Into the Blue

The Climb

This is an entirely imagined BINJIN scenario, based on Yejinhand's latest Instagram post. ☀️🍃😷❤️ Please don't take it seriously!
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"Jagi, slow down!"

Looking back with her hair flowing in the wind, the slender woman regards her handsome companion with confusion lurking behind her shining eyes. She places her hands on her hips, head tilting to the side.

"I thought you said you could keep up with this trail," she says teasingly, tapping her foot repeatedly for good measure. The heaving man gives her an amused look masked by a fake glare, not leaving his eyes off her as he walks up slowly to where she stands.

The inclination of the road of their hiking trail was probably too steep for the inexperienced few, but he was used to it – and to even-steeper grounds, for that matter – his impressive built a testament to how he diligently takes care of his body.

At least that's what he believed, until he met his match.

If he thought he was diligent before, that's all been shot to hell the moment he met his partner and saw the way she pushed through her own limits, practically competing with herself, to achieve her current lean and strong physique that's making everyone desperately wish to be her.

"You're too fit for your own good, sometimes," he breathes out when he reaches her side, removing his face mask as he pants heavily. "Do you ever get tired at all?"

She laughs out loud, the sound immobilizing him, as it always does, his senses helplessly captivated by the sound and sight of her laughter.

"I don't recall you ever complaining about me being fit and not getting tired," she teases, a coquettish grin slowly creeping over her delicate features.

Blinking at her, he does that thing where he darts out his tongue, running it all over the folds of his lips, a funny indication that he had been caught off-guard and is now at a loss of what to say.

At this sight, she laughs again, this time a bit louder, the fluid notes echoing into the vast empty park. "Alright, take my hand."

Reaching out, she slips her small hand into his much-bigger one, intertwining their fingers, before falling in step with him. She adjusts her cap and flips her hair, sipping on her iced drink with her other hand.

Keeping her eyes on the road, she lifts up her drink towards him as a subtle invitation for him to take a sip a well, and their walk is slightly hampered as he endeavors to bend down sideways to reach her straw, with their connected arms in the middle.

Light chatter accompanies their breezy walk, mostly involving him asking her questions about anything and everything, for he had sorely missed the way she tells her stories, as if they were the most interesting things she's ever told. And, to him, they always were.

In the middle of listening to her rave about a new popular restaurant somewhere in the outskirts of the city, he happens to notice the beautiful sight in the background coming from the impending sunset. The way the light filters through the tall trees enthralls him, especially when it tinges her porcelain skin with a healthy golden glow.

He stops walking, drawing her to also stop talking as she peers at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Stay right there," he tells her, whipping up his phone from his pocket. Using the hand that's holding onto hers, he steers her to move in front of him until she stands on a spot where the sunlight shines best.

Realizing what he's doing, she regales him with her stunning eye smile, which has enough dazzle to light up her face, despite half of it being covered by a face mask.

Under his expert direction, she strikes a few poses in front of his camera.

"Okay, turn slightly to your left," he muses, eyebrows knit in concentration as he bends his upper body down slightly in order to eliminate the difference in their heights, and to get a better angle.

He then takes a few shots of her with the camera at a more elevated level, telling her things like, "adjust your cap so I can see your face better," or "back away just a few inches," or, "you know, I think it's okay if you remove your face mask just for one shot."

She obliges all of his directives, sometimes making funny faces, until he nods in satisfaction.

Before he puts down his phone, however, she bounces up to him and cuddles up his side. He gets her meaning right away, and immediately holds out his phone in front of them so they can take several self-portraits or 'selcas' together.

After a few more minutes of hiking, dusk eventually settles, threatening to envelope the park in darkness, and so he leads them back to the way they had gone.

"What a nice cool weather we have tonight," he remarks in a quiet tone, unaware that he's starting his favourite hobby again of padding his thumb against the back of her palm. "Let's walk home slowly this time."

"Any pace, jagi," she says easily and matter-of-factly, without any hint of teasing this time, tightening her grip on his hand. "As long as you're with me."

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Photo from Son Ye Jin ^^