Triggering contents ahead:

Arya came to the kitchen table for breakfast after her routined cycling.

And there it goes again, only proteins.

Arya felt like screaming in frustration. She has been eating the bare minimum these few days in breakfast. It was painful, but she endured the dry toast till now, but the protein shower has now landed on the breakfast table too!

But her body was already giving up. She felt dizzy when she got up today and was much more tired than usual after the morning routined cycling.

Arya thumped down on the table and looked at Jin who was waiting for her.
"Jin, I really can't go on like this anymore."

"Like what?" Jin asked indifferently.

So he has no idea what was going on with her? Arya suddenly felt a stubborn fury in her.
Here she was constantly thinking that he cares though he never does something to prove that.

"Nothing." Arya tried to hide her hurt but Jin didn't seem to notice.

"Should I ask Chamiyu for a few proteins more?" Jin asked casually,
"There are rabbits and pheasants in the back hills."

Arya stared at him in disbelief and clenched the chopsticks in her hands and her jaws in an attempt to not curse at him.

"What?" Jin asked getting no answer.

Arya didn't answer. She shut up by stuffing some meats in her mouth.

She finished the whole plate before Jin's eyes even though she felt like puking and got up.

Before storming out in stubbornness, she even grabbed the plate in front of Jin with bacon and eggs on it and went out.

What did he think? He can torture her with food like that? She'll show him that she can endure all this crap.

Arya instantly panicked when the twin otter amphibian flying boat started to leave the water surface.

"The hell? Chamiyu?" Arya frowned and looked through the fuselage of the cockpit. They were just supposed to go to the other side of the lagoon of the coral atoll, which didn't need flying of course.

Nobody from the cockpit answered her and she stiffened at the feeling of being sick.

She fumbled around her pockets for the pills. Her acrophobia wasn't just something trivial. She can't stay here without being under influence of anti-anxiety pills.

"Looking for this?" Jin came out of the cockpit handing the navigation to Chamiyu who was sitting on the pilot's seat.

Arya looked at his hand. There it was- the small plastic vial of her pills.

"Give me that." Arya reached for the vial.

But Jin easily moved his hand away from her reach.

"Jin!" Ary tried to sound angry, but her voice was already shaking with fear.

She tried to not concentrate on the outside and repeated in her mind,
"Everything is ok, you are on the ground, you are on the ground."

She felt her hands were already clammy. She wasn't seeing herself, but she was sure that she'd look like a pale ghost drained out of all blood in front of a mirror.
The sweat was already dampening her shirt and there was the familiar tingling sensation in the root of her hair and her fingernails.

"Just going for a test drive. The plane will lose efficacy if left alone in the pier." Jin answered her question even before she asked.

"You are on the ground." Arya wasn't listening to Jin anymore and was chanting the words in her head like a ritual.
She sat down on the seat in the cargo hold and her shaky fingers tried to tie the seatbelt, but hell! Why it wasn't working?

Her fingers were trembling so badly that she had to struggle to strap up the seatbelt. The more she struggled, the more desperate she was becoming.

"Let me." Jin approached and Arya slapped his hand away.

"2000 meters." Chamiyu declared from the cockpit.

Arya was trying hard not to think anymore, "You are on the fucking ground!"

But the sound of the wind on the flap of the plane was constantly telling her otherwise.

"Another thousand meters, Chamiyu." Jin looked back towards the cockpit.

"Roger that." Chamiyu showed a thumbs up.

"Arya, look at me." Jin concentrated on Arya.

"You are on the ground, you are..." this time Arya was whispering it to herself through her clattering teeth and her shaking hands embraced herself, hyperventilating with every minute passing by.

"Arya..."

But the words didn't reach her ears. She was totally in another zone.

Jin's face turned a little soft and knelt in front of her and touched his index in between her knitted eyebrows.
Arya almost jerked away from his touch and looked at Jin.

"It's ok," Jin assured her softly and again touched the same spot.

Arya's body slowly reacted with the pressure on that particular acupoint.

"Please, take me to the ground, Jin! I beg you!" the muffled shaky voice pleaded to him.

"I will." Jin assured her and unclasped her seatbelt, "Get up. I got you."

Arya got up. Her legs felt like jelly and wobbly, but Jin held her strongly by her shoulder.
He made Arya's hand round around his body so that Arya was practically clinging to him for dear life.

Jin's hands moved to her back and carefully pressured two acupoints around her shoulder blade and thoracic twelve vertebrae.

