“Why are we here?” Hayoung groaned for what seemed like the tenth time already. Black bags outlined the bottom her eyes and she looked awfully tired as her hands fell limply to her sides. Eunji only smirked at her younger friend as she carefully tucked Chorong's backpack under her arm, a gesture that was now an instinct. Chorong had protested at first, but after she tripped on her own skirt, Eunji began to argue that her outfits were never fit for lugging around more baggage. It was a stupid argument (Chorong knew all too well) but she noticed that Eunji liked when she looked stronger. Besides, it was true that Eunji always wore the more comfortable outfits: typically a long T-shirt and ragged jeans topped with a colored cap. 

                    “We have six hours to spare before the lecture, so Bomi and I thought this would be a good idea to get our blood pumping,” Chorong explained calmly, ignoring Hayoung's dissatisfied expression.

                    “Some of us already got plenty of blood pumping last night,” Eunji whispered to Bomi who couldn’t help but smirk at Hayoung and Naeun shyly when she heard the mocking comment tickle her ear. Eunji could already feel Chorong's glare on her for bringing it up again, but she merely responded with an innocent grin and skipped off toward the wooden booth to grab a paper map for their hike. The rest of them hesitantly followed, uncertain of whether to trust Eunji to lead, but too lazy to protest. Eunji was opposed to the morning hike at first, upset that she had to get up extra early, but Bomi knew that her active friend was more than happy to be outdoors now that she was forced in the moment. Hayoung, on the other hand, was  strongly repulsed by the plan until the very end. She already hated the idea of exercising but the idea of exercising after a wild night was unspeakable. It was only because Naeun had been so insistent on going that Hayoung finally gave in.

                    “Let’s just enjoy our time while we’re here,” Eunji shouted, clutching Hayoung's arm tightly and dragging her to the entrance. She flopped behind limply, whining incessantly until Eunji barked at her to shut . It worked for a while, but when she went back to complaining, Naeun finally decided to take things into her own hands.

                    “Shut up.” She grumbled, her voice low and threatening. Hayoung scowled at the warning but immediately kept shut, though she began to lag behind the rest of the group. The cool mountain breeze made their hike feel easier and the thick greenery filled with trees and grainy dirt created a scenery that Eunji couldn’t help but stop to stare at. She didn’t have an extensive knowledge of the plants and small forest animals that she saw, but she pointed them out nevertheless. Hayoung seemed soothed by the little game of looking out for the creatures, so took to sticking by Eunji who had purposefully slowed down her pace. 

                    Meanwhile, Naeun, Bomi, and Chorong walked ahead, powering through the trail as they shared a decent amount of conversation. Though Chorong kept the topics casual, Bomi had another trick up her sleeve and Naeun was quickly catching up with the underlying scheme. It started off simple, though it was subtle as a brick.

                    “So what’s it like being Jung Eunji’s girlfriend?”

                    Chorong turned to stare at Bomi, her feet kicking up gravel onto the path. For a second she looked cynical but it changed to a look of genuine thoughtfulness.

                    “Imagine having a pet dog.”

Bomi chuckled, “One that follows you around everywhere?”

                    “Yeah.”

“And is loyal?”

                    “I guess so.”

Naeun began to pipe in, careful in choosing the right words. “She cares a lot about you. And it’s not just an act.”

                    Chorong didn’t say anything: just kept walking with her chin held up. Bomi began to fiddle with her backpack straps, running out of patience for the confession to begin. Perhaps it was best she just come clean and ask her straight out. Chorong was probably smart enough to have figured out what they were getting at anyway.

                    “Do you like her?” Bomi asked decisively, coming to a halt when Chorong began to slow her pace. She felt the world sink a little under her feet as she stood in the middle of the path, her hair blowing lightly in the breeze. Flashes of Eunji came flowing through her, the images fresh in her mind. The warmth when Eunji embraced her, her strong arms tucking her under her chin, her dark eyes that disappeared into crescents when she smiled, her charismatic voice, her bold brightness... It was all so real, so close, so perfect. Chorong took a deep breath, lifting her head to see Naeun keenly examining her from a couple steps ahead.

