"Boring...you are boringggggg..." Arya kept on singing from the window. She was sitting on window pine with legs hanging below, "Boring...you are boringggg..."

"It's not like I wanted an off day," Jin commented from his side, sitting on the floor for meditation with his all-time perfect posture, eyes trailing along with the pages of a book.

"I wanted a day off, fine. And I got it cause I won the bet." Arya reminded him.

"You have a poor memory." Jin was indifferent, "It was a tie."

"You are boring..." Arya kept on humming the melody pretending that she didn't hear Jin.

"Fine, what do you want to do?" Jin closed his book and looked at her.

"Let's go out. And perhaps we will find coconut liquor in the sailor's club. But that has to be saved for the last. Cause I won't hear the end of it if I make you drunk this early." Arya said in between her laughter.

Jin didn't answer.

"You know how cute you are when you get drunk?"

Jin got up without saying anything and took his jacket and headed towards the door, "Let's go."

"Huh?" Arya was a bit taken aback.

"Or do you want me to leave you?" Jin went out without looking back.

"Hey...wait for me!" Arya shouted before scurring her jacket out and running after Jin.

She almost jumped into the passenger's seat of the aged old pick-up and grinned.
"Let's go."

"Seat belt please." Jin reminded her.

"Oh, come on!" Arya groaned, "why do you have to prove you are boring every microsecond?"

"Seat belt." Jin again reminded her.

"Fine!" Arya rolled her eyes and fastened her seatbelt.

Just like any other tropical island of the southern Archipelago, Petlas was as beautiful as a green paradise.
The whole island was covered in tropical large trees making shades along the whole lonely road up to the mountain range at one side of the island. Except for the part where the residence of the owner was, the rest of the island was occupied by the natives. Small cottages made of wood and stones with roofs made with coconut leaves and reeds were scattered here and there in the lap of greens like a beautiful painting. Heaps of Bugenvilia and Hibiscus were crawling up in the walls of those cottages and colorful orchids all over the trunks of aged old trees were visually pleasing for anybody.
Not just static colors, the island had moving colors all around too. Blue kingfisher meditating beside the waterbody for an opportunity of any small fish coming out of the surface, bunches of green parakeet, dancing birds of paradise rarely coming out in sight, white cockatoo with the large crown in the head- everything was stunningly admirable.

Though the weather was turning towards the winter, a mild breeze from the sea still blows over the island constantly.

The people of Petlas were simple and easy. Very few people knew English, mostly spoke Chamorro and French though children were now being sent to the only small missionary school the Frenchmen established way back in time.

Most of the people live on the sea. Before the pearl farms were made, most of them lived on catching fishes, dived down for shrimp and lobsters and crabs.
After the farms were made, the connection to the outside world was established more, the lifestyle changed a lot. They are now educating themselves with basic education, working on the farms in season, working on their own during the offseason, even going out to Marshal island for seasonal works from time to time. They were not needy, so the whole island was in a very peaceful cohabitation between the natives and the intruders.

Arya noticed people were working in the palm and rubber estate, and harvesting the pineapple on both sides of the road.
Seeing them passing by, the natives stopped working and looked in their direction, some of them waved hands in their direction happily with smiles on their faces in response to Arya's wave.

Arya was leaning out of the side window.
Her laid-down hair was blowing in the wind as she giggled and waved back to the natives.

Jin handed her a scarf from the side and said, "use it. You'd catch a cold."

"Nah, I am good." Arya shook her head in disagreement.

Jin stopped the car and took the scarf back and reached towards Arya.

Arya gasped at the sudden action and almost backed up to the passenger's door.

Jin clicked his tongue, "Stay still."

Leaving Arya startled and confused, Jin finished wrapping the scarf around her neck and started the car again.

Arya again let her head out through the window. She just prayed her face doesn't show any sort of awkwardness outside. Her face felt hot and her heart was beating a bit fast.

Jin stopped the car near the foot of the hill. He came out of the car and waited for Arya to come down. Arya was curious about their destination but she just followed him without words.
Jin went on the mountain trail with ease followed by Arya.
After almost ten minutes of tracking, They reached a flatland on the mountain surrounded by high mountain walls.
Jin and Arya both already got rid of their jackets and they were hung in their waist, a little sweating.

Arya was a little confused, they didn't need to come all up here. There was nothing special about this place.

"Jin?" Arya asked but stopped seeing Jin grazing his hand over the mountain wall covered in wild vines and orchids as if he was searching for something.

"What are you doing?" Arya asked curiously.

Jin didn't answer and he stopped his hand in one place.

He reached for Arya's hand and lead her towards the wall.
Surprising to her, there was a gap in the wall wide enough to pass one person at a time.
The vines were thick in the entrance.
They both got to work and the vines were ripped aside.

Jin went in first.
Arya followed him.

