They finally arrived at Erawan National Park. Luckily there weren't many people, so their group was able to set out right away. Their guide pointed out different markers along the trail and told them about the history of the park. Ji-Hoon was busy filming as they went, and Alex occasionally recorded audio notes on her phone.

The guys were loving every minute of it. The scenery was breathtaking everywhere they looked. Along the trail was an occasional cave in the landscape, tucked away in the shadows. The path wound back and forth along the river as they made their way to the waterfalls.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" J-Hope had his Go-Pro out, videoing the scenery and the guys as they went.

They were constantly stopping to take selfies. Yoongi had brought his camera and was taking pictures of the water and plant life. They had stopped along part of the trail next to a cave to rest for a bit and take in a snack and some water. Alex sat on a rock next to the water talking with Namjoon. She didn't see Yoongi sneaking a photo of her here and there.

"She looks pretty in that one." Tae startled Yoongi as he looked over his shoulder at the shot he had just taken of Alex.

Yoongi shrugged his shoulders, "I thought she might like to have something to remember the trip by."

"You are kind hyung, I think she'll like that." Tae sat down on a rock next to Yoongi while the others wondered off to look around. "Have you told her how you feel about her?"

Yoongi looked down at Tae and then over at Alex. "Not exactly, I'm working on something." He put his camera back in it's bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I guess everyone pretty well sees that there is something between us. I just haven't figured out what to do about it yet."

Tae smiled at Yoongi, "The fact that you're considering what to do shows you're already heading in the right direction, rather than running away from it. Can I tell you something?" Yoongi nodded his head for him to go on. "That last night when we had pizza in the suite together, when I didn't say what my favorite thing had been so far on the tour, it was because it was about you."

Yoongi looked surprised, "About me? Why?"

Tae looked over at Alex, "I haven't seen you this happy in a long time. I know Alex is the reason. Seeing you with her, even though you both try to hide what is going on, it makes me happy. We are all happy for you, hyung. Alex is great."

Yoongi wouldn't admit it, but it meant a lot that Tae said what he did. He scuffed his shoe on the ground. '"OK, quit being sappy. Let's go find everyone." He slung his arm around Tae as they walked off. That was Yoongi's way of saying thank you when he was too embarrassed to say the words out loud.

An hour later they had finally reached the waterfalls. Some of them decided to take a swim in the pools next to the trail, while others lounged in the sun next to the water. Yoongi spotted a cave close by, and since everyone was preoccupied, he took the opportunity to talk to Alex. He caught her attention and motioned for her to follow him. He led her to the mouth of the cave that opened on the other side to another pool of water with a beautiful waterfall.

Yoongi turned to Alex as she watched the falling water. Her hair was up in one of those messy buns and some strands had fallen, framing her face. She was wearing a black tank top and denim shorts over a red swimsuit. She wore a necklace with a thin silver chain that had a small dragonfly made of opal hanging from it. It matched the dragonfly tattoo she had on her inner wrist. She hardly wore makeup or jewelry and kept it simple, but to him it made her more beautiful. He knew he had completely fallen for her and there was no turning back.

He cleared his throat, "I want to apologize for the last few weeks. I know I was being distant, and it was rude of me. I didn't mean to ignore you or brush you off."

Alex smiled, she could tell he was worried about how she had been feeling. "You don't have to apologize. I know how you get when you're working on your music. I get like that with my work sometimes."

The fact that she understood eased his nerves a bit. She was always putting herself in other people's shoes to better understand where they were coming from. It was one of the things he liked about her. "I know, but it doesn't excuse it. I'm going to step outside of my comfort zone here." He scratched the back of his head and paced back and forth for a minute before he continued. "I don't open up very easily, and when I do I'm really awkward." He laughed at himself. "The reason why I was distant the last few weeks is because I was trying to figure some stuff out."

Alex waited patiently for him to continue. She didn't interrupt him since he seemed to be getting frustrated with himself. Yoongi rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sorry, I'm not explaining myself very well. I thought I was ready to say these things that have been on my mind, but I'm just making a mess of it." He ran his hand through his hair while he looked out at the waterfall.

Alex took a step over to him and put her hand on his wrist to draw his hand down. He turned to her as she did. "Yoongi, don't feel like you have to say whatever it is if you're not ready. I'm not upset with you. I'm not the type of person to get mad over little things." She gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "When you're ready, you'll tell me. In the mean time, if you do something to tick me off, I'll tell you. You won't have to wonder." She laughed.

Yoongi gave her a small smile and brushed his finger down her cheek, "Thank you . . . . for being patient with me, Lex." He held her hand for a moment and then stepped back. Alex had a feeling there would still be many moments where he would take a step back before he was ready to open himself up to her. She didn't fault him for it, but she knew she would have to draw on all of her patience while she waited.

They walked back to the rest of the group. They were passing out the packed lunch they had made and someone had paired their music to a small speaker they had brought along. Everyone was relaxing and enjoying themselves. After they ate, they decided to swim a bit longer before they headed back to the bus.

Alex was apprehensive about being in her swimsuit in front of everyone, but she figured you only live once. She didn't know if she would ever get the chance to come back to such a beautiful place and enjoy all it had to offer.

Yoongi watched as Alex shimmied out of her shorts and pulled off her tank top over her head. The red swimsuit was a modest one piece, but it still managed to show off her curves in all the right places. She dove into the water, and when she came up, the water glistened on her neck and chest as she pushed her hair back. Yoongi's mouth had suddenly gone dry.

Jimin had come up to stand beside Yoongi as he watched her. "Bro . . . . you are so lucky."

Yoongi didn't speak, he just nodded his head in agreement as they watched Alex splashing Jungkook in the water.

________

On the ride home, Alex had fallen asleep with her head on Yoongi's shoulder. It was one of the rare exceptions Yoongi made with someone being in his space. He mentally smacked himself for being too chicken to tell her how he felt. He made himself a promise that the next time he wouldn't chicken out, he would be sure to make it count. He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. He didn't know where they were headed, but he was ready to find out, and he wasn't going to screw it up.