                    “I suppose I do.” Her heart hurt from how true it was.

“I think you meant of course I do.” Bomi said, grinning goofily back at her. Chorong couldn’t help but laugh. 

.....

                    Chorong, Naeun, and Bomi reached the peak of their trail half an hour earlier than Hayoung and Eunji who apparently took more time because Eunji ended up having to force Hayoung laboriously. After lounging about on their set up picnic table and resting up for the trip back down, they began to repack their things, their backpacks significantly lighter now that the food was eaten and out of the way. The sunlight began to shine through the leaves, the warm light creating more beads of sweat that dripped from their faces.

                    “We should get going before Eunji falls asleep,” Hayoung remarked, watching the aforementioned girl’s eyes droop closed. Bomi slapped her sharply on the cheek, threatening her as she demanded she stay awake. Eunji only groaned, turning on her back to notice that everyone was already on their feet. She lugged herself up, yawning and stretching out her sore limbs as she examined Chorong’s bored expression. The oldest girl had already begun to walk to the side, beckoning the rest of the group to follow her. Just as Naeun was about to step back out into the dirt road, the sound of Chorong's scream rang from the distance. Her foot had caught on a thin black rock jutting out from the ground. Before anyone could catch her, Chorong's body propelled forward, tumbling a few feet against the pebbly path.

                    “Are you okay?” Eunji was immediately at her side, brushing off her pants and turning her over to examine the wound on her knees. Chorong blinked up at her, peering at the way Eunji's brows furrowed with deep concern, her lips stiffened in fright as she began to swipe away the remaining rocks jabbed in her knee.

Chorong winced at the stings, settling her hand on top of Eunji’s to interupt her from the unnecessary care. “I’m fine. It’s just a cut.”

                    “You should’ve been more careful, Rong.” Eunji nagged, nudging Chorong's shoulder affectionately. Her heart began to melt when Eunji stared at her with sad eyes, her nose twitching with anticipation. Chorong broke into a warm smile, heaving herself up and barely acknowledging Eunji when she used her hands to steady her. Hayoung, Naeun, and Bomi took the opportunity to check if she was okay, a timing set by Bomi herself when she figured that this was the best chance for Eunji to take over.

                    “You guys go ahead. Rong and I will catch up at the hotel.” Eunji suddenly suggested, ignoring Chorong's confused protest. Hayoung looked as if she were going to disagree as well, but Naeun dragged her off before she started more trouble. Maybe it was because she was so young, but Hayoung was sometimes painfully oblivious to the situations at hand. When the three friends disappeared off at a bend, Eunji finally released Chorong's arm only to briskly shift forward and grab the ends of her hands.

                    “Get on my back.” Eunji ordered, pulling Chorong closer to her.

“Eunji it’s fi–”

                    “Get on my back.”

“It’s just a c–”

                    Before she could finish, Eunji yanked her swiftly on top of her, wrapping her arms around her squirming legs and shifting her weight onto her back. Startled, Chorong yelped in her ear, swaying slightly as Eunji tried to balance her. Eventually, they both made each other comfortable enough and Eunji proceeded down the path, turning to nip at Chorong's ear playfully. Chorong responded briefly, but eventually found herself a spot to rest her head in the back of Eunji's neck. It was warm and comfy, her glistening hair bristling down to tickle her nose. It suddenly occurred to her that Eunji had a homely scent with a hint of sweat and dirt lingering around her skin. Chorong took a deep breath, smiling against her skin while listening to Eunji's soft humming.

                    “Are you enjoying the trip so far?” Chorong asked, her voice almost like a whisper but just loud enough for Eunji to hear. The sweet melody stopped for a second as Eunji thought, the lyrics of the song she was singing changing to a low buzzing noise at the bottom of .

“Could be better.”

                    “Why?”

“We didn’t really get that much time to ourselves with Bomi sleeping over and whatnot.”

