A shiver ran down Yerin’s spine as she took her shirt off. She rubbed her arm and quickly slipped a black V-neck shirt on and a black hoodie over it. She straightened her clothes and smoothened the creases, fixing her hair in the mirror before stepping out of the washroom. Eunbi was standing by the bed folding her clothes.

“That’s fast.” Eunbi smiled and moved to place her pajamas in the closet. Yerin too, kept her pajamas neatly beside Eunbi’s. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah.” Yerin smiled. They grabbed their bags and padded coats before leaving the room, not forgetting to hang the sign on their knob so that the hotel staff would make their bed. They proceeded to the hotel restaurant to have their first meal of the day. Eunbi went for a more basic breakfast consisting of cereal, a glass of milk and a plate of toast. Yerin decided to get a more western kind of breakfast, filling her plate with 2 sunny side ups, a couple thin strips of bacon and some toast as well.

“Where’s our first stop of the day?” Yerin asked.

“I planned it in a way that the attractions we visit will take us in sort of a circle. The nearest to us then the farthest from us and back to the second nearest before heading back to the hotel and wrapping up for the day. Which means today’s first stop would be at the maze then Manjanggul cave and maybe wherever you want to go.” Eunbi said, tracing a small circle on the tablecloth.

“Then I guess my surprise will come first then. In fact, it’s just a short drive away from here.” Yerin said as she spread a blob of strawberry jam across her toast.

“Alright then. Just lead the way later.” Eunbi smiled.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

“A ring making shop?” Eunbi asked as they stood at the entrance.

“Well… You could make a bunch of other stuff as well but my surprise for you is to make couple rings!” Yerin chirped, spreading her arms. “Let’s go in~” she said, taking Eunbi’s hand and dragged the girl into the small shop.

“Hello, welcome to Dasibang Project! How may I help you?” A lady greeted them.

“We’d like to make some rings.” Yerin bowed slightly.

“Just take a seat wherever you’d like, and I’ll get the materials ready.” The lady smiled before walking into a room near the back.

“Here?” Yerin asked Eunbi, pointing at a table by the window.

“I’m alright with anywhere.” The girl smiled and Yerin pulled out the chair for Eunbi before sitting down. The lady returned with 2 aprons slung over her arm and a small measuring tape in hand.

“Let’s have some introductions before we start, shall we? My name is Jinhee and I’ll be your teacher for today!” the lady said as she handed the aprons to the girls.

“I’m Yerin and this is Eunbi.” The photographer smiled.

“It’s nice to meet the both of you. So, first, before we start, we need to do 2 things. One would be to choose which finger you’d like to wear your ring on and the second thing is to measure the diameter of your finger. Shall I give you two some time to decide?” she offered.

“I think I know which finger I want to wear it on as soon as you said that.” Eunbi chuckled.

“Oh, then that’s great! Shall I take some measurements to prepare the material?” she said, unrolling a portion of the measuring tape.

“Yep.” Eunbi said. The girls exchanged glances and raised their left hand simultaneously.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Yerin grinned.

“On the count of three?” Eunbi asked.

“1… 2… 3!” they counted together and folded all but their ring finger. The lady smiled at their interaction as she measured the size of their fingers.

“Now I’ll give you some time to choose the design that you want it to be. You can take a look at these samples over here.” She said, pointing at a bundle of rings that were in a small container positioned at the corner of the table.

“Sure, we’ll let you know when you’re ready.” Yerin smiled. Eunbi took the bundle and shook it, causing them to jingle. They looked through the designs and decided on a simple silver band that was matte on the outside but rounded and shiny on the inside. They presented their choice to the lady and she brought out two strips of metal.

“I trimmed these according to the size of your fingers so all you have to do is go over there and engrave whatever you’d like on the rings. Come, I’ll show you.” She said and led them over to a small table by the wall. “There’s an alphabet on each of these little metal pieces. Just place these lightly on the ring and tap gently with this mallet. Don’t tap it too hard or it might pierce through the ring and you’ll have to start all over.”

“Okay, thank you.” Eunbi smiled as she sat down on the small stool. “Heard that? Don’t tap too hard~” she teased the older girl.

“I can control my strength, B.” Yerin laughed as she looked through the metal pieces. She picked out the letter H and rested it lightly on the strip of metal. She grabbed the mallet and bent lower to get a better view of the metal piece. With a look of pure concentration painted on her face, she gave the stud 3 taps.

