“I did see a woman on my way here. But I can’t be sure she’s the one you mentioned as being kidnapped.”
I tried to soften the blow with my words, but the woman’s eyes still held a glimmer of hope. She nodded quickly in response.
“It’s okay. I’m desperate enough to cling to any hope. If she had long hair, I might not be sure, but if she was wearing a yellow dress, then it’s almost certain.”
“Even if it was a yellow dress… it was torn to pieces. I could only confirm part of it.”
“What… did you say?”
She stammered, momentarily thrown off by my words. Woo Jung-min, Sun Yoo-woon, and Chun Seung-hyun clenched their fists, perhaps anticipating what would come next. Yet, her eyes still clung to hope. With a trembling voice, she asked, as if hoping against hope.
“Why… why was the dress torn?”
“When we found her, she was slumped against a tree. Upon closer inspection… she was already deceased.”
“Won Hye-soo…!”
The woman called Won Hye-soo went pale and collapsed as soon as I finished speaking. Chun Seung-hyun quickly caught her, but her legs had already given way. Knowing the pain of losing someone dear, I felt a pang of sympathy for her.
Silence hung in the air for a while.
“How did Hye-yeon die?”
Woo Jung-min asked me in a calm voice, as if he had already accepted the reality. But his voice was tinged with a deep sadness, betraying his inner turmoil. I hesitated for a moment, sensing he was waiting for my answer.
“It’s okay. I had a feeling. Just tell me as it is.”
”…There were bloodstains around her mouth. It seems she bit her tongue to end her life.”
“No. Wait. That can’t be. She wouldn’t do that.”
“When we found her, she was almost naked. And… there were traces of fluid, likely from that monkey-like creature, around her.”
The atmosphere turned icy as I finished speaking. Woo Jung-min was visibly furious, his eyes filled with rage, fists clenched as if he might explode at any moment. Sun Yoo-woon, who had been listening quietly, was also visibly shaken, his eyes bloodshot with anger and grief.
Then, a scream pierced the silence. It was Won Hye-soo, who had been staring blankly into space.
“Ha… haha… ha… haaaaaa!”
“Hye-soo! Get a grip!”
“Aaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaah!”
Her outburst was so intense that even the usually composed Chun Seung-hyun took a step back. Overcome with grief, Won Hye-soo clawed at the ground, screaming.
“No! Hye-yeon can’t be dead! It’s a lie! A lie! Hye-yeon, aaaaaaah!”
“Won Hye-soo! Pull yourself together! We lost Jin-tae too, remember? You told us to stay calm and face reality back then. What are you doing now?”
“Shut up! Hye-yeon is… Hye-yeon is…”
Like a madwoman, she looked around wildly until her eyes met mine. Her face twisted with rage, she suddenly sprang up and lunged at me. Sun Yoo-woon and Chun Seung-hyun quickly grabbed her arms, but she still screamed at me.
“Liar! You’re lying! She can’t be dead! Tell me it’s a lie…! Tell me!”
“Hye-soo… let’s go check, okay? Calm down.”
Chun Seung-hyun tried to soothe her, but she was almost beyond reason. I watched her for a moment before speaking in a quiet voice.
“The body is about a 30-minute walk down this path. There aren’t many trees around there. I’m sorry about your sister.”
“You bastard! You killed Hye-yeon! Saying she’s dead? Liar! No, you cowardly ran away while she was being attacked, didn’t you? You could have saved her but you ran, you coward!”
“What did you say? This crazy woman… Brother?”
Feeling sorry for her but unable to tolerate her accusations, Lee Yoo-jung was about to step forward. I held her shoulder and shook my head. She looked displeased but backed down when she saw my stern expression. Meanwhile, Woo Jung-min, who had been staring at the sky, raised his hand with a resigned look.
Slap!
The sound echoed as Won Hye-soo’s head snapped to the side. Her face flushed with disbelief, she looked at Woo Jung-min’s hand. He gazed down at her with disappointment.
“Stop it, Won Hye-soo. It’s disgusting to watch.”
“What, what?”
“Reality… no, it doesn’t matter. You won’t listen to anything right now. Stop taking it out on others and face the truth.”
“Ha… fine. None of you care because she’s not your sister. Sure, to you, she was just someone you knew for four days. But to me, to me, she was different. We lived together for over 20 years. And now you tell me to accept reality?”
Sun Yoo-woon looked at her with pity, but he couldn’t meet her eyes and turned away. Seeing him turn his head, Won Hye-soo began to sob again. To an outsider, she seemed mad, overwhelmed by disappointment, despair, anxiety, and confusion.
“Won Hye-soo, are you crazy? I may have thrown a dagger, but you can’t act like this! Calm down and get a grip. What’s wrong with you?”
“Yeah, I’m crazy. I want to be. So let me go. Let me go!”
Her hysteria was escalating. Woo Jung-min sighed deeply and spoke in a heavy voice.
“I don’t think you’re crazy. We lost Jin-tae here too. We know how it feels to lose someone you cherished. If anyone saw how you and your sister were for those four days, they’d understand and sympathize. And… there’s no guarantee that the body is Hye-yeon.”
“Stop lying. Yeah! They could be lying. They only saw part of the dress, right? I’m going to check. I’m going. It can’t be Hye-yeon. It can’t be.”
Humans are creatures of self-justification. Initially so certain, Won Hye-soo was now changing her stance completely. She was pleading, despairing, raging, and then hoping again. She was losing her mind, unable to accept her sister’s death, clinging to any shred of hope. I’d seen people like her before, but it still left me with a heavy heart.
“Stop it. You saw Hye-yeon being taken by those monkey creatures.”
“If you won’t go, I’ll go alone. Let me go. I’m going now.”
”…Jung-min, let’s go too. Let’s check… even if it’s just a body…”
Chun Seung-hyun, who had been speaking cautiously, fell silent when he saw the sharp look in Won Hye-soo’s eyes. As soon as Chun Seung-hyun and Sun Yoo-woon released her arms, she glared at me and ran in the direction I had indicated. They exchanged awkward glances before quickly following her. But Woo Jung-min remained behind.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this. Even though I only knew them for four days, Hye-soo and Hye-yeon cared deeply for each other.”
Ahn Hyun nodded sympathetically, holding Ahn Sol tightly with his right arm, clearly anxious. Watching them with a bitter expression, Woo Jung-min turned to me and spoke in a serious tone.
“Thank you for avenging them. It saved us some trouble. But… you weren’t lying, were you?”
“What?”
Lee Yoo-jung bristled at his words, but Woo Jung-min turned his gaze to Kim Han-byeol and Ahn Sol. Then he chuckled softly.
“Well… you don’t seem like the type. Sorry. I should get going too.”
“I’m sorry about your friend. We have to go too. We’ll be on our way.”
“Ah, wait. You with the crossbow. Come here for a second.”
Surprised by his sudden call, I glanced at him and walked over. Once I was close, he lowered his voice so only I could hear.
“It’s not much, but here’s some information for you. You’re heading to the central warp gate, right? Don’t answer, just nod slightly.”
I nodded, and Woo Jung-min leaned in to whisper something in my ear.