JOURNEY OF LOVE: A MEMORABLE VACATION - PART 8 (Patreon)

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Note: This story is intended for mature audiences (18+) and all characters depicted are 18 years of age or older.

Part 8: Courage Contest

TRISTAN

Oh, another boring show! In this day and age, I don't think a “courage contest” can scare anyone anymore. Especially with my friends who come from remote countryside. A city dweller like me who is not afraid of ghost stories, surely those who live all year round in the countryside, which is always associated with ghost stories, feel the same way. But never mind! It seems that a student's life will always experience these kinds of activities.

This courage contest is organized by Emerald hostel, targeting young tourists. Of course, because the majority of tourists coming here are elderly, this activity is not very popular! At the time we signed up, it would have been about three years, this activity was not held. That's why the paths in the forest are a little murky, the trees are a little more dense.

Dubbed a “contest”, there is actually no rivalry between participants. Starting from the edge of the forest next to the hostel, participants will walk the path to destination. The forest path is an arc, which means that the actual destination is the back gate of the hostel.

However, in order to add attractiveness, in addition to the main path leading to the destination, there will be some other paths that cause the situation to “get lost”. Of course, this is an arrangement from the organizer so there will be no danger at all. The people working at the hostel already know every step of the way in this forest, so as soon as they receive news that someone is lost, they will find that one within ten minutes. One of the participants will go first, the rest will wait at the starting line. Every fifteen minutes, the next person will start. As long as the destination is reached, the Emerald tourist area will reduce the service fee by 10%, as a reward for the winner.

Being a person who determines the good direction, without the map of the Emerald tourist area, I believe that I can still easily reach the destination. Not sure if I was unlucky or not, but I got the last starting position. But after a few minutes, I no longer felt that this was unlucky, because the person who started closest to me was Harlen. If that's the case then I can look at her for a few more tens of minutes…

Tonight, Harlen wears a white dress, a perfect combination with her small, cute body. Harlen looks like a angel coming to earth right now. If possible, I would like to sit and watch her all day. Oh shit, my head is going up again with this thought that shouldn't be there!

I wonder, before Harlen disguised herself as a girl, did I have this emotion? It seems that… yes. No need for cute dresses, Harlen is also very much like a girl. It is often said... men and women who stay in the same place for a long time will easily develop feelings for each other, unconsciously. Is my case the same?

In fact, I've never considered myself gay before. Even though I've never been in love with a girl, I still think it's not the right time. But now that I think about it, it's probably not that simple. The reason is that more than a year ago, a “girl” came and took a place in my heart. I just didn't realize it. Looking at her small, clumsy appearance, I wanted to protect her.

So, am I gay? Except for Harlen, I certainly have never had love feelings for any guy. Not to mention, I'm looking at Harlen… as a girl, not a guy. My feelings are so complicated!

However, in my subconscious, I still have a worry. Harlen has the appearance of a girl, the personality of a girl, but it is not certain that she will love a guy. There are a lot of guys in the world who also have a hobby of dressing up as a girl. Not far away, the four damn guys standing next to me were doing the same thing and sure enough, these guys had dated a lot of girls. In other words, my affection for Harlen is just a kind of one-sided love. Forget it, at least I still have quite a bit of time to be with her. That's enough for me!

Although my mind is constantly thinking, my eyes haven't left Harlen for a second. At this moment, she didn't pay attention to me. She was bending her face to the ground, more than trembling slightly. Could it be that Harlen is feeling excited about this courage contest? Thinking about it, a resident of a deserted sea like her should be familiar with such games. This might be her chance to prove her strength, as she wished. Harlen once told me that, one day, she will let go of her shyness and show everyone how she transforms into a strong person. But to be honest… I prefer that cute shyness!

HARLEN

I'm … so scared! It's been years since this game was held. The path in the forest must be much darker than before, right? Will anything unexpected happen? I drew fifth place. Because of my anxiety, I don't even know who the people in front of me or the last one are. I just put my face down, trying to control my insecurities.

When I heard the signal from the organizer, I walked quickly towards the forest. I told myself to go fast so that this game would end quickly. I blame myself! I intended to see Tristan a little more, but in the end I didn't even dare to look up at him. I'm such an idiot! Just like this… how can I reveal my feelings to Tristan?

With an empty mind, I suddenly came to a crossroads. What? What is this situation?! Well, it seems... earlier, the organizers said that they would intentionally arrange some fake paths. However, this is not a concern, just follow the provided map and I will easily find the destination. I moved my hand to the usual position of the trouser pocket, intending to take out the map, then I was startled to realize that this dress... had no pockets. Worried, I forgot to take the map with me!

Now, maybe I have to go by intuition. However, after a while, I realized that my intuition was obviously bad! I definitely chose the wrong direction, as the path ahead was getting darker and darker. When I went around the old way back, I got lost even more by the fake paths. In a panic, my feet tripped over a large stone, causing me to fall so hard to the ground. Oh, it looks like a sprain! When will this clumsiness of mine end?! Helpless, I sat hugging my knees and crying. I'm afraid others won't find me…

TRISTAN

It's been fifteen minutes, maybe I should get started. I leisurely walked towards the forest. At this time, the organizer called me from behind: “You forgot this map!” I waved my hand: “It's okay! I don't think I'll get lost.” The organizer replied: “Um… that's fine. The girl who started before you didn't take the map with her either.” Oh, it turns out that Harlen is just as confident in her sense of direction as I am.

I said goodbye to the organizer and continued on. Actually, the rules for orienting the right path are quite simple. With a little attention, we will realize a path brighter than the rest, thanks to the lights of the Emerald hostel. When I was about to follow the bright path, I discovered that on the darker path there were small footprints that were still very new. The surroundings are relatively dark, so it takes a good eye to see. I probably wouldn't have paid attention, but for some reason, my intuition told me to look in that direction.

So, I decided to go down the false path. Either way, this is just a walk for me. The more I go, the more I see the intertwined footprints are very mixed, proving that the owner of this footprint has gone back and forth many times. I just kept following the latest footprints. Suddenly along the way, I saw a girl sitting there sobbing beside a large stone. Even though I was a few degrees more nearsighted, I still recognized that this was Harlen. What is she doing here?

I stepped closer, one hand touching her shoulder: “What are you doing here?” Harlen looked up, her eyes were red. Harlen suddenly put her arms around me tightly: “Someone finally found me! Thank you, Tristan! Thank you very much!” At this point, I noticed a bruise on her ankle. Maybe she had a sprain.

I gently wiped Harlen's tears. At this time, the nature of “wanting to protect” resurfaced in me. I easily picked up Harlen in the princess carrying position. Initially, I planned to carry her on my back, but that would probably hurt her legs, so I decided to carry her this way. One of my hands lightly touched her soft panties. This made me blush, but fortunately it was so dark that Harlen didn't realize it. Together, we returned to the old path.

PART 9 >>