Yep, this was Hakyeon's own personal version of hell. He had no idea why the administration from the school thought it would be a great idea to force 30 or so teenagers to climb a mountain. Could they not have found an equally interesting camp ground to stay at for the week? At the rate they were going, next year's class trip they'd be climbing Kilimanjaro. "Come on guys! Keep up, we need to make it to the base camp within the next two hours!" Two hours! They still had two hours!?

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who didn't know about the four hour hike to even get to the campground." Hakyeon groaned out. Wonshik shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, they did say it was going to be a grand adventure!"

"This isn't adventure! It's torture. I'm not made for this...this..."

"Exercise?" Jaehwan said with a smirk, jumping when Hakyeon made to whack him for his insolence.

"Shut up! I don't mind exercise. This is like training for the Marines! This-" Hakyeon yelped feeling a force propel him forward, a pair of hands pushing at his lower back, right under his bag.

"C'mon hyung! The faster we get there, the faster we're done!" Sanghyuk said from behind him, his smile evident from the laughter coming from him. Next thing he knew, Wonshik and Hongbin had each grabbed a hand, pulling him even faster, the laughter from the group ringing through the trees.

                Oh God...one more hour. He could do this. He could...feel the sweat as it went down his face. Ew. Most of his friends had moved up in the group, Jaehwan the only one sticking with him. Mainly because he was having the same problem as Hakyeon. It warmed Hakyeon's soul a little knowing he wasn't the only non-athletic one here. "Hyung, you think we're almost there? I swear, I don't know how they expect us to do anything but fall over and die when we get there." Ah, a brother-in-arms.

"Right? I don't mind exercise but damn. This wasn't exactly on my list of things to do today." Hakyeon said, taking the small towel that Jaehwan offered him to wipe his sweat.

"You think the others already made it? Taekwoon just took off! I don't think I saw anything but his back, and that was only for like 30 seconds! Dude is insane." Hakyeon laughed at Jaehwan's statement.

"You know Woon. This is like child's play for him. He does stuff like this for fun!"

"I always knew he was a little cracked in the head." He said with a solemn shake of his head before bursting out in laughter. "It is nice out here though." That was one thing that didn't really bother Hakyeon about their little march of death. It was a beautiful day, the sun out, no clouds, and just a light breeze flowing through the trees. It was quiet, only the sounds of the birds filling the air. Plus, the air out here was so different from the city. It just felt cleaner, purer. They walked in silence for a bit, not minding that it was taking them longer. They could still see some of the other students in front of them so they didn't worry about getting lost. Might as well enjoy it. At least that was Hakyeon's viewpoint until he noticed a figure break off from the group and lean against a tree. . He could see the grin on Yooncheol's face from here. Jaehwan moved closer to him, both of them looking straight ahead, trying to ignore the other boy as they walked by. If only it was that easy.  Hakyeon didn't even have time to react when he felt his arm be grabbed from the side, his body pushed to the ground. He felt the sting of his skin ripping as his arms went to catch himself on the rough trail.

"What the hell?!" Jaehwan shouted, rushing to Hakyeon's side to help him up. Hakyeon could feel the blood trickle down his forearm as he stood, quickly pulling Jaehwan so that the younger was behind him. "Hyung!" Jaehwan protested.

"Seriously, why can't you just leave us alone?" Hakyeon asked with a sigh, not liking the smirk on Yooncheol's face.

"It's just too much fun. Don't really need a better reason than that. Why? Want me to stop? Gonna cry if I don't." Hakyeon just shook his head.

"No, but I don't mind yelling for the teacher as she's already looking this way. Want me to? After all, it'd be us against you and we both have a lot more credibility than you. Who do you think she'll believe?" As if on cue, he heard the teacher shout for them to hurry up so they didn't lose the group.

"You're safe for now, but it won't always be that way." Yooncheol said before turning back and running to join the main group. Hakyeon let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, hands shaking from the rush of adrenaline he'd gotten.

"Hyung, I don't know why you let him push you around. Fight back!" Jaehwan said sounding exasperated, his hands gently checking out the cut Hakyeon had gotten in the fall.

"It's not worth it. It'd just fuel the fire. Plus, after this trip, I'll never have to see him again." He didn't really want to tell the younger that it was actually because he was afraid. Not for himself so much, but that if Yooncheol couldn't bully him anymore that he'd turn on the others. Hakyeon wouldn't let that happen. Better him than them. Jaehwan rummaged in his bag before producing a small roll of gauze and some tape, laughing at the astonished look on Hakyeon's face.

"Can never be too prepared. I wanted to have it in case anyone got hurt. Looks like my insight paid off." He wrapped up the wound, which really wasn't all that big, before grabbing Hakyeon's hand and pulling him to start walking again. "Just next time, don't try to protect me. I can handle that punk." Hakyeon squeezed Jaehwan's hand, dropping it as he smiled.

"I'm sure you can."

............................................................................................

"I know you didn't have that when we started." Wonshik said with a frown, his eyes landing on the bandage on Hakyeon's arm, Hongbin staring at the fresh, white gauze with concern.

