Chapter 29
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29
Setting aside the darkness, the lack of sunlight made it freezing.
So-ya sat huddled beneath the trunk of a tree, shivering. Seol-yo approached the trembling girl and rubbed his head against her.
“Whine, whimper…”
“Are you cold too? Come here, I’ll hold you.”
Seol-yo hadn’t approached her because he was cold. He wanted to warm So-ya up. However, unaware of his intentions, So-ya gave a faint smile and pulled him into her arms.
“Whine?”
Suddenly, Seol-yo found himself snuggled deep into So-ya’s embrace. Feeling the warmth of her small frame, he momentarily relaxed his body, only to suddenly scramble out of her arms.
“Yip!”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Did I make you uncomfortable?”
So-ya tilted her head as she asked, her lips already turning blue. Her warmth had been sapped away by Seol-yo. He had wanted to warm her, but he had only made her colder.
With the body of a demonic beast, he couldn't provide her with warmth. Dejected, Seol-yo let his ears droop.
Pacing around So-ya in frustration, Seol-yo suddenly vanished, only to reappear a moment later with two large, thick leaves clamped in his jaws.
“Oh? Leaves?”
The leaves were nearly as large as So-ya herself. Seol-yo held them out, but So-ya simply stared, unsure of what he wanted her to do.
“Whine! Whimper!”
Seol-yo dropped the leaves on the ground, tucked himself underneath one, and peeked his head out with a cry.
“Whine, whine!”
“...?”
“Whimper...”
Failing to communicate, Seol-yo let out a long sigh and picked the leaves back up. He approached So-ya and draped the two large leaves over her shoulders, overlapping them. Immediately, it felt much warmer, as if she were wearing a thick coat.
“Ah...! You found these because you were worried I’d be cold?”
“Whine! Yip!”
“Thank you so much.”
Seol-yo’s drooping ears perked up instantly. Wagging his tail and hopping about, he disappeared once more, this time returning with a fruit which he placed before So-ya.
“Whine, whimper!”
Seol-yo thumping the ground with his front paw as if telling her to eat quickly.
“Is this for me to eat?”
“Whine!”
“Let’s eat it together!”
“Whine, whine...”
So-ya split the fruit in half and offered him a piece, but Seol-yo shook his head.
“You want me to eat it all?”
“Whine, whine!”
“But...”
Just then, So-ya’s stomach let out a loud growl.
Seol-yo gave a snort as if to say, 'See?' Then, he puffed out his chest and tapped his bulging belly with a haughty expression.
“Oh... right. You’re not hungry? Then I’ll enjoy it.”
Embarrassed, So-ya began to nibble on the fruit. Seol-yo watched her with a proud face before curling up a short distance away.
“I’m glad you’re here, though. I would have been so scared if I were here all alone.”
So-ya spoke in a soft, quiet voice. Seol-yo tilted his head as if he didn't quite understand, but he remained by her side, guarding her.
However, as the night deepened, the smile gradually faded from So-ya’s face.
What would happen if she couldn't get down the mountain? She had failed to keep her promise to Lady Yeon-jeong to return before sunset, and she hadn't been able to deliver the flowers to the Second Young Master.
Just as So-ya’s expression darkened while looking at the flowers in her basket—
Thoom!
The ground shook with a thunderous roar.
So-ya’s eyes went wide as she looked up. Seol-yo, his fur bristling, lunged in front of her.
Thump!
Thump!
Thoom!
Seol-yo hissed toward the source of the noise. After a moment, the sound stopped.
Could it be another wild beast?
So-ya swallowed hard, her heart racing, and stared in the same direction as Seol-yo.
Sshhh—
A chilly breeze blew from the opposite side, rustling the branches.
Step, step, step, step.
Amidst the sound of the wind, urgent footsteps could be heard.
Wait... this is...
So-ya’s lips parted.
It’s not a beast! It’s the sound of a person!
Even so, the tension on So-ya’s face did not vanish. Some of the people she had encountered in her life were far more terrifying than any wild animal.
