“Hold my hand please.” You insisted as you hesitantly lowered your foot. “I am.” Jiho replied as he looked down at you with an amused expression on his handsome face. “Hold it tighter then!” you demanded as you felt how slippery the mud below your foot was. You were a 100% sure you would fall face down into it any time now. You had been too lucky up until now and it was bound to happen eventually. The mud felt slick and unstable, but you had no choice but to go for it… You had to go down this narrow path in order to cross the small gully.  There was no other way.

Jiho’s chuckle reached you the moment you rested all your weight on your one foot and let out a squeal as you felt your body shift forward. Luckily, and with some of his help, you remained to stay up and managed to place your other foot down. “Don’t laugh! This isn’t funny!” you complained, pulling your hand free from his and giving him a glare. The look on his face was nothing short of pure bliss. He was having too much fun on this damn ‘adventurous trip’. Well, that was how he called it though. To you it was simply a torture consisting of mud and treacherous places you could fall into. But since Jiho insisted it was ‘a challenge’ and begged for you to join him, you were now standing in this damn swamp-like place wearing high rubber boots.

“It’s totally funny. You’re hilarious when you’re scared.” He returned, smirking at you from his safe place up there. “I’m not scared! Now come down so we can continue and get out of this hellhole!” you snapped in frustration. You were so sick of the dirt already and according to him you guys weren’t even halfway. A breakdown was nearby for you though and with every passing second you were getting more annoyed with the situation. “Instead of being all snappy, you’d better move. You’re sinking deeper in the mud.” He returned calmly as he moved to join you. “What? No, I’ve just been stand- oh my god!” you gasped for air as you looked at your own feet and received a shock. It had felt like you hadn’t moved an inch, but the mud was now almost reaching the end of your boots, threatening to seep into them as you sank deeper and deeper… Oh god no. Instantly you moved to pull out your feet, feeling as if the ground was only pulling back with an enormous force. “I can’t get out!” you whined in a panicked tone. “I can’t get oooutt!” You were positive you’d lose your boots if you kept pulling like that. Was this like quicksand? Could you sink all the way in? More panic came over you and made you pull frantically like a madman. “Wiggle.” Jiho then said, making you look at him in anger. “Wiggle? This is hardly the time to make jokes now I’m –“ “Wiggle your foot from side to side while pulling it up. It’ll help jagiya.” He continued, hardly taking notice of your complaints and rants. Since it was your last resort, you did as he suggested and –slow but steady- felt your own foot being released from the mud.

With a loud cheer you took a step forward in order to proceed. Unfortunately, the thing you forgot was how the other foot was still being down by the mud. –WHAM- The sudden reckless movement had been enough to make you fall down forward in the mud. Within seconds Jiho was next to you, pulling you back to your feet and to the side of the gully where it was safe to stand on grass while you yammered and sounds of despair left your mouth. You instantly sank down on the ground with a loud groan, refusing to move anymore and ready to wail in self-pity because of the state you were currently in. “Are you okay?” Jiho asked, seemingly worried. Yet, you were too annoyed to take much notice of that. “Am I okay? Do I look okay? I am covered in mud! There’s even mud on my face and in my hair!” you vented while you looked at the man besides you on the ground. This was way above you level of tolerating things and if you didn’t get out of this place soon, it wasn’t going to get any better. “It’s not that bad jagi.” He sighed, rolling his eyes. Now that was really too much.

“Not that bad? Oh so I guess you wouldn’t mind if I did this?” you said, sounding suspiciously calm. He should’ve known something was wrong then. But before he seemed to caught on with that, you had grabbed a handful of mud and ruffled it through his hair. His beautifully bright spikes of hair were now hanging flat on his head and were coated with dirt. The mere look on his face was enough to magically conjure a smile on yours. Served him right. “YA- My hair! Oh no you didn’t! You know how much I care about my hair!” he yelled out in frustration as he reached up to feel his hair. Logically that only made it worse and removing it was impossible now. “Well, I care about my face a lot too and you didn’t seem to care about that.” You replied, folding your arms over each other with a bit of attitude and feeling pleased for this successful revenge. “But jagi! I put a lot of effort into making my hair like this! I wanted to look good for you on our day out.” He returned, hoping he’d touch a weak spot by saying he had done it for you. Little did he know you wouldn’t be so easily melted by cuteness right now. “Well in that case we’re even now. Have you seen me?” you gestured for you own body with smears of dirt, muddy spots and of course the messy hair that you had tied in a bun.

