He raised his head. That wasn’t it. He hadn’t thought in that way. But for some reason, no words came out.
“Well, let’s say that’s the case too. Then why do you pretend to be strong?”
“…I didn’t pretend to be strong.”
There were reasons for not trusting and not asking. He could explain to Yeon Dogyeong why that was. However, he had nothing to say about this because he had no idea what he was talking about. Pretending to be strong. Joo Seonghan didn’t even know how to do that.
“You saw Jaejun applying medicine to his leg.”
Tap. He touched the back of Joo Seonghan’s bandaged hand with the hand holding the flashlight. It was difficult to understand why he suddenly brought up that story and tapped his hand, but it was true that he saw it. On the first day Yeon Dogyeong came over to this side, Joo Seonghan witnessed Han Jaejun taking out medicine from his bag and applying it.
“Yes. But why is that…”
“You didn’t look for medicine and didn’t say it hurt, so I thought the wound was shallow.”
“……”
“Even when I made you walk strenuously without rest, you didn’t say a word about being tired, and you didn’t say you were hungry until I suggested eating, and you showed no interest in the candy I distributed to the kids. Yet you watched when someone ate it.”
“…That’s pretending to be strong?”
He raised one eyebrow and pulled up the corner of his lips. Even though he was clearly smiling, for some reason his spirit was crushed by the gaze looking down with lowered eyes. Calling him an idiot. Where in the world is such a chilling idiot? Joo Seonghan vigorously shook his head at Kang Hyeonjoo’s face drawn in his mind again.
“Want to eat candy?”
It was an unexpected proposal, but it seemed he shouldn’t have doubts or refuse. Joo Seonghan produced the most polite voice possible.
“…If you give it to me, I’ll gratefully eat it.”
“Alright.”
He took his hand out of his pocket. Joo Seonghan let go of his arm in time.
“Hand.”
He stopped his hand that was being withdrawn. He looked up at him who was smiling as usual, then spread out his hand and held it out. He placed a small mint candy on his palm.
“Ask what you’re curious about. You’re going to forget anyway, so it’s not like anything will change just because you resolve your curiosity.”
“……”
“At least here, do as your heart desires, Joo Seonghan-ssi. Don’t think about the useless future, as if you’re in a dream.”
It was the opposite. Joo Seonghan didn’t try to make memories because he would forget anyway, but he was telling him to make them instead. Since he would forget everything anyway, act as his heart desires, as if in a dream.
Joo Seonghan looked at the small mint candy, then raised his head and met his eyes. He, who closed his eyes, shined the flashlight on Joo Seonghan’s palm. Since he only needed to pull it, he could eat the candy even in the dark. However, Joo Seonghan peeled the candy wrapper under the light he had created. Yeon Dogyeong, who had watched him put the candy in his mouth, moved his steps. Joo Seonghan diligently followed beside him. Feeling the refreshment spreading in his mouth, he crossed over tree roots. He confirmed the stones embedded in the ground and walked carefully while avoiding them. Footsteps echoed. The sound was clear.
“How old are you?”
The light that had been shining on his feet quickly headed toward Joo Seonghan’s face. How many times is this…
“Why do you keep shining it on my face?”
He asked with his eyes tightly closed. The light disappeared.
“Because your grimacing expression is funny.”
“……”
“I’m thirty-three.”
He answered calmly and continued walking. Joo Seonghan scratched his neck and chased after him. He’s a hyung. As he was thinking quietly, clack, the yellow light that had been showing the floor disappeared with a noise.
Joo Seonghan hurriedly stopped his body that had almost crashed into Yeon Dogyeong’s back. The blue light that he didn’t know existed because of the strong light entered his eyes. Coming out from behind Yeon Dogyeong, he looked ahead. As if a hole had been drilled in the ceiling, moonlight descended on the clearing in the distance. Clack, thud, clack, clack… Semi-humans were walking around bathed in that blue moonlight.
