I caught up with Yi Fan a couple of minutes later. I didn’t show him the gift from Mason, and part of me hoped he wouldn’t notice it. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t think he’d approve.

“Mason was out in the woods last night,” I told him. “I think he’s who I heard.”

“I know he was in the woods. I smelled him.”

“Excuse me?”

“That soap he uses—strong stuff. Anyway, I don’t think he’s who I felt watching us.”

“But he told me that he watched.”

“Maybe it was him, then.”

I knew a brush-off when I heard it. “You don’t sound convinced.”

“I just think we need to stay alert.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Let’s go!” he called out to our group.

When Yi Fan said that we’d take the lead, apparently he’d meant he would take the lead and I would follow closely behind. I told myself that we had no choice except to go single file because the trail was narrow. Today we were following a path that others had taken enough times so it was clearly marked and the brush didn’t encroach, but I knew at some point we’d diverge into an area no one else had explored.

That was my favorite part of backwoods hiking—going where noone had gone before. It was always an adventure, with a surprise around every corner. And right now, the biggest surprise was Yi Fan and how much I enjoyed watching his movements. He was confident and sure-footed.

I knew he was attending a university somewhere and had just returned to work for the summer, but that was about it. What I knew about him wasn’t enough to cover the needle of my compass.

I did know he was in amazing shape. He was barely breathing, while my breaths—to my complete mortification—were taking on a labored quality. The path was at an incline and the rugged forest terrain was mountainous. Traveling over it was a workout. I’d thought I was in shape. Ha!

“Just a little farther,” Yi Fan finally said.

I was mortified that he not only heard me gasping, but felt obligated to let me know that he noticed me struggling. While no one had made me feel like I was an outsider, I knew the truth: I was. “I’m fine.”

He glanced back without altering his stride. “But the prof and his students are suffering.”

I thought of his apparent dislike for Mason—or Mason’s for him. “Are you trying to prove something to them?”

“If I were, I wouldn’t stop at all.”

Yeah, he could probably go all day without taking a break. I felt a strange mixture of admiration and jealousy. I had no idea why I cared, but I wanted to be his equal, wanted him to be impressed with my stamina. Wanted him to be impressed with me .

The path widened just a bit. He slowed his stride until we were walking side by side.

“So how long have you been a sherpa?” I asked.

He shifted his silver gaze over to me. “Four years.”

“Is that the reason they put me on your team? Because you’re so experienced?”

He seemed to study me in that still way he had, before he said, “I requested you.”

My jaw dropped, but I didn’t think he had time to notice, because at the same time I tripped over my own feet. Yi Fan moved with a swiftness that astounded me, catching me and steadying me before I fell beneath the weight of my pack. His large, warm hands gripped my arms.

I should have been mortified by my clumsiness, but I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was intrigued by what he’d said.

“Why?” I asked. “Why request me?”

“Because I didn’t think anyone else could protect you as well as I could.”

“So you’re what? Supersherpa? And you think I’m not capable of taking care of myself?”

“I’m not the one who just tripped.”

I decided it would sound stupid to argue that I’d tripped because of his words, that my clumsiness was somehow his fault.

“Are we stopping here?” Bora asked, as she approached and gave me an odd look.

“Yeah,” Yi Fan said. He released his hold on me, stepped away, and shucked off his backpack with the ease of someone removing a jacket. He leaned it up against a tree. I worked my way out of mine and did the same.

“We’ll take fifteen. Be sure to hydrate,” Yi Fan said when everyone else had caught up with us.

“I’m going to scout the area ahead.”

Before anyone could respond, he disappeared between two trees.

Okay, Mr. I-can-leave-you-all-in-the-dust, I thought. Be that way. Prove you’re not human, that you don’t need to rest.

“Doesn’t that guy ever get tired?” Mason asked grumpily as he dropped to the ground after removing his backpack.

“They say he’s the best,” Dr. Won said. His hair was dark, peppered with white. Even in his hiking clothes he looked distinguished, as though at any moment he’d break into a lecture. He didn’t seem the type to have an Indiana Jones mode. He strolled over to two of his students—Mir and Jun—who were carrying a large wooden crate on a litter, huffing heavily and sweating profusely. He helped them get the crate safely to the ground.

“What is that stuff, Professor?” Suho asked.

“Just some equipment we’ll use to collect samples once we get farther into the wilderness.”

“You must be planning to collect a lot of samples.”

Dr. Won smiled in a way that reminded me of my therapist when he was letting me know that he knew things my feeble mind would never dream of.

“I intend to get my money’s worth out of this trip. And I only brought students with avid curiosities, so I’m sure there is much out here that they’ll want to examine closely.”

So Mason wasn’t the only one with resentment issues. I had no idea what the park charged for the use of sherpas. I only knew that I was paid minimum wage. The thought was that our real reward was being able to spend our summer in the wilds. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t love what we were doing.

The other grad students—David, Jon, and Monique— sat together in a cluster, while the sherpas mingled together. David and Jon seemed a little old to be grad students. I wondered if they’d decided later in life what they wanted to do. I thought they were probably close to thirty.

