episode_0009

How did God save him.

A faithful believer lived in the village.

One day, a heavy rain flooded the village, and people climbed onto the roofs waiting for rescue.

Finally, the rescue team arrived and approached the believer to save him, but

“Just go, God will send an angel to save me.”

With these words, the believer refused to board.

And so the first rescue team left.

The believer continued to pray for God’s salvation.

Eventually, the second rescue team came to save him.

Again, the believer sent away the second rescue team with the same words.

As time passed and the water level rose threatening to cover the roofs, the third rescue team approached.

“Get on now, if you don’t, you will truly die! This is the last rescue team!”

Once again, the believer refused to board the rescue team.

“Surely, God will send an angel prepared for me to save me. Why should I board there?”

And so the third rescue team left, and the believer drowned and died.

Having died and gone before God, the believer asked,

“Why didn’t you save me, who was so faithful? Was my prayer not enough?”

God said,

“I sent three rescue teams to save you. Why didn’t you board?”

The believer was speechless.

Carrying a woman and thinking.

“Was this situation really prevented by a transcendent power to save me from death?”

I was going to catch a tiger.

“I will survive from the tiger.”

This was entirely possible.

However,

“I will fight the tiger alone and survive.”

This was impossible.

I had no intention of fighting and running away, and I would not give up until either the tiger or I died.

If I survived, it would have been highly unlikely.

That’s why.

Even if it lowered the probability, did God (or the author) want to save me?

I wanted to confirm that.

However… the divine intervention I deduced with my poor imagination was more like awakening in a crisis situation, gaining unknown strength to strangle the tiger, or defeating the tiger with magic and accepting disciples, such fictional devices…

Hmm… this situation is somewhat ambiguous.

Should I consider this as divine intervention?

Discovering a woman who was almost robbed, isn’t it just close to coincidence?

Hannamukun was notorious for being bright and messy, so it’s not strange that he acted like that…

Thinking over and over, feeling uncomfortable about giving up the tiger hunt like water flowing subtly, the woman who had been quietly resting her face on my back tapped my shoulder with her hand.

“Why are you like this, young man?”

“Um… please turn right here…”

The woman, who introduced herself as Heesun, spoke softly.

Before I knew it, the morning sun began to rise, and the dark sky turned into a dawn sky mixed with indigo and purple hues.

The woman pointed the way, and I followed.

That had been the extent of all communication between her and me.

Following the direction indicated by the woman, we arrived at a large lake on top of a mountain.

The mist rising from the cold morning air meeting the steam created a mysterious feeling as it gently floated on the lake, giving off a mystical vibe.

Approaching the lake closely, it was so clear…

“So such a place exists….”

Santa generally disliked walking, so he didn’t even know there was a lake like this at the top.

“Wow… it’s all transparent inside… It’s really clean. Should I sweep the water from here on out…?”

Unknowingly admiring the lake, the woman signaled me again.

Tap tap

“Please let me off here….”

She was a little flustered.

Of course, it was an incredibly beautiful lake, but no matter how you looked at it, this place didn’t seem popular at all and wasn’t a place where people could live.

Lost in that confusion, I forgot that I had to let her down from my back and blurted out like a fool.

“I-Is this the place? The house of Nangja?”

She replied in a small voice.

“…Not exactly… I… have something to find…”

“You have something to find? By now, your family at home must be very worried… Is it something very important? In that case, I can help you find it together on behalf of my Nangja.”

“….”

The woman fell silent for a moment and then spoke.

“I… need clothes to go home… I have to find clothes….”

“Why do you need clothes to go home? Don’t you have clothes at home?”

“It’s not that…”

“Don’t the clothes I gave you work? They are decent clothes. I’ll just give them to you. Are you worried they might be more expensive than those clothes? If that’s the case, I’m willing to explain to the adults on behalf of my Nangja.”

“That’s not it… Just please let me down for now.”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll let you down right away.”

The situation was a bit confusing, so my question was a bit long.

I lowered myself, bent my legs, and knelt down on one knee to make it easier for the woman to get off.

“I appreciate your kindness…. Thank you….”

“You don’t have to worry. It’s because I thought of my sister back home… Let’s find the clothes you’re looking for together….”

It felt like time had stopped.

Her eyes that met mine seemed to take my breath away.

Her slightly wavy long hair that reached down to her hips, her fair skin… deep and beautiful eyes with a hint of green… lips that seemed to be touched by the morning dew….

Come to think of it, when I first saw her, it was dark and I could barely make out her silhouette, but since then, she had been carried up all the way without a break. So this was the first time I had seen her face.

The lake that I had just thought was beautiful now paled in comparison to how incredibly beautiful she was.

I stood there like a fool, staring at her as if frozen in place, like a toy dog with depleted batteries.

Her cheeks began to blush like peaches.

Oh no! I suddenly came to my senses.

I quickly lowered my head.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Your face is so pretty… no, uh! Uh! Oh!”

