Found my world in a small town | Winrina

Chapter 18- Whiff of Freedom

The next days and weeks seemed to fly by and soon, it was time for the trip to nature the adults were going on. They left in the morning in the Yu's blue SUV, while Jimin and Minjeong stood in front of the door and waved. As soon as the blue car disappeared behind the first corner, the two girls exchanged knowing glances.

"Shall we?"

"Yes!"

Ten minutes later, they left the house in their ski clothing and walked towards the lift. Even though it was still quite early, there was a line in front of the hut. Minjeong and Jimin were giddy the whole time and as soon as they were seated in the carrier, their hands found their way to each other.

"Can you believe we have the house to ourselves now?" Jimin asked, her voice lowered despite them being alone.

"I know!" Minjeong grinned back at Jimin. It made her happy to see the other girl look so happy and free, "But it was you who wanted to ski first."

"That is true," Jimin slowly pushed open the metal bar when they neared the top, "come on, we can ski an hour or two and then we can go home, how does that sound?"

"Wonderful," Minjeong giggled and let go of Jimin's hand to push herself away from the carrier. She glided across the smooth snow, slow and careful but definitely more secure than the first time.

"Hey, you're getting good at this!" Jimin caught up to her and stopped abruptly, her skies flinging some now towards Minjeong's feet.

"Hey, don't mock me!"

"I'm not mocking you," Jimin dug her poles into the ground and picked up a little speed again, "it takes time to become good at anything but you're a lot better than on your first day."

"Thank you," Minjeong's cheeks grew hot and she quickly pulled up her skiing balaclava to protect her face from the cold before following Jimin.

The blonde girl was right: Minjeong's skiing abilities had gotten a lot better. She was more secure on her feet now and also a little faster. Jimin still went slow for her but not as slow as on the first day. And while she would obviously never be as good as Jimin — and also did not aspire to — skiing was very fun.

Until she took a nasty fall two hours in.

This time, it was not ice that caused her to fall but a bump in the snow that she did not see as they passed through a part of the skin run that was in the shadows. She was driving next to Jimin, not behind her and without the sunlight to highlight the texture of the snow, she tumbled down the slope before she could react.

She caught herself with gloved hands so that she did not land on her hand but a dull pain shot through her hip. Head first, she slid down the mountain a couple of feet before she was able to stop. After sorting out her legs, she sat on the slope for a few seconds, still processing what just happened.

"Oh my god Minjeong!" Jimin came to a stop a little below her and immediately began walking up the ski run sideways, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," Minjeong slowly stood up — thankfully, her skis had stayed on and examined her hip, "my hip hurts but I don't think it's anything serious."

"Thank goodness," Jimin finally reached her and pulled up her glasses, "I think this was our sign to call it a day."

"I think so, too," replied Minjeong, wincing when she started skiing again. The trip down the mountain took a bit longer because they were extra careful and slow now but when they reached Kwangya again, Minjeong's hip had stopped hurting except for a dull ache.

"Can you walk?" Jimin asked worriedly and took off her skis.

"Yes," Minjeong mimicked her and then gave her best impression at puppy eyes, "will you carry my skis for me, though?"