Y/N P.O.V:

A small smile surfaces on my face as I wipe a single tear off my face. 

"Sorry.. I just.. This always happens.."

Crystal stood there, staring at me, ears occasionally twitching to noises from outside. 

With a sniffle, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the paper that Coach Jaemi had given me. I put a tick next to the 1st point and move on to read the second one. 

2. Learning the basics of equine massage can help you bond with your horse. If your horse knows she can rely on you for relaxation, it will enjoy time with you. 

Massage? 

" I have to massage you now.. Great, now I'm working in the spa." 

Crystal grunts as I move closer to her and my heart skips a beat when she does something I never thought she would. She takes steps towards me and nudges my side with her head. There I stood, eyes wide open. I have experienced this with Night many times, but its a different situation with Crystal and it brings joy to my heart to know that she's beginning to trust me.

I reminisce on the times where I would massage Night's muscles before I could ride him and also for relaxation when we were alone together. I place my hands right behind her shoulder muscles and gently press down, moving my hands in a circular motion. 

I giggle when she grunts, shuffling closer to me. After a few more techniques on the various muscles of her body, I sigh as I step back, running my fingers through my hair. 

"Hope you enjoyed your day at the spa, madame." I say with a bow.

I pull out the paper and tick the second option, my eyesmoving down to the next one.

3. Go for a walk! Walking with your horse rather than riding adds a different dimension to your relationship. You'll learn to trust each other and it's great exercise for you and your horse. 

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" I say, patting her side. 

I furrow my eyebrows, wondering how I'm going to get the reins onto her without her freaking out. I pick up the bridle, moving towards her and gently placing it onto the front of her head but she moves away immediately, neighing loudly, almost standing up on her hind legs. 

"Shh! Crystal it's just a bridle, I'm not doing anything to you!" 

She neighs loudly again, hooving the ground and backing away towards her usual spot in the corner of the stable. I groan saying,

"Fine, then I'll take you outside without the bridle.. ok?"

I move closer to her with the bridle still in my hand and she grunts, continuously hooving the ground with heavy, loud breathing. 

I look at the bridle in my hand and look back at her. Her head was lowered, ears facing the direction of the bridle and her eyes avoiding it. I throw it to the corner of the stable, walking slowly towards her. I gently place a hand on her side, gliding it to and fro in hopes of calming her down. Her breathing was still heavy and her head lowered. 

A thought pops into my mind as I began to softly sing. 

설레는 만큼 많이 두려워
운명이 우릴 자꾸 질투해서
너만큼 나도 많이 무서워
When you see me
When you touch me

우주가 우릴 위해 움직였어
조금의 어긋남조차 없었어
너와 내 행복은 예정됐던 걸
'Cause you love me
And I love you 

I see her ears twitching from front to back before staying straight as she slowly lifts her head. Her breathing was still heavy so I lean my head on her side, continuing to sing. 

Just let me love you 
Just let me love you 
우주가 처음 생겨났을 때부터 모든 건 정해진 거였어
Just let me love you Let me love, let me love you 

Gliding my hand across her velvety coat as I sing, her breathing returns to normal and I stop singing, staying in that position for a few moments before lifting my head off her, stepping in front of her. 

"You need to know that I'm not going to hurt you in any way possible, ok? I have a horse too, and I would never do that to him, so there's no difference with you. Maybe when you two meet you'll get along." 

I say with a wink as she grunts. I open the stable doors and call her out. As she steps out of the stable, I place my hand on the side of her neck, guiding her on where to go. We step out into the field and I see Taemin now doing jumps over obstacles with his horse. I couldn't help but feel annoyed and a little bit jealous watching him make his jumps perfectly in the same co-ordination with his horse. 

I'm pulled out of my gaze to him when Mrs. Jaemi suddenly starts clapping. I look to her and notice her claps were directed to me. 

"Well done Y/N! I didn't expect you to get to point 3 this fast!" She yells from the field. I look at Crystal and she was busy looking at everything around. 

"Me neither.." I say to myself as I guide her to the field next to ours. We had to walk down an uneven path before getting to the gate of the next field. 

The field had rustic wooden logs, nailed together to make a fence. Some standing straight, some crooked, overlapping one another. I thought it was rather funky for it to have an unfinished look and it gave the place a countryside aura; something I've been missing a lot. 

Opening the gate that had the same design as the fence, I step out into the large grass field and furrow my eyebrows. 

This looks more like a grazing field than one to train..

I could still see Mrs. Jaemi and Taemin from here and I walked to the fence that was separating our fields. After checking on Crystal who was grazing in content, I called out to Mrs. Jaemi and she jogged up to where I was. 

"Yes? How's it going?" 

"Uhm.. this is a grazing field." 

"Yea, so?" 

I look at her with furrowed eyebrows as I say with a whine,

"How am I supposed to do stuff on a grazing field?" 

"You're only going for a walk Y/N, and during a walk, horses occasionally stop to graze. It's good for horses, especially for the ones we have. They don't get to live like how a normal horse lives its life, so we have to include something that allows them a bit of freedom. A taste of its natural surroundings instead of keeping it cooped up in stables like a bird in a cage." 

I nod and bow, 

"Ok, thank you Coach." 

"Go on." She says with a smack to my shoulder before shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket and walking back to Taemin. 

After persuading Crystal to stop grazing, we walk around the field for a while before I stop, whispering to her. 

"Do you think I can ride you now?" 

(Forgive my perv mind)

I look around and see a few other students walking past our field with their horses, some staring at us and some busy talking to each other. 

I notice a rock standing higher above the ground and I lead Crystal to stand next to it. 

"Hey.. don't be afraid, ok?" 

I whisper, placing a kiss on her side as she nudges me with her head. I giggle, stepping on the rock and swinging my leg over her, finally placing myself in a comfortable position on her. 