“Did it work?” Eunbi asked curiously as she leaned in to get a closer look.

“Looks alright.” Yerin said as she returned the stud to the tray.

“Why H though? That’s your ring isn’t it?”

“It is but I want your name to be on it so that you can be with me wherever I go.” Yerin said with a greasy wink and Eunbi pretended to throw up.

“Engrave your ring!” Eunbi shoved Yerin’s shoulder with a snort. They finished their engravings with much laughter before Jinhee helped them wield the ends of the strips together to form a circle.

“Now, you place the ring on this.” She said, slipping one of the rings onto a metal rod that was slightly conical. “This is called a ring sizer. Or a ring mandrel. Or a ring stick. Depends on who you ask really but the use is the same. You simply hammer the ring till it reaches the desired size. I’ve marked out with a marker the end line as you can see. So just hammer the ring and it will slowly expand. Just remember to rotate it as you hammer, or it will be flat on one side and really thick on the other.”

The girls nodded and got to work, hammering away at their rings.

“Well, you’re done! Try it on to see if it fits.” Jinhee gestured at their rings and they slipped it on. It was a perfect fit. “Looks like nothing needs to be amended. You guys did a good job.”

“Thanks. You taught us well.” Eunbi smiled. Yerin settled the bill and they walked out of the little shop with smiles on their face.

"Looks like we're married now." Eunbi joked as she looked at the new band that rested snugly on her ring finger.

"You really like the thought of us getting married huh? Can't wait?" Yerin teased, wrapping an arm around the younger girl's shoulder.

"Pfft, let's go, we have places to explore." Eunbi rolled her eyes with a playful smile as she walked towards the car.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

"Maze land. Sounds exciting. I've seen so many people play in here but now that I see it for myself... It's huge." Yerin commented as she looked around in awe.

“I wonder if we’ll be able to see over the walls.” Eunbi cackled.

“We’re not that tall.” Yerin laughed as they sauntered towards the ticket booth. “Unless you plan to hop like a kangaroo.”

“2 tickets for the maze please.” Eunbi said as she pulled out her wallet. She handed the cashier the exact change and took the tickets. They entered and grabbed a map from a stand.

“Which maze should we start with?” Eunbi asked as she unfolded the map.

“Ey, we should spice things up a little. How about we split up and go into one of the mazes and try to find each other?” Yerin suggested, rubbing her hands together.

“Wow, you’re really feeling adventurous today huh? I like it.” Eunbi grinned. “Let’s do that then. We’ll go in from the entrance and exit and just walk around. We can use our GPS and this map, but we can’t communicate. Let’s see if fate will bring us together again.” She said as she took another map for Yerin.

“I’ll go in from the exit then. See you around, B.” Yerin winked before running off. Eunbi stood by the entrance and examined the map in her hands. There were 2 possible places that Yerin might walk to and that was the eyes of the stone maze. The latter had always favored vantage points to get the best view, making the large stone bumps a highly possible option. If she wasn’t there, she would be at the small gazebo near the center of the entire park.

She inhaled the cold winter air before stepping into the maze, chuckling at the thought of the Triwizard maze from Harry Potter. Eunbi began navigating her way through the maze, inching closer to the eye; literally. When she arrived, she climbed to the top and looked around. She could see people walking around in the maze but Yerin was nowhere in sight. Rather than leaving, she decided to wait for at least 5 minutes in case the girl showed up. Eunbi sat down on the rock and looked at the map again, planning her route towards the gazebo.

5 minutes quickly went by but there was still no sign of Yerin showing up anytime soon so Eunbi decided to get on her way. She stood up and looked over at the other eye to make sure that Yerin wasn't there before jumping off. She proceeded towards the gazebo and took a seat on one of the benches. It was oddly calming to sit there and listen to the soft chatter of the tourists and visitors stroll by as they made their way to the attraction. Eunbi felt somewhat at peace.

Minutes ticked by but still, there was no sign of Yerin. Eunbi had thought of leaving to roam around for a better chance of running into Yerin but her gut feeling told her that she should just stay for a little more. She didn't know what made her listen to the tugging sensation in her gut but she did, closing her eyes to enjoy the cool breeze that was combing through her hair. She didn't know how long she kept her eyes closed for but she felt someone sit down on the bench beside her.

