Looping Hearts

Chapter 7 - The wooden hut

 The two men stopped near an umpteenth waterway a few hours later. The brightness of the cloudy sky, as well as the faint shadows that followed them on the ground, had allowed Jimin to roughly estimate how much time they still had to walk before they would finally reach the clan. And it was inevitably with a horrified expression painted on his face that Taehyung had heard it had taken his savior nine hours to reach the ocean and that they had only traveled the equivalent of five hours for the moment. Jimin, in front of the defeated expression of the latter, had not been able to bring himself to tell him that they unfortunately advanced much more slowly than he had when he was alone and that, consequently, they would very probably have to walk a few extra hours.

« - Let's take a break. » He announced while putting his top filled with plantain leaves on the ground and sitting facing the water.

Taehyung's eyes lit up right away and he heavily sat down by his side before removing his shoes. He then lied down on his back and spread his arms on each side of his body, closing his eyes. He took a deep breathe of cold air before saying:

« - Feels so good to rest! »

Jimin laughed a little. Where did this man come from for having so little endurance and resistance in a world like theirs?

« - Don't fall alseep! » He ordered Taehyung, pushing him slightly to his hip.

The latter smiled, amused that his plan had been discovered so easily, then open his eyes again before sitting. He leaned toward Jimin who slightly moved back in surprise, then reached for the top that contained the edible leaves.

« - I'm so hungry. Let's eat. » He simply said.

The two men swallowed their leaves with difficulty and in silence. They could read on each other's face how much this salad, although it had a rather pleasant taste, began to disgust them. The grimaces that adorned their faces from time to time could not be mistaken, but it was without much conviction that they continued.

Taehyung was the first one to finish his small pile of leaves and it was while staring into emptiness, his eyes stuck on the river, that he waited for Jimin to finish his portion.

« - Does it rain often? » He eventually asked, stopping Jimin who was about to stuff his last leaves left into his mouth.

He blinked several times in his direction before answering.

« - Almost everyday, why? »

« - I'm sick of crossing rivers... » Taehyung sighed.

A compassionate smile formed on Jimin's lips as he dropped his last leaves to rest his hand on his shoulder. He understood perfectly how he felt. He too did not like having to pull his body through these icy waters; it was already cold enough like that. Walking around with clothes that did not dry was far from ideal, and he hated the sensation of the dripping fabric stuck to his body. And of course, there was no such thing as zero risk. Some rivers were calm but considerably muddy, which made the ground under their feet very slippery and made crossing difficult. Others, like the one they were looking at right now, were simply very fast. The chances of getting carried away were high if you were not careful or if you were not well prepared. So yes, Jimin understood Taehyung's irritation perfectly.

« - Come on, put your shoes on, let's get moving! » He simply said in the end.

He would have liked to comfort him by telling him that they were almost there, or that this river was one of the last ones to cross or even the last. But the man would be quick to realize how it really was and he did not want to make him happy just to overwhelm him afterwards. He had therefore chosen to remain quiet.