She shuffles under me and I bend down and whisper into her ears. 

"Ok.. so far so good, hmm? Let's start slow."

I pat the side of her neck as she starts walking. I place my hands on her as I sit up straight. 

After walking around the field once, Mrs. Jaemi claps yet again but this time accompanied by Taemin as well. 

"Beautiful work Y/N!" She says as I stop where they are. 

Taemin stretches over the fence, stroking Crystal as Mrs. Jaemi says, 

"This is good progress Y/N.. but you need to ride with your saddle and other equipment. You can't race without it,"

"Yes, I know. This is just a start.. she doesn't seem very comfortable with it, but I guess she'll get over it with time." 

Mrs. Jaemi nods as Crystal starts walking again, but this time she picks up her pace and starts trotting. 

I smile, knowing she's getting used to this as I bend down saying, 

"Good job, girl! Now lets see if you can run." 

She grunts and as though understanding every word I said, she breaks into a gallop, taking long strides as her white mane flew in the wind. 

I laugh in happiness, squinting my eyes as the cool breeze hits my face, pushing my hair back as it mirrored Crystals flowing mane. I inhaled, taking in the earthy smell of everything around me as I spread my arms out, eyes closed. 

I open my eyes once more only to find myself in the field behind my house in Busan. The crisp air brushing my face just like how it used to and the sun heating my face, bringing light to everything around me. I look down to see not a white horse, but a black one this time and I smile, tears of joy begging to escape as I lean down, laying my head on Night's neck, wrapping my arms around it as he continued running. 

 The field was huge, so I had no worries about there being a dead end. I stayed in the position for some time with my eyes closed tightly, not wanting to let go of the moment. I hear a neigh and I knew it wasn't Night. Sitting back up and opening my eyes, I notice I'm back in the field of the academy as Crystal slowed down in front of three girls with their horses. 

It was the girl that didn't seem to like me when she saw me along with who I'm guessing is her friends. Each of them had their horses, brushed perfectly and clean. They were absolutely stunning. 

"Yes?" I say, looking down at the three of them with a smile. 

"So you're the rookie that managed to end up in a place as good as this.." She says, stepping forward, eyes scanning Crystal. 

I felt agitation brew inside me when she mentioned the word rookie but I decided not to show it. 

"Um yeah, Y/N.. Nice to meet you." I say, holding out my hand for a handshake.  

She looks at my hand as the two girls behind her scoff. Ignoring my offer, she walks to the front of Crystal, standing in front of her forehead. 

"This is quite a horse you have here.. I've seen only Jimin oppa ride it.." 

She says, eyeing me from where she was as she strokes Crystals neck. Crystal grunts, backing away. 

Something's off here.. 

"Yeah.. so?" I say, changing my tone of voice from one of kindness to a more bolder one.

"Oh, just asking.. he rides this horse better than you do though.. You should give it back to him. I'm pretty sure I would make a great rider for this horse."

I furrow my eyebrows, confused about where this conversation was going. 

"What's your point?" I say bluntly, a tinge of agitation rising with my voice. 

She looks at me, a smug look plastered on her face. 

"I'm saying.. that an amateur like you doesn't deserve to be in a place like this.. you don't deserve to walk through those gates... you don't deserve Jimin in your heart."

She says, her voice lowering almost to a growl with her last sentence. 

"And who are you to say that?" I say, now raising my voice as Crystal grunts, shuffling under me, now hooving the ground as her breathing becomes heavy once again. 

She steps closer to us, her fake sweetness now vanished as she was flat out glaring at me now, fists balled tightly and her jaw clenched. 

"You'll know soon enough, little bitch.." She says, lifting her hand to pat Crystal's forehead. My eyes widen, knowing her reaction if anyone gets to close to her front. 

"Don't-"

I was too late. She patted her Crystal's forehead in a rather rough manner and that's all it took for Crystal to neigh shockingly loudly as she stoop up on her hind legs, kicking out with her front legs as I slide off her back, fear preventing me from releasing a scream as my it paralysed my body hitting the rough ground under me with a thud. My back hit the rocky ground under me as the three girls stood there in shock before rushing away as soon as possible, not bothering to help me. 

The wind knocked out from my lungs because of the height I fell from, got me gasping for air as I held my head that harshly hit the rough ground. I whimpered at the sharp pain that stung the back of my head, shooting pain down my body. I heard footsteps hurriedly making its way towards me, getting louder with each step taken. 

A pair of arms wrapped around me, lifting me up off the ground. I squinted my eyes open for a second to see Mrs. Jaemi and Taemin putting their hands around my waist, stretching my arms around their shoulders for support. But all I had was a second before the gut-wrenching pain struck my head once more. 

My legs felt shaky and could not support my body yet my head was the only thing that was feeling heavy. My hands tightly gripped their shoulders and arched my back as the pain was rushing through my body like an igniting fire. My eyes squeezed closed as my face contorted. Never had I ever experienced such pain in my life. I groaned as my back felt like there was a stake being hammered into my lower back, the strikes radiating pain in a way that shatters my brain. 

My eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then I saw nothing at all. My consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space my heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in my ears, alongside fading pleas for help. All sense of feeling in my body drained away until finally all was black. 

A/N : Hellooooo! I know, I know. It's been more than 10 days since I published and I'm really sorry! I had so many projects and assignments this week and I would think of y'all everyday. Finally, I will be free for this week as my Christmas holidays start on Friday the 18th. 

Also, a serious question.. do you think the story is going too slow? Are things getting confusing for you? Please do let me know in the comments. 

I know I have many silent readers here and I don't mind it, but I need your honest opinion and feedback on this so please let me know either in the DMs or comments.

Lots of love,

Kim