The footsteps drew closer. So-ya clenched her fists tight.
Finally, a boy slightly taller than So-ya appeared, gasping for breath.
“So-ya!”
Unlike his usual gentle smile, the boy’s face was deathly pale, devoid of any mirth. He was none other than...
“Young Master...?”
It was Ga-hyeon.
*
Ga-hyeon had been running all over the mountain looking for So-ya.
He had been told she went up the mountain with Ga-yul earlier that day, but he couldn't catch her scent at all. It was as if her trail had been completely severed.
What if she got lost and something happened? What if she couldn't see in the dark and fell off a cliff...
Fear gripped his heart.
[Fine. I don't need trashy stones like that...]
His last memory of her was the way her eyes had gone wide with shock before she ran away.
He hadn't meant it. He hadn't intended to dismiss her sincerity or hurt her. He hadn't even been able to apologize for those cruel words. The thought that he might never see her again made his heart sink.
Just then, a faint scent brushed against the tip of his nose. Ga-hyeon crouched toward the dirt and sniffed. It was the soft, clean scent that always lingered around her.
Because the scent was so faint, Ga-yul—who was still a young child—must have missed it. Ga-hyeon followed the scent deep into the mountain.
Stopping at a certain point, Ga-hyeon cautiously reached out into the empty air.
This is...
He felt an invisible, transparent film.
A barrier...?
The barrier, radiating an unfamiliar energy, was thick and solid, as if protecting someone.
She’s inside.
There was no time to wonder why she was inside a barrier. If So-ya was in there, she would be shivering in the dark, unable to get out.
Ga-hyeon slammed his body against the barrier.
Thud!
Though he had passed early childhood and entered his First Growth, eleven-year-old Ga-hyeon was not yet an adult. His body was repelled by the barrier, and he tumbled to the ground.
But he stood up again and threw himself at it once more. The impact shook the earth, sending small animals scurrying away in fright. Ga-hyeon did not stop.
Thump!
Thump!
Thoom!
After several attempts, cracks began to spiderweb across the surface...
Shatter!
As the barrier finally broke, his body rolled across the ground, and his beast transformation deactivated. Nevertheless, he scrambled to his feet immediately.
And there, inside the shattered barrier, he found So-ya.
“So-ya!”
“Young Master...!”
Upon recognizing Ga-hyeon, a look of pure relief washed over So-ya’s face.
Ga-hyeon froze. So-ya had never looked at him like that before. She had always worn a faint, forced smile, constantly walking on eggshells around him.
So-ya had known. She had known from the start that he resented her. And despite knowing that, she was so happy to see him. Just how terrified must she have been, left all alone in this dark, freezing forest?
Ga-hyeon strode toward So-ya, draped his outer coat over her shoulders, and pulled her small body into a fierce hug.
“Uh... Young Master?”
Startled, So-ya’s eyes went wide. Ga-hyeon’s shoulders were trembling.
What should I do at a time like this?
Suddenly, she remembered Lady Sa-ra’s hand patting her back not too long ago. Recalling that warmth, So-ya used her tiny hand to gently pat Ga-hyeon’s shoulder.
Slowly, Ga-hyeon’s trembling ceased.
“I’m sorry. You must have been very surprised when I suddenly disappeared, right?”
“You...”
Ga-hyeon started to ask how she could possibly be the one saying sorry in this situation, but his voice trailed off as he bit his lower lip.
He realized that he was the one who had made this homeless child constantly watch his every move and feel unwelcome. He was the one who had made this child, who must have been cold and terrified alone on the mountain, apologize first.
In that moment of realization, a surge of emotion overwhelmed him.
“Yes, I was very surprised, So-ya.”
Ga-hyeon managed to swallow the lump in his throat as he spoke.
“Not because of you, but because of me. I was surprised at myself for being such a fool—wandering around unable to find you when you were lost on the mountain all alone.”
“Pardon...?”
Looking at the blinking So-ya, Ga-hyeon tightened the oversized coat draped over her shoulders and said, “I’m sorry, So-ya. I’m sorry I came so late.”