It was around noontime on that Sunday when the 4 people who had gone on a road trip, on a course Namjoon had suggested and planned, were traveling alongside a river that was flowing between 2 high, smooth and nearly vertical cliffs.

On one of these cliffs, relatively close to the water level, 2 metal railings had been installed for people to travel as these 4 were currently doing. More specifically, they were stepping sideways on the lower railing while their hands were holding onto the other railing that was at chest level. They also had safety chords hooked to the upper railing in case anyone slipped and was in danger of falling into the water. It looked like they were just playing Spider Man, but it was a traveling method that required a lot of core and arm strength. The utility gloves they were wearing kept their hands from getting cold through so much contact with the upper railing and gave them a better grip on it, but their shoes could still easily slip on the smooth and wet metal railing.

Namjoon said this method couldn’t be used during winter or after periods of rainfall that would make the river’s level rise, but otherwise it was the best method of getting to their destination because climbing the mountain and going on foot on the upper levels of the cliff would have taken 3 times longer and would’ve been just as tiring or even more so.

No one questioned Namjoon’s judgment at all, but after Namjoon was done explaining how the water had made those cliffs so smooth over several centuries, it had gotten too quiet, apart from the very loud sounds coming from the river, because everyone was concentrating on advancing. Until…

S: “Hey, Joon. I said I’d travel with you all over the world, but I meant that by plane, in a car or, you know, with a good chunk of asphalt or earth under my feet.”

N: “Are you scared of falling into the river?”

S: “I’m actually tempted to jump into the river and have it take me to the destination faster.”

N: “The river’s going in the opposite direction from us though…”

S: “Oh… Well than plan failed…”

N: “Then are you tired? I didn’t expect you to get tired, since you’re more athletic than me, but we can take a break if you want.”

S: “I’m more athletic than you in sports. But, otherwise, I can’t compare to someone who’s been walking around on mountains and chopping, carrying and building stuff with wood for all of his life.”

N: “Is that a compliment or a diss?”

S: “It’s a poorly worded homage to your marvelous muscles.”

N: “Oh. Thanks. Getting praised by you is always an interesting experience… So – Are you tired?”

S: “You’re welcome. And no, I’m not tired. I’m just lazy.”

N: “Ah, I remember there was a time when you wanted to use some sort of vehicle to get to your car so you could drive to the corner store.”

S: “I still think about that from time to time, you know?”

N: “So, if you’re not scared or tired, what’s the problem?”

S: “It’s been quiet for a long time and I’m getting bored. So I thought I’d complain and maybe get an argument started with you to make things more fun.”

N: “Can’t you just enjoy the scenery?”

S: “I am. You’re in my line of sight looking all manly and stuff, so the scenery’s great!”

Namjoon laughed because the things that would come out of Seokjin’s mouth were often unpredictable.

Taehyung was third in line after Namjoon and Seokjin and, after hearing that exchange, he thought again that those two in front of him were great together, but they both had to do a lot of adapting to the other person. Then he thought about Jungkook and realized it was odd that he had chosen to be the last in line and just follow the rest as well as follow the plan and the guidelines Namjoon had started.

T: “Don’t you want to be up front and go faster?” he asked Jungkook after turning his head towards him.

J: “Well, yeah, but I thought you might get scared or tired with something like this, so I wanted to stay close and help out if it’s needed.”

No matter how reckless he got or how cold he might seem at times, Jungkook was actually really considerate with other people and Taehyung had realized that time and time again – when Jungkook agreed to slow down on their first ride towards the hut and to exit the abandoned hut just because Taehyung was very scared, when he looked for Taehyung after he had gotten lost, when he paid close attention and really thought about what Taehyung was telling him about his family situation and now with this. Jungkook adapted to Taehyung, so Taehyung wanted to adapt even more to Jungkook.

T: “Thank you. But I can handle this. So you don’t have to hold yourself back, literally or figuratively.”

J: “It’s fine.”