It was like stumbling over words. As soon as I lowered my head, I was shocked by the sight that greeted me, so I bit my tongue in embarrassment.

In my hometown, there were several idioms that every man should remember by heart, such as “Shisurok (是隨褸錄),” “Dolbinhwanchu (突彬幻推),” and “Haeuisiljong (下衣失踪).”

Among them, what filled my eyes was “Haeuisiljong (下衣失踪).”

The strong scent of my homeland that I hadn’t experienced in a long time made my head spin.

My face turned red in an instant, and I felt hot.

Uh… I had to somehow handle this situation.

I raised my head again. Our eyes met once more. I gasped and startled, lowering my head again. I saw her long white legs stretched out. Oh! Stay calm… Don’t look too high or too low…. Oops! Here too? No, the clothes might be too big, so why would she wear… Oh no! Control your gaze! Startled, I raised my head again. Her beautiful face…! Lowering it revealed her legs…!

I stumbled like a malfunctioning wind-up doll for a while…

Finally, I was able to calm down by lowering my head deeply.

Ah… I must have looked like a strange person….

“I-I’m really sorry…. I was so unfamiliar with having a woman on my back that I got very flustered….”

I know it’s polite to look at someone when speaking… sigh… What a stupid thing to do… I was so embarrassed.

Above all, I was resentful of myself for not being able to be more careful with a woman who had suffered such terrible deeds, unable to suppress my meager instincts.

Did my gaze stimulate her wounds so much that she could tell…?

“……”

“Um… Miss Heeseon…?”

“……”

“I-I’m sorry for causing you pain….”

“Haha! Ahahaha.”

???

It was a refreshing laughter that even reached my heart.

Upon hearing that clear sound, my tense heart, which had been anxious about whether she had been hurt, relaxed in an instant.

It seems that I must have looked quite ridiculous.

I awkwardly laughed like her, feeling refreshed just like her.

“Hahaha!”

That way, against the backdrop of a beautiful lake, we laughed out loud together for a while.

“Heeseon, did you leave your clothes around here?”

“Yes. I’m sure I left them here… but when I came back to put them on, they were gone, so I was confused…”

She and I are looking for her clothes.

Since she couldn’t walk barefoot, I carried her again.

In the darkness, it felt very different from when I couldn’t see her face, and now I felt a lot of different emotions.

Suddenly, I became conscious of her back… her delicate face came to mind…

“Miss, are you not too heavy…?”

“Yes.. yes? No, not at all heavy. I can carry you like this without resting, so don’t worry.”

“But still… I thought you would just leave me here and go… I can’t do anything right away…”

“Haha, was that your concern? You don’t need to do anything for me. I don’t expect anything from you. I’m just giving you what I received from someone else…

How could I leave a fragile woman like you alone in these deep mountains? I won’t leave until I safely send you back, so don’t worry too much.

Is… my kindness unwanted or burdensome?”

“That’s not true! How can I say whether I dislike or like your kindness? Just… I’m worried that I might be causing you trouble…”

“Don’t think like that. In my hometown, there’s a saying: ‘If you leave after helping someone, the initial help becomes meaningless, but if you endure the subsequent difficulties, the meaning of helping doubles.’

So don’t think of it as a nuisance and feel free to ask for help wherever I can assist.”

“…Thank you, miss.”

Was it because she was reassured by the promise to continue helping?

A hint of moisture could be heard in the woman’s voice as she responded.

“By the way, how long will you keep calling me ‘miss’?”

“What?”

“Aren’t you too formal? Hmm… it’s better to just call me by my name. Just calling me ‘Misaro’ or ‘Saro-brother’ should be fine, right?”

“What? Misaro?”

“Oh! Come to think of it, we don’t know each other’s ages, but I may have presumptuously jumped ahead. But looking at it this way, I’m actually quite old. I must be much older than you think, so if you don’t like ‘brother,’ shall I go with ‘uncle’?”

“Haha, uncle? Well… how old are you, miss?”

There was a mischievous tone in her questioning voice.

But why is she laughing? I’m really old, though, right? Of course, since the villagers only saw my five-year-old body, I couldn’t reveal my real age, but…

Well, I guess it’s okay to tell her my real age.

Let’s see… I was 23 when I was discharged… and I’ve been here for 13 years since living at my sister’s house for a year, so adding those up…? It makes me 37. Wow. I’ve really gotten old, haven’t I?

“Now I’m thirty-seven.”

Huh! What do you think, young lady! Surprised that I’m older than you thought? Still, it’s better to be called ‘uncle’ than ‘brother’… but maybe I should ask her to call me ‘uncle’ instead? Is that appropriate?

“Huff! Oops! I’m sorry, hehe. So you’re saying you’re thirty-seven?”

???

“Just call me ‘Nunim’ instead of ‘Eunin.’ Oh my, oh my, is this a bit too presumptuous? Hehehe.”

???

