I push the loose, floating pieces of cereal around in my bowl, trying to think of what Hakyeon has planned. My nerves slowly start to worsen as I think about spending the whole day with Taekwoon. I wonder what he is going to be like? Is he going to be himself or actually nice? Are we going to get along or just have it be awkward? The door swinging open behind me shakes me from my thoughts. Taekwoon strolls out of his room, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he makes his way over to the counter. 

Letting out a loud yawn he stops in front of the box of cereal that’s placed on the edge, he then looks at me. Not saying a word he points past me at an empty bowl. I assume he wants me to hand it to him. Quietly I oblige. Taking it from me he then starts to pour the froot loops out.

“I honestly am sorry,” He says not looking up from his bowl. 

I shove a spoon full of cereal into my mouth, “You’re still a .”

He purses his lips in annoyance, shoving his spoon into his breakfast with slight force, you freaking masochist “I know what I did was wrong. I was going through some stuff and it was wrong to take it out on you.” 

I stop chewing for a moment, looking at him with a questionable look. Could this be some sick form of a joke? I mean It is Taekwoon and I wouldn’t put it past him to do it. He looks at me, waiting for my response. Swallowing the food in my mouth I clear my throat and begin to speak, “Wait, is Taekwoon, THE Taekwoon, actually showing genuine emotion and remorse?”

His eyes narrow at me as he lets out an aggressive sigh, I feel a slight smile appear on my face, “You know what? it.” he says.

 With that he picks up his bowl and turns around, walking away but before returning to his room he shouts over his shoulder, “We could’ve had a nice breakfast but you ruined it.”

A loud laugh escapes me as he closes the door, leaving me to eat the rest of my breakfast in peace. 

“Do you really hate me that much?” Taekwoon questions. 

We continue down the street, my eyes dart back and forth from building numbers to the paper in my hand, “Let me think.....” I pause for dramatic effect, “Yes.” 

Taekwoon huffs, letting out a small laugh, “Why?”

I squint my eyes looking at him, wondering if he is honestly that clueless, “You harassed me 24/7!”

“I did not! I just thought that it was the kind of relationship we had!” He says defensive, “You know, like Tom and Jerry.”

“Taekwoon, you inflicted physical and emotional pain on me and enjoyed it you freaking sadist.” I state. 

All he does is shake his head, letting a small deep laugh escape. I can’t help but smile myself but it disapears immediately when we get to the meeting spot. Looking up I realize we are standing in front of an indoor rock climbing park. I could feel my palms start to sweat, thinking about heights. The smirk on my face changes to a solemn look, out of the corner of my eye I can see Taekwoon staring at me.

“You ok?” He says calmly, not taking his eyes off me. 

Nodding my head I quickly push my way past him and enter the building, he follows behind me. Right when we enter we are greeted by Hakyeon, who is sitting on the bench playing with his phone. Looking up from the piece of technology he flashes us a smile. 

Pushing himself off the bench he makes his way over, “I’m glad you both made it!” 

I give him and pursed smile and Taekwoon does the same. Nodding his head he then reaches into his back pocket, pulling out two tickets. Taking one in each hand he gives them to us, “Alright, just go in and they should supply all the gear and teach you everything you need to know about climbing!”

Clapping his hands together he gives us both a smile and heads towards the door but before exiting he turns around one last time, “I’ll be back in an hour to check on you guys” 

And with that he left. I grip the ticket in my hand as if it was the only thing keeping me safe. Taekwoon just stands there, looking me up and down trying to identify the problem. I just avoid his eyes. 

“You’re afraid of heights aren’t you?” He states.

My head snaps in his direction, finally looking at him, “Terrified.” I state confidently. 

Taekwoon looks away, lifting his head up and lets a chuckle out, “And you didn’t think to tell Hakyeon about that?”

“Shut up, let’s just get this over with,” I mumble as I continue to walk towards the front desk. Taekwoon shrugs his shoulders following my lead. We each hand our ticket to the guy working the desk. He rings the tickets up and then reaches behind the counter. Pulling out two neon green clipboards. 

“Now these are the release forms,” He says. 

I feel the color drain from my cheeks reading over the waiver, NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INJURY. “Oh great,” I mumble. 

“Hongbin, if you really are that freaked out we can go.” His tone is strong, almost like he is actually concerned. It made me angry. Where was his concern when he was forcing me to run laps, or nailing a ball full force at me, or publicly humiliating me? My brows furrow, flipping through the waiver I get to the last page. I quickly sign on the dotted line. 

Turning to Taekwoon I lean close, “Don’t pretend to give a just because your friend got after you.”

I then continue walking towards the wall, bumping his shoulder in the process. Taekwoon. 

We soon both get our gear and a lesson, the instructor was nice and seemed to know what he was doing. He carefully explained how to properly support your partner, all the safety precautions, and the rest of the basics. I sneak a peek at Taekwoon as the instructor finishes up his lesson, my roomate stands with his arms crossed in front of him taking in every word the instructor is saying. It made me feel a little better. 

