Falling for the Omega Idol

Chapter 259: JEJU ACTIVITY (VIII)

AFTER ten minutes, Haneul walked back to the spot where they’d agreed to meet after searching for the clue to their next destination. He had found nothing. And no, it wasn’t because he’d been too distracted to focus. He’d pushed everything else aside and done his best to look. There just had been no clue in the area he’d been assigned to.

When he was just a few steps from the meeting spot, his stride nearly faltered. Jeon Hyunsik was already there. All the worry he’d been trying to suppress came flooding back. He almost stopped, but he forced himself to keep walking. He couldn’t let Jeon Hyunsik see he was worried about possibly being drugged by him.

"Did you find anything?" Haneul asked, doing his best to keep his voice steady and his expression neutral.

Jeon Hyunsik’s eyes traveled over Haneul’s face, studying him for a moment, before he answered. "No, nothing. You?"

Haneul shook his head. "Nothing as well."

He didn’t want to force himself to keep talking to Jeon Hyunsik. Thankfully, Eunwoo appeared just then, saving him from having to.

Eunwoo glanced at both their faces and gave a small, helpless smile. "I’m guessing neither of you found anything?" Jeon Hyunsik and Haneul both nodded. "Same here. Let’s hope Suho had better luck than us."

With Eunwoo there as a buffer, Haneul didn’t have to force himself to make conversation with Jeon Hyunsik. He mostly just talked with Eunwoo, and whenever Jeon Hyunsik spoke, he let Eunwoo do the talking.

They waited about fifteen more minutes before spotting Suho jogging toward them. He was waving an envelope in the air, which confirmed what they’d already guessed from the wide grin on his face. He’d found the clue for their next destination. It seemed he really did have better luck than the rest of them.

"Guys, I found it!" Suho said, slightly out of breath as he reached them. He held up the envelope. "This is our next stop."

Eunwoo took the envelope and pulled out the postcard inside. Haneul immediately noticed the large star mark on the back. He stepped closer to Eunwoo and looked over his shoulder.

The postcard showed a tall waterfall dropping into a wide pool of dark green water. Lush trees and thick bushes lined both sides of the cliff, their branches leaning over the water. A small wooden bridge crossed the lower part of the stream, and a walking path followed the edge of the pool. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, hitting the water in patches.

"I already asked around," Suho said. "The place is called Cheonjiyeon Waterfall."

"Good job," Eunwoo said, and Suho responded by scratching the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed by the praise.

"There’s a star at the back of the postcard," Haneul shared his observation. "This might be our final destination."

Given that their original map had a star marking the final destination, it wasn’t a stretch to assume the star on the postcard meant the same thing.

Eunwoo flipped the postcard over and spotted the star. He gave a small nod. "Yeah, I think so too."

Suho let out a loud whoop. "Finally!"

Everyone chuckled at Suho’s reaction before they started walking toward the minivan, ready to head to the last stop of this activity.

***

The minivan parked in the lot near the entrance of Cheonjiyeon Tourist Area. There were a few other cars and a couple of tour buses, but the lot wasn’t full. The driver cut the engine, and they all climbed out.

Eunwoo noticed a small information booth near the start of the trail, so he walked over to ask for directions. An older man in a uniform told him to follow the wooden walkway and cross the bridge. He said the waterfall was straight ahead and that they couldn’t miss it. He also mentioned that the walk would take about ten to fifteen minutes. Eunwoo thanked him, and the team started down the path.

Haneul followed the team as they started down the wooden walkway. The path was lined with thick bushes and tall trees that kept most of the sunlight out. Small streams of water ran alongside the trail, and the sound of rushing water grew louder the further they walked. They crossed a wide wooden bridge over a clear pool, and Haneul could see fish swimming near the surface below.

A few tourists passed them heading the other way. The air was cooler here, which helped, but his legs were still tired from the earlier hike. He kept walking, trying not to slow the others down.

He opened his tumbler and took a gulp of water. As they kept walking, he noticed he was sweating more than before. He frowned. It wasn’t the temperature around him making him hot. It felt like his body was heating up from the inside.

What the heck?

He tried to drink more, but the heat still didn’t go away. He looked up and saw that his teammates were already far ahead of him. Haneul took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and quickened his pace to catch up. He suspected what was happening, but he couldn’t afford to address it now. He would push through until they reached the waterfall. Only then would he allow himself to panic.

If he collapsed before reaching the waterfall, the staff would have to stop everything and tend to him. The group wouldn’t be able to complete the activity properly, and all the effort they’d put into getting this far would be wasted. But if he could make it to the waterfall first, get the photo taken, and then collapse afterward, at least his team would have proof that they’d completed the activity. The show could edit around the rest. They wouldn’t want footage of an Omega in distress airing on television, anyway.

Haneul felt eyes on him. He turned and saw Jeon Hyunsik staring at him. Anger flared up in his chest. He knew the way he’s feeling right now was because of whatever had been in that iced tea.

He clenched his jaw and looked away. He swore to himself that Jeon Hyunsik would pay for whatever this was, ensuring he didn’t last another round on this show.

But for now, he just had to make it to the waterfall.