The tunnel was dark inside but it ended even before it was started and they both came out to the opposite side.

"Wow!" Arya exclaimed in astonishment.

The place was like a highland plateau on the mountain, like a terrace surrounded by mountain walls on three sides and one open side viewing the vast ocean in front.

A small spring came down from one side of the mountain, making a small water body in the meadow, and lastly jumped down from the terrace down in the lake formed below the mountain connected with the azure lagoon laid in front of them.

From up here, the coral attol was looking like a necklace made of pearl beads thrown carelessly on a blue velvet cloth. The waves outside the coral reef were angry and forcefully crashing on the reef, but hardly entering the calm majestic bluish-green water of the lagoon inside the barrier.
The beach was white sandy with coconut trees all around.
The white twin otter amphibian flying boat beside the pier was looking like a tiny toy plane from up here.

"Holly molly!" Arya again mumbled and looked at Jin, "how did you find this place?"

Jin didn't answer, rather he was slowly walking around himself.
The grasses were green, the stones were all mossy around the waterbody and the walls were covered in vines.
Arya quietly sat down on a rock beside the water body created by the spring coming down from above.

Jin's eyes were calm yet lingering on every inch of the small plateau.
He went back towards the mountain wall and picked up something in his hands and looked at it curiously.

"What is this?" Arya went towards him.

Jin dropped the thing he was holding.

It was a piece of thick wood. Old, wet, mossy, and on the verge of decomposing. Near Jin's feet were more pieces like it. Spreading all over the place, tucked in the soil, decomposed, covered in vines and grasses.

Arya glanced over the wreckage and looked at Jin with curious eyes.

"There was a small cabin here," Jin said in a soft voice.

"Who built it?"

"Appa." Jin looked away towards the mountain wall.
"It was our secret place. I used to think when I would grow up, I'd create a pirate base here to hoard my treasures."

"Treasures?" Arya cracked up, "So your childhood wasn't abnormal like I thought? I thought you came out of the womb and finished the Korean history and pointed a binky to your nanny and said..." Arya mimicked Jin's voice, "Give me one more banana milk, or you are done for!"

Jin again looked away from where he was looking at.

"Did you just smile?" Arya gasped, "I swear I saw you smile!"

"No, I didn't." Jin's voice was as calm as before and went towards the wall and looked for something pushing aside the vines.
He got down on his knees and removed the vines from the wall and traced his fingers along with something on the wall.
Arya peeked from behind him and frowned.

There were some drawings.
Seemed like those were made by rubbing sharp stones on the stone wall.
The drawings were done in such an immature and soft yet messy way that it was evident that probably it was done by Jin when he was little.

"Awww, weren't you a cutie?"

Jin didn't answer and sighed a little and got up.

"Let's sit." Arya patter on the stone beside her and smiled.

"Let's go."

"Go where?"

"For your liquor? " Jin looked at her a little confusedly.

"Are you crazy?" Arya frowned, "I am not moving away from here today. This place is breathtakingly beautiful."

Jin calmly took his seat beside Arya and looked at the waterbody.
"I almost forgot this place once existed."

"Are you sad?" Arya asked sincerely,
"Ever since you have gotten here, you are seeming different."

"No." Jin shook his head side to side.
"Just a bit of nostalgic."

"Jin...I was wondering..." Arya looked at him, "will you answer me honestly?"

"I never lied to you before."

Arya's thoughts lingered on this sentence. Yes, he never lied to her. Yeah, he didn't answer her most of the time, but he never lied about whatever he said to Arya.
Arya tried to get rid of the warmth she felt in her chest, rather went to the topic, "Why didn't you look for me when I went abroad?"

Jin was silent.

Arya hesitated a bit. What was the question though? Arya mentally glared at herself, why would Jin look for her at that time? They weren't even friends back then!
Well, arch-enemy if she is correct.

She sighed a little, "No, the question probably didn't come out right...I wanted to ask you..."

"I did." Jin's answer was short.

"What?"

"We met. One year after you went away." Jin looked at her.

"Where?"

"Oxfordshire country library. England."

"And...? You went there for what?"
Arya raised a brow at him.

"A mission."

"Just what I thought." Arya rolled her eyes, "You have no reason to go there looking for me."

Jin sat there without any protest.

"What was I doing there?"

"Part-time librarian, full-time student." Jin shrugged a little, "you started wearing glasses."

"Like those nerdy proper mute girls?" arya chuckled.

"That was cute."

"Really? She widened her eyes, "Are you sure I didn't look like some kind of homeless person?"

"That was you."

"Wait...did I give you any book that time?" suddenly Arya sat straight.

"You remembered?" Jin looked at her.

"No, but in your library...I knew I saw that particular book somewhere!" Arya was excited, "I found a book in your library. Was it that?"

"Yes," Jin said unsurely.

