It was sunset by the time they reached their destination. “Have fun. Don’t kill each other,” Junhong said. “I’ll be sleeping in the room next to you guys but don’t come find me. My instructions were to get you here. The reservation is for three nights. Here’s the key.”         

            The younger man tilted his hat and slipped into the room he had indicated as his. Meanwhile, the two of them stared at one another. Daehyun was the first to break the silence. “Freaking ridiculous,” he muttered as he angrily slid the key into its slot and pushed the door open.

            Jinli looked at the large king sized bed and then at Daehyun. “You can sleep on the couch.”

            He sneered. “Oh really? What happened to faking it? You seemed pretty game for that earlier.”

            “Nobody’s watching,” she shot back.

            “In that case,” and he threw his jacket onto the bed. “There’s no need to be a gentleman. I can take the bed and you’ll have the couch.”

            “I’ll sleep with Junhong.”

            Daehyun grabbed her wrist and hissed at her, “You wouldn’t.”

            “Why not? He’ll probably let me sleep on the bed.”

            “Grow up,” he jeered. “We’re already sleeping together at home. Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?” And he took a step closer, staring into her eyes as he continued. “Does your heart beat faster when I’m there, is that why?” The little cocky grin on his face made her want to throw up.

            “Fine. I call the left side. You just stay on your side and don’t get angry if I hog the blankets.”

            Daehyun shrugged. “Fine by me. I call the shower first.”

***

            Along with breakfast came a list of activities that they had been signed up for. Jinli glanced through the list and snorted. His mother was desperate for them to do things together. She had signed them up for a couple hike.

            “Take a look at this.”

            He slipped the paper from her hand and glanced at it, utterly disinterested, until the message fell through and his face balked. “What the hell?” Daehyun snorted and looked up at her skeptically. “You can’t swim. Am I going to find out you have no athletic ability whatsoever?”           

            Jinli rolled her eyes and tossed back the glass of orange juice. “I’ll keep up.”

            “Can we just not go?”

            “Jung Daehyun, I thought we were supposed to be doing this the right way? You can’t cheat and just do nothing.”

            He thought about it a bit, grimacing. “Things always need to be ridiculously complicated with you, doesn’t it?”

            She shrugged as she made her way to the room. “Up to you. You set the challenge. I thought you would just like to see it through. Or are you scared that all those cigarettes you smoke are going to catch up to you today?”

***

            The rules for the couple hike were simple, and in Daehyun’s opinion, absurd. Each pair was given a backpack of basic necessities and their goal was to finish the hike and be back down having completed all the missions they had designated.

            “Alright, please take care of each other and we’ll see you all at the bottom!”

            Daehyun hoisted the bag onto his shoulders and glanced at Jinli. She was determinedly tying her hair back into a ponytail. “Guess this will help you lose some weight, huh?”

            “Wow, that’s so rude of you. Didn’t you ever learn that you never talk to a woman about her weight?”

            “Funny, I never see you as a woman anyway. Didn’t think it applied here.” She glared at him and he turned away. “You better keep up. There’s nothing I hate more than having to wait.”

            “Right, because I’m sure Hyosung does everything at your beck and call. Does she only when you want her to too? Wow, you must be amazing.”

            Daehyun glanced around. The other couples had all gone their separate paths but a few were staring at them curiously. He took in a deep breath and grabbed her hand. “Come here, babe. We have a mission to accomplish.”

            Jinli could take a hint and he hated the eating grin on her face as she tightened her grip on his fingers. “Of course we want to win, right?”

            The beginning of the trail was fairly easy. The two of them walked at their comfortable pace, not saying a word until Jinli glanced down at the list. “Oh, here’s the rock where we have to take a picture in front of. They want me to stand on top, and you take the picture.”

            He watched her as she attempted to climb the rock but it was too tall for her. Each time she thought she got a footing, she would slip. It was too much to ask Daehyun for help so she took a few steps back and ran towards the rock, hoping the momentum would help propel her onto it. Instead, she slipped completely and scraped her arm against the surface.

            “Ouch,” she winced as she examined the cut.

            “Come here.” Jinli looked up and Daehyun was getting out the first aid kit, looking impatient. “Why do you have to be so damn stubborn all the time?” He knelt next to her and took out alcoholic wipes, blowing gently on it and searching for medication. “You could have just asked for my help, you know.”

            “I didn’t think I had to ask,” she retorted.  He pressed the band aid on harder and she yanked her arm away. “That hurt.” 

            He blew his hair out from his eyes and looked at her with a bored expression in his eyes. “Are you done complaining, Princess? Can we get on with our hike now? I thought you said you could handle this.”

            She stood and glanced at the marked route. “Whatever, we have to go up the steepest part now. I don’t have a mission so I guess it’s with you.” Each of them had different missions they had to complete.

            Daehyun glanced at his paper and immediately let out a snort. “Do I have to do this?”

            Jinli leaned over. “What is it?”

