Chapter 35
Without realizing it, I grasped his hand. Kim Doyun flashed a gentle smile and moved off me. I sat up dazedly following him, then became flustered by the sudden silence. Having been tense for so long, I fumbled, unable to keep up with the situation.
“Um, well…”
I stuttered as I opened my mouth, but had nothing to say. No, rather, I had too much to say and didn’t know what to bring up first. I racked my brain to untangle the questions jumbled like threads, and barely managed to organize what to ask.
“By the way.”
“?”
“How… how did you find me?”
Quite some time had passed since we parted. The forest was vast, chaotic, and even difficult to gauge locations. Even I, who had made up my mind to find him, had assumed I wouldn’t be able to… Kim Doyun finding me was practically a miracle, so I felt a bit strange about it.
As he tilted his head toward me, waiting for my story, he rummaged through his back pocket. What he pulled out was a hat. Why a hat all of a sudden? As I stared questioningly at the unfamiliar hat, Kim Doyun explained.
“I found this. After you disappeared.”
It’s not even mine, so why? My hat had long since been swept away by the earthquake, and both the color and design were different. Mine was a simple one, without such quirky patterns. Then I remembered Han Jong-wook. I recalled that he had been wearing a hat when we first met, and also that he had thrown it off on the tree. I couldn’t remember the print in detail, but it was roughly this shape. I shuddered looking at the hat.
“When I returned, you were gone and only this hat was left behind. I thought maybe you misunderstood that I had abandoned you during my absence, or that you might have been taken by some unsavory person… so I kept searching.”
“…It couldn’t have been easy.”
Kim Doyun thought for a moment and then smiled brightly.
“There were traces left here and there. It was easier to find you than I expected.”
I suppose some traces must have been left when they carried me while I was unconscious. I mumbled.
“I… I thought something had happened to you when you didn’t return after several days.”
At that, Kim Doyun rubbed his chin with a troubled expression.
“That wasn’t it…”
“?”
“Your fever just wouldn’t go down.”
He paused briefly and looked at me with concern.
“…I thought I needed to feed you something, so I went to find that.”
“What? Food?”
“You looked sick, and the only edible things were fruits… Food, medicine, and water were desperately needed. I spent time searching through traces of buildings here and there to find them. I’m sorry.”
Kim Doyun’s face was filled with regret. Because of this, I became flustered and hurriedly waved my hands.
“You were trying to help me, so don’t… Anyway, don’t apologize.”
Kim Doyun looked at me. He smiled slightly and directed his gaze across the bonfire. There were men chatting there. Was it because I wasn’t alone now? Things that weren’t visible earlier stood out now. The bonfire, kept brighter than other places to drive away monsters, was rising frighteningly, ready to devour the sky. Because of that, the shadows of the gathered men seemed particularly prominent.
Each time the shadows rippled as if looking this way, I clutched the hunting rifle. What I had forgotten due to Kim Doyun’s appearance came back to me. That monsters weren’t the only thing to be cautious of.
Kim Doyun looked strangely at me, frozen stiff, and with fresh eyes at the hunting rifle in my hand.
“A gun.”
“…Yes.”
The cold that I hadn’t felt until now from the gun I had been leaning on for support became apparent. I barely calmed my hands, which felt like they were freezing with the illusion they were about to curl up.
“Did those people give it to you?”
I frowned. Kim Doyun’s words weren’t wrong, but rather than such a benevolent statement, it seemed more fitting to say they had sent me off with the gun placed on me. Kim Doyun must have sensed the uneasiness in my face as he narrowed his eyes. Although I was overflowing with the desire to confess honestly, I kept my mouth shut. It didn’t seem right to unload everything to someone I had just met again.
“Well… somehow…”
“But why are you alone?”
I don’t know how to talk around this. As I lowered my head, trying to choose my words, Kim Doyun moved on to his next question while I hesitated.
“I’m curious about something.”
“Yes?”
“That time, on the tree, did you follow willingly? Or…”
I shook my head hastily.
“No! Absolutely not!”
“No?”