T: “It is. But it’d be better if you enjoyed these rare experiences the way you want to.”

Jungkook’s eyes went wide, then a big smile grew on his face before he gave Taehyung a brief but strong kiss. It was a delight seeing Jungkook’s face light up with happiness like a kid, so Taehyung also couldn’t help starting feeling happy.

J: “Hey! Can I go up front and go faster?” he yelled towards the others so they could hear him.

N: “Sure. But that’s gonna be a bit difficult with the safety chords and this situation.”

J: “I won’t trouble you.”

True to his word, Jungkook didn’t trouble the others at all… physically speaking. He unhooked his safety chord and, just when the others were dreading he was going to jump into the water, he grabbed onto the lower railing, placed the soles of his feet against the cliff even lower than the railing and started moving sideways under the others until he was further ahead than Namjoon. Then he lifted his feet back onto the lower railing, grabbed the upper one and secured his chord on it again.

It was somewhat odd that Jungkook didn’t just ignore the safety chord, but they soon realized the reason for that. Holding onto the safety chord tightly, he put his feet against the cliff again, held his body almost perpendicular to the cliff and started running like that. There were places where the railing was connected to the cliff and where he had to detach and reattach his chord before moving on, but he could still run freely for a couple of dozen meters and he enjoyed those parts so much, he kept letting out excited sounds.

Even though the side of the cliff was smooth and wet, making it very easy for Jungkook to slip on it, and so many things could lead to Jungkook falling into the river, Taehyung couldn’t help laughing because the solutions and ways to have fun Jungkook would think of, because he was confident in his capabilities and not focused on fear, were unexpected and innovative.

When the railing section finally ended and they reached a plateau, Taehyung was exhausted and Jungkook wasn’t anywhere in sight. Before calling him, they decided to just shout his name really loudly.

J: “Coming!” Jungkook’s voice could be heard shouting back from somewhere and he appeared 2 minutes later with a big, brown rabbit in his arms, making everyone stare at it until Seokjin declared:

S: “Okay. I think I can make that into a decent dinner.”

J: “What? No! Hell no! I’m taking this one back home and raising it.”

S: “Too much hassle. We’ll eat that one or let it go and I’ll buy you a rabbit from a pet store at home.”

J: “I don’t want a pet from a pet store. I wanna catch myself a pet. I like this one ‘cause it ran like crazy and it tried giving me the slip with a lot of abrupt turns. It’s trained to survive being hunted by predators, so I like this one.”

N: “But, to it, you’re the predator now. Look – it’s scared stiff like its life could end any second.”

Jungkook looked at the animal in his arms and could feel how fast its heart was going. He didn’t like making it feel scared, so he placed it on the ground and the animal ran so fast it disappeared in less than 2 seconds. Jungkook looked so sad at seeing it leave that Taehyung couldn’t tell if his heart was breaking or melting at the sight. Namjoon also didn’t like seeing Jungkook sad, so he tried distracting him:

N: “That was a European hare by the way. It’s quite uncommon to find them at altitudes over 200 meters and active during daytime.”

J: “Well I think it was sleeping in a hole or something before it noticed my presence.”

N: “Also they can run at speeds reaching up to 70 km/h… How the hell did you catch it?”

J: “Uhm, I… ran really fast and with a lot of determination?”

N: “Aren’t you tired?”

J: “No. But I’m hungry. We did bring food with us, right?”

S: “Yeah, but we’ll have lunch after we get to the waterfall. So let’s go.”

Not long after that, they reached the waterfall with a drop of 22 meters and it was an impressive sight of natural beauty. The cascading waters looked white as they fell from the higher place into the river they had traveled alongside. The sound of the waterfall was very loud but purifying in some way and the air smelled even fresher than on the way there.

After taking in the majestic sight and taking a few pictures, they sat down to eat lunch while Namjoon explained their options. They could either travel on foot another kilometer to reach the upper level of the waterfall by cable car or they could travel uphill on foot, on a narrow pathway carved into the cliff, around 2.5 km. Needless to say, everyone voted for the first option, but for different reasons.

