September marked the coming of autumn, and at the same time, the beginning of a semester. After two months of not seeing each other in their summer holiday, the classmates had a lot of talks, and chit chat and giggles filled the classroom.

"Alright, alright, I know you guys are excited because you haven't seen each other for a while, but I have an important announcement to make right now. Would you please keep quiet for a moment?" The class immediately became quiet after their class teacher, Mr Song, walked to the lectern and said.

"As you probably know, our school has a tradition that 10th graders go on a school trip every autumn, and this year is no exception. Our school trip is scheduled from next Wednesday to next Thursday, so please prepare your clothes and luggage for two days and one night beforehand. Next Wednesday, please report to the classroom on time according to the usual class time. The tour bus won't wait for anyone, so please be punctual, understand? Latecomers will have to go to the campsite by themselves!" Mr Song announced.

"Yes, sir!" The whole class answered excitedly, and the topic of their heated discussion instantly changed from things that happened during their summer holiday to their upcoming school trip.

"You didn't forget what we said last time, did you? Remember to wear the outfit we bought for our school trip next week!" Sunhee whispered in Hanna's ear, worried that Taehyung, who was sitting behind them, would overhear their conversation.

"Mhm, got it." Hanna nodded and whispered back.

"At that time, I'll set Taehyung up with you and tell you what to do, so all you have to do is listen to me. I've watched a bunch of romance dramas, so I know about these kinds of things best, trust me." Sunhee continued to whisper in Hanna's ear.

"What are you two mysteriously talking about?" Taehyung couldn't help but ask behind them.

"Shhh—" Sunhee put her index finger to her lips, turned around and made a shush gesture, "It's a secret between us girls."

-

On the day of their school trip, Hanna got up early in the morning, put on the white shirt and the pink skirt she and Sunhee bought together, put on some light makeup, and headed to school with a bag of luggage.

"Yo, Hanna! You look cute in this outfit today." A male classmate whistled at Hanna as she entered the classroom.

"Thanks." Hanna replied shyly and headed to her seat.

After witnessing all this, Taehyung felt an inexplicable sour and bitter sensation in his chest, and just as he was about to greet Hanna, he was cut off by Sunhee who was standing beside Hanna.

"I knew it! This outfit suits you so well sweetie, you look amazing today!" Sunhee grabbed Hanna's arm and chattered excitedly, "I'm sure you can capture all the boys' hearts!"

Capture... all the boys' hearts? Taehyung, who was sitting behind them, furrowed his brows when he heard Sunhee's words— capture whose heart? Does Hanna have a crush on another boy...?

Before Taehyung could speak to Hanna, their class teacher Mr Song walked into the classroom and announced that the tour bus had already arrived, and that everyone should line up in front of the school gate in an orderly manner as they wait to get on the bus. Students thus proceeded to leave the classroom, with Taehyung going first, followed by Hanna, Sunhee and Jaemyung.

After boarding the bus, Taehyung took a window seat on the left side of the aisle. When he saw Hanna, who was still standing in the aisle, he patted the empty seat next to him and looked at her with puppy eyes, "Would you like to sit with me, Hanna?"

"I'm sorry, Taehyung, but I really wanted to sit with Hanna today." Sunhee gave Taehyung an apologetic look and pulled Hanna, who was about to sit next to Taehyung, back.

Sunhee then made Hanna sit with her in the two seats on the right side of the aisle, and turned to Jaemyung, "Jaemyung, why don't you go sit with Taehyung?"

Jaemyung nodded, walked to the empty seat next to Taehyung, and asked timidly, "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Of course not, please take a seat." Taehyung flashed Jaemyung a wry smile, trying his best to hide his disappointment.

And so, separated by the aisle, Taehyung and Hanna sat with Jaemyung and Sunhee respectively.

"Didn't you say that you were going to set Taehyung up with me?" Hanna whispered to Sunhee secretly after the bus started moving, "Why did you stop me from sitting with him just now?"

"Don't you understand? You can't keep doing what he says!" Sunhee whispered back, "If you accompany him when he wants you to accompany him, and sit with him when he wants you to sit with him, he will be content with the status quo, so why should he confess his feelings? Sometimes it's necessary to keep your distance from him like this so he can't stop thinking about you, and when he can't hold it back anymore, he'll then take the initiative to confess his love to you! You gotta let him know that in order to be lovey-dovey with you, he must first gather his courage and confess his feelings, so that he can officially become your boyfriend!"

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Hanna sounded a little worried.

"Haven't you eaten cup noodles? After pouring boiling water into the cup, you have to smell its aroma and wait for three minutes, so the wait makes it more delicious! The same goes for love, so you'll have to make Taehyung wait for a while too. You still have a lot of time with him these two days, so what are you worried about?" Sunhee said confidently.

Sitting across the aisle, Taehyung stole glances at Hanna and Sunhee. The two of them kept chattering as if there were endless topics to talk about, but Taehyung's seat was too far away for him to hear their conversation. All Taehyung could see was that Hanna blushed a few times and gave Sunhee a few bashful smacks on the arm, while Sunhee smirked at her.

Taehyung then suddenly remembered what Sunhee said in the classroom about capturing the boys' hearts, and seeing that she and Hanna were now mysteriously sharing secrets, he couldn't help but wonder if they were talking about the boy Hanna had a crush on. Could it be another boy in our class? Taehyung felt heaviness in his chest as this thought crossed his mind.

