Twenty (1/1)

Chapter TwentyUpdated on 26th of November 2013.

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"Hurry! We have to run to the cafe and stack up all the chairs!" Hae Lynn informed Kyungsoo who nodded his head twice as they jogged towards the cafe. Much to their surprise, the coach drove everyone deeper into town, past the resort to bring them to an amusement park. They weren't there to ride the rides or anything like that but they were given tasks that needed them to run all over the amusement park - handcuffed to their partner. They would receive a key to unlock their handcuffs before their last mission but if they can pass it without unlocking their handcuffs, they get extra credit at the end of the year.Where the hell does she get her energy from?! He caught up with her nevertheless as she dragged him slightly, literally pulling him together with her to reach the cafe quicker. They stopped in front of their designated cafe. 'The Coffee Bean'. The cafe was literally the size of Hae Lynn's whole second floor in her house. There were easily hundred chairs in here and they had to stack it all up, handcuffed?"Holy shit." Kyungsoo let out an unintentional curse and Hae Lynn looked at him as she breathed in and out heavily. "Sorry, slipped out." Kyungsoo apologized sharply and she shrugged it off before they stood there for a minute - they literally ran from the entrance all the way in here which was quite a distance. "Come on, we can do this." Kyungsoo nodded once and he gripped onto her hand tight to pull her into the cafe - without both of them knowing he was doing this.The moment they entered, they were completely blown away. There were even chairs on the tables!"What the f-" Kyungsoo immediately cut himself off my placing an arm over his mouth when Hae Lynn looked at him, amused. "We need to have a strategy, Kyungsoo." Hae Lynn tugged him back before he would even start going all out to stack the chairs without a plan. Just like that, their hands released from one another - still not realizing they held it before they entered. "But how? We're handcuffed to each other. It's basically impossible." Hae Lynn scanned the room only to notice that the chairs were arranged in a way where two people could fit and stack chairs along the way as they went. There was a sort of pattern - perfect. Plus, they had to reach at the end of the cafe to retrieve their next clue of where they should head to next. It would only be rational if they did this together and slowly."Follow my cue." Hae Lynn mumbled softly before she walked towards the left side of the room with Kyungsoo following her. As she started stacking up the chairs, each time she moved forward, Kyungsoo would do the same and vice versa. It was only for a few minutes that they got the hang of things on how to control their hand and foot coordinations in a way where they wouldn't get bothered by their handcuffs and Kyungsoo easily saw why she chose to do it this way - it was simple and smart. He decided not to say anything and follow her lead as they cleared all the chairs from the left to right. When all the chairs were stacked up, they could reach for the envelope at the corner right of room that was pasted on the wall."We did it!" Hae Lynn chimed as they dashed out of the cafe, a smile plastered bright on both of their faces. "But how did you figure it out to stack the chairs like that?"She shrugged her shoulders, "Artistic instincts, maybe?""Cocky now, aren't we?" Kyungsoo sneered but she snickered, using two of her hands to open the envelope and Kyungsoo had to lift his hand up along with Hae Lynn's hand. "You might want to catch your breath, Kyungsoo."He groaned inwardly, leaning closer to peek at the words on the paper. "Where do we go now?"