            But he quickly put the paper away. “I got it. Don’t worry.” But the irritated smirk on his face bothered her so she stalked ahead. They hiked in silence for a good fifteen minutes before a strange hissing caught her ear.

            Jinli peered down the path and saw that curled on a rock was a snake. Without realizing, she let out a tiny shriek and ran backwards straight into Daehyun. “Oomph, what the hell?”

            “S-s-snake,” she mumbled as she tried to push past him.

            He held onto her and almost laughed as he too, saw the reptile peacefully tanning itself. “Is the Princess scared of snakes?” he said in a mocking tone. As much as she wanted to be tough and deny it, adrenaline was still coursing through her veins and her heart was in . Daehyun looked at her for a moment, shook his head and looked at the map. “We’ll go the other way and come back to this road. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t let snakes get to you.”

            As gently as he has ever been, he took her hand and tugged her away from the object of fear and towards a steeper slope. Her hands were clammy and she was still visibly shaking. “Childhood trauma?”

            “Not really. I just don’t like them.”

            He chuckled, utterly amused and squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Don’t worry. Those won’t bite unless provoked. This is why you don’t go on ahead without me.”

            She was still too shaken to scowl and Daehyun felt something expand a little in his heart. Yes, she got on his nerves like crazy and no, he didn’t love her. But she was a decent person and they could be friends. And this was kind of cute. A few moments later, he leaned over, grabbed something and she pushed him away.

            “Did you just touch my ?” Jinli glared at him and held her arms in front of her as if ready to attack.

            He rolled his eyes. “If you said that louder, people would think I’m not allowed. Yes I did, but it’s for a reason. Can you please turn around?”

            “No. What did you do?” She went to her back pocket and he sighed. Her anger transformed into confusion as she pulled out the flower he had stuck there. “What is this?”

            Any fuzzy feelings he had simmered and he glared. “That was my mission. And since you didn’t let me take a picture, I’ll have to put it there again and ruin the moment. It was supposed to be cute.”

            “Oh.” But then she scoffed. “As if anything can really be cute with you. Whatever. Take a picture.” She roughly stuffed the flower back into her pocket and turned around. When he didn’t move, she looked back to glare at him. “Hurry up!”

            Daehyun smirked as he went to take the Polaroid camera. “Are you disappointed that it wasn’t my own surprise?”

            “No.” She answered shortly and he raised an eyebrow and gave her an exasperating knowing look.

            “Okay, whatever you say, sweetheart.”

            They managed to pass the majority of the hike with no incidents until they arrived at a small tidal pool. Daehyun dropped his book bag onto the gravel and glanced at his list. “Come here.” He gave her a wary glance and Jinli raised an eyebrow.

            “Why? So you can dunk me into the water?”

            “No, it’s another mission of mine. I swear this hike must be thought up by someone craving attention. Do you want to hear what it is?”

            “Would it ruin the surprise?” she retorted.

            This got him to smile a little and he shook his head. “Okay, so basically we need to be in the water and take a selca. I have to hold you and take the photo. They say and I quote, “Being in a relationship means trust! If you don’t trust your other, then don’t even bother.”” Daehyun cackled. “They’re esteemed poets as well I suppose. Come here.”

            Jinli wrinkled her nose. “This hike is designed against me. I hate heights, snakes and the water. Are you sure you didn’t do this to torment me?”

            Daehyun smiled sweetly at her. “No, sweetheart. I don’t quite care enough.” She stared at him and he shook his head. “I’m kidding. Come over here.”

            Muttering distrustful words and throwing him dark looks, Jinli took off her shoes and gently waded into the water. “I swear if you drop me, I’m going to force you to that snake.”

            He ignored her and squatted, holding his arms out. She swung her legs cautiously and placed her arms around his neck. He grunted and she shivered. It was plain weird being so close to him but it was also strangely comfortable.

            “How is someone so vertically challenged so heavy?”

            “Curves you don’t get to appreciate,” she retorted.

            There was a beat of silence and Jinli felt herself color. What had made her say that? Since when was that okay? She was getting too comfortable with Daehyun if that was her comeback. His eyes dropped from her face to her body and crept back up to meet her eyes again. “Or does not want to appreciate,” she quickly corrected.

            “Who said I didn’t want to-” he began when a large wave crashed over the two of them and knocked the camera out of his hands. “.” The moment was, thankfully, broken, and Daehyun quickly placed her down on a rock before diving into the water after it.

            Jinli watched anxiously as the camera bobbed on the surface before another wave came to submerge both it and Daehyun. It took another two minutes and a million thoughts of whether she should go into the water for him to finally resurface, gasping for breath but holding the camera triumphantly in the air.

            She pulled him up, panting as the two of them rolled over on the bank. She patted his back as he coughed out water. “Thank goodness they thought to make the camera waterproof,” he managed to choke out. Jinli ruffled through the bag and threw a towel at him.

            “Here, dry yourself before you catch a cold. It’s a good thing you brought an extra change of clothes.”

