Taehyung got out through the open door while Jungkook pulled his body through the window and jumped. He didn’t land in a very bad position, but he still rolled down on the slope quite a few meters before he could stop himself. Luckily the cliff was more diagonal than vertical.

T: “Are you okay?”

J: “Yeah, I’m fine.” Jungkook declared as he got back up on his feet, but realized he would have to be on all fours to climb back up. However… “Ah! Hss…”

T: “Did you hurt your wrist?”

J: “I think it’s sprained… Wait! NO! Don’t come down here!” Jungkook yelled when he saw Taehyung attempt to go over the fence. “That’ll just make things more difficult. I’ll be up in a minute.”

Even if his left wrist was sprained, Jungkook used the rest of his body to climb up the difficult slope until he got high enough for Taehyung to reach him and pull him all the way up. When they were both back on the road, they took a moment to just take some much needed breaths and Jungkook asked:

J: “Hey… Do you mind getting hugged by a very dirty person?”

Taehyung hugged him at the speed of light and held onto him for dear life. Jungkook hugged back and they just stayed like that until they calmed down and Taehyung asked in a concerned tone:

T: “Were you scared?”

J: “Yes. More than usual, honestly.”

T: “But you were brave, quick-thinking and phenomenal as usual.” Taehyung said and kissed Jungkook on the forehead, even if it was covered with mud.

J: “Thank you.”

A few moments later, they returned to a more objective outlook and started analyzing the situation. The car had not moved anymore, but a third of its length was over the edge, the front of it and one of the wheels in the back were in the air while the other wheel in the back had stopped in the mud after going against a rock. If that rock hadn’t been exactly there, there’s no telling what could’ve happened.

T: “What should we do now? Do we pull the car back up on the road?”

J: “There’s no way the two of us can pull something weighing over 3 tones, Taehyung… Maybe we can push it back up?”

T: “That makes even less sense. You can’t get a proper foothold on that muddy slope and, if the car decides to keep falling, it’ll hit us or run us over.”

J: “So what should we do?”

T: “Call Jin and Joon and ask them what do people normally do in this situation?”

J: “Yup. Let’s go with that.”

So they called them and Seokjin freaked out so much when he heard what happened that he almost hyperventilated. Then he wanted to run to them, but Namjoon stopped him, calmed him down and suggested taking their car and things they needed to tow Jungkook’s rented one back up on the road.

It was a very difficult task towing the car back up, so it was good that, by that point, Seokjin had calmed down enough to do it properly and without hurrying. Taehyung insisted on driving the rented car up to the hut because Jungkook’s wrist was sprained and he didn’t want him using his hand.

J: “Aren’t you scared to be driving this after what happened?”

T: “Yeah, I’m scared. So? I still gotta do what needs to be done, right?”

J: “You’ve changed so much during this trip…”

T: “I know. But I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…”

J: “Actually, scratch what I just said. Ever since the first day I met you, if something needed to be done, you’d show courage and do it no matter how scared you were… I think that’s one of the main things that made me fall for you.”

T: “Thank you. But let’s not use the word “fall” for a while, okay?”

After reaching the hut and parking the 2 cars, Seokjin gave Taehyung elastic bandages to wrap Jungkook’s wrist with so that it wouldn’t swell or move too much and Namjoon went to see if any of the neighbors had any ice-packs. After coming back with 2 of those, giving one to Jungkook to hold around his wrist and putting the other one in their freezer for later, they all had a peaceful lunch.

Then Namjoon gathered some tools and a few planks to go and repair the fence where the car nearly went over the edge, since that fence had been broken for over a month and no one did anything about it. Taehyung offered to help and Jungkook wanted to do the same, but everyone glared at him, so he had to stay back. Then he wanted to cook dinner, because he had gotten that bored with just waiting around, but Seokjin said “No” to that too.

J: “Come on… How about if I make something where I won’t have to use my left hand?”

S: “Like what?”

J: “Pasta with mushrooms and sour cream sauce.”

S: “That’s not a bad idea. Okay, go ahead. But if I see you holding anything heavier than a mushroom with your left hand, I’m not gonna eat it. And I’ll convince Joon and Taehyung to not eat it either.”

J: “I think Taehyung’s more likely to listen to me than you.”

S: “Why? Because you’re dating? Does that mean that, even though you don’t like being controlled, you’re enjoying having control over someone else?”

Seokjin knew how to irk Jungkook and sometimes did it just for the fun of it, so Jungkook replied with:

J: “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

That day did not go as planned, but at least dinner was tasty and pleasant. Taehyung firmly declared he would handle the driving for the next 2 days but, as they were driving back to the guest house, after they reached the asphalted part of the road, he said:

T: “Hey, Jungkook. I know I said I’d handle the driving, but would you want to walk up and down the mountain with me tomorrow?”

J: “Don’t wanna take any risks with this road anymore?”

T: “It’s not that. When I first came here, I thought that climbing up this road to Jin and Joon’s hut would be the biggest challenge for me. An impossible one even. But I kinda want to take on that challenge now.”