"How the hell did that shit happen?" Arya scrunched her nose, "judging from who I am, I should have given you a bottle of booze or a stash of meth so that I can get you high! Cocaine could be a good choice too."

"No poison?" Jin raised a brow.

"That could have been an option too. Why I didn't think it back then?" Arya pretended to think hard and cracked on laughing, "See the perks of staying with me, Jin? You have even learned to crack a joke now!"

Jin just shrugged.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"You don't need to ask for permission every time you want to know something."

"So is it ok if I just ask away, anything?" Arya blinked.

"Not like it is gonna stop you from asking if I say no!" Jin raised a brow to her.

Arya laughed, "You know me too well, Jin!"

"So?" Jin was waiting for her question.

"Why did you quit airforce?"

Jin frowned a bit.

"You said they lied to you. But what was it?" Arya added.

"When did I say it?" His frown turned deeper.

"When you were drunk." Arya grinned mischievously, "apparently you were very much cooperative answering whatever nonsenses I asked you!"

"What else did I say?" Jin's voice was calm but his eyes shot a bit of concern.

"Relax. You didn't say anything inappropriate. But..." Arya looked at Jin's concerned face and held her laughter.

"But?" Jin's face was now showing a restless worry.

"You confirmed that you like someone." Arya felt victorious seeing the man on his edge and the uneasy expression on his face and him stiffening visibly.
"So... who is the girl?"

Arya saw Jin relax and let out a breath he was probably holding for some time now.

Jin didn't answer her.

"Is she someone I know? Tell me, I may be able to help you out!"

"Like you helped me with Nari?" Jin's voice had an underlying mock in it.

"Well, in my defense, you didn't like her!"
Arya protested.

"You didn't know that." Jin was indifferent.

"Well, I did mess it up, but hey! You are free now! You are welcome!" Arya grinned widely.

"Unbelievable!" Jin almost scoffed.

"You are not answering any of the questions!" Arya frowned, "You said I can ask you anything when I agreed to help you with the training, well. To be your guinea pig to be specific!"

"Yes, they lied to me." Jin decided to answer Arya's first question.

"And that was?"  Arya tilted her head to one side.

"After you left the force, They asked me to withdraw my statement that I gave in the court-martial."

"Why?"

"The whole process was done to blame someone, in this case,  it was you. But as they lost the legal hearing and were forced to keep you, not without temporary suspension even, they indeed had nothing else to do. But then you quit yourself making the whole process meaningless."

"So they just wanted to shove it down the carpet and pretend it never happened?"

"Yes. They asked me to withdraw my statement. And offered one step early promotion."

"Huh?" Arya snickered, "That low? They did go there? Bribing you?"

Jin shrugged and pursed his lips, "It was one incident. But denying their demand caused some problems."

"I bet it was hard to stay there in the red book, no?"

"Yes. I couldn't support that they can get away with that and then I came to know that someone messed up the whole incident in South Sudan, he received the tip timely that the base was under attack and he decided that you all are trained personnel, you all are enable to defend yourself and decided to stay where he was supposed to be, even not sending a backup team. Little did he know that you would show up out of nowhere with the best soldiers there leaving the base unprotected."

"I shouldn't have done that in the first place." Arya sighed, her voice turning heavy.

"That is not the point here." Jin frowned, "The point is, they could have stopped the attack on the base if they wanted. But ignored it. And the whole team helped to bury the truth and made you the scapegoat. Of course, you had to be stupid and gave them the reasons for them to throw you in bull's ring."

"So...?"

"I couldn't work with the liars. So I resigned."

"Hate to see that I maybe was the cause of your resignment." Arya's voice laced with slight guilt, "your family had a reputation and legacy to maintain. That is why your father said he was disappointed in you, right?"

Jin didn't answer.

"Was it hard, Jin?" Arya asked curiously, "Leaving everything? you had to put your ass on the line to get where you were and still decided to leave? Just like that? And knowing you'd disappoint your father...well, uncle. how? How did you still fucking talk to him about anything?"

"I didn't. Well, we talked rarely even before I left the force."

"So Jin, in summary...you resigned cause the force was doing something that you couldn't support morally and from an ethical point of view!" Arya sighed, "That is sad, though. How couldn't you be a little tolerant!"

"It's all in the past." Jin got up from the stone, "Let's go."

"Again! Where?"

"It is not the only place this mountain called beautiful! Let's go around here a bit."

"Ok." Arya got rid of the jacket.

And they did. Spending the whole morning tracking and hiking on the whole mountain range.
Came back to the plateau at noon.

They chatted for a long while until Arya fell asleep on the grass beside the waterbody.

[ Sorry guys for the long absences...I was caught up in between my clinical exams for the post-grad training and hectic duty schedules. I had almost no time to breathe even!

Thankfully, the Exam is over, for now, 😄
So...Hello?]