Jiho’s eyes scanned over your body, only to move back up and halt on your face.  “You have a point. You sort of look like a beggar.” He said so casually you could feel your mouth drop open. He did not just… “What?!” you growled, getting up instantly and feeling how your body was now tensed with anger.  He had crossed the line. Wasn’t it worse enough that you felt tired and dirty? Did he really have to go to the extent of confirming it? He was your boyfriend! He needed to say that you looked good! “Well you do.” He replied again, with a smile spreading across his face as he stood up. Was this his revenge? Well, you could easily join in again. “Gosh okay. Then since you’re my boyfriend, I bet you’re one too? Oh wait, you lack a certain something… ah yeah. This.” You said, surprising him as you stepped forward and angrily splashed mud into his face. Luckily, he was able to close his eyes and mouth in time, since a rather large amount hit its target.

You started to laugh. But it wasn’t long until you saw him reach for more mud to and aim for you. The battle was on. Within seconds it felt like a full-blown war had started in the gully; balls of mud flying everywhere like it did on snowy Christmas days. Only in this place, the screams were more angry when they missed, more happy when they hit their target. Yes, this was a serious war in which you were letting out all your frustration on him for taking you here. You surged forward, aiming for him and armed with two hands of mud. “I don’t think so!” Jiho reacted, taking your arms as soon you came closer to him. Too bad he had no idea you had lost control of your own body and were flying closer to him due to the slippery surface. With a loud thud the two of you ended on the hard ground.

You let out a scream of victory, thinking that you had won by knocking him over. But it wasn’t over yet. In one swift movement, Jiho managed to roll you over on your back. The fight began again, only this time it consisted of rolling around in the mud and trying to push each other away. Screams turned in to laughs and giggled, fuled by the hilarity of the situation and the fact you were rolling through the sticky mud. Still, you felt the power in your body vanish with every passing minute of war and, judged by his loud pants, Jiho was feeling the same. “Jagi…” Jiho let out in an breathless sigh. “Yes?” you replied, stubbornly pushing him over and rolling yourself on top of him. Your boyfriend was resting his head on the muddy surface, panting as he looked up at you. “You’re a beast, woman.” He joked, followed by a desperate groan as you hit him lightly on the chest. “Ya~ first a beggar, now a beast?” you grinned, knowing he was only teasing you this time. The physical action had been enough to let out all of your frustration towards him. Even the fact you were covered in mud right now didn’t seem to annoy you that much.

“Besides, you look like a chocolate figure.” You giggled, looking at his arms covered in the muddy brown color. “Look who’s talking.” He laughed, encircling your waist with his dirty arms. “I bet I’d make one delicious chocolate figure though.” You grinned cockily. “Oh you do?” Jiho chuckled as he raised his eyebrows. “I do. Want a taste?” you asked him, though before he answered you had already moved your hands to his face. With the little of space you had left on your wrists and hands that was clean, you wiped off the mud from his lips and your own. “There.” You grinned, leaning forward to kiss him lovingly. It was a perfect moment of closure after the exhilarating moments of physical action. It was a perfect way of showing him everything was okay again. And when the two of you parted, the sparks in his eyes were there to show you his happiness.

 “Now aren’t you glad we came here today?” he questioned, looking sure of your answer. Of course the surprise was apparent on his face when you replied negatively. “No. I still hate this place, but the fact I’m here with you, is what makes it okay.” You replied, watching happily how he started to laugh before he pulled you closer to kiss you again.