"No. I'm not climbing that.""C'mon! We have to!" Hae Lynn nudged him by his arm as they stood at the bottom of a high cliff they were supposed to climb on their own with a large mattress on the bottom in case they fell down. They also had safety equipments that will be put on by the workers there for them - so it was safe, technically. Kyungsoo shook his head, he had bad experiences with heights and he's traumatized by it - really. He swallowed hard and his face got pale just thinking about it. She noticed this and she held onto his hand, pressing her palm against his tight.He froze the moment her hand was on his. Getting handcuffed to each other was heartracing enough and now she was holding onto his hand bravely. The previous times they’ve ever had skin contact would be on accident - at least to his concern. The other times when he would voluntarily touch her which is lifting her up or carrying her was different. He noticed that whenever he carried her or lifted her up, she would be very shy about it even though she's a very cheerful and open person. This was considered something special because...This… was on her own free will. He tried to move away from her hand but she gripped onto his hand tight. He turned to look at her and she smiled before lacing their fingers together.“Doesn’t it feel nice?” Hae Lynn asked softly and he gulped with a bead of sweat rolling down his temple, not being able to say anything. As much as his mind was telling him to pull away, his heart was forcing him to stay put. Not because he didn't want it - because he didn't know if his mind or heart could take it - it was already on the verge of exploding.“Whenever I get nervous, my mother would hold onto my hand just like this and I would feel alright again. Just feeling the warmth of another person is enough to make a person feel better sometimes, you know?” Hae Lynn spoke up softly with a small laugh at the end. Kyungsoo swallowed and his fingers slowly gripped onto Hae Lynn’s hand. Hae Lynn smiled when she could see Kyungsoo’s expression softening. She gave him a tight squeeze before assuring him things would be alright."It's okay if you don't want to climb it. I'll just tell coach we didn't know where to go and hopefully he'll change our destination."Much to his dismay as always, she let go of his hand just when he had the sudden boost of confidence to climb the cliff. "Wait," He tugged her back when she tried to walk towards where the coach said he would be if they needed help. "Yeah?" Her head bobbed forward when she stared at him with her lips pressed together - he could see she was slightly disappointed that they couldn't climb this. He sensed the excitement when she informed him they had to come here but he felt the complete opposite."I'll climb this cliff... if you'll hold my hand."It was such a shameless request but he really felt like if she held onto his hand - anything was reachable. Without hesitating, she held onto his hand again - not feeling shy about it but she felt positive and energized again. "Let's go!" "Your left leg Kyungsoo!" Hae Lynn informed Kyungsoo who looked down only to let the deep realization hit him again - why do I keep looking down?!"Here! Give me your other hand!" Hae Lynn raised her voice slightly and Kyungsoo lifted his chin to look at Hae Lynn. He was doing insanely good for someone who is afraid of heights. Hae Lynn on the other hand was already on top of the cliff with her body lying down on the ground because she was still handcuffed to Kyungsoo and she had to make sure he reached safely with her before moving forward - like she could on her own."C'mon!" She urged him to hold onto her hand and he did. He trusted her enough that the moment he saw her hand lingering above his that was holding onto the rock on the cliff, his hand lunged forward to grip onto her hand tight. She grinned and told him, "In a count of three, I'll be pulling you up and you have to give your all to boost yourself up to come up here, alright?"With a mere nod, he muttered softly, "Got it.""Three!" She shouted instantly, pulling him up with all her might that he stumbled on the steps he was stepping on but he managed to push himself up until he climbed over to stand on the cliff beside her. She hurriedly pulled him in with her other hand on his arm until he was far away from the edge - to not make him afraid in case he looked down. "What happened to 'in a count of three'?" He looked at her in disbelief while she snickered as she released her grip on his arm, letting her hand brush his clothes."If I actually counted, you would think too much. Skipping straight to three will let the adrenaline rush through your veins - thus giving you a stronger boost." She smiled as she brushed his clothes until his clothes were cleaner than they were from the rock climbing. "C'mon! Let's go!" She hurriedly reached for his hand and dragged him down the hall. He gulped but decided to play it cool as he allowed her to pull him wherever they needed to go to.  She's still holding my hand... "Coach is seriously trying to kill us." Kyungsoo grumbled when they reached the waterpark in the center of the amusement park. Hae Lynn held her breath when Kyungsoo picked up the red envelope only to pull out a card to read outloud, "As a pair, two of you are required to swim, walk, do whatever it takes to reach the other end of the pool. Once you've reached the other end, there will be towels for you to dry yourselves and you are needed to wear the red bracelets. Your next clue will be there as well." Lowering the card down, he turned his head to look at the girl beside him who simply stared into the water as if a monster was going to pop out.What is she thinking about? What's in the pool? He questioned inwardly."P-Please! Mom, I'm sorry! Let me out!" The poor little girl struggled to get out of the swimming pool but a very deranged woman simply pushed her head back into the water, allowing the water to fill in the girl's mouth - giving her no chance to breathe. "Who said I'm your mom?! You don't have one!"The poor girl's tears were mixed into the pool water, not visible to anyone at the pool considering there was no one there.The little girl struggled with all her might to get out of the swimming pool but she failed weakly. It was just a simple family day out but little did she know, her step mother didn't see things that way. Just when her step father went to get a dry towel for his daughter, his wife is trying to kill her. "M-Mom!" Her lungs couldn't take it and her eyes were getting blurry with the number of times her head was pushed back into the water with her eyes opened. Her arms were high up in the air, swinging around to get out but there was no avail. She choked on the water for the fifth time and her body couldn't take it anymore - she was going to give up when, "Hae Lynn! Are you out of the water? Daddy has the towel for you!"It was at that moment, the hands of the devil pushing her down was gone as she stepped away from the swimming pool, acting as if she was never attempting murder in the first place. The little girl was so traumatized by it, she allowed herself to just sink into the water while her step father tossed the towels to the ground, getting on his knees by the pool to pull his daughter out. If only he knew he was married to a satan."Hae Lynn, you alright?"Letting out a shaky breath, she snapped out of the horrifying memory, looking up to meet with Kyungsoo's somewhat 'worried' look. "What's wrong?""D-Do we really have to swim?"He narrowed his eyes at her weirdly, "You can't swim?" Gulping, she nodded once weakly. "Something like that.""Something like that?" An eyebrow raised in curiosity to know what does she mean by that. "Then we'll just take it slow and walk - considering the water level is below our heads."She took two steps back from the edge of the pool - she didn't want to get in there at all. The horrifying memories would flash up in her mind in an instant and it would definitely eat her alive. Noticing this, he sat down on the ground and he tugged her to do the same. Meekly, she sat down beside him on the ground as he breathed out, "Tell me."Confused, she tilted her head to his direction, "W-What?""I said tell me. I know there's something behind all of this." "W-Well... I guess if..." Kyungsoo's voice trailled off after listening to everything she said. She was on the edge of crying but she held it back with a cracked smile plastered on her face. "I guess we'll just do the same thing like how we would've done for the rock climbing." Kyungsoo mumbled softly, getting up and he tugged her by her wrist - she followed obediently but stayed put when he tried to walk away.He looked over his shoulder to see Hae Lynn biting her lip nervously. She looked up and whispered, "I'll walk in the swimming pool if you'll hold my hand." Without saying anything, Kyungsoo walked backwards until he stood beside Hae Lynn. Feeling confident like how Hae Lynn felt a moment ago, he pressed his palm against hers as he gripped on it tight. She felt a spark the moment he laced their fingers together with a warm smile plastered on his face. "I'll get in the water first."The moment she was in the water, her eyes were clenched shut, unable to grasp the situation she was in right now. She didn't know how to react to it - it's been years since she's been in the water. When Kyungsoo saw that she had so many weak points and flaws, he knew that Hae Lynn was indeed a strong girl. Physically, she was just a fast runner and on the outside, she was so good at hiding it all in but little did he know, she's human and at the end of the day, she gets hurt too.Kyungsoo knows that he's been one of the people who has been hurt many times before but he would never expect Hae Lynn to be someone who could understand the pain he's been through - she was truly different. Seeing sides of her like these, has it become a reason for him to protect her even more? Yes.Knowing that she is so strong but at the same time so fragile - it was endearing and it definitely reeled his heart in, he's not pulling back any time soon, especially when Minhyuk is lingering around her closely. He was now holding onto two of her hands tight with the assurance she wasn't alone and there's no way in hell anyone is going to harm her as long as he was around. She winced slightly when he tried to move but then, he definitely understood why she was acting this way but he has no idea how to make her feel confident and brave.How does she do it...?His eyes sparkled with glee as the same melody popped up into his mind the first time he's heard her cry. It gave him an odd, strange idea that might just help. He rarely sings for people and he would usually think twice before he would actually sing out of nowhere but for her, this was an exception."Don’t hesitate another minute please," The soothing voice coming from the boy in front of her entered her ears, echoing in her mind. She held her breath as she felt tingles in her body. Is he singing to me again...? Before he continued singing, she felt him turning her body by her hands as her eyes were still shut. "Take away my heart." Even though she knows it was from a song he was referring to as he was singing, she couldn't help but feel excited with tiny butterflies roaming in her stomach on it's own free will.Kyungsoo's eyes widened as he sang when she saw her lifting up her feet through the water. He felt confident and brave now - hesitating no more to continue walking backwards as he pulled her to walk forward - it was a rather slow progress but it was better than nothing. Feeling happy that she could actually overcome her fears that's been haunting her for years with him was simply crazy but he has a better reason to be happy.He was happy he trusted her just like the way he trusted him when he had no confidence in climbing up that cliff but because of her and her touch, he was able to get past it just like that. Even up to now, he still can't believe it that he actually climbed that - if he were to tell his mother, she would laugh her head off - he was seriously afraid of heights."Yes, the sharper the better, the night that even the moon has closed her eyes,

