/
She knew he didn’t mean it. Ignoring the growing sense of annoyance in her chest, she took a deep breath and sat on top of a large rock. Choo-ja noticed that she was getting pale so she went down the mountain to get medicine. Lee-yeon thought about the long day ahead of them and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
It all looked like a mess. The ground had been dug up and there was so much trash that a small mountain had started to form. The place was crying for help. As Lee-yeon looked around, she was somehow reminded of Kwon Chae-woo. But she tried to ignore her thoughts.
Then, as if something had read her mind, she heard footsteps getting closer. She saw a big silhouette approaching her and she stood up.
He was holding a scythe and, when he saw her, he pretended to be looking at the forest instead. He looked neat, in his jersey that went all the way up to his chin and his hair combed back. There was a look of dissatisfaction on his face and, even though they had sex the night before, it made Lee-yeon anxious to approach him.
She played with the hem of her top as she spoke. “Did you sleep well last night?” she asked, then couldn’t help but add, “Did you sleep beside me?”
“Yes, I slept well.”
She was shocked by how soft his voice was, but she couldn’t help but think that it sounded forced.
“Anyway, we’re in a good spot.”
“Sorry?”
“There’s no one here.”
Lee-yeon’s breath hitched in her throat. Here?Everything was filthy. It was all a mess.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“We didn’t have much time to talk,” he said. “The judging happened as soon as you woke up.” He adjusted his grip on the scythe and stepped closer. “What’s the reward?”
Lee-yeon could feel her palms begin to grow sweaty.
“I’m curious to know what the story was. Can you tell me?”
“Well…” she trailed off, looking away from him. “It’s just an old story. It’s nothing.” Her voice was quiet now and she tried her best to show him how uncomfortable she was, but all he did was stare at her calmly. With his eyes, clear and bright, pointed right at her, she knew she couldn’t keep quiet.
“I helped someone who looked desperately in need of help,” she finally said. “Remember the singing tree I told you about in front of the Holy Tree? The one I told you about before you went to bed?”
Kwon Chae-woo raised a brow. There was enough talk about the Holy Tree without Lee-yeon’s recountings of Jang Beom-hee’s version. He nodded.
“Well, it was a woman,” Lee-yeon said. “She looked young, but she already had a child. She stayed at my place for about a month and then left. It was a short stay, but her family sent money as a thank you. I used that money for my uncle’s hospital bill when he was sick. That’s all there is to it.” She could feel her throat tighten as she spoke. Her heart was racing and her mouth had dried. She tried her best to hide the shaking in her voice.
Kwon Chae-woo leaned down to level with her. He looked straight into her eyes. “Lee-yeon,” he said. “I told you to stop lying.”
A chill went down her spine.
“I told you I’m sick of it. I’ve had enough of it all.”
It was like her tongue had frozen. She couldn’t speak.
“Lee-yeon, I know how to rip the truth from people. It’s easy for me,” he said, ignoring the way her eyes widened. “But I don’t want to do that to you. I’m your husband, so I should be kind to you as my wife.”
Though his voice was soft and kind, Lee-yeon couldn’t help but feel like she was being threatened. Even if he was just standing in front of her, he was still holding a scythe. Her body moved without thinking and she took a step back.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Do you not want to tell me more about the past? As my wife, do you not want to let your husband know these things?” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Should I stop?”
Then, his face shifted slightly. His nostrils were now flared and he was frowning as looked around the area. Something smelled different. It was like the scent of oil had overtaken the smell of the grass. He looked back at her.
“Everything depends on you now, Lee-yeon,” he said. “What exactly did you do?” His eyes were cold now.
Lee-yeon wondered if she had somehow gotten a heatstroke. Her legs were now losing strength and she was breaking out into a cold sweat. Her mind was hazy, like she was trapped in a swamp.
An image flashed through her head. It was a poster. A poster of someone who needed to be found.
“Someone’s chasing me! Please! Please hide me! Help me!” The woman was pleading in front of the then younger Lee-yeon.
But…it was a $200,000 reward.
She remembered being more convinced by the amount of money than by the woman’s plea. She had looked at the woman’s face. It had been the face in the poster. She remembered how Choo-ja had said that her uncle would need surgery and chemotherapy to save his life. So—
“I called them.” She blurted out.
Kwon Chae-woo clutched the scythe. He had been the one that told his mother to go to the girl’s house, to Lee-yeon’s house.
Lee-yeon looked at him seriously. “I had my priorities,” she said. “I don’t regret choosing my uncle.”
“You don’t regret it?”
Before she could answer, Kwon Chae-woo began to chuckle. He thought of the mother he had missed, the mother that had died in the basement beneath his room. She was right there and yet she had died. As he looked around the forest, there was no hint of life in his eyes.
“Aren’t you curious to know what happened to that woman?” he asked. “Don’t you want to know what happened to the woman you sold to extend your uncle’s life?”
Lee-yeon looked away. “They told me that she went home. I like to think that she’s doing well.”
“It’s nice that you think that,” he said, his words cutting her when he knew it hurt. “Usually preys don’t survive,” he added in a whisper.
She frowned at him as he began to back away. She realized that this conversation was something else, she didn’t understand its entirety. Everything was strange, everything made her uneasy. She stared ahead at the man that was already moving away from her.
“We met on the wrong terms,” he said.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, Chae-woo.”
“It’s okay if you don’t.” He started to laugh. “I was always a bit messed up here,” he said, pointing at his head. “Anyway, thanks for your answer.” He swung the scythe against a tree and left it jammed into the trunk.
“Chae-woo!” Lee-yeon called, but there was no use. As he turned away from her, the last thing she did was the look on his face: halfway between smiling and crying.
Then, boom!
She covered her head at the unexpected explosion. There was fire spread across the area. Soon, there was smoke everywhere. She tried to get away, but the fire was already so strong that it felt like her skin was melting.
Lee-yeon looked back at the place where Kwon Chae-woo had been. He was gone.
And then, boom! There was another huge explosion.