“You know, it kind of feels like I’m carrying a giant, muddy baby,” Jongdae mused. “You’re even crying like one.”

“Shut up!” Through the pain-induced tears squeezing their way out of her eyes, Chaeyoung managed a rather pathetic glare up at him. “I didn’t ask you to carry me, anyway.”

“Yeah, and what was I supposed to do? Just leave you there in the mud with your ankle twisted like that?” Jongdae narrowed his eyes, shifting his arms under her to get a better grip. “Donald Duck and his henchman would have found you in five minutes flat. You could just say ‘thank you’ like a normal person, you know.”

“... Fine. Thank you.”

Undaunted by her muddy, scowling face, he chuckled. “If I didn’t understand Korean, I would have thought you’d told me ‘go die’ instead of ‘thank you.’”

“Hmph.”

“Rude! Maybe I should just drop you on the ground right here and walk to the nearest city on my own!” Only half joking, he loosened his grip and bounced her threateningly.

“Ow!”

“, sorry, sorry, sorry!” Eyes wide, Jongdae tightened his hold on her immediately. “I’m so sorry! I was just kidding! Did I hurt you?”

“Just… just don’t move for a second.” Chaeyoung squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the throb in her ankle.

Focus on your breath, Chaeyoung, not the pain. In. Out. In. Out. This is nothing.

“Okay.” She let out a shaky breath. “I’m fine now. You can keep walking.”

To her surprise, instead of moving forward, Jongdae shuffled deeper into the brush on the side of the road and squatted, setting her down carefully.

Looking up, she blinked. “Why’d you stop?”

“Because I could feel your tears soaking through my shirt,” Jongdae said, already rummaging through the medicine bag. “If it hurts that much, we should stop and get you some more painkillers.”

“No!” Flushing, she snatched the bag from him, wincing when the movement elicited another wave of pain from her ankle. “I already told you, we need to save the painkillers in case something else happens!”

“Like what? Are you planning to get injured again?”

“No, but you need those for your injuries, too!”

Jongdae’s eyes darted to a nearby tree as he let out a laugh. “What injuries? I’m not hurt.”

“Kim Jongdae, I hate liars more than anything else,” Chaeyoung warned, still clutching the bag to her chest. “You’ve been holding me that close to your face for the last hour; did you really think I wouldn’t notice? Your right foot is bothering you, isn’t it? You’ve been making a face every time you’ve stepped with it.”

He paused. Smiling again, he winked at her. “So, you’ve been watching my face that closely, huh?”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Tell me the truth, is your foot injured or isn’t it?”

Giving in, Jongdae sighed. “It’s just a blister or two, okay? That’s only natural considering we’ve been walking nonstop in search of civilization since we jumped out of the trailer. I don’t need painkillers for something silly like that.”

“Well, neither do I, then! I’m not taking any painkillers unless you take some, too.” Crossing her arms, Chaeyoung glared at him.

A chuckle, this time genuine, escaped Jongdae’s mouth. “You know, that glare would be a lot more convincing if your face wasn’t covered in tear tracks and mud.”

She sneered. “As if you look any better. Stop lying about your foot and take the damn painkiller, Kim Jongdae, or else…”

Intrigued, he leaned forward. “Or else?”

“Or else I’ll shove it down your throat for you, you dimwit!”

“Okay, okay, geez! No need to get so aggressive!”

---

“How far are they now, Tao?”

“Not very far,” the agent said, eyes locked on the screen of Luhan’s laptop. “They stopped for a while in a small alcove, but they’re on the move again heading eastward.”

“I’m surprised they’re still traveling by foot,” Luhan pointed out, glancing over his shoulder as he switched lanes. “I thought a Jade Dragon agent would be more resourceful than that.”

“That alcove could have been a check-in point for Jade Dragon. Or maybe not.”

“You think we can risk dropping by that alcove and poking around for a bit? If it really was a check-in point, we might be able to find a lead.”

Tao grunted. “Take the next right and make a U-turn, then.”

“Got it. Also, do we have any more of those granola bars left? I’m getting kind of -- ugh, is that your phone or mine?”

Wordlessly, Tao tossed him the buzzing cell phone.

Incoming call from Angry Bird

“Hey, baby.” Luhan tilted his head to the side, jamming the phone between his ear and shoulder. “Listen, I’m kind of driving right now. Can you call back later?”

Kris' voice, low and urgent, responded immediately. “Babe, don’t hang up. Where are you right now?”

Alarmed by the urgency in his voice, Luhan shared an uneasy glance with Tao. “I'm driving home. Why?”

“Listen to me. You can’t go home right now, okay? Not now, probably not for the next week at least.”

“What the hell? Why not?” Slamming on the brakes to avoid running over an adventurous squirrel, Luhan gritted his teeth. “But baby, you know all of my stuff is at home! Like the anniversary gift you got me and our couple rings!”

“Forget that stuff. I’ll buy more for you next time. Your ex-boyfriend is hanging around the house like the creepy stalker he is, and I don’t want you around him.”

Ex-boyfriend? Does he mean MSS? Luhan frowned. One of the disadvantages to keeping up this dating pretense really w