Chapter 25
In the afternoon after Lunch Yi sat together with Peng on the outside of the hotel on the stairs. Yi was on the phone talking with her mother, while Peng had a comic book in his hands.
"I miss you too, mom, we're really looking forward in coming back the next few days," Yi said.
"Alright Yi. Be careful out there and make sure Peng is okay. I know Jin's mom already said this, but you know he's a child"
"Peng is maturer than we think he is…. Jin and I don't really need to have our eyes to 100% on him all the time,"
"That sounds good. Please call me, whenever you need something,"
"Sure mother, thank you," Yi said turning the call off, then she gazed at Peng, which was reading a comic book. "Where did Jin go?"
"I don't know" Responded Peng. "He said something with going to visit a medical school in the near"
"Okay," Yi answered. "A little strange, what's so special at a med school in another country?"
"I don't know" Peng replied. "Jin told me to say that"
"So…...he's not really going there isn't he?" Yi asked changing her neutral facial expression into a self-assured smirk.
"I don't know, what you're talking about. He simply told me I should say that. If he has specifically said this to keep something secret from us, I have no clue about it"
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore with this," Yi stated crossing her arms and look down at the streets watching the vehicles pass by the street. "I still can't believe we're going to the Himalayas,"
"Me neither" Peng agreed. "Do you think we will see Everest there?"
"You know, how great that would be" Yi confessed. "It's strange but I miss the days we passed all together with him,"
"I enjoyed the times we played together with Everest on the trip. He was like the friend I couldn't find during summer vacation" The child mentioned earning a nod from the teenage girl.
"When we're up there and meet Everest we can all play together with him. Who knows maybe he's a grown yeti now and has his own litter"
"That would be cute, but wasn't he supposed to be a child?" Peng questioned the girl, which shrugged her shoulders.
"We humans age different from the animals. Some animals turn adults in a few months only, some in a few years, some even in days like the insects"
"Oh right. You've got a good point"
"Just think about it how happy Everest would be if he recognizes us again," Yi said making Peng smile angelic at the thought.
From behind the two raven-haired Asians Jin appeared leaving the entrance of the hotel and stopped to look at his younger cousin sitting on the stairs next to Yi. Jin approached them and sat down next to Peng.
"Hey, what are you two doing down here?" Jin asked looking at the two friends.
"We're just waiting here for Dave to come" Yi answered. "Peng also got me wondering, why you went out to see a medical school"
"Yeah well, it's a funny story. I ran through the street market on the other side, then I went to the airport again to buy something and I couldn't find anything I wished and….I've bought something else"
"Okay?" Yi answered a little confused. Jin noticed Peng's comic and moved the front page to the side and sighed in relief as he checked on the cover the serial number of it.
"Is there something wrong?" Peng asked seeing Jin shake his head.
"You know I saw at the airport the next edition of this comic and I thought I had bought you the same one"
"You bought the next edition?" Peng asked surprise. "Awesome!"
"But I left it up in the room, thinking you two would be out of the hotel," Jin said. "Sorry"
"Can I go and get it?" Peng asked. "Please?" Peng added rolling his eyes up at Jin, making him roll his eyes in amusement.
"Of course and make sure you make it to the right room" Jin warned watching Peng head back to the hotel leaving Jin back with Yi.
"Why were you at the airport?" Yi questioned the raven-haired boy, which slide on the stair closer to the girl.
"I wanted to thank you, that you came on your free will with me on this trip…..I also want to apologize for the times we got in trouble or I got in trouble and you had to help me out,"
"It's no big deal Jin. You have done the same to me and it was great, that we were in this together or alone both of us would end up dead somewhere,"
"Yeah, that's crazy to think about it" Jin admitted, then gazed up at the hotel and looked back at Yi.
"You can give your thank you gift later to me. It doesn't have to be now"
"Yeah I know, I kind of just feel empty right now without it" Jin stated. "Otherwise uhm I'd like to talk with you about something"
"Sure go on"
"Well….oh boy that's a little hard..erm...look already before the trip I…..even longer I felt like this,"
"Uh how did you feel?" Yi asked a little bewildered at the sentencing of the boy.