That’s right. No matter what, this isn’t inside a dream.
Tension flooded in instantly.
“There are many.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who spoke quietly, only turned his head to look around. Go back, or move forward. There was no other path besides those.
“Wait a moment.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who placed the flashlight in Joo Seonghan’s hand, moved away. Joo Seonghan, who belatedly reached out toward him, bit his lip and gripped the empty air. Click. Yeon Dogyeong, who held the gun he had been carrying in his hand, reached the end of the passage. He hid in the shadows, bent his knees, and stuck out his head. After checking both sides, he stood up and returned to Joo Seonghan. Joo Seonghan unconsciously released the strength from his hand that had been tightly clenched.
“There’s a thick tree root on the right. Let’s hide under it and go.”
It meant they would pass through the clearing swarming with semi-humans. Joo Seonghan nodded while hiding his tension. He put the flashlight in his bag and followed behind Yeon Dogyeong, who went ahead.
He stopped at the entrance of the clearing and the end of the passage. When he raised his head, he could see a large hole drilled in the ceiling of the clearing. In the sufficient moonlight falling through it, the appearance of the semi-humans was also excessively visible. Semi-humans with various hair lengths raised their heads and walked randomly with their mouths open. Some were lying sprawled in the middle of the moonlight, wriggling.
Looking only at the upper body, they were no different from humans. Smooth upper bodies without fur, slender arms, human faces. Somehow, it seemed like a scent that wasn’t unfamiliar. Joo Seonghan, who had inhaled several times, turned his eyes away from looking at them and examined the surroundings of the clearing.
This clearing was much wider than any they had passed so far, and it wasn’t a one-way path. There was one more connected passage. Right and left. There were two choices, but they had no choice but to go right. Semi-humans, who weren’t sensitive to sound, unconditionally attacked when humans caught their eye, he had said. If they went left, they would necessarily have to walk under the moonlight, and it was a matter of time before they were caught by semi-humans. Fortunately, the right wasn’t like that. As Yeon Dogyeong had said, thick tangled tree roots formed a round tunnel, so if they lowered their bodies, they could reach the next passage riding the darkness. There was a part where the tunnel was cut off in the middle, but the distance was short. They could go secretly. They had to.
“Are you ready?”
Yeon Dogyeong asked. Joo Seonghan stopped nodding and looked at him.
“But what if we enter that passage and there are semi-humans there too?”
“There won’t be.”
“……”
When he stared quietly, Yeon Dogyeong smiled and tap, touched under Joo Seonghan’s chin.
“You should ask how I know.”
“…How do you know?”
“Semi-humans dislike yellow berries. The ones over there.”
He stuck out his head toward the place he pointed. There was a short tree bearing yellow berries in front of the right passage, their destination. There wasn’t a single semi-human near there. Joo Seonghan had seen those berries in this place before. It was when the three of them—Han Jaejun, Kang Hyeonjoo, and Joo Seonghan—were traveling together, and Han Jaejun, who had tasted the juice of the yellow berries, told them not to eat them, so he didn’t put them to his mouth. Han Jaejun and Kang Hyeonjoo seemed not to know what the yellow berries were. They didn’t separately tell Joo Seonghan that semi-humans disliked them either.
“The others didn’t seem to know.”
“Really? I should tell them when we meet.”
He, who slung the rifle and drew a pistol, spoke lightly while lowering his body. When Joo Seonghan stood motionless, he gestured to sit down. Joo Seonghan lowered his eyes and sat behind him.
“If you make eye contact with a semi-human, call me.”
“…Yes.”
“Ask me why.”
Click. The gun in his hand made a sound.
“…Why?”
“I’ll save you.”
“……”
“One more time.”
He blinked. Joo Seonghan opened his mouth again.
“…Why?”
“Because Joo Seonghan-ssi is interesting. Let’s go.”
He left the passage. Joo Seonghan, who bit his lower lip tightly, hurriedly followed behind him.
