Chapter 17 (Bonus Chapter): The Trip

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Chapter 17: The Trip

"I'm hungry. We should think about what to eat for dinner," Jan Di said to Ji Hoo while she rummaged through her backpack.

"I know exactly what we're eating for dinner," Yi Jung raised his chin up, beaming proudly. "There's a lake close by that's supposedly teeming with fish. We'll go there and get some and we can have some fish for dinner!"

At the sound of fish their faces all lit up. Fresh fish sounded much better than the dried packets of food they had unearthed from the packs.

"You guys better go while it's still light out then," Ga Eul urged Yi Jung. She handed him a small flash light. "Here, in case it's dark when you get back."

Ji Hoo looked uncertainly at Jan Di.

"We'll be fine," she smiled at him. "We'll try to get the fire going and ready for that yummy fish you guys are bringing back."

Hye Jin went to each of the boys and tied a bracelet around their wrists. "It's to keep the mosquitoes away. They're starting to come out."

The boys started walking away from the campsite. Ji Hoo took out his compass to ensure they could find their way back. They headed a little to the east of the stream, and walked excitedly dreaming about roasted fish on a stick.

Ji Hoo paused suddenly.

"What?" Yi Jung asked, glancing nervously around.

"Wait, how are we going to catch the fish?" In his excitement he had forgotten about this crucial piece of information.

Yi Jung shrugged. "You go fishing all the time. I was hoping you'd know."

His eyes widened. "You want me to catch it with my bare hands? Who do you think I am? Tarzan?"

"They said that the fish are practically jumping into your arms in this lake anyway. And I brought this." Yi Jung held up a small net as he walked ahead of them. He turned around, walking backwards while waving the net, teasing him.

Suddenly, Yi Jung tripped on a tree root and fell backwards onto the ground, the net flying out of his hand.

"Hey, who put this tree in the middle of the forest?" he grumbled, wincing as he sat up.

Woo Bin chuckled as he and Ji Hoo passed by a frowning Yi Jung. "What doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger."

"Except for bears. Bears will definitely kill you," Ji Hoo whispered nervously. He had frozen mid step, panic slowly radiating from his entire body.

They had come across a clearing. The lake was right in front of them – it was a small lake – but on the other side of the lake (around 4 acres across) he could clearly see a black shape moving about. The shape had a white spot on its chest, and even from this distance he could see how big it was. Ji Hoo knew from years of watching National Geographic that this was an Asian Black bear. He signaled the other two to keep quiet as he slowly walked backwards to them. These bears were known to be aggressive towards humans, and even though a body of water separated them, he didn't want to risk it with the animal. He noticed that the side the bear was on had another mountainous peak on it. It seemed that the mountain they were on had two identical peaks with a lake in the middle.

When they were safely away from the lake, Ji Hoo heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Fish is off the menu for today, guys." He stated, and the other two nodded in agreement.

Woo Bin frowned. "The girls will be so disappointed when we come back empty handed."

They all hung their heads at this reality.

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