"Sorry, I don't know, how I should say this, but…..I like you" Jin finished the sentence looking at Yi processing his words to understand, what he meant.
"How much do you like me?" Yi asked watching Jin roll his eyes thinking about how to continue the talk.
"Yeah look we have been friends for so long and I actually just noticed on myself, when I exactly started to get to…...like you that much"
"Uh yeah?"
"I'm making it complicated am I?" Jin asked before Yi raised her hand to answer his question Jin did a facepalm groaning annoyed. "Of course! I'm not even capable to tell you, how I feel correctly"
"You've got other ways to say it" Yi proposed. "You can write them down, draw them. You don't need to do them verbally" The girl cajoled the boy, which gazed down at the ground in disappointment. Yi sank her head a little sad with the friend's confidence and glances down at the stairs.
"I want to be able to say it right into the face" Jin explained. "Without so much hesitation"
"Just try it again, Jin," Yi suggested. "You can do that" Yi said placing her hand on Jin's hands, which he had placed over his lap.
Jin kept a sad facade, then Yi leaned her head on his shoulder sighing at his spirit of trying to confess.
"I think the maid likes me," A voice said and Yi looked back along with Jin a little confused to see Dave standing there with a small heart-shaped praline box, which was open and had a few pralines missing from it. "These pralines are delicious" Dave mumbled as he picked out another praline to eat. Jin widened his eyes in irritated and stood up looking at Dave pissed.
"Why did you just open my chocolate box?" Jin asked. "I was supposed to give them to Yi,"
"You were?" Dave muttered finishing the chocolate praline he had. Jin growled, then turned around his back.
"Never mind, I'll get her another one" Jin mentioned walking the stairs down. "I'll be back later"
Yi looked at Dave, which had closed the box a little ashamed of his mistake.
"I should probably have asked you two first about the box or…...just leave it, where it was" Dave stated making Yi shrug a little, afterward she nodded, that it had probably been the better deed.
Later in the same afternoon, Yi walked on the sidewalk up beside the Bagmati river looking around the surroundings of the road, she was on.
"He couldn't have gone so far to my knowledge," Yi told herself while walking on the sidewalk passing behind a parking spot file in front of the small buildings behind it. "At least I know, where to go if I needed to print out a book" Yi mumbled to herself from seeing the advertising of a printer shop, then noticed on the other side of the road far away near on the road, that crossed another road, which goes over a bridge Jin talking with a person around his age showing him the map, followed by Jin shrugging his shoulders making the other man look tragic. Yi smiled and ran on the sidewalk the road up, afterward as she was getting close to the crossroad, she ran over the street, watching Jin turn his back to her to look down at the river. "Jin!" Yi called out for the boy, which looked back to see Yi arrive.
"Hey Yi" Jin greeted neutrally, then Yi ran into his arms shrieking him. "For what's the hug?"
"What went into your head to walk around Kathmandu like this?" Yi asked taking her hand off the boy.
"Hoping I could clear my mind like that" Responded the raven-haired teen. "I felt good for this space of time…..you know by cleaning up my head I mean, not being away from you all"
"Of course I know, what you mean" Assured the girl.
"And I have to get to see Dave and apologize," Jin added. "I sort of was a jerk. I should have put a note on the chocolate or so, that it was supposed to be given to you or just say it's for me and that they shouldn't open it,"
"And….were you going to….give the chocolates as you were…..you know, talking like that to me?" Yi asked a little abashed about, how she's suddenly taking the more confident role at the moment. Jin nodded, then looked down at the river and back at Yi.
"Yi…..you're an amazing girl. You're…..unique, you're not like any other girl. You're unique…..uh….." Jin started to get a little tensed about the situation, while Yi rolled her eyes amused, then gazed back at Jin.
"Go ahead" She whispered, then Jin nodded and overthought the continuation.
"You're unique, cause…you don't need to wear any dresses or put on a lot of makeup, just to look stunning. Cause you know you already were. Many just don't see that….And I'm one of those candidates, that didn't see it. You're a very talented violinist and you're very caring towards those you care. You're one of the bravest girls I know. You…..you have been one of the greatest friends in my entire school time…..I would really love it if….." Jin's confession started to be more understandable by the short girl. Jin widened his eyes as he had managed to open his heart up to the childhood friend and smiled excitedly about it followed by Yi.
