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"Stop shouting, Noah..." Yunah's voice drifted up from several flights down, sounding strained and small.
Noah didn't just walk; he threw himself down the stairs toward the sound. He found her crumpled on a lower landing, clutching her ankle. Her palms were raw, the skin peeled back from where she had tried to break her fall against the jagged stone. Relief washed over him so violently it almost made him dizzy, but it was instantly replaced by a sharp, burning protective instinct.
He dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands trembling as he reached for her bruised hand. Seeing the angry red scrapes on her fair skin hurt him more than any wound he had ever received. His touch shifted to her ankle, hovering just above the swelling.
As his fingers brushed the skin, Yunah hissed, her breath hitching in a sharp sob of pain. Noah recoiled as if he'd been burned, his eyes wide with panic.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice thick with unshielded worry. "Does it hurt that much?"
"A little," Yunah managed a weak nod, her face pale.
"Can you even stand?" Noah asked, though the answer was written in the way her leg was trembling.
"Maybe... I think so," she said, her voice lacking any of its usual conviction.
"Stay here. Don't move an inch," Noah commanded. He scrambled back up to the viewpoint, returning moments later with both bags slung over his shoulders.
He sat beside her, pulling the first-aid kit from the bag with clinical focus. He cleaned the grit from her palms with a cotton swab, blowing soft, cool air over the wounds with every stroke. Every time she flinched, Noah's own heart skipped a beat, his jaw tightening in sympathy.
Yunah watched him, her breath hitching for a different reason now. She saw the way his brow furrowed in concentration, the gentleness in his large hands, and the warmth radiating from him. For a woman who had spent her life being the shield for everyone else, this level of devotion was overwhelming. She didn't feel the frantic butterflies this time; she felt a deep, steady heat. Noah wasn't just a boy anymore. He was her sun, slowly thawing the permafrost around her heart.
"Hold this," Noah said, handing her the lighter bag once he had bandaged her hands, careful not to graze the fresh dressings.
Yunah obeyed silently, her usual defiance completely drained by his tenderness.
Then, Noah moved. He turned his back to her and dropped into a low squat. "Get on. I'm carrying you down."
"What?" Yunah's face flushed a deep crimson. "No... Noah, I can walk. I just need a second to—" She tried to push herself up, but the moment her weight hit her sprained ankle, her vision went white. She collapsed back onto the step with a gasp.
"Stop being stubborn, Di," Noah said, glancing over his shoulder. The 'innocent' mask was gone, replaced by a quiet, immovable authority. "Just get on."
When she continued to hesitate, Noah lost his patience. He reached back, his grip firm but careful as he guided her arms around his neck and hoisted her up.
"Noah, wait—!"
She let out a small yelp as he rose to his full height, carrying her as effortlessly as if she were made of feathers. Her body went stiff against his broad back, her heart drumming a frantic rhythm against his spine.
"You hesitate too much," he murmured, his voice steady as he began the descent. "And if I let you walk in that condition, we won't be reaching downhill today."
Slowly, the tension left Yunah's limbs. she leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms securely around his neck and breathing in the scent of him—cool morning air and something uniquely Noah.
As they moved downhill through the fading mist, a soft, identical smile touched both their lips. There was no need for words. The mountain had seen her fall, but it was also witnessing her finally fall for him.
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Noah emerged from the trail into the campsite, Yunah still secured firmly to his back. The camp was a hive of activity as the others packed for the return journey, but the air shifted the moment Serena spotted them. She dropped the tent pole she was holding and rushed toward them, her face pale with worry.
"What happened?" she cried, her voice rising an octave. Noah didn't answer immediately; he was focused on lowering Yunah into a folding chair with the precision of someone handling fine porcelain, making sure her sprained ankle was elevated and her bruised hand was rested.
"How did you get this bruises?" Serena demanded, kneeling beside the chair and hovering over the bruises."Yunah, talk to me!"
"I fell," Yunah answered simply, her voice tired but calm.
"Fell?" Serena glared at her, her concern morphing into frantic mother-hen energy. "What were you doing that you managed to fall down a stone staircase? I knew I shouldn't have let you go alone. I knew it!"