                    Chorong tittered, swinging her arms lightly around Eunji's shoulders. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” she spoke quietly, pausing to determine if Eunji could feel how hard her heart was pounding against her chest, “We still have tonight.”

                    Eunji smiled before softly repeating, “Tonight.”

.....

                    When they finally made their way to the hotel, Chorong caught sight of Naeun wandering outside the pool in her bikini, seemingly running away from Hayoung weilding a toy water gun. Chorong began to point excitedly, calling out to her friend and pulling Eunji away from the lobby. After much argument, Eunji had finally agreed to letting Chorong walk on her own because it was true when Chorong said it was merely a cut on her knee.

                    “You’re back?” Bomi shouted. She was sprawled out in one of the chairs with a cold drink in her hand, casually landing a firm kick against Hayoung when she noticed the girl loading her water gun at the ledge of the pool. She spotted Chorong and Eunji getting closer to the gate and decided to jog over to the gate to unlock the door. Chorong tiptoed in, giving Eunji no choice but to follow. The pool was quite large and shaped like a pear, with wide curves and a small entrance that looked like the stem.

                    “How long have you guys been here?” Eunji asked, plopping down next to Bomi.

                    “Not long. We just came because Hayoung has been begging to go.” Naeun responded, dipping her toes into the shimmering water. Hayoung grinned at the mention of her name then slid her hands across Naeun’s back, playfully jabbing her in the process.

                    “Didn’t you guys enough last night?” Eunji teased, her face scrunched up in mocking disgust.

                    “Quit bugging them, Eunji.” Chorong sneered, stepping toward the ledge of the pool. Eunji felt her heart skip a beat and almost as if her worries were heard, a small boy suddenly came sprinting, knocking Chorong off balance as he thundered through. There was a brief squeal of realization and Chorong went plunging into the water, her arms flailing wildly. It was like a siren that went off: Eunji felt her vision go black as the same words began to pound on the inside of her head. What are you most afraid of? Water. Water. Water. Water. She no longer felt in control of her body. It was almost as if a subconscious had taken over as she whirled into the pool, her arms stretched out to snag at anything she could. When she felt the thin material of Chorong's shirt wobbling in the clear water, her fists clenched desperately as the words in her head only grew louder. Water. Water. Water. Water. Her feet propelled her to the surface, still gripping tightly to Chorong's waist when she felt something slap against her face.

                    “Eunji. Jung Eunji. Can you hear me?” Chorong's raspy voice echoed against the walls of her head and almost instantly, her vision cleared. Chorong's hands were resting against her cheeks and her head was calmly poking out from the water. “What’s wrong with you? Why did you jump in with me?”

                    “I thought– At the gym– I just–” Eunji tried, sputtering random words as her feet found the bottom of the pool. It didn’t make any sense. Why was Chorong so normal? She was moving her arms easily through the water, sending ripples down the edges of the pool. It took a couple minutes until Chorong finally began to realize why Eunji had been so knightly in her actions. She couldn’t help but stifle her laughter.

                    “Hey, was this about my trauma of water?” Chorong asked, still smiling. Eunji stared at her in bewilderment and nodded.

“I'm fine. I can swim in pools... just not lakes and rivers.” Chorong giggled freely, now chiming in with Bomi who was spitting out her drink to guffaw at her best friend. Eunji could feel the embarrassment crawling up in her stomach and eating at her, yet she couldn’t help but stare blankly into Chorong's eyes.

                    “Oh. Ok.” At this point, Eunji couldn’t even tell what words were coming out of . 

                    She crawled out of the pool, red in the face and unable to process much else as the water coiled at her feet. Just when she felt the fog of her brain begin clearing up, she felt a tingle on her skin. Bomi was behind her,  against Eunji's ear as she whispered, “You’re so in love with her.”

Eunji could only scowl.

A.N. : Sorry that EunRong is kind of slow but I promise there will be a lot more progress next chapter ;) And I hope you enjoyed their little sweet moments anyway :)

*the hiking scene in this chapter was a request in the comments so many thnx for the ideas!