Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Saryeoni Forest Path Memories
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I kept walking up the Saryeoni Forest Path with Daeun.
A beautiful, serene forest full of charm.
The forest scent drifting on the breeze naturally lifted my spirits.
Crunch.
There was no rush.
This time with Daeun was an incredibly happy moment for me.
Daeun must have felt the same.
"Daeuni wikes it hewe."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's supew cool, and the twees awe pwotecting Daeuni."
"You know, you're right."
Trees surrounded us on all sides.
Maybe because of that, it really did feel like the trees were watching over us, just like Daeun said.
Daeun nodded vigorously at my agreement, gazing at the trees around us.
"Yeah! So Daeuni give twees a hug."
"You wanna give them a hug?"
"Yeah, that's why those aunts and uncles awe hugging the twees too."
What was that out of the blue?
"Over there."
"Oh..."
The spot Daeun pointed to had people standing around, taking photos.
Some hugging trees, some leaning against them, others posing between trees.
To Daeun, it must have looked like they were hugging the trees that protected them.
I smiled at the sight and said to Daeun,
"I was just about to tell you about that."
"What?"
"The real reason Dad wanted to come here."
"The weason? 'Cause it's a pwace with Mommy and Daddy's memowies, wight?"
She remembered what I'd said, but that was the big-picture reason.
The real one was something else.
"Right. It's a place full of memories, but the true reason Dad suggested coming here is photos."
"Photos?"
"Yeah. I wanted to take photos with you at the same spot where Mom and I took ours."
Whoosh!
At that moment, Daeun's eyes went super wide.
"The pwace whewe you and Mommy took photos?"
"Yeah. I thought it'd be nice to take one with you there too, so Dad..."
I pulled a familiar camera from the bag slung over my shoulder and showed it to her.
"Oh! That's Uncle Jungeun's!"
"Yep. Dad borrowed it to take pics with you. A little further up, we'll reach the spot with Mom. We'll take them there. What do you think?"
Daeun didn't hesitate for a second before shouting,
"Awesome! Daeuni gonna take pics with Daddy!"
"Alright, let's go take them. You'll love it when we get there, Daeun."
"Why Daeuni wike it?"
There was a reason.
A reason why Daeun would love that spot.
But spoiling it beforehand would ruin the fun.
I grinned.
"You'll see when we get there."
"Aw, why! Teww Daeuni!"
I laughed and replied the way Daeun always did to me.
"It's a secret."
"Aw! That's not faiw!"
And so, we headed toward the spot filled with memories.
After walking another 30 minutes with Daeun, we reached the end of the Saryeoni Forest Path.
There was nowhere left to go— just a bit further and we'd hit the road. The literal end.
As soon as we arrived, Daeun wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and asked,
"Daddy, whewe's the spot you took pics with Mommy?"
"Right here. This is where Mom and I took our photo."
"Here?"
Daeun looked around in bewilderment.
"This is whewe Mommy and Daddy took pics?"
Her question was full of doubt.
And understandably so—this unpaved road flanked by forest on both sides looked no different from the start.
The only difference was a small structure standing there.
I pointed to it and told her,
"Yep. This is the spot where Mom and I took our photo together."
Daeun hurried over to it.
"Daddy! Daeuni wanna take pics! Take pics of Daeuni!"
Then, as if struck by a thought, she raised her hand high and yelled,
"Ah! Wait!"
She toddled back over to me and asked,
"Daddy, show me Mommy's pic."
"Sure."
"Daeuni gonna take one just wike with Mommy. Show me Mommy's pic."
She wanted to see Mom's photo.
"You wanna take it just like with Mom?"
"Yeah! It's supew impowtant to you and Mommy, wight? So gotta take it good!"
Thinking about why matching Mom's pose meant taking it "good," I realized it was Daeun's own precious way of showing she cared.
I smiled, pulled out my phone.
It was an old photo, but luckily it was saved in the cloud.
I'd transferred it to my phone before coming to Jeju, so now I could show it to Daeun.
"Here you go."
"Wow! Mommy and Daddy's bags awe huge!"
Of course—they were backpacking on our first day in Jeju, and this was where we'd stuffed our clothes.
Seeing Hyorin and me in the photo with our bags stuffed full, Daeun tilted her head and asked,
"But why do you wook so tiwed?"
Because we really were.
"It was really tough. For Mom and Dad both."
"Daeuni not tiwed much, but Mommy and Daddy wewe?"
Nod.
We'd set off on the trip with zero planning.
No detailed itinerary—just hopping off the bus wherever it looked pretty and sightseeing.
We hadn't realized how reckless it was until we got off the bus.
But we only truly grasped it after completing the Saryeoni Forest Path.
How foolish Hyorin and I had been.
But.
Heh.
'You still look so happy.'
Seeing Hyorin's smiling face in the photo brought those memories flooding back naturally.
It was reckless, but that might be exactly why I could proudly tell Daeun this was a place full of memories with Hyorin.
I showed her the photo, then pulled out a mat I'd packed from my bag and spread it in front of the structure.
