Chapter 13
Kim Doyun is really a good person, but… I didn’t like that he suddenly tried to carry me down while he was still considering safe ways to descend. Does he really have that much excess strength? No matter how strong he is, this is a bit…
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I told you my leg is fine now.”
“If you don’t like being held, how about piggyback…”
“I’m not a child.”
I said with glaring eyes. When I put force into my pronunciation, Kim Doyun’s eyes narrowed slightly. Damn it. When I opposed his initial attempt to carry me down at his side, he suggested holding me in his arms, which made me shudder. Absolutely not. I would rather die than be carried by someone who was already tired. After some back and forth between Kim Doyun and me, he finally raised his hands in surrender.
“I have no choice then. Instead, I’ll go down first.”
Kim Doyun swiftly descended using the vines. His movements didn’t look like those of someone who had been in pain. I stuck out my tongue in amazement at his strength and stamina, and carefully made my way down.
I could see Kim Doyun watching me from below. He had his hands slightly raised as if ready to catch me if I fell. Seeing that, I put more strength into my hands and feet. It would be terrible if I fell and Kim Doyun tried to catch me. What if he got hurt?
As I hung from the vine and stepped down, I couldn’t close my mouth at the sight of the ground below. All the trees had fallen, exposing their undersides. When I first saw it, I was so focused on the tree I was in that I simply thought the surrounding trees had fallen down.
“What in the world…”
Having made it down from the tree with some effort, I was speechless at the sight of the once-dense forest that had instantly transformed into ruins. I was so shocked that even fear retreated down my throat. Kim Doyun lightly held my shoulder as I stood frozen.
“Let’s head toward the grove, just in case. It probably won’t be much different there, but we might at least be able to gather some edible fruit.”
Then he dusted off his jacket and strode forward. While the forest had transformed into a cemetery of countless trees, making it difficult to determine where to go, Kim Doyun moved his feet as if nothing was wrong. His steps were quick, and he soon disappeared behind the trees.
I tried to hurry after him but realized I didn’t need to. Whenever I had to go around a fallen tree, he would stop and wait for me.
“Don’t push yourself.”
“…I’m fine.”
Rather than finding his frequent concern annoying, it made my chest and ears feel ticklish. I had never received such consideration before, which made it even more so. It was embarrassing and shy but nice, and nice but ticklish.
Shaking my body slightly, I followed Kim Doyun. But then we encountered a path that was completely blocked, without even the smallest gap. Even the previously unfazed Kim Doyun hesitated momentarily at the sight of massive trees that had fallen haphazardly. He climbed up the lowest tree among them, looked around, and then extended his hand.
But I smiled, refused his hand, and pulled myself up by gripping the tree with my arms. Now that my leg was healing, I didn’t want to rely on help like a child forever. Kim Doyun stared down at me as I climbed onto the tree more easily than expected. But his expression wasn’t very pleased.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“……”
I hurriedly asked him. The memory of his pale face when he had lost consciousness remained vivid, so seeing his expression, I couldn’t stay silent. However, Kim Doyun, who had been fiddling with his hand, shook his head and smiled.
“I’m fine. I’m just surprised at how quickly you’ve healed. Doesn’t your leg hurt?”
“Ah, it’s completely fine now.”
I habitually tried to pull down my hat, only to notice the emptiness on my head. It seems my hat had been lost in the commotion. I must have been quite out of it not to have noticed until now. Instead of adjusting my hat, I smiled back at him.
The journey to the grove, which he had said we could reach quickly, was arduous and took quite a lot of time. Every time I saw the sun gradually setting through the leaves, I bit my lip anxiously.
The pitch-black clouds were still gathered. The patterns seemed to have expanded even further. It was hard to see the sky without patterns, but even though the sun was above the patterns, its rays fell directly to the ground, so I briefly scanned the ground below. But as expected, there was no sign of the pattern’s shadow.
“We’re here.”
Kim Doyun said, releasing his hand. Having been focused on the sky and surroundings, I looked toward where Kim Doyun was pointing. There were trees with exposed roots there too, but they were surprisingly intact. The deeper we went, the more densely the trees hung their branches, and the shadows under the low, tangled branches were unusually dark. The undergrowth was so lush and the branches so tightly intertwined that one misstep could lead to a tumble without even being able to gauge the ground below.
A sweet scent vibrated all around the fruit tree grove. A fragrant aroma that almost stung my nostrils danced on the wind and poured over me. Saliva instinctively pooled in my mouth, and as I hesitated while my feet wanted to move forward, I saw Kim Doyun behind me taking off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt.
He rolled up his sleeves and moved through the fallen trees, tearing off vines. If it was wide and long, he would tear off leaves without hesitation.
“What are you doing?”
I asked Kim Doyun, deliberately ignoring the enticing smell. He laid the torn vines on the ground, rolled them into a circle, tied them, and began connecting them by placing large leaves inside and threading more vines underneath. Kim Doyun was making a sack. I quickly joined in, tearing off vines and carrying them. But the vines and leaves were quite tough. Forcibly tearing them made my fingertips sting and turn red.
“That’s about enough. Now let’s gather some fruit.”