“Nun, Nun Nation? With that face??? How old are you exactly, Nun? No, no…”

Ah! I see! This is just a joke!

“Hahaha, Nangja is quite something, didn’t realize you were such a playful person. So, how old are you, Nunim? Middle-aged (40)?”

“……”

“……Fifty thousand (50)?”

“……”

“……Or could it be the big 6-0 (60)?”

Did I go too far?

“…… Just call me Sang Orabuni.”

“Ah… Ahaha, yes, it was just a joke, right? Indeed, sixty would have been too much. Nangja, you really have mischievous traits. To call someone as pretty as you sixty… Haha, in that case, I should’ve called you Auntie.”

“……Hmm, okay.”

Her reaction to being teased felt somewhat melancholic.

Did she catch on to the joke too quickly?

Should I have fooled her a bit more properly?

They continued chatting for a while like this.

The problem was, despite a considerable amount of time passing and thoroughly searching around the lake, there was no sign of the clothes.

It’s not like the clothes had wings or any indication of being popular in the surroundings, so why aren’t they appearing? Did a magpie take them away?

No, what kind of animal would take human clothes…

But hmm! The scent emanating from Nangja’s body is sweet and pleasant, making it tempting to take them?

Anyway… worrying about the missing daughter at home must be quite a concern, so it’s probably best to send the clothes and everything back home before it gets dark…?

There seems to be some reason behind it… but still, let’s ask cautiously.

“Um… Heeseon Nangja. It seems there are no clothes of yours around here.”

“Just call me Heeseon~ and feel free to address me comfortably… Oh! Okay! … Orabuni.”

“Is that… alright? Well, hmm! Should I do that? So, um… what I want to say is, it seems pointless to search for more clothes around here….”

Seeing that there might be a story related to the clothes, Heeseon responded with a tone full of anticipation, urging for an answer.

“…What’s next then? Orabuni?”

But what exactly is she expecting?

“Well… Hmm… It seems like I should just go home. Just looking around here won’t help find them… I think.”

“Oh… home?”

Her disappointed voice sounded pitiful.

Well, since the clothes weren’t found… whatever kind of clothes they were, it seems like she’s greatly upset.

“I’m sorry. I really wanted to find them, but it seems there are no clothes here. You seem to have your reasons, but shouldn’t you also consider the worries of your family at home?”

“…Yes. The clothes… can’t be helped… But, Orabuni… If there are no clothes, I can’t go home….”

“Are the clothes very precious?”

“They are… but…”

It seems like she’s from a noble family, a young lady from a wealthy household.

Is it because the clothes hold special significance? Should I look a bit more?

“Okay… if they’re precious, let me search a bit more. Could you tell me what the situation was like until the clothes disappeared?”

“…Yes… well… I originally came down here with my older sisters to bathe…”

She wasn’t alone?

“Your sisters? You weren’t alone? And even with your sisters, things ended up like this? They left you stranded without clothes and went home by themselves?”

“…Yes.”

“They are your real sisters?”

“…Yes.”

“So you were left alone like that, and then that scoundrel caught you?”

“…Yes.”

“Hmm… That’s why it seemed strange to be dragged away naked…

No, besides that, where in the world does something like this happen?”

It’s impossible for someone to be like this! How could you be so cruel, leaving only your younger sibling behind, even though we share the same bloodline! No matter how much I consider Heesun as part of your family, I must speak up. Those people are not human at all!

“…Calling the sisters human is a bit much… Besides, I also—”

“Is that so? Do you think the same way? Leaving a child alone in a place like this wouldn’t lead to anything good; it’s obvious. What kind of heart does one have to do such a thing?”

“…To go to that house, you need clothes, so the sisters couldn’t help it…”

“That’s true, but how precious were those clothes? Are they more important than a daughter? Even if every household has different laws and rules, what kind of place would turn away a precious daughter just because she lost her clothes?”

“Um….”

“Was it the person who mattered or the clothes? Heesun was almost in trouble because of some cheap rags! If you thought those clothes were more valuable than your daughter, why did you make her wear them? You should have put on something cheaper from the start…”

“It’s not that… It’s… b-because it’s… a… winged garment…”

“Huh? What kind of clothing?”

Did I hear wrong?

It sounded like an unfamiliar word.

“B-because it’s a winged garment…”

“Huh?”

“A winged garment…”

What? What kind of clothing?

“I need a winged garment to ascend to the sky…”

????

A winged garment?

Upon hearing that word, my mind went blank.

In an instant, a realization rushed into my mind like ink spreading on a white canvas,

All the doubts and questions that I had resented and pondered over, unable to find answers, began to fit together like scattered puzzle pieces, revealing the whole picture,

The chance or fate that I had been seeking to find by risking death…

Suddenly came and struck me hard on the back of my head before disappearing smoothly.

I stood frozen in shock at the bewildering truth that had come unexpectedly from an unforeseen place, holding a woman presumed to be a fairy behind me, like a statue, unable to move.