"I thought that was you, JinYoung-ssi. I've been seeing your picture on MiRa's profile a lot recently. But, to be honest, I wasn't sure it was you. When I saw you with your friend," SeYeun remarked.

Somehow, she made the word 'friend' sound like a sort of insinuation. JinYoung ran back in his mind over the moment just before SeYeun had called out to them, wondering if she could have seen anything that could be regarded as suspicious. He recalled that he and Mark were standing very close to one another. He recalled looking into his eyes, wanting to kiss him very badly. But could she have noticed that from where she was standing? He felt a little panicky inside. He determined right then that for the rest of this trip he would have to make certain not to do anything that could be misconstrued. Or, in this case, rightly construed.

SeYeun and her two friends, decided to join Mark and JinYoung since they were all headed to the summit. The more the merrier, right? Apparently, one of the friends— JinYoung couldn't recall her name—found Mark attractive, because the entire time they walked together, she found every excuse in the book to hold Mark's arm, to lean on Mark,  or to ask him to help her do something. At one point, he had to help her remove her boot because she thought she'd got a pebble in it somehow. Of course, it turned out that she must have been mistaken: there was nothing there. The look on her face was pure ecstasy as he bent and retied it for her. JinYoung even saw her smile and wink at SeYeun conspiratorially.

The day was effectively ruined for JinYoung and Mark from the moment they encountered that party of women. Their special time together was transformed almost instantaneously into their almost daily routine of being careful around people so as not to disclose the truth of their relationship. But, even worse than usual, this time they were being scrutinized up close, so they had to be especially careful.

Reaching the summit, they were finally able to look at the breathtaking view they'd always hoped to see together. JinYoung had even fantasized about them kissing as they stood at the top of the mountain. It was just an unrealistic dream, he realized: there were certainly always going to be other hikers around; but he had cherished the thought in his heart for years nevertheless. Today showed him just how foolish it really had been.

As he looked at Mark with longing in his eyes, he could feel Mark returning the emotion. They were careful to only look at each other for a moment, but that brief moment was filled utterly with everything they felt for one another.

The descent in some ways felt even more tiring than the ascent had been; it also seemed to take much longer because of the flirtatious shenanigans of SeYeun's friend. It was also mentally tiring because of SeYeun's questions and prattling on about MiRa and JinYoung's relationship.

Among other things, she remarked to JinYoung, "I've never seen MiRa post pictures of any guy before. She must really like you." Later she added, "Maybe I should get my mother to arrange a few blind dates for me, " she observed. "I might get as lucky."

Not soon enough, they had reached the Seongpanak trailhead, where they could catch a cab back to the lot where their car was parked.

"I'm famished. We're going to get some seafood. Would you like to join us?" SeYeun asked the undercover couple.

Her friend inwardly prayed urgently that they would agree.

"I'm sorry, not this time, SeYeun-ssi," JinYoung responded. "This hike really took it out of me. I just want to go home and go straight to sleep."

"Aren't you hungry, though? I don't think it would be very good to go to bed on an empty stomach after all this activity," SeYeun counselled.

"You're going to come at least, aren't you?" SeYeun's friend asked Mark as she held on to his arm.

"I'm afraid I'll have to take a raincheck. I'm pretty tired, too," he said trying diplomatically to extricate himself from the grip she had on his arm.

"Alright, then," SeYeun relented. "Hopefully we'll meet again soon."

Her friend pouted as Mark and JinYoung walked in the direction of a taxi. They waved goodbye as the car pulled off.

"You don't think Mark is seeing anyone, do you?" SeYeun's friend asked.

"I hope not," SeYeun answered distractedly as they watched the taxi disappear

*                                 *                                 *                                 *                                 *

"I keep thinking they're going to walk in," Mark said.

"They said seafood, not barbeque. You worry too much," JinYoung assured him.

The two were practically starving. But they had planned on having a big dinner, so they hadn't carried so much to eat along on their trip. The smell of the succulent strips of meat they were grilling were making their mouths water.

"The only thing I want more than this meat right now is to kiss you. Long and slow..." JinYoung said in a lowered voice as he leaned forward to turn the slices over.

"Cut it out, Mr Pak, and get that meat done," Mark countered. "I can't wait any longer."

"I hope you'll be saying that to me later," JinYoung flirted, giving Mark a sultry look.

"Wow, if this is what mountain air does to you, we've got to get out more often."

They savoured every bite of their food, taking in the atmosphere and just enjoying their time alone together. 

But all too soon a sore topic came up.

"Do you think any of MiRa's friends saw anything," JinYoung asked.

"Anything like what?"

"You know, we were so close to kissing when they called out to us. Do you think they noticed?"

Mark started feeling a little irritated at this subject coming up when they were trying to have a nice evening together. More than half of their hike had already been ruined by MiRa's friends. Did they have to ruin their night, too?

"I doubt it. The way that one girl was hanging onto my arm, I'm sure she thought I was definitely available."

"I'm just a little worried about SeYeun. When she first approached us, the way she said "friend" was a little strange. It was like she was accusing us of something."

"I didn't notice anything. Anyway, maybe it would be a good thing..." Mark remarked.

"How could it be 'a good thing'?" JinYoung asked, his voice sounding a slightly cross.

"Nothing. I didn't mean anything by it. But, you have to admit, if MiRa knew about us, it wouldn't be bad, would it? I mean, if she's anything with you like her friend was with me..."

"She's not like that. We just go out to keep our parents off our backs. She isn't getting any romantic ideas."

"Well, if she knew about us, she definitely wouldn't get any." Mark had something further to say, but he was afraid they were getting dangerously close to fighting. He wanted to hold back, but he just had to say this one thing.

"I don't really like the way this whole thing is sort of encroaching on our private lives. I know the plan is to keep your parents happy and off our backs, but if we're going to bumping into friends of MiRa's wherever we go..."

JinYoung couldn't help but notice the struggle Mark was having—the obvious disappointment on his face; the hint of sadness in his voice. He felt badly that their day hadn't gone as planned. He wanted to reach out and hold Mark and make him feel better, but he couldn't. They were still in a public place.

"I know it's hard, but try to remember that I'm doing this for us," JinYoung explained, knowing that for Mark it probably didn't feel that at all. "After a little while, everything will fade into routine and my mother will back off. She's just interested because it's early days. I know it's hard, but can you just put up with this a little longer? Once she thinks MiRa and I are a couple, she'll lose some interest. I promise, okay?"

"If you say so," Mark replied quietly.

Now it was JinYoung's turn to look a little hurt. He just wanted Mark to trust him and to understand that he was really doing this for them.

"Okay, I guess I'll just have to put up with it for a little while longer," Mark smiled at him, in an attempt to lift the atmosphere. "Now, let's get the check and go home. I want to be alone with my boyfriend."

What Mark didn't know as he slipped into the depths of sweet slumber in JinYoung's arms later that night, was that his boyfriend had really been shocked at SeYeun's words and looks that day. They signalled suspicion to him, and disclosure of his and Mark's relationship was something that he felt he could never risk.

So because of what JinYoung thought might have been a near-miss, he had already decided to himself that his and MiRa's false relationship would have to be made to seem even more convincing in the future.

And that would mean the two fake-daters seeing much more of each other.