HIKE

14 | downward spiral

Over the course of that morning, things only went from bad to worse.

Donghyuck pulled up the hood of his green hoodie snugly around his face, the deep frown still prominent on his brow. The wind had picked up and was firmly against them in gusts almost strong enough to knock them over, and even the cosy hoodie wasn't enough to keep out the chill.

It was around this point that he really started to regret signing up for the hike challenge. At first, Donghyuck had thought it would be a laugh with his best friends, but now he was starting to believe the hellish rumours some of the Hike Challengers came back with.

He wasn't the most athletic person to begin with, hitting the gym never, only sometimes tagging along with Jeno or Jaemin. Yes, he'd started going a lot more since he saw Xiyeon at the gym (in the yoga pants that had become legend by now) but compared to the others, he was still pitifully unfit.

Keeping up with Jeno charging ahead, or Jaemin's long legs, or Renjun's brisk pace - it was a real challenge for Donghyuck. And it was putting him in a rotten mood.

"Fuck!" Jeno yelled at that moment. His feet slipped from beneath him as he skidded into a muddy puddle, just about catching himself in time to get only a pair of muddy hands and a few splashes.

"Christ, be careful," said Donghyuck through a heavy sigh.

"Are you okay?" Renjun immediately asked, offering Jeno a hand up.

Jeno seized hold of Renjun's hands, getting mud all over them, and let him pull him to his feet. Smirking, he reached out a finger and wiped a streak of mud on the Chinese boy's cheek.

"Hey!" Renjun objected, pushing Jeno back so he lost his footing again.

He slipped again, not quite falling this time, and started laughing. "I'll push you in the puddle next time, Renny," he warned.

"You fucking try me, bitch-"

"Right, so which path do we take?" Jaemin interrupted, giving a big yawn.

"I don't know, you're Map Boy," Donghyuck cut in. He had taken off his bag and was rummaging through it in search of something.

"Ha," said Jaemin dryly. "You got the map, right, Ren?"

"Um... yeah," said Renjun, holding up the map in one hand. He didn't seem very confident in reading it, however.

"Well?" Donghyuck asked. By now a large chocolate bar with a shiny purple wrapper had emerged from his rucksack.

Renjun stared down at the map with Jeno squinting over his shoulder. "Uh... that way!" Renjun decided. He bit his lip and led the way down the left hand path.

They trudged onwards along the edge of a ravine which gave way to a steep descending slope into nothingness. They edged along the path carefully, not wanting to take that great a drop.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Donghyuck asked suspiciously.

"No," said Jeno, "it's the left way, duh."

"Oh my god," Donghyuck wheezed and started to unwrap his chocolate.

"What?" Jeno asked defensively.

They kept walking but it was slow going and the mood was low. It felt like they'd never reach the other end of the path.

"We're gonna spend an hour on this tiny bit of path," Jaemin muttered.

"Oh, well you could read the map and find a different way instead," Donghyuck snapped at him.

"At least I did all the work yesterday," Jaemin countered, annoyed at the lack of appreciation he was getting for his efforts on day one.