“Are you sure you’re okay?” Taehyung tensed as Chaeyoung touched his arm gently while they walked towards the first forest they could find.

Hours of gruesome travelling had finally led them to the middle, civilized area of Ilsan Mountain where several homes, farms and inns were scattered. After eating a small meal and unpacking their belongings for the night, Taehyung had pulled Chaeyoung away for their daily training – albeit his sore shoulders and aching back which had been assaulted with an army of rocks earlier that day.

Despite the cool evening air, her small hand on his arm sparked a flood of warmth to flow through him.

He wondered if she even knew the power she was beginning to hold over him as he glanced at her with a faint smile.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he countered, peeling her hand off his arm and turning it over to examine the fresh scrapes she had garnered from their day of mountain climbing. His brows furrowed in concern upon seeing her pale palm covered in various ragged wounds, the skin beginning to peel in some areas.

She snatched her hand away quickly, hiding it behind her back with a sheepish smile, “you are awfully obsessed with my hands.”

“Well, they are pretty worthy hands to obsess over,” Taehyung grinned at her, though he feared he was becoming obsessed with more than just that.

But he desperately hoped these feelings would vanish with time. He wanted nothing more than to wake up without the compulsive need to see her, to suddenly become unaffected by her proximity, to not crave the sound of her musical laughter. Every day his mind waited for his heart to not pound uncontrollably in her presence, and every day his heart overpowered his mind. She had invaded a hidden nook of his heart and taken up residence in a crucial crevice of it – a place that he was not aware existed. And he was having a hell of a time trying to kick her out of it.

She tilted her head up to gaze at him, an amused glint in her eyes, as they approached the small forest located a few yards away from the nearest town house.

“First you call me beautiful, then compliment my body, and now my hands? Careful, Kim Taehyung, any more sweet talk and your fierce warrior reputation will be ruined,” she hit her shoulder against his playfully.

“I blame you,” he shook his head, actually beginning to grow distressed when he realized she was right.

He had not been himself lately and she was the sole reason for that. Her positivity and cheerful aura were contagious to the point that Taehyung had caught himself actually humming the previous day. To say he was taken aback and appalled at himself were understatements.

“I didn’t do anything!” she laughed, and Taehyung cursed internally at how satisfyingly the sound filled his ears. Keeping his face expressionless in moments like this required more effort than Taehyung would care to admit.

He didn’t say anything as he gradually slowed and came to a stop on a wide enough patch of rich-green grass. The sun had nearly completed its descent, emitting a haze of blood-orange and burgundy hues through the pale-blue sky. A few distant trees were randomly distributed around the area, and the edge of the mountain was just barely visible a little farther ahead. This was going to be their training ground for the night.

He turned to her, channeling his inner warrior to remain completely focused on the task at hand. 

“This is the schedule for the night. We start with a 15-minute warmup, followed with a quick run-through of the basic formations we have learned this week, and then finish off by learning your first set of wrestling moves.”

Again, he fought to contain his smile when her face lit up with excitement, “you mean I’m finally going to learn the important stuff?”

He rolled his eyes, “everything you have been learning thus far has been equally important. You had to build your strength and learn the basics first. Remember, the man who moves a mountain –”

“Begins by moving away small stones, yes, yes,” she finished his sentence impatiently, causing a small smile to finally peek through Taehyung’s uncaring façade, “can we get started, now?”

With a shrug, Taehyung led her through their basic routines, watching her every move with a proud gleam in his eyes. He had discovered that she was a fast learner. She had made so much progress in the past couple weeks, replacing the initial image of a clumsy and frail Chaeyoung with an elegant and fierce one who now glided through battle sequences as naturally as others breathed.

He could watch her forever and never grow bored.

“How was that?” she asked after completing the basic formations with a particularly high roundhouse kick that snapped a low tree branch in half, her hands placed on her hips proudly as she panted to catch her breath.

“Sloppy,” he lied, though his grin gave him away.

