Sleeping on the conundrum of what to think about Captain Park possibly saving her life was one of the worse ideas that Seoyeon had had for quite some time.  Her sleeping self was apparently a big fan, and waited for him to come and save her from one of the creatures instead of her saving herself by shoving an apple into its mouth.  When he tossed her up into the tree, he threw her so high he was somehow able to catch her neatly in his arms as he sat on the first branch.  And then he held her and laughed instead of killing the creatures below, and they all faded into nothing because they were irrelevant compared to Captain Park’s smile, which was odd because Seoyeon didn’t actually remember ever seeing him smile.

She awoke in a cold sweat after dreaming about him feeding her a slice of fruit, convinced that a biddiyara had drooled on her in its sleep.  The reality was worse: Captain Park, back to her as usual (she was pretty sure she knew his broad shoulders better than his face, since she was always behind him), was sitting there without anything covering his torso.  She couldn’t see what he was doing, but his arms were moving (it sounded like he might be brushing dirt off his clothes) and he’d called up a little fire, which made it possible to see the muscles and sinews shifting deliciously under his skin.  Seoyeon stared at him in shock for several seconds, then realised she was staring and squeezed her eyes shut in horror.

It didn’t help matters at all.  All it did was burn that little image of those muscles as they moved, and after feeling them move the previous day, it was beginning to frazzle her brain.  It was rare enough for any woman to see a man topless — Seoyeon could proudly count the number of times on only one hand — and all she could think about as her face grew hotter by the second was that it was so, so inappropriate.

And that it was actually a huge topic for gossip.

Captain Park coughed quietly and then the shelter was quiet for a couple of moments.  Face screwed up in anxiety, Seoyeon inched one eye open, hoping that the silence meant he was now fully dressed.

Within a split second, Seoyeon realised that she really ought to have thought about the worst case scenario, which she had just blundered straight into.  Captain Park had twisted around to face her — well, it actually looked like he’d been reaching for her satchel, because his hand was on it, but he’d paused and was eyeing her with concern.

“Ma’am, are you all right?” he asked.  There was enough light for Seoyeon to be able to see goosebumps on his skin, and also how strong he was.  She knew he was strong — he’d thrown her into a tree the day before, after all — but it was different to have experienced it compared to having an image that would be seared into her mind for eternity.

The sound that escaped Seoyeon was so like the whistle Minseok’s kettles made when the water was boiling that it was a shock to her that no steam came out of her ears.  Mortified, she face-planted on the earth and curled up into a little ball.

An absolutely excruciating silence followed.  She could feel Captain Park’s gaze on her as she rocked gently back and forth, trying to calm her thoughts.

“Miss Han,” Captain Park said eventually, and while there was obvious confusion in his tone, it was a lot warmer than usual.  “Are you unw—”

“This is so inappropriate!” Seoyeon interrupted, shooting back into a sitting position.  A clump of knotted hair fell in her face but she was too agitated to move it.  “I honestly don’t understand how you can just sit there like that and… and—!”  She buried her face in her hands.

Captain Park’s incredulous laugh filled the shelter.

“Miss Han,” he said, and it did sound like he was making an effort to try to rein in his amusement even if he didn’t succeed, “I know you’re from polite society, but with all due respect, the situation we’re currently in requires expedience more than appropriateness.  If you’ve slept beside me every night without a problem then I think you can handle me taking off my tunic so that I can mend it.”

Splaying her fingers enough to peep through the cracks, Seoyeon looked up at him, careful to avoid everything except his face.

“No I can’t,” she said in a small voice.

“Don’t be such a fool,” he replied mildly.  “You have a needle, don’t you?  Do you have thread too?”

She nodded.  He held up her satchel, and Seoyeon abruptly realised that until she’d woken up, he must have intended to rummage through it without asking.

“May I?” he asked her.

“No.”  Face flaming, Seoyeon snatched it from him.  “I’ve already had to ruin one birthday gift because of you.  I don’t want you touching