・・・・・
“If anyone has seen a woman with distinctive hair, pay attention to every small detail and ask about her. We will undoubtedly find a clue to her whereabouts.”
Several hours had passed since Yewon, who came from a strange place, disappeared, but even after searching throughout the entire capital, no trace of her could be found.
Hunmu, whose neck still throbbed, wondered where the woman, who didn’t know the geography well, had gone.
He even considered the possibility that she might have managed to return to her original home.
Although they had already searched the area, Hunmu ordered his subordinates to check again.
They encountered several witnesses who said a woman with distinctive hair had passed through, but beyond the market area, they couldn’t find any trace of her.
Since the man who had come from another world before was also clever, it was certain that she had deliberately covered her hair to avoid being noticed.
Hunmu let out a quiet sigh and searched every nook and cranny, even the rough paths she was unlikely to have taken.
Where in the world could she have run off to in a place she knew nothing about? Was what happened in the king’s bedroom last night that shocking?
Based on the servant’s report that she had even refused to eat, she surely couldn’t have gone far in her weakened state — yet there was no sign of her at all.
He had vowed to find her before dawn, but at this rate, he would not be able to keep that promise.
With a sombre expression, Hunmu stood in the deserted alley where not even an ant was in sight.
Clutching his neck, reddened with the imprint of a shoe, he rested his back against a tree.
The truth was, if he failed to find her, the king would have him killed — but that didn't scare him.
More than that, what truly unsettled him were the disturbing thoughts that kept popping up: if she hadn’t gone back to her original world, maybe she had been taken by some despicable men.
Hunmu himself didn’t understand why he was so preoccupied with thoughts of the woman whose name he hadn’t even properly asked, and it irritated him to the point of discomfort.
“!”
In that moment, her words suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
“…To go… back.”
“I was trying... to go back... I thought… if I jumped into the river... I might be able to return.”
She had already once jumped into the river in an attempt to return to her own world.
She had said she thought she might be able to return if she jumped into the river, so she must have acted that way because she'd heard something — some kind of story — that made her believe it.
If that was the case, it was more than reasonable to expect that she would try to return again.
If jumping into the river ended in failure, what would be her next move?
Hunmu's expression soon changed as he looked beyond the village to the dense forest and mountains behind it.
Given the clothes and shoes she wore, he deemed it unlikely that she would have ventured there, so he hadn't even instructed his subordinates to search that area.
“Excuse me, may I ask for directions?”
"Yes?"
"Where is the nearest waterfall or deep river from here?"
・・・・・
"...Phew, good job, Yoo Yewon."
After walking diligently and asking people for directions, I finally arrived at the waterfall.
The waterfall was on the way to the temple, and if I acted as though I were looking for the temple, people would kindly give me directions, so it wasn’t hard to get here.
Having already fled this far with nowhere left to retreat, the instant I first spotted the waterfall, I hastily climbed up the rocks with a desperate heart.
When I actually saw the torrent of water pouring down, my heart froze, and I couldn’t bring myself to jump. But recalling the faces of Mum, Dad, and Kyuhyun, I clenched my teeth and took the plunge.
Splash!
The water I plunged into was freezing cold despite the blazing sun, and it felt like needles were piercing my entire body.
On top of the muscle pain from being held by the king last night, it felt as if my whole body was screaming to be saved.
But the change was hardly any different from when I first jumped into the river.
I was still in the water, struggling with a weak dog paddle, and barely managed to crawl my way to the shallow side to survive.
The pain remained, my whole body was drenched, and even after jumping into the waterfall, I was still stuck in this strange era.
Coughing up water, I let out a sudden “Ah!” in frustration and burst into uncontrollable sobs. Even after escaping, the situation was still hopeless, and now I was scared, not knowing what to do next.
Then, after crying until my tears ran dry, I finally pulled myself together, still holding on to a faint, desperate hope, like grasping at straws.
It had been daytime both when I jumped into the river before and now, so maybe it would be different if I jumped at night, when the moon was out.
Come to think of it, it was also a dim, rainy evening when I lost consciousness on the subway.
With that thought, I took off my outer garments to dry in the hot sun, settled on the soft earth, and began to wait.
Fortunately, without a single streetlight here, darkness quickly fell all around as the sun set.
Being alone in this pitch-black mountain without a single torch could be extremely dangerous, but if I failed again this time, I was prepared to face death.
In truth, even if I decided to stay here, surviving wouldn’t be easy.
I have never ploughed a field, nor have I ever managed a household. Moreover, even if I tried to run away and blend in among the common people, no place would accept me because of my unusual hair colour.
The surroundings grew darker and darker. Though the sounds of unknown insects made me scared, I steeled myself and climbed back up toward the rock I had jumped from earlier.
Still, compared to being down below, the top of the rock was brighter under the slowly rising moonlight.
"It's a crescent moon...."
While weakly pressing down on the throbbing muscle pain with my hand, I looked up at the moon, which was starting to come into clear view.
The past few days, filled with hardship and exhaustion, seemed to be comforted by the pale yellow moon, and once again, my eyes grew wet.
Why have I never really looked at such a beautiful moon properly from the comfort of a home where I could eat, sleep, and rest in peace?