She flashed him a knowing smile as he walked forward, stopping a couple feet in front of her and then taking up a defensive stance.

“Is this the part where we get to fight each other and you finally get your chance to murder me, revealing your hidden motives all along?” she joked.

“Nah, it’s too soon for that,” he played along with a low chuckle, “there is still tons of time for my hidden motives to be revealed.”

She laughed, “okay then, what are we actually doing?”

“I want you to attack me.”

Chaeyoung’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “why in the world would you want that? Aren’t you supposed to teach me how to do the moves?”

“I am teaching you, impatient one,” he tsked at her, “now come here and try to take me down.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully before beginning to approach him, “what are you going to do for me if I succeed?”

Taehyung raised a brow, surprised by her sudden competitive shift in attitude. Something they both had in common was that they both loved a challenge.

“I will tell you what happened last summer with Yoongi, Jimin, and Jennie.”

Her jaw dropped in a mixture of shock and excitement, her enthusiasm practically buzzing through her.

“But,” he continued before she became too excited, “what if I win?”

He closed the distance between them slowly, noticing her shoulders stiffen and the little air which separated them becoming charged, heated, as their gazes locked.

“I will give you whatever you want,” she said with look of pure determination.

Smiling almost sadly, he reached out to tuck a long strand of stray hair behind her ear, his fingers running through the full length of its softness, “I don’t think you can.”

“I promise I will,” she whispered.

Before he did anything he would later regret, he took a step back and repositioned himself into his default defensive stance. He looked at her expectantly, hiding any trace of vulnerability, and waiting for her to comply with his orders.

With a heavy sigh, she charged towards him, trying to use the element of surprise to her advantage. It didn’t work.

Taehyung side-stepped her with ease, turning around just in time to see her run straight into a tree stump. He kept his lips pursed tightly to contain the laugh that was threatening to burst through at any moment.

She attempted to throw a punch across his jaw, but he dodged it, using a hand to grip her wrist and twist her arm behind her body. When she began groaning in pain, he released his hold on her, causing her to stagger forward, her chest rising and falling rapidly in exhaustion. She turned to glare at him, preparing herself for another ambush.

“Would you like to give up while you still can?” Taehyung asked with a smirk, knowing exactly how to provoke her, “if you call for a truce now, I will let you off easy.”

At that point she somehow managed to land a kick to his jaw, causing Taehyung’s eyes to widen in shock. He moved his jaw from side-to-side to stretch it out, unable to hide his half-annoyed, half-impressed smirk.

“I have never liked ‘easy’,” she responded with a casual flip of her hair.

She suddenly tried to land a low kick on his thigh, but Taehyung’s instincts were quick to predict her move. He quickly caught her ankle with one hand and pulled her flush against his chest before hooking a foot behind her leg and pressing all his body weight against her, eventually forcing her to trip and fall against his foot.

Before she fell, however, she gripped his arms on either side, forcing him down with her. He placed a hand behind her head as they tumbled down, cushioning the blow, and placed the other on the grass beside her to brace his own fall. Their bodies crashed against one another with a muffled thud, their chests moving in synchronization as they tried to catch their breath.

“I win,” his voice was hoarse when he whispered in her ear, his breath hot and heavy from the feel of her body beneath his and the tempting soft skin of her face only inches away from his lips. 

She raised her hand slowly to his face. Taehyung held his breath as she turned her head towards him, her fingers brushing the side of his cheek tenderly. Her gaze shifted to his lips, her expression filled with desire and he couldn’t help but do the same. Before he knew it, their faces were gradually growing closer and closer as if an invisible string was pulling them together against their will.

It was at that moment when the distant gallop of several horses shattered their moment of bliss. 

“Wait,” Taehyung murmured, his lips separated from Chaeyoung’s by a mere breath, “do you hear that?”

She gazed up at him in confusion, “perhaps the others are searching for us?”

He shook his head and finally rolled off her, his senses heightened and his eyes darting through the dark forest suspiciously, “it sounds like much more than 5 horses.”

They quietly rose to their fee