Their Ninjutsu instructor not only taught them how to kill but also how to heal.

The knowledge of acupoints in Ninjutsu is basic and vital, ensuring the best and cleanest way to kill, without giving any chance.
And at the same time, it gives the knowledge of using the occupants in favor of their bodies.

They use it for tension relief, pain relief, stiff muscles, frozen joints type of minor events.
Like what was he doing now.

Jin realized that Arya was getting strong on her feet and her trembling was reducing.

"3000 meters." Chamiyu declared.

"Now." Jin casually instructed.

Arya was finally breathing a little normally but her breath hitched on her throat as soon as the sound of the wind intensified.
The cargo door just beside her was opening.

"What are you doing?"
Jin instantly closed his eyes with the intense panic-ridden cry from the lips near his ear.

"Relax."

Arya's hands fumbled behind Jin's back and discovering the familiar figure hanging from his back, she shivered, "God, No!"

"Yes!"

"No, please No!"

"You will be ok. I promise." Jin assured her fully knowing he has a chance to get killed once they go back to the house.

"Jin..." Arya's voice was furious.

"Do you trust me?" Jin's voice was confident.

"What? No!"

"Good." Jin nodded knowingly and let him fall through the door with Arya clinging to him.

Jin was sure, the scream he heard while falling from the girl in between his arms wasn't something he wanted to hear ever in his life.

As soon as Jin's feet touched the ground, he released Arya and held onto the harness to make sure the parachute doesn't get wind in its course and drag him from behind and cause an accident.

He quickly gathered the parachute and looked at Arya.
She tried to stand up on her feet but stumbled and fall on her knees.

Jin knew, The more you show rudeness towards this girl, she becomes more stubborn and unwilling to receive any kind of help.

Now she was going through the same thing.
Jin was cruel to her, so the stubbornness to show him she wasn't weak was getting her on her feet every time she fell.

The last fall was nasty. She stumbled and fall on her knees and both palms.
And before she could help it, she threw up.

Jin patiently patted her back to let her calm down.

When she was a little stable, Jin handed her a handkerchief.

Arya looked at the piece of cloth for a few seconds and suddenly she furiously rubbed her eyes.
Letting go of all her emotions of being tricked, betrayed, and for the cruelty of the person she didn't expect.

"Take it." Jin patted her back again.

Arya slapped his hand away and again struggled to get on her feet but her trainer slipped on the sand and she again fell on her face and this time she didn't even try to get up.

She covered her face effectively gathering her hands around her face which was almost buried in the sand and her body trembled furiously.

She was crying. In frustration, anger, and overwhelming emotions.

Jin understood.

She was the person always on the top of her game. She never came across as the weak or vulnerable one. She was the one always to take care of everything, not the person who needed to be taken care of.
And within the past three months, she was exposed, again and again, failing in front of the person who she expected and wanted not to be there at this time.

That person with whom she grew up to be this person shoulder in the shoulder, always competing and winning, being an eligible match, now she was just a wreck in front of him.
It's not because of she being out of her limitation. It's just her helplessness. And her desperation.

Jin knelt beside her and helped her sit up. He carefully wiped her face covered in sand and tears. This time Arya didn't stop him, rather her voice spoke, "Stop."

"What?" Jin looked at her.

"Stop acting like you care." Arya's voice was harsh. "I thought wrong about you. Thought you have changed."

Jin remained silent.

"You are as heartless as before. Cruel."

Still, there was no response from Jin's side.

"You know what? I am out." Arya sighed and tried to get up. But she wobbled after three to four steps again and she cursed bitterly.

Jin picked her up in his hands easily like she was a paper doll.

"What!" Arya was startled.
"Let go Jin! Put me down."

Jin didn't answer, he just walked towards the pier where the old pick-up truck was supposed to be parked earlier.

"Put me down! Arya struggled.

"Stay put." Jin said, "you are sick."

"And whose fault is that?"

Jin didn't answer.

Seeing no way to escape, Arya finally winded up her one hand around his neck and the other hand grabbed his lapel to steady herself.

This man was a mystery to her. Cruel and kind, gentle yet ruthless, cold yet she felt he has a hidden warmth in him that makes her want to trust him, depend on him.

Arya knew it was all her illusion. This man was a machine. No warmth, no care. So who does she want to fool with these complementing statements?

"Bastard." Arya cursed in between her teeth and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

The room was vibrating with every punch on the punching bag.

Arya quietly waited for Jin to finish his practice entering the room.