"I was just taking pictures," Yunah said, a small, weary smile playing on her lips at Serena's intensity."My foot slipped."
"Oh, you're smiling? Is this funny to you?" Serena's brow furrowed. "You could have broken your neck, Yunah! You shouldn't have been playing with your phone on a cliffside. What if it had been worse?"
Caught in her lecture, Serena raised her hand to playfully swat Yunah's arm—a habit they'd had since childhood. She landed two light taps, but as her hand swung for the third, it didn't hit Yunah's sleeve. Instead, it was caught in the firm, immovable grip of Noah's palm. He had slid his hand in front of Yunah, shielding her before Serena's hand could even connect.
Serena froze, staring down at Noah's large hand covering her friend's arm. She looked up at him, momentarily speechless.
At a distance, Nerav and Ivan stopped dismantling their tent, watching the exchange with amused, knowing expressions.
"Wah!" Serena let out a long, frustrated breath, blowing a stray curl out of her eyes. She glared at Noah, who looked entirely unbothered by the fact that he had just intercepted her. "You're really something, aren't you? Do you honestly think my hand is going to break her 'solid' arm?"
"It doesn't matter," Noah replied, his voice cool and level. He didn't look at Serena; his eyes were fixed on Yunah, tracking her breathing. "She's already in pain. I won't have her hurting more, even if it's just a tap from you."
Serena's jaw dropped. She looked down at Yunah, expecting her to defend theirbest friend bond. Instead, Yunah burst into a fit of soft, genuine laughter at Serena's sheer helplessness.
"Are you serious? You're not going to say anything? No defense for me?" Serena asked, feeling the sting of being the 'third wheel.'
"Fine! Laugh! Laugh all you want!" Serena stood up, throwing her hands in the air.
"Serena, wait..." Yunah called out through her giggles. "Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here!" Serena shouted over her shoulder, stomping away. "I'm going far away from the friend who just betrayed me and her literal knight in shining armor. I am so done with both of you!"
She marched past Nerav, who didn't bother hiding his smirk as she fumed.
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Deep within the shadows of the Eagle's Claw headquarters, the air was thick with the scent of gun oil and old grudges.
"The parcel," Joseph Lepcha, the organization's ruthless right hand, spoke. His voice was a low, gravelly rasp that made his men instinctively straighten their backs. "Do we have a delivery date, or am I going to have to find a more competent set of ears?"
"We have it, sir," Pawan replied, bowing low. "September 5th. Old man Naresh finalized the meeting personally. Word is he's sending his 'shadow' to hand off the goods. No one has seen the boy's face—Naresh keeps him tucked away like a prize hound—but I have my suspicions."
Pawan slid a surveillance photo across the mahogany desk. It was a shot of Ivan, looking youthful and carefree.
Joseph looked down at the photo and let out a dry, mocking scoff. "This brat?" He flicked the photo away with a gloved finger. "Not a chance. I can smell the difference between a wolf and a lapdog from a mile away. This one doesn't have the stomach for what's coming."
Pawan quickly produced a second photograph. "Then there's the eldest, Nerav. The Chairman of N&N Enterprises. He's powerful, but my sources say he hasn't touched the grandfather's business. In fact, he loathes the old man."
"Loathes him?" Joseph picked up the photo of Nerav, tracing the edge of the frame with the barrel of his handgun. A slow, predatory smirk curled his lips. "Hatred is a powerful tool. If we can't break the old man, perhaps we can use the grandson's spite to tear the foundation out from under him." He looked up at Pawan, his eyes glinting. "Tell me... does the Chairman have a soft spot? A weakness?"
"He does, sir." Pawan leaned in, laying one final photo on the table. It was a candid shot of Yunah taken outside the hospital the hospital garden with Nerav, looking vulnerable yet radiant. "I tracked him secretly. He was with her. From the way he looked at her, I'd wager she's more than just an acquaintance. She's his anchor."
"A girlfriend?" Joseph leaned back, staring at Yunah's image with a dark, twisted fascination. He reached out, his thumb dragging across the picture of her face. "She's beautiful. She has that look... like she's lived a quiet, sweet life." His smile widened, turning into something truly monstrous. "I wonder... how long it will take for that sweetness to turn into a scream once we have her."