Kim Doyun began picking up fruits that had fallen around the grove without entering it. He discarded the squashed ones and selected intact ones, dusting off the dirt. With perfectly good fruit hanging abundantly on the trees within reach, he was picking up those that had fallen to the ground. My head tilted in question, but I figured he must have his reasons.
As I followed him gathering fruit, I recalled a warning I had momentarily forgotten. He had firmly stated: Do not enter the grove. I stopped picking and peered into the grove. Like all forests, the grove felt unusually quiet.
“Don’t.”
Before I knew it, I had been staring blankly, and Kim Doyun grabbed my arm. His large, firm hand gripped my arm like a claw. When I involuntarily let out a sound of pain, Kim Doyun’s gesture became gentler. But he didn’t release my arm.
Kim Doyun frowned as he looked into the grove. He seemed highly displeased. I looked into the grove again. A faint light flashed from inside and then disappeared.
I jumped back in shock, and Kim Doyun pulled my arm, whispering that it was okay. Only then could I understand Kim Doyun’s warning. The fruits hanging so abundantly that they looked like they might break the branches were sweet, enticing hungry passersby to come closer.
If I had been alone, I would have walked right in without hesitation. Only after seeing the light did I realize that this place was an appealing trap. A place where something could hide in the shadows, untouched by sunlight, waiting for prey.
My chest grew cold. I released Kim Doyun’s hand and hurriedly gathered fallen fruit. I wanted to get away from the grove as quickly as possible. The fear that something hiding in the shadows might pounce made my limbs tremble. As if mocking me, a hissing wind sound came from within the shadows.
* * *
After leaving the grove, I became more cautious of shadows. It became routine to look for tall trees and shake my head in various ways even before the sun had completely set, and I had no intention of moving before the morning sun was completely clear. It had seemed easy coming in, but strangely, the way out felt much longer.
Despite spending several nights in the forest, my fear of the creatures beneath the shadows hadn’t diminished—if anything, it had worsened. I was terrified that they might grab my feet from the undergrowth. But Kim Doyun moved fearlessly with large strides, pushing aside damaged vegetation. When my pace slowed, he would stop and wait for me.
“But is it okay to go this way? I have no idea where we are.”
I scratched my head and expressed my concern. I remembered the path we had initially taken, but that was only useful before the trees had collapsed. The trees that had fallen chaotically and without uniformity refused to reveal a path. Kim Doyun seemed to feel the same way, as he stopped walking and gazed up at the sky.
“Look at the clouds. When we first entered the forest, the dark clouds were on the right.”
“Ah.”
“So it should be this way.”
The clouds, which didn’t flow with the wind but remained stationary in one place, were serving as our guide. It was something only possible due to the bizarre phenomenon that defied common sense.
I knew it was possible to navigate by looking at the sun or shadows, but those methods were for the skilled; the huge, low-hanging clouds fixed in one place were easy enough for beginners to use. Kim Doyun was determining direction by the clouds and gauging our position by watching the setting sun.
I admired Kim Doyun’s thinking and tried to recall the position of the clouds.
“Before.”
I opened my mouth without realizing it. What I had intended to keep as a thought spilled out, and I froze. I was about to gloss over it, but Kim Doyun was staring at me. He seemed to be waiting for the rest of my words. I sighed and continued.
“I used to think that if I got a girlfriend, I’d want to travel with her.”
“Travel.”
“Yes. Not something crazy like this, of course, but something light…”
I stopped trying to add an explanation. Instead, I shook my head and gave a bitter smile.
“Now I just think I shouldn’t even have such thoughts.”
“I understand.”
Kim Doyun agreed with a smile. Of course, an ordinary trip would be different. With people around and a comfortable place to rest. Right now, this wasn’t a trip but a struggle for survival, and going through this hardship made me think that staying at home and just sleeping would be the best option rather than any kind of travel.
“What about you, Doyun-ssi?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean girlfriends.”
I imagined what kind of woman would be the partner of a man with a respectable job and a handsome face. The image of a beautiful woman naturally came to mind. Kim Doyun blinked and then chuckled softly.
“Well, since I don’t have a partner… I’ve never thought about it. Even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have considered anything beyond simple dates.”
“You don’t have a partner?”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at hearing he had no partner. That they would leave such a man alone. What kind of joke is this? Could it be that Kim Doyun had some fatal character flaw or major physical defect…? No, that couldn’t be.
“I’ve had casual relationships, but I’ve never officially dated anyone.”
I made a bizarre expression and then clicked my tongue. That made more sense.
“But why didn’t you date…”
“I was busy.”
The reason was straightforward. I recalled the business card that had peeked out from his wallet. Having never done more than part-time jobs, I wasn’t sure, but with a title like that, he must have been quite busy. Indeed, there’s no job where you can just make a few phone calls and wander outside like in dramas.
“Work is good, but you might miss out on good people that way.”
“Haha, you’re right.”
I expressed genuine concern but then felt the situation was a bit strange. It didn’t seem appropriate for someone much younger than Kim Doyun to be giving such advice, so I closed my mouth. But Kim Doyun just smiled without showing any displeasure.
Our steady, albeit leisurely, march encountered a major obstacle. The joy of being able to determine our location by the clouds vanished like a mirage. We stopped for quite some time, staring at the massive line stretched out before us.
“My God…”
An enormous pit lay before us, as crooked and uneven as if a child had carelessly drawn with a black crayon.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