"I love you, Yi" Jin ultimately admitted his feelings to the girl, which hugged the tall friend sinking her head on his chest, making him wide his eyes in surprise while heating up on the cheeks. "Do…..you reciprocate?" Jin asked followed by Yi pulling Jin on the shirt down to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Is this the answer you wanted to hear?" Yi asked gazing up at the tall boy, whose blush was still notable on his face. Jin grinned a little embarrassed at the kiss he received on his cheek, then he answered her question.
"Yes, besides I wasn't expecting to get kissed...at least not on my face" Jin mentioned earning a smirk from the girl.
"I'm not going to make it that easy for you," Yi mentioned crossing her arms with a smug smile.
"I'm going to swipe you that first kiss away, don't worry" Jin promised furrowing his eyebrows up, then someone applauded and both looked around to see a familiar redhead standing in front of them making both teens wide their eyes in shock as they recognized the woman's face.
"Aww this is one of the sweetest thing I saw today" The woman begun sarcastically, making Jin and Yi frown their faces about her comment.
"What are you doing here?" Yi questioned crossing her arms along with Jin.
"Yeah, we assumed you had died on that avalanche" Jin added making the woman chuckle.
"We were lucky to survive" Zara stated. "The transporter has around the whole driver cabin enough airbags to protect us after it got hit on the mountain and soon our vehicle was found upside down by a few mountaineers, which called the rescuers and brought us to the hospital to take care and all that"
"And how did you know about us?" Yi asked glaring at the redhead woman, which snickered short at their question.
"I didn't expect you two would show up here. The only thing I was looking for was Dave and that young friend of yours" Zara explained making Jin angry.
"Don't you dare to put any of your fingers on Peng," Jin warned getting closer to Zara, but Yi stopped him from approaching the woman.
"Don't do anything" Yi ordered Jin, which sighed annoyed at the command. "What do you want from Dave and Peng?" Yi asked.
"I just need them as a bait to lure out of the mountains one of the yetis, whether they like it or not,"
"We won't let you put your hands on him!" Jin hissed stepping forward, but Yi pushed Jin away from Zara to avoid them get into a fight.
"This is not going to happen Jin"
"And why do you say that?" Zara asked looking at Yi, which gazed back at the woman annoyed.
"Why would you use them as a bait, if yetis mostly Everest wouldn't harm them?"
"Because the plan is to get one of the yeti's attention on them and when they're close, they'll be darted down," Zara instructed putting her hand inside the cotton coat to take out a tranquilizer gun, holding it up in front of the two teens.
"How do you want to convince them to obey you?" Jin asked crossing his arms thinking about the idea of the woman.
"Do you really think I'm the only person here to be going behind you, hein?" The redhead asked making Jin frown his face in confusion, then he widened his eyes and grabbed Yi pulling her aside while turning with his back away from Zara. From above Jin's shoulder Yi widened her eyes as she felt Jin's body twitch as he sensed something sting on his back. Yi looked down at Jin's back to see a blue dart jabbed on his back, shrieking her at the realization of what had just happen.
"Jin?" Yi asked looking at Jin's head fall on her shoulder, then Yi embraced the boy tight to avoid him to fall down. "Why did you just do that?" Yi hissed at the man, that had shoot at Jin.
"I didn't aim him first" The man answered then Yi looked at Jin's face, seeing his eyes half-open, noticing him trying to fight against the neutralization serum and Yi clapped with both of her hands on Jin's cheeks to wake him up, but he ended up closing his eyes and is held by Yi as he fell towards the ground with his back, but his landing is soft thanks to Yi.
"Jin, please don't leave me alone" Yi pleaded holding the hands of the boy, then she heard the man reload his tranquilizer gun and held it down at Yi's shoulder.
"Shall I?" The man asked, then heard someone call for Yi and he looked at the other side of the road to see Peng show up along with Dave, which was a few centimeters away from the child. Zara nodded and she ran towards Peng, which stopped and made his way back to escape the woman while the man stood back with Yi seeing her lie her forehead on Jin's slowly starting to have tears in her eyes. The man sighed and released a dart at the girl's shoulder to strike her out.