J: “I see. Well, then, I’m in.”

T: “You sure? Your muscles have been sore ever since you walked and climbed all over on Wednesday.”

J: “But I enjoy a good challenge too, so…”

T: “Okay then.”

At the guest house in Jungkook’s room, after Taehyung helped Jungkook undress and take a shower, he gently put Jungkook’s left wrist on the pillow, beside the latter’s head, in order to keep it raised so it wouldn’t swell and to keep it out of the way during the activities that would follow for it to not get hurt.

T: “This goes here and stays here! Okay?”

J: “I don’t like getting ordered around, but I can occasionally make an exception for you if you like playing Dom during .”

T: “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They kissed sweetly and thus started another night for them together. But this night didn’t end in a morning with a loud thud that woke Jungkook up. It ended in a morning in which Taehyung kissed his head until he was awake and announced he had brought them breakfast and coffee so they could enjoy them in bed.

2 hours later, at the foot of the mountain, Taehyung took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

J: “Come on. You got this. I know you can do it.”

T: “Thanks. I guess, after everything that happened, this should be a walk in the park… Well, it’s a walk in the mountains, not a park, but it should still be manageable. Let’s go.”

Even after everything that happened, this was still difficult for both of them, but they powered through. Even if this was hard, something else at least had become way easier for Jungkook.

J: “Hey. Do you wanna move in with me?”

T: “Sure.” Taehyung answered after a short laugh. “I’m up for anything at this point.”

J: “Cool. I’m glad to hear that. ‘Cause I thought I’d drive to where you are on Friday evening and stay for the weekend, but if I wanted to see you on other occasions too, I wasn’t sure if I had enough time to drive to and from your place on regular workday evenings.”

T: “Huh? But we live 3 bus stations away from each other.”

J: “WHAT?”

T: “You didn’t know that?” Taehyung asked and laughed at the realization.

J: “No, I didn’t. How did you know?”

T: “Jin mentioned your neighborhood in some random conversation and he also mentioned there’s a carwash across from your building, so I just figured it out.”

J: “Oh, wow… And here I thought I was gonna have to learn what a long-distance relationship is like…”

T: “So you thought I agreed to switching cities and jobs when I agreed to move in with you?”

J: “Uh… I was stuck on figuring out how to ask you to move in with me… I didn’t get to thinking about those kinds of things yet.”

T: “Well, anyway, I’m glad you asked. I was thinking of moving out sometime soon.”

J: “Yeah, I knew that part at least.”

T: “There’s just one thing though…”

J: “What?”

T: “I told Joon and Jin that they could come stay with me for 2 weeks after I move into a new place…”

J: “Oh. That’d be great. For us and Namjoon I mean. Jin always says that coming to my place gives him war flashbacks…”

T: “From what?”

J: “Not sure. You’ll have to ask him that yourself. But, speaking of those two, what are they gonna do?”

T: “They’ll stay here for another week or so and, afterwards, I don’t know. Too many options were mentioned, one of which included going to another country for a month or two.”

J: “I never thought Jin would ever become so nomadic.”

T: “Well, a lot of things were involved in that process. But, among those, I can definitely say that coming to the mountains and living here for a while definitely changes a person.”

J: “I agree.”

When the asphalted road ended, they stopped to catch their breaths for a while because there was still around a kilometer left to go and the road from here would be even more difficult.

J: “Hey, Taehyung. Where do you wanna go for the winter holidays?”

T: “Wherever you’ll be.”

J: “Oh… Really? Wow, I didn’t expect that answer.”

T: “Do you already have somewhere in mind?”

J: “No, but now I’ll be sure to plan out something really fun.”

T: “Uhm… Don’t go overboard, okay? Mildly fun is fine.”

After 30-40 minutes, the hut was finally in sight but, instead of heading straight for it, Taehyung chose to stop where they were to catch their breaths. When they were breathing normally again, he announced:

T: “Hey, Jungkook. I wanna say something to you.”

J: “What is it?”

T: “I love you.”

J: “…”

T: “You’re probably not gonna believe that, but…”

J: “No, I don’t. But I believe you. At least, I believe there’s something really great between us if you’re saying that to me. So I’m happy to hear it.”

They smiled widely at each other, got closer and kissed for a very long time up on that mountain top where the air was cold and only the bells of grazing cows could be heard in the distance.

Many months later, on another mountain top, Jungkook finally said “I love you” to Taehyung too. But it came out so awkwardly that Taehyung couldn’t stop laughing for several minutes afterwards and, by that point, he had absolutely no need anymore to hear it in order to fully believe it.

People say that mountains have a way of making people discover things about themselves and maybe even change themselves. Maybe it’s because life in the mountains is hard, there aren’t many things to entertain or distract you, but there are constantly things to do and there are always surprises. Or maybe there’s just something different about the mountain air…

Be that as it may, mountains aren’t for the reckless. They’re for the brave, strong and wise. Because you don’t challenge the mountain. The mountain challenges you.

A.N. I hope you enjoyed the story. Please share with me any thoughts you have on it in the comments. :D