"It-" Jaehwan gave a small yelp as Hakyeon not-so-subtly stepped on his foot.

"I fell. You know me. Grace was not a gift I received at birth. Isn't that right, Jaehwan?"

"Yeah. You should've seen it. He landed right on his face. It looked like it was right out of a cartoon." Jaehwan said with a nervous laugh.

"No need to get into the details. It was embarrassing enough when it happened. It was just lucky that Jaehwan had some first aid stuff." Hakyeon said with a small smile.

"Yeah, real lucky. You know me, always prepared, and all that..." The brunette said, trailing off, an awkward silence falling upon the group.

"So...where did Taekwoon run off to?" Hakyeon asked, having not seen his friend since they had started the hike.

"Oh, the teacher's took a group to go find firewood. Hyukkie went with him. They're splitting us all up to do certain tasks. Character building and all that. " Hongbin said. "I think you're on cooking duty hyung."

"We're all gonna die." Wonshik said with a straight face, running away laughing when Hakyeon started to hit him. "I'm joking hyung! Joking!"

"No he wasn't." Hongbin said, laughing at the sight.

"Nope. We're doomed."

....................................................................................

                Cooking duty wasn't as bad as Hakyeon thought it would be. The few girls that had decided to go on the trip had taken over, pretty much bossing around the boys to do all the small tasks, they're home economics teacher watching over everything. Though, Hakyeon thought, if he never had to peel another potato in his life, it would still be too soon. Who knew you needed so many potatoes to make curry for 40 people.  "How's it coming Hakyeon?" The teacher asked, coming over to take note of his progress. "Well, I can't feel my hands really anymore, but I think this should be enough to feed everyone." He said with a wide grin. The teacher knew cooking wasn't his forte from all the burnt dishes he'd turned in over the years. "It looks good. Maybe one more bag? Then you can be done." She said, ruffling his hair gently as she walked by. No matter how much he'd screwed up in her class, like adding 1 cup of salt instead of sugar, she had never yelled at him, simply helped him try to fix his mess. He could honestly say that she was one of his favorite teachers. Back to his task he went, letting his mind wander as his hands performed the task. He was happy that Yooncheol had been picked for wood gathering as well. He wouldn't do anything with Taekwoon there, the older boy intimidating if only because of how athletic he was. Hyuk was in good hands. Without realizing, he'd finished his last bag of potatoes.

"Teacher! I'm-" Freezing cold water cascaded down Hakyeon's head, instantly drenching him. Hakyeon could already feel his teeth start to chatter, the water soaking through his layers of clothing. The sun had set a while ago, the temperature dropping with its departure. He turned in his seat, to see a younger boy standing there, a large, now empty, stock pot in his hands, a smirk on his face, that quickly transformed into an apologetic look as soon as the teacher came closer.

"What happened?!" She asked.

"I'm so sorry. I tripped as I was carrying the water back from the fill station. It was an accident." The younger boy explained.

"Oh geez. Hakyeon hurry and go change dear. Your lips are already turning blue. Don't worry about coming back since it looks like you were finished anyway. Hurry up now." Hakyeon gave a small bow before slowing walking to his and Taekwoon's tent. His entire body was shaking now, shudders running through him. That water was drawn directly from the stream not too far off. In other words, it was ing cold!  When he got in the tent, he quickly stripped out of his wet clothes, quickly putting on dry ones, not that it made much difference now as he was already chilled to the core. He heard the rustle of the tent flap before he was completely engulfed in a delicious warmth. Hands wound around his waist, head resting on his shoulder, he didn't even have to look to know who it was.  Taekwoon.

"Sorry." Hakyeon could feel his muscles relaxing as Taekwoon's warmth seeped its way into his skin.

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything." Hakyeon asked, confused.

"I should've known that little prick wouldn't just leave you alone. Not after what happened on the bus. I shouldn't have run off." He heard the other boy mumble. Hakyeon sighed, turning around in the embrace.

"It's not like it's your job to protect me." He said, looking at Taekwoon's guilty face. "Besides, it was an accident." A look of contrite disbelief crossed Taekwoon's face.

"Which part? The pushing you down and injuring you, or the dumping freezing water all over you? Because I'm not seeing anything accidental about either. Enlighten me." Even as his voice took an edge, Taekwoon's gentle nature never disappeared, making Hakyeon get in to the sleeping bag before he wrapped himself around him.

"Let me guess. Jaehwan told you?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Well, Yooncheol wasn't even in the cooking group. It was an accident." Probably. Hakyeon couldn't seem to forget the smirk on the other boy's face.

"Just because he wasn't there, it doesn't mean it wasn't him. His little minions are in that group." Taekwoon said, pulling Hakyeon even closer to him. Hakyeon could feel his eyes getting heavy, his body tired from the day's events. "I may not have to protect you Hakyeon, but that doesn't mean I don't want to." Was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep, a feeling of safety washing over him.

Eh...filler stuff. I'm not too happy with this one. But let me know what you think! I'll hopefully update again soon. Subscribe if you liked it! :)