"Shall we take a quick break here? Drink some water too."
"Yeah, but pics fiwst!"
"Hmm, better to snap them after resting a bit. Instead, how about Dad tells you a story?"
"What stowy?"
"A story about Mom."
I really wanted to share this with Daeun.
What had happened that day between Hyorin and me.
And there was a reason she needed to hear it.
So I sat with Daeun in front of the structure, inviting her into the memory Hyorin and I had created long ago...
"Hey, but Daddy!"
But her next words made my eyes go wide.
"But Daeuni seen this pic befowe!"
"What? You've seen this photo before?"
Thud.
I dumped my bag on the ground and collapsed into the grass.
"Ugh, I can't walk anymore. If I'd known it was like this, I never would've gotten off the bus!"
Hyorin grabbed my arm and tugged.
"Come on, let's walk just a bit more. To that structure up ahead."
"Huff! I'm seriously dying. Or let's rest here a little first. If we keep going like this, I might not wake up tomorrow."
I desperately needed a break.
I could force my muscles further, but that would max them out for tomorrow.
The problem was, this was our first day in Jeju.
"Come on, the end's just a little further. If we stop now, we'll be too wiped to continue."
I stared at Hyorin in disbelief.
"You're not tired?"
"I am."
"Then how can you keep going? I can't take another step."
She encouraged me again.
"It's about whether you take one more step from here or not."
"What do you mean?"
"If you give up, it's all over. You can quit anytime. But the chance to push on vanishes the moment you do. That's my motto."
She made "don't give up" sound so grand.
But no matter what she said, my legs were already jelly.
"Let's rest a bit, then go. Not quitting—just a short break."
Even then, Hyorin showed no sign of stopping.
"See that?"
"Yeah."
"You can't see it from where you're sitting, but I can from here. Past that structure, it's the end. For real!"
Hyorin clearly had no intention of quitting from the start.
She wanted to drag me to the finish no matter what.
"Okay, just to the structure. Come on!"
"Sigh, fine."
I fell for it.
"Exactly to the structure, got it."
"Yeah! We'll rest right there after."
Huff! I can do this!
I forced strength into my trembling legs and barely stood.
Thank goodness Daeun grabbed my arm—otherwise, even standing might've been impossible.
I dragged my leaden legs forward, one step at a time.
Crunch.
One step, another.
Struggling toward the goal, I realized,
'Whoa, she's right.'
Daeun's words were true.
Beyond the structure, the road marking the forest path's end was visible.
Without Hyorin's words, I wouldn't have known the final goal and would've kept suffering, vowing another grueling start from that last spot.
Thud.
"We're here."
"Good job. Now, as promised, let's rest here."
But I shook my head at Hyorin.
"Since we're this far, let's finish it off, snap a pic, and head back."
"Yeah, take the pic."
"I wanna complete this trail perfectly before breaking."
She seemed to like that.
"Look at you, my strong Kanghyeok."
"What? Huff, anyway, let's hurry up and go. I'm fading fast."
"Right, quick round trip."
That's how Hyorin and I finally reached the road at the very end.
"Whoa, finally!"
Wobble!
Joy at completion hadn't even hit before my body gave out.
Rushing back to the structure before I collapsed for real.
The distance was under 100 meters, but with heavy packs, it felt endless.
But we did it.
Thud.
"Huff! I'm resting for real now. Even if you say go, I can't—no, I won't!"
I flung my bag in front of the structure and collapsed.
And beside me...
Thud, thud.
Hyorin crashed down with her bag too.
"Hey! Hyo—Hyorin!"
"I'm fine."
Using her bag as a pillow, Hyorin lay there, face drenched in sweat, breathing raggedly.
She gazed up at the sky.
"We did it in the end. Right?"
I knew better than anyone how huge those words were.
"Yeah, we really did."
"Never thought we'd do hardcore trekking like this in Jeju."
Pfft!
Her words made me chuckle despite everything.
"Hey, anyone'd think we hiked dozens of kilometers."
"For regular folks, this is trekking. Wait, aren't artists like us below average?"
Why the sudden self-deprecation?
But Hyorin soon smiled and said,
"Well, we pulled it off anyway. So from now on, nothing's impossible for us."
"Yeah? What do you mean?"
Still staring at the blue sky, she answered my question.
"Whenever I tackle something tough, I think like that. No matter how hard, if I push through like today, it'll work out."
"..."
Like today...
"Getting to my goal without stopping. Even if I tire midway, I don't sit—I give it my all and keep going. Eventually, I'll reach it."
Whoosh.
Suddenly sitting up, Hyorin looked at me.
"Kanghyeok, let's take a photo."
"Huh? Photo now?"
"Yeah. So we never forget today. Right here by the structure. Then, whenever it's tough, we look at it. That way, we can endure anything without giving up."
I thought for a moment...
Then nodded.
"So we remember this moment when times get hard?"
"Exactly. Good idea, right?"
It might never happen, but someday...
It could be the photo someone desperately needed.
With help from a passerby,
Click!
We took the photo with the world's happiest expressions.