"Be careful."

He said, still holding your hand as the two of you hiked up the mountain. Yes, you were hiking—just the two of you, with Keaton.

This wasn’t entirely your idea, but your parents'. You had just returned to your grandmother’s house a few days ago. It had been a long time since your last visit—so long that the last time you were here, you were only eight years old. The memories of that time had already faded.

"Here, step on this."

He said again as he guided you, stepping onto the rock first before reaching out to help you up.

How did you end up hiking? Your parents insisted. The guy in front of you was your childhood friend. Back when you visited your grandmother’s house at the age of eight, you befriended him. You still remembered how he used to be shorter than you and quite the crybaby. Understandable—he was two years younger than you. But you never thought that little boy would grow into this tall, dependable young man.

That made you feel a bit awkward around him, so your parents forced you to go hiking together to "rekindle" your friendship. It felt so childish...

But it didn’t matter. So far, Keaton had proven to be reliable. It had been 15 minutes since you started hiking, and he still hadn’t let go of your hand. Maybe it was because you had mentioned that you’d never gone hiking before?