Chapter 36
“Comfortable?”
Kim Doyun parroted back like a parrot. His face, staring down at me, began to get closer and closer. I lowered my waist backward to avoid it. But once again, he followed right along. I tried to push his chest slightly, but perhaps due to the difference in strength, he didn’t budge at all.
What a damn situation this is. If things continued like this, I would inevitably end up in an embarrassing position. Not that the current situation wasn’t embarrassing already, but…
“Are you comfortable with me here?”
“I’m comfortable. Extremely comfortable! I’m thousands of times more at ease with you, Doyun-ssi!”
I answered, almost struggling to avoid such a situation. Kim Doyun then smiled, narrowing his eyes. Smiling enough to slightly reveal his neat teeth, he neither retreated further nor came closer. Kim Doyun stared at me for a long time before backing away. And I couldn’t immediately get up, trying to shake off the embarrassment that clung to my face. After rubbing my face for a while, I stood up, and the shotgun that had been neglected on my stomach clattered to the ground.
“…But why didn’t you leave this place?”
Kim Doyun picked up the shotgun.
“Even with the fire, this is a village that left you alone in a dangerous place. Why?”
After pondering for a moment, I said:
“I was trying to find you, Doyun-ssi.”
Kim Doyun’s eyes widened slightly. Seeing that, I spoke hesitantly.
“After separating from you… even though I wanted to meet you again, conditions weren’t right. My shoulder hurt, I had nothing on me, and the forest was crawling with monsters, so I’d have died before I could even find you. I planned to stay here for a while, and after getting food and medicine, if not weapons, I was going to look for you…”
I became embarrassed. I cleared my throat with a cough. I had never lost my voice, but doing this seemed necessary to make the embarrassment fly away.
“I see. Since your shoulder was hurt, you needed medicine…”
Kim Doyun understood me, but his meaning was completely different. I shook my head more firmly.
“That’s not it. You got hurt while saving me.”
I looked at the arm where he had been injured with concerned eyes. However, due to the position, I couldn’t see it properly. Judging by how he’s been moving so far, it doesn’t seem like there’s a major problem. But I quickly corrected that thought. Wasn’t he the person who kept saying he was fine the entire time we were together? Even when he was deathly pale, he pretended to be fine, so I reminded myself not to judge by appearances.
“……”
But Kim Doyun made a strange expression. It wasn’t that bizarre a face, but with his stiff expression and only his mouth smiling, it became quite an odd appearance. Kim Doyun fidgeted with his arm, and I watched what he was doing.
“…Were you that concerned about my injury?”
He asked after massaging his arm for quite a while. Without thinking, I nodded repeatedly, and Kim Doyun leaned his body toward me. I was quite terrified that another awkward situation might unfold, but Kim Doyun didn’t come any closer. Instead, he smiled a smile that seemed like it would melt gently.
Why has this person been acting like this? I raised my hand to cover my face. It was a smile that made me feel like I could fall head over heels right away. To be honest, my heart was fluttering, and my face burned to the point of stinging. I attributed it to the campfire and kept cursing the fire that was constantly heating my face.
“…W-well, yes. I was concerned.”
“How much?”
Why is he asking things like this? I wanted to burst out shouting. I turned my head and mumbled like a dying person.
“…A lot.”
“A lot?”
I wish he wouldn’t ask any more. He’s clearly a kind person, but when he takes this crooked approach, I don’t know how to respond. My voice shrank endlessly, and my head bowed so low it almost touched the ground.
“…Tremendously.”
“Tremendously.”
Thanks to Kim Doyun, who had been repeating after me like a parrot, my face burst into flames. I had thought it was natural to worry about an injured person, but now it was unbearably embarrassing. Moreover, his constant questioning made it seem like I was concerned about him for other reasons.
“I see. Tremendously.”
“……”
Kim Doyun smiled elegantly and backed away. I bit my lips repeatedly and cursed at the campfire. Why are you so hot that you’re making my face heat up too? While grumbling, I grabbed the dirt floor. Kim Doyun, who had been smiling, stood the shotgun up and leaned his head against it. Then he stared at what I was doing. Thanks to that, my grumbling mouth shut tight, and my shoulders hunched.
“How is it now?”
“Pardon?”
