Mr. Ex

24. Falling

🎵 tiger jk - reset

Surprisingly the wind is not that strong on top of the gold zone. The five of you are already wearing ski masks and goggles to prevent anything from getting in your eyes or nose when you slide later. From above, it actually doesn't look that bad, you wonder if you should've gone to the rainbow zone.

"Safety first, don't do anything stupid." Your words are a little bit muffled by the mask but still clear enough to be heard.

"You hear that?" Minghao pointed his ski pole at Mingyu.

"Ah, whyyyy? Why is it always me?" Mingyu pointed his ski pole back at Minghao.

You then place your boot on the ski surface - in the binding, making sure the front is pressed against the toe piece properly before locking the heel into the rail until you hear a click. The fact that you haven't done it in years but still manage to do it without fail boosts your confidence.

"Ah, no, no. Come here." While waiting for the others, you motioned for Mingyu to come closer, you noticed his boot straps were too tight around his ankles.

"If you tie it this tight it will cut off your blood flow. Give it some room for circulation." You bend your body down to help him adjust the straps.

"I seeee." He look way too impressed, "Sheeeesh, I'm so nervous all of a sudden."

"Just in case you're going to fall, just fall like a baby." You tapped Mingyu on the shoulder as you two walked carefully towards the ledge, "Don't be so tense or it will hurt more."

"It hurts? Ouch, it hurts!" Mingyu's eyes widened behind his goggle. He looked like he was going to punch the person who pinched him--but backed away when it was Jeonghan.

"A pinch hurts, of course falling down hurts too." Jeonghan said while still laughing at Mingyu's reaction.

"Just go slowly, I'll go down together with you." Minghao handed Mingyu his ski poles. You can almost see Mingyu's invincible golden retriever tail wagging as he look deeply touched.

Both of them finally slid down first. From above you notice their relatively stable speed. Mingyu almost fell but thank god he managed to regain his balance. Jeonghan seemed to be very proud of them, he kept making comments like: Oooh nice, nice. Once they are almost arrived at the bottom, then you are ready to slide.

"You want to check it out first?" You pointed at Rena's skis just as she was about to go down.

She looked at her skis thoroughly on both sides, even moving her feet to check if the boots were comfortable enough.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked while looking at you and her skis back and forth.

You shrug, "I don't know. Sounds kinda off to me." Upon seeing Rena examine it one more time, you become unsure of yourself, guessing maybe you misheard it.

"Okay. Ready...." Jeonghan count to three, "Go."

Rena slides faster in the first few seconds. Occasionally she sways right and left followed by Jeonghan who started late but much faster than both of you. He purposely slowed down when he saw that the snow had an uneven surface, he signaled to the two of you by pointing to the right side.

Just when you're about to come head to head with Rena, she speeds up again.

You are right behind her when suddenly her movements seem unstable. Turns out your bad feeling was right. Her skis weren't properly attached to her boots. Sliding in high speed on uneven surface only loosens it even more. In just a matter of time her left ski suddenly become unattached and she lost her balance.