episode_0108

[Tia!]

I’m running through the forest. I don’t know where this is. Nevertheless, I endlessly called out Tia’s name. [Tia! Where are you!] I can’t see her. She’s nowhere in sight. It’s dark. The mountain night is as pitch black and dark as a deep sea. [Tia-!!] We were born and raised in the mountains. Is that why? Somehow, in this vast forest, forever. I had an ominous premonition that I would never, ever be able to find Tia. Please, I beg you. Just hide somewhere and cry. Cry sadly so I can hear your crying and find you. I held my breath and listened, but. [……] I couldn’t hear anything. I walked. Without knowing where the end was. I walked like an adventurer who had lost their way. Eventually, a large, wide zelkova tree appeared. When she was little, Tia would always squat down and cry here whenever something sad happened. If she seemed to be out of sight, she was always here. But Tia wasn’t here either. How long had it been? It was full of overgrown weeds and moss clinging to the roots. There was no trace of Tia left. I fumbled along the tree trunk. I felt a bumpy texture with my fingers. The trunk was deeply gouged. This was a mark Tia had left. As if possessed, I followed that mark. *Rustle, rustle.* My feet led me to an apple tree. In front of that apple tree, which had no order or arrangement… Tia wasn’t there, but. Tia was there. A single coin. [If Ritsu buys a bunch of snacks with this today, we’ll have a party tonight, just us. How about it?] A book. [Ritsu. Don’t you want to go? To the Land of Flowers.] A short sword, Rose Shabel. [Ritsu, you need to be able to protect yourself! I’ll teach you!] A bundle of pearl forget-me-nots. [For Ritsu— *ta-da*! I dug these up from Behemoths. Pearl forget-me-nots!] A ginger biscuit with bite marks. [W-wait, Ritsu! Th-thank you!] A ruby necklace. [Ritsu. I… I’ll come back. Definitely. So… can you promise me?] A wooden door. [If it were Ritsu, you’d get it right away and scold me, saying “Why is this password so easy?”. Then I’d change the password again that day. And whenever we have an anniversary, I plan to keep changing it then. How about it, isn’t it fun?] A red bandage. [Ritsu. I’m sorry. I’ll wake you up. I’ll be back soon… just a little… just wait a little longer.] The fragments of memory were scattered randomly. They must have originally formed something. But now they were completely shattered, strewn in front of the apple tree. Tia. Where did you go? What happened to you? Are you safe? I picked up the ruby necklace. The ruby gemstone, as fiery red as Tia’s eyes and hair, was cold. Always hanging around her lovely neck, nestled against her chest. This beautiful gemstone, which must have absorbed Tia’s sweat and body heat. No light remained in it. [Ah…] I think I understand. These fragments of memory were Tia. The Tia who lived in my heart. This was the beautiful forest where my beloved Tia had played freely. Tia had been sculpted into pure memories before the apple tree. But now, only fragments that couldn’t be gathered remained. She had disappeared forever. [Tia…] The forest gradually receded. As if swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

I opened my eyes. I was lying somewhere. It was an unfamiliar place. A ceiling I’d never seen before. Was it deep night? A single candle was lit beside me, glowing softly. Also, it didn’t seem to be winter, as the air was warm and soft. My arms and legs were stiff. I knew this feeling from a previous experience. This was the sensation of having been lying down for a long time. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that my body was heavier and stiffer than before. I stared blankly at the ceiling with my eyes open. I couldn’t hear any sound. At night, the biting winter wind should be howling. It was too quiet, without even the sound of birds. Where was this place? Was it Manggye, where the dead arrive on the back of the Divine Dragon-nim? *Click.* Someone entered from somewhere. And slowly began to approach me. Such light footsteps… It’s Tia! It must be! Tia. Tia! I tried to call out Tia’s name, but no sound came out. As if I had completely forgotten how to make a sound. I merely gaped my mouth. It didn’t matter. Because Tia had come. Because Tia would find me. I moved my eyes to look in that direction. I was waiting for her red hair to appear, but. “……” But what entered my sight was bright yellow blonde hair. A girl much smaller and thinner than Tia. “……Ah.” The girl looked at me and showed a surprised expression for a moment. Soon after, she smiled softly and chuckled. “You’ve woken up, Oppa.” The one who woke me was neither Tia nor my aunts. …It was Marie.

