I didn’t think I’d wake up this early on a school trip, but here I was — 7 a.m. half-asleep, already surrounded by loud classmates and fresh mountain air.

It smelled like pine trees, firewood, and instant ramen.

Not bad, honestly.

We were camping. Like, real tents and everything. No Wi-Fi. No takeout.

Just bugs, sun, and people pretending they know how to survive outdoors.

The teachers had planned some team games. Something about “bonding” Su-ho rolled his eyes so hard when he heard that, I thought they’d get stuck.

We got split into teams of four. My team? — my best friend since forever — the nerdy guy with huge glasses, and So-jin, the quiet girl who somehow always wins second place.

Not the worst team.

Could’ve been worse — could’ve been stuck with the class gossip or that guy who never showers after gym.

Su-ho was on the other strong team, of course. He had Ju-kyung, Soo-ah, and Soo-ah’s boyfriend, i dont even know his name.

They looked confident. Like they came here to win.

The last challenge of the day was a weird one.

Something with paper squares and carrying people. The teacher explained the rules while holding a megaphone like we were in military training.

“Only two people can carry the others. The rest can’t touch the ground. If your foot leaves the paper, your team’s out.”

Simple? Maybe. Stupid? Definitely. We were still figuring out who would carry who when I saw Su-ho already picking Ju-kyung up in bridal style, casual as ever.

Soo-ah’s boyfriend lifted her the same way, and the nerd motioned for So-jin to jump on his back. She didn’t even blink.

I looked at her. She was still focused on the teacher, probably overthinking the challenge.

So I didn’t wait.

I walked over and picked her up — bridal style.

“What the—!”

she gasped, arms flying around my neck instinctively.

“We’re doing this.”

I grinned, adjusting my grip.

“Unless you’d rather the nerd carry you?”

She gave me a look.

“Nope. This is fine.”

She was warm and light in my arms. Not awkward. Comfortable.

We moved slowly, carefully, from one square of paper to the next.

Her fingers clutched my hoodie.

Her eyes peeked at the other teams.

“You okay?”

I asked.

“Yeah."

she whispered, then paused.

“Your heart’s racing.”

“It’s the challenge."

I lied, even though I knew it wasn’t just that.

I caught Su-ho looking at us from the corner of his eye.

He wasn’t shaking.

Steady and calm like always.

Typical.

But me? I had my best friend in my arms and I was trying not to trip over a paper square.

That was pressure.

Still, I didn’t let go.

We got through round after round. She kept whispering directions in my ear, cheering me on.

Her voice was soft, encouraging.

Like always.

When we finally saw Soo-ah almost falling, the nerd let So-jin fall, and the teacher blew the whistle and shouted something about how great both teams were.

But I didn’t care about losing, i stayed with her on my lap as long as So-ho had Ju-kyung.

I set her down gently some minutes after So-ho, proving i was stronger than him, but i wasn’t proving that to him, i was proving myself that, and she smiled at me the moment i set her down.

“Nice job, champ.”

she said, nudging my shoulder.

I smirked.

"Couldn’t have done it without my co-pilot.”

We both laughed, standing there in the middle of the field, surrounded by our noisy classmates and fading sunlight.

And for some reason, even though it was just a silly school trip, it felt like one of those moments I’d remember for a long, long time.