Alex turned to Mark, and lowered the mask on his face to show a bright smile. He looked less like someone who had climbed out of an avalanche of snow, and more like a playboy on vacation. He was just lacking a girl or two to complete the tableau.
Mark wanted to clench his fists in anger and frustration, but he just exhaled. He felt helpless, like all the previous times. He relaxed, and took a closer look at Alex.
Apart from the clothes that looked tighter on him after inflating slightly, and the bindings of the snowboard still attached to his feet without the snowboard itself, Alex looked just like when he had jumped down earlier, except for the parachute.
Mark exhaled the rest of his anxiety, and approached:
"Is everything alright?"
Alex took off the helmet and the goggles and threw them on the snow before he raised his eyebrows:
"What could the problem be? Remember the suit and the board have been designed with safety in mind. Without being reckless, nothing can happen to me."
"Without being reckless…"
Mark opened his mouth, and muttered in a speechless and defeated tone. And Alex nodded matter-of-factly:
"Yes, without being reckless."
Mark clenched his gloved fists, then relaxed.
_ _ _
_ _ _
The rescue helicopter over the mountains, as Alex sat at the door, one of his feet dangling outside as he watched the scenery below.
Standing opposite Alex, with his hands finding support above the door of the contraption, and his body firmly a step away from the door, Mark looked at Alex. His eyes were full of emotions as he opened his mouth to speak, not just once, but only to close it every time.
The emptiness left behind after the anxiety he had felt from the situation earlier was striking, but it failed to help him find the words to admonish Alex, or to even complain.
Alex turned back from the scenery, and smiled at Mark, before pointing outside, and asking:
"It is pretty, isn't it?"
Mark looked deeply into the brightly smiling brown eyes, then turned to follow the hand pointing outside.
Under the bright light filled with vitality of the sun, the mountain peaks indeed looked beautiful. With the white snow interspersed with the darker shade of the rocks and the ground, it was a simple but picturesque beauty, one untainted by humans, even if only because they could not taint it.
Mark exhaled, his heart cleansed by the purity of nature. When he turned back, he met Alex's smiling eyes, before they returned to gazing outside.
Mark looked at the light wisp of a smile carefree from at the corner of Alex's lips, and felt a hint of sadness. He did not voice it, and he tried to hide it, but it still showed as he gazed at Alex, then he exhaled a silent sigh.
Alex wanted to feel alive, and he could only stay behind him to protect him to the best of his abilities. But it had been ten years already. Hopefully, the invisible scars inside Alex would heal, just like the ones outside did.
Mark stopped thinking, and he looked outside, his gaze becoming a little distant. Alex looked at him from the corner of his eyes, and his smile deepened, before his gaze returned to the austere but beautiful nature.
The helicopter landed half an hour later, and Alex immediately jumped off it. Mark followed him, along with the technical team that had come with them from the city, and which had tracked him after the avalanche. He unzipped his top, and pulled a string inside. The jacket that had inflated before without losing its shape suddenly deflated and became loose again, before Alex took it off, and threw it toward Mark.
The latter caught the jacket. He first examined Alex, making sure the latter didn't lie and hide any wound, before he focused on the jacket. He turned it around to examine it, then inside out. Only when he found nothing of concern did he also throw the jacket, this time toward the technical staff behind.
While that was happening, Alex stopped and bent down to undo the bindings still on his feet. No one present seemed to find the situation worthy of note when the bindings of the snowboard remained on Alex's feet, while the snowboard itself had disappeared somewhere.
Picking up the bindings, Alex turned to Mark:
"Here. Everything worked well. Make the call to have the last few procedures accelerated, and have everything ready for this year's winter sports season, including the endorsements."
Mark took the lonely bindings and passed them to the back, as he nodded:
"Alright."
Still, he could not help but add some words, as he looked at the joyful Alex walking with a spring in his steps:
"Can you not do the extreme test in real conditions yourself next time?"
Alex only turned to give Mark a bright smile, and a casual answer:
"We will see."
Mark's expression shifted from mild expectation to plain helplessness. The transition was smooth, as if it had been planned beforehand, as if the disappointment had already been expected.
Mark sighed, while Alex changed the subject with a yawn:
"Alright, don't think too much. Find us a place to crash into. I want to catch up on some sleep."
Mark rolled his eyes. He didn't even bother asking about the reason for the lack of sleep.
"It is already prepared, 'Boss'."
The sarcasm in the last word was not hidden, but Alex only laughed it off. He stretched himself, snapping his joints into place with a comfortable expression, then walked away, while waving to the back:
"Remember to call Ga-yeong before anything else. Also, make the stay here two days, instead of one. We will go back tomorrow night."
Mark smiled with practiced helplessness, then turned to the technical staff:
"Check the shock-dampening suit and the magnetically-locked bindings, then send the results back. You heard what he said. Have the R&D department accelerate everything while keeping the instructed standards. As for the pants of the suit, I will bring them back later."
"Yes, sir."
Mark nodded, then turned away to make the call Alex had advised. Now that the moment of anxiety had passed, he also wanted to know how his pregnant wife was doing at home, before taking care of anything else.