The Exciting Adventure Begins?! (1) – Discovery of a Corpse
“Well….”
There are moments when a first impression suddenly comes to mind.
Just like now.
A cold face that seemed to have stripped away all emotion.
A face that seemed like it would make judgments based on standards, like it would stab a dagger into someone’s chest while smiling.
Just because Ruman showed me brief kindness doesn’t mean that’s his true nature. This is probably closer to Ruman’s original self, right?
Just like how I’m originally a coward.
Since Ruman was a stranger to begin with, his current appearance wasn’t particularly more unfamiliar.
I stopped looking at him and turned my gaze to the ground.
“I don’t want to care about it.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s more comfortable to forget about it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
If you killed people over something like that, would there be anyone left in this world?
Right. There are countless wrongs like that. If you killed everyone to vent your anger, humanity would dry up in this world.
“Then I did well.”
“With what?”
“I was about to kill him but stopped.”
Huhu.
Ruman laughed lowly.
He must be joking, right?
I looked up at him.
“When is hyung coming back?”
Ugh. As expected, darkness falls quickly in the mountains.
The place where hyung had disappeared was already swallowed by darkness.
“He’ll be back soon.”
Then it was silent.
The mountain night was cold. Thanks to the warmth of the light, it was bearable, but my limbs seemed to be gradually stiffening.
To avoid showing it, I tensed my cheeks and thought about this and that.
It might be nice to settle in the capital, find a house, and live with the apothecary harabeom. Doesn’t harabeom have much attachment to the village either? Harabeom took good care of the villagers and gathered medicinal herbs to make medicine, but somehow it didn’t seem to me like he had affection for them.
It seemed like the only one the apothecary harabeom cherished was me.
It’s not like arrogance or anything! Ahem.
‘Should I really send harabeom a letter asking him to live together?!’
Still, since it’s a journey, I wish it felt more exciting.
It might be even better if I went alone with hyung…….
When I glanced at Ruman, what the. He was still looking at me.
“Why?”
Even though I was just asking, my words came out bluntly.
Ah.
I didn’t mean to ask in this tone. I bit my cheek.
This is a habit. Since no one called me for good reasons, or there was no reason for me to call them, I ended up with this way of speaking. It’s not all that bad but…. I’ll be meeting hyung’s friends now, so should I fix it?
No. I probably can’t fix it anyway.
‘Ren. I’ve never seen a kid as nasty as you.’
The words I’d heard countless times came to mind. Those words weren’t wrong.
But well. As long as I don’t cause trouble, right? I decided to think lightly of it.
“What were you doing with your life?”
“……?”
What was I doing with my life??
What does that suddenly mean?
As I blinked stupidly, Ruman muttered, “Is this not it?”
“Hmm. Should I ask how you’ve been living? You were born in that village, right?”
When he said ‘that’ village, it seemed like mockery rose on Ruman’s face.
“Well. Probably?”
Because from the point I remember, I was in that village.
“You didn’t seem to have any attachment to the village. Ah. Except for that old man.”
“Well.”
At the lukewarm answer, Ruman closed his mouth.
I looked at his profile and then gently tapped his shoulder.
“You don’t really need to talk to me.”
“?”
“Did hyung ask you to? You don’t have to. I’m not really uncomfortable being without conversation. It’s more uncomfortable if you make an effort to craft questions, so don’t do it. Honestly, you probably don’t have anything you’re curious about regarding me anyway.”
“Why do you think that?”
Ruman tilted his head crookedly.
“What?”
“Why do you think I wouldn’t be curious about you?”
“Well that’s….”
Because I guessed you’re not interested in things that aren’t profitable?!
Even someone with bad speech habits like me can’t say that! I still have to save face, since he’s hyung’s colleague!
“Because you’re someone who’s good at discernment?”
“……”
“Well…. Anyway, we’re not going to see each other for long…. If we’re going to part ways soon, isn’t it better to know less about each other?”
The latter part was sincere.
Even if we get to know each other, it’ll only add to the regret when we part.
The memories of those who occasionally stayed in the village and took care of me hurt my younger self even more.
Ugh. I don’t like that. It’s better not to know affection or care at all. In that sense, harabeom is amazing. He didn’t leave me…… and tamed me when I was at my most vicious. Ah. Saying he tamed me makes me sound like some kind of animal.
“Ruman?”
“Right.”
Ruman nodded slowly. He seemed to be thinking about something.
“Huh? Hyung! Temarr hyung!!”
I jumped up and waved my hands.
Ohhh! Looking at what he was holding, it seemed like he’d caught something! When hyung heard my shout, he approached me in an instant.
“Mmph. Wha?”
But in that moment, Ruman covered my mouth.
Temarr hyung’s eyes turned frightening.
“Ruman. What are you doing?”
