Seven heartbeats, that was how long she stood, looking up into his face as the rain pelted them both. He looked stricken, so many emotions warring on his features, and then it was as if something merely snapped. He nodded once, grabbed the end of the tarpaulin, and began to roll it. "Help me," he demanded, motioning at the other end of the oiled cloth. "We need to get a big head start if we're to outrun Himchan."

A big smile broke over her face and she nodded, turning to help him as asked. Her body still complained, but she felt as if finally there might be a chance!

Between the two of them, they got the few supplies he had taken out back onto the packhorse quickly. Chorong tried to get on her short little mare on her own, but her thigh muscles were uncooperative and after a moment, Daehyun grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the saddle. "Oh," she said, surprised at the unfamiliar feeling of a man's hands on her waist. As he hurried to his own horse, she settled her skirt about her legs to cover them from the rain and tried her best to push her blush down.

"Which way?" he asked her, and she realized that he was looking to her to lead. She had never lead before, not in anything in her life, and that sudden shift gave her pause. 

Her mind went to the map, still kept safe inside of her corset. She had intentionally drawn Himchan's copy to take them too much to the North of the Cairn. "To the South," she said, hoping that made sense. To her surprise he nodded and turned his horse to the right, angling off through the trees and pulling the packhorse after him. With just a slight nudge, her sweet mare followed, and their escape was under way. She felt a moment's pity for not leaving Himchan any supplies, but then a vengeful streak ran through her and she smiled.

Let him freeze.

They didn't stop until after sunset, Daehyun saying he wanted to get as much distance between them and Himchan as possible. Chorong had been upset with the rain the whole duration of this trip, but now she could only thank the gods that it had poured all day. Hopefully that had hidden their trail and they would be safe that night.

She helped her companion to set up their tarpaulin, strung between three trees with a slope to the roof, then watched closely as he built a small fire under the shelter. She took a seat beside it to dry, and he ducked out to care for the animals. As Daehyun worked on putting up shelter for the horses, she pushed aside what embarrassment still clung to her, and ed the blouse of her dress. 

The map was sewn into the top of her corset, tucked between the ribs of the garment and underneath one layer of nearly see-through material. It took a bit of maneuvering to use her small scissors to open it while still wearing it, but she managed the task. As she was slipping the paper out from its hiding place, she heard an intake of breath and looked up to see Daehyun. 

He stood just under the tarpaulin and was watching her, a dark emotion in his eyes. She flushed and cleared , and he gave a start and turned his back on her. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" he began.

"It's okay." she tugged the paper the rest of the way out, then buttoned her dress back up. She could fix the corset later. She just needed to not think about the way that he had been looking at her. "You can turn around."

He did, taking a seat at the small fire across from her, and watched as she smoothed the paper out in front of her. "That's the real location?" he asked softly as she bent to examine it.

She nodded, brow furrowed, then finally asked, "Do you know where we actually are?" She had drawn Himchan's map, yes, but she hadn't truly been paying attention for the last several days and instead focused on her misery. That had been a problem that hadn't even crossed her mind: if neither of them knew where they were, how in the world were they supposed to follow the map?

To her relief, Daehyun nodded and held his hand out for the map. She paused a moment, hoping it wasn't a trap set up by Himchan, and by the wounded flash in his eyes she knew he understood why she paused. "Sorry," she said, handing it over the rest of the way. She needed someone to trust and she may as well start with him.

He shook his head though. "No, it was a valid concern. I'm not even sure if this is an