Kim Doyun demonstratively waved his arm and held it out in front of me. Is he asking me to check? I took his arm and carefully stroked it. I could faintly feel a scratch at my fingertips, but there didn’t seem to be any major damage. Looking at the arm that didn’t even leave a scab, I couldn’t help but admire his recovery ability, but I felt strange realizing how much time we had been apart.
“Now that you’ve found me and I’m not injured, what are you going to do?”
Kim Doyun peeked at the place where people were gathered across and made a displeased expression. Then he covered my hand with one of his. There was no further expression, but I felt the urging from his hand.
A hand that seemed to want to leave right away. If I were to leave empty-handed, as long as I was with Kim Doyun, I could live safely and without problems wherever we went, but… I couldn’t follow him. I grasped his hand.
“Not yet…”
Kim Doyun looked at his hand and me with a puzzled expression.
“I’m waiting for someone, so I don’t think I can leave yet.”
“Waiting for someone?”
“Yes. I received help from someone. That person promised to help me leave too. Right now, he’s gone far to get some items…”
I couldn’t just leave when the person who had promised to help me was working hard. But Kim Doyun seemed puzzled by my vague words.
“Far away? Alone?”
“Ah, that person isn’t very well-regarded here, so he’s a bit alone…”
Saying it in such a shortened way made it sound like there was a problem or that he was a pitiful person. In reality, he was the type to stride confidently even under disapproving glares.
I pictured Jang Jae-gyeong in my mind. Thinking about his confident demeanor even when faced with threatening shotguns and monsters, I felt a bit envious. Even if he faced the exact same situation as me, he would overcome it without fear. And Kim Doyun too… I gently released Kim Doyun’s hand and pouted. Yes, to be honest, I’m envious. Very, very envious.
“Alone and far away…”
Kim Doyun muttered as if talking to himself. I nodded in response, but I’m not sure if he saw my action. Kim Doyun, with a thoughtful face, gripped the shotgun slung over his shoulder.
“Alone.”
Kim Doyun smiled. Not the sweet smile he had shown me, but a thorny one.
* * *
After that, Kim Doyun asked various questions, and I answered diligently. Throwing questions here and there. I was very curious about what had happened after we separated and how he had been doing.
But Kim Doyun smiled more than he spoke, and even the occasional answers were not satisfactory. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about his hardships? I tilted my head. He might be hiding things on purpose because he thought I didn’t trust him. So I strongly assured him that wasn’t the case, but… Kim Doyun still smiled and brushed it off. Then he quietly looked at me.
He didn’t rush me impatiently, but strangely, he made me feel like I was being urged. Every time I met his eyes, my mouth automatically spilled out what had happened, and I poured out disorganized words that I hadn’t sorted out. Kim Doyun showed some interest in what I was saying and sometimes listened attentively. At those times, the smile disappeared from his face, and his gaze settled.
I tried to end the conversation lightly somehow, but since everything that had happened to me was abnormal, it was difficult to wrap it up easily. Thanks to that, my voice trembled while explaining the situation. But I tried to suppress my words and act as calmly as possible. I summarized the story of being used as bait as much as possible and emphasized Jang Jae-gyeong who had saved me, and the antagonism between him and the distorted villagers.
Kim Doyun, who had come to know most of the village’s situation and my circumstances, handed the shotgun he had been holding to me. With a somewhat subdued face, he earnestly urged me to keep the gun safe. I would have kept it safe even without such words since it was as good as a lifeline, but I nodded reflexively.
As the campfire diminished and emitted acrid smoke, the world began to brighten. There were still thick clouds, so the word “bright” didn’t fit at all. Still, it was truly brighter compared to the night, so I was happy for a moment. If only the dark men hadn’t been gathering from a distance, the joy would have lasted longer.
The men were hunched over, with one hand on their shotguns and the other shoved into their pants pockets. Their swaggering posture was like that of a thug coming to collect debt. I frowned deeply, then upon discovering a familiar face, I frowned even more. It was one of the men who had stood night watch with me.
He showed great displeasure upon seeing me. It was something I had expected when I saw Hwang Jang-ju… It seems like he had made up a story that suited him, using me as a stepping stone.
“…What, you’re still alive…”
The man who was about to grumble and complain shut his mouth like a clam. And the other men also hurriedly aimed their shotguns. At the end of their gazes was Kim Doyun, and I quietly stood up, positioned myself in front of Kim Doyun, and blocked their gazes.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