            Daehyun took the shirt and pants from her and shook his head to rid his ears of the water. He yanked his shirt off his head and immediately her eyes went up to the sky so as to not see anything. She heard him let out a tiny scoff. The towel went around her head and he quickly rubbed her hair with it.

            “You should take care of yourself first. How did you even get wet? I thought I put you down on the rock so that you wouldn’t.” She looked up at him and saw a half smile on his face. “Always causing trouble.”

            Jinli rolled her eyes. “Please. If you hadn’t dropped the camera then we’d both be okay.”

            He ignored the comment and pointed at the map. “Are we almost there? The sun is about to set and I’m hungry.”

            “What else is new?” she snickered but glanced at the map. “We’re almost there. We just have to go up another trail and over a waterfall. Think you can do it?”

            Daehyun smirked. “Bring it on.”

            A painful hour later, Jinli was on Daehyun’s back and the two of them were trudging along slowly. “I’m hungry,” he complained. “And you’re heavy.”

            “You can put me down,” she snapped. “Who asked you to offer to carry me?”
            “Well anyone with eyes could tell you were getting tired. So naturally, as the gentleman I am, I had to take care of you.”

            Jinli stared at the top of his head and suppressed the urge to smack it. But even under her irritation, she had to admit that this was the most fun she’s had with him since they were married. Daehyun had a cute personality buried deep within the nasty exterior. And as long as she treated him as a casual friend, the banter was playful and at times, almost borderline flirty.       

            “Then go faster. We’re almost there. I see the waterfall.”

            The setting sun cast its softened rays through the trees and the light refracted off of the water. A mini rainbow arched above them and Daehyun ran straight into the water. “Jung Daehyun!” But they were both laughing as he slid her off and grabbed the camera.

            “Say kimchi!” he grinned as he held the device above their heads. He turned it over to look at the screen and nodded. “Not a bad looking couple, are we?” Like with most moments of acknowledgement, this one also caused them to pause. But he was smooth as he diverted their attention. “So I’m all done with my missions. The river one was the final one. How about you?”

            She glanced at her paper and nearly threw up. “I’m done,” she responded hastily but Daehyun had seen what it was. He kept his face neutral but there was a large smile that threatened to burst. The makers of this hike really had interesting tastes.

            “Are you sure?” he teased. “You don’t look like you’re finished.”

            “I am,” she continued to lie. To avoid further questions, she moved down the cave. “Shouldn’t we get going? I can hear your stomach rumbling.”

            Their final destination was a small cottage set in the woods, among other cottages. When they got there, other couples were already settling into their stations and the guide greeted them with a huge smile. “Welcome to the last leg! Please find your number on the cottages and enjoy the stay.”

            “Do we get food?” Daehyun blurted and Jinli elbowed him in the ribs. But the tour guide cheerfully nodded yes.

            “Can you be any more embarrassing?” she groused as he pushed open the door.

            “What? I’m hungry. A man needs to go after what he wants in order to succeed in life.” Daehyun stretched out on the bed they had provided and looked at her. “Will you do the cooking?”

            “No,” came the automatic response but there was a knock.

            “Please enjoy this stay and here are the ingredients for the two of you to make dinner.” The guide placed a basket on the ground, bowed and continued down to the next cottage.

            “The two of us, did you hear that?” Jinli called. She expected a groan but instead saw that Daehyun was already bringing the basket into the kitchen.

            “Hurry up then!”

            It was the perfect domestic moment and if Jinli was naïve, she would have allowed herself to believe in it. Daehyun joked around as he chopped the vegetables and even begged until she would feed him some of the fish that she was making. Occasionally their eyes would meet and divert again, as if embarrassed and the realization that they could be close would dawn on the two of them.

            “Say ah,” Jinli said as she speared a strawberry with a toothpick and held it in front of Daehyun’s mouth.

            His lips opened wide and she contemplated dropping it in before eating it herself. “Nope, sorry,” she grinned. He gave her a mock sneer of contempt and swiped the toothpick from her.

            “Fine. Then this is all mine.” It was the first time they have gone through an entire day utterly at ease with one another and when night did fall, it was only then that Jinli remembered her final mission.

            Her ears burned as she remembered the playful line that came with it, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but the way into his pants is with a kiss. Go get ‘em ladies!” She figured one missing mission would be okay because honestly, who would take that seriously?

            She glanced at Daehyun and saw that he was sleeping peacefully. The camera sat next to her, waiting, waiting and so she grabbed it, angled it and quickly pressed her lips against his, clicked the shutter and pulled away. He started but that was it and with her heart still pattering in her chest, Jinli closed her eyes and tried not to let herself dream.

I want to once again thank everyone for their support of this story!

It's been such an amazing pleasure writing this, and I think I like how this chapter turned out sufficiently to continue on. 

Hehe, it's all fun and games from here on~

Thank you so so much for your support everyone ♥♥♥