“I think I’d be more comfortable walking for now,” you said.

“Alright,” Chanyeol scratched the back of his head. “Well, I actually have some chores to do. But it’s easy enough to find on your own! See that trail?” He pointed toward an opening in the woods. “Just stay on that until you get to a big open field. It’s the fastest way there! Sorry I can’t go with you.”

“It’s okay,” you smiled. “I’ll be fine!”

“Good,” he nodded. “I’ll be leaving then!”

Once he was gone you started your journey to the pasture. The walk was peaceful at first with beautiful wild flowers and birds calling to each other. However, as you got deeper into the wood and the trail became more rugged, your eyes began playing tricks on you. The thick canopy overhead blocked out most of the sunlight and shadows crept behind every tree.

“Where am I?” you whispered to yourself, getting nervous. Suddenly your foot caught on a root, sending you flying forward.

“Aish!” you scoffed, looking at your scraped up hands. Just then you felt the pain creeping into your ankle. “Great,” you sighed, attempting to stand up. “It must be sprained.”

Just then someone grabbed your arm, steadying you. You turned to see a handsome boy with dark, curly hair.

“Are you okay?” he asked in concern.

“Oh! Oh, yeah, I think I sprained my ankle though,” you said, holding onto him for balance.

“Let me see,” he squatted down to examine your ankle. After a minute he stood back up. “Yeah, I’d definitely say it’s sprained. Hold on a minute.”

He left you and hurried into the woods. 

“Where are you going?!” you exclaimed, sitting down in disappointment. “I thought he was going to help me…”

“Here.” Suddenly he was back with some kind of plant in his hand. “Rub this on it. It’s a natural healer. We’ll get you some ice when you get home.”

You stared at him in surprise and he squatted in response, gently rubbing the herb onto the swollen area. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“Well, Chanyeol wanted me to meet his friend Bacon or something, but he was busy. He told me to follow this path to the pasture.”

“Aish,” the boy chuckled; an adorable dimple greeting his face. “Chanyeol has no sense, sending a girl on this trail all by herself. I’m Yixing by the way, but most people just call me Lay.”

“Lay,” you smiled. “That’s unique.”

“I think so,” he laughed, helping you back up. “You really should get ice on this right away. I’ll help you get back to the ranch house. You can meet Baekhyun another time.”

“I think that would be a good idea,” you nodded.

Lay let you lean on him as you hobbled through the woods on the bumpy trail. You were making such slow progress that you could still look back and see the place where you’d fallen three minutes later.

“New plan,” Lay decided.

“Wh- oh!” you exclaimed as he scooped you up in his arms bridal style.

“You’re so light,” he observed, making you blush. “I’ll make sure D.O cooks you something delicious for dinner. I always say that I like any food, just as long as it’s delicious! D.O sure delivers!”

You smiled up at him shyly, placing your hands awkwardly on your stomach because there was no other place to put them.

“Around my neck,” Lay said, surprising you.

“M- mwo?”

“Put your arms around my neck,” he clarified. “It’ll be more comfortable that way.”

You slowly slipped your arms around his neck, leaning your head against his shoulder. Being this close to him gave you a sense of comfort rather than awkwardness, and you even closed your eyes for a minute, taking in his warmth.

“So what’s a girl as beautiful as you doing here?” he questioned.

You opened your eyes and looked up at his smiling face. Nobody ever called you pretty, let alone beautiful. This guy really knew how to make you feel special. “This is my new foster family for a while.”

“Really?” he remarked. “Well that’s a relief. Every time we got a new foster sibling, I was always disappointed to see it was another boy. Twelve boys is so crazy. It’s nice to have a girl around here besides our foster mother. Do you like it here so far?”

“I do,” you smiled, resting your head against him once again. “I really do.”

Finally you reached the ranch house. Lay carried you all the way inside, setting you down gently on the couch.

“Wait here,” he directed. “I’ll go get some ice.”

Let him get the ice for you.

Tell him you’re fine and you can take care of yourself.