Hyung, who had approached with large strides, grabbed Ruman’s arm and asked.
The arm muscles hidden by clothes seemed to be churning.
“You were coming with a serious expression. Didn’t you discover something?”
“Right.”
Ruman looked at me and smiled.
‘What. Is that a smile telling me to shut up?’
“Ren. You need to be quiet. Understand?”
Ugh. Ptooey ptooey ptooey!
Just because of that, he’s making a fuss by covering my mouth with his hand. I glared at him but nodded my head. I’m not interested in being a disobedient child! So you don’t need to speak that kindly, you know?
“Good boy.”
“……”
Ruman reached out and carefully touched the back of my head.
He reached out his hand and I tried to avoid it…!! But I couldn’t move because of his sudden words.
Good boy? Who? Me? I, Ren, am a good boy?! I’ve never heard anyone say that to me in my life…….
“Ren. Come here.”
I came back to my senses at hyung’s low voice.
“Huh? Uh-huh….”
I stood there dazed, then suddenly came to my senses, rubbed the back of my head roughly, then turned my head sharply! and glared at Ruman.
“Why?”
“Never mind!”
Who said you could pat my head without permission?! I wanted to shout angrily but held back.
I-it’s not like I was happy to hear him say I was good, okay? It’s just because he told me to be quiet earlier, so consider yourself lucky……!
“Hyung.”
When I came because he told me to, hyung was skinning the animal with a knife without any interest in me.
“Wow…! Hyung, you’re amazing! Did you just catch that? Wowww! Where did you catch it? What did you catch it with? Did you catch it with your sword?”
“……Right.”
Tch. What kind of answer is that?!
I belatedly recognized the animal hyung had hunted!
It was an herbivore called a ‘Tol’ that had tender and delicious meat. It must have been hard to catch because it’s so fast!
Hmm. Don’t I have anything to do?
As I was looking around, Ruman seemed to be gathering firewood to start a fire.
I just need to bring things like dry branches, right?
Heave-ho.
A cold wind blew. As my hair flew messily, I hunched my neck. Swallowing a cough internally, I picked up branches with my hunched body.
The mountain evening was much darker and colder.
The damp soil swallowed the sound of footsteps, and dry branches were hard to find.
As I was looking around and about to go further inside, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Eek!”
“…Whew.”
It was Ruman.
Where’s my heart! Did it fall out by any chance? I turned to look at him, trembling. Ruman was staring at me intently with eyes gleaming like a beast.
“Why…?”
“……”
“…Well….”
What’s wrong!
I was about to ask back but swallowed my words.
Because Ruman looked like he was holding back anger.
Only after a few more seconds passed did Ruman sigh and let go of my arm. When I rubbed my numb arm, Ruman’s gaze stayed on my arm for a moment before returning to my face.
“Stay still. The outside world is more dangerous than you think.”
Ruman’s face had a smile spreading across it as he said that, but the sharpness in his eyes said his words weren’t a joke.
“Hold on.”
“I’ll follow you.”
“I can’t trust a child with a record.”
What? I’m telling you I can follow well!
But Ruman stubbornly held my hand and returned to where we’d stopped the carriage.
Ah. Had I walked this far?
I don’t know when the fire was lit, but I could see flames in the distance, quite far from here.
When I turned around for a moment, the pitch-black darkness seemed to be churning as if it would swallow anything.
Hic! Scary!
“Wow! It smells delicious…!”
I, who had been trembling, let out an exclamation as soon as I saw the meat skewered and being roasted!
Of course, I lowered my voice at Ruman’s glare…. When I let go of Ruman’s hand and approached hyung, hyung looked at me frighteningly.
“Ren.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t wander around carelessly.”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Right.”
“I brought branches…”
Hyung’s attention was on Ruman.
As expected, I’m no help to hyung. The hand I held out became embarrassing. I was about to hide my hand behind my back when Ruman suddenly grabbed me again.
What! Are you going to mock me for doing something useless?! Just try mocking me, I’ll stab you with this branch!
“You picked out the dry ones well.”
“……”
‘Why is he acting like that, all of a sudden….’
Ruman said that and then frowned.
As if he didn’t know why he was saying such things.
No, what am I supposed to do if you make that expression after saying it? And I’m not particularly grateful even if you say that, you know!
When I sat on the cloak spread on the ground, I could feel the coldness directly.
Huk. Cold! My butt’s going to freeze…… But I can endure it! Hah. I’ve stayed out all night before, so this much is nothing.
I tried to straighten my hunched body.
Hyung, who had been rummaging through the kindling, spoke bluntly in a casual tone.
“There was a corpse.”
“A corpse?! Awe… I mean, my sincere condolences… What kind of corpse?? Could there be treasure hidden here or something, hyung?!”
Tol (톨) – [herbivore animal]