"Did you wait long?" a smooth and low voice asked.

"Just a little. Not that I mind though. I'd gladly wait for eternity if you were the one that I would meet." Eunbi replied, slowly opening her eyes, squinting as she adjusted to the bright surroundings. There sat Yerin with her usual warm smile and twinkling eyes.

"You're quite a cheeseball yourself after all." the girl chuckled, tucking her hands into her coat pocket.

"I learn from the expert." Eunbi stuck her tongue out. "Shall we move on to the maze?"

"Let's." Yerin stood up and offered a hand to Eunbi.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

Eunbi lightly bobbed her head along to the music that was playing over the radio as she drove along the winding road. She and Yerin had just finished their lunch of the famous black pork BBQ after their adventures in the maze.

“Thank god this cave is just a short drive away. If it was any further I might have to take a nap before the food coma hits me.” Eunbi chuckled. She looked at the navigation system on the dashboard. “Guess we’re here.” She announced as she turned the wheel, smoothly maneuvering the Qashqai into the parking area of the cave.

“Is the parking free?” Yerin asked, looking around at the signs.

“Yep.” Eunbi said as she drove around, looking for an empty lot. There was one that happened to be closer to the entrance of the cave and they quickly took the lot. “Now, time to walk to the ticket booth. It’s about a 5-minute walk from here.”

“I can already feel it. This place is going to be huge.” Yerin said as she looked around, squinting to get a closer look at the museum. Eunbi left Yerin to look around while she went to purchase the tickets.

“We have around 2 hours here. Place closes at 5:30.” Eunbi informed the older girl as she handed her the ticket.

“Doubt we can walk around that long anyway.” Yerin said as they approached the main entrance.

“The trail open to the public is about 1km long and if we were to walk the entire length, we’ll be walking 2km ‘cause well... we need to come back to this entrance.” Eunbi snorted as she looked at the brochure. “I’ve also researched and the main attraction here is the Stone Turtle. Unless you want a full educational tour on the rocks, we can walk half the trail and stroll back.”

“Oh well, then I guess we’ll just go half the distance then.” Yerin said as they stepped into the dim cave. “Careful, the floor’s wet.” She looked at the damp ground and held on to Eunbi’s hand. It was a simple gesture of kindness, but it still made the girl’s heart flutter. “Hold on tight okay?”

“Okay.” Eunbi smiled, squeezing Yerin’s hand. They slowly climbed up the stairs using the handrails as extra support due to the worn-down steps. They began down the trail, looking around in wonder at the lava flow lines.

“I had expected it to be a little darker than this.” Eunbi confessed.

“Me too. The stereotypical dark and gloomy cave. This one doesn’t seem so bad though. Just very wet.” Yerin said mindlessly as they trodden carefully along. It wasn’t very grand but still, it was fascinating to walk along a path where lava once flowed through. The marks on the cave walls are all that’s left to show the history of this place.

“How far in is it?” Yerin asked curiously, bringing the map closer to her face.

“We’ve been walking for a while now, so it shouldn’t be long before we reach. We’ll probably know when we’re near the crowd of tourists.” The dancer shrugged. True enough, after walking ahead for a couple more minutes, they saw a group of people gathered ahead.

“Why is this popular again?” Yerin asked when they finally got a look at the natural formation.

“According to the brochure... it’s because it looks like a turtle and the overall structure resembles Jeju island itself.” Eunbi said as she scanned through the pamphlet in her hands.

“Oh, I see. Well now that you mention it...” Yerin trailed off as she tilted her head. “It does look like Jeju.”

“Wanna walk further down? It’s about... 4:30 now. We still have an hour.” Eunbi asked.

“Sure. Maybe a hundred meters more before we turn back and leave.” Yerin swung their hands back and forth.

“Then we’ll have dinner and then back to the hotel.”

“Sounds good.” Yerin nodded, tugging Eunbi along down the gravel path.

Hello, my dear readers~ Hope you've been enjoying the Christmas countdown :D  Just wanted to swing by and do some shameless self-promotion of my twitter account. If you'd like to be friends, have another buddy to follow, see more Gfriend content on your feed or receive updates on my stories along with sneak peaks, feel free to follow me @Hwangie_HJ! Shall not make this too long now, hope you have a great day/night ^^