If it were any other man, if it were a single verse taken from a comedy,

Burn all the scars you've exchanged for that love."With that, after a quarter way through the pool, her eyes fluttered open to see he was leading her carefully as he kept glancing back to make sure it was safe. Even if her conscious tells her that this was just a song he was singing, she felt so much more. She felt like those were his words - his feelings.And with that, she was right."Baby don't cry, tonight, after the darkness passes," Her eyes travelled up to look at him nervously - there was this giddy feeling in her just looking at his face. The boy she's known to be arrogant and cold months ago, was holding two of her hands, singing to her as he led her the way to the other side of the pool. The boy who she's ever had to sing her a song. The boy who was the first one to officially be, her first crush - first love. Where were the odds when all of this took place? God has a seriously mysterious way in life. In her life, that is."Baby don't cry, tonight, it'll become as if it never happened."When he faced forward, he noticed her stare and he stared back at her, as if this was a contest. She too, stared back at the two dark orbs that seem so promising - so lovable as his voice became the background music of it all. Could it get any more perfect?"You're not the one to disappear into foam, something you never should've known."Smiling a little when she looked away from his gaze, he noticed her cheeks started to color with a slight shade of red. That was something new."So baby don't cry, cry,"Just as his back came in contact with the wall behind him inside the pool, he gave her hands a squeeze to make her lift her chin - locking gazes again as he sang,"My love will protect you."