Try-Hard, Sin Harder

27. Collapsing into Myself

"Oppa!"

"Key, what's wrong? Where did you go?"

"I'm up here. Help me, I'm scared!"

I watched from the branch as Alex frantically searched for me at the base of the grand oak tree. Using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun's glare, he found me grasping on to the trunk of the tree. "How did you manage to get up there?"

I trembled from the lower branch. "I-I climbed."

Alex stepped on the exposed roots, and pressed up. As he gripped one of the branches below me, he asked, "Why would you do that? You're scared of heights, Pabo."

"I-I wanted to b-be like Oppa," I admitted sheepishly.

He paused, and gave me a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're a-always s-so brave," I stuttered, my fingers aching against the ridged bark. "Y-you climb trees, a-and r-ride your b-bike, and walk alone in the dark."

My brother pulled himself on to the branch across from me. "That doesn't make me a brave person," he said, holding the branch above him so he wouldn't fall. "It just means that I'm not afraid of those things."

I leaned further into the trunk. "You're not afraid of anything."

"Of course I am. If I wasn't afraid of anything, I wouldn't be human," he replied.

"Then, what are you afraid of?" I asked him.

He plucked a leaf from one of the wire-like branches that hovered above his head. Fiddling with it between his fingers, he said, "I'm not particularly fond of water."

"But swimming's so much fun!" I exclaimed.

Alex chuckled. "See? You're afraid of heights, the dark and moving really fast, but you aren't afraid of water. While you may not be the bravest person I know, you certainly are no coward." His obsidian eyes glanced over me. "Look, you've even stopped shaking."

"That's because you're here," I told him.

"Fair enough," Alex replied. He glanced up at the flame-coloured sky. "It will get dark soon. We should probably get out of this tree and head back home."

I shook my head, and held the trunk of the tree tighter. "I can't. I'm scared!"

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I shuddered in fear. My eyes darted around me; to the sky, the other trees, and ground. The ground was so far away. My legs hung in the air. The steady rudiments of my heartbeat had gone wild the moment I lost the calming stability beneath them. I cried out at the thought of splattering on the earth below us, hugging the tree as I whimpered and shook. A gentle hand rested against my back. "Calm down, Key. Everything will be okay."

"I-I'm s-scared," I repeated.

"I know you are," he said in a soothing tone. "But Oppa's here now. I won't let anything bad happen to you. You just have to trust me."

When I opened my eyes, I found him holding out his arm to me. There was a small smile etching his lips; benevolent and brotherly. Alex waited patiently for me to move, for me to be ready. Tentatively, I detached myself from the trunk and threw myself at him. "I trust you."

​​​ He quickly wrapped his arm around me, and held me on his hip. Carefully, he used the rest of his body to lower us bit by bit. Each footstep was precise, and his opposite hand never left a limb of the tree as we slowly descended to the ground. Alex was panting by the time we reached the solid earth, and sweat glistened around the collar of his t-shirt from the humid summer air. Despite it, he was smiling. A cheeky, teenage-boy grin cracked across his lips. Smile marks crinkled around his eyes as he wiped his forehead. "Well, was that so bad?"