INEVITABLE - SEULRENE

100th day

"hyunnie, hurry up. we don't want to miss the bus this morning."

joohyun smiles in the middle of brushing her teeth. seulgi sounds too excited. well, couldn't blame her. even joohyun herself is ecstatic. today happens to be the first time the two of them will go out on a trip together--to celebrate their one-hundredth day.

yup. one-hundredth day.

yes, joohyun thinks they are too old for that. but how can she not agree if it's seulgi who's eager to celebrate it together and have planned everything ahead of time?

besides, this will be the first time joohyun will go hiking. with seulgi guiding her along, she's looking forward to this new experience.

joohyun steps out of the bathroom and sees seulgi in her hiking attire; zip-off nylon pants, hiking boots, and an orange rain jacket. then her eyes dart towards the tall gray bag sitting on the couch.

"are we seriously hiking a mountain today with that on your back?" she asks, closing in to inspect the said bag. "it looks heavier than me."

there was a chuckle before seulgi places her arm around joohyun's shoulders. "don't worry. it's less than sixty liters. it only looks bulky because of the tent, food, water, and the cooking wares but it'll be lighter tomorrow once we descend."

"maybe you can put some in my bag so we can lighten up your load?" joohyun gestures to her newly-bought purple hiking bag that's half the size of seulgi's.

"no need. just bring extra clothes and a blanket. that would be enough."

"or maybe we should just drive there instead so you won't have to carry that to the bus station."

seulgi shakes her head. "i told you, it won't be fun if we drive there. i want you to experience the whole journey with me sitting next to you."

it sounds cheesy, but joohyun finds herself smiling. seulgi pulls her in for a hug and kisses her forehead. they stood there in silence, feeling each other's warmth.

joohyun pulls back to look at her lover. "won't eunae... find it weird... you're going out to hike... alone?" she asks, kissing seulgi in between her phrases.

"she won't." seulgi's hands travel to fix joohyun's jacket. "i do this regularly, once or twice a year, to think and just reflect. i usually schedule it if she has longer overlays. i'm just glad this day landed perfectly on our little celebration. perfect timing to bring you along."

"have you tried bringing her before with you?"

"once. but she didn't enjoy it. i decided never to bring her again." after making sure everything's zipped properly, seulgi cups joohyun's face. "shall we?"

"should i be scared? i told you i haven't done this before."

"you already bought the right equipment. you have the right attire. plus, you have me." seulgi taps her chest. "i know that trail like it's the back of my hand. don't worry. we won't get lost. i can even trek that backwards if you want--you know, just for an additional challenge."

joohyun playfully slaps seulgi's arm. "yah! don't do that. i don't want you falling there somewhere."

seulgi grins and quickly kisses joohyun on the cheek. "come on! come on! we don't want to be late!"

---

where could seulgi have been all her life?

the question pops once again in joohyun's head when she sits down to rest as she watches seulgi amble around the camp area, figuring out where to pitch their tent.