That Night It Rained | Yuta

20 | Journey, not the Destination

It has been days but Jina has still not gotten an answer from Yuta or any sort of explanation for his behaviour. She thought things would be normal between them but they have been far from that. Yuta has mostly been staying out of the house and it is not just Jina who he has been keeping his distance from but also the other members. He leaves the home early and comes back late at night after everyone is already asleep. And all the times Jina has tried to call after him or tried to talk to him, he shut her off.

Yuta didn't know why he was so bothered by Jina's closeness with the other members. Just a few weeks back he didn't even care if she existed or not but now all these new feelings were overwhelming and confusing for him and he didn't know how to deal with them. Whenever he tried to approach Jina for some sort of clarity, she was always with someone and seeing them together only irritated him more just like today morning when he woke up to find Taeyong and Jina preparing breakfast together to pack for their date later.

Jina heard Yuta's room unlocking and saw a half-asleep Yuta walking down the hallway. She tried to talk to him but before she could say anything, he just wished her and Taeyong morning and went back inside.

~*~

It was still dark outside when Taeyong and Jina started preparing breakfast for their date. Taeyong had always wanted to go on this hiking trail and hearing this, Jina was as excited as he was. They had planned to start early to get a head-start and this way they could avoid getting crowded. Taeyong wore a blue checked apron which was a little smaller than his frame. He had only just managed to tie the strings around his waist and looked absolutely adorable. Jina quickly took out her phone to take a picture of Taeyong struggling in the apron, laughing as he packed tiffin boxes.

~*~

They could see the orange hue of the sky rising from one side while Min-hyuk was driving them. The morning was clear and the roads empty except for a few joggers and cyclists they saw on their way. Upon reaching the start of their trail, they found themsel,ves deciding between a longer and a shorter one and eventually decided to go on the longer one to spend more time together.

The trees were covering the path on both sides forming a green canopy above their heads. They hardly noticed the sun rising fully in the sky as the shade from the canopy was only letting a few rays pass.

The trail was long but the path was not difficult to walk on. Away from the pollution of the city, they could see the trees flowing in the wind as they went higher up the mountain. They both matched each other's pace. They walked in some parts of the trail, ran in the others. Raced in some parts when they spotted a sign board and rested in between whenever they would find a clearing overlooking the city beneath them. They took turns carrying the only backup they had brought with them even though Taeyong insisted he'll carry it all the way up for them.

'Wait, stay there,' Taeyong called out when Jina was looking over the edge of a clearing they had stopped at, with the city behind her. He took out his phone and asked her to look where she was looking previously and took a picture of her.

And after hiking a bit more, they reached the end of the trail which at the top of the mountain. 'This is it?' Jina said looking confused.

'Seems like it,' Taeyong replied, equally confused.

'I was expecting...', Jina said.

'Yeah, a little something more...', Taeyong said looking around if they missed a sign or something.

'So, it is the journey then and not the destination, huh,' Jina said and they both burst out laughing.

'This is the worst view ever!' Taeyong said still laughing.

'I know right, all that hiking for this.' They were both on top of the trail and the view was obscured by the trees on one side and another mountain on the other and through a small opening in the middle, they could somehow make out the city beneath them.

Nonetheless, they sat down near a small clearing made in the dirt and opened up their boxes and practically inhaled their food. The entire tiffin was empty in just minutes.

'You were hungry too?' Taeyong asked.

'I was starving,' Jina replied smiling through her hair blowing in the wind.

'This is nice though,' Taeyong said reclining backwards on a rock.

'Even with a bad view, this is relaxing,' Jina added and she lay flat on the rock she was sitting on, staring at the clear blue sky.

'Didn't Yuta look tired today morning?' Jina asked, still looking at the sky.

Taeyong was a bit surprised at the sudden shift in subject. He propped himself on his elbows and replied, 'He comes back late and wakes up early to leave. What do you expect?'

Jina simply nodded, still deep in thought. Taeyong looked at a worried Jina and smiled to himself.

'Should we head back? People are starting to come,' Taeyong said, getting up and offering his hand to Jina which she took and they started their journey to the starting point where Min-hyuk was already waiting for them.

After coming back home, the two of them didn't even eat lunch instead they went straight to their rooms and slept off the tiredness and woke up late in the evening just before dinner.

'The view was so anti-climactic,' Jina was telling the guys on the dinner table where everyone was seated except Yuta and Mark. Yuta was out somewhere and Mark was in his room on the phone with someone.

'Yeah, but the trail was really pretty,' Taeyong added and Jina nodded.

'Oh, hyung, listen to this,' Haechan called out when Mark came back to the living room.

But Mark wasn't listening at all. 'We have a problem,' he said and looked at Jina.

'What's up?' Jaehyun asked.

'I have to start my individual schedule from Monday and will be busy for the entire next month and it's my date next,' he said and sat down across Jina.

'So, I was wondering, do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?' Mark asked hesitantly trying to not make it seem like he was rushing this.

But Jina gladly agreed, 'Oh, sure why not. Let's.'

'The sooner the better,' she added and smiled so warmly that it put Mark at ease once again.

'Great! But where should we go?' Mark asked looking around the table for ideas.

'Why don't you guys go for a dinner?' Jungwoo said, immediately.

'Nah, too boring!' Mark shrugged his head.

'Hey! We went for a dinner and it wasn't boring at all,' Jaehyun said offended. 'Tell him it wasn't boring,' he said to Jina.

Jina chuckled and said in the most dramatic manner possible, 'It wasn't at all,' evoking a laugh from everyone.

'How about a city tour bus ride?' Taeyong suggested. 'You can see the pretty lights and talk.'

'I have seen the city already,' Jina said.

'Plus, too many people on the bus these days,' Mark added.

'Oh, what about the beach? Why don't you guys go there?' Doyoung said, 'Jina, you were talking about trying water sports the other day,' he added, looking at Jina.

'You want to go there? It'll be a little far from here but we can go if you want to try,' Mark said and Jina nodded and said, 'Yes! Can we? It'll be so much fun.'

'Yeah sure, let's go tomorrow afternoon then,' Mark said.

'Call Min-hyuk now and tell him to drive you guys there tomorrow,' Taeyong said, promptly.

Johnny had already taken out his phone to call and put the phone on Mark's ear when Min-hyuk picked up the call.