“Alright so that’s everything you’re going to need to know today. And don’t forget I will be here at all times, just come get me in the office. Good luck!”

Taekwoon and I both nod in agreement at the Instructor. We turn and head towards the wall. The Park is made up of three sections, Kids, intermediate, and advanced. Ofcourse Taekwoon went for the advanced. Gathering at the base of the wall we get into our equipment. 

Part of the rules is that we have to check each others ropes, to make sure they are secure and tied right. Taekwoon reaches out grabbing my belt, he pulls it in a couple different directions to make sure it’s secure. I do the same.

“I want to go first,” Taekwoon states. 

Looking up at him I pause for a moment, trying to read his face. I can’t, “Alright.”

I grab the rope and hook it through my belt, securing myself to the end of his rope. Turning around he gives me a thumbs up, I give him one back. He then begins to climb, tackling the wall. One hand in front of the other he scales the fake rocks, bringing himself further from the ground. I quickly keep up with him, tightening the rope as he continues to move. Creating tension so I can secure him. 

  Halfway up the wall his pace slows. Reaching for the next rock slower and slower until he stops, letting is full body weight fall onto me. Practically sitting down I support him, “You good?” I shout up to him.

“Yeah I’m just tired” He shouts back.

“You’re the one who wanted to do advance, now hurry up I’m getting tired of holding you.”

Taekwoon turns his body around, swinging to face me. He has that stupid smile again, “what if i just want to hang here for a while.”

I feel my patients thinning, “I will drop you.” 

Taekwoon laughs at the threat, swinging back to the wall he re-grips the rocks. After a couple minutes he reaches the top. Turning around he waves to me, I wave back. Letting go of the wall completely I descend him. 

“That was pretty fun,” He says as he undos the rope from his harnice. I just watch, not saying a word. My palms begin to sweat again as I feel my confidence waiver. Slowly i make my way over to the wall, grabbing the loose rope I begin to tie myself in. After a minute Taekwoon makes his way over. Grabbing my belt he tugs on it , his eyes then slide up looking at me. 

“What.” I bark.

He says nothing as he continues to adjust my knots that I tied. Giving them one final yank he looks up at me, “Nothing.”

Turning round he leaves me, positioning himself where I once stood. Giving a thumbs up to me, I take a deep breath and give him a thumbs up.

I reach one hand up, grabbing the brightly colored rocks. Pulling my body up I begin to climb. I reach behind me into my bag of chalk, covering my hand trying to get a better grip on the wall.

I can feel Taekwoons eyes lock on me, watching my every move. My heart beats fast and my breath catches in my throat. I just focus on each colored rock in front of me, just keep going I encourage myself. 

“Hongbin, You’re doing great! You’re past halfway.” Taekwoon shouts up at me. 

Realizing how much I must have climbed I do the regrettable and look down. As soon as I see the distance between the ground and my feet any ounce of confidence left. My body freezes, I keep pushing myself to move but I can’t. 

Shifting my weight back and forth between the rocks I try to mentally prepare myself to reach the top, but not matter how hard I try nothing happens. Sweat slowly begins to form my brow, Oh no I’m still not moving. 

“Hongbin are you good?” Taekwoon questions. 

“No! No i’m not,” I scream down.

“Just let go I got you!”

I scoff at his reply, like I would trust him to catch me falling from forty feet, “No!”

“Hongbin don’t be ridiculous I have you.”

“Taekwoon, I don’t trust you. Just call Hakyeon and leave me up here!” I say looking over my shoulder and down at him. I can see the irritation play across the face he then takes one hand off the rope. “Don’t take your hands off the rope!”

“How do you expect me to call Hakyeon If I can’t use my hands?” He growls at me, clearly losing his patients.

“Forget it, Just leave me here to die. Tell my family I love them!”

“You are being the most dramatic person ever, and that’s coming from me,” He says before trying to reach for his phone again.

“Taekwoon please!” I shout in the most pitiful tone I could allow, showing any emotion around him is asking for torment but I’m desperate. Holding the rope firmly in his hands Taekwoon just looks up at me. Taking a deep breath He begins to speak, “Hongbin, Please just let go I have you. I promise I won’t let you fall. Just come down.”

I don't move, ignoring him. He tries one last time, "Hongbin I have your back this time."

Reluctantly I draw a deep breath and carefully begin to release my weight, as soon as I do so I feel myself being supported by Taekwoon. He then starts to lower me down, I keep my eyes firmly closed , not wanting to see how far away the ground is. My hands grip the rope connected to my harness so hard that I feel my knuckles turning white. Then my dangling feet finally touch the ground. 

I stand frozen for a moment as Taekwoon rushes over, he puts one hand on my shoulder turning me towards him. We make eye contact for a minute before I look away, not wanting to show any more vulnerability than I have already. 

“You did good,” he says patting my back lightly. I give him a pursed smile as I begin to undo my harness. Taekwoon just stands there watching me, He is unusually quiet. 

Hello my loves! Ok so I'm in Korea right now and man i've been busy but here's an update! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the story thus far <3 Thank you so much for the comments ! 

Love you much ! Your author!