If I ever returned, I told myself I would love everything around me more. I would love wholeheartedly and without reserve.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The waterfall poured down vigorously even as evening darkened.
Just as I was about to jump in again, the recurring muscle pain and the cold water gave me goosebumps, but there was no avoiding it anymore.
Once it got just a little darker, and the moon shone even brighter than now, I would jump one last time.
‘Please, this time when I open my eyes, I want to be lying flat — whether on my bed in my room, or even stretched out flat on the subway, it’s not embarrassing at all.’
But being human, the cold water splashing right beside the rock kept making me hesitate.
Unable to wait any longer, I stepped close to the waterfall and reached out my hand into the water.
"Ugh! It's cold!"
The water was far colder than it had been earlier in the day.
As night fell and the temperature dropped, the trees seemed to grow denser, making it feel as though I were plunging my hand into ice-cold, freezing water.
My first and strongest fear was that I’d have a heart attack and die the instant I jumped.
“Let’s just wet it a bit...”
Bending down, I reached out my hand again and began to slowly wet my body with water so icy it felt like it might just fall right off.
Unlike during the day, the moment the cold water touched me, the wind made me grit my teeth from the chill. But if I didn’t go through this process, I might actually have a heart attack.
"Stop!"
Jolt.
It was then.
As I reached out my hand to wet my body, I suddenly heard a shout coming from far below.
Startled by a deep male voice, I nearly slipped. Irritated, I turned my head and saw a man holding a torch looking toward me.
The moment I saw that man’s face, I froze and stood up.
In the deep, deserted mountains, the one suddenly shouting while holding a torch was General Hunmu.
His face, flickering in the torchlight, had hardened with a stern expression, as if he believed I was about to jump.
How did he find his way here? Moreover, he was all alone, without a single subordinate.
General Hunmu looked at the rock I was standing on and quickly glanced around as if searching for a way to climb up.
If things continued like this, I felt like I would be caught by that man before I could even jump, so while I was still wetting myself, I carefully stood at the very edge of the rock.
"Don't come up."
"Stop. You're not actually thinking of jumping in, are you?"
“…It’s none of your business.”
“...”
"You just take me to that so-called king, that's all. Even if I die, it’s not something that concerns you, right?"
I didn’t know why I spoke to General Hunmu in a voice that sounded as if I’d been betrayed by someone I’d known for a long time. But in that moment, memories of him telling the king I had tried to return, and of everything I had to endure last night, came rushing back, and my words flew at him like blades, sharp with resentment.
How ridiculous of me. To harbour these kinds of expectations and feelings for someone who, after all, was the one who found me and took me to the king.
General Hunmu stared at me silently.
I, too, stared back at him without a word.
As if some taut line were drawn between us, we stared at each other in silence for a long time, until he moved, breaking the stillness.
General Hunmu firmly secured the torch between some tree branches and suddenly began to take off his clothes.
I didn’t want to see it, but because of the torchlight, his upper body gradually came into view, and I quickly turned my head away.
What kind of madness was this, taking off his clothes in the middle of the night?
“Are you planning to jump from there?”
At the soft voice, I turned my head and saw that General Hunmu had taken off all his cumbersome outer garments and was now only wearing pants, his upper body bare.
Even though I wasn’t familiar with this place, it was clear that his body, which was just as well-built as the king’s, had been honed through years of martial arts.
“...”
“I asked if you’re going to jump.”
“...”
"If that's the case."
“...”
"Jump down."
“!”
"I will also jump after you."
As soon as he finished speaking, General Hunmu began striding briskly toward the rock where I was standing.
I intended to jump, but seeing him approach, I found myself stepping backward instead, my eyes flickering between him and the fiercely crashing waterfall.
I couldn’t understand how his footsteps were so fast. While I had crawled up clinging to trees, he was swiftly climbing, relying solely on the strength of his legs.
"Don't come any closer!"
Though I couldn’t bring myself to jump, I shouted fiercely.
But before I knew it, General Hunmu had almost reached the spot where I stood.
In truth, he wasn’t about to harm me, yet as he came within arm’s reach, I backed away dangerously close to the edge of the rock, trying to keep my distance.
"I’m really going to jump."
If I fell backward instead of jumping forward, my head could hit the rocks, making it dangerous.
Instead of stopping, he slowed down his pace and reached out his hand toward me.
"Grab hold."
“...”
“Judging by the clothes you left down below, it looks like you’ve already jumped once. Doesn’t that mean you failed to return?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions! It’s because I jumped during the day that things turned out that way. If I jump at night, I should be able to return.”
“Grab hold. This is your last chance.”
If he thought it was dangerous enough to stop me from jumping into the waterfall, then why couldn’t he stop what happened in the king’s bedroom?
Was he planning to report today’s events to the king exactly as they happened?"
When General Hunmu took a step closer, for some strange reason, an odd impulse stirred inside me. It was a sudden urge to leap into the waterfall right before him, as if to make a point.
"Please don’t stop me from going back."
Just a few more steps and he would be within reach. In that instant, I caught a fleeting change in General Hunmu’s expression — and with my eyes tightly shut, I jumped into the waterfall.
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