The Ignored Warning
Shin-wol paid no heed to Yeo-won’s deathly pale face and strode deeper into the cave.
The farther they advanced, the thicker the musky, gamey scent unique to mountain beasts grew, clinging to the air.
Following his lead, Yeo-won finally parted her trembling lips with great effort.
“U-um… um…”
He kept walking without pause, only shifting his gaze downward to regard her.
“What if the Mountain God is angry with me for speaking so rudely to him earlier…? What do I do…?”
Yeo-won’s eyes lost focus as she began to ramble.
“Did he block the path because he’s furious? I did argue with him back then… but it was truly nothing more than a simple difference in taste.”
At his curt command, Yeo-won swallowed the rest of her words with a hiccup. She slowly lifted her head to look at him, her entire demeanor wilted like a puppy who knew it had done wrong and was anxiously reading the room.
The sight drew a soft, incredulous laugh from Shin-wol.
The sharp question made Yeo-won flinch. She studied his expression for a moment before protesting in a small voice.
“But… he’s the Mountain God…”
Yeo-won opened her mouth to reply once more, only to meet his stern gaze and promptly close it again.
Not some great existence. Among all the beings she knew, only Shin-wol could utter such words.
He murmured the cryptic remark, turned his back on her, and resumed walking. Yeo-won hesitated where she stood for a brief moment before hurrying after him with quick, light steps.
Walking at his side, she recalled the day she had met Mu-ho. Though his appearance was somewhat ambiguous, his clothes and manner of speech marked him unmistakably as a young man in his twenties.
Yeo-won cast a sideways glance at Shin-wol. With his long, lustrous black hair cascading freely and that archaic, elegant way of speaking, it was enough to make her wonder whether she had somehow slipped back into the Joseon era.
It would not have been strange to say that he and Mu-ho were complete opposites in every respect. Even among spiritual beings, the contrast was striking.
“Still… I’m worried. No matter how well they know each other, it’s essentially like a total stranger barging into someone else’s home. Won’t he be offended?”
When Yeo-won spoke with visible uncertainty, he answered coldly without so much as turning his head.
Yeo-won let out a sigh.
In some ways Shin-wol observed etiquette more scrupulously than anyone, yet in matters like this he displayed a strangely stubborn streak. Knowing she lacked the power to dissuade him, she changed the subject.
“Why was the door closed?”
“…Does that mean he’s unwell?”
His voice was as arid as desert sand, revealing a complete lack of interest.
“Aren’t the two of you acquainted?”
“Then you’re not worried?”
He came to a halt. Before them lay a fork in the path, with the mouths of two separate caves yawning open ahead.
He exhaled in clear annoyance and continued.
“Hostility? When?”
Yeo-won tilted her head in confusion. Meanwhile, Shin-wol flicked his fingers, conjuring several small orbs of flame.
One of the crimson flames drifting before the two entrances began to flicker violently, as though sensing something. Shin-wol’s golden eyes narrowed to slits.
He snapped his fingers, and every floating flame vanished—save for the one beside Yeo-won, which continued to cast a gentle, steady light around her.
A hundred years? The sheer span of time made her doubt her own ears. The casual way he had spoken such an immense number left Yeo-won’s mind momentarily blank.
The torrent of revelations left Yeo-won reeling.
Just what kind of mindset led someone to plan on imprisoning another for a hundred years? More than that, the fact that Mu-ho would go to such lengths to guard against Shin-wol made one thing clear: their relationship was anything but amicable.
Yeo-won raised her hand.
“Wait—wait just a moment.”
She clutched her head, thinking furiously. While she wrestled with her thoughts, Shin-wol waited with his arms folded, patient as a statue.
“What exactly happened between you two? And what was that warning you mentioned?”
What the warning had been was crucial, yet she set the question aside for now. More pressing was the ominous suspicion that had been creeping over her since earlier, refusing to be shaken off.
Yeo-won asked with difficulty, “What happened when he ignored it?”
At the pointed question, the corners of Shin-wol’s mouth curved upward in a slow, dangerous smile. The look in his narrowed eyes was so sinister it sent a chill racing down her spine.
She could guess the rest without hearing it. Whatever the warning had been, it was clear something terrible had occurred between him and Mu-ho. And from Shin-wol’s demeanor, he stood in the position of perpetrator while the mountain god was the victim.
“Is the problem with his health… because of you, Shin-wol?”
“…This might be a foolish question, but do you have any intention of apologizing?”
In truth, that was the most peaceful solution available. Given Shin-wol’s nature, he would never have settled the matter with mere words. An unimaginable clash of power and overwhelming force must have taken place. The wounded mountain god had cast his spell to protect his domain, only for Shin-wol to shatter it at will and begin rampaging through the interior. Now an uninvited guest had arrived—bringing another uninvited guest with him. When she laid it all out, the situation was utterly disastrous.
Shin-wol twisted his lips in open mockery.
She had been completely mistaken. If he were the sort of person who could offer apologies, they would never have reached this point.
Yeo-won squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again, steadying herself several times before she could speak calmly.
“Please. I’m begging you—resolve this peacefully. I don’t know what happened between you, but the mountain god has to open the door if we’re ever going to leave.”
She tried to coax him with the gentlest expression she could manage. Shin-wol looked at her and offered a sweet smile.
He ran his fingers along the cave wall beside him, whispering in a voice that sounded almost merciful.
With the most refined gesture imaginable, he spoke words of chilling violence.
Then, without warning, he stepped close and positioned himself in front of her, as though shielding her from view. She stared at him in confusion—only to hear low, rumbling growls emerge from both cave entrances.
Yeo-won startled and looked ahead. The growling poured from both openings at once, distant yet piercing straight into her skull.
He pushed her farther back and jerked his chin toward the caves.
At his summons, an unseen beast inside began to roar in warning. The enormous, ear-splitting bellow made Yeo-won double over, hands clamped over her ears. She bit back the scream rising in her throat and looked up to see flashes of orange fur streaking past within the darkness.
With a casual wave of his hand, a massive pillar of flame erupted toward the cave entrance.
Streaks of fire shot from the pillar and invaded the cave in an instant. His index finger twitched, then closed around empty air and yanked backward. A thin thread of flame now connected his hand to something deep inside.
As the cave interior was swallowed by flames, a wretched, yelping cry echoed from the unreachable depths. The earlier ferocity had vanished; only piteous whimpers remained, filling the space until Yeo-won’s heart grew heavy despite herself.
Yet Shin-wol paid it no mind. He pulled harder. At last, Mu-ho’s subordinate was dragged into view.
Yeo-won’s eyes flew wide.
“Haaak!”
Dragged along by the fiery thread in Shin-wol’s grasp was the very cat she had encountered in the park—the one with a small bell fastened around its neck.