I squinted at it, wondering what kind of tree it was. But before I could say anything, Kinn kicked off his shoes and awkwardly began to climb the tree. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Kinn really was as crazy as Tankhun, just more pretentious. I only hoped that Kim, the youngest of the family, was not as screwy as his two older brothers.
Kinn grabbed at the branches and flung himself up into the tree. He was so ungainly that I couldn’t hold back my laughter. All this time his serious and stern demeanor must’ve been an act he put on to earn people’s respect—this awkward weirdo was likely his true self. His men would be horrified to see their boss making a total ass of himself like this.
“Pfft!” I bit my lip and stifled another laugh. I followed Kinn closely with my eyes: his face was so earnest, but his climbing was utterly graceless.
Thud!
Kinn jumped down and offered me the fruits in his hand. I immediately shook my head.
“No way!” I didn’t know if they were edible or poisonous. We could die from eating them! “What even are they?”
“Some kind of wild cherry?”
I smiled at Kinn’s naivete. They looked like cherries, but I was sure they weren’t. There wouldn’t be any cherry trees growing in this forest. When Kinn saw my disinterest, he popped one of the fruits into his mouth.
Ptui! He immediately spat it out. I roared with laughter as his face scrunched up in disgust.
Kinn dashed to the stream to rinse his mouth. I felt bad for him—he’d tried so hard to climb that tree only to discover the fruit was inedible. “What the hell is this? It’s full of sap,” he grumbled.
If we had gotten lost separately, I was confident I would’ve been the only one who survived. I’d looked after myself for most of my life; I was pretty confident in my survival skills. Meanwhile, Kinn would probably get himself killed the first day on his own. He acted like he knew what he was doing, like he was someone you could rely on, but in reality he had no survival skills whatsoever. What made him think he could just eat any random thing he found in the forest?
Kinn glared at me. “The hell are you laughing at?”
“Pfft! Why aren’t you eating them? We wouldn’t want all that effort to go to waste,” I joked.
“Well…it was kind of worth it. I got to see you smile,” Kinn replied. He spoke so quietly I could barely make out his words.
I didn’t really care, though, so I continued chowing down on the banana in my hand.
“You really like bananas, huh,” Kinn said lightly, shuffling his feet closer to me.
“I’m eating what’s available. There’s no need to be fussy.” It was the truth. We could die at any moment; how could we afford to be picky eaters?
“I’ve got a banana too, you know. It tastes better than the one you’re holding.”
Kinn loved making sexual innuendos around me, the damned pervert. I threw the banana peel at his face.
“Ow!”
“Screw you!” I shouted.
“Cut it out, Porsche! I’m still your boss!” Kinn hissed.
“Boss, my ass!” I snapped, turning away. I couldn’t stand seeing his annoying face any longer.
Kinn then stood behind me and leaned in close to whisper coldly into my ear: “Call me boss.”
I shivered before shoving hard at his chest, making him stagger backward. “You’re not my boss, you’re my burden! Fuck off!”
Kinn just chuckled at me as I stormed away to the stream. I splashed cool water over my face and drank several gulps to clear my head.
“It’s already getting dark. Do you want to wash up?” Kinn asked.
I felt sweaty from walking all over the forest, so I glanced at Kinn and pondered if I should do as he suggested. The forest was dark at night, and I was afraid to dip into the stream by myself. Even though Kinn was here, I didn’t really trust him.
“Well, do as you please. I’m going to start a fire,” Kinn said, as if he read my mind. He was about to leave and give me my privacy, but I didn’t need it right now. The sky was darkening even further, and the eerie atmosphere creeped me out. I could admit I was afraid of ghosts!
“Wait!” I called out to him. Kinn turned around, lifting a brow.
“Just stay here…and…we can leave together,” I stammered. I was reluctant to ask for his help, but I had no other choice.
“Hmm…” Kinn looked around curiously at our surroundings. “Ah! Are you scaaared?” he teased, drawing out his words.
“I’m not scared!” I said sharply.
“Can I leave, then?” Kinn asked jokingly, turning and pretending to walk away.
“Wait!” I called to him again. Kinn turned back around and flashed me a shit-eating grin. I still wasn’t sure whether I should wash up or not and became annoyed at my own indecisiveness.
“Hah! Are you afraid of ghosts?” Kinn asked between giggles.
I frowned. “I just don’t want to be alone. What if some animal attacks me?” I lied. I didn’t want him to know about my fear of ghosts—it was embarrassing.
“Someone like you shouldn’t be afraid of anything!” Kinn said, laughing again. “Fine, I’ll stay with you. I don’t want a tiger to come get you when you can’t call me for help.” He sat down on a rock near the stream.
A tiger? Why did he have to jinx it? And if a tiger showed up, what could a guy like Kinn even do? The man was fucking useless!
“Turn around! Don’t look at me!” I commanded. Right now, I wasn’t sure what was worse: ghosts, or Kinn.
“Such a pain in the ass,” Kinn complained lightheartedly, but he did as he was told. I glanced at him one more time to ensure he wasn’t looking, then stripped off everything but my boxers. I swore under my breath, wondering why I was acting like some kind of blushing virgin around Kinn—we were both men, for fuck’s sake!
“Brrr!” I shivered as I waded into the stream. The water was freezing cold, but it felt refreshing.
“Don’t stay in there for too long, or you might get sick again,” Kinn cautioned me. We both had our backs to each other.
I walked a bit further into the stream, but didn’t dare turn around to look at him. I was afraid those horrible memories would flood back, especially since I was half naked around him. It would just disgust me.
I continued to cross the stream until I reached the bank on the other side, where I placed my palms together in a wai gesture to the tree before relieving myself there.2
The forest was unsettlingly quiet and dark. If I’d been alone, I’d have lost my mind with fear. I hurriedly dipped my body in the stream to wash myself, thinking how lucky I was that the moon in the sky provided a bit of visibility.