Close | Han Jisung

Chapter 6: Close

Kai was already inside the school premises when she received Chan's text saying that they don't have classes today because all of the staff in the psychology department are attending an important seminar. Ryujin and Changbin also don't have a class schedule today.

Should I just go back home or what?

After minutes of contemplation, Kai decided to just go to the university's library to read books and do some of her school works in advance.

She took her laptop out of its bag and opened it. She types the happenings in ber first two experiments with Younghyun. She still remembers how the first one goes and how extreme the panic attacks she and Younghyun experienced. It was a complete disaster, but luckily, they managed to calm one another on their second day.

Report from the perspective of Researcher 1: For the first experiment, we rode a public van to get to Baguio. Younghyun was really uncomfortable that time, so I told him to do some breathing exercises, and then I offered him my earphones. Together we listened to relaxing music, and then he fell asleep. At that moment, I looked at him and then thought to myself, how could this guy fall asleep when he's in an unpleasant situation. Minutes later, I just found myself falling asleep too. The trip took several hours. We got out of the van, and then we rode a public jeep to reach the park. The vehicle is full of people, but we manage to sit beside together. It's evident in Younghyun's face that he's having a hard time again, and he also started sweating. I told him to do some breathing exercises, and then I asked for his phone to listen to some songs. I saw the songs that he and Jisung had composed, so that's what I played. Fortunately, it helped a bit. As I felt us going higher, I suddenly had difficulty breathing and was starting to feel nauseous. Younghyun noticed that I became stiff and since he had calmed down a bit, he reached for my hand and placed it on his chest. He told me to close my eyes and just follow the rhythm of his heartbeats. We're almost there and other comforting words. It really helped. I suddenly remembered what he said when we were discussing the execution of this experiment. He said that it will be bearable, unlike our previous experiences since we have each other to lean on. Minutes later, we reached the park, and then Younghyun looks out for me while we climb up the stairs. When we reached the top, beautiful scenery welcomed us. It made me think that all the difficulties we encountered just to get here were worth it. After that, we ate and the. We went to the place we're staying for the night. Since we're in an unfamiliar place, we decided to share a room with two separate beds. We talked about what we felt during the experiment and thank one another before going to sleep. We woke up around 8 in the morning, and then we got ready for the second experiment. We brought breakfast from a fast-food chain. Subsequently, we rode a public bus to the Sky Ranch, an amusement park in Tagaytay City. The trip took 7 hours and 18 minutes. When we got there, it was around 3 pm, we haven't had lunch yet, so we decided to eat first. After eating, we strolled around. This partner of mine is fond of height activities, so he tried the super Viking and zip line, and then we also tried the bumper car and carousel. We were really having a great time, but since it's already 6 pm, Younghyun finally decided to buy the ticket for the Ferris wheel, the main reason why we were here in the first place. We cheered for ourselves before entering it. Space is really confined, and as it goes upward, I can't help but shut my eyes close while clutching the ends of the chair tightly. I asked Younghyun how he is, and he said he's sort of okay, and I can hear him breathing in and out. I kept my eyes close, and when we reached the top, the movements of the Ferris wheel stopped. Younghyun called me and asked me to open my eyes and to turn to my right side. I did what he told me slowly and witness the setting of the sun. The beautiful sight filled me with awe and made me forget about my fears for a while. After that, we slowly went down, and we notice that our stiffness and uneasiness were not that intense anymore. We managed to just laugh it all out when we've reached the ground. After that, we rode a bus and to help Younghyun. On our way home, I insisted that we compute our expenses, talk about what happened today. Then minutes later, we fell asleep while listening to music together.