin to try again. Minji heaved with all her might until with a cry, Jongin finally grappled onto the ice and Minji determinedly pulled harder. At last, they were both out but it was the least of their problems.

They burst into the small cabin, dripping wet with lips dangerously blue.

Minji collapsed in the middle of the small lodging while Jongin shut the door and staggered around looking for wood. Fire. They needed fire. As he searched the place, he realised this was a fishing lodge. Fumbling with an old box of matches he found, he threw a lit stick onto a pile of wood he set on the hearth. Jongin did not calm until an inferno of flames burst into life. The moment its hot breath wafted over his face, he fell to his knees.

“Warm…” He turned to see Minji crumpling next to him. Her eyes slid closed as she curled into a ball in front of the fire. As much as he wanted to join her, they were far from safe.

Ignoring the scream of his body, he peeled off his wet clothes until he was in just his shirt and pants. Minji, on the brink of unconsciousness, shivered pathetically on the floor. Jongin let out a shaky breath. He had to wake her up.

“You need to take your clothes off,” he said.

A bit of life returned to her