Catharsis

*36*

The morning found me contemplating the beauty of life. I was surrounded by a wonderful scenery and the bright sun shined on my face through the tent window, charging my batteries. For the first time, after a long journey, I achieved halcyon. 

Byeol was still in my arms as I held her tight and close through the night, as a shield from my inner demons. I smiled at her sleeping face and thanked life for not forgetting about me and give me another chance at happiness. It felt nice, having no worries.

My zen didn't last for that long though. As soon as I got out of the tent and saw Ha-Neul's cute morning face my heart stopped in place. She was doing some stretching exercises and looked like she didn't really get much sleep. Tae seemed to be still inside the tent, sleeping and I assumed what must be the reason behind their fatigue. I slapped myself out of it and continued my morning routine. 

Today we had big plans to explore the area. When everyone was up we had a quick breakfast and headed to the great outdoors. Our main goal was to visit a waterfall hidden deep in the forest. It takes a 2h trail to get there and we were really excited for the adventure.

Ten minutes after the departure we were already on a steep path towards our destination and we were climbing it single file. I stayed at the end of the line as Byeol and Ha-Neul kept stopping to admire flowers or odd shaped trees. 

I thought maybe Byeol will try to avoid her now, considering our talk last night, but I guess that would make things awkward. But it didn't help me at all, rather than keeping me away from Ha-Neul, my girlfriend forced me to watch her all the time whenever they were together. Was that her way to make me compare them? To prove me she is better? I didn't like the thought of it. I could never not equate them. Ha-Neul was way ahead of her, but I wanted Byeol to catch up to her as fast as possible. 

Byeol finally rushed back to my side while Ha-Neul stayed behind for some reason. We continued walking and I did my best not to look behind. A few minutes after, we left the forest and reached a plateau and the walk became more pleasant. 

"Hey, did anyone see Ha-Neul?" Cho asked suddenly. Tae stopped abruptly, his expression changing from laughter to panic. He was too focused teasing Jungkook that he didn't pay attention at all to his girlfriend. A feeling of concern took over me as well, she looked like the type of person that would easily get lost. My heart shrunk, knowing I was the last person that saw her. 

"Don't worry, Tae, I am sure she is fine!" Jimin reassured his friend. 

As Taehyung started to walk in the direction where we came from to look for her, a panting Ha-Neul made an appearance. She was holding a bunch of blackberries in her lap on a huge leaf that she improvised as a basket. There was a long scratch on her right arm and it was still bleeding in a few places.

I wanted to check on her, but as soon as I gave the impression I want to move Byeol squeezed my hand tight, refusing to let me go. 

"What's with the long faces?" Ha-Neul asked surprised.

"Ya! What the hell did you do?" Tae shouted angrily, rushing to her side and checking her wound. 

"I just wanted to pick up some berries for everyone. Why are you so angry?" she replied, confused at his reaction.

"I was really worried! And look at the state of you! What happened?" Tae asked in a calmer voice.

"I just tripped when I descended to pick up these. It's no big deal, don't worry!" she smiled and pecked his lips.

We decided to take a quick break. She shared the blackberries with everyone while Tae was taking out a first aid kit to disinfect her wound. But I didn't feel like eating so I gave Byeol my portion, while I calmed down my rushing heart.