touch of nature ＊ JIYOO

32. "The Day Has Come"

› THE NEXT MORNING 7AM, DECEMBER 31ST, THE DAY OF THE MISSION:

Minji woke up after hearing some noises coming from outside. The woman scratched her eyes, noticing that Yoohyeon wasn't next to her. She looked around while stretching her arms, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of something moving outside the cottage house.

"Is that Yoohyeon..?"

Minji looked through the window, seeing the girl kicking a rock before sitting on the ground, sighing and shaking her head.

"What is she doing so early in the morning?" The Icebreaker tilted her head, getting even more confused when she saw Yoohyeon re-tying a custom sling shooter to a tree, placing a wooden stick inside it as ammunition.

"Just what exactly is that girl trying to do.." Minji sighed to herself, standing up from the bed and walking towards the house's front door, opening it. Minji inhaled the cold breeze, looking at Yoohyeon's back. She was surprised by how focused the younger seemed to be.

Though, Yoohyeon was not wearing anything other than a hoodie and the weather was very cold. Minji had a jacket on, but she herself was freezing. Wasn't Yoohyeon feeling cold at all?

"Yooh, where's your jacket?" Minji called out, making the younger turn her head in a startle.

"Minji?-"

Yoohyeon then instantly winced in pain the moment the slingshot fired the wooden stick towards her stomach. Minji furrowed her eyebrows and apologetically look at the girl.

"Sorry for distracting you.." The woman apologized, walking towards the girl that was kneeling in pain.

"I-I'm okay.. no worries.." Yoohyeon hardly said, standing up and falling back down to her knees in an instant. Minji dashed to her side, cuping her cheeks in worry.

"You're obviously not okay.. What were you trying to do?" Minji questioned, taking the girl in her arms and helping her walk towards a log to sit on. The younger instantly sat on top of the log, taking in deep breaths because of the stinging pain.

"I wanted to train on controlling where my infection should take effect.. but I can't do it again for some reason." Yoohyeon sighed, holding her stomach while wincing because of the new bruise.

Minji crouched down infront of the girl, slightly raising her hoodie and widening her eyes at the dozen purple and blue marks all over her abdomen. Yoohyeon has been training for almost an hour and because of that her whole lower torso was covered with bruises. Thankfully, with no cuts or bleeding.

"Are you crazy!? Why would you take it that far!" Minji slightly raised her voice, slowly moving her hand to touch the bruises. She instantly retracted it away the second Yoohyeon winced with her eyes closed shut, proving that it was painful.

"I-I thought I would be able to do it if I kept on trying, but.. I guess not." The girl sighed, noticing Minji leaning closer to her stomach.

The Icebreaker softly pecked every visible bruise, making Yoohyeon gulp with a skip in her heart. The younger was so touched by her consideration that she almost felt like she was about to faint from all the blood rush. Minji looked back up at the girl, getting surprised by how reddened Yoohyeon's cheeks were to the point she even heard her rapidly palpitating heartbeat.

"Oh my god- Puppy, are you okay? Did this make you that flustered?" Minji sneered, hearing a shy 'pfft' sound coming from the younger. "N-No way.. It's not your first time doing this, w-why would I get flustered..?" Yoohyeon awkwardly mumbled, pursing her lips with a hidden smile when Minji placed more kisses on her bruises.