We stood there for a few moments before I realized how I was clinging to his arm. I quickly let go and took a step away from him while looking down, blushing. He glanced at me, slightly turning his head and smiling. 

 

We explored the clearing for a while longer then decided to head back to the car as it was starting to get late, and we were also quite hungry. We got back onto the trail and were making good time until I suddenly slipped and fell, landing on my bottom. Daesung rushed over to me to help me stand, but I winced in pain as my right leg gave out from under me. Daesung caught me before I fell to the ground and looked at my leg to see what was wrong. 

 

He gently sat me down on a nearby rock and began to examine my leg. His hand started at my knee and worked its way down gently squeezing to find the area that was causing me pain. Finally, when he squeezed my ankle, my leg flinched sending a wave of pain up my leg. He looked up at me worried and ripped off a strip of his shirt. He quickly made his way to a stream that was flowing nearby to wet the cloth in the cold mountain water. He returned to me and gently wrapped the cloth around my ankle. 

 

Still kneeling in front of me he said, “Hopefully the cold water will keep the swelling down. I’m not sure what happened to your ankle, but it looks like you can’t walk.” He stood up and offered me his hand. Holding his hand he helped me to stand up and turned around facing his back towards me, turning to look over his shoulder. 

 

“W-what are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.

 

“What do you think?” He smiled at me. “I’m going to carry you back to the car. Come on, hop on.”

 

“No, I couldn’t. It would be too much work for you. I’m fine, I’ll just take a little longer on the trail is all.” I tried to take a step but my leg wouldn’t have it and almost gave out again. Daesung caught me and stood me up. 

 

“Hey,” he said looking at me while shaking his head, “stop being so stubborn. It won’t kill you to be carried, right?” 

 

I sighed, he was right. I wouldn’t be able to walk myself back to the car. Defeated I nodded to him and hopped on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and bringing my legs on either side of his torso as he supported them with his arms. 

 

As we made our way down the trail, I kept thinking about how stupid I was for not watching where I was stepping. It left me completely helpless and totally dependent on Daesung. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I said in a weak and muffled voice. 

 

Daesung chuckled softly. “Sorry? Why are you sorry?” 

 

“I’m sorry because I feel like such a burden. I don’t like having to rely on other people.” 

 

He shook his head, “No, I should be the one that’s sorry. It was my idea to bring you out here in the first place.” He paused and glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “But you know, it’s not so bad relying on other people. Sometimes it’s not good to keep all of your troubles and worries on the inside.” 

 

“I don’t have very many people who I can talk to or trust. Just my brother, really.” I wondered to myself why I told that to him. It just slipped out. Ugh, I wasn’t thinking straight anymore. 

 

“Well, if you’d let me, I’d like to be someone you can trust and talk to. I want to lessen your worries and share your burdens.” He smiled while still looking straight forward watching where he was walking. 

I was at a loss for words. Why was he so nice to me? How can there be someone like him who knows exactly what I wanted or needed to hear? How on earth did we manage to find each other? All of my questions and emotions built up inside of me and I began to cry softly. 

 

Daesung suddenly stopped walking and asked me anxiously, “What happened? Are you alright? What’s wrong?” 

 

I laughed at how silly I probably looked and wiped the tears from my face. “It’s nothing. I’m fine, don’t worry. I just let my emotions get the best of me. It’s ok, really.” 

 

He wore a worried expression but didn’t pressure me into telling him the truth. He continued on the path until the car was in our sight. He helped me into the car then jogged over to the drivers side and hopped in. 

 

On the ride back into the city, the pain in my ankle began to subside and I could now move it around. “Hey, I’m sorry about your shirt.” 

 

He smiled and shook his head. “Don’t worry. I have more of these at home. How’s your ankle? Feeling better?” 

 

“Mm-hmm, I think your bandage helped a lot. Thanks.” I smiled at him. 

 

He blushed and returned his eyes to the road, smiling. “O-Oh yeah, no problem!” 

 

I directed him through my neighborhood and when we stopped in front of my house, he came over to my door to carry me again. 

 

“N-no, really, I think I can make it to my house ok.” 

 

But he shook his head in protest and waved a finger at me. “Nope! You shouldn’t walk on it yet. It might still be hurt.” And with that he picked me up in his arms suddenly, causing me to cling to his neck. He grinned widely at me, making me blush as he walked up to my doorstep.