Before going to board the cable car, they stopped at a small cave close to the waterfall and explored its inside. There were few pathways, but the rock formations, such as stalactites and stalagmites, were so pretty they looked like artwork. There was also a small lake in the deepest part of the cave and it looked like creatures were moving inside it, but none came up to the surface so they could properly see them.

It wasn’t tourist season anymore, but a lot of people still visited such places, so there was still a person there taking the fees for the cable car ride and operating it. Up in the air, Taehyung was motionless with tension because the cable car was rocking a lot, both from the strong, unhindered winds at that altitude and from Jungkook going from one window to the other to see all views that experience had to offer. Still, when Jungkook told him to come check out a certain view, he got up and went to the window, even though his knees were weak from how his action slightly imbalanced the cable car.

At the upper level of the waterfall where the cable car dropped them off they could see the ruins of fortifications and other structures dating back to the Middle Ages. There was also someone there to grant them access, give them pamphlets and keep an eye on visitors so they don’t vandalize anything, but there was no need for pamphlets with Namjoon there telling them stories about nearly every structure their eyes landed on.

The man that was quietly following them to keep an eye on them and guide them on occasion through the remains of the old fortress city was so impressed with the “youngster who knew his stuff” that he came up to Namjoon and started chatting with him continuously, which Namjoon appreciated because he liked learning new things and he liked chatting with strangers.

After they were done exploring everything, three of them had to wait for 20 minutes for Namjoon to finish chatting with their guide. Seokjin let out a sigh and Taehyung patted him on the shoulder.

T: “Don’t let this ruin your mood. It’ll be over soon enough and it’s nice taking a little break.”

S: “I won’t. I have become accepting of the fact that no one can be perfect and, if my amazing boyfriend had one flaw, that’s getting caught up in conversations for very long periods of time. Which is not even an objective flaw anyway, it’s just something that happens often and it sometimes bugs me ‘cause I don’t have enough patience.”

T: “But Joon’s aware of this and he does try to end his conversations sooner than normal, you know?”

S: “I know. That’s why this relationship has been working for so long. ‘Cause we’re both making an effort to adapt to the other one.”

Jungkook was listening to that conversation without saying anything while smoking and he was a bit puzzled. According to Namjoon, Seokjin and Taehyung as well as Jungkook’s own impressions, Namjoon and Seokjin were in love. But that conversation revealed that they had problems and struggles just like within any other relationship between humans and it wasn’t the unrealistically perfect match made in heaven relationship Jungkook had thought it was. So where did the supposed love come from?

Namjoon then came towards them so they could continue their trip and he squeezed Seokjin’s shoulder as if to say “Sorry for the wait”. Seokjin smiled to himself after that, then went up to Namjoon, threw an arm over his shoulders and asked him what he had learned today, just because Namjoon enjoyed talking about whatever new things he would learn.

A short laugh from Taehyung caught Jungkook’s attention and made him turn towards him. Taehyung’s eyes that were following the other two and the warm smile he had on made it seem like Taehyung understood and liked everything about the relationship between his friends. Then Taehyung felt observed, turned towards Jungkook and saw him staring, which prompted him to ask:

T: “What?”

J: “You still think there’s love there, right?” Jungkook asked while pointing towards Namjoon and Seokjin. “Where does that supposed love come from?”

T: “From the heart, obviously.” Taehyung joked and started following after the other two.

The last big event in their plan for that day was paragliding. Namjoon had talked to a few professionals in advance and now he was calling them to see if they thought the wind conditions at that point in time allowed for such an activity. The wind was blowing from the right direction and it wasn’t too strong, so the group made their way to the starting point for the paragliding experience.

As they were getting near, Taehyung’s maniacal laughter resurfaced and it puzzled the others because that was not how Taehyung usually reacted to fear.

