ੈ♡˳ 7. cold hands under a shirt + 9. rubatosis - the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat + 32. whispers in the dark
jumping into the river was a mistake. you knew it from the moment that your feet left the rock platform, but you resurfaced from the water to be met with the smiling faces of your friends watching from the riverbank, cheering and hollering like you’d just won olympic gold.
even hyunjin looked shocked despite being the one tempting you to join him in the first place.
“close your mouth, jinnie. you might catch a fish” you smirked as you swam past him towards the riverbank, leaving him scoffing in amusement.
you returned to the campsite wrapped in at least three towels as they started the fire, but you could still feel the icy tingle in your toes. you brushed it off, deciding not to be the one to ruin the trip by telling everyone you might be coming down with a cold.
it’s not until night time when that decision really starts to haunt you. the wind howls against the side of your single-person tent, threatening to tear through the material with every gust. you bury yourself deeper into your sleeping bag but it’s no use. you’re freezing.
torch in hand, you stagger against the wind towards the only other light source on the campsite - hyunjin’s car.
you use your sleeve to rub away a layer of fog from one of the windows. peering into the car, you notice that the two front seats are occupied by a few shopping bags and food scraps (the group’s pile of ‘survival snacks’ for the trip), while the backseat is occupied by a hyunjin-shaped lump under a blanket. he doesn’t wake up at first when you knock against the glass, only stirring enough to open his eyes when the book covering his face to falls to the floor with a loud thud.
you wave to catch his attention, “h-hey… can i come in?”
it takes him a second to process the situation, blinking back at you with an arched brow, before he crawls forward to unlock the car door. you crawl into the car and he shuffles over to give you room until you’re both pressed against opposite sides of the backseat.
“thanks” you speak so quietly through chattering teeth that it’s barely a whisper.
“don’t worry about it” he says, his voice equally as soft. in one of your usual conversations, this would be the part where hyunjin boasts about ‘saving your life’ and you’d retort with a glare, but instead he’s quick to notice the tiredness in your eyes and the way you’re drawing your knees closer to your chest for warmth.
he leans forward on his arms and presses the back of his hand gently to your forehead.
“you don’t have a fever yet, but you’re definitely coming down with something...” he mutters with eyebrows creased before you swat his hand away instinctively. if your face wasn’t already heating up, it definitely was now.
“n-no i’m not”
“you are” he sighs, “and it’s my fault. i shouldn’t have dared you to jump into the river, it was a dumb idea”
“it wasn’t! w-well maybe it was. yeah maybe it wasn’t the best idea to jump into a river in the middle of winter but i still had- i had- achoo!” you cut off your own sentence with a loud sneeze into your elbow
“...fun”
hyunjin laughs, bending over and cradling his stomach before shuffling closer towards the middle of the backseat, “c’mon, daredevil, we need to keep you warm”.
he positions the blanket around his shoulder like a cape with one side held out for you to sit next to him. you oblige, feeling an instant sense of relief as soon as you’re enveloped by the woolly blanket. the warmth is so satisfying that your muscles seem to melt into the feeling, your eyes closed in total serenity. a whole minute passes before you realise that the comfy cocoon you’ve settled into has you wrapped up in hyunjin’s arms. your chilly fingertips tingle against warm skin, having found their way under his shirt and brushing against his waist.
even in the silence of the car, the sudden, unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat seems deafening. there’s a moment when you wonder if the fast-paced rhythm belongs to hyunjin’s heart or your own, or maybe both, but you shake away the thought.
“sorry… are my hands too cold?” you whisper
“it’s fine” he smiles, interlacing his fingers with yours, “i’ll keep you warm”
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