“Yes! Really, no. At that time, my condition wasn’t good…”
Although I claimed to have been in a dazed state, I couldn’t continue to say I had been dragged away, so my words trailed off. Kim Doyun stroked his chin in thought and then nodded.
“I see. Not of your own will…”
“I wouldn’t have left you, Doyun-ssi. You went through so much because of me…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes.”
Kim Doyun tilted his head and smiled gently. Feeling doubtful about his response, I tried to think, but only dust seemed to fly around in my head. I gave up thinking and looked up at the sky. The black sky was beginning to turn whitish. It seemed like day was breaking, or maybe it was because of clouds… Unable to get a sense of it, I was looking around at different parts of the sky while shifting my weight, and Kim Doyun followed suit, looking up at the sky.
“It looks like it’s going to rain.”
It really did. Even the moon that was visible a little earlier had disappeared behind clouds, and the forest, holding shadows, seemed even more massive. It was a night where a monster could jump out at any moment. But it wasn’t as scary as I thought, which was quite strange. Just a little while ago, I was trembling with fear. Even though the tree leaves were still rustling, the surroundings felt quiet.
I thought that wasn’t bad. Just having the bonfire and Kim Doyun beside me made me feel this reassured.
“I hope it doesn’t rain much…”
But even with my reassured heart, thinking about the rain piled up worries. If it rains, we can’t make a fire and can’t drive them away. Then what would the villagers do?
Snap.
A spark flew. Something bright red fell at my feet, emitting light before quickly fading away. After blankly watching it turn to ashes in an instant, I turned my gaze to Kim Doyun, who was picking up a new piece of firewood. Kim Doyun examined the firewood in his hand for a while and then asked.
“This firewood.”
“Yes?”
“Did you do this too?”
The veins on the back of his hand holding the firewood writhed. I looked at the firewood, which was making creaking sounds as if it would crumble at any moment, with a disgusted face.
“No. It’s not something I did, but something the people here brought. I don’t know who chopped the firewood…”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
The hand holding the firewood instantly relaxed. I don’t know why Kim Doyun’s mood suddenly soured, but it’s fortunate that the tense atmosphere has dissipated. Kim Doyun threw the firewood into the fire, folded his arms, and sighed.
“It’s not exactly a place I like…”
I scratched my forehead. I felt the same way, but I was reluctant to readily agree. If I agreed, it felt like my mouth would go on about how difficult it had been here, rambling on and on.
“Will you stay here?”
“Pardon?”
“Here, will you continue to stay?”
“……”
I couldn’t answer. There was a reason why I couldn’t. But Kim Doyun seemed to interpret my inability to answer differently and gave a bitter smile.
“I understand that it’s safer with many people than when you were with me.”
“That’s not it! Absolutely not. That can’t be!”
I denied it as soon as Kim Doyun finished speaking. Considering everything I’d been through, it was much safer and more comfortable when I was with Kim Doyun, to the extent that even making the comparison felt wrong. Despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, at least I didn’t have to worry about my safety because of the same people.
Crack.
The heated firewood split. Following the sound, the gaze that had been looking at me quizzically scattered. I too was alert to the sound, but my eyes stopped on his face. His face, illuminated by the bonfire, looked strangely red.
It was clearly Kim Doyun, but depending on the angle of light, he kept changing. His neat face remained the same, his straight back never bent, but why did he look that way? I looked at Kim Doyun and then at the bonfire that was clawing at his face.
“Then are you more comfortable with me?”
A small breeze brushed my face. But unlike the wind that usually blew from the forest, it was very faint and warm. I inadvertently rubbed my face and then felt the wind on my wrist again. Finding it strange, I looked up to find Kim Doyun right in front of me.
“…Doyun-ssi?”
I was startled. When did he get so close? There hadn’t been any sign, and Kim Doyun had been staring intently at the bonfire. But regardless of my surprise, he came so close that our faces almost touched. My earlobes grew hot from embarrassment. Even though I tried to move to the side, his arms were positioned around my waist, making it impossible to escape. Inevitably, as I tried to back away, his body followed. Why is he suddenly acting like this?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