Monique was supermodel-lithe and lovely. She was tall with milk-chocolate skin and a flawless complexion.

Considering Dr. Won’s attitude about getting his money’s worth, I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to separate ourselves into separate camps: sherpas versus grad students.

I dug a water bottle out of my backpack and sat beside Mason. He was picking at his thumbnail.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Oh, chipped it when we were packing supplies this morning. It keeps catching on things.”

“I have a nail file you can use.” I ped the pocket on my backpack.

“You brought a file?” He was truly astounded.

“Sure. No girl with any respect for her manicure travels in the wilds without a nail file.”

Laughing, he took my offering and smoothed out his nail before handing the file back to me. I put it back into my pack.

“You need to be drinking,” I reminded him.

“Oh yeah, right.” He grabbed a bottle from his backpack and guzzled for a few seconds. Then he peered over at me. “What do you know about that guy?”

“What guy?”

“The guy who thinks he’s in charge.”

“If you’re referring to Yi Fan, he is in charge. Has papers and everything to prove it.” I wasn’t sure why I was defending his superior behavior.

“Whatever.  So what about you?” Mason asked, interrupting my strange musings. “I overheard you say you were from Seoul. This place is practically near Jeju. What made you decide to work so far from home?”

My gut said to give a flippant answer, but the whole key to effective therapy was facing my past and not hiding from it. Besides, I was still having some residual creepy feelings from the nightmare. Maybe I needed to unburden, and Mason seemed like a nice guy, someone who was interested in me anyway. I touched the braided leather he’d given me and said as quietly as I could, “My therapist recommended it.”

“You go to a therapist?”

I couldn’t tell if he was impressed or appalled. The kids at my school tended to think if anyone went to a psychiatrist, she was on the verge of going on a killing spree, so I never talked about it with anyone.

At home I was much more closed off within myself than I was here in the wild. I felt more at home here than I did in Seoul. Given a choice between living in the city or in the forest, I’d choose the forest every time. Suddenly I felt a need to connect with someone on a level I never had reached before. I nodded at Mason and admitted, “Yeah.”

“So what—you’re bipolar or something?”

Okay, there it was—the negative connotation all wrapped up with a little bow. “Let’s just say I have issues.” And because he’d hit a sore spot, I continued tartly, “My parents were killed in these woods. My therapist says I need to embrace this forest in order to get past them dying here.”

“Wow, that’s some heavy .”

Obviously he had a problem discussing emotional matters, and whatever connection I thought I’d felt with him earlier had been totally misguided. Already I regretted opening up to him.

“Yeah. I don’t usually tell people that. Forget I mentioned it. I don’t know why I told you.”

“No, hey, my bad. I’ve never known anyone whose parents were killed. I mean, I just wasn’t expecting that. How were they killed? Wild animals?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Not that they died, but that you don’t want to talk about it. From the moment we met yesterday, I’ve kinda felt this connection with you. Really, if you want to talk, I’m here.”

I gave him a hesitant smile. “Thanks.”

“Sure. Besides, I’m safe, you know? You’ll just see me for a couple of weeks and then I’ll go away. Unless . . .” His voice trailed off.

“Unless what?” I prodded.

“Unless we get really tight on this trip. Then who knows? With email and text messaging, longdistance relationships can work.”

Whip out the engagement ring already. “Whoa, you move fast.”

“Just throwing out possibilities.” He leaned toward me. “I’m definitely interested in possibilities.”

I was, too. Or I thought I was. So why didn’t I give him a wink and nudge him in the right direction? Why did I find myself glancing around as though I were doing something wrong? And why did I nearly come out of my skin when I saw Yi Fan leaning against a tree watching me?

What was with this guy and his constant lurking at the edge of the group? And why in the world was I wondering what sort of possibility he might hold?

“We need to head out if we want to make our designated camp by dark,” Yi Fan suddenly announced. “City Girl, you’re still with me.”

As a rule, I’m a team player—except when I’m not. I was still close enough to the village that he might send me back if I staged a mutiny. After tripping earlier, I couldn’t even argue that I didn’t need watching.

I grabbed my backpack, shrugged it on, and trudged over to him. “Is it really necessary for me to walk in your shadow?”

“For now.” He jerked his head toward something behind me. “Did you want to walk with him ?”

I knew he was referring to Mason. “Maybe. What does it matter to you?”

“You get into trouble and all you’ll see is his as he runs off to ensure his own safety.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m a good judge of people. Mason is all bark and no bite.”

“And I guess you’re all bite.”

A corner of his mouth hitched up in what might have been a smile. “Depends on whether or not someone needs biting.”

Before I could respond with something clever, his version of a smile disappeared and he said,

“There could be danger out there. Stick with me for a while longer.”

He was talking to me about danger? Did he not know my history? Why did he care anyway? Because I was the newbie? Or was there more to it? And why did I want there to be more? I considered arguing further, but everyone had gathered around and I was the holdup.

I shrugged—as much as I was able to shrug with a two-ton backpack on my shoulders. “Let’s go, Boss.”