* * *

“……” I ate the thick soup Marie brought me. She said it was made with spring herbs, but it wasn’t very tasty. I had noticed it earlier, but this place… didn’t seem to be in good condition. I couldn’t get the full story, so I had to guess most of it. While eating, I overheard a brief conversation that this was not Breezedon. It wasn’t winter anymore. It was spring. I asked in a subdued voice. “How long… have I been lying down?” “I don’t know exactly. It’s been two months since I came here… and it’s probably been about three months.” “Three months…?” I couldn’t quite grasp it. It felt like about this long before too. To think I’d been lying down even longer than that, it was hard to believe. I kept feeling my sense of time dulling. I spread my palm. It was bony. Even to me, it felt severely emaciated. I asked blankly. “…What happened?” “……” Marie didn’t answer. “Tell me. What on earth happened…?” “……I don’t really know.” It wasn’t that she was intentionally hiding it, but rather that she genuinely didn’t seem to know. “When it was mid-winter, my brother carried Ritsu Oppa here on his back. He said you weren’t dead, but alive. So we waited until now for you to wake up.” It was an unbelievable story. “Ruyef brought me?” I wasn’t dead, but alive? …What on earth does that mean? Just as that thought reached me. *Whoosh-!* My mind exploded. Memories rushed out as if a closed door had opened. “Ugh!” “…Oppa?” I don’t know. The memories were all jumbled up and appearing. My vision was dizzying, driving me crazy. All I felt from them was disgust. “……Tia.” That name escaped my lips unknowingly. “Where’s Tia?” “……” Marie looked at me with a worried expression. My heart pounded. I had a strong hunch that Marie was about to say something ominous. Just tell me she’s okay. That one sentence is enough. But Marie slightly averted her gaze. “I don’t really know.” “Marie… I don’t understand anything you’re saying right now. Where is this…? Why am I here?” I died by Fosao’s hand. No, seeing that I’m alive, I didn’t die, but. Anyway, that was my last memory. And now three more months had passed. I don’t know. I don’t know anything. Why Marie woke me up. How Ruyef carried me here. I had no idea what had happened. Marie was the only one who could resolve this maddening anxiety and curiosity. Marie hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth. “When we escaped from Breezedon…” The story began from the day Ruyef escaped. This place where the two of them had fled was said to be an abandoned cabin used by ancient ancestors. It was hidden so deep in the forest that even the elders didn’t know about it. Ruyef renovated the dilapidated cabin, making it suitable for the siblings to live together. They planned to hide for about a year, then move to another village. But one day. Ruyef disguised himself and stopped by Taildon, where he coincidentally heard news of my death. When Marie heard that news, she cried terribly, but Ruyef showed no sign of sadness and only said something seemed strange. “So my brother… dug up Ritsu Oppa’s grave.” “The Restful Tree?” “Yes.” The story was that Ruyef had dug beneath the Restful Tree with my name carved on it, taken me out of the coffin, and brought me here. “But… it was strange. We heard Ritsu Oppa died a month ago… but it felt like you were alive, just like back then.” “……It’s because of Envus.” The poison Fosao forced me to swallow was a drug that enhanced the paralyzing effects of ‘Envus.’ That’s why I must have entered a state of suspended animation, just like sleeping for a long two months. Did Ruyef notice that and save me? But there were still many unanswered questions. I thought I was certainly dead. Because Fosao wouldn’t have left me alone after I fainted. He would have choked me to death. Or taken my knife and stabbed me. There would have been many ways to kill me. It was also strange that I was perfectly alive without any injuries. There was no time to dwell on this. I had to report Fosao to the villagers and drive him out. And I had to get Tia back. “Thank you for your help, Marie. I need to go see Tia now. I have a lot to do.” “It’s too late.” Someone entered the cabin. It was a familiar but at the same time unfamiliar sight. A bushy beard and tangled blonde hair. A tanned neck and scars remaining on sturdy arms. A boy wearing worn-out clothes and carrying a bulky bag. I… I would never have dared to think it was Ruyef. “…Ruyef?” “……” As always, Ruyef stared at me, then nonchalantly placed his bag on the floor. And then he said something shocking. “Tia isn’t in Breezedon.” “…What?” “She was banished.” Banished? What do you mean? Why Tia…? As Ruyef unzipped his bag, dirt-covered potatoes tumbled out. “Her whereabouts since being banished are still unknown. However…” He glanced at me once. His blue eyes, which always looked at me with disdain, for some reason today. Held a pity, as if looking at a pathetic person. “……No, let’s talk about that tomorrow.” After saying that much, Ruyef began picking up the potatoes scattered on the floor. “Tomorrow, I, Marie, and you. We’ll all depart for Breezedon. Until then… don’t ask about anything.” I couldn’t say anything to Ruyef, who was carrying the sack and leaving the cabin. Only Marie’s small hand, tightly gripping mine… was my sole comfort.