Noticing Arya entering the room a few minutes later, Jin stopped and steadied the punching bag.

Chamiyu handed him a towel and a water bottle.
Jin nodded a little towards him and he quietly left the room.

Wiping off his sweat, Jin sat down on the mat in his normal upright position and looked at Arya.
"You wanna say something?"

"I am done. I am not gonna assist you anymore in your training program." Arya was calm.

"Your wish." Jin nodded understandingly, "but may I know why?"

Arya sighed and looked at him with disappointment in her eyes, "of course you even don't know what was wrong. I should have known!"

"Pray tell."

"Aren't you being too selfish, Jin?" Arya asked directly.

Jin looked at her without words, patiently waiting for her to explain.

"I am helping you with your practice. But all you are doing is just using me as another tool of your training pit. You don't care about my problems at all."

"Problems?"

Arya scoffed and an empty laugh escaped her lips, "Really Jin?"

"let me hear it."

"If you want to know, let's do it." Arya took a deep breath, "I don't have much time left, Jin. I wanted to make the time worth it. And foolishly I thought spending it with a friend probably would be the best option for me. But you? You have no empathy in your heart at all, do you?"

Jin was quiet.

"You don't care about my sleeping pattern, knowing that I can sleep in only days, you pressured me to stay up the whole day. Not one day, not two days- every day. You knew about my eating disorder- yet you banned every possible way of me to get something in my system to survive. You knew about my anxiety, but you seized my medication. You knew about my acrophobia, yet you took me up in the sky and made me jump. You are knowingly pushing me to my limit."

"And?" Jin asked quietly.

"And? This is just inhuman, Jin. You are just torturing me for your own game. Do you even believe it is ok? Is this worthy enough to do this to the person who will die in less than two months? To what extent can you go for your selfishness?"

"Arya..."

"You listen to me." Arya let out a deep breath, "at first I thought you care. But I am starting to believe that these are just my delusions. I should have guessed, The great Kim Seokjin would be nothing if he isn't the perfect example of everything. Friendship with a failure, impulsive, indisciplined person would just taint your reputation and that will hurt your ego, right? You never liked me before. You never even considered me as your friend. Guess I am that delusional."

"And for whom do you think I did those?"

Arya looked at him with confusion.

"I pressured you one week. Look who is sleeping like log at night? And who is finishing everything on her plate now?"

"That's because you pushed me to the edge when I have no other choice but to sleep and eat just to survive. I was exhausted so I slept. I was hungry so I ate. What is your point?"

"Do you think that I actually need to take the ability test after I go back?" Jin was indifferent, "don't forget, I still am on the top of the mentor's list."

"Then why the fuck..." Arya burst and stopped after realizing something.
"You did those intentionally, right?"

Jin just shrugged.

Arya was bewildered. Taking her body to the point of exhaustion and sleep-deprived indeed made her sleep like a blind person at night.

And changed her feeding habit cause Jin pushed her to the point that she had no choice to but eat.
Insomnia? She didn't face it the last few days.
Eating disorder- that was for taking her body to the breaking point that she had no other choice but to recover.

"That's your strategy? Seriously?" Arya rolled her eyes. Still mentally slapping herself for not seeing the obvious.

"Have to be cruel to be kind." Jin shrugged a little.

Arya chuckled, "Kim Seokjin, you are one impossible man, you know?"

"Now if you are done," Jin looked at the door.

"Hey! Not cool!" Arya instantly defended, "I just got a little respect back for you and you are pushing it again!"

"Sorry for barging in!" Chamiyu entered and bowed.

"Sure, you should be." Arya rolled her eyes, "Your master is wanting me to leave now, so let's just go together."

Chamiyu tried to hide his laugh.

"Yes?" Jin looked at Chamiyu.

"Told you about the festival day." Chamiyu reminded Jin something.

Jin just gestured him towards Arya and got busy with his towel.

"Well, Bunita?" Chamiyu looked at Arya expectedly.

"What?"

"We have a festival coming tomorrow. It's a local festival we celebrate once a year when the Hibiscus starts to bloom. We'd be very happy if you two could join us."

"I'd love to!" Arya instantly chirped in excitement.
"When, where?"

"The festival will last for three days. But everybody usually gathers in the evening for a local feast and open-air party. Chamoru style."

"What do you say, Jin?" Arya excitedly looked at Jin preparing every counter logic to bombard on him when he would deny.

But surprising both of them, Jin just nodded a little, "Ok."