N: “Hey. If you want, we can take the cable car downwards and then I’ll walk with you till the car.”

T: “No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

S: “Or I can go with you. I’m a bit uneasy myself about becoming airborne.”

T: “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

N: “Or…”

J: “Why don’t you guys believe him when he says it’s fine? Are you lying about it?” Jungkook asked the two in front and then Taehyung without any meanness, just confusion.

T: “I’m not. I’m trying to imagine all the ways in which I could die, accept them and be okay with it.”

N: “You’re not gonna die though. These are professionals that have been paragliding for years and they know how to handle unexpected events and reach the ground safely.”

S: “I kinda really needed to hear that. Thank you.”

J: “And not just them.” Jungkook said before patting Taehyung’s back and smiling brightly at him. “You’re no stranger to danger anymore and you can handle unexpected things too, right?”

Taehyung simultaneously felt like punching Jungkook and hugging him, but what he said did reframe things in Taehyung’s mind. He had already made it out of a few life threatening situations that week, so why should this one be any more frightening than those?

After the harness and the belts were secured and everything was checked twice, the instructors behind each of them told them which point they will have to run together to and then jump. Seokjin wanted to go first to avoid getting cold feet, so the instructor behind him gave the signal to start running first. When they reached a certain point going downwards on a slope and the paraglider behind them gathered enough air within it, they jumped and Seokjin screamed when he felt himself going down.

Taehyung felt hollow on the inside, but still ready to puke. However, when the instructor behind him gave the signal to start running, he snapped out of it and focused on doing as he had been told. Not feeling the ground anymore and then seeing hundreds of meters of nothing but air under them was a pretty intense experience and Taehyung was frozen stiff from the surreal feeling and from the terror.

Jungkook went third and Namjoon last. These two enjoyed the experience a lot, with Jungkook even yelling “Whoo-hoo!” a few times and taking out his phone to film a bit of the experience. That excited yelling from Jungkook and the words of the instructors behind them served to calm Seokjin and Taehyung down a bit, which allowed them to at least partially appreciate such an experience.

They landed not very far away from where Namjoon had told Seokjin to park the car so, after thanking the instructors, three of them went back to the car while Namjoon stayed to chat a bit more with the instructors. Seokjin didn’t mind because he was too busy enjoying how the ground felt under his feet.

Jungkook drove them back because Seokjin and Taehyung needed to mentally recover while chilling on the backseat. They had fallen asleep there, so when the car reached the guest house, Jungkook told Namjoon to take Seokjin into his room and use it however they wanted. Meanwhile, he guided a still half-asleep Taehyung to the latter’s room and, after entering it, Taehyung took off his shoes and jacket on auto-pilot before crashing onto the bed. Jungkook also undressed a bit and went to lie down on the free side of the bed as he pulled the cover over them. He closed his eyes but, shortly afterwards, he felt a hand gently caressing his cheek, so he opened them again and saw Taehyung just looking at him.

T: “You can catch stray dogs or cats in the city. If you get bitten, I’ll take you to get a few shots done and then you’ll have a pet you caught without catching any weird disease along with it.”

Jungkook had forgotten about what he said earlier that day when he had the hare in his arms, but it seemed like Taehyung still remembered and cared about it, so Jungkook smiled, said “Okay” and inched closer to give Taehyung a kiss that was meant to be brief, but ended up lasting for a while. Then Taehyung kissed Jungkook’s forehead and fell back asleep while hugging him. Jungkook stayed awake a bit more to think while his fingers played with Taehyung’s hair.

Love doesn’t come from the heart, that’s just a metaphor. The heart isn’t even where emotions are created, just one of many places where the effects of emotions manifest. If love was real and accessible to any regular person, then Jungkook thought it was more likely to come from these little ways in which someone showed they cared and from experiences lived together that help build a bond. That just made more sense.

A.N. This chapter also doesn't have anything from my real-life trip, so I have no photo related to it, but here's a photo of some very cute dogs :D