"Are you alright? You look a bit ill." Jaemyung asked concernedly as he noticed that Taehyung's face was a little pale.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just getting a bit of motion sickness. Don't worry about me." Taehyung forced a smile.

-

It was almost noon when they arrived at the campsite, and everyone was starving. After dropping their luggage in their rooms, they were arranged to have lunch in the cafeteria.

Hanna, Sunhee, Taehyung and Jaemyung were sitting around a table for lunch when Sunhee suddenly asked Hanna, "So, what do you think about the thing I just mentioned?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hanna asked puzzledly.

"Don't we have to form a group of four to six for the orienteering activity in the afternoon? What do you think, should we let the boy from the other class who likes you join our team?"

Forming a group? The boy who likes me? Hanna was bewildered at first, but it didn't take long before she realized that Sunhee said those words to trigger Taehyung.

"Nah, I think we're good with just the four of us." Taehyung blurted out, trying his best to pretend he wasn't concerned, but Hanna could tell there was a hint of uneasiness in his tone— is he... jealous?

"Yeah, I guess just the four of us will do." Hanna said quickly, stole a quick glance at Taehyung, and saw the relief on his face.

-

After lunch, Hanna, Taehyung, Sunhee and Jaemyung received a map, a compass and a mission card from their teacher, and the orienteering game began. Led by Jaemyung, who was more familiar with map reading, the four of them travelled between the forest, walking up and down the various slopes. The weather was clear that day, and the woods echoed with birdsong.

"Ah!" Hanna let out a scream when she noticed a huge spider hanging from a tree branch in front of her. Startled, she took a step back, but tripped over a few twigs on the ground and rolled down the slope.

"Hanna!" Taehyung shouted, feeling more frightened than ever, and immediately rushed down the slope to check on Hanna's injuries.

Fortunately, Hanna wasn't seriously injured, but only got some cuts and bruises on her calves.

"Thank God the slope wasn't too steep," Taehyung heaved a sigh of relief before he turned to Sunhee and Jaemyung, "I'm worried that the wounds will get infected, so I'm going to take Hanna back first to treat her wounds. Can you two keep going by yourselves?"

"Yes, of course, the two of us will be careful." Sunhee nodded with a worried expression on her face, "Please take good care of Hanna."

"Don't worry, I will." Taehyung nodded back, and asked Hanna softly, "Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can you still walk?"

"Yeah I'm fine, it hurts a little bit but I can still walk, so don't worry." Hanna forced the biggest smile she could, feeling so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and hide: how did you manage to roll down a slope in front of your crush, Choi Hanna? I can't believe it.

"Never mind. Forget I asked." Taehyung changed his mind, "Come, I'll give you a piggyback ride."

Seeing Taehyung crouching in front of her, Hanna stood in shock. "But..."

"Come on, let's hurry back before the sun goes down."

"Alright, thank you." Hanna sighed, and climbed onto Taehyung's back ashamedly.

And so without a word of complaint, Taehyung slowly and carefully carried Hanna back to the starting point.

"Come and sit here first, I'll be right back." Taehyung found a chair near the starting point as soon as they arrived, and ran off after speaking.

A few minutes later, he returned with a first aid kit in his hands.

"I'm going to disinfect your wounds now. I'll try my best to be gentle but it might still hurt a little, so please bear with me." Taehyung said softly as he got down on one knee in front of Hanna, and Hanna thanked him.

Taehyung then took tweezers from the first aid kit, gripped a cotton ball, and dipped it into alcohol. He carefully disinfected Hanna's wounds, looking up at her from time to time to ask, "Does it hurt?"

"No, thank you." Hanna smiled and shook her head, trying her best to endure the pain so she wouldn't worry Taehyung.

After disinfecting Hanna's wounds, Taehyung attentively put a Band-Aid on her biggest wound, and when he was done, he flashed her a bright smile and said, "Okay, all done! Remember to be careful when showering so your wounds won't get wet!"

Hanna was very moved when she saw the amount of care Taehyung had given her when treating her wounds, and at the same time, she felt apologetic for the way she distanced herself from Taehyung on the tour bus earlier that day.

"Thank you so much," Hanna looked down at Taehyung and said sincerely, "You're so good to me that I don't even know how to repay you."

"Feel moved?" Taehyung said as he stood up, lips slightly curving up into a smirk, "Then grant me a wish."

"What wish?" Hanna looked at Taehyung puzzledly.

"You'll find out when the time comes." Taehyung smiled mysteriously, unwilling to give Hanna a clear answer.

-

A/N:

That has been the longest update so far to show my apologies for not updating in months!!!
I'm terribly sorry for leaving the story hanging there like that, but the amount of schoolwork I had for the last semester was a lot more than what I expected. (Disciplines of philosophy like metaphysics and epistemology are a pain, but that's another story.)

Anyways, winter holiday has finally begun, so I've found the time and motivation to continue writing!! I've been working on this chapter for the past few days, and I promise I'll keep working hard on writing the upcoming chapters. Love you all so much and please take good care of yourselves, especially during the pandemic!! Stay safe and I'll see you soon :)

